Campaign Finance

Pennsylvania: “Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner Settles Campaign-Finance Violation” by Andrew Seidman for Philadelphia Inquirer

Ethics

National: “‘Not in Compliance’: Wilbur Ross, the Trump official who keeps watchdogs up at night” by Carrie Levine and Peter Overby for Center for Public Integrity

National: “Federal Grand Jury Issued Subpoena for Documents Relating to D.C. Council Member Jack Evans” by Steve Thompson for Washington Post

Maryland: “Maryland Delegate Says She Won’t Resign after House Censures Her for ‘Racist and Hateful Slur’” by Luke Broadwater and Pamela Wood (Baltimore Sun) for MSN

South Carolina: “Panel Punts Vote on Controversial SC Nominee, Setting Up Battle on Senate Floor” by Bristow Marchant for The State

Texas: “‘Sense of Despair’ as Former Dallas City Council Member Pleads Guilty in Feds’ Case That Implicates Prominent Developer” by Robert Wilonsky for Dallas News

Legislative Issues

North Carolina: “Why a Judge Ruled That the Entire North Carolina Legislature Is Illegitimate” by Alan Greenblatt for Governing

Lobbying

New Mexico: “Former Public Servants Lobby Ex-Colleagues” by Dan McKay for Albuquerque Journal

Campaign Finance

Idaho: “Sunshine Bill on Electioneering Stalls in Committee, Amid Nonprofits’ Concerns Over ‘Donor Privacy’” by Savannah Cardon for Idaho Press

Rhode Island: “Ex-GOP Candidate for Congress in R.I. Charged in Fraud” by Patrick Anderson for Providence Journal

Elections

National: “U.S. Cyber Command Operation Disrupted Internet Access of Russian Troll Factory on Day of 2018 Midterms” by Ellen Nakashima (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

Maryland: “Md. Lawmaker Apologizes for Allegedly Using N-Word with Her Colleagues” by Ovetta Wiggins for Washington Post

Legislative Issues

California: “California Lawmakers and Lobbyists Hustle to Write Hundreds of Bills, Many Not Fully Cooked” by John Myers (Los Angeles Times) for San Diego Union Tribune

Lobbying

Kentucky: “Kentucky Senate OKs Bill to Reveal Executive Branch Lobbying” by The Associated Press for Miami Herald

Michigan: “Lobbyist Spending Topped the Charts in Michigan Last Year, Reports Show” by Carol Thompson for Lansing State Journal

Campaign Finance

Pennsylvania: “How Philly’s Electricians Union and Johnny Doc Converted Payroll Deductions into Political Influence” by Chris Brennan and Dylan Purcell for Philadelphia Inquirer

Elections

National: “Russian Spy or Hustling Political Operative? The Enigmatic Figure at the Heart of Mueller’s Inquiry” by Kenneth Vogel and Andrew Kramer (New York Times) for MSN

Ethics

Arkansas: “Arkansas Grapples with Ethics Cleanup Amid Federal Probes” by Andrew DeMillo (Associated Press) for 4029tv

Ohio: “Even After FBI Probe of Ohio Speaker, Tracking Lawmakers’ Travel Remains Challenging” by Jessie Balmert for Cincinnati Enquirer

Legislative Issues

Illinois: “At Chicago City Hall, the Legislative Branch Rarely Does Much Legislating” by Mick Dumke for ProPublica

Oregon: “2 Oregon Lawmakers Demoted for Rude Behavior” by Sarah Zimmerman (Associated Press) for Portland Oregonian

Lobbying

California: “The Political Playbook of a Bankrupt California Utility” by Thomas Fuller and Ivan Penn (New York Times) for MSN

Louisiana: “Louisiana Cap on Legislative Wining and Dining Grows to $62” by The Associated Press for Tacoma News Tribune

National:

The Growing Need for Opposition Research – on Yourself – in Today’s Political World
Governing – Alan Greenblatt | Published: 2/15/2019

The series of recent scandals in Virginia was kicked off by the emergence of a 35-year-old yearbook page from Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school days. In September, members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee grilled then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh about entries in his high school yearbook and the calendar he kept as a student. Now reporters all over the country are scouring old yearbooks, looking for more examples of racist or otherwise disturbing images or language from the past of politicians. All this suggests that opposition research – as well as self-research, which refers to candidates hiring investigators to look into their own closets – will be a growing field in the years ahead.

