A countywide special election will take place on August 29, 2017, to fill a vacant at-large school board seat.

School board member Jeanette Hough resigned the seat in May. The winner will serve the remainder of Hough’s term, ending December 31, 2019.

School board members are non-partisan officeholders; however, Democrats and Republicans issue endorsements to make their preferences known.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved changes to Virginia’s gift rules this week, marking the fourth consecutive year lawmakers have adjusted ethics provisions. Among other changes, House Bill 1854, and identical Senate Bill 1312, requires lobbyists to send legislators and executive officials a summary of gifts provided from January 1 through adjournment sine die of the regular session of the General Assembly. The summary must be provided within three weeks of adjournment and does not include the reconvened session.

The bill also eliminates the “common interest” exception to the $100 gift limit on lobbyists for widely attended events. This exception was used to justify luxury suite tickets to football games. An exception is added, however, for attendance at a reception where hors d’oeuvres and beverages are provided and can be consumed while standing or walking.

These changes are effective July 1, 2017, except the gift notification requirement is effective immediately.

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned the 2017 regular session sine die on Saturday, February 25.

A major focus of the short session was the commonwealth’s biennial budget and several bills supporting second amendment rights received strong support from both sides of the aisle.

A reconvened session is scheduled for April 5, 2017, for lawmakers to consider bills and recommendations returned to them by the governor.

A special election will be held on February 7, 2017, to fill the House of Delegates District 71 vacancy.

The seat became available after Del. Jennifer McClellan won a special election earlier in the month for Senate District 9. District 71 includes downtown Richmond, the city’s north side, and a portion of Henrico County.

After McClellan won the special election, Richmond School Board member Jeff Bourne announced his candidacy to replace her.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced he will send the General Assembly a package of proposals aimed at campaign finance and voter law reforms.

The campaign finance proposal will seek to ban the personal use of campaign funds and he would like to see the new voter photo identification law repealed.

Another proposal would expand absentee voting, permitting any registered voter in Virginia to vote absentee in-person starting 21 days before the election. The General Assembly convenes today to begin the 2017 session.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has set a special election date to replace members of the General Assembly who were elected to Congress. The election will be held on Jan. 10, 2017.

Sen. Tom Garrett, District 22; Sen. A. Donald McEachin, District 9; and Delegate Scott Taylor, District 85, each won seats in Congress.

Candidates have until Dec. 5 to register to be on the ballot.

Two special elections will take place on the same day as the general election, November 8, 2016, to fill vacancies due to resignations.

Del. Monty Mason resigned his House District 93 seat to run to replace the late Sen. John Miller in the First Senate District.

Del. Lionell Spruill also resigned to run for state Senate. Spruill left his House District 77 seat to run for Senate District 5, vacated by the now mayor of Norfolk, Kenny Alexander.

Both resignations are effective November 21, and the winners of the special elections will be sworn in on November 22.

The Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council has opened up its proposed forms for public comment. The proposed forms include the lobbyist disclosure statement and instructions for fulfilling disclosure requirements.

The council was required, pursuant to the passage of Senate Bill 692, to create new forms for use by lobbyists and public officials who are required to make public disclosures. Creating the new forms must be completed by January 1, 2017.

Those wishing to comment may do so through September 18 by emailing the council at ethics@dls.virginia.gov and writing “Public Comment” in the subject line.

The Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council has a new executive director.

The General Assembly has appointed Stewart Petoe, an attorney from the state’s crime commission, to fill the position left vacant since May. Chris Piper, Petoe’s successor, left after Republican leadership stated they would not confirm Piper because he is not an attorney.

The Council issues advisory opinions and informal guidance on ethics issues and is in charge of collecting financial disclosures from public officials and lobbyists.

This week the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, who was convicted on ethics charges in 2014.

The Court unanimously ruled the interpretation of bribery law was overly broad and making phone calls and setting up meetings did not constitute official action. McDonnell was accused of accepting more than $175,000 in gifts from a Virginia businessman wanting to do business with the commonwealth.

Some legal experts think this ruling will make it more difficult to prosecute corruption cases in the future, while others believe it fits with past rulings where courts required more than just the appearance of impropriety.

Photo of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell by Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons.

A special election will be held on November 8 to fill a vacancy in the state Senate.

Sen. Kenny Alexander left the seat after being elected mayor of Norfolk on May 3. Alexander’s election, however, occurred too late to hold a primary for his replacement on the regular June 14 date. The governor, therefore, has given parties until July 15 to name their candidates.

Democrats will hold an unassembled caucus in Chesapeake and Norfolk on July 9, while it is unclear if Republicans will nominate a candidate. Del. Joe Lindsey and Del. Lionell Spruill Sr. are running to replace Alexander.

Gov. Terry is the subject of a federal investigation surrounding contributions to his gubernatorial campaign. The Department of Justice is looking into donations received while McAuliffe was a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a charitable foundation set up by former President Bill Clinton.

Among many contributions of interest, the FBI is focusing on $120,000 from a Chinese businessman, Wang Wenliang. Contributions from foreign nationals are illegal, though Wang holds permanent U.S. resident status. Wang has been known for his contributions in the U.S., giving to Clinton’s foundation as well as to universities and political causes in other states.

Last week, Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Senate Bill 692, approving changes to the state’s ethics laws yet again.

Among the changes, lobbyists will only have to file one disclosure report each year, down from two, on July 1 for the preceding 12-month period. The bill also creates an exception in the definition of gifts for any item with a value of less than $20 and limits the definition of a procurement transaction, in terms of lobbying executive action, to contracts costing $5 million or more.

While most of the bill is effective January 1, 2017, an emergency clause applies to the definition change of procurement transaction, rendering it effective upon passage, and lobbyists will not be required to report until July 1, 2017.

The executive director of the newly formed ethics council in Virginia has been removed from this position. Chris Piper was fired from his post at the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council after some legislators claimed they thought he was an attorney when he, in fact, is not. Piper was hired by the Division of Legislative Services and confirmed by the Rules Committee.

This change adds a new twist as Gov. Terry McAuliffe considers further changes to the state’s ethics laws. McAuliffe has not yet announced his intentions.