[
 {
  "slug": "north-carolina-parking-minimums",
  "title": "North Carolina abolishes most parking minimums statewide",
  "summary": "North Carolina HB 162 prohibits most local governments from requiring a minimum number of off-street parking spaces for new development, the first statewide repeal of its kind. Governor Stein signed it July 6, 2026; it takes effect January 1, 2027.",
  "date": "2026-07-06",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "North Carolina",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "This arrived as a state law overriding local rules. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and after the law that owner can. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. Some local governments and uses are exempt, and the repeal takes effect in January 2027.",
  "preemption": true,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "North Carolina General Assembly — House Bill 162",
    "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/H162"
   },
   {
    "label": "Office of Governor Stein — Governor Stein takes action on four bills",
    "url": "https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2026/07/06/governor-stein-takes-action-four-bills"
   },
   {
    "label": "Axios Charlotte — North Carolina could eliminate parking minimums statewide",
    "url": "https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2026/06/24/nc-parking-minimums-bill-statewide"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "nrsc-v-fec",
  "title": "Supreme Court strikes down limits on what parties may spend with their candidates",
  "summary": "In National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC the Supreme Court held 6 to 3 that federal limits on how much a political party may spend in coordination with its own candidates violate the First Amendment, overruling a 2001 precedent. The limits were not proportionate, necessary or narrowly tailored given less speech-restrictive ways to prevent circumvention.",
  "date": "2026-06-30",
  "type": "court-ruling",
  "level": "federal",
  "state": "Federal",
  "issues": [
   "free-speech"
  ],
  "featured": true,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Supreme Court of the United States — NRSC v. FEC, No. 24-621, docket",
    "url": "https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24-621.html"
   },
   {
    "label": "Wikipedia — National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC",
    "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Republican_Senatorial_Committee_v._FEC"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "chatrie-v-united-states",
  "title": "Supreme Court holds that pulling your phone's location history is a search",
  "summary": "In Chatrie v. United States the Supreme Court held that police conduct a Fourth Amendment search when they obtain a person's cell-phone location history through a geofence warrant, because a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy in that data. Geofence warrants must now meet the ordinary requirements of probable cause and particularity.",
  "date": "2026-06-29",
  "type": "court-ruling",
  "level": "federal",
  "state": "Federal",
  "issues": [
   "surveillance"
  ],
  "featured": true,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Supreme Court of the United States — Chatrie v. United States, No. 25-112, docket",
    "url": "https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-112.html"
   },
   {
    "label": "NPR — Supreme Court restricts use of geofence warrants",
    "url": "https://www.npr.org/2026/06/29/nx-s1-5844697/supreme-court-restricts-use-of-geofence-warrants"
   },
   {
    "label": "Venable — Supreme Court holds geofence warrant access to location history constitutes a Fourth Amendment search",
    "url": "https://www.venable.com/insights/publications/2026/07/supreme-court-holds-geofence-warrant-access"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "colorado-cottage-foods-expansion",
  "title": "Colorado lets home cooks sell refrigerated foods and meat",
  "summary": "Colorado HB 26-1033 expands the Cottage Foods Act to let a registered home producer sell foods that need refrigeration, including meat products, after food-safety training, and raises the revenue cap from $10,000 to $150,000 a year. Signed and in effect June 4, 2026.",
  "date": "2026-06-04",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Colorado",
  "issues": [
   "food-freedom"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Colorado General Assembly — HB26-1033, Expanding the Colorado Cottage Foods Act",
    "url": "https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1033"
   },
   {
    "label": "Office of Governor Polis — Food Freedom! Governor Polis signs Tamale Act into law",
    "url": "https://governorsoffice.colorado.gov/governor/news/food-freedom-governor-polis-signs-tamale-act-law"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "colorado-forfeiture-charges-and-counsel",
  "title": "Colorado requires criminal charges before forfeiture and gives owners a lawyer",
  "summary": "Colorado HB 26-1250 repeals the exception that let the state keep property without a conviction, requires criminal charges before any forfeiture or nuisance proceeding, pauses the civil case until the criminal case ends, and gives owners who cannot afford a lawyer one at the state's expense. It passed 64 to 1 and 33 to 2.",
  "date": "2026-06-04",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Colorado",
  "issues": [
   "criminal-justice"
  ],
  "featured": true,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Colorado General Assembly — HB26-1250, Procedures Related to Civil Asset Forfeiture",
    "url": "https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1250"
