The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission has announced the lobbyist registration renewal window for 2017.

Current lobbyists who do not owe any fees, fines, penalties, or reports may renew their registrations online beginning December 1, 2016, until 12:00 p.m. on January 13, 2017. Lobbyists who fail to timely renew their registration must register as a new lobbyist using paper forms.

Lobbyist badges are also expected to be sent much sooner than in past years. The Commission has asked lobbyists to allow up to two weeks for badges to be delivered.

See what’s happening in government relations this week in our News You Can Use Video Digest. Enjoy!

The gubernatorial race is still too close to call more than a week after election day. Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper declared victory over Republican incumbent Pat McCrory, but McCrory is not conceding until all provisional ballots are counted.

Cooper is ahead by about 5,000 votes, but more than 58,000 provisional and absentee ballots remain to be counted. If the race is within 10,000 votes after all ballots are counted, candidates can request a recount which would not take place until after Thanksgiving.

On November 16, 2016, Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement proposing plans to limit campaign contributions and close loopholes for those doing business with the state.

In response to contracting scandals at state universities, Cuomo intends to appoint inspectors general to investigate fraud and abuse at the State University of New York and the City University of New York.

Furthermore, Cuomo will appoint a chief procurement officer to review all state contracts and grants for the purpose of re-establishing public trust. The entire statement can be accessed here.

Photo of Governor Cuomo courtesy of Pat Arnow on Wikipedia.

The Utah Legislature adjourned a one day special session sine die on November 16, 2017. Lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to fix a complicated gas tax distribution formula in order to evenly distribute revenue and reflect the legislative intent of the original bill passed last year.

Lawmakers also passed a bill clarifying the definitions of solid waste and solid waste management facility, seeking approval from Gov. Gary Herbert who vetoed similar legislation earlier this year and requested changes.

Per Utah law, the ban on contributions during a special legislative session concludes at the time of adjournment.

Lobbyists hoping to work for President-elect Donald J. Trump will have to terminate their lobbyist registrations to be vetted for high-level positions, according to CNN.

Additionally, as an agreement to work with the next administration, officials leaving their future positions will be banned from lobbying for five years. Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer says the goal of the ban is to make sure “people aren’t using the government to enrich themselves and using their service in government to do that.”

Trump’s transition team told CNN this will help fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington.

On November 14, the Massachusetts Senate passed a resolution to create a task force to review ethics laws governing state, county, and municipal employees. House Bill 4627, which previously passed the House, requires the task force to file a report with the governor, the president of the Senate, and the speaker of the House of Representatives regarding the results of its investigation and study on or before March 15, 2017.

The original purpose of the bill was to review laws concerning lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics. House Ethics Committee Chairman Chris Markey said limiting the focus allows the task force to meet its deadline, according to the Sentinel and Enterprise News.

Gov. Gary Herbert has called a special legislative session beginning November 16 to fix a flawed gas tax formula.

The session was called after the Utah League of Cities and Towns and the Utah Association of Counties negotiated a solution to redistribute the tax revenue evenly.

The special session, Utah’s fourth this year, is also expected to consider a bill aimed at exempting some recycling facilities from certain licensing requirements.

Miami Beach residents rejected two ballot measures looking to ease certain restrictions on lobbyists.

The first would have allowed architects and landscape architects to serve on city land-use boards and work on city projects at the same time, as long as they do not lobby for a project they would eventually vote on. Currently, these architects are not allowed to serve on a land-use board while working on a project for the city.

The second measure would have allowed lobbyists to forego filing an annual statement if they did not spend or receive money for lobbying during the year. Lobbyists currently must file annual reports regardless of their level of activity, and they are subject to fines for failing to do so.

Last week, a federal judge upheld Alaska’s strict limits on several types of state-level campaign contributions, ruling that they don’t violate the free speech or equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

The suit was brought by three individuals and District 18 of the Alaska Republican Party against the Alaska Public Offices Commission. The lawsuit challenged state law that prohibits an individual from donating more than $500 annually to a candidate. The lawsuit also sought to overturn state law that sets limits on the amount a candidate can accept from nonresidents and the amount a political party may contribute to a candidate.

All of the challenged provisions of Alaska’s campaign finance laws were upheld as constitutional.

Voters in the District of Columbia passed a measure in favor of petitioning Congress to become a state in the union. The newly approved measure seeks to have the District admitted to the Union as the State of New Columbia.

The measure also approves a constitution to be adopted by the Council, state boundaries, and the guarantee of an elected representative form of government.

The petition now goes to Congress, which has the power to permit or deny it.

Berkeley voters approved a measure to create a voluntary system of public financing for city elections. Measure X1 does not increase taxes, but amends the City Charter and Municipal Code to allocate $4 per Berkeley resident from the General Fund to a new Fair Elections Fund.

To be eligible for public financing, a candidate must agree to only accept individual contributions of $50 or less from Berkeley residents.

Measure X1 was made possible by the recent passage of SB 1107, which allows any state or local government in California to provide for the public funding of elections.

A special primary election in Alabama will be held to fill Darrio Melton’s vacant seat in the House of Representatives for District 67.

The vacancy is a result of Melton’s successful bid to be the mayor of Selma.

The special primary will be held January 31, 2017, and the special general will be held April 18, 2017, provided a runoff is not required.

New Progressive Party president Ricardo Roselló defeated David Brenier and two independent candidates for Puerto Rico’s highly contested gubernatorial seat. Rosselló, a college professor and scientist, ran on a platform supporting Puerto Rican statehood and pushing new ideas for economic recovery. He is the son of former Puerto Rican Governor Pedro Rosselló who also fought for statehood while in office from 1993-2001.

Puerto Rico, a commonwealth, does not have the right to vote in U.S. presidential elections nor do they have legislative representatives in the Senate.

Rosselló plans to hold elections for senators and representatives who will then go to Washington and demand statehood. This model was first followed by Tennessee who created a state constitution and presented it to Congress as a request to join the Union in 1796.

Photo of Ricardo Roselló by Edgardo Colon on Wikimedia Commons.