Campaign Finance

National: “As U.S. Politics Heats Up, Companies Seek to Avoid Controversy” by Jessica DiNapoli for Reuters

Rhode Island: “A Chaotic Campaign Helped Save Rhode Island’s House Speaker in 2016. Now It Threatens to End His Political Career” by Dan McGowan and Edward Fitzpatrick for Boston Globe

Washington: “Twitter to Pay $100k to Washington State in Settlement Over Political Ad Disclosure Violations” by Todd Bishop for GeekWire

Elections

Alaska: “Alaska Absentee Witness Requirements Scrapped for Election” by Becky Bohrer for Associated Press News

Minnesota: “Federal Judge Upholds Minnesota’s Deadline Extension for Counting Ballots” by Jason Slotkin for National Public Radio

Texas: “Appeals Court OKs Texas Governor’s Order to Limit Drop Off Locations for Absentee Ballots” by Rachel Elbaum for NBC News

Ethics

National: “Trump’s Children Brought Secret Service Money to the Family Business with Their Visits, Records Show” by David Fahrenthold, Joshua Partlow, and Carol Leonnig (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Supreme Court Halts Census in Latest Twist of 2020 Count” by Mike Schneider for Associated Press News

National: “Trump Taps U.S. Marine Band for White House Event and Raises Questions About Employing the Military for Political Purposes” by Paul Sonne for Washington Post

Hawaii: “Ballot Questions Could Bolster Ethics Watchdog’s Staffing and Spending” by Chad Blair for Honolulu Civil Beat

The Chicago Board of Ethics extended the lobbyist third quarter activity report deadline.

Due to problems with the ELF system, the deadline is extended from October 20 to October 26.

Reports must be submitted electronically through the ELF system.

The ELF system has a new look but works the same way, and has instructions available under the resources tab.

A report is due even if there is no activity during the reporting period.

A report in DRAFT, PENDING REVIEW, or PENDING PAYMENT status will prevent filing of a new activity report until those filings are finalized.

Campaign Finance

National: “The Mystery of a GOP Congressman’s Seemingly Rent-Free Campaign Office” by Daniel Newhauser for Politico

National: “Trump Engineered a Sudden Windfall in 2016 as Campaign Funds Dwindled” by Susanne Craig, Mike McIntire, and Russ Buettner for New York Times

Elections

National: “With Election Day Looming, Twitter Imposes New Limits on U.S. Politicians – and Ordinary Users, Too” by Elizabeth Dwoskin and Craig Timberg (Washington Post) for Seattle Times

California: “Unofficial Ballot Drop Boxes Popping Up Throughout the State Worry Elections Officials” by Alicia Robinson and Brooke Staggs for Orange County Register

Colorado: “Colorado Voters to Decide Whether to Pull Out of National Popular Vote Effort” by John Aguilar for Denver Post

North Carolina: “A Legal Fight Over How to Fix Ballot Errors in North Carolina Has Left Thousands of Voters in Limbo – Nearly Half People of Color” by Elise Viebeck for Washington Post

Ethics

Georgia: “Common Cause Calls for Investigation of Georgia Ethics Commission’s Conflict of Interest Policies” by Dale Russell for WAGA

New York: “Trump Got a $21 Million Tax Break for Saving the Forest Outside His N.Y. Mansion. Now the Deal Is Under Investigation.” by Joshua Partlow, Jonathan O’Connell, and David Fahrenthold (Washington Post) for MSN

Lobbying

Virginia: “Inside the Utility Company Lobbying Blitz That Will Hike Electric Bills” by Patrick Wilson (Richmond Times-Dispatch) for ProPublica

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott named December 19 as the special election runoff for Senate District 30 to fill Sen. Pat Fallon’s seat.

The special election for Texas State Senate District 30 was held on September 29 after Fallon announced his plans to run for election to the U.S. House to represent the 4th Congressional District of Texas.

State Rep. Drew Springer and Dallas Salon Owner Shelley Luther are on the ballot to fill Fallon’s seat. District 30 covers a big chunk of north Texas including parts of Grayson, Denton, Collin, and Parker Counties.

