Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed Senate Bill 102 establishing the new congressional districts, citing the new maps were in violation of the 14th Amendment.

Further, Gov. DeSantis has called a special session of the Florida Legislature to address the rejected maps.

The special session will convene on April 19 and can adjourn no later than April 22.

The 97th session of the South Dakota Legislature adjourned sine die on March 28 after lawmakers failed to override Gov. Kristi Noem’s three vetoes, killing legislation that would have given lawmakers more control over spending federal aid.

During the session, the Legislature passed House Bill 1076, permitting the voters of any second or third-class municipality, which includes Pierre and Sioux Falls, to choose to elect aldermen to the common council at large by presenting a petition for an election signed by 15% of the registered voters of the municipality.

An election submitting the question to the voters must be held within fifty days of the filing of the petition.

House Bill 1076 is effective June 26, 2022.

The full House, which Republicans control 62-8, will convene on April 12 to decide if it will accept the House Select Committee on Investigation’s report recommending against impeaching Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Louisiana lawmakers will hold a special veto override session beginning Wednesday, March 30 as Republicans attempt to overturn Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ rejection of a new congressional map.

Democrats proposed about a dozen maps that showed enough Black voters live close enough together to allow for a second minority-majority district under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Republicans counter that the Democratic proposals created districts that splintered other populations with shared interests and created districts with too few Black voters to guarantee a minority candidate would win.

The veto session, which is dictated by state law, will commence during the regular legislative session. There is no legal framework to guide lawmakers, so leadership plans to recess the current session, convene a short veto override session, and then resume the current regular session. This does not affect lobbyist reporting dates.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has signed House Bill 49 and has not vetoed House Bill 100, allowing it to be enacted.

House Bill 49 defines what an “organization” is in relation to campaign finance reporting and establishes criteria for when an organization must file a statement of formation.

The bill restructures references of the term “organization” and raises the limit an organization can expend before it must file an itemized statement of contributions and expenditures to $1,000.

The bill increases the penalty of not filing a required report with the secretary of state to $500 per day and increases the penalty of not filing a required report with the county clerk to $200 per day.

Gov. Gordon, while not signing House Bill 100, did not veto the bill, approving the redistricting bill and permitting it to become law.

House Bill 49 is effective April 1, 2022, and House Bill 100 is effective immediately.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy called a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Don Young, who died on March 18.

The special all-party primary election will be held on June 11. The top four candidates will advance to the August 16 general election.

The election marks the first time Alaska’s new ranked-choice voting system will be used, meaning voters will be able to rank their preferred candidates.

Additionally, August 16 is the open-primary election for the next two-year term, in which the top four candidates from this election will be able to move onto the November 8 general election.

Candidates are eligible to run in both elections.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive instructing all boards of elections in the state to remove the names of candidates for Ohio House, Ohio Senate, and State Central Committee from the May 3 primary ballot, stating that the boards of election must reprogram their databases and prepare ballots by April 5, and it is not possible to include the primary contests on the ballot because of the Supreme Court’s decision last week invalidating the February 24, 2022 General Assembly district plan.

The General Assembly has the authority to decide when the election will be held.

They can move the election, or allow the statewide, congressional, and local races to continue on the May 3 ballot and reschedule the General Assembly primary contests for a later date.

Senate Bill 316 was introduced this week to move the primary to June 28.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a special session of the Virginia General Assembly to convene on April 5.

The General Assembly will finalize the biennial budget which was left unfinished when they adjourned on March 12.

The General Assembly will also consider Youngkin’s proposed three-month gas tax holiday.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox will call lawmakers for a special legislative session to consider financial and legal issues regarding House Bill 11, relating to student eligibility in interscholastic activities.

The call is set for 2 p.m. on Friday, March 25. This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

A special election for the vacant District 6 council seat is scheduled for May 17 in Philadelphia.

The seat is vacant after Bobby Henon resigned following his conviction on conspiracy and fraud charges.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the term set to expire in January 2024.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will call state lawmakers back to Santa Fe for a special session on April 5 to address economic relief due to rising costs.

State lawmakers had considered calling for an extraordinary session after the governor vetoed a spending bill that had been approved during the regular session.

A revised supplemental spending bill will be reviewed during the special session.

It is unclear when the special session is slated to end.

A 48-hour legislative report will be due for a lobbyist or employer who makes or incurs an expenditure of $500 or more during the special session.

Michigan lawmakers introduced several new bills proposing fundamental changes for lobbying disclosure and gift laws.

Senate Bill 963 requires lobbyists to file monthly reports instead of the current schedule of twice a year. The bill also includes a two-year revolving door ban for members of the Legislature.

House Bill 5926 amends the definition of lobbying to include partisan legislative employees in the list of covered officials.

House Bill 5927 implements a gift ban, prohibiting a public official or his or her immediate family member from directly or indirectly soliciting, agreeing to accept, or accepting anything of value from a lobbyist or lobbyist agent.

The 93rd Fiscal Session of the Arkansas General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 15 after about 30 days in session.

During the session, appropriations bills were enacted that will determine how taxpayer money is spent in the fiscal year 2023, which begins July 1.

The acts would also transfer $150 million from the state’s general reserves to a restricted reserve fund to pay for various improvements and projects.

The adjournment sine die date does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Lobbyists who are registered to lobby the General Assembly are required to file a monthly report for any month the General Assembly is in session.

The next report is due April 10 for the period of March 1 through March 31.

The last general-business floorperiod of the 2021-2022 session of the Wisconsin General Assembly adjourned March 15.

Lawmakers finished work on 80 bills so they can focus on campaigning for the fall election.

Some bills are likely to be vetoed, including an expansion of the state’s school voucher program and a bill dividing the Milwaukee school district into four to eight smaller districts beginning in 2024.

A constitutional amendment also passed that would strip the governor of his ability to spend federal aid, giving that power to the Legislature.

Constitutional amendments must pass two consecutive legislative sessions and a statewide referendum.

Senate approval Tuesday marked the first session the proposal has passed.

A limited-business floorperiod will be held in April and a veto review floorperiod in May.

The Court of Appeals of Maryland issued an order postponing the 2022 primary elections.

Originally scheduled for June 28, the state’s highest court has moved the elections to July 19 due to ongoing legal challenges to the 2022 legislative redistricting plan.

There is a concern that a midsummer date could negatively affect local election boards’ ability to obtain the necessary personnel to run the election.

Additionally, some have expressed concern that this may cause confusion amongst voters, while others have welcomed the postponement as an opportunity to better educate voters on the issues and candidates ahead of the primary election.