Governor Mike Beebe has approved a proposed constitutional amendment to be placed on the November 4, 2014 general election ballot. House Joint Resolution 1009, the Arkansas Elected Officials Ethics, Transparency, and Financial Reform Amendment of 2014, passed both chambers shortly before the regular session recessed on April 24, 2013.

If affirmed by the voters, the constitutional amendment will ban corporate and union gifts to political campaigns, ban lobbyist gifts to legislative and executive officials, and provide 16 year term limits for legislators. The amendment would also increase the time between when a legislator leaves office and when a legislator is permitted to become a lobbyist from one year to two years.

The General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on May 17, 2013 for a veto session before adjourning sine die.

The Massachusetts Lobbyist Section of Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office has informed lobbyists it will reinterpret a reporting requirement in order to comply with a court order.

Initially, Secretary of State William Galvin’s office had asserted it had the authority to interpret “all direct business associations with public officials” under state law expansively and require lobbyists disclose the names of all officials with whom a lobbyist has communicated. In reaction, a lawsuit had been brought against the Secretary of State’s office by the ACLU, AirStrategies, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, Common Cause, and the Conservation Law Foundation. A Superior Court Judge ruled against the secretary.

To comply with the court’s order, the secretary will now require disclosure of the names of public officials to whom a lobbyist has made a lobbying communication only if the lobbyist also has a direct business association with the public official. Following the court’s order, the secretary informed lobbyists this means a joint enterprise or transaction of a commercial or financial nature directly by or between the lobbyist and the public official.

The Lobbyist Section has rescinded all correction and rejection notices inconsistent with this interpretation of business association.

The Tennessee General Assembly adjourned for the year on Friday night after completing its shortest session in more than three decades. The General Assembly only met for 37 days this session, but that 37th day was one filled with controversy and a possible scandal.

The General Assembly did not bring a charter schools bill to vote, which was a favorite of the house speaker and the governor. Many members are already looking at next session for the charter schools bill.

Governor Bill Haslam said, “I certainly don’t think it’s dead. We plan to come back with that same bill next year.”

Speaking of the governor, his family has been in the state and national headlines recently. Haslam is a part owner of Pilot Flying J with his brother Jimmy Haslam, who is the new owner of the Cleveland Browns. The company’s headquarters was raided by the FBI last week in an investigation into whether the company engaged in a scam to defraud truckers and trucking companies.

Governor Haslam has not been implicated in the scheme, but it is sure to stay in the headlines while the FBI’s investigation continues.

In the 2012 Annual report issued by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) on April 15, the Commission listed several recommendations and ideas to strengthen the state’s campaign finance and lobbying laws.

ELEC recommends requiring disclosure from super PACs and non-profit groups organized under Section 527 and Section 501(c) of the IRS code, requiring disclosure of lobbying activity by local vendors who are required to report pay-to-play contributions, and expanding the 48-hour notice requirement for continuing PAC expenditures to require the filing of notices for expenditures made in May municipal, runoff, school, and special elections.

Among its other recommendations, ELEC calls for the state to expand the regulation of “wheeling” to include contributions by county political party committees to other county political party committees during the entire year.

In the report, the Commission also lists general ideas to strengthen the laws, including requiring grassroots lobbying materials to list the name and address of the committee paying for the material, increasing penalties for public financing violations, and banning the use of partnership funds for the purpose of making contributions.

The annual report can be found here.

A special session of the Legislature may convene at the end of April. Lawmakers have said they were told to report back on April 29, but a spokesperson for Governor Bryant would not confirm a special session or date.

It’s expected the session, if called, will involve economic incentives for an automotive supplier. It’s not clear if the Legislature will tackle Medicaid reauthorization in the same session, though lawmakers speculate a separate special session will be held.

Governor McDonnell announced a special election will be held for Senate District 14 on August 6, 2013. It will fill the seat held by Harry Blevins, who plans to retire for unspecified health reasons on August 5.

