Campaign Finance

“Texas leads country in Super PAC giving — by a wide margin” by Emily Wilkins in the Houston Chronicle.

“17 funniest super PAC names” by Politico staff.

Louisiana: “Campaign donations for Gov. Jindal, others under scrutiny” by The Associated Press in the Daily Comet.

“Can State Laws Cohabit With Citizens United?” by Lincoln Caplan in the New York Times.

Lobbying

“K Street not thrilled with Tampa” by Anna Palmer in Politico.

Ethics

“Top N.H. pol quits; lied about work” by Mackenzie Weinger in Politico.

Arizona: “Dismissal of Arizona redistricting lawsuit requested by commission” by The Associated Press in the Arizona Capitol Times.

Kansas: “Remove politics, and redistricting map falls in line” by Scott Rothschild in the Lawrence Journal World.

Kansas: “Redistricting hearings begin in Kansas City” by Andy Marso and Aly Van Dyke in the Topeka Capitol-Journal.

Missouri: “Missouri’s U.S. House and statehouse districts will remain, court rules” by Elizabeth Crisp in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

North Carolina: “N.C. group: Panel, not lawmakers, to draw districts” by the Associated Press in the Greensboro News & Record.

Texas: “Redistricting concerns remain in Texas” by Paul J. Weber in the Daily Oklahoman.

National:

Study Shows Isolation May Lead to Corrupt State Capitals

Federal:

Researchers Dig Deeper for Dirt on Political Opposition

Study: Congressional speaking levels move back a grade

From the States and Municipalities:

Florida

Appeals Court Upholds Florida’s ‘Electioneering’ Law

Georgia

Republicans Will Vote on Ethics Reform in July

Illinois

Fitzgerald Stepping Down as U.S. Attorney in Chicago

Kentucky

Gov. Steve Beshear’s Backers Given Help on Kentucky Derby Tickets

New York

New NY Rules May ID Donors to Group Backing Cuomo

North Carolina

Federal Judge Strikes Down NC Rescue Funds for Public Financing for Appellate Court Candidates

North Carolina

N.C. House Speaker’s Staffers Receive Month of Pay after Resignations

Pennsylvania

Amid Charges, Critics Call for Justice Joan Orie Melvin’s Resignation

Pennsylvania

Capitol Rallies Not Persuasive, Pennsylvania Lawmakers Say

State and Federal Communications produces a weekly summary of national news, offering more than 80 articles per week focused on ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance.

News You Can Use is a news service provided at no charge only to clients of our online Executive Source Guides, or ALERTS™ consulting clients.

The Washington Post is up with a site that tracks how money is being spent during the 2012 Presidential campaign. “Mad Money” incorporates Super PAC Data, FEC filings, and links to some of the most recent ads being released by the various campaigns to paint a comprehensive picture of political advertising.

There site has an interactive map chronicling where and on what topics campaigns are spending money. The graphic notes, “TV ad buys are typically the single largest expenditure of a presidential campaign. Using data provided by the Campaign Media Analysis Group, this graphic tracks weekly and total ad spending for the 2012 presidential race by candidate, PAC and interest group. The data is based on ads that have hit the airwaves, not total buys announced by campaigns or other groups.”

You can watch as the map tracks a weekly timeline, indicating where markets are seeing larger flows of ad traffic and increased ad spending. Mad Money also indicates which messages and topics campaigns are focusing on, including which organizations are spending money for negative campaign advertising.

While campaign finance and spending becomes more prevalent, it can be hard to track down information and see how money is being spent. Mad Money from the Washington Post helps to maintain a little transparency in the political advertising game.

Don’t forget to press play on the interactive map and see how much time and money political organizations are spending across the country. Have a good weekend.

Depending on where you live, and how much attention you pay to television advertisements for political campaigns, messages being disseminated are having varying effects. President Obama’s campaign has come out with a couple ads aimed at defining former Governor Mitt Romney’s history in the private sector, most notably his involvement with Bain Capital, a firm he co-founded.

The first round of ads have been airing across the country, mostly in battleground states like Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The second round of ads are set to air in targeted markets as well in the coming days.

Gov. Romney finally broke his silence Wednesday, during interviews and appearances on the campaign trail. In countering the ads from the Obama campaign, Gov. Romney told TIME’s Mark Halperin, “I happen to believe that having been in the private sector for twenty five years gives me a perspective on how jobs are created – that someone who’s never spent a day in the private sector, like President Obama, simply doesn’t understand.”

As far as whether or not the Bain ads are working, it’s perhaps too soon to say. A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows that a majority (53%) of respondents did not recognize or have enough information to offer an opinion about the name Bain Capital. The same poll also showed that 59% of respondents said Gov. Romney’s background was an advantage in working to reduce the federal budget deficit.

To make things more complicated, a number of prominent democrats – Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and former White House “car czar” Steve Rattner – have all levied criticism over whether or not attacking private equity is an appropriate campaign strategy.

