The General Assembly adjourned Monday at midnight following a tense debate that failed to pass a revenue plan needed to avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts.

Democratic legislators say they will ask Governor Martin O’Malley to call a special session for more time to work on the revenue package and other measures.

The governor would not say whether he planned to call for a special session.

Photo of the Maryland State House by Thisisbossi on Wikipedia.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel certified the language of a proposed initiated act regarding campaign finance and ethics law. The measure would prohibit direct corporate and union contributions to individual campaigns. Currently, corporations and unions are able to directly contribute at the same $2,000 level as individuals.

The measure would also ban lawmakers from accepting gifts of any value from lobbyists. Legislators can currently receive gifts, food, or other items valued up to $100 from a lobbyist.

The group supporting the measure, Regnat Populus, must gather at least 62,507 signatures by July 6 to qualify for the November ballot.

The 2010 ethics law increased disclosure requirements for lobbyists, banned campaign committee-to-campaign committee transfers, and gave greater investigative powers to the Missouri Ethics Commission. The court affirmed a circuit court decision holding all provisions of Senate Bill 844, except those relating to procurement, to be in violation of article III, section 21 of the Missouri Constitution, which prohibits changes in the original purpose of a bill. Senate Bill 844 violated this provision by being introduced as an act relating to contracts for purchasing but being passed as an act relating to ethical administration.

Reaction to the decision has been swift and urgent. On January 14, 2012, the same day the opinion was released, the Missouri Ethics Commission stated in a press release that the court’s decision “deals a blow to the Commission’s ability to enforce and administer the law.” Several lawmakers and Governor Jay Nixon quickly called for bills to reinstate the voided provisions. Representative Jason Kander sponsored a bill (House Bill 1756) filed the day after the decision that would reinstate the voided provisions.

Prior to the decision, Kander also sponsored a bill (House Bill 1080) that would go beyond Senate Bill 844 to prohibit gifts from lobbyists and limit campaign contributions. Senate Bills 546 and 825 propose contribution limits. Senate Bill 826, filed by Senator Crowell, would reenact the voided provisions of Senate Bill 844. Currently, Missouri does not have any campaign contribution limits and is the only state to allow lawmakers to receive both unlimited campaign contributions and unlimited gifts from registered lobbyists.

Not all of Missouri’s lawmakers are ready for change. House Majority Leader Tim Jones believes an ethics bill would have a better chance after this year’s elections. Jones notes that both Kander and the governor are proposing limits that will go into effect after their own campaigns benefit from the status quo.  To date, no new ethics bill has been passed in Missouri, by any name.

Image of the Seal of the Missouri Senate by Tom Lemmens on Wikipedia.

A special election will be held on July 24, 2012 to fill the empty seat in House District 68. Thad Viers recently vacated the seat after being charged with harassing his ex-girlfriend.

The primary election will be held June 5, 2012. If necessary, a primary runoff will be held on June 19, 2012.

Photo of the South Carolina State House by Nikopoley on Wikipedia.

The Legislature ended a two-week extraordinary apportionment session on Tuesday, March 27, 2012. Governor Rick Scott called the special session to redraw the map of new Senate districts. The redistricting plan now goes to the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether the upper chamber did enough to fix the flaws in the first map that provoked the court’s rebuke.

At least one campaign sent out a fundraising note the next day congratulating the Legislature for its hard work during an elongated session, and asking for donations to make up for lost time. State law prohibits lawmakers from accepting campaign contributions while the Legislature is in session.

Photo of the Old and New Florida Capitol buildings by Infrogmation on Wikipedia.

The Kentucky Senate unanimously approved House Bill 300 on Monday. The bill requires “placement agents” to register as lobbyists and follow state ethics laws. Placement agents are individuals or firms who are compensated for the purpose of influencing an executive agency decision regarding the investment of Kentucky Retirement Systems or the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement Systems assets.

The bill is a response to concerns raised by last year’s audit of the state pension system. Now the bill returns to the House following technical changes made by the Senate.

The Cuyahoga County Inspector General, Nailah Byrd, has issued an advisory opinion (IGADV-0005) regarding whether a public official or employee’s acceptance of a ticket to a charitable fundraising event violates any provision of the ethics ordinance.

