The cap for how much Louisiana’s lobbyists can spend to wine and dine public officials is edging higher July 1.

With the start of the new state budget year, the limit lobbyists can spend on food and drink for state lawmakers, other elected officials and public employees is increasing from $63 to $65 per person, per occasion.

The Louisiana Board of Ethics, which oversees the lobbying spending restrictions, made the adjustment to take effect with the latest state fiscal year.

The lobbying cap enacted more than a decade ago started with a $50 limit. But the 2008 law allows annual adjustments tied to increases in the federal Consumer Price Index for food and beverages. That index rose 3.8% in the last year, according to the ethics board.

Campaign Finance

National: “Rep. Gosar Denies Knowledge of Fundraiser with Group That Promotes White-Nationalist Ideas Despite Invitation for the Event” by Marrianna Sotomayor (Washington Post) for MSN

Elections

California: “Newsom Sues Elections Chief to Call Himself a Democrat on Recall Ballot” by Kevin Yamamura for Politico

Ethics

National: “The Land Was Worth Millions. A Big Ag Corporation Sold It to Sonny Perdue’s Company for $250,000.” by Desmond Butler (Washington Post) for Seattle Times

Kentucky: “Federal Officials Investigate Link Between Former Gov. Matt Bevin Pardon and Fundraiser” by Andrew Wolfson (Louisville Courier-Journal) for MSN

Missouri: “Missouri Officials Can’t Charge Fees for Attorney Review of Public Records, Court Says” by Katie Moore (Kansas City Star) for MSN

New York: “Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg Surrenders in Criminal Case Over Company’s Business Dealings” by Shayna Jacobs, David Fahrenthold, Josh Dawsey, and Jonathan O’Connell (Washington Post) for MSN

South Carolina: “Judge Orders Powerful Ex-SC Lawmaker to Prison in State House Corruption Investigation” by John Monk and Maayan Schecter (The State) for MSN

South Dakota: “South Dakota Governor Sending National Guard to Mexico Border on Mission Funded by GOP Megadonor” by Alex Horton (Washington Post) for MSN

Texas: “Developer Found Guilty of Bribing Two Former Dallas City Council Members to Help Housing Projects” by Kevin Krause (Dallas Morning News) for MSN

Legislative Issues

National: “House Votes to Create Select Committee for Investigating Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol” by Karoun Demirjian (Washington Post) for MSN

Lawmakers will return to the Hawaii State Capitol on Tuesday, July 6 to consider overriding Gov. David Ige’s vetoes of measures the Legislature approved this year, and to make some necessary fixes to bills that deal with state finances.

Gov. Ige said he intends to veto 28 bills passed by his fellow Democrats, which is an unusually high number.

The governor is not required to veto all 28 bills and still has the option of signing some of them or allowing them to become law without his signature. That makes it difficult for lawmakers to precisely plan their response, since they do not know yet which measures Gov. Ige will finally reject.

The governor has until 11:59 p.m. on July 6 to veto measures passed this spring. If he takes no action by that date, the bills will then become law with or without his signature.

Gov. Ige has also said he needs amendments to some budget bills because lawmakers specified in the budget the state must use federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to repay more than $300 million in bond debt.

The federal government does not allow the state to use pandemic relief funding to pay down debt, and lawmakers will thus need to appropriate money from other sources to cover state borrowing.

That means lawmakers must approve a fix that will ensure the state meets its debt obligations. If the governor and the Legislature can agree on language that would accomplish that, lawmakers can approve an amendment with a simple majority next month without a veto override.

The special session affects lobbyist reporting. A lobbyist and employer activity report must be filed within 30 days of adjournment sine die of any special session covering the period from May 1 through adjournment sine die of the special session. The report applies to and includes only those expenditures and contributions relating to legislative action considered during the special session. Expenditures and contributions included in the report do not need to be included by the person filing the report in any subsequent statement of expenditures.

Campaign Finance

National: “How Deceptive Campaign Fund-Raising Ensnares Older People” by Shane Goldmacher for New York Times

National: “FEC Reviewing Rules on Salaries, Benefits for Candidates” by Kate Ackley (Roll Call) for MSN

Massachusetts: “Abhijit Das, Former Congressional Candidate Against U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, Accused of Using Illegal Campaign Donations to Pay Off Debts for Hotel Business and Yacht” by Jackson Cote (MassLive) for MSN

Montana: “Helena District Court Judge Will Block 11th-Hour Additions to Campaign Finance Law” by Mara Silvers for Montana Free Press

Elections

Arizona: “Arizona’s Maricopa County Will Replace Voting Equipment, Fearful That GOP-Backed Election Review Has Compromised Security” by Rosalind Helderman (Washington Post) for MSN

New York: “NYC Mayoral Race: Board of Elections throws mayoral primary into chaos by counting test ballots” by Gregory Krieg, Ethan Cohen, and Adam Levy (CNN) for MSN

Ethics

California: “Online Activism Is Spilling into the Streets of Southern California, Sparking a Post-Trump Movement” by Elizabeth Dwoskin (Washington Post) for MSN

Lobbying

National: “Rudy Giuliani Facing Inquiry into Whether He Lobbied Trump for Turkey” by Christian Berthelsen, Greg Farrell, and Chris Strom (Bloomberg) for MSN

The Alaska Legislature adjourned a second special session June 28.