Federal:

Elections Commission Chief Uses the ‘Nuclear Option’ to Rescue the Agency from Gridlock
Mother Jones – Nihal Krishan | Published: 2/20/2019

Ellen Weintraub, who has been on the FEC since 2002 and became chairperson in January, has become increasingly frustrated by the agency’s lack of enforcement, which has led to less disclosure, less transparency, and more “dark money” within the campaign finance system. Weintraub now says she will not allow FEC lawyers to defend the government when the commission has been sued for not enforcing the law. This drastic step, which one former FEC lawyer called the “nuclear option,” is effectively an effort to sabotage her own agency in order to enforce the law and create more campaign finance disclosure.

Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s two-year war on the investigations encircling him
MSN – Mark Mazzetti, Maggie Haberman, Nicholas Fandos, and Michael Schmidt (New York Times) | Published: 2/19/2019

President Trump’s public war on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has gone on long enough that it is no longer shocking. Trump rages almost daily to his 58 million Twitter followers that Muller is on a “witch hunt.” The president’s lawyer talks openly about a strategy to smear and discredit the special counsel investigation. Trump’s allies in Congress and the conservative media warn of an insidious plot inside the Justice Department and the FBI to subvert a democratically elected president. An examination by The New York Times reveals the extent of an even more sustained, more secretive assault by Trump on the machinery of federal law enforcement. Interviews with current and former government officials and others close to Trump, as well as a review of confidential White House documents, reveal numerous unreported episodes in a two-year drama.

From the States and Municipalities:

California: L.A. Ethics Commission Backs New Restrictions on Developer Donations
Los Angeles Times – Emily Alpert Reyes and David Zahniser | Published: 2/19/2019

Faced with complaints about a “pay-to-play” culture at City Hall, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission backed new restrictions on political donations from real estate developers seeking city approval for their building plans. The proposed ban would cover a broad array of people “substantially involved” in a proposed development project, including real estate executives, architects, engineers, and others. Such donors would also be barred from fundraising or gathering political donations for city officials. The commission also backed new restrictions on “behested payments” – donations solicited by politicians for charitable or governmental causes.

California: Nation’s First All-LGBTQ City Council Tests Modern Meaning of Diversity
San Francisco Chronicle – Scott Wilson (Washington Post) | Published: 2/18/2019

Palm Springs achieved a measure of fame a little more than a year ago when voters elected the nation’s first city council consisting entirely of members of the LGBTQ community. The gay and lesbian community, a majority of the electorate in this city of 45,000 people, cheered the milestone as an affirmation of the community’s model tolerance. The happy moment did not last long. The council elected in November 2017 also happened to be all white. What was viewed by many as a broad step toward greater diversity instead turned Palm Springs into a forum for a debate about what diversity means – and who, exactly, is best suited to represent whom in a state shaped for decades by identity politics.

California: Why Cities, Counties May Turn to the State Political Watchdog to Enforce Local Campaign Finance Issues
San Bernardino Sun – Joe Nelson and Sandra Emerson | Published: 2/20/2019

A law that took effect on January 1 in California essentially allows local agencies to draw on the state’s experience and expertise in dealing with campaign finance and ethics laws – for a price. Under its contract with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), San Bernardino County pays the agency a flat fee of $55,000 annually and is billed at hourly rates for any work exceeding the flat amount. In return, the FPPC audits the campaign accounts of all county elected officials each election cycle, investigates complaints, provides written and verbal guidance to elected officials and their donors regarding the county’s campaign finance and ethics ordinance.

Florida: ‘Who Gave It, Who Got It?’ How Political Influence in Miami Is Bought – and Concealed
Miami Herald – Joey Flechas and Sandra Emerson | Published: 2/21/2019

Whether it is candidates or ballot measures, moneyed interests use political groups that can receive and spend unlimited, untraceable “dark money” to influence elections in Miami and pay for attack ads. Florida’s lax campaign finance laws allow donors to seed thousands of dollars into committees that can give to one or more other committees. The money that pays for the ads can be difficult to trace back to the original donor. Because state authorities do not aggressively police campaign finance reports, political committees can easily get away with concealing their donors while flouting election laws. But political groups do not necessarily need to break campaign laws to hide the sources of their money. It is allowed to be moved through a byzantine web of political committees that mask its origins.

