The United States Supreme Court has decided not to hear a case involving Maine’s political contribution disclosure, upholding the law. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) had appealed to the country’s highest court after an appeals court ruled that Maine’s law regarding ballot issue committees is constitutional.

The law states that groups who spend more than $5,000 to influence ballot questions must register with the state ethics commission. Once registered, organizations must identify, in filed campaign finance reports, any donors who contributed more than $100.

The ethics commission, due to the ongoing legal battle, has not made a final determination on whether NOM is actually a ballot issue committee. The commission hopes to have a final answer on that issue in the coming months.

Governor Bob McDonnell has set a special election for December 18, 2012 to fill the 89th District House of Delegates seat.

The seat was held by Delegate Kenneth Alexander, who ran unopposed for the state senate seat previously held by the late Senator Yvonne Miller.

The secretary of state has issued amended rules regarding lobbyist registration.

The substantive changes include:

• Elimination of the requirement that the secretary of state provide notice and an opportunity to respond to lobbyists under investigation for violations of Colorado’s sunshine law;
• Providing that the secretary of state may admonish a lobbyist for failure to pay penalties within 45 days of assessment, as opposed to the previous rule of 90 days;
• Providing that the secretary of state will send a penalty to collections if a lobbyist or lobbyist firm fails to pay the penalty within 90 days;
• Amending the requirement that pertains to reporting of gifts to clarify that lobbyists are prohibited from giving gifts of any kind to covered officials; and
• Establishing definitions of rate and standard as those terms pertain to state agencies with rulemaking authority.

These rules will take effect 20 days after publication in the Colorado Register.

Council President Jack Young has introduced legislation on behalf of city watchdog officials to close gaps in Baltimore’s ethics code after reviewing attempts to take advantage of loopholes.

The bill would prohibit council members from accepting gifts from anyone who has lobbied the city in the previous 12 months, even if the lobbyist is no longer registered.

Last January a prominent lobbyist attempted to give a gift, including tickets, to a council member during a short interlude between the expiration of the lobbyist’s 2011 registration and the eventual 2012 registration renewal.

Governor Scott Walker announced the dates of the special elections for a state Senate seat that was recently vacated. Rich Zipperer resigned his seat in 33rd senate district, which represents the Milwaukee area, to serve as Walker’s chief of staff.

The special primary election will take place on November 6 and the general election will take place on December 4. The primary elections will only take place if there are two or more candidates from the same party who declare for the seat.

Two republican candidates have already announced their intentions to run for the Senate seat.

A judge has set October 2, 2012 as the date for a runoff election for a state House primary race.

Two recounts were conducted in the democratic primary for the 5th assembly district between Brandon McGee and Leo Canty.

The second recount resulted in a tie between the two candidates.

The city council’s rules committee has tentatively approved amendments to the city’s campaign finance laws that would increase the contribution limits for citywide offices from $500 to $1,000.

Limits for elections within districts would remain at $500.

If the entire city council approves the amendments, the new contribution limits would be in effect for the 2014 election cycle.

Seal of San Diego courtesy of Zscout370 on Wikipedia.

The Palm Beach County School Board is in the process of developing a lobbyist registration policy.

Registration will likely be separate from the county’s lobbyist registration.

There is not yet a firm date by which the policy will be implemented, as the details are still being worked out by the school board.

The Bergen County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders will consider revising its pay-to-play ordinances on Wednesday, September 19.

Bergen County has only had its local pay-to-play ordinance since December. According to NorthJersey.com, proposed changes “would strip the requirement that contractors report their contributions to candidates on the municipal, state, and federal level, leaving only county campaigns on the mandatory reporting form.”

While the proposal was introduced on September 12 and is scheduled for an October 3 consideration, the Freeholder’s agenda lists the ordinance introduction for Wednesday.

The West Virginia Supreme Court has struck down the state’s public campaign financing pilot program.

The program, similar to other programs invalidated in Arizona and Nebraska, provided additional public financing to candidates whose privately-financed opponents made expenditures beyond a certain amount.

The court held that West Virginia’s program violated privately-financed candidates’ free speech rights by essentially preventing them from making expenditures in order to avoid their opponents’ receipt of additional funds.

City Council has approved campaign reform measures for candidates and political committees. The new ordinance raises contribution limits to candidate campaigns from $500 to $700 in council races and from $1,000 to $1,300 in citywide races.

Beginning in 2015, public matching funds will be given for donations raised only within city limits. To be eligible for the city money, candidates will have to collect contributions from at least 200 people living in the district they hope to represent.

Beginning next year, candidates will also be eligible for increased matching funds, including four public dollars for every dollar contributed during the general election and two dollars for every dollar contributed during the primary. Donors will also be able to give to campaigns via text message.

The ordinance is scheduled for a final vote next week.

Photo of Los Angeles by Bobak on Wikipedia.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) has proposed changes to the administrative code allowing for electronic filing for lobbyists’ annual reports.

Electronic filing would be mandatory through ELEC’s website and would replace the requirement to file paper copies. Copies of what a lobbyist files electronically must be retained by the lobbyist.

The proposed amendments cover governmental affairs agents, represented entities, and representatives of “persons communicating with the general public.” The proposals also make technical changes, such as substituting “represented entity” for “lobbyist” throughout the relevant sections. A copy of the proposal can be found here.

ELEC will conduct a public hearing at its offices concerning this proposal on Tuesday, October 16 at 11:00 a.m.

A federal appeals court in Chicago upheld an Illinois state law regarding disclosure related to campaign advertisements. The Center for Individual Freedom, a Virginia based advocacy group, sued the state, claiming that its First Amendment rights were violated by a law that requires all entities, regardless of whether their main purpose is influencing elections, to register and report as a political committee once it spends $3,000 for independent expenditures in a 12-month period.

In dismissing the case, the court ruled this law did not violate the free speech rights of organizations. The case was originally dismissed in district court last year on the same grounds.

This continues an ongoing cycle where groups are suing states, and obtaining mixed results, for the state’s disclosure laws based on the Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision in 2010. Most experts believe these cases will eventually end up in Supreme Court, where the nation’s highest court will determine whether states can force groups to disclose donors who wish to remain anonymous.

Governor Brown has ordered a special election resulting from the resignation of Senator Doug LaMalfa.

The special election for the 4th Senate District will be held on January 8, 2013. The special election’s primary will be held on November 6, 2012.

Photo of the California State Capitol by Henri Sivonen on Wikipedia.