The General Assembly concluded its session and recessed on June 18. Any bills submitted to Gov. Gina Raimondo must be signed or vetoed by June 28. There is no pocket veto.

Photo of the Rode Island State Capitol by Garrett A. Wollman on Wikimedia Commons.

On June 23, the special session of the Louisiana Legislature adjourned. The governor wanted $600 million to address the state’s budget shortfall for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, but lawmakers would only approve legislation providing $263 million. The special session began the day the regular session concluded.

A special session could be looming in Mississippi as the state continues to deal with budget woes.

Gov. Phil Bryant is currently considering calling lawmakers back into session to balance the budget. This may require the use of back-up funds and could cause a protracted fight to rework the current budget.

This would be Bryant’s sixth special session since taking office.

Photo of Gov. Phil Bryant by U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wikimedia Commons.

The first session of the 41st Legislature will adjourn for summer recess on June 30. They will return to session on October 3, 2016, unless members are called back by the speaker.

After summer recess, the first session is set to adjourn sine die on November 10, 2016.

The second session of the 41st Legislature will convene on November 21, 2016, with a speech from the throne.

On June 19, the Alaska Legislature adjourned its fourth special session.

The Legislature failed to pass revenue measures the special session was called to address. Gov. Bill Walker immediately issued a proclamation calling another special session to convene on July 11.

A veto session is scheduled to convene next week; however, lawmakers in the Senate have already decided not to challenge Gov. Dannel Malloy’s line-item veto cutting more than $20 million in municipal aid.

Democratic leadership in the House will instead hold a closed-door caucus during the June 20 session. An override of the veto needed to start in the Senate because the budget bill originated there.

Most lawmakers are unhappy with the cuts, but Democrats, who control both houses, have chosen not to fight this particular battle with the governor.

A special legislative session may be necessary to solve North Dakota’s budget issues.

The Office of Management and Budget says revenue for the state has fallen behind original projections. If the shortfall exceeds $75 million according to the revenue forecast due out in mid-July, a special session could be called.

On June 14, the West Virginia Legislature adjourned sine die after passing a budget bill.

This is the second budget proposal of the special session to be sent to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s desk.

The governor is expected to approve the bill, which is needed to avert a government shutdown that would result if a budget is not enacted before July 1.

The Legislature has adjourned until July 13, 2016.

Lobbying, ethics, and campaign finance were not matters of primary focus during this session; instead, bills passing the Legislature on its final day in session were focused on improving the state’s horse racing industry, rights for domestic violence victims, authorizing police to alert cell phone users in areas where there are active shooters, and updating driving under the influence tests to better screen for drug use.

The House and Senate will be back in session for one day each in July and August, but are expected to address primarily housekeeping matters in those sessions.

Photo of the Michigan State Capitol by Brian Charles Watson on Wikimedia Commons.

The General Assembly convenes today, June 9, 2016, for a one-day veto session.

Gov. Peter Shumlin vetoed Senate Bill 230, an energy siting bill, and House Bill 518, dealing with the Clean Water Fund Board.

Regarding the Senate bill, Shumlin’s veto message indicated he wants to pass the bill, but would need certain changes. Proponents of the measure are hoping for a quick fix to return it to the governor’s desk.

Gov. Paul LePage stated he is going to call the Legislature back for a special session this summer.

LePage said the special session will address the deficit in funding and resources created by the passage of four separate laws by the Legislature.

The dates of the special session have yet to be announced.

Gov. Sam Brownback has set the date for the Legislature to return for a special session.

Lawmakers will return on June 23, 2016, giving them one week to pass new school funding legislation. The state Supreme Court deemed the current system unconstitutional and, according to the ruling, the Legislature needs to redistribute state funding before June 30.

The changes will likely involve shifting $38 million, but Brownback has yet to endorse a particular plan.

Gov. Sam Brownback announced a special session of the Legislature will take place to avoid closure of the state’s public schools.

The Kansas Supreme Court recently rejected the state’s school funding system and set a deadline of June 30 to fix the funding system’s shortcomings.

No official date has been set for the session, but Brownback indicated it will be next month.

The announcement comes after Democratic lawmakers began a petition to force a special session, as provided for in the Kansas Constitution. Republican lawmakers, however, have been staunchly against a special session; instead, they advocated fighting the ruling in federal court.

On June 16, the New Hampshire Legislature will hold a special session to address state and local law enforcements’ efforts to combat the state’s rising heroin and opioid problem. Called by the legislative leadership, the special session is being applauded by Gov. Maggie Hassan. “I thank legislative leadership for working quickly to address this issue and committing to bring forward a clean bill … so that we can assist state and local law enforcement across the state in their efforts on the front lines to combat the heroin and opioid crisis,” Hassan said in a press release.