Montana: US Supreme Court Won’t Take Challenge to Montana Campaign Finance Law
Montana Public Radio – Corin Cates-Carney | Published: 2/19/2018

The U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, declined to take up a case challenging Montana’s campaign finance disclosure law.  The justices left in place a lower court’s ruling that the state’s so-called Disclose Act is constitutional. The law requires groups that engage in last-minute advertising in elections to make public how they spend money to influence the state’s elections.

New Jersey: This N.J. Mayor Is Getting Paid to Fight Legal Weed. Here’s Why That’s Causing Trouble.
Bergen Record – Payton Guion (NJ Advance Media) | Published: 2/15/2019

The mayor of the first town in New Jersey to ban legal marijuana sales has also spent most of the past year on the payroll as a lobbyist for a prominent anti-marijuana group in the state. But Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Stephen Reid has not always been upfront about that connection, raising questions about ethics and conflicts-of-interest. More than 60 towns in New Jersey have taken some step to prohibit marijuana businesses from their borders. Reid has traveled around the state, offering his hand to other towns considering a ban as the mayor of a town that’ has already done it. Since May 2018, Reid has been a paid lobbyist for New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana, and his potential conflict is the subject of lawsuit against the town.

Oregon: ‘Give Me the Money, and I’ll Give It to Her.’ Former Oregon Lawmaker Describes Participating in Dubious Campaign Practice
Portland Oregonian – Rob Davis | Published: 2/17/2019

On paper, two contributions to candidates last year came from former Oregon Rep. Deborah Boone. She wrote the checks and her name is listed as the donor. In reality, Boone said, the money came from donors who asked her to pass it on under her name, creating a set of transactions and reports that may have violated state law. Boone described the practice as commonplace among legislators. State records show millions of dollars have moved between Oregon politicians in the past decade in what look like straightforward gestures of support. Lawmakers also routinely give money to committees run by legislative leaders, who then redistribute it to candidates in tough races. According to Boone, the transactions are not always what they seem.

Rhode Island: Political Donations by Strip-club Industry Made in Lobbying Firm’s Name
Providence Journal – Brian Amaral | Published: 2/15/2019

Mysterious errors in campaign finance records concealed the source of thousands of dollars in donations from the Providence strip-club industry to Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo and House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello. Instead of listing their actual employers, the series of contributions listed a lobbying firm, the Goldberg Law Offices. A lobbyist at that firm, Robert Goldberg, also worked on behalf of the strip-club industry. Goldberg said he did not know why donations from people involved in the strip-club industry – and not, in fact, employed by his firm – listed his firm as their employer. The errors raise questions about the working relationship between a high-powered lobbyist and an industry he represented and illuminate the many connections between the strip-club industry and the halls of power in the state.

Texas: Sen. Angela Paxton Files Bill That Would Allow Her Husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to Issue Exemptions from Securities Regulations
Texas Tribune – Emma Platoff | Published: 2/16/2019

In what state Sen. Angela Paxton describes as an effort to safely expand Texas’ burgeoning financial tech industry, she filed a bill that would empower the office of her husband, state Attorney General Ken Paxton to exempt entrepreneurs from certain state regulations so they can market “innovative financial products or services.” One of those exemptions would be working as an “investment advisor” without registering. Currently, doing so is a felony in Texas, one for which Ken Paxton was issued a civil penalty in 2014 and criminally charged in 2015.

Virginia: Richmond’s Donor Class and the VMI Brotherhood Stand Behind Embattled Virginia Governor
Washington Post – Gregory Schneider | Published: 2/16/2019

Gil Minor, a local corporate titan and major donor to both political parties, and Tom Slater, a prominent lawyer, met with Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam soon after the shocking news broke that a racist photograph had been unearthed from Northam’s medical school yearbook page. Minor and Slater are part of a political donor class in Richmond that has rallied behind the embattled governor. Perhaps more significant, they are part of a Virginia Military Institute (VMI) brotherhood, an elite alumni corps that includes several of the state’s power brokers. They did not want Northam, the first VMI graduate to become governor, to go down in disgrace. That support is a major reason Northam has clung to office when most of the political world has called for his resignation, leaving the state locked in a limbo of dysfunction that shows no sign of changing soon.