Delegate John Cosgrove, who succeeded Senator Blevins in the House of Delegates, has already announced his candidacy for the seat.

The Tennessee House of Representatives struck down a bill removing the prohibition on contributions from insurance companies and raising the contribution limits for party caucuses. House Bill 643 came up just two votes shy, collecting only 48 of the needed 50 votes to pass. The bill did however receive a majority of the votes, 48-41, so the bill is not technically dead.

Currently, Tennessee law prohibits insurance companies from making a contribution for political purposes. Under the bill, insurance companies would have had the ability to make contributions and would have had the same contribution limits as multicandidate political campaign committees.

The bill also would have allowed party caucuses to contribute $500,000 for statewide races, instead of the current limit of $374,300. It also would have doubled the amount the caucuses could contribute to senate and house candidates.

The bill was not defeated on a strict party line vote, as 13 Republicans voted against and another nine Republicans did not cast votes on the bill. It remains to be seen whether the House will bring the bill up for a second vote.

Photo of the Tennessee State Capitol House Chamber by Ichabod on Wikipedia.

The Legislature is meeting in an extended session to complete the state budget.

The extended session will end no later than April 19, 2013, according to the governor’s proclamation.

Only the budget bill and a provision for the cost of the extended session will be considered.

Lawmakers adjourned the first session of the 28th Legislature on April 14, 2013. Before adjourning, lawmakers passed an elections bill to better comply with a federal law requiring absentee military voters to receive ballots 45 days before a federal election.

House Bill 104 moves the date of the primary election from the fourth Tuesday in August to the third Tuesday in August of every even-numbered year. The bill also proposes a special runoff election following a special election to fill the vacancy of a U.S. Senator or U.S. Representative if no candidate in the special election receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

In addition, the bill allows a person requesting an opinion from the Alaska Public Offices Commission to keep the name of the requestor confidential.

The effective date of the bill is January 1, 2014.

The special election for House District 95 has been rescheduled from May 14, 2013 to May 28, 2013.

A runoff election will be held June 18, 2013, if needed.

The election date was changed because the original runoff date coincided with municipal elections, and election officials were concerned it could lead to voter confusion.

A bill raising the limits of political contributions to candidates in Arizona has been signed into law.

On April 11, Governor Janice K. Brewer signed House Bill 2593, allowing increases in contribution amounts individuals and some political committees may make to candidates.

Individuals and noncertified political committees will be able to give $2,500 to candidates running for Arizona local, legislative, and statewide offices. Committees certified by the secretary of state to give at the upper limit can contribute up to $5,000 to a statewide candidate.

The bill removes the aggregate contribution limitations for individuals and some political committees. The law will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns sine die.

House Speaker William G. Batchelder and Representative Ron Amstutz introduced a substitute for House Bill 59, Governor Kasich’s budget bill.

Governor Kasich’s version of the bill would have overhauled the state sales tax by subjecting most services, including lobbying and consulting services, to the tax.

The substitute version of the bill eliminates those changes, leaving the current sales tax on services unchanged. If the substitute bill passes, lobbying and consulting services will remain untaxed in Ohio.

A special election for the state representative for Sullivan County District 4 (Claremont Ward 2) will be held on July 23, 2013.

A special primary election for the office is scheduled for June 4, 2013. The elections are being held to fill the seat of Representative Tom Donovan, who resigned earlier this year.

Photo of the New Hampshire State House by AlexiusHoratius on Wikipedia.

The General Assembly passed a campaign finance reform bill before adjourning on Monday, April 8, 2013.

House Bill 1499 increases contribution limits to any one campaign committee from $4,000 to $6,000 and from $10,000 to $24,000 for total contributions to all campaign committees within a four-year election cycle. The bill also curbs giving through multiple corporate entities for the purpose of evading contribution limits, increases reporting requirements, and gives the State Board of Elections new enforcement powers.

Unless vetoed by Governor O’Malley, the new limits will be effective for the election cycle beginning January 1, 2015.

Photo of the Maryland State House by Thisisbossi on Wikipedia.