On April 24, Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.23 to reschedule state assembly and senate special elections.

The elections now move from June 23 to November 3 due to the ongoing COVID-19 state of emergency.

Additionally rescheduled to the same day as the general election, are special elections for the 50th Senate District and the 12th, 31st, and 136th Assembly Districts.

The executive order also reschedules a special election for Queens Borough President from June 23 to November 3.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the State Ethics Commission announced a filing deadline extension for lobbyist monthly and quarterly reports until July 10.

This extension affects monthly reports due on April 10, May 10, and June 10, in which the lobbyist has expended or agreed to expend $100 or more in furtherance of lobbying activities to influence legislative action in the preceding month.

The filing deadline for the first quarterly report was also extended until July 10.

The commission is expected to send out further details by email to notify all filers.

On April 21, the General Assembly announced the regular session will not reconvene before the May 6 constitutional adjournment date.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the legislative session has been suspended since March 11.

Legislative leaders expect a special session to be called in the coming months to address pending bills to ensure the continuity of government functions.

This does not immediately affect lobbyist reporting.

On April 17, Gov. Ned Lamont signed Executive Order No. 7BB to reschedule the presidential primary to Tuesday, August 11, due to the ongoing public health crisis caused by COVID-19.

This is the second rescheduling of the presidential primary and the new date will coincide with the state and federal primary on August 11.

The governor had previously rescheduled the presidential primary from April 28 to June 2.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the General Assembly is extending the postponement of the legislative session.

All House and Senate sessions and committee hearings for the week of April 20 to April 24 have been canceled.

The General Assembly is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, April 28.

These changes do not affect lobbyist reporting.

To mitigate the spread of COVID-19 due to in-person voting, Gov. Janet Mills issued Executive Order 39.

Executive Order 39 postpones the primary from June 9 to Tuesday, July 14.

The order also allows applications for absentee ballots to be made in writing or in person up to and including the day of the election without specifying a reason.

The new application process permits voters to obtain and return the absentee ballot before the polls close on July 14.

On April 8, legislative leaders announced the General Assembly is extending the postponement of the session until April 23.

The State Capitol, Legislative Office Building, and State House will remain closed during the postponement.

This does not immediately affect lobbyist reporting.

The Rhode Island General Assembly announced the postponement of the legislative session has been extended for another week due to COVID-19.

All legislative sessions and committee hearings for the week of April 13 to April 17 have been canceled.

Both chambers of the General Assembly are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, April 21.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

On April 8, Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 120 to postpone the federal and state primary elections from June 2 to July 7.

The executive order also reschedules any other election scheduled between May 13 through July 7 to be held on Tuesday, July 7.

The governor postponed the election due to the COVID-19 health emergency.

Additionally, postponement will allow state officials time to determine whether in-person voting can be held or if the election should be held by vote-by-mail.

Due to the current situation surrounding COVID-19, the Suffolk County Clerk of the Legislature announced under Executive Order 202.7, lobbyists preparing periodic reports for April 15 may have their report notarized remotely.

Additionally, the reports may be sent in digitally to meet the deadline.

If a lobbyist is unable to have their report notarized by April 15, the clerk’s office is requiring the report be submitted by the deadline.

Additionally, a notarized copy must be provided following their submission.

Gov. Tom Wolf granted the Department of State’s request to extend the deadline for filing lobbying reports and temporarily waive the notarization requirement for campaign finance reports.

The governor granted the request in response to COVID-19 and to minimize delays in required reporting.

The lobbying disclosure report deadline for the first quarter is extended until July 30.

The reports are required on the same date as the second quarterly report but must be filed separately.

The governor also granted a temporary waiver of the notarization requirement for campaign finance reports and campaign finance statements filed by political committees and candidates for public office.

The waiver allows the required documents to be filed online until the COVID-19 health emergency subsides.

Filers must sign, either physically or typed, and date their report or statement cover sheet.

For filers who file on paper, the department will accept emailed campaign finance reports for the duration of the emergency.

Filers must email the campaign finance reports to: RA-stcampaignfinance@pa.gov.

On April 3, Gov. Cuomo and lawmakers passed legislation to enact the state budget for the 2021 fiscal year.

The enacted legislation includes provisions for campaign finance reform and nonprofit disclosures.

Effective January 1, 2021, Senate Bill 7505 requires charitable organizations to file annual financial reports and funding disclosures with the Department of State to be published on their website for public transparency.

The governor also signed Senate Bill 7508 establishing a statewide public campaign financing system.

Senate Bill 7508 lowers contribution limits a candidate may accept while participating in the public funding system.

Under Senate Bill 7508, a candidate for statewide office may accept a contribution of $18,000 dollars in the aggregate.

The bill also sets contribution limits for state senators and assembly members to $10,000 and $6,000, respectively.

Contribution limits are divided equally among the primary and general elections in an election cycle.

Senate Bill 7508 takes effect on November 9, 2022, and applies to participants in the primary and general elections to be held in 2024.

To contain the spread of COVID-19, lawmakers have extended the postponement of the legislative session for another week.

All General Assembly sessions and committee hearings for the week of April 6 to April 10, have been canceled.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Office of the County Attorney announced emergency regulations extending the deadline for filing first quarter lobbyist reports.

This comes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and current state of emergency.

The deadline for lobbyist reports covering activity for the period of January 1 to March 31 is extended until May 15.