Gov. John Bel Edwards delayed Louisiana’s presidential primary a second time due to COVID-19.

The primary was originally scheduled for April 4. Edwards initially postponed the election until June 20 at the request of Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin.

Now the primary election has been pushed back an extra three weeks to July 11, making it one of the last states on the current primary calendar.

Ardoin also asked lawmakers to approve emergency procedures for the election. He sought to expand early voting from seven to 13 days.

Additionally, he wants to widen the availability of mail-in absentee ballots to people impacted by the virus.

With a 5-1 vote, the Senate and Governmental Affairs rejected an emergency certification that Ardoin needed to move ahead with the changes to polling places, early voting timelines, and absentee-by-mail voting eligibility.

The vote’s impact on the election is uncertain.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Steve Adler signed an additional emergency order on April 13.

The new order suspends all deadlines imposed by city code, ordinance, rule, or other regulation until May 30.

Under Section 7 of the order, the deadline for all lobbyist quarterly activity reports has been extended from May 1 to May 30.

No late fees will be accrued for failure to file prior to May 30. 

Puerto Rico delayed its Democratic presidential primary election for a second time as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

The Democratic presidential primary election was originally scheduled for March 29.

Democratic Party leadership postponed the election until April 26.

Then on April 2, the Democratic presidential primary was postponed indefinitely.

However, the island’s Republican presidential primary, as well as two major local party primaries (the pro-statehood New Progressive Party and the left-leaning Popular Democratic Party) are scheduled for June 7.

The Colorado General Assembly tentatively plans to return from recess on May 18.

Lawmakers set the date during an April 8 meeting at the closed Capitol.

They also indicated it may change depending on the status of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The General Assembly has flexibility to extend the session beyond the original May 6 adjournment date.

The timeline to resume is guided by the need to finish the state budget.

The House and Senate did not put an end date on the legislative term and continue to refine the agenda for the remainder of the session.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Oklahoma legislators will head back to the Capitol on April 6 for a special legislative session to confirm Gov. Kevin Stitt’s declaration of a statewide health emergency due to COVID-19.

Lawmakers are in the middle of the legislative session, but they cleared out of the state Capitol as the COVID-19 outbreak ramped up.

The Legislature is constitutionally required to adjourn by 5 p.m. on May 29.

Legislators have not yet set a date to return to pass a state budget and any other legislative priorities.

The Democratic Party of Hawaii announced the Democrat presidential primary election will take place on May 22 via mail-in ballots.

The election had originally been scheduled for April 4, but in-person voting was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

To accommodate those who planned to vote in person, the party won’t count the ballots until late May to allow time for the extra round of ballots to be mailed, filled out, and returned.

Voters have until April 4 to register with the party and request a ballot.

Only 58 House members and 21 Senate members of the Louisiana Legislature returned briefly on March 31.

Lawmakers did not set a date for their next return, opting instead to recess upon the call of the presiding officer.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Senate President Page Cortez will decide when the session will resume.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said March 31 he is likely to extend his statewide stay-at-home order until April 30 to coincide with federal guidelines.

In the meantime, official legislative proceedings are halted.

The legislature is prohibited by statutory, constitutional, and rule requirements from meeting remotely.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced March 31 he will call a special legislative session within two to three weeks to deal with growing COVID-19 concerns.

Gov. Herbert said several items will be at issue during the special session.

Items include extending the state’s personal income tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15, and potentially opening the state’s General and Education funds.

It is unclear whether Gov. Herbert will ask lawmakers to take steps dealing with the spring and summer election deadlines.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

When the special session is called, all restrictions on contributions from individuals, lobbyists, principals, and political committees will apply.

Due to the social distancing restrictions being implemented by the City of Austin, the Office of the City Clerk has closed to members of the public.

Correspondence and payments pertaining to lobbyist registrations/renewals may still be mailed in and will be processed based on their postage date.

Operations are continuing via telework, and employees may be reached via email.

The Colorado House and Senate convened for one day on March 30.

However, lawmakers took different approaches to returning from the General Assembly’s COVID-19 recess.

The House recessed until Thursday, April 2.

Lawmakers in the House based their decision on the constitutional provision allowing for a three-day recess without formal agreement from both chambers.

The Senate, however, postponed indefinitely based on another interpretation.

The Senate interpretation allows the General Assembly to remain recessed without setting an exact date to reconvene.

On April 2, the House is expected to meet briefly and recess again for an unspecified period of time.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Additionally, the General Assembly is still considered to be in regular session for purposes of restrictions on contributions from lobbyists during the session, as the General Assembly has not adjourned sine die.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission has rescheduled its public hearing on proposed administrative rules concerning amendments to state lobbying and gift laws for May 7.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the original date of March 19 was postponed.

The proposals include:

• Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
• Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
• A requirement that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis

Additionally, the proposals would amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

In response to COVID-19, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission issued an order.

The order extends the deadline for lobbyist and employer activity reports to April 30.

Originally, the reports were scheduled to be due on March 31 for the reporting period of January 1 to February 29.

If, as expected, the various state or county stay-at-home orders are still in place near the end of April, those deadlines will be extended again to May 31.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson will call a special session of the Arkansas Legislature on Thursday, March 26.

The session will fill budget holes caused by the economic fallout from COVID-19.

Gov. Hutchinson announced the special session would grant him the authority to use the state’s $173 million unallocated budget surplus.

He plans to fill budget needs after his administration cut the state’s general revenue by $353 million to $5.38 billion.

The governor made the budget cuts in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019.

The special session triggers a lobbyist activity report (monthly) due April 10 for the reporting period of March 1 through March 31.

The special session is expected to span three calendar days.

The House of Representatives will meet at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Jack Stephens Center rather than the Capitol to limit close contact of legislators.

Lawmakers approved a $50 million relief package for COVID-19 relief before recessing for three weeks as a public health precaution.

The relief package allows Gov. Doug Ducey’s administration to use the funds for the following:

• • Housing assistance
  • Aid for businesses
  • Nonprofits and healthcare providers with fewer than 50 employees
  • Assistance for food banks as well as organizations serving people experiencing homelessness

The budget will keep state government operating into the new fiscal year beginning in July.

The Legislature is suspended until April 13 unless the House speaker and Senate president announce otherwise.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.