Despite a request from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Gov. Mike Parson did not file writs of election to fill the six vacancies in the Missouri House.

Ashcroft expressed disappointment after the Monday deadline to place special elections on the April ballot passed.

Without a special election, the six affected districts would go without representation until January 2023.

Missouri law calls for the governor to issue a writ of election without delay and House District 34 has been without representation since April 2021 when former Rep. Rick Roeber was expelled.

The other vacancies are House District 61, 65, 108, 114, and 147.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a special election to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives following the election of District 15 Rep. Abdullah Hammoud as mayor of Dearborn.

The special primary election will be held on March 1 and the general election will be held on May 3.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections posted the Lobby Registration Act 2022 Reporting Thresholds, which change every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index for Detroit.

The thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and for employer expenditures on a single official increased from $650 to $675.

Exempt expenditures increased from $13 to $14.

The threshold for an employer making lobbying expenditures increased from $2,575 to $2,675 for any 12-month period.

The financial transaction threshold between a registered employer or lobbyist and a public official increased from $1,300 to $1,350.

The reporting threshold for travel and lodging reimbursements increased from $850 to $875.

Monthly food and beverage expenditures allowance for a public official increased from $64 to $66, while the $400 threshold for food and beverages purchased between January 1 and the end of the reporting period remains the same as last year.

Employee reimbursements increased from $26 to $27, and the general gift threshold also increased from $64 to $66.

Late filing fees increased from $26 a day up to a maximum of $780, to $27 with an $810 maximum.

The Illinois Legislature canceled two of the three days scheduled this week and may cancel the session for next week due to a spike in daily average of COVID-19 cases.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced the House and Senate will not meet January 4 or January 6 and will convene only on Wednesday for organizational purposes and to empower committees to meet and vote remotely.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee Chair, Rep. Celina Babauta introduced articles of impeachment against Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Ralph Torres on December 20, with 13 lawmakers sponsoring the resolution.

House Resolution 22-14 outlines six articles of impeachment, including two felony charges, two corruption charges, and two charges of neglect.

A special bipartisan committee with investigative powers was established on December 22 to investigate and has 30 days to submit a report.

Two-thirds of the 20-person House need to vote in favor for the impeachment to proceed, and two-thirds of the Senate will have to vote affirmatively to convict Torres and remove him from office.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced a special election on February 22, 2022, to fill the vacancy in Kentucky House District 42 created by the resignation of Rep. Reginald Meeks.

Under state law, when a legislator vacancy occurs while lawmakers are not in session, the Governor may call the special election.

Meeks, who has represented House District 42 since January 2001, announced his retirement December 17, saying that he needed time to focus on his health and family.

The winner of the election will take office as soon as the results are certified by both the Jefferson County Board of Elections and the State Board of Elections.

The Cook County, Illinois Board of Commissioners passed a substitute ordinance amending the County Ethics Ordinance on December 16.

The substitute ordinance updates many sections of the ethics code and includes provisions acknowledging registration for lobbying in Cook County will only be filed with the state beginning on January 1, 2022.

The definition of official is amended include any individual elected or appointed to a county office, regardless of whether the individual official is compensated.

Contribution limits are increased for persons doing business with the county from $750 to $1,500 in a calendar year to any local, state, or federal political committee established in support of a candidate for county office or an elected county official.

Officials, employees, and board or commission appointees are prohibited from accepting employment for a period of 364 calendar days following their term of office or employment from any person if the official, employee, or appointee participated personally and substantially in the decision to award a contract with a value of more than $15,000.

Former Rep. Rocky Miller, who represented House District 124 from 2013 to 2021, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri seeking compensatory damages and an injunction to prohibit the Missouri Ethics Commission from enforcing the lobbying ban for legislators.

Miller alleges the 2018 Amendment known as Clean Missouri is an unconstitutional infringement on his rights to freedom of speech and petitioning the government because he was unable to successfully register as a lobbyist to lobby the executive and legislative branches for a prospective client.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced special elections to fill three vacancies in the Michigan House of Representatives following the election of District 36 Rep. Douglas Wozniak and District 74 Rep. Mark Huizenga to the Michigan State Senate, and the passing of District 43 Rep. Andrea Schroeder.

The special primary elections will be held on March 1, 2022, and the general elections will be held on May 3, 2022.

An election to fill the expected vacancy in District 15 due to Rep. Abdullah Hammoud’s election as mayor of Dearborn has not been called because Hammoud has not yet resigned.

The District 15 special election is expected to be held on the same dates of March 1 and May 3.

Emilia Sykes, Minority Leader in the Ohio House, announced she will resign her leadership position at the end of December.

Sykes stated she is considering any and all options to continue to serve her community and will announce a decision in the near future.

Sykes was the first Black female lawmaker in the Ohio Legislature under the age of 30 when she was elected in 2014.

She was elected House Minority Leader by her fellow Democrats in 2019.

Indiana lawmakers canceled the one-day special session scheduled for November 29, and Gov. Eric Holcomb has extended the COVID-19 emergency.

The session’s agenda, ending the public health emergency, has been delayed to the January legislative session.

The Indiana Supreme Court decided to hear Gov. Holcomb’s challenge to House Enrolled Act 1123, permitting the Legislature to call itself into special session.

Oral arguments are scheduled in April after the Legislature ends its session on March 14, 2022.

If the General Assembly called itself into a special session, any laws passed could be subject to a constitutional challenge.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation prohibiting dark money contributions to judicial candidates.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 536 prohibits a political committee established to support a state judicial candidate from accepting contributions from any out-of-state person and from any entity that does not disclose the identity of all donors to the entity.

The bill also prohibits any entity that does not disclose the identity of all donors from financing a distribution or broadcast of campaign materials prepared by the candidate, his or her campaign committee, or designated agents.

The bill also increases the threshold for which contributions to a conduit must be itemized from $500 to $1,000.

The North Dakota Legislature adjourned the special session on November 12 after approving the redistricting maps and passing several other bills including bills banning critical race theory in schools and vaccinee mandates. This does not affect lobbyist reporting. 

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called a special election on December 14 to fill the Senate District 1 vacancy caused by the resignation of Sen. Zach Whiting.

Whiting resigned effective October 30 to take a job with the conservative think tank, Texas Public Policy Foundation.

There is no primary, and the filing deadline is November 19.

The winning candidate will serve the remainder of Whiting’s term, which runs through 2022.