Gov. Jim Justice called the West Virginia Legislature to convene a special session to address improvements to public education and pay raises for school teachers.

Speaker Roger Hanshaw said the House would go through a feedback gathering process that could take a couple months or more, and that the special session would likely meet a couple days each month before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.

The regular session is scheduled to adjourn sine die on March 9.

This week, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear a case challenging the state’s Disclose Act, leaving in place a lower court ruling of constitutionality.

The Disclose Act requires more heightened reporting by groups seeking to influence elections, commonly referred to as dark-money groups.

The campaign disclosure act, challenged by Montanans for Community Development on first amendment grounds, has been an important policy for Gov. Steve Bullock and his administration.

This comes at a time when the Montana House of Representatives is considering House Resolution 2, a bipartisan resolution urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.

In November, New Mexico voters approved a constitutional amendment to Article 5 of the state’s constitution.

Constitutional Amendment 2 creates an independent ethics commission with jurisdiction to investigate, adjudicate and issue advisory opinions concerning civil violations of laws governing ethics, standards of conduct and reporting requirements.

In order to be a functional commission, the Legislature must pass laws granting the commission all of its powers and duties.

As a result, state Rep. Daymon Ely introduced House Bill 4 setting out the new agency’s responsibilities.

The bill states the commission will have jurisdiction to investigate and adjudicate a complaint alleging a civil violation of the Lobbyist Regulation Act and the Campaign Reporting Act.

Additionally, the commission would have the authority to suspend a person from consideration for award of a contract if the person violates the Procurement Code.

If passed, sections 1 through 5, 7, and 37 of the bill will be effective July 1, 2019. The remaining sections will be effective January 1, 2020.

Gov. Greg Abbott has set a special election for House District 125 to occur on February 12.

State Rep. Justin Rodriguez resigned after being appointed as a Bexar County commissioner.

Early voting begins on January 28.

The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices received approval to increase the threshold amount a lobbyist can earn to trigger lobbyist registration with the state.

The threshold amount for 2019 is $2,600.

The Commissioner of Political Practices also updated its lobbying guide, which can be found on the states website.

Campaign Finance

National: “How a Little-Known Democratic Firm Cashed in On the Wave of Midterm Money” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Anu Narayanswamy for Washington Post

Connecticut: “Under the Influence: Marijuana industry seeks ruling on legality of political contributions in Connecticut” by Neil Vigdor for Hartford Courant

Montana: “Montana’s Dark Money Detective” by Jimmy Tobias for Pacific Standard

Elections

California: “Supreme Court Rules Against Mystery Corporation from ‘Country A’ Fighting Subpoena in Mueller Investigation” by Robert Barnes, Devlin Barrett, and Carol Leonnig (Washington Post) for San Jose Mercury News

Ethics

National: “Feds’ GoFundMe Campaigns Open a ‘Minefield’ of Ethical Questions During Shutdown” by Nicole Ogrysko for Federal News Network

National: “Pro-Pruitt Group Took Big Checks in Secret” by Alex Guillen for Politico

Georgia: “State Ethics Director Under Ethics Investigation” by Dale Russell for WAGA

Hawaii: “Why Critics Say New House Sexual Harassment Policy Doesn’t Go Far Enough” by Anita Hofschneider for Honolulu Civil Beat

New York: “As Session Starts, Legislators and Advocates Push Overhaul of State Ethics Enforcement” by Samar Khurshid for Gotham Gazette

Legislative Issues

National: “Young People Power into Statehouses and City Halls” by Graham Vyse for Governing

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mike Stack announced a special election to fill the vacancy in the 37th Senate District.

The seat became open with the election of Guy Reschenthaler to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The district includes suburbs in western and southern Allegheny County as well as part of Washington County.

On November 28, 2018, a lawsuit had been filed against the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to stop the commission’s Comprehensive Lobbying Regulations from going into effect on January 1, 2019.

David Grandeau, a former lobbying enforcement official and one of three petitioners in the lawsuit, argued the commission lacks the authority to create regulations that expand and amend New York’s Lobbying Act.

On December 19, a settlement was reached between the two parties. As a result, the comprehensive regulations are defined as a “statement’’ for how the commission plans to administer and enforce state lobbying law.

On October 15, 2018, the Baltimore City Council passed an ethics bill introduced by City Councilman Zeke Cohen.

Ordinance No. 18-0230, also known as the Transparency in Lobbying Act, became law without the mayor’s signature on December 3, 2018.

The ordinance requires lobbyists to file reports twice a year and affirmatively identify their clients when approaching city government officials. Additionally, any lobbyist violating the act may be banned for a period of three years.

