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On March 3, the Oregon Legislature adjourned its biennial short session.

Bills passed strengthen domestic violence laws, create a task force to study opioid addiction treatment barriers and implement a peer support program, require more transparency from prescription drug manufacturers, and eliminate a federal deduction for businesses on state tax returns.

Gov. Brown has 30 days to sign, veto, or let the bills become law without her signature.

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned a special legislative session on the state’s budget crisis on Monday night, two days before the session was scheduled end.

During the session, Lawmakers were unable to reach a deal to close the state’s $994 million budget shortfall.

State agencies who are unsure of their future funding will need to wait three to four months for a second special session to be called for a resolution, as tax bills cannot be considered during a regular session of the Legislature. Louisiana’s regularly scheduled legislative session will convene March 12 and is scheduled to end by June 4.

Gov. John Bel Edwards stated his hope for the regular session to end early to allow the Legislature to remedy the budget shortfall in a second special session in late May or early June.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson stated he is going to call a special session after the ongoing fiscal session concludes.

The special session will address pharmacy benefit managers’ low reimbursement rates to pharmacists and a current law preventing Arkansas from qualifying for certain federal highway funds.

Hutchinson has yet to set a date for the special session.

A special session of the Louisiana Legislature on the state’s budget troubles convenes February 19 at 4 p.m., and centers on closing the budget gap by replacing expiring taxes or allowing deep cuts across agencies statewide.

Gov. John Bel Edwards called the session hoping to convince the Republican led Legislature to renew expiring taxes to fix the deficit.

Taxes cannot be considered during a regular session of the legislature, requiring a special session to address and propose taxation legislation.

The special session must adjourn by March 7 at midnight, five days ahead of the regularly schedule legislative session set to convene March 12.

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The New Mexico Legislature adjourned sine die on February 15.

Bills that have passed both chambers include Senate Bill 50, which creates stricter contribution policies made via the internet by a credit card or a debit card to a candidate or PAC, and Senate Bill 67, which changes lobbying reports to also include the cumulative total of all individual expenditures of less than $100 made or incurred by the employer or lobbyist.

The governor has 20 days from adjournment to sign any bills passed by the Legislature, otherwise they are pocket vetoed.

The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned its reconvened session on Tuesday, February 13. Lawmakers passed a single piece of legislation, House Bill 90.

The bill reduces class-sizes for kindergarten through third grade in addition to changing the makeup of the elections and ethics board.

Last month, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the board, which was supposed to be comprised of four Democrats and four Republicans.

The bill would add a ninth board member who could be neither a Democrat nor a Republican.

Gov. Cooper has 30 days to sign, veto, or let the bill become law without his signature.

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Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has set Friday as a deadline to determine whether a special session of the Legislature will be called to close a $1 billion fiscal cliff in the state’s budget expiring in July of this year.

The session would begin February 19 and adjourn before the regularly scheduled legislative session set to convene March 12. Legislators from both parties have been working to get close enough to a resolution for Gov. Edwards to call the special session.

A special session to remedy the budget shortfall could also be called in June if it does not happen by March.

In a special election on January 23, Oregon voters approved Measure 101.

Measure 101 keeps taxes on health insurers, hospitals, and managed care organizations that were passed during the 2017 legislative session.

The taxes will help fund the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program.

Unofficial results show 61 percent of voters approved the measure, with 925 out of 1335 precincts reported.

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After being delayed by a snowstorm, the Connecticut General Assembly adjourned on Monday, January 8.

Both chambers overwhelmingly passed House Bill 7601, which restored funding to the Medicare Savings Program.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has threatened to veto the bill.

Florida legislators have proposed several bills that would reform how lobbyists do business in the state.

House Bill 7003 makes changes to the Florida Code of Ethics and would develop a system track and publish lobbyists registrations.

House Bill 7005 requires a person who wishes to lobby a local governmental entity to electronically register as a lobbyist with the Commission of Ethics.

The legislative session began Tuesday, January 9.