NEWS ROUNDUP:

• Some of the more pragmatic Republican fundraisers see big money making opportunities as some members of the GOP begin to embrace the idea of gay marriage. In recent elections some deep pocketed Republicans kept their wallets closed due to the party’s position on the issue. (POLITICO)
• The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is upping their fundraising pace as they pick up seats and influence in Congress. The Caucus’ PAC has been raising larger sums of money recently and it’s members have seen their clout increasing with the current immigration debate. (Roll Call)
• The budget that Congress sent to the Department of Agriculture last week bears a brand of influence from meatpackers, Monsanto, and other big farm industry players.  (POLITICO)
• Michelle Bachmann is being investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics for allegedly misusing campaign funds. The former national field coordinator for the Congresswoman’s 2012 presidential campaign filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that Bachmann’s leadership PAC was improperly used to pay campaign staff. (Washington Post)
• A new pro-Rand Paul PAC was registered using MyPAC, a service of DB Capitol Strategies that lets customers spend $700 to set up a hybrid PAC. Hybrid PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to run independent ads and donate directly to politicians. (Public Integrity)
• San Francisco might be feeling a little left out of all the good press that New York City has gotten recently for their open data portal and data driven governance strategies. In an attempt to put the spotlight back on their city the Mayor and Board of Supervisors president are planning to remind everyone about a law they recently passed to create a “chief data officer.”  (Tech President)

RELEVANT BILLS INTRODUCED:

• None.

HAPPENING TODAY 3/26:

• Democratic and Social Innovations to Strengthen Cities. Georgetown School of Foreign Service. 12:00 – 2:00 pm. Georgetown University, Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Itercultural Center ICC 302P, 37th and O Streets NW, Washington, DC.

HAPPENING TOMORROW 3/27:

• Big Data: Is it working for government? Government Executive. 7:30 – 9:30 am. Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC.

Do you want to track transparency news? You can add our feed to your Google Reader, or view it on our Netvibes page. You can  follow the progress of relevant bills on our Scout page.  You can also get 2Day in #OpenGov sent directly to your reader!