Lawmakers ended the 2020 legislative session beleaguered by COVID-19, wildfires, a tanked economy, and a looming eviction crisis.

Each chamber worked through roughly 100 bills on their final day, before adjourning after midnight.

The Senate kept passing bills until shortly after 1 a.m.

Some of the bills lawmakers sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom include eviction relief, police reform, COVID-19 response, and a flavored tobacco ban.

The governor has until September 30 to sign or veto any of the bills.

The Legislature concluded its special session late Wednesday night after three days of protests and public outrage regarding the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Three bills were sent to Gov. Brad Little’s desk, including two election related bills and a bill shielding businesses and schools from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

The election related bills would guarantee in-person voting would be allowed in some form across Idaho.

This was guaranteed regardless of any emergency orders in effect.

The bills would also buy more time for county clerks to process the expected large influx of mail-in ballots for the November election.

Gov. Little has five days from the time he receives the bills to either sign them or veto them.

If he does neither, the bills will become law automatically.

Three Republican lawmakers have introduced articles of impeachment against Gov. Mike DeWine over his COVID-19 response.

A resolution introduced by Representatives John Becker (Clermont County) and co-sponsors Nino Vitale (Champaign County) and Paul Zeltwanger (Warren County) includes 10 articles of impeachment against DeWine.

The trio allege his handling of the pandemic violated the Ohio and United States Constitution, in addition to several sections of the Ohio Revised Code.

The articles claim DeWine interfered in the primary election and violated the separation of powers by having the Department of Health issue orders outside the scope of its authority.

In order for DeWine to be removed from office, a majority of the House would need to approve the resolution, and then two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote to convict him.

North Carolina’s General Assembly has extended the legislative session to adjourn sine die on September 3.

This extension will allow for consideration of matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Registered lobbyists who make an expenditure on legislators and legislative employees will also be required to file monthly reports.

This is the case, as the General Assembly is still in session due to the extension.

Monthly reports are due 10 business days after the end of the month.

In addition, the August report will be due on September 15.

A monthly report for September will not be required as that activity may be incorporated in the Quarterly report due on October 21.

The Mississippi Legislature passed a resolution extending the legislative session to adjourn sine die on October 10 to consider matters concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

This extension pushes back the due date for the Lobbyist End-of-Session Report due 10 days after adjournment sine die to October 20, unless the Legislature votes to adjourn earlier.

The Maine Senate will convene on Monday, August 24, to vote on three nominees for the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Campaign Practice.

Under the Legislature’s joint rules, the Senate may convene independently for confirmation votes.

Two of the nominees were nominated by Gov. Mills in February and the third was nominated by the state’s Republican caucus.

The Senate was unable to vote on the nominations during the regular legislative session due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Utah Legislature announced a special session beginning August 20 to consider COVID-19 relief, reopening schools, and to determine how to hold the November 3 general election.

The August 20 special session marks the sixth special session of the year. The election changes aim to modify a practice known as ballot harvesting or allowing a third party to collect and deliver multiple by-mail ballots.

Among the non-COVID issues to be discussed is a request for $20 million to bail out developers of a port in Oakland, California Utah lawmakers believe would ship Utah coal abroad.

The Legislature will hold the special session electronically, encouraging the public to participate by submitting inquires and feedback directly to their legislators or by remotely attending committee meetings.

The Legislature has exercised its ability to call itself into session, a method approved by voters in 2018. Before then, only governors could call a special session.

The special session does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Senate President Harvey Peeler announced he will call the Senate back to session early on September 2 to consider the impact of COVID-19 on upcoming elections.

The Legislature recessed in May and was set to reconvene on September 15.

Peeler emphasized the need to protect the voter and the vote as the chief reason from reconvening early.

The second session of the 106^th Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die on August 13 after 60 legislative days of a session interrupted by COVID-19.

Speaker Jim Scheer suspended the session in mid-March in response to growing safety concerns regarding the global pandemic. After calling lawmakers back into session for three days in late March for the limited purpose of approving emergency funding to combat the pandemic, he suspended the session again.

Senators reconvened July 20 and finished the final 17 days of session in a changed physical environment of plastic barriers and physical distancing guidelines to limit contact between senators, staff, and the media.

The delaying of the session affected lobbyist reporting due dates. Any lobbyists or principals who received or expended more than $5,000 for lobbying purposes during the session must file special reports on September 15, 2020. Additionally, the lobbyist statement of activity is due on September 27, which signifies 45 days after adjournment sine die of the session.

Lawmakers passed 285 bills during the session, including measures to expand access to broadband Internet in rural areas, improve oversight of the state’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers and provide a tax exclusion for military retirement benefit pay.

Scheer is among six senators who are leaving the Legislature due to term limits. The others are Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford, Omaha Sen. Sara Howard and Omaha Sen. Rick Kolowski.

Chambers, whose legislative career will stand as the longest in state history, was first elected to the Legislature in 1970. He left office in 2008 due to term limits but returned in 2012.

The first session of the 107^th Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 6, 2021.

Oregon Lawmakers worked past 11 p.m. Monday to conclude a special session growing tense and at times openly hostile in the Senate earlier in the evening.

Lawmakers passed a dozen bills to patch a $1 billion hole in the state budget, tighten restrictions on police and corrections officers’ use of force and help out-of-work and underemployed Oregonians.

The public was not allowed into the Capitol due to coronavirus concerns and lawmakers only accepted written testimony on the bills.

This was the second special session of the year.

Lawmakers spent three days at the Capitol in June focused on police reform laws and a handful of other proposals left over from the regular session abruptly ending when Republican lawmakers walked out.

Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation on August 7 for a third special session of the Legislature to begin Wednesday, August 12 at 12:00 p.m.

The main purpose will be to extend the COVID-19 peacetime emergency originally declared on March 13, and ending on August 12.

Minnesota statutes require that if the governor extends a peacetime emergency beyond the original 30 days and the Legislature is not in session, the governor must call a special session for lawmakers to approve the emergency declaration.

Additionally, the Legislature will determine the length of the session.

The 32nd Special Legislative Session adjourned shortly after midnight and the final bills have gone to Gov. Steve Sisolak for his signature.

Lawmakers wrapped up the state’s latest special session with a deeply divisive amendment.

This amendment cuts schools and hospitals out of a bill to protect business owners from coronavirus related employee lawsuits.

Other issues were also addressed such as police reform, voting rights, more flexibility with Nevada’s unemployment benefits, alternative dispute resolution for rental evictions and a dire budget shortfall as a result of the pandemic.

Legislators appropriated $410,000 from the general fund to pay for the six day session.

Gov. Brad Little stated Wednesday he will call the part-time Legislature back into a special session during the week of August 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The special session could include how to conduct the November general election amid the pandemic.

Also a topic of discussion is legislation creating a liability shield for protection against lawsuits during declared emergencies such as the pandemic.

How a special session would work during the pandemic and how much it would cost is unclear.

Lawmakers would have to be in the Statehouse in Boise for their votes to count.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has called for the General Assembly to return on August 10 for a special session.

The special session will address COVID-related liability protection for persons and entities, electronic delivery of health services, and peaceful demonstration legislation aimed at protecting individuals and public and private property.

Per legislative rules, the special session will last at least 3 days, but could last longer.