North Dakota Special Session Adjourns

The 69th Legislative Assembly Special Session adjourned sine die on January 23 after passing all the bills needed to accept the federal rural health transformation program funding. The Legislature was called into special session to address four issues that needed to be addressed and a bill to authorize the ND Department of Health & Human Services to spend the grant funds.

Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson published the 2026 annual limit for lobbyist gifts to public officials. The change for 2026 was 2.9%, making the newly adjusted cumulative gift limit $130.85 for 2026. No public official and no member of the immediate family of a public official may accept from any lobbyist or principal any gifts with a cumulative value greater than $130.85 during the 2026 calendar year.

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The Office of the Secretary of State is requesting federal PACs continue to report as they have in the past until the impact of a recent opinion by the Attorney General is clarified. North Dakota Attorney General Letter Opinion 2025-L-01 required federal PACs to report as a state PAC, in addition to the specified statutory provisions simply requiring federal PACs to file a copy of their FEC reports disclosing the state activity. In consultation with the Office of Attorney General, the Office of Secretary of State is implementing a hold on changes to reporting for federally formed PACs until greater clarity can be provided. The opinion has raised a number of questions because federal PACs have a statutory exemption from registration as a state PAC when complying with the FEC copy requirements. 

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Secretary of State Michael Howe announced a major upgrade to North Dakota’s Campaign Finance System and launched a new Statement of Interests System on January 1. The upgraded Campaign Finance Reporting System will provide a user-friendly interface for reporting campaign finance donations and expenditures for political candidates and committees. Interested parties are invited to attend a demonstration and Q&A session related to using the public search capabilities from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, January 26. A link to join the virtual demonstration will be available at https://www.sos.nd.gov/elections by January 16.

The 103rd Legislature adjourned sine die on December 23 and Gov. Whitmer signed 36 bills into law the same day. Among the bills passed during the session were Senate Bills 99 and 100. Senate Bill 99 changes the financial disclosure reporting requirements for public officers, including the requirement to include the name of the lobbyist or lobbyist agent that made the gift payment, travel payment, or payment to a charity in lieu of honorarium to the officer. Senate Bill 100 amends the Candidate for Office Financial Disclosure Act to expand the term candidate for office to include a candidate who intended to appear on the ballot, in addition to current criteria. The 103rd legislative session will continue on January 14, 2026.

The 136^th General Assembly adjourned on December 30, until Monday, January 5, 2026. Although more than 900 bills were introduced, only a few dozen have been passed and sent to Gov. DeWine. This includes the two-year, $60 billion state budget in Amended Substitute House Bill 96. The bill eliminated the State Election Commission, which has now been replaced with the Ohio Election Integrity Commission. Amended Substitute House Bill 96 also eliminates the statutory ban on corporations and labor unions making independent expenditures for or against political candidates. The bill eliminates contribution limits to independent dark-money groups but imposes new limits on contributions to ballot-issue campaigns.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley issued an opinion to the North Dakota Office of Secretary of State finding Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion 25-01, regarding candidate campaign expenses, exceeded the commission’s authority to issue advisory opinions. Per Letter Opinion 2025-L-03, the Ethics Commission is limited to issuing opinions based on specified facts or conduct and is not authorized to issue legal conclusions. This opinion follows the earlier 2025-L-01 opinion by Wrigley requiring federal PACs active in state elections to report as a state PAC, in addition to the specified statutory provisions simply requiring federal PACs to file a copy of their FEC reports disclosing the state activity. Despite the statutory exemption from registration for federal PACs, the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State has confirmed the only way to file reports in the campaign finance reporting system is by registering with the Office of Secretary of State.

The Georgia Ethics Commission has recently implemented a new lobbying and campaign finance system PeachFile for 2026. Filers can begin registering their new account and all users must register for an account in the PeachFile system. Any filers who have a December 31^st report due will continue filing in the current E-Filing system until the end of 2025. State level and statewide filers will file their first report in the new PeachFile system on January 31, 2026.

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The Bureau of Elections posted the Lobby Registration Act 2026 Reporting Thresholds, which change every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index for Detroit. The registration thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and for employer expenditures on a single official remain unchanged for 2026 at $800. Exempt expenditures remain unchanged for 2026 at $16. The registration threshold for an employer making lobbying expenditures increased from $3,175 to $3,200 for any 12-month period. The financial transaction threshold between a registered employer or lobbyist and a public official remains unchanged for 2026 at $1,600. The reporting threshold for travel and lodging reimbursements increased from $1,025 to $1,050. The monthly food and beverage expenditures allowance for a public official remains unchanged for 2026 at $79, and the threshold for food and beverages purchased between January 1 and the end the reporting period increased from $475 to $500. Employee reimbursements remain unchanged for 2026 at $32, and the general gift threshold also remains unchanged for 2026 at $79. Late filing fees remain unchanged for 2026 at $32 a day up to a maximum of $960. 

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The Indiana Senate has adjourned and will not return to resume the regular 2026 session until January. The House adjourned on December 5, after passing House Bill 1032. In a vote at 4:40 p.m., following more than three hours of testimony, the Indiana Senate decisively voted against a redistricting bill that was designed to add two Republican seats to the state’s congressional delegation, defeating House Bill 1032 by a 31 to 19 margin.

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Gov. Kelly Armstrong informed legislative leaders January 21, 2026 is the tentative date for a special session of the 69th Legislative Assembly to act on anticipated federal funding for North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program. Once the state receives notice of the funding award from CMS, the governor will issue an executive order officially convening the Legislature for the special session.

The Indiana House will convene Monday, December 1 due to pressure from the White House to consider congressional redistricting. Republicans currently hold seven of the nine U.S. House seats. Trump and other Republicans are hoping a new map favoring Republicans will help the party maintain control of the U.S. House in the 2026 elections.

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Rep. Kaohly Her is the first woman and Hmong American elected as the mayor of St. Paul in a historic upset over incumbent Melvin Carter after a tabulation of second-choice votes. Her’s victory also marks the first time the entire leadership of the city is made up of all women. This is the last year the St. Paul mayor’s race will be held in an odd numbered year. Her’s term will run through 2028, when the city will hold its next mayoral election.

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The Ohio Redistricting Commission unanimously voted 7-0 to adopt new congressional maps on October 31. The new maps implement a 12-3 Republican advantage and will remain in effect until January 2031.

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