The Legislature quietly adjourned sine die on March 7 after passing a procurement and campaign finance bill.

House Bill 1471 modifies the state procurement procedures and revises definitions concerning competitive, sole source, convenience, and emergency goods and services contracts.

Senate Bill 5857 reorganizes the campaign disclosure and contributions statutes through technical amendments involving campaign disclosure and contributions at the state and local levels.

These bills will now be sent to the governor for his signature.

Voters approved a ballot measure making changes to the city ethics law.

Proposition D imposes more restrictive prohibitions on gifts to public officials and requires additional ethics training for public officials.

Certain definitions such as bribery are amended to become more restrictive in order to prohibit public officials from accepting items of value aimed at influencing governmental decision making.

The effective date will be 10 days after the date the official vote count is declared by the Board of Supervisors.

State business and labor groups have been working on legislation to limit campaign contributions in state races.

Oregon is one of just five states with no limits on political contributions.

These negotiations come as a proposal, known as Initiative Petition 9, has a chance of qualifying for the November ballot.

The petition would impose additional campaign finance disclosures and strict contribution limits for individuals, political parties, and interest groups.

San Jose City Council voted to pass a memorandum to bar multinational corporations from spending money to influence elections.

Corporations would be prohibited from spending money in elections if they are foreign-influenced.

This would be defined as 1 percent or more ownership by a single foreign investor or five percent or more ownership by multiple foreign investors.

The passage of this memorandum will go to a final reading at a city council meeting in January where it is expected to pass unanimously.

The Public Disclosure Commission recently voted to adjust the lobbying reporting thresholds due to inflation.

This was decided after a public hearing was held and is a continuation of a broader effort to update the thresholds through the state’s political disclosure rules.

Updates include an increased threshold for itemizing expenditures on entertainment and food or beverage for public officials from $50 to $100.

Another update raises the limit for lobbyist and lobbyist employer reporting of a last-minute contribution from $1,000 to $1,500.

The thresholds will be in effect for the January reporting period due in February.

The December reporting period due in January will fall under previous thresholds. The new reporting thresholds take effect on January 8, 2024.

What are your areas of expertise?

I manage a portfolio of states, counties, and municipalities primarily located on the West Coast. Part of my experience relies on monitoring relevant legislative, regulatory, and rule-making activity and using independent judgement and discretion to determine how to incorporate the information. I also work with our clients to ensure they are aware of and adhering to any and all rules and regulations concerning lobbying, gifts to public officials, political contributions, and procurement. Client-specific research is another important task I perform routinely in order to provide the best information possible.

How long have you been with State and Federal Communications?

I have been a Manager of Research Services with State and Federal Communications, Inc. for just under two years.

How do you help our clients?

In addition to answering specific question from clients, I also assist in preparing, reviewing, and filing the lobbyist registrations and lobbyist activity reports.

Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by the head of the state’s enforcement agency challenging the constitutionality of a recent campaign finance overhaul.

The lawsuit was initially filed by former Executive Director Jeff Brindle of the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), seeking to block sections of the Elections Transparency Act.

This included a provision allowing Gov. Phil Murphy to directly appoint the four members of ELEC without the advice and consent of the Senate within a temporary 90-day period.

A provision reducing the amount of time the commission has to investigate campaign finance violations was also challenged.

Lougy determined the legislation was focused on several valid purposes that pertained directly to its subject matter.

The case was dismissed with prejudice and therefore unable to be filed again.

The Commissioner of Political Practices published increases to the campaign contribution limits for the 2024-2025 election cycle.

Individuals and PACs are able to contribute $1,120 per election to a candidate for governor and lieutenant governor; $790 per election to a candidate for statewide office; and $450 per election to a candidate for other public offices.

The previous limits were $1,000, $700, and $400.

Campaign limits have also increased for political party committees.

The new limits are applicable as of December 9, 2023.

The City Council recently passed an ordinance codifying lobbyist registration fees and fee penalties.

The registration fee is $500 with a late filing fee of $10 per day for registrations and reports and a fee cap of $1,000.

The ordinance also implements a partial or complete waiver of registration fees for a local governmental lobbyist who, along with other criteria, is a salaried employee of an organization or association that is a 501(c)(3).

The ordinance also establishes a lobbyist training requirement and lobbyists must complete an online training session offered by the Public Ethics Commission with 60 days of initial registration.

Quarterly reports will now be due no later than the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter.

This ordinance is effective immediately.

City Council members voted unanimously to pass a policy requiring the members to post their calendar online.

The postings will list any meetings that occur with lobbyists, developers, union representatives, and residents.

This policy comes following an FBI statement concluding Anaheim City Hall appears to be heavily influenced by Disneyland resort interests and their lobbyists.

The new policy will begin January 2024.

Lauren McLean, the incumbent, has been elected Mayor for the city of Boise once again.

McLean defeated Mike Masterson, the former police chief, after receiving more than 50% of the vote.

Masterson, who had spent over 40 years in policing, ultimately ended up conceded the race late last evening.

McLean also beat out candidates Joe Evans and Aaron Reis with neither garnering much of the vote.

Democrats were able to keep their legislative majority after Tuesday’s election.

They won a key race by recovering a South Jersey seat that was lost two years ago and were able to combat Republican takeover in various competitive races across the state.

Democrats won a majority of the 40 seat Senate and 80 seat Assembly races through campaigning on women’s issues and were able to capitalize on the backlash received from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

House Republicans decided to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 747 this past Tuesday.

This piece of legislation creates bipartisan election boards to establish early voting locations and certify election results.

Democrats worry the changes may lead to dysfunction in the 2024 election cycle, while Republicans argue these established boards will create a fairer election process by taking politics out of the equation.

The bill became effective on October 10.

The General Assembly passed House Bill 259 on September 22.

Gov. Roy Cooper has indicated he will not veto the bill and allow the bill to become law without his signature.

House Bill 259 increases the lobbyist and principal registration fee from $250 to $500.

It also establishes an expedited pass for lobbyists and liaison personnel to accelerate entry into the State Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building during the hours these buildings are open to the public.

The Legislative Services Commission may charge lobbyists a fee of up two $2,000 and liaison personnel a fee of up to $1,000 per pass, for each regular session.