September 3, 2025

Special Sessions

Texas adjourned its special session on August 15, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott immediately called a new session on the same day. The first special session gaveled out after Democrats left the state to prevent a quorum and a vote on congressional redistricting. However, Governor Abbott called another special session just two hours after the end of the first one. The agenda for the new special session is very similar to the previous session, with redistricting and disaster relief the main priorities. [The Texas Tribune]

Oregon began a special session on August 29. The special session will focus on road funding after the legislature failed to come to an agreement on a major road funding bill before the end of the legislative session. Lawmakers hope to pass a transportation funding package that will avert laying off state employees and help counties pay for road repairs. [Oregon Public Broadcasting]

Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe has called a special session on September 3 to address congressional redistricting. The governor is calling legislators into a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts, with his proposed new map targeting a Democratic district by stretching it into more rural areas. The agenda will also include a proposed constitutional amendment that would make it harder to pass ballot measures, with the proposal requiring a majority of votes statewide and a majority of votes in each congressional district. [CBS News]

Colorado adjourned its special session on August 26 after passing several tax bills to close the hole in the state budget. Lawmakers passed legislation that ended certain tax breaks for some businesses, including insurance companies, to increase revenue and fill the $750 million gap in the budget. While lawmakers also hoped to pass AI legislation, legislators and tech leaders could not reach an agreement and instead plan to address the issue during next year’s regular session. [The Colorado Sun]

Alaska adjourned its special session on August 31 after failing to take action on Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed policy changes. Governor Dunleavy wanted the legislature to vote on a number of education proposals and create a Department of Agriculture, but the legislature refused to act on those issues during the special session. Instead, they overrode two vetoes and then recessed. Dunleavy does not plan to call another special session to address these issues this year. [Alaska Public Media]

• Alaska (Dunleavy) - 20 days (Sundays excluded)
• Delaware (Meyer) - 10 days (Sundays excluded)
• Illinois (Pritzker) - 60 days
• Kansas (Kelly) - 10 days
• Maine (Mills) - 10 days (Sundays excluded)
• Michigan (Whitmer) - 14 days (or pocket vetoed)
• Nebraska (Pillen) - 5 days (Sundays excluded)
• New Hampshire (Ayotte) - 5 days (Sundays excluded)
• New York (Hochul) - 10 days (Sundays excluded)
• Rhode Island (McKee) - 6 days (Sundays excluded)
• South Carolina (McMaster) - 5 days (Sundays excluded)
• Tennessee (Lee) - 10 days (Sundays excluded)
• Vermont (Scott) - 5 days (Sundays excluded)

Interim Activity

Interim committees and study postings are underway in:

Alabama, *Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

* New addition since last week's newsletter.

2026 Prefiling

Special Elections