North Dakota Rep. Keith Kempenich is sponsoring a bill to add reimbursement for meals to the compensation received by lawmakers who live outside Bismarck.

The bill is being proposed just as the lobbyist gift ban approved by voters in 2018 is taking effect.

Lawmakers are currently paid $518 a month and receive $186 per day they attend sessions or committee meetings, plus reimbursement for lodging during the session.

They are also included on the state-funded employee health plan.

If passed, the bill would become effective August 1, 2021.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced special elections to fill vacancies in Senate District 8 and 28.

The vacancy in Senate District 8 was caused by the election of Sen. Pete Lucido as the Macomb County Prosecutor.

In addition, the Senate District 28 vacancy was caused by Sen. Peter MacGregor’s election as the Kent County Treasurer.

Therefore, the special primary election will be held on August 3 and the general election will be held on November 2.

Lawmakers convened the 122nd Indiana General Assembly with several adjustments due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

These changes include moving the House of Representatives to the Government Center South building and installing plexiglass barriers in Senate.

Neither chamber is requiring masks despite a push by House Democrats on Organization Day for a mask mandate.

Republicans also have supermajorities in both chambers.

Lawmakers will be focusing on writing the two-year budget, which must be done by June 30.

Additionally, they will redraw legislative and congressional district lines when the state receives the population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Illinois House elected Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch as speaker of the House.

This took place shortly after the swearing-in of newly elected General Assembly members, to start the 2021 regular session.

Welch succeeds Rep. Michael Madigan, the longest-serving statehouse speaker in U.S. history, and becomes the first Black person to hold the position.

Three women who were running for the position withdrew before the vote after Welch entered the race following an announcement by Madigan he was suspending his own campaign.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced he was calling a special session of the Legislature during his State of the State address, delivered virtually for the first time in the state’s history.

He called the special session to consider the State Unemployment System.

Evers explained that, due to an outdated system, the Department of Workforce Development has struggled to keep up with an unprecedented number of claims.

A special election for Iowa Senate District 41 is scheduled for January 26.

Gov. Kim Reynolds called the special election to fill the vacancy left by newly elected Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who stepped down last month.

Following a recount, Miller-Meeks was certified by Iowa as the winner by six votes out of nearly 400,000.

The election result, however, is being contested by her Democratic opponent, Rita Hart.

A spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats will provisionally seat Miller-Meeks pending the outcome of the challenge.

The House can later decide Hart won the race and should replace Miller-Meeks.

Hart’s contest argues at least 22 lawfully cast votes, including 18 for her, were wrongly excluded due to a variety of errors.

The Associated Press has not called a winner in this race.

The Illinois Legislature began a final session for the 101st General Assembly on January 8.

The Senate met at the Capitol while the House met at the Bank of Springfield Center.

The separate meeting locations accommodated social distancing due to COVID-19 concerns.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst indicated if ethics reforms were not addressed, he would refile a proposal for the 102nd General Assembly, set to convene January 13.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he is suspending his bid for another term as speaker, but is not withdrawing from the race.

A speaker must be elected before the House of Representatives can begin work.

The North Dakota Legislature convened January 5 for the 2021 session with improvements to live streaming and remote technology, making remote testimony by the public possible.

Committee meetings and floor sessions will be carried live.

House and Senate floor sessions have been live-streamed, archived, and indexed online.

Anyone wishing to testify remotely must register online.

In-person testimony may be permitted by the committee chair, although committee rooms will have limited seating due to social distancing, and masks are required.

State lawmakers may participate remotely from home if infected, or from office space in the Capitol if desired.

While some lobbyists have indicated they may testify remotely, no lawmakers have indicated an intent to work remotely.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem issued an opinion confirming the Ethics Commission is constitutionally authorized to create a rule expanding the definitions for “lobby” and “lobbyist” for purposes of the new gift rules.

The opinion was issued in response to a request for clarification from Ethics Commission Chairman Ron Goodman.

The definitions used by the commission in the new gift rules in the Administrative Code adopted in October are broader than those passed by the Legislature in House Bill 1521.

The Ethics Commission expanded the definition of lobby and lobbyist to include attempts to influence any public official, administrative rule, or regulation rather than just the Legislature and legislation.

The new rules are not intended to expand the definition of who should be required to be registered as a lobbyist.

Hamilton County Probate Court Judge Ralph “Ted” Winkler appointed Liz Keating, a Republican, as interim replacement for Alexander “P.G.” Sittenfeld.

Sittenfeld is a Democrat who was indicted last month on six counts alleging honest services wire fraud, bribery, and attempted extortion by a government official.

This is the second appointment of a Republican by Judge Winkler in a year where three of the nine council members have been arrested.

Per Ohio statute, the Hamilton County Probate Court appoints a replacement when a council member is suspended.

If Sittenfeld is found guilty of the charges or resigns, four Democrats on Council named in his successor designation certificate would select his replacement.

Wisconsin Lawmakers ended the third special session on December 22, with a final adjournment pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.

The session was called by Gov. Tony Evers and began on August 31, 2020.

Wisconsin law does not require lawmakers to take any action during a special session and none was taken.

The constitution prohibits either chamber from adjourning without consent of the other for more than 3 days.

Lawmakers then convened and immediately adjourned every Tuesday and Thursday without taking any action until the final adjournment.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order calling for a special election on April 6, 2021, the same day as the statewide spring election.

The election will fill the Senate District 13 seat being vacated after Sen. Scott Fitzgerald was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

A primary, if necessary, will be held on the same day as the spring primary, February 16.

A special primary and special election will also be held on those dates for the 89^th Assembly District seat vacated by John Nygren.

Nygren resigned less than a month after winning reelection to his eighth term to be the executive director for the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans.

The association is a coalition that lobbies lawmakers on behalf of health insurers.

The second special session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on December 16.

The special session called by Gov. Mike Parson to focus on getting federal CARES Act funding distributed to the state began on November 5 and included 10 legislative days interrupted by COVID-19.

Before adjourning lawmakers passed a bill to distribute the federal CARES Act funds.

The Board of Ethics announced a further delay in the implementation of Ethics Ordinance 2019-5305, previously set for January 1, 2021.

Implementation is set for April 1, 2021, due to the continuing work by the city and many non-profit organizations in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The ordinance imposes new registration and reporting requirements on certain nonprofit interactions with the city.

With the announcement, the Board and the Mayor’s Office stated they are committed to working with nonprofit organizations and stakeholders to understand and respond to their concerns about this law and on working toward amendments that increase transparency in Chicago.