At Plural, we’re committed to increasing access to and understanding of the public policy developments that shape our lives. We aim to increase transparency by providing easier access to public information. To this end, we’re leveraging technology to make digesting and acting on that information less intimidating. 

Careful but ambitious adoption of artificial intelligence has been central to this strategy and has helped us expand access to legislative data. While we’ve always pursued a multifaceted approach in applying artificial intelligence to public policy data, we’ve recently moved towards creating comprehensive insights by leveraging our various datasets. The growth in our AI strategy and development can be seen with our latest release, Plural’s end-of-session report generator. 

This tool, piloted in Minnesota before expansion to other jurisdictions, allows users to generate analyses of legislative action on various topics throughout a single legislative session. Like all of our AI features, these insights are rooted deeply in the source public policy data — bill text, votes, etc. — and not in external information like media coverage. This focus on the core policy data we have access to preserves accuracy and removes bias. As ever, we advise users to treat AI-generation tools as research and writing partners and to closely review and edit analyses for their own needs. 

Below you can take a look at one of these reports, assessing developments in Education and Childcare policy during the 2023-2024 session of the Minnesota Legislature. 

Minnesota Legislative Session 2023-2024: End of Session Report – Education and Childcare

Read the full text of Plural’s AI-generated end-of-session report for Minnesota’s Education and Childcare legislation throughout the 2023-2024 legislative session.

Introduction

The 2023-2024 Minnesota legislative session saw significant activity in the realm of education and childcare policy. Key themes included expanding access to affordable education, strengthening support for diverse student populations, and bolstering the early childhood education system. This report provides a detailed overview of the major changes enacted through various bills.

Key Themes and Patterns

• Affordability and Access: A major focus was placed on making education more affordable and accessible, particularly for low-income families and underrepresented groups. This is evident in the establishment of the North Star Promise tuition-free program (HF2073), expansion of early learning scholarships (HF2292), and provision of free school meals for all students (HF5).
• Equity and Inclusion: Several bills addressed educational equity by mandating ethnic studies curricula (HF2497), expanding American Indian education programs (HF2497, HF5237), and strengthening protections for students with disabilities (HF121, SF3567).
• Workforce Development: Recognizing the critical need for qualified educators, the legislature passed bills to support the early childhood education workforce through grant programs (HF2292) and address teacher shortages by modifying licensure requirements (HF2497, SF3567).
• Mental Health and Well-being: The session saw increased attention to student mental health, with bills requiring mental health instruction (SF3567) and expanding access to telehealth services in schools (SF3567).

Extremely Important Changes

• Free School Meals for All Students (HF5): This landmark legislation guarantees free breakfast and lunch to all Minnesota students, regardless of income, eliminating financial barriers to school meals.
• North Star Promise Tuition-Free Program (HF2073): This program aims to make college more affordable by providing tuition-free education to eligible students from families earning under $80,000.
• Expansion of Early Learning Scholarships (HF2292): This initiative broadens access to high-quality early care and learning by expanding eligibility and increasing funding for early learning scholarships.
• Mandated Ethnic Studies Curriculum (HF2497): This bill requires high schools to offer ethnic studies courses and mandates ethnic studies instruction in elementary and middle schools, promoting cultural understanding and inclusivity.
• Strengthened Human Rights Protections (HF4109): This bill significantly expands and strengthens Minnesota’s human rights laws, broadening definitions of protected classes, increasing penalties for discrimination, and providing additional remedies for victims.

Bill Summaries

1. HF112 – Review of Physical Education Standards Delayed: This bill delays the review of physical education standards in Minnesota by four years, moving the start date from the 2022-2023 school year to the 2026-2027 school year.

2. HF1126 – Postsecondary Attainment Goals, Student Financial Aid, Institutional Licensure Provisions, and Institutional Grant Program Policy Changes Provided: This bill enacts various changes to higher education policies, including expanding postsecondary attainment goals, modifying grant and scholarship programs, refining definitions and exemptions for institutions, and adjusting data reporting requirements.

