Two years ago, we launched Pluribus News with one mission: To provide in-depth, nonpartisan, independent reporting on the policy trends taking place in America’s state legislatures.
Our guiding theory is that state legislatures are not silos; they are interrelated organisms, learning from and evolving around each other. What happens in Sacramento or Albany or Austin today is going to happen in 25 states next year, and federally the year after that.
And it’s not just the biggest states that drive policy. We cover all 50 state legislatures because big ideas can come from small states. Iowa and Arkansas are leading the way on a lot of conservative policy these days. Washington and Oregon have been leaders on the progressive side.
Lots of outlets pick up on model bills, drafts that special interest groups on the right and left circulate to allied legislators around the country. But what others sometimes miss is that legislators themselves work across state lines to find their next big ideas — which is why so many similar topics pop up in legislatures around the same time.
We couldn’t have picked a better time to launch. Congress is mired in gridlock, and this year’s election is likely to leave a divided D.C. State legislators tell us, time and again, that they see a void in the policy space — and they want to be the ones to fill it.
Among the many, many stories we’ve covered in just the last few months:
Halfway through the year, we looked at the emerging trends in public policy: AI and big tech, major housing reforms, abortion rights and reining in drug costs.
We examined how big tech is leveraging its influence in state legislatures, and the new AI giants wading into the lobbying scene. We charted the federal lobbying battle over credit card swipe fees that’s making its way to the states.
We explained why the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates was both good news and bad news for state budgets. We interviewed the lawmakers — and the former NBA player — pushing new bills to help kids with stutters.
We reported on states vying to become the leader in quantum technology, and the energy scandal still hanging over the Ohio legislature.
Alcohol-to-go arrived in the Covid era, and now states are making those temporary rules permanent. States are taking action on new research to ban cellphones from school classrooms.
Both parties know the importance of winning at the state level, so they’re pumping unprecedented amounts of money into legislative and gubernatorial races. And don’t forget the ballot measures that attract millions in spending on their own.
A divided federal government means empowered state governments. The opening months of 2025, when legislators return to state capitols for new sessions, are going to be an insane race to implement new policy.
And we’re here for it.
Thanks for being a part of the Pluribus News community. We will always appreciate your support.