[Political Activity Law]

LOW DOLLAR SURGE. PF. “‘Under federal campaign finance laws, contributions from a single individual to a single candidate do not have to be reported until they exceed $200, so, unless Sanders chooses to voluntarily disclose the information for small contributions in his FEC filings, there is no way to verify the information,’ said David Primo, a professor of political science and business administration at the University of Rochester in New York. “

“DARK MONEY” ORIGIN. CRC. ” When Sunlight coined the term ‘dark money’ in October 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision nine months old.”

CASE CONTINUES. CNN. “A federal judge on Monday refused to dismiss the campaign finance violation case against California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter.”

ACCESS FOR FUNDS. BF. “Elizabeth Warren relied on a multimillion-dollar Democratic donor to cover the cost of an expensive voter database — a move that risks putting her campaign at odds with the spirit, if not the letter, of the pledge she made to abstain from ‘big money’ fundraising.”

TEAMING UP FOR BAN. NPR. “‘Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE’ with Ocasio-Cortez, Cruz stated. He went on to say that he has long called for a lifetime ban on former members of Congress becoming lobbyists.”

FL: DISPUTE CONTINUES. WFSU. “Former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and Attorney John Morgan are once again sparring. Morgan continues to slam Gillum over the former Democratic gubernatorial nominee’s use of money left over from Gillum’s failed 2018 bid.”

NY: REFUNDS NOTED. NYDN. “Actresses Susan Sarandon and Rosario Dawson were refunded thousands in donations to Nomiki Konst’s failed campaign for public advocate after they gave over contribution limits.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

FEC: DISCOUNTS OK. KONS. ” The U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) said today political campaigns can accept discounted cybersecurity services from companies without running afoul of existing campaign finance laws, provided those companies already do the same for other non-political entities.”

FEC: LAST WEEK’S APPROVED AO’S AND CLOSED MATTERS. FEC Weekly Digest.

FOCUS ON CAMPAIGN MONEY. WP. “Money in politics is the signature campaign issue for Bullock, the 22nd to join the 25-candidate race for the Democratic presidential nomination.”

SUPER PAC PUSH. CNN. “As part of a push to advance Cory Booker’s presidential ambitions, a pro-Booker super PAC is launching a campaign to reach half a million black voters in four states to persuade them to back the New Jersey senator.”

STATUS OF CASE. HILL. “A federal probe into whether Trump Organization officials broke campaign finance laws appears to be nearing its conclusion without any charges filed, CNN reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.”

AZ: BAN IN EFFECT. KJZZ. “It’s been eight months since Phoenix voters overwhelmingly approved a ban on so-called dark money in local campaigns. This week Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced the ban will go into effect, it’s been under legal review by the governor’s office since it passed in November.”

CA: SLATE MAILERS AND VOTING. KLA. “The ability to manipulate the system will help solidify the lock that well-funded candidates have.”

MA: SETTLEMENT PAYMENT. ML. “According to an agreement that Moore signed Tuesday with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, there were extensive discrepancies between Moore’s campaign finance disclosures and his bank account balances for a full decade, from 2008-18.”

NY: QUESTIONS ON PICK. MT. “In New York state government news, Republicans say Gov. Andrew Cuomo is playing politics with a board creating the rules for a new public campaign finance system.”

VA: REFORM SOUGHT. ARLN. “Significant further reforms in campaign finance and ethical practices are long overdue at every level of Virginia government. Efforts to enact such reforms have been blocked for many years by Republicans in the Virginia legislature. If Democrats can take control of both legislative chambers in 2019, these needed reforms can and should be enacted.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

MONEY HELP. WFB. “Congressional candidate Dan McCready (D.) publicly denounced dark money in the 2018 election cycle while a dark money group was spending nearly $1 million to defeat McCready’s opponent in a North Carolina House race at the same time.”

GROUP TARGETS SENATOR. RC. “The Democratically-aligned group End Citizens United on Tuesday launched a $50,000 digital advertising campaign aimed at unseating Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky — before McConnell even has a credible challenger.”

CA: FINE FOR DISCLOSURE. EBT. “A state ethics commission has fined Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer for improperly disclosing a loan and failing to file several required finance reports.”

CA: RAVEL ON 1A. DC. “A ‘libertarian interpretation’ of the First Amendment is responsible for more ‘violent hate crime’ in the United States than terrorism, a former Federal Election Commission chair claimed Thursday.”

CO: BILL SIGNED. CP. “If you were to pick a package of the most partisan bills from the 2019 session, a good bet would be four bills on elections and campaign finance signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday.”

MD: REFUND SOUGHT. BS. “The leaders of the Korean Society of Baltimore said Wednesday they are seeking the return of more than $60,000 in contributions their members made to former Democratic Mayor Catherine Pugh’s re-election campaign.”

NJ: VETO MOVE. NJ. “Brace yourself: The open animosity between Gov. Phil Murphy and Democrats in the Legislature could soon derail efforts to expose the tidal wave of dark money that is giving wealthy special interest groups even more leverage in Trenton, all of it behind closed doors.”

NY: QUESTIONS ON FINANCE. TIN. ” Wu was hit in 2013 with $17,792 in penalties by the New York City Campaign Finance Board for 10 violations, including $4,842 for ‘accepting three over-the-limit contributions,’ $6,600 for ‘accepting a contribution from a corporation,’ and $5,000 for ‘intentionally furnishing false documentation and information.'”

TN: INVESTIGATION WELCOMED. TN. “More than two years after The Tennessean reported Sen. Brian Kelsey participated in potentially illegal donations and contributions related to his failed 2016 congressional bid, the West Tennessee Republican says he welcomes an investigation.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.