The Democratic Party of Hawaii announced the Democrat presidential primary election will take place on May 22 via mail-in ballots.

The election had originally been scheduled for April 4, but in-person voting was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

To accommodate those who planned to vote in person, the party won’t count the ballots until late May to allow time for the extra round of ballots to be mailed, filled out, and returned.

Voters have until April 4 to register with the party and request a ballot.

Campaign Finance

National: “Biden Faces a Cash Gap with Trump. He Has to Close It Virtually.” by Shane Goldmacher (NewYork Times) for Salt Lake Tribune

California: “Watchdog to Review Rules Letting California Politicians Raise Money for Charity” by Laurel Rosenhall for Calmatters

Elections

National: “Campaigning in the Age of Pandemic: Biden and Sanders as amateur video hosts” by Annie Linskey and Matt Viser (Associated Press) for MSN

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Goes It Alone, Holding Elections Next Week Amid Fears of Infection and Voting Chaos” by Amy Gardner for Washington Post

Ethics

California: “‘They’re All Tainted by It.’ Federal Corruption Cases Deal New Blow to Trust in City Hall” by David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes (Los Angeles Times) for Yahoo News

Michigan: “Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith Resigns Amid Criminal Charges Against Him” by Christina Hall for Detroit Free Press

Lobbying

Canada: “New B.C. Lobbying Laws Come into Force in May” by Haley Woodin for Business in Vancouver

Illinois: “Pandemic Derails Illinois’ Lobbying Reform Commission Ahead of Key Deadline” by Greg Bishop for The Center Square

New York: “Cuomo Pulls Back on Proposed Donor Disclosures for Nonprofits” by Kay Dervishi for City and State

In response to several states postponing congressional and presidential primary elections to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been updating some of the campaign finance report due dates related to those elections.

The law requires many reports, such as pre-election reports, electioneering communications reports, and reports accounting for independent expenditures, base their due date and their covered periods upon the actual date of the election.

The FEC will adjust the deadlines for the relevant reports related to postponed elections.

Specifically, the FEC has directed that if a state postpones its election after the deadline for the applicable pre-election report, participating committees must file an additional pre-election report due 12 days before the new election date.

Otherwise, committees need only file the pre-election report for the new election date.

A political campaign affected by a postponement may continue to accept contributions until the date of the rescheduled election.

The Legislature adjourned on March 30 after holding its first electronic voting day for the last scheduled day of the 2020 session.

The electronic voting day considered bills vetoed by Gov. Kristi Noem and several new bills related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Legislature passed 9 of the 11 bills Noem requested to aid the state in battling the COVID-19 virus.

An approved bill includes the one that postponed elections.

House Bill 1298 postpones any election scheduled to be held from April 14 through May 26.

The bill requires the governing body of the political subdivision holding the election to choose any Tuesday in June as the alternate election date.

It also requires the absentee voting period to extend through 5:00 p.m. local time the day before the new election date.

A special session is tentatively planned for June to address lingering budget concerns caused by the pandemic.

Only 58 House members and 21 Senate members of the Louisiana Legislature returned briefly on March 31.

Lawmakers did not set a date for their next return, opting instead to recess upon the call of the presiding officer.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Senate President Page Cortez will decide when the session will resume.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said March 31 he is likely to extend his statewide stay-at-home order until April 30 to coincide with federal guidelines.

In the meantime, official legislative proceedings are halted.

The legislature is prohibited by statutory, constitutional, and rule requirements from meeting remotely.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced March 31 he will call a special legislative session within two to three weeks to deal with growing COVID-19 concerns.

Gov. Herbert said several items will be at issue during the special session.

Items include extending the state’s personal income tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15, and potentially opening the state’s General and Education funds.

It is unclear whether Gov. Herbert will ask lawmakers to take steps dealing with the spring and summer election deadlines.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

When the special session is called, all restrictions on contributions from individuals, lobbyists, principals, and political committees will apply.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission’s physical office is closed.

The commission is no longer accepting paper registrations or payment of registration fees via mail.

All completed lobbyist new registrations and supplemental registrations must be submitted by email.

Lobbyists will then need to log into their e-file account to process the online payment for those new registrations and/or supplemental registration.

Lobbyist ID photos will be taken and badges issued once the physical office reopens.

After reconvening from the scheduled spring break, the Alabama Legislature has decided to suspend the legislative session.

The session is suspended as of March 31, due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon reconvening on April 28, the Legislature will have until May 18 to complete any pending legislation.

Legislation includes the constitutionally mandated budget bill for the fiscal year starting on October 1.

Due to the social distancing restrictions being implemented by the City of Austin, the Office of the City Clerk has closed to members of the public.

Correspondence and payments pertaining to lobbyist registrations/renewals may still be mailed in and will be processed based on their postage date.

Operations are continuing via telework, and employees may be reached via email.

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Arizona Campaign Finance Initiative Campaign Suspends Signature Gathering” by Ryan Byrne for Ballotpedia.com

Elections

National: “Frustrated Gamblers Turn to Politics as the Only Game in Town” by Tony Rehgan for Politico

National: “Trump Won the Internet. Democrats Are Scrambling to Take It Back.” by Jim Rutenberg and Matthew Rosenberg (New York Times) for MSN

Michigan: “Whitmer to Clerks: Send all new registrants an absentee ballot for May 5” by Beth LeBlanc for Detrit News

Lobbying

National: “Trump Administration Rules Gun Shops ‘Essential’ Amid Virus” by Lisa Marie Payne for AP News

Florida: “Council Committee Plans to Subpoena Bidders, Investment Banks in JEA Probe” by Mike Mendenhall for Jacksonville Daily Record

The Colorado House and Senate convened for one day on March 30.

However, lawmakers took different approaches to returning from the General Assembly’s COVID-19 recess.

The House recessed until Thursday, April 2.

Lawmakers in the House based their decision on the constitutional provision allowing for a three-day recess without formal agreement from both chambers.

The Senate, however, postponed indefinitely based on another interpretation.

The Senate interpretation allows the General Assembly to remain recessed without setting an exact date to reconvene.

On April 2, the House is expected to meet briefly and recess again for an unspecified period of time.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Additionally, the General Assembly is still considered to be in regular session for purposes of restrictions on contributions from lobbyists during the session, as the General Assembly has not adjourned sine die.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission has rescheduled its public hearing on proposed administrative rules concerning amendments to state lobbying and gift laws for May 7.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the original date of March 19 was postponed.

The proposals include:

• Clarifications as to what activities constitute lobbying
• Exclusions from lobbyist registration requirements
• A requirement that expenditures be reported on an accrual rather than cash basis

Additionally, the proposals would amend prohibitions on certain kinds of gifts, valuation of gifts, and gift disclosure statements.

On March 26, the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador agreed to adjourn parliamentary business until an unspecified future date.

The adjournment is in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The legislature will remain adjourned until the call of the Chair, the procedure for recalling lawmakers into session. 

The Office of the County Attorney announced emergency regulations extending the deadline for filing first quarter lobbyist reports.

This comes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and current state of emergency.

The deadline for lobbyist reports covering activity for the period of January 1 to March 31 is extended until May 15.