On August 25, the Vermont General Assembly will reconvene the legislative session to discuss the governor’s proposed 2021 budget.

Lawmakers will return to a virtual statehouse and all meetings will be conducted remotely.

The budget public hearings will be available to watch live on YouTube at the following link: https://legislature.vermont.gov/committee/streaming/house-appropriations.

Due to the special legislative session being called for August 24, 2020, registered lobbyists will be required to file a monthly report.

Monthly reports must be filed on or before September 15, 2020, covering the month of August.

For questions concerning this matter, contact the Idaho Office of the Secretary of State at elections@sos.idaho.gov or call (208) 344-2852.

Campaign Finance

National: “Swag, but No Luxury Suites: Big donors endure a party-less party convention” by Shane Goldmacher for New York Times

National: “Staff Wants More People of Color Named to the FEC” by Sarah Swann for The Fulcrom

California: “Did L.A. County Wrongly Promote a Tax Hike? It’ll Pay Hefty $1.35 Million to Settle Claims” by Kim Bojorquez for Sacramento Bee

Elections

Florida: “Federal Appeals Court Considers Whether to Uphold Florida Felon Voting Law” by Gary Fineout for Politico

Missouri: “Missouri Judge Finds GOP Redistricting Measure Misleading” by David Lieb for Associated Press News

Ethics

National: “Financial Disclosures Reveal Postmaster General’s Business Entanglements and Likely Conflicts of Interest, Experts Say” by Marshall Cohen for CNN

Arizona: “Farmers Pay Arizona City Official with Goat for Outside Job” by Staff for Associated Press News

Nevada: “Ex-LVCVA Boss to Pay Thousands in Ethics Fines Over Gift Card Scandal” by Jeff German for Las Vegas Review-Journal

Virginia: “Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas Charged with Felonies Over Portsmouth’s Confederate Monument Protest” by Laura Vozzella and Gregory Schneider for Washington Post

Lobbying

Canada: “WE Charity Registers as Lobbyist, Lays Off Dozens of Employees” by Joan Bryden and Teresa Wright (Canadian Press) for HuffPost Canada

The Maine Senate will convene on Monday, August 24, to vote on three nominees for the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Campaign Practice.

Under the Legislature’s joint rules, the Senate may convene independently for confirmation votes.

Two of the nominees were nominated by Gov. Mills in February and the third was nominated by the state’s Republican caucus.

The Senate was unable to vote on the nominations during the regular legislative session due to COVID-19 concerns.

Campaign Finance

National: “They Started in a D.C. Living Room. Now Money from This Grass-Roots Group Is Ending Up in Alaskan Villages.” by Amy Gardner for Washington Post

Elections

National: “G.O.P.-Led Senate Panel Details Ties Between 2016 Trump Campaign and Russia” by Mark Mazzetti and Nicholas Fandos for New York Times

North Dakota: “North Dakota to Vote in November on Top-Four Open Primaries, Ranked-Choice Voting, State Legislative Redistricting, and Other Election Changes” by Jackie Mitchell for Ballotpedia

Ethics

National: “Postmaster General Announces He Is ‘Suspending’ Policies That Were Blamed for Causing Mail Delays” by Jacob Bogage for Washington Post

Canada: “Canadian Finance Minister Resigns Amid Contracting Scandal” by Lauren Gardner for Politico

California: “California Ethics Agency Opens Investigation into Former CalPERS Investment Chief” by Andrew Sheeler for Sacramento Bee

Illinois: “Cook County Board of Ethics Members Ousted by Toni Preckwinkle Are Frustrated with Shakeups, Pace of Proposed Reforms” by Alice Yin for Chicago Tribune

Washington DC: “Jack Evans Is a Week Late and $20,000 Short” by Mitch Ryals (Washington City Paper) for Patch

Lobbying

National: “Nursing Homes with Safety Problems Deploy Trump-Connected Lobbyists” by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Jesse Drucker for New York Times

The Utah Legislature announced a special session beginning August 20 to consider COVID-19 relief, reopening schools, and to determine how to hold the November 3 general election.

The August 20 special session marks the sixth special session of the year. The election changes aim to modify a practice known as ballot harvesting or allowing a third party to collect and deliver multiple by-mail ballots.

Among the non-COVID issues to be discussed is a request for $20 million to bail out developers of a port in Oakland, California Utah lawmakers believe would ship Utah coal abroad.

The Legislature will hold the special session electronically, encouraging the public to participate by submitting inquires and feedback directly to their legislators or by remotely attending committee meetings.

The Legislature has exercised its ability to call itself into session, a method approved by voters in 2018. Before then, only governors could call a special session.

The special session does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Senate President Harvey Peeler announced he will call the Senate back to session early on September 2 to consider the impact of COVID-19 on upcoming elections.

The Legislature recessed in May and was set to reconvene on September 15.

Peeler emphasized the need to protect the voter and the vote as the chief reason from reconvening early.

Campaign Finance

New Jersey: “Five North Jersey Residents Charged in Alleged Scheme to Hide $239,000 in Campaign Cash” by Steve Janoski for Bergen Record

Elections

National: “With Democrats at Home, a Conservative Super PAC Comes Knocking” by David Weigel for Washington Post

National: “State Officials Rush to Shore Up Confidence in Nov. 3 Election as Voters Express New Fears About Mail Voting” by Amy Gardner and Seung Min Kim (Washington Post) for MSN

Rhode Island: “Supreme Court Allows Rhode Island to Make Voting by Mail Easier Amid Pandemic” by Laura Wamsley for National Public Radio

Ethics

Illinois: “State Sen. Terry Link Charged with Federal Income Tax Evasion” by Jason Meisner for Chicago Tribune

Ohio: “Ohio House Won’t Cough Up Some HB 6 Documents Under Federal Subpoena” by Randy Ludlow (Columbus Dispatch) for MSN

Washington DC: “Bowser Seeks Ethics Review of Aide Who Discussed Job at Howard After Negotiating Tax Break for University” by Fenit Nirappil and Michael Brice-Saddler for Washington Post

Lobbying

National: “Coronavirus Sidelines Lobbyists at the Influence Industry’s Super Bowl” by Ginger Gibson for NBC News

South Dakota: “Ethics Board: Third party-paid travel a ‘common practice’ by Sioux Falls city officials, despite rules” by Trevor Mitchell for Sioux Faslls Argus Leader

The second session of the 106^th Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die on August 13 after 60 legislative days of a session interrupted by COVID-19.

Speaker Jim Scheer suspended the session in mid-March in response to growing safety concerns regarding the global pandemic. After calling lawmakers back into session for three days in late March for the limited purpose of approving emergency funding to combat the pandemic, he suspended the session again.

Senators reconvened July 20 and finished the final 17 days of session in a changed physical environment of plastic barriers and physical distancing guidelines to limit contact between senators, staff, and the media.

The delaying of the session affected lobbyist reporting due dates. Any lobbyists or principals who received or expended more than $5,000 for lobbying purposes during the session must file special reports on September 15, 2020. Additionally, the lobbyist statement of activity is due on September 27, which signifies 45 days after adjournment sine die of the session.

Lawmakers passed 285 bills during the session, including measures to expand access to broadband Internet in rural areas, improve oversight of the state’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers and provide a tax exclusion for military retirement benefit pay.

Scheer is among six senators who are leaving the Legislature due to term limits. The others are Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford, Omaha Sen. Sara Howard and Omaha Sen. Rick Kolowski.

Chambers, whose legislative career will stand as the longest in state history, was first elected to the Legislature in 1970. He left office in 2008 due to term limits but returned in 2012.

The first session of the 107^th Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 6, 2021.

Out of six applicants, three names were forwarded to Gov. Mike Dunleavy to fill the District 30 seat until a new legislator is sworn in in January.

The district currently lacks representation since the untimely passing of Rep. Gary Knopp in a July midair plane collision.

The three chosen by the District 30 committee are Ron Gillham, Derek Leichliter, and Charlene Tautfest.

Gillham is a candidate for the seat and his name is already on the ballot for the primary election.

When a vacancy occurs, the governor typically will choose from the three names the district leaders of the party offer.

In this case, the governor may not appoint a fill-in person, but would need to appoint one if he calls a special session for the purpose of legislative confirmation of his boards and commissions picks.

His choice would have to be ratified by Republicans in the House.

On August 11, a bipartisan bill to amend the federal lobbying law was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Submitted by Republican Rep. Ben Cline and Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, the Lobbying Disclosure Reform Act would require registration with both the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, move enforcement of the lobbying laws to the U.S. Office of the Attorney General, amend registration and reporting thresholds, and assign a unique identification number to each individual registering as a federal lobbyist and to each client of that lobbyist.

H.R. 8022 would also require the disclosure of any persons providing strategic lobbying services in support of a registered lobbyist, who would then also be assigned unique identification numbers.

The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate would have the responsibility of assigning the unique identification numbers.

Rep. Jim Durkin introduced House Resolution 885 declaring the members of the House of Representatives have no confidence House Speaker Michael J. Madigan can continue in his role as speaker.

The effort to remove Madigan comes in the wake of the federal charges and conduct outlined in testimony and in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into between Commonwealth Edison Company and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

In a virtual news conference on August 13, a group of Democratic lawmakers proposed a package of ethics reform bills.

The group’s goal is for the General Assembly to take the bills up during the veto session scheduled to begin on November 17.

Proposals include banning current state legislators from also serving as lobbyists; banning former lawmakers from immediately becoming lobbyists after they leave office; amending the definition of what activities are considered lobbying; and creating official procedures for investigation, censure, and temporary removal of leadership positions for members facing criminal charges.

Republicans asked Gov. J.B. Pritzker to call a special session now to focus on ethics reform, but Pritzker issued a statement indicating he believes these important objectives should be accomplished during this fall’s veto session.

Campaign Finance

National: “Biden Aides Headline DNC Fundraisers with Lobbyists” by Theodoric Meyer for Politico

Elections

National: “Postal Service Warns 46 States Their Voters Could Be Disenfranchised by Delayed Mail-In Ballots” by Erin Cox, Elise Viebeck, Jacob Bogage, and Christopher Ingraham for Washington Post

National: “‘Gosh, I Basically Cover the Campaign from My Couch’” by Eli Okun and John Harris for Politico

Ethics

Florida: “A Florida GOP Sheriff Allegedly Ordered the Arrest of His Mistress. Now He’s the One Facing Charges.” by Teo Armus for Washington Post

Illinois: “Democratic State Lawmakers Propose Series of Ethics Changes” by Jamie Munks for Chicago Tribune

New York: “Trump Is Not Entitled to Details of Tax Returns Inquiry, D.A. Says” by Nicole Hong and William Rashbaum for New York Times

Ohio: “Indicted Former Ohio House Speaker Will Remain on Ethics Panel” by Laura Bischoff for Dayton Daily News

Tennessee: “Tennessee Governor to Sign Tougher Penalties for Some Protests” by Jonathan Mattise (Associated Press) for Memphis Commercial Appeal

Lobbying

Colorado: “Marlboro’s Owners Negotiated Colorado’s Proposed Tobacco Tax Hike – and It Could Help Them Dominate the Cigarette Market” by Jesse Paul for Colorado Sun