The Arkansas Legislature will return from its extended recess on September 29, continuing the regular session of the 93rd General Assembly.

According to the schedule released by Senate President Pro Tempore Jimmy Hickey, the General Assembly will return to vote on redistricting before adjourning the 2021 session sine die.

After each census, the state redraws the boundaries for seats in the General Assembly as well as the boundaries of the districts for its seats in the United States Congress.

The legislative districts are decided by the Board of Apportionment, which consists of the governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. The board and its staff use census data to redraw the 100 districts of the Arkansas House of Representatives and the 35 districts of the Arkansas Senate so districts within each chamber represent roughly the same number of people.

Drawing boundaries for the state’s federal congressional districts is the responsibility of the General Assembly. The number of districts in the state will remain at four based on the population count from 2020, but the distribution of the population has shifted away from rural areas toward more urban areas.

A registered lobbyist who lobbies members of the General Assembly is required to file a monthly report due 10 days after the end of the month for any month the General Assembly is in session.

Hickey stated he hoped the General Assembly would continue for only three days, meaning the session will likely continue into the month of October. If the session continues into October, a monthly lobbyist activity report will be due November 10, which is 10 days after the end of the month.

Campaign Finance

New Jersey: “Activist Assails ELEC for Deleting Dismissed Campaign Finance Complaints from Its Website” by Matt Friedman for Politico

New Mexico: “Gonzales Shifts Course, Turns to Private Donors” by Jessica Dyer for Albuquerque Journal

Elections

Massachusetts: “Wu and Essaibi George Will Advance as Top Candidates in Historic Race for Boston Mayor” by Emma Platoff (Boston Globe) for MSN

Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania GOP Lawmakers Approve Wide-Ranging Subpoenas for Personal Information of 2020 Voters” by Elise Viebeck and Rosalind Helderman (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

National: “Fed’s Kaplan, Rosengren to Sell All Stocks Amid Ethics Concerns” by Catarina Saraiva and Craig Torres (Bloomberg) for MSN

Illinois: “Ethics Board Finds Probable Cause Ald. Gardiner Violated Ethics Ordinance Twice” by Heather Cherone for WTTW

Louisiana: “Former State Parks Employee Fined for Violating Ethics Laws” by Staff for KATC

Legislative Issues

Wisconsin: “How Wisconsin Is Ruled by a Shadow Governor” by Daniel Vock (Politico) for Yahoo News

Lobbying

Colorado: “Unregistered Redistricting Lobbying Complaint to Receive Full Investigation After Colorado Secretary of State Approves Probe” by Evan Wyloge for Colorado Springs Gazette

Illinois: “Chicago Sky Owner Michael Alter Fined by City Ethics Board for Seeking Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Help on Gambling License Without Registering as a Lobbyist” by Gregory Pratt (Chicago Tribune) for MSN

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a proclamation to convene a special legislative session on October 5 to consider and enact a plan of legislative and congressional districting.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Iowa Republican Mike Bousselot beat Democrat Andrea Phillips by 377 votes to win the special election for House District 37.

The seat became vacant in July following the death of Rep. John Landon.

Republicans now hold a 59-40 lead in the House.

There will be one more special election on October 12 to replace Rep. Wes Breckenridge, a Democrat who resigned.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has defeated the recall effort utilizing a campaign focused on his pandemic efforts and threats of “Trumpism.”

Newsom had a large lead entering the final day of voting due to the enormous turnout of mail-in voters and Newsom’s unrestricted campaign fundraising.

In February, California passed a bill mandating all active registered voters be sent a ballot each election.

This increased voter turnout brought relief to many Democrats who feared voter apathy would allow Republican front-runner, Larry Elder, to win the governorship.

The recall election cost California roughly $300 million, a price tag officials are hoping to reduce by next year when Newsom faces reelection.

The Alaska Legislature adjourned the third special session on September 14 after passing House Bill 3003.

The bill allocates $1,100 to each eligible Alaskan from the Permanent Fund Dividend.

While the third session did resolve one problem, there are other questions left on the table.

To answer them, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced he will call a fourth special session beginning October 1 to address issues with the state’s financial structure and the Permanent Fund Dividend.

Justin Bibb, a nonprofit executive, and City Council President Kevin Kelley will square off in Cleveland, Ohio’s mayoral general election this November after receiving the most primary votes out of a field of seven candidates.

