The Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee has rejected a proposal to cap what are currently unlimited campaign contributions to state candidates.

Senate Bill 44 would have limited the amount someone can give a candidate to $20,000 per election.

The Delaware County Council has voted to approve an ordinance requiring contractors to disclose if they have made contributions for candidates running for certain county or state offices as well as political parties or political action committees.

Disclosure forms will be included in the publicly posted agenda materials for the applicable council meeting and will also be posted on the county website.

The ordinance will be effective in April.

The Illinois General Assembly has canceled in-person work for a second week due to COVID-19 concerns.

Of the nine scheduled session days, eight have now been pushed to remote.

Committee meetings can still be viewed by the public on the Legislature’s website.

West Virginia Gov. Justice has called for a special session on January 10 to consider and act upon several items relating to economic development.

These items include a bill establishing a “West Virginia Industrial Advancement Act” and supplemental appropriation bills.

New York Gov. Hochul announced special elections for February 15 to fill vacancies in Assembly District 60 and 72.

The seats became vacant when former Assembly members Charles Barron and Carmen De La Rosa began serving on the New York City Council.

During the 2022 State of the State speech, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) with an independent watchdog agency prioritizing transparency.

While JCOPE members are appointed by elected officials, the new agency would have a rotating board of five members made up of the 15 state-accredited law school deans or their designees.

These members will be prohibited from communicating with outside parties regarding any potential or ongoing investigations.

Unlike JCOPE, the new agency would be subject to the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meetings Law.

Arizona State Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai resigned her position on Wednesday, December 22 to take an appointment with the Biden administration.

Peshlakai is the 13^th legislator in Arizona to leave their seat in 2021.

County officials within Peshlakai’s district will choose her replacement.

Indiana lawmakers have called for a one-day special session on November 29 to consider legislation to end the current COVID-19 public health emergency order in place since March 2020.

Gov. Holcomb has stated he will allow the public health emergency to expire if lawmakers approved steps that would allow the continuation of enhanced federal funding for Medicaid expenses and food assistance programs, and also maintain the childhood vaccination authorization.

Rep. Justin Fecteau resigned from his position in the Maine House of Representatives on July 4, to accept a teaching position outside of his district.

The governor is expected to schedule a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term set to expire on December 6, 2022.

A special election has been scheduled for August 17 by Connecticut Gov. Lamont for Senate District 36.

The seat became vacant when Alex Kasser resigned in June because of stress from a long-running divorce case.

New Hampshire Gov. Sununu approved two special elections on June 30 to fill empty seats in Cheshire District 9 and Hillsborough District 7.

If there is more than one candidate filed for either political party, the towns in that district are scheduled to hold a primary election on September 7 and the general election on October 26.

If only one person from each political party files for the position, there will be no primary and the general election will proceed on September 7.

In a proclamation on February 3, Gov. Ralph Northam said the Virginia General Assembly will return to work on February 10.

The governor called a special session following the end of the 30-day regular session.

The session is customarily extended to 46 days but this extension did not have bipartisan support.

The Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance (BECF) published revised contribution limits for 2021 and 2022.

The individual and corporate contribution limit to local and legislative state candidates remains unchanged at $1,600 per election.

The limit for statewide candidates increased from $4,200 to $4,300 per election.

PAC limits to local and legislative state candidates increased from $8,100 to $8,300 per election.

PAC limits to statewide candidates increased from $12,300 to $12,700 per election.

BECF adjusts contribution limits in January of each odd-numbered year based on the consumer price index

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont called a special election on March 2 to fill the seat in Senate District 27.

The seat became vacant on January 5 when Rep. Carlo Leone resigned to work with the State Department of Transportation.

There will be no primary for this election.