Becky recaps a busy week in elections and legislative sessions around the country!

The group Represent South Dakota met the November 6 deadline for submitting petition signatures to the Office of the Secretary of State to add a constitutional amendment to the 2018 ballot.

The amendment would tighten campaign finance and lobbying restrictions, create an independent ethics commission, and require laws changing the ballot question process to pass a public vote.

House speaker Mark Mickelson also met the deadline to turn in petition signatures for an initiative that would ban out-of-state political contributions for ballot questions, affecting groups such as Represent South Dakota.

The Office of the Secretary of State will conduct a random sampling of the signatures to determine their validity.

On Tuesday voters elected Wilmot Collins as the new Mayor of Helena, unseating the incumbent mayor of 16 years.

Collins, who came to Helena 23 years ago, is the first black mayor in the history of Montana.

Helena has nonpartisan elections, but Collins ran on a progressive message addressing teen and veteran homelessness, improving tourism, ensuring access to clean water, and encouraging other refugees to prosper in the city.

On Tuesday, Tucson voters rejected a ballot measure to increase the city sales tax by a half-penny and a second measure aiming to increase it by a tenth of a percent to fund zoo renovations.

The proposed half-cent increase was intended for early childhood education funding and pre-school vouchers and would have generated an estimated $50 million a year. There was strong opposition to the measure by city officials and both local political parties.

Tucson voters approved a sales tax increase earlier this year to fund police and infrastructure.

Voters in Denver approved a $937 million bond package to fund roads, parks, libraries, and cultural facilities.

The bond package, made up of seven different ballot questions, is the city’s largest ever and the first it has seen in a decade.

Support on all seven ballot questions was strong, the smallest margin of victory hovering above 60 percent.

There was no organized opposition to the package which covers about 460 repair and improvement projects throughout the city.

Voters in Kansas City approved a ballot measure on a $1 billion airport project to build a new privately financed airport in the city. The fate of the current 45-year-old airport has been a question for years as the city debated whether to renovate or demolish.

Supporters of the new project said the airport had outlived its usefulness and presented the city in a poor light to travelers. The ballot measure was approved by a 3-to-1 margin.

In St. Louis, voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase for police and fire funding. St. Louis County recently approved similar funding and City officials persuaded voters the tax increase was necessary to have competitive wages.

Voters rejected a ballot measure Tuesday to reduce the price of prescription drugs for the state.

Issue 2, or Drug Price Relief Act, would have limited the amount the state is allowed to pay for pharmaceuticals to the amount the Department of Veterans Affairs pays, typically a greatly discounted price. The state provides these drugs to prisoners, injured workers, and those who cannot afford them.

Nearly 80 percent of voters rejected the proposal, many citing a lack of transparency on how the change would affect prices for the general public.

The pharmaceutical industry contributed around $70 million to oppose the measure while AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a California-based group, spent only $17 million.

Maine voters approved a ballot measure to expand access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Maine is the first state to settle the issue by referendum as Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed expanding Medicaid access five times.

Additionally, voters approved ballot measures relating to infrastructure bonds and pension funding and rejected a ballot measure allowing casino or slots in York County.

On Tuesday, Texans voted to loosen some home lending regulations in place since the foreclosure crisis.

By a two-thirds margin, the ballot measure expanding who can make a home equity loan and allowing homeowners to convert home equity loans into conventional mortgage loans was approved.

The measure was widely opposed by fair housing advocates and supported by lenders and the real estate industry. This is the second time in the last five years Texans have voted in favor of more relaxed lending laws.

Meanwhile, in Dallas, voters overwhelmingly approved a $1.05 billion bond package focused on repairing the city’s infrastructure and recreational amenities.

New York voters rejected a ballot question calling for a constitutional convention. If passed, a constitutional convention would have been set for 2019 and would have allowed a total review of the New York Constitution. The question is automatically added to the ballot every 20 years.

On the other hand, voters approved a proposal revoking the pension of a public official convicted of a felony and another proposal creating a forest preserve land bank for qualifying local projects.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio won a second term as Mayor. De Blasio’s victory marks the first time in 32 years a Democratic mayor was re-elected in New York City.

Additionally, Democrat Byron Brown won his fourth term as Mayor of Buffalo.

Democrat Phil Murphy was elected as New Jersey’s 56th governor.

Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. Ambassador to Germany, may impact Congress if he appoints a replacement for U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez.

Menendez is currently on trial for corruption charges and the jury began deliberations on November 6, 2017.  If convicted, Menendez will face pressure to step down allowing a Democrat, opposed to exiting Republican Gov. Chris Christie, to appoint a replacement.

Murphy is set to take office on January 16, 2018.

The Iowa General Assembly has implemented a new lobbyist reporting application for the upcoming session.

A training class for the new application is being offered on several different dates. Interested parties may reserve a seat by emailing helpdesk@legis.iowa.gov or by calling the Help Desk at (515) 281-6506.

Training classes are available on November 9th at 9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., November 15 at 1:30 p.m., November 21 at 9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., or November 29 at 9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.

All training classes will be held in the Miller Building, Room 300, 1112 E. Grand, Des Moines, Iowa, 50319.

The old system will remain in place until the new system is available on December 1, 2017.

Attending any of these events in November? You can see the State and Federal Communications Team there!

November 3 PLEN: Women in Corporate and Nonprofit Leadership Summit, Washington, D.C.

November 6-7 Professional Women in Advocacy, Washington, D.C.

November 8-11 Women in Government, Washington, D.C.

November 8 NPC Headliners Book Event: Chris Matthews, Washington, D.C.

November 15 NABPAC PAC Management Conference, Washington, D.C.

November 17 Advocacy Leaders Network, Washington, D.C.

November 18-21 SGAC Leaders Policy Conference, Washington, D.C.

State and Federal Communications has a year-round commitment to supporting the United Way of Summit County. This includes taking part in the annual campaign, Read to Me days, and the Day of Action. But, everyone’s favorite is the office’s annual Halloween Donut and Cider sale and “pay-to-play” costume event. Not only is the event great fun, but all proceeds go to the United Way.

This year’s Halloween Donut and Cider sale was another resounding success, with 58 dozen donuts and 20 gallons of cider sold. Joe May, corporate social responsibility manager, says the sale “gets bigger and bigger every year.”

The staff delivered imaginative costumes as well as tasty treats. We were treated with visits from Kylo Ren, the friendly Starbucks barista, a flowery Snapchat filter, and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, among many others. Elizabeth Bartz, our president and CEO, and Joe Vegas, with his sharp silver jacket, just shined with joy at how much we helped the United Way yesterday.

Here’s a glimpse of the office fun yesterday: