2027 state legislative pre-filing dates: a 50-state guide

All 50 state legislatures meet in regular session in 2027. Pre-filing lets a member file a bill before the session opens, so it is numbered and referred on the first day. The window varies by state: Virginia opened it in July 2026, Kentucky abolished it in 2022, and New Mexico gives it twelve days in January.

Each date below was read from the legislature’s own calendar or rules, or from the statute or constitution that fixes it. Where a state has not yet published a 2027 date, the table says so rather than guessing. Calendars change: check the linked source before you rely on a date.

The earliest windows

• Already open: Virginia (since 20 July 2026, closes 10:00 a.m. on 13 January 2027).
• November 2026: Texas on 9 November, New York on 15 November, Arkansas on 16 November, Utah for legislators-elect on 18 November, Illinois on 30 November.
• December 2026: Missouri on 1 December, Washington on 7 December, West Virginia on 14 December.
• Deadlines that pass before the session: Nevada’s 18 November for measures requested by agencies and other non-legislators, Maryland’s 20 November for pre-file requests, Oregon’s 11 December, North Dakota’s 18 December, and Montana’s 30 December for legislators.

Every state, with its source

Before you file

A new term resets more than the bill number. In most states 2027 opens a new two-year term, so 2026 bills that did not pass are dead and have to be filed again. New members take office, committee chairs change, and a sponsor who carried your bill may be gone. New Jersey is the exception here: 2027 is the second year of its current session.

Short sessions leave no room to recover. Virginia, New Mexico, Wyoming and South Dakota all adjourn by the end of March. A bill that is not filed before they open has little time to clear committee.

Pre-filed bills tell you what is coming. The first pre-filed batch is the earliest signal of a session’s priorities, weeks before hearings start. For how the rest of the year runs, read our session calendar guide.

What 2027 starts with

The laws passed in 2026 take effect while these sessions open. New state laws taking effect in 2027 lists them by topic and state, with what each one does and a link to its text. Next year’s are bills now: LawSignals follows them across all 50 states and Congress, by subject, with a monthly report you can send to a client.

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Related: state legislation tracking for multistate coverage, and how to track bills across all 50 states.