The Mississippi Legislature adjourned early following tensions between the House and Senate concerning the state’s budget. The House adjourned following the Senate’s decision to ignore a deadline set by the House to consider extending the session. This decision puts the responsibility onto Gov. Tate to call a special session prior to July 1 so that both houses can reach an agreement. This does affect lobbying reporting. The lobbyist end-of-session-activity report is due 10 days after the legislative session adjourned.

The Council of the District of Columbia approved temporary legislation barring the public from hearing or seeing many types of the council’s deliberations.

In a trio of companion legislation, which declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Open Meetings Act of 2010, the definition of meeting is changed. The legislation provides for a public body’s ability to be privately briefed about potential terrorist or public health threats so long as no official action is taken, exempts from the act meetings between the council and the mayor provided that no official action is taken at such meeting,  and provides that a meeting will be deemed open to the public if the public body takes steps reasonably calculated to allow the public to view or hear the meeting while the meeting is taking place, or, if doing so is not technologically feasible, as soon thereafter as reasonably practicable.

The legislation adopted on April 1 lasts for 90 days under its emergency basis. The mayor still has the ability to veto the legislation. On April 22, the council will hold a public hearing to consider a permanent version of the bill.

Ethics

Washington DC: “Transparency Law Slashed by D.C. Council as Lawmakers Want More Privacy” by Meagan Flynn and Jenny Gathright (Washington Post) for MSN

Europe: “From Brussels to Berlin: The rules on transparency and ethics for European lawmakers” by Paula Soler (Euro News) for MSN

National: “Trump White House Plans to Shake Up Briefing Room Seating, Flexing Power Over Press Corps” by Brian Stelter (CNN) for MSN

Maine: “How the Trump Administration Took Aim at Maine” by Joanna Slater and Lisa Rein (Washington Post) for MSN

New York: “Judge Dismisses Bribery Case Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams” by Corinne Ramey and James Fanelli (Wall Street Journal) for MSN

Legislative Issues

Montana: “Ellsworth Receives Lifetime Ban from Montana Senate Floor for Ethics Violation” by Tom Lutey for Montana Free Press

Lobbying

National: “Pardoned by Trump, Rod Blagojevich Has New Job: Lobbying for Bosnian Serbs” by Aaron Schaffer, Beth Reinhard, and Michael Birnbaum (Washington Post) for MSN

Michigan: “Lawmakers Cleared for Free Conference Tickets” by Colin Jackson for Michigan Public

To quote Ellie Shaw from American Express, #FirstWoman is leading the Public Affairs Council in its 70-year history…And, I love it.

In October 2024, the Public Affairs Council announced Nneka Chiazor would serve as the organization’s next President. She follows Doug Pinkham who retired January 1st, thereby moving my status up as the second oldest member of the Council, next to Ken Gross!

The minute she was announced, I connected with her on LinkedIn; I sent an email congratulating her; I connected her with Gamble Hayden who had planned to be at Institute, but weather prevented her attending; and I invited her to join me for dinner at The Advocacy Conference. You know what she did next? She invited me to dinner at the PAC Conference!!! She wanted to get a small group of board members together to talk about their experiences with the Council.

Just so you know, I am usually the inviter, not the invitee.

I enjoy getting to know her, talking with her, and talking about my experiences. She has been readily available when needed and I appreciate she has a council staff member with her to make sure she has collected all the information from our conversations.

Prior to joining the Council, Chiazor served as Market Vice President at Cox Communications. She brought more than two decades of experience in communications and public affairs to her new role. At Cox, Chiazor leads a multimillion-dollar operation with more than 1,200 employees representing one of the company’s top five markets, fostering a culture to drive positive business outcomes and excellence. Prior to being promoted in this business leadership role, she also served as Vice President of Government and Public Affairs at the company. Before joining Cox, Chiazor spent 14 years at Verizon Communications, where she held several leadership roles, including Vice President of Public Policy. Chiazor was a member of the Council’s Board of Directors from 2018 to 2023.

I believe her next formal PAC appearance will be at the Spring Executive Board Dinner and Meeting April 23rd and 24th. Introduce yourself to Nneka. You will find you have a new friend.