   },
   {
    "label": "Institute for Justice — Colorado General Assembly reins in policing for profit",
    "url": "https://ij.org/colorado-general-assembly-reins-in-policing-for-profit/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Reason — Colorado becomes second state to create right to an attorney when police seize your property",
    "url": "https://reason.com/2026/06/15/colorado-becomes-second-state-to-create-right-to-an-attorney-when-police-seize-your-property/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Institute for Justice",
    "url": "https://ij.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "maryland-transit-parking-minimums",
  "title": "Maryland ends parking mandates near rail stations",
  "summary": "Maryland's Transit and Housing Opportunity Act, SB 389, bars local governments from requiring off-street parking for homes or mixed-use buildings within a quarter mile of a frequently served rail station unless a parking study approved by the state says otherwise. Signed May 26, 2026, as Chapter 592.",
  "date": "2026-05-26",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Maryland",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "This arrived as a state law overriding local rules. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and after the law that owner can. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. The act pairs the parking change with state incentives and a study exception, and applies only within a quarter mile of frequent rail service.",
  "preemption": true,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Maryland General Assembly — SB0389 (2026)",
    "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0389?ys=2026RS"
   },
   {
    "label": "Maryland Matters — Moore's housing package among more than 270 new laws approved at final bill signing",
    "url": "https://marylandmatters.org/2026/05/26/moores-housing-package-among-more-than-270-new-laws-approved-at-final-bill-signing/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Office of Governor Moore — Governor signs legislation to expand housing access",
    "url": "https://governor.maryland.gov/news/press-releases/governor-moore-signs-legislation-expand-housing-access-and-strengthen-education-during-final-bill"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "oklahoma-local-food-freedom-act",
  "title": "Oklahoma raises the home-food sales cap to $250,000",
  "summary": "Oklahoma's Local Food Freedom Act, HB 3720, raises the annual sales limit for home and small food producers from $75,000 to $250,000, widens where they may produce and how they may sell, and keeps the label that says the food was made outside state inspection. Signed May 7, 2026; in effect November 1, 2026.",
  "date": "2026-05-07",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Oklahoma",
  "issues": [
   "food-freedom"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Oklahoma Legislature — HB 3720 (2026)",
    "url": "http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB3720&Session=2600"
   },
   {
    "label": "Oklahoma House of Representatives — Local Food Freedom Act signed into law",
    "url": "https://www.okhouse.gov/posts/news-20260507_4"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "federal-medical-cannabis-schedule-iii",
  "title": "Federal government reschedules state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III",
  "summary": "A Drug Enforcement Administration final order, effective April 28, 2026, moved marijuana held under a state medical license, and marijuana in FDA-approved products, from Schedule I to Schedule III. Everything else stays in Schedule I. Because the 280E tax penalty applies only to Schedules I and II, state-licensed medical businesses can now deduct ordinary expenses.",
  "date": "2026-04-23",
  "type": "executive-action",
  "level": "federal",
  "state": "Federal",
  "issues": [
   "drug-policy"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "Only two categories moved. Unlicensed marijuana, bulk marijuana and adult-use products remain Schedule I, and possession outside a state medical program is as illegal under federal law as before. The gain is real for patients' suppliers and for research; it is not legalization.",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Federal Register — Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of Marijuana (DOJ Final Order)",
    "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/28/2026-08177/schedules-of-controlled-substances-rescheduling-of-marijuana"
   },
   {
    "label": "Federal Register — Executive Order 14370, Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research",
    "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/23/2025-23846/increasing-medical-marijuana-and-cannabidiol-research"
   },
   {
    "label": "Gibson Dunn — DEA Downschedules State Medical Marijuana to Schedule III; Expedited Hearing Set for Broader Rescheduling",
    "url": "https://www.gibsondunn.com/dea-downschedules-state-medical-marijuana-to-schedule-iii-expedited-hearing-set-to-consider-broader-rescheduling/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "virginia-statewide-adu",
  "title": "Virginia legalizes accessory dwelling units statewide",
  "summary": "Virginia SB 531 requires every locality to allow an accessory dwelling unit by right in single-family zoning, caps the permit fee at $500, bars setbacks stricter than those for the main house, and ends rules that required the occupant to be related to the owner. Signed April 13, 2026; in effect July 1, 2027.",