3. HF121 – Competency Attainment; Technical Changes Made, and Money Appropriated: This bill aims to improve the process of assessing and addressing competency issues in criminal proceedings, focusing on helping defendants attain competency. It includes terminology changes, refined definitions, clarified procedures for competency examinations, and establishes standards for competency attainment programs.

4. HF1486 – Supervised Practice of Alcohol and Drug Counseling by Former Students Allowed for Limited Time, HIV Training Requirements Modified in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs, Withdrawal Management License Requirements Modified, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Client Record Documentation Requirements Modified: This bill allows recent graduates in alcohol and drug counseling to practice under supervision for a limited time, updates HIV training requirements in substance use disorder treatment programs, expands eligible facilities for withdrawal management program licensing, and modifies documentation requirements for client records.

5. HF2073 – Higher Education Finance and Policy Bill: This bill provides funding and policy changes for higher education, including increased appropriations for various institutions, creation of new scholarship and student aid programs (including the North Star Promise program), establishment of support centers, and modifications to grant programs and reporting requirements.

6. HF2292 – Early Learning Scholarships, Head Start, and Early Education Programs Modified; Early Childhood Educator Programs Provided; Reports Required; and Money Appropriated: This bill modifies Head Start funding, establishes the Great Start Scholarships Program, expands early learning scholarship eligibility, increases developmental screening aid, requires licensed teachers for preschool programs, creates an early childhood educator grant program, modifies the Quality Rating and Improvement System, and increases funding for various early childhood programs.

7. HF2497 – Education Finance Bill: This bill establishes new requirements for American Indian education and ethnic studies, makes changes to teacher licensure, creates new grant programs, prohibits American Indian mascots in schools, and makes various changes to curriculum, standards, and education programs.

8. HF3100 – Pension Finance Bill: This bill focuses on public pension plans, reducing the assumed investment rate of return, modifying postretirement adjustments, reducing vesting requirements, adjusting contribution rates, and providing direct state aid to various plans.

9. HF3489 – School Resource Officers; Public Safety Provided, Grounds for Use of Reasonable Force in Schools Modified, School Resource Officer Duties Defined and Minimum Training Requirements Established, School Resource Officer Model Policy Development Required, and Money Appropriated: This bill clarifies the role of school resource officers, modifies the grounds for use of force in schools, establishes specific duties and training requirements for SROs, mandates the development of a model SRO policy, and provides funding for implementation.

10. HF3613 – Forecasted Metro Mobility Funding Clarifications Provided, Education Forecast Adjustments Effective Date Provided, and Money Appropriated: This bill makes technical corrections to the forecasted Metro Mobility funding statute, changes effective dates related to education forecast adjustments, and provides a retroactive effective date for a separate piece of legislation.

11. HF4024 – Higher Education Policy and Finance Bill: This bill modifies funding for ALS research grants, expands eligibility for the Fostering Independence Higher Education Grants program, adjusts funding for the North Star Promise scholarship program, establishes new policies for campus sexual misconduct and criminal records in admissions, regulates online program management companies, implements protections for pregnant and parenting students, modifies requirements for private career schools, and makes various technical changes to higher education statutes.

12. HF4109 – Human Rights Law Provided, and Civil Penalties and Other Remedies Provided: This bill significantly expands and strengthens Minnesota’s human rights laws by broadening definitions of protected classes, increasing penalties for discrimination, and providing additional remedies for victims.

13. HF4518 – Education Finance Forecast Adjustments Made, and Money Appropriated: This bill proposes adjustments to education finance appropriations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, covering various areas of education funding, including general education, special education, early childhood education, and facilities.

14. HF5 – Free School Lunch and Breakfast Provided for Students, and Money Appropriated: This bill establishes a comprehensive free school meals program in Minnesota, providing funding to ensure all students can receive free breakfast and lunch. It also adjusts related funding mechanisms and allocates resources for implementation.

15. HF5040 – Pensions Supplemental Budget Bill: This bill proposes changes to various public employee pension and retirement plans, including adjusting retirement ages, contribution rates, benefit formulas, and eligibility criteria for different plans.

