The Kansas Legislature adjourned sine die from its 2021 legislative session on May 26.

During the session, lawmakers in Kansas passed proposals to ban COVID-19 vaccine passports, limit efforts to track down the close contacts of people with the coronavirus and provide up to $500 million to businesses that closed or faced pandemic restrictions.

Several bills related to lobbying law were also introduced but did not pass. House Bill 2055 would have changed the five-day grace period for the late filing notice for lobbyist reports and statements of substantial interest reports to begin when the notice is deposited in the mail.

Additionally, House Bill 2235 would have required lobbyists to wear body cameras while inside the statehouse. The bill would have required such recordings to be public records. Additionally, House Bill 2235 would have prohibited any economic benefit or hospitality provided by a lobbyist to a legislator or candidates for the Legislature.

The 2022 legislative session will convene on January 10.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has called for state legislators to meet in a special session May 19 to discuss issues including accepting and appropriating funds from the American Rescue Plan.

The Legislature will also discuss prohibiting face mask requirements in K-12 schools, amending provisions related to the sale of electronic cigarettes, and extending the state of emergency for drought conditions.

However, lawmakers will not discuss critical race theory and Second Amendment sanctuary legislation during the special session.

Cox said Second Amendment sanctuary legislation should wait for a future general session.

The length of the special session has not been announced. This does not affect lobbying dates.

Individuals, political committees, lobbyists, or their principals may not make a campaign contribution to the governor, the governor’s personal campaign committee, or a PAC controlled by the governor when the Legislature is convened in a special session.

The Idaho Legislature voted to close down until early April after a coronavirus outbreak among members of the state House.

The recess, which will last until April 6, comes after six members in the lower chamber tested positive for the virus.

The recess will postpone debates on significant issues, including setting the state budget.

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada has released information concerning COVID-19 emergency funding and registration requirements online.

Several key points are emphasized by the Office: communications with public office holders about the making, developing or amending of a government-funding program linked to COVID-19 are registrable activities; disclosure of any non-repayable portion of COVID-19 relief funding received¸ from any level of government entity, foreign or domestic, must be disclosed in a lobbyist’s registration; and updates to registrations are required no later than 15 days after the end of the month in which the funding was provided.

Examples of COVID-19-related funding programs include the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Business Account, and the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance.

The disclosure of funding by lobbyists is not limited to COVID-19 relief or to lobbying the federal government. Other reportable government funding includes all grants, non-repayable contributions, forgiven portions of government loans, and any other non-repayable funding.

Disclosure is still not required for repayable contributions, repayable portions of government loans, tax credits, refunds, exemptions, rebates, remissions of taxes, and payment of goods or services contracts.

Applying to a federal government funding program linked to COVID-19 alone is not a registrable activity.

A special session or pause in the Nebraska Legislature is anticipated due to delays in delivering U.S. Census data.

This data is needed for redrawing districts served by state legislators, U.S. congressional representatives, and other elected officials.

Normally, the once-a-decade census is done by October, affording plenty of time for double-checks so that census numbers needed for redistricting can be delivered by April 1.

COVID-19 and other factors delayed the 2020 Census, and now state officials are expecting the census data to be delivered September 30.

This is three months after the regular session of the Legislature is scheduled to end.

A special meeting, session, or some of the 49-member Nebraska Legislature will be special accommodation, will be necessary.

Rather than calling a separate special session, the Legislature could decide to pause its 90-day session before its scheduled end date of June 10.

The session will, then, resume the remainder of the session in the fall.

Delaying the end of the session would also delay the implementation date for many bills until late into the year.

This created a strong argument for ending the regular session and then gaveling in a special session later.

No decision has been made yet because of the uncertainty due to the pandemic.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte repealed two executive orders issued by former Gov. Steve Bullock.

Executive Order 15-2018 required companies to report political spending if they wanted to bid on large state contracts.

The order also required companies bidding for certain state contracts to disclose political donations made within 60 days of an election.

