A malicious cyberattack targeted the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) last week, resulting in an outage of the Lobbying Application, the online filing portal for lobbyists.

The online system will remain down until JCOPE is confident it can be restored safely.

Extensions will automatically be granted for any filings that were due and could not be submitted due to the outage.

The Boston City Council announced a special election for the District 1 seat to be held on May 3 with a preliminary election to be held on April 5.

The seat is vacant after Lydia Edwards was elected to the state Senate in a special election last month.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the term set to expire at the end of 2023.

A special election has been scheduled for Delaware House District 4 to be held on March 5.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Gerald Brady resigned following an ethics investigation.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

New York Gov. Hochul announced a special election for Assembly District 43 to be held on March 22.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Diana Richardson resigned to serve as Brooklyn Deputy Borough President.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

Rep. Melissa Miller announced her resignation from the New York Legislature.

Miller is stepping down in order to accept a position on the Hempstead Town Board.

A special election is expected to be called to fill the vacant Assembly District 20 seat for the remainder of the term ending in December.

Gov. Mills announced a special election for Maine Senate District 7 to be held on June 14.

The seat became vacant when Sen. Louis Luchini resigned to take a position with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire in December.

Rep. Gerald Brady announced he would resign from the Delaware Legislature effective February 4.

Brady faced a House Ethics Committee hearing last year related to an email he sent containing an anti-Asian slur and a joke about human trafficking.

A special election is expected to be called to fill the vacant seat in House District 4 for the remainder of the term ending in November.

The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) will hold a public hearing related to proposed changes to Massachusetts’ state campaign finance regulations on February 15 at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Proposed changes include a revised campaign contribution limit chart; changes to the filing schedule for depository PACs; and additional guidance regarding disclosure requirements for traditional and independent expenditure PACs.

In total, 35 changes are proposed by the agency.

Individuals wishing to attend the hearing can email jtait@cpf.state.ma.us to request the virtual hearing link.

Written comments may also be submitted by email or mail until 5:00 p.m. on February 22 to gbirne@cpf.state.ma.us or to Gregory Birne, OCPF, Room 411, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108.

Councilmember Bobby Henon resigned from the Philadelphia City Council following his conviction on conspiracy and fraud charges.

The council president is expected to call a special election to fill the vacant District 6 seat for the remainder of the term ending in December 2023.

Sen. Louis Luchini announced he would resign from the Maine Legislature in order to accept a new job as an advocate within the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The governor is expected to call a special election to fill the vacant seat in Senate District 7 for the remainder of the term ending in December 2022.

Connecticut Gov. Lamont announced a special election for Assembly District 5 to be held on March 1.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Brandon McGee, Jr. resigned to take a senior role on Lamont’s reelection campaign.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire in December.

A special election has been scheduled for Pennsylvania House District 116 to be held on April 5.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Tarah Toohill was sworn in to serve on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office issued updated guidance related to the state’s campaign finance law.

The guidance clarifies the effects of House Bill 263, which went into effect on September 28, 2021 and finds that under the updated law, there is no contribution limit on the amount of money political advocacy organizations (commonly called PACs) can receive or contribute.

Additionally, though candidates were previously able to establish PACs and fundraise through them, the new guidance prohibits candidates from doing so in the future.

Candidates who registered PACs prior to September 28, 2021 may use the receipts obtained by those committees, but as of that date no new PACs may be established by candidates.

A special election has been scheduled for Pennsylvania House District 24 to be held on April 5.

The seat became vacant when former Rep. Edward Gainey was sworn in as the new mayor of Pittsburgh.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

A second special election is also expected to be called to fill the House District 19 seat Rep. Jake Wheatley vacated when he resigned to become Mayor Gainey’s chief of staff.