The Louisiana Legislature will hold its special session on political redistricting from February 1 to February 20.

State lawmakers will deliberate on new maps for Louisiana’s U.S. House seats, the state House of Representatives, Senate, Public Service Commission, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and Supreme Court of Louisiana.

The majority of legislators in both chambers endorsed the schedule.

This does not affect lobbying reporting dates.

The North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 605, delaying the 2022 primary elections to June 7.

The primary elections were already delayed by the state Supreme Court due to ongoing litigation over redistricting from March 8 to May 17.

The Republican-supported bill now faces a potential veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Although Cooper has not said whether he would veto the bill, a spokesman for him has said the bill undermines the voting process.

Campaign Finance

National: “Ted Cruz Finds Friendly High Court Audience in Campaign Finance Challenge” by Kelsey Reichman for Courthouse News Service

Montana: “Federal Judge Strikes Down Montana’s Clean Campaign Act” by Sam Wilson for Helena Independent Record

Virginia: “Republican Anger, Progressive Concern Combine in Push to Ban Political Spending by Utilities” by Sarah Vogelsong and Graham Moomaw for Virginia Mercury

Washington DC: “DC Pay-to-Play Law to Take Effect November 2022” by Staff for JD Supra

Elections

Florida: “Records: Tallahassee strategist helped boost ghost candidates with dark money ad buy” by Samantha Gross (Miami Herald) for MSN

Ethics

National: “House Jan. 6 Committee Subpoenas Giuliani, Sidney Powell” by Jacqueline Alemany and Tom Hamburger (Washington Post) for MSN

Michigan: “Ex-Detroit Councilman André Spivey Gets 2-Year Sentence in Bribery Case” by Robert Snell and James David Dickson for Detroit News

New York: “N.Y. Attorney General Outlines Pattern of Possible Fraud at Trump Business” by Jonah Bromwich, Ben Protess, and William Rashbaum (New York Times) for MSN

Texas: “Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s Political Consultant Indicted on Charges of Theft, Bribery in Hemp License Scheme” by Sneh Dey for Texas Tribune

Legislative Issues

National: “Legislatures Across Country Back Off Pandemic Protocols” by Sean Scully for Colorado Newsline

A federal judge struck down Montana’s Clean Campaign Act, holding the law violates free speech and due process rights of political committees.

The law requires political committees to give candidates notice when the committee sends out negative mailers within 10 days of an election.

The court held the law was a content-based restriction on free speech, leading the court to analyze the law under the strict scrutiny standard.

Under this standard, the law may remain only if the law is found to be narrowly tailored to further a compelling governmental interest.

Judge Donald W. Molloy found the law did not combat corruption but could end up chilling political speech.

Molloy further held the law violated the Equal Protection Clause, affecting political action committees differently based on the type of content the committees put out.

It is not yet known if the ruling will be appealed.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced a special session to address how the state will use the remaining first-round funds from the American Rescue Plan.

Alabama still has about $443 million left to be used for pandemic-related health care services and reimbursement.

This session will begin on January 19.

Sen. Louis Luchini announced he would resign from the Maine Legislature in order to accept a new job as an advocate within the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The governor is expected to call a special election to fill the vacant seat in Senate District 7 for the remainder of the term ending in December 2022.

The Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee has rejected a proposal to cap what are currently unlimited campaign contributions to state candidates.

Senate Bill 44 would have limited the amount someone can give a candidate to $20,000 per election.

Campaign Finance

National: “How More Than $404 Million in Taxpayer Money Got Locked Away in a Forgotten Government Fund – and Lawmakers Won’t Spend It or Return It” by Dave Levinthal (Business Insider) for Yahoo News

Massachusetts: “Lyft Makes Largest One-Time Political Donation in Massachusetts History, Fueling Gig Worker Ballot Fight” by Matt Stout (Boston Globe) for MSN

Elections

Florida: “Florida Governor Proposes Special Police Agency to Monitor Elections” by Lori Rozsa and Beth Reinhard (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

National: “ExxonMobil Aims to Use a Radical Texas Law to Silence Its Critics – in California” by Chris McGreal for Mother Jones

National: “Lawmakers Coming Under Increased Threats – Sometimes from One Another” by Rebecca Beitsch (The Hill) for Yahoo News

California: “Fired OC District Attorney’s Investigator Who Accused Todd Spitzer of Bribery Gets Job Back in Arbitration” by Tony Saavedra for Orange County Register

Ohio: “FirstEnergy Collected $460 Million from Customers; Auditor Unsure If It Was Spent on Bribes” by Jake Zuckerman for Ohio Capital Journal

South Carolina: “Will 2022 Be the Year for Ethics Reform in South Carolina?” by Avery Wilks for Charleston Post and Courier

Meet George Ticoras, Esq., Manager, International Research Services!

