Circuit Judge Mark Barnett ruled yesterday that Initiated Measure 22 cannot be separated into different parts, issuing an order blocking the entire law from taking effect. Initiated Measure 22 was approved by the majority of South Dakota voters last month as an act to revise campaign finance and lobbying laws.

There was an existing preliminary injunction on the law’s implementation; however, supporters of Initiated Measure 22 wanted to reinstate portions of the law not challenged by the plaintiffs, such as the provisions dealing with lower caps on campaign contributions.

North Carolina lawmakers adjourned a special session yesterday without taking any action to repeal House Bill 2. The special session was called by Gov. Pat McCrory specifically for the purpose of repealing the bill.

House Bill 2 restricts which restrooms transgender people can use and blocks local governments from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances regarding the use of public bathrooms. The legislation has caused boycotts resulting in the loss of millions of dollars from cancelled conventions, concerts and sporting events.

A bond hearing will be held this morning for suspended South Carolina state Rep. Jim Merrill. Merrill was indicted last week on two counts of misconduct in office and 28 counts of ethics violations.

The indictments span the course of his 15-year tenure in office. Merrill allegedly failed to report money received from lobbyists, used his office for financial gain, received payments through his company to influence a public official, and failed to file certain campaign finance reports. Though most of the charges are misdemeanors, three are felonies.

Merrill was suspended from office after the indictments were filed.

North Carolina lawmakers will meet Wednesday for their third special session this month. Gov. Pat McCrory announced he will call a special session Wednesday to vote on repealing House Bill 2.

House Bill 2 restricts which restrooms transgender people can use and blocks local governments from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances regarding the use of public bathrooms.

On Friday, December 16, Gov. Pat McCrory signed Senate Bill 4 into law. Senate Bill 4 merges the State Board of Elections with the State Ethics Commission and creates a new eight-member board split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

The bill was introduced by Republicans in an attempt to limit the power of the executive branch before newly elected Democrats take power. Governor-elect Roy Cooper has stated that he plans to challenge the law in court as unconstitutional.

On December 16, the Commissioner of Political Practices’ proposed rule amendment increasing the threshold amount of payment triggering lobbyist and employer registration to $2,550 for 2017 and 2018 was adopted.

The payment threshold is adjusted by an inflation factor determined by the commissioner. The previous threshold amount was $2,500 for the calendar years 2015 and 2016.

Yesterday, Senate Bill 4 passed in the North Carolina Senate with a 30-16 vote.

Senate Bill 4 seeks to merge the State Board of Elections with the State Ethics Commission and create a new eight-member board split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

The bill is now headed to the House for consideration

Minutes before midnight on December 12, 2016, Citizens Union (CU) filed a complaint against the State of New York alleging a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. CU seeks declaratory and injunctive relief from disclosure laws passed in June.

The new laws lowered the annual lobbying spending threshold from $50,000 to $15,000 for 501(c)4 organizations. Additionally, the new laws require 501(c)4 organizations to disclose donors who give more than $2,500. The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

On Monday, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and retired State Senator and Judge Quentin L. Kopp filed a lawsuit in the Sacramento Superior Court seeking to invalidate Senate Bill 1107. SB 1107 was passed this fall and allows any municipality the option to create systems for publicly funded campaigns.

Prior to SB 1107, only six charter cities were allowed to offer limited public funds to match small campaign donations. The suit requests an injunction to stop the new provisions from taking effect on January 1, 2017. The plaintiffs are also requesting SB 1107 be ruled invalid and sent to voters on a statewide ballot.

Minutes after legislators finished work on a hurricane relief package in a two-day special session set by Gov. Pat McCrory, Republicans called a second special session Wednesday in an attempt to pass legislation to limit newly elected Democrats.

Most of the 21 bills introduced seek to limit the power of the executive branch. Senate Bill 4 would merge the State Board of Elections with the State Ethics Commission and create a new eight-member board split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. Current law gives a majority of the state elections board’s five members to the governor’s party.

Oral arguments were heard last week in a 2015 lawsuit filed in Massachusetts Suffolk County Superior Court challenging state laws allowing unions to make political contributions while barring corporations from doing the same.

The lawsuit is being brought by the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the Goldwater Institute on behalf of two state business corporations against Michael Sullivan, the director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), which enforces the law. In 1A AUTO, INC. v Sullivan, the plaintiffs allege, “There is no legitimate justification for allowing unions to contribute thousands of dollars to candidates, parties, and political committees, while completely banning any contributions from businesses.” The plaintiffs argue the law violates “equal protection, free speech, and free association protected by the Massachusetts and United States constitutions” and are seeking a permanent injunction preventing the OCPF from enforcing the law banning corporate contributions.

Both parties made their arguments on December 7 in front of Judge Paul Wilson, who will decide the previously filed motions for summary judgement.

Wisconsin state ethics commissioner Robert Kinney announced his resignation Monday. Kinney cited his disappointment in the agency as his reason for stepping down. He claims the relatively new Ethics Commission operates too secretly and does not adequately enforce ethics, campaign finance and lobbying rules.

Moreover, he contends several members of the commission demonstrate an obvious lack of commitment to the underlying purpose of the agency. In June, Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kinney from a pool of candidates provided by the Democratic Party.

Republican candidate John Kennedy won a state run-off election on December 10 to fill Louisiana’s second seat in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy, Louisiana’s incumbent treasurer, won 61 percent of the vote to defeat Democratic candidate Foster Campbell.

Kennedy will take office January 3, 2017, creating a vacancy in his current position that will be filled in a special election to be held in March or October 2017. The First Assistant State Treasurer will take over as treasurer until an election can take place.

Campbell, a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, was looking to increase the number of Democrats in the Senate and gained nationwide support and over $2 million in donations in the months leading up to the December 10 election.

With Kennedy’s victory, the Senate is comprised of 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Kennedy will hold the seat until he is up for re-election in 2022.

A South Dakota judge has issued a preliminary injunction on Initiated Measure 22. Initiated Measure 22 was approved by the majority of South Dakota voters last month as an act to revise campaign finance and lobbying laws.

The injunction will give the courts and the Legislature time to consider the measure, which has been widely criticized as being poorly drafted and possibly unconstitutional. Supporters of Initiated Measure 22 are expected to ask the judge to re-instate portions of the law not challenged by the plaintiffs, such as the provisions dealing with lower caps on campaign contributions.