Gov. Mike DeWine called a special session of the General Assembly to begin on Tuesday, May 28.

The purpose of the first special session in 20 years is to pass legislation ensuring both major party presidential candidates will be on the Ohio ballot in November.

A legislative fix is necessary because the late date of this year’s Democratic convention comes after Ohio’s statutory deadline to certify presidential candidates for the November ballot.

In the past, such issues have been handled with quick legislative fixes but a number of Republican legislators have balked this year.

Lawmakers will also consider legislation to prohibit campaign spending by foreign nationals.

The West Virginia Legislature has convened the anticipated special session for the month of May.

The session started on the 19^th and has already resulted in agreement on several critical pieces of the state budget legislation.

Provided funding will include $5 million to the Department of Health and Human Services; a new agriculture lab on the WVSU campus; and state paving projects.

The session is being held during the interim committee meeting dates when all lawmakers are together to help ease the burden on taxpayers.

The session is predicted to last until the May 24 when the interim committees are finished meeting.

The Alabama Legislature adjourned earlier than expected this year on May 9.

Lawmakers declined to pass a bill to rewrite large portions of the Alabama Ethics Act.

House Bill 227 would have relaxed gift restrictions; weakened powers of the Alabama Ethics Commission; and given oversight of the commission to the Legislature.

Passed bills included those relating to school vouchers and limiting absentee voting assistance.

The second regular session of the Wisconsin State Assembly concluded on May 15.

During the session, lawmakers passed campaign finance bills related to disclosures and lobbyist contributions.

Assembly Bill 664 requires any audio or video communication paid for by a candidate, committee, or party containing synthetic media to include a disclaimer at both the beginning and the end of the communication.

Senate Bill 822 requires local committees supporting or opposing local candidates and referendums to register and file campaign finance reports with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission instead of local clerks beginning July 1, 2025.

Senate Bill 741 clarifies only a special election to fill a vacancy in a state office opens the lobbyist contribution window for personal contributions to a partisan elected state official or state candidate.

Conduits receiving and releasing earmarked contributions will be required to pay a $100 annual filing fee.

The Alaska Legislature adjourned sine die on May 16 after pushing through a flurry of bills in the final days.

The Senate adjourned right before the midnight hour on Wednesday while the House continued to work into Thursday morning.

This has raised questions about the legality of those pieces of legislation which were passed after the midnight deadline.

The main focus towards the end of the session was on a few different energy bills, rather than the usual budget negotiations.

The legislature also passed several major policy bills regarding crime, the budget, and education issues.

The Vermont General Assembly adjourned sine die on Saturday, May 10.

During the session, lawmakers passed House Bill 875, which overhauls the Vermont ethics laws.

The bill grants the Ethics Commission the power to perform investigations and hearings.

Additionally, the bill creates a uniform Municipal Code of Ethics and repeals redundant municipal ethics laws.

If approved by the governor, sections of the bill will take effect on passage; January 1, 2025; or January 1, 2026.

On May 9, a New York appellate court unanimously upheld a lower court decision finding the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELIG) unconstitutional.

The court found COELIG violates the governor’s ability to enforce ethics laws as many members of the commission are not appointed by the governor.

The commission will continue to promote compliance with ethics and lobbying laws and may continue to process ethics disclosures and lobbyist filings.

COELIG stated they will seek an appeal and a stay to continue enforcing ethics and lobbying laws during the appeals process.

The Connecticut General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 8.

During the session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 253 concerning foreign political spending.

The bill prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or expenditures and individuals from receiving contributions from foreign nationals.

Additionally, it requires certification on independent expenditure reports that the person making the expenditure is not a foreign national.

If signed by the governor, Senate Bill 253 becomes effective from passage.

This does affect lobbying reporting.

The monthly employer activity report required any month the General Assembly is in regular session is due June 10.

Lawmakers adjourned sine die on Thursday May 9.

Passed bills include compensation for college sports athletes which, if signed by the governor, allows colleges to directly support college athletes while they play for the school’s team.

Any bill left alive will have another chance during the 2025 session when all 170 seats of the Legislature will be up for reelection.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2412 effectively ending the slating of candidates for the November 2024 election by Democrats or Republicans in races where no candidates for that party ran in the primary.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law two days after it was converted from a child welfare bill into an election law bill by amendment.

If no candidate for the nomination of the party was on the primary ballot, no candidate of that party may be listed on the ballot at the general election.

The bill also directs the State Board of Elections to submit three non-binding advisory questions to the voters at the general election, effectively blocking any other ballot questions from being proposed.

The bill is effective immediately.

Q: I need to register as a lobbyist in Georgia and I have heard Georgia has overhauled their system. Were there any changes to how one registers or to what is required on lobbying reports?

A: Georgia has undergone a massive renovation of their lobbyist system. Registration is now a complex process that requires clients to make an account, which was not necessary under the old system.

When creating a client account, the system will request a list of officers and authorized agents. Any officers listed will have a client account created, using the email provided as a Login ID. Only officers are able to file reports, while authorized agents may only input information into the system.

Once the registration is submitted, an email will be sent to each of the listed officers, prompting them to create a password. The Ethics Commission will only discuss issues with the client account with the listed officers.

Following the creation of the client account, the lobbyist account may be created.

Once the lobbyist registration is submitted, a “token” will be created and emailed to the officers of the listed client. The client must then accept the “token” by clicking on the link and authorizing the lobbyist. The system will then send an email to the lobbyist to create their password. Once the password is created, the lobbyist is officially registered. It is important to note the lobbyist’s account will not be created until the client accepts the relationship. The $20 badge fee may be paid from the lobbyist account or the client account.

While the changes to lobbyist reporting are more modest, there are still differences between the old and new systems.

A large change is that there are now only three different reports: Local, Legislative, and Agency. The Agency report has combined Agency, Vendor, and State Board of Transportation into one report. Even if you only registered as an Agency lobbyist, your report will be labeled as an Agency, Vendor, and State Board of Transportation report.

The new system now requires additional information to file a report. Each expenditure disclosure must now contain:

•     Date of the expenditure

•     Amount

•     The client of the lobbyist

•     The “type” of expenditure

•     A description of the expenditure

•     The name of the payee

•     Whether the recipient is a public officer or group and their name.

The system also allows for the disclosure of the purpose of the expenditure and the number of the bill, resolution, or regulation, but this is an optional disclosure.

The Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on Saturday, May 4.

Notable bills passed during this session include House Bill 1664, which included agents and owners of utility companies in the definition of covered person for the purposes of political contribution and gift restrictions.

Lawmakers also succeeded in passing a $7.9 billion budget.

Notable bills that did not pass included a bill to require lobbyists to disclose whether any client is a foreign principal of a foreign adversary and a bill requiring disclosure if the lobbyist had a material financial interest in a business that may benefit from an issue or bill.

The Tennessee Legislature adjourned sine die on April 25.

Notable passed legislation included a bill to allow armed teachers in classrooms; a bill establishing new penalties for PACs; and a bill providing a $1.9 billion tax cut and refund for businesses.

The tax cut created contention as it was formed to remedy a tax that purportedly violated the constitution’s commerce clause.

The second regular session of the 90th Iowa General Assembly adjourned sine die early in the morning on Saturday, April 20 after an all-night session.

Lawmakers are only paid for 100 days and worked 104 days to agree on a budget.

Republicans control both houses and passed many of the proposals outlined in Gov. Reynolds January address, including consolidating many boards and commissions by eliminating 83 unelected boards and commissions and requiring an annual review process of boards and commissions.