What are your areas of expertise?

The daily focus of my work is covering the lobbying landscape throughout Canada, Europe, Latin America, and the rest of the world.

How many years of experience do you have in compliance research?

I have been with the company for over 11 years.

What do you do that helps our clients everyday?

I help our clients understand various international lobbying laws. Rules concerning lobbying are different in every country. Each of the various laws, regulations, and policies can be overwhelming for a client. I collect and synthesize this information, track and stay updated with any changes, and turn it into something comprehensible our clients can understand, use, and apply in pursuit of their objectives.

Campaign Finance

Tennessee: “Former Tennessee House Speaker Casada and Ex-Aide Subpoenaed Over Faith PAC” by Andy Sher (Chattanooga Times Free Press) for Yahoo News

Elections

Colorado: “Grand Jury to Investigate Election Tampering Allegations in Mesa County” by Saja Hindi (Denver Post) for Canon City Daily Record

Texas: “Election Officials in Texas Reject Hundreds of Ballot Applications Under State;s New Voting Restrictions” by Eugene Scott (Washington Post) for MSN

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Clerks Rush to Rewrite Voting Instructions After Judge Rules Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes Are Illegal” by Patrick Marley (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) for Yahoo News

Ethics

National: “DirecTV Says It Will Sever Ties with Far-Right Network One America News” by Timothy Bella (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Now with Senate Allies, Spanberger’s Legislation to Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stock Gains Traction” by Meagan Flynn (Washington Post) for MSN

Illinois: “‘They All Need Somebody That Does What I Do’; Unsealed affidavit reveals new details in Ald. Edward Burke corruption probe” by Jason Meisner (Chicago Tribune) for Yahoo News

Pennsylvania: “Pa. Legislature’s Redacted Legal Bills Flout Court Ruling, Leave Taxpayers Guessing” by Angela Couloumbis (Spotlight PA) and Sam Janesch (The Caucus) for Spotlight PA

The Oregon House Democratic Caucus nominated Rep. Dan Rayfield as speaker, replacing Rep. Tina Kotek.

House Democrats have also elected Rep. Julie Fahey as majority leader to replace Rep. Barbara Smith Warner.

These changes within the party stem from a mix of resignations to run for higher office and new focus on policies regarding housing.

Campaign Finance

National: “FEC Report Shows How National Party Committees Allegedly Blow Past Contribution Limits” by Isaac Stanley-Becker (Washington Post) for MSN

California: “Tech Companies Spend Millions on California Political Gifts” by Don Thompson (Associated Press) for MSN

Tennessee: “State Officials Fine Nashville Council Member $360K for 36 Campaign Finance Violations” by Cassandra Stephenson (The Tennessean) for Yahoo News

Elections

Michigan: “Michigan Attorney General Refers Investigation into Fake Republican Electors to Federal Prosecutors” by Malachi Barrett for MLive.com

Ethics

National: “The Justice Dept. Alleged Jan. 6 Was a Seditious Conspiracy. Now Will It Investigate Trump?” by Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey, Tom Hamburger, and Rachel Weiner (Washington Post) for MSN

Maryland: “Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby Indicted on Federal Charges She Lied on Financial Transactions to Buy Homes in Florida” by Justin Fenton (Baltimore Sun) for Yahoo News

Virginia: “Youngkin’s Cabinet Shares Ties to Fossil Fuels and Energy Companies” by Jimmy Cloutier for Center for Responsive Politics

Redistricting

Ohio: “Ohio Supreme Court Invalidates GOP-Approved Congressional Map ‘Infused with Undue Partisan Bias’” by Jessie Balmert and Laura Bischoff (Columbus Dispatch) for Yahoo News

Connecticut Gov. Lamont announced a special election for Assembly District 5 to be held on March 1.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Brandon McGee, Jr. resigned to take a senior role on Lamont’s reelection campaign.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire in December.

In a 4-3 decision issued on January 12, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the state House and Senate district maps drawn by Ohio Redistricting Commission are unconstitutional gerrymandering, giving Republicans a 62-37 advantage in the House and 23-10 advantage in the Senate.

The court ordered the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which is dominated by Republicans, to draw new maps in compliance with Article XI, Section 6 of the Ohio Constitution.

The new plan must be adopted within 10 days and the Ohio Supreme Court retains its authority to review any rewrites.

The decision was based in part on the fact that Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved changes to the state constitution to limit partisan line-drawing in 2015.