The first regular session of the 103rd General Assembly adjourned on May 15. Lawmakers passed a total of 67 bills this year, 16 of which were budget bills. Last year’s total was 46. Among the bills awaiting the governor’s signature is Senate Bill 152, banning foreign spending on ballot issue campaigns. The bill also prohibits committees from knowingly receiving, soliciting, or accepting contributions or expenditures from a prohibited source, defined as contributions from or expenditures by a foreign national made with the intent to use such funds to influence an election on a ballot measure. The bill also requires committees to file a certificate declaring no preliminary activity was funded, directly or indirectly, by a prohibited source.

The 94th session of the Minnesota Legislature adjourned sine die on May 19. Lawmakers adjourned on the constitutionally prescribed final day with the budget incomplete. With the next fiscal biennium beginning on July 1, the Legislature must approve all budget bills and have them signed by the governor before midnight on June 30 to keep state government open for business. Gov. Walz announced he will call a special session when lawmakers have reached a consensus, but warned pushing the session beyond June 1 would mean state employees have to begin preparing for a possible government shutdown. The House ended its session by choosing not to suspend rules to consider Senate File 856, which would create the Office of the Inspector General.

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Representatives from the Michigan Department of State (MDOS), Tyler Technologies, and the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB) testified at a joint committee hearing regarding issues with the Michigan Transparency Network (MiTN) platform. MiTN is the state’s new consolidated online reporting system for personal financial disclosure, campaign finance, lobbying, and legal defense fund information. The hearing was called after lawmakers had trouble filing their financial disclosure reports and approved a one-month extension for their deadline. MDOS and Tyler Technologies are now working to implement substantial improvements by the filing deadline for candidate committees on July 25.  As part of the department’s continuing commitment to transparency, MDOS has launched a new webpage to track existing technical issues, recent fixes, and FAQs for each MiTN module at https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/disclosure/mitn-information.

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The overtime session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 15 after lawmakers worked overnight to wrap up and head home nearly two weeks after their scheduled end date. The delay was due to some senators refusing to vote on any budget bill until a bill was passed to restrict the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines. Gov. Reynolds has 30 days to sign or veto the bills.

The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board will be conducting a compliance training for party units and political committees and funds on Thursday, June 5, at 1:00 p.m. The training will be conducted remotely using Webex. The training will provide an overview of campaign finance laws and rules applicable to party units and political committees and funds in Minnesota. The training will last approximately two hours. You may register for the training on the Board’s website at https://cfb.mn.gov/filer-resources/self-help/education-and-tools/live-training/. The training will be recorded, and video of the training will be added to the Board’s website within a week after the training. Additional training resources, including information on how to use Campaign Finance Reporter Online (CFRO), is available on the Board’s website at https://cfb.mn.gov/filer-resources/self-help/education-and-tools/online-videos/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery.

The 69th Legislative Assembly adjourned sine die just after 4:00 a.m. on May 3, using up 74 of its 80 days permitted days to pass almost 600 of the 1,089 bills introduced, the highest volume of legislation since 2009. Six days remain for a special session. Lawmakers passed two bills affecting campaign finance laws and effective August 1, 2025. House Bill 1204 expands the prohibition on the publication of false information in political advertisements to text messages, telephone calls, social media, or any other commercial medium. House Bill 1167 requires that any political communication or advertising using artificial intelligence to impersonate a human must prominently display a disclaimer.

The first regular session of the 91st Iowa General Assembly, though scheduled to adjourn on May 2, continues in an overtime session. Lawmakers have not passed a new state budget, which is required before they can officially adjourn. Some Senators are refusing to vote on any budget bills unless the Iowa Senate first takes up a bill to restrict the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines. Several bills affecting lobbying and campaign finance were introduced during the session but have not passed. Senate Joint Resolution 11, if approved by voters, would amend the Iowa Constitution to require a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the General Assembly to increase the individual or corporate income tax rate. The measure was previously approved in the 2023–2024 legislative session as House Joint Resolution 2006. In order to pass the amendment and send the measure to voters on the November 2026 ballot, the resolution will need to be approved by the state House in the 2026 legislative session because Iowa requires constitutional amendments to pass in two consecutive two-year legislative sessions.

The first regular session of the 124th General Assembly adjourned sine die. Lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting a political action committee from accepting a contribution or expenditure from a foreign national, effective July 1. Several bills awaiting the governor’s signature include House Bill 1679, modifying the definition of candidate for purposes of campaign finance law, House Bill 1680, prohibiting the Election Commission from Issuing advisory opinions and invalidating any advisory opinion issued by the commission before July 1, 2025, and Senate Bill 287, permitting school board candidates to declare a political party affiliation. Gov. Mike Braun has seven days to sign legislation once it lands on his desk. If he does not sign a bill, it becomes law. If he vetoes a bill, the Legislature can override the veto with a majority vote in both houses.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce is hosting staff from the Office of the Legislative Inspector General for a training session open to government affairs professionals on JLEC filing and lobbying requirements. The in-person session is from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Friday, April 25, at the Ohio Chamber Office in Columbus, Ohio. Although registration is not required, notify Tony Long if planning to attend at tlong@ohiochamber.com.

Lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting a political action committee from accepting a contribution or expenditure from a foreign national, as defined by federal law. House Bill 1467 also amends reporting requirements by requiring affirmations of compliance. The bill also prohibits a foreign national from soliciting or directing a contribution or expenditure by another person to influence an election on a public question. The bill becomes effective July 1.

Gov. Larry Rhoden has called a special session for July 22 to consider recommendations and proposed legislation of the advisory council, Project Prison Reset, created by Executive Order 2025-01. The advisory council was created to assess and determine the need for a new prison facility and engage and analyze consultant recommendations on size, design, and location of a new prison facility and is required to make recommendations and propose legislation by July 15.

OHIO: The Office of Secretary of State published increased contribution limits. The contribution limits for what PACs, PCEs and individuals may contribute to statewide candidates, candidates for General Assembly, county parties, PACs, and PCEs increased from $15,499.69 to $16,615.67 per election; from $46,499.08 to $49,847.01 per calendar year to state parties; and from $23,249.54 to $24,923.51 per calendar year to legislative campaign funds. The amount of gifts corporations and labor unions may provide per year to a state political party, county political party, or legislative campaign fund for specified purposes increased from $12,751.16 to $13,669.24.

The 100th session of the Legislature adjourned sine die on March 31. Lawmakers convened for Veto Day and failed to override the two bills vetoed by Gov. Larry Rhoden. The many bills passed during the session included Senate Bill 164, prohibiting the use of a deepfake within 90 days of an election if it does not include a disclosure. Lawmakers also passed Senate Bill 12, prohibiting a candidate or political committee from accepting a loan from a person if the principal amount of the loans and contributions made by the person exceeds the limit the candidate or political committee may accept as a contribution. Other bills passed included House Bill 1264, requiring the disclosure of an outstanding loan balance on a campaign finance disclosure report and Senate Bill 89, repealing the requirement that judicial officers be listed on a separate nonpolitical ballot.

The 2024 regular session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 28, marking the last official action inside the Capitol for the next few years during a restoration project. Lawmakers will convene in a temporary structure on the Capitol campus during the project. Passed bills include House Bill 45, prohibiting foreign nationals from making campaign contributions; establishing reporting requirements for political issues committees and independent expenditures; and requiring a “paid for by” disclosure for ballot measure advertisements. Lawmakers also passed Senate Bill 4, creating standards and guidelines for using artificial intelligence in state government and elections and requiring any electioneering communication using synthetic media to include a conspicuous disclosure.