Gov. Jim Justice has called the West Virginia Legislature back for the third special session of the year to convene on October 11.

In the proclamation, Gov. Justice requested the Legislature take up decennial redistricting, the appropriation of federal funding, and a handful of other issues.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a proclamation to convene a second special legislative session on October 28 to consider a second set of maps as part of the redistricting process.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) will release a second set of maps by October 21.

Lawmakers are permitted to reject the first two maps without amendment. This does not affect Alerts reporting.

The special session of the Alabama Legislature adjourned October 1 after approving Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to allocate COVID-19 relief funding to a prison infrastructure plan.

Another special session is expected to be called to take up the issue of redistricting before the Legislature convenes for the 2022 session on January 11, 2022.

Gov. Bill Lee called for a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly to convene on October 18 to address funding, buildout, and oversight of Ford’s historic $5.6 billion investment at the Memphis Regional Megasite, located in Fayette and Haywood Counties.

Debate is expected around funding the site’s development, education, and workforce preparation.

The Maine State Legislature convened in a one-day special session on September 29 to pass the state’s redistricting plans.

Both the House and Senate adjourned sine die that afternoon.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an amended Executive Proclamation convening the Legislature into a fourth special session October 4, 2021.

The Legislature is tasked to create a supplemental appropriation for the 2021 Permanent Fund Dividend, consider acts relating to the Permanent Fund Dividend, and propose amendments to the Alaskan State Constitution relating to Alaska Permanent Fund.

This does affect lobbyist reporting.

A monthly activity report for October will be due November 30.

The quarterly legislative lobby activity report due January 31, 2022 will only cover the months of November and December.

North Dakota lawmakers announced they will convene on November 8 for a special session to adopt a redistricting plan and to allocate funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Gov. Doug Burgum has not called the Legislature into session as expected under House Bill 1397, which would permit lawmakers as much time as needed for the session.

If the Legislature calls itself into session, the session can only last four days.

Under the North Dakota Constitution, any bills passed after August 1 are effective 90 days after filing.

For the redistricting plan to take effect earlier, upon filing with the Office of Secretary of State, it must pass by a two-thirds vote of each house.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The Connecticut General Assembly convened in a special session on September 27 to authorize an extension of Gov. Lamont’s emergency powers.

The extension allows Gov. Lamont to continue to issue executive orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and allows his current orders to remain in effect.

The House adjourned sine die that afternoon, and the Senate followed suit the next day.

The South Dakota Legislature will convene a special session beginning November 9 to debate the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.

Ravnsborg was charged with two misdemeanors and received no jail time for hitting and killing Joe Boever in September of 2020.

Under the South Dakota Constitution, the Legislature may be convened in special session by the presiding officers of both houses upon the written request of two-thirds of the members of each house.

The Senate voted to proceed last week, and the House has more than the necessary 47 signatures to proceed.

The proclamation sets the special session to immediately follow a special session for redistricting on November 8.

Gov. Kristi Noem has repeatedly called for Ravnsborg’s resignation, but he refused to resign.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has called for a special session of the Oklahoma Legislature on November 15 to address redistricting issues caused by the delayed release of 2020 census data by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The special session has been called solely for the purposes of redistricting Oklahoma’s congressional and legislative districts, and amending statutory candidacy and redistricting deadlines, including amending candidacy and residency deadlines, as made necessary by the U.S. Census Bureau’s failure to meet the deadline for production of decennial census data.

It is not clear how long the specials session will last.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting dates.

The special session of the South Carolina Senate scheduled for October 12 has been cancelled.

In a letter to senators, Senate President Harvey Peeler stated the session would be unnecessary citing delays in redistricting plans and House leaders’ refusal to reconvene on COVID-19 funding issues.

While the redistricting issue will still need to be addressed in a special session later this year, the COVID-19 funding issues, without the House’s willingness to reconvene on the issue, will have to wait until the 2022 session.

Gov. Brian Kemp called a special session of the Georgia General Assembly to convene on November 3.

The special session will focus on redistricting, as well as to consider ratification of executive orders and confirmations of gubernatorial appointments.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called a special election for House District 29 on October 12 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Rep. Wes Breckenridge on September 10.

There is no primary, and candidates will be nominated directly by political parties.

The winning candidate will serve the remainder of Breckenridge’s term, which runs through 2022. 

Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session of the Alabama Legislature to convene on September 27.

The purpose of the special session is to address the state’s prison infrastructure.

A copy of a draft bill has already been presented to the legislators containing a multi-phase plan including the construction of two new prison facilities and other necessary renovations to existing facilities, which will be funded in part by a $785 million bond issue and $400 million from federal COVID relief funding.