The Alaska Legislature’s 2021 session commenced Tuesday and will continue for about 90 days. The state constitution requires its 20 Senators and 40 House members to assemble in person, so conducting remote voting and debate will not be an option this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. They have implemented several policies to keep lawmakers safe, […]
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The Utah Legislature’s 2021 General Session commenced Tuesday, January 19. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will look quite different from previous sessions with social distance and mask requirements, bans on handshaking, regular testing, live stream capabilities for remote debate and voting, and plexiglass between legislators’ desks. The effects of the COVID pandemic, of course,
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The 2021 Idaho legislative session is already halfway complete. The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee has reviewed state agency requests as well as Governor Brad Little’s budget recommendations for FY 2022 and is now sending appropriation bills to the House and Senate floors for approval by the greater body. In his January State of the State
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The Idaho Legislature, like other state lawmaking bodies strongly controlled by one party, is engaged in a tug of war with the governor over how best to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Republicans in the Governor’s Office and dominant control of both houses of the Legislature, the issue has become the decisive force in
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The Florida Legislature opened its 60-day session on Tuesday, March 2, to tackle several critical issues – led by, but not limited to, the physical and economic fallout from COVID-19. Florida’s economy has fared relatively well compared with other states, especially when considering how heavily the state’s economy relies on a tourism industry that has
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The first session of the Georgia General Assembly’s two-year term ended with a flurry of legislative activity up until midnight of the final day. In the end, legislators agreed to the must-pass budget, along with several other measures ranging from tax cuts to changes in the election law. Budget The Georgia legislature agreed on a
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The Georgia Legislature gavels back into session this week, welcoming 10 new senators and 26 new representatives – each joining their colleagues in facing the unprecedented and expected challenges of dealing with a global recession and pandemic. Last June, as a preemptive measure, lawmakers cut spending by 10% for nearly every state agency for the
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The California Legislature ended its last session in gridlock, leaving numerous bills unpassed as the clock ran out. As a result of the Legislature’s inaction, Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to the pandemic with a flurry of executive orders and actions. It appears that legislators will continue to cede most COVID-19 health policy activities to Gov.
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The 81st session of the Nevada Legislature will begin February 1 with these overarching questions: How much will lawmakers have to cut the state budget, and what will they cut? Like many states that reap significant economic benefits from tourism, Nevada was hit especially hard by COVID-19 lockdowns, which negatively impacted the state’s disproportionately high
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Soaring COVID-19 infection rates across the Centennial State has forced legislative leaders to postpone the start of the Colorado legislative session, along with Governor Jared Polis’ annual State of the State address. Instead of January 13, this year’s session will now kick-off February 16 but may be delayed further, if necessary. Legislators passed a substantial
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