California Legislature Passes Bill Extending Fictitious Appearance Prohibition

Lawmakers passed a bill to include lobbyist employers in the prohibitions against fictitious lobbying practices. Existing law currently prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from attempting to create a fictitious appearance of public favor or disfavor of any proposed legislative or administrative action. A lobbyist or lobbying firm may not cause any communication to be sent to any elected state officer, legislative official, agency official, or state candidate in the name of any fictitious person or in the name of any real person, except with the consent of the real person. Assembly Bill 1736 extends these prohibitions to lobbyist employers and is effective January 1, 2027.

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The Legislature’s debate on tax breaks for the Alaska LNG project will continue following Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s call for another special session. The previous special session ended July 16 without making any meaningful progress on the issue.  The next special session is set to begin July 27. This does affect lobbying reporting. If the special session extends into August, a lobbyist report will be due September 30 covering activity for the month of August.

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Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed House Bill 16 yesterday, which would have reimposed campaign contribution limits on state elections. HB 16 would have limited individual contributions to each candidate at $2,000 per election cycle. Political parties and other groups could contribute up to $4,000 to a candidate each election cycle. Contributions to gubernatorial elections would be limited to $4,000 for individuals and $8,000 for groups. The bill’s purpose was to reduce the influence of wealthy donors. Dunleavy explained he did not feel the bill went far enough in limiting wealthier candidates from funding themselves. With HB 16 being vetoed, a similar ballot measure will be presented to voters at the primary election on August 18. If the bill had passed, the ballot measure would have been cancelled.

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The second special session ended last week on June 19. However, lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement on a bill offering tax relief to the Alaska LNG gas line project. Gov. Mike Dunleavy then called for a third special session beginning on June 20. Dunleavy’s executive proclamation does not give a general timeline for the session, but House Speaker Bryce Edgmon stated the Legislature’s intent is to meet over the next 10 days with a vote on the new version of the bill set for July 1. This will affect lobbying reporting. If the special session extends into July, a lobbyist report will be due August 31 covering activity for the month of July.

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ALAKSA: The 2026 legislative session ended yesterday evening. Lawmakers passed House Bill 16 which makes various changes to the state’s campaign finance laws. New contribution limits will be imposed. Individuals may contribute up to $2,000 each election cycle to a nongroup entity or candidate. Individuals will be able to contribute $5,000 each per year to a political party or group entity. A group that is not a political party may contribute not more than $4,000 each election cycle to a candidate or $5,000 each year to another group entity, or to a political party. A nongroup entity may not contribute more than $4,000 each election cycle to another nongroup entity or $5,000 to a political party or group. When contributions are being made to a joint campaign for governor and lieutenant governor an individual may not contribute more than $4,000 each election cycle, while a group may not contribute more than $8,000 each election cycle. House Bill 16 is waiting the governor’s approval. The bill will take effect 90 days from when it is enacted. The new limits would be in place for the upcoming 2028 elections. Lawmakers will also return to a special session today, May 21. The special session has been called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to address legislation relating to the taxation of certain natural gas pipeline property, amongst other issues. No hard deadline to the end of the session was given and it will continue for as long as necessary. This may affect lobbying reporting dates if the special session continues into June.

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The 2026 legislative session adjourned sine die April 2 after lawmakers passed ethics in procurement and campaign finance bills. Effective July 1, House Bill 889 establishes a vendor debarment process for certain infractions, preventing a bidder from bidding on state projects or services for up to three years. The bill includes a revolving door provision restricting former officials and individuals from working with vendors for one year after leaving public office. Vendors, employees of vendors, or any person working on their behalf must report financial expenditures over $50 related to procurement. House Bill 930 requires all political candidates and political committees to open a separate checking account for the purpose of collecting contributions and paying expenses. Campaign funds must not be commingled with any other account. House Bill 930 was delivered to the governor on April 2, and if signed will be effective July 1.

