Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into law a bill moving the state primary to May 20, 2014. House Bill 310 was passed to comply with a federal court order requiring at least 45 days between primary and general elections and subsequent runoffs to give overseas military personnel time to cast absentee ballots for federal candidates.

Primary runoffs will be held on July 22, while the general election remains on November 4.

The new law, effective upon signature, also restores the requirement to file a March 31 campaign finance report, previously removed by House Bill 143.

Governor Nathan Deal signed two pieces of ethics legislation aimed at increasing public confidence in state government on May 6, 2013. House Bill 142 restores rulemaking powers to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, clarifies and modifies classification as a lobbyist, and sets a gift limit of $75 per lobbyist gift.

House Bill 143 requires more campaign transparency for local races and allows for public notice of any campaign contributions given to members of the General Assembly leading up to the start of the legislative session. The bills become effective January 1, 2014.

Two ethics reform bills will likely be voted on by the full House on Monday, February 25, 2013. House Bill 142, sponsored by Speaker David Ralston, would ban lobbyist spending on individual lawmakers, return regulatory powers to the state ethics commission, and require activists representing an organization to register as lobbyists.

House Bill 143, also sponsored by Ralston, would require lawmakers to file a report early in the legislative session detailing campaign contributions and expenditures during the five-day period before the Legislature convenes.

Photo of the Georgia State Capitol by Autiger on Wikipedia.