Campaign Finance

Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania House Insurance Committee Chairwoman Reaps Big Harvest of Campaign Contributions from Insurance Industry” by Ford Turner for Allentown Morning Call

Elections

National: “Facebook to Temporarily Halt Political Ads in U.S. After Polls Close Nov. 3, Broadening Earlier Restrictions” by Elizabeth Dwoskin for Washington Post

National: “New Justice Dept. Election Fraud Guidance Could Allow Boosting of Trump’s Exaggerated Claims, Legal Observers Say” by Matt Zapotosky (Washington Post) for MSN

Florida: “Federal Judge Denies Request to Extend Florida Voter Registration Deadline” by Allison Ross for Tampa Bay Times

Pennsylvania: “Judge Throws Out Trump Campaign’s Pennsylvania Lawsuit” by Marc Levy for Associated Press News

Wisconsin: “Federal Appeals Court Blocks Extension for Wisconsin Ballot Returns” by Zach Montellaro and Josh Gerstein for Politico

Ethics

California: “Arcadia Subsidiary of Chinese Company to Pay $1 Million Fine in LA City Hall Bribery Scandal” by City News Service for Los Angeles Daily Breeze

Virginia: “Va. Congressional Candidate Reported No Assets. His Amended Disclosure Shows He Holds Dozens of Stocks.” by Meagan Flynn for Washington Post

Lobbying

National: “Longtime GOP Fundraiser Elliott Broidy Charged with Acting as a Foreign Agent, Is Likely to Plead Guilty” by Matt Zapotosky (Washington Post) for Seattle Times

The Philadelphia Board of Ethics announced the 2020 lobbying training schedule.

The virtual training will cover ethics rules, registering, and filing expense reports with the Board of Ethics.

At this time, it is not mandatory to attend one of the 2020 lobbying trainings.

However, attendance at a training will be credited when the mandatory training provision takes effect for registered entities.

Registration for the lobbying training can be accomplished at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqd-6srj0tHdGweXo4WfNtm4z9H7yiRooO.

Questions regarding the schedule or training may be directed to the Board of Ethics at Lobbying@phila.gov or BOE.Training@phila.gov

The Hawaii State Senate confirmed eight judicial appointments on October 6 in its first special session of 2020.

First Circuit Court Judge Karen Nakasone was appointed to the Intermediate Court of Appeals. Karin Holma, Tracy Fukui, Bryant Zane, and Andrew Park were appointed to the District Court of the First Circuit. Additionally, Courtney Naso, Elizabeth Paek-Harris, and Thomas Haia were appointed to the District Family Court of the First Circuit.

Sen. Karl Rhoads, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the pandemic had caused a backlog in the courts and the appointees are eager to begin working.

The session then adjourned sine die October 6 after the Senate confirmed the appointments.

A lobbyist and employer activity report will be due within 30 days of adjournment sine die of the special session on November 5 for expenditures and contributions relating to legislative action considered during the special session.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a special election to be held on December 22 for City Council District 12.

The seat is vacant after the expulsion of Bronx Councilman Andy King for accusations of sexual harassment, misuse of city resources, and other ethics violations.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of King’s term through 2021.

Campaign Finance

Maryland: “Can Public Campaign Financing Improve Government? Baltimore County Executive, Activists Start Campaign to Convince Voters.” by Alison Knezevich for Baltimore Sun

New York: “Rochester, New York, Mayor Indicted on 2 Felony Campaign Finance Charges” by Gary Craig and Tony Sharp (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle) for USA Today

Oregon: “After Wheeler’s $150,000 Loan, Iannarone Campaign Takes City Auditor to Court to Enforce Self-Funding Limits” by Rebecca Ellis for OPB

Pennsylvania: “Chester County District Judge Siphoned $4K From His Campaign Fund to Feed a Gambling Habit, AG Says” by Vinny Vella for Philadelphia Inquirer

Elections

Ohio: “Federal Judge Thinks LaRose Has Permitted Off-Site Ballot Collection Sites in Ohio, Dismisses Drop Box Lawsuit. But Is He Right?” by Andrew Tobias for Cleveland Plain Dealer

Ethics

Missouri: “St. Louis Husband and Wife Who Pointed Guns at Protesters Indicted on Firearms Charges” by Tim Stelloh for NBC News

New York: “Appeals Court Rejects Trump Effort to Shield Financial Records” by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney for Politico

Pennsylvania: “Judge Dismisses Suit by Top Pa. Senator’s Campaign Against Spotlight PA Journalist, Others” by Mike Wereschagin (The Caucus) for Philadelphia Inquirer

Washington DC: “Mayor Bowser Has $219,000 in Her Fund for Needy Residents. During the Pandemic, She Has Given $0.” by Fenit Nirappil for Washington Post

Lobbying

Missouri: “Amid Accusations of Insider Politics, Parson Campaign Rents Space from Lobbyists” by Kurt Erickson for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Fono returned the final fiscal year 2021 budget to Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga and adjourned the special session.