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The Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices is initiating a lobbying compliance audit program. The program will be focused on reviewing principal lobbying financial reports (Form L-5 filings) as a result of recommendations by the Montana Legislative Audit Division. Last year, the Legislature passed House Bill 2, which funds a compliance auditor position tasked with implementing the compliance audit program. The purpose of the program is to evaluate the effectiveness and consistency of the lobbying reporting process and to assess overall compliance with the applicable statutory reporting requirements. As part of this program, a sample of principals will be selected through a random selection process for review of Form L-5 filings. Principals who are selected will receive a separate notification with additional information regarding the audit process.

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The 2026 legislative session adjourned sine die on March 12. The short session lasted 60 days focusing closely on various budget bills, including a state income tax bill which would impose a state income tax of 9.9% on households earning more than $1 million annually. This millionaires’ tax legislation was debated on the House floor for over 24 hours and is expected to be signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson. On the final day of the legislative session lawmakers primarily turned their attention to approving other operating, transportation, and construction budget bills.

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The 2026 legislative budget session adjourned sine die on Wednesday, March 11. The session lasted 21 days with 114 bills being passed. Lawmakers adopted the 2027-2028 biennial budget, which includes total net appropriations of over $10 billion, with $3.46 billion in general state funds. Gov. Mark Gordon signed the budget bill on March 5. 

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The 2026 legislature adjourned sine die on March 6. Lawmakers passed a campaign finance reform bill to modify the timeline of certain campaign finance regulations passed during the previous 2024 legislative session. House Bill 4018 makes certain technical fixes to definitions within the previous 2024 bill. It also pushes back the implementation date for a contribution tracking system from 2028 to 2032. The contribution limits remain unchanged and are set to go into effect next year. State officials have recognized the law still needs extensive work and have also passed Senate Bill 1502, which directs the secretary of state to prefile proposed legislation next year setting forth recommendations for changes to the campaign finance limitation presently being implemented. Both bills have been sent to Gov. Tina Kotek. If signed, House Bill 4018 is effective immediately and Senate Bill 1502 becomes effective June 5.

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Gov. Mark Gordon recently signed an executive order banning campaign contributions in state buildings used for activities of the Executive Branch. The ban applies to state facilities and commercial buildings operating under state leases. It does not apply to areas controlled by the Legislature, including the Legislative Services Office, committee rooms, and the Senate and House floor. The order applies to contributions and donations made in person by “cash, check, or any other means.” Online campaign contributions and donations would also be banned when the solicitation, delivery, or acceptance of online contributions and donations originates within a facility owned or leased by the state. Executive Order 2026-01 is effective immediately.

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 Lawmakers have proposed an amendment to a campaign finance bill passed during the 2024 legislative session. House Bill 4018 establishes contribution limits along with various other oversight of campaign finance and is slated to become effective in future years. The newly proposed amended version of House Bill 4018 seeks to delay the upcoming rollout of certain portions of the bill, including a modernized online system until 2031 or 2032. Some legislators suggest that delaying parts of the bill going forward would lower the costs for the Office of Secretary of State. The new contributions limits would currently be left intact and would still become effective January of 2027.

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Seattle City Council recently passed an ordinance which requires political consultants to register with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission within 15 days of providing political consulting services. Political consultants will also be required to disclose information including which local candidates, campaigns, and city ballot measures they work with and when that work began. Initially the bill was intended to prohibit political consultants from simultaneously holding city contracts while doing outside campaign work and also provided for a one-year cooling-off period before consultants could return to work for the city after campaign activities. However, those prohibitions were removed, and the bill instead focuses on consultant registration and reporting. Council Bill 121130 will become effective 30 days after the mayor’s approval.

The Office of City Clerk recently announced a new and improved lobbyist registration and weekly reporting system, beginning in February 2026. The upgraded platform is intended to streamline the filling process and provide an overall enhanced user experience. Training resources will be provided on the city’s webpage and a training session will be recorded and made available for remote viewing. As part of the system rollout, the lobbyist registration deadline will be extended to February 28, 2026. Until further notice, the current system remains operational.

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