Thank you.
Elizabeth Z. Bartz
@elizabethbartz

Campaign Finance

Colorado: “Colorado Judges Made Campaign Contributions Despite Rules Prohibiting the Practice” by David Migoya for Denver Gazette

Elections

Florida: “Republicans Win – But Underperform – in Both Florida Special Elections” by Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout (Politico) for Yahoo News

National: “Democrats Sue Trump Administration Over Elections Executive Order” by Mariana Alfaro (Washington Post) for MSN

Wisconsin: “Liberal Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Race in Blow to Trump” by Patrick Marley (Washington Post) for MSN

Ethics

California: “Disgraced Former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu Sentenced to Two Months in Prison” by Spencer Custodio for Voice of OC

South Dakota: “Kristi Noem Refused to Say Who Financed Some of Her Travel. It Was Taxpayers Who Were on the Hook” by Joshua Goodman, Jim Mustian, and Sarah Raza (Associated Press) for Yahoo News

Legislative Issues

Ohio: “More Women Than Ever Serve in the Ohio Legislature. But They Are Still Underrepresented – and They Still Face Hurdles” by Jeremy Pelzer (Cleveland Plain Dealer) for MSN

Lobbying

Canada: “Ontario Lobbyist Found to Have Violated Rules, Including Relating to Greenbelt” by Colin D’Mello and Isaac Callan (Global News) for MSN

The Georgia House has just passed a bill removing the requirement to submit semi-monthly lobbyist activity reports when the Legislature is in session. Senate Bill 199 requires all reporting to be filed on the fifth of each month, which would bring reporting of state-level legislative lobbying in line with executive branch lobbying. The bill now goes to Gov. Kemp and if signed, will be effective January 1, 2026

The Department of State issued a declaratory ruling clarifying an exception to the lobbying gift ban regarding expenses for officials attending conferences. In the Detroit Regional Chamber Declaratory Ruling issued March 31, the department concluded a lobbyist or lobbyist agent may provide complimentary admission to public officials attending the Mackinac Policy Conference where the officials are providing a service with a value equal to or greater than the price of admission. The burden of demonstrating a public official is providing a service is on the lobbyist or lobbyist agent. An earlier ruling issued on March 10 concluded complimentary admission was an impermissible gift, but additional evidence submitted during the public comment period demonstrated public officials attending the Mackinac Policy Conference provide a service in exchange for complimentary admission. Lawmakers are currently considering Senate Bill 101, which would codify an exception to the gift ban for admission to a conference or educational event with subject matter directly related to the duties of the public official.

On April 1, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its audit of federal lobbying compliance for 2024.

For the audit, the GAO reviewed a stratified sample of 100 quarterly disclosure reports filed for the third and fourth quarters of calendar year 2023 and the first and second quarters of calendar year 2024. They also reviewed random samples of 160 LD-203 reports for the year-end 2023 and midyear 2024 reports.

Among its findings, the GAO concluded 93% of filers of lobbying disclosure reports were able to provide documentation to support reported income and expenses, 5% of LD-203 reports were missing reportable contributions, and 97% of lobbyists who filed new registrations also filed LD-2 reports as required for the quarter in which they first registered. The audit estimates at least 21% of all lobbying disclosure reports did not properly disclose formerly held covered positions.

The 54-page report is titled “2024 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations on Compliance with Requirements.”

Campaign Finance

California: “Alec Baldwin, a $227,000 Payment and a San Jose Fundraiser at Heart of Allegations Against Former Lawmaker” by Yue Stella Yu (CalMatters) for MSN

Florida: “Taxpayer-Funded Staffers for Ron DeSantis Solicit Lobbyist Cash as His Wife Considers a 2026 Run” by Ken Dixon (NBC News) for MSN

Elections

Georgia: “Justice Department Instructed to Dismiss Legal Challenge to Georgia Election Law” by Kate Brumback (Associated Press) for MSN

Ethics

National: “Trump Order Launches Smithsonian and Its Visitors into Confusion, Dismay” by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Kyle Swenson, Emma Uber, and Gaya Gupta (Washington Post) for MSN

