PLI Bulletin

New Progressive Agenda, Sex Education, Protecting Immigrants and More

Posted on January 5, 2017

Prevent Extortion of Immigrants Act: Because of Trump’s promise to deport millions of immigrants, they will be particularly vulnerable to extortion. You can sponsor or support the Prevent Extortion of Immigrants Act, which specifies that it is illegal to gain something of value by threatening to expose someone’s unauthorized immigration status. Maryland enacted such a law in 2016 and three other states (CA, CO and VA) enacted it previously.

Now is your time and your opportunity to lead: There is a lesson wrapped up in this electoral catastrophe. Millions of Americans are painfully frustrated with politicians and politics as usual. They want leaders who will stand up and fight for change, leaders who will actually lead. State and local policymakers, this is your time. If we are to make any progress, it has to come from you. Read more on IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Advancing Sex Education at the state and local levels: Experts from Advocates for Youth will explain what states. localities and school boards can do to guarantee young people access to quality sex education. In addition to policy tools, they will describe the steps taken in a particular legislative campaign, what made it successful, and lessons learned. To register, click here.

Local Options for Protecting Immigrants: The Immigrant Legal Resource Center recently published a terrific booklet of city and county policies to protect immigrants from discrimination or deportation.

Why the “Skills Gap” Doesn’t Explain Slow Hiring: A new analysis from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows that a common argument from the business community—that potential employees lack the skills for current jobs—is just not accurate.

A new Progressive Agenda for 2017: The Public Leadership Institute has revised its Progressive Agenda for States and Localities to reflect the new realities of the Trump era. If you’re looking for fresh ideas for legislation, the Progressive Agenda describes and hyperlinks to more than 200 policy ideas.