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state legislatures
New State Laws Aim to Protect Environment, Consumers as Trump Wages All-Out War on Climate
"The gridlock and partisanship we see in Washington, DC can be dispiriting. But history shows that states can build momentum that eventually leads to change at the federal level."
Dec 29, 2025
Even as President Donald Trump and his administration have been ripping up environmental and consumer protection regulations, a number of state laws are set to take effect next year that could at least mitigate some of the damage.
A Monday statement from Environment America and the Public Interest Network highlighted a number of new laws aimed at curbing corporate polluters and enhancing consumer welfare.
First, the groups highlighted "Right to Repair" laws set to take effect in Washington, Nevada, Oregon, and Colorado, which give people the right to repair their own appliances and electronics without burdensome costs or barriers.
The groups lavished particular praise on Colorado's "Right to Repair" laws that they said provide "the broadest repair protections in the country," with new regulations that will give businesses in the state "access to what they and independent repair providers need to fix their electronics themselves."
Illinois, meanwhile, will fully phase out the sale of fluorescent lightbulbs, which will be replaced by energy-efficient LED bulbs. The groups estimate that eliminating the fluorescent bulbs will collectively save Illinois households more than $1.5 billion on their utility bills by 2050, while also reducing energy waste and mercury pollution.
Illinois also drew praise for enacting a ban on polystyrene foam foodware that will take effect on January 1.
The groups also highlighted the work being done in Oregon to protect consumers with legislation mandating price transparency to eliminate surprise junk fees on purchases; prohibiting ambulance companies from socking out-of-network patients with massive fees for rides to nearby hospitals; and placing new restrictions on the ability of medical debt to negatively impact a person's credit score.
California also got a mention in the groups' release for closing a loophole that allowed supermarkets to continue using plastic bags and for creating a new privacy tool for consumers allowing them to request that online data brokers delete all of the personal information they have gathered on them over the years.
Emily Rusch, vice president and senior director of state offices for the Public Interest Network, contrasted the action being taken in the states to protect consumers and the environment with a lack of action being done at the federal level.
"The gridlock and partisanship we see in Washington, DC can be dispiriting," said Rusch. "But history shows that states can build momentum that eventually leads to change at the federal level. As we build on this progress in 2026, we look forward to working with anyone—Republican, Democrat, or independent—with whom we can find common ground."
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After Success in Massachusetts, Lawmakers in 10 States Push Wealth Tax
"If you want better roads, better schools, better healthcare, better public transit... or just a generally better life, then the best way of funding that is by taxing the ultrawealthy, not allowing them to exploit more tax loopholes."
Jan 24, 2024
While ultrawealthy Americans are unlikely to face any extra federal taxes any time soon due to the makeup of Congress, legislators in at least 10 U.S. states this year are aiming to pass tax policies targeting their richest residents to raise revenue for the common good.
Lawmakers in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Washington introduced coordinated wealth tax bills a year ago. Some were inspired by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) 2020 presidential campaign proposal, which featured a 2% annual tax for assets above $50 million and a 3% tax for assets over $1 billion.
Now, less than a month into 2024, legislators in 10 states are developing or have introduced wealth tax bills. Amber Wallin of the State Revenue Alliance confirmed to The New York Times on Tuesday that all of the states that were working on such legislation last year, except Illinois, have been joined by Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
"A new wealth tax in Massachusetts last year that was expected to raise $1 billion actually raised $1.5 billion, helping to fund green infrastructure, education, and childcare."
"The way our tax structure is set up, our middle class is carrying an undue burden, compared to folks at the top," Democratic Vermont Rep. Emilie Kornheiser (Windham-7), told the Times. "We want to make sure that all Vermonters are paying their fair share."
Kornheiser, who chairs the state House Committee on Ways and Means, is sponsoring H. 827, which would tax the unrealized gains of Vermonters with over $10 million in assets after exemptions, and H.828, which would impose a 3% surcharge on individuals' incomes of $500,000 or more.
