Following a brief adjournment on July 3, the Maine Legislature convened for one day on July 20. The Legislature will meet for one additional legislative day on August 2.

The 128^th regular session has been delayed twice due to disagreements on the budget and other topics.

On August 2, lawmakers will consider possible objections of Gov. Paul LePage to any bill or resolution presented to him by the Legislature.

Becky Campbell is back to deliver this week’s state government and ethics news you can use!

Gov. Phil Bryant announced special elections for House Districts 38 and 54 will take place on November 7, 2017.

Democrat Tyrone Ellis retired from his District 38 seat and Republican Alex Monsour left this District 54 seat to become a Vicksburg alderman.

A special runoff election, if necessary, will be held on November 28, 2017. The deadline for candidates to qualify is September 18.

Bill No. 35-17 was signed by County Exec. Kevin Kamenetz on July 12, 2017.

Effective August 26, 2017, registered lobbyists will be required to complete ethics training within the first six months of registration and once a year thereafter. The training may be completed in person or online.

The Ethics Commission has yet to develop the training and will have more information available later this year.

The final version of the bill will be available after the County Council’s meeting on August 7, 2017. The current version of the bill, with an incorrect effective date, is available.

The Missouri Ethics Commission recently issued an advisory opinion clarifying campaign finance rules for corporations seeking to contribute to PACs.

Currently, a corporation may not contribute its own funds to its connected PAC, but it may contribute direct corporate funds to an unconnected PAC. The new opinion provides additional guidance on whether a corporation and a PAC are considered connected for the purpose of campaign finance law.

If contributions to a PAC are from a corporation’s general treasury, and not from the corporation’s officers, employees, or spouses thereof, it is possible the PAC is not connected to the organization. In such a scenario, if the corporation does not expend funds or provide services or facilities to administer or maintain the PAC, and it does not expend funds or provide services to solicit contributions to the PAC from its members, officers, directors, employees, or security holders, it is not a connected organization. This is true even when the PAC is funded 100 percent by a corporation’s general treasury funds.

Moreover, assuming the corporation did not establish the PAC and does not serve as a connected organization, it may make unlimited monetary contributions from the corporate treasury.

The Texas Legislature convened a special session Tuesday, July 18, 2017. Gov. Greg Abbott selected 20 bills for the agenda to be discussed by lawmakers during the session.

The priority for the session is sunset legislation to allow select state agencies to continue operating.

Among the other subjects on the agenda are bathroom privacy, property tax, and multiple education issues.

The special session comes a week after Gov. Abbott announced his bid for a second term.

Alaska’s second special session adjourned July 15 with lawmakers ending the oil tax credit program.

The Legislature may be called back into another special session soon to deal with the unfinished business of the capital budget and deficit reduction measures.

Gov. Bill Walker said in a press conference he is waiting for legislative leaders to present a compromise on the budget before he will call another costly special session.

On July 17, the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics (NILE) called on the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Government Accountability Office to review current lobbying laws with the aim of strengthening any deficiencies in the rules. NILE is a professional organization for governmental affairs professionals working at the federal, state, and local level.

“Continued news reports about the deregistering of lobbyists and ‘shadow lobbying’ to skirt past Obama and Trump Administration rules has greatly concerned the government relations profession,” NILE President Paul A. Miller stated in the organization’s press release. Miller continued, “Changes do need to be made to the current [Lobbying Disclosure Act] if we are to keep pace with how ‘lobbying’ is conducted today.”

Earlier this year, NILE issued wide-ranging recommendations for lobbying law reform on the federal level.

Gov. Kay Ivey banned lobbyists from executive branch appointments in an executive order dated July 13, 2017.

The order states public officials or public employees of the executive branch are prohibited from appointing a registered lobbyist to any executive agency. Any lobbyist currently serving in a position within the executive branch may finish their current term.

The press release and executive order can be found on the Governors website.

Home-sharing website Airbnb is planning to file a formal complaint to call on the Joint Commission on Public Ethics or the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate the ShareBetter coalition, which has spent money to run anti-Airbnb ads, organized lobby days, and established a website calling for grassroots action.

The lawsuit accuses ShareBetter of failing to register for lobbying activities and to file bimonthly and semiannual lobbying reports, among other offenses. However, sources close to ShareBetter say the three entities that make up the bulk of the funding are already registered as lobbyists and have disclosed their activities.

In response to Airbnb’s lawsuit, ShareBetter plans to file its own complaints against Airbnb for failing to report lobbying activities at both the state and city levels.

Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi and House Speaker Scott Saiki recently sent a memorandum to the Hawaii Legislature providing notice of a tentatively scheduled special legislative session.

Subject to final confirmation and an agreement on the proposed language for bills to be discussed, the leadership asked all lawmakers to be in Hawaii for a legislative session from August 28 to September 1, 2017.

The purpose of the special session will be to create a solution to fund the Honolulu Rail Transit Project.

A special election for the Louisiana State Treasurer is set for October 14, 2017. Former treasurer John Kennedy vacated the position when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016.

The race to fill the seat marks the first time the treasurer’s office has not had an incumbent running since Kennedy was elected 17 years ago.

Five contenders filed this week when the candidate registration period opened. The special election is creating an unforeseen expense for the state, costing taxpayers nearly $5 million, as Louisiana had no other statewide races scheduled this year.

The office is being run by Kennedy’s top assistant until the fall election.

In preparation for his September release, former lobbyist John Raphael was moved from a federal prison in South Carolina to an undisclosed halfway house in Columbus.

He had been sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to a count of extorting campaign contributions from a red-light-camera vendor to city officials. Despite the city doubling its number of cameras from 2005 to 2010 from said vendor, no city officials have been charged.

According to one of his attorneys, his post-release plans are “up in the air.”

State and Federal Communications employees had the opportunity to get out of the office and enjoy a Rubber Ducks baseball game on June 29. Beautiful weather and a Rubber Ducks win made for a great office outing!

Elizabeth Bartz, president and CEO, provided staff members with tickets and invited us to take a break for part of the day. Employees had the chance to hang out with each other in a casual setting and visit with coworkers who were in from Washington DC. We bonded over great food, beautiful weather, and our love of baseball.

“It was nice to get out of the office for the day and enjoy the game and the beautiful weather,” public relations intern Olivia Williams said.

The office outing provided a change of scenery and refueled us for the end of the week. Sometimes a little break is all you need to finish the week out strong!

The Rubber Ducks beat the Erie SeaWolves 7 to 6. It was a great day to be a Rubber Ducks fan and an even better day to be a State and Federal Communications employee!