16. HF5237 – Education Supplemental Budget Bill: This bill makes extensive changes to laws related to children, education, child protection, and family services. Key proposals include modifying education funding provisions, implementing the “Read Act,” expanding American Indian education programs, revising teacher policies, updating charter school regulations, and making changes to child protection laws, foster care, adoption procedures, and support services.

17. SF3567 – Omnibus Education Policy Bill: This bill makes numerous technical and policy changes across multiple areas of K-12 education, including education excellence, teacher licensure and training, reading instruction, special education, charter schools, nutrition and libraries, health and safety, early learning, and education partnerships.

Conclusion

The 2023-2024 Minnesota legislative session brought about substantial changes to education and childcare policies, reflecting a commitment to expanding access, promoting equity, and supporting the well-being of all learners. These changes are expected to have a significant impact on the state’s education system and the lives of children and families for years to come.

Get Started With Plural’s AI-Generated End-of-Session Reports

Top public policy teams in Minnesota and across the country trust Plural for their legislative intelligence needs. With Plural, you’ll:

• Access superior public policy data 
• Be the first to know about new bills and changes in bill status
• Streamline your day with seamless organization features
• Harness the power of time-saving AI tools to gain insights into individual bills and the entire legislative landscape
• Keep everyone on the same page with internal collaboration and external reporting all in one place

Interested in getting started? Create a free account or book a demo today!

More Resources for Minnesota

Plural’s AI-Generated End of Session Report: Minnesota Tackles Education & Childcare Policy

A Look At Tim Walz’s Career Through Policy

2024 End of Session Report: Minnesota

The post Plural’s AI-Generated End of Session Report: Minnesota Tackles Education & Childcare Policy appeared first on Plural Policy.

Governor Walz’s Electoral History

First, let’s quickly review the Governor’s path to this point in his career as a lawmaker. Following more than twenty years of service in the Army National Guard and nearly two decades as an educator, Tim Walz was elected to represent Minnesota District 1 in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. Walz won election to that seat five more times, serving from 2007 through 2018. 

In 2018 Walz was elected Governor of Minnesota. He was later re-elected in 2022. He’s been governor through three two-year legislative sessions, plus several special sessions. Policymaking in Minnesota throughout this time has been largely defined by:

1. The response to protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer
2. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic
3. The passage of many progressive “bucket list” items, including cannabis legalization and codified abortion rights

Walz’s Notable Policy Positions as U.S. Representative (2007-2018)

Walz’s career in Congress spanned three presidencies. It included an early stint in the majority (2007-2011) followed by an extended time in the minority (2011-2018). Of course, it’s impossible to capture the full scope of all that Tim Walz acted on in that time. However, we’ve summarized his actions on some of the most notable policy decisions during his tenure in the House below.

The Affordable Care Act

Walz joined most House Democrats in voting for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), the landmark healthcare legislation known as Obamacare. 

Foreign Wars & Military Spending

In 2007, Tim Walz voted for H.R. 1591 (later vetoed) and its successor H.R. 2206 (now law) to continue to fund the war in Iraq, amongst other provisions. However, Walz also supported a parallel effort to require a withdrawal from Iraq on a tight timeline. This effort eventually failed. 

In 2016, Walz voted for a failed amendment to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001. Overall, Walz was fairly consistent with his support of military funding throughout his tenure in Congress.

Same-Sex Marriage

Walz supported and co-sponsored iterations of the Respect for Marriage Act that were introduced during his time in the House. The legislation sought to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act which barred federal recognition of same-sex marriages. It officially became law in 2022. These efforts were generally seen as a litmus test on support for same-sex marriage before Obegefell established the fundamental right in 2015.

Gun Control

Gun rights is an area where Walz’s positions have changed throughout his political career. Walz has generally moved left on gun rights — perhaps best exemplified by his vote against right-to-carry reciprocity legislation in 2017. Walz had co-sponsored similar legislation in 2011. 