Washington: SEIU State Council to Pay $128,000 in Civil Fines Over Campaign-Finance Lawsuit
Seattle Times – Joseph O’Sullivan | Published: 2/19/2019

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Washington State Council 14 has agreed to pay a six-figure settlement over a campaign finance lawsuit. The settlement requires SEIU to pay $128,262.75 in civil fines, as well as $18,300.85 in costs and fees. Another $104,942.25 in civil fines is suspended, provided the organization has no violations over the next four years. The Freedom Foundation alleged the SEIU state council had been operating as a political committee without filing as such with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. The state attorney general’s office determined that SEIU had made significant campaign contributions but failed to register and report as a political committee in for at least the years 2014 and 2016.

Wyoming: Legislature Reforms Campaign Finance
Staff – Sundance Times | Published: 2/20/2019

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed Senate Bill 18 into law. It is intended to enhance transparency by requiring that candidates report their expenditures and contributions simultaneously and up to two weeks before the election. It also raises the threshold for reporting from $25 to $100 to account for inflation. The law also clarifies campaign advertising provisions to now include online advertising and defines “electioneering communications,” while requiring that campaign activity be subject to the disclosure of donors and expenditures whether or not that activity was done in coordination with a candidate. A disclosure must now explicitly state, “Paid for by ….”

Arkansas State Senators introduced several ethics bills on February 4, 2019.

If passed, Senate Bill 260 prohibits direct contributions between PACs and Senate Bill 259 prevents a person elected or appointed to a constitutional office from forming more than one PAC.

Senate Bill 256 prohibits an elected state official from registering as a lobbyist in any jurisdiction while serving as an elected state official.

Senate Bill 249 increases the fines for violating ethics laws the Arkansas Ethics Commission may levy at violators from $2,000 to $3,500.

Additionally, the State Representatives introduced House Bill 1374.

House Bill 1374 prohibits a former Legislator from registering as a lobbyist or entering into employment as the director of an educational cooperative or area agency on aging for two years after the expiration of his or her term of office.

Campaign Finance

New Mexico: “Campaign Finance Overhaul Clears Hurdle” by Dan McKay for Albuquerque Journal

Elections

Kentucky: “A Onetime Rising Democratic Star Faces Questions About Voter Privacy” by Daniel Desrochers (Lexington Herald-Leader) and Jessica Huseman for ProPublica

Ethics

Arizona: “GOP Maneuver Halts Effort to Oust Arizona Rep. David Stringer” by Howard Fischer (Capitol News Services) for Arizona Daily Star

Illinois: “FBI Secretly Recorded Mike Madigan at His Law Office Pitching Firm’s Services” by John Seidel, Tina Sfondeles, and Fran Spielman for Chicago Sun-Times

Legislative Issues

National: “All Red or All Blue, State Legislatures Run to Partisan Sides” by Timothy Williams (New York Times) for MSN

Lobbying

National: “Lawmakers Push Crackdown on Foreign Lobbyists” by Alex Gangitano for The Hill

Michigan: “Bill Targets Lawmakers’ Lobbyist Switchover” by Jonathan Oosting for Detroit News

Texas: “In the Texas House, They’re Seen as Lobbyists. In the Senate, They Sit at the Press Table.” by Emma Platoff for Texas Tribune

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed three bills relating to elections and campaign finance on January 24.

Assembly Bill 776 requires limited liability companies making expenditures for a political purpose to file with the State Board of Elections the identity of all direct and indirect owners of the membership interests and the proportion of ownership in the LLC.

Assembly Bill 779 creates a consolidated statewide primary election date and changes the protocol for calling a special election.

Senate Bill 1102 enacts early voting in the state.

Assembly Bill 779 and Senate Bill 1102 are effective immediately, and Assembly Bill 776 is effective January 31.

Got a minute?! We’re back with News You Can Use Video Digest and here are 4 stories from the past week you don’t want to miss!

