In 2023, every state legislature in the country will meet, with the vast majority beginning their sessions in January.  While lawmakers might not meet until next month (or later), most states allow lawmakers to prepare pre-filed legislation.  Only 13 state legislative bodies do not allow for the pre-filing of legislation.

Pre-filing legislation allows bills to be prepared before a regular session, increasing the legislative process’s efficiency.

Pre-filing legislation also gives advocates a jump-start on advocacy and government affairs efforts.  Learn more about scheduling meetings with lawmakers here, or how to interact with lawmakers in grant-writing efforts here.

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California

Lawmakers in California, scheduled to reconvene in January, have already begun introducing legislation for the 2023 session. Legislation already pre-filed includes:

• AB 26 – this bill would exclude any amount of qualified student loan debt discharged under the Biden Administration’s federal student loan debt relief plan, from an individual’s gross income for taxable years after January 1, 2022.
• SB 51 – this bill would authorize the Department of Cannabis Control (DPC) to issue provisional licenses for local equity license applications. The bill would also authorize the DPC to issue a provisional license for a local equity applicant for retailer activities indefinitely if they meet certain criteria.
• AB 67 – this bill would create the Homeless Courts Pilot Program to provide comprehensive community-based services to address certain legal needs of chronically homeless individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system. The program would be in effect through January 1, 2028.
• SB 55 – this bill would require a dealer or retailer to engrave or etch a catalytic converted with the VIN number of the vehicle to which it is attached, in order to sell the vehicle.  

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Montana

Montana lawmakers are hoping to get a jump-start on the 2023 legislative session, which begins January 2^nd, with various pieces of pre-filed legislation, including:

• SB 24 – would require corporations to file electronic income tax returns.
• SB 26 – would revise state law as it relates to fentanyl test strips.
• SB 28 – would provide funding for conservation districts in Montana.
• SB 30 – would repeal the Clean Campaign Act.

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Pennsylvania

While bills aren’t officially introduced just yet in Pennsylvania, lawmakers began sending cosponsor memos on December 1, announcing their intentions to introduce myriad legislation.

One proposed piece of legislation would create a digital currency task force that would conduct a study on industries related to digital currency, cryptocurrency, and blockchain. The task force would also hold public hearings and submit a report on their findings. 

Another bill, modeled after recently-enacted legislation in California, would ban lodging establishments from offering guests personal care items contained in small plastic bottles.

Other legislation being introduced would ban any business or corporation doing business in Pennsylvania from using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores as a credit score or only condition for financing. The bill would further prevent ESG scores from being predominantly used in making decisions for consumer transactions.

One more bill would enact hospital closure reform, while another would create a Pennsylvania Solar for Schools Grant Program.

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Texas

As of December 8, 269 bills were pre-filed in the Texas Senate and 1,003 bills were pre-filed in the Texas House. Pre-filed legislation in the Texas legislature for 2023 include:

• HB 23 – this bill would prohibit an athletic team or sport sponsored or authorized by a school district, charter school, or private school which competes against a public school, from allowing students to participate in an athletic team or sport designated for the biological sex that is not the biological sex that appears on their birth certificate or other government-issued record.
• HB 25 – this bill would establish a program in Texas to make prescription drugs which cost less outside of the United States available to Texas consumers at those lower costs.
• HB 870 – this bill would prohibit a pet store from selling a dog or cat unless the store obtains them from an animal control agency, an animal shelter, or an animal rescue organization. The bill defines a “pet store” as a for-profit business which sells dogs or cats in a county that has a population greater than 200,000 people.
• SJR 7 – this resolution proposes a constitutional amendment allowing certain people younger than 18 to vote in a primary election.

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Washington

Lawmakers in Washington State are getting a head-start on the 2023-24 session with various pre-filed legislation, which include:

• SB 5022 – this bill would exempt fentanyl test strips from the definition of drug paraphernalia.
• SB 5007 – this bill would establish a wine retailer shipper’s permit.
• SB 5008 – this bill would require every school building in a school district to post all supplemental instructional materials used in their curricula on the school or school district’s website at a minimum of 14 days before they are used in a classroom.
• HB 1017 – this bill would help expedite licensure for cosmetologists, hair designers, barbers, manicurists, and estheticians.
• HB 1000 – this bill would expand the working families’ tax credit.

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