[Political Activity Law]

THEFT SUSPECTED. WKYC. “The re-election committee for an Ohio Republican congressman told the Federal Election Commission it suspects the campaign’s former treasurer stole tens of thousands of dollars from the campaign’s bank account, according to a published report.”

D PUNT. HILL. “The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has punted on a resolution that would have created a task force to reduce the role of corporate PACs in party fundraising.”

CA: POWER SOUGHT. LAT. “California’s campaign watchdog agency is sounding an alarm that local prosecutors have failed to file charges in dozens of cases where officials have allegedly used public funds for political purposes.”

LA: CHILD CARE OK. WAFB. “The state ethics board voted 6 to 4 Friday to allow candidates for public office to use campaign money to pay for childcare while they are out soliciting votes.”

MD: REFORMER CLASH. WTOP. “At issue is a resolution sponsored by Sen. Paul G Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) that would enable Maryland to call on Congress to establish a constitutional convention to set campaign contribution limits in the country. Five other states have already called for a constitutional convention on campaign finance laws; two-thirds are needed for Congress to act.”

MI: LAW STING. DN. “A group that actively campaigned for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has gotten its hand slapped and must now pay a fine for its clear violations of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. That law exists for a reason, and the state must do more to ensure it’s getting enforced.”

SD: LOW TECH DISCLOSURE. RCJ. “Analyzing campaign finance data in South Dakota is a laborious process because of a low-tech disclosure system.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

CONTRIBUTION QUESTION. TPM. “A super PAC closely linked to Paul Manafort is facing FEC scrutiny over why it failed to report a $1 million contribution received just before the 2016 presidential election.”

GROUP LAUNCH. OS. “One new group that stands to play a key part in that conversation is Energy 45 Fund, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization founded by outgoing senior Trump administration adviser Mandy Gunasekara ‘to promote the Trump energy agenda’ following her resignation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”

CT: THEFT CHARGED. LMT. “The legal counsel for Senate Republicans, who previously admitted to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a political action committee he oversaw, was arrested Wednesday.”

ID: HEARING SET. IP. “Two bills to beef up Idaho’s campaign finance reporting laws were introduced without dissent in a Senate committee on Wednesday, and Sen. Patti Anne Lodge said the changes are needed.”

MT: MONEY PLEA. MISS. “We ask our fellow Montana citizens and Montana legislators to support House Resolution 2, a bipartisan resolution of Montana’s House of Representatives, urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to overturn the 2010 ‘Citizens United’ decision of the U.S. Supreme Court and restore our right to control money and corporations in politics.”

NY: REFORM FOR DA’S. GG. “District attorneys wield nearly unfettered discretion as to whether to prosecute potential defendants, but nothing in the law prevents lawyers for the accused from donating to a district attorney’s election campaign.”

TN: BILL OVERVIEW. TENN. “This year there are efforts underway to increase contribution limits while placing new restrictions on the only group that puts a check on lawmakers.”

WY: TALKING REFORM. SM. “Wyoming Promise is an organization that believes campaign finance reform is needed in order to make elections free and fair. A bill that they support has made its way through the Wyoming House and has been introduced and referred to committee in the Senate.”

---

UK: BEHIND BREXIT. GUA. “We still don’t know the origins of much of the money spent by the leave campaigns.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

CA: LOWER LIMIT. DJ. “The Half Moon Bay City Council agreed to lower campaign contributions to align the city’s rules with those of other cities of comparable size and to encourage grassroots campaigning.”

KS: REPORTS REQUIRED. LJW. “After what Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew called a misunderstanding, a local coalition of faith-based organizations is on track to file a report detailing how much they spent to campaign against a county sales tax proposal.”

LA: FUNDS FOR CHILD CARE. TNT. “The Louisiana Ethics Board is set to reconsider whether candidates for public office can use campaign funds for campaign-related child care.”

NY: PROBE SOUGHT. BN. “The Erie County Board of Elections has asked Albany authorities to investigate “potential campaign finance violations” by the committee supporting Democrat Shaqurah Zachery’s unsuccessful campaign for the State Senate in 2018.”

TN: EXPENSES QUESTIONED. TNN. “It is illegal to use campaign funds for personal purposes and lawmakers are not allowed to spend campaign money on purchases for themselves when they receive allowances.”

VA: WHERE SHOULD DONATIONS GO? VF. “The Republican Party of Virginia is calling on a number of Democrats to use PAC money raised by Gov. Ralph Northam to give it back as ‘reconciliation.'”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.