The 2018 session of the Colorado General Assembly adjourned sine die on Wednesday, May 9.

During the four-month session, lawmaker achievements included advancing bipartisan anti-gerrymandering legislation, protecting the state Civil Rights Division, and securing investments in transportation, education, and healthcare.

The next legislative session will convene January 4, 2019.

Gov. Jeff Colyer signed a transparency bill to increase penalties for failing to file timely reports.

Effective July 1, House Bill 2642 imposes late fees for any report over 48 hours late for candidates, political committees, and lobbyists.

Penalties start at $100 for the first day and $50 for each subsequent day the report is late with a maximum up to $1,000.

The bill also requires lobbyist to file employment and expenditure reports electronically with the Office of the Secretary of State.

The FEC voted unanimously 4-0 to allow New York Congressional candidate Liuba Grechen Shirley to spend her campaign funds on childcare.

In her petition, she cited two cases where male candidates requested to use donor funds for limited childcare expenses.

The FEC ruled in an advisory opinion that Shirley’s expenses would not have existed if it weren’t for her run for office, and will therefore apply to any future candidates who may run for office.

Shirley said, “This groundbreaking decision will remove a major financial obstacle for working families and mothers at a time when women are increasingly considering elected office.”

Photo of Liuba Grechen Shirley via Facebook

The Connecticut General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 9, 2018. Lawmakers took no action on a bill affecting campaign finance and elections.

House Bill 5526 would have modified registration requirements for political committees, expanded independent expenditure disclosure requirements, prohibited independent expenditures by foreign-influenced entities, and required online platforms to disclose purchasers of political advertisements.

Employer and lobbyist reports are due on the 10th day of the following month when the General Assembly is in regular session.

Gov. Mark Dayton signed 14 bills into law on May 8.

Of particular interest, Dayton approved Senate File 3306, a bill clarifying campaign finance definitions and making several miscellaneous campaign finance modifications.

The bill will be effective June 1, 2018.

The Second Regular Session of the 56^th Oklahoma State Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, May 3.

Prior to adjournment, lawmakers considered the 2018 Promulgated Ethics Rules previously submitted by the State Ethics Commission. Claiming the commission exceeded its authority, lawmakers rejected a revolving door provision prohibiting elected state officers and chief administrative officers from lobbying for two years following their terms of office or service.

Legislators did, however, approve changes affecting due dates of electronic filings as well as revised reporting periods for candidate election reports and independent expenditure reports. Approved changes became effective upon adjournment.

The First Regular Session of the 57^th Legislature will convene at noon on January 8, 2019.

Gov. Dannel Malloy announced a special election for June 4.

The special election will fill the Connecticut House of Representatives District 4 seat left open by the resignation of Rep. Angel Arce, with months remaining on his term.

State Rep. Arce resigned last April due to allegations of inappropriate text messages with a teenage girl.

The 2018 Iowa legislative session adjourned sine die May 5, 2018.

The state budget passed both houses and a tax reform bill will cut income taxes by an average of 10 percent.

Gov. Kim Reynolds will have 30 days to sign or veto the state budget.

An organization named Clean Missouri submitted to the secretary of state nearly 350,000 signatures in support of an initiative for the November ballot.

If passed by voters, the initiative would ban lobbyist gifts to state lawmakers and lower campaign contribution limits.

The issue must be reviewed prior to being approved for the 2018 ballot.

The 2018 session of the Hawaii State Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, May 3.

Senate Bill 2154 passed and was transmitted to the governor upon adjournment. If Gov. Ige signs the bill, noncandidate committees will no longer be required to include contributor information on their campaign finance organizational reports.

The Legislature will reconvene in regular session at 10 a.m. on January 16, 2019.

Arizona adjourned the 53rd Legislature, 2nd Regular Session sine die on May 4, 2018. The Legislature was schedule to adjourn the week of April 21 but continued until a budget could be passed.

Notable bills passed during the session include House Bill 2078 clarifying political committee registration thresholds, House Bill 2153 prohibiting campaign finance filing entities from requiring entities claiming tax exempt status to register as political committees, and House Bill 1249 updating the enforcement, investigation, and appeal process for alleged violators of campaign finance laws.

The state budget, passed at the last minute and signed by Gov. Doug Ducey, allocated $237 million to pay raises for teachers, ending the statewide teacher walkout.

Gov. Ducey’s gun-safety bill to prevent school shootings, a top priority from the session, failed without a final vote.

Missouri lawmakers will convene a special legislative session on the evening of May 18 following adjournment of the regular legislative session.

Legislators called the special session to consider impeaching Gov. Eric Greitens. Greitens is refusing to step down despite accusations of sexual and physical abuse and despite felony charges for invasion of privacy and computer data tampering.

The special session is scheduled to last for 30 days. If 82 House members vote to impeach him, the matter goes to the Senate to determine if he will be removed from office.

The Maine Legislature adjourned sine die on May 2, 2018. The session adjourned 14 days after statutory adjournment, or April 18, leaving key bills on the floor.

House Speaker Sara Gideon attempted to extend the session by four days, but House Republicans voted against the Joint Order.

The Legislature failed to pass bills involving public school funding, wage hikes for direct-care workers, and a bill aligning Maine’s tax code to new federal law.

Some lawmakers are hoping for a special session to address these issues.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced a special election on the same day as the general election, November 6. The special election will fill the seats left open with the resignations of U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan and U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent.

The winners of the special election would complete the terms of the departing representatives for November and December of this year. The representatives elected during the general election will start their two-year term in 2019.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent decided to not seek re-election last year to spend more time with family and is expected to leave office this month.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan retired last Friday, after the U.S. House Ethics Committee opened an investigation earlier this year regarding the use of official congressional funds to pay a former staffer’s sexual harassment settlement.