A Lewis and Clark County jury deliberated four hours at the end of a weeklong trial in deciding that Rep. Art Wittich violated Montana campaign finance law.
District Judge Ray Dayton, of Anaconda, now must decide the penalty.
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Read More… from Editorial: Enforcing Montana’s campaign transparency law
Alabamians may be deciding whether the sources of so-called "dark money" will have to be revealed after state Sen. Arthur Orr introduced a bill last month to put that question before voters in a constitutional amendment.
The bill (SB356) by Orr, a Republican from Decatur, would affect special interest groups whose main activity is getting involved in political campaigns.
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A top House lawmaker who led the charge to require politically active nonprofits to reveal their donors, a lightning rod issue opposed by Gov. Greg Abbott, says he wants Texas voters to decide the issue at the ballot box.
State Rep. Byron Cook, a Republican from Corsicana who narrowly won re-election earlier this month, said he is planning to propose next legislative session an amendment to the state constitution on the issue of disclosing so-called "dark money" donors.
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Read More… from ‘Dark money’ disclosure fight heading back to the Texas Legislature
Lobbyists could end up reporting far less of their spending on lawmakers under a bill lauded for improving the state’s campaign finance system.
House Bill 105, signed into law by Gov. Susana Martinez on Monday, aims to make it easier for the public to access information about campaign contributions and lobbyists’ reporting. But the bill also ends a requirement that lobbyists report cumulative spending on lawmakers, and it increases the limit for reporting to $100 from $75 per event. The original legislation struck the cumulative total requirement.
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Read More… from New Mexico law meant to increase transparency leaves gray area for lobbyists
A new law that overhauls New Mexico’s online clearinghouse for information on political contributions and lobbying expenditures has been signed by Gov. Susana Martinez.
The Republican governor signed legislation Monday designed to standardize electronic reporting so that filings by candidates, lobbyists and political committees can be searched, cross-referenced or downloaded for analysis.
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Read More… from New Mexico governor endorses new online campaign database
Mississippi politicians are required to regularly file campaign finance reports, and those reports, posted online by the secretary of state, are supposed to show the public details of the money they took in and spent.
But often, none of the above is the case.
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Read More… from Transparency key to campaign finance reform in Mississippi
So much for the Wisconsin Senate sticking up for good-government principles.
The Republican-run Senate caved last weekend to the Assembly’s demands for weak oversight of state election and ethics rules.
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Read More… from EDITORIAL: Tell Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to veto two bad bills
Wisconsin watchdog groups and Democratic lawmakers say there's a better way for the state to rewrite its campaign finance laws than the one Republicans are poised to pass on Monday.
The bill Republicans will likely send to the governor's desk would allow unlimited donations to political parties and let candidates coordinate fundraising and strategy with outside groups that keep their donors secret.
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