High-ranking government officials in Hawaii will soon be subject to revolving door provisions after the passage of an ethics bills establishing clearer boundaries between government and private-sector lobbyists.

House Bill 0671 creates a 12-month cooling off period before government officials may be paid by private parties to lobby the Legislature or administrative agencies. The revolving door restriction applies to the governor, lieutenant governor, executive department heads, legislators and permanent legislative staff, and other high-ranking paid government officials.

The bill will become effective January 1, 2022, as it was not on Gov. David Ige’s Intent to Veto list.

The Arizona Legislature adjourned sine die on June 30, concluding a 171-day session that was among the longest in recent state history.

Relating to campaign finance, Senate Bill 1714 passed. Effective September 28, the bill provides a person who makes an expenditure for an advertisement or fund-raising fundraising solicitation, other than an individual, must include in the advertisement or solicitation the aggregate percentage of out-of-state contributors as calculated at the time the advertisement was produced for publication, display, delivery, or broadcast.

The disclosure must state “paid for by” followed by ” the aggregate percentage of out-of-state contributors. If the advertisement is delivered by hand or by mail, the disclosure must be clearly readable, and if the advertisement is paid for by a political action committee, the disclosure must be displayed in a height that is at least 10% of the vertical height of the advertisement.

Several other significant issues, including the passage of sweeping tax cuts, approval for an increase in unemployment benefits starting in 2022 and criminal justice changes were also resolved by final adjournment.

The 2022 Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 10.

The cap for how much Louisiana’s lobbyists can spend to wine and dine public officials is edging higher July 1.

With the start of the new state budget year, the limit lobbyists can spend on food and drink for state lawmakers, other elected officials and public employees is increasing from $63 to $65 per person, per occasion.

The Louisiana Board of Ethics, which oversees the lobbying spending restrictions, made the adjustment to take effect with the latest state fiscal year.

The lobbying cap enacted more than a decade ago started with a $50 limit. But the 2008 law allows annual adjustments tied to increases in the federal Consumer Price Index for food and beverages. That index rose 3.8% in the last year, according to the ethics board.

Lawmakers will return to the Hawaii State Capitol on Tuesday, July 6 to consider overriding Gov. David Ige’s vetoes of measures the Legislature approved this year, and to make some necessary fixes to bills that deal with state finances.

Gov. Ige said he intends to veto 28 bills passed by his fellow Democrats, which is an unusually high number.

The governor is not required to veto all 28 bills and still has the option of signing some of them or allowing them to become law without his signature. That makes it difficult for lawmakers to precisely plan their response, since they do not know yet which measures Gov. Ige will finally reject.

The governor has until 11:59 p.m. on July 6 to veto measures passed this spring. If he takes no action by that date, the bills will then become law with or without his signature.

Gov. Ige has also said he needs amendments to some budget bills because lawmakers specified in the budget the state must use federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to repay more than $300 million in bond debt.

The federal government does not allow the state to use pandemic relief funding to pay down debt, and lawmakers will thus need to appropriate money from other sources to cover state borrowing.

That means lawmakers must approve a fix that will ensure the state meets its debt obligations. If the governor and the Legislature can agree on language that would accomplish that, lawmakers can approve an amendment with a simple majority next month without a veto override.

The special session affects lobbyist reporting. A lobbyist and employer activity report must be filed within 30 days of adjournment sine die of any special session covering the period from May 1 through adjournment sine die of the special session. The report applies to and includes only those expenditures and contributions relating to legislative action considered during the special session. Expenditures and contributions included in the report do not need to be included by the person filing the report in any subsequent statement of expenditures.

Candidates for office in Louisiana will soon no longer be subject to aggregate contribution limits from political committees combined under a bill signed into law June 22 by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Effective August 1, the new law will remove the limitation on combined contributions for both the primary and general elections that may be accepted by any candidate and his principal and subsidiary campaign committees from a political committee.

Before the change, PAC donations have been limited to $80,000 for major office candidates in Louisiana, $60,000 for district office candidates and $20,000 for smaller office candidates. That cap is a total applied to the combined primary and general elections for a candidate.

Gov. Edwards signed the legislation despite opposition from the state board of ethics.

On June 22, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he will convene a special session of the Legislature on July 8.

Agenda items for the special session have not been released yet but will be available prior to its start. Among the list of topics, Gov. Abbott promised to address is election integrity.

Last week, Abbott vetoed a portion of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature. The move came weeks after House Democrats walked off the state House floor, leaving majority Republicans without the quorum they needed to approve the bill, SB 7, before a midnight regular legislative session deadline.

Republicans in Texas have sought to join states such as Florida and Georgia that have adopted restrictions making it harder for some residents to vote.

It is not clear whether Republicans will enter the special session set on approving SB 7 as it’s currently drafted or will seek to make further changes.

The measure would have made mail-in voting more difficult by requiring voters to supply more information, prohibiting local elections officials from sending out absentee ballot applications to anyone who has not requested one or from working with get-out-the-vote groups that are encouraging Texans to vote by mail.