Abortion Rights

Walz consistently opposed Republican-led efforts to establish federal restrictions on abortion rights. He voted against H.R.36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which passed the House in 2017.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Walz joined the majority of Democrats in opposing President Trump’s signature tax reduction package passed in 2017. 

Major Policy Positions as Governor

As Governors don’t vote on legislation, their positions are best gathered from public statements and decisions to sign or veto legislation that reaches their desks. Below we review Walz’s actions on some of the highest-profile policy debates in Minnesota over the past six years. 

Marijuana Legalization

Walz supported and signed HF 100 in 2023, which legalized adult use of marijuana in Minnesota. 

Abortion Rights

Governor Walz and Minnesota Democrats have expanded and codified abortion protections in Minnesota. Beyond enshrining fundamental abortion rights, they also passed legislation protecting Minnesota-based medical professionals and patients from legal action in states that restrict abortion rights. 

Labor Rights

The Governor has been largely supportive of labor rights throughout his tenure. In return, unions reciprocated the support. Notable wins for labor during the Walz administration have included:

• A paid sick leave law expanding access to the benefit.
• Establishment of a state-supported Paid Family and Medical Leave program in Minnesota.
• The banning of noncompete agreements and “captive audience” meetings. 

Public Spending

State spending has grown significantly during Walz’s time as Minnesota governor. But this wasn’t uncommon among similar states during this period. State budgeting is complex — but the increases are, at least in part, driven by greater state investment, inflation, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

State spending has grown significantly during Walz’s time as Minnesota governor. But this wasn’t uncommon among similar states during this period. State budgeting is complex — but the increases are, at least in part, driven by greater state investment, inflation, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It is also worth noting that the state’s General Fund reserve has grown during the same period. Increased expenditures may have, at least in part, been covered by increased revenue. See the image below to learn more.

Working With the Legislature

Astonishingly, Governor Walz has issued just one veto in his six years as Governor. Throughout the past 30 years of Minnesota’s legislative history, there hasn’t been a single year (before Walz) that had fewer than two vetoes. Walz has been veto-free for five of the six years he’s been in office. This may signal a strength in dealmaking, a deference to the legislature, or a strong influence on what gets to his desk — regardless, it’s certainly notable. 

The single bill that Governor Walz vetoed was HF 2369 in 2023. The bill would raise pay and labor conditions for rideshare drivers in Minnesota. Walz’s veto rankled progressives. It also prolonged a fight over rideshare companies’ activity in the state. The city of Minneapolis successfully passed a similar ordinance on its own. Still, rideshare companies threatened to end their business in the state. In 2024, Walz and legislative leaders brokered a deal that kept rideshare companies in the state while offering drivers less generous increases in pay and labor standards. 

Characterizing Tim Walz’s Public Policy Positions

Governor Tim Walz has spent nearly twenty years in public office, both as a member of Congress and Governor of Minnesota. Despite this tenure, it’s clear that political pundits don’t immediately know how to characterize Walz’s policy stances as a whole. He’s been described as both a moderate and a progressive, and his policy record indicates signs of both.

In many ways, it seems obvious that a politician with such an extensive career cannot be neatly categorized. However, both parties will certainly look to define Walz’s policy track record in the coming weeks and months.

Get Started With Plural

Top public policy teams use Plural to monitor the activity of key legislators across the United States. Interested in getting started? Create a free account or book a demo today!

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2025 Legislative Committee Deadlines Calendar

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State-Specific Resources

End of Session Report: Florida 2024 Legislative Session

The 2024 Florida legislative session saw significant activity in the realm of insurance and financial services, reflecting key themes of consumer protection, market stability, and regulatory modernization.

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The post A Look At Tim Walz’s Career Through Policy appeared first on Plural Policy.

Minnesota lawmakers returned to Saint Paul in mid-February to finish out the second half of the 2023-2024 biennium. In 2023, their work commanded national media attention. Democratic gains in the 2022 elections largely defined the first session of the biennium. Democrats won control of the Governor’s office, as well as both chambers of the legislature, which became the most diverse in the state’s history. With control of the legislature and a perceived mandate from voters, Democrats delivered on long-held priorities in education funding, marijuana, reproductive rights, and more.

