On June 21, the Washington Legislature adjourned its second special session sine die.

Lawmakers were unable to reach agreement on a budget bill during the session forcing Gov. Jay Inslee to call for another special session to start immediately after adjournment.

A two-year operating budget needs signed into law by June 30 or the state faces a partial government shutdown.

A special election will be called for the 1st Berkshire State Representative Seat to replace Rep. Gailanne Cariddi.

Rep. Cariddi, who was in her fourth term, died over the weekend.

Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo is responsible for setting the date for the special election but no date has been set yet.

The United Utah Party, a state party created at the end of May, will likely file suit to compel the Utah Elections Office to certify its candidate for the 3^rd Congressional District after the office refused to permit the candidate to file provisionally before the United Utah Party’s qualified party status was certified.

The United Utah Party and Utah lawmakers are unhappy with the special election process and timeline Gov. Gary Herbert has chosen for the special election to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz. Lawmakers originally wanted a special session of the Legislature to clarify the process as none is set by state law, but Gov. Herbert refused.

Utah House leaders reached out to State Attorney General Sean Reyes for a legal opinion on whether Gov. Herbert’s process was valid, but Gov. Herbert moved to block the opinion stating the Attorney General represents his office and not the Legislature.

Utah law establishes a 300-day process for a special election to fill a congressional vacancy. Lawmakers and state and local officials are concerned the abbreviated timeline Gov. Herbert set for this special election violates the law and could be rejected with high costs to counties who will start mailing primary ballots by the end of the month.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz will remain in office until June 30, 2017. The Governor’s office believes the process is legal and has approval from the U.S. Department of Justice and Congress.

Lobbying

Kentucky: “Ethics Panel Appeals Ruling That Allows Lobbyists to Give Gifts, Money to Lawmakers” by Jack Brammer for Lexington Herald-Leader

Campaign Finance

Florida: “The Miami Beach Mystery PAC Is Under State Investigation” by Nicholas Nehamas, Joey Flechas, and David Ovalle for Miami Herald

Ethics

“Trump Seeks Sharp Cuts to Housing Aid, Except for Program That Brings Him Millions” by Shawn Boburg for Washington Post

“Despite Concerns About Blackmail, Flynn Heard C.I.A. Secrets” by Matt Apuzzo, Matthew Rosenberg, and Adam Goldman for New York Times

Kentucky: “Consultant Sentenced to Prison for Part in Kickback Scheme” by Adam Beam (Associated Press) for U.S. News & World Report

Colorado: “As Pot Comes Out of the Black Market, Regulators Face Scrutiny” by Associated Press for Boston Herald

New York: “New York Ethics Agency Hit with Harassment Lawsuit” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Oregon: “Oregon Ethics Commission Resumes Investigation of John Kitzhaber and Cylvia Hayes” by Hillary Borrud for Portland Oregonian

Pennsylvania: “Two Executives with Allentown Contracts Plead Guilty in FBI Corruption Investigation” by Emily Opilo and Peter Hall for Allentown Morning News

Elections

“Some States Beat Supreme Court to Punch on Eliminating Gerrymanders” by Thomas Fuller and Michael Wines for New York Times

The first regular session of the 128^th Legislature has been extended for up to five legislative days.

Originally, statutory adjournment was scheduled for June 21, 2017.

Both the Senate and House agreed to extend the session in a Joint Order filed as Senate Paper 595.

The Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission unanimously voted to appeal a recent ruling striking down state ethics laws.

District Court Judge William O. Bertelsman, in a ruling earlier this month, stated the prohibitions on gifts and campaign contributions from lobbyists to lawmakers are unconstitutional.

The Kentucky Registry of Election Finance continues to mull its options before the Monday deadline to appeal. Many groups, including the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, urged the agencies to appeal in order to maintain the state’s current ethics system.

The appeal will be filed with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Lobbying

California: “Lobbying Firm Fined $4,000 for Violating Gift Limit Buying Dinner for Former State Sen. Ronald Calderon” by Patrick McGreevy for Los Angeles Times

Campaign Finance

Tennessee: “Amid Investigation, Tennessee Legislative Leaders Call for Review of Double Dipping” by Joel Ebert and Dave Boucher for The Tennessean

Ethics

“The Not-So-Bitter Rivalry of Dean Baquet and Marty Baron” by Joe Pompeo for Politico

“In Trump’s Washington, Public Business Increasingly Handled Behind Closed Doors” by Philip Ricker and Ed O’Keefe for Washington Post

“How the Russia Investigation Entangled a Manafort Protégé” by Nicholas Confessore and Barry Meier for New York Times

Alabama: “Alabama Ethics Commission Levies More Than $100,000 in Fines” by Mike Cason for AL.com

Kentucky: “Fired Lawyer to Get Settlement from Kentucky Over Her ‘Whistleblower’ Case About Sex Toys” by Deborah Yetter for Louisville Courier-Journal

North Carolina: “Is North Carolina the Future of American Politics?” by Jason Zengerle for New York Times

Elections

Georgia: “Republican Karen Handel Defeats Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District” by Robert Costa, Paul Kane, and Elise Viebeck  for Washington Post

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned the second special session Friday, June 16, 2017 after passing the state’s budget.

