The Kansas Legislature adjourned the 2017 regular session on June 10, 2017. The session went 13 days beyond the scheduled 100 days, but lawmakers finally approved a two-year budget.

Lead by a group of moderate Republicans and Democrats, a $1.2 billion tax increase will reverse spending cuts spearheaded by Gov. Sam Brownback in 2012. Many on both sides of the aisle believe these cuts failed to kick-start the state’s economy as promised.

Lawmakers could be called into a special session in July, however, if a funding formula for public schools does not satisfy the state’s supreme court.

James Yates and Marvin Ray Raskin have been appointed to the Joint Commission of Public Ethics (JCOPE).

Yates previously served the state Supreme Court and served as counsel to ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Raskin has served as the president of the Bronx County Bar Association and is a former assistant district attorney.

There are 14 members of JCOPE and each member serves a five-year term.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission announced the start of a comprehensive review of the lobbying ordinance. The review will focus on lobbyist registration requirements.

The commission is accepting feedback on the current registration requirements prior to June 26, 2017 to help guide the commission’s discussion of proposed changes at the August 15, 2017 meeting.

Comments can be e-mailed to ethics.policy@lacity.org.

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission voted last week to increase registration fees by $50 for all filers, including political action committees, lobbyists, and lobbyist principals.

The fee hike is expected to generate roughly $95,300, enough to cover its appropriation loss and address unmet software cost needs.

The new fee structure will take effect July 1, 2017.

Wisconsin State Sen. Chris Larson is introducing eight bills aimed at amending state campaign finance laws.

The bills would restore lower contribution limits, amend the definition of political action committee, require transparency in political communications, limit coordinated campaign expenditures, expand reporting requirements for committees receiving a contribution exceeding $100 from an individual, and prohibit corporations and labor unions from contributing to segregated funds established by political parties or legislative campaign committees.

Larson says the proposed changes reflect common sense and would not drastically overhaul the current campaign finance system.

On June 8, North Carolina lawmakers voted to reject Gov. Roy Cooper’s call for a special concurrent session to redraw district voting maps.

Lawmakers accuse Cooper of overstepping his constitutional authority to call special sessions in extraordinary circumstances in this case because the General Assembly is already in session.

The rejected special session comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 28 districts unconstitutional due to racial gerrymandering.

Legislative leaders indicated they plan to wait for instructions from the courts before redrawing district maps.

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned its regular legislative session Thursday, June 8, 2017, and immediately convened a 12-day special legislative session to pass the state’s operating budget for the financial year beginning July 1, 2017.

The Legislature was unable to reach an agreement on the budget during the regular session. House Democrats want to allocate the entire state operating budget while House Republicans are set on only funding a portion of the budget so there is a cushion in case the revenue prediction is wrong.

The session is to adjourn no later than Monday, June 19, 2017. This is Louisiana’s second special session this year.

The Alabama Ethics Commission declined to vote on an advisory opinion recommending site consultants for companies considering moving to Alabama to register as lobbyists.

Economic development officials opposed the opinion because it could hurt business recruiting efforts.

There was no formal vote on the motion to approve the advisory opinion for lack of a second.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard called a special session for June 12 to consider legislation relating to public recreational use of non-meandered waters overlying private property.

The issue comes after a Supreme Court opinion prohibited state officials from facilitating access to waters on private property.

Under the drafted legislation to be considered by lawmakers during the special session, South Dakota’s Game, Fish and Parks Department would be able to negotiate with landowners to open access to such lakes for recreation.

The Connecticut General Assembly adjourned the 2017 regular session Wednesday, June 7, 2017. Lawmakers will have to return for a special session after failing to reach an agreement on a two-year state budget.

For the second year in a row, Gov. Dannel Malloy declined to give the traditional after-session speech to members due to the Assembly not completing its work by the midnight deadline.

A budget must be finalized by June 30. Other legislation left hanging in the balance includes a bill to allow Tesla to build a dealership in the state and a proposed constitutional amendment to protect state parks.

On June 7, Gov. Roy Cooper called a 14-day special session for North Carolina lawmakers to redraw district voting maps.

The session begins June 8 and will run concurrently with the regular session.

The special concurrent session comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 28 districts unconstitutional due to racial gerrymandering.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has called a special legislative session to consider new abortion regulations.

The extraordinary session is slated to begin Monday, June 12, just one week after the Legislature adjourned its first extraordinary session.

Lawmakers will consider stricter regulations on abortion clinics as well as attempt to nullify a St. Louis ordinance banning employers and landlords from discriminating against women who have had an abortion.

In a 35-page order, a federal judge dismantled some of the toughest ethics laws in the country. U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman struck down Kentucky’s prohibitions on lawmakers accepting gifts from lobbyists and lobbyists making contributions to candidates for the state legislature.

Judge Bertelsman ruled the gift prohibition’s “anything of value” standard is too vague for an ordinary person to know what conduct is prohibited. Furthermore, the judge stated lobbying is a vital part of the political process and restricting what lobbyists can do in their interactions with a legislator is a violation of their freedom of association.

Republican state Sen. John Schickel, who filed the lawsuit, called the ruling a victory for freedom of speech.

The judge also took aim at caucus campaign committees, ruling the statutory definition restricting the committees to Republican or Democratic is unconstitutional. Former Libertarian House candidate David Watson challenged the law, saying third party candidates cannot compete with the amount of money generated by caucus campaign committees.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission and the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance are still reviewing the order and are considering an appeal.

Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the Texas Legislature on Tuesday in an effort to push through a bill package necessary to keep some state agencies from closing.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick intentionally kept the legislation, known as a sunset bill, from passing in order to force a special session to discuss other items that did not pass during the regular session of the Legislature.

Gov. Abbott announced a 20-item agenda for the session but stated no other legislation would be looked at until the sunset bill is passed in full. Some other items listed on the agenda include school finance reform and mail-in ballot fraud.

The special session is scheduled to convene July 18, 2017.