On November 18, a special session of the New Hampshire Legislature will meet to consider establishing funding for programs to battle the state’s rising use of heroin and other drugs. Gov. Maggie Hassan asked the Executive Council to vote for the special session after failing to convince the House and Senate leaders to call a session. The Executive Council voted 4-1 in favor of calling a special session.

“This is the most important issue facing our state, and it deserves the full and swift attention that comes from a special session of the legislature,” Hassan said, according to the Union Leader.

Photo of the New Hampshire State House by AlexiusHoratius on Wikipedia.

Governor LePage has requested a special session during an appearance before the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. LePage is urging the committee to readdress the state budget and to reconsider additional funding to address the drug crisis facing the state.

In Maine, special sessions can be called by either the governor or the Legislature.

On October 30, 2015, the Arizona Legislature adjourned its special session after lawmakers agreed on educational funding for the state. Gov. Doug Ducey immediately signed the legislation into law, which also creates a special election on May 17, 2016, to enact constitutional changes required by the funding reforms. “Educators will finally have the resources they have been asking for, and our students will have greater opportunities to succeed,” Ducey said in a press release.

On October 28, 2015, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey called a special session of the Legislature to meet on the same day at 8 p.m. In anticipation of the session, lawmakers had met to create bills dealing with education funding in the state and to authorize a special election for the May 2016 consolidated election date. Once the bills were ready, Ducey issued the proclamation for a special session and tweeted a picture of the proclamation on his twitter account.

Photo of the Arizona State Capitol by Jeff Dean on Wikimedia Commons.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker plans to call a special legislative session to address details of, and issues related to, the development of a natural gas pipeline. The state is currently developing the project with three oil producers and a pipeline company.

Because Walker is required to give legislators a 30 day notice, the special session cannot begin until the end of October at the earliest. Walker expects the session to conclude before Thanksgiving and would prefer it be held in Juneau despite ongoing renovations at the state Capitol.

On September 16, the Alabama Legislature adjourned its special session sine die after achieving a budget for the state. The special session, which was called by Gov. Robert Bentley to address the Alabama general fund budget shortfall, began on September 8. Bentley said he expects to sign the budget legislation into law, according the Montgomery Advertiser.

The Utah Legislature adjourned its one-day special session on August 19, 2015. A resolution to build a state prison in Salt Lake City was approved, as expected. Gov. Gary Herbert, who called the special session, will address whether he will sign or reject the resolution at his regularly scheduled news conference today.

In a surprise move, Senate Democrats voted yesterday to adjourn the special session of the General Assembly. Lawmakers had reconvened just hours earlier to redraw congressional district lines.

The maneuver is an attempt to allow Gov. Terry McAuliffe to extend a temporary appointment of a state supreme court justice.

Though many senators have left the capitol, House Republican leaders insist the session has not ended and are contemplating their next move.

With still no budget agreement for the state, the Alabama Legislature adjourned its special session sine die on Tuesday, August 11, 2015. The special session had been called because there was no state budget in place at the end of the regular legislative session for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2015. Gov. Robert Bentley is likely to call another special session to resolve the state budget issue.

A third special session of the year has been called in Florida so lawmakers can redraw potentially unconstitutional Senate district lines. The session will take place from October 19 to November 6, 2015.

The Florida Supreme Court has already ruled the House district map unconstitutional, prompting a special session in August to redraw the lines. The court has yet to instruct the Legislature on the Senate map, but changes will be made preemptively based on the ruling.

A trial was set to begin in September following a lawsuit filed by The League of Women Voters and Common Cause claiming the Senate map violates the Fair District amendment of the Florida Constitution.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) is calling a special session of the General Assembly on August 17, 2015, to comply with a court order requiring legislators to redraw the state’s congressional map.

Last month, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 for a second time Virginia must redraw the state’s congressional map by September 1, 2015. The court found the current map draws too many black residents into the 3rd Congressional District, which dilutes voting strength in other districts.

Republican leaders have asked the court to extend the deadline to November 16, 2015, in order to allow time for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Alabama Legislature convened a special session Monday, July 13, 2015, only to recess until August 3, 2015. The Senate was in session for a total of 19 minutes and the House was in session for less than 30 minutes.

Legislators claimed the timing of the special session was rushed, so they were unprepared to consider the governor’s proposed budget.

Lawmakers will reconvene the session on August 3 with the intent of passing a budget.

The Washington Legislature adjourned its third special session on Friday, July 10, 2015, after approving legislation to fund construction for new infrastructure.

The 2015 legislative session was scheduled to last 105 days, but at adjournment of the third special session, tallied well over 170 days, making it the longest session in state history.

Photo of the Washington State Capitol building by Nikopoley on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Robert Bentley has called a special legislative session to convene Monday, July 13, 2015. Bentley originally planned to call a special session to convene in mid-August or after Labor Day to give lawmakers an opportunity to make summer plans for June and July. Many legislators are frustrated with the abrupt timing of the special session.

Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard sent an email to members of the House detailing a plan to convene the special session on Monday and then immediately adjourn until August 3, 2015. Such a maneuver would keep the clock running on the special session, which by statute may only last 30 days, giving legislators approximately a week to come back into session on August 3.