The panel that Kornheiser leads discussed the legislation on Tuesday, though it remains to be seen whether the bills' backers can get them out of committee—where all of last year's proposals died. Democrats have supermajorities in both chambers of the Vermont General Assembly, but as Bloomberg noted, the hearing for the new bills was held "just hours after Republican Gov. Phil Scott presented a fiscal year 2025 budget that steers the state away from new taxes and fees."
It's not just Republican officials who pose potential roadblocks to increased taxes on the rich.
"Texas voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment in November that would preemptively bar any future efforts by the state to tax wealth or net worth," The Times pointed out. Earlier this month in California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is widely considered a possible 2028 presidential candidate, "rejected the idea of plugging the state's $37.9 billion budget deficit with a wealth tax."
Despite such opposition, polling suggests most Americans want the ultrarich to face tax hikes. Pew Research Center found last April that 6 in 10 U.S. adults say the feeling that some corporations and wealthy people don't pay their fair share bothers them a lot.
Even three-quarters of millionaires across G20 countries "support higher taxes on wealth to help address the cost-of-living crisis and improve public services," according to polling from last week. That survey was released as 260 millionaires and billionaires implored political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to raise taxes on the wealthy.
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) highlighted on social media Wednesday that state lawmakers already have a model proving how such legislation can improve the lives of residents: Massachusetts' Fair Share Amendment, which was passed through a 2022 ballot initiative and requires those with incomes over $1 million to pay a 4% annual surtax.
"A new wealth tax in Massachusetts last year that was expected to raise $1 billion actually raised $1.5 billion, helping to fund green infrastructure, education, and childcare," IPS said in response to the Times reporting.
Justice Democrats also welcomed news of the state-level efforts,
saying that "if you want better roads, better schools, better healthcare, better public transit... or just a generally better life, then the best way of funding that is by taxing the ultrawealthy, not allowing them to exploit more tax loopholes."
The fresh push for wealth taxes comes as states face anticipated drops in revenue. In a November analysis for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), senior adviser for state tax policy Wesley Tharpe found that as the Covid-19 pandemic raged from 2021-23, 26 states cut personal or corporate income tax rates, with half of them doing so multiple times.
Of those 26 states, only Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania have legislators working on wealth tax legislation. However, as Tharpe explained in a Wednesday blog post, federal pandemic relief has expired, and all the states that slashed taxes now "stand to collect an estimated $111 billion less over the next five years than they otherwise would have, with the price tag in lost revenues hitting nearly $30 billion a year by 2028."
"Shrinking revenues will jeopardize current levels of state support for vital public services like schools, health services, and income support programs," he warned. "They will also constrain states' future potential by limiting policymakers' ability to make new investments to tackle unmet or emerging needs and issues, such as child poverty, the health of pregnant or postpartum people, or housing affordability."
Tharpe argued that state policymakers "should seize the opportunity to break the tax-cut fever and pivot in a more equitable, prosperous, responsible, and forward-looking direction." He even provided some examples of states that "have recently shined a light on a different, brighter path of protecting and raising revenues to support current services and new investments."
In addition to Massachusetts' amendment, he pointed to Minnesota's crackdown on corporate tax avoidance and Washington's new excise tax on income from the sale of stocks and other investments, which targets the wealthiest 0.2% of Washingtonians.
"States including Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont, and the District of Columbia have also raised new revenues to fund initiatives like universal free school meals, expanded childcare and paid leave, and more affordable housing options," the CBPP expert noted. "More states should follow suit in 2024 and beyond."
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The Pro-Democracy Movement Fighting Back Against the GOP Nationwide Offers Hope for 2024
State-level progress on election protection, ballot access, and voting rights is a reflection of a basic reality documented in poll after poll: Voters want meaningful reforms to democracy.
Dec 19, 2023
Over the past few years, states across the country have passed laws that make voting more difficult and elections more vulnerable to partisan interference, and 2023 is no exception. But it is critical to remember that there is also flourishing pro-democracy movement that has pushed many states to make important strides in the opposite direction.
