The Hawaii State Ethics Commission will hold a special meeting on Friday, March 27, in response to COVID-19.

Currently, lobbyist and employer activity reports are due on Tuesday, March 31, for the period of January 1 to February 29.

Additionally, Commission members will consider issuing an order to extend the deadline to April 30.

Gov. Mike Parson issued Executive Order 20-03, postponing the April 7 municipal elections to June 2.

The order comes after the state of emergency he declared on March 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is May 20, while in-person absentee ballots may be cast until 5 p.m. on June 1.

The Idaho Senate adjourned sine die Thursday night.

However, the House voted to meet again Friday morning despite recommendations to practice social distancing amid COVID-19 concerns.

Coronavirus has been looming over the last week of the session, causing Gov. Brad Little to be dealing with the increase in cases.

If the House stays in session for three days, it will force the Senate to return to town.

If the House adjourns on Friday, at 75 days, it will be tied for the fourth shortest session in the past 20 years.

Nebraska lawmakers are likely to return to the Capitol on March 23 to approve emergency aid for state agencies that are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaker of the Legislature Jim Scheer indicated he expects to decide whether to temporarily resume the session.

The speaker held a legislative briefing with the Governor’s Office in the afternoon on March 20.

If lawmakers convene on March 23, they would also need to check in on March 24 and March 25 to fulfill the procedural requirements to approve the funding.

The emergency funding would be the only item on the legislative agenda.

Once it is approved, lawmakers would suspend the session again until further notice.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham indicated she is likely to call legislators to a special session in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If called, the session would focus on revising a recently signed state budget, addressing public health needs, and providing economic relief.

In a letter to legislators, Gov. Grisham said emergency federal aid needs to be established before state budget revisions can take place.

The Delaware General Assembly has postponed the legislative session indefinitely.

Lawmakers originally postponed the session until March 24, but have extended the delay after reevaluating the COVID-19 situation.

The General Assembly is determining how to pass emergency legislation regarding the coronavirus and pass the state budget.

Speaker of the House Nicholas A. Mattiello and President of the Senate Dominick J. Ruggerio, in collaboration with the Department of Health, have announced sessions and all committee hearings for the week of March 23 to March 27 have been canceled.

The General Assembly had previously canceled sessions for the week of March 16 to March 20 due to COVID-19.

This does not affect any lobbyist reporting.

Despite previous reports on March 17 that the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission will remain open, it is now closed to the public as of March 20.

Commission staff are available remotely at (808) 586-0285 during regular business hours for assistance.

This does not affect noncandidate committee filing deadlines.

On March 19, Gov. Ned Lamont signed Executive Order No. 7G to reschedule the presidential primary election for April 28 to Tuesday, June 2.

The election was rescheduled due to the ongoing public health crisis caused by COVID-19.

The executive order is the governor’s eighth since enacting the civic preparedness and public health emergency declarations to slow down transmission of the coronavirus.

The General Assembly recessed Thursday, March 19 after meeting for over 14 hours.

This marathon session included the approval of the state’s $39 billion budget bill.

Though scheduled to reconvene on June 1, the General Assembly will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation to see if additional delays may be necessary.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting dates.

On March 19, Gov. Phil Murphy issued Executive Order 105 to implement changes to state elections in response to COVID-19.

The executive order postpones local elections to be held on March 21, March 31, and April 21 until May 12 the same day as scheduled municipal elections.

The executive order also requires all elections held on May 12 to be done exclusively by vote-by-mail ballots.

After extending the session to complete work on several appropriations bills, the Florida Legislature adjourned sine die Thursday, March 19.

During the 2020 session, the Legislature considered but failed to pass any of the proposed ethics bills.

Bills include changes to revolving door restrictions and the establishment of a centralized local lobbyist registration system.

Additionally, this does not affect any lobbyist dates reporting.

Even with the Capitol closed and the legislative session suspended, Colorado lawmakers are working behind the scenes to craft legislation addressing COVID-19.

Lawmakers are considering a pay hike for Colorado National Guard members activated in response to the spread of the virus.

The Democratic majority in the House plans to prioritize continued downpayment of the debt owed to school districts.

Other conversations include how to provide immediate relief to businesses.

Industries eligible for relief include the retail and restaurant sectors, where most of the layoffs are occurring.

While the General Assembly temporarily recessed the legislative session to March 30, it is becoming increasingly unlikely the term will resume on that date.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation on March 18 allowing local governments the option to postpone the May 2 uniform election until November 3.

If a local election is postponed until November, it will postpone Texas Ethics Commission filing deadlines associated with that election.

However, if a political subdivision opts to hold local elections on May 2, the deadlines for campaign finance reports filed by candidates, officeholders, and PACs for races or measures on the May 2 ballots remain the same.

The Texas Ethics Commission does not have the statutory authority to extend these types of filing deadlines.

The 30-day pre-election report for the May 2 uniform election is due by April 2.

The eight-day pre-election report is due by April 24.