Problem: v0.50.x is outdated

[mmsqe]

• Prevent empty groups

(cherry picked from commit 95090a0ec1f193104ba7d6d033a490d1515e54d8)

• Handle inflight proposals

(cherry picked from commit 855983471882068894ed7952b592ab3e61b464b9)

• No empty group with simulations

• Update changelog

• Set release date

• updates

• Update RELEASE_NOTES.md

• Update RELEASE_NOTES.md

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Description

Closes: #XXXX

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Author Checklist

All items are required. Please add a note to the item if the item is not applicable and
please add links to any relevant follow up issues.

I have...

• included the correct type prefix in the PR title
• confirmed ! in the type prefix if API or client breaking change
• targeted the correct branch (see PR Targeting)
• provided a link to the relevant issue or specification
• reviewed "Files changed" and left comments if necessary
• included the necessary unit and integration tests
• added a changelog entry to CHANGELOG.md
• updated the relevant documentation or specification, including comments for documenting Go code
• confirmed all CI checks have passed

Reviewers Checklist

All items are required. Please add a note if the item is not applicable and please add
your handle next to the items reviewed if you only reviewed selected items.

I have...

• confirmed the correct type prefix in the PR title
• confirmed all author checklist items have been addressed
• reviewed state machine logic, API design and naming, documentation is accurate, tests and test coverage