An amendment was adopted delaying the effective date of the reporting provisions. As a result, lobbyists will file the annual report due January 31, 2019.

Following the 2019 annual report, lobbyists will likely report semi-annually beginning with a report due on July 31, 2019.

The bill will be effective March 3, 2019, while the section impacting reporting requirements will be effective March 3, 2019, or 30 days from a viable online reporting system being implemented, whichever is later.

A lawsuit has been filed against the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to stop the commission’s Comprehensive Lobbying Regulations from going into effect on January 1, 2019.

David Grandeau, a former lobbying enforcement official and one of three petitioners in the lawsuit, argue the commission lacks the authority to create regulations that expand and amend New York’s Lobbying Act.

The lawsuit, York Group Associates LLC v. Joint Commission on Public Ethics was filed in state Supreme Court in Albany on November 28, 2018.

The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics has launched a new lobbyist reporting system. The Organization Profile section has gone live.

All Organization Profiles from the previous system have been transferred to the new lobbying application and require an update to ensure all the information is correct.

The Commission has created an informational page to help users navigate the new system.

Campaign Finance

National: “These Democrats Swore Off PACs. But Corporate Lobbyists Have a Plan” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

National: “GOP Megadonor Miriam Adelson Is Winning a Medal. But Are Republicans Losing the Political Money War?” by Carrie Levine and Dave Levinthal for Center for Public Integrity

Michigan:”Republican Bill Would Shield Donors to ‘Dark Money’ Groups in Michigan” by Riley Biggins for Bridge Michigan

Elections

National: “Julian Assange Is Secretly Charged in U.S., Prosecutors Mistakenly Reveal” by Charlie Savage, Adam Goldman, and Michael Schmidt (New York Times) for WRAL

California: “San Diego Loosening Rules for Phone Polls and Phone Ads to Avoid Skewed Results” by David Garrick for San Diego Union Tribune

Georgia: “Stacey Abrams Ends Fight for Georgia Governor” by Alan Blinder and Richard Fausset (New York Times) for WRAL

Ethics

National: “Judge Hands CNN Victory in Its Bid to Restore Jim Acosta’s White House Press Pass” by Paul Farhi (Washington Post) for MSN

Lobbying

Oklahoma: “Lobbyists Await Largest Number of Freshmen Lawmakers Since Statehood” by Janelle Stecklein for McAlester News Capital

Redistricting

Maryland: “Maryland Appeals Partisan Gerrymandering Decision to Supreme Court” by Ann Marimow and Erin Cox for Washington Post

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Arizona Utility Regulators Ask Judge to Bar Colleague’s Investigation of Them” by Howard Fischer (Capitol Media Services) for Arizona Daily Star

Michigan: “Bill Could Provide a Potential $92K Windfall for 2 Michigan Senators” by Paul Egan for Detroit Free Press

New York: “Sugarman Election Complaint Seeks $700K in NYSUT Penalties” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Elections

Florida: “Inside the Republican Strategy to Discredit the Florida Recount” by Jeremy Peters and Maggie Haberman for MSN

Ethics

Federal: “Justice Dept. Defends Legality of Trump’s Appointment of Acting Attorney General” by Charlie Savage for New York Times

Lobbying

Federal: “A Fugitive Financier’s Charm Offensive Has P.R. Firms Proceeding with Caution” by Matthew Goldstein and Kenneth Vogel for New York Times

Canada: “Sask. eHealth Exec Got Free PGA Golf Trip from Vendor Doing Business with Province” by Geoff Leo for CBC

California: “SoccerCity Document Leak by San Diego Councilman Prompts Tougher Restrictions” by David Garrick for San Diego Union Tribune

Redistricting

Virginia: “U.S. Supreme Court to Take Up Virginia Redistricting Case on Racial Gerrymandering” by Gregory Schneider and Robert Barnes for Washington Post

Maine has elected state Attorney General Janet Mills as governor, making her the first woman to hold the state’s highest office. Mills is taking over for Republican Paul LePage, who is known for being combative.

In addition to making racist remarks, he led efforts to block Medicaid expansion in Maine, even after voters approved the move in a ballot initiative. In fact, LaPage sued Mills after she refused to represent him in several federal cases.

Mills, who was the first woman elected as a district attorney in New England, was also the first female attorney general of Maine.

Her main priorities for the state include increasing access to Medicaid by funding the efforts with the $35 million she secured from a tobacco settlement, providing broadband access in rural areas and addressing the opioid crisis.