AZ attorney general

California regulates ‘dark money’ while Arizona dithers

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Laurie Roberts of The Arizona Republic should take note of this: State panel outlaws ‘dark money’ in California political campaigns:

dark_moneyCalifornia’s campaign finance watchdog agency on Thursday adopted new requirements that nonprofit groups that contribute through a federal political action committee to support or oppose ballot measures or candidates in California must disclose their donors.

“The amendment to this regulation clarifies that so-called ‘dark money,’ originating from nonprofit or other organizations whose donors are not disclosed, is not permitted in California elections,” said Hyla P. Wagner, general counsel for the state Fair Political Practices Commission in a report to the panel.

Legislation and previous action by the commission had generally required disclosure of donors where money went to support or oppose candidates and ballot measures in California.

But state officials were concerned about a possible loophole that would allow nondisclosure of donors if nonprofits make contributions through federal or out-of-state political action committees, rather than in-state PACs.

“It is significant that dark money will not be coming into California,” said Jodi Remke, the commission’s chairwoman, after the vote. “We heard rumblings from various federal PACs and out-of-state committees about this rule not applying to them. This closes a major potential loophole in California’s reporting requirements to stop any kind of undisclosed donors and dark money.”

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Anti-immigrant groups file amicus briefs in Kobach v. U.S. Election Assistance Commission

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At the end of March I posted that Kobach v. US Election Assistance Commission appealed to U.S. Supreme Court:

Last November, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down proof-of-citizenship requirement for National Voter Registration Form:

NoVoteA panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, in a unanimous decision, struck down Arizona’s Prop. 200 (2004) proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration and a similar provision of Kansas law in Kobach v. U.S. Election Assistance Commission (Nos. 14-3062 and 14-3072). Specifically, this case concerns whether Arizona and Kansas have to accept the federal National Voter Registration Form without additional proof of citizenship. The Arizona Voter Registration Form proof-of-citizenship requirement has previously been upheld by the Courts.

Read the Opinion Here (.pdf).

[UPDATE: The Federal Voter Registration Form requires the voter to swear/affirm that they are a U.S. citizen and that they meet the eligibility requirements of their state “under penalty of perjury. If I have provided false information, I may be fined, imprisoned or (if not a U.S. citizen) deported from or refused entry to the United States.”]

The Wichita Eagle reports, Kris Kobach asks U.S. Supreme Court to restore his proof-of-citizenship law:

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision and restore a state law he wrote requiring proof-of-citizenship documents to register to vote.

Kobach wants the Supreme Court to undo the November decision by the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeal, in a case pitting Kansas and Arizona against the federal Election Assistance Commission and a bevy of voting rights groups.

This case was docketed at the U.S. Supreme Court on March 24.  Docket for 14-1164. (h/t SCOTUSblog).

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Arizona land grab bills and the anniversary of Bundy ranch

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The Phoenix New Times reported a couple of weeks ago that the Neo-Confederate Tea-Publican secessionists in the AZ Senate Advanced “Land Grab” Bills:

Confederale SoldiersThe Arizona Senate Committee on Rural Affairs and Environment recently advanced three bills and one memorial demanding that all federally owned public lands in Arizona be transferred surrendered to the state immediately:

• HB 2321 tells the federal government to give up the title to all public lands in Arizona;
• HB 2176 requires the State Land Commissioner put pressure on the government, and the Attorney General take legal action if the transfer doesn’t occur;
• HB 2318 establishes an interstate compact to help facilitate the process;
• And the memorial, HCM 2005 “urges the federal government to dispose of public lands in, and transfer title to, Arizona.”

The purported goal of the legislation is to increase state revenue by selling or leasing acquired lands [to private interests], similar to how the state land trust system works.

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Brnovich beating a dead horse with DREAMers drivers license appeal

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mark-brnovich*304xx276-414-62-0I warned you about this guy. Better Know a Candidate: Mark ‘I’d like to buy a vowel’ Brnovich. He is a Tenther “states rights!” Neo-Confederate dead-ender who used to work for the Goldwater Institute that specializes in this nonsense.

Newly elected state Attorney General Mark Brnovich is going to renew former Gov. Jan Brewer’s effort to deny drivers licenses to the “DREAMers.” Arizona to appeal court order letting ‘dreamers’ drive:

[The AG’s] office filed a notice Friday it is appealing a month-old ruling by U.S. District Judge David Campbell that Arizona illegally denied licenses for those who qualify for the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Campbell rejected arguments by attorneys for the state that DACA recipients are in this country illegally.

Friday’s filing by Brnovich does not provide details of what the state will now argue to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected a state appeal last year.

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit requiring the state to issue driver’s licenses to the so-called “DREAMers.” U.S. Supreme Court rejected Gov. Brewer’s request to deny DREAMers a driver’s license. So this appeal is just beating a dead horse. The matter has already been considered and decided.

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Energy industry buys up Republican state attorneys general to lead their war against environmental regulations

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The Republic’s Laurie Roberts, who has tried to claim “dark money” as her issue, is again railing about the amount of “dark money” that APS and other Carbon Monopolies spent to get Mark “I’d like to buy a vowel” Brnovich elected Attorney General in Arizona. APS spent HOW MUCH to get Mark Brnovich elected AG?

StandardoilSomehow in this column about dark money in the attorney general race, the role of Kirk Adams and his Prosper, Inc. “Kochtopus” front group operation on behalf of APS and other Carbon Monopolies never even got a mention.

Ms. Roberts, the political corruption is far larger and goes far deeper than you have allowed yourself to imagine. J.D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil monopoly “octopus” (above) of a century ago has been replaced by an even more aggressive energy industry.

The New York Times today has an exclusive investigative report on how the energy industry has been buying up Republican state attorneys general to lead their war against environmental regulations. Energy Firms in Secret Alliance With Republican Officials:

The letter to the Environmental Protection Agency from Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma carried a blunt accusation: Federal regulators were grossly overestimating the amount of air pollution caused by energy companies drilling new natural gas wells in his state.

But Mr. Pruitt left out one critical point. The three-page letter was written by lawyers for Devon Energy, one of Oklahoma’s biggest oil and gas companies, and was delivered to him by Devon’s chief of lobbying.

“Outstanding!” William F. Whitsitt, who at the time directed government relations at the company, said in a note to Mr. Pruitt’s office. The attorney general’s staff had taken Devon’s draft, copied it onto state government stationery with only a few word changes, and sent it to Washington with the attorney general’s signature. “The timing of the letter is great, given our meeting this Friday with both E.P.A. and the White House.”

Mr. Whitsitt then added, “Please pass along Devon’s thanks to Attorney General Pruitt.”

The email exchange from October 2011, obtained through an open-records request, offers a hint of the unprecedented, secretive alliance that Mr. Pruitt and other Republican attorneys general have formed with some of the nation’s top energy producers to push back against the Obama regulatory agenda, an investigation by The New York Times has found.

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