State legislatures tell the story of the health of American democracy itself.
This story was originally published by The Contrarian.
Last week was another raucous week in Congress, with continued discord over the fiscal, social and societal implications of President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” as it heads to the Senate.
Meanwhile, the wheels continue to spin in dozens of statehouses across the country, many of which are at the height of their own legislative sessions.
Most of the hundreds of thousands of bills introduced this year—nationwide, state lawmakers introduce almost a quarter million bills in a single session (stunning, right?)—do not garner national headlines.
Even lightning-rod issues tend to fly under the national radar—too many proposals to keep track of and perhaps a cynical sensibility that many are either mundane or outlandish, the legislative equivalent of throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what might stick.
… which, frankly, is all the reason to take state legislation more seriously. The tone set in the states can send a nationwide signal of just how far we can expect politicians to go in defending or degrading democracy. State legislatures also tell the story of the health of American democracy itself: When extreme bills do become law, it is rarely a reflection of the will of the people but rather the deliberate byproduct of gerrymandering and concentration of power.
State legislatures offer an extraordinary window into the good, the bad and the ugly of the democratic process—a laboratory for what robust, participatory democracy can and often does achieve.
For this week’s column, it felt timely to take a temperature check in the states. To start, here are some basic resources—the various legislative trackers on which I rely (all worth bookmarking):
- 2025 Legislative Session Dates (including details about the deadline for bill introduction);
- Guttmacher’s State Legislation Tracker: all bills related to sexual and reproductive health, including abortion, pregnancy, infertility, contraception, period products and sex and HIV education, among others;
- Trans Legislation Tracker: all bills that seek to block transgender people from receiving basic healthcare, education, legal recognition and the right to publicly exist; and
- The Chronicle of Higher Education’s DEI Legislation Tracker: all bills related to university and college diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, from dedicated offices or staff, to training, hiring and promotion, to student admissions.
Among the most egregious bills currently live, several are, not surprisingly, out of Texas. This includes SB 2880, dubbed the “most alarming antiabortion bill since Dobbs” which passed the state Senate. Since I wrote about it last week for The Contrarian, The Texas Tribune reported that the bill made it out of a House committee last Friday (with conservatives lamenting it is not moving fast enough). But, as reported by Jessica Valenti’s Substack, the bill expired. “The legislation had been advancing, but in a nice turn of events Republicans failed to get it onto the state House calendar before the deadline,” Valenti wrote Tuesday. “That means as of midnight tonight, SB 2880 is done for this legislative session.”
Over the holiday weekend, the Texas House also passed the state Senate’s “parental rights bill,” SB 12, which would ban diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public school hiring and training as well as tighten parental notification and consent requirements for things like family planning and sex education. (Wait?! Menstrual education is supposedly central to Trump’s fabulous fertility future; read all about it at The Contrarian! The hypocrisy never ends.)
The Lone Star State is simultaneously advancing anti-trans legislation. Its “Women’s Bill of Rights,” HB 229, passed the House, strictly defining men and women based on the reproductive organs they were born with, and ordering state records to reflect the same. (In 2023, Texas lawmakers outlawed gender-affirming care for minors.)
Anti-trans bills are also making their way through several other state legislatures still in session.
Last week, the Michigan House passed two bills that would ban transgender girls from playing girls’ sports in schools. Support in the state Senate support is unlikely because leaders there already indicated they will not take up the issue.
In Maine, four bills have been introduced that collectively would limit access to bathrooms and locker rooms and restrict sports participation. Another would prohibit students’ use of names and pronouns that reflect gender identity.
It is not all doom and gloom though, which is one of the exciting aspects of state politics. The power of protest has been on full display in Maine in response to the above-referenced bills, where the Trump administration has doubled down with retaliatory federal investigations in response to Gov. Janet Mills’ resistance to the president’s direct threats (covered in The Contrarian). Local newspapers have editorialized and reported on hundreds of students, parents of trans youth, faith leaders, educators and other community members turning out to testify and support civil rights.
And good policies are winning!
A California bill that would mandate menopause care in insurance coverage just passed committee.
Colorado codified gender-affirming care coverage into state law, signed last week by the governor.
Alabama and Missouri scrapped the tampon tax.
On the final days of the Washington state session, the governor signed into law new gun safety protections, expanded pregnancy- and breastfeeding-related accommodations in the workplace, and enhanced protections for students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender expression and identity.
All of which is to say, perhaps more than in any other aspect of our civic lives, state legislatures offer an extraordinary window into the good, the bad and the ugly of the democratic process—a laboratory for what robust, participatory democracy can and often does achieve.
When news out of the nation’s capital feels like too much to bear, remember this—and take the fight local. It is not just a platitude. The time for pressure is right now in many states—and it is on all of us to support groups on the ground, show up for our neighbors, and speak up for our values and to our leaders.
