A former Nevada Republican Assemblyman filed a recall petition with the Nevada Secretary of State this month seeking to recall Democratic Senator Joyce Woodhouse and replace her with her Republican opponent from the 2016 election.

Under Nevada law, petitioners are not required to give a reason for submitting a recall petition. Although no reason was cited in the filed petition, a registered voter said a signature-gatherer seeking support for the petition stated it stemmed from Sen. Joyce’s support of a sanctuary city bill during the 2016 legislative session.

The petition needs signatures from 25 percent of the voters who cast a ballot in the Senate District 5 election in 2016 to have a special election.

Becky Campbell is here to help you sort through all the state government ethics news from a busy week in this week’s video digest.

Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order setting a special election for House District 58. The special primary will be held on October 10, 2017, and the general election will follow on December 19.

Rep. Dan Raulerson announced his retirement, effective August 15, to focus on his health and his business.

Holding the election this year will allow the winner to take his or her seat when the 2018 legislative session begins on January 9.

Gov. Phil Bryant set a special election to fill the open Senate District 10 seat for November 7, 2017.

Democrat Bill Stone vacated the seat to become the manager of the Holly Springs Utility Department. Individuals are prohibited from concurrently serving in the executive and legislative branches.

Candidates must qualify by September 18 and a runoff, if necessary, will be held November 28. District 10 encompasses Marshall and Tate Counties.

The Texas Legislature convened a special legislative session July 18, 2017. Property tax was a topic Gov. Greg Abbott immediately put on the agenda for the session.

House Bill 4 and Senate Bill 1 both, among other things, require a special election be called if any municipality plans to increase property taxes on land and buildings by more than 4 or 5 percent. Senate Bill 1 was passed by the Senate this week.

City and county leaders have stated such automatic election requirements would limit their budget for basic services and force them to hold costly elections.

The special session can run for up to 30 days.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced special election dates for California’s Assembly District 51.

A primary election will be held on October 3, 2017, and the general election is set for December 5, 2017.

The seat became vacant when Democrat Jimmy Gomez resigned upon his election to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Gov. Phil Bryant announced special elections for House Districts 38 and 54 will take place on November 7, 2017.

Democrat Tyrone Ellis retired from his District 38 seat and Republican Alex Monsour left this District 54 seat to become a Vicksburg alderman.

A special runoff election, if necessary, will be held on November 28, 2017. The deadline for candidates to qualify is September 18.

A special election for the Louisiana State Treasurer is set for October 14, 2017. Former treasurer John Kennedy vacated the position when he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016.

The race to fill the seat marks the first time the treasurer’s office has not had an incumbent running since Kennedy was elected 17 years ago.

Five contenders filed this week when the candidate registration period opened. The special election is creating an unforeseen expense for the state, costing taxpayers nearly $5 million, as Louisiana had no other statewide races scheduled this year.

The office is being run by Kennedy’s top assistant until the fall election.

Gov. Phil Bryant announced a special election will take place on September 12, 2017, to fill a vacancy in the House District 102 seat. Republican Tony Barker left the seat to become mayor of Hattiesburg.

A runoff, if necessary, will be held on October 3.

Two more special elections are expected, but are not yet scheduled, for House Districts 38 and 54.

Gov. Kim Reynolds called a special election for House District 82.

The special election has been called to fill the vacancy left by the passing of State Rep. Curt Hanson. Hanson was serving his fifth term when he lost his battle with cancer on June 16, 2017.

The special election has been set for August 8, 2017.

Becky Campbell is here covering the state government and ethics news from around the country in this week’s video digest!

A special election will be called for the 1st Berkshire State Representative Seat to replace Rep. Gailanne Cariddi.

Rep. Cariddi, who was in her fourth term, died over the weekend.

Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo is responsible for setting the date for the special election but no date has been set yet.

The United Utah Party, a state party created at the end of May, will likely file suit to compel the Utah Elections Office to certify its candidate for the 3^rd Congressional District after the office refused to permit the candidate to file provisionally before the United Utah Party’s qualified party status was certified.

The United Utah Party and Utah lawmakers are unhappy with the special election process and timeline Gov. Gary Herbert has chosen for the special election to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz. Lawmakers originally wanted a special session of the Legislature to clarify the process as none is set by state law, but Gov. Herbert refused.

Utah House leaders reached out to State Attorney General Sean Reyes for a legal opinion on whether Gov. Herbert’s process was valid, but Gov. Herbert moved to block the opinion stating the Attorney General represents his office and not the Legislature.

Utah law establishes a 300-day process for a special election to fill a congressional vacancy. Lawmakers and state and local officials are concerned the abbreviated timeline Gov. Herbert set for this special election violates the law and could be rejected with high costs to counties who will start mailing primary ballots by the end of the month.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz will remain in office until June 30, 2017. The Governor’s office believes the process is legal and has approval from the U.S. Department of Justice and Congress.

Gov. Mary Fallin ordered a special election for Oklahoma Senate District 37.

Sen. Dan Newberry resigned in June to seek a promotion in his professional career; his resignation is effective January 31, 2018.

A special primary election is scheduled for September 12 with a general election to follow on November 14.

If a special primary is not necessary, the special general will be held on September 12.