The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) met on July 15 to discuss new regulations concerning behested payments.

A campaign finance watchdog report noted in a report there has be a substantial rise in donations to charities that have a connection to a candidate or committee via behested payments.

Currently, there are no reporting requirements if a donation is given to a charity that has ties with a candidate or committee.

The pending regulations seek to shed light on who is making these donations and what candidate or committee is tied to the charity receiving the donation.

The FPPC only has the regulatory authority to make rules that require disclosure, any rules prohibiting such donations must come from the Legislature.

Formal voting and hearings over the proposed regulations are set to occur in September.

Connecticut state contractors must now include certain representations in their contracts and bids.

House Bill 6444, a modernization of state services and technology bill, requires ethics compliance, nondiscrimination, and consulting agreement representations to be included in the contract itself, instead of being submitted on a separate certification form.

House Bill 6444 also creates additional disclosure requirements for state contractors and prospective state contractors.

Now, contractors will need to disclose whether they, or any of their principals, made a prohibited donation or any permitted contribution within the past four years to a party committee, an exploratory committee, a candidate for statewide office or the General Assembly, or a political committee authorized to make contributions or expenditures for the benefit of such a candidate.

The bill became effective July 1.

The Connecticut General Assembly convened a one-day special session on July 14 to authorize an extension of Gov. Lamont’s emergency powers.

Both the Senate and House adjourned sine die that afternoon.

Cleveland City Council is drafting legislation to change the council’s meeting rules to create a public comment period.

Currently, the public is only allowed to speak at committee meetings at the discretion of the committee chairs.

Members of the public have not been allowed to speak at City Council meetings except in the 1920s when the city was under a city manager form of government.

The new legislation is expected to be enacted in August and effective in September.

Idaho is slated to start its redistricting process this September.

Based on the most recent Census, Idaho gained an additional congressional district, bringing their total up to two.

Legislators will be tasked with dividing the state into two congressional districts and redrawing the state’s 35 legislative districts.

Legislative and party leaders appoint six members, three Republicans and three Democrats, to the Citizen Committee for Reapportionment to approve the newly drawn maps.

It takes at least four votes to approve a map.

Once the Citizen Committee for Reapportionment holds its first meeting, it has 90 days to adopt the newly drawn maps.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has announced special elections for November 2 to fill the two Senate seats recently vacated after two Democratic Senators resigned on June 30.

If needed, runoff elections will be held on November 23.

Sen. Tammy Witherspoon of District 38 resigned to serve as the newly elected mayor of Magnolia and Sen. Sampson Jackson of District 32 retired.

Lobbyists in Pennsylvania will soon be required to disclose any equity held in a client they represent. House Bill 336, a state budget and operations bill that became law on July 9 without the signature of Gov. Tom Wolf, includes a provision requiring annual equity disclosures from lobbyists and lobbying firms. The disclosures must list each equity a lobbying firm or lobbyist holds in an entity for which they are lobbying.

The first equity report will be due with the Department of State on October 7, which is 30 days after this provision of law takes effect. Subsequent equity reports will be due by July 30 starting in 2022.

The Department of State will be permitted to request additional information from lobbyists, if needed.

Louisiana election officials have scheduled a special election November 13 for the District 102 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

The seat became vacant after former incumbent Gary Carter Jr. was elected to the state Senate on June 12.

The primary is scheduled for October 9, and the filing deadline is on July 16.

North Carolina Senate Bill 722 became law without the governor’s signature on June 28.

The bill will delay certain municipal elections from 2021 to 2022 to accommodate delays in redistricting based upon 2020 Census data.

This delay will effectively extend the terms of current officeholders until the delayed elections can be held.

Winners of these delayed elections will serve their term as though they were elected in 2021 to return elections to their regular cycle.

Rep. Justin Fecteau resigned from his position in the Maine House of Representatives on July 4, to accept a teaching position outside of his district.

The governor is expected to schedule a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term set to expire on December 6, 2022.

The special session of the Hawaii Legislature adjourned sine die July 8, spanning a brief two days.

Lawmakers made several corrections to the state budget at the suggestion of Gov. David Ige and overrode six veto measures, including House Bill 53, the legal mechanism that authorizes the state government to borrow more than $1 billion in the next two fiscal years to fund construction projects.

The session end triggers a lobbyist and employer activity report due August 7, which is 30 days after adjournment sine die of the special session. The report will cover the period from May 1 through July 8 and applies to and includes only those expenditures and contributions relating to legislative action considered during the special session. Expenditures and contributions included in the report do not need to be included by the person filing the report in any subsequent statement of expenditures. 

The first special session adjourned sine die on July 7 after Minnesota lawmakers finalized the budget and passed several omnibus bills.

The omnibus tax bill passed during the special session included a lobbying ban for legislators.

House File 9 prohibits a sitting member of the Legislature from accepting employment with or otherwise receiving compensation from lobbying firms and government affairs businesses if the member’s job duties include lobbying or providing direct or indirect consulting, advice, or administrative support for lobbying efforts.

The bill is effective January 3, 2023.

Two Mississippi state senators have announced their resignations effective June 30.

Sen. Tammy Witherspoon of District 38 has resigned to serve as the newly elected mayor of Magnolia, whose term began July 1.

Additionally, Sen. Sampson Jackson of District 32 has decided to retire after serving 30 years in the Legislature.

Gov. Reeves is expected to announce special elections to fill the vacancies in the coming days.

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed a bill raising contribution limits to state candidates.

Senate Bill 224 raises the limit to $1,000 for candidates filed jointly for the office of governor and lieutenant governor; $700 for a candidate to be elected for state office in a statewide election; and $400 for a candidate for any other public office.

The bill also amends the definitions of contribution and expenditure to exclude the use of a person’s real property for a fundraising reception or other political event.

The bill is effective October 1.