The Illinois Legislature began a final session for the 101st General Assembly on January 8.

The Senate met at the Capitol while the House met at the Bank of Springfield Center.

The separate meeting locations accommodated social distancing due to COVID-19 concerns.

Rep. Patrick Windhorst indicated if ethics reforms were not addressed, he would refile a proposal for the 102nd General Assembly, set to convene January 13.

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he is suspending his bid for another term as speaker, but is not withdrawing from the race.

A speaker must be elected before the House of Representatives can begin work.

Another new batch of states are going in session this week! Are you ready?

1. Arizona
2. Arkansas
3. California
4. Colorado
5. Delaware
6. Georgia
7. Idaho
8. Illinois
9. Iowa
10. Maryland
11. Michigan
12. New Jersey
13. South Carolina
14. South Dakota
15. Tennessee
16. Texas
17. Virginia
18. Washington
19. West Virginia
20. Wisconsin
21. Wyoming

It’s another big week in a busy legislative year. Stay in touch with lobbycomply.com to see when the other starts will convene.

The North Dakota Legislature convened January 5 for the 2021 session with improvements to live streaming and remote technology, making remote testimony by the public possible.

Committee meetings and floor sessions will be carried live.

House and Senate floor sessions have been live-streamed, archived, and indexed online.

Anyone wishing to testify remotely must register online.

In-person testimony may be permitted by the committee chair, although committee rooms will have limited seating due to social distancing, and masks are required.

State lawmakers may participate remotely from home if infected, or from office space in the Capitol if desired.

While some lobbyists have indicated they may testify remotely, no lawmakers have indicated an intent to work remotely.

Both the Vermont House and Senate are scheduled to begin their 2021 sessions Wednesday, January 6.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of lawmakers will be attending remotely to swear in new members of both chambers and to elect the speaker of the House and the president pro tem of the Senate.

Gov. Phil Scott will remotely give his inaugural address on Thursday, January 7.

On January 3, the United States House of Representatives began the first session of the 117th Congress.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi won her fourth election as speaker of the House by 216 votes to 209 votes. Of the 435 seats in the House, the Democrats lead with a slim majority of 222 seats.

Pelosi stated the lawmakers’ “most urgent priority will continue to be defeating the coronavirus,” according to the New York Times.

The U.S. Senate also officially met in a pro forma session to begin its two-year period of legislative business. On January 5, the Georgia election for its two U.S. Senators will decide which party controls the Senate.

The second special session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on December 16.

The special session called by Gov. Mike Parson to focus on getting federal CARES Act funding distributed to the state began on November 5 and included 10 legislative days interrupted by COVID-19.

Before adjourning lawmakers passed a bill to distribute the federal CARES Act funds.

The Oregon Legislature gathered in person for a one day special session on Monday.

During the session, lawmakers passed four bills including $800 million in relief for those struggling due to the pandemic and the aftermath of the historic summer wildfires.

Gov. Kate Brown called for the special session last week.

Lawmakers also passed:

• An eviction moratorium including $200 million in relief for landlords and tenants
• A restaurant relief package with a provision legalizing cocktails to-go
• A bill protecting schools from some coronavirus related lawsuits
• A measure transferring $600 million into the state’s emergency fund for COVID-19 and wildfire response and recovery.

The special session got off to a chaotic start with far-right protesters storming the statehouse calling on lawmakers and the governor to reopen the state economy and end the restrictions aimed at curbing the coronavirus.

The Oregon State Police declared an unlawful assembly as a growing number of protesters pushed their way through the Capitol doors.

Police officers donned gas masks as they squared off with protesters, some of whom carried firearms and bear spray, and many of whom were not wearing masks.

Despite the hectic backdrop, lawmakers were able to finish the special session.

Gov. Kate Brown will call lawmakers into a one-day special session on December 21.

The legislature will consider $800 million in relief for Oregonians suffering financially from the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s wildfires.

The funding will go towards helping tenants and landlords, funding vaccine distribution and contact tracing, wildfire prevention, and community preparedness and support for reopening schools.

The one-day session will take place in person at the Capitol.

Legislative officials are consulting with the state epidemiologist to ensure they can meet in a healthy and safe environment.

On November 3, voters in Arkansas approved a constitutional amendment to impose term limits for state legislators.

Issue 2 creates term limits of 12 consecutive years for state legislators with the opportunity to return after a four-year break.

Arkansas previously had a 16-year lifetime term limit for state legislators.

The 12-year limit will apply to anyone elected in 2021 or after.

Those first elected to the legislature before 2021 will keep the state’s existing term limit of 16 years, but they will be eligible to run for election again after four years.

As of 7:00 a.m. November 4, with more than 95% of the precincts reporting, the amendment passed 55.4% to 44.6%.

On November 3, voters in Utah approved a constitutional amendment to modify the commencement date of the annual Utah legislative session.

Senate Joint Resolution 3, or Amendment F, amends the commencement of the legislature from the fourth Monday in January to a day in January designated by state statute.

Previously, if the state legislature wished to change the session start date, lawmakers would need to amend the state constitution by passing a constitutional amendment by a two-thirds vote of the legislature.

The amendment would then require statewide voter approval.

Under Amendment F, the legislature will be able to change the session start date in state statute, which requires a simple majority vote in the legislature and does not require voter approval.

The amendment also excludes state holidays that are not also federal holidays from counting toward the 45-day limit of annual general sessions.

Amendment F will take effect January 1, 2021.

As of 7:00 a.m. November 4, with more than 76% of the precincts reporting, the amendment passed 66.8% to 33%.

American Samoa lawmakers returned Monday for an additional 15-day special session.

Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga extended the session with the only issue on the agenda to revisit the final fiscal year 2021 budget.

The governor remains opposed to the $6.5 million in drastic cuts made by the Fono to the budgets for executive branch departments.

The Fono leaders had told the governor in an October 13th letter they are not confident with governor’s revenue projections.

They further urged the governor to act on the final fiscal year 2021 budget bill now in his control.

Gov. Mike Parson announced a special session of the General Assembly.

The session begins November 5 to focus on getting federal CARES Act funding distributed to the state.

This session is the second special session Parson has called this year.

The session does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Mississippi Legislature met for the final time in the extended 2020 session on October 2 after passing several measures related to COVID-19 and the distribution of CARES Act funding.

The session will officially end when the Legislature adjourns sine die on October 10.

This does affect lobbyist dates reporting.

An end-of-session report is due on October 20, 10 days following adjournment sine die of the Legislature.

On October 1, the Connecticut General Assembly adjourned their second special session of the year.

During the special legislative session lawmakers passed House Bill 7005 concerning the processing of absentee ballots.

The Legislature also passed bills reforming the state’s hemp program, regulating the public utilities, and enhancements to state environmental law.

The bills were immediately released to the governor for his signature.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.