<a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/hannah-grabenstein" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Hannah Grabenstein</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/hannah-grabenstein"> Hannah Grabenstein </a> <br>Leave your feedback<br>As the new Congress goes to Washington, state lawmakers, too, will be starting fresh with a new slate of priorities, from cellphones in schools to housing policy.<br>Gridlock at the federal level has driven state governments to take matters into their own hands, said Reid Wilson, founder and editor at Pluribus News.<br>“A lot of legislators are taking on really big issues right now, from AI to digital privacy to social media to everything else, because they believe Washington is not,” Wilson said. “They believe Washington is incapable of coming to any kind of agreement on the big issues that face the country.”<br><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/kyrsten-sinema-is-leaving-congress-and-has-a-few-things-to-say"><strong>READ MORE:</strong> Kyrsten Sinema is leaving Congress and has a few things to say</a><br>The National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks state government sessions, has released a <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/resources/forecast-25-special-report">forecast of trending legislative topics</a> for 2025, including transportation, energy, health and more.<br>“What happens in legislatures has a disproportionate effect on the people of the United States,” NCSL CEO Tim Story said in a news briefing in December.<br>And while Republicans have newly gained control of the incoming Congress and the White House, Story noted that party control of state governments has become more stable and largely unchanged over the last several cycles. That means Republican states are likely to pursue more Republican policies, and Democratic states will seek Democratic policies.<br>Here are some of the hot topics state legislatures are likely to address in the 2025 legislative session.<br>Some state legislatures are beginning to worry about budget deficits after enjoying an “unprecedented” surplus from federal pandemic stimulus money, Wilson said. Now, “the future looks more normal,” he said.<br>In general, red states spent federal pandemic stimulus money on one-time projects, such as infrastructure replacement, while blue states were more likely to spend money on ongoing programs, such as expanded pre-K, Wilson said.<br><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/school-districts-face-tough-choices-as-last-of-pandemic-era-federal-aid-runs-out"><strong>WATCH:</strong> School districts face tough choices as last of pandemic-era federal aid runs out</a><br>That has put many red states in a more secure financial situation than some blue states, such as Maryland, which is facing a sharp deficit.<br>“There’s a few warning lights on the dashboard that there could be some stress on state budgets in the next year,” Story said.<br>Legislatures are likely to spend some time in upcoming sessions trying to sort out budgets, Wilson said, including by potentially raising taxes or tightening spending.<br>If there’s a hot new topic of the 2025 legislative session, it’s probably the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in everyday life, Wilson said.<br>“You can expect pretty much every state to take up something on artificial intelligence. It is the hottest topic among legislators right now. They’re trying to understand what it is, what its role ought to be in state government and the role that state government has in regulating it, especially around preventing discrimination,” Wilson said.<br>State governments are also considering online safety, especially for teens using social media.<br>“There’s a lot of legal questions about the limits that are on states or any government level to regulate this,” Story said. Social media regulation also “runs up against free speech,” an issue further complicated by questions about whom governments can regulate, whether it’s service providers, the companies that develop apps or the stores that sell them.<br><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/is-childproofing-the-internet-constitutional-a-legal-expert-explains"><strong>READ MORE:</strong> Is childproofing the internet constitutional? A legal expert explains</a><br>Legislators will likely consider age restrictions and parental consent requirements for social media apps and websites, Wilson said.<br>In June, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for a warning label on social media platforms as experts warned about a growing mental health crisis among teens. (<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00902-2">Research outcomes are mixed</a> on whether social media platforms are to blame.)<br>Lawmakers will likely take up the issue of cellphone use in schools, Wilson said, which tends to be a bipartisan issue.<br>The nation’s housing shortage will likely spur action this legislative session, Story said.<br>“America faces a housing crisis. Everybody knows that,” Wilson said. “I expect some really serious housing reform measures to come up next year.”<br>In late December, the Department of Housing and Urban Development released data from its annual point-in-time count, which estimates the number of people experiencing homelessness in one night. The count, done in January 2024, showed an 18 percent rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness from 2023. <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2023/08/22/how-housing-costs-drive-levels-of-homelessness">Experts agree</a> the country’s lack of affordable housing is at least partly to blame for the burgeoning homelessness crisis.<br>Some state legislatures passed housing reform last year, he said. That includes bills from both <a href="https://www.housingaffordabilityinstitute.org/state-refroms-may-2024/">Arizona and Colorado</a> that reduced regulations and red tape (including around architecture and the environment), as well as changing zoning laws to allow construction of more types of dwellings beyond single-family housing.<br>There are hundreds more issues legislatures could take up in the next session.<br>Abortion remains a polarizing issue, though many states have already enacted legislation either protecting or restricting access. But there are some specifics states might tackle, such as the ability of out-of-state doctors to prescribe abortion pills via mail, or the ability of other states to prosecute them, Wilson said.<br><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/once-budding-oklahomas-weed-industry-faces-tougher-enforcement"><strong>READ MORE:</strong> Once budding, Oklahoma’s weed industry faces tougher enforcement</a><br>Immigration is another contentious topic that state legislatures could weigh in on, both Wilson and Story said, noting states might try to find ways to aid, or stymie, federal immigration policy.<br>Wilson said that states may pursue other laws they perceive as ignored by Washington, including tighter regulation of the credit card fees that companies charge to merchants for transactions, and of pharmacy benefit managers, which are an increasingly unpopular aspect of health insurance.<br>Some other issues and debates to watch include public school curricula, school vouchers, widespread labor shortages, medical aid in dying and sports gambling, Wilson and Story said.<br> <svg class="svg"><use xlink:href="#arrow-left"></use></svg><span>Left:</span> State legislatures across the country are primed to tackle new issues, from AI to housing policy. Photo of the Massachusetts state capitol by Sergi Reboredo/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images <br><span>By</span> Lisa Desjardins<br><span>By</span> Mark Sherman, Associated Press<br><span>By</span> Adam Kemp<br><span>By</span> Sophie Austin, Associated Press/Report for America<br><span>By</span> Associated Press<br> <a class="post__byline-name-unhyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/hannah-grabenstein" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" itemprop="author"> <span itemprop="name">Hannah Grabenstein</span> </a> <a class="post__byline-name-hyphenated" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/hannah-grabenstein"> Hannah Grabenstein </a> <br> <span>Support Provided By:</span> <a href="https://help.pbs.org/support/solutions/articles/5000677869" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learn more</a> <br>Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else.<br>Thank you. 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