The state has announced that two special elections will be held on May 21 to replace two outgoing state representatives. In district 42, voters will be looking for Matt Smith’s replacement after he ran and won for both a seat in the state house and state senate.

The voters in district 95 will be replacing Eugene DePasquale, who left his position to become the state’s auditor general.

Primary elections will not be held for either of these seats, as the parties will be choosing their nominees.

Governor Steve Beshear has set the special election to fill the House District 52 seat for February 12, 2013.

The election will fill the unexpired term of Sara Beth Gregory, who won a special election to the Kentucky Senate after former senate president David Williams resigned to accept a circuit judge appointment by Governor Beshear.

Lobbying

“Newly unemployed lawmakers buzzing about million-dollar lobbying jobs” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.

California: “Interactive graphic: Hidden lobbying expenses” by Sharon Okada in the Sacramento Bee.

California: “California’s lobby laws keep many influence-peddling details secret” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.

Nevada:  “Lobbyists sit through ethics training in Carson City” by David McGrath in the Las Vegas Sun.

“Two Buerkle staffers land jobs with Washington, D.C., lobbying firms” by Mark Weiner in the Post-Standard.

Campaign Finance

“Money in Politics This Week” by Syed Zaidi in the Brennan Center for Justice Blog.

“FEC Appointments Are Deciding the Future of Campaign Finance” by Alex Gauthier in the Independent Voter Network.

Mississippi:  “Judge sets trial date for campaign finance case” by The Associated Press in the Mississippi Business Journal.

Wisconsin:  “Mike McCabe featured speaker, topic is Campaign Finance Jan. 26 public meeting” in the Bay View Compass.

Ethics

“Harry Reid Disavows Report Linking Him to Bribery Case” by Neils Lesniewski in Roll Call.

Texas:  “Some State Legislators Blur Line Between Public and Private Interests” by Emily Ramshaw in The New York Times.

State Legislatures

“More than Half of State Legislatures Convened this Week” by Angela Andrews in NCSL’s The Thicket blog.

Washington: “Key players to watch in the Washington Legislature, which convenes Monday” in the Seattle Times.

The Presidential Inauguration

“Critics Decry Looser Rules For Inauguration Fundraising” by NPR in Oregon Public Broadcasting.

“Fund-Raising Is Lagging, So Far, for Inaugural Plans” by Nicholas Confessore in The New York Times.

“An inauguration first: Apps” by Steve Freiss in Politico.

Governor Mark Dayton has set special election dates for two house seats after the incumbents turned in their resignations on January 7.

The special elections for the house seats in districts 14A and 19A will take place on February 12.

The special primary, if necessary, will take place on January 29. Both districts are home to large college student populations, so the governor decided to ensure that as many students as possible would be back for the election.

Governor Jerry Brown has called a special election for Senate Districts 32 and 40 to fill vacancies.

The primaries will be held March 12, with runoffs on May 14, 2013.

Ethics

“Citing Flawed Process, Lawyers Call for Changes in Ethics Office Inquiries” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

“CREW Files DOJ, FEC Complaints Against Payday Lender for Illegal Conduit Contribution to Super PAC” in ENews Park Forest.

Colorado: “Ethics commission moves forward with Gessler investigation” by John Tomasic in the Colorado Independent.

Maryland: “Common Cause hires new state director” by Michael Dresser in the Baltimore Sun.

South Carolina:  “Ethics commission discusses reform recommendations” by The Associated Press in GoUpstate.com.

Wisconsin: “Funding cut threatens popular Wisconsin campaign finance database” by Steven Elbow in The Capital Times.

Lobbying

Ohio: “Former Rep. Steve LaTourette and wife to start law firm’s lobbying practice” by Sabrina Eaton in the Plain Dealer.

Campaign Finance

“Outside, secret money likely to flow in 2013” by Tarini Parti in Politico.

Minnesota:  “Campaign Finance Board looks to strengthen public disclosure law” by Tom Scheck in MPR News.

New York:  “Campaign finance reform crusader Cuomo fund raises at Waldorf Astoria” by Carl Campanile in the New York Post.

New York:  “Mayoral candidate files lawsuit challenging limits on campaign contributions” by The Associated Press in The Republic.

New York:  “NY proposal: Use casino money to fund NY campaigns” by Michael Gormley in the Huffington Post.

