Lobbying

“Obama Facing Pressure to Rip Up His Lobbyist Rules” by Sarah Wheaton for Politico

Campaign Finance

District of Columbia: “‘Shadow Campaign’ Donor and Mastermind Sentenced to Three Months Behind Bars” by Ann Marimow, Mike DeBonis, and Rachel Weiner for Washington Post

Montana: “Groups Change Ad Strategies before Campaign Finance Deadline” by Matt Volz (Associated Press) for McClatchyDC

New Mexico: “Legal Loophole Allows Last-Minute Money in Bernco Race to Remain Hidden” by Trip Jennings for New Mexico In Depth

Texas: “Texas Ethics Commission Chases ‘Campaign in a Box’ Spending” by Ross Ramsey for Texas Tribune

Ethics

“Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief” by Andrew Kramer, Mike McIntire, and Barry Meier for New York Times

Alabama: “Ethics Commission Schedules Special Meeting to Address Backlog” by Mike Cason for AL.com

Massachusetts: “City Employees Undergo Ethics Refresher Course” by Meghan Irons for Boston Globe

Elections

“Will Donald Trump Hand State Capitols to Democrats?” by Russell Berman for The Atlantic

“Inside the Failing Mission to Tame Trump’s Tongue” by Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman for New York Times

Lobbying

Massachusetts: “Uber Proves Profitable for at Least One Group – Lobbyists” by Jim O’Sullivan for Boston Globe

Campaign Finance

“Pro-Hillary Group Takes $200K in Banned Donations” by Harper Neidig and Jonathan Swan for The Hill

Maine: “Maine Ethics Panel Aims to Close Loophole ‘You Could Drive a Truck Through’” by Darren Fishell for Bangor Daily News

New Jersey: “Proposed Pay-to-Play Reforms Pit Fulop Against Longtime Foes” by Terrence McDonald (Jersey Journal) for Newark Star-Ledger

Ethics

California: “Supervisors Approve Budget and Staffing Plan for Ethics Commission” by Nick Gerda for Voice of OC

California: “At the Corner of Power and Poverty” by Laurel Rosenhall for CALmatters

Massachusetts: “Grand Jury Indicts Second Official in Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s Administration” by Gintautas Dumcius for MassLive.com

New York: “Ethics Reform Brings Less Information About JCOPE Probes” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Oregon: “Lawmaker’s Actions Questioned by Portland Police Officer” by Gordon Friedman for Salem Statesman-Journal

Elections

Utah: “Two Transgender Candidates – Both Named Misty – Just Made History by Winning Primaries” by Amber Phillips for Washington Post

Today the Portland City Council is scheduled to reconsider adopting new ethics reform measures to broaden the revolving door prohibition to two years and increase the penalties associated with repeated ethics violations.

The proposal would also close a loophole in registration requirements, requiring lobbying entities that spend more than $1,000 a quarter on lobbying activities to register.

The proposed ordinance is a compromise that is less restrictive than a similar ordinance that was introduced in April 2016.

The Secretary of State announced the commencement of a full review of South Dakota’s campaign finance laws.

The review comes in the wake of the June 7 primary where it was alleged that several candidates kept campaign finance information secret by using a loophole that allows candidates that do not run in primary elections to go two years without filing any reports.

The proposed changes are expected to be presented in October 2016.

A 2014 Superior Court decision is being reviewed by the San Francisco Ethics Commission. Critics of the decision argue it created a loophole wherein money a candidate raised via a general purpose committee can be used to elect or defeat candidates for other offices.

Further, the decision allows candidates and officeholders to skirt contribution limits and raise money from sources that would otherwise be prohibited.

The San Francisco Ethics Commission is being urged to consider regulations that would prevent candidates from circumventing the rules.

A proposed constitutional amendment has been submitted to appear on the November 2016 ballot.

This measure, titled The Voters’ Right to Know Act, would increase campaign finance disclosure requirements and eliminate gifts to public officials from certain entities.

The act is designed to remove the “dark money” loopholes of nonprofit contributors by requiring anyone contributing $10,000 or more to be identified if that money winds up supporting a political effort. It also calls for updating and improving the electronic reporting system, clearer disclosure of contributors on television ads, and stronger penalties for violators.

The act also would ban gifts to public officials from lobbyists and lobbyist employers. The monetary limit on gifts to public officials from individuals would be lowered to $200 from the current amount of $460.

Backers of this proposition hope it will lead to greater transparency and encourage greater engagement from all voters.

The Brennan Center for Justice, on behalf of several New York lawmakers, filed suit against the New York State Board of Elections, challenging a 1996 board ruling that treats limited liability companies (LLCs) as individuals. The ruling has the result of creating a loophole allowing LLCs to circumvent stricter contribution limits imposed upon other business entities, namely partnerships and corporations.

The board had an opportunity to overturn its 1996 ruling at its April 2015 board meeting, but board members split along party lines to uphold the ruling, thus prompting the Brennan Center for Justice to file suit.

Plaintiffs allege the LLC loophole allows special interest groups to funnel tens of millions of dollars into political campaigns without transparency. Corporate contributions are limited to $5,000 per calendar year; partnerships are limited to $2,500 per calendar year at the partnership entity level. Under the 1996 board ruling, LLCs can contribute substantially more than other business entities because they are treated as individuals.

The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of New York, County of Albany.

National and Federal

“Can 46 rich dudes buy an election?” by Charles Riley in CNN Money.

“Obama ‘Super’ PAC Donors Among White House Guests” by Jack Gillum (Associated Press) in The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Planners for Democratic convention in Charlotte scramble to raise funds” by David Nakamura in The Washington Post.

In the States

Indiana: “Super PACs start battle in Senate race” by The Associated Press in the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Iowa: “Group wants to close campaign finance loophole” by Rod Boshart in the Sioux City Journal.

Montana: “New arguments filed in campaign finance case” by Matt Gouras in the Great Falls Tribune.