[Political Activity Law]

CORPORATE DISCLOSURE ISSUES. HLS. “A new bill that has been introduced in the House, H.R. 1053, would direct the SEC to issue regs to require public companies to disclose political expenditures in their annual reports and on their websites.”

CO: REFORM SOUGHT. DC. “Colorado should give power back to the people by passing comprehensive campaign finance reform.”

MN: EYE ON LOOPHOLE. MP. “The chairman of the Minnesota House State Government Committee wants to close a loophole in state campaign finance disclosure laws that makes it difficult to track the role of statewide political committees in Minneapolis elections.”

NV: LAW CALLED WEAK. RJ. “The sudden downfall of Nevada Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson has shined a powerful spotlight on weaknesses in the state’s campaign finance law …”

OR: REFORM ON BALLOT. KATU. “Months after a governor’s race that shattered state fundraising records, Oregon lawmakers want to rein in rampant spending from large donors and political action committees.”

OR: CAMPAIGN SPENDING EXAMINED. OL. “Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach, illustrates what lawmakers are able to buy with campaign money in Oregon. She spent thousands of dollars of it on auto repairs, dry cleaning and more.”

SC: NEED TO KNOW CLAIMED. PC. “There are constitutionally sound reasons to defend that kind of spending to an extent — the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that political contributions are a form of speech, and political speech, including anonymous speech, is heavily protected.”

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20 PROBLEM. POL. “Democratic presidential candidates have a money problem: They need to raise a ton of it while simultaneously proving their distance from big donors — and most candidates can’t do both at once.”

POST-SERVICE SPENDING. RC. “As the Senate prepares to face off in the coming weeks over House Democrats’ sweeping political ethics overhaul bill, a provision aimed to curtail so-called ‘Zombie’ campaign spending is getting renewed attention.”

SPENDING SPOTLIGHT. TBT. “Another complaint about a former Florida congressman misusing campaign money has hit the desk of the Federal Election Commission.”

CA: MORE REPORTING. ML. “A new bill introduced in California by Assemblyman James Gallagher, R – Yuba City, would increase transparency into campaign finance records at the local level by requiring local election officials to post campaign finance records online within 48 hours of filing deadlines.  Currently, roughly 70 percent of California cities require residents to review such information in-person at a government office.”

ETHICS FEAR. BL. “Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta’s tweets praising President Donald Trump have raised concerns inside the department about whether Acosta is violating a federal law that limits federal employees’ political activities, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg Law.”

KY: MONEY RACE. CJ. “Democrat Adam Edelen appears poised to benefit from a new super PAC, started by a supporter of his race for Kentucky governor.”

NM: BILL BLAST. AJ. “The controversial amendment creating the ‘legislative caucus committee’ as a political committee under New Mexico law surfaced in House Judiciary Committee on March 2, and was approved by a vote of 7 to 2.”

OH: VIEW ON DISCLOSURE. CLE. “These campaign finance reports should be searchable and available on your county board of elections and the Ohio Secretary of State websites. That’s why I’m supporting new legislation being introduced this week by state Sen. Michael Rulli that will allow local candidates for office to finally submit their campaign finance reports online.”

WV: VETO URGED. GM. “Gov. Jim Justice has yet to sign the bill, and he shouldn’t. There’s no sound reason for increasing the amount of influence a person or group can have over a politician by enabling them to spend even more on a campaign. That goes doubly for PACs, where donors aren’t always disclosed.”

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FEC FINE. POL. “The Federal Election Commission on Monday doled out $940,000 in fines to the super PAC that backed Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential bid and a Chinese-owned corporation that made illegal donations to it.”

FARA INITIATIVE. IPL. “Speaking at an annual American Bar Association white collar lawyers conference, Demers told the assembled defense bar that DOJ has shifted from treating FARA as an ‘administrative obligation and regulatory obligation to one that is increasingly an enforcement priority.'”

STATE OF LOBBYING. WASH. “Trump’s arrival in the White House has had a profound impact on the way K Street operates, according to interviews with more than 30 lobbyists, consultants, former administration officials, and others. In prior years, lobbyists and consultants felt compelled to work officials in all corners of the federal bureaucracy when trying to shape policy. But now, with decision-making consolidated inside the Oval Office, they’ve had to rewrite their playbook.”

MO: FIXES MADE. MLN. “Columbia mayoral candidate Chris Kelly has amended his most recent campaign finance report after his opponent, incumbent Mayor Brian Treece, accused him Tuesday morning of accepting an illegal campaign donation.”

NJ: DON’T THREATEN SPEECH. NJ. “When policy harms the people, our democracy relies on civic and advocacy organizations to mobilize and hold government accountable. Unfortunately, a bill in the New Jersey Legislature threatens to upend that fundamental check on power and silence many of the voices that speak truth by interfering with privacy and exposing personal information.”

TX: LAWSUIT FILED. NBC. “The Texas Ethics Commission is throwing the book at two people — a former member of the Texas House of Representatives and a man who wanted to be a member of the House.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.