site pages<\/a> they list a\u00a0variety of items about each state’s 2016 legislative process.\u00a0 Here’s a quick review some of the basics available from that page.<\/p>\nFirst off, there are four states that don\u2019t convene a regular legislative session<\/strong> in even-numbered years, and that list includes Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas.<\/p>\nOf those that do have sessions in 2016, the vast majority of them start in January or by the first week of February<\/strong>. Only a couple start in March, including Louisiana and Minnesota, and a couple more start in April, including Arkansas and North Carolina.<\/p>\nSo that leaves 42 states that start in the first 5 weeks of the year.<\/p>\n
The end dates<\/strong> for the legislatures are a little more varied. A lot of them do wrap up before the end of June, but several stretch nearly the full year into December, and that includes Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio. Pennsylvania shuts down the end of November, and Massachusetts at the end of July.<\/p>\nThe full table from MultiState Associates also indicates where legislation can carry over from 2015, which can happen in 25 state legislatures, but only two states can carry over legislation from 2016 into the 2017 session, that being New Jersey and Virginia.<\/p>\n