On June 30, the New Hampshire General Court adjourned their legislative session.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislative session was abbreviated and conducted away from the State House for the first time in over 150 years.

During the shortened session, the Legislature passed bills relating to police reform, absentee voting, and drug importation.

The Legislature will discuss any bills vetoed by the governor when it is expected to reconvene later this fall.

Elections

National: “Hickenlooper Rolls to Victory in Colorado Senate Primary” by James Arkin and Ally Mutnick for Politico

Florida: “A Lawsuit to Kick Carlos Gimenez Off the Ballot for Congress Continues – For Now” by Alex Daugherty for Miami Herald

Ethics

National: “A Common Thread Among Many Trump Press Staffers: They’re related to other Trump staffers” by Paul Fahri (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “A Dozen Donors Paid Nearly $480,000 in Legal Fees for Pence in Mueller Inquiry, New Filing Shows” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Human Rights Groups Turn Their Sights on Trump’s America” by Nahal Toosi for Politico

Ohio: “Federal Agents Charge Four Toledo City Council Members in Bribery Probe” by Allison Dunn and Sarah Elms for Toledo Blade

Ohio: “‘The World Will Never Break Me.’ Tamaya Dennard Pleads Guilty; Sentencing Coming Later.” by Sharon Coolidge and Kevin Grasha for Cincinnati Enquirer

Lobbying

North Carolina: “NC Legislators Notified After a Lobbyist Tests Positive for Coronavirus” by Lucille Sherman, Danielle Battaglia, and Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan for Raleigh News and Observer

Procurement

Canada: “Records Show Charity Closely Linked to Trudeau Has Received Multiple Sole-Source Contracts from Liberal Government” by Christopher Nardi for Canada.com

California: “Nuru Scandal Prompts New Rules for Public Works to Prevent Corruption” by Joshua Sabatini for San Francisco Examiner

Elections

National: “The Lincoln Project Is Trolling Trump. But Can It Sway Voters?” by Tina Nguyen and Elena Schneider for Politico

National: “For Months, Trump Allies Hunted for Tapes of Biden in Ukraine. Now They’re Turning Up.” by Paul Sonne, Rosalind Helderman, Josh Dawsey, and David Stern for Washington Post

Alabama: “Alabama Asks Supreme Court to Review COVID-19 Election Ruling” by Todd Ruger for Roll Call

Ethics

National: “Reddit Closes Long-Running Forum Supporting President Trump After Years of Policy Violations” by Craig Timberg and Elizabeth Dwoskin (WashingtonPost) for MSN

National: “As Support for Mask-Wearing Grows, So Do Political Risks for Forgoing Them” by Annie Linskey and Cobly Itkowitz for MSN

California: “Huizar, Facing Felony Charge, Will No Longer Receive L.A. Council Salary, Official Says” by David Zahniser for Los Angeles Times

Georgia: “Georgia Lawmakers Pass New DeKalb Ethics Bill” by Asia Ashley for The Champion

Lobbying

Arizona: “Witness in Rep. David Cook Investigation Says Lawmaker Sent Threatening Message” by Andrew Oxford for Arizona Republic

On March 13, Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello and President of the Senate Dominick Ruggerio announced General Assembly sessions and hearings are canceled for the week of March 16 to March 20 due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

All legislative offices are closed to allow the Department of Administration to clean the State House.

Legislative leaders will monitor the developing situation to determine if future steps are required.

Legislative Document 54, sponsored by Senator Justin Chenette, became law without Gov. Janet Mill’s signature.

The bill extended the current law prohibiting the governor, members of the Legislature, constitutional officers, and their staff from soliciting and accepting contributions from a lobbyist or lobbyist associate to all year-round.

Unless the lobbyist or lobbyist associate is eligible to vote on the day of the election in a district where the candidate will appear on the ballot, the lobbyist and lobbyist associate may not contribute to the governor or member of the Legislature when not in legislative session or to a gubernatorial or legislative candidate at any time during the year.

