Nearly 62 percent of Missourians voted in favor of Amendment 1, placing tighter restrictions on lobbying and campaign contributions.

Amendment 1 will prohibit former state legislators and Missouri General Assembly members from becoming paid lobbyists for a period of two years instead of six months, set a $5 limit on meals and other lobbyist gifts to legislators, and open legislators’ emails to public records requests.

Political candidates and their campaign committees also face more strict contribution limits: $2,500 for a state senator and $2,000 for a state representative.

The measure will become state law once the election results are certified later this year.

In Tuesday’s election, Arizona passed Proposition 306, placing limits on the state’s Clean Elections Commission’s rulemaking ability among other things.

The voter created Arizona Clean Elections Commission was established in 1998 and runs a public-financing system for candidates and enforces financial-reporting rules for campaigns and groups that spend money in elections.

Proposition 306 requires the Commission’s rules to be approved by the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council comprised of political appointees. Opponents argued it was a way to limit the Commission’s ability to police dark money spending in Arizona.

The measure also prohibits candidates who receive public financing from paying money to political parties or private tax-exempt groups that try to influence elections.

Proposition 306 passed with 56 percent of the vote.

Colorado voters defeated Amendment 75, keeping campaign spending limits in place.

Amendment 75 would have allowed candidates to accept five times the level of individual contributions to their campaign as is normally allowed ($1,150 for statewide offices and $400 for local races) if another candidate submitted $1 million or more to his or her own campaign or to a third-party committee.

Only about 33 percent of voters supported the measure. The amendment needed 55 percent of votes to pass.

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.

The commission will have jurisdiction over state officers and employees of the executive and legislative branches, lobbyists, and seekers or holders of government contracts.

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

On Election Day, Massachusetts voters passed Question 2, paving the way for campaign finance reform.

The ballot measure establishes a citizen commission tasked with producing a report on the state of political spending in the Massachusetts and promoting an amendment to the United States Constitution. The commission would also report on whether the state can legally limit corporate contributions.

Proponents of the ballot question hope it will help in overturning the 2010 decision in Citizens United, while those against it argued the measure was a protest vote and created a new governmental body solely for symbolic gesture.

The measure passed 71.3 percent to 28.69 percent, with 81.8 percent of precincts reporting.

On November 6, Democrat incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown handily won re-election for a third term as U.S. Senator from Ohio.

Brown faced off against three-term Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci. Before becoming a member of the U.S. House, Renacci was the mayor of Wadsworth, Ohio.

Renacci originally was campaigning to be the next governor of Ohio. However, after being asked by the White House to run against Brown for the U.S. Senate, Renacci left the governor’s race and began his campaign for senate.

Brown won with 53.2% of the vote compared to Renacci’s 46.8% of the vote, according to the New York Times.

On October 15, 2018, the Anne Arundel County Council passed a public ethics bill originally proposed by County Executive Steve Schuh.

Bill No. 80-18 increases late filing fees for lobbyists and employees, adds a revolving door provision, modifies certain definitions, requires employee ethics training, and creates changes to comply with state ethics laws, among other provisions.

The bill also updates who is required to file financial disclosure statements.

The bill was signed by Schuh and will be effective on December 6, 2018.

The city of Long Beach, California has a measure to amend the city’s charter on Tuesday’s ballot.

Measure CCC seeks to create an independent ethics commission charged with administering and implementing rules concerning campaign finance, lobbying, conflicts of interest and governmental ethics.

Critics of the measure argue that the mayor and auditor’s appointment privilege signifies that the commission would not be sufficiently independent.

Earlier this year, the New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald issued a letter to the Office of Secretary of State advising on his interpretation of some aspects of the state’s campaign finance laws.

Most notably, a footnote in the letter indicated MacDonald could require corporations making contributions in the state to register and report as political committees.

Under current state law, political committee registration is required for organizations making expenditures of $5,000 or more annually, even if the organization does not have as its major purpose to promote the success or defeat of candidates or measures. This regulation has been in place for several years during which corporate registration has not been the practice.

There is an exception to registration for organizations registered as business entities, but additional guidance on who qualifies as a business entity has not yet been made available.

Though there has been no change in the law to trigger a change in enforcement, MacDonald has indicated he is ramping up enforcement of campaign finance violations.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics will be launching a new online lobbying reporting system to coincide with the new lobbying regulations, effective January 1, 2019. The new system is expected to launch in November.

Reports covering 2018 must be submitted though the current system.

All filings covering 2019 activity, including registration and reportable business relationship forms, must be submitted through the new system.

Registrations for the 2019-20 biennial period may be submitted through the new system in early December.

The Commission will inform users when the registration function becomes available.

Next month, Massachusetts voters will decide on a ballot measure seeking to cap corporate spending in elections.

Ballot Question 2, if passed, will create a commission made up of citizens tasked with producing a report on the state of political spending in Massachusetts and promoting an amendment to the United States Constitution. The commission would also report on whether the state can legally limit corporate contributions.

The ballot measure has been characterized as a way for the state to show their opposition to the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.

The group advocating for Ballot Question 2 envisions a 28th Amendment removing the ability of corporations, labor unions, super PACs and other wealthy interests from financially influencing political campaigns.

To pass, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution would require approval by two-thirds of the U.S. House and Senate and must also be ratified by 38 states.

Missouri voters in the November 6 election will decide on Constitutional Amendment One, which seeks to change campaign contribution limits, gift laws, and the rules for political action committees.

If passed, Amendment One would impose new contribution limits for candidates to the Missouri House and Senate. Currently, individuals and committees can contribute no more than $2,600 per election to such candidates. Amendment One would establish a limit of $2,500 for state Senate and $2,000 for state House candidates and would prevent political action committees from circumventing those limits.

Under the proposed ballot initiative, legislators and legislative employees would be banned from accepting gifts of more than $5 from lobbyists. Amendment One would also prohibit elected members and employees of the General Assembly from working as lobbyists until two years after they leave the General Assembly. Additionally, the measure would bar political fundraising on state property.

Clean Missouri is leading the campaign in support of Amendment One. The Missourians First and Advance Missouri PACS have registered to oppose Amendment One.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum finalized an ethics policy that applies to the governor, lieutenant governor, and employees of the governor’s office.

According to the new policy, lobbyists who request a meeting with the governor’s office will be encouraged to bring a principal of his or her client to the meeting. The policy also addresses conflicts of interests and gifts and honoraria.

No gift of any value may be accepted if offered with the intent to directly or indirectly influence the exercise of official action.

Any gift greater than $50 must be reported to the ethics officer and returned to the donor or given to charity.

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.