Irvine City Council unanimously approved legislation to strengthen its conflict of interest policy this week.

The bill adds a provision to contracts with the city that allows the city to cancel a contract and get reimbursed if a member of council or an employee of the city lobbied on behalf of a contractor, paid or unpaid.

Councilwoman Christina Shea said she brought the item forward after she learned former Councilman Jeff Lalloway helped a Los Angeles-based firm with an Irvine office try to get a contract for the Anaheim streetcar project.

State Senator Richard Ojeda introduced a bill that requires lobbyists to purchase and wear body-mounted cameras while at the Capitol.

Senate Bill 135 also prohibits lobbyists from making certain campaign contributions and places restrictions on lobbyists who are loitering in the Capitol.

The body-mounted camera video and audio recordings would be subject to inspection by the West Virginia Ethics Commission.

Five Connecticut lawmakers have accepted jobs in Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and have resigned from the General Assembly.

State Representatives Chris Soto and James Albis as well as Senators Beth Bye, Terry Gerrantana, and Tim Larson submitted their resignations to the secretary of state this week.

Gov. Lamont has 10 days to announce special elections to fill each vacancy.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections increased the contribution limit in the state to $5,400 for candidate committees and others that are subject to legal limits.

State law ties the amount to inflation based on the Consumer Price Index, which had a 4.7% increase from July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2018.

The new limit will remain in effect through December 31, 2020.

State Rep. Lou Lang announced his resignation from the 16^th District after 32 years in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Lang was formerly second-in-command to House Speaker Mike Madigan.

Lang has been hired by a consulting and lobbying firm registered with the state.

Because the state rarely contracts directly with lobbying firms, Lang’s lobbying work does not overstep the state’s revolving door provision.

Gov. Phil Bryant signed three writ of elections today, declaring March 12 as the special election date for House Districts 32, 71, and 101.

If necessary, a runoff special election will be held on April 2.

Reps. Willie Perkins (District 32), Adrienne Wooten (District 71), and Brad Touchstone (District 101) were elected to different judgeships in the November 2018 election and had to resign from the House of Representatives.

Minnesota will hold a special election for Senate District 11 on February 5.

Sen. Tony Lourey resigned after being appointed to Gov.-elect Tim Walz’s cabinet.

If necessary, a primary will be held on January 22.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin has called a special election to fill the vacancy in Senate District 31.

The seat had been held by Ray Jones since 2001, but it became vacant when he resigned after being elected judge executive.

The district encompasses the counties of Elliott, Martin, Lawrence, Morgan, and Pike.

Gov. Janet Mills and Sec. of State Matthew Dunlap announced a special election to be held on March 12 for House District 124.

Rep. Aaron Frey vacated the office to serve as attorney general.

House District 124 includes portions of Bangor and Orono.

U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm, has enjoined Maryland from enforcing M.C.E.L. §§ 13-405 and 13-405.1.

The statutes in question, require online platforms, like search engines and social media sites, to publicly disclose the contact information and amount paid by the purchaser to the online platform for the placement of the qualifying paid digital communication within 48 hours.

In the 50-page opinion, the judge concludes the statutes encroach on First Amendment freedoms. The state may file an interlocutory appeal.

Effective January 8, a lobbyist who had also been elected to public office is prohibited from making or authorizing, from political contributions accepted as a candidate or officeholder, a political expenditure that is a political contribution to a candidate, officeholder, or political committee.

This restriction applies after the ending date of the last term for which the lobbyist was elected to public office. This law was created by House Bill 505 of the 2017 Legislature and adds Section 305.029 to the Government Code.

On December 14, 2018, the Texas Ethics Commission adopted an amendment to Texas Ethics Commission Rules §50.1, increasing the legislative per diem from $190 to $221.

Per Texas law, the detailed reporting threshold for food and beverages, entertainment, transportation, and lodging is 60 percent of the legislative per diem.

The detailed reporting threshold therefore increased to $132.60 for these expenditures made on or after January 6, 2019.

The first piece of legislation introduced into the new U.S. House of Representative was a sweeping 571-page campaign finance bill. Introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes, House Bill 1, the For the People Act, requires any organization involved in political activity to disclose its largest donors, creates a multiple matching system for small donations for political campaigns, and amends rules governing super PACs.

The bill also restructures the Federal Election Commission, amends the federal conflict of interest law, and expands the revolving door provision by prohibiting members of Congress from serving on corporate boards. If passed, the bill also requires presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns, prohibits partisan gerrymandering, increases oversight over election vendors, creates an automatic voter registration across the country, and changes registration requirements for lobbyists and foreign agents.

Sarbanes argued the rational for the bill in his press release, stating, “The bold, transformative set of reforms that we introduced today will strengthen our democracy and return political power to the people by making it easier, not harder, to vote, ending the dominance of big money in our politics and ensuring that public officials actually serve the public.”

The Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office has announced the launch of a new online Lobbyist Center.

The Lobbyist Center allows lobbyists to register online and gives the public real-time access to a list of Wyoming lobbyists and associated filings.

The Lobbyist Center can be accessed at the Secretary of State’s website.

Sometime before May 16, 2019, a by-election will be announced for the seat in the House of Assembly representing Sackville-Cobequid in the province of Nova Scotia.

The Sackville-Cobequid seat became vacant with the resignation of MLA David Wilson on November 16, 2018.

When Wilson tendered his resignation to the Clerk of the House, he would not reveal his future plans. “It’s just time for me to look at other things,” said Wilson, according CBC.com.

A writ for a by-election must be issued six months from the date of his resignation. The by-election must be held on a Tuesday between 30 and 46 days from the date that writ is issued.