The Baltimore County Council passed an ethics bill requiring training for certain county government officials and registered lobbyists.

The bill requires the Ethics Commission to provide a training course for registered lobbyists at least twice a year. A registered lobbyist will be required to complete the initial training course within six months of registration, and once each year thereafter. The bill allows the training to be in-person or online.

According to the County Charter, the bill must be presented to County Exec. Kevin Kamenetz within two days and he has 10 days to approve or disapprove the legislation. If approved by Kamenetz, the bill will become effective on July 17, 2017.

Read the bill here.

The Maine 2017 regular session recessed on July 3, 2017.

The Legislature failed to pass a budget on June 30, 2017, forcing Gov. Paul LePage to declare a state of civil emergency in the absence of a biennial budget. The Legislature worked late on July 3, 2017, to pass the $7.1 billion budget.

LePage signed the budget the following morning and ended the civil emergency.

Despite working into the early hours of Saturday morning, the Delaware Legislature adjourned the 2017 regular session on July 1, 2017, without passing a 2018 budget.

In order to address the Legislature’s failure, Gov. John Carney called a special session for July 2, 2017.

The special session adjourned on July 2, 2017, and Carney signed a $4.1 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2018.

The New York Legislature’s two-day special session adjourned sine die on June 29, 2017.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the special session to enact legislation extending mayoral control over the city of New York’s school district. The legislation extends city control over the city district for two years.

Barring another special session, the Legislature is set to return in January 2018.

In an attempt to prevent doctors from overprescribing opioids, the Maine Legislature recently passed a bill prohibiting manufacturers or wholesalers, or an agent of either, from offering gifts to health care practitioners.

A “gift,” as it pertains to the Maine Pharmacy Act, will not include samples of prescription drugs to be given to patients for free, items with a total value of less than $50 over a calendar year, payments to sponsors of educational programs, honoraria and payments of expenses incurred at an educational conference or meeting, compensation for research, publications or educational materials, and salaries or other benefits paid to employees.

The bill will become effective 90 days from the end of session.

What do the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Council of State Governments have in common?

They all have national conferences where you can meet with meet with public officials, sponsor activities, host receptions, and distribute promotional items. But, these opportunities require your due diligence to ensure you remain compliant with all applicable gift and lobbying laws.

Our new tip sheet “Ethics Implications for Expenditures at National Conferences” will help you determine what you can – and cannot – do at these conferences so you can always say, “I comply.”

Get your FREE copy today!

On June 27, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to reject an ordinance changing San Jose’s gift ordinance to increase the gift limit from $50 to $470.

The council approved the measure in its first vote last week, but reversed course after urging from Mayor Sam Liccardo and the public to reject the ordinance.

The $50 gift limit will remain in place; however, the council will consider raising the gift limit to $250 in August.

The council also voted to approve an ordinance to amend lobbying reporting requirements. Effective July 27, 2017, lobbyists will be required to file a report with the city clerk each week they engage in lobbying activity in the city.

Although the ordinance becomes effective 30 days after adoption, fines for failure to file weekly lobbyist reports will be suspended as a grace period until July 1, 2018.

On June 27, Rep. Don Haggar, a Republican lawmaker from Sioux Falls, resigned effective immediately from his District 10 position to become the director for the state’s chapter of Americans For Prosperity.

Americans for Prosperity is the conservative advocacy group founded by the Koch brothers.

Haggar’s resignation comes days before a new state law takes effect that would require Haggar to wait two years before becoming a lobbyist. The current wait time is one year.

The vacancy will be filled by gubernatorial appointment.

On June 26, the West Virginia Legislature adjourned its special session sine die. Lawmakers approved a budget after months of debate to resolve a $500 million shortfall in the 2018 fiscal year budget.

The state budget cuts funding for higher education and the Department of Health and Human Resources but avoids a government shutdown that would have occurred July 1 if the budget had not been in place.

Gov. Jim Justice allowed the budget bill to become law without his signature.

Written by interns Katelynn Chilson and Olivia Williams: State and Federal Communications has a strong commitment to helping our community. We believe we all have a responsibility to help our community, and we try to give back in whatever ways we can.

Every year we join Summit County United Way and participate in their Day of Action. In previous years, we’ve helped landscape the Lake Anna YMCA, sorted clothes and painted at Goodwill, and painted the gymnasium walls at the East Akron YMCA. On June 21, we helped to put on a carnival at the YMCA Family Enrichment Center in Akron, Ohio. It was a wonderful experience to help the kids with arts and crafts, officiate potato sack races, and run other carnival-inspired games.

We had a great day at the YMCA Family Enrichment Center. Seeing the excitement on the children’s faces made for a fun-filled and inspiring Day of Action.  Each year we are reminded why we love volunteering our time to the growth of our community, and each year we love to see the community coming together to make Akron the welcoming city it is.

Check out a few more of our favorite photos from this years Day of Action!

On Thursday, June 22, Gov. David Ige signed three bills amending state lobbying and ethics laws.

Among other things, the bills double the maximum administrative fine the State Ethics Commission may impose for violations of ethics or lobbying laws, amends various lobbying-related definitions, allows a former lobbyist employer to file a notice of termination when a lobbyist fails to do so, and clarifies lobbyist reporting requirements related to special legislative sessions.

The bills were effective upon approval.

Photo of Gov. Ige By Dallas Nagata White via Wikimedia Commons

The 2017 legislative session adjourned shortly before midnight on June 21, 2017.

Lawmakers adjourned the session without a deal to extend New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s control over New York City Schools. The current agreement lapses on June 30, 2017.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie stated there is no plan to return as the Assembly is comfortable with the bill they passed in May.

Heastie’s statement is available at http://assembly.state.ny.us/Press/20170622/.

On June 20, the San Jose City Council approved changes to require lobbyists to file online reports every Monday if they met with city officials the week prior.

The council also approved changes to San Jose’s gift ordinance to increase the gift limit from $50 to $470.

The proposed ordinances are scheduled for a final reading on June 27. If approved, the ordinances will become effective 30 days following the adoption date.

On June 21, the Washington Legislature adjourned its second special session sine die.

Lawmakers were unable to reach agreement on a budget bill during the session forcing Gov. Jay Inslee to call for another special session to start immediately after adjournment.

A two-year operating budget needs signed into law by June 30 or the state faces a partial government shutdown.