Campaign Finance

Washington: “Split Court: Local initiatives subject to disclosure rule” by Gene Johnson (Associated Press) for KOMO

Ethics

National:”Prosecutors Examining Ukrainians Who Flocked to Trump Inaugural” by Kenneth Vogel, Scott Shane, Mark Mazzetti, and Iuliia Mendel (New York Times) for MSN

National: “Tom Udall to Introduce Senate Campaign Finance, Voting Rights and Ethics Reform Bill” by Richard Blumenthal for Huffington Post

National: “Michael Cohen Agrees to Testify to Congress About Work for Trump” by Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos (New York Times) for MSN

Colorado: “Judge: State ethics panel has no jurisdiction over many Colorado cities” by Marianne Goodland for Colorado Politics

Kentucky: “He Bribed Andy Beshear’s Top Deputy. Now He’s Headed to Prison for Nearly 3 Years.” by Bill Estep for Lexington Herald-Leader

South Carolina: “SC Ethics Advocate Creates Ethics Dilemma by Gifting Corruption Book to Lawmakers” by Avery Wilkes for The State

Legislative Issues

Texas: “Texas Republicans Rally Behind Muslim Official as Some Try to Oust Him Over Religion” by Adeel Hassan (New York Times) for MSN

Campaign Finance

National: “How a Little-Known Democratic Firm Cashed in On the Wave of Midterm Money” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Anu Narayanswamy for Washington Post

Connecticut: “Under the Influence: Marijuana industry seeks ruling on legality of political contributions in Connecticut” by Neil Vigdor for Hartford Courant

Montana: “Montana’s Dark Money Detective” by Jimmy Tobias for Pacific Standard

Elections

California: “Supreme Court Rules Against Mystery Corporation from ‘Country A’ Fighting Subpoena in Mueller Investigation” by Robert Barnes, Devlin Barrett, and Carol Leonnig (Washington Post) for San Jose Mercury News

Ethics

National: “Feds’ GoFundMe Campaigns Open a ‘Minefield’ of Ethical Questions During Shutdown” by Nicole Ogrysko for Federal News Network

National: “Pro-Pruitt Group Took Big Checks in Secret” by Alex Guillen for Politico

Georgia: “State Ethics Director Under Ethics Investigation” by Dale Russell for WAGA

Hawaii: “Why Critics Say New House Sexual Harassment Policy Doesn’t Go Far Enough” by Anita Hofschneider for Honolulu Civil Beat

New York: “As Session Starts, Legislators and Advocates Push Overhaul of State Ethics Enforcement” by Samar Khurshid for Gotham Gazette

Legislative Issues

National: “Young People Power into Statehouses and City Halls” by Graham Vyse for Governing

Campaign Finance

National: “Trump Inaugural Fund and Super PAC Said to Be Scrutinized for Illegal Foreign Donations” by Sharon LaFraniere, Maggie Haberman, and Adam Goldman (New York Times) for MSN

Elections

National: “New Report on Russian Disinformation, Prepared for the Senate, Shows the Operation’s Scale and Sweep” by Craig Timberg and Tony Room (Washington Post) for San Jose Mercury News

Ethics

National: “Ryan Zinke’s Legal Troubles Are Far from Over” by Julie Turkewitz (New York Times) for MSN

Florida: “Ex-City Manager Rick Fernandez Agrees to Fines in Ethics Case” by Jeff Burlew for Tallahassee Democrat

Legislative Issues

Wisconsin: “Scott Walker Signs Lame-Duck Legislation Without Vetoes Curbing His Democratic Successor’s Power” by Patrick Marley and Molly Beck (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) for USA Today

Lobbying

National: “Flynn Business Associates Charged with Illegally Lobbying for Turkish Government” by Caitlin Oprysko for Politico

Florida: “FDLE Investigation Finds Brevard School Officials Manipulated Process for Hiring Lobbying Firm” by Caroline Green for Florida Today

New Hampshire: “Sununu, Inner Circle Received Thousands from Lobbyist-Funded Nonprofit” by Todd Feathers for Manchester Union Leader

North Dakota: “Wary of New Ethics Rules, North Dakota Lobbyists Rethink Plans for Legislator Receptions” by John Hageman for Bismarck Tribune

Campaign Finance

National: “Democratic, GOP Super PACs Quadruple Fundraising as Big-Money Groups’ Influence Grows” by Maggie Severns for Politico

Elections

North Carolina: “Harris Campaign Owes $34K, in Part for Disputed Bladen Absentee Effort” by Travis Fain for WRAL

Ethics

National: “Billionaire GOP Donor Gave Scott Pruitt $50,000 for Legal Expenses” by Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) for MSN

Legislative Issues

New York: “Commission Recommends Pay Increases and Ethics Reforms for State Legislators” by Ben Brachfeld for Gotham Gazette

