Rhode Island lawmakers returned this week to work through legislation abandoned by the General Assembly’s abrupt recess in June amid a budget dispute.

The General Assembly is considering a handful of bills including legislation requiring paid time off for workers who call in sick. There is no recess date planned.

The Legislature is scheduled for final adjournment on January 2, 2018.

Gov. Rick Snyder signed two campaign finance bills accounting for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United into law on September 20, 2017.

Senate Bill 335 excludes an independent expenditure from the definition of a contribution and defines independent expenditure committees.

Senate Bill 336 incorporate violations established in Senate Bill 335 into the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The bills are effective immediately.

The Michigan Legislature passed two campaign finance bills accounting for the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United from 2010.

Senate Bill 355 excludes an independent expenditure from the definition of a contribution and defines independent expenditure committees.

Senate Bill 336 incorporates violations established in Senate Bill 335 into the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Opponents of the bills argue it would allow candidates to raise unlimited contributions for independent expenditure committees, often referred to as super PACs.

Gov. Rick Snyder has 14 days upon receipt of the enrolled bills to sign or veto them.

Gov. Kate Brown administered the oath of office to the now-former lobbyist for powerful public employee unions SEIU Local 503 and AFSCME Council 75, among other left-leaning groups.

Andrea Salinas was appointed by the commissioners of Multnomah and Clackamas Counties to fill the vacancy.

Rep. Salinas is unsure what she will do work for outside the Legislature since she had to resign her lobbying position.

Lobbying

Maryland: “Maryland Lobbyist Charged in Bribery Scandal Linked to Prince George’s County Liquor Board” by Scott MacFarlane for WRC

Campaign Finance

Canada: “Taxpayers Would Give Millions to Political Parties in NDP Plan” by Lindsay Kines and Amy Smart for Times Colonist

California: “California Passes Bill to Track ‘Dark Money’ in Political Ads and Campaigns” by Jason Shueh for StateScoop

Kentucky: “Former Beshear Official Admits He Solicited Contributions from Fellow State Workers” by Sheldon Shafer for Louisville Courier-Journal

Ethics

“With a Picked Lock and a Threatened Indictment, Mueller’s Inquiry Sets a Tone” by Sharon LaFraniere, Matt Apuzzo, and Adam Goldman for New York Times

“Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman” by Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz, and Pamela Brown for CNN

Florida: “FPL Says Claim That Senator Used Lobbyist to Get Power Restored Is ‘Absurd’” by Mary Ellen Klas for Miami Herald

Indiana: “Ethics Panel Forever Bans State Government Employee Who Hired Aunt, Sister, Stepdaughter” by Brian Slodysko (Associated Press) for Indianapolis Star

Kentucky: “Millions Go to Board Members of Lexington’s Farmland Conservation Program” by Beth Musgrave for Lexington Herald-Leader

Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania Senator’s Medical Marijuana Moonlighting Role” by Steve Esack for Allentown Morning Call

Elections

“Democrats Mount Effort to Recruit Women as State Attorneys General” by Jonathan Martin for New York Times

“Facebook’s Openness on Russia Questioned by Congressional Investigators” by Carol Leonnig, Elizabeth Dwoskin, and Craig Timberg for Washington Post

The Seattle City Council has chosen Councilman Tim Burgess to replace Council President Bruce Harrell as temporary mayor of the city to serve the next 71 days till a newly elected mayor is set to take charge.

Harrell became mayor after additional allegations of sexual abuse came out against Ed Murray.

The city charter allowed Harrell to vacate the position after five days if he did not wish to continue to serve as mayor.

The November mayoral election results will be certified November 28.

House Speaker Mike Turzai announced a special election will be held for House District 133 on December 5, 2017.

Rep. Dan McNeill, who was in his third term, passed away on September 8, creating the vacancy.

Each political party will designate their respective candidate to appear on the ballot.

District 133 includes parts of Allentown and Bethlehem, as well as several townships.

