Special elections will be held on June 20, 2017, to fill vacancies in South Carolina state House Districts 48 and 70, as well as in the state’s 5th congressional district.

District 70 was left vacant last week following the death of state Rep. Joseph Neal.

State Rep. Ralph Norman, representing District 48, resigned his seat last week to run for South Carolina’s 5th congressional district.

Former U.S. Rep Mick Mulvaney vacated his District 5 seat when he was confirmed as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

State Rep. Ralph Norman resigned his seat last week to focus on his campaign for U.S. House. The move puts pressure on his colleague and current state House Speaker Pro Tempore Tommy Pope to do the same.

The men are among a half-dozen GOP candidates running to replace former U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney. Mulvaney represented South Carolina’s congressional district until confirmed as the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Norman’s move will save the taxpayers thousands of dollars if the election to fill his seat is held on the same day as the district race.

Pope is not planning to resign his House seat in light of the congressional race.

Photo of former State Rep. Ralph Norman from the South Carolina Legislature website.

Missouri House Democrats have introduced a bill to require future governors to publicly disclose donations for gubernatorial inauguration activities.

Lawmakers hope to eliminate the appearance of corruption by allowing Missourians to see how much money corporations and lobbyists donate to fund inaugural events.

Recently, Gov. Eric Greitens issued a list of benefactors who contributed to his inaugural celebration but refused to confirm how much was contributed by each donor and how much money was actually spent.

He formed a nonprofit to raise money for the inauguration and the contributions, therefore, were not subject to state campaign finance laws.

Hawaii legislators are currently considering legislation aimed at closing an existing loophole in lobbyist registration and reporting rules. Currently, a lobbyist is one who spends more than five hours in a month or $750 in a reporting period attempting to influence a ballot issue or legislative or administrative action.

The law is not clear, however, with regards to the activities and time to be included when determining if an individual meets the lobbyist threshold. As a result, it has been utilized as a way to avoid public disclosure.

House Bill 290 would close the loophole by amending the registration threshold. A lobbyist would include anyone paid or who expects to be paid more than $1,000 in a year for lobbying, anyone who spends five hours in one month or 10 hours in a calendar year on lobbying, or anyone who lobbies on three or more measures during a legislative session.

The bill is just one part of a legislative package supported by the Hawaii State Ethics Commission. The Commission is also supporting bills to increase fines for ethics and lobbying violations, to amend various definitions related to lobbying, to amend special session lobbyist reporting requirements, and to allow lobbyist employers to file notices of termination.

Gov. Nathan Deal announced a special election will be held on April 18, 2017, for state Senate District 32.

Sen. Judson Hill resigned from the seat to run in the special election for the Sixth Congressional District, scheduled for the same day, to replace Rep. Tom Price.

If necessary, a runoff election will be held on May 16. Candidate qualifying runs for three days, beginning February 22, 2017.

This week the Montana House of Representatives passed House Bill 340, a bill to dismantle the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices. The bill was transmitted to the Senate on Tuesday after passing a final vote in the House.

The passage of House Bill 340, aiming to split the Commissioner’s current duties between the Secretary of State and Attorney General, was not unanimous.

Democratic lawmakers believe transferring power to two inherently partisan offices will not remedy what Republican lawmakers are characterizing as a partisan witch-hunt from current outgoing Commissioner Jonathon Motl.

On Tuesday, the House unanimously passed House Bill 1073.

The bill seeks to ban lawmakers from accepting gifts from lobbyists exceeding $100 in value per year.

Lawmakers advanced HB 1073 in response to the recent repeal of Initiated Measure 22, which left the state with no limit on gifts lawmakers could accept from lobbyists.

The bill is now headed to the Senate for consideration.

The Missouri Ethics Commission recently released a series of advisory opinions related to Constitutional Amendment 2. The amendment, passed by the voters in the November election, amended state campaign finance laws.

The new advisory opinions address issues not fully articulated in the constitutional amendment. Opinions confirm: contribution limits do not apply to local candidates; the definitions of continuing and political action committees are substantially the same and are interpreted to be the same; and contribution limits only apply to continuing or political action committees if a contribution to the committee is designated for a specific candidate.

Another opinion finds a limited liability company to be a corporation for the purpose of the corporate contribution ban if the LLC is an eligible entity electing to be classified as a corporation under the federal tax code.

Other opinions relate to the eligibility of foreign corporations contributing to Missouri PACs, the application of the $25,000 per election aggregate limit to be received by a political party, and the applicability of contribution limits to state legislative campaign committees.

Gov. Phil Scott issued an informal directive to staff and administrative personnel to stay clear of legislators and lobbyists in social situations.

The governor is taking aim at the after-hours restaurant and bar scene in Montpelier where staff, lawmakers, and lobbyists are typically seen commingling.

Those in favor of the governor’s directive welcome the crackdown, while others believe forbidden fraternization is impossible to avoid given the small-town nature of the state capital.

Others are concerned the rule will hurt business owners who rely on these social outings for revenue.

Rep. Knute Buehler is set to introduce two bills to restrict pay-to-play politics.

House Joint Resolution 17 seeks to amend the Oregon Constitution to ban corporations, nonprofits and labor unions from making contributions to candidates or political action committees.

House Bill 2914 would require bidders on state contracts to disclose their five greatest campaign contributions in the state.

If passed, the measures would likely face legal challenges on the basis of free speech restrictions.

Monday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued an order blocking Senate Bill 4 from taking effect while the legal challenge against the law is pending.

This order halts the merger to combine the State Board of Elections with the State Ethics Commission.

Gov. Roy Cooper is currently challenging Senate Bill 4 on the basis that the General Assembly overstepped its state constitutional authority when it adopted the law establishing an eight-member board to oversee elections and consider ethics complaints and issues.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions was confirmed as President Trump’s attorney general on February 8, 2017.

To fill the Senate vacancy, Gov. Robert Bentley has appointed state Attorney General Luther Strange to succeed Sessions. Bentley’s appointee will serve the U.S. Senate with 22 months of incumbency until the next general election.

Some controversy surrounds Bentley’s appointment; state Auditor Jim Ziegler filed a written request with Bentley opposing his decision to appoint a replacement and hold off with special elections until November 2018.

Ziegler cited Alabama code stating a special election could only be delayed until the next regular election if the senate vacancy occurred within four months of the next regular election.

Photo of Senator Luther Strange from the State of Alabama website.

Filing opens today for candidates participating in the May 30 special election for South Carolina House District 84. At least two individuals have expressed interest in running for the seat. If a primary election is necessary, it will be held on April 11 with a runoff on April 25.

Former Rep. Chris Corley resigned from the seat in January to avoid being expelled following his indictment on felony domestic violence and weapons charges.

On Thursday, a ruling from the North Carolina Court of Appeals overturned a lower court order that blocked Senate Bill 4 from taking effect while the legal challenge against the law was pending.

This allows the merger to go forward to combine the State Board of Elections with the State Ethics Commission.

Gov. Roy Cooper appealed this ruling today to the state Supreme Court.