Gov. Larry Hogan has set February 4, 2020, as the date for the special primary election to fill the vacant 7th Congressional District seat.

The seat is vacant after Rep. Elijah Cummings passed away earlier this month.

The special general election to fill the remainder of Rep. Cumming’s term will be held on April 28, 2020; the same day as Maryland’s regularly scheduled primary election.

Rep. Katie Hill resigned from her 25th Congressional District seat after an investigation of allegations that she violated House ethics rules.

Gov. Gavin Newsom will have up to two weeks to set the date for a special election to fill the vacancy.

The special election could potentially coincide with the state’s March 3 primary election.

The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments on Wednesday in a case focused on Maryland’s Online Electioneering and Transparency Act.

Maryland legislators passed the act in order to prevent foreign interference in local elections.

However, the sweeping scope has sparked a First Amendment outcry from multiple newspapers, including The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun.

The newspapers and the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association argue in a lawsuit that the act violates the First Amendment because it requires collecting and self-publishing information about sponsors of online political ads.

The act also requires retaining records of the ads for inspection by the state Board of Elections.

The bill became law without the signature of Gov. Larry Hogan, who commended the law’s goals, but had concerns about the constitutionality.

After reviewing public comments, the Portland Auditor has further revised and offered clarification to proposed rule changes to the city’s lobbying regulations.

The amended rules are available at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/proposedrules.

An additional public comment period will be open until November 18.

Gov. Larry Hogan will soon issue a proclamation stating a special primary and a special general election will be held to fill the vacant 7th Congressional District seat.

The seat became vacant after Rep. Elijah Cummings passed away early Thursday morning.

A date for the special election has not yet been determined.

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has revised the Campaign Disclosure Manuals.

Revisions were made to incorporate Disclose Act legislation, including updated ad disclosure charts.

There were also revisions made to reflect the new contribution limits that became effective on January 1, 2019, along with other non-substantive changes.

FPPC staff plans to present the updated manuals for approval at the November 21, 2019 meeting.

Interested persons may submit comments and suggestions by November 12.

In 2018, the Baltimore City Council enacted the Transparency in Lobbying Act requiring lobbyists to file reports twice a year and affirmatively identify their clients when approaching city government officials.

The effective date of the act was contingent on a viable online reporting system being implemented.

The Baltimore City Ethics Board has implemented the online lobbying reporting system.

Lobbyist registrations and reports can now be filed electronically.

The next year-end report is due on or before January 31, 2020, covering all of the reporting period immediately preceding January 1 through December 31, 2019.

The ethics board has advised persons that previously filed paper registration statements to submit the year-end report on paper and not electronically.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of bills addressing lobbying and campaign finance transparency.

Assembly Bill 902 codifies current regulations into law, including regulations regarding filing deadlines, bookkeeping, and lobbyist registration.

Assembly Bill 201 broadens the definition of mass mailing to include campaign-related mass texting. Mass text messages are required to include the name or image of a candidate, or refer to a ballot measure.

Additional bills passed address campaign spending by candidate committees.

Senate Bill 71 prohibits the expenditure of funds in a legal defense fund campaign account to pay or reimburse a candidate or elected officer for attorney’s fees or other legal costs.

The bill also prohibits the use of campaign funds to pay for fines, penalties, judgments, or settlements, except as specified.

The bills become effective on January 1, 2020.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a campaign finance bill imposing limits on contributions to candidates for elective county and city offices in jurisdictions that have not independently imposed contribution limits.

Currently, a county or a city may, by ordinance or resolution, limit campaign contributions in local elections. However, many counties and cities have not imposed such limits.

Assembly Bill 571 establishes contribution limits of $4,700 per election to a candidate for elective office in a city or county in which the local government has not established a limit.

The bill also allows a local government to establish different limits that are more precisely tailored to the needs of the community.

Assembly Bill 571 becomes effective January 1, 2021.

Del. Tawanna Gaines resigned from her District 22 seat in advance of federal wire fraud charges.

Prosecutors allege from January 2015 through April 2018, Del. Gaines defrauded her campaign and its contributors by taking more than $22,000 from her campaign account for personal use.

If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Rep. Jake Blum resigned from his District 42 seat on October 4, citing a move to Minnesota.

Republicans in District 42 will select a replacement to fill the vacant seat.

However, the replacement will not serve in the Legislature without winning a future election, since lawmakers will not meet in full session again until 2021 because of North Dakota’s biennial format.

The person selected will fill Blum’s committee assignments in the interim.

The next election for District 42 will be November 2020.

Following a weekend storm that put parts of Montana under record levels of snow, the Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan extended the deadlines for filing campaign finance reports for candidates and committees from Pondera, Teton, and the Blackfeet Nation.

Mangan cited problems with internet access, telephones, and mail service.

For candidates and committees affected by the storm, the deadline to file campaign finance reports is October 4 by 5 p.m.

City candidates in the general election not affected by the storm still file by October 1.

City committees not affected by the storm still file by September 30.

Gov. Gary Herbert has signed a series of bills bringing an end to the special legislative session.

The governor signed two major bills making changes to the laws governing medical cannabis and beer.

Lawmakers approved a change to allow grocery and convenience stores a one-week grace period to purchase and store 4% beer before it can be sold to customers as the cap is lifted from 3.2% beer on Nov. 1.

Additionally, legislators passed changes to the state’s medical cannabis bill.

The Senate adjourned on Monday, bringing an end to the special legislative session.

Gov. Jim Justice called the special session after legislators failed to agree on education proposals following a two-day teacher strike in February.

The Senate adjourned its half of the special session during its scheduled interim meetings.

The House adjourned it’s session about two months ago.