A special election will be held on April 9 to fill the vacancy in House District 139 due to the death of Rep. Richard Smith in January.

A runoff is scheduled for May 7, if necessary.

Georgia is replacing its lobbyist e-filing system for 2024.

Clients and lobbyists will have to register, but only once in the new system.

Lobbyists will be able to reregister every year based on this initial registration and clients will only register once to establish their account.

Lobbyists are currently authorized to lobby on behalf of new clients they register while authorization approval is pending.

This ability to lobby on behalf of new clients while awaiting approval of clients is for calendar year 2024 only.

Due to the new system, the Ethics Commission has decided to not collect or assess late fees for lobbyists provided they make a concerted effort to file reports and comply with their reporting requirements until March 31.

A special election has been scheduled on February 13 for state Senate District 30.

The vacancy is due to the resignation of Sen. Mike Dugan, who is running for Congress.

A runoff, if needed, will be held on March 12.

Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill changing the name of the Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission back to the State Ethics Commission.

The much longer commission name was the product of a major ethics overhaul in 2010.

In addition to the name change, House Bill 572 also clarifies rules for late contribution reporting.

A contribution designated for a general election given close to a primary election date does not need reported within two days.

The new law will take effect on July 1.

The Georgia Campaign Finance Commission has voted to approve the increase to the campaign contribution limits.

The limit for statewide offices increased from $800 to $8,400 for each primary and general election and from $400 to $4,800 for each runoff.

The limit for other offices increased from $300 to $3,300 for each general and primary election and from $200 to $1,800 for each runoff.

These changes are effective immediately.

The Florida Legislature has ended its special session today, February 10.

Legislators passed bills supporting state control over Disney’s special district, migrant flights, and police election units.

The bills will now be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis where it is expected he will sign the bills into law.

Lawmakers will now prepare for the start of their upcoming regular session on March 7.

Rep. Mike Glanton resigned this past week after serving 14 years in the state House.

Glanton was a Democrat who represented House District 75, which consists of Clayton County.

Gov. Brian Kemp set the special election for March 21. A runoff will be scheduled if necessary.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has won his bid for reelection.

Kemp defeated his Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams.

Kemp won by a wide margin, winning 53.4% of the vote while Abrams won 45.8%.

Georgia State Rep. Henry “Wayne” Howard died on October 13. Howard represented the 124^th District, which covers portions of Augusta-Richmond County.

He was running unopposed in next month’s midterm election after also running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

A special election to fill the seat will be held on December 20, 2022.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced a special election for Georgia House District 45 will be held on April 5 with a runoff to be held on May 3, if needed.

The seat was vacated when Rep. Matt Dollar resigned to accept a position with the Technical College System of Georgia.

Rep. Matt Dollar announced his resignation from the Georgia House of Representatives.

The resignation comes after he accepted a position as deputy commissioner of economic development for the Technical College System of Georgia.

Dollar previously announced he would not seek reelection after his District 45 seat was drawn into another district during last year’s redistricting process.

Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to set a special election date for the remainder of the term before the new district maps go into effect for the general election in November.

The Georgia General Assembly adjourned the special session on November 22.

The special session was dedicated to the redrawing of state and federal districts, which passed mainly on party lines.

The newly approved maps were sent to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.

Former Savannah, Georgia Mayor Edna Jackson wins the special election for State House District 165.

Jackson’s victory was by a significant margin avoiding the need for a runoff election.

Jackson will succeed longtime friend, the late Rep. Mickey Stephens, in representing District 165, which mostly includes East Savannah.

The Georgia Campaign Finance Commission has voted to approve the biennial increase to contribution limits.

The limit for statewide offices increased $600 up to $7,600 for each primary and general election and $400 up to $4,500 for each runoff.

The limit for other offices increased $200 up to $3,000 for each general and primary election and $100 up to $1,600 for each runoff.

These changes are effective immediately.