Lawmakers and governors in Republican-led states devoted 2021 to the pursuit of three main goals: Dismantling democracy, exacerbating economic inequality, and making the pandemic worse. On the flip side, blue states and cities spent last year addressing a host of urgent issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic.
In many cases, they were at least somewhat successful in passing legislation that will alleviate problems experienced by 100+ million Americans, and here, I’ll review some of the most significant changes that will have an immediate impact.
Economic Justice
While talk about raising the federal minimum wage has all but disappeared in Washington after eight Democrats in the US Senate gave it a thumbs down last March, proactive legislatures and ballot initiatives have ensured that minimum pay rates will nonetheless rise in 21 states this year.
The wage finally reaches $15-an-hour for most workers in California and several additional downstate counties in New York, while other parts of the state will hit $13.20. More than a dozen other states continue their journey towards the $15-an-hour target, which large employers required to pay $14.25 in Massachusetts, $12.75 in Maine, $12.50 in Maryland, $13 in New Jersey, $11.50 in New Mexico, and $12.75 in Oregon.
The minimum wage will jump in 35 cities and counties, as well. Combined, the minimum wage is now $15 or more in two states and 31 cities and counties. By the end of the year, the number of jurisdictions will reach 44.
States where Democrats hold trifectas and/or veto-proof supermajorities are pushing even farther forward into territory that DC Democrats have thus far failed to enter.
In Connecticut, workers can now apply for up to 12 weeks of paid leave under the state’s new Family Paid and Medical Leave program. It is funded by a small payroll tax on employees that the state began collecting last year. Workers can use the time to attend to an array of health and personal issues that impact either themselves or their spouses, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, or “an individual… whose close association the employee shows to be the equivalent of those family relationships.”
New York’s paid family leave law will grow more robust, guaranteeing workers 67% of their salary for up to three months to care for a sick child or family member, with payments maxing out at $1068 per week.
In Massachusetts, the weekly benefit will now reach up to $1084.
In Washington State, a new capital gains tax marks a historic shift in a state long hobbled by a constitutional ban on income tax — assuming it survives a slew of legal challenges from conservative organizations. Should it hold up in court, the 7% surtax on income over $250,000 could generate $400 million in its first year, with most earmarked for education and other public investments.
It is now illegal for employers in Illinois to lock workers into non-compete clauses for jobs that pay less than $75,000 per year.
New Jersey will launch a financial literacy pilot program in a number of middle and lower-income cities. The three-year trial will see government entities and local non-profits establish community centers where residents can get help with managing their finances, with advisers appointed to assist them in "opening or transitioning to a safe bank account, establish good credit, manage debt, and increase savings.”
There are a number of new protections for low-wage workers in California.
Garment industry workers will now be required to be paid by the hour instead of being forced into insane quotas. Farmworkers will now get overtime once they pass eight hours on the job in a given day.
Employers with a large number of Covid-19 cases can now be investigated, and should the state’s OSHA deem their dreadful work conditions responsible for the death or serious injury of a worker, they can be fined up to $134,334 per worker. And Amazon facilities in California can no longer use algorithms to control the conditions, breaks, and requirements of its warehouse workers.
There are also a host of major tax cuts being handed out to the wealthiest residents in states controlled by Republicans, which I don’t really want to dwell on right now. I do, however, have to point out the amazing new tax cut going into effect in Arkansas, where high-income earners will see their rate go down from 5.9% to 4.9% over the next four years while the state’s poorest residents will receive a one-time $60 tax credit. Truly equitable.
Criminal Justice
Once again, the Senate’s failure to deliver on promised priorities put the onus on legislatures and city councils to pass much-needed new reforms. In many cases, those local lawmakers got it done.
In Illinois, historic legislation known as the SAFE-T Act will overhaul much of the state’s justice system. It requires all police officers to wear body cameras (immediately in cities and large counties, by 2025 in smaller jurisdictions), makes it easier to fire bad cops, ends driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines, limits police use of force, and eliminates cash bail (in 2023). The law was amended in June to loosen some of the limitations, which satisfied aggrieved cops who wanted to preserve as many opportunities to choke people out as possible.
Minnesota will also no longer allow courts to suspend driver’s licenses based solely on unpaid fines and tickets. A similar law went into effect in Nevada in October, as did a law significantly limiting police use of force and restraint. The use of no-knock warrants was also severely curtailed, while police are now required to issue just citations for first-time misdemeanors instead of arresting offenders.
A plethora of new laws reining in police and the carceral state have also gone into effect in Oregon. The state is creating a standardized interview and background check for police departments to use when hiring new recruits; authorizing Portland to create a new citizen-led oversight board; and ensuring that departments can monitor employee social media accounts for extremism and hate speech.
Law enforcement agencies in Oregon are now barred from sharing mug shots with the general public unless doing so would materially help police objectives like catching a wanted person. They’re also no longer required to make arrests at “unlawful gatherings,” which aims to reduce the friction at the many protests and rallies in and around Portland in particular.
States are slowly but surely waking up to the intersection of mental health and policing, both as it pertains to how officers respond to crises and how their own psychological makeup can impact public safety.
In North Carolina, officers will now be required to undergo a psychological screening before being given their badge and be offered ongoing resources concerning mental health. Another law in the state creates a database of decertified police officers, so cops dismissed for misconduct or repeated offenses cannot so easily go wield power for another town or county.
New York passed a number of major criminal justice reforms in 2020, but with a crisis raging at Rikers, there is plenty more work to do. A new series of laws recently signed by new Gov. Kathy Hochul prevent former offenders from being re-incarcerated for minor parole violations while giving them more flexibility to take jobs at odd hours without violating parole.
A major commission on criminal justice reform in California is set to make a series of recommendations for major changes to historically punitive laws. It has already seen half a dozen of its previous recommendations adopted into law, including the end of mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug offenses.
P.S. This is from a story in my newsletter, Progressives Everywhere, which aims to counterbalance the corporate media that focuses on gossip and uneducated hot takes instead of calling out corrupt politicians, reporting on the issues that really matter, and working to explain how power really works.
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