Democrats’ momentum faced continued tests in the lead-up to 2024. Many questioned whether their progress, including significant financial investments, would and could continue. Some believed that the session would resemble a more typical, less ambitious “off-budget” year. After reviewing the 2024 session, it’s clear that the result was, predictably, somewhere in the middle. Democrats were able to pass much of their agenda, including some work they couldn’t complete in 2023. Still, some priorities stalled at the finish line. Overall, the 2024 session was less “transformational” than its predecessor, a common pattern in a biennial cycle. 

In this report, we detail the key outcomes of Minnesota’s 2023-2024 biennium.

Looking Forward

Looking ahead, the next key events in Minnesota will be the legislative primaries in mid-August and the general election on November 5, 2024. All members of the state’s House of Representatives serve two year terms, and every seat in the chamber is up for election this fall. Democrats are favored to maintain control in the House. However, Republicans hope to pull off enough upsets to regain control of the chamber for the first time since 2018.

The next regular elections of the state Senate aren’t scheduled until 2026. However, Senator Morrison’s retirement means that control of the chamber will be determined in a special election in November. The contentious nature of this race, one seat for control of the Senate, will lead to millions in spending. It will certainly receive significant attention this fall.

Finally, Minnesotans will also vote on one statewide ballot measure on November 5th. As a result of HF 1900, passed by legislators last year, voters will determine whether to renew the use of lottery proceeds to fund the state’s Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. 

Minnesota’s 93rd Legislature will be remembered as a diverse, ambitious, and productive body. The investments and policy changes made over the past two years will have lasting impacts throughout the state. While 2023 overshadows 2024 in terms of overall activity, the legislature was still able to secure passage for important bills. Key areas like education, civil rights, and healthcare have seen significant changes. Now, voters throughout the state will have the opportunity to weigh in on the actions taken by their representatives. Their judgement will have major impacts on the shape of policymaking in Minnesota beginning next January.

Plural is catered to the needs of public policy teams in Minnesota.

Top public policy teams in Minnesota trust Plural for their legislative tracking needs. In the world of public policy, it’s all about sorting through the noise to get to what matters. With Plural, you’ll only get exactly what you need, and none of what you don’t. This includes:

• Accessing superior public policy data 
• Being the first to know about new bills and changes in bill status
• Streamlining your day with seamless organization features
• Harnessing the power of time-saving AI tools to gain insights into individual bills and the entire legislative landscape
• Keeping everyone on the same page with internal collaboration and external reporting all in one place

Create a free account or book a demo today.

More Resources for Minnesota

Plural’s AI-Generated End of Session Report: Minnesota Tackles Education & Childcare Policy

A Look At Tim Walz’s Career Through Policy

2024 End of Session Report: Minnesota

The post 2024 End of Session Report: Minnesota appeared first on Plural Policy.

Policy briefs are concise, written documents that provide policymakers with a clear understanding of an issue and suggest policy options based on research, analysis, and evidence.

When effective, policy briefs can be used to advance your organization’s goals, influence decision-making, position yourself or your organization as a thought leader, and more!

Need help getting started? Download our fully-customizable policy brief template and start writing your effective policy brief today!

The post Public Policy Brief Template appeared first on Plural Policy.

Here are four options to access Plural’s 2024 Legislative Sessions Calendar. Choose the one that’s best for you:

1. Google Calendar: Add the calendar directly to your Google Calendar using this link.
2. Outlook or Other Calendars: Add the calendar as a public calendar through Outlook or other calendar applications. (Outlook instructions)
3. View Online: View and bookmark the calendar online here. 
4. Download a PDF: View and download a PDF of session start dates and expected adjournment.