President Obama’s campaign has stood firm; however, and the President has stated that Gov. Romney’s record at Bain is what “this campaign is going to be about.”

During a press conference at the end of the recent NATO summit in Chicago, President Obama stated, “When you’re president, as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, then your job is not simply to maximize profits. Your job is to figure out how everybody in the country has a fair shot.”

It’s clear the issue is not going away anytime soon, and will be a centerpiece of both campaigns moving forward.

Federal: “Group wants investigation of lobby shop after Owens’s Taiwan trip” by Mike Zapler in Politico.

District of Columbia: “Second Gray aide charged in campaign probe” by Tom Howell, Jr. in The Washington Times.

Missouri: “Already charged by feds, former Gov. Wilson fined by ethics cops, too” by Jake Wagman in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Pennsylvania: “Veon’s ex-aide gets house arrest” by Brad Bumsted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Nevada Assemblyman Pat Hickey has called for campaign finance, lobbying, and ethic reforms.

Assemblyman Hickey’s recommendations include expanding the reporting of lobbyists’ expenditures to include those made when the legislature is not in session, limiting political contributions to PACs, and creating a ‘cooling off’ period before an ex-legislator may become a lobbyist.

As reported in the Las Vegas Sun, the Assemblyman is also suggesting there be ‘real time’ reporting of political contributions.

Assemblyman Hickey made these recommendations at a news conference and has not yet requested a draft bill for these proposed changes. The Nevada Legislature currently is not in session and not scheduled to meet again until 2013.

More information from the Las Vegas Sun can be found here and here.

Photo of Assemblyman Pat Hickey courtesy of the Nevada Legislature Website.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill today that will push back the state’s primary by two days, to September 13, 2012. The primary is traditionally scheduled for the second Tuesday after Labor Day, but this year that day is September 11.

Out of respect for those that attend annual September 11 memorials, the state decided to change the date of the primary. The state also moved the primary back two days in 2007 for the same reason.

The delayed primary date will push back all pre and post-primary report due dates by two days as well.

Campaign Finance

“How Citizens United Is Affecting Campaigns” by Stuart Rothenberg in Roll Call.

Massachusetts: “Mass. towns push against Citizens United” by The Associated Press in the Boston Globe.

Nevada: “Assembly GOP leader calls for campaign transparency” by Ed Vogel in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Nevada: “Attempt to amend campaign finance not a new concept, but will it work this time?” by David McGrath Schwartz in the Las Vegas Sun.

Lobbying

“White House visitor logs provide window into lobbying industry” by T.W. Farnam in The Washington Post.

“To get a voice in Tallahassee, local governments spend millions on lobbyists” by Tia Mitchell in The Miami Herald.

Alabama: “Redistricting bill stalls in Senate” by Sebastian Kitchen and Brian Lyman in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Alaska: “Haines Borough challenges latest redistricting plan” by Becky Bohrer in the Anchorage Daily News.

Arizona: “Ariz. redistricting headed to two courts” by Howard Fischer in the Arizona Daily Sun.

California: “In Calif. redistricting experiment, how much better off will Democrats be?” by Tom Curry on MSNBC.com.

Kansas:  “Court allows lawmakers, voters to intervene in redistricting suit” by John Hanna of the Associated Press and Brent D. Wistrom of the Eagle Topeka bureau in the Kansas City Star.

House District 28 is vacant following the resignation of Michael Harden.

The Secretary of State’s office has notified local officials to inform them there will not be a special election because the House is not in session.

The seat will be an open one on the ballot for the July 31st primary and for the November 6th general election.

The United States Chamber of Commerce is streaming the sessions today live from their Small Business Summit on their Facebook page starting at 9 a.m. EDT.

Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State and Federal Communications, is attending the summit, which runs from May 21-23 in Washington D.C.

Guest speakers at the event include social media guru Gary Vaynerchuk, political consultant James “The Ragin’ Cajun” Carville, and author, television and radio host Mary Matalin.

Streaming live video by Ustream

Don’t miss your chance to attend the online event!

“NY, 21 states join campaign finance fight” by Matt Gouras (Associated Press) in Newsday.

“Rules of the Game: Advocacy Groups Face New Ad Rules” by Eliza Newlin Carney in Roll Call.

“Feds probe donations to Ohio candidates” by Josh Lederman in The Hill.

“City lobbyists ready for action in Raleigh” by Patrick Gannon in the Star News.

Republican voters will answer whether they want to limit how much lobbyists spend on state lawmakers. State Senator Josh McKoon said party officials have agreed to include the non-binding advisory question on the July 31st primary ballot.

Senator McKoon filed legislation earlier this year that would have set a $100 cap on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and set a limit of $750 for travel, meals, and accommodations for conferences and speaking engagements for legislators. While the bill did not have much support among lawmakers, the ballot question is a chance to survey voter opinion of the issue.