Lobbying

Kansas: “Lynn Jenkins Sets Up Lobbying Business — But She’s Still a Kansas Congresswoman” by Jonathan Shorman (Wichita Eagle) and Bryan Lowry for McClatchy DC

Missouri: “Missouri Lawmaker Quits in Last Moment Before Lobbying Limit” by David Lieb (Associated Press) for Columbia Missourian

Procurement

Tennessee: “Nashville Mayor David Briley Taps Former Judge as First-Ever Chief Compliance Officer” by Joey Garrison for The Tennessean

National:

Republicans in Wisconsin, Michigan Push to Curb Power of Newly-Elected Democrats
Washington Post – Mark Berman, Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, and Dan Simmons | Published: 12/5/2018

Following losses in statewide elections, Republicans in Wisconsin and Michigan have responded with pushes to limit the power of Democrats who won those offices, as advocacy groups threaten to block their efforts with legal action. Wisconsin Republicans passed bills that effectively kneecap the state’s incoming Democratic governor and attorney general with measures that limit or eliminate their abilities to act on aspects of gun control, a lawsuit on the Affordable Care Act, and various other state matters. Republican lawmakers in Michigan are similarly attempting to shift authority from the Democrats recently elected as governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, the first time the party will hold all three positions in nearly three decades.

Federal:

Prosecutors Ramp Up Foreign Lobbying Probe In New York
TPM – Eric Tucker, Desmond Butler, and Chad Day (Associated Press) | Published: 12/5/2018

Spinning off from the special counsel’s Russia probe, prosecutors are ramping up their investigation into foreign lobbying by two major Washington, D.C. firms that did work for former Trump campaign chairperson Paul Manafort, according to people familiar with the matter. The investigation had been quiet for months since special counsel Robert Mueller referred it to authorities in Manhattan because it fell outside his mandate of determining whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia. But in a flurry of new activity, Justice Department prosecutors in the last several weeks have begun interviewing witnesses and contacting lawyers to schedule additional questioning related to the Podesta Group and Mercury Public Affairs.

Saudi-Funded Lobbyist Paid for 500 Rooms at Trump’s Hotel After 2016 Election
MSN – David fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell (Washington Post) | Published: 12/5/2018

Saudi lobbyists moved some business to President Trump’s hotel in Washington, D.C., last year following the 2016 election, paying for an estimated 500 nights’ stay over just three months at the Trump International Hotel. Until December 2016, the lobbyists were booking at hotels in Northern Virginia. The lobbyists, backed by the Saudi Arabian government, spent around $270,000 at the Trump hotel in total, housing dozens of U.S. military veterans brought to the district to lobby Congress against a recently-passed law allowing victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks to sue other governments. The 500 nights in Trump’s hotel came at a discounted rate, and organizers claim that is the reason they moved their business there. Some of the veterans said they were not aware they were lobbying on behalf of Saudi Arabia.

From the States and Municipalities:

Arizona – Ruling Restores Expanded Oversight by Clean Elections Commission Over Campaign Finances
Arizona Daily Star – Howard Fischer (Capitol News Services) | Published: 12/6/2018

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David Palmer ruled that major parts of a rewrite of Arizona’s campaign finance laws violate the state constitution. The judge said parts of the law illegally strip power from the Citizens Clean Elections Commission. The power to investigate campaign finance violations and act as filing officer for candidates was handed to the secretary of state under the law. The 2016 law created large exemptions in what counts as a contribution, including allowing political parties to spend unlimited sums backing a candidate. It also allowed unlimited spending on legal fees and other types of support for candidates and political committees without being counted toward contribution limits. Palmer ruled all those provisions violate the Voter Protection Act.

California – L.A. Councilman’s Wife Was a Paid Fundraiser. Ex-Aides Say He Assigned Them to Help
Los Angeles Times – Adam Elmahrek, David Zahniser, and Emily Alpert-Reyes | Published: 11/30/2018

Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar personally asked companies that do business at City Hall to donate to a private school where his wife was working as a professional fundraiser and also assigned his staff to help with the effort. Huizar instructed staffers to work on a yearly fundraiser for Bishop Mora Salesian High School, and the assignment was considered part of their job duties. Huizar also sent an email to aides in 2013 identifying lobbyists, city contractors, and others whom he had contacted about making a donation. In the email, Huizar said two of his staff members were assisting in the fundraising effort. Two donors who gave to Salesian in 2015 said they were asked to do so by Huizar staffers.

