6.19.20 political law links

THREE OPINIONS APPROVED. FEC. “The Commission met by teleconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has closed the FEC’s offices to visitors and put most staff members on telework status.”

PAC LAUNCH. REU. “Republicans who worked for U.S. Presidents Donald Trump and George W. Bush have formed a Super PAC to support Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in November, the latest group launched by members of Trump’s own party who will work to see him defeated.”

GA: SHERIFF FINED. AJC. “According to the order adopted Thursday by the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, Warren misused campaign funds, failed to disclose in-kind contributions and had Sheriff’s Office staff working on his reelection campaign during county business hours.”

MI: WARNING ISSUED. WHMI. “A candidate for the Livingston County Board of Commissioners has received a formal warning from state election officials following a campaign finance complaint.”

NV: THE BASICS. LVS. “The laws discussed here apply to campaigns for state office only, including the Legislature, executive branch offices, judicial offices and local offices. Federal campaigns, even those for offices representing Nevada, such as U.S. senator or U.S. representative, are governed by federal campaign laws.”


JAPAN: MINISTER AND WIFE ARRESTED. NIK. “Katsuyuki, a 57-year-old member of the lower house, is suspected of having bribed local assembly members who helped with his wife’s successful campaign for an upper house seat in July. Prosecutors allege that Katsuyuki handed out a total of 25 million yen ($234,000) in cash to around 100 people, mostly local mayors and assembly members in her district, potentially violating campaign finance law.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

6.15 political law links

FEC SETS MEETING. AGENDA.

LOBBYIST REGISTRATIONS. POL. “Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has registered for the first time as a federal lobbyist.”

TAKING FIRE. ETR. “[A] winery and vineyard recently came under fire on Twitter and in the restaurant’s Instagram comments after the American Association of Wine Economists tweeted an infographic depicting the wine industry’s donations to presidential campaigns — Grace Evenstad, who owns Domaine Serene along with her husband Ken, donated $50,000 to the Great America PAC, which supported Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016.”

WHERE DONATIONS GO. FC. “Social media posts falsely claim donations made on the Black Lives Matter website go ‘directly’ to the Democratic party, because the group uses ActBlue Charities — an online fundraising platform. Donations go to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. The funds first pass through a nonprofit that sponsors the group.”

AZ: LOBBYING ISSUE. TUC. “A report released Friday by the House Ethics Committee accuses state Rep. David Cook of having an undisclosed relationship with a lobbyist, one that the investigators said was romantic.”

CO: CORRECTED COMPLAINT. SD. “A campaign finance complaint filed earlier this week against Colorado Senate District 8 Democratic candidate Karl Hanlon should be cleared up by the next filing deadline on Monday, he said.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

6.9.20 political law links

CA: FACING FINE. TS. “Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez’s long legal battle over a single vote regarding the County’s ban on marijuana sales could be over next week.”

MT: NO HEARING. BDC. “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case that challenged Montana’s law on disclosing the spending for political ads within 60 days of an election.”

NJ: PLEDGE ON FUNDS. TIN. “Over the last three years, campaign spending has gotten out of control and numerous campaign finance concerns have surfaced at Town Council meetings.”

OH: ISSUE 1 SPENDING. TB. “Organizers of the campaign for a temporary income tax to fix Toledo streets spent thousands on their cause only to have it voted down at the ballot box, new election finance disclosures show.”

TN: REPORTING DROP. TNN. “The Tennessee state House on Monday approved a measure that would claw back campaign finance disclosures during election years.”

WA: $80,000 ORDER. EIN. “Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that a Thurston County Superior Court judge ordered the Freedom Foundation to pay $80,000 over its campaign finance violations. This recovery will go into the state Public Disclosure Transparency Account, which funds enforcement of campaign finance laws.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.