Lt. Gov. Mark Darr has made his resignation official three weeks after saying he would step down over ethics violations concerning his campaign and office spending.

Legislative leaders are pushing to change state election law in order to keep Darr’s office vacant for the rest of the year rather than hold a special election.

Currently, state law requires the governor to call a special election within 150 days of declaring Darr’s office vacant, but lawmakers from both parties would prefer to keep the office unfilled since the general election will be held November 4, 2014.

On November 19, 2013, a special election was held to replace former mayor Bob Filner, who submitted his resignation amid scandal. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election is scheduled for February 11, 2014.

Individuals may contribute up to $1,000 to the mayoral candidates for the runoff election. Contributions from committees and corporations are not permitted in city elections.

Seal of San Diego courtesy of Zscout370 on Wikimedia Commons.

On January 15 the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit declared certain Colorado campaign contribution limits unconstitutional. State law requires major party candidates to appear on a primary ballot even if they are running unopposed; they are then permitted to accept contributions up to the statutory limit for each of the primary and general elections. Similarly, minor party or write-in candidates who appear on the primary election ballot may accept contributions for both the primary and general elections.

Unaffiliated, minor party, or write-in candidates who do not appear on a primary election ballot, however, may only accept contributions for the general election.

Under the recent ruling, contribution limits based on statutory classification violate the right to equal protection for individuals wishing to contribute to write-ins, unaffiliated candidates, and minor party candidates when each candidate runs unopposed for the nomination.

The Secretary of State has not yet addressed the court ruling or made any new changes to existing contribution limits.

Two proposals in Philadelphia could finally establish a dollar limit on gifts to city employees. The city’s Board of Ethics again revised its proposed gift limit to $50 with an outright ban on cash gifts.

The initial proposals allowed for some measure of cash gifts based on interpretation of city law allowing some cash gifts, enraging ethics watchdogs. After a reinterpretation by the city law department allowing the Board to ban cash gifts, the ban was included in the latest proposal. A final vote on the gift regulation is expected at the Board’s February 19 meeting.

The Philadelphia City Council is also considering a gift measure, allowing city officials and employees to accept gifts up to $99. The Council’s proposal also bans all cash gifts.

If the Council passes the gift law, the Board of Ethics will need to restart work on its gift regulation, as it can only pass regulations interpreting city law and may not impose a stricter limit than established by statute. Either way, the city appears to be on track in providing much needed clarification of its gift law.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved revisions to the campaign finance reform ordinance. The changes were requested by the state Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), which enforces the county ordinance. Under the revised ordinance, contributions may be received for a general election before the primary has taken place, so long as the funds are set aside until after the primary.

The term “independent expenditure committee” will be removed from a section pertaining to electronic filing requirements for contributions of $10,000 or more and will be replaced with the more inclusive “other person, entity, or committee.”

The board also authorized new language in the ordinance giving the FPPC permission to give technical assistance to donors in the same manner it advises candidates.

The revisions are scheduled for final adoption on February 11, 2014.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) rejected a request made by several activist groups to grant an exemption from the donor disclosure requirement provided by New York law. Under the ethics law, a registered lobbyist, under certain circumstances, must report the names of each source of funding over $5,000 from a single source used to fund the lobbying activity reported and the amounts received from each identified source.

Under the same law, the JCOPE can grant an exemption to the donor disclosure requirement if that disclosure would put contributors at risk. The party requesting the exemption must demonstrate that the disclosure of their donors would cause harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals.

The JCOPE denied the exemption requested by Family Planning Advocates, the New York Women’s Equality Coalition, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms and the New York Civil Liberties Union. The groups can appeal the decision to an independent judicial hearing officer within 15 days of the JCOPE’s written ruling, which has not yet been completed.

At the same meeting, the commission also limited one exemption that it had already granted to NARAL Pro-Choice NY by scheduling the donor disclosure exemption to expire with the group’s next filing.

The Legislature is not meeting this week because of the winter storm in the Carolinas. Most legislative meetings are also canceled.

Gov. Nikki Haley declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, January 28, as light sleet began falling on the state capital.

The Legislature will resume its normal schedule next week on Tuesday, February 4.