District of Columbia – D.C. Council Approves Sweeping Changes to Campaign Finance, Bans ‘Pay to Play’
Washington Post – Peter Jamison | Published: 12/4/2018

The District of Columbia Council passed legislation that addresses the city’s “pay-to-play” culture. The bill would ban campaign donations from firms and their top executives if they hold or are seeking government contracts worth at least $250,000. It would also give new authority to the city’s Office of Campaign Finance and require increased disclosures from independent expenditure committees. Amendments to the bill allow contractors to contribute to their own campaigns if they run for office and extend the deadline for closing campaign committees to 12 months after an election. Mayor Muriel Bowser could sign or veto the legislation or let it become law without signing it. She has not taken a position on restricting campaign donations from government contractors.

Hawaii – City Ethics Commission Is Investigating Far Fewer Cases Than 2 Years Ago
Honolulu Civil Beat – Natanya Friedheim | Published: 12/6/2018

The Honolulu Ethics Commission has kept a low profile since the tumultuous departure of its former director, Chuck Totto, more than two years ago. Totto’s replacement, Jan Yamane, has shifted the commission’s focus from investigating misconduct to training city employees and encouraging good behavior. “It doesn’t mean enforcement isn’t going to happen, but we would like to be more proactive,” Yamane said. In the years leading up to Totto’s departure, the commission saw a dwindling number of requests for advice, from an average of 342 per year from fiscal years 2012 to 2016 to just 182 requests in the 12 months following Totto’s exit. For some, the commission is now too quiet.

Illinois – Chicago Architects Don’t Just Draw – They Shower Aldermen with Campaign Cash
Chicago Tribune – Blair Kamin and Todd Lighty | Published: 12/6/2018

Chicago architects have long been viewed as more high-minded than developers, who are seen as plying the city’s aldermen with campaign money to get their projects off the ground. But that image of political purity bears little relation to reality. A virtual who’s who of Chicago architects has given tens of thousands of dollars to city council members who hold near-total power to determine whether their projects get built. Architects even have hosted fundraisers for aldermen. In some cases, donations are made while a project’s future hangs in the balance. In others, aldermen reported receiving the contributions not long after the proposals were approved. Watchdogs worry the contributions give architects an advantage over ordinary residents who oppose projects but may not have their alderman’s attention.

Massachusetts – Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law on Union Donations Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
MassLive.com – Shira Schoenberg | Published: 12/5/2018

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, after losing a challenge to the state’s ban on corporate political donations in the Supreme Judicial Court, is seeking to challenge the law before the U.S. Supreme Court. Massachusetts law prohibits corporations from contributing directly to candidates or establishing PACs but allows them to make unlimited independent expenditures, with certain disclosure requirements. The plaintiffs in the state case argued the ban violates their First Amendment rights and unfairly applies to corporations but not entities like unions and nonprofits. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled the ban on corporate donations does not violate free speech rights and can help prevent actual and perceived corruption.

Minnesota – You Know You Want to Read This Sexy Story about Legislative Process Reform
Minnesota Post – Peter Callaghan | Published: 11/29/2018

There might have been no better illustration of how long the lack of transparency at the Minnesota Legislature has been a problem than the testimony provided by a longtime lobbyist and former legislative staffer at a recent hearing on legislative process reform. Phil Griffin dug up and offered testimony on the shortcomings of the legislative process he had delivered before – in 2008. The concerns were much the same back then, Griffin said, and they remain today: The Legislature is hard to follow, even for those who get paid to do so. Too much work is done out of public view, too much is left for the closing days, and too much business is left to be addressed in massive omnibus bills that include dozens and sometimes hundreds of bills. Others echoed those complaints.

Missouri – Missouri Lawmakers Resign Ahead of New Lobbyist Limits
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – David Lieb (Associated Press) | Published: 12/4/2018

Three Missouri lawmakers have resigned just ahead of the date a new constitutional amendment takes effect requiring legislators to wait two years before they can become lobbyists. State Sen. Jake Hummel confirmed he resigned in order to preserve his right to register as a lobbyist sooner rather than later. Current law requires legislators to wait six months after the end of their elected term before they can start lobbying. The new amendment requires them to wait two years after the end of the session in which they last served, but it applies only to those serving on or after the measure’s effective date.

