5.3 political law links

RAVES FOR OPINION.   WE.  “Ho pointed out that contribution limits prohibit the exercise of protected First Amendment rights to support candidates and voice political views even when there is no corruption whatsoever. Adding a badly needed dose of realism, Ho wrote, ‘Countless Americans contribute for no other reason than to support candidates who share their beliefs and interests … without any inkling of a quid pro quo agreement. Indeed, many Americans contribute without ever even communicating with the candidate. … A donor might simply be inspired by the candidate’s prior record of public service, proposed future action, or a particular speech or debate performance. Such contributions are far from corrupt.'”

CA:  FORMER LOBBYIST SENTENCED.  SDUT.  “A former San Diego City Hall lobbyist who admitted funneling campaign contributions from a Mexican tycoon to candidates in the 2012 mayor’s race was sentenced to four months in prison Monday.”

MO:  GIFT BAN UPDATE.   CM.  “The legislation, which has already passed the Senate and was approved by a House committee Tuesday, includes a complete ban on all meals, tickets and other perks from lobbyists. It also includes a new form of term limits, but with a twist: Any lawmaker who was elected before Dec. 6, 2018, would be allowed to return to the Capitol for an additional 16 years.”

MO:  GREITENS UPDATE.  PA.  “A new report released today by a Missouri House investigative committee alleges Gov. Eric Greitens lied about campaign filings and violated campaign finance law when he used a charitable donor list to raise money for his run for governor.”

MT:  DECISION SLAMMED.  SFC.  “Five conservative judges on the federal appeals court in San Francisco accused the court Wednesday of flouting U.S. Supreme Court protections for economic free speech by upholding a state’s limits on political contributions. The case involved a Montana law, but the judges were inviting a new ruling by the high court that might also apply to campaign finance limits in California.”

NC:  FACING A FINE.   HS.  “Durham County sheriff candidate Clarence Birkhead faces fines of $50 a day until he turns in his campaign finance report that was due at 5 p.m. Monday.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.  

5.1.18 political law links

READINGS ON CORRUPTION.   NYT.  “As a corruption investigation into President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is underway, here are three books that delve into the history and consequences of political misconduct in the United States.”

PHILANTHROPY AND INFLUENCE.  HLS.  “In our own research, we have documented that—in an ironic twist—companies’ philanthropic efforts may serve at least in part to influence legislators, presumably to obtain laws and regulations that will serve shareholder interests, rather than the interest of the public.”

FEC ANNIVERSARY.   CPI.  “Vice Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub’s six-year term expired 11 years ago, when George W. Bush occupied the White House, the ‘Great Recession’ had yet to occur and the most momentous campaign finance decision of the century, Citizens United v. FEC, was still two-and-a-half years hence.”

DIAMOND AND SILK AND THE FEC.  WP.  “During that testimony, though, the two were asked if they had ever been paid by President Trump’s 2016 campaign, which they denied. In short order, it was determined that they had received money from the campaign, as listed in campaign filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission.”

CA: FPPC REFORM.  LAT.  “Hatch and Hayward, who were appointed by Secretary of State Alex Padilla and state Controller Betty Yee respectively, proposed the change based on their feeling that they have been left out of too many decisions — including on the agency’s budget — made by Remke.”  Watch the meeting here.

MD:  RAFFLE IN THE NEWS.   CG.  “One candidate is raffling off a shotgun, another has spent thousands in consulting fees while raising little money and another put together more than $80,000 contributions in about three months.”

NY:  GRAFT TRACKER.   NYT.  “What no one knew at the time was that this two-bit bootlegging run was the tip of a criminal scheme that within three years would be used as evidence in an unimaginably larger case, a federal corruption investigation that would ultimately reach deep into New York City’s highest offices of power.”

PA:  TIME FOR REFORM.   DT.  “Late last month, Gov. Tom Wolf, joined by his Democratic allies in the state House and Senate, rolled out a comprehensive suite of reforms aimed at restoring public trust in the electoral process and to limit the influence of special interests in state politics.”

TX:  TEC SUED.   EL.  “The THSC lawsuit says the Ethics Commission reinterpreted state law in the last year or so.  Under the new interpretation THSC is treated like a political action committee even though only 9 percent of its expenditures would be considered political in nature.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

3.28.18 political law links

CA: FUNDS DONATED.  SDUT.   “County Board of Supervisors candidate Bonnie Dumanis has given $15,000 to a community safety fund over the past three years and is offering receipts from the charitable donations as evidence that she has unloaded any tainted money from a federal campaign-finance case.”

CA:  FAMILY SUPPORT.  MB.  “Eleni Kounalakis’ bid to become California lieutenant governor has received a $2.02 million boost from a familiar face: Angelo Tsakopoulos, her father.”

MD:  PROTECTING INCUMBENTS.   BS.  “By imposing low limits on campaign contributions, legislators can force their opponents to spend more time fundraising instead of speaking with voters. Unfortunately, a new index developed at the Institute for Free Speech has just named Maryland one of the five worst states in the nation at protecting political giving freedom. In these states, challengers and political newcomers struggle to get their message out.”

PA:  REFORMS UNVEILED.   TO.  “Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday introduced what he described as a 21st century voting reform plan for Pennsylvania that includes an independent commission to draw electoral maps, same-day voter registration and campaign finance reform.”

WA:  REFORM COMMITTEE MEETS.  SR.  “Overall, the measure requires more frequent and more detailed campaign finance reporting, extends reporting requirements to local elections, and requires entities doing independent campaign expenditures and out-of-state entities donating large sums to Idaho PACs or candidates to identify the source of the money.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.