The County Commission has approved an ordinance to raise the monetary value limit of a gift of food and drink for elected officials from $5 to $25.

Commissioner Mark Bogen stated this ordinance will allow elected officials, candidates, and government staff to interface better with the public as the current rules prevent officials from attending functions they should be attending.

Reasoning in the ordinance states the stringent gift limitations in the County Code of Ethics unintentionally discourage personal interaction and communication between elected officials and the communities they serve.

The gift limitation was raised on November 12 after a unanimous vote for its approval.

A special primary election will be held November 16 for state Senate districts 10 and 32.

These elections are the result of Sen. John McGuire and Sen. Suhas Subramanyam winning elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Democrats currently have a one-seat majority in the Senate.

The general election date has not been announced yet, but according to state law, vacancies must be filled within 30 days of the vacancy.

Republican Rick Scott defeated his opponent Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in the race for U.S. Senate 55% to 42%.

Scott, who served two terms as governor of Florida before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018, will now serve a second term.

Voters in Florida rejected a ballot measure to the repeal the public campaign financing requirement for campaigns for statewide office.

The current law makes funds available to individuals who wish to run for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, chief financial officer and agricultural commission.

The original purpose of this law was to make funds available for anyone to run for office but also allowed those fully capable to fund raise for themselves to get additional funds from the state. .

Voters in Florida rejected a ballot measure to require candidates for school boards to pick a party if they want to run.

The measure was slightly controversial as some voters believed it would make the process of electing members of the school board more transparent while other voters believed it could disenfranchise them.

Republican Patrick Morrisey defeated his opponent Democrat Steve Williams in the West Virginia gubernatorial race 62% to 31%.

This race was without an incumbent as current Gov. Jim Justice is on his final term.

Patrick Morrisey has been the state’s attorney general since 2013.

Democrat Josh Stein defeated his opponent Republican Mark Robinson in the North Carolina gubernatorial race 54% to 40%.

This race was without an incumbent as Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper was term limited.

Stein is currently serving as the state’s attorney general.

The County Commission has proposed an ordinance to raise the monetary value limit of a gift of food and drink for elected officials from $5 to $25.

Commissioner Mark Bogen stated this proposal will allow elected officials, candidates, and government staff to interface better with the public.

Bogen also stated this change is not to allow officers to have dinner with a lobbyist but to keep officials from worrying about breaking the law for accepting food or drink that costs “more than a bagel” from constituents when attending public events.

The proposed ordinance will appear on the County Commission’s agenda on October 22.

State lawmakers will come together for a one-day session on October 9 to vote on a hurricane relief package.

Additional legislation is being drafted to enable the long-term recovery of the region and House Democratic Leader Robert Reives states hurricane relief could lead to introduction of additional legislation.

This does affect lobbying reporting.

A monthly report is due November 14 if expenditures were made on legislators or legislative employees during the reporting period.

The state Democratic Party filed suit against Gov. Kemp in federal court over a 2021 state law allowing candidates to accept unlimited contributions through leadership committees.

Last Thursday, a federal judge ruled in favor of Gov. Kemp.

U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen found the complaint to be speculative in nature and the Democratic Party lacked standing to sue the governor.

Democrats could not point to a specific contribution that had infringed the right of free speech and equal protection rights.

The court noted the attorney general and the Georgia Ethics Commission would be the appropriate parties to sue.

Miami-Dade’s clerk of courts introduced an upgrade to the online lobbyist system.

The system will have new capabilities such online fee payment, principal removal, lobbyist authorization, and contingency fee declarations without the need of paper forms.

To implement the new system, the old system will go offline on September 23 at 11:59 p.m. and will remain offline until October 1.

Access to the new system will be granted on October 2 and it is encouraged to have all critical submissions completed before the cutoff date.

Training and support resources will be available to help users get acquainted.

Finally, if registration is required during the black-out period, lobbyists and principals will be required to contact the Office of Clerk of the Board Division.

Gov. Jim Justice announced a special session to discuss tax cuts, childcare, and other critical needs such as infrastructure.

The session is scheduled to begin September 30 and does not have an immediate end date.

Currently, no special session bills have been filed.

Baltimore City Council is in the process of approving an ethics bill to align with state law.

City Council Bill 22-0275 expands the prohibition on city employees soliciting gifts to any donor.

Currently, the ban applies to controlled donors such as a lobbyist or person seeking to do business.

The bill also adds associations representing counties or municipal corporations to the list of donors whose gifts may not be accepted, absent an exception.

The bill was presented for third reading on August 26.

Electronic Video Notarization (EVN) will continue to be a valid form of notarization in North Carolina.

EVN was a policy put in place during Covid-19 to allow for safer notarization of documents by allowing notaries to witness signatures over video calls.

This order expired on June 30 but extended to July 1, 2025, by House Bill 556.

The bill was vetoed by the governor before being overridden by legislative vote.