A lawmaker facing expulsion from the state House of Representatives after women accused him of harassment is resigning.

Rep. Diego Hernandez is stepping down to allow his colleagues to focus on serving Oregonians and to move forward with his life and focus on his health and family.

The entire House was scheduled to vote as soon as Tuesday on whether to expel Hernandez.

This came after a panel of lawmakers determined he created a hostile work environment for three women.

It would have taken a two-thirds vote or 40 members of the House to expel him.

Earlier this month the conduct committee of the House had voted in favor of expelling Hernandez.

The House of Representatives introduced a bill eliminating the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices.

House Bill 535 establishes a Campaign Practices and Ethics Review Board appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the minority leaders.

The bill also transfers investigative duties and duties related to the filing of ethics, lobbying, and campaign finance report, statements, forms, and other documents to the Office of the Secretary of State.

Enforcement duties for ethics, lobbying, and campaign practices complaints will be transferred to the Campaign Practices and Ethics Review Board, the Attorney General, and county attorneys.

If passed, House Bill 535 becomes effective July 1, 2021.

Four conservative Nevada lobbyists are suing Gov. Steve Sisolak, Attorney General Aaron Ford, Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Brenda Erdoes, and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

They argue they are suffering irreparable harm from COVID-19 prevention rules keeping the legislative session largely virtual and barring lobbyists from entering the Legislative Building.

All four were registered lobbyists during the 2019 legislative session.

The complaint was filed in federal District Court.

The lawsuit seeks a court-ordered injunction to immediately allow plaintiffs access to the Capitol to engage in lobbying activities.

The complaint alleges the emergency orders limiting public access to the Legislature violates their constitutional rights to petition the government and free speech.

They also argue Nevada is no longer experiencing an emergency to justify the restrictions.

The 2021 legislative session has been closed to all but lawmakers, essential staff, and some members of the media.

However, officials have announced plans to vaccinate personnel next week and left open the possibility the format will relax later in the 120-day session.

Committee hearings are being conducted virtually, with lawmakers videoconferencing in from their offices rather than gathering together in committee rooms.

Lobbyists are allowed to make appointments with lawmakers through videoconference, although formal registration of lobbyists has not opened up and Assembly Bill 110 modifying lobbyist registration policies is pending.

Two proposed charter amendments establishing procedures to handle council members indicted for crimes will be on the ballot for voter approval on May 4.

There is currently no process in the Cincinnati Charter and three of the nine council members were indicted on federal bribery charges last year.

Both proposals prohibit indicted council members from changing their successor designee.

Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman’s proposed amendment requires the city solicitor to hire a special prosecutor to consider removal of the council member to eliminate potential conflicts of interest.

A second amendment proposed by Councilwoman Betsy Sundermann permits removal of an indicted council member with a vote by seven of their fellow council members, and if convicted, five council members can vote to remove within 10 days of the conviction.

If no vote is taken, the convicted council member automatically forfeits his or her seat on the 11th day.

Sundermann’s proposal also makes ethics training mandatory for all council members.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has selected February 23 as the date of the special runoff election for House District 68.

The runoff election will be held to replace former Rep. Drew Springer, R, who is now in the Texas Senate.

The runoff candidates are David Spiller, a Jacksboro attorney and school board trustee, and Craig Carter, a former candidate for overlapping state Senate District 30.

Spiller finished first in the five-way special election last month, receiving 44% of the vote.

Carter was the runner-up with 18%.

Early voting for the House District 68 runoff begins February 16.

On February 24, the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics plans to open the online Lobbying Application.

Additionally, the commission will post updated paper forms for the submission of bimonthly reports.

The writable PDF forms will be available to paper filers on the JCOPE website.

Due to changes in the lobbying regulations and to the online filing system, JCOPE is also allowing additional time to file bimonthly reports due in March.

Bimonthly reports covering the January 1 to February 28 reporting period will be considered timely if submitted by March 22.

The online system was also updated to improve functionality, transparency, and the filing process.

Changes made include removing the auto-population of lobbying activities reported on a registration to the filer’s bimonthly report; allowing filers to add additional information to an existing party name; adding a comprehensive drop-down menu of itemized expenses; an updated parties lobbied database; and also adding an expense chart for reporting coalition contributions by members of unstructured coalitions.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte repealed two executive orders issued by former Gov. Steve Bullock.

Executive Order 15-2018 required companies to report political spending if they wanted to bid on large state contracts.

The order also required companies bidding for certain state contracts to disclose political donations made within 60 days of an election.

The second order allowed county election clerks to expand voting by mail for the November general election to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The order also required counties to offer in-person voting, but it did not require polling places to be open on election day.

The Nevada Assembly has introduced a bill to revise the definition of a lobbyist by removing the requirement to appear in person at the Capitol building or any other building the Legislature or their committees hold meetings.

Assembly Bill 110 will define a lobbyist as a person who communicates directly with a member of the Legislature on behalf of someone other than themselves to influence legislative action, whether or not any compensation is received.

Currently, lobbying is taking place virtually because the legislative session is closed to all but lawmakers, essential staff, and some members of the media.

However, lobbyist registration has not taken place because the definition required in person communication.

Assembly Bill 110 will revise the definition and allow the Legislative Counsel Bureau to open lobbyist registration and begin to regulate lobbying again.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has introduced a proposal to borrow $356.4 million for a variety of construction projects across the state.

The proposal calls for a special election this coming spring or summer to allow voters to ratify or reject the plan.

If a borrowing plan passes the Senate and House, it must also be approved by voters statewide.

The governor is also proposing a special election to speed the process.

The election would take place between 90 and 120 days after the Legislature adjourns its regular session.

Rhode Island lawmakers announced a statewide special election for March 2.

The special election relates to bond proposals seeking voter approval to borrow $400 million related to education, green infrastructure, transportation, housing, and arts funding.

Voters have the option for mail-in ballots, early voting in-person, or voting in-person on the day of the election.

In a proclamation on February 3, Gov. Ralph Northam said the Virginia General Assembly will return to work on February 10.

The governor called a special session following the end of the 30-day regular session.

The session is customarily extended to 46 days but this extension did not have bipartisan support.

The Chicago Board of Ethics is further extending the deadline for completion of annual mandatory ethics training by registered lobbyists for the 2019-2020 training period to May 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The training is completed online using a link available on the Board of Ethics website.

If a lobbyist terminates registration prior to the May 1 training deadline, training is not required, provided all reporting requirements have also been satisfied, including the final activity report.

Missouri House District 140 Rep. Tricia Derges has been indicted on eight counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances, and lying to federal agents.

The newly elected Derges, who holds a special assistant physician license and runs multiple health clinics for low-income patients, began her first two-year term in office early last month.

She pleaded not guilty in her initial appearance.

The felony charges carry a possible prison sentence and fines.

A felony conviction would also bar Derges from running for public office in Missouri in the future.

If she resigns, Gov. Mike Parson must call for a special election.

The Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance (BECF) published revised contribution limits for 2021 and 2022.

The individual and corporate contribution limit to local and legislative state candidates remains unchanged at $1,600 per election.

The limit for statewide candidates increased from $4,200 to $4,300 per election.

PAC limits to local and legislative state candidates increased from $8,100 to $8,300 per election.

PAC limits to statewide candidates increased from $12,300 to $12,700 per election.

BECF adjusts contribution limits in January of each odd-numbered year based on the consumer price index