The South Carolina Legislature is set to convene a special session in early December to address redistricting.

The House will convene on December 1, while the Senate is set to convene on December 6.

The Idaho Legislature adjourned November 17, ending the state’s longest-ever legislative session.

The House, in a unique political move, chose to go on an extended recess rather than adjourn to allow a return to session without being called back by the governor.

The three-day continuation focused on COVID-19 and the presidential mandates.

No bills were passed during the continuation, only a non-binding declaration stating opposition to President Biden’s vaccine requirements for federal workers, contractors, and large employers.

The House also censured Rep. Priscilla Giddings for her publicization of the name of the 19-year-old intern who reported she was raped by another legislator.

The Florida Legislature adjourned the special session on COVID-19 mandates on November 17 after just three days in session.

Lawmakers approved four anti-mandate bills, which are now awaiting approval by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Gov. Phil Scott will reconvene the Vermont Legislature for a special session on November 22 to address mask mandates.

The special session will aim to pass legislation allowing municipalities to implement their own time-limited mask mandates.

It is not yet clear when the session will end. This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

A recall has been declared for Kshama Sawant, a Seattle, Washington District 3 City Councilmember.

Sawant has been accused of misusing city funds for electioneering purposes, disregarding COVID-19 regulations, and misuse of her official position.

Sawant challenged the recall in superior court, but the Washington Supreme Court allowed the recall to continue.

The recall is set to take place on December 7.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation declaring a special election for the 17^th Assembly District on April 19, 2022, with a special primary on February 15, 2022.

The former Assemblymember David Chiu vacated his seat after accepting a position as San Francisco’s city attorney in early November.

The Nevada special session ended November 16 with Gov. Steve Sisolak signing off on updated redistricting maps.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature passed the maps with zero support from the Republican minority and expect lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the maps.

The new maps increase Democratic footholds in the state’s swing districts, in part by redistributing roughly one out of every seven Latino residents from the first district to the third and fourth districts.

With the looming lawsuits on the horizon, Democrats have been mostly silent on their reasoning for the new boundaries.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has announced she is in talks with legislative leaders and housing advocates to construct a plan to increase funds in the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

The federal funds allocated to Oregon to assist renters and owners have been almost exhausted, which will force the Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program to stop accepting applications on December 1.

Gov. Brown declared she will call a special session to draft a proposal to combat the looming evictions when the federal assistance is fully expended.

There is not a firm date announced for the special session.

Maine Gov. Mills announced a special election to be held on January 11, 2022, for House District 27.

The seat became vacant when Rep. Kyle Bailey resigned in October to pursue other career opportunities.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the two-year term set to expire in December 2022.

The president of the South Carolina Senate announced a special election to replace the late Sen. Hugh Leatherman.

The primary election will occur on January 25, 2022, with runoffs, if necessary, on February 8, 2022, and the special general election on March 29, 2022.

The North Dakota Legislature adjourned the special session on November 12 after approving the redistricting maps and passing several other bills including bills banning critical race theory in schools and vaccinee mandates. This does not affect lobbyist reporting. 

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called a special election on December 14 to fill the Senate District 1 vacancy caused by the resignation of Sen. Zach Whiting.

Whiting resigned effective October 30 to take a job with the conservative think tank, Texas Public Policy Foundation.

There is no primary, and the filing deadline is November 19.

The winning candidate will serve the remainder of Whiting’s term, which runs through 2022.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will reconvene the Kansas Legislature for a special session on November 22 to address vaccine mandates.

The special session will aim to take up proposals to make it easier for workers to claim religious exemptions to vaccine mandates and to provide unemployment benefits to employees fired for not getting inoculated.

It is not yet clear when the session is slated to end. This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

A special session announced by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak begins November 12 to vote on new congressional maps.

Nevada is a swing state with 38% of voters not identifying with the Democratic or Republican party, raising the political importance of the special session.

Currently, Democrats control the Legislature and the Governor’s Office, allowing for the creation of maps that lean in their favor.

The Democratic maps look to wrestle control of downtown Reno from the Republicans and to sure-up control of two hotly contested districts in Washoe County.

This does affect lobbyist reporting.

A lobbyist activity report will be due December 10, covering the month of November, and a termination and final report for the special session will be due 30 days after the close of the special session.