As of March 18, NCSL reports 16 states and one territory have postponed their legislative sessions: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin. Some are considering scheduling special sessions for later this year. Many of these postponements and suspensions will last until the end of March when legislators will reassess the status of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, Maryland and Tennessee are limiting visitors and public access to state buildings. This means only legislators can publicly testify on legislation, impacting state employees, lobbyists, and industry advocates.
Many legislatures have shifted their focus to funding financial aid to respond to COVID-19. These efforts include workforce and housing protections, medical coverage, and other actions governors have found necessary to advance their state of emergency efforts. State emergency or public health emergency declarations have been issued for each state and territory, as well as the District of Columbia. The National Governor’s Association is tracking these efforts closely.
In 2020, 44 states planned to convene, and CAI was already tracking more than 1,500 bills impacting the community association industry. CAI’s Government and Public Affairs team continues to track COVID-19’s impact on state legislatures, including suspensions, postponements, and adjournments of legislative sessions. In states where legislative sessions continue, CAI and our legislative action committees will track legislation and update our members on bills impacting the community association housing model.
For more information about COVID-19, your community, and CAI, visit www.caionline.org/Coronavirus.
Read more about COVID-19 in our blog Coronavirus: Understanding Emergency Declarations, Taking Guidance from Health Officials.
