[Political Activity Law]

TOMORROW AT THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION. FEC. “The Commission considers new regulations, advisory opinions and other public matters at open meetings, which are typically held at FEC headquarters on Thursdays at 10:00am.”

AL: PROSECUTION MOVE. AL. “When state lawmakers say district attorneys should prosecute ethics crimes, not the Attorney General’s office nor the Ethics Commission, mind what they mean, not what they say.”

CA: REFORM TIME. VOC. “With these forty four counts of wrongdoing, it is time to renew our call for political reform.”

IN: FIRM PAID. SBT. “The Indiana House Ethics Committee has hired an outside attorney to investigate allegations that House Speaker Brian Bosma used campaign funds to collect unflattering information about a former intern who claims she had a sexual encounter with him decades ago.”

LA: WAR CHEST. NS. “Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has more than $10 million cash in the bank to invest in his reelection campaign, while wealthy Republican businessman Eddie Rispone surpassed that total by investing millions more of his own fortune.”

PA: CAMPAIGNS REPAY. PPG. “The Post-Gazette reported in February that some of Mr. Fitzgerald’s colleagues on the local political stage disclosed spending thousands of dollars in campaign money on meals, either venturing widely across the region’s restaurant scene, as county Treasurer John Weinstein did, or returning regularly to a ‘home office,’ as Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has described Cappy’s Cafe in Shadyside.”

PA: ALLEGED VIOLATIONS. PPG. “On Monday, the D.C.-based Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit accountability watchdog group, called on the Allegheny County Board of Elections and District Attorney’s office to investigate the key players in a group called Americans Against Socialism for allegedly violating campaign finance reporting laws.”

PA: CASH SCRAMBLE. PHL. “Candidates for city offices had to file their latest campaign finance reports Tuesday, and the records offered few surprises. For one thing, Mayor Jim Kenney has at least 10 times the amount of cash on hand as one of his challengers six weeks before the May 21 primary.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SYSTEM VIEWS. WQAD. “As major presidential hopefuls release their fundraising numbers from the first quarter, recent polling finds just 1 in 5 Americans say they are satisfied with the nation’s campaign finance laws.”

FACING COMPLAINT. TDN. “Rep. Lori Trahan has been hit with a Federal Elections Commission complaint alleging her campaign violated reporting rules.”

BATTLE HURTS. CNN. “A new fight has erupted in the battle over big money in the 2020 White House election: Outside groups that support candidates of color are warning that calls for presidential contenders to disavow super PACs risk cutting off a crucial avenue for engaging minority voters.”

CAUGHT UP. TNA. “Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic presidential candidate whose claim to fame is losing a Senate race, has a habit of playing fast and loose with campaign funds.”

NY: REFORM NEEDED. GF. “The best hope for campaign finance reform would have been to include a public financing system in the state budget, which is what Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised to do.”

PA: FIRST AD. WHYY. “The first TV ad of the 2019 Philadelphia mayoral race is on the air, but it doesn’t come from any of the candidates. The 30-second spot is produced by an independent group supporting Mayor Jim Kenney.”

PA: TRAINING PLANNED. AM. “All Republican candidates who will be listed on the ballot for the 2019 primary election in Cambria or Somerset counties are invited to attend. Campaign committee treasurers of candidates are encouraged to attend.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

BOGUS COMPLAINT ALLEGED. FN. “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told Fox News Wednesday that new claims of campaign finance violations by her and her campaign manager were ‘bogus.'”

PAC PINCH. HILL. “Democratic presidential candidates refusing to take PAC money may be forced to pinch pennies to survive in a crowded primary race where top-tier contenders like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) have the ability to raise tens of millions in small donations.”

SUPER PAC MOVE. OS. “Linda McMahon, currently the head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), is resigning from her position on April 12 to become the chair of America First Action, one of the primary pro-Trump super PACs.”

DOI REFORMS. EE. “Bernhardt directed the department’s ethics officer to develop a plan within 30 days to consolidate the various Interior bureaus’ ethics offices into a single departmentwide office.”

CT: CHILDCARE UPDATE. CP. “Although a growing number of states have decided child care is a generally permissible campaign expense, the all-male State Elections Enforcement Commission ruled Wednesday public campaign funds from the Citizens’ Election Program cannot be used to pay a babysitter while a candidate on the trail.”

MD: UNETHICAL HOLLY. BS. “The Baltimore Board of Ethics voted unanimously Wednesday to open an investigation into whether Democratic Mayor Catherine Pugh’s sale of her ‘Healthy Holly’ children’s books violated city ethics rules.”

NY: STATE OF LIMITS. WNYC. “Cuomo has been urging the legislature to adopt a public financing system to help upstart political candidates challenge incumbents and wealthy opponents. But he told WNYC Tuesday that doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to scale back campaign checks fatter than almost any in the country.”

OR: REFORM NEED. WW. “Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has pledged to address the state’s lack of campaign contribution limits—a system she called ‘mind-boggling’ in recent legislative testimony.”

WV: LIMIT BOOST. HR. “Gov. Jim Justice has approved a bill raising campaign contribution limits in West Virginia political races.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.