A proposed constitutional amendment has been submitted to appear on the November 2016 ballot.

This measure, titled The Voters’ Right to Know Act, would increase campaign finance disclosure requirements and eliminate gifts to public officials from certain entities.

The act is designed to remove the “dark money” loopholes of nonprofit contributors by requiring anyone contributing $10,000 or more to be identified if that money winds up supporting a political effort. It also calls for updating and improving the electronic reporting system, clearer disclosure of contributors on television ads, and stronger penalties for violators.

The act also would ban gifts to public officials from lobbyists and lobbyist employers. The monetary limit on gifts to public officials from individuals would be lowered to $200 from the current amount of $460.

Backers of this proposition hope it will lead to greater transparency and encourage greater engagement from all voters.

A special primary election has been scheduled for November 3, 2015, to fill the seats in state House Districts 80 and 82.

These seats were previously held by Rep. Cindy Gamrat and Rep. Todd Courser, respectively. Gamrat was expelled by the House on September 11, 2015, and Courser resigned the same day following allegations of misconduct and misuse of taxpayer resources in an attempt to hide their extramarital affair.

Now, despite opposition from the House, both are running in the special election to fill these seats. If either or both of them win, there is speculation the House could refuse to seat them; however, most representatives seem reluctant to commit to such action at this point.

The special general election will be held on March 8, 2016.

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has come out in opposition to Assembly Bill 1544. This bill, currently awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature or veto, would change disclosure requirements for certain types of behested payments.

Currently, elected officials must disclose if an entity provides funding to a charity or government program based on the official’s request, including any funding coming from government agencies. Should the governor sign AB 1544, elected officials would no longer have to report payments provided by government agencies to nonprofit or for-profit groups when the purpose of the funding is primarily for a governmental or legislative purpose.

Assemblyman Ken Cooley, the bill’s sponsor, said disclosure should not be required when payments are sought from government agencies, as it is part of a legislator’s job to advocate for such grants and opportunities on behalf of his or her district.

The FPPC opposes the bill because eliminating these types of behested payments from disclosure requirements could result in the public not being informed of millions of dollars in behested payments to nonprofit and for-profit groups.

City Councilman David Ryu is working to keep his campaign promise of shaking up the status quo at city hall.

He has sent a letter to the city Ethics Commission requesting they look into the possibility of banning contributions to candidates by businesses, labor unions, and other groups.

He had planned to introduce legislation to accomplish this change; however, when no other council member would sign onto the legislation, Ryu turned to the Ethics Commission, asking them to explore ways to achieve such a ban.

While reform groups support such a ban, critics of the proposal fear it will lead to legal challenges and drive more money to independent expenditure groups.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Ohio Supreme Court candidate Colleen O’Toole’s motion for a preliminary injunction to enjoin enforcement of an Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 4.4(E). This rule imposes restrictions on when a judicial campaign committee may solicit and receive campaign contributions. Judicial candidate committees for 2016 may begin soliciting and receiving contributions no earlier than 120 days before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March and may continue to accept contributions until 120 days after the general election.

O’Toole’s campaign committee claims the rule violates the First Amendment by restricting political speech and it violates the Fourteenth Amendment by treating judicial campaign committees differently than other political organizations. The committee failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of any claim.

While the contribution restrictions may not be the least restrictive means of maintaining public confidence in judicial integrity, the court found the regulation need only be narrowly tailored, not perfectly tailored. Moreover, perfect tailoring would be impossible given the intangible nature of public confidence.

The court also found it permissible to treat judicial campaign committees differently than political action committees and other political organizations because of the unique nature of judicial elections. Interests in maintaining the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the judiciary are inherently different from those implicated by other political campaigns. More simply, judicial elections may be regulated differently than political elections because the role of judges differs from that of politicians.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner will resign and give up his seat in Congress at the end of October, according to his aides. He is currently under intense pressure from conservatives to defund Planned Parenthood as he attempts to keep the government open through the end of the year. Several members of the conservative base vowed not to vote for a bill if it did not defund the organization, and some are on a path to remove him as speaker.

Since becoming speaker in 2011, Boehner has struggled to navigate politically with a polarized Congress and its increasingly conservative Republican members. Boehner’s announcement comes just a day after he had a private audience with Pope Francis at the Capitol. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to serve as the next speaker.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley recently released a statement describing a ballot measure to create a publicly funded campaign finance program. The program would allocate monetary credits to voters who could assign them to candidates.

The measure would also lower political contribution limits and create a revolving door provision for certain state officials seeking to become lobbyists. Said officials would be banned from lobbying for two years after leaving office.

Supporters must collect nearly 14,000 signatures to get the measure on the 2016 ballot.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker plans to call a special legislative session to address details of, and issues related to, the development of a natural gas pipeline. The state is currently developing the project with three oil producers and a pipeline company.

Because Walker is required to give legislators a 30 day notice, the special session cannot begin until the end of October at the earliest. Walker expects the session to conclude before Thanksgiving and would prefer it be held in Juneau despite ongoing renovations at the state Capitol.

The Public Disclosure Commission has named Evelyn Fielding Lopez as the agency’s new executive director.

Lopez, a Tacoma lawyer who formally worked as an assistant attorney general, will begin work on October 1.

The former executive director, Andrea McNamara Doyle, resigned in May 2015.

New Mexico’s Secretary of State pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the misuse of campaign funds. Dianna Duran is accused of funneling campaign contributions into personal accounts, filing false campaign finance disclosures, and using the funds to frequent casinos.

Amid pressure to resign, Duran’s attorney said she has not been convicted of a crime and will remain the sitting secretary of state. State legislators will meet later this month to begin an investigation as part of impeachment proceedings.

The West Virginia Ethics Commission announced a one-hour training course on the Ethics Act. Lobbyists new to West Virginia must complete this course within 90 days of registration and all other lobbyists must complete one training course during the registration cycle (January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016).

The course will take place on October 22, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. in the Ethics Commission’s conference room. An online video is also available for lobbyists to fulfill their training obligations.

Frederick County, Maryland County Council President Bud Otis has introduced legislation to give the County Ethics Commission subpoena powers and increase the size of the commission from five to seven members. The ethics bill, which Otis submitted on September 15, includes making a violation of the lobbying rules or the financial disclosure laws a misdemeanor. The council will hear public comments on the proposals at a future meeting and then vote at a subsequent hearing, according to the Frederick News-Post.

On September 15, the Sacramento City Council voted to create an ethics commission with a new ethics code. The city clerk and city attorney were directed by the Council’s resolution to draft an Ethics Code for approval by the City Council at a later date.

An office of compliance will be created for city employee training of local and state ethics laws. Additionally, a redistricting commission is established to draw new boundaries for City Council districts. The city clerk and city attorney are to create language and appropriate action for the Council to act on placing a measure for redistricting on the November 2018 ballot. The proposals were approved by an 8-0 vote.

A special election has been scheduled for November 3, 2015, to fill the vacant House District 23 seat.

Candidates had until September 14 to file to be on the ballot. Write-in candidates must file their declarations by September 25.

State Rep. Michael Shaw, who was in his fourth term, resigned his position because he will be moving out of the district.