The Delaware County Council has voted to approve an ordinance requiring contractors to disclose if they have made contributions for candidates running for certain county or state offices as well as political parties or political action committees.

Disclosure forms will be included in the publicly posted agenda materials for the applicable council meeting and will also be posted on the county website.

The ordinance will be effective in April.

A special election has been scheduled for Pennsylvania House District 116 to be held on April 5.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Tarah Toohill was sworn in to serve on the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

A special election has been scheduled for Pennsylvania House District 24 to be held on April 5.

The seat became vacant when former Rep. Edward Gainey was sworn in as the new mayor of Pittsburgh.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire at the end of this year.

A second special election is also expected to be called to fill the House District 19 seat Rep. Jake Wheatley vacated when he resigned to become Mayor Gainey’s chief of staff.

A special election has been scheduled for Pennsylvania Senate District 5 to be held on May 17, the same day as the primary election.

The seat became vacant when Sen. John Sabatina Jr. resigned following his election to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the four-year term set to expire in November 2024.

Democrat Thom Welby will serve as the next Pennsylvania state representative for District 113.

Welby defeated challenger Dominick Manetti handily in the special election and will serve the remainder of the term that ends next November.

The seat was left vacant after Sen. Marty Flynn won election to the state Senate.

Democrat Gina Curry will serve as the next state representative for District 164 after defeating Brian Shariff Taylor in a special election.

District 164 was left vacant after former Rep. Margo Davidson resigned following theft charges.

Curry will serve the remainder of the term that ends next November.

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.

The Pennsylvania Speaker of the House announced a special election for House District 164 on November 2, the same day as the general election.

The district seat became vacant when Rep. Margo Davidson resigned after being charged with theft and election code violations related to her improper use of state funds and improper campaign finance reporting.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Davidson’s term ending November 30, 2022.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Margo Davidson resigned from her seat in House District 164 on July 22.

This comes after she was charged with theft, solicitation to hinder apprehension, and election code violations related to her improper use of state funds and improper campaign finance reporting.

House Speaker Bryan Cutler is expected to announce a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term ending November 30, 2022.

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.

The Pennsylvania Speaker of the House announced a special election for House District 113 on November 2, the same day as the general election.

The district seat became vacant former Rep. Marty Flynn won a special election to join the state Senate.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Flynn’s term until the end of 2022.

On April 9, the Philadelphia Board of Ethics announced the 2021 lobbying training schedule.

The virtual lobbyist training covers the basic requirements of the city’s lobbying law for lobbyists, lobbying firms, and principals.

The training will also cover the process of registering and filing expense reports with the Board of Ethics through the Philadelphia Lobbying Information System (PLIS).

Currently, it is not mandatory to attend one of the 2021 lobbying trainings.

Registration for the lobbying training may be accomplished at http://bit.ly/BOELobbyTraining.

All trainings will be held from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. via Zoom on April 20, July 9, and October 14.

More dates may be added at a later time and dates are subject to change.

Questions regarding the schedule or training may be directed to the Board of Ethics at Lobbying@phila.gov or BOE.Training@phila.gov.

The Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives announced a special election for House District 60 will be held on May 18 during the upcoming primary election.

The seat is vacant after Jeff Pyle announced his retirement due to health issues from battling cancer and recovering from a stroke in 2020.

Candidates for the office will be selected by a process designated by their respective political parties.

The winner of the special election will serve for the remainder of Pyle’s term until the end of 2022.

Pennsylvania election officials have scheduled a special election for Senate District 22 on May 18.

The seat became vacant after John Blake resigned on March 8 to work for U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright.

There are no primaries, and candidates will be nominated directly by political parties.

The election falls on the same day as the municipal primary.

The winner of the election will serve the remainder of Blake’s term until the end of 2022.

Following the death of Pennsylvania State Sen. Dave Arnold Jr., a special election will be called in Senate District 48.

The date of the election will be determined by Senate President, Lt. Governor John Fetterman.