The post Public Policy Brief Template 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!
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]]>The post 2024 Legislative Sessions Calendar appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>Having a hard time keeping up with the many important legislative dates across the states? Subscribe to our U.S. Legislative Sessions calendar and you’ll always know what’s happening.
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]]>The post New Laws Passed During Maine’s 131st Legislature appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>Efforts to curb the opioid crisis have been central to recent legislative sessions in Maine. 2023 was no different. Maine lawmakers passed seven bills expanding access to the overdose-reversal drug, naloxone. This includes the following measures:
Democrats passed several bills expanding or protecting access to abortion. While each was contentious, LD 1619 was the subject of particularly heated debates. The bill, signed in July, allows physicians to provide post-viability abortions when deemed necessary. Previously, post-viability procedures could only be performed if the mother’s life was in danger.
Workforce growth is another perennial priority for Maine lawmakers. In particular, lawmakers seek to incentivize growth in sectors experiencing shortages. Workforce incentivization bills passed this year include:
While the 2023 legislative session was productive, over 1,000 bills will carry over to the 2024 legislative session. Lawmakers are expected to return in January to take up these bills, and offer new proposals as well. As ever, Plural will have all of the details and updates you will need to follow this activity.
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.
Unlock the power of Plural in Maine — that’s premium legislative data, advanced searching and tracking, tools for easy organization and collaboration, and AI-powered insights, catered to your needs.
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]]>The post Legislation Affecting Voting Rights and Access in 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>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.
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.
Plural helps you get and stay ahead in the complex public policy landscape. With Plural, you can:
Vote Mama Lobby is dedicated to transforming the political landscape for moms. Its team advocates to break the institutional barriers moms face in running for and serving in office, and gives voice to the solutions that allow everyday families to thrive. Vote Mama Foundation is a leading non-partisan 501(c)(3) entity that provides research and analysis […]
In an era of accelerating regulation, geopolitical uncertainty, and rising stakeholder expectations, the margin for error in corporate governance has never been thinner. For senior leaders — CEOs, GCs, COOs, and Chief Risk Officers — ensuring that their legal, compliance, and government relations (GR) teams are equipped to respond quickly and strategically is essential. Enter […]
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 ESG Legislation in the First Six Months of 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>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.
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.
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.
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]]>The post Legislating Access to Firearms in 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.
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.
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]]>The post A Look at Electric Vehicle Policy in 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>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.
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.
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]]>The post End-of-Session Report Template appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>If you don’t report it, it didn’t happen, right? And if you can’t find the data you need to document all of your work throughout the session, you can’t report on it.
Creating a legislative report is key to proving the impact of your role, your team and your organization. It showcases the tangible results of your work to your board, stakeholders and community members.
Need help getting started? Download our end-of-session report template today!
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]]>The post Legislation Impacting Transgender and Nonbinary Rights and Visibility in 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>So far in 2023, the partisan divide over gender identity, especially within education and healthcare settings, has generated a significant increase in legislation impacting transgender and nonbinary communities.
The research team at Plural is committed to monitoring legislative trends throughout the country. As we analyzed the 2023 legislative sessions, we were particularly surprised by the volume of bills targeting transgender and nonbinary rights. We leveraged Plural’s legislative data to better understand this trend. The data presented in this report is up-to-date as of Monday, June 26, 2023.
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]]>The post Stakeholder Mapping Tool appeared first on Plural Policy.
]]>Need help getting started? Download our free, fully-customizable stakeholder mapping visualization tool and supercharge your stakeholder engagement strategy!
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