US States and Cities That Passed New Progressive Laws Under Trump

By Erin Durkin, Guardian UK

07 January 19

Laws dealing with the environment, gun control, public health and women’s and transgender rights took effect at start of 2019

he federal government under Donald Trump may be tacking to the right – when it can cut through the gridlock and enact new policies at all – but states and cities with a more progressive bent have pushed forward new laws dealing with the environment, gun control, public health and women’s and transgender rights.

Many new laws around the country took effect at the beginning of 2019. Among the state and local laws now in place:

• Washington state has banned people under 21 from buying semi-automatic assault rifles. The law was passed by voters as a ballot measure in November, and adds rifles to a minimum age requirement of 21 already in place for handguns. Gun rights supporters are suing to stop the law. The ballot measure also requires tougher background check to buy an assault rifle and safe storage for guns, but those parts will not take effect until July.
• A California law that took effect on 1 January requires publicly traded companies to include women on their boards of directors. Corporations will be required to have at least one woman on the board by the end of 2019 and up to three by the end of 2021, depending on the number of seats on the board. Other laws that have now taken effect in the state require employers to offer sexual harassment training and ban secret settlements in sexual assault and harassment cases.
• In New York City, people who do not identify as male or female are now able to change their gender to “X” on their birth certificate. California is offering the same option on driver’s licenses and state ID cards, allowing residents to choose a third, non-binary gender option.
• A New Hampshire law took effect raising the minimum age for marriage to 16, up from 13 for girls and 14 for boys. Cassie Levesque, 19, now a state representative, began pushing the change as part of Girl Scout project, but it initially failed as one lawmaker said he saw no need to change the law based on a request from a minor doing a Scout project. Last year, the bill came up again and passed, and Levesque ran for the state legislature and won. She now says she’ll work on raising the marriage age further, to 18.
• As of Tuesday, a measure approved by voters is scheduled to take effect in Florida to restore voting rights to ex-felons. The amendment, which allows felons with the exception of murderers and sex offenders to vote once they have completed parole or probation, is in limbo, however, because incoming Republican governor Ron DeSantis says the legislature has to approve specific rules before the changes take effect. Some local boards of election plan to begin accepting voter registrations from former felons anyway.
• New York City has banned styrofoam, outlawing the use of foam takeout containers, coffee cups and packing peanuts. The city calls the substance environmentally harmful and impossible to recycle.
• Connecticut and Hawaii have banned employers from asking job candidates about their salary history. The rule is intended to combat the pay gap between men and women, since advocates say asking the question and basing a new hire’s salary on what they made in the past can lead to a pattern of underpayment that follows women through their careers.
• A California law took effect banning pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits obtained from private breeders. Only animals that come from shelters or non-profit rescue groups may be sold, a measure meant to combat so-called puppy mills where animals are bred in poor conditions. Also in California, pets will be treated more like members of the family in divorce cases, with judges allowed to decide custody based on what’s best for the animal, instead of treating them like any other property.
• In New York state, public bathrooms for both men and women will be required to include diaper changing tables in new or renovated buildings. The measure addresses complaints that men’s rooms often lacked a spot for dads to change their babies, with facilities provided only for women.
• A unanimous jury verdict will be required to convict someone of a serious felony committed from the beginning of 2019 onwards, in Louisiana. A Jim Crow-era law had said that for most crimes, the defendant was found guilty if 10 of 12 jurors voted for conviction.
• A Washington law took effect requiring health insurance companies that offer maternity coverage to also pay for abortions.
• Vermont is now taking applications for people who want to get paid up to $10,000 to move to the state. Governor Phil Scott signed the legislation last spring, seeking to bolster the state’s small and ageing population. To qualify for the money, up to $5,000 a year for two years, applicants must be full-time employees of a company based outside Vermont who work remotely while living in the state. The money isn’t a no-strings attached grant, but must pay for expenses such as relocation, computer equipment and broadband access.