The second order allowed county election clerks to expand voting by mail for the November general election to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The order also required counties to offer in-person voting, but it did not require polling places to be open on election day.

The Chicago Board of Ethics is further extending the deadline for completion of annual mandatory ethics training by registered lobbyists for the 2019-2020 training period to May 1, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The training is completed online using a link available on the Board of Ethics website.

If a lobbyist terminates registration prior to the May 1 training deadline, training is not required, provided all reporting requirements have also been satisfied, including the final activity report.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Capitol is closed to the public.

Members of the Senate can be contacted at http://w3.akleg.gov/senate.php.

Members of the House can be contacted at http://w3.akleg.gov/house.php.

The 2021 legislative session will start off closed to all but lawmakers, essential staff, and some members of the media.

All others will participate virtually, according to a logistics plan issued by the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

The plan released on Thursday, less than two weeks before the legislative session begins on February 1, is similar to one in place during two special sessions over the summer.

However, the plan hints at broader access once core personnel are vaccinated for COVID-19.

Members of the public can watch hearings through the legislative website and through YouTube livestreams.

Those wishing to participate in hearings will do so by reservation and through Zoom.

Public comments can be made by phone, or through videoconference at designated locations being developed across the state.

Legislators will meet with constituents and lobbyists through Microsoft Teams.

Once lawmakers and staff have been vaccinated, lobbyists and members of the public will be allowed at hearings in person by reservation.

Participants who come in person will need to show documentation they have been vaccinated or take a free, rapid COVID test before entering the building.

In order to account for more virtual lobbying taking place, the plan also calls for an update to state law.

Only lobbyists who appear in person in the building will need to register with the Legislative Counsel Bureau and be regulated.

Lawmakers convened the 122nd Indiana General Assembly with several adjustments due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

These changes include moving the House of Representatives to the Government Center South building and installing plexiglass barriers in Senate.

Neither chamber is requiring masks despite a push by House Democrats on Organization Day for a mask mandate.

Republicans also have supermajorities in both chambers.

Lawmakers will be focusing on writing the two-year budget, which must be done by June 30.

Additionally, they will redraw legislative and congressional district lines when the state receives the population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Florida House and Senate have instituted COVID-19 safety protocols during committee meetings ahead of the 2021 legislative session.

For the month of January, Senate committee meetings will be limiting in-person attendance to individuals invited by the committee leaders.

Rooms at the Leon County Civic Center have been reserved and will be made available to other individuals wishing to remotely appear and provide testimony.

House committee meetings attendance will also be limited.

Individuals seeking to attend and provide public testimony must register online at least three hours prior to the meeting.

Once seating capacity is reached, individuals will be allowed to provide written testimony.

The testimony will then be distributed amongst the committee members prior to the meeting.

The new House protocols will be in effect until February 28.

The Colorado Legislature will convene for the 2021 regular session on January 13.

However, it is expected to pause soon after until February 16 due to growing COVID-19 concerns in the state.

Lawmakers will convene to address urgent business, including swearing in new members, as quickly as possible before temporarily pausing the session.

The tentative plan is to resume February 16 when leaders hope the peak of the pandemic will have subsided. However, work may resume earlier if there is an emergency that requires immediate attention.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Illinois Legislature began a final session for the 101st General Assembly on January 8.

The Senate met at the Capitol while the House met at the Bank of Springfield Center.

The separate meeting locations accommodated social distancing due to COVID-19 concerns.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst indicated if ethics reforms were not addressed, he would refile a proposal for the 102nd General Assembly, set to convene January 13.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he is suspending his bid for another term as speaker, but is not withdrawing from the race.

A speaker must be elected before the House of Representatives can begin work.

Both the Vermont House and Senate are scheduled to begin their 2021 sessions Wednesday, January 6.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of lawmakers will be attending remotely to swear in new members of both chambers and to elect the speaker of the House and the president pro tem of the Senate.

Gov. Phil Scott will remotely give his inaugural address on Thursday, January 7.