The Wyoming Legislature adjourned sine die in the early hours of February 28.

The House spent the final day of its 2019 legislative session overriding four of Gov. Mark Gordon’s 14 vetoes, but the Senate decided to only override two of those four.

Earlier this month, Gov. Gordon signed Senate File 18 into law, which requires any candidate, political action committee, and candidate’s campaign committee to file an itemized statement of contributions and expenditures at least seven days but not more than 14 days before an election.

A proposed House bill relating to campaign reports is progressing through the Legislature, passing its third reading and arriving in the Senate.

House Bill 165 would require candidates who do not intend to receive or spend more than $1,000 in an election period to notify the Campaign Spending Commission of this intention by June 30 of an election year.

The bill further provides that noncandidate committees that do not receive or spend more than $1,000 in an election period must notify the commission of this intention by the fifth day before the due date of the preliminary report.

The proposed bill would take effect upon its approval.

Illinois introduced legislation to create a small donor campaign contribution matching fund for candidates for certain offices, including governor, State Treasurer, and Secretary of State.

House Bill 3712 introduced by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy would require the General Assembly to appropriate no more than $50 million to the small donor matching fund in any election cycle.

The bill also establishes penalties for violations by participating candidates in the form of a fine in an amount equal to twice the value of the funding unlawfully accepted or spent.

If passed, the bill would become effective immediately.

New Mexico State Reps. Joy Garratt and Elizabeth Thomson introduced House Bill 551 earlier this month.

If passed, the bill would require lobbyists to participate in a sexual harassment training lasting at least four hours.

The program must be sponsored by the secretary of state, an employer of the lobbyist and conducted by a person qualified to conduct the training, or by a certified human resources professional.

The Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, released new campaign contribution limits adjusted for inflation each odd-numbered year.

The changes include an increase in the amount PACs and individuals may contribute to statewide candidates from $12,707.79 to $13,292.35 per election period.

The new limits are effective today, February 25, 2019, through February 24, 2021.

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned sine die on February 24.

During the 47-day session, lawmakers failed to pass bills creating campaign contribution limits for candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, or state legislators.

A gift notification is due three weeks after the adjournment of the regular legislative session and will be due March 17.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission backed new restrictions on political contributions from real estate developers seeking city approval for their building plans.

The proposed ban applies to those who are “substantially involved” in a proposed development project, such as real estate executives, architects, engineers, and others.

The commission also supports new restrictions on behested payments, and it endorsed the idea of banning contributions from businesses, unions, organizations, and other entities, allowing only for contributions from individuals.

The FBI is continuing its probe into corruption at City Hall.

This week, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear a case challenging the state’s Disclose Act, leaving in place a lower court ruling of constitutionality.

The Disclose Act requires more heightened reporting by groups seeking to influence elections, commonly referred to as dark-money groups.

The campaign disclosure act, challenged by Montanans for Community Development on first amendment grounds, has been an important policy for Gov. Steve Bullock and his administration.

This comes at a time when the Montana House of Representatives is considering House Resolution 2, a bipartisan resolution urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of holding a new election in the 9th Congressional District.

The election in November between Mark Harris and Dan McCready was riddled with accusations of fraud and other misconduct.

According to a bill passed late last year, both candidates, if they decide to run, will have to compete in their parties’ primary elections.

Rep. Larry Lockman introduced a bill in the Legislature that aims to prohibit public school teachers in the state from engaging in political advocacy in the classroom.

The proposed legislation establishes a code of ethics for professional conduct that prohibits teachers from acting in their role as publicly employed educators to endorse or oppose elected officials and candidates and from introducing any controversial subject matter that is not germane to the topic of the course.

A bill requiring Tennessee voters to declare their party affiliation in order to vote in a primary election made its way through its first committee on Wednesday.

In order to cast a primary ballot, House Bill 1273 and Senate Bill 1500 would require voters to choose between being registered as a Democrat, Republican, unaffiliated with a statewide party or other.

If a voter chooses unaffiliated, he or she would not be able to vote in any primary elections. The bill does not apply to general elections.

If passed, the legislation would take effect on July 1.

The Arkansas Ethics Commission clarified a gift exception in Advisory Opinion No. 2019-EC-001.

A local lobbying firm wants to hold a 20^th anniversary event and invite public officials. In turn, the firm requested more information regarding the exception permitting anything to be given to public officials if it is also readily available to the general public.

The commission stated the exception does not apply to an event where invitations are issued to friends, family members, clients, former clients, and business associates only.

In order for an event to be readily available to the general public, the general public would have to be made aware of the event’s existence.

For the event to qualify for the gift exception, an entity could make an announcement of the event on widely-used social media platforms and through traditional media, such as a state-wide newspaper, to make sure the general public knows the event is not limited to invitees.

Additionally, holding an event at a venue open to the public, like a park or convention center, would help meet the gift exception.

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.

State Rep. Greg Lewis announced his resignation from House District 113, effective February 22.

Rep. Lewis was re-elected to office last year, but is vacating his seat to battle brain cancer.

Under state law, the state’s Republican party will convene to vote on his successor and deliver the winner’s name to the governor for appointment.

The replacement will serve the remainder of Lewis’s term until 2021.