This past year, at least 24 states enacted over 50 laws that protect the freedom to vote, prevent attacks on the electoral process, crack down on gerrymandering, or strengthen campaign finance safeguards as of December 1, 2023. Yet state lawmakers cannot safeguard democracy on their own. Robust federal legislation is needed to ensure that democracy is protected across the country and that every voter has equal access to the ballot.
Among the most notable advances in 2023 was Minnesota’s passage of a transformative package of pro-voter reforms. Among them is automatic voter registration, bringing the total number of states with automatic voter registration to 23 plus the District of Columbia. This means that when eligible Minnesota residents interact with certain state agencies—including when applying for a driver’s license or state health insurance—they will automatically be registered to vote unless they choose to opt out. The legislation also allows 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, enacts new protections for election workers, and creates a permanent absentee voter list.
While state reforms are critical, they are not a substitute for federal legislation that would set baseline national standards to protect the freedom to vote and make other critical changes.
Minnesota lawmakers also passed legislation this year that restores voting rights for people convicted of a felony, instantly re-enfranchising over 50,000 Minnesotans on parole, probation, or community release—and countless more in the future.
Another closely divided Midwestern state, Michigan, made important advances. This year, lawmakers passed a package of legislation to implement Proposal 2, a pro-voter constitutional amendment that was approved by Michigan voters in 2022 with nearly 60% of the vote. (Proposal 2 is one of several pro-democracy amendments that Michigan voters approved with overwhelming margins in the past few years.)
Michigan voters now have nine days of early voting, improved absentee ballot options, a higher number of ballot drop boxes, and an expanded list of acceptable voter IDs. This reform will benefit the many voters who prefer to vote by mail, a trend that exploded in popularity during the pandemic and remains highly popular in the state.
Additionally, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation this year protecting election officials from harassment and another that automatically registers individuals to vote upon release from incarceration—the first state to offer such an immediate and automatic restoration of voting rights.
In New Mexico, the legislature passed a wide-ranging bill that restores voting rights to individuals with a felony conviction, establishes automatic voter registration, and added voting rights protections for Native Americans. It also made it so voters who want to vote by mail only have to opt-in once.
The Nevada legislature passed a series of pro-voter laws this year that were signed by the state’s Republican governor: one that improves ballot access for eligible incarcerated voters by requiring jails to better provide voting materials, another that standardizes the design of mail-in ballot return envelopes and clarifies electioneering rules, and one that make it easier to vote on Native American reservations.
In another notable development, Connecticut became the sixth state to establish a state-level Voting Rights Act. In recent years, states have passed their own versions of the Voting Rights Act to protect voting access for historically disenfranchised groups. This trend is in response to two Supreme Court rulings that gutted the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
2023 also saw several states enact significant new campaign finance reforms. Minnesota improved campaign finance safeguards to boost transparency and deter foreign influence in elections. Almost 90% of Maine voters adopted new safeguards to prevent foreign governments and corporations from interfering in the state’s elections. And New York State’s groundbreaking small donor matching system went into effect, and over 150 candidates have already signed up to participate.
Important voting reforms are not exclusive to blue states, with many pro-democracy bills also passing in red and purple states this year. For example, Oklahoma codified protections for election officials, and Louisiana and Utah improved voting access for voters with disabilities. The divided Virginia legislature voted to ease absentee ballot requirements, a measure that was signed into law by a Republican governor. Lastly, an important win for direct democracy took place in Ohio, where 57% of voters rejected a proposal that would have increased the threshold required to pass citizen-initiated constitutional amendments from 50% to 60%.
This state-level progress is a reflection of a basic reality documented in poll after poll: Voters want meaningful reforms to democracy. And in 24 states this year, elected officials have responded, passing critical reforms that will improve the state of democracy for many Americans.
Ultimately though, while state reforms are critical, they are not a substitute for federal legislation that would set baseline national standards to protect the freedom to vote and make other critical changes. Access to the ballot box, secure election systems, fair district maps, and strong campaign finance laws are the basic safeguards needed to ensure we have a democracy that works for all Americans, regardless of where they live.
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