Latest Developments
- The Missouri Legislature approved Senate Joint Resolution 38, which places a measure on the November ballot to reduce legislative contribution limits by $100 and eliminate inflation adjustments, revise the method of redistricting the legislature, and ban gifts from lobbyists and lobbyist employers, which currently are capped at $5 per gift. St. Louis Public Radio reports that the measure is intended to revise the November 2018 Clean Missouri ballot measure that empowered a demographer to redraw districts.
- COVID-19 Update: Government agencies and courts continue to respond to the COVID-19 emergency. Each week we will add the latest information. For more information about filing deadlines, contact our Political Reporting Unit. Among the more notable developments this week:
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- The House Ethics Committee is unable to meet and act on any complaints during the pandemic. Roll Call reports that until the committee can meet in person, “the Ethics panel cannot issue a subpoena, empanel an investigative subcommittee nor discipline members for conduct unbecoming of the chamber.”
- The United States District Court for the District of Montana, in Doctors for a Healthy Montana v. Fox, ruled that Montana’s requirements that govern the naming of political committees are not unconstitutional. According to Courthouse News, a complaint filed with the Commissioner of Political Practices alleges that a “majority of members… were not doctors, but politicians.”
- The Washington Public Disclosure Commission issued draft regulations to implement the recently approved SB 6152, which bars contributions, expenditures, political advertising, or electioneering communications by a foreign national. The new law takes effect June 11. The Commission is seeking comments by May 20 and anticipates approval of emergency regulations at its May 28 meeting.
- The United States Senate moved forward the nomination of James E. Trainor III to serve on the Federal Election Commission by acting on several procedural matters. The Senate agreed to hear the matter in executive session, presented a cloture motion, and waived the mandatory quorum requirement.
- The North Dakota Ethics Commission unveiled its new website.
Reminders:
The Practising Law Institute presents a one-hour program on COVID-19 Political Compliance Considerations for Companies and Nonprofits on May 21, 2020 at 1 p.m. EDT. Register here for the briefing presented by Jason Kaune and Elli Abdoli of Nielsen Merksamer. The program, which is free to PLI members, will outline the government ethics, lobby disclosure, and campaign finance rules you need to know in connection with working with public officials, donating goods, and engaging in political activity during the pandemic.
In Case You Missed It:
- No Relief for Signature Gatherers: The Arizona Supreme Court, in Arizonans for Second Chances v. Hobbs, turned down a request by four ballot measure committees to permit the committees to collect signatures online. According to MSN/AZCentral, the committees wanted “to use the same website, known as E-Qual, that candidates for state offices use to get signatures for their nominating petitions.” Meanwhile, an Illinois judge rejected an effort by an initiative proponent to “reduce the signature requirement by 50 percent, enable voters to sign petitions electronically and allow those documents to be submitted electronically as well.” The Peoria Journal Star reports that the organization found that the “threshold was impossible to meet given the issuance of Gov. JB Pritzker’s disaster proclamation and stay-at-home order.”
- Signature Gatherers Seeking Relief: North Dakota Voters First filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Fargo, “challenging the state’s in-person signature requirements,” according to the Minot Daily News. In addition, Fair Maps Nevada, a ballot measure committee promoting an independent redistricting commission, filed a suit (Fair Maps Nevada v. Cegavske) in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that the organization “says COVID-19 restrictions have made traditional signature gathering impossible, and it has asked a federal judge for more time to collect signatures and permission to gather them electronically.”
- Some Relief: The Montana Secretary of Stateissued a Declaratory Ruling to MTCARES thatmodifies signature gathering requirements, allowing groups to mail in non-notarized signatures. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that the action follows a ruling in a case brought by another ballot measure group, New Approach Montana, which lost its lawsuit seeking to collect electronic signatures. But according to the Missoulian, New Approach Montana has pivoted, and announced that it will begin collecting signatures with social distancing.