[Political Activity Law]

PAY TO PLAY SETTLEMENT.   PIO.  “According to the SEC, a Sofinnova employee made a $2,500 campaign contribution to Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner in April 2014. Mr. Rauner won that election and in the position of governor has the ability to influence the selection of money managers for the $54.1 billion Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, Springfield.”  More from the SEC here (PDF).

ELECTION LAW NEWS.   WILEY.  “Developments in all aspects of political law” promised and delivered in the July 2018 edition.

CHANGE ON NON-PROFITS.  VP.  “Monday’s announcement by the Treasury Department that it will no longer collect information about donors to some political non-profits was met with applause from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, perhaps the leading advocate for unrestricted campaign donations, even as it ignited a campaign finance fight in the middle of the 2018 midterm election.”

CA:  STATE WON’T PURSUE.   VOC.  “California’s political ethics enforcement agency won’t pursue enforcement action over OC Supervisor Andrew Do’s taxpayer-funded mailers during his 2016 re-election campaign, saying they mostly did not violate California’s main campaign ethics law at the time.”

CT:  PUBLIC FINANCING AWARD.   MH.  “Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Obsitnik (ob-SIT-nik) has finally received public campaign financing for the Aug. 14 primary.”

ID:  REFORM CONSIDERED.   BPR.  “After never getting a floor vote earlier this year, state lawmakers looking to overhaul Idaho’s campaign finance law could return to the capitol next year with several bills in hand.”

MA:  CHILD CARE UPDATE.   ML.  “Massachusetts lawmakers did not include a provision in the final state budget bill that would have allowed state candidates to use their campaign funds for childcare.”

MO:  CHANGES EXPLAINED.   SD.  “On Nov. 8, 2016, Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment 2. Among its provisions, according to the Missouri Ethics Committee, the amendment imposes campaign contribution limits on certain candidates for state office including statewide, legislative and judicial offices.”

NY:  TINY DONATIONS.   NYP.  “A donor with ties to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign gave small-dollar contributions to the two-term incumbent almost six dozen times, as the longtime pol faces continued criticism for his reliance on big-dollar donors.”

NY:  GUILTY AGAIN.   NYT.  “Dean G. Skelos, once one of the most powerful figures in New York State politics, was found guilty of bribery, extortion and conspiracy on Tuesday, the latest in a drumbeat of corruption convictions to roil Albany in a heated election year.”

TX:  TEC ELECTION.   CDS.  “The Texas Ethics Commission re-elected Steven Wolens, formerly of Corsicana and a principal at law firm of McKool Smith June 28.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

FEC ENFORCEMENT UPDATE.   COV.  “In a newly published client alert, Covington provides an overview of recent FEC enforcement trends and identifies areas of active enforcement at the four-member Commission.”

CT:  WELL FUNDED.   COU.  “If a wealthy, self-funded shoreline businessman does not become Connecticut’s next governor, it won’t be for lack of spending money.”

KY:  FACING SCRUTINY.   HS.  “When Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear’s top deputy was busted for using kickbacks and bribes for political donations, Beshear vowed to donate all of the tainted money from his 2015 campaign account to charity.  That was two years ago.”

ME:  CAMPAIGN FINANCE TYPO.   IVN.  “Maine State Treasurer and independent gubernatorial candidate Terry Hayes was joined by state representatives, former legislators, and others Monday to call on lawmakers to pass the error and omissions bill needed to restore Clean Elections funding for the 2018 election cycle.”

MO:  DENIALS.   KCS.  “Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff denies allegations in a newly filed ethics complaint that he violated Missouri campaign finance laws while helping to run former Gov. Eric Greitens’ 2016 campaign.”

NH:  DEFICIENT.   NHPR.  “For the first time ever, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office is auditing all state-level fundraising reports to make sure they’re filed on time and include all the right information.”

NY:  SIGN ISSUES.  PC.  “A leader of a group that regularly protests against U.S. Rep. Tom Reed has been charged with petit larceny after being accused of stealing campaign signs.”

WY:  FINDING FAULT.   WYO.  “Wyoming was the last state in the nation to require candidates to report on campaign contributions before election day.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

DISCLOSE ACT AGAIN.   FS.  “Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tom Udall (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to Senate Rules Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO) to call for a hearing on the DISCLOSE Act, legislation to shine a light on unlimited secret spending in American elections.”

MAPLIGHT NEWS.   MP. “MapLight is excited to welcome former Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chair Ann Ravel to our staff as a full-time Senior Fellow to tackle the threat that deceptive digital politics presents to a transparent, equitable, and accountable democracy.”

IN:  BAN APPROVED.   JG.  “As approved Tuesday night, the ordinance prohibits ‘business entities’ from bidding on city contracts if any officer, partner or principal with more than a 10 percent ownership share in the entity and subsidiaries controlled by it contributes more than $2,000 a year to a political campaign of someone with ultimate responsibility for awarding city contracts.”

ME:  DELAY SUIT.   WABI.  “Several publicly financed candidates and an advocacy group are suing Republican Gov. Paul LePage and his finance chief for withholding money sitting in Maine’s public campaign fund.”

NC:  MONEY TRACKER.   SFC.  “A North Carolina television station has tracked down who’s responsible for a series of ads by dark-money groups attacking state Republicans online and on TV.”

TX:  DEADLINE MISSED.   TT.  “Jonathan Jenkins, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas whose unconventional campaign has drawn Republican objections, has missed the deadline to submit the signatures needed to appear on the November ballot.”

TX:  CONSULTANT FINED.   MS.  “The Texas Ethics Commission has fined a Travis County political consultant who the commission says created a deceptive website to attack a candidate running last year to be chairman of the Travis County Democratic Party, according to a recent ruling.”

HAVE A GREAT 4TH OF JULY.   I’ll send around the next set of links early next week.  Have a great 4th!