South Carolina lawmakers scheduled a three-day special legislative session before adjourning the regular session on May 11. The special session is expected to begin today.

Because state law requires it, House Speaker Jay Lucas will gavel it in but then likely adjourn an empty chamber.

He encouraged House members not to return for the session because there is no budget compromise to consider. He plans to call House members back when the budget panel, consisting of members from both chambers of the Legislature, has taken the time to complete its work and reach an agreement.

The 46 members of the Senate are expected to be present for the special session, as Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman has not indicated anything to the contrary.

Gov. Bill Walker ordered Alaska legislators into a special session just minutes after the regular session adjourned.

Lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to resolve the state’s annual $2.7 billion deficit. Majority House Democrats proposed a state income tax as well as cuts to oil and gas subsidies, while Republicans in the Senate Majority favored budget cuts and spending from the Permanent Fund’s investment earnings.

Alaska’s fiscal year begins July 1, giving lawmakers just over a month to make a deal.

The West Virginia Legislature is taking a 10-day recess from the special session that convened May 4. Lawmakers quickly rejected Gov. Jim Justice’s tax increase plan and there is little agreement on how to address the budget.

Both the House and Senate agreed to a resolution adjourning the special session until May 15 to allow time for lawmakers to work toward an agreement that all parties can support.

Lawmakers must pass a budget bill before July 1 to avoid a government shutdown.

Gov. Susana Martinez has called a special session for May 24, 2017.

According to the proclamation, the special session is called to enact legislation concerning the budget, tax reform, and nominees for the appointment to the Board of Regents for state higher education institutions.

Per New Mexico law, all legislators are prohibited from soliciting a campaign contribution beginning when a proclamation has been issued and ending when the special session adjourns.

The adjournment date has yet to be determined.

The First Extraordinary Session of the 91^st General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 3, 2017.

One ethics bill was passed to cleanup legislation passed during the regular session.

Four other bills were passed, including a bill regarding the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson is expected to sign all five special session bills.

On April 27, leaders of the Utah Republican and Democratic parties sent a joint letter to Gov. Gary Herbert requesting a special session to clarify state law on calling a special election for a U.S. House member midterm.

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced he will not run for office in 2018, and will likely step down before his current term ends. Current law says the governor shall call a special election for a U.S. House vacancy, but does not lay out any details for the process.

Gov. Herbert does not believe a special session is necessary and believes some state lawmakers could have a vested interest in amending the law in order to increase their own chances to win the seat.

Members of the Legislature stated they want to offer their perspective to Herbert to show it is a bipartisan effort to work towards a process needing to be put in place.

On April 13, Gov. Jim Justice vetoed the budget bill passed by West Virginia lawmakers.

In the latest stunt in the contentious battle among lawmakers on how to address West Virginia’s $500 million budget shortfall, Justice held a press conference to announce the veto complete with props including a platter of bull excrement.

The fiscal year begins July 1 and a special session to pass a budget bill would need to be held prior to that date or the state government will face a shut down.

The special session is expected to be called sometime in late April or early May.

Despite the 2017 regular session adjourning on March 18th, Gov. Susana Martinez will likely call a special session.

Martinez does not like the budget proposed to her by the Legislature and has warned of potential furloughs if a new budget is not passed soon.

The special session date has yet to be determined.

The Louisiana Legislature adjourned a special legislative session on Wednesday, February 22, after approving a deal to close the state’s $304 million budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Lawmakers agreed to use $99 million from the state’s rainy day fund, combined with shuffling allocated money and spending cuts across the Department of Education, State Police, and local offices offering mental health and addiction treatment.

Gov. John Bel Edwards stated budget stabilization will be a focus in the coming session. Louisiana’s 2017 regular legislative session is scheduled to convene April 10.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has called a special session of the Louisiana Legislature.

The special session will convene at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 13, and must adjourn by midnight on February 22.

The governor wants the Legislature to address the state’s budget shortfall and believes a special session is necessary to spread cuts across government and minimize cuts to critical state services.

Edwards plans to lay out the specifics of the budget cuts this week.

The Legislature is not scheduled to convene its regular legislative session until April 10, 2017.

Gov. Scott Walker called the Wisconsin Legislature into special session on Thursday, January 5.  The Legislature is currently in regular session; a special session operates under different rules to speed up the legislative process.

Citing a public health crisis, Walker called the special session so lawmakers would consider a package of heroin and opioid abuse bills. The Senate will consider the bills after they are introduced and move through committee.

Walker also issued executive orders directing state agencies to follow the recommendations of his opioid abuse task force and directing the Department of Health Services to apply for federal funding to help in its response efforts.

Photo of Gov. Scott Walker courtesy of Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons.

North Carolina lawmakers will meet Wednesday for their third special session this month. Gov. Pat McCrory announced he will call a special session Wednesday to vote on repealing House Bill 2.

House Bill 2 restricts which restrooms transgender people can use and blocks local governments from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances regarding the use of public bathrooms.

After months of taunting the public, a special session may happen in late December.

Recently, four Minnesota legislative caucus leaders met with Gov. Mark Dayton and tentatively agreed to a special session. The primary purpose of the session will address Minnesota’s 59 percent increase on its individual health insurance market premiums.

Along with insurance premiums, the special session will address both a vetoed tax bill and a failed bonding bill from the 2016 regular session. While the official date has yet to be announced, the special session will likely occur around December 20, 2016.

Gov. Pat McCrory announced December 13 as the date for a special session to address Hurricane Matthew relief.

The state will need to provide matching funds and funding for what federal relief won’t cover.

The special session is also expected to address relief needed for the recent wildfires in the western part of the state.