  "date": "2026-04-13",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Virginia",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "This arrived as a state law overriding local rules. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and after the law that owner can. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. The law also sets state conditions of its own, and it does not take effect until July 2027.",
  "preemption": true,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Virginia Legislative Information System — SB 531 (2026)",
    "url": "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB531"
   },
   {
    "label": "Virginia Mercury — A new law will make it easier to build a tiny house in your back yard, starting next year",
    "url": "https://virginiamercury.com/2026/04/16/a-new-law-will-make-it-easier-to-build-a-tiny-house-in-your-back-yard-starting-next-year/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Pacific Legal Foundation — New law affirms Virginia homeowners' right to build ADUs on their property",
    "url": "https://pacificlegal.org/press-release/new-law-affirms-virginia-homeowners-right-to-build-adus-on-their-property/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Pacific Legal Foundation",
    "url": "https://pacificlegal.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "YIMBY Action",
    "url": "https://yimbyaction.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "washington-driver-privacy-act",
  "title": "Washington enacts first comprehensive statewide rules for license-plate-reader surveillance",
  "summary": "Washington's Driver Privacy Act caps ALPR data retention at 21 days, requires a warrant for law-enforcement access, bans buying and selling the data, and bars immigration-enforcement and First-Amendment-monitoring uses.",
  "date": "2026-03-30",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Washington",
  "issues": [
   "surveillance"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Washington State Legislature — SB 6002 bill summary and history",
    "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=6002&Year=2025"
   },
   {
    "label": "ACLU of Washington — Gov. Ferguson signs SB 6002, the Driver Privacy Act, into Law",
    "url": "https://www.aclu-wa.org/press-releases/gov-ferguson-signs-sb-6002-the-driver-privacy-act-into-law/"
   },
   {
    "label": "MRSC — What to Know About the New Restrictions on Flock and Similar Camera Systems",
    "url": "https://mrsc.org/stay-informed/mrsc-insight/april-2026/restrictions-flock-cameras"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "ACLU of Washington",
    "url": "https://www.aclu-wa.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "indiana-food-freedom",
  "title": "Indiana exempts homestead vendors and small farms from food-establishment rules",
  "summary": "Indiana HB 1424 lets homestead vendors and small farms with under $1.5 million in sales sell prepared foods, certain meat products, produce and baked goods directly to consumers from their property or a farmers market without the licensing and inspection rules that apply to restaurants, including foods that need temperature control. Signed March 12, 2026; in effect July 1, 2026.",
  "date": "2026-03-12",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Indiana",
  "issues": [
   "food-freedom"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Indiana General Assembly — House Bill 1424 (2026)",
    "url": "https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1424"
   },
   {
    "label": "WTHR — Indiana loosens food safety standards and expands products for homesteads and small farms",
    "url": "https://www.wthr.com/article/life/gov-braun-signs-bill-deregulating-indiana-small-farms-and-homestead-vendors-consumer-relationship/531-5f958335-bd6a-4838-89aa-3be28017da49"
   },
   {
    "label": "Institute for Justice — IJ stands with home based vendors to praise passage of food freedom bill",
    "url": "https://ij.org/press-release/institute-for-justice-stands-with-home-based-vendors-to-praise-passage-of-food-freedom-bill/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Institute for Justice",
    "url": "https://ij.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "new-york-medical-aid-in-dying",
  "title": "New York legalizes medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults",
  "summary": "New York becomes the 12th state, and with the District of Columbia the 13th jurisdiction, to authorize medical aid in dying, allowing mentally capable adults with a terminal prognosis of six months or less to request a prescription to end their lives. The law takes effect six months after signing.",
  "date": "2026-02-06",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "New York",
  "issues": [
   "end-of-life-autonomy"
  ],
  "featured": true,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "New York State Senate — S138, Medical Aid in Dying Act (2025-2026 session)",
    "url": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S138"
   },
   {
    "label": "Office of the Governor — Governor Hochul Signs Medical Aid in Dying Act into New York State Law",
    "url": "https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-signs-medical-aid-dying-act-new-york-state-law"
   },
   {
    "label": "Compassion & Choices — New York's Medical Aid in Dying Act Signed into Law",
    "url": "https://compassionandchoices.org/news/ny-governor-signs-medical-aid-in-dying-law/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Compassion & Choices",
    "url": "https://compassionandchoices.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Death with Dignity National Center",
    "url": "https://deathwithdignity.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "michigan-cottage-food-expansion",
  "title": "Michigan doubles the cottage food cap and allows online sales",
