Lawmakers ended the 2013 regular session early Friday morning, November 15, 2013, after approving an anti-abortion license plate, increased coverage for mental health services, and changes to voting hours and voter ID laws.

The first special session concerning property tax relief concluded earlier this week, but Gov. Scott Walker plans to call a second special session sometime in December to delay the transfer of Medicaid cases from BadgerCare to health exchanges.

Legislators return for the 2014 regular session January 14, 2014.

Photo of the Wisconsin State Capitol by Dori on Wikimedia Commons.

On November 12, the Legislature adjourned its second special session sine die. The legislative body convened in October to address marriage equality.

Effective December 2, the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013 recognizes marriages between individuals of the same sex, and extends to same-sex couples all rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of marriage.

Governor Jay Inslee has called a special session of the Washington Legislature in the hopes of passing legislation to entice Boeing to bring the construction of its new airliner, the 777X, to Washington.

The special session will convene Thursday.

Photo of the Washington State Capitol courtesy of Bluedisk at Wikimedia Commons.

On October 16, the Utah Legislature adjourned its one-day special session sine die. The Legislature passed bills authorizing state funds to open and operate national parks, monuments, and recreation areas, to cover the benefits of certain unpaid furloughed employees, and to offset obligations caused by delays in federal funding to the Child Nutrition Program. Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bills Wednesday night.

Lawmakers adjourned for the year just after midnight on Friday, September 13, 2013.

Hundreds of bills were passed in the last week of the session including a minimum wage increase, changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, and a bill permitting undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses.

Photo of the California State Capitol Building by Sascha Brück on Wikipedia.

Lobbying

“Lobbyist league says mission will remain the same” by Byron Tau in Politico.

California: “FPPC fines Kinney, Areias and Hickox for covert lobbying” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.

Massachusetts: “Top ten lobby shops each netted more than $600K in first half of 2013” by Andy Metzger in the Patriot Ledger.

Campaign Finance

West Virginia: “State: Mingo County PAC didn’t violate law” by The Associated Press in the Charleston Gazette.

Ethics

Arkansas: “Arkansas Ethics Commission says in letter it’s investigating lt. gov. over campaign reports” by Andrew DeMillo (Associated Press) in The Republic.

Minnesota: “Minn. campaign regulators elect new chairwoman” by The Associated Press in WQOW News.

New York: “NY effort to reveal pols’ law clients has backing” by The Associated Press in The Wall Street Journal.

Pennslvania: “State House panel considers strengthening the state ethics law” by Jan Murphy in the Patriot-News.

Pennsylvania: “State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe calls for investigation into whether Attorney General Kathleen Kane violated the state ethics law” by Jan Murphy in the Patriot-News.

State Legislatures

Hawaii: “Hawaiian governor calls for special session to legalize gay marriage” by Tim Gaynor in Reuters.

Minnesota: “Minnesota legislators OK disaster relief; tax talks delayed” by Jim Ragsdale and Rachel E. Stassen-Berger in the Star Tribune.

Oregon: “Education groups to Kitzhaber: Special session would help stabilize Oregon school funding” by Hannah Hoffman in the Statesman Journal.

On September 9, 2013, the Oklahoma Legislature adjourned its special session sine die.

Gov. Mary Fallin had called the special session to address the issue of how lawsuits are filed, which became a problem after the Oklahoma Supreme Court invalidated a law on that topic. The special session, which began on September 3, produced 23 bills related to lawsuit reform.

In her press release, Fallin stated, “These measures will help to keep jobs in Oklahoma and further our reputation as a business friendly state.”

Governor Pat McCrory has issued a proclamation calling for a special session to convene at noon on September 3, 2013.

However, if a majority of legislators write declaring they do not want to meet, no session will occur.

The purpose of the session is to consider overriding the governor’s vetoes.

Campaign finance

“Uneven Political Contributions by Publicly Traded Companies” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.

“Complaint Filed Over Campaign Directing $1M Donation to Super PAC” by Kent Cooper in Roll Call.

“Campaign finance watchdogs file complaint against Santorum” by Alexandra Jaffe in The Hill.

From the State Legislatures

From NCSL: “Former President Jimmy Carter Captivates State Legislators” in NCSL’s The Thicket.

“State legislators promise voting rights push” by Bill Barrow (Associated Press) in the Athens Banner-Herald.

Florida: “Fla. legislators vote down special session” by The Associated Press in the Miami Herald.

Government Tech and Social Media

“Twitter Can’t Yet Predict Elections” by Stuart Rothenberg in Roll Call.

and for the contrary view…

“A New Study Says Twitter Can Predict US Elections” by Robinson Meyer in The Atlantic.

Redistricting

Florida: “Former legislative leaders Pruitt, McKay and Thompson weigh into redistricting fight” by Aaron Deslatte in the Orlando Sentinel.

Governor Mary Fallin issued an executive order calling for legislators to return to the capitol for a special session to begin September 3, 2013.

The order specifies the special session will deal only with the issue of how lawsuits are filed, which became a problem after the Oklahoma Supreme Court invalidated a law on that topic.

Yesterday, the Texas Legislature adjourned its third special session sine die.

Governor Rick Perry had called the special session to consider legislation relating to the funding of transportation infrastructure projects. According to KVIA.com, the Legislature passed a constitutional amendment boosting transportation spending with money coming from oil and gas revenues diverted away from the state’s Rainy Day Fund. The amendment will be voted on next year by the state’s voters.

The Legislature adjourned sine die on May 17, 2013, without an attempt to override Governor Mike Beebe’s vetoes on three election bills.

Senate Bill 719 would have transferred power of election oversight to the Secretary of State from the Board of Election Commissioners. Senate Bill 720 would have created mandatory referrals of ethics complaints from the board to the Ethics Commission when the compliant was without basis in law or fact. Senate Bill 721 would have removed all of the board’s current commissioners and established a new appointment process.

The Florida Legislature adjourned Friday, May 3, 2013, without passing an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program.

Governor Rick Scott has not indicated whether he will call a special session, or leave the issue unresolved until the next legislative session.

Photo of the Florida State Capitol building by Jenn Greiving on Wikipedia.

The Montana Senate and the House both adjourned sine die on April 24, 2013, three days ahead of the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment date.

Governor Steve Bullock, who does not have a pocket veto, has 10 days upon delivery to sign, veto, or recommend amendments to bills.

The Legislature, which meets in regular session for 90 working days in every odd-numbered year, will have its next regular session in 2015.

Photo of the Montana State Capitol courtesy of Wikipedia.