12.18 political law links

FALLOUT FOR IRS. WP. “Years of conservative attacks on the Internal Revenue Service have greatly diminished the ability of agency regulators to oversee political activity by charities and other nonprofits, documents and interviews show.”

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST BLOOM. LZ. “Lisa Bloom’s efforts to arrange undisclosed compensation during the 2016 presidential campaign for women accusing President Donald Trump of sexual harassment may raise a host of troubling legal ethics and election law worries for the California celebrity lawyer.”

DISCLAIMERS APPROVED. USAT. “Federal election regulators told a political group Thursday that its Facebook ads must include disclaimers showing who paid for them, wading into the debate on social-media advertising as the government grapples with revelations about Russian use of the platforms in last year’s election.”

CA: THEFT CHARGES. MN. “In a case described as ‘textbook corruption,’ longtime Franklin-McKinley School District schools trustee John Lindner has been charged with stealing nearly $30,000 in bond campaign funds that prosecutors say he spent on travel and personal expenses.”

NJ: EXPENSIVE RACE. PAC. “The Election Law Enforcement Commission says last month’s race for governor was the second most expensive in New Jersey history. That sounds shocking at first, but looking at the details, it makes sense and suggests a couple of beneficial campaign finance reforms.”

SC: LOBBYING IN THE CITIES. PC. “South Carolina’s lobbying laws only apply to lobbyists in state government. It’s up to cities, towns and counties to create their own systems to regulate lobbyists, if they see a need. So far, Columbia is one of the only cities that has done so.”

WA: AD QUESTIONS. TCH. “The failed campaign for The Link is drawing complaints from a former Kennewick mayor and a Pasco political activist.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

12.14 political law links

WHAT JONES SPENT.  NW.  “Doug Jones became the first Democrat to win an Alabama Senate campaign in 25 years Tuesday night. The contest was incredibly tight, with polls predicting a close race, however, Jones was able to pull ahead at least partially due to his nearly $12 million in campaign funding.”

ADS UPDATE.   USAT.  “Political advertisements on Facebook would have to include disclosures showing who paid for them, under two draft legal opinions the nation’s federal election regulators are scheduled to take up this week.”

MILLENIAL DONORS.  CE.  “We are in the middle of a small-dollar donor crisis. Right now, campaigns are seeing more online donations than ever before. The money is great, but here’s the problem: The vast majority of online donors are over the age of 60. As a result, it’s safe to say the donor population is finite and aging.”

AIDE LANDS.   WE.  “The National Biodiesel Board announced Monday that Kurt Kovarik, a legislative director for Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, will join the group in the new year as vice president of federal affairs — that is, the top lobbyist.”

CA:  FINE AGREEMENT.   UD.  “Assemblyman Frank Bigelow, R-O’Neals, has agreed to pay a $2,000 fine in a settlement with the California Fair Political Practices Commission over a campaign finance violation that occurred during his 2016 campaign.”

CO:  GROUPS FILES CHALLENGE.   DP.  “Two conservative taxpayer advocacy groups filed suit Wednesday against Denver over campaign finance disclosure rules that they say will violate the privacy rights of their donors when the groups get involved in city elections.”

GA:  WAIVER ISSUED.   AJC.  “State Rep. Betty Price was granted a waiver from a $125 ethics fee by making a unique argument: that having her name placed on a public ethics commission list of officials who were late filing required campaign or financial reports was a political ‘hardship.'”

NM:  MEASURE WITHDRAWN.  SFNM.  “A controversial proposal that would have altered the city’s campaign code, removing a disclosure requirement for people and groups spending money on advertisements for ballot initiatives in municipal elections, is no more.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

12.13 political law links

TOMORROW AT THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION. The agenda for tomorrow’s meeting is here.

GUIDE UPDATE. Steven Sholk sends word that the updated version (large PDF) of his important article, “A Guide to Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations,” has been published by Practising Law Institute as part of the course materials for the seminar, “Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings & Restructurings 2017.”

FAMILIAL LOBBYING. FB. “A Pennsylvania Democrat running for Congress failed to note while he criticized the involvement of corporate lobbyists in crafting the Republican tax reform bill that his father is a top lobbyist for PNC Financial Services Group, which lobbied both the House and Senate on tax reform.”

MD: FUND SMALL. MR. “There is enough money in the state public campaign fund for one candidate and one election in the 2018 gubernatorial election, according to the state campaign finance director.”

NJ: UPENDING THE LAW. OBS. “On Nov. 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that limits on individual contributions to candidates for a single election are constitutional.”

OR: OVERSEEING PUBLIC FINANCE. WW. “City Commissioner Amanda Fritz is poised to oversee the city’s public campaign finance program.”

WI: ETHICS CLASH. JSO. “The leaders of the state Ethics Commission from both parties asked Attorney General Brad Schimel on Tuesday to acknowledge they had fully cooperated with a leak investigation, but Schimel quickly declined to do so.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.