Campaign Finance

• Colbert’s super PAC inspires: At least nine super PACs inspired by Stephen Colbert’s Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow are now operating. Many of the groups appear to have been created by taking advantage of Colbert’s “Super Fun PAC” registration kit. The people behind them tend to share Colbert’s goal of exposing the absurdities in the American campaign finance system. (Politico)
• Facebook gets judicial: In it’s first quarter of activity FB PAC, Facebook’s new political action committee, gave money on a mostly bipartisan basis. Instead, they focused their giving on powerful members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and elected officials that regularly tap the tech industry. (The Hill)

Lobbying

• Health care for K Street? The Supreme Court’s impending decision on the 2010 health care law will be a boon for lobbying groups in DC, no matter how the high court rules. (Roll Call $)
• Focus on farm reform: The Environmental Working Group Action Fund, longtime advocates of federal farm spending reform, has taken the rare step of hiring a powerful lobbying firm to advocate for their cause. The group, which hasn’t hired an outside lobbyist in more than 8 years, signed Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti on March 15 and has paid them $10,000 so far. (The Hill)

Government

• Running on Open Gov: Sen. John Tester (D-MT) released a new ad, touting his record on transparency and highlighting his habit of posting his schedule online. (The Hill)
• States find DATA expensive: State and local government officials are upset over the recently passed DATA act, not because they disagree with its purpose, but because they can’t afford to pay for it. (Government Technology)
• Some agencies are stuck in Open Gov 1.0: Federal agencies were supposed to update their original open government plans last month. A “citizen audit” of 29 agency websites showed that only 13 had posted “2.0” versions of their plans. (Gov Fresh)

• State Lobbying. ALL. Mon. 5/7. 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. 444 North Capitol Street NW, Hall of States, Washington, DC. 
• Police Reform and Corruption in Russia. Wilson Center. Mon. 5/7. 12:00-1:00 pm. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004.
• Technology and the Demand Side of Open Government: Large-Scale Citizen Feedback Mechanisms in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. World Bank. Tues. 5/8. 12:30-2:00 pm. 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC.
• Mexico:Elections and Prospects for Structural Reform. CSIS. Wed. 5/9. 9:00 am. 1800 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006.
• Federal Cyber-Security Regulation: Critical Safety Measure, or Privacy Nightmare? Cato. Wed. 5/9. 12:00 pm. 1000 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001.
• Global Internet Freedom: A Foreign Policy Imperative in a Digital Age. CNAS. Thurs. 5/10. 9:30 – 11:00 am. Capitol Visitor Center, East Capitol and 1st Street NE, Washington, DC 20004.