Following the indictment of former House Speaker Larry Householder on federal racketeering charges in the biggest bribery case in Ohio history, lawmakers are seeking to shed more light on dark money groups through legislation.

House Bill 13, entitled the Light of Day Bill, is currently in committee and requires nonprofit 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose contributions and expenditures.

These organizations currently do not have to disclose contributions and disclose limited information on expenditures on forms filed annually with the IRS.

House Bill 306, entitled the Ohio Anti-Corruption Act, was introduced this week, and requires 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose contributions and more information about the ownership of the organization.

The bill also prohibits foreign companies from making political contributions directly or indirectly through nonprofit organizations.

Cincinnati City Council failed to adopt an ordinance proposing additional campaign finance disclosure.

Ordinance 2021-01549 would have required the mayor and City Council members to report contributions above $200 within 48 hours.

Only Council Member Greg Landsman, who introduced the proposal, voted to adopt the ordinance.

Detroit District 7 Councilman Gabe Leland resigned after pleading guilty to misconduct in office.

Leland was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2018 on bribery conspiracy and two counts of bribery.

Detroit’s council can, by a two-thirds vote, appoint a replacement to finish out Leland’s term that ends this year.

An appointee, not already certified for 2021 race, would have to run as a write-in candidate in the upcoming election for a chance to win a full four-year term starting in January 2022.

There are currently six candidates certified to run for District 7 Council seat in the August 3rd primary.

Voters passed two charter amendments in Cincinnati by a 3 to 1 margin.

Issue 1 requires the city solicitor to hire a special prosecutor to consider removal of the council member indicted for a crime to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

Issue 2, introduced by Councilwoman Betsy Sundermann permits removal of an indicted council member with a vote by seven of their fellow council members, and if convicted, five council members can vote to remove within 10 days of the conviction.

A council member who is convicted or pleads guilty automatically forfeits his or her seat.

Issue 2 also makes ethics training mandatory for all council members.

There was previously no process for removal in the Cincinnati Charter and four of the nine council members have been indicted for crimes in the last year.

As soon as the election results were announced, Sundermann called for Councilman Wendell Young to be suspended.

The vote to remove him cannot happen until the Hamilton County Board of Elections certifies the election in about two weeks.

Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order calling for a special election on July 13.

The election will fill the Assembly District 37 seat being vacated after Sen. John Jagler was elected to the 13th Senate District.

A primary, if necessary, will be held on June 15.

Lawmakers recessed the 2021 session early rather than adjourning sine die.

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 1372 into law extending the legislative session until November 15 in order to vote on redistricting because the coronavirus pandemic postponed 2020 census results.

Though the session has never been extended, the Indiana Constitution states the length of the legislative session is set by law, so the move is not unconstitutional.

House Bill 1372 states the current April 29 deadline will still be in place for future long sessions, and in all other aspects, the legislative session will act as though it is adjourning for the year, including fundraising.

House Bill 1372 permits lawmakers to start fundraising again on April 29, instead of on the usual day when the General Assembly adjourns the session sine die.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced special election dates for Congressional District 15 to fill the vacancy due to Steve Stivers resignation to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

The dates August 3 for the special primary and November 2 for the special general election are the same as the special election to fill the vacancy in Congressional District 11 created by the departure of Marcia Fudge, who is now the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

The regularly scheduled primary election for ballot issues and municipalities remains on May 4.

The Michigan House introduced 13 new bills proposing fundamental changes for lobbying and disclosure laws.

Changes proposed include requiring members of the Legislature and other public officials to file financial disclosure reports and prohibiting them from voting on bills if there is a conflict of interest.

Other proposals include a prohibition on lobbying by members of the Legislature, a two-year revolving door ban for members of the Legislature and other executive branch officials, and making lobbyists ineligible for civil appointments.

The proposed changes also include increasing fines for violations of the lobbyist gift ban and establishing ethics committees in the House and Senate with the power to accept complaints, investigate complaints, and make recommendations for disciplinary action.

The Missouri House of Representatives voted 153-0, with one member voting present, to expel Rep. Rick Roeber.

This is the first expulsion of a sitting member of the Missouri House since 1865, when state Rep. John Sampson was kicked out for being a secessionist.

The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation in January and issued its final report on Monday, finding Roeber was credibly accused of sexually and physically abusing his children.

The House rejected Roeber’s attempt to resign because the committee findings and expulsion are likely to increase pressure on officials to criminally prosecute him.

A writ of election to fill the vacancy has not been issued by Gov. Parson.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill amending the State Government Ethics Act to transfer authority to assess penalties for lobbyist gift and campaign contribution violations from the secretary of state to the Ethics Commission.

House Bill 1295 also makes previously mandatory penalties optional, but the lobbyist license revocation penalty for a second violation becomes mandatory if the secretary of state is notified of the violation by the Ethics Commission, a state’s attorney, or a court.

The bill also amends the North Dakota Election Code regarding campaign contribution reporting to give the secretary of state authority to audit reports if there is substantial reason to believe there are any violations.

The bill is effective immediately.

Rep. Steve Stivers announced he is resigning from Congress on May 16 to become the president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Stivers has been representing Ohio’s 15th Congressional District since 2011 and had been viewed as a potential candidate to run for the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

A decision on when to hold the special election for Congressional District 15 will be made by Gov. DeWine and has not been announced.

Voters in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District will choose the successor to former Rep. Marcia Fudge in a special primary on August 3 and the special election on November 2.

The Missouri House voted unanimously today to reject the resignation of Rep. Rick Roeber.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers argued the House Ethics Committee should complete its investigation into allegations Roeber sexually and physically abused his children.

Three adult children of Roeber publicly alleged that in 1990 he molested his adopted daughter when she was 9 years old.

Despite the allegations, which became public more than a month before Election Day, Roeber defeated his Democratic opponent by 300 votes.

The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation in January.

It was close to completing its work when Roeber announced his resignation on Tuesday, stating he had to step down because he was moving out of the district.

The committee plans to issue its report next week.

Former Iowa state Sen. Rita Hart withdrew her challenge in a U.S. House race she lost to Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks by six votes.

Miller-Meeks was certified by the Iowa State Board of Canvassers as the winner after a full recount, and provisionally seated pending the outcome of a challenge by her Democratic opponent, Hart.

After Hart’s announcement, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee announced the panel would move to suspend its review of the race.

The 2021 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 30.

Among the measures passed is Senate Bill 6, which requires the executive branch ethics commission to establish standards of ethical conduct for all transition team members, and to specifically address the role of transition team members who are or were registered lobbyists.

The bill requires transition team members to disclose positions held outside state government and all sources of compensation for the 12 months prior to transition team service.

This bill is effective June 28, 2021.