The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled the Legislature does not have to meet today in a special session called by Governor Nikki Haley.

In a 3 to 2 decision, the court denied the special session, writing: “Although the General Assembly is currently in recess, it has not adjourned sine die and, therefore, is still in its annual session. Under these specific facts, respondent cannot convene an ‘extra’ session of the General Assembly since it is currently in session. To do so would interrupt the annual session and would violate the General Assembly’s authority to set its calendar and agenda and would constitute a violation of the separation of powers provision.”

The Legislature will meet in a previously scheduled session on June 14.

This blog post follows up a previous article “South Carolina’s Extra Special Session” by George Ticoras on June 3.

The Capitol Club, a lobbyist association in Oregon supplied the funding for the state’s Legislature to supply streaming video of hearings and sessions to mobile devices.

Read about what will now be offered and why the Capitol Club stepped up to help in Govtech.com’s article “Lobbyists Help Oregon Legislature Stream Video to Mobile Devices” by Sarah Rich from June 4.

The regular session of the South Carolina Legislature adjourned on June 2 and a special session is scheduled for June 14. However, Governor Nikki Haley has requested an earlier additional special session for June 7 to pass further legislation, but the elected representatives may not convene.

While House Speaker Bobby Harrell has instructed house members to return on June 7, Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell has said the senate will not return, even though both the governor and Senator McConnell are in the same political party.

Several legislators challenge the governor’s legal authority to convene a special session without extraordinary circumstances.

OKLAHOMA: The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned sine die on May 27, 2011.

ILLINOIS: The Illinois General Assembly has recessed. The senate will reconvene on October 25, 2011. No date has been set for the house to reconvene.

However, the Legislature was immediately called into special session by Governor Rick Perry due to the failed effort to finalize the state budget.

The special session is set to begin Tuesday, May 31, and cannot last longer than 30 days.

Other items are expected to be added to the special session’s agenda.

Photo of the Texas State Capitol by Kumar Appaiah on Wikipedia.

The first special session of the 2011 Washington Legislature adjourned on May 25, 2011.

The 30 day session was called by Governor Gregoire after lawmakers failed to finish a budget and address spending matters before the conclusion of the regular session.

The special session adjourned after the passage of a state budget that includes billions in spending reductions with no increase in taxes.

Photo of the Washington State Capitol interior by Cacophony on Wikipedia.

The regular session of the Minnesota Legislature adjourned the evening of May 23, 2011.

A special session will be necessary to avoid a state government shutdown at the end of June, as no budget compromise was reached during the regular session.

The Governor has until June 6, 2011 to act on bills passed by the Legislature.

Photo of the Minnesota State Capitol dome by Mulad on Wikipedia.

The adjournment was the earliest date in 18 years.

The 107^th General Assembly will reconvene on Tuesday, January 10, 2012.

Photo of the Tennessee House Chamber by Ichabod on Wikipedia.

The first regular session of Missouri’s 96th General Assembly adjourned the evening of May 13, 2011.

The General Assembly will reconvene for a technical session at 8:00 a.m., May 26, 2011 to last until May 30, 2011 in accordance with the constitution.

Governor Jay Nixon may sign or veto bills until July 14, 2011, and the veto session of the General Assembly is scheduled to convene on September 14, 2011.

Photo of the Missouri Capitol Building by RebelAt on Wikipedia.

The Alaska Legislature was adjourned on its scheduled date, but not in its usual manner.

Because the House and Senate could not agree on the time of the adjournment, which is on the 90th and last day authorized by law, Governor Parnell himself invoked state constitutional authority and adjourned the 27th session of the legislature on April 17. He then immediately called a special session to begin April 18.

The special session is limited by law to a maximum of 30 days.

UTAH: Governor Gary Herbert has called a special session of the legislature to convene at noon on March 25. The governor stated the purpose of the special session will be to repeal HB477, an open records law which the governor had previously signed earlier this month. The legislature had adjourned on March 10.

LOUISIANA: The legislature convened on March 20 for an ‘extraordinary session’ to establish redistricting boundaries for all congressional, state and local entities’ elections. The session is scheduled for no later than April 13. The regular session of the legislature convenes on April 25.

A special election has been scheduled for May 3, 2011 to fill three seats left vacant in the Wisconsin State Assembly by legislators who accepted positions in the Walker Administration. In an executive order, Governor Walker ordered the special election for Assembly Districts 60, 83 and 94.

If primaries are necessary in any of the districts, they will be held on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, concurrent with the spring election.

Photo of the Wisconsin State Capitol by Jeff dean on Wikipedia.

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned sine die on Sunday, February 27, 2011, one day after the originally scheduled sine die adjournment date. The Legislature voted to extend the session in order to finish work on the state budget. This is the sixth time in the last twelve years the Legislature has needed to extend the adjournment date, which includes having adjourned one day later than scheduled in 2010 as well.

Following adjournment, the General Assembly entered into a special session in order to consider drawing new legislative maps in response to the release of the 2010 Census numbers. The special session was immediately recessed until April 4, 2011.

Photo of the Virginia Capitol by Amadeust on Wikipedia.

A special legislative session has been announced for March 30, 2011 to redraw state and federal districts. The redistricting will include congressional, state education board, and judicial districts.

Significant district changes are anticipated due to overall population decline and shifts in population concentration as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The session has been called by legislators, not the governor, for the first time in state history.

Photo of Louisiana State Capitol building by Bluepoint951 on Wikipedia.