House and Senate leadership announced the legislative session will continue as scheduled with some precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Beginning Tuesday, March 17, only elected members, staff, and members of the media will be allowed in the Capitol Annex until further notice.

Governor Beshear has already closed the Capitol.

In order to ensure transparency and accessibility, there will be an increase in live streaming services and broadcasting by Kentucky Education Television (KET).

The KET will broadcast committee meetings and House and Senate Floor proceedings.

The Legislature adopted procedural changes this week in response to the coronavirus pandemic, following Gov. Whitmer’s declaration of a state emergency.

The House and Senate will continue to meet for the next few weeks as needed.

This will be at the discretion of the House Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader, with additional precautions in place.

All scheduled Senate committees for this week have also been canceled.

Both chambers have a legislative break that is scheduled to start March 27 and end April 14.

The Capitol Commission also suspended all tours and events in the Capitol extending through Friday, May 1, 2020.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Due to ongoing concerns with COVID-19, the Maine Legislature will suspend the legislative session on Tuesday, March 17.

Lawmakers will meet to consider bills relating to the supplemental budget and legislation regarding coronavirus response before adjourning.

Currently, the scheduled suspension is indefinite and no timeframe to reconvene lawmakers has been announced.

Until March 30, the State House will only be open to legislators, staff, and members of the press.

Gov. Mike DeWine has delayed Ohio’s in-person voting by order of the state’s Health Department after a day of uncertainty about the status of the presidential primary election.

DeWine indicated earlier in the day at a press conference he did not have authority to unilaterally delay the primary and a lawsuit would be filed to move the election to June 2 over concern about COVID-19.

On Monday evening, Judge Richard A. Frye of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas rejected the request.

After the court ruling allowing the election to proceed and an evening of conflicting information, DeWine ended speculation with a tweet at 10:11 p.m.

The Health Department ordered all polling places not to open for Tuesday’s primary elections to protect voters and poll workers from the coronavirus outbreak.

The General Assembly has announced the 2020 session will adjourn on Wednesday, March 18, due to concerns about COVID-19.

Though they intend to reconvene the session the last week of May, lawmakers are pushing to complete legislation by Wednesday’s self-imposed deadline.

Senate President Bill Ferguson stressed the importance of focusing and prioritizing the most important measures and policies.

Among these important measures is the budget bill constitutionally required to be completed during this session.

On March 16, the Louisiana Legislature was temporarily suspended due to COVID-19.

The suspension is scheduled to be in effect until 11 a.m. on March 31.

Per the constitution, the legislature is still scheduled to adjourn sine die on June 1.

Due to ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19, the General Court is suspending all legislative activities for at least one week.

The legislature will be closed from March 16 to March 20.

The State House will be closed to legislative members, staff, and visitors but remains open for governmental operations until further notice.

This closure does not affect lobbyist reporting.

State lawmakers voted on March 14 to suspend the Colorado legislature for two weeks over concerns about the coronavirus.

The decision comes after Gov. Jared Polis issued guidance against gatherings of more than 250 people.

The General Assembly, which began its session on January 8, will adjourn until March 30 in the interest of public health.

On Sunday, the Iowa House and Senate announced the legislative session will be suspended for a minimum of 30 days due to concerns over COVID-19.

The House and Senate will convene today at the regular scheduled time to consider resolutions regarding continuity of government.

Previously scheduled subcommittee and committee meetings have been cancelled, and standing committees will be on-call as needed.

The Capitol building opens today at 11:00 am, with entrances open on both the south and west sides.

The Department of Public Health will administer health screenings to all persons prior to entering the Capitol.

This includes filling out a health questionnaire as well as a temperature reading.

All schedule events, tours, and receptions at the Capitol are cancelled until further notice.

The Nebraska Legislature announced on March 16 that it will temporarily suspend its legislative session due to growing concerns about COVID-19.

The Legislature will not meet as scheduled March 17 and will remain suspended until reconvened by the speaker’s office.

This does not immediately affect lobbyist reporting.

On March 16, the Legislature announced the postponement of the session until later this week due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

Lawmakers hope to resume the session on Wednesday to take action on coronavirus legislation and the state budget.

This will not affect lobbyist reporting.

On March 13, Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello and President of the Senate Dominick Ruggerio announced General Assembly sessions and hearings are canceled for the week of March 16 to March 20 due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

All legislative offices are closed to allow the Department of Administration to clean the State House.

Legislative leaders will monitor the developing situation to determine if future steps are required.

Less than 24 hours before the scheduled primary election, Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced a lawsuit will be filed in Franklin County today.

This will be requesting Tuesday’s in-person primary election be postponed until June 2.

The proposal will extend the deadline for requesting absentee ballots for voters who are unforeseeably confined or hospitalized.

In turn it will offer curbside voting for anyone concerned about entering their polling place as the state’s primary election rolls on during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Husted explained the June 2 date would allow anyone who had planned to vote in person to request an absentee ballot and return it in time to vote in the election.

Whether or not the election will be postponed will be decided by court order.

On March 13, the Legislature adjourned until Tuesday, March 24, due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

The State House will be closed for cleaning and all staff except essential security and IT personnel will work remotely.

Legislative leaders will reevaluate whether to extend the break after the one-week closure.