LobbyComply Blog

The First Regular Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature adjourned sine die on May 30. During the session, a bill passed amending the provisions of the Local Government Campaign Finance and Financial Disclosure Act to place municipal political committee campaign expenditures and contributions under the authority of the Ethics Commission. Another passed bill amends the law to allow county purchasing agents to select the next lowest and best bidder from the list of qualified bidders if the original bidder is unable to provide service. Bidders will be considered at or below the amount they originally bid. A separate bill passed amending the law to eliminate the requirement for a vendor to be authorized by a state contract in order to work with a board of county commissioners to establish an online bidding process.

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Gov. Mike Kehoe called a special session of the Legislature beginning June 2 to consider St. Louis disaster relief; a proposal for the state to help fund new stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals to keep the teams in Missouri; and other spending items for major capital improvement projects. Under the Missouri Constitution, lawmakers have 60 days to complete work on items in a special session.

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The first regular session of the 103rd General Assembly adjourned on May 15. Lawmakers passed a total of 67 bills this year, 16 of which were budget bills. Last year’s total was 46. Among the bills awaiting the governor’s signature is Senate Bill 152, banning foreign spending on ballot issue campaigns. The bill also prohibits committees from knowingly receiving, soliciting, or accepting contributions or expenditures from a prohibited source, defined as contributions from or expenditures by a foreign national made with the intent to use such funds to influence an election on a ballot measure. The bill also requires committees to file a certificate declaring no preliminary activity was funded, directly or indirectly, by a prohibited source.

The 94th session of the Minnesota Legislature adjourned sine die on May 19. Lawmakers adjourned on the constitutionally prescribed final day with the budget incomplete. With the next fiscal biennium beginning on July 1, the Legislature must approve all budget bills and have them signed by the governor before midnight on June 30 to keep state government open for business. Gov. Walz announced he will call a special session when lawmakers have reached a consensus, but warned pushing the session beyond June 1 would mean state employees have to begin preparing for a possible government shutdown. The House ended its session by choosing not to suspend rules to consider Senate File 856, which would create the Office of the Inspector General.

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The 34^th session of the Legislature adjourned sine die on May 20. Lawmakers ended the session without completing work on campaign finance and election bills. House Bill 16 limits contributions from individuals to $2,000 in donations per candidate in each two-year election cycle, while the Senate Bill 64 makes various changes to absentee voting. Both bills are expected to rollover to next year’s legislative session. This does affect lobbying reporting. The final monthly legislative lobbyist report is due June 30.

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The Alabama Legislature adjourned sine die May 14 amid a lengthy filibuster. Lawmakers were unable to pass a number of bills due to friction across the aisle. One of the few bills to make it to the governor and singed was a bill changing the date of the presidential primary from the fourth Tuesday in May to the second Tuesday in May.

The overtime session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 15 after lawmakers worked overnight to wrap up and head home nearly two weeks after their scheduled end date. The delay was due to some senators refusing to vote on any budget bill until a bill was passed to restrict the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines. Gov. Reynolds has 30 days to sign or veto the bills.

The South Carolina Legislature adjourned sine die on May 8. This was the first year of the two-year legislative session and only 81 bills were sent to the governor. Any bills still alive will be carried over to the 2026 session. Carried over bills include a lobbying bill requiring additional reporting and a bill that would increase the campaign contribution limits for non-statewide offices from $1,000 to $3,500.

The 69th Legislative Assembly adjourned sine die just after 4:00 a.m. on May 3, using up 74 of its 80 days permitted days to pass almost 600 of the 1,089 bills introduced, the highest volume of legislation since 2009. Six days remain for a special session. Lawmakers passed two bills affecting campaign finance laws and effective August 1, 2025. House Bill 1204 expands the prohibition on the publication of false information in political advertisements to text messages, telephone calls, social media, or any other commercial medium. House Bill 1167 requires that any political communication or advertising using artificial intelligence to impersonate a human must prominently display a disclaimer.

The Legislature adjourned sine die on May 7. The legislative session lasted for 120 days, with more than 650 bills introduced. Lawmakers passed House Bill 1315 to modify the way vacancies in the General Assembly are filled by election. The bill defines election cycle as it relates to a vacancy candidate committee during the party selection process as the period beginning on the effective date of the vacancy and ending 30 days following the date upon which the vacancy committee selects an individual to fill the vacancy. Election cycle as it relates to major political party vacancy elections is the period beginning on the date upon which a vacancy committee selects a member to fill the vacancy and ending 30 days following the major political party vacancy election. The legislation also clarifies contribution limits for vacancy candidate committees as those limits specified in the state constitution. If signed by the governor, the legislation will become effective August 5.

The Arkansas Legislature adjourned sine die on May 5. Several campaign finance bills were passed during this session. Contribution limits were reset to a base of $2,000, and emergency filing of paper campaign finance reports has also been approved. Additionally, rules have been put into place to prevent individuals from acting as agents of foreign principals without true and complete registration statement and supplements with the Arkansas Ethics Commission. This does affect lobbying reporting. The final monthly legislative lobbyist report will be due on June 10.

The first regular session of the 91st Iowa General Assembly, though scheduled to adjourn on May 2, continues in an overtime session. Lawmakers have not passed a new state budget, which is required before they can officially adjourn. Some Senators are refusing to vote on any budget bills unless the Iowa Senate first takes up a bill to restrict the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines. Several bills affecting lobbying and campaign finance were introduced during the session but have not passed. Senate Joint Resolution 11, if approved by voters, would amend the Iowa Constitution to require a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the General Assembly to increase the individual or corporate income tax rate. The measure was previously approved in the 2023–2024 legislative session as House Joint Resolution 2006. In order to pass the amendment and send the measure to voters on the November 2026 ballot, the resolution will need to be approved by the state House in the 2026 legislative session because Iowa requires constitutional amendments to pass in two consecutive two-year legislative sessions.

The Hawaii Legislature adjourned sine die on May 2 after 60 days in session. During the session, lawmakers passed multiple bills related to lobbying. House Bill 413 clarifies lobbyist contributions are prohibited in periods during which both chambers are in session. House Bill 412 establishes certain presumptions regarding lobbying on behalf of private clients; makes contracts voidable when entered into in violation of the state lobbying law under certain conditions; and expands the definition of lobbying to include certain communications with government officials regarding procurement decisions. Senate Bill 289 establishes uniform provisions for the assessment of administrative penalties under the State Ethics Code and Lobbyist Law. If signed, House Bill 413 will take effect immediately and House Bill 412 will take effect January 1, 2027. Senate Bill 289 was signed by Gov. Green on April 11 and took effect upon its approval.

The 57th Arizona Legislature adjourned its first regular session sine die on May 1. During the session, the legislature amended the law to require a filing officer not accept a complaint from a third party unless the complaint is filed by an individual who submits evidence that the individual is an identifiable human being. It also passed a law mandating homeowners’ associations not prohibit the display of specific flags or political signs that attempt to influence the outcome of an election, which the governor signed into law on May 2.