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Blog
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Welcome to the Holtzman Vogel Law Blog. We aim to keep you
up to date on important legal developments and other items of interest. On this
blog, we'll track developments in the news and changes to the rules and regulations
affecting political committees, corporate PACs, trade associations, non-profit groups
and advocacy organizations. We'll also keep you updated on the lobbying and ethics
arena. The Law Blog is designed to supplement our regular newsletter.
On behalf of the Holtzman Vogel team, I hope you find this site helpful and interesting.
And we hope you'll become a regular visitor. (If you'd like to receive our newsletter,
please click here to sign up.)
Jill Holtzman Vogel
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Thursday, September 02, 2010
Wash. Post: Maryland Sen. Currie indicted on charges of taking bribes from grocery chain
The Washington Post reports "Longtime Maryland Sen. Ulysses Currie, one of the most powerful and popular figures in the General Assembly, was indicted Wednesday on charges that he took more than $245,000 in bribes to use his position and influence to do favors for a grocery chain."
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Maryland Now Regulating Candidate Use of Facebook, Twitter
Maryland became one of the first jurisdictions to begin micro-managing candidates' use of social networking services, such as Facebook and Twitter. The Baltimore Sun reports "Starting two weeks from now, candidates must begin including an authority line — a declaration of approval that lists their campaign treasurer — on the social networking sites run by their campaigns....Maryland's new rules also provide clarity on what a candidate must do if he or she wants to purchase an online ad with Facebook or Google or another provider. If the ad is too small to include the full authority line — which it often is — candidates will need to include a link to their official campaign site."
Sunday, June 06, 2010
AP: Md. board backs rules for campaigns, social media
AP reports "Political candidates in Maryland would be required to clearly identify their campaign when using social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, under regulations endorsed Thursday by the state board of elections. A panel of state lawmakers must approve the rules before they can take effect; an elections official said members of the Maryland General Assembly's Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review committee are expected to consider the regulations by the end of July."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Maryland AG Says Ehrlich's Radio Show Not A Campaign Contribution From the Radio Station
Back in April, the Maryland Democratic Party filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections claiming that "former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s weekly radio show should be considered an in-kind campaign donation." (See previous post here.)
Today comes word that "[t]he Maryland Attorney General's Office is advising state elections officials not to treat former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s weekly radio show on WBAL as an illegal campaign contribution by the station."
The letter from the Attorney General's office is here.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Radio Shows and Maryland Candidates
From the Baltimore Sun: "The state's attorney general's office will review whether former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s weekly radio show should be considered an in-kind campaign donation, a spokeswoman said. The State Board of Elections requested an opinion Tuesday after Maryland's Democratic Party accused Ehrlich of breaking campaign finance rules by continuing to host a WBAL talk show after announcing his candidacy for governor. The airtime should be viewed as a campaign donation from station owner Hearst Radio, according to a letter from the party....[Mark S.] Miller [WBAL Radio's news director] also noted that [current Maryland Governor Martin] O'Malley regularly appeared on the twice-monthly 'Ask the Mayor' show in 2006 when he was Baltimore's top elected official and also running for governor. He did not report that time as an in-kind donation, campaign finance reports show. [Susan] Turnbull [the chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party] drew a distinction between O'Malley's previous show and Ehrlich's current program, arguing that O'Malley was providing factual information related to his job as mayor while Ehrlich provides political commentary to promote his candidacy."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
USA Today: States weigh campaign-finance changes
From USA Today: "State lawmakers around the country are rushing to rewrite campaign-finance laws following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that opened the door to unlimited corporate and union money in elections and upended laws in nearly half the states." With brief updates from Iowa, Maryland, Arizona, Minnesota and Colorado.
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Wash. Post editorial on Montgomery County, MD candidates and the local teachers' union
The Washington Post has this editorial, noting an odd arrangement (or perhaps just an under-reported arrangement) in Montgomery County, Maryland - a suburb of Washington, DC.
Writes the Post, "Candidates who receive the union's stamp of approval are also then expected to pay. As far as we know, this arrangement is unique; in elections elsewhere, unions and other special interests contribute to candidates, not vice versa. . . . In the latest elections for the Montgomery County Council, in 2006, most candidates on the union-approved (and trademarked) 'Apple Ballot' coughed up the maximum contribution allowed by state law, $6,000, to a PAC run by the Montgomery County Education Association, as the teachers union is known. Union-backed candidates for the Board of Education also paid handsomely."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Baltimore Sun: Dixon agrees to resign effective Feb. 4
According to the Baltimore Sun, "Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon will resign next month, part of a plea deal reached Wednesday that brings a years-long corruption investigation to a close with a guilty plea in a perjury case in addition to last month's jury conviction on an embezzlement count."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
New York Times: Baltimore’s Mayor Is Convicted
The New York Times reports, "A jury convicted Mayor Sheila Dixon on Tuesday on one count of embezzlement for stealing gift cards meant for poor residents, but it acquitted her of three other charges, including the most serious felony theft charge.
Ms. Dixon, whose conviction may force her from office, faced five theft-related charges, and the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision concerning one of them. The state prosecutor to say he was undecided on whether to refile that charge. . . . She still faces a trial in March on two perjury counts stemming from an accusation that she failed to report gifts."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
23 of 26 Candidates Running For Local Office Made Errors On Their Campaign Finance Reports
The Frederick NewsPost (of Maryland) reports, "The sheer volume of candidates with campaign finance errors -- 23 of the 26 running for city office -- was caused by mistakes easily excused as inexperience, according to City of Frederick elections officials.
But three candidates could have their errors and omissions forwarded to the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office for legal review, said Anne Leffler, president of the city's Board of Supervisors of Elections. She said the majority of the errors are simply honest mistakes."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Baltimore Sun: 77 political candidates face criminal charges; Prosecutors file complaints on campaign finance reports
The Baltimore Sun reports that "State prosecutors have filed criminal charges against 77 political candidates - including former Baltimore mayoral candidate Andrey Bundley - accusing them of violating election laws regarding campaign finance reports, according to the state prosecutor's office."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Maryland Bill Would Raise Contribution Limits, Test Public Financing
From the Washington Post: "Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) will join forces with some progressive groups today to announce campaign finance legislation that includes both an increase in contribution limits and a pilot program for public financing of legislative campaigns."
Click here to read the entire post.
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