The Legislature could not reach an agreement to pass the budget during the 2017 regular legislative session forcing Gov. John Bel Edwards to call a special session to set an operating budget for the 2017 fiscal year.

The legislature is not scheduled to convene again until the 2018 regular legislative session.

Lobbying

“Book Explores How Lobbyists Fill a Void in Congress” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

Hawaii: “What Honolulu Lobbyists Don’t Tell You” by Anita Hofschneider for Honolulu Civil Beat

Campaign Finance

Missouri: “Steve Stenger’s Campaign Did Not Disclose That Donors Held County Contracts” by Stephen Deere for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ethics

Connecticut: “Lobbyists, Corporate PACs Help Legislator Pay for His Travels as RNC Member” by Jon Lender for Hartford Courant

New York: “Ex-Assemblyman Who Crusaded Against Opioid Addiction Indicted in Connection with Pill Mills, Medicaid Fraud” by Nathan Tempey for Gothamist

North Carolina: “NC Has No Elections Board Until Cooper Makes Appointments – But He’s Suing” by Colin Campbell for Raleigh News & Observer

Pennsylvania: “Seth Williams’ Corruption Trial: The case against the Philly DA explained” by Jeremy Roebuck for Philadelphia Inquirer

Rhode Island: “Political Scene: Some legislators could use the expungement bill themselves” by Katherine Gregg for Providence Journal

Redistricting

“Supreme Court to Hear Potentially Landmark Case on Partisan Gerrymandering” by Robert Barnes for Washington Post

The San Jose City Council is set to consider new lobbyist regulations at its meeting on June 20.

As proposed, the changes will require lobbyists to file online reports every Monday if they met with city officials the week prior. The increased reporting frequency is aimed at improving transparency because currently most city decisions are decided before quarterly lobbyist reports are available to the public. The council is also scheduled to consider changing San Jose’s gift ordinance on June 20.

Under the current ordinance, city officials may not accept gifts valued more than $50. The proposed amendment will increase the limit to $470 and require reporting for gifts valued more than $50.

The Alaska Legislature’s first special session ran out of time on June 16 without lawmakers passing a budget bill to resolve the state’s annual $2.7 billion deficit.

Gov. Bill Walker immediately called a second special session convening that same day to address the budget.

Alaska faces a government shutdown if a budget is not adopted by July 1.

Campaign Finance

“This Hyperpartisan Conservative Site Is Connected To Several Pro-Trump PACs” by Craig Silverman Tarini Parti for BuzzFeed News

California: “Contra Costa DA Resigns, Is Now a Convicted Felon” by Nate Gartrell for East Bay Times

Ethics

“Special Counsel Is Investigating Jared Kushner’s Business Dealings” by Sari Horwitz, Matt Zapotosky, and Adam Entous for Washington Post

“How Michael Flynn’s Disdain for Limits Led to a Legal Quagmire” by Nicholas Confessore, Matthew Rosenberg, and Danny Hakim for New York Times

“Office of Government Ethics: Bannon’s waiver ‘problematic'” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

Washington: “Mayor Ed Murray Not Ruling Out Write-In Campaign, As Accuser in Sex-Abuse Lawsuit Vows to Revive Case” by Lewis Kamb and Jim Brunner for Seattle Times

Lobbying

Illinois: “Emanuel Friend, Alderman’s Husband Both Illegally Lobbied Mayor Via His Personal Email: Ethics board” by Bill Ruthhart for Chicago Tribune

New Jersey: “Bringing Balloons Down to Earth: Bill would end mass release” by Scott Fallon for Bergen Record

Procurement

District of Columbia: “D.C. Council Report: Bowser administration favored top donor in contracting” by Aaron Davis for Washington Post

On June 22, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia will resume following an election without any clear mandate for the direction of the government.

The provincial election held last month produced no party winning with a majority in the 87-seat Assembly. A proclamation calling for the convening of the Assembly was confirmed by Judith Guichon, the 29th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and the representative of the Crown in the province, and was released on June 12.

A speech from the Throne is expected in the afternoon of the 22nd.

Becky is back with State Government and Ethics News You Can Use from around the country in this week’s video digest!