New Hampshire Gov. Sununu announced a special election to be held on December 7 to fill the vacant state representative seat for Rockingham County District 6.

The seat was vacated when Rep. Anne Copp moved out of the district this summer.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the term that is set to expire on November 30, 2022.

Justice Michael K. Davis of the Wyoming Supreme Court announced his plans to retire in January.

The retirement gives Republican Gov. Mark Gordon his first Supreme Court appointment.

Currently, all five sitting justices were appointed by former Gov. Matt Mead, also a Republican.

Gordon will select a justice from a list of three names submitted to him by the state Judicial Nominating Commission.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling state lawmakers back for a third special session on September 20 to begin redrawing legislative and Congressional districts.

Gov. Abbott also added other items to the agenda, including how to distribute federal pandemic aid and whether local governments can mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for employees.

The focus of the special session, however, will be squarely on redistricting, which occurs every 10 years after the release of new census data.

The state population grew by more than 4 million people since 2010. As a result, Texas gained two new Congressional seats and lawmakers must determine where to put them.

In addition, lawmakers will redraw their own Texas House and Senate districts to consider population growth and decline.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called a special session of the General Assembly to begin Tuesday, September 7.

The call comes two weeks after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled a lower court was wrong to block new laws limiting the scope of the governor’s emergency powers, giving the Republicans’ legislative supermajority a substantial say over any new policy measures to address the pandemic.

The session will focus on legislation addressing the pandemic, but Beshear is asking lawmakers to consider a few unrelated matters.

Mississippi Rep. Abe Hudson Jr. has resigned effective August 30.

Hudson has held the 29^th District seat since winning a special election in 2016.

Gov. Tate Reeves will set a special election to fill the District 29 seat until the term ends in January 2024.

This is the third vacancy in the Mississippi Legislature to be filled in 2021.

Illinois State House lawmakers killed an ethics omnibus bill by rejecting the Amendatory Veto of Senate Bill 539 issued by Gov. JB Pritzker last week.

The requested amendment was a minor change to the bill to keep the current process regarding ethics investigations.

The Senate adopted the change, but the House, which had passed the bill by a vote of 113 to 5, rejected the change by a vote of 59 to 35.

Pennsylvania lobbyists and lobbying firms are required to complete an annual equity disclosure report by October 7.

This year’s report covers the period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

Subsequent annual reports will be due July 30 of each year.

Each report must include how much equity a lobbyist or lobbying firm holds or has held in an affiliated principal for whom that lobbyist or lobbying firm has lobbied during the reporting period.

The amount of equity held can be represented by a dollar amount or by a percentage.

The state broadly defines equity as ownership in interest in property, especially in a business.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has called the state Legislature to reconvene today, September 1.

The session’s primary order of business will be to extend the state’s eviction moratorium, but the meeting is also expected to address the open meetings law, and issues related to legally producing and distributing cannabis.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams announced that special elections will be held on November 2 to fill three vacancies in the General Assembly per writs of election issued by Gov. Andy Beshear.

Voters will choose two new state representatives and one state senator.

House District 51 was vacated by the death of Rep. John “Bam” Carney; House District 89 was vacated by the resignation of Rep. Robert Goforth; and Senate District 22 was vacated by the death of Sen. Tom Buford.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has announced a special primary election for House District 76 will be held on November 16 with runoff elections held on December 14, if necessary.

The special general election will be held on March 1, 2022.

The seat was previously held by Rep. Thad McClammy who passed away on August 21.

Massachusetts state officials scheduled a special election on November 30 for the state House seat in the 4th Essex District.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Brad Mill resigned to accept an appointment to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

A primary will be held on November 2.

Judge Bloch of Multnomah, Oregon County Circuit Court ruled contribution limits do not violate free speech and are constitutional.

The ruling allows for a $500 limit on individual campaign donations.

This limit was put into place by voters in 2016, along with spending limits and disclosure requirements for contributions in political ads.

Oregon is one of the five states that do not have limits on political contributions.

State courts historically invalidated contribution limits, but an April Oregon Supreme Court decision reversing a ruling barring limits have heralded new conversations within the state.

On August 27, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts called for a special session to begin September 13 for the purposes of redistricting.

New boundaries are expected for state legislative, judicial, and congressional districts.

The does affect lobbyist reporting.

A special lobbying activity report will be due October 15 for expenses over $5,000.

Lobbyists must also file a list of the bills lobbied and the position on each within 45 days after the end of the special session.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker issued an amendatory veto of Senate Bill 539 lawmakers requested to maintain the current process regarding ethics investigations.

Pritzker pledged to certify the bill once the amendatory veto passes the Legislature.

The bill expands state lobbyist registration requirements to the local level; prohibits all fundraising statewide during legislative sessions; expands revolving door restrictions; and requires certain consultants hired by a lobbyist or lobbying entity to register and report.

If signed, the bill will be effective January 1, 2022.