On November 28, 2018, a lawsuit had been filed against the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to stop the commission’s Comprehensive Lobbying Regulations from going into effect on January 1, 2019.

David Grandeau, a former lobbying enforcement official and one of three petitioners in the lawsuit, argued the commission lacks the authority to create regulations that expand and amend New York’s Lobbying Act.

On December 19, a settlement was reached between the two parties. As a result, the comprehensive regulations are defined as a “statement’’ for how the commission plans to administer and enforce state lobbying law.

The Missouri Ethics Commission announced a new electronic filing system for 2019 lobbyist renewals with mobile-friendly features including entering expenditures instantaneously and saving in-progress entries.

The 2019 renewal system will allow for electronic filing of principal reports, recording of multiple recipients for a single expenditure to be pro-rated, and submitting and paying for registration online.

To access the new Lobbyist Electronic Filing System, click the “Renew Registration” link in the current filing system. For detailed instructions, visit the Ethics Commissions’ Instruction Guide.

The New York Joint Commission On Public Ethics (JCOPE) has launched the registration and related reportable business relationship filing section of the new lobbying reporting system.

Each Statement of Registration must be accompanied by a copy of an executed contract or Lobbying Agreement form (if a contract exists), or a signed, written lobbying authorization to lobby from the Client (if a contract does not exist).

The option to submit a Lobbying Agreement form is a new option for filers with an existing contract.

Additional information related to the new reporting system is available on the JCOPE website.

Governor Bevin called a special session to find a resolution to the public employee pension plan. Two bills were introduced to reform the current plan.

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled last week that a pension law passed last session was unconstitutional because it was passed improperly.

The Governor needs only 51 votes to pass a bill in special session compared to the 60 he would need in the regular session convening in two weeks.

The special session must last for at least five days.

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission will be unavailable by phone on Tuesday, December 18, due to a change in its location.

As of Tuesday, at approximately noon, the Ethics Commission will be located in the Wisconsin Department of Administration Building at 101 E Wilson St. Ste. 127. The PO Box of 7125 Madison WI 53703 will remain unchanged.

The Ethics Commission may be reached via email at lobbying@wi.gov for lobbying issues, finance@wi.gov for campaign finance issues and ethcis@wi.gov for all other inquiries.

After a 16-year legislative career, state Rep. Mike Pitts will step down from his House District 14 seat on January 3, 2019.

The first to announce his candidacy for the seat is Stewart Jones, a small business owner and former chairman of the Lakelands Republican Liberty Caucus.

The primary election to fill Pitts’ seat will take place on February 19, 2019, and the special election is scheduled for April 23, 2019.

If a runoff is needed, it will take place on March 5, 2019.

The North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill to return the administration of elections, ethics, and lobbying regulations to the 2016 structure.

Voters defeated a constitutional amendment in November to establish an eight-member Bipartisan Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement, which would have kept the current structure in place.

An additional provision in the bill requires re-elections when the result of an election is investigated. This would require refiling and participation in a primary and not merely a runoff.

Passage of the voter ID law would not impact any possible 2018 re-election.

The bill further addresses absentee-by-mail ballots which are the topic of the current 9^th District board of elections investigation.

The bill now awaits Governor Roy Cooper’s approval.

State Representative Vanessa Lowery Brown resigned on December 12 under protest.

In October, she was convicted of bribery, conflict of interest, and failure to properly file a financial disclosure report. The state constitution prevents her from continuing to serve in the Legislature.

Lowery Brown plans to appeal her conviction.

A special election could be set as early as March to fill the western Philadelphia seat.

Mayor Ted Wheeler submitted to City Council a proclamation stating the recently passed campaign finance ballot measure is enacted and in effect.

The Honest Elections City of Portland Charter Amendment prohibits corporate contributions and limits contributions from individuals and committees to $500 per election cycle.

The measure also caps independent expenditures and is likely to face legal challenge.

City Council is expected to submit the measure to the local circuit court for validation early next year.

In 1997, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down statewide campaign finance limits as a violation of free speech protection outlined by the Oregon Constitution.

The Hawaii Ethics Commission will launch a new electronic filing system for lobbying registrations and disclosures beginning in January 2019, allowing lobbyists and organizations to register online for the 2019-2020 legislative biennium.

Lobbyists who plan to continue lobbying in 2019 must renew registrations by Monday, January 28, 2019. Commission staff are available to assist lobbyists who have already registered for the 2019-2020 lobbying period via a paper filing.

Lobbying expenditure reports for 2019 may be submitted electronically through the new e-filing system as early as March 2019.

In a ruling this week, the Maricopa County Superior Court restored expanded oversight to the Citizens Clean Election Commission and deemed parts of the 2016 campaign finance law unconstitutional.

The court found that power to investigate campaign finance violations and act as the filing officer was illegally stripped from the Commission created by voters in 1998.

Additionally, the 2016 law created provisions allowing unlimited spending on legal fees, accounting and other types of support for candidates and political committees without being counted toward contribution limits.

Judge David J. Palmer ruled the above provisions violate the Voter Protection Act, a voter-approved constitutional provision banning lawmakers from significantly altering voter-enacted laws.

An appeal is expected from the defendants who include the Arizona Secretary of State. It is unclear how campaign finance filing and enforcement will be immediately affected.

On October 15, 2018, the Baltimore City Council passed an ethics bill introduced by City Councilman Zeke Cohen.

Ordinance No. 18-0230, also known as the Transparency in Lobbying Act, became law without the mayor’s signature on December 3, 2018.

The ordinance requires lobbyists to file reports twice a year and affirmatively identify their clients when approaching city government officials. Additionally, any lobbyist violating the act may be banned for a period of three years.

An amendment was adopted delaying the effective date of the reporting provisions. As a result, lobbyists will file the annual report due January 31, 2019.

Following the 2019 annual report, lobbyists will likely report semi-annually beginning with a report due on July 31, 2019.

The bill will be effective March 3, 2019, while the section impacting reporting requirements will be effective March 3, 2019, or 30 days from a viable online reporting system being implemented, whichever is later.

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.

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams announced changes to the state’s campaign and political finance rules.

The amendments concern the reporting, use, and transfer of a candidate committee’s unexpended funds.

The rule changes are temporarily effective December 3 and will become permanently effective on December 23.