[Political Activity Law]

DEADLINE LOOMS. POL. “Democratic presidential candidates are on a white-knuckle ride to March 31, the quarterly reporting deadline that will signal who’s rolling in cash and who’s scraping just to establish viability.”

“I APPROVED THIS MESSAGE BUT YOU PAID FOR IT.” PF. “A sarcastic new ad video Walker put out this month pokes fun at political campaign ads — and House Democrats’ plan to help finance them.”

PAC USE QUESTIONS. FB. “Embattled Democratic lawyer Michael Avenatti, who on Monday was arrested for an extortion plot involving Nike and was separately alleged to embezzle client money while falsifying tax returns, appears to have used a political action committee that he established to help liberal candidates as a personal slush fund, Federal Election Commission filings show.”

CA: MEMBER FINED. FB. “Fresno Unified trustee Valerie Davis has been fined $968 by the state Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to report large contributions to her 2018 campaign in the mandated timeframe.”

PA: NO COMMENT. TL. “Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli on Monday refused to comment on $1,900 in donations her campaign received from a deceased family friend implicated in a human trafficking and prostitution ring at area massage parlors.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SECURITY COSTS. VP. “The Washington State Patrol plans to nearly double the size of Gov. Jay Inslee’s travelling security detail as he runs for president. The cost would be more than $4 million over two years.”

FL: FINES CONSIDERED. FP. “To ensure the upcoming municipal races don’t get bogged down with runaway spending, St. Petersburg is considering establishing penalties for campaign finance violations.”

ID: OVERHAUL APPROVED. PR. “The bill, which was crafted by an interim legislative committee, would require candidates to file reports more often, every month on the 10th day of each month for the four months before a primary or general election. It would require candidates for local offices to report contributions or spending once they have raised or spent more than $500. And it would create a central, online database, maintained by the Idaho Secretary of State, for reporting all campaign contributions and expenditures from every level of government.”

NY: REFORM QUESTIONS. WAMC. “New York State still has sky-high campaign contribution limits, still allows unlimited donations to party and legislative leadership ‘soft money’ housekeeping accounts, still permits unfettered campaign fundraising during the legislative session, and still lacks adequate independent enforcement.”

OR: FOCUS ON REFORM. OPB. “Even without the host of local and federal protections for political spending, some question if there are persistent loopholes in the system that lead to groups like Priority Oregon.”

TX: MILLIONS IN WARCHEST. HC. “The politician with the largest campaign account in Houston and Harris County — excluding self-funded mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee — has $3.6 million on hand. That exceeds the combined sums of Houston’s incumbent mayor and the Harris County judge, and all but ensures this official would be better-funded than any challenger. He has little use for it, however, because he has been dead for three years.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

BERNIE HIRING QUESTIONS. BB. “A complaint filed against Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign for president maintains that Sanders broke federal election laws by hiring illegal aliens for his campaign staff.”

DC: SCANDAL AND HISTORY. WP. “As the D.C. Council enacted reforms to reduce public corruption, federal prosecutors were probing whether its longest-serving lawmaker, Council member Jack Evans, used his office for private gain.”

MS: VETO URGED. MS. “House Bill 1205 introduced by Rep. Jerry Turner of Baldwyn, would prohibit public agencies from requesting donor identifies from 501(c)(4) organizations and make it a crime to do so.”

NY: ACTION SOUGHT. NYP. “Progressive lawmakers called on Democratic leaders Wednesday to stop stalling on taxpayer-funded campaign financing.”

WV: TRUE REFORM. ET. “Unfortunately, West Virginia’s campaign finance laws have fallen out of step with the rest of the country. Amid increasing concerns over the influence of money on our elections, it is crucial for the public to have confidence that the men and women who seek public office are transparent when it comes to their donors and accountable for their political messaging.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.