The 2021 session of the 107th Nebraska Legislature has adjourned sine die June 10.

Gov. Pete Ricketts addressed lawmakers, who overrode three of his vetoes.

Ricketts praised senators for approving nearly $1.7 billion in property tax relief over the next two years.

The governor said the legislature’s quick and decisive action also empowered state agencies to respond effectively to the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Legislature is scheduled to convene in early fall for a special legislative session to complete the 2021 redistricting process.

The 2022 legislature is scheduled to convene January 5.

The Louisiana Legislature will adjourn sine die no later than 6 p.m. June 10 in accordance with state law.

Gov. John Bel Edwards will hold a media briefing about the 2021 legislative session 30 minutes after adjournment sine die.

During the session, a bill eliminating certain aggregate campaign contribution limitations passed.

Senate Bill 4 removes the limitation on combined contributions for both the primary and general elections that may be accepted by any candidate and his principal and subsidiary campaign committees from a political committee.

Present law provides the total amount of combined contributions for both the primary and general elections that may be accepted by a candidate and his principal and subsidiary campaign committees from political committees must not exceed $80,000 for major office candidates, $60,000 for district office candidates, and $20,000 for other office candidates in aggregate.

Senate Bill 4 was sent to the governor on June 1 and has an effective date of August 1.

The Colorado General Assembly adjourned sine die for the 2021 session shortly before 8 p.m. on June 8 after debating a controversial climate bill on the House floor.

During the session, a bill was passed relating to local government election codes. Senate Bill 21-160 clarifies that, when computing time for any designated period of days for a local government election, the first day from which the period of days runs is excluded and the last day from which the period of days is included.

The bill also provides a process for dividing a special district into separate director districts and for members to be elected from each director district at large or by the electors within each director district.

The bill takes effect following the expiration of the 90-day period after final adjournment of the General Assembly.

The Texas Legislature adjourned sine die May 31 after 140 days in session.

Talk of a special session and questions about how soon one may happen or what additional issues Gov. Greg Abbott could task legislators with has largely defined the last weekend of the legislative session.

In the final days of the session, House Democrats staged a walkout and broke quorum, making it impossible to give final approval to Senate Bill 7, a massive voting bill that would tighten the state’s election laws, before the midnight deadline.

Gov. Abbott quickly made clear that the bill, along with another other priority legislation that would have made it harder for people arrested to bond out of jail without cash, still must pass and that the two issues will be added to the special session agenda.

Before lawmakers adjourned, Gov. Abbott made clear he intends to reprimand the Legislature over its unfinished business by vetoing the section of the state budget that funds the legislative branch.

The 107^th legislative session of the Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die May 27, earlier than anticipated.

During the session, lawmakers passed the state’s two-year budget and approved significant tax reform.

The Legislature is scheduled to convene in early fall for a special legislative session to complete the 2021 redistricting process.

The May sine die adjournment triggers a statement of activity report due July 11, which is 45 days after adjournment sine die of the legislative session.

The Legislature is scheduled to convene in its 2022 session on January 5.

The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned its 2021 regular legislative session sine die on May 27, one day before a constitutionally mandated deadline.

The House and Senate both adjourned before noon after each chamber passed a bill making some minor modifications to the state’s medical marijuana laws.

The House also gave final approval to a measure that allows the governor to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy should one occur. Both of those bills now head to the governor’s desk.

Ethics Rule Amendment 202101 related to candidate committee reporting is slated to take effect upon adjournment sine die. The amendment modifies ethics rules applicable to candidate committees formed for elections held prior to January 1, 2015, by providing a mandatory dissolution date, modifying uses of surplus funds and treatment of debt of those committees, and providing a repeal of ethics rules applicable to candidate committees formed for elections held prior to January 1, 2015.

The 2022 legislative session will convene on February 7.

The Kansas Legislature adjourned sine die from its 2021 legislative session on May 26.

During the session, lawmakers in Kansas passed proposals to ban COVID-19 vaccine passports, limit efforts to track down the close contacts of people with the coronavirus and provide up to $500 million to businesses that closed or faced pandemic restrictions.

Several bills related to lobbying law were also introduced but did not pass. House Bill 2055 would have changed the five-day grace period for the late filing notice for lobbyist reports and statements of substantial interest reports to begin when the notice is deposited in the mail.

Additionally, House Bill 2235 would have required lobbyists to wear body cameras while inside the statehouse. The bill would have required such recordings to be public records. Additionally, House Bill 2235 would have prohibited any economic benefit or hospitality provided by a lobbyist to a legislator or candidates for the Legislature.

The 2022 legislative session will convene on January 10.

Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs announced her resignation May 20, prompting Gov. Greg Abbott to search for the fifth secretary of state during his time in office.

Hughs’ nomination for another term as the state’s top elections officer was not taken up by the Senate Nominations Committee, effectively forcing her resignation.

Hughs stated she plans to transition back into her private practice. Her resignation will become effective May 31 when the session ends.

With the 87th legislative session nearing conclusion, Gov. Abbott’s next appointee, if made after the session, will not need Senate confirmation until the Legislature convenes again.