St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson has requested the Board of Elections postpone the special elections currently scheduled for May 19.

The elections are to fill two vacancies on the Board of Aldermen.

The death of Ward 4 Alderman Sam Moore on February 25, and the resignation of Ward 12 Alderman Larry Arnowitz on March 3 caused, the two vacancies.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has announced the special election to fill House District 87 will be held on November 3.

A runoff election is set for November 24 if needed.

The seat was vacated when Billy Andrews resigned in March.

The resignation, like Ramona Blackledge’s resignation in January, was due to House leadership ruling members could not collect state government pension while receiving legislative pay.

The Maryland Board of Elections has announced there will be three in-person voting centers for the 7th Congressional District special general election on April 28.

The centers are for voters who are unable to cast their ballots by mail.

One voting center will be located in each local jurisdiction: Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County.

The board is recommending all 7th district voters who can vote by mail do so.

Voting by mail is the safest way to vote.

However, concerns over safeguarding the voting rights of those unable to vote by mail led to the decision to open the three in-person voting centers.

The local elections boards will select the location of the in-person voting centers.

Locations will be announced no later than April 20.

Campaign Finance

National: “Bloomberg Campaign Transfer of $18 Million to DNC Sparks Complaints to Federal Regulators” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee (Washington Post) for MSN

Elections

National: “Democrats Scramble to Close YouTube Deficit Amid Quarantine Campaign” by Alex Thompson for Politico

National: “GOP Pushes Voting by Mail – with Restrictions – While Trump Attacks It as ‘Corrupt’” by Amy Gardenr and Elise Viebeck (Washington Post) for MSN

New Hampshire: “New Hampshire Governor to Allow Absentee Voting in November Because of Coronavirus Outbreak” by Amy Gardner and Colby Itkowitz (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

Wisconsin: “‘Not as Wisconsin Nice as We Used to Be’: The divisions in Dairyland” by Dionne Searcey (New York Times) for MSN

Legislative Issues

National: “Sidelined by Coronavirus Pandemic, Congress Cedes Stage and Authority to Trump” by Mike DeBonis and Paul Kane (Washington Post) for MSN

Lobbying

Florida: “Florida Ethics Panel Rejects COVID-19 Announcements Plan, Upholds Ban on Free Publicity or Exposure” by Jim Turner (News Service of Florida) for Orlando Weekly

The Senate confirmed the appointment of Robert C. Cook of Ashland to the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Confirmation happened on April 8, ending three weeks of limbo.

The commission had been unable to meet or take any action after the terms of three of its six members expired on March 15 because commissioners cannot serve once their terms expire.

The Kentucky General Assembly’s 2020 session will reconvene on April 14, one day earlier than previously announced.

Lawmakers will consider overriding vetoes cast by Gov. Andy Beshear.

The governor’s time to veto recently passed bills expires on April 13.

Lawmakers also have the option to convene on April 15, the latest possible day they can meet in regular session this year under state constitution guidelines.

The Legislative Council of Iowa met virtually to suspend the legislative session until April 30.

The council makes rules when the legislative body isn’t in session.

The suspension comes due to concerns over the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the state.

Lawmakers have not passed a budget for next year and the current fiscal year ends June 30, but a bill passed in March before the session’s suspension extends this year’s budget through the end of August.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Campaign Finance

South Carolina: “SC Ethics Commission Launches Investigation into Horry County Chairman Over Campaign Loan” by Tyler Fleming for Raleigh News and Observer

Elections

Georgia: “Georgia Further Delays Primary Election to June” by Max Greenwood for The Hill

Ethics

National: “Treasury’s Mnuchin ‘Properly’ Followed Guidance in Refusing to Give Trump’s Tax Returns to Congress, Inspector General Finds” by Jeff Stein, Erica Werner, and Tom Hamburger (Washington Post) for MSN

Alabama: “Alabama Supreme Court Upholds 6 Counts Against Mike Hubbard, Reverses 5” by Melissa Brown for Montgomery Advertiser

Missouri: “Amid COVID-19 Funding Scramble, Missouri Senate Gets Ethics Panel Back on Track” by Kurt Erickson for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lobbying

National: “‘Choosing Winners and Losers’: Behind the battle to be deemed essential” by Theodoric Meyer and Anna Gronwold for Politico

New Jersey: “NJ Lawyer-Lobbyists Saw Big Payday in 2019, See Uncertainty For 2020” by Suzette Parmley for Law.com

On April 8, legislative leaders announced the General Assembly is extending the postponement of the session until April 23.

The State Capitol, Legislative Office Building, and State House will remain closed during the postponement.

This does not immediately affect lobbyist reporting.

The Rhode Island General Assembly announced the postponement of the legislative session has been extended for another week due to COVID-19.

All legislative sessions and committee hearings for the week of April 13 to April 17 have been canceled.

Both chambers of the General Assembly are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, April 21.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has issued an advisory encouraging people subject to lobbying registration and reporting requirements to continue to make the best efforts to timely file all legally required reports and statements.

However, it may be difficult for some to file statements and reports given the shelter-in-place order and other issues caused by the pandemic.

If circumstances caused by COVID-19 inhibit the filing of a lobbying report or statement, the filer should communicate these issues to the Office of the Secretary of State and document all attempts to file and the issues faced.

While quarterly lobbying reports are filed electronically, the law requires certain other statements be filed on paper with an original signature.

Restrictions imposed to fight the spread of COVID-19 may make the logistics of filing documents on paper with original signatures difficult or even impossible.

To the extent this is the case, people required to file lobbying forms on paper with original signatures are encouraged to make use of digital and electronic options for filing reports to ensure timely filing.

Paper statements with original signatures will need to be filed when feasible.

If a person with lobbying filing requirements makes best efforts to comply with the Political Reform Act’s lobbying registration and reporting rules but is unable to do so due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FPPC will consider this a strong mitigating factor in determining whether an enforcement action against the person is appropriate.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced today a special primary election will be held August 4.

The purpose will be to fill the vacant seat in House District 4 of former State Rep. Isaac Robinson, who died March 29.

The special election for the seat will be held with the general election on November 3.

The Board of Ethics is extending the first quarterly report filing deadline from April 20 to June 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

First quarter reports cover the period from January 1 to March 31 and must be filed even if there was no activity.

In addition, 2020 mandatory online lobbyist training has not been posted and the training deadline has been extended past June 30.

Due to continued concerns over COVID-19, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has postponed the May 19 presidential primary election and the state’s general primary until June 9.

The voter registration deadline for the June 9 election will be May 11 and early voting will begin on May 18.

Further, moving the primary election to June 9 will move the primary runoff to August 11.