The City Council recently passed an ordinance codifying lobbyist registration fees and fee penalties.

The registration fee is $500 with a late filing fee of $10 per day for registrations and reports and a fee cap of $1,000.

The ordinance also implements a partial or complete waiver of registration fees for a local governmental lobbyist who, along with other criteria, is a salaried employee of an organization or association that is a 501(c)(3).

The ordinance also establishes a lobbyist training requirement and lobbyists must complete an online training session offered by the Public Ethics Commission with 60 days of initial registration.

Quarterly reports will now be due no later than the last day of the month following the end of each calendar quarter.

This ordinance is effective immediately.

The Bureau of Elections posted the Lobby Registration Act 2024 Reporting Thresholds, which change every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index for Detroit.

The registration thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and for employer expenditures on a single official increased from $725 to $775.

Exempt expenditures increased from $15 to $16.

The registration threshold for an employer making lobbying expenditures increased from $2,900 to $3,075 for any 12-month period.

The financial transaction threshold between a registered employer or lobbyist and a public official increased from $1,450 to $1,550.

The reporting threshold for travel and lodging reimbursements increased from $950 to $1,000.

Monthly food and beverage expenditures allowance for a public official increased from $72 to $76, and the threshold for food and beverages purchased between January 1 and end the reporting period increased from $450 to $475.

Employee reimbursements increased from $29 to $31, and the general gift threshold also increased from $72 to $76.

Late filing fees increased from $29 a day up to a maximum of $870, to $31 a day up to a maximum of $930.

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.

Secretary of State David Scanlan announced January 23 as the date of its presidential primary, eight days after the Iowa caucuses and defying the Democratic National Committee’s plans to give South Carolina the party’s first primary contest.

New Hampshire has held its first in the nation primary status for more than a century.

In 1975, the state enacted a law that required the primary to take place at least seven or more days before any other state.

Biden’s name will be missing from the New Hampshire presidential primary ballot this year, and they face a potential loss of delegates to the Democratic convention, for not following the party’s new order.

The 102nd Legislature adjourned sine die on November 14 after the House and Senate adopted House Concurrent Resolution 10 to adjourn sine die early to start the 90-day clock for the effective date of bills not receiving enough Republican support to take effect immediately.

This includes legislation changing the date for Michigan’s 2024 presidential primary election to February 27, 2024.

Lawmakers passed bills to require elected state officers and candidates to annually file a financial disclosure report by April 15 of each year.

Just before the adjournment, House Democrats temporarily lost their narrow two-seat majority when two lawmakers won mayoral elections, creating a 54-54 tie.

However, Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate noted House Rules adopted in January only require a leadership change if there is a 55-55 tie and Democrats are unlikely to lose either of their two vacant seats in special elections likely to occur next spring.

Lawmakers concluded the fall veto session on November 9, after passing Senate Bill 76 lifting Illinois’ moratorium on nuclear power plant construction in 2026.

Neither chamber voted on legislation extending the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program.

It allows people to donate to private school scholarship programs and receive a 75 percent tax credit.

Voters in New Haven, Connecticut approved changes to the City Charter, which includes extending the terms of the mayor, the city clerk, and alders (members of the Board of Aldermen) from two to four years.

Additionally, the revision allows the Board of Alderman to increase the salaries for alders, allows them more power to reform commissions and boards, and requires all city contracts of above $100,000 to be approved by them.

The increases in the length of terms takes effect in 2027, following two more election cycles.

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.

Voters passed Issue 23, a ballot initiative amending the city charter in several ways.

Introduced by council member Liz Keating, the issue has been in the works for at least two years.

The main change is to amend the city charter to mirror state law regarding the ballot initiative process, requiring a copy of any initiative, referendum or charter amendment petition to be filed with the clerk of council before any signatures can be collected.

These would be made public so anyone could see what proposed amendments are circulating.

The amendment also limits initiatives to one subject and provides a cure period for insufficient signatures.

Issue 23 also updates the charter to reflect the fact that City Council terms were changed from four years to two years by a 2018 charter amendment and gives city council members the option to vote electronically in addition to voice votes.

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.

The Texas Legislature adjourned its third special session November 7 and announced a fourth special session on the same day to address the unresolved issue of school vouchers.

In Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session proclamation, he acknowledged the Texas Legislature made progress over the past month protecting Texans from forced COVID-19 vaccinations and increasing penalties for human smuggling but said more work must be done.

The agenda items of the fourth special session include the establishment of an education savings account program, and state border security.