Two Mississippi state senators have announced their resignations effective June 30.

Sen. Tammy Witherspoon of District 38 has resigned to serve as the newly elected mayor of Magnolia, whose term began July 1.

Additionally, Sen. Sampson Jackson of District 32 has decided to retire after serving 30 years in the Legislature.

Gov. Reeves is expected to announce special elections to fill the vacancies in the coming days.

On June 28, the Annapolis City Council voted unanimously to adopt campaign finance reforms.

Ordinance 15-21 requires any person making independent expenditures of $5,000 or more to register with the Board of Supervisors of Elections.

Once registered, such persons are required to file reports upon making independent expenditures of $10,000 or more.

Further, the reports must identify the person making the expenditure and any donors who have contributed $6,000 or more. Ordinance 15-21 is effective immediately.

The West Virginia Legislature held its second special session on June 24.

During the one-day session, lawmakers approved adjustments of roughly $1.95 billion to the state budget, including the allocation of surplus federal relief funding.

The Legislature also considered and passed bills relating to regional jails and alcohol sales.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has called the General Assembly to convene a special session beginning August 2.

The special session will focus on judicial appointments and the allocation of over $4.3 billion in federal COVID relief funding.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has announced another special session for lawmakers on June 24.

The special session is aimed at appropriations of over $250 million of budget surplus prior to the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

The West Virginia held a one-day special session on June 7.

Though the session was brief, the Legislature managed to pass seven bills.

Six of these bills concerned reallocation of unused federal relief funds to road maintenance work and the departments of Health and Human Resources and Education, while the final bill concerned property exemptions for bankruptcy proceedings.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill to allow PACs to give state Senate candidates $25,400 over a four-year election period.

Senate Bill 1120 requires the PAC limits for Senate candidates to reset every two years in the same manner as they do for House candidates.

This will double the previous PAC limit of $12,700 because Senate candidates may receive the entire $25,400 at one time.

The bill is effective immediately.

The South Carolina General Assembly is set to reconvene for up to two days on June 8 to discuss appropriations bills including how to spend remaining COVID-19 relief funds as well as funds received from a Savannah River Site settlement.

This is the first of three times the General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene pursuant to the adjournment resolution adopted back in May.

The remaining scheduled dates to reconvene are June 21 and June 29.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has announced he is calling a special session of the West Virginia Legislature for June 7.

The special session will look to allocate a portion of the state’s nearly $400 million surplus in federal relief funds from the departments of Health and Human Resources and Education to the state’s road maintenance programs.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has announced special election dates to fill the vacancy left by the late Rep. Mike Carter who died of pancreatic cancer last month.

The special general election will be held on September 14 after the special primary election on July 27.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1890, establishing a contribution limit of $3,000 to PACs sponsoring or opposing constitutional amendments proposed by initiative.

The new law also establishes a preemption of contribution limits established by local government entities.

The bill is effective July 1.

Tennessee State Rep. Mike Carter died from pancreatic cancer on May 15.

Carter first won election to the 29th District on November 6, 2012.

He was subsequently re-elected four times, most recently in 2020.

Gov. Bill Lee is expected to announce a special election to fill the vacancy.

The Alabama Legislature adjourned sine die on May 17.

Among the measures passed were the $2.4 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year, legalization of medical marijuana, and a ban on curbside voting.

Additionally, a bill requiring all campaign finance reports to be filed electronically was passed earlier in the session.

This requirement goes into effect in August 2023.

The South Carolina General Assembly has recessed the 2021 session on May 13, after adopting an adjournment resolution extending the 2021 session.

The General Assembly has scheduled several dates throughout the month of June to reconvene for a couple of days to address issues like the state budget, COVID-19 funding matters, and vetoes by Gov. Henry McMaster.

The resolution does not set a specific date for the end of the 2021 legislative session.

However, the resolution requires the session to conclude on or before January 11, 2022.