The Rhode Island Senate and House will both convene this Thursday, November 17.

The two bodies will be meeting at different times in the afternoon to consider Senate Bill S1111A and House Bill H6319A.

The bills concern contributions and benefits related to the retirement system for public officers and employees.

The Sacramento Bee reported last week that California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has opted for a $30,000 fine against lobbyist Frank Molina, instead of the higher $5o,000 fine it had considered.

You can read the whole story here: “FPPC sticks with $30,000 fine for lobbyist Frank Molina,” by Laurel Rosenhall and Torey Van Oot.

Seal of the State of California by Zscout370 on Wikipedia.

HOWARD COUNTY, MARYLAND: County Council approved revisions to the county ethics laws, making Howard one of the first local governments to approve the new standards mandated by the General Assembly last year.

The changes provide more detail in the county ethics laws regarding gifts, financial disclosure statements and lobbying provisions. The bill also expands the role of the county’s ethics commission by requiring it to maintain an annual report of lobbying activity.

Former County Council members will be banned from lobbying on legislative issues for a year after leaving office, and former employees will be prohibited from bidding on a county contract for which they helped write specifications.

The West Virginia Legislature convened for a special session on November 13, 2011 to certify election results.

The house has adjourned sine die.

The senate will reconvene at 6 p.m. on November 14, 2011.

Photo of the West Virginia State House by Analogue Kid on Wikipedia.

For a detailed look at the type of exemptions being submitted, take a look at “Alabama’s new ethics law fails to stop exemption requests from lobbyists and public officials” by Kim Chandler.

According to the article: “The Alabama Ethics Commis­sion has received nearly 200 requests to certify din­ners, trips and conferences as allowable exemptions since Alabama 10 months ago adopted a new ethics law, which caps how much a lobbyist can spend on a public official.”

The special session of the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on Monday evening.

A joint resolution is expected to pass the House and Senate that would schedule a three-day special session on November 27.

It also sets special sessions in 2012 for February 16-18 and April 23-25 before the standard May 16 short sessions begins.

Photo of the North Carolina State Legislative Building by Jayron32 on Wikipedia.

A federal lawsuit concerning a Mississippi campaign finance law requiring registration and reporting upon spending at least $200 to support or oppose ballot initiatives was heard last week in U.S. District Court.

The case stems from the desire of five Lafayette County, Mississippi residents who would like to spend $1,000 to publicly support their views in favor of Mississippi Initiative 31, which limits the government’s use of eminent domain to take private land. The residents argued their First Amendment freedom of speech and association rights have been violated as a result of the campaign finance provisions and seek to have the law declared unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The case was heard by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock, but she did not immediately issue a ruling.

This week the Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether lawmakers acted illegally in a legislative attempt to increase ethics requirements. The case appeals a ruling by Circuit Judge Daniel Green finding Senate Bill 844 to be a violation of the constitution’s single subject requirement.

What began as a one-page bill allowing officials to use the Office of Administration for procurement decisions became a 69-page bill entitled “relating to ethics.” The bill changed campaign finance laws, gave greater authority to the Missouri Ethics Commission, created new crimes for ethics violations, and required Capitol dome keys be given to all lawmakers.

Judge Green’s ruling struck down all but the original procurement provision. The Attorney General believes the bill can be saved by striking only the provision regarding Capitol dome keys. Those challenging the bill argue the entire bill is unconstitutional.

Photo of the Missouri Supreme Court building by Americasroof on Wikipedia.

The Fair Political Practices Commission has issued notice of proposed amendments to the California Code of Regulations to be considered at a public hearing on December 8, 2011. The proposed regulations codify commission guidance instructing filers to treat an in-kind contribution of the services of salaried personnel to a committee and the expenditure by the person making the salary payment as a contribution made on the payroll date of the salaried personnel.

The commission will also consider regulations which differentiate a contribution from a donation. Under the proposed regulation, a contribution is a payment made for a political purpose and includes payments to a multi-purpose organization. By contrast, a payment to a multi-purpose organization that is not made or used for a political purpose is to be treated as a donation and not a contribution for the purposes of identifying reportable contributions.

Lastly, the commission will consider amendments to the provisions pertaining to primarily formed and general purpose committees to assist filers in determining which label fits the purpose and structure of their committee.

The regulations define a general purpose committee as an ongoing committee which supports multiple candidates and measures in successive elections. General purpose committees include associations, political action committees, political party committees, major donors, as well as entities and individuals making independent expenditures.

The regulation proposes a standard for determining whether a committee is a state, county, or city general purpose committee. A committee will be considered a city or county committee if more than 70 percent of their activity is at the city or county level. Classification as a state committee will be the default.

Pursuant to the proposed regulation, a primarily formed committee is a committee formed or existing to support a single candidate or measure in a specific election. A committee will be considered primarily formed if more than 70 percent of the committee’s contributions and expenditures are for specific candidates or measures during the 24 months preceding the date where the candidate or measure is on the ballot.

Image of the Seal of California by Zscout370 on Wikipedia.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has called a special session to be held on November 13, 2011.

The purpose of the session will be to certify and declare the results of the October 4, 2011 special election.

Map of West Virginia by Jim Irwin on Wikipedia.

GEORGIA: A special election to fill the state House District 68 seat of Tim Bearden will be held December 6, according to an announcement by Georgia’s Secretary of State.

Bearden resigned his seat last month after being appointed director of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center by Governor Nathan Deal.

If a runoff is needed, it will be held January 3, 2012.

A one-day special session of the Arizona Legislature was called by Governor Jan Brewer yesterday to impeach the chairwoman of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.

The Senate vote to impeach Chairwoman Colleen Coyle Mathis passed with the required two thirds majority. The chairwoman, a registered independent, was ousted with a party line vote of 21 Republican senators in favor of the removal and 6 Democratic senators opposed.

Governor Brewer alleges gross misconduct by Chairwoman Mathis in her role in the independent commission, which also has two democratic members and two republican members.

Photo of the Arizona State Capitol building by 2candle on Wikipedia.

Persons lobbying within any of Palm Beach County’s 38 cities and towns may soon have to register as lobbyists as part of a proposed countywide lobbyist registry and standardized set of rules.

If approved, the new rules would apply to all persons lobbying municipal personnel. Some concerns have been raised as to the definition of lobbyists and the potential inclusion in that definition of unpaid lobbyists.

If approved, a $25 registration fee per principal represented would be instituted and expenditures exceeding $25 in specified categories would be required to be reported.

The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion on November 1 suggesting a special legislative session may be necessary to remedy an accidental retroactive effective date of Initiated Constitutional Measure No. 2. The measure, which would eliminate property taxes, is scheduled to appear on the June 12, 2012 primary election ballot.

State Representative Dan Ruby argued that the intention was to have an effective date of January 1 following the passage of the measure, despite the clear and unambiguous effective date listed in the text of the measure: January 1, 2012.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem noted the possible difficulties for political subdivisions that rely on property taxes but declined to ignore the plain language of the measure. A special session could address the need for replacement revenues if the measure passes.