The winner will replace Frank Jackson, first elected in 2005 and now the longest-serving mayor in Cleveland history.

Campaign Finance

Maryland: “Maryland Elections Officials Ask Michael Steele to Prove He’s Following Campaign Law” by Pamela Wood (Baltimore Sun) for MSN

Elections

National: “Election Fraud Cases Sow Doubts About Legal Profession’s Future” by Melissa Heelan for Bloomberg Law

National: “Revised Democratic Voting Bill Drops Controversial Provisions, Tweaks Others as Pressure for Action Mounts” by Mike DeBonis (Washington Post) for MSN

California: “Newsom Soundly Defeats California Recall Attempt” by Phil Willon, Taryn Luna, and Julia Wick (Los Angeles Times) for MSN

Ethics

Arkansas: “Dentist Guilty of Conspiring to Bribe Former Arkansas Lawmaker Hutchinson” by Ron Wood for Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

New York: “James Says JCOPE Leak Referral Was Improper” by Chris Bragg and Joshua Solomon for Albany Times Union

Texas: “Texas Governor Signs Bill Prohibiting Social Media Giants from Blocking Users Based on Viewpoint” by Cat Zakrzewski (Washington Post) for MSN

Lobbying

National: “Delta Variant Postpones K Street’s Full Return” by Kate Ackley (Roll Call) for MSN

Massachusetts State officials scheduled a special election for January 11, 2022 to fill the state Senate seat in the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex District.

The seat became vacant when Sen. Joe Boncore resigned to accept the CEO position with the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

A primary will be held on December 14.

The California Legislature adjourned late last week, just in time for today’s recall election of Gov. Newsom.

The trifecta government passed close to 900 bills this year as Democratic lawmakers utilized a budget surplus to enact many progressive policies such as police reform, health care for undocumented immigrants, and climate change.

Assembly bills 319 and 1367 are on Newsom’s desk awaiting signature.

AB 319 prevents a foreign government or principal from making a contribution or expenditure to a candidate for state or local office.

While AB 1367, raises the penalty for a person who uses campaign funds that results in an egregious personal benefit to an amount up to three times the amount of the unlawful expenditure.

Campaign Finance

National: “FEC Finds Twitter Didn’t Break Law by Blocking Spread of Hunter Biden Story” by Mychael Schnell (The Hill) for MSN

New York: “Hochul Leaves Door Open to Probe of Cuomo Campaign Spending” by Joshua Solomon for Albany Times Union

Virginia: “Campaign Funds Can Be Used for Child Care, Virginia AG Says” by Graham Moomaw for Virginia Mercury

Ethics

California: “Recology Agrees to Pay $36 Million for Role in Bribes to City Official” by Megan Cassidy (San Francisco Chronicle) for MSN

Florida: “Tallahassee City Commissioner Calls for Ethics Reforms Following Maddox Trial” by Valerie Crowder for WFSU

North Carolina: “NC Lawmakers Turn to Funding Once Ruled Unethical. Are Their $14,000 Salaries the Cause?” by Lucille Sherman (Raleigh News and Observer) for MSN

Lobbying

Europe: “Former Chancellor Philip Hammond Cleared of Breaking Rules After His Lobbying of Treasury Was Ruled Only ‘Incidental’” by Henry Dyer (Business Insider) for Yahoo News

Texas: “Austin ISD Stands by Hire of Ex-State Official Who Resigned Amid Ethics Allegations” by Nicole Foy (Austin American-Statesman) for MSN

The Maine Ethics Commission announced it would hold a three-hour course covering recent changes to the law governing the registration and reporting requirements for political committees.

The course will take place on October 18, both in-person and over Zoom, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Registration for the course is available online and a recording of the training will be available on the commission’s YouTube channel.

Wyoming lawmakers have advanced a proposal to switch the state’s elections to a runoff system, after rejecting a similar proposal three months ago.

Runoff election systems are favored in states in which a political party holds a strong majority.

Wyoming, a republican stronghold, has seen a divide grow between main party republicans and more conservative candidates.

As the more conservative side of the party grows, the fear of vote splitting during primaries increases.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced she is calling a special legislative session to adopt the new congressional and legislative district maps.

The session will commence September 20, leaving the Legislature seven days to finalize the maps before the September 27 deadline.

Lawmakers have an arduous task during this special session as Oregon added an additional congressional district as a result of the 2020 census.