A few things to note:

• The majority of legislative sessions begin within the first two weeks of January and end between late March and mid-May.
• 15 states are scheduled to have significantly shorter sessions than in 2023. Only 4 states are scheduled to have significantly longer sessions.
• Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia will enter 2024 with the most new legislators after those states held regular legislative elections this fall.
• 4 states (Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas) only host regular sessions during even-numbered years, and do not have a regular session scheduled for 2024.
• 4 states, Puerto Rico, and the US Congress meet throughout the entirety of the year and do not generally have a typical end-of-session adjournment scheduled.

More Resources for Public Policy Professionals

2024 118th Congress Report

Guide to Preparing for Congressional Testimony

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The post 2024 Legislative Sessions Calendar appeared first on Plural Policy.

Analyzing Voting Rights Legislation in 2023

Debates around voting rights have always been central to American political discourse. The 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries saw the expansion of the right to vote to religious minorities, people of color and women. However, the statutory right to vote was never the end goal for voting rights advocates. The civil rights movement, particularly the Voting Rights Act of 1965, drove our nation nearer to fair and equal democratic participation.

Policy impacting voting rights is a priority issue for state legislators, intensified by contentious national elections and imperfect systems.

The 2024 elections are quickly approaching. As of July 2023, state legislators have introduced 1,188 bills impacting voting rights. Eighty bills have made it through the legislative process to become law. Understanding this activity, including how and where it is playing out, is key to understanding democracy. We leveraged Plural’s data analyze legislation affecting voting rights and access so far in 2023.

In our analysis, we focused on legislation that expanded or limited access to vote. For example, legislation increasing early vote time is categorized as expanding, while legislation restricting mail-in voting is categorized as restricting. While important to monitor, legislation unrelated to the ability to vote, like bills that regulate ballot-counting devices, were not considered.

Looking Ahead to 2024

Following the 2020 elections, voting rights became a central issue in 2022 campaigns as well as the 2023 legislative sessions. As we approach another contentious national election in 2024, attention on voting policy will continue to grow. Plural is committed to analyzing the trends in this space to help the public understand our democratic processes. 

Get Started with Plural

Plural helps you get and stay ahead in the complex public policy landscape. With Plural, you can:

• Access superior public policy data
• Be the first to know about new bills and changes in bill status
• Streamline your day with seamless organization features
• Harness the power of AI to gain insights into individual bills and the entire legislative landscape
• Keep everyone on the same page with internal collaboration and external reporting all in one place

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By Jay Oliveira My time at Plural has been transformative.  As a third-year policy student at Suffolk University in Boston, I had already spent hours pouring over legislative websites for my coursework. I struggled to use legislative sources that would open up dozens of unreadable files, or would make it unclear what chamber the bill […]

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The post Legislation Affecting Voting Rights and Access in 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.

What is ESG Investing?

Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) is an investment strategy involving the consideration of a company’s environmental impact, social impact and governance history. These considerations are used to determine whether and where they will invest funds. ESG is also referred to as socially responsible investing or sustainable investing.

Interest in ESG investing has grown in the private sector. As a result, many large investing firms have begun to offer information about the impact of investments. This offers flexibility for investors to put their money towards “better” investments. The European Union (EU) has been the epicenter of ESG investing. The EU has taken steps to improve corporate transparency and aid ESG. For example, the EU increased reporting requirements for financial firms and companies.

ESG Legislation and Regulation

Regulatory action on ESG investing in the United States had been sparse. However, there has been an increase in legislation on ESG investing. This growth has occurred at both the state and federal levels. The trend is driven by recent actions by the Biden administration as well as Republicans’ focus on the so-called “culture wars.”

Over two-thirds of U.S. state legislatures have considered anti-ESG legislation in 2023, and 14 states have enacted legislation restricting the use of ESG factors in public investments and procurements. On the other side of the debate, just one pro-ESG bill has become law and only 11 states have even considered such legislation. While consumer demand for ESG investing has grown, the data in this report shows a wave of anti-ESG legislation rising to challenge that trend. 

The Plural team sought to better understand legislation regarding ESG investing. To do so, we analyzed the 2023 legislative sessions of all 50 states, US Congress and Washington, DC. This data is up-to-date as of July 19, 2023.

