The states stated their cases in 2023
The states really are the “laboratories of democracy.” Despite frustrations expressed from time to time with good old American federalism – the idea that the 50 individual states have a sovereign stake in this vast continental country of ours – there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel that propels the experiment forward, that beckons us to continue down the road of more and diverse state government experimentation.
Especially now that Washington is tied in knots a large part of the time, it’s crucial that the states, from Maine to California, from the deep South to the far North, play their constitutional roles properly and with vigor.
The year just ended provides ample examples of why the states still matter.
Conservatives love to bash left-leaning California, but consider what Golden State legislators accomplished in 2023. Perhaps most controversially, the men and women of Sacramento passed a bill that clamps down on when it’s permissible for gun owners to holster up.
Beginning Jan 1, if you go to a playground or zoo in California, you better not be carrying a gun, even if you do have a concealed weapons permit.
The same is true for churches, banks, public parks, and sports venues, which means that if you come packing to Dodger Stadium in April, you’ll be thumbed from the park.
Nor is this all. California lawmakers also made repeat sex offenders subject to life imprisonment, inflation-indexed the state’s minimum wage, and strengthened the ability of employees to challenge the nefarious practices of employers.
Texas lawmakers, in addition to shamelessly banning college diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, responded to the mental health concerns of at-risk youth.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, “The Texas Youth Diversion and Early Intervention Act grants judges the authority to wave youth’s penalties for Class C misdemeanors,” instead allowing “local governments to implement a series of steps ranging from rehabilitation services, alcohol and drug awareness programs, job trainings and self-improvement programs.”
On a largely bipartisan basis, Lone Star lawmakers also lessened the tax burden on small and medium-sized businesses, and made it more difficult to pitch e-cigarettes to youngsters.
Beginning on Monday, Jan. 1, telemarketers pitching for sales in the Garden State of New Jersey are directed to observe, shall we say, certain courtesies.
Passed by the New Jersey House 74-0 and by the state Senate 38-0, the Telemarketing Transparency Act requires a telemarketer, on the line with a householder, say, in Camden, to state her name, address, telephone number(s), the identity of the business or organization paying her, and the call’s purpose – all within the call’s first 30 seconds.
Trenton lawmakers also banned telemarketing solicitations between 9 at night and 8 the next morning. (For goodness sake, shouldn’t that be between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m.?)
According to Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, the law is principally geared toward older folks, who, evidence suggests, are the favorite targets of telephonic flim-flammers.
The fact that the legislation passed unanimously raises an alarm. Frequently, conflict-free, frictionless measures are inconsequential. The telemarketing lobby, figuring there is one, may have calculated – “Since there’s no harm, we’ll let this pass without squabble.”
Frequently maligned, Alabama earns laurels for a measure that, on the whole, is the state legislation sweepstakes winner of 2023.
Sponsored by state House minority leader Democrat Anthony Davis, the Yellowhammer State (don’t ask) legislature approved a startling original measure: Starting Jan. 1, hourly overtime pay is no longer taxed.
Previously, Alabama wages above $3,000 rated a 5% tax, regardless of whether the money was earned within the parameters of a traditional 40-hour workweek or not.
No more. Forty-one hours of work and above are state tax-free.
Davis commented that what’s good for workers also helps employers, by helping businesses “retain employees in a tight labor market.”
This year the ladies and gentlemen of Montgomery might set their sights on making this change more or less permanent (it now sunsets in June 2025), changing the definition of an hourly employee (to spread the benefits to more workers), or by recasting the formal workweek from 40 to 36 hours.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown. He can be reached at dick.l.robbins@gmail.com.