Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced the special election to fill the 175^th House District will be held on February 13, 2018.

If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a special runoff election will be held on March 13, 2018.

The district covers Brooks County and portions of Thomas and Lowndes counties.

Two special elections will take place in the beginning of the new year to fill vacancies in the House and Senate.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp set special elections for House District 111 and Senate District 17 for January 9, 2018, with a runoff, if necessary, scheduled for February 6.

Sen. Rick Jeffares resigned the District 17 seat to run for lieutenant governor, while Rep. Brian Strickland stepped down from the District 111 seat to run for the District 17 seat. Jeffares has endorsed Strickland to take his place.

Two additional House seats have been added to the special election calendar in Georgia.

House Districts 26 and 60 will be filled on November 7, 2017, with a runoff, if necessary, on December 5.

Rep. Geoff Duncan resigned his House District 26 seat to run for lieutenant governor while Rep. Keisha Waites, House District 60, resigned to run for Fulton County Commission chair.

Five House and two Senate seats were already on the ballot for November 7.

A special election for House District 4 will be held on November 7, 2017. Rep. Bruce Broadrick resigned the Dalton area seat last week citing health concerns.

Election officials noted the quick turnaround was intended to save taxpayers money, with several other House and Senate special elections already scheduled for the same day.

A runoff, if necessary, will take place on December 5.

Several special elections have been called in Georgia to fill vacancies in the state legislature. The openings are in the following districts: House Districts 42, 89, and 119; and Senate Districts 6 and 39.

The general elections will take place on November 7, 2017. A special election, already set last month, for House District 117 will take place on the same day.

Reps. Stacey Evans (House District 42), Stacey Abrams (House District 89), and Sen. Hunter Hill (Senate District 6) resigned their seats to focus on their gubernatorial campaigns.

Rep. Chuck Williams resigned his House District 119 seat to become the director of the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Sen. Vincent Fort resigned from his Senate District 39 seat to run for mayor of Atlanta.

Special runoff elections, if necessary, will be held on December 5.

A special election will take place on November 7, 2017, to fill a vacancy in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Regina Quick resigned from the House District 117 seat to become a superior court judge. If necessary, a runoff election will take place on December 5.

District 117 includes parts of Jackson, Clarke, Barrow, and Oconee counties.

The Georgia Legislature adjourned the 2017 regular session sine die yesterday, March 30, 2017.

In the final days of the session, lawmakers tackled issues such as a campus gun bill, tax credits, and medical marijuana.

Georgia is one of 17 states prohibiting guns on university campuses and Gov. Nathan Deal has shown his opposition to the issue, particularly by vetoing a similar bill last year.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has set a special election for December 13, 2016, to fill a vacancy in the state Senate.

Sen. Charlie Bethel vacated his District 54 seat following his appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals, effective January 1. If necessary, a run-off election will be held on January 10, 2017.

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission has announced the lobbyist registration renewal window for 2017.

Current lobbyists who do not owe any fees, fines, penalties, or reports may renew their registrations online beginning December 1, 2016, until 12:00 p.m. on January 13, 2017. Lobbyists who fail to timely renew their registration must register as a new lobbyist using paper forms.

Lobbyist badges are also expected to be sent much sooner than in past years. The Commission has asked lobbyists to allow up to two weeks for badges to be delivered.

A special election for House District 162, held on March 29, 2016, is headed for a runoff after no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. Voters will return to the polls on April 26, 2016 to choose between Rev. Carl Gilliard and Alicia Blakely.

The winner will become the office’s incumbent for the May 24 primary. Josey Sheppard, Jr., who came in third, plans to run against Gilliard and Blakely in the May primary to determine who will hold the seat for the 2017-2018 term, as all three are running as Democrats.

The General Assembly adjourned sine die following a long  final session day on Thursday, March 24, 2016.

Lawmakers worked just past their midnight deadline, sending several bills to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature.

Any bills not passed by the adjournment deadline cannot become law.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol dome by Connor.carey on Wikimedia Commons.

A new bill introduced in the Georgia Senate seeks to prevent campaign contributions from companies and executives doing business with the state. Senate Bill 394, introduced by Senate Judiciary Chairman Josh McKoon, prohibits contributions from business entities and affiliated persons who have contracts with the state exceeding $50,000 in the aggregate to any candidate for the office responsible for awarding such contracts.

Just last year, DeKalb County CEO, Burrell Ellis, was found guilty of threatening to end a contract with a state vendor if it did not make a $2,500 campaign contribution.

McKoon introduced the bill after noting Georgia is lagging behind the rest of the country, and federal law, on such legislation. The bill currently only affects statewide offices, but McKoon stated he is open to making the law more robust.

Photo of Georgia State Senator Joshua McKoon courtesy of the Georgia Senate website.

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission issued a notification of proposed changes to the Commission’s rules. New rules being considered deal with lobbying expenditures made to the family of a public official or employee, when campaign contributions are deemed received, and anonymous contributions.

Rule amendments are also being considered to several sections of Chapter 189, including 189-1-.07 concerning adjustments of contribution limits based on inflation.

The Commission will consider the changes on December 15, 2015.

Gov. Nathan Deal has set a special election for December 1, 2015 to fill a vacancy in the state senate. Sen. Ross Tolleson resigned his District 20 seat late last week, citing health issues. Six candidates, all Republicans, have already announced their intentions to run for the position.

If necessary, a runoff election will be held on December 29, 2015.