The Utah Legislature will meet in a special legislative session Wednesday September 20, 2017, to consider a proposed $11.4 million settlement to be paid to the state by a contractor responsible for faulty renovations to one of the state’s highways.

The settlement agreement requires the contractor to pay for long term repairs to the highway and includes a provision requiring the governor and Legislature to approve settlements over $1 million for state agencies moving forward.

Gov. Gary Herbert also called the session in order to set aside money to curb crime in Salt Lake City’s Rio Grande neighborhood. The special session is set to convene at 2 p.m.

On September 18, British Columbia’s Attorney General David Eby submitted a new campaign bill in the Legislative Assembly that would prohibit corporation and union contributions and limit contributions from individuals to $1,200 a year.

The Election Amendment Act, 2017, would also ban out-of-province donations, place a cap on contributions to third-party election advertisers, reduce campaign spending limits for candidates and political parties, provide some public funding for political parties, create new fines and penalties, and require public reporting and set donation limits for specified fundraising functions.

The bill defines “specified fundraising function” to mean a fundraising function attended by a member of the Executive Council, a parliamentary secretary, or a leader of a major political party, and that is held to raise funds for a major political party, a candidate who is a representative of a major political party, a leadership contestant for a major political party, or a constituency association that is the local organization for a major political party.

Campaign Finance

California: “Why Didn’t School Board President Ref Rodriguez Just Write Himself a Big Check?” by David Zahniser, Anna Phillips, and Howard Blume for Los Angeles Times

Santa Fe: “Reform Laws Spurred by Treasurer Scandals Full of Loopholes” by Andrew Oxford for Santa Fe New Mexican

New York: “Board of Elections Probes Ties Between Senate Democrats, Union Super PAC” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Ethics

“Request Denied: States try to block access to public records” by Andrew DeMillo and Ryan Foley (Associated Press) for San Jose Mercury News

“Trump Declines to Release List of His Mar-a-Lago Visitors” by Eric Lipton for New York Times

“Congress Struggles to Figure Out Which Russia Investigation Trumps the Others” by Erin Kelly for USA Today

California: “OC Ethics Commission Can Now Meet After Third Member is Appointed” by Nick Gerda for Voice of OC

Oregon: “Nepotism Runs Rampant in Oregon Legislature. Here’s How” by Gordon Friedman for Portland Oregonian

Pennsylvania: “Streetlight Executive Sentenced in City Hall Pay-to-Play Case” by Emily Opilo for Allentown Morning Call

Gov. Paul LePage called a special election for House District 56.

The seat’s holder, Rep. Gina Mason, passed away unexpectedly on September 5, 2017.

The special election will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017.

The California Legislature adjourned in the early hours of September 16.

Bills passed in the late-night session include Senate Bill 568, which would move the presidential primary election to March; Assembly Bill 249, which would require campaign advertisements to clearly display their largest funders; and Assembly Bill 132, which would require counties to provide additional voter education and requires every signature of a recall petition to be examined and verified.

The bills are now waiting for Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature or veto.

On September 17, Elections Canada announced two by-elections for the House of Commons will be held on October 23.

The by-elections will be held for the electoral districts of Sturgeon River–Parkland in Alberta and the Lac-Saint-Jean in Quebec. Advance voting will run from the 13th to the 16th of October.

MP Rona Ambrose of Sturgeon River-Parkland resigned from politics in July.

MP Denis Lebel of Lac-Saint-Jean announced his retirement in June.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission has recommended multiple changes to the Municipal Lobbying Ordinance.

These changes include increasing the registration threshold from $2,000 to $5,000; expanding the 501(c)(3) organization exemption; amending and adding definitions regarding lobbying; expanding gift restrictions; revising registration statements, deadlines, and fees; creating a bimonthly reporting calendar instead of quarterly; and increasing civil penalties for violations of lobbying laws.

The next commission meeting is on October 17, and comments regarding the proposal can be emailed to ethics.policy@lacity.org.