The Legislature met in a one-day special session on November 22 to approve a bill allowing municipalities to impose their own mask mandates.

Legislative leadership agreed to the special session after Gov. Scott made it clear he would not impose statewide masking requirements.

This session marked the Legislature’s first return to the Statehouse since the pandemic began.

Gov. Phil Scott will reconvene the Vermont Legislature for a special session on November 22 to address mask mandates.

The special session will aim to pass legislation allowing municipalities to implement their own time-limited mask mandates.

It is not yet clear when the session will end. This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Maine Gov. Mills announced a special election to be held on January 11, 2022, for House District 27.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Kyle Bailey resigned in October to pursue other career opportunities.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire in December 2022.

Public members of the state’s Drug Utilization Review Board are now required to file initial and quarterly disclosures reporting the financial benefits or interests they receive from members of the pharmaceutical industry.

Upon appointment, public members will need to report all meals, payments, gifts, salaries, stocks, or other investments they receive from pharmaceutical managers, pharmaceutical distributors, or pharmacy benefit managers in the preceding three years.

Members of the board will be required to update their financial disclosures quarterly, and reports will be publicly available.

Elizabeth “Liz” Harrington, the Lobby Systems Administrator for the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office, passed away on October 28.

A funeral mass will be held at Saint Augustine’s Church in Montpelier on November 13 at 11:00 a.m. and professional colleagues can send condolences to Liz’s family courtesy of the Secretary of State’s Office at the following address:

Vermont SOS-Elections, Attn: Family of Liz Harrington, 128 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633.

Incumbent New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy defeated Republican Jack Ciatarelli in a tighter-than-expected race.

Murphy is the first Democratic governor to win re-election in New Jersey in four decades.

Democrat Thom Welby will serve as the next Pennsylvania state representative for District 113.

Welby defeated challenger Dominick Manetti handily in the special election and will serve the remainder of the term that ends next November.

The seat was left vacant after Sen. Marty Flynn won election to the state Senate.

Democrat Gina Curry will serve as the next state representative for District 164 after defeating Brian Shariff Taylor in a special election.

District 164 was left vacant after former Rep. Margo Davidson resigned following theft charges.

Curry will serve the remainder of the term that ends next November.

Democrat Sam Zurier defeated Alex Cannon in a special election to serve as the next Rhode Island state Senator for District 3.

The District 3 seat became vacant after Sen. Gayle Goldin resigned earlier this year to take a job with the Biden administration.

Democrat Raegan LaRochelle defeated James Orr in a special election to serve as the next Representative for Maine’s District 86.

The District 86 seat became vacant when Rep. Justin Fecteau resigned earlier this year to move out of state.

LaRochelle, a current Augusta City Council member, will serve the remainder of the term set to expire at the end of December 2022.

Democrat Cordell Cleare will serve as the next New York State Senator for District 30.

Cleare defeated challenger Oz Sultan handily in the special election and will serve the remainder of the term set to expire at the end of 2022.

The state Senate seat was left vacant after Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was tapped as Gov. Hochul’s lieutenant.

Yudelka Tapia ran unopposed in a special election to fill the District 86 Assembly seat left vacant when former Rep. Victor Pichardo resigned earlier this year.

Tapia will serve the remainder of the term ending in December 2022.

Michelle Wu, City Council member and attorney, will be the next mayor of Boston.

Wu defeated fellow councilmember Annissa Essaibi George by 28 percentage points.

She will be the first woman and the first person of color to serve as mayor.

Democrat Eric Adams defeated Curtis Silwa 66% to 28.8% in New York City’s mayoral race.

Adams is a retired New York Police Department captain who previously served as Brooklyn Borough President.

Adams will succeed current Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Connecticut Gov. Lamont announced a special election be held on December 14 for the 116th House District.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Michael DiMassa resigned following charges he stole federal COVID-19 relief funds.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire in December 2022.

Connecticut State Rep. Michael DiMassa resigned following his indictment for stealing $636,000 in federal funds.

The governor is expected to call a special election to fill the vacant seat in the 116th Assembly District for the remainder of the term ending December 2022.