Gov. Doug Burgum issued Executive Order 2023-09 calling for a special session of the Legislature to begin Monday, October 23, to authorize a budget bill to ensure the continued operation of state government.

The North Dakota Supreme Court invalidated Senate Bill 2015, which included the budget, declaring the bill unconstitutional because it violated the state constitution’s single-subject requirement for bills.

The special session is expected to last three to five days.

The Appellate Division, Third Department granted a stay and injunction in the matter of Cuomo v. COELIG.

The state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government issued a statement from Chair Frederick A. Davie and Executive Director Sandford N. Berland announcing this decision allows the Commission to continue its work and fulfill its mission as the appeal works its way through the judicial process.

They also announced that registration terminations in the online lobbying application (‘LA’) have been launched for lobbyists and public corporation registrations for the 2023-2024 biennial period.

Lobbyists and public corporations wanting to terminate earlier than the end date specified in the lobbying agreement are now able to terminate the entire lobbying relationship within LA.

Additionally, the lobbying application will automatically terminate registrations with lobbying agreements that reach the end date specified in the agreement, and all registrations that reach December 31st of the second year of a biennial period, with no action required by the lobbyist or client.

Lawmakers will return to session on October 26 to decide whether to override eight vetoes issued by Gov. Sununu.

In addition to considering veto overrides, lawmakers will also consider deadlines for the 2024 session.

The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board issued draft rule language staff considers to be technical or noncontroversial.

The language will be considered by the board’s three-member rulemaking committee at one or more public meetings to be announced at a later date.

Interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on the draft rule language.

Once it is available staff will also release draft rule language considered to be potentially controversial, including language intended to implement changes made by the Legislature in 2023 to statutes governing lobbyist regulation and reporting.

Information related to the rulemaking process will be posted on the board’s rulemaking docket webpage at cfb.mn.gov/citizen-resources/the-board/statutes-and-rules/rulemaking-docket. 

This information will include how to sign up for the rulemaking notice list, the dates of any scheduled rulemaking committee meetings, copies of official documents, copies of formal comments received by the Board, and draft rules.

State Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife, and their two young children died when the small plane they were in crashed in Utah.

Larsen was first elected to the Senate in 2020 and chaired a Senate panel focused on industry and business legislation.

Larsen’s District 34 comprises Mandan, the city neighboring Bismarck to the west across the Missouri River.

District 34 Republicans will appoint a successor to fill out the remainder of Larsen’s term, through November 2024.

The Indiana Supreme Court concluded state law bans corporate contributions to independent expenditure committees or to any PAC earmarked for independent expenditures in Indiana Right to Life Victory Fund and Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. v. Diego Morales, et al.

Indiana Right To Life’s super PAC wanted to accept a $10,000 contribution from a local media company, Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. and though the state never would have stopped the transaction, the PAC sued in federal court.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said it wanted the Indiana Supreme Court to declare whether state law bans unlimited contributions to super PACs.

The state Supreme Court ruled the law explicitly notes which groups corporations can give to and because PACs that only make independent expenditures are not mentioned, corporations cannot give anything to them.

The court’s opinion acknowledged both sides expect the federal court to stop the state from enforcing the ban because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC that limiting corporate contributions to super PACs is unconstitutional.

The state Supreme Court decision leaves the General Assembly with the task of updating the statute to permit corporate contributions for the purpose of independent expenditures.

Lawmakers convened the special session called by Gov. Tony Evers in an executive order issued in August on September 20.

The session immediately adjourned without considering proposals to enact a comprehensive workforce development package using some of the state’s projected $4 billion surplus in this biennium.

None of the 86 Republican legislators responded to the legislative survey launched by Evers last week, refusing to publicly state their positions on specific policy components of the governor’s workforce plan, the workforce plan in its entirety, and what initiatives or plans, if any, they support.

The special session reconvened September 21 for a skeletal session.

Gov. Tim Walz issued a writ of special election to fill the vacant seat in House District 52B following the resignation of State Representative Ruth Richardson.

The special election will be held on December 5.

A special primary, if necessary, will be held on November 16.

This special election date allows for the new representative to be seated when the legislative session convenes on Tuesday, February 12, 2024.

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Republican State Rep. Bob Young sent a letter to Speaker of the House Jason Stephens saying he’s stepping down effective October 2.

Gov. DeWine and half of the Republicans in the Ohio House had called on the District 32 representative to resign following his second arrest in two months.

Under the Ohio Constitution, the vacancy will be filled by a majority vote of House members who are affiliated with the same political party as the person last elected to the vacant seat.

Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order 208 calling for a special session of the Legislature to begin Wednesday, September 20.

The session will consider and act upon two proposals to enact a comprehensive workforce development package.

The proposals would use some of the state’s projected $4 billion surplus in this biennium to:

• Support child care providers,
• Support a paid family and medical leave program for private employers,
• And create new investment in higher education.

Voters rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution with 57% voting no and just under 43% voting yes.

Issue 1 would have required a 60% vote to approve any constitutional amendment rather than the current simple majority.

The measure would have also changed the signature requirement for initiative petitions to require 5% signatures from each county of the state and it would have eliminated the cure period to obtain more signatures.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 3903, prohibiting vendors that offer or provide equipment or services for automated traffic law enforcement, automated speed enforcement, or automated railroad grade crossing enforcement systems to municipalities or counties from making campaign contributions to any political committee established to promote the candidacy of a candidate or public official.

Effective immediately, the bill also prohibits political action committees created by the vendor and vendor-affiliated persons from making campaign contributions.

Vendor-affiliated person is defined as any person with an ownership interest or distributive share in excess of 7.5% in a vendor, any executive employees of the vendor and any spouse, minor child, or other immediate family member living in the residence of any of them.

The bill also prohibits members of the General Assembly and officers or employees of a municipality or county from accepting employment or receiving compensation or fees for services from a vendor that provides automated traffic law enforcement system equipment or services or automated speed enforcement system equipment or services to municipalities or counties.

Former members, officers and employees must wait two years before accepting employment from such a vendor.

The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board issued a Request for Comments regarding the possible adoption, amendment, and repeal of rules governing campaign finance regulation and reporting; lobbyist regulation and reporting; audits and investigations; and other topics, in Minnesota Rules, chapters 4501 through 4525.

The board may consider other rule topics that arise during the rulemaking process.

Meetings will be open to the public and interested parties will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed rule topics and language.

Information related to the rulemaking, including how to comment, how to sign up for the rulemaking notice list, the dates of upcoming subcommittee meetings, copies of official documents, and draft rules will be posted at cfb.mn.gov/citizen-resources/the-board/statutes-and-rules/rulemaking-docket/.