Voters passed seven of 13 ballot questions including measures to establish a clean elections program, ranked-choice voting, an ethics commission, and a code of ethics.

The new campaign finance rules prohibit corporate contributions to candidates for city office and prohibit ballot question contributions or expenditures from any entity under foreign influence.

The city will use a proportional ranked choice voting method for elections in which more than one person is to be elected to a single office.

City Council will form an independent ethics commission and then adopt a code of ethics as recommended by the commission.

A commission created to review the current government structure in Portland, Oregon has voted to put a comprehensive governmental restructuring proposition on the ballot this November.

Voters will get to decide on expanding the number of City Council members to 12, implement ranked-choice voting for council members, and hire a professional city administrator.

These changes come on the heels of mass-dissatisfaction among the Portland residents.

Increases in crime, homelessness, and housing costs have all been blamed for the amplified scrutiny of the current government.

Portland, Maine City Council adopted an ethics code that will apply to the council members.

The ethics code adopts and incorporates by reference several provisions of state law, including the sections on improper influence and improper gifts to public servants in 17-A M.R.S.A. §§603, 605.

The code requires city officials to avoid financial conflict of interest and to refuse benefits or gifts of any kind from individuals seeking to influence the council’s decisions.

The code also prohibits council members from accepting free items from persons, firms, or corporations who have a contract with the city.

Councilors will also be prohibited from soliciting political contributions from any prospective city contractors or any individuals or entities who did business with the city in the prior 12 months.

The ethics code will take effect on June 16.

The City of Portland’s Open and Accountable Elections Program has voted and accepted new administrative rules for candidates participating in the program.

The new rules change the name of the program to the Small Donor Elections Program.

The new guidelines clarify candidate reporting requirements and address any sections of the program left to the Portland Elections Commission in the code.

The commission set the limit on seed donations to $500 per entity.

Seed money contributions are allowed to be made by any legal entity, including corporations.

The city of Portland adopted new and amended Auditor Administrative Rules (ARAs) following a public comment period.

The administrative rule changes are a result of previous litigation and court cases; a need for updating certain dollar amounts to comply with the City Charter’s inflation updates; and from a year of experience implementing the relatively new regulations.

The changes add guidance for social media communications and provide guidance on when and what information may be required in political campaign disclosures.

In the wake of an Oregon Supreme Court ruling last week overturning long standing precedents declaring campaign contribution limits in Oregon elections unconstitutional, Portland will enforce a voter approved $500 per donor limit starting Monday.

The court ruled that contribution limits do not violate free speech.

However, they asked lower courts to decide if $500 per donor limits, approved first by Multnomah County voters and then by Portland voters, are too low.

Portland city election officials say they’ll begin enforcing the contribution limits after the Oregon Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a Multnomah County Circuit judge’s decision declaring campaign contribution limits in city elections unconstitutional.

However, election officials will not retroactively enforce the limits. Candidates who violate the new donation limits will face fines of up to $3,000 per violation.

The Portland Auditor has temporarily suspended enforcement of lobbying and political consultant reporting requirements for first quarter reports due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The deadline for lobbyist reports covering activity for the period of January 1 to March 31 is extended until June 15.

The auditor’s office will not assess late fees or penalties for failure to:

• • File quarterly reports
  • Submit required updated information
  • Register as a lobbyist or political consultant

Lobbying entities, political consultants, and city officials are encouraged to file reports when they are able to do so.

Commissioner Nick Fish passed away on January 2, creating a vacant council seat.

The Portland City Council chose the May 19 municipal primary election date for a special election to fill the vacancy.

Potential candidates would have to wait until March 10 to file for Fish’s position.

If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters would face each other in a runoff election on November 3.

The Portland Auditor has announced administrative rule changes to the city’s lobbying regulations.

The revised rules clarify the definition of lobbying to include grassroots lobbying and attempts to gain goodwill.

Fiscal disclosures are required to include expenses related to grassroots lobbying.

The rule changes also provide guidance on governments registering as lobbying entities if certain types of lobbying occur.

Governments will be considered lobbying entities when certain outside individuals lobby on their behalf.

The regulation changes also exclude certain cultural gifts from the city’s lobbying registration and reporting requirements if the market value of the gift cannot be easily determined and declining the gift is likely to cause offense.

Additionally, the revised rules provide guidance on when lobbying groups and city officials may be fined for late filings.

The auditor’s office will issue a warning notice for late filings.

Reports must be filed within 24 hours after the deadline or a late fee will be assessed up to $500 per report.

After reviewing public comments, the Portland Auditor has further revised and offered clarification to proposed rule changes to the city’s lobbying regulations.

The amended rules are available at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/proposedrules.

An additional public comment period will be open until November 18.

The Portland Auditor has announced new campaign finance disclosure and contribution requirements and a new public campaign financing program.

Committees must now timely file disclosures of financing for certain election communications advocating for or against a city candidate. Additionally, committees must provide names of individuals or other entities contributing to the committees.

Entities making more than $750 in independent expenditures to support or oppose city candidates must now register with the secretary of state as a political committee or independent expenditure filer and provide certain disclosures.

Public and private employers must now allow employees to donate to political committees through payroll deduction if they allow similar post-tax deductions for other purposes.

The public campaign financing program will require candidates to agree to limit individual contributions to $250 or less and abide by other fundraising limits. Qualified candidates will receive a six to one match for campaign contributions of $50 or less.

Candidates will not be required to participate in the program.

The new disclosure rules went into effect Wednesday, September 4. City candidates are eligible to qualify for the public campaign finance program on Thursday, September 12.

The Portland Auditor has opened the public comment period for the proposed administrative changes to the city’s lobbying regulations.

The revised rules clarify lobbying including grassroots lobbying and attempts to gain goodwill.

Fiscal disclosures will be required to include expenses related to grassroots lobbying.

The proposed rule changes will also provide guidance on governments registering as lobbying entities if certain types of lobbying occur.

Governments will be considered lobbying entities when certain outside individuals lobby on their behalf.

The regulation changes will also exclude certain cultural gifts from the city’s lobbying registration and reporting requirements if the market value of the gift cannot be easily determined and declining the gift is likely to cause offense.

City officials will not be required to report certain ceremonial, hand-made, or other culturally specific gifts.

However, such gifts must still be accepted on behalf of the city and documented in accordance with city rules.

Additionally, the revised rules will provide guidance on when lobbying groups and city officials may be fined for late filings.

The auditor’s office will issue a warning notice for late filings.

Reports must be filed within 24 hours after the deadline or a late fee will be assessed up to $500 per report.

The public comment period will be open until September 23.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bloch struck down voter-approved limits on campaign donations to candidates running for county offices.

Judge Bloch’s ruling stated the $500 limit on donations violates Oregon’s expansive free expression guarantees in the Oregon Constitution.

The decision mirrors one the judge issued in March 2018 striking down limits for Multnomah County races, citing a 1997 Oregon Supreme Court decision.

Judge Bloch upheld portions of the voter-approved campaign rules that require Portland political advertisements to prominently disclose their top five financial backers.

Supporters of the law say they will appeal the decision.

Mayor Ethan Strimling announced he will propose changes to city elections, seeking public funding for local campaigns and new lobbyist disclosure rules.

Strimling’s new initiatives will demand elected officials disclose meetings with lobbyists and other influencers.

The initiatives will also reiterate calls to allow noncitizens living in the city legally the right to vote in local elections, as well as urge the city to implement ranked-choice voting in City Council and school board races.

Strimling said he plans to work with the City Council and other stakeholders to develop the details of his proposals over the year.