EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:
New state laws — some significant, many routine and some unusual — are taking effect this month in states across the U.S. Some impose restrictions on abortion or gender-affirming treatments for minors. Others raise or lower taxes, and tighten or loosen gun laws — sometimes depending on whether the state legislature is led by Democrats or Republicans.
Here are tips for covering some of the major themes in these laws.
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AP'S COVERAGE
New state laws target contentious topics of gender, guns and abortion
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TIPS FOR FINDING NEW LAWS IN YOUR STATE
State legislative websites can be found here. Each site is different, but in some cases, they can be used to find laws listed by effective date.
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RESOURCES ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES
Many Republican-led states have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors or other gender-related issues.
— View these AP graphics that break down state laws on gender-affirming care for minors and transgender athletes, Embed codes for these graphics are included at the end of this guide.
— Find tips on coverage and terminology in the AP Stylebook’s Transgender Coverage Topical Guide, as well as in its sections on gender, sex and sexual orientation and on health, science and environment reporting.
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RESOURCES ON ABORTION
Abortion bans or restrictions have taken effect since last year in most Republican-controlled states, and protections for access have been adopted in most Democrat-controlled states.
— Detail for each states are in this AP graphic. The embed code for this graphic is included at the end of this guide.
— Find tips on coverage an terminology in the AP Stylebook's Abortion Topical Guide.
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RESOURCES ON FIREARMS
Various entities track gun laws across the states, sometimes with particular interests in mind.
For example, this site tracks handgun laws, with links to state-by-state policies on such things as the right to carry concealed guns without a permit.
The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence tracks gun laws on numerous topics, including assault weapon bans, stand-your-ground self-defense laws and extreme risk protection orders — also known as “red flag laws" — that allow authorities to temporarily remove guns from some people.
The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action also tracks gun-related legislation in states.
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RESOURCES ON CANNABIS POLICY
The National Conference of State Legislatures maintains a map showing state policies on marijuana.
The nonprofit group NORML, which advocates for the legalization of marijuana, also tracks state laws on recreational and medicinal use, as well as the expungement of prior convictions.
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RESCOURSES ON TAX POLICY
Taxes go up or down in some states almost every year. In fact, some states have laws that trigger automatic inflationary adjustments for certain taxes, such as motor fuel taxes.
The nonprofit Tax Foundation tracks state-by-state tax rates for various types of taxes, including income, sales and property taxes. It has a list of numerous tax changes taking effect July 1 in states.
The Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, also tracks state tax policies.
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REPORTING TIPS FOR COVERING NEW LAWS
Many of the resources above can help put your state's new laws in national context. They can help answer the question of whether a new law is part of trend, among the first in the nation or is different in some way from other states' laws on the topic.
Some questions to consider when writing about new laws:
— What prompted this law? Is there a particular event that spurred lawmakers to action? Was there an outpouring of public support at legislative committee hearings or Capitol rallies? One way to address this is to track down the original sponsor of the bill and simply ask why he or she filed it.
— Were powerful interest groups backing this new law? Most states require witnesses at legislative committee hearings to fill out a form listing their name, contact information and whether they are speaking on behalf of a group. Many states also have some type of lobbyist registration, though they aren't necessarily required to list each specific bill for which they are lobbying. In some states, lobbyists must file regular reports showing how much money they spent on meals or gifts for lawmakers.
— How are people impacted by this law? Some new laws have immediate effects. For example, people may be lining up at a retail store to buy marijuana when it becomes legal, or abortion facilities may be forced to close or pare back their operations when new restrictions kick in. Families with transgender children may searching for out-of-state treatment centers when state restrictions begin.
— Will court challenges result in enforcement being put on hold or blocked permanently? With many laws — but especially those related to abortion and gender — challenges are common. On abortion, there's not a clear trend on court decisions. But judges have been skeptical of bans on gender-affirming care in recent rulings.
— Is this the end of the story? A new law often is the culmination of months or years of legislative negotiations. But once in place, people often realize more tweaks are needed. Is the new law leading to unintended consequences? Is the new law producing the intended result? Could more changes be necessary in an upcoming legislative session? These are things that may take some persistent reporting.
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EMBED CODES FOR AP GRAPHICS ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES AND ABORTION
— States move on trans youth care:
iframe title=“States move on trans youth care” aria-label=“Map” id=“ap-chart-T7632″ src=” https://interactives.ap.org/embeds/T7632/20/ ″ scrolling=“no” width=“100%” style=“border:none” height=“457″/iframe<script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script>
— States limit access for trans athletes:
iframe title=“States limit access for trans athletes” aria-label=“Map” id=“ap-chart-ty5Kv” src=” https://interactives.ap.org/embeds/ty5Kv/4/ ″ scrolling=“no” width=“100%” style=“border:none” height=“395″/iframe<script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script>
— Abortion access in the U.S.:
iframe title=“Abortion access in the US” aria-label=“Map” id=“ap-chart-uVMDq” src=” https://interactives.ap.org/embeds/uVMDq/27/ ″ scrolling=“no” width=“100%” style=“border:none” height=“465″/iframe<script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();</script>
