The second regular session of the 131st Legislature adjourned sine die on April 17.

Lawmakers passed Legislative Document 833, effective July 16, to prohibit individuals who contribute to a governor’s inaugural or transitional committee from registering as lobbyists for the term of the governor.

This does affect lobbying reporting.

A registered lobbyist who anticipates no further lobbying for a client may file a request for a non-session waiver with their final monthly report for the session due May 15.

Virginia lawmakers reconvened for a one-day session to debate Gov. Youngkin’s various vetoes and amendments to legislation.

The vetoed bills included a bill concerning the right to contraception, the skill games regulations bill, and a tax decrease.

Lawmakers agreed to set aside the version of the budget passed in March and plan to meet for a vote on a new compromised version in a special session beginning May 13.

The new budget needs to be approved before June 30 to avoid a government shutdown.

The 2024 regular session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 15.

Lawmakers passed and Gov. Beshear signed a law amending requirements for independent expenditure committees and political advertising disclaimers.

House Bill 595 requires federally registered political committees to register in Kentucky if they make an independent expenditure in support of or in opposition to a Kentucky candidate or a slate of candidates.

The bill requires disclaimers on political advertising to appear and be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner to give the reader or observer adequate notice of the identity of the purchaser of the communication.

The bill also increases the penalty for campaign finance violations from $100 per day to $200 per day.

Lawmakers overrode vetoes on two dozen measures to pass everything vetoed by Beshear, including House Bill 622 requiring special elections for vacancies in the U. S. Senate.

Previously, the governor filled vacancies by appointment.

The Idaho legislative session has come to an end after being extended into the month of April.

Notable legislation passed and signed by Gov. Brad Little includes two campaign finance bills.

House Bill 664 issues guidelines for the use of synthetic media in electioneering communications and requires certain disclosures and disclaimers within such communications.

Senate Bill 1251 amends the definition of political committee by removing language exempting federal PACs from being considered a political committee.

This does affect lobbying reporting.

A lobbyist activity report will now be due on May 15 for the expenditures made during the month of April.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission reports they have lost all data from their database for employers and lobbyists back to March 18.

Any forms filed online since March 18 will need to be refiled.

This includes all March 1 to March 31 forms due on Monday, April 15.

Because of the loss of data, the Legislative Ethics Commission is granting an extension through April 30 to re-file any previously filed reports that were lost.

If you file online after Monday, April 15, the system automatically issues a late notice on your screen.

The commission indicates filers can ignore the notice.

Paper filers do not need to take any action.

Although the portal is back up and working, the commission recommends waiting until Monday, April 15 or after to re-file reports.

Additional information is available at https://klec.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx.

Maryland’s 90-day legislative session ended on April 8.

The top items on the agenda that passed were the state budget; an economic relief act for the workers and businesses that relied on the Port of Baltimore; and several bills regarding public safety, affordability, economic competitiveness, and public service.

The state’s budget is notable as the governor signed an executive order extending the legislative session 10 days in order to give legislators time to finish it.

However, lawmakers did not need the extra time and managed to adjourn the day the session was previously planned to end.

The 99th session of the Legislature adjourned sine die on March 26.

Lawmakers convened for Veto Day but adjourned after only a few minutes because for the first time in nearly 70 years, there were no gubernatorial vetoes to consider.

Gov. Kristi Noem signed a total of 233 bills into law this legislative session while not vetoing a single one.

A bill to prohibit the use of a deepfake in a campaign ad if it does not include a disclosure passed the Senate but died in the House.

Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District Rep. Mike Gallagher announced his resignation effective April 19.

The resignation does not trigger a special election under the statute because the effective date occurs after the second Tuesday in April.

All of the state’s eight U.S. House districts are up for election on November 5, with the primary election scheduled for August 13.

Republicans will hold a 217-213 majority in the U.S. House after Gallagher leaves the chamber.

State Rep. John Rogers resigned from his House District 52 seat on March 13 after pleading guilty to federal conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges related to a grant program.

A special primary election for House District 52 will be held on June 18 and a runoff on July 16, if necessary.

The general election is set for October 1.

A voter-backed measure, known as Ballot Measure 2, was recently upheld when the Ninth Circuit affirmed a federal judge’s denial of a preliminary injunction blocking it.

The measure requires immediate disclosure of contributions aggregating to more than $2,000 per year.

The decision stems from a previous injunction that was filed back in 2022, by political donors against enforcement of the measure, claiming the initiative’s burdensome disclosure rules would lead to retaliation against them for their political activity.

Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia held the district correctly concluded the plaintiffs argument of first amendment issues was likely to fail and affirmed the lower courts decision.

The legislative session came to an end late in the evening on March 8 after days of debate over the budget.

A unified budget bill was passed and provides funding for nursing homes, preschool for developmentally disabled children, and home services for senior centers.

The second regular session of the 123rd General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 8, earlier than scheduled.

The Legislature was focused on education, passing several education related bills.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has seven days to sign legislation once it lands on his desk.

If he does not sign a bill, it becomes law.

If he vetoes a piece of legislation, the Legislature can override the veto with a majority vote in both houses.

The legislature adjourned sine die on March 7.

Lawmakers passed a campaign finance reform bill which creates state campaign contribution limits and authorizes local governments to establish lower limits for local elections.

House Bill 4024 also requires the disclosure of certain information on political advertising and requires specific persons to report the original sources of funds used to pay candidate campaign independent expenditures.

The contribution limits will become operative on January 1, 2027 and the enhanced campaign contribution and independent expenditure reporting requirements will become operative on January 1, 2028.

If signed by the governor, the bill is effective June 6.

Senate joint resolution 1114 has passed both chambers and now making its way to Gov. DeSantis.

The resolution calls for a referendum on whether the public wants to end the Public Campaign Finance Act of 1986, which uses a portion of taxpayer money to help fund political campaigns.

The act provided roughly $13 million to candidates and is credited with allowing less wealthy candidates to run.