Since pre-filing began for the 2017 Arkansas legislative session, multiple measures have been introduced regarding lobbying, ethics and campaign finance.

If passed, measures introduced in the House would require reporting and disclosure of electioneering communications and covered transfers (House Bill 1005), prevent a member of the General Assembly from forming more than one political action committee (PAC) as either a registered agent or an officer (House Bill 1009), require the Secretary of State to make independent expenditures and PAC reports public (House Bill 1010), prohibit PAC-to-PAC transfers (House Bill 1011)  and ban direct contributions to candidates from PACs (House Bill 1012). Several measures introduced in the Senate mirror the House bills.

Additionally, bills introduced in the Senate would bar soliciting or accepting campaign contributions before the expiration of the immediately preceding general election (Senate Bill 2), prohibit elected officials from registering as a lobbyist while serving as an elected state official (Senate Bill 3) and ban constitutional officers, like the governor, from soliciting or accepting loans from lobbyists (Senate Bill 7).

Gov. Robert Bentley is considering a special session to address funding for four new super prisons. Bentley may call the special session within or right before the 2017 session.

Despite Bentley’s failure to pass his $800 million prison plan last year, he hopes a special session will address the issues of overcrowding and violence against officers at state prisons.

A special session may be called for the New York Legislature this December.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants a special session to pass a series of ethics reforms he proposed in a statement released on Nov. 16, 2016. Lawmakers are against a special session, but Cuomo is hoping to entice state legislators to return to the capital by promising a modest salary increase.

Missouri Rep. Kip Kendrick wants to see his seven-point ethics reform proposal introduced in the House.

The proposal bans gifts from lobbyists, amends the state’s revolving door policy for legislators seeking to become lobbyists, imposes term limits for statewide officeholders, prohibits the giving or solicitation of political contributions during a legislative session, prohibits someone no longer seeking office from maintaining a candidate committee, restricts the use of campaign funds, and broadens the Missouri Ethics Commission’s enforcement authority.

Each part of the proposal will be pre-filed as a separate bill. He is working to find seven House Democrats to pre-file the bills.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has set a special election for December 13, 2016, to fill a vacancy in the state Senate.

Sen. Charlie Bethel vacated his District 54 seat following his appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals, effective January 1. If necessary, a run-off election will be held on January 10, 2017.

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission has announced the lobbyist registration renewal window for 2017.

Current lobbyists who do not owe any fees, fines, penalties, or reports may renew their registrations online beginning December 1, 2016, until 12:00 p.m. on January 13, 2017. Lobbyists who fail to timely renew their registration must register as a new lobbyist using paper forms.

Lobbyist badges are also expected to be sent much sooner than in past years. The Commission has asked lobbyists to allow up to two weeks for badges to be delivered.

The gubernatorial race is still too close to call more than a week after election day. Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper declared victory over Republican incumbent Pat McCrory, but McCrory is not conceding until all provisional ballots are counted.

Cooper is ahead by about 5,000 votes, but more than 58,000 provisional and absentee ballots remain to be counted. If the race is within 10,000 votes after all ballots are counted, candidates can request a recount which would not take place until after Thanksgiving.

On November 16, 2016, Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement proposing plans to limit campaign contributions and close loopholes for those doing business with the state.

In response to contracting scandals at state universities, Cuomo intends to appoint inspectors general to investigate fraud and abuse at the State University of New York and the City University of New York.

Furthermore, Cuomo will appoint a chief procurement officer to review all state contracts and grants for the purpose of re-establishing public trust. The entire statement can be accessed here.

Photo of Governor Cuomo courtesy of Pat Arnow on Wikipedia.

The Utah Legislature adjourned a one day special session sine die on November 16, 2017. Lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to fix a complicated gas tax distribution formula in order to evenly distribute revenue and reflect the legislative intent of the original bill passed last year.

Lawmakers also passed a bill clarifying the definitions of solid waste and solid waste management facility, seeking approval from Gov. Gary Herbert who vetoed similar legislation earlier this year and requested changes.

Per Utah law, the ban on contributions during a special legislative session concludes at the time of adjournment.

Speaker-Designate Richard Corcoran recently proposed sweeping changes to House Rules for when lawmakers return to Tallahassee next year. Corcoran is specifically taking aim at lobbyists and their interactions with House members.

Some of the proposed changes include banning lobbyists from texting lawmakers while in committee or in the House chamber, proposing a constitutional amendment banning elected officials from lobbying for six years after leaving office, and requiring lobbyists to disclose the bill or amendment they are trying to influence.

Newly elected lawmakers will be sworn in on November 22, 2016, and the 2017 regular session will begin on March 7.

On November 14, the Massachusetts Senate passed a resolution to create a task force to review ethics laws governing state, county, and municipal employees. House Bill 4627, which previously passed the House, requires the task force to file a report with the governor, the president of the Senate, and the speaker of the House of Representatives regarding the results of its investigation and study on or before March 15, 2017.

The original purpose of the bill was to review laws concerning lobbying, campaign finance, and ethics. House Ethics Committee Chairman Chris Markey said limiting the focus allows the task force to meet its deadline, according to the Sentinel and Enterprise News.

Gov. Gary Herbert has called a special legislative session beginning November 16 to fix a flawed gas tax formula.

The session was called after the Utah League of Cities and Towns and the Utah Association of Counties negotiated a solution to redistribute the tax revenue evenly.

The special session, Utah’s fourth this year, is also expected to consider a bill aimed at exempting some recycling facilities from certain licensing requirements.

Miami Beach residents rejected two ballot measures looking to ease certain restrictions on lobbyists.

The first would have allowed architects and landscape architects to serve on city land-use boards and work on city projects at the same time, as long as they do not lobby for a project they would eventually vote on. Currently, these architects are not allowed to serve on a land-use board while working on a project for the city.

The second measure would have allowed lobbyists to forego filing an annual statement if they did not spend or receive money for lobbying during the year. Lobbyists currently must file annual reports regardless of their level of activity, and they are subject to fines for failing to do so.

Last week, a federal judge upheld Alaska’s strict limits on several types of state-level campaign contributions, ruling that they don’t violate the free speech or equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

The suit was brought by three individuals and District 18 of the Alaska Republican Party against the Alaska Public Offices Commission. The lawsuit challenged state law that prohibits an individual from donating more than $500 annually to a candidate. The lawsuit also sought to overturn state law that sets limits on the amount a candidate can accept from nonresidents and the amount a political party may contribute to a candidate.

All of the challenged provisions of Alaska’s campaign finance laws were upheld as constitutional.