PLI Bulletin

Protecting Young Lungs, Bye Bye Bannon, Sanctuary Cities Saved and More

Posted on November 21, 2017

Protecting Young People from Tobacco Act: Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths and more than 90 percent of smokers start as teenagers. The Protecting Young People from Tobacco Act would increase the age for tobacco sales from 18 to 21, including e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. Five states (CA, HI, ME, NJ and OR) as well as more than 275 localities (including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City and New York City) have already raised the age for tobacco sales to 21.

Giving thanks for Bannon’s exit: Thank goodness that creepy serial-liar is out of government. But at the same time, can we stop talking about him? While Steve Bannon used to make for truly scary news, he is no longer a significant public figure. His reputation for political impact is, in retrospect, undeserved. His current and future ability to affect politics is minimal. For more, see the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Politically astute legislation for 2018: Wednesday, November 29 @ 3pm Eastern, 2pm Central, 1pm Mountain, Noon Pacific. The 2018 election will be monumentally important—we need to lay the groundwork for a debate that favors progressives. This webinar will explain dozens of measures you can push that are both good policy and excellent politics. To sign up for this webinar, click here.

Federal court permanently blocks Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities: On November 20, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s order cutting off federal funds to sanctuary cities is unconstitutional. The Washington Post explains it thoroughly. Time to pass more legislation to protect immigrants!

Toolbox from the Society of Professional Journalists: Updated recently, the Journalist’s Toolbox for state and local government provides hyperlinks to track who is donating to state candidates, how much public employees are paid, census quick facts, court records, 4,300 government databases, and much more.

More than 150 model bills on the PLI website: If you are looking for great legislation to sponsor in 2018, check out our model bills for states and localities. And if you need help with them, contact us!