Connecticut Legislature Adjourns

The Connecticut General Assembly adjourned on May 6. During the session, lawmakers passed House Bill 5532, which makes changes to monetary thresholds under the state code of ethics. Changes include increasing the threshold for filing monthly lobbyist reports, reporting lobbying expenditures, and for registration of lobbyists who are not compensated but make gifts to public officials. The thresholds for certain exempted gifts also increased. Additionally, the threshold for reporting gifts given to public officials by a person doing business or seeking to do business with the state is doubled to $20. If approved by the governor, relevant provisions of the bill will be effective October 1. This does affect lobbying reporting. The final monthly employer activity report required for the regular session is due June 10.

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The second regular session of the 132nd Legislature adjourned sine die after a veto session on April 29. Lawmakers passed two campaign finance bills, Legislative Documents 517 and 2000. Legislative Document 517 requires public communications that use synthetic media to include a disclaimer, and Legislative Document 2000 increased the monetary minimums for filing 24-hour PAC and independent expenditure reports. The general effective date for laws passed without an emergency designation is July 29. This does affect lobbying reporting; a registered lobbyist who anticipates no further lobbying for a client may file a request for a non-session waiver with their final monthly report for the session.

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The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) released their annual report for 2025. Last year’s election had unprecedented campaign spending and a new record for disclosure reports filed. Additionally, 6270 lobbyist reports and 2,419 pay-to-play reports were filed. The report contains policy recommendations for lawmakers, including proposing requiring quarterly and 72/24-hour notice reports for independent expenditure committees. The report can be found at https://www.elec.nj.gov/pdffiles/annual_reports/annual2025.pdf.

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Pennsylvania will hold a special election on August 18 for House District 12. Rep. Stephenie Scialabba resigned on March 31 to spend more time with her family. Scialabba was first elected in 2022 and had initially stated she would not run for re-election in November before resigning.

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The New Hampshire Secretary of State has announced an online portal for lobbyist registration and reporting is now available. The first report for the year is due April 29. Lobbyist information has been moved to the new online portal, however an account must be set up Here.

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The Maine General Assembly passed a bill increasing the monetary threshold for 24-hour PAC reports and independent expenditure reports. Legislative Document 2000 requires PACs to file 24-hour reports after receiving a contribution of at least $10,000 or making an expenditure of $2,500 or more. Previously, PACs were required to file when receiving a contribution of at least $5,000 or making an expenditure of $1,000 or more. The threshold for PACs to file independent expenditure reports is increased from $250 or more per candidate to $1,000 or more per candidate. The bill became effective upon Gov. Mills’s approval.

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The Delaware House of Representatives introduced two bills to overhaul campaign finance reporting on April 9. House Bill 360 requires political committees to file reports quarterly rather than annually and eliminates the report due 30 days before an election.  House Bill 344 extends the political committee requirement to retain records from three years to five years and requires biennial training for committee treasurers.

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The Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission decided lobbyists who represent domestic subsidies of foreign principals can make contributions despite the ban on contributions from foreign nationals in Connecticut elections. These lobbyists can make personal contributions if they are using their own funds and their lobbying and political activities are not directed or controlled by a foreign parent company.

The Connecticut House of Representatives introduced a bill to expand the ban on lobbyist contributions during legislative sessions. Under current law, lobbyists are prohibited from giving to state and legislative candidates and incumbents while the General Assembly is in session. House Bill 5547 expands this prohibition to include municipal candidates and probate judges.

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The Vermont General Assembly passed Senate Bill 23, which requires the disclosure of deceptive and fraudulent election-related synthetic media within 90 days of an election. A disclosure must be included in the synthetic media stating “this media has been manipulated or generated by digital technology and depicts speech or conduct that did not occur.” The bill was signed by Gov. Phil Scott and is effective immediately.

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Maine will hold a special election for House District 29 on June 9, which corresponds with the primary election date. The seat became vacant after Rep. Kathy Javner passed away after a battle with cancer during her final term in office. Candidate nominations are to be submitted to the Office of Secretary of State by March 6.

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Pennsylvania will hold a special election on May 19 for House Legislative District 196. Rep. Seth Grove resigned after holding the seat for 17 years due to a potential conflict of interest from a new job he has taken in the private sector. Grove had previously announced that he will not run for re-election in the upcoming general election.

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Pennsylvania will hold special elections on February 24 and March 17 after four representatives resigned to assume other offices. An election for Legislative District 24 and 42 will be on February 24. An election for the Legislative District 79 and 193 will be on March 17.

The compensation and expense thresholds for lobbyist registration and reporting in Pennsylvania will increase on January 1 from $3,000 to $4,000.  The Department of State determined the increase was reasonable for assuring appropriate disclosure based on inflation. The threshold was last increased in 2017.