Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

JOHN EDWARDS COMMITTEE SWITCHED TO LESS-FREQUENT FILING: The John Edwards for President Committee, which still boasted nearly $2.8 million in its account as of March 31, won’t be releasing another campaign finance report until mid-July.

That’s because on January 31, the committee requested that the Federal Election Commission allow it to file quarterly disclosure reports instead of monthly reports, which had been its practice since 2008:

The FEC accepted the request, made by John Edwards for President Committee Assistant Treasurer Lora Haggard, in mid-February. (Haggard could not be reached for comment this weekend.) The Edwards committee has not filed monthly reports since December, filing one quarterly report in mid-April:

The practical implication? The public will not immediately see how Edwards, who a grand jury on Friday indicted on six counts of campaign finance violations, is using the significant chunk of cash remaining from his failed 2008 presidential bid.

Had Edwards’ committee continued to file monthly, it would have released reports in mid-April and mid-May, with another filing scheduled in two weeks.

Between January 2010 and March 31, the John Edwards for President Committee has spent $912,117, federal records indicate, with travel, consulting, office fees and salaries among the most common expenses. Edwards’ committee reported having nearly $2.8 million left in its account through March.

GOLF TEES OFF ON GOVERNMENT: That President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) have agreed to play golf together is notable only for the oft-at-political-war participants.

Golf itself, after all, is a sport as familiar to the nation’s presidents as, say, basketball would be to Bill Bradley. Entire books have been dedicated to the duffing habits of commanders in chief.

But there’s more to golf in Washington, D.C., than presidents playing the sport. The sport also plays politics, as is plainly evident by the lobbying expenditures of the Professional Golfers Association of America, which has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars during the past several years to champion various issues of interest to the greens.

During 2010, for example, the PGA reported lobbying on:

“Tax benefits for golf courses that suffer damage from natural disasters”

“Equitable tax treatment for golf courses in tax legislation”

“Treatment of small business and the golf industry in health care reform legislation”

Repealing a “requirement on small business to file IRS Form 1099 for purchases of property and services”

“Small Business Administration loan programs for daily fee golf courses”

The PGA’s one registered federal lobbyist is Erik Winborn of Winborn Solutions, whose other clients include members of the firearms industry, including Remington Arms and Bushmaster Firearms International.

It’s worth noting, too, that PGA isn’t alone among its golfing brethren when it comes to lobbying the federal government.

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, industry trade group We Are Golf and equipment manufacturer Ping Golf also reported federal-level lobbying expenditures during the past two years.

SANTORUM JOINS PRESIDENTIAL FRAY: As expected, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) this morning joined the ever-expanding roster of Republican presidential candidates by announcing his bid on ABC’s Good Morning America.

A formal rally is scheduled for later this morning in Pennsylvania.

Since exiting public office in 2007 — he was badly defeated by now-Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) — Santorum has written a newspaper column, worked as an attorney and Fox News contributor and made frequent public appearances.

On March 2, Fox News suspended Santorum as a paid contributor, citing his presidential ambitions. Santorum also maintains an active political action committee, America’s Foundation, which during the 2010 election cycle raised and spent $2.8 million.

Santorum also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995.

For more on Santorum’s campaign finance history, click here. And read about all the candidates running — or possibly running — for president in OpenSecrets.org’s 2012 presidential section.

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