The Maine Legislature adjourned sine die Tuesday, March 30.

During the session, the Ethics Commission proposed Legislative Document 670 to increase the annual registration fees for lobbyists from $200 to $250 and lobbyist associates from $100 to $125.

The bill would have raised lobbyist registration fees for the first time in over 20 years but did not pass in the first regular session.

The Legislature also scheduled a special session to convene on April 28 regarding a proposed supplemental budget.

This does affect lobbyist reporting.

A registered lobbyist is required to file monthly reports beginning the month they register through the lobbying year.

However, after the legislative session is concluded, if the lobbyist anticipates no further lobbying for a client, the lobbyist may file a request for a non-session waiver with their final monthly report for the session.

On March 22, Kim Janey became the acting Mayor of Boston.

Under the city charter, Janey who served as the City Council President, becomes the acting mayor when a vacancy occurs mid-term.

The seat became vacant when Marty Walsh formally resigned on Monday after being confirmed as the new U.S. Secretary of Labor.

Janey will serve the remainder of the year and a general election will be held in November to fill the position.

The Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives announced a special election for House District 60 will be held on May 18 during the upcoming primary election.

The seat is vacant after Jeff Pyle announced his retirement due to health issues from battling cancer and recovering from a stroke in 2020.

Candidates for the office will be selected by a process designated by their respective political parties.

The winner of the special election will serve for the remainder of Pyle’s term until the end of 2022.

Gov. Ned Lamont scheduled a special election for Assembly District 145 on April 27.

The seat became vacant after Patricia Miller was elected to the Connecticut State Senate on March 2.

There are no primaries, and candidates will be nominated directly by political parties.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Miller’s term until 2022.

Pennsylvania election officials have scheduled a special election for Senate District 22 on May 18.

The seat became vacant after John Blake resigned on March 8 to work for U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright.

There are no primaries, and candidates will be nominated directly by political parties.

The election falls on the same day as the municipal primary.

The winner of the election will serve the remainder of Blake’s term until the end of 2022.

The Boston Municipal Lobbying Compliance Commission recently adopted lobbying regulations to complement the city’s lobbyist registration and regulation ordinance.

Effective immediately, clients or lobbying entities required to file reports must itemize all expenditures exceeding $35 on any day during a covered reporting period.

Expenditures not exceeding $35 on any day must be reported but is not required to be itemized.

For the purposes of lobbying, expenditures are any expense incurred or paid separately by a lobbying entity or client during the reporting period in connection with each decision, legislation, legislative action or administrative action of a city employee that it sought to promote, oppose or influence and the total amount thereof incurred or paid separately by such lobbying entity or client during the reporting period.

Expenditures include operating expenses such as the cost of clerical and administrative staff salaries or wages, equipment, and facilities related to a lobbying entity or client engaging in lobbying activity and specific expenditures for lodging, meals, gifts, transportation, entertainment, advertising, public relations, printing, mailing, and telephone.

The regulation also provides a definition for compensation; a lobbyist registration exception for technical service experts; fee waiver requirements; and authorizes the commission’s power to initiate a formal investigation, hold hearings, issue decisions, and enforce penalties.

The Maine Legislative Council has scheduled the annual harassment prevention training for April 28 at 10 a.m.

Pursuant to 3 M.R.S.A. §170-B, lobbyists must complete an in-person harassment prevention training under the oversight of the Legislative Council, including the topics of sexual harassment and racial harassment.

Due to the public health threat caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s trainings will take place via Zoom.

Attendees are directed to fully participate and interact during the training and it is expected that participants will unmute audio when directed to do so and show their video during the entire event.

The training is expected to last approximately 90 minutes.

Space for the training is limited and online registration can be completed here.

On March 7, an inauguration ceremony was held for Governor Daniel J. McKee.

McKee was sworn in as Rhode Island’s 76th Governor after former Gov. Raimondo resigned to join President Biden’s administration as secretary of commerce.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, current public health and safety requirements limited attendance capacity for the inauguration event.

Governor Ned Lamont today announced a special election for Assembly District 112 on Tuesday, April 13.

The district consists of the entirety of the Town of Monroe and portions of Newtown.

The seat became vacant on February 17 following the resignation of J.P. Sredzinski.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Sredzinski’s two-year term through 2022.

The search committee for the Office of Campaign and Political Finance has named William Campbell as the new director for the independent agency.

The panel has been searching for a new director for the OCPF since Mike Sullivan retired in 2019 after serving as director since 1994.

Campbell is the current Woburn city clerk and will lead the independent agency administering the state’s campaign finance and public financing laws.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics opened the online Lobbying Application for the submission of bimonthly reports and posted updated PDF forms.

Additional time has been provided to file bimonthly reports covering the January 1 to February 28 reporting period.

These reports will be considered timely if submitted by March 22, 2021.

JCOPE recommends users review statement of registrations before filing the bimonthly reports.

In certain cases, information not previously reported in a registration cannot be added directly to the report and requires an amended registration or updated organization profile.

Resources to help navigate the Lobbying Application can be found at https://jcope.ny.gov/2021-22-lobbying-biennial-period-information.

For any questions or technical assistance, please contact the JCOPE Helpdesk at helpdesk@jcope.ny.gov or by phone at 518-474-3973.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed attorney Camille Joseph Varlack as the new chair of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

The appointment comes after the former chairman, Michael Rozen, resigned on February 10.

Ms. Varlack is a partner at the Manhattan law firm Bradford, Edwards, & Varlack, and previously served in Gov. Cuomo’s administration as an aide, deputy director of state operations, chief risk officer, and special counsel.

The appointment of Ms. Varlack takes effect immediately.

On February 24, the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics plans to open the online Lobbying Application.

Additionally, the commission will post updated paper forms for the submission of bimonthly reports.

The writable PDF forms will be available to paper filers on the JCOPE website.

Due to changes in the lobbying regulations and to the online filing system, JCOPE is also allowing additional time to file bimonthly reports due in March.

Bimonthly reports covering the January 1 to February 28 reporting period will be considered timely if submitted by March 22.

The online system was also updated to improve functionality, transparency, and the filing process.

Changes made include removing the auto-population of lobbying activities reported on a registration to the filer’s bimonthly report; allowing filers to add additional information to an existing party name; adding a comprehensive drop-down menu of itemized expenses; an updated parties lobbied database; and also adding an expense chart for reporting coalition contributions by members of unstructured coalitions.

Rhode Island lawmakers announced a statewide special election for March 2.

The special election relates to bond proposals seeking voter approval to borrow $400 million related to education, green infrastructure, transportation, housing, and arts funding.

Voters have the option for mail-in ballots, early voting in-person, or voting in-person on the day of the election.