Between Election Day and Convening the New Session

Do any official legislative activities occur between election day and the convening of the new legislative session? The answer is yes.

Pursuant to Assembly Rule 13.1, there is the organization of party caucuses that takes place during that interval. AR 13.1 provides that, within two days after the general election held in November of each even-numbered year, the caucus of the political party having the greatest number of Members in the Assembly, and the caucus of the political party having the second greatest number of Members, each may meet for the purpose of selecting their officers for the next regular session.

The convening of the respective party caucus meetings are at the discretion of the Speaker and the leader of the caucus of the political party having the second greatest number of Members. The rules and procedures of each caucus are determined by that caucus, but may not be inconsistent with Powers of the Committee on Rules or the Assembly Rules.

While AR 13.1 is discretionary (i.e., it states that the two caucuses “may meet”), the Democrat and Republican Caucuses do meet at that designated time so that their leaders can be selected and any other issues can be addressed before the formal commencement of the new 2-year legislative session.