Federal Investigation of Donovan and Legislature Complicates Special Session.

Including Roll-Your-Own smoke shops under the state’s tax and regulatory rubric for tobacco manufacturers continues to preoccupy legislative leaders and their top staff members in the run-up to this month’s special session. The Thursday arrest of Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan’s congressional campaign finance chief in an alleged corrupt deal that included $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions in exchange for killing the tobacco proposal has drawn intense attention to the agenda for the special session.

Including the RYO proposal, originally requested by the state’s Department of Revenue Services in April, met resistance from at least one high-ranking caucus staff member as late as last week before the feds pounced on Thursday morning, Daily Ructions has learned.  Staff meetings and negotiations on the agenda for the special session have legislative players and others trying to connect dots and construct timelines. Federal agents have been interviewing legislators and staff members to piece together who possessed knowledge of the RYO proposals, parties of interest, and campaign committee connections. The forms and paths the contributions took as they made their way from real and faux donors to recipients continues to intrigue. The story has the look of a scandal that will not end with one arrest.