A special election will take place on April 30 to fill a vacancy in Assembly District 64.

Rep. Peter Barca resigned after Gov. Tony Evers picked him to serve as Revenue Department secretary.

Barca’s nomination as Revenue secretary is pending state Senate approval.

In November, New Mexico voters approved a constitutional amendment to Article 5 of the state’s constitution.

Constitutional Amendment 2 creates an independent ethics commission with jurisdiction to investigate, adjudicate and issue advisory opinions concerning civil violations of laws governing ethics, standards of conduct and reporting requirements.

In order to be a functional commission, the Legislature must pass laws granting the commission all of its powers and duties.

As a result, state Rep. Daymon Ely introduced House Bill 4 setting out the new agency’s responsibilities.

The bill states the commission will have jurisdiction to investigate and adjudicate a complaint alleging a civil violation of the Lobbyist Regulation Act and the Campaign Reporting Act.

Additionally, the commission would have the authority to suspend a person from consideration for award of a contract if the person violates the Procurement Code.

If passed, sections 1 through 5, 7, and 37 of the bill will be effective July 1, 2019. The remaining sections will be effective January 1, 2020.

North Dakota lawmakers are dealing with dual proposals to create a state ethics commission, as required by the passage of Measure 1 in November.

House Bill 1521 and Senate Bill 2148 have held multiple hearings, and several senators have proposed amendments to alter the definition of a lobbyist, while the House version prohibits public officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists valued at more than $60 per event.

The next hearings will take place on Thursday.

The Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance on February 12 which requires companies that have contracts with the city to disclose under affidavit any contracts or sponsorships they or their subsidiaries have with the National Rifle Association.

A letter last week sent from the NRA threatened legal action if the ordinance passed, stating the proposal violates the First Amendment and is “an unconstitutional effort to restrict and chill an individual’s right to associate and express their political beliefs.”

Ordinance 18-0896 passed on a 14-0 vote and is headed to Mayor Eric Garcetti’s desk for review.

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission chose not to vote on Proposed Rule 2019-02 after hearing public comments that the proposal would affect free speech and political activity.

The proposed rule would have required disclosure of the names of organizations involved in indirect or grassroots lobbying via radio, phone, internet or other broadcast media if those groups spent more than $500 on campaigns for or against specific pieces of legislation.

Those groups would also have been required to file reports with the Ethics Commission if expenditures exceeded $5,000.

The Ethics Commission passed other proposals for consideration, including a revolving door provision prohibiting elected state officers and chief administrative officers from lobbying for two years following their terms of office or service, new rules regarding the due dates of electronic filings, and revised reporting periods for candidate election reports and independent expenditure reports.

Additionally, the Ethics Commission submitted a proposal to prohibit state legislators from operating or becoming an officer of a PAC.

If the Legislature chooses not to reject the proposed rule changes again, all passed amendments will be effective upon adjournment sine die of the regular legislative session on May 31.

A special election will take place on April 2 to fill a vacancy in House District 52.

Rep. Jennifer DeChant vacated the office to work at telecommunications and media company Charter Communications.

DeChant had served in House District 52 since 2012.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance released draft regulations this week that would reduce the amount of money a union can contribute to a candidate annually from $15,000 to $1,000.

A state law banning corporate contributions was upheld by the high court this year, but the ruling noted Massachusetts law was unclear regarding contributions from unions.

The draft regulation would also cap union contributions at $500 to a PAC, and $5,000 to a political party.

A public hearing on the draft regulations will be held on March 15 with the final regulations expected by May.

The state Senate introduced two bills amending political contributions and gift disclosure.

Senate Bill 215 limits political contributions from contractors to a candidate to $2,400 per election and contributions to a business entity or political action committee supporting a candidate to $5,000 per election.

In addition, the state Senate also introduced Senate Bill 216 requiring public officials to disclose gifts from a friend with a value of $250 or more.

If passed, both bills would go into effect within 60 days.

Arkansas State Senators introduced several ethics bills on February 4, 2019.

If passed, Senate Bill 260 prohibits direct contributions between PACs and Senate Bill 259 prevents a person elected or appointed to a constitutional office from forming more than one PAC.

Senate Bill 256 prohibits an elected state official from registering as a lobbyist in any jurisdiction while serving as an elected state official.

Senate Bill 249 increases the fines for violating ethics laws the Arkansas Ethics Commission may levy at violators from $2,000 to $3,500.

Additionally, the State Representatives introduced House Bill 1374.

House Bill 1374 prohibits a former Legislator from registering as a lobbyist or entering into employment as the director of an educational cooperative or area agency on aging for two years after the expiration of his or her term of office.

Senate Bill 191 was signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on February 4, 2019.

The bill requires the disclosure of the cumulative total of all individual expenditures of less than $100 made or incurred by the employer or lobbyist during the covered reporting period.

The expenditures must be separated into meals and beverages, other entertainment expenditures, and other expenditures.

The bill is effective July 1, 2019.

Beginning Monday, February 4, through five calendar days following sine die adjournment, several actions regarding campaign contributions by lobbyist principals are prohibited in Oklahoma.

A lobbyist or lobbyist principal must not make a campaign contribution to a member of the legislature or a candidate for state legislative office; promise to make a campaign contribution for a member of the legislature or candidate for state legislative office; or solicit a campaign contribution for a member of the legislature or candidate for state legislative office.

A member of the Legislature or a candidate for state legislative office must not intentionally solicit a campaign contribution from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal; or intentionally accept a campaign contribution from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal.

A contribution from a lobbyist or lobbyist principal to a member of the legislature or a candidate for legislative office that has not been deposited before February 4 must be returned to the contributor.

This statutory blackout period does not prevent a limited Political Action Committee (PAC) from making one or more contributions to a candidate committee up to the limits allowed under the ethics rules provided the PAC is not represented by a lobbyist.

A special election will take place on Saturday, April 13, to fill a vacancy in Honolulu City Council District 4.

The Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the results of the November special election that showed incumbent Trevor Ozawa beating challenger Tommy Waters by 22 votes.

The invalidation triggered a mail-in special election for the candidates.

There will be a voter registration deadline of March 14. Early walk-in voting will take place at Honolulu Hale between April 1 and April 13, excluding Sunday.

City Council District 4 runs from Hawai’i Kai to Waikiki.

Senate Bill 191 is on its way to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk.

If signed, the bill will require the disclosure of the cumulative total of all individual expenditures of less than $100 made or incurred by the employer or lobbyist during the covered reporting period.

The expenditures must be separated into meals and beverages, other entertainment expenditures, and other expenditures.

Grisham has indicated she intends to sign the bill. Once signed, the bill will be effective July 1, 2019.

Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher resigned last week from her post.

Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended her earlier this month for failing to meet deadlines during last November’s election recount.

Wendy Santory Link has been appointed by the governor to replace her.