  "summary": "Michigan HB 4122 raises the annual sales limit for cottage food producers from $25,000 to $50,000, or $75,000 for higher-priced goods, and for the first time allows in-state sales by internet, mail order and third-party delivery. Signed December 23, 2025; in effect March 24, 2026.",
  "date": "2025-12-23",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Michigan",
  "issues": [
   "food-freedom"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Michigan Legislature — House Bill 4122 (2025)",
    "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2025-HB-4122"
   },
   {
    "label": "Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund — New cottage food law in Michigan",
    "url": "https://www.farmtoconsumer.org/blog/2026/01/26/new-cottage-food-law-in-michigan/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "illinois-medical-aid-in-dying",
  "title": "Illinois legalizes medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults",
  "summary": "Illinois SB 1950, the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act, lets a mentally capable adult with a prognosis of six months or less, confirmed by two physicians, request a self-administered prescription. Signed December 12, 2025; in effect September 12, 2026. The first Midwestern state, and the 13th jurisdiction, to authorize it.",
  "date": "2025-12-12",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Illinois",
  "issues": [
   "end-of-life-autonomy"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Illinois General Assembly — SB 1950 bill status",
    "url": "https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=1950&GAID=18&DocTypeID=SB&SessionID=114"
   },
   {
    "label": "Office of Governor Pritzker — Governor signs bill expanding end-of-life options for terminally ill patients",
    "url": "https://gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/governor-pritzker-signs-bill-expanding-end-of-life-options-for-terminally-ill-patients"
   },
   {
    "label": "Capitol News Illinois — Pritzker signs medical aid in dying bill",
    "url": "https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/pritzker-signs-medical-aid-in-dying-bill-amid-religious-opposition/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Compassion & Choices",
    "url": "https://compassionandchoices.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Death with Dignity National Center",
    "url": "https://deathwithdignity.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "california-sb-79-transit-housing",
  "title": "California legalizes mid-rise apartments near transit, preempting local single-family-only zoning",
  "summary": "SB 79 legalizes multi-story multi-family housing within a half-mile of major transit stations across California's largest counties, overriding the single-family-only zoning that covers most of that land.",
  "date": "2025-10-10",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "California",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "This arrived as a state law overriding local zoning. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and the day after signing that owner could. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. SB 79 also carries affordability set-asides and labor standards on some projects, regulatory strings in the same enactment.",
  "preemption": true,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "California Legislative Information — SB-79 Housing development: transit-oriented development",
    "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB79"
   },
   {
    "label": "CalMatters — Gavin Newsom signs law overhauling local zoning to build more housing",
    "url": "https://calmatters.org/housing/2025/10/newsom-signs-massive-california-housing-overhaul/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Bloomberg — Los Angeles Preps for Building Boom After YIMBY Housing Reforms",
    "url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-11-11/los-angeles-preps-for-building-boom-after-yimby-housing-reforms"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "California YIMBY",
    "url": "https://cayimby.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "YIMBY Action",
    "url": "https://yimbyaction.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "california-ceqa-infill-reform",
  "title": "California exempts most urban infill housing from CEQA environmental review",
  "summary": "A pair of budget trailer bills creates a clean CEQA exemption for urban infill housing up to 20 acres and 85 feet, with a 30-day deadline for agency action — the most consequential CEQA reform in decades.",
  "date": "2025-06-30",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "California",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "California Legislative Information — AB 130 (Committee on Budget), CEQA infill exemption",
    "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB130"
   },
   {
    "label": "California Legislative Information — SB 131 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review)",
    "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB131"
   },
   {
    "label": "Office of the Governor — Newsom signs groundbreaking reforms to build more housing, boost affordability",
    "url": "https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/06/30/governor-newsom-signs-into-law-groundbreaking-reforms-to-build-more-housing-affordability/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Holland & Knight — California Legislature Enacts Major CEQA Reforms for Housing-Rich Infill Projects",
    "url": "https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2025/07/california-legislature-enacts-major-ceqa-reforms-for-housing-rich"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "California YIMBY",
