The DuPage County Board passed an ordinance to repeal the county’s lobbying ordinance.

Ordinance FI-O-0014-22 repeals Chapter 2, Article IX, Section 2-600 of the DuPage County Code in recognition of Illinois Public Act 102-0664.

The act requires state registration under the Lobbyist Registration Act by persons lobbying local officials in counties, townships, and municipalities.

The act preempts and supersedes all existing laws and ordinances inconsistent with the act, except in Chicago.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced a special election for Georgia House District 45 will be held on April 5 with a runoff to be held on May 3, if needed.

The seat was vacated when Rep. Matt Dollar resigned to accept a position with the Technical College System of Georgia.

A special election has been scheduled for Delaware House District 4 to be held on March 5.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Gerald Brady resigned following an ethics investigation.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

New York Gov. Hochul announced a special election for Assembly District 43 to be held on March 22.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Diana Richardson resigned to serve as Brooklyn Deputy Borough President.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

Rep. Melissa Miller announced her resignation from the New York Legislature.

Miller is stepping down in order to accept a position on the Hempstead Town Board.

A special election is expected to be called to fill the vacant Assembly District 20 seat for the remainder of the term ending in December.

Colorado lawmakers have proposed campaign finance limits for school board races for the first time.

House Bill 1060 would cap individual donations at $2,500 and small donor committees at $25,000 per school board candidate.

The legislation, however, won’t affect spending by independent committees.

If passed, the new contribution limits would be subject to existing laws governing the disclosure of campaign contributions and would require filings with the secretary of state.

Honest Elections Oregon has hit an administrative roadblock in their crusade to bring campaign contribution limits to the state.

Oregon, one of five states without campaign contribution limits, has seen municipalities take matters into their own hands.

Honest Elections Oregon ran successful campaigns in Portland and Multnomah County, establishing campaign finance limits and is now seeking a bigger prize, statewide limits.

However, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has rejected the proposed ballot initiatives because the initiatives did not include the full text of the Oregon Laws the proposed initiatives would change.

If rejected, Honest Elections Oregon will need to start the ballot initiative process over again.

The process, including regathering 112,020 signatures, would need to be completed before July 8.

Jason Kafoury, one of the organizers of Honest Election Oregon, has stated the rejection would be the death knell for the proposition.

Assemblywoman Autumn R. Burke announced she is resigning as the representative of California’s District 62.

Burke cited the need to spend more time with her family as the reason for her departure.

Gov. Newsom declared the special election for the vacant seat will be held on June 7, with the special primary being held on April 5.

Oakland has raised political contribution and expenditure limits.

Candidates who adopt the voluntary expenditure ceiling may accept contributions up to $900 from individuals and businesses, and up to $1,800 from qualified board-based political committees per election cycle.

Candidates who do not adopt the expenditure ceiling may accept contributions up to $200 from individuals and businesses, and up to $400 from board-based political committees.

Montana District Court Judge Mike Menahan has issued a permanent injunction preventing the state from enforcing two provisions of Senate Bill 319.

The two provisions in question were late additions to the bill, added during a conference committee a day before the Legislature adjourned.

One amendment prohibited political committees from conducting voting activities inside residence halls, dining facilities, or athletic facilities on public college campuses.

The other amendment forced judges to recuse themselves if an attorney or party in a case before them made more than 50% of the maximum allowed donation to their campaign within the previous six years.

The Montana Constitution requires bills to contain a single subject and prevents the Legislature from amending bills to the point their original purpose is obfuscated.

Gov. Greg Gianforte is currently deciding whether to appeal the injunction.

The case is currently pending, with several other lawsuits challenging the bill awaiting a court decision.

I heard the city of Seattle requires reporting and registration for grassroots lobbying? Who is required to register and how do I comply with all reporting requirements?

Yes, any person who spends $1,500 or more within three months or $750 or more within one month to present a program to the public primarily to influence legislation is considered a grassroots lobbying campaign sponsor and must register within 30 days after becoming an indirect lobbyist. The city law is modeled on existing state law requiring similar registration and reporting requirements for state lobbyists.

Every sponsor required to register must also file monthly reports by the 10th day of the month for activity during the preceding month. The report must update the information contained in the registration statement and must report any contributions and expenditures made during the previous month. When the campaign has been terminated, the sponsor must file a notice of termination with the final monthly report.

Registration statements and reports must include the following: (1) information about the sponsor: including name, address, business or occupation, and if the sponsor is not an individual, the names, addresses, and titles of the controlling sponsors; (2) information about the campaign organizers, managers, and anyone hired to assist the campaign: including name, address, business or occupation, and terms of compensation; (3) information about contributors: including the name, address, and the aggregate amount of each person contributing $25 or more; (4) purpose of the campaign: including specific legislation, rates, standards or proposals that are the subject matter of the campaign; and (5) the total expenditures made or incurred to date segregated by category.

While the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) is working on an updated lobbying reporting application that will allow for online reporting of indirect aka grassroots lobbying sponsorships, it is not yet complete. Registrations and reports may be accomplished with the same form template found on our website and can be emailed back to the commission at ethicsandelections@seattle.gov.

Rep. Matt Dollar announced his resignation from the Georgia House of Representatives.

The resignation comes after he accepted a position as deputy commissioner of economic development for the Technical College System of Georgia.

Dollar previously announced he would not seek reelection after his District 45 seat was drawn into another district during last year’s redistricting process.

Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to set a special election date for the remainder of the term before the new district maps go into effect for the general election in November.

The Texas Ethics Commission posted the 2022 lobbying registration thresholds, which increase every year in January to reflect the change in the consumer price index.

The thresholds for individual lobbyist compensation and reimbursement increased from $1,620 to $1,640.

Expenditures increased from $810 to $820 per calendar quarter, not including expenditures for an individual’s travel, food, lodging, or membership dues.

If a lobbyist does not intend to exceed $1,890 during a calendar year in lobbying expenditures, the lobbyist may file an annual report, due on January 10.

The previous threshold for 2021 was $1,860.

Salary reporting thresholds have also increased.

Compensation or reimbursement required to be reported must be reported as an exact amount if the compensation or reimbursement received exceeds $944,430.

The previous exact amount threshold for 2021 was $931,500.

Gov. Mills announced a special election for Maine Senate District 7 to be held on June 14.

The seat became vacant when Sen. Louis Luchini resigned to take a position with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire in December.