North Carolina – North Carolina Election-Fraud Investigation Centers on Operative with Criminal History Who Worked for GOP Congressional Candidate
Chicago Tribune – Amy Gardner and Kirk Ross (Washington Post) | Published: 12/3/2018

Political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless is at the center of a fraud investigation that has delayed the certification of Republican Mark Harris’s narrow victory in the Ninth Congressional District race in North Carolina and could prompt officials to call for a new election. The possibility that November’s vote will be tossed out has prompted an outbreak of partisan accusations. The case is politically fraught for the GOP, who have pushed for voter-identification laws and other restrictions while warning without evidence about the threat of rampant voter fraud. Now, amid Democratic calls for investigations of a different kind of election fraud, one that allegedly benefited the GOP, Republicans have stayed largely silent about the allegations, instead accusing the state elections board of trying to steal the race.

Pennsylvania – Bob Brady Aide Smukler Found Guilty on 9 of 11 Counts in Campaign Finance Case
Philadelphia Inquirer – Jeremy Roebuck and Andrew Seidman | Published: 12/3/2018

A federal jury found U.S. Rep. Bob Brady’s top political strategist, Ken Smuckler, guilty of nine of 11 counts of repeatedly flouting campaign finance laws. Smukler was convicted of coordinating multiple unlawful contributions and falsifying finance reports for candidates in back-to-back congressional races. One of those campaigns, Brady’s 2012 primary bid for re-election, ended with the abrupt withdrawal of his opponent after he was promised a $90,000 payoff, which jurors concluded Smukler helped to pay. The Justice Department now has won convictions and guilty pleas against four key players in the 2012 campaign – except, notably, Brady himself.

Texas – Some Republicans Want to Oust a Muslim Doctor from His GOP Leadership Role – Because He’s Muslim
San Jose Mercury News – Meagan Flynn (Washington Post) | Published: 12/5/2018

The first time Shahid Shafi ran for a seat on the city council in Southlake in 2011, advisers assured him a Muslim in post-September 11 America who spoke with an accent and emigrated from Pakistan would never win an election in Texas. He won the Southlake City Council seat on his second try, in 2014, has since served as a delegate to multiple Texas GOP conventions and, in July, was appointed vice chairperson of the Tarrant County Republican Party. But that is when his religion somehow became a problem again, in the eyes of some Republican colleagues.

West Virginia – He Is West Virginia’s Speaker of the House – and a Lawyer for Natural Gas Companies
ProPublica – Ken Ward Jr. and Kate Mishkin (Charleston Gazette-Mail) | Published: 12/4/2018

West Virginia Del. Roger Hanshaw is expected to be re-elected as House speaker when the legislative session convenes in January. In the position, Hanshaw wields significant control over which bills are called up for votes and which are sent to committees to effectively die. When he is not at the Capitol, Hanshaw makes his living as an attorney, and his clients have included natural gas companies and gas industry lobby groups. Under the state’s ethics laws, those overlapping interests are not enough to keep him from voting on matters affecting the industry. Hanshaw illustrates both the industry’s growing ties to lawmakers and how West Virginia ethics laws allow lawmakers to advocate for their own interests or those of their clients, and sometimes leave state residents in the dark about such potential conflicts.

Ethics

National: “Six White House Officials Reprimanded for Violating the Hatch Act” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

National: “Democrats Go Into 2019 With Ethics Blazing” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

National: “EPA IG: Pruitt’s resignation left ethics probes inconclusive” by Michael Biesecker (Associated Press) for Fresno Bee

Florida: “Appeals Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Gov. Scott in Underreported Income Case” by John Kennedy (GateHouse Capital Bureau) for Florida Times Union

Illinois: “Federal Agents Raid Powerful Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s City Hall and Ward Offices” by Bill Ruthhart, John Byrne, and Jason Meisner for Chicago Tribune

Pennsylvania: “Pa. State Lawmaker Sentenced in Bribery Case” by Charles Thompson for PennLive

Tennessee: “Bill Lee Prepares to ‘Step Away from Lee Company,’ Though Specifics of Transition Unclear” by Natalie Allison for The Tennessean

Legislative Issues

Minnesota: “You Know You Want to Read This Sexy Story about Legislative Process Reform” by Peter Callaghan for Minnesota Post