    "url": "https://cayimby.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "texas-multifamily-by-right",
  "title": "Texas legalizes multifamily housing by-right on commercially zoned land in major cities",
  "summary": "Senate Bill 840 requires Texas's largest cities to allow multifamily and mixed-use housing by right on commercially zoned land — bypassing the rezoning and public-hearing processes that constrain supply.",
  "date": "2025-06-20",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Texas",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "This arrived as a state law overriding local zoning. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and the day after signing that owner could. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. It applies only to the largest cities in the largest counties, so most Texans' towns are untouched.",
  "preemption": true,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Texas Legislature Online — SB 840, 89(R)",
    "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB840"
   },
   {
    "label": "Pew Charitable Trusts — Pew Applauds Texas Lawmakers for Passage of Much-Needed Housing Legislation",
    "url": "https://www.pew.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases-and-statements/2025/06/23/pew-applauds-texas-lawmakers-for-passage-of-much-needed-housing-legislation"
   },
   {
    "label": "Goldwater Institute — Unlocking the Dream: Texas Paves a Path to More Attainable Housing",
    "url": "https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/unlocking-the-dream-texas-paves-a-path-to-more-attainable-housing/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Texans for Reasonable Solutions",
    "url": "https://www.texansforreasonablesolutions.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Goldwater Institute",
    "url": "https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Pew Charitable Trusts",
    "url": "https://www.pew.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "texas-right-to-repair",
  "title": "Texas enacts right-to-repair law for consumer electronics",
  "summary": "Texas requires consumer-electronics makers to provide replacement parts, tools, and documentation on fair terms — the eighth state and the first Republican-led state to enact a right-to-repair law for electronics.",
  "date": "2025-06-20",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Texas",
  "issues": [
   "right-to-make"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "The law expands what an owner can do with a device by imposing a duty on its maker to sell parts, tools and documentation on fair terms. That is a new obligation on one set of people to widen the choices of another. The ledger records it because the practical effect is that owners control property they paid for; readers who weigh the mandate more heavily will discount it, and the ledger says so.",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Texas Legislature Online — HB 2963, 89(R)",
    "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB2963"
   },
   {
    "label": "Texas Public Policy Foundation — TPPF Applauds Establishment of a Right to Repair",
    "url": "https://www.texaspolicy.com/press/tppf-applauds-establishment-of-a-right-to-repair"
   },
   {
    "label": "Consumer Reports — Consumer Reports applauds Texas governor for signing Right to Repair bill into law",
    "url": "https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/consumer-reports-applauds-texas-legislature-for-passing-right-to-repair-bill-2"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Texas Public Policy Foundation",
    "url": "https://www.texaspolicy.com"
   },
   {
    "name": "TexPIRG",
    "url": "https://texpirg.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "The Repair Coalition",
    "url": "https://repair.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "texas-starter-home-act",
  "title": "Texas bans large-minimum-lot-size mandates on new starter-home subdivisions",
  "summary": "SB 15 caps the minimum lot size Texas cities may require on new single-family subdivisions of five acres or more, removing a common municipal mechanism for blocking smaller, more affordable starter homes.",
  "date": "2025-06-20",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Texas",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "This arrived as a state law overriding local zoning. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and the day after signing that owner could. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. The cap applies only to new subdivisions of five acres or more in the largest cities; existing neighborhoods keep their minimums.",
  "preemption": true,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Texas Legislature Online — SB 15, 89(R)",
    "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB15"
   },
   {
    "label": "Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Signs Laws To Combat Statewide Housing Crisis In Austin",
    "url": "https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-signs-laws-to-combat-statewide-housing-crisis-in-austin"
   },
   {
    "label": "Foley & Lardner — Texas Enacts Critical Real Estate Reforms: Senate Bills 15, 17, 840",
    "url": "https://www.foley.com/insights/publications/2025/07/texas-enacts-critical-real-estate-reforms-senate-bills-15-17-840/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Texans for Reasonable Solutions",
    "url": "https://www.texansforreasonablesolutions.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Goldwater Institute",
    "url": "https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "delaware-end-of-life-options-act",