Michigan: “New Michigan Transparency Portal a Work in Progress, Leaving Some Disclosures Hard to Find” by Simon Schuster for Bridge Michigan

Legislative Issues

Colorado: “Colorado House Member Faced Investigation Over Ignored Harassment Complaint, Aide Mistreatment” by Seth Klamann for Denver Post

Lobbying

Canada: “Former Liberal Minister Worked Government Contacts to Ply COVID Contracts Without Registering as Lobbyist” by Patti Sonntag (National Post) for MSN

Florida: “Newberry’s Marden to Withdraw Lobbying Registration After Learning It Could Violate State Law” by Alan Festo (Gainesville Sun) for MSN

Gov. Tim Walz issued a writ of special election to fill a vacancy in Senate District 6 following the resignation of Sen. Justin Eichorn on March 20. The Senate was expected to expel Eichorn after he was arrested and charged as part of a minor prostitution sting. The special primary election will be held on April 15, followed by the special general election on April 29.

Campaign Finance

Washington: “Seattle Committee Weighs Increased Levy Renewal for Public Campaign Financing” by Spencer Pauley (The Center Square) for MSN

Elections

Arizona: “Measure That Could Affect GOP 2026 Race for Governor Advances” by Howard Fischer (Capitol News Services) for Arizona Capitol Times

Ethics

National: “Disbanded Anti-Kleptocracy Unit Had Entangled Trump Allies” by Peter Whoriskey (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Judge Orders Government to Preserve Signal Messages About Houthi Military Strike” by Michael Kunzelman (Associated Press) for MSN

National: “Ethics Watchdog Says Congressman Cory Mills May Have Lied About Finances and Isn;t Cooperating” by Jack Newsham and Brent Griffiths (Business Insider) for MSN

Massachusetts: “Massachusetts Mayor Who Shuttered a Libelous Newspaper Faces Renewed Corruption Allegations” by Michael Casey (Associated Press) for MSN

Oregon: “Washington County Sewer Officials Ran Up Huge Food Tab on Ratepayers’ Dime” by Jamie Goldberg (Portland Oregonian) for MSN

Lobbying

Colorado: “Colorado Lawmakers Kill Bill Aimed at Banning Lobbyists from Donating to Campaigns” by Seth Klamann for Denver Post

Lawmakers passed a bill changing the disclosure requirements for political committees. House Bill 1264, effective July 1, 2025, requires campaign finance disclosure reports, including amendments, supplements, and termination reports to include the outstanding balance of each loan received at the time the report is filed.

Kansas lawmakers passed a bill allowing more nonprofits to reimburse public officials for travel and conferences. House Bill 2060 expands who can reimburse public officials for expenses to any nonprofit nonpartisan organization that doesn’t engage in lobbying in the state of Kansas. Current law prohibits certain elected officials and state employees from soliciting or accepting free or discounted tickets to entertainment or sporting events if such gifts are provided due to their role in government. The bill creates an exemption if it is obvious to the person accepting the gift the free or discounted tickets are not provided due to their position, or if accepting an invitation serves a legitimate state purpose or interest. The bill will now go to the governor to be signed or vetoed.

On March 27, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) held its scheduled meeting, but with only four commissioners instead of six and without a chairperson. Ellen Weintraub, who was just elected as chair on December 12 of last year, was not present and is currently not listed on the FEC’s website as a current commissioner.

Weintraub had received a letter dated January 31 of this year from President Donald J. Trump informing her he was removing her from the FEC “effective immediately.” While there remains a question of the legality of the firing, the FEC has still been conducting business and holding meetings with just the four commissioners. On January 20, Commissioner Sean J. Cooksey had resigned from the FEC, bringing its number down to five at the time.

The FEC website lists four commissioners with two vacancies: Vice Chairman James E. “Trey” Trainor III and Allen Dickerson, both Republicans, and Shana M. Broussard and Dara Lindenbaum, both Democrats. The FEC requires at least four commissioners to agree on any official action. No more than three commissioners can be from the same party. As it stands, all decisions must be unanimous between the four commissioners. Commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

At the meeting, Commissioner Dickerson nominated Commissioner Broussard for the position of chair. Following the motion, the commission held over its consideration to a future meeting.