On March 3, the Wyoming Legislature adjourned its 2017 general session.

Lawmakers passed a supplemental budget bill making cuts to education and substance abuse prevention funding.

The budget adjustment was needed due to lower state revenues than previously anticipated.

The 2018 legislative session is scheduled to convene February 12, 2018.

Enjoy these photos from some of our recent events!

State and Federal Communications celebrated 4 staff anniversaries in February!

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

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam issued a writ yesterday ordering a special election to fill a vacant seat in state House District 95.

The seat was left vacant after Rep. Mark Lovell resigned in February amid allegations of inappropriate sexual contact.

A special primary election will be held Thursday, April 27, with a special general to follow on Thursday, June 15. The winning candidate will serve out the remainder of Lovell’s term.

On February 28, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a three-judge panel did not have the authority to revive the two original boards after lawmakers had dissolved them with Senate Bill 4.

Gov. Roy Cooper is currently challenging Senate Bill 4 on the basis that the General Assembly overstepped its state constitutional authority when it adopted the law establishing an eight-member board to oversee elections and consider ethics complaints and issues.

Last month, the North Carolina Supreme Court blocked Senate Bill 4 from taking effect while the legal challenge against the law is pending. This latest ruling means there is not technically an Ethics Commission or Board of Elections. Gov. Cooper is expected to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, which could reestablish the boards.

We can’t wait to see everyone at the Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference. If you’ll be attending, come on by and say hello at our Resource Marketplace booth.

This month, Gov. Ricardo Rosello approved a nonbinding referendum to determine whether Puerto Rico will continue free association or seek statehood or independence.

The referendum will be held on June 11, 2017, and will give voters the choice between statehood and independence/free association. Previous referendums and plebiscites have given independence and free association as separate options, but the upcoming referendum lumps them together.

If a majority chooses independence/free association, a second referendum will be held in October to determine the preference between those options. If the referendum passes in favor of statehood, Puerto Rico, currently facing $70 billion in public debt, would have access to more federal funding if ultimately approved by the U.S. Congress as the 51st state.

Currently, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens but cannot vote in presidential elections and have limited representation in Congress.

I cannot express how busy this year is with the new federal administration, new state governors and legislators, and it is hard to keep up with the number of new municipal officials. I keep track of a lot of road warriors on Facebook and Twitter and know how difficult it is to do the next right thing on your huge TO DO list.

Let’s not forget we need to take the time for our own learning—for us to be the best we can be at our organization.

Two of my favorite conferences are around the corner.

1. Public Affairs Council National PAC Conference begins Monday in Miami Beach. This conference has for decades provided the tools needed to increase your PAC contributions and stay in compliance with all the reports due for those contributions. More info at www.pac.org.
2. State Government Affairs Council will host its annual National Summit March 29th to March 31st in New Orleans. I am moderating a session on lobbying where we will discuss specific gifts which can be prohibited in the states. The panel will include Carol Laham from Wiley Rein and Mike Thompson from Personal Care Fragrance Association. More info at www.sgac.org.

There are other meetings throughout the year. We list the events we are attending on the left side of the email of Compliance Now, within Compliance Now, as well as on our website. I have always believed in professional development and many of you who see us out and about know this as I travel with an entourage of staff who also attend events for their professional development.

If you ever have any questions about conferences we are attending, do not hesitate to reach out. We will share any information you need so you can join us.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Z. Bartz

President and CEO
@elizabethbartz

On Wednesday, Gov. Steve Bullock called a special election to take place on May 25 to fill Montana’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives vacated by Ryan Zinke.

Zinke was confirmed this week by the U.S. Senate as President Donald Trump’s new Interior Department secretary.

Zinke has refrained from participating in dozens of House votes since his cabinet nomination, leaving Montana without representation for most of 2017.

So far, seven Republicans and eight Democrats have filed for candidacy seeking the respective party nominations. The Democratic Party will hold a special nominating convention on March 5.

Ohio state Rep. Greta Johnson announced her resignation this morning, effective at the end of the month.

She is stepping down to take a position as deputy law director for Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro.

Johnson was elected in 2014 to represent District 35. Prior to serving in the Legislature, she served as a prosecutor in Mahoning County and Summit County, as well as with the city of Akron.

The House Democratic Caucus will soon announce the process for selecting her replacement.

On March 1, a new lobbying law took effect in the Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario. By-law Number 47-2016 creates a Lobby Registry and Registration System and establishes the position and duties of the Lobbyist Registrar.

The new law covers consultant, in-house, and voluntary unpaid lobbyists. A return is required to be filed within five business days of a covered communication or may take place in advance of lobbying. Lobbyists must register a separate subject matter registration for each issue they lobby and must include a description of the issue being lobbied, who will be lobbied, and when the lobbying will occur or has occurred.

Former public office holders are prohibited from lobbying for one year after leaving their position. Lobbying on a contingency basis is also prohibited under the new law.

On February 28, the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 131 to ban elected officers and other officials from lobbying during a period of two years after termination of service in the state government. The bill now goes to Gov. Dennis Daugaard for consideration.

Senate Bill 131 is one of the pieces of legislation that was introduced by lawmakers to placate citizen outrage after lawmakers repealed Initiated Measure 22, the voter approved measure to overhaul ethics and campaign finance laws.

The state Appellate Division recently upheld two state agency decisions related to contractor pay-to-play violations.

Della Pello Paving, Inc. lost two contracts totaling roughly $7 million and was barred from contracting with the state for the remainder of Gov. Chris Christie’s second term because it made a $500 contribution to Somerset County Republican Organization.

State pay-to-play laws prohibit a contractor from receiving a contract exceeding $17,500 if it contributed more than $300 during the previous 18 months to a county political party committee.

Della Pello Paving challenged the state agency decisions claiming the contribution was intended for Sheriff Frank Provenzano’s campaign and not for the county political committee. The inadvertent contribution needed to be returned within 30 days to avoid a pay-to-play violation. Della Pello did not request and receive reimbursement until more than a year after making the donation; moreover, Provenzano was not running for re-election the year the contribution was made.

Following the decision of the appellate court, Della Pello’s attorney sought emergency review by the state Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the case.

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned the 2017 regular session sine die on Saturday, February 25.

A major focus of the short session was the commonwealth’s biennial budget and several bills supporting second amendment rights received strong support from both sides of the aisle.

A reconvened session is scheduled for April 5, 2017, for lawmakers to consider bills and recommendations returned to them by the governor.