PLI Bulletin

Profiles in Cowardice, Drug Overdoses, LGBTQ Equality and More

Posted on December 16, 2020

Time Off for Democracy Act: Broad participation in elections is essential to a healthy democracy, obviously. The Time Off For Democracy Act guarantees employees a minimum amount of paid leave to vote on Election Day as well as unpaid leave to serve as an election officer, poll watcher, or campaigner on Election Day.

Profiles in Cowardice: 26 state Attorneys General and 126 members of the U.S. House officially supported the Texas lawsuit urging the Supreme Court to illegitimately award the presidency to Donald Trump. All of them violated their oaths to uphold the U.S. Constitution. But, more important, every single person who signed a brief for the Texas lawsuit knows it was a lie. For details, see the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Some Sage Advice for New Legislators: About a thousand state legislators and many thousands of local lawmakers will be freshmen in 2021. This podcast, especially for them from the National Conference of State Legislators, advises how to handle relationships with colleagues, lobbyists and constituents.

Snapshot of LGBTQ Equality by State: This is a series of very interesting maps from the Movement Advancement Project which describe the laws and policies of each state on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Overdoses are rising mostly due to cocaine and meth: Although there seemed to be a downturn in drug overdose deaths in 2018, the Rockefeller Institute of Government reports on a resurgence fueled by methamphetamine and cocaine.

How to talk about the issue of social services: As a society, we have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable people in our communities. Are you using the best messaging to avoid attacks? Read this chapter from PLI’s messaging guide.