The Florida Legislature adjourned the 2017 regular session on Monday, May 8, 2017.

Lawmakers extended the session an extra day after failing to reach an agreement on the state budget, despite Republican majorities in both houses.

The $82.4 billion budget was $1.1 billion less than Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal, leaving open the possibility of at least a partial veto.

A special session also remains possible to deal with implementing the medical marijuana amendment passed by voters last year.

Parts of a campaign finance law approved by Missouri voters in November have been ruled unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Senior Judge Ortrie Smith issued a ruling Friday finding corporations and labor organizations must be permitted to make contributions to campaign committees only supporting or opposing ballot measures, and political action committees must be able to receive contributions from other political action committees.

The court also ruled the ban on contributions to PACs by heavily regulated entities unconstitutional.

Finally, the ruling permanently enjoins the Missouri Ethics Commission from interpreting certain campaign finance provisions in any manner inconsistent with previously issued advisory opinions. Contribution limits will continue to apply only to contributions to candidates unless a contribution to a continuing committee or PAC is restricted or designated for a specific candidate.

The court stayed any injunctive relief ordered for 45 days to allow the state to review the ruling and to allow for an opportunity to appeal.

The West Virginia Legislature is taking a 10-day recess from the special session that convened May 4. Lawmakers quickly rejected Gov. Jim Justice’s tax increase plan and there is little agreement on how to address the budget.

Both the House and Senate agreed to a resolution adjourning the special session until May 15 to allow time for lawmakers to work toward an agreement that all parties can support.

Lawmakers must pass a budget bill before July 1 to avoid a government shutdown.

Senate Bill 2343 was signed into law in April to enhance campaign finance reporting requirements and restrict candidates from using campaign funds for personal expenses.

The new law makes changes to the disclosure requirements for PACs and multicandidate political committees, requiring them to file pre-election, supplemental, and annual reports.

Senate Bill 2343 also makes amendments to statements required by measure committees circulating or promoting passage or defeat of initiated or referred measures.

The law becomes effective February 1, 2018, for campaign years beginning after December 31, 2017.

The 29^th Hawaii Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, May 4.

Prior to adjournment, House members elected Rep. Scott Saiki as Speaker of the House. He replaces Rep. Joseph Souki, who resigned after lawmakers failed to come together to pass certain bills.

Lawmakers passed 233 bills during the 2017 legislative session, including budgets for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.

Pending bills will carry over to the 2018 legislative session.

The First Extraordinary Session of the 91^st General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 3, 2017.

One ethics bill was passed to cleanup legislation passed during the regular session.

Four other bills were passed, including a bill regarding the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson is expected to sign all five special session bills.

Several ethics bills have been introduced in Michigan Legislature.

House Bill 4489 prohibits immediate family members of a public officer or employee from accepting gifts tending to influence the manner in which the public officer or employee or another public officer or employee performs official duties.

House Bill 4526 prohibits, for three years after leaving office, a former member of the Michigan Senate or House of Representatives who was, at any time, the chair of a standing committee, from making expenditures for or receiving compensation or reimbursement for actual expenses for lobbying equal to or exceeding the limit established to require registration as a lobbyist agent.

Similarly, House Bill 4527 prohibits any former member of the Michigan Senate or House of Representatives from being a lobbyist agent for two years after leaving office.

If passed, the bills will become effective 90 days after the end of the legislative session.

The Vermont House approved Senate Bill 8, a measure establishing a state ethics commission and providing greater transparency from those seeking public office.

If both houses can agree on a final version, a five-member ethics commission would accept complaints and assign them to other agencies for investigation. The commission would also compile a report on complaints for the legislature.

The bill would require financial disclosures from candidates and their spouses, with the Senate version requiring disclosure of income tax returns. The bill also prohibits lawmakers and other high-level employees from becoming a lobbyist for one year after leaving office and restricts holders of certain no-bid contracts from making campaign contributions.

A conference committee will now work out the differences before sending the bill to the governor. Vermont is one of five states without a state ethics commission.

The 91^st General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 1, 2017. A half hour after adjourning, the Legislature convened a special session.

The special session was called to address approving authorization for Arkansas Works waivers, restructuring the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace, cleaning up medical marijuana laws, and boosting long-term reserve funding for Arkansas.

The special session is likely to adjourn by the end of the week.

Carol Williams, executive director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, announced her retirement from the commission.

She will step down from her post in September, staying on to assist with primary elections for school boards and first class cities.

Williams has worked for the Ethics Commission since 1977 and has been the executive director since 1981.

On April 28, a three-judge panel issued an order in Gov. Roy Cooper’s legal challenge against Senate Bill 68 to put the law on hold until a further hearing on May 10.

The new law to combine state elections and ethics boards became law when the House and Senate voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 68.

Senate Bill 68 was a renewed effort to revamp the boards after a three-judge panel ruled that the General Assembly overstepped its state constitutional authority when it adopted Senate Bill 4 in 2016 to establish a similar bipartisan board to oversee elections and ethics.

The Montana Legislature adjourned the 2017 regular session April 28, 2017.  House Bill 340, eliminating the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices, made it through the House but was tabled in the Senate and did not pass.

Senate Bill 368, increasing contribution limits for both individuals and political action committees and placing the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices under the jurisdiction of the state Attorney General, passed at the last minute and will be sent to the Governor.

The Montana Legislature will pick up again in January 2019.

The Tennessee House voted unanimously last week to require legislators to disclose travel expenses provided by anyone with an interest in public policy if the travel was for the purpose of educating a legislator with respect to said policy.

The bill, as originally introduced, would cover national organizations such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), or other organizations where corporations provide scholarship funds for legislators to attend a conference.

The bill would require disclosure of the corporation or entity providing the scholarship or funding, but would not require specific dollar amounts.

The Senate passed an amendment to the House bill to exclude from the definition of travel expense any expense paid for by an organization of elected or appointed state government officials, or any other established and recognized organization serving as an umbrella organization for legislative officials and staff.

It has been placed back on the House calendar for early May.

The North Dakota Legislature adjourned its legislative session on April 27.

The session lasted 77 days, ending ahead of the 80-day maximum set by the Constitution.

Lawmakers approved a $13.6 billion budget for the 2017-2019 biennium before adjourning.