The San Francisco, California Board of Supervisors voted 6-3 on January 23 to appoint District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell as acting mayor and to remove Board President London Breed.

Breed became acting mayor in December when Mayor Ed Lee suddenly died of a heart attack.

By accepting the appointment, Farrell is giving up his District 2 seat and will have a chance to appoint his successor.

Under the city charter, the board may appoint a successor to serve until the June 5 election.

A campaign to recall Santa Clara County, California Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky has submitted enough valid signatures to the Registrar of Voters to qualify for the June 5 ballot.

Judge Persky made national headlines in 2016 after sentencing a former Stanford University swimmer to six months in jail for sexually assaulting an intoxicated, unconscious woman outside a campus fraternity party.

The Santa Clara Board of Supervisors will have 14 days to put the recall on the June 5 ballot.  If they abstain, the recall will automatically be placed on the ballot.

In a special election on January 23, Oregon voters approved Measure 101.

Measure 101 keeps taxes on health insurers, hospitals, and managed care organizations that were passed during the 2017 legislative session.

The taxes will help fund the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program.

Unofficial results show 61 percent of voters approved the measure, with 925 out of 1335 precincts reported.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yesterday the state’s congressional map was gerrymandered to favor one party over the other.

Currently, five of the state’s 18 seats are held by Democrats, 12 by Republicans, and there is one vacancy where there is a special election on March 13.

The court ordered a new map be submitted by February 15, but the state Legislature plans to challenge the decision in federal court.

The Missouri House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass restrictions on lobbyist gifts on Wednesday, January 17, 2018.

The proposal would ban lobbyist expenditures on individuals, with the exception of customary gifts such as flowers and other plants, and events where all members of the Legislature are invited.

House Bill 1303 has been referred to the Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions, and Ethics Committee.

Gov. Dannel Malloy announced a special election will be held on February 27 for Assembly District 120.

The seat was vacated by Laura Hoydick effective January 2, who was elected mayor of Stratford.

This is the second special election to be held in Connecticut this year, after the 15^th Assembly District special election on January 9.

Gov. Rick Snyder announced special election dates for the vacant 68^th House District seat.

The primary election will be held on August 7 with the general election on November 6, lining up with the special election for U.S. Congress and the statewide elections.

The seat was vacated by Andy Schor, who resigned to become the mayor of Lansing.

Pictured: Outgoing Representative Andy Schor

Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea has scheduled a special election for April 3, following the resignation of former state Sen. Jamie Doyle.

Doyle, who represented Senate District 8, unexpectedly stepped down from office citing personal reasons stemming from his struggle with alcohol.

A primary election will be held on February 27 if more than one candidate from either party qualifies to run for the empty seat.

Phoenix, Arizona has launched an online lobbyist database for 2018 registration and reporting purposes. It is available at https://lobbyist.phoenix.gov.

In order to use the system, a user name and password is needed. The website can also be used to search for a particular organization’s lobbying efforts.

For questions about using this new system, contact the Phoenix Office of the City Clerk at lobbyist@phoenix.gov or 602-534-0490.

New Hampshire lobbyists received a letter from the General Court last week confirming they are covered by the Legislature’s sexual harassment policies and procedures and should report any harassment they experience.

According to the letter, the State House is not only a workplace for legislative staff, Senators, and Representatives, but also for lobbyists and there is a duty to protect all individuals working there.

The letter follows a story by New Hampshire Public Radio about routine sexual harassment and casual sexism at the State House.

State House staff and lobbyists can report harassment by following procedures established by the Legislative Ethics Committee.

After being delayed by a snowstorm, the Connecticut General Assembly adjourned on Monday, January 8.

Both chambers overwhelmingly passed House Bill 7601, which restored funding to the Medicare Savings Program.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has threatened to veto the bill.

Alaska state Sen. Mike Dunleavy announced he will resign his Senate E seat to focus on a campaign for governor.

Had Dunleavy remained in office, he would have been prohibited from campaigning or raising money during the legislative session, which starts January 16. His resignation is effective January 15.

To select Dunleavy’s replacement, the Alaska Republican Party will send 3 names to Governor Bill Walker to choose.

Walker’s choice must then be confirmed by a majority of Republicans in the Alaska Senate.

House Speaker Jeff Hoover resigned Monday following pressure from members of both parties.

He had privately settled a sexual harassment claim with a staff member with whom he had exchanged explicit messages after her colleague told her doing so would advance her career.

A writ for special election must be filed by the presiding officer of the House of Representatives to fill the vacancy.

California Gov. Jerry Brown set June 5 as the date for a recall election on state Sen. Josh Newman.

Voters in Senate District 29 will vote on the recall and pick a candidate to replace Newman if he is removed from office.

Sen. Newman became the target of a recall effort over his support for increasing the gas tax.

If he loses, Democrats will lose their Senate supermajority.