Lobbying

“Start-Up Leaders Embrace Lobbying as Part of the Job” by Cecilia Kang in The New York Times

Campaign Finance

Kansas: “Wichita City Council considers changes to campaign finance, salaries” by Kelsey Ryan in The Wichita Eagle

Washington: “Seattle provides cash for average political players” by Gene Johnson (Associated Press) in The Detroit News

Ethics

“Ethics Committee Defers to DOJ on Pittenger Probe” by Bridget Bowman in Roll Call

Oregon: “Online financial disclosure system to launch Jan. 1” by Hillary Borrud in The Daily Astorian

Elections

Maine: “Maine May Be 1st State to Eliminate ‘Winner Take All’ Elections” by Christopher Cousins (Tribune News Service) in Governing

Legislative Sessions

Indiana: “Four things to expect from the Indiana legislature” by Brian Slodysko (Associated Press) in the Courier-Journal

Kansas: “Kansas black leaders agree on legislative, election agenda” by The Associated Press in The Topeka Capital-Journal

Massachusetts: “State legislative session sputters to an end” by Frank Phillips in the Boston Globe

Government Transparency

Alaska: “Alaska’s Open Data Portal Still Dark” by Nathaniel Herz (Alaska Dispatch News) in Government Technology

On November 18, a special one-day session of the New Hampshire Legislature convened and adjourned after considering establishing funding for programs to battle the state’s rising use of heroin and other drugs. Lawmakers agreed to the creation of a joint Legislative task force to formulate legislation addressing drug abuse issues in the state.

According to the Union Leader, the task force will focus on several areas concerning illegal substance abuse, including “standardizing insurance company treatment authorization, enhancing the prescription drug monitoring program, [and] expanding drug courts.” The task force is expected to issue a final report on January 6, 2016.

Photo of the New Hampshire State House by AlexiusHoratius on Wikipedia.

Gov. Mark Dayton has requested state lawmakers to return to work in a special legislative session.

Dayton penned a letter to members of the Minnesota Legislature asking them to address the need to help out-of-work miners in the state.

In Minnesota, special sessions can be called by the governor.

On November 18, a special session of the New Hampshire Legislature will meet to consider establishing funding for programs to battle the state’s rising use of heroin and other drugs. Gov. Maggie Hassan asked the Executive Council to vote for the special session after failing to convince the House and Senate leaders to call a session. The Executive Council voted 4-1 in favor of calling a special session.

“This is the most important issue facing our state, and it deserves the full and swift attention that comes from a special session of the legislature,” Hassan said, according to the Union Leader.

Photo of the New Hampshire State House by AlexiusHoratius on Wikipedia.

After multiple attempts, and multiple special sessions, the Florida Legislature adjourned the third special session of the year on November 5, 2015 without reaching a redistricting agreement for the state senate. The adjournment came a day earlier than expected after the two chambers reached an impasse on the latest version of the map.

Now a Tallahassee Circuit Court judge will likely choose a map from drafts submitted throughout the process. This latest roadblock has renewed calls for an independent commission to handle redrawing the map.

Photo of the Old and New Florida State Capitols by Infrogmation on Wikimedia Commons.

The 3rd special session of the 29th Alaska State Legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, November 5. Lawmakers approved a $160 million spending bill for the state’s natural gas pipeline. Construction is still years away, but the money will allow study and planning for the pipeline to continue. Ultimately, if approved, the pipeline project could require a $15 billion investment from the state.

Photo of the Alaska State Capitol by Jay Galvin on Wikimedia Commons.

Governor LePage has requested a special session during an appearance before the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. LePage is urging the committee to readdress the state budget and to reconsider additional funding to address the drug crisis facing the state.

In Maine, special sessions can be called by either the governor or the Legislature.

On October 30, 2015, the Arizona Legislature adjourned its special session after lawmakers agreed on educational funding for the state. Gov. Doug Ducey immediately signed the legislation into law, which also creates a special election on May 17, 2016, to enact constitutional changes required by the funding reforms. “Educators will finally have the resources they have been asking for, and our students will have greater opportunities to succeed,” Ducey said in a press release.

On October 28, 2015, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey called a special session of the Legislature to meet on the same day at 8 p.m. In anticipation of the session, lawmakers had met to create bills dealing with education funding in the state and to authorize a special election for the May 2016 consolidated election date. Once the bills were ready, Ducey issued the proclamation for a special session and tweeted a picture of the proclamation on his twitter account.

Photo of the Arizona State Capitol by Jeff Dean on Wikimedia Commons.

On September 30, the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned its legislative session. Both chambers finished their legislative work shortly after 4 a.m. The Legislature is scheduled to next convene on April 25, 2016.

Photo of the North Carolina State Capitol by Jayron32 on Wikimedia Commons.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker called for a third special legislative session to convene on October 24, 2015.

The Legislature will meet in Juneau to consider an act to monetize certain natural gas reserves via a gas reserves tax, as well as an act to make supplemental, capital, and operating appropriations from the constitutional budget reserve fund.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker plans to call a special legislative session to address details of, and issues related to, the development of a natural gas pipeline. The state is currently developing the project with three oil producers and a pipeline company.

Because Walker is required to give legislators a 30 day notice, the special session cannot begin until the end of October at the earliest. Walker expects the session to conclude before Thanksgiving and would prefer it be held in Juneau despite ongoing renovations at the state Capitol.

On September 16, the Alabama Legislature adjourned its special session sine die after achieving a budget for the state. The special session, which was called by Gov. Robert Bentley to address the Alabama general fund budget shortfall, began on September 8. Bentley said he expects to sign the budget legislation into law, according the Montgomery Advertiser.

On September 11, the California State Legislature adjourned its regular session sine die.

Before adjourning, the legislature sent several ethics bills to the Gov. Jerry Brown, including Assembly Bill 10, which contains provisions affecting elected officials’ disclosure of financial investments and conflicts of interest. Another bill, Assembly Bill 990, will require political advertisements to carry larger statements clearly stating information about who is paying for the advertisement. Brown has until October 11 to sign or veto legislation. The governor does not have a pocket veto.

A special legislative session, which began on June 26, 2015 and has been running concurrently with the regular session, remains in session.

Photo of the California State Assembly chamber by David.Monniaux on Wikimedia Commons.