Legislators came to an agreement changing the effective date of the state budget, allowing Alaska to avoid a government shutdown.

A third special session will take place some time in August.

The monthly report for legislative lobbying during June is due by July 31.

Montana District Court Judge Michael Menahan said he will temporarily block the implementation of two sections of Senate Bill 319.

The bill was amended late, with the amendment adding the two sections in question.

One amendment revised how political committees could operate on college campuses.

The other amendment prohibited judges from presiding over a case if they had received campaign contributions of $91 or more from a party within a six-year timespan.

Judge Menahan intends to issue the order sometime before July 1.

On June 28, the Annapolis City Council voted unanimously to adopt campaign finance reforms.

Ordinance 15-21 requires any person making independent expenditures of $5,000 or more to register with the Board of Supervisors of Elections.

Once registered, such persons are required to file reports upon making independent expenditures of $10,000 or more.

Further, the reports must identify the person making the expenditure and any donors who have contributed $6,000 or more. Ordinance 15-21 is effective immediately.

Campaign Finance

New York: “Megadonors Flooded the New York Mayor’s Race. Most of Them Wasted Their Money” by Joe Anuta for Politico

Ohio: “Feds Asked Frank LaRose for 20 Years of ECOT Campaign Donation Records” by Laura Bischoff (Columbus Dispatch) for Akron Beacon Journal

South Carolina: “With Party Facing Ethics Fines, Current and Former Horry County GOP Officials Questioning Why” by Jonathan Haynes and Charles Perry for MyHorryNews.com

Wisconsin: “GOP Candidate Bankrolled Jan. 6 Riot Trip with Campaign Cash” by Roger Sollenberger (Daily Beast) for Yahoo News

Elections

National: “Trump’s Endorsements: Revenge against enemies, rewards for friends and purveyors of election falsehoods” by Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Unkept Promise on Elections Overhaul Leaves Democrats Scrambling” by Shawn Zeller (Roll Call) for MSN

Arizona: “Legislature Sends Voter Protection Act Change to Ballot” by Bob Christie (Associated Press) for MSN

Ethics

National: “Trump Appointees Allowed Terminated EPA Staffers to Keep Receiving Salaries, Watchdog Report Says” by Amy Wang and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) for MSN

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced the recall campaign against Gov. Gavin Newsom had enough signatures to move forward.

The recall effort was able to collect 1,719,900 signatures for the election.

The election will most likely take place in October or November 2021.

The Boise City Council will vote on the creation of geographic districts for the November 2021 City Council elections.

In 2020, Idaho lawmakers passed a bill requiring all cities with a population of more than 100,000 to create legislative districts for council elections.

Boise City Council seats 1, 3, 5 will be up for election, and elected council members will serve two-year terms.

The districts must be approved before the state-mandated deadline of 120 days before council elections.

The Oregon Legislature adjourned sine die June 26 after passing a flurry of bills in the twilight hours of the 2021 legislative session.

The Democratic-led Legislature passed sweeping police reform, a state budget focused on economic recovery, and bills focusing on the housing and homeless crisis occurring within the state.

Campaign Finance

Illinois: “Politics Isn’t Child’s Play, but New Campaign Finance Rule Hopes to Make It More Family Friendly” by Rachel Hinton for Chicago Sun-Times

Maine: “Governor Mills Signs a Full Slate of Election, Campaign Finance Reforms into Law” by Katherine Revelo for Maine Wire

Elections

National: “Inside the ‘Shadow Reality World’ Promoting the Lie That the Presidential Election Was Stolen” by Rosalind Helderman, Emma Brown, Tom Hamburger, and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post) for MSN

Georgia: “Biden Administration Sues Georgia Over Its GOP-Enacted Voter Restrictions” by Betsy Woodruff Swan, Zach Montellaro, and Josh Gerstein (Politico) for MSN

Ethics

National: “They Seemed Like Democratic Activists. They Were Secretly Conservative Spies.” by Mark Mazzetti and Adam Goldman (New York Times) for Yahoo News

New Jersey: “Murphy Intends to Again Veto Mandatory Minimums Bill Over Weaker Penalties for Public Corruption, Officials Say” by Ted Sherman and Amanda Hoover (NJ Advance Media) for MSN

New York: “Giuliani’s N.Y. Law License Suspended in Connection with Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election” by Shayna Jacobs, Rosalind Helderman, and Devlin Barrett (Washington Post) for MSN

Lobbying

National: “DOJ-Ordered Foreign Agent Registrations Boost China and Russia’s 2020 FARA Spending” by Anna Massoglia and Maggie Hicks for Center for Responsive Politics

The West Virginia Legislature held its second special session on June 24.

During the one-day session, lawmakers approved adjustments of roughly $1.95 billion to the state budget, including the allocation of surplus federal relief funding.

The Legislature also considered and passed bills relating to regional jails and alcohol sales.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has called the General Assembly to convene a special session beginning August 2.

The special session will focus on judicial appointments and the allocation of over $4.3 billion in federal COVID relief funding.