Gov. Robert Bentley has called a special legislative session to begin September 8, 2015.

The session has been called to address the $200 million general fund budget shortfall.

The governor has proposed three measures to reform the budget, including transferring money from the educational trust fund to the general fund and removing earmarks currently placed on certain state taxes. He has also proposed increasing the cigarette tax and amending the business privilege tax.

A special session of the legislature adjourned Friday, August 21, 2015, without an agreement on a new congressional district map. Florida’s supreme court ruled the current map unconstitutional, forcing lawmakers to return to Tallahassee earlier this month.

The failure to reach an agreement likely means the new map will be drawn by the courts. Gov. Rick Scott could force the legislature back into session before a court hearing on Tuesday, August 25, but he has stated he would not do so.

The Utah Legislature adjourned its one-day special session on August 19, 2015. A resolution to build a state prison in Salt Lake City was approved, as expected. Gov. Gary Herbert, who called the special session, will address whether he will sign or reject the resolution at his regularly scheduled news conference today.

Today at 3 p.m. the first special session of the Utah 61st Legislature will be held. The session, expected to last one day, was called by Gov. Gary Herbert on August 14 to vote on a resolution concerning the building of a new state prison in Salt Lake City. While the resolution is expected to pass, the new prison still faces opposition from city leaders, who may file “an environmental lawsuit to slow or block the project,” according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Photo of the Utah State Capitol by Robert Cutts on Wikimedia Commons.

In a surprise move, Senate Democrats voted yesterday to adjourn the special session of the General Assembly. Lawmakers had reconvened just hours earlier to redraw congressional district lines.

The maneuver is an attempt to allow Gov. Terry McAuliffe to extend a temporary appointment of a state supreme court justice.

Though many senators have left the capitol, House Republican leaders insist the session has not ended and are contemplating their next move.

With still no budget agreement for the state, the Alabama Legislature adjourned its special session sine die on Tuesday, August 11, 2015. The special session had been called because there was no state budget in place at the end of the regular legislative session for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2015. Gov. Robert Bentley is likely to call another special session to resolve the state budget issue.

A third special session of the year has been called in Florida so lawmakers can redraw potentially unconstitutional Senate district lines. The session will take place from October 19 to November 6, 2015.

The Florida Supreme Court has already ruled the House district map unconstitutional, prompting a special session in August to redraw the lines. The court has yet to instruct the Legislature on the Senate map, but changes will be made preemptively based on the ruling.

A trial was set to begin in September following a lawsuit filed by The League of Women Voters and Common Cause claiming the Senate map violates the Fair District amendment of the Florida Constitution.

A special session of the Legislature will be held next month for lawmakers to approve a new congressional district map. The state’s supreme court recently invalidated the current map and created a 100-day deadline to complete changes.

The special session will be held from August 10 to August 21, 2015.

Nine districts are in need of reconfiguration but the 5th and 13th are expected to change the most.

Lawmakers returned Monday, July 20, 2015 for a one-day, constitutionally mandated session to consider overrides of the governor’s vetoes.

Democratic majority leaders of both chambers announced there was not enough support for any such override, stating it would be best to revisit any points of contention during the next regular session.

Photo of the Connecticut State Capitol by jglazer75 on Wikimedia Commons.

The Maine Legislature adjourned the first session of the 127th Legislature sine dine Thursday, July 16, 2015.

The session was marked by controversy, including an historic number of vetoes issued by Gov. Paul LePage. The governor acknowledged many of the vetoes were retaliatory after legislators rejected most of his policy initiatives.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) is calling a special session of the General Assembly on August 17, 2015, to comply with a court order requiring legislators to redraw the state’s congressional map.

Last month, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 for a second time Virginia must redraw the state’s congressional map by September 1, 2015. The court found the current map draws too many black residents into the 3rd Congressional District, which dilutes voting strength in other districts.

Republican leaders have asked the court to extend the deadline to November 16, 2015, in order to allow time for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Alabama Legislature convened a special session Monday, July 13, 2015, only to recess until August 3, 2015. The Senate was in session for a total of 19 minutes and the House was in session for less than 30 minutes.

Legislators claimed the timing of the special session was rushed, so they were unprepared to consider the governor’s proposed budget.

Lawmakers will reconvene the session on August 3 with the intent of passing a budget.

The Washington Legislature adjourned its third special session on Friday, July 10, 2015, after approving legislation to fund construction for new infrastructure.

The 2015 legislative session was scheduled to last 105 days, but at adjournment of the third special session, tallied well over 170 days, making it the longest session in state history.

Photo of the Washington State Capitol building by Nikopoley on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Robert Bentley has called a special legislative session to convene Monday, July 13, 2015. Bentley originally planned to call a special session to convene in mid-August or after Labor Day to give lawmakers an opportunity to make summer plans for June and July. Many legislators are frustrated with the abrupt timing of the special session.

Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard sent an email to members of the House detailing a plan to convene the special session on Monday and then immediately adjourn until August 3, 2015. Such a maneuver would keep the clock running on the special session, which by statute may only last 30 days, giving legislators approximately a week to come back into session on August 3.