Lt. Gov. Austin signed a writ of election for the state Senate District 36 after Sen. Ryan Aument’s resignation. The special election will be held on Tuesday, March 25. Aument resigned to become Sen. Dave McCormick’s state director.

Gov. Murphy signed a bill rescheduling the 2025 primary election from June 3 to June 10 to accommodate a period of religious observance.

Assembly Bill 5152 also moves campaign finance reporting deadlines to correspond to the new election date.

The Office of Secretary of State will publish a calendar containing the dates to be used.

Attorney General Aaron Fey agreed to delay the enforcement of new contribution limits related to independent expenditures until May 30 while they are being challenged in court for constitutionality.

Ballot Question 1, approved in last year’s November election, restricts contributions to political action committees for the purpose of making independent expenditures to $5,000 per year.

These contributions were unrestricted before the passage of the ballot question.

The new Lobbying Information System will be live on January 2, 2025.

The previous system will remain operational for filing reports from the 2023-2024 biennium, which are due January 15, 2025.

The Elections Division requests the reports be filed as soon as possible. The new system will use the same web address as the previous system and will be more intuitive and user friendly.

The Maine Ethics Commission has scheduled the 2025 harassment trainings for lobbyists.

The training is mandatory for lobbyists and lobbyist associates and must be completed annually.

Virtual trainings will be held on December 18, December 19, January 7, and January 9.

Registration is available through the Maine Ethics Commission website.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly concluded work for the 2023-2024 legislative session on November 13.

Lawmakers introduced but failed to pass bills related to lobbying and campaign finance.

The Legislature will formally adjourn on November 30 and is scheduled to convene the 2025-2026 legislative session on January 7, 2025.

Democrat Matt Meyer defeated Republican Mike Ramone to become Delaware’s next governor.

Meyer, the current executive of New Castle County, secured close to 55% of the vote.

Republican Kelly Ayotte defeated Democrat Joyce Craig to become New Hampshire’s next governor.

Ayotte won the Republican primary after current governor Chris Sununu announced he will not seek reelection.

Ayotte, an attorney and former U.S. Senator, secured 53% of the vote.

Voters approved Question 1 with an overwhelming majority of the vote.

The ballot question sets an aggregate $5,000 limit for individuals, business entities, and PACs contributing to PACs making independent expenditures.

Beginning December 1, contribution limits will be adjusted every two years based on the consumer price index.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott won the Vermont gubernatorial election against Democrat Esther Charlestin.

Scott, who became governor in 2017, secured close to 73% of the vote.

The Office of Secretary of State recently updated their list of 2024 election law changes. Changes include mandating all political committees other than candidate committees to file reports electronically as of November 27. Effective January 1, 2025, corporations and individuals are permitted to contribute $15,000 to candidates and $30,000 to PACs or political parties per election cycle. An election cycle begins on the 22nd day after a state general election and goes through 21 days after the next state general election. Previously, contribution limits were per election phase.

The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) will hold a live training on October 30 at 1 p.m. to provide an overview of the responsible party regulatory amendments and a review of the changes in COELIG’s Lobbying Application.

Beginning on December 1, amended regulations regarding who is responsible for the submission, completeness, and truthfulness of filings by a lobbyist or client will take effect.

Submission of lobbyist filings will require a responsible party to attest to the accuracy of the filing.

If a lobbyist or client is an organization, the responsible party must have legal authority to bind the lobbyist or client.

The rulemaking clarifies only the responsible party can submit a lobbying filing and attest to its truthfulness.

A person or entity who is hired or employed by a lobbyist or client to prepare lobbying filings can still prepare and save the filings for the lobbyist or client but may no longer submit or attest to the truthfulness of those filings.

Only the responsible party may submit or attest to the truthfulness of the filings.

Gov. Sununu signed a bill amending lobbyist reporting requirements.

House Bill 1666 requires lobbyists to register and file statements through an online filling system to be developed by the Office of Secretary of State.

Lobbyist statements will be due on January 31, May 31, and September 30.

Currently, the statements are due quarterly.

These changes do not go into effect until January 1, 2027.

The Massachusetts Legislature adjourned its formal session August 1.

Before adjourning, lawmakers passed a bill relating to housing bonds but left many bills without final action, including various political contribution bills.

The Legislature will continue to meet in informal sessions where non-controversial issues may be considered and approved.