A new bill introduced into the West Virginia House of Representatives could repeal all state lobbying statutes and criminalizes the act of paying someone to influence any member of the Legislature.

House Bill 5402 could also criminalize the act of receiving money to influence any member of the Legislature.

Both acts would be considered a felony and will constitute a fine or, after no more than five infractions, imprisonment.

Lawmakers are convening a special session called by Gov. Tate Reeves to finalize a $10 billion economic project on January 25.

The project’s aim is to create two large scale data centers.

The name of the company will be announced after the session concludes.

This session is similar to a previous special session held last week for an equally impactful economic project.

As before, this special session could last as little as one day.

Lawmakers are convening a special session called by Gov. Tate Reeves to finalize a huge economic project in an effort to bolster Mississippi’s job market and economy.

Reeves said the project will create 2,000 jobs in Marshall County with an average annual salary of $66,000.

The special session is occurring during the regular 2024 legislative session and is predicted to last only a single day.

The South Carolina Ethics Commission adjusted the spending limits for lobbyist principals effective January 1.

The limits increased from $60 per day and $480 per calendar year to $70 per day and $560 per calendar year.

No lobbyist principal or person acting on behalf of a lobbyist principal may provide to a public official or a public employee the value of lodging, transportation, entertainment, food meals, or beverages exceeding the spending limits per public official or public employee.

Georgia is replacing its lobbyist e-filing system for 2024.

Clients and lobbyists will have to register, but only once in the new system.

Lobbyists will be able to reregister every year based on this initial registration and clients will only register once to establish their account.

Lobbyists are currently authorized to lobby on behalf of new clients they register while authorization approval is pending.

This ability to lobby on behalf of new clients while awaiting approval of clients is for calendar year 2024 only.

Due to the new system, the Ethics Commission has decided to not collect or assess late fees for lobbyists provided they make a concerted effort to file reports and comply with their reporting requirements until March 31.

A special election has been scheduled on February 13 for state Senate District 30.

The vacancy is due to the resignation of Sen. Mike Dugan, who is running for Congress.

A runoff, if needed, will be held on March 12.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a special election to fill the newly created District 48 seat in the House of Delegates.

After being reelected just over a month ago, Del. Les Adams noted the reason for his resignation was to make himself available for another position of service.

The special election will be held on January 9, 2024.

South Carolina will hold a special election in State House District 109 following the resignation of Sen. Deon Tedder, who won a special election for the Senate District 42 seat on November 7.

The April 2, 2024 election will be preceded by the primary on January 30 and a primary runoff on February 13, if necessary.

Democrats have managed to flip the Virginia House of Representatives in a heated primary.

Several wins in key districts were claimed in an attempt to thwart Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda on topics such as abortion, education, and the economy.

These seats were taken back from Republicans who, in 2021, won a slim majority.

News outlets have stated that the Virginia elections may give a glimpse of the 2024 presidential cycle and show a rallying support for the Democratic Party.

Democrat Deon Tedder has secured Senate District 42 in South Carolina with an overwhelming majority of 82% of the vote.

He defeated his opponent Rosa Kay (R).

Tedder managed to win the seat after a very narrow primary against Wendell Gilliard (D).

The primary went into a runoff with Tedder securing the win by 11 votes.

Now Tedder aims to tackle criminal justice reform, public education, and housing.

Democrat Gabe Amo has won the election for Rhode Island House District 1.

He defeated his opponent, Gerry Leonard (R), and became the state’s first black candidate to be elected to congress.

He states that he “didn’t run to make history” and is eager to serve the state he loves.

He aims to use his position to fight for stronger gun control and to protect social security.

Amo’s other top priority is to ensure the federal government begin to function again.

Amo continues democratic holding of this particular seat.

Republican Andrew Stepp has secured an easy majority in Mississippi House District 23 with 72% of the vote.

He bested his opponents Andy Clark (I) and Danny Lampley (D) in the special election.

Governor Tate Reeves has won the 2023 Mississippi gubernational election by a narrow margin against Democrat Brandon Presley.

Gov. Reeves secured a slim majority of 51.8% of the votes in Mississippi and his opponent secured 46.9% with 95% of votes having been cast.

Gov. Reeves was predicted to have an easy victory but faced steep competition from his opponent.

A late endorsement from former president Trump may have pushed Reeves ahead.

Gov. Brian Kemp called for a special legislative session to begin November 29 due to the recent striking down of Georgia’s legislative and congressional voting maps by a federal judge.

The judge stated the maps violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and has set a deadline of December 8 for state lawmakers to draw new ones.

The maps will be redrawn to include multiple black-majority districts including two new districts for the Senate and five for the House.