The Tennessee Legislature adjourned sine die on April 25.

Notable passed legislation included a bill to allow armed teachers in classrooms; a bill establishing new penalties for PACs; and a bill providing a $1.9 billion tax cut and refund for businesses.

The tax cut created contention as it was formed to remedy a tax that purportedly violated the constitution’s commerce clause.

Virginia lawmakers reconvened for a one-day session to debate Gov. Youngkin’s various vetoes and amendments to legislation.

The vetoed bills included a bill concerning the right to contraception, the skill games regulations bill, and a tax decrease.

Lawmakers agreed to set aside the version of the budget passed in March and plan to meet for a vote on a new compromised version in a special session beginning May 13.

The new budget needs to be approved before June 30 to avoid a government shutdown.

The 2024 regular session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 15.

Lawmakers passed and Gov. Beshear signed a law amending requirements for independent expenditure committees and political advertising disclaimers.

House Bill 595 requires federally registered political committees to register in Kentucky if they make an independent expenditure in support of or in opposition to a Kentucky candidate or a slate of candidates.

The bill requires disclaimers on political advertising to appear and be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner to give the reader or observer adequate notice of the identity of the purchaser of the communication.

The bill also increases the penalty for campaign finance violations from $100 per day to $200 per day.

Lawmakers overrode vetoes on two dozen measures to pass everything vetoed by Beshear, including House Bill 622 requiring special elections for vacancies in the U. S. Senate.

Previously, the governor filled vacancies by appointment.

Maryland’s 90-day legislative session ended on April 8.

The top items on the agenda that passed were the state budget; an economic relief act for the workers and businesses that relied on the Port of Baltimore; and several bills regarding public safety, affordability, economic competitiveness, and public service.

The state’s budget is notable as the governor signed an executive order extending the legislative session 10 days in order to give legislators time to finish it.

However, lawmakers did not need the extra time and managed to adjourn the day the session was previously planned to end.

The 99th session of the Legislature adjourned sine die on March 26.

Lawmakers convened for Veto Day but adjourned after only a few minutes because for the first time in nearly 70 years, there were no gubernatorial vetoes to consider.

Gov. Kristi Noem signed a total of 233 bills into law this legislative session while not vetoing a single one.

A bill to prohibit the use of a deepfake in a campaign ad if it does not include a disclosure passed the Senate but died in the House.

The second regular session of the 123rd General Assembly adjourned sine die on March 8, earlier than scheduled.

The Legislature was focused on education, passing several education related bills.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has seven days to sign legislation once it lands on his desk.

If he does not sign a bill, it becomes law.

If he vetoes a piece of legislation, the Legislature can override the veto with a majority vote in both houses.

The legislature adjourned sine die on March 7.

Lawmakers passed a campaign finance reform bill which creates state campaign contribution limits and authorizes local governments to establish lower limits for local elections.

House Bill 4024 also requires the disclosure of certain information on political advertising and requires specific persons to report the original sources of funds used to pay candidate campaign independent expenditures.

The contribution limits will become operative on January 1, 2027 and the enhanced campaign contribution and independent expenditure reporting requirements will become operative on January 1, 2028.

If signed by the governor, the bill is effective June 6.

The 102nd Legislature adjourned sine die on November 14 after the House and Senate adopted House Concurrent Resolution 10 to adjourn sine die early to start the 90-day clock for the effective date of bills not receiving enough Republican support to take effect immediately.

This includes legislation changing the date for Michigan’s 2024 presidential primary election to February 27, 2024.

Lawmakers passed bills to require elected state officers and candidates to annually file a financial disclosure report by April 15 of each year.

Just before the adjournment, House Democrats temporarily lost their narrow two-seat majority when two lawmakers won mayoral elections, creating a 54-54 tie.

However, Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate noted House Rules adopted in January only require a leadership change if there is a 55-55 tie and Democrats are unlikely to lose either of their two vacant seats in special elections likely to occur next spring.

The House and Senate adjourned sine die on June 29 after passing legislation relating to the environment and elections.

House Bill 281 removes the requirement that small scale energy generators like solar farms be located in the same municipality as their customers.

Senate Bill 61 directs state regulators to develop new rules specific to the site where a landfill is proposed to keep landfills away from bodies of water.

Senate Bill 157 requires the secretary of state to conduct audits of a certain number of ballot counting machines after state primaries, general elections, and presidential primaries.

Lastly, Senate Bill 70 establishes an election information portal and allows grants to be given to cities and towns for the purchase of election equipment.

The general assembly officially ended the 2023 legislative session on June 16.

Lawmakers passed a bevy of bills addressing procurement small purchase limits, contribution limits, and primary election dates.

House Bill 5962 and Senate Bill 0846 raise the minimum aggregate reporting limit for candidates and committees of all contributions received and expenditures made from any one source within a calendar year from $100 to $200.

The bills also raise the contribution limit for individuals and political action committees from $1,000 to $2,000 per year.

If signed by the Governor the bills would take effect on January 1, 2024.

House Bill 5463 increases the maximum state and municipal small purchase limits from $10,000 to $25,000 for construction projects and from $5,000 to $10,000 for all other state and municipal purchases.

If signed by the governor this bill will take effect on December 31, 2023.

Finally, House Bill 6033 allows the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the month preceding the special election to be available to hold the special primary. This bill has been signed by the Governor and will take effect immediately.

Gov. Kay Ivey has announced that she plans to call a special session.

The session is intended to address the congressional voting maps.

This follows a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that found the recent voting maps to be discriminatory towards black voters, and a deadline of July 21 was given to draft and approve new maps.

The special session is planned to take place from July 17 to July 21, 2023.

The New York Legislature adjourned on June 10 after the Clean Slate Act passed both houses.

The legislation, which still must be signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, wipes a New Yorker’s conviction record clean three years after sentencing for misdemeanors and eight years for certain felonies.

The Senate is not expected to return to session but the Assembly will likely return in the near future to complete unfinished work.

The Connecticut Legislature adjourned sine die on June 7 after passing a two-year $51 billion state budget.

The budget includes historic cuts to personal income taxes and the reduction is predicted to benefit approximately 1 million of the state’s 1.7 million income tax filers.

The new budget also boosts state aid for local school districts by an additional $329 million.

Once the budget is signed by Gov. Lamont, it will take effect July 1.

This does affect lobbying reporting. The final monthly activity report is due July 10.

Alabama lawmakers officially concluded the 2023 legislative session on June 6.

Legislation that passed included a grocery tax reduction, an exemption from state income tax for overtime work, and a tax rebate for both individual and married tax filers.

The $3 billion budget surplus ultimately gave way to what lawmakers called historic tax relief.