Rep. Gerald Brady announced he would resign from the Delaware Legislature effective February 4.

Brady faced a House Ethics Committee hearing last year related to an email he sent containing an anti-Asian slur and a joke about human trafficking.

A special election is expected to be called to fill the vacant seat in House District 4 for the remainder of the term ending in November.

The Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) will hold a public hearing related to proposed changes to Massachusetts’ state campaign finance regulations on February 15 at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Proposed changes include a revised campaign contribution limit chart; changes to the filing schedule for depository PACs; and additional guidance regarding disclosure requirements for traditional and independent expenditure PACs.

In total, 35 changes are proposed by the agency.

Individuals wishing to attend the hearing can email jtait@cpf.state.ma.us to request the virtual hearing link.

Written comments may also be submitted by email or mail until 5:00 p.m. on February 22 to gbirne@cpf.state.ma.us or to Gregory Birne, OCPF, Room 411, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108.

Councilmember Bobby Henon resigned from the Philadelphia City Council following his conviction on conspiracy and fraud charges.

The council president is expected to call a special election to fill the vacant District 6 seat for the remainder of the term ending in December 2023.

The Tennessee Ethics Committee has voted to move Sen. Katrina Robinson’s case in front of the full Senate after a 4-1 vote to remove Robinson from her seat.

Robinson has been convicted of four counts of wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing scheduled for March 3.

Gov. Kate Brown has tapped Appeals Court Justice Roger Dehoog to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Dehoog is replacing retiring Justice Lynn Nakamoto after six years on the state’s highest court.

Brown appointed Judge Ramon Pagan to replace Dehoog and has also appointed Kristina Hellman and Anna Joyce to the Court of Appeals, covering retirements.

The appointments take effect immediately, but all appointees will have to run in this year’s election to remain in their positions.

The Louisiana Legislature will hold its special session on political redistricting from February 1 to February 20.

State lawmakers will deliberate on new maps for Louisiana’s U.S. House seats, the state House of Representatives, Senate, Public Service Commission, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and Supreme Court of Louisiana.

The majority of legislators in both chambers endorsed the schedule.

This does not affect lobbying reporting dates.

The North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 605, delaying the 2022 primary elections to June 7.

The primary elections were already delayed by the state Supreme Court due to ongoing litigation over redistricting from March 8 to May 17.

The Republican-supported bill now faces a potential veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Although Cooper has not said whether he would veto the bill, a spokesman for him has said the bill undermines the voting process.

A federal judge struck down Montana’s Clean Campaign Act, holding the law violates free speech and due process rights of political committees.

The law requires political committees to give candidates notice when the committee sends out negative mailers within 10 days of an election.

The court held the law was a content-based restriction on free speech, leading the court to analyze the law under the strict scrutiny standard.

Under this standard, the law may remain only if the law is found to be narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest.

Judge Donald W. Molloy found the law did not combat corruption but could end up chilling political speech.

Molloy further held the law violated the Equal Protection Clause, affecting political action committees differently based on the type of content the committees put out.

It is not yet known if the ruling will be appealed.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced a special session to address how the state will use the remaining first-round funds from the American Rescue Plan.

Alabama still has about $443 million left to be used for pandemic-related health care services and reimbursement.

This session will begin on January 19.

Sen. Louis Luchini announced he would resign from the Maine Legislature in order to accept a new job as an advocate within the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The governor is expected to call a special election to fill the vacant seat in Senate District 7 for the remainder of the term ending in December 2022.

The Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee has rejected a proposal to cap what are currently unlimited campaign contributions to state candidates.

Senate Bill 44 would have limited the amount someone can give a candidate to $20,000 per election.

The Oregon House Democratic Caucus nominated Rep. Dan Rayfield as speaker, replacing Rep. Tina Kotek.

House Democrats have also elected Rep. Julie Fahey as majority leader to replace Rep. Barbara Smith Warner.

These changes within the party stem from a mix of resignations to run for higher office and new focus on policies regarding housing.

Connecticut Gov. Lamont announced a special election for Assembly District 5 to be held on March 1.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Brandon McGee, Jr. resigned to take a senior role on Lamont’s reelection campaign.

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

In a 4-3 decision issued on January 12, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the state House and Senate district maps drawn by Ohio Redistricting Commission are unconstitutional gerrymandering, giving Republicans a 62-37 advantage in the House and 23-10 advantage in the Senate.

The court ordered the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which is dominated by Republicans, to draw new maps in compliance with Article XI, Section 6 of the Ohio Constitution.

The new plan must be adopted within 10 days and the Ohio Supreme Court retains its authority to review any rewrites.

The decision was based in part on the fact that Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved changes to the state constitution to limit partisan line-drawing in 2015.