Governor Jay Nixon is set to announce June 4, 2013 as the date of a special election to fill Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District. Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson submitted a letter of resignation to become president and CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

The Eighth District will not have voting representation in the House until June due to state law and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act. The MOVE Act requires local election authorities to begin transmitting ballots to military and overseas voters 45 days before a general, primary, or special election for federal office.

State law allows independent candidates to file for special elections up to the midway point between when an election is called and when it is actually held. Republican and Democratic party committees will nominate their candidates for the special election.

The special election to fill House District 1 and succeed Tim Scott in Congress is attracting notable candidates including Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, the sister of Comedy Central’s Steven Colbert. Colbert-Busch works at Clemson University as director of sales and marketing for the Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility.

Republican candidates include wealthy businessman Martin Skelly and former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

The special primary is scheduled for March 19. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held April 2. The special election will be held May 7, 2013.

Governor Jay Nixon has set April 2 as the date for a special election to fill the vacant seat in House District 157.

The seat became vacant after State Representative Don Ruzicka was appointed to serve on the Board of Probation and Parole.

The governor has also issued an April 2 writ of election for House District 76.

Photo of Governor Nixon by Bernard Pollack on Wikipedia.

Secretary of State Jason Kander, sworn in on January 14, 2013, has adopted a new ethics policy barring the staff in his office from accepting gifts from lobbyists.

Kander’s stated purpose was to give the public confidence that the office is being run in a nonpartisan and fair way.

State administrative policy already curtails what state employees may accept from lobbyists, but agencies are free to adopt stricter guidelines.

The Senate has imposed a $100 limit on gifts from lobbyists. Senators approved the gift cap 42-12 on the opening day of the 2013 General Assembly session as part of new rules governing the chamber’s operations for the current two-year term.

The new rule does not apply to travel costs or to gifts provided to groups of senators, including members of committees. The rule also allows lobbyists to give $100 gifts on multiple occasions.

Although not bound by senate rules, house leaders plan to introduce legislation later this week calling for a complete ban on lobbyist gifts.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol courtesy of connor.carey on Wikipedia.

Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Senate Districts 32 and 40 to fill vacancies.

The primaries will be held March 12, with runoffs on May 14, 2013.

The government’s new bill reducing contributions to political parties became effective on Tuesday, January 1, 2013. National Assembly Bill 2 reduces the limit for private donations from $1,000 to $100, while increasing direct government funding to parties. The bill applies to provincial politics but not municipalities or school boards.

In an election year, voters will have the right to contribute an additional $100, for a maximum of $200. The bill further limits cash donations to $50, down from $100. Leadership candidates, unaffected by the bill, will still be able to collect donations of up to $1,000.

The Fair Political Practices Commission has made upward adjustments to gift and contribution limits, using a formula provided in the Political Reform Act. Beginning January 1, 2013, the maximum value of a gift allowed to be accepted by an elected official goes up to $440, from $420.

The maximum contribution a legislative candidate can receive from an individual goes up to $4,100, from $3,900.

Candidates for governor will be able to accept $27,200, up from $26,000. The commission also adopted new rules concerning the public tracking of who is paying to qualify ballot measures and how much is being spent independently of candidates.

The image of the Seal of the State of California courtesy of Zscout370 in Wikipedia.

A special session of the legislature is set to convene today, December 14, 2012. Governor John Kitzhaber called the legislature into session to approve a tax incentive program for Nike.

The governor believes the potential economic development benefits are worth the costs associated with a special session.

Nike says it will expand in Oregon and hire at least 500 people if the state will immediately promise not to change the method of calculating its state income taxes.

The Ethics Commission is now accepting online lobbyist registrations for 2013.

Lobbyists can register by creating an account and following the detailed instructions here.

Additional information and paper registrations are still available on the commission’s website.

The Ethics Commission has announced a system upgrade to the electronic filing system for campaign committees, available here. The San Francisco Electronic Disclosure System (SFEDS) now offers additional features including streamlined data entry, page help for every form, and an easier amendment process.

Committees will need to create a new user account, which will link to the existing committee filer account. The new user account will act as a gateway to access all accounts of multiple committee filers. The next filing deadline for committees is January 31, 2013.

Assistance is available by contacting the commission at 415-252-3100 or by e-mail.

State lawmakers convened the 2013-2014 legislative session on Monday, December 3, 2012.

Democrats hold a two-thirds supermajority in both houses, allowing passage of bills without Republican votes.

Photo of the California State Capitol Building by Sascha Brück on Wikipedia.

Governor Nathan Deal has announced January 8, 2013 as the date for a special election in Senate District 21.

Chip Rogers announced his resignation from the senate on Wednesday, December 5, two weeks after his decision not to seek re-election as the majority leader.

Rogers will be joining Georgia Public Broadcasting focusing on new programming efforts concerning economic news and development.

The Ethics Commission is considering ways in which an individual’s role in fundraising may be more accurately disclosed on the lobbyist quarterly disclosure reports. Currently lobbying firms and organization lobbyists must disclose the total amount of all contributions attributable to a reportable individual who has any degree of fundraising responsibility.

For individuals with limited involvement on a host committee, the total amount raised at a particular event may not be reflective of the individual’s limited fundraising efforts. In response, the commission’s staff has prepared three alternative options.

One option would simply allow notation on the report when the individual is not solely responsible for the amount raised. The other two options would amend the lobbying ordinance to remove the dollar amount disclosure requirement for those “assisting a host committee,” or to require reporting of only the amount an individual knows or has reason to know where collected as a result of his or her solicitations.

Discussions on this matter will be held at the commission’s December 13, 2012 meeting at 5:00 p.m. in Room 202 of Council Committee. Feedback may also be sent by email to ethicscommission@sandiego.gov.

Seal of San Diegocourtesy of Zscout370 on Wikipedia.