The South Carolina Legislature adjourned on Thursday, May 12.

Passed bills included early voting procedures and expanded access to birth control.

The Legislature will meet again in a special session scheduled to be held June 15 focusing on the state budget and any bills vetoed by the governor.

Last week Tennessee lawmakers overwhelmingly passed House Bill 1201, which requires 501(c)4 organizations to disclose any expenses over $5,000 in the 60 days leading up to an election when using candidate names and images.

The bill seeks to create more transparency for dark-money groups and enhances disclosure laws around campaign service companies.

The bill now goes to Gov. Bill Lee for approval.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session to consider legislation related to property insurance.

This session will convene on May 23 and adjourn no later than May 27.

The main purpose of the special session is to make changes to the Florida Building Code in order to improve the affordability of property insurance prior to the next Atlantic hurricane season.

West Virginia’s special session adjourned on April 26.

Lawmakers planned on dealing with 17 bills, but many did not pass.

The most debated bill was Senate Bill 2001, which eventually passed after being vetoed by the governor due to technical errors.

The bill appropriates $250 million to be used to upgrade infrastructure in municipalities of the state.

The 444^th Maryland General Assembly adjourned from its 90-day session on April 11 with over 600 bills being passed as of Monday morning.

Passed legislation includes a compromise increasing local budgets for highway repairs, additional measures to enhance Maryland’s cybersecurity response, and bills aimed toward accelerating the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.

The Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on April 5 after over 90 days in session.

This extended session was highlighted by lowered state taxes, redistricting, and the creation of a medical marijuana program.

This does affect lobbyist reporting.

The lobbyist end-of-session activity report is due April 15.

The Tennessee Ethics Committee has voted to move Sen. Katrina Robinson’s case in front of the full Senate after a 4-1 vote to remove Robinson from her seat.

Robinson has been convicted of four counts of wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing scheduled for March 3.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced a special session to address how the state will use the remaining first-round funds from the American Rescue Plan.

Alabama still has about $443 million left to be used for pandemic-related health care services and reimbursement.

This session will begin on January 19.

The Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee has rejected a proposal to cap what are currently unlimited campaign contributions to state candidates.

Senate Bill 44 would have limited the amount someone can give a candidate to $20,000 per election.

The Delaware County Council has voted to approve an ordinance requiring contractors to disclose if they have made contributions for candidates running for certain county or state offices as well as political parties or political action committees.

Disclosure forms will be included in the publicly posted agenda materials for the applicable council meeting and will also be posted on the county website.

The ordinance will be effective in April.

The Illinois General Assembly has canceled in-person work for a second week due to COVID-19 concerns.

Of the nine scheduled session days, eight have now been pushed to remote.

Committee meetings can still be viewed by the public on the Legislature’s website.

West Virginia Gov. Justice has called for a special session on January 10 to consider and act upon several items relating to economic development.

These items include a bill establishing a “West Virginia Industrial Advancement Act” and supplemental appropriation bills.

New York Gov. Hochul announced special elections for February 15 to fill vacancies in Assembly District 60 and 72.

The seats became vacant when former Assembly members Charles Barron and Carmen De La Rosa began serving on the New York City Council.

During the 2022 State of the State speech, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to replace the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) with an independent watchdog agency prioritizing transparency.

While JCOPE members are appointed by elected officials, the new agency would have a rotating board of five members made up of the 15 state-accredited law school deans or their designees.

These members will be prohibited from communicating with outside parties regarding any potential or ongoing investigations.

Unlike JCOPE, the new agency would be subject to the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meetings Law.