It seems our Senators have a thing or two learn from their home states when it comes to campaign finance reporting: 31 states currently require mandatory electronic reporting ("e-filing") of their elected representative's campaign finance records -- a leap above our Senate, which has failed to pass no-brainer e-filing legislation for over a decade. Sunlight conducted a review of the current state of similar filings in the states (see chart below), and the results are pretty surprising -- in a great way. State governments across the country -- 92% of them, in fact -- require at least optional, if not mandatory electronic filing for both houses of their bicameral legislatures.
Continue readingMayors Against Illegal Guns runs ad backing Nevada background checks
The latest TV ad by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the gun control group funded by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, hit the airwaves in Nevada this week, ahead of a close vote Wednesday on a background check bill that passed the state Senate.
The bill would close the loophole that allows private sales to be made without checking the criminal background of the purchaser. It also bans people deemed mentally ill and likely to harm someone from possessing a gun. The bill can be followed on Scout, Sunlight's tool for tracking the progress of state and federal legislation.
The bill passed ...
Continue readingHow ex-Det. Guy Bowers became the biggest campaign donor of all
One of the most prolific donors to political candidates running for federal office has no idea that’s his status.
Guy Bowers, a 66-year-old ex-detective who says he owes his fortune to an inheritance and some savvy investing, is not your typical corporate executive often associated with fattening politicians’ campaign accounts.
Yet Bowers was such an enthusiastic donor that he tops a list of perhaps hundreds who appear to have broken a campaign finance law that caps the total amount of money individuals can give federal political candidates and committees in the course of a two-year election cycle. For 2011 ...
Tools for Transparency: Using Python for government transparency
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the guest blogger and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not reflect the... View Article
Continue readingSuper PACs flock to Arizona, North Dakota, Virginia
Voters head to the polls for primaries in six states today, with those in Arizona, North Dakota and Virginia inundated with the most money from super PACs trying to influence their votes. Here's a rundown of what outside groups are spending in the Grand Canyon, Peace Garden, and Old Dominion states, according to Sunlight's Follow the Unlimited Money tracker:
Special Election: Arizona's 8th Congressional District
Among today's races, the special election to fill the remaining term of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who resigned in January to focus on her rehabiliation, has attracted the most outside money ...
Continue readingSunlight Weekly Roundup: Indiana narrows public’s ability to review government emails
Indiana’s new public access counselor has limited the public’s ability to request and review the email exchanges of government officials.... View Article
Continue readingSunlight Weekly Roundup: Open meeting law violations and broken campaign promises regarding transparency
According to Galloway Township News, New Jersey’s Galloway Township has failed to release an agenda for the townships meeting their... View Article
Continue readingIn wake of court rulings, new political groups intervene in primaries
When Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet fended off a tough primary challenge from former State House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, he got a little bit of help from a new kind of political player, which spent $50,000 to make phone calls promoting the incumbent, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund--a group that registered under a designation created by the FEC in late July called an Independent Expenditure Committee--paid for the phone calls.
The sole purpose of independent expenditure committees is to make independent expenditures – place ads, make phone calls or ...
Continue reading24 Days Of Local Sunlight
Today is December 1st and as we head toward the end of the year I wanted to start thanking some... View Article
Continue readingLocal Sunlight 6/15/09
Every week I climb into the depths of the local political blogosphere to find the Sunlight. I use this series... View Article
Continue reading- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Next »
59063
