…$540,000 Lobbying Cost for $9 Billion active financing tax exemption. I’ll have other examples like this in my lobbying paper up in early January….

…The latest round in a high-stakes lobbying battle I describe in my soon-to-be-posted lobbying draft….

…Roll Call offers this report, which discusses in part Tea Partier attitudes toward lobbying. It is something I’ll be addressing in my forthcoming draft on lobbying regulation, coming soon to SSRN….

…The Washington Post offers this report….

…The Washington Post offers this report….

…Watch at about the 4:30 minute mark in Part 3 of the interview (lobbying), then at the 6:30 minute mark (discussing filibuster, redistricting): The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c…

…an Ortiz is counsel of record for petitioners. My earlier coverage of this case is here. I’m particularly interested in this issue because of my current paper on lobbying and the First Amendment (to be posted soon on SSRN). Thanks to a reader for the heads up….

…Via the Washington Post, comes a pdf of the Pledge for America. I did not expect to see a reference to campaign finance reform. But I did think there would be something in there on ethics or lobbying….

…spending by the government show that it is engaged primarily in grassroots lobbying. If the IRS were to agree with this conclusion, APF would not be eligible for status as a 501(c)(3) organization. On its 2008 Form 990, it answered “no” to the question as to whether it engaged in any lobbying activities and described its activities as educational. The ads it has been running send its listeners say that wasteful spending must stop and send listener…

…Via SCOTUSBlog comes a link to this petition (Dan Ortiz is counsel of record). I’ve been paying attention to the Petition Clause for the lobbying article I’m in the midst of writing….

…Eric Wang has written this Roll Call oped on “revolving door” lobbyist issues. It is a topic I’ve been thinking a lot about as I work on my draft on lobbying regulation and the Constitution….

…The Center for Responsive Politics reports….

…rown yes vote now dashed, Democrats and watchdog groups are training their lobbying fire on GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, two Maine centrists who along with Brown have played decisive roles in a bevy of controversial summer bills. …Democrats also could lose the support of two centrist Democrats, Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) — who is locked in a tight reelection contest — making Republican support even more crucia…

…ore it was brought to the floor (to Rep. Lungren’s great frustration!) so that it no longer amends FECA, and is no longer about campaign finance issues, but instead is confined to a new prohibition of lobbying for terrorist supporting states in the Lobbying Disclosure Act. You can see the amended text of the bill in the Congressional Record on pages H 5336-37 from yesterday….

…see here. Once I finish my piece on Buckley, I’m turning to writing about lobbying. I’ve been collecting sources on the major changes in lobbying rules that the Obama White House, under Eisen’s leadership, has been putting in place. I don’t have a firm enough grasp on the changes to express an opinion on them yet, but I do know enough to say that Eisen has come in with a real vision of how Washington politics might be changed, and has been succes…

…izations, popularly known as charities, can engage in a limited amounts of lobbying and contributions to them are tax-deductible. The rule of using only pre-tax money for lobbying and political expenditures is achieved for businesses, whether or not incorporated, because the general provision that allows deductions for trade and business expenses, s 162 has a special rule in subsection (e) disallowing a deduction for lobbying and political expendi…

…A roundup from the Campaign Legal Center….

…Politico offers this report….

…Via email comes a press release which begins: “Today National Journal Group enhanced its coverage of the lobbying and advocacy industry with the debut of the Under the Influence Experts blog, which will host weekly, virtual roundtable discussions on ethics, campaign finance and other lobbying issues, drawing on the experience and wisdom of some of the profession’s top figures.”…

…Information Services of the Florida Office of Legislative Services et al. Scotusblog has the cert. petition and other relevant documents here (scroll down). The question presented was “Whether a state law that requires disclosure of the identities of those paying for grassroots lobbying — ‘opinion articles, issue advertisements, and letter writing campaign’ — facially violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments due to vagueness and overbreadth.Wh…

…Politico offers this report….

…Before I got sidetracked on other projects, I was working on a paper on lobbying regulation and the Constitution. I was able to get my hands on advanced copies of some of the chapters in the newest edition of The Lobbying Manual: A Complete Guide to Federal Lobbying Law and Practice, Fourth Edition. It is an extremely valuable resource, and it is now available for preordering. Highly recommended!…

…Point of Order has the scoop on this clarification issued by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. “Under the clarified guidance, a registered lobbyist cannot be de-listed merely because that ‘individual did not in the current quarter and does not reasonably expect in the upcoming quarter to make more than one lobbying contact per quarter’”…

…Following up on posts here and here, Ken Gross emails: “They are reconsidering. I have been engaged on this issue for a few days. It is very likely a clarification will be issued next week.”…

…Eliza’s latest….