A special session of the Louisiana Legislature on the state’s budget troubles convenes February 19 at 4 p.m., and centers on closing the budget gap by replacing expiring taxes or allowing deep cuts across agencies statewide.

Gov. John Bel Edwards called the session hoping to convince the Republican led Legislature to renew expiring taxes to fix the deficit.

Taxes cannot be considered during a regular session of the legislature, requiring a special session to address and propose taxation legislation.

The special session must adjourn by March 7 at midnight, five days ahead of the regularly schedule legislative session set to convene March 12.

The North Carolina General Assembly will convene for a special session on January 10 to address several topics, including judicial reform.

Lawmakers may consider eliminating judicial elections and instead institute an appointment process for selecting judges.

On December 1, Gov. Jim Justice called a special session to convene on December 4 to consider legislation to authorize the sale of state road bonds.

The special session coincides with the Legislature’s monthly interim meetings scheduled to begin on December 3 and conclude on December 5.

Pictured: West Virginia Governor Jim Justice

Becky recaps a CRAZY week in government and ethics news around the country!

The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned an eight-week special session on Friday, November 17, after the Senate gave final approval on legislation to balance the state’s budget.

Just hours after the session ended, Gov. Mary Fallin line-item vetoed most of the budget bill’s provisions citing a failure to address the requests she made in calling the session and the lack of a long-term solution to re-occurring budget deficits. Provisions temporarily preserving funding for crucial health and human services were retained as the state continues to seek a solution.

The vetoed bill would have used cash reserves and made deep cuts to funding across all state agencies to close the $215 million hole in the state budget.

Gov. Fallin said she intends to call a second special session of the Legislature to come up with long-term funding solutions.

The Oklahoma Legislature adjourned an eight-week special session on Friday, November 17, after the Senate gave final approval on legislation to balance the state’s budget.

Just hours after the session ended, Gov. Mary Fallin line-item vetoed most of the budget bill’s provisions citing a failure to address the requests she made in calling the session and the lack of a long-term solution to re-occurring budget deficits. Provisions temporarily preserving funding for crucial health and human services were retained as the state continues to seek a solution.

The vetoed bill would have used cash reserves and made deep cuts to funding across all state agencies to close the $215 million hole in the state budget.

Gov. Fallin said she intends to call a second special session of the Legislature to come up with long-term funding solutions.

The Montana Legislature adjourned a special session on the state’s budget shortfall in the early hours on Thursday morning.

Multiple bills were passed to close the $227 million gap including a bill requiring furloughs of state employees, changing the state liquor license lottery to an auction, and a bill to eliminate $13 million in block grants for school districts statewide. Tax increases proposed by Gov. Steve Bullock did not pass.

Legislators have said the passed budget solutions are far from perfect but avoid deeper cuts to crucial state agencies.

The Hawaii Senate is scheduled to convene a two-day special legislative session on Tuesday, November 14, to confirm 4 judicial appointments.

Choosing from a list of candidates selected by the Judicial Selection Committee, Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald appointed Jessi Hall to the First District Family Court Judge and Gov. Ige appointed Paul Wong, Matthew Viola, and Rowena Somerville to the First Circuit Court.

Each Circuit Court judge will serve a 10-year term while the Family Court appointment has a six-year term.

The General Assembly adjourned on October 17, after finishing a special session convening on October 4.

The General Assembly overrode Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 656, a bill canceling North Carolina’s judicial primaries next year.

The Legislature will reconvene on January 10, 2018.

Becky is back! Keeping you up to date on a busy week in government and ethics news from around the country

Gov. Bill Walker issued a proclamation to convene the Legislature’s fourth special session on October 23 to address revenue and public safety issues.

The governor has proposed a payroll tax of 1.5 percent that is expected to generate between $300 million and $325 million. Under this proposal, Alaskans would pay the lowest taxes in the country.

Senate Bill 54, which addresses Class-C felonies, will also be under consideration.

This week, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock discussed calling a special session of the Legislature to address how to pay the costs of the summer’s wildfires.

The Governor’s budget director recommended the state reduce spending by $229.3 million to balance a reduction in tax revenue and an unforeseen increase in spending to fight extensive wildfires this year.

The Legislature passed a bill in the spring allowing the state to cut the fire fund if the revenue was lower than expected, causing the state to be an estimated $25 to $40 million short in covering this year’s costs.

Gov. Bullock stated a special session will be necessary at some point before 2019 to consider raising taxes to offset budget cuts and the high firefighting bill.

The Utah Legislature will meet in a special legislative session Wednesday September 20, 2017, to consider a proposed $11.4 million settlement to be paid to the state by a contractor responsible for faulty renovations to one of the state’s highways.

The settlement agreement requires the contractor to pay for long term repairs to the highway and includes a provision requiring the governor and Legislature to approve settlements over $1 million for state agencies moving forward.

Gov. Gary Herbert also called the session in order to set aside money to curb crime in Salt Lake City’s Rio Grande neighborhood. The special session is set to convene at 2 p.m.

State legislative leadership submitted a proclamation on Thursday, August 24, to call the Hawaii Legislature into special session on Monday, August 28, 2017.

The proclamation was filed at the written request of two-thirds of the members of each house.

Lawmakers are expected to consider a bill drafted by committee chairs to fund the completion of the rail project on Oahu.