An intentional violation of the prohibition results in a civil penalty up to $1,000 for each violation and the return of the contribution in violation to the contributor.

I attended the Healthy Worksite Award Luncheon in Columbus this week, where State and Federal Communications won a bronze level award.

This award recognizes Ohio employers that demonstrate a commitment to employee health by incorporating comprehensive worksite health promotion and wellness programs.

The award recognizes efforts to facilitate and encourage employee health, enhance productivity, and ensure a healthy worksite environment.

Healthy Business Council of Ohio recognized more than 100 employers with State and Federal Communications as one of them!

Ahead of the 2020 legislative session, the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission has submitted six measures to the Senate President and the House Speaker for introduction.

The proposed measure relating to campaign finance reports clarifies that the increased fine for the late-filing of preliminary reports only applies to the reports due 10 days before a primary, general, or special election.

This proposed change is due to the additional preliminary reports mandated by the Legislature last session.

Other proposals include legislation introduced but not passed last session, such as House Bill 164 relating to electioneering communications.

The measure includes:

• Changing the disclosure date of electioneering communication
• Adding advertisements sent by mail to the definition of electioneering communication
• Rewording an exception to that definition to make it clear that candidate committees rather than noncandidate committees are required to file statements of information

The 2020 Legislative session is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, January 15.

On January 2, Rochelle Ford became the acting director of the District of Columbia’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.

Ford was the Board’s Senior Attorney Advisor and had served as Interim General Counsel.

Ford replaces Brent Wolfingbarger, who resigned following a council oversight hearing where Wolfingbarger’s office’s performance came under criticism, according to the Washington City Paper.

His resignation was effective on December 31, 2019.

The Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board is seeking a new Executive Director.

On November 12, Megan Tooker announced her resignation as the current Executive Director and Legal Counsel for the Board.

Tooker, who has been with the Board since 2010, is leaving to “pursue other career opportunities,” according to The Gazette.

Tooker intends to leave office in December.

The Virginia State Crime Commission cancelled their planned November 12 meeting regarding gun control.

The meeting was scheduled to discuss eight bills proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam during the July special session.

Republican Majority Leader Todd Gilbert also stated the November 18 reconvened special session will become pro forma and lawmakers will not have to report to the General Assembly.

With the Democrats controlling the Legislature, lawmakers are expected to reintroduce the gun control issue in the upcoming January session.

A San Francisco ballot measure intended to increase the restrictions on political contributions for campaign ads won easily on Tuesday.

Proposition F, the Sunlight on Dark Money measure, passed by 76% of the votes.

The proposition only needed a simple majority to pass.

The measure’s passage means greater disclosure of who is behind campaign advertisements paid for by PACs.

The top three largest donors of the committee paying for the advertisement must now disclose the name and amount contributed to the committee.

Proposition F will take effect 10 days after the election results are certified.

On December 2, a provincial by-election will be held in the Capitale-Nationale riding of Jean-Talon for the Quebec National Assembly.

The election will be held to fill the vacant seat of former Member of the National Assembly Sébastien Proulx, who resigned in August to return to private life.

The election was announced by Premier François Legault on October 27

A few weeks ago, I attended the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) 2019 Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The ALC is the CBCF’s leading policy conference on issues impacting African Americans in the United States and globally.

I attended a number of very informative and impactful sessions, beginning with the Black Women’s Roundtable focusing on the power of the black woman’s vote.

I wrapped up the ALC by attending the “Not for Sistah’s Only” session. The session focused on the importance of getting EVERYONE out to the polls in November 2020!

As a multiple time attendee of the CBCF’s ALC, I always feel renewed and empowered. This year’s Conference was no exception!

For more information on the work of the CBCF, check out their website at www.cbcfinc.org

We’re on the move again! Look for the State and Federal Communications team in Washington D.C. next week at the Practising Law Institute!