The Ethics Commission has announced only minimal essential personnel will be in office from March 16 through April 6.

This will likely cause delays in precertification processing.

Accordingly, the Commission has requested that precertification requests be submitted well ahead of time to ensure timely processing.

A drop box has been placed in the front office to accommodate hand delivery during this period.

Citing concern for the health and well-being of the citizens, Secretary of State John Merrill is urging the state’s March 31 runoff elections be postponed.

In a statement over the weekend, Merrill requested an emergency opinion on whether the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency would authorize this postponement.

Merrill also stated there is no provision or process in Alabama’s Code or Constitution allowing changes to election dates after being set.

The Louisiana State Legislature announced that anyone planning to enter the state Capitol building will be screened for coronavirus beginning March 16.

An email was sent from the Senate and House Communication Offices regarding how to prevent the spread of the virus.

Besides all legislators, the staff and members of the public who enter will be subject to COVID-19 screening.

The Utah Republican and Utah Democratic parties intend to cancel their in-person state conventions.

Previously they were scheduled for April 25, and were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The decisions come after Gov. Gary Herbert announced that mass gatherings of groups in the state will be limited to 100 people.

Both party leaders say they are restructuring their April 25 state conventions, but had little information about how the meetings will look.

Vetting and candidate voting traditionally associated with the state convention will still occur, but primarily in an online format.

Senate Majority Leader of Missouri Caleb Rowden announced, due to concerns over spreading the COVID-19 illness, the Senate will not meet next week.

The legislative spring break was set to begin on March 19, meaning the Senate is not scheduled to reconvene for the rest of the month.

The House will meet next week to work on the budget.

Louisiana will postpone its presidential primary originally scheduled for April 4.

The state is the first to do so in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Louisiana will push the election to June 20, from the planned date of April 4.

It has also delayed its municipal elections scheduled for May 9 to July 25.

States such as Arizona, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio, which hold primaries on March 17, have so far moved forward with their election events as planned.

After completing its legislative business today, the Parliament of Canada will adjourn until at least April 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The political parties have agreed to the adjournment, according to Conservative House of Commons leader Mark Strahl.

“Members of Parliament are speaking with one voice today to say that we will do our part,” said MP Peter Julian on behalf of the New Democratic Party, according to Politico.

Additionally, on March 12, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife, was diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus.

Even while adjourned, the government will still have the ability to allocate federal funds to try to stem the spread of the virus.

In the final hours of the legislative session ending just before midnight on March 12, lawmakers pushed through a series of measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislature extended the state of emergency for Utah to June 30, and instituted a “no handshake” rule at the Capitol.

To help seniors who are highly susceptible to the novel coronavirus, $24 million was appropriated.

An additional $16 million was appropriated to the Utah Department of Health.

Finally, $4 million was passed for Utah’s Division of Emergency Management dealing with COVID-19.

Senate Majority Whip Dan Hemmert passed a resolution that allows lawmakers to meet remotely, using electronic communication methods.

House Bill 186, relating to lobbyist registration as a foreign agent, was introduced but not passed.

The bill would have required a foreign agent to register with the lieutenant governor prior to engaging in any lobbying activity.

In total, lawmakers passed 510 bills ranging from affordable housing and education to women’s rights and technology.

Due to concerns over COVID-19, the Delaware General Assembly has postponed the legislative session for one week until March 24.

Lawmakers were originally expected to return next week to discuss the state budget.

Starting today, the Capitol building will be closed to the public including tours and official meetings.

Legislators will reevaluate how to manage the rest of the legislative session on a weekly basis.

The closure does not affect any lobbyist reporting.

The 2020 session of the Washington State Legislature adjourned sine die on March 12 after 60 days in session.

Lawmakers’ final hours of work were overshadowed by the continued onslaught of COVID-19 news in the state.

This prompted passage of a supplemental state budget doubling funding from $100 million to $200 million for the COVID-19 response.

Lawmakers noted the sense of urgency to finish their work quickly due to growing concerns about the spread of the virus.

During the session, legislators passed a bill concerning certification of the level of foreign national ownership for corporations participating in state elections.

Senate Bill 6152 requires a certification from each corporation making a contribution to the candidate, political committee, or incidental committee.

The certification must state the corporation’s ownership is comprised of less than 50% of foreign nationals.

Legislators also passed a procurement bill providing for accountability and transparency in government contracting.

House Bill 1521 requires evaluation of contract performance.

The evaluation assess whether decisions to contract out government services to the private sector are achieving their stated objectives.

In addition, the bill intends to ensure public contractors given access to state resources are held to ethical standards consistent with public values.

Gov. Jay Inslee has 20 days to act on the bills.

On March 12, Gov. Ralph Northam announced a ban on all official out-of-state travel for state employees for at least the next 30 days.

Northam has also ordered an implementation of telework policies for state employees.

On March 12, the Maryland General Assembly announced the State House, the House and Senate office buildings, and Department of Legislative Services will be closed to the public.

Only people with a state-issued credential are permitted access.

Further, a mandatory telework policy has been put into effect for all non-essential personnel.

The announcement came after Gov. Larry Hogan instituted a similar telework policy for state agencies.

On Thursday March 12, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Speaker of the House David Ralston announced the General Assembly will suspend the 2020 legislative session indefinitely.

The assembly suspended following the 29^th legislative day on Friday, March 13.

The suspension is out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of health and safety of members, staff and the public given the prevalence of the coronavirus.

The session will resume at a future date to be determined.

The New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) announced their policy on COVID-19 and lobbying filings.

Upon request, JCOPE will grant reasonable extensions to filers who may not be able to meet the upcoming filing deadline due to a COVID-19 issue.

If a filer misses the deadline due to COVID-19 related issues, please contact the JCOPE help desk at:

• • • (518) 408-3976
    • helpdesk@jcope.ny.gov

Please contact as soon as possible to discuss a reasonable accommodation.