Effective January 8, a lobbyist who had also been elected to public office is prohibited from making or authorizing, from political contributions accepted as a candidate or officeholder, a political expenditure that is a political contribution to a candidate, officeholder, or political committee.

This restriction applies after the ending date of the last term for which the lobbyist was elected to public office. This law was created by House Bill 505 of the 2017 Legislature and adds Section 305.029 to the Government Code.

On December 14, 2018, the Texas Ethics Commission adopted an amendment to Texas Ethics Commission Rules §50.1, increasing the legislative per diem from $190 to $221.

Per Texas law, the detailed reporting threshold for food and beverages, entertainment, transportation, and lodging is 60 percent of the legislative per diem.

The detailed reporting threshold therefore increased to $132.60 for these expenditures made on or after January 6, 2019.

The Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 44, a bill with the potential to remove an initiative measure known as the Government Accountability Act from the November ballot.

Under the Alaska Constitution, if a bill is deemed to be substantially similar to an initiative, the initiative could be removed from the ballot.

Similar to the initiative measure, House Bill 44 prohibits lobbyists from purchasing alcoholic beverages for a legislator, implements a stricter policy on foreign travel, eliminates a per diem for legislators after 121 days if the budget has not been passed, and bans foreign corporations and nationals from making political contributions.

The governor has 20 days to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without his signature.