The 135th General Assembly adjourned on December 18, until Monday December 23, 2024, after a marathon session lasting two days.

With not many days left in this legislative session, lawmakers have likely completed most of their work.

One bill affecting campaign finance was passed during the special session in May and June of this year.

Special Session Amended Substitute House Bill 0001 prohibits individuals and certain entities from knowingly soliciting or accepting political contributions or expenditures from a foreign national. The lone ethics bill intended to enact the Ethics and Financial Disclosure Reform Act, changing the ethics laws for public officials and employees and reporting requirements for lobbyists, never made it out of committee.

The 136th General Assembly will convene on January 6, 2025.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly concluded work for the 2023-2024 legislative session on November 13.

Lawmakers introduced but failed to pass bills related to lobbying and campaign finance.

The Legislature will formally adjourn on November 30 and is scheduled to convene the 2025-2026 legislative session on January 7, 2025.

State lawmakers will come together for a one-day session on October 9 to vote on a hurricane relief package.

Additional legislation is being drafted to enable the long-term recovery of the region and House Democratic Leader Robert Reives states hurricane relief could lead to introduction of additional legislation.

This does affect lobbying reporting.

A monthly report is due November 14 if expenditures were made on legislators or legislative employees during the reporting period.

The Delaware General Assembly adjourned on June 30.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 316, which prohibits the distribution of deep fakes of candidates within 90 days of an election without the consent of the depicted individual, if the distributor knows or reasonably should have known they are distributing a deep fake.

Gov. Carney has 10 days to act on the legislation, and the bill goes into effect upon approval.

On June 14, the Rhode Island General Assembly adjourned.

Lawmakers passed bills to simplify language used on ballot questions and to no longer require unaffiliated primary voters to affiliate with the party holding the primary.

While bills affecting lobbying were introduced, none passed.

The New York General Assembly adjourned on June 8.

Lawmakers introduced various bills on the use of materially deceptive media or synthetic media in political communications.

Of these bills, only Senate Bill 9678B passed, which contains technical changes to better align state law with federal law on use of materially deceptive media in political communications.

The second regular session of the 102nd General Assembly adjourned sine die as of midnight May 30, in accordance with the constitution.

Lawmakers passed a campaign finance bill permitting committees to use credit cards and debit cards authorized and paid for through the official depository account.

Previously expenditures could only be made by check.

The Legislature adjourned May 29.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2412 preventing candidates who were not in the primary from being listed on the ballot at the general election.

However, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Gail Noll issued a temporary injunction on May 22, blocking the law from taking effect until she issues a written decision in the case heard on June 3.

The Alabama Legislature adjourned earlier than expected this year on May 9.

Lawmakers declined to pass a bill to rewrite large portions of the Alabama Ethics Act.

House Bill 227 would have relaxed gift restrictions; weakened powers of the Alabama Ethics Commission; and given oversight of the commission to the Legislature.

Passed bills included those relating to school vouchers and limiting absentee voting assistance.

The second regular session of the Wisconsin State Assembly concluded on May 15.

During the session, lawmakers passed campaign finance bills related to disclosures and lobbyist contributions.

Assembly Bill 664 requires any audio or video communication paid for by a candidate, committee, or party containing synthetic media to include a disclaimer at both the beginning and the end of the communication.

Senate Bill 822 requires local committees supporting or opposing local candidates and referendums to register and file campaign finance reports with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission instead of local clerks beginning July 1, 2025.

Senate Bill 741 clarifies only a special election to fill a vacancy in a state office opens the lobbyist contribution window for personal contributions to a partisan elected state official or state candidate.

Conduits receiving and releasing earmarked contributions will be required to pay a $100 annual filing fee.

The Alaska Legislature adjourned sine die on May 16 after pushing through a flurry of bills in the final days.

The Senate adjourned right before the midnight hour on Wednesday while the House continued to work into Thursday morning.

This has raised questions about the legality of those pieces of legislation which were passed after the midnight deadline.

The main focus towards the end of the session was on a few different energy bills, rather than the usual budget negotiations.

The legislature also passed several major policy bills regarding crime, the budget, and education issues.

The Vermont General Assembly adjourned sine die on Saturday, May 10.

During the session, lawmakers passed House Bill 875, which overhauls the Vermont ethics laws.

The bill grants the Ethics Commission the power to perform investigations and hearings.

Additionally, the bill creates a uniform Municipal Code of Ethics and repeals redundant municipal ethics laws.

If approved by the governor, sections of the bill will take effect on passage; January 1, 2025; or January 1, 2026.

The Connecticut General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 8.

During the session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 253 concerning foreign political spending.

The bill prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or expenditures and individuals from receiving contributions from foreign nationals.

Additionally, it requires certification on independent expenditure reports that the person making the expenditure is not a foreign national.

If signed by the governor, Senate Bill 253 becomes effective from passage.

This does affect lobbying reporting.

The monthly employer activity report required any month the General Assembly is in regular session is due June 10.

The Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on Saturday, May 4.

Notable bills passed during this session include House Bill 1664, which included agents and owners of utility companies in the definition of covered person for the purposes of political contribution and gift restrictions.

Lawmakers also succeeded in passing a $7.9 billion budget.

Notable bills that did not pass included a bill to require lobbyists to disclose whether any client is a foreign principal of a foreign adversary and a bill requiring disclosure if the lobbyist had a material financial interest in a business that may benefit from an issue or bill.