On July 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom was presented with a bill clarifying language related to preelection statements and income from gifts and business entities.

Assembly Bill 903 requires preelection statements to disclose contributions and independent expenditures made to a state, county, or city general purpose committee or made to support or oppose a candidate or measure appearing on the ballot at a specified election.

The specified election will be the next election for certain state or county general purpose committees and elected state officers or candidates for elective state office.

The bill also amends the definition of expenditure to include communications paid for with public moneys by a state or local government agency.

If signed by the governor, the bill takes effect on January 1, 2020.

Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Fair Elections Temporary Amendment Act of 2019 on July 1.

The act amends the definition of a qualified small-dollar contribution to set a minimum value of cash or in-kind contributions at a value of $5.

Following a 30 day period of congressional review, the act will become effective .

The act will expire 225 days after becoming effective.

The Oregon Legislature adjourned on June 30, pushing through over 100 bills.

The Senate passed two campaign finance bills and a resolution to limit the amount of money flowing into Oregon politics and improve transparency in the election process.

House Bill 2716 requires communications made in support of or opposition to a candidate or measure to identify who paid for them.

House Bill 2983 builds on the transparency requirements set up in House Bill 2716.

The bill requires qualifying organizations making political expenditures file a donor identification list identifying donors making donations above $10,000 during the election cycle with the Office of the Secretary of State .

Senate Joint Resolution 18 proposes an amendment to the Oregon Constitution authorizing adoption of state and local laws requiring campaign finance related disclosures.

The proposed amendment would also authorize limiting political contributions and expenditures.

The resolution will send to voters the question of amending the state Constitution to allow governing bodies to pass laws on campaign finance.

House Bill 3377 was also passed, requiring registered lobbyists to attend annual training beginning in 2021.

The bill directs lobbyists to certify training attendance to the Oregon Ethics Commission and the commission to report lobbyist training attendance to a legislative equity officer.

The Ethics Commission Selection Committee narrowed down the field of candidates from 24 to 17.

However, the July 1 deadline is being pushed back.

Gov. Doug Burgum stated there will be two more meetings in July to reach the final five candidates.

In order to be appointed to the ethics commission, a candidate must be unanimously approved by the governor, senate majority leader, and senate minority leader.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a special primary election for Assembly District 1 on August 27.

The seat is vacant after Brian Dahle won the June 4 special election to fill Senate District 1 seat.

Unless one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates in the special primary election will face off in a special general election.

Assembly District one covers portions of the Northeastern part of California.

Gov. Jim Justice is adding an additional 12 bills for the Legislature to consider during the special session originally focusing on education.

Gov. Justice amended his original proclamation by adding 10 new supplemental appropriation bills.

One bill relates to the procurement of construction work performed as part of disaster mitigation or recovery originating from a declared state of emergency.

Additionally, another bill relates to the Ryan Brown Fund.

Members of the House of Delegates are scheduled to convene today to continue the special session on education.

Lawmakers ended their special session on June 13.

The Legislature passed a capital budget bill but failed to reach the three-quarter threshold required to fund major provisions.

Failure to reach the threshold left millions of dollars in projects unfunded and federal match money at risk.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy called a second special session in order to address the permanent fund dividends the Legislature also could not agree on.

The second special session will convene on July 8, at 1 p.m. in Wasilla.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bloch struck down voter-approved limits on campaign donations to candidates running for county offices.

Judge Bloch’s ruling stated the $500 limit on donations violates Oregon’s expansive free expression guarantees in the Oregon Constitution.

The decision mirrors one the judge issued in March 2018 striking down limits for Multnomah County races, citing a 1997 Oregon Supreme Court decision.

Judge Bloch upheld portions of the voter-approved campaign rules that require Portland political advertisements to prominently disclose their top five financial backers.

Supporters of the law say they will appeal the decision.

Allen Superior Court Judge Jennifer DeGroote blocked the city of Fort Wayne from enforcing a pay-to-play ordinance.

The ordinance restricts how much money the owners of companies could give elected officials and still bid on city contracts.

Under the ordinance companies are forbidden from bidding on a city contract if any owner, partner, or principal who owns more than 10% of the company gave more than $2,000 to the political campaign of a person with the responsibility of awarding contracts.

Judge DeGroote’s ruling stated the ordinance was superseded by state law, specifically the Home Rule Act.

The Home Rule Act grants municipalities the ability to self-govern in areas not covered by the state.

Under state law, elections are the domain of the Indiana Election Commission.

The reconstituted State Ethics Commission has named Kathleen Edwards the interim director.

Edwards, who has been a commission attorney, will take the lead role until a permanent director is chosen.

The commission was merged with the State Board of Elections then was remade as a stand-alone entity again following the passage of House Bill 1029.

Edwards will have to hire a new staff and try to recover several positions the commission lost when it was merged.

The Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission issued ordinary and emergency administrative regulations in order to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 6.

The changes to the administrative regulations involve the procedures for filing lobbyist forms and statements of financial disclosure.

The commission established initial clarifications to help with the changes.

In the first clarification scenario, if a person filed an initial registration statement prior to July 1, 2019, then they will file the 2016 versions of the update forms during the upcoming filing period.

In the second clarification scenario, if a person files an initial registration statement after July 1, 2019, then they will file the 2019 versions of the update and termination forms during the proceeding filing periods.

There will be an open comment period from June 1, to June 30, with a public hearing on June 21.

The State Ethics Commission will launch a new lobbying filing system, replacing the current system that has been in use for over 10 years. The current system uses outdated software and there is a limited number of programmers who can work on the system, which necessitated the change. The new system will utilize the latest advancements in software and should be user friendly. The new filing system is expected to go live on September 1.

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a state ethics law that bans Kentucky lawmakers from accepting gifts or campaign contributions from lobbyists.

Additionally, the ethics law bans lawmakers from accepting “anything of value” from a lobbyist.

The ruling reversed a June 2017 ruling by U.S. District Judge William O. Bertelsman that struck down the ethics law as too vague and overly broad.

However, the appeals court found no constitutional problem with the limits on gifts and campaign contributions.

The found the laws are closely drawn to further Kentucky’s anti-corruption interest and pass constitutional muster.

Gov. Jim Justice amended his proclamation for the First Extraordinary Session of 2019, adding a bill relating to the West Virginia Business Ready Sites Program.

The special session was originally called to address improvements to public education and pay raises for school teachers.

The Senate has introduced the Student Success Act to address these issues.

The House is set to reconvene at 8:30 a.m. on June 17.