The opinion states that while the ethics ordinance does not explicitly prohibit the acceptance of a ticket, it does require certain conditions to be met.

A charitable event ticket given by a lobbyist or contractor must not include an extravagant or lavish meal, entertainment of significant value, or a fair market value price exceeding $75.

Lawmakers began the 2012 Special Session I last week to consider budget bills including a two-year, $85 billion proposal.

The special session was convened immediately upon adjournment sine die of the 2012 regular session, but was in recess until Wednesday, March 21st.

The House and Senate adjourned in the afternoon on March 21st and will again convene this afternoon on Monday, March 26th to continue the special session.

No person or PAC may make or promise to make a contribution to a member of the general assembly, the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, or their campaign committees, during the annual regular session of the general assembly. This ban does not apply to contributions during special sessions.

Photo of the Virginia State Capitol by Amadeust on Wikipedia.

Thad Viers announced his resignation as State Representative for House District 68. The announcement came after Mr. Viers was charged with harassing his ex-girlfriend. She told investigators he continued to call, text and email for more than five months after they broke up, according to a Myrtle Beach police report.

Due to the vacancy, a special election will be held following the writ of election to be issued by the speaker of the house. There is currently an unrelated special election scheduled for Senate District 41 on July 17, 2012.

Photo of Thad Viers courtesy of the South Carolina House of Representatives website.

Governor John Kitzhaber has signed Senate Bill 1518. The bill’s provisions are intended to improve transparency in the procurement process.

The bill prohibits a vendor from writing the specifications of a project and then turning around and bidding on the project. Bidders will be able to include information on the number of jobs that will be created if the bid is chosen for the project.

In addition, the Department of Administrative Services will have to report to the legislature about special procurements, a contracting procedure that allows state agencies to bypass competitive bidding rules.

Although the bill took effect upon passage, the operative date for the above provisions is January 1, 2013.

Governor Dennis Daugaard has signed House Bill 1196. The bill amends the lobbyist reporting requirements to reflect the secretary of state’s electronic filing capabilities.

The employer authorization and lobbyist expense report may be submitted in writing or electronically. The completed reports are open to public inspection and will no longer need to be notarized before filing.

Although the bill has an effective date of July 1, 2012, the EZ Lobby system is already accessible at the secretary of state’s website.

The site allows lobbyists and their employers to register, pay fees, update information, and report expenses electronically. Paper forms are still available for lobbyists who chose to register by mail.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission voted Thursday to raise campaign contribution limits for candidates in the upcoming municipal election. Candidates for city council may accept $700 per donor per election cycle, up from a $500 limit. Candidates for citywide offices including mayor, city attorney, and city controller may accept $1,300, up from $1,000.

The new limits go into effect immediately, giving candidates in the March 2013 election the opportunity to contact donors who have already reached the old contribution maximums.

Critics of the new limits believe the commission is tipping the scales in favor of well-connected incumbents who have historically met the contribution threshold more often than their challengers.

The State Ethics Commission has found the county’s new public ethics law to be below state standards because it allows elected leaders to accept tickets to sporting events from people who do business with the county.

Although state lawmakers are prohibited from free sports tickets, both state and county laws allow lawmakers to accept free admission to charitable, cultural, and political affairs events if the tickets come from the events’ sponsors.

Michael Lord, Executive Director of the commission, notes that the county’s ethics law does not call for disclosure of those tickets, which is required under state rules.

The county has maintained that its ethics laws are among the toughest in the state, but the commission has warned the county that it is not in compliance with a 2010 law that requires local ethics laws to be at least as strong as those state lawmakers must follow.

The State Ethics Commission has issued a memorandum concerning provisions of the ethics law relating to regulated lobbyists and campaign finance activities.

State law prohibits a lobbyist or a person acting on behalf of a lobbyist to engage in certain campaign activities including soliciting contributions or forwarding tickets to fundraising events.

The memorandum does not constitute an advisory opinion but addresses common issues and provides approaches for compliance with the technical provisions of the law.

The memorandum is available online here.