PLI Bulletin

Model Bills, Intimidation, Repro Rights and More

Posted on January 26, 2022

Register New Residents Act: Whenever people move, they should register to vote or update their preexisting voter registration. Seattle enacted a simple ordinance requiring landlords to provide information on voter registration and a registration form to new tenants. The Register New Residents Act goes a step further and also requires sellers to provide the same information to home buyers at settlement.

New model bills to address current politics: As the right wing attacks progressives on issue after issue, it’s bad politics to only play defense. PLI presents five new model bills that allow you to get proactive and reframe hot political issues. For details, read the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

How voting is different in Georgia and Texas this year: Legislation enacted last year to limit vote by mail, early voting, drop boxes and more are taking effect right now. The NPR Politics Podcast considers how these changes are impacting voters.

State lawmakers move to confront threats against election workers: Legislators in at least three states are pushing bills to increase penalties for threatening election officials, reports CNN. In Washington, such a bill passed the Senate unanimously. PLI’s Stop Intimidation of Public Officials Act does the same but applies to a broader range of workers.

Winnable criminal justice reforms in 2022: In this report, the Prison Policy Initiative offers more than two dozen policies to reform the criminal justice system. Among the recommendations is PLI’s Felony Threshold Reform Act.

PLI Repro Rights Report: Our latest blog on reproductive rights highlights newly enacted legislation in New Jersey to proactively guarantee the right to abortion. The language of this law is similar to the Respect Women’s Decisions Act in PLI’s Playbook for Abortion Rights.