The Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission will introduce Mr. David Emadi as the next executive secretary on April 11.

Mr. Emadi previously served as the chief assistant district attorney in Douglas County.

Former executive secretary, Stefan Ritter, resigned in February amid allegations of misconduct and intentionally obstructing investigations.

The Georgia General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 2. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 213, relating to campaign contributions and disclosure reports.

The bill amended reporting dates for a nonelection year to June 30 and December 31 for elected state officials, county officials, members of a local board of education, and elected municipal officers.

Senate Bill 213 also moved the March election year report to April 30.

Under the bill, any person required to register and report campaign contributions must file a December 31 campaign contribution disclosure report regardless of whether the candidate they are supporting has a report due.

If signed by the governor, the bill becomes effective July 1.

The statutory requirement to file semimonthly reports when the Legislature is in session will end with the report due April 15.

Monthly activity reporting for state level lobbyists will resume on May 5.

A special election was announced on April 9 for House District 28.

This will be the third election for the seat as both elections held last year were deemed inconclusive.

The special election was ordered by Senior Superior Court Judge David Sweat after ruling four votes in the December 4 special primary were illegal.

The Georgia Secretary of State announced a special election on February 12 for House District 176.

The seat is vacant after Rep. Jason Shaw accepted an appointment to the Georgia Public Service Commission by Gov. Nathan Deal.

A special runoff election will be held March 12, if necessary.

A special election was announced for January 8, 2019, to fill the seat for House District 5.

The seat is vacant after the death of Rep. John Meadows due to stomach cancer.

The winner of the election will serve the full two-year term of Rep. Meadows.

If necessary, a runoff election is scheduled for February 5.

The Atlanta City Council will hold a special election for District 3 on March 19, 2019.

The District 3 seat is vacant after Councilman Ivory Lee Young Jr. passed away on November 16 due to cancer.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Young’s term until 2021. .

If required, a runoff election will be held April 16, 2019.

The Georgia General Assembly adjourned a special session on Saturday.

Legislators approved two bills allocating $270 million for emergency relief and providing $200 million of tax incentives for areas affected by Hurricane Michael.

Gov. Deal also signed a bill ratifying an executive order suspending the collection of sales and use tax on jet fuel

A special election was called for December 18 for House District 14.

The seat is vacant after Rep. Christian Coomer withdrew from his re-election campaign to accept an appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals.

A runoff is scheduled for January 15, if necessary.

The battle to be Georgia’s next governor continues as Democrat Stacey Abrams refuses to concede to Republican Brian Kemp. Kemp holds a small margin of less than 70,000 votes with 99 percent of precincts reporting. Democrats believe there are enough votes submitted by mail still left uncounted to close the gap.

Abrams, a former state legislator, is the first female African-American to be a major party’s nominee for governor. Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Secretary of State, is attempting to break a 20-year slump for Republicans running for governor.

The race took an ugly turn this past weekend as Kemp’s office opened an investigation into the state’s Democratic Party for an alleged attempt to hack the state’s voter registration system. No evidence was cited and the Democrats denied the allegations.

Gov. Nathan Deal announced a special session for November 13 regarding the costs associated with Hurricane Michael.

The hurricane lead to deaths and destruction of property in southwest Georgia last month.

The governor’s office expects the recovery costs to be more than $100 million.

The legislature will also vote on an executive order passed by Gov. Deal last July suspending the collection of sales tax on jet fuel.

Atlanta City Council members introduced legislation requiring individuals and principals seeking to influence legislative or administrative actions of the city to register as a lobbyist.

The ordinance would require registration for any effort to influence an approval or veto of legislation; an agency’s proposal, consideration, or promulgation of a regulation; or the solicitation, award, or administration of a contract.

If approved, the effective date is January, 1, 2019.

Georgia State Rep. Jason Spencer will step down from office effective July 31.

The embattled lawmaker resigned after a controversial appearance on Sacha Baron Cohen’s show “Who Is America?” and increased pressure from his own party to resign immediately.

Rep. Spencer had served four terms before losing the Republican primary in May.

The Georgia General Assembly adjourned its 2018 legislative session.

Lawmakers worked through midnight, a few minutes beyond the March 29 adjournment deadline.

In the session, lawmakers passed a $26 billion budget, expanded public transportation, expanded the state’s medical cannabis oil program, and passed a hands-free driving law preventing drivers from holding their cellphones while behind the wheel.

Gov. Nathan Deal could sign, veto, or allow the bills to become law without his signature.

The Georgia House of Representatives unanimously voted today to require lobbyists to sign an annual statement agreeing to abide by the General Assembly’s sexual harassment policy.

House Bill 973 would make signing this statement a condition to lobbyist registration, and violations of the policy would be grounds for sanctions.

The bill has not yet been assigned a committee in the Senate.