In a

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal

legislative session A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two election ...

. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by conflict between political parties), such as outlining the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

's budget for the next

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

, biennium, or other period. Special sessions may also be called during an economic downturn in order to

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

the budget. In other cases, a special session may be convened to address special topics, or emergencies such as

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

or natural disaster. Who calls a special session varies – by vote of the legislature during regular session, by the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

, or by the legislature's

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

or presiding officer. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

has both special sessions and emergency special sessions.

United States

In the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution gives the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

the power to "on extraordinary occasions, convene both

Houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

or either of them."United States Archives: Transcript of the Constitution
/ref> This power exists for urgent or extraordinary situations that require congressional action when Congress is adjourned. Presidents have exercised this power 46 times to recall only the Senate and 28 times to recall both Chambers of Congress, most recently by

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

in 1948. The Senate itself differentiates between "extraordinary sessions" called by the

Presidential proclamation A presidential proclamation is a statement issued by a US president on an issue of public policy and is a type of presidential directive. Details A presidential proclamation is an instrument that: *states a condition, *declares a law and require ...

and "special sessions" that merely indicate a session not normally scheduled. The term "session" can refer to either the formal start and end of a Congressional session or the daily sessions of the chambers of Congress. Thus a formal "special session" will only happen when Congress has adjourned sine die and is not simply in recess (in other words Congress may or may not already be in an official session, but in recess, when convened).

Notes

Parliamentary procedure {{Gov-stub