Lobbying

“Lobbyists Woo Potential Freshmen Long Before Election Day” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

California: “S.F. Ballot Measure Takes Aim at Lobbyists’ Fundraising” by Noah Arroyo for San Francisco Public Press

California: “Billion-Dollar Beverly Hills Development Challenged Because of Ex-Mayor’s Lobbying” by Kim Christensen for Los Angeles Times

California: “Bill to Ban Private Communications by California’s Coastal Commissioners Gets Sidetracked” by Dan Weikel for Los Angeles Times

Campaign Finance

“Women Are Finally Breaking into the Top Tier of Political Donors” by Matea Gold for Washington Post

“Court: Super PAC Can Use Candidates’ Names” by Josh Gerstein for Politico

Minnesota: “New Boss at Minnesota Campaign Board Is Old Hand” by Brian Bakst for Minnesota Public Radio

Elections

“Left Turns to Ballot Measures to Enact Political Change” by Reid Wilson for The Hill

“The States Where Third-Party Candidates Perform Best” by Russell Berman and Andrew McGill for The Atlantic

North Dakota: “Federal Judge Bars North Dakota from Enforcing Restrictive Voter ID Law” by Michael Wines for New York Times

Campaign Finance

“House Votes to Protect ‘Dark Money’ Political Donors” by David Morgan for Reuters

Arizona: “FBI Questions Former Utility Regulator, APS, Corporation Commission” by Ryan Randazzo for Arizona Republic

Connecticut: “Agency Approves Settlement That Would End Probe of Democrats’ Spending On Malloy Re-Election” by Jon Lender for Hartford Courant

Ethics

New Jersey: “Emails Appear to Show Christie Was Told About Political Activities of His Office” by Matt Friedman and Ryan Hutchins for Politico

Rhode Island: “No Moratorium as Ethics Bill Advances in R.I.” by Jennifer Bogdan for Providence Journal

Elections

“A New Phase for Trump’s Media War” by Niall Stanage for The Hill

“Two Years Ago, Eric Cantor Lost His House Seat. Was It Just in The Nick of Time?” by Roxanne Roberts for Washington Post

District of Columbia: “Vincent Gray Wins D.C. Council Seat, Makes Political Comeback” by Aaron Davis and Fenit Nirappil for Washington Post

Ohio: “ACLU Sues Cleveland Over Republican National Convention Protest Rules” by Andrew Tobias for Cleveland Plain Dealer

On May 17, three separate bills regarding lobbyists and political donors were introduced in the General Assembly.

If all three bills pass, political committees would be required to report a contributor’s occupation and employment information (Senate Bill 224), lobbyists would be required to disclose the source and amount of received payments (Senate Bill 225), and lobbyists would be required to pay a registration fee or face certain penalties (House Bill 385).