New York: “NY campaign funding drops, but Senate GOP gets most money” by Joseph Spector in the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

Legislative Issues

“SC House minority leader steps down” by Adam Beam in The State.

Social Media and Government Tech

“The Library of Congress is Archiving 170 Billion Tweets — on Tape” by Julia Wetherell in TechPresident.

Ethics

“House Ethics Ends Countrywide Loan Probe” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

“House Ethics closes Countrywide probe without taking action” by Peter Schroeder in The Hill.

“House Ethics Amends Private Travel Rules” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.

Louisiana: “Louisiana Board of Ethics to challenge Baton Rouge Mayor in appeals court” by Quincy Hodges in the New Orleans Times Picayune.

Campaign Finance

“Our states vouch for transparent campaign financing” opinion piece by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Lisa Murkowski in the Washington Post.

“Lisa Murkowski crosses aisle to reign in Super PACs” by Jill Burke in the Alaska Dispatch.

South Carolina: “South Carolina campaign funding will face scrutiny” by Stephen Largen in the Post and Courier.

Lobbying

“Former lobbyist, state legislator John Quimby dies at 77” by Torey Van Oot in the Sacramento Bee.

Maryland:  “Gambling companies doubled down on lobbying Md. lawmakers over past year” by John Wagner in the Washington Post.

Elections

“Ed Markey to run for Kerry’s Senate seat” by Rachel Weiner in the Washington Post.

“Should Kansas switch dates for elections?” by The Associated Press in the Kansas City Star.

Legislative Issues

Michigan: “Michigan lawmakers get perks beyond salaries” by Kristen M. Daum in Lansing State Journal.

The Suffolk County legislature has voted to hold a special election on January 15, 2013 to replace outgoing legislator Ed Romaine.

Mr. Romaine was recently sworn in as the town supervisor of Brookhaven, New York.

Sean Walter, the republican candidate, and Al Krupski, the democratic candidate, will vie for the vacant seat in the county’s first legislative district.

A special election for Senate District 28 has been scheduled for February 5, 2013.

The seat was left vacant by the death of Sen. Alice Harden on December 6.

Campaign Finance

“D.C. Council pushes campaign finance to ’13” by Tom Howell, Jr. in The Washington Times.

Rhode Island: “R.I. House Speaker’s November opponent cleared of campaign wrongdoing” by Philip Marcelo in the Providence Journal.

Lobbying

“K Street Files: Progressives Come, Single Out ‘Naughty’ Lawmakers” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.

“Clock running out for passing big bills” by Kevin Bogardus and Bernie Becker in The Hill.

“APOC complaint accuses Coffey of failing to register as a lobbyist” by Lisa Demer in the Anchorage Daily News.

“Cup of coffee limit perks up again” by Rick Karlin in the Albany Times Union.

Governor Bentley has set the special election schedule for House District 97. The seat was formerly held by Rep. Yvonne Kennedy, who passed away December 8.

The election timeline will be as follows:

• The primary election will be held February 26, 2013, unless the major parties have only one candidate, in which case the general election will be held that date;
• A primary runoff, or the general election if no runoff is needed, will be held April 9, 2013; and,
• If both a primary and runoff are required, the general election will be held May 21, 2013.

If a primary and runoff are both needed, the seat will remain vacant for the entire 2013 legislative session.

A special election for Louisiana house district 79 has been set for March 2, 2013. Representative Anthony Ligi announced on December 14, 2012 that he is resigning on January 1, 2013 to work in the private sector, leaving his seat in district 79 vacant.

If necessary, a runoff election will be held on April 6.

Governor Scott Walker has set the date for the special election to fill the vacant 98th district state assembly seat. The date will coincide with the already scheduled spring primary and general elections on February 19 and April 2 respectively.

Representative Paul Farrow’s former seat is vacant because he won a special election for a state senate seat in early December.

Four republicans have already announced their intention to run for the seat, but it is unclear who will run on the democratic side.

Texas Governor Rick Perry announced a special election for the currently vacant district six state senate seat. The position was held by Senator Mario Gallegos, who died last October but was nonetheless reelected posthumously in November.

The Governor has set the election for Saturday, January 26, 2013.

In the event a single candidate does not receive a majority of the votes in the January election, a runoff election will be held between the top two candidates receiving the most votes.