Due to COVID-19, Utah lawmakers are meeting online for the first time on April 16 for an emergency special session.

Only Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Brad Wilson are expected to be in the legislative chambers in the closed state Capitol.

Work on more than 20 items on the agenda will be tackled in one chamber at a time, beginning in the House.

Bills will not receive committee hearings, which are optional in a special session.

The session will continue for a period of up to 10 days.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Kentucky General Assembly’s 2020 session will reconvene on April 14, one day earlier than previously announced.

Lawmakers will consider overriding vetoes cast by Gov. Andy Beshear.

The governor’s time to veto recently passed bills expires on April 13.

Lawmakers also have the option to convene on April 15, the latest possible day they can meet in regular session this year under state constitution guidelines.

The Legislative Council of Iowa met virtually to suspend the legislative session until April 30.

The council makes rules when the legislative body isn’t in session.

The suspension comes due to concerns over the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the state.

Lawmakers have not passed a budget for next year and the current fiscal year ends June 30, but a bill passed in March before the session’s suspension extends this year’s budget through the end of August.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

On April 8, legislative leaders announced the General Assembly is extending the postponement of the session until April 23.

The State Capitol, Legislative Office Building, and State House will remain closed during the postponement.

This does not immediately affect lobbyist reporting.

The Rhode Island General Assembly announced the postponement of the legislative session has been extended for another week due to COVID-19.

All legislative sessions and committee hearings for the week of April 13 to April 17 have been canceled.

Both chambers of the General Assembly are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, April 21.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Colorado General Assembly tentatively plans to return from recess on May 18.

Lawmakers set the date during an April 8 meeting at the closed Capitol.

They also indicated it may change depending on the status of the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The General Assembly has flexibility to extend the session beyond the original May 6 adjournment date.

The timeline to resume is guided by the need to finish the state budget.

The House and Senate did not put an end date on the legislative term and continue to refine the agenda for the remainder of the session.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

On April 8, the Legislature met for a single day to approve funding legislation to ensure the state can continue operating for the next fiscal year.

Despite unanimous passage in the House, debate in the Senate led to an amendment being passed late in the afternoon after the House had adjourned.

The House and Senate also failed to come to an agreement about convening a special session later in the year after the legislative session ends on May 14.

The House will have to reconvene by the May 14 constitutional deadline or convene a special session prior to the end of the fiscal year on June 30 to avoid the state being left unable to spend money.

The California Legislature pushed back a scheduled return to the legislative session by three weeks to give public health officials more time to deal with the coronavirus spreading through the state.

The Legislature now is scheduled to reconvene on May 4.

Lawmakers had voted unanimously on March 16 to suspend its session until April 13.

The initial decision last month to suspend activities at the state Capitol was unprecedented in California history.

The decision came after legislators grappled for several days to balance public health concerns with the need for action to address the impact of the pandemic.

Both houses quickly passed a $1 billion relief plan on March 16 before putting a halt to all legislative business.

Whether a return in early May will be possible could depend on the state’s success or failure this month in slowing the rate of infection.

Early spring is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for the Legislature, with hundreds of bills considered by policy committees before receiving final votes in either of the two houses by May 31.

On April 3, Gov. Cuomo and lawmakers passed legislation to enact the state budget for the 2021 fiscal year.

The enacted legislation includes provisions for campaign finance reform and nonprofit disclosures.

Effective January 1, 2021, Senate Bill 7505 requires charitable organizations to file annual financial reports and funding disclosures with the Department of State to be published on their website for public transparency.

The governor also signed Senate Bill 7508 establishing a statewide public campaign financing system.

Senate Bill 7508 lowers contribution limits a candidate may accept while participating in the public funding system.

Under Senate Bill 7508, a candidate for statewide office may accept a contribution of $18,000 dollars in the aggregate.

The bill also sets contribution limits for state senators and assembly members to $10,000 and $6,000, respectively.

Contribution limits are divided equally among the primary and general elections in an election cycle.

Senate Bill 7508 takes effect on November 9, 2022, and applies to participants in the primary and general elections to be held in 2024.

To contain the spread of COVID-19, lawmakers have extended the postponement of the legislative session for another week.

All General Assembly sessions and committee hearings for the week of April 6 to April 10, have been canceled.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Lobbying semimonthly reporting deadlines are now extended for 60 days, pushing the April 5 due date to June 4.

In response to the exponential spread of COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-18 on April 1.

The order extends prior executive orders for the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations, which currently extends through April 30.

The Legislature also remains suspended through next week.

Additionally, lawmakers have been asked to keep their calendars clear for possible return dates.

Oklahoma legislators will head back to the Capitol on April 6 for a special legislative session to confirm Gov. Kevin Stitt’s declaration of a statewide health emergency due to COVID-19.

Lawmakers are in the middle of the legislative session, but they cleared out of the state Capitol as the COVID-19 outbreak ramped up.

The Legislature is constitutionally required to adjourn by 5 p.m. on May 29.

Legislators have not yet set a date to return to pass a state budget and any other legislative priorities.

The South Carolina Legislature is set to return on April 8 for a single day.

The session is being called to consider a continuing resolution concerning state funding.

Additionally, lawmakers will consider a resolution allowing the Legislature to adjourn sine die.

The Legislature adjourned on March 30 after holding its first electronic voting day for the last scheduled day of the 2020 session.

The electronic voting day considered bills vetoed by Gov. Kristi Noem and several new bills related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Legislature passed 9 of the 11 bills Noem requested to aid the state in battling the COVID-19 virus.

An approved bill includes the one that postponed elections.

House Bill 1298 postpones any election scheduled to be held from April 14 through May 26.

The bill requires the governing body of the political subdivision holding the election to choose any Tuesday in June as the alternate election date.

It also requires the absentee voting period to extend through 5:00 p.m. local time the day before the new election date.

A special session is tentatively planned for June to address lingering budget concerns caused by the pandemic.