Key Findings

ESG investing has become a prevalent topic of discussion in state legislatures across the country. Understanding the state-of-play in these debates will allow you to be better prepared for their next iterations.

Overall, it’s unclear how states will progress in this space as well as how new laws will impact our economy at-large. At Plural, we’re committed to increasing government transparency. This involves shedding light on laws under consideration and analyzing their impact on our communities.

The post ESG Legislation in the First Six Months of 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.

It can be tempting to tie any legislative trend to a single event. However, mass shootings have become so common in the United States that it’s difficult to identify the exact motivation leading to legislation. According to the Gun Violence Archive, the U.S. is on track for over 600 mass shootings this year. 2023 will be the fourth straight year of this high rate of gun violence. With this violence, it’s safe to assume that a desire to save lives motivates much of this legislation.

Gun control laws are a mainstay within U.S. political discourse. Given this fact, the Plural team sought to examine gun control policy in the first half of 2023. We leveraged Plural’s legislative dataset, categorizing legislation according to whether it increased or decreased access to firearms.

Read the full report to see our analysis of legislation impacting access to firearms throughout the first six months of 2023.

Key Takeaways

Data on gun policy shows us how many of the trends of the past decade continue to play out. It should also remind us that state legislatures are constantly introducing and passing new policies.

States like Florida and Washington continue to trend toward opposite positions. At the same time, states like Utah, Michigan and Minnesota have proven to be factories of significant change. Understanding this continuing, heated debate requires an understanding of both the policy being introduced, which may set the conversation, and the policy being enacted, which will affect conditions in our communities.

The post Legislating Access to Firearms in 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.

• Childhood education
• The economy
• Public health
• Public safety
• Economic investment

The Minnesota legislature has 201 members. Sixty-seven members serve in the Senate, of which 34 are Democrat and 33 are Republican. Of the 134 members in the House of Representatives, 70 are members of the Democrat-Farmer-Labor (Minnesota’s Democratic Party) and 64 are Republicans. For the first time since 2013, Democrats control the executive branch and both chambers of the state legislature.

Minnesota’s major political parties published this session’s legislative goals in two reports. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) shared its Action Agenda for the state in the Fall of 2022. The Republican party last shared its goals as a party in May of 2022, in their Statement of Principals.

Minnesota Legislature: Key 2023 Session Data

This year’s legislative session lasted from early January until late May. Minnesota passed 75 bills into law out of the 6,709 introduced bills. These included measures focused on: abortion, elections, public safety, education, guns and the LGBTQ+ community.

The passage rate from the first year of the 2023-2024 session nearly matches the number of bills passed in the full 2021-2022 session. During that session, the Minnesota legislature passed 99 bills out of 9,775 introduced. Bills passed primarily focused on the biennial budget, education, public safety and COVID-19 response.

Legislative Trends in Minnesota

In 2023, legislative trends in Minnesota include:

1. Abortion
2. Elections and Voting 
3. Environment
4. Education
5. Guns
6. LGBTQ+ community
7. Anti-discrimination laws

Read our team’s full analysis of the 2023 legislative session in Minnesota below.

The post 2023 End-of-Session Report | Minnesota Legislature appeared first on Plural Policy.

A Growth in Consumer Demand for Electric Vehicles

Consumer demand for EVs has grown rapidly. A decade ago, EVs accounted for less than 1% of total car sales. In 2021, they accounted for nearly 5% of total sales. Legislators across the country are racing to enact policy to accommodate this growth.

Plural’s Analysis of Electric Vehicle Policy

Harnessing Plural’s unmatched legislative data, our team analyzed legislation surrounding EVs so far in 2023. Read our report to see our findings.

Electric vehicle policy is a growing trend. These bills may affect the pace of EV transition and the automotive industry’s impact on the environment. Using Plural’s data, it’s clear that the first six months of 2023 have been the busiest for EV policy in history. These changes will drive electric vehicle policy development through the rest of 2023 and into next year. Understanding the state of play at this moment is important to prepare for that activity.

The post A Look at Electric Vehicle Policy in 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.