Gov. Andy Beshear announced the Kentucky primary election scheduled for May 19 will be delayed until June 23.

The election is being delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Beshear made the announcement Monday evening at a press conference at the Capitol.

Secretary of State Michael Adams hand-delivered a letter to Beshear in the afternoon recommending all Kentucky elections scheduled for May 19, including primaries, special elections, and local option elections, be delayed 35 days.

House and Senate leadership announced the legislative session will continue as scheduled with some precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Beginning Tuesday, March 17, only elected members, staff, and members of the media will be allowed in the Capitol Annex until further notice.

Governor Beshear has already closed the Capitol.

In order to ensure transparency and accessibility, there will be an increase in live streaming services and broadcasting by Kentucky Education Television (KET).

The KET will broadcast committee meetings and House and Senate Floor proceedings.

The Legislature adopted procedural changes this week in response to the coronavirus pandemic, following Gov. Whitmer’s declaration of a state emergency.

The House and Senate will continue to meet for the next few weeks as needed.

This will be at the discretion of the House Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader, with additional precautions in place.

All scheduled Senate committees for this week have also been canceled.

Both chambers have a legislative break that is scheduled to start March 27 and end April 14.

The Capitol Commission also suspended all tours and events in the Capitol extending through Friday, May 1, 2020.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

On Sunday, the Iowa House and Senate announced the legislative session will be suspended for a minimum of 30 days due to concerns over COVID-19.

The House and Senate will convene today at the regular scheduled time to consider resolutions regarding continuity of government.

Previously scheduled subcommittee and committee meetings have been cancelled, and standing committees will be on-call as needed.

The Capitol building opens today at 11:00 am, with entrances open on both the south and west sides.

The Department of Public Health will administer health screenings to all persons prior to entering the Capitol.

This includes filling out a health questionnaire as well as a temperature reading.

All schedule events, tours, and receptions at the Capitol are cancelled until further notice.

Less than 24 hours before the scheduled primary election, Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a lawsuit will be filed in Franklin County today.

This will be requesting Tuesday’s in-person primary election be postponed until June 2.

The proposal will extend the deadline for requesting absentee ballots for voters who are unforeseeably confined or hospitalized.

In turn it will offer curbside voting for anyone concerned about entering their polling place as the state’s primary election rolls on during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Husted explained the June 2 date would allow anyone who had planned to vote in person to request an absentee ballot and return it in time to vote in the election.

Whether or not the election will be postponed will be decided by court order.

The second regular session of the 121st General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 12, after a 14-hour session.

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed 25 of the 45 bills received in the last two days of the session.

This is including one providing for electronic filing of campaign finance reports by candidates and committees.

Additionally, Holcomb signed a bill preventing the state and political subdivisions from contracting with a “prohibited person”.

This is officially defined as a person designated as posing a national security threat to the integrity of communications networks.

As a result, the remaining acts passed by the Legislature become law on the eighth day after presentment if Holcomb does not sign or veto them.

Effective immediately, the Legislative Ethics Commission has requested updated registration statements be filed either by fax or via email, by scanning and sending the signed forms.

• • Fax to (502) 573-2929
  • Email to Donnita.crittenden@lrc.ky.gov  or lori.smither@lrc.ky.gov

To change from paper filing to filing online, please email the above for an ID and password.

This is a preventative measure to cut down on unnecessary mail handling and interaction by their staff, in order to keep the spread of the coronavirus to a minimum.

On Wednesday March 11, lawmakers cancelled all legislative sessions through next week.

This will also include all other events scheduled to take place at the Capitol in Springfield, including lobby day events and tours of the Capitol.

Senate President Don Harmon announced next week’s legislative sessions are canceled due to public health concerns over the coronavirus.

The General Assembly was set to return to session in Springfield next Wednesday, the day after Tuesday’s primary.

The Ethics Commission issued its first formal opinion on lobbying since being established in 2016.

Ethics Commission Opinion 2020-02 explains what duties on behalf of a principal are exclusive to lobbying.

Additionally, the order explains what duties are not exclusive to lobbying in order to clarify when the lobbyist’s duties require authorization by the fifth day of lobbying communication on behalf of the principal within a six-month reporting period.

For example, serving as the treasurer of a registered political action committee or administrator of a registered conduit are not duties exclusive to lobbying.

The opinion also provides examples of grassroots efforts that are not lobbying.

Cincinnati City Council member Tamaya Dennard resigned Monday.

Her resignation comes less than a week after being arrested on federal charges accusing her of trading votes for cash on a development deal.

Dennard, a Democrat, was not required to resign under the city’s charter.

However, if she did not, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters stated he would take action.

Deters claims he would have filed a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court seeking to remove her from office.

Dennard’s replacement will be selected by Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, a fellow Democrat.

Dennard, like all council members when they take office, had to name a fellow council member to select her replacement in the event she would be unable to complete her term.

Illinois State District 28 Sen. Laura Murphy announced she is working with District 55 Rep. Martin Moylan on an omnibus bill for ethics reform to fight corruption.

The bill will likely incorporate provisions from six existing bills, including recently passed Senate Bill 1639 and House Joint Resolution 93.

Senate Bill 1639 increases disclosure requirements for registered lobbyists.

Meanwhile House Joint Resolution 93 establishes the Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reform.

The omnibus bill may also incorporate the following provisions:

• • To require members of the General Assembly to be immediately removed from any leadership position if charged with a crime (Senate Bill 2488).
  • To prohibit members of the General Assembly and members of his or her family from engaging in lobbying (Senate Bill 3020).
  • To prohibit members of the General Assembly from engaging in lobbying for two years after leaving office (Senate Bill 3588).
  • To create a uniform statement of economic interest for anyone required to file under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act (Senate Bill 3318).

The Chicago Board of Ethics released a fourth binding advisory opinion to provide additional guidance on Ethics Ordinance 2019-5305.

Effective April 20, it will impose new registration and reporting requirements on certain nonprofit interactions with the city.

The board states the 14 questions addressed in the new advisory opinion reflect the fundamental principal of Chicago’s lobbying law:

If an individual is paid by another person or organization to influence city administrative or legislative actions, the activity should be done transparently, either through official documented administrative processes or through registration and reporting lobbying activity.

Lawmakers introduced legislation to expand the definition of lobbying  to include promoting or opposing the passage of any local legislative matter by a unit of local government.

House Bill 5468, sponsored by Rep. Maurice A. West, defines local legislative matter as any bill, resolution, nomination, ordinance, or other issue or proposal pending before the unit of local government, its legislative body, or any committee, subcommittee, or commission.

If passed prior to June 1, the bill would become effective January 1, 2021.

If passed after to May 31, the bill would become effective June 1, 2021.

State Rep. Joel Fry introduced a bill amending lobbyist reporting requirements.

House File 2217 will require lobbyist client reports to be filed with the Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board instead of the General Assembly.

Additionally, documentation verifying all information in the report must be filed with the report.

The board will verify the information and may require a lobbyist client to provide additional documents to verify the report.

Violation of the new requirements is a serious misdemeanor, punishable by reprimand, suspension, dismissal or otherwise sanctioned, including confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $315, but not more than $1,875.

The new procedures will apply to reports due by July 31, 2020, for the reporting period of July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020.