The second regular session of the 127th Legislature adjourned sine die April 29, 2016.

The statutory adjournment date was April 20, 2016; however, the Legislature spent an additional nine days in session.

Legislators successfully overturned 20 of the 30 vetoes by Gov. Paul LePage.

Photo of the Maine State House by Albany NY on Wikimedia Commons.

The Mississippi Legislature has adjourned its 2016 legislative session sine die today, April 21, 2016. The Senate concluded its session yesterday, but a House member held a bill on a motion to reconsider, forcing the House to convene once more.

The adjournment comes several days early, having originally been planned for April 24.

Photo of the Mississippi State Capitol by Shawn Lea on Wikimedia Commons.

The Nebraska Legislature adjourned its 2016 legislative session sine die on Wednesday, April 20, 2016. Despite almost doubling the number of filibusters from last year, lawmakers passed 216 bills, including a new state budget and increased funding for road projects.

Opponents were successful, however, in blocking a Medicaid expansion proposal and a bill to create a winner-take-all system for presidential Electoral College votes.

The Maryland General Assembly adjourned late Monday, April 11, 2016, after passing legislation reforming the state’s criminal justice system.

Unable to pass legislation reducing the state’s income tax during the final hours of the session, some lawmakers suggested Gov. Hogan call a special session. In response, according to the Baltimore Sun, Hogan said, “These guys can’t seem to get their act together. I’m not sure that would change with a special session.”

The Wisconsin Senate announced this month it is unlikely to meet again this year, bringing an unofficial end to a two-year session. Both houses of the legislature may choose to reconvene for a brief floor period in April.

The legislature made several significant strides while in session, including partially eliminating the state’s prevailing wage, passing a contentious budget, replacing the Government Accountability Board with ethics and elections commissions, and overhauling state campaign finance laws.

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 11, 2016, a day earlier than scheduled. Among its accomplishments is a new, two-year $105 billion budget and some adjustments to the new ethics rules passed last year.

If approved by the governor, lobbyists will file reports annually on July 1 for the preceding 12-month period, rather than the current semi-annual reporting, and items under $20 would be excluded from the definition of a gift.

Other, more extensive changes were proposed but were defeated in the House.

Photo of the Virginia State Capitol by Varmin on Wikimedia Commons.

The Florida Legislature adjourned its regular session sine die as scheduled on March 11, 2016.

The session was a display of bipartisan cooperation, netting an $82 billion budget, and stood in stark contrast to last year where a bitter fight over the budget led to multiple special sessions. The new budget was passed by a vote of 159 to 1.

On March 9, the Louisiana Legislature adjourned its special session sine die. Gov. John Bel Edwards had called the special session of the Legislature to convene on February 14 for the purpose of focusing on fiscal issues concerning the state.

The regular session of the Legislature is scheduled to begin on March 14.

The state Legislature adjourned on Monday, January 11.

Among the business handled the last day of the session was an amendment to the state constitution to change how redistricting is handled. Due to criticism and a lack of support, the measure was pulled, with state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who had sponsored the bill, promising the measure would be studied further and reintroduced in next legislative session.

The Legislature passed bills allowing counties to impose a hotel tax, to expand the state’s DNA database, and to require nonprofit hospitals to pay “community service assessments” to the counties in which they are located.

Bills concerning required sick leave for employees and required licensing and insurance for ride-share service drivers, like those who work for Uber or Lyft, expired at the end of the session.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.