Due to inclement weather, Governor Bentley has re-scheduled the special general election for House District 104 in Mobile and the special primary run-off elections for House District 31 covering Elmore and Coosa counties and House District 53 in Birmingham, all scheduled to take place Tuesday, January 28, 2014.

The elections will now be held on February 4, 2014.

Senate Bill 6414, introduced this week by a group of Washington senators led by Senator Joe Fain, requires all reports to be filed electronically. The bill contains several other strictures, including requiring the Public Disclosure Commission to make all filings available on its website, mandating each lobbyist or lobbyist’s employer sharing in an expenditure greater than $25 to report the specific dollar amount of his or her share, and requiring all lobbyist filings to include an itemized list of all payments made to a state official, regardless of dollar amount.

Another section of the bill implores the Ethics Board to define the limits of “infrequent occasions” in the context of the acceptance of gifts of food and beverages by public officials from lobbyists. This section of the bill comes after a widely-read report showing the state’s 50 most active lobbyists pampered legislators with meals totaling more than $65,000 over a four-month period.

A final section of the bill allows lobbyists to avoid reporting expenses for a legislator’s food at a meeting with the lobbyist if such expenses were paid by the legislator.

Photo of the interior of the Washington State Capitol courtesy of Eric Hunt on Wikimedia Commons.

Senate Bill 5988, introduced January 13, 2014, would prohibit state officials from soliciting or accepting political contributions in odd-numbered years when the legislature is out of session but has not adopted or submitted to the governor a biennial operating appropriations act.

The bill would further prohibit the governor or any person employed by the governor from soliciting or accepting contributions during the period provided for the consideration of bills under the Washington constitution.

Photo of the Washington State Senate Chamber courtesy of Lincolnite on Wikimedia Commons.

Vermont has passed comprehensive campaign finance reform early in the second year of its biennial session. Senate Bill 82, signed by Governor Peter Shumlin on January 23, repealed Vermont’s existing campaign finance law and enacted a new framework in its place. The most notable provision of the bill is new campaign finance limits. The new limits, effective January 1, 2015 are as follows:

• Candidates for the office of state representative: $1,000 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
• Candidates for the office of state senator: $1,500 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
• Candidates for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, auditor of accounts, or attorney general: $4,000 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
• Candidates for candidates for local office: $1,000 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
• Candidates for county office: $1,500 per election cycle from a single source or political committee;
• Contributions to a political committee: $4,000 per election cycle from a single source, political committee, or political party; and
• Contributions to political parties: $10,000 per election cycle from a single source, political committee, or political party.

Critics of the bill noted the high limit on contributions to political parties, notable because political parties may give unlimited contributions to candidates under the new framework. The bill also included an aggregate election cycle limit of $40,000 from a single source to take effect January 1, 2015, unless the U.S. Supreme Court holds such limits unconstitutional when it delivers its decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission.

Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into law a bill moving the state primary to May 20, 2014. House Bill 310 was passed to comply with a federal court order requiring at least 45 days between primary and general elections and subsequent runoffs to give overseas military personnel time to cast absentee ballots for federal candidates.

Primary runoffs will be held on July 22, while the general election remains on November 4.

The new law, effective upon signature, also restores the requirement to file a March 31 campaign finance report, previously removed by House Bill 143.

The gift policy for the Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel has been updated. In the revised Policies and Procedures Manual, gifts having a value over $5 are prohibited. Some gifts are permitted within limited exceptions, including gifts not associated with the employee’s position or duties within the office. Additionally, the policy delineates what are permissible expenses for meals, tickets, reimbursements, and gifts when an employee attends a conference, seminar, training session, meeting, site visit, or other similar gathering connected with the employee’s employment.

Photo of the Utah State Capitol courtesy of Robert Cutts on Wikimedia Commons.

The State of Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget –Procurement is holding a seminar on Contracting with the State of Michigan. It will be held January 23, 2014 from 2:00pm—4:30pm at Constitution Hall, 525 West Allegan Street, Lansing MI 48933.

Topics to be addressed include finding bid opportunities, where to register as a vendor, researching upcoming solicitations, common mistakes made when writing a proposal, rules and guidelines for state contracts, purchasing preferences, and bid solicitation structures.

Interested parties can register here.