However, no changes were made to the budget.

Gov. Lolos was unhappy with the $6.50 million in budget cuts and called the special session to reconsider the budget.

The Fono convened in a joint session on Monday and reached a majority vote for no changes to be made to the budget passed last week.

The budget was sent back to the governor.

This time it was accompanied by a letter of explanation from Senate President Gaoteote Palaie Tofau and House Speaker Savali Talavou Ale.

Campaign Finance

New Jersey: “NJ Investigating Bergen Health Broker Records in Criminal Probe of Political Donations” by Terence McDonald for Bergen Record

Oregon: “Election 2020: Oregon’s Measure 107 would allow laws to limit campaign contributions” by Capi Lynn for Salem Statesman Journal

Elections

Florida: “Most Florida Felons Kept from Registering to Vote by Fines, Fees or Fears, Activists Say” by Lori Rozsa for Washington Post

North Carolina: “U.S. Senate Candidate Cal Cunningham Admits to Sexting with California Strategist” by Brian Murphy, Tara Copp, and Ames Alexander for Raleigh News and Observer

Ethics

National: “Facebook Imposes Major New Restrictions on QAnon, Stepping Up Enforcement Against the Conspiracy Theory” by Craig Timberg and Isaac Stanley-Becker (Washington Post) for MSN

Delaware: “Fittingly, Supreme Court Term Starts with Test of Political Affiliations for Judges” by Robert Barnes for Washington Post

New Mexico: “New Mexico State Ethics Commission Urged to Reform Candidate Finance Reports” by Robert Knott for Santa Fe New Mexican

New York: “NYC Council Expels Andy King Over Latest Harassment, Ethics Violations” by Stephen Rex Brown and Shant Shahrigian (New York Daily News) for MSN

Lobbying

West Virginia: “WV State Ed Official Urged SAT Seller to Hire Former GOP Chairman to ‘Neutralize’ ACT Lobbyist” by Ryan Quinn for Charleston Gazette-Mail

The Mississippi Legislature met for the final time in the extended 2020 session on October 2 after passing several measures related to COVID-19 and the distribution of CARES Act funding.

The session will officially end when the Legislature adjourns sine die on October 10.

This does affect lobbyist dates reporting.

An end-of-session report is due on October 20, 10 days following adjournment sine die of the Legislature.

Campaign Finance

Montana: “Record Penalties Levied in Dark Money Lawsuit” by John Adams for Montana Free Press

Elections

South Carolina: “High Court Reinstates S. Carolina Ballot Witness Requirement” by Jessica Gresko for Associated Press News

Ethics

National: “Public Records Requests Fall Victim to the Coronavirus Pandemic” by Nate Jones for Washington Post

National: “In a New Ruling, Judge Says Census Count Must Continue Through October” by Tara Bahrampour (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Sonny Perdue Fuels Ethics Scrutiny as Trump’s Rural Envoy” by Ryan McCrimmon for Politico

Illinois: “Berrios Son-in-Law Indicted in Bribery Scheme Involving Ex-State Rep. Luis Arroyo” by Jason Meisner for Chicago Tribune

New York: “Andrew Cuomo Holds Webinar with Firm That Promised His Book to Employees” by Jon Campbell for Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Rhode Island: “Speaker Mattiello Isn’t the One on Trial for Money Laundering Today. But His Reputation Could Be.” by Edward Fitzpatrick for Boston Globe

Redistricting

Virginia: “Virginia Democrats Face Choice Between Idealism and Revenge in Vote on Gerrymandering” by Robert McCartney for Washington Post

Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga has called a special session of the Fono to convene on Monday, October 5, with the main agenda to revisit the fiscal year 2021 budget.

The special session is set to last for up to 15 days.

Gov. Lolo would like the Fono to submit a budget compliant with established policies and procedures.