  "title": "Delaware legalizes medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults",
  "summary": "Delaware becomes the 12th U.S. jurisdiction to authorize medical aid in dying, allowing mentally capable adults with a terminal prognosis of six months or less to request a self-administered prescription.",
  "date": "2025-05-20",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Delaware",
  "issues": [
   "end-of-life-autonomy"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Delaware General Assembly — HB 140, Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Act",
    "url": "https://legis.delaware.gov/BillDetail/141725"
   },
   {
    "label": "Compassion & Choices — About the Ron Silverio/Heather Block End of Life Options Law",
    "url": "https://compassionandchoices.org/about-the-ron-silverio-heather-block-end-of-life-options-act/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Delaware Public Media — Gov. Matt Meyer signs medical aid in dying into law after decade's worth of effort",
    "url": "https://www.delawarepublic.org/politics-government/2025-05-20/gov-matt-meyer-signs-medical-aid-in-dying-into-law-after-decades-worth-of-effort"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Compassion & Choices",
    "url": "https://compassionandchoices.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Death with Dignity National Center",
    "url": "https://deathwithdignity.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "washington-right-to-repair",
  "title": "Washington enacts right-to-repair laws for consumer electronics and mobility devices",
  "summary": "Washington's Right to Repair Act makes consumer-electronics manufacturers provide parts, tools, and documentation on fair terms and bans parts-pairing software locks; a companion bill covers mobility devices.",
  "date": "2025-05-19",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Washington",
  "issues": [
   "right-to-make"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "As in Texas, the gain to owners arrives as a mandate on manufacturers, including a ban on software locks that pair parts to devices. The ledger records the owner's widened control and names the mandate that produced it.",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Washington State Legislature — HB 1483, Digital electronics right to repair",
    "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1483&Year=2025"
   },
   {
    "label": "Washington State Legislature — SB 5680, Mobility devices right to repair",
    "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5680&Year=2025"
   },
   {
    "label": "WA House Democrats / Rep. Mia Gregerson — Governor Signs Landmark Right to Repair Bills into Law",
    "url": "https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/gregerson/2025/05/20/governor-signs-landmark-right-to-repair-bills-into-law-expanding-consumer-protections-access-to-repairs/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "WashPIRG",
    "url": "https://washpirg.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "The Repair Coalition",
    "url": "https://repair.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Electronic Frontier Foundation",
    "url": "https://www.eff.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "washington-forfeiture-reform",
  "title": "Washington raises the bar for forfeiture and shifts the burden onto the government",
  "summary": "Washington HB 1440 raises the standard of proof for civil asset forfeiture to clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, shifts the burden of proof from property owners onto the government, and consolidates the state's scattered forfeiture laws into one statute.",
  "date": "2025-05-17",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Washington",
  "issues": [
   "criminal-justice"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Washington State Senate Democrats (Sen. Bob Hasegawa) — More consistency, transparency, and justice in civil asset forfeiture signed into law",
    "url": "https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/hasegawa/2025/05/17/more-consistency-transparency-and-justice-in-civil-asset-forfeiture-signed-into-law/"
   },
   {
    "label": "MRSC — More Process and Proof: 2025 Legislative Changes to Civil Asset Forfeiture Procedures",
    "url": "https://mrsc.org/stay-informed/mrsc-insight/july-2025/civil-asset-forfeiture-changes"
   },
   {
    "label": "Institute for Justice — Washington state profile, Policing for Profit",
    "url": "https://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-4/state-profile/washington/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Institute for Justice",
    "url": "https://ij.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "texas-school-choice-esa",
  "title": "Texas enacts the nation's largest day-one school choice program",
  "summary": "Texas Senate Bill 2 creates an education savings account program letting families use state funds for private-school tuition, therapy, transportation, and other approved costs — the largest first-year school-choice launch in the country.",
  "date": "2025-05-03",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Texas",
  "issues": [
   "parental-authority"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Signs Landmark School Choice Legislation Into Law",
    "url": "https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-signs-landmark-school-choice-legislation-into-law"
   },
   {
    "label": "KUT — Amid cheers and protests, Gov. Abbott signs $1 billion Texas school voucher bill into law",
    "url": "https://www.kut.org/politics/2025-05-02/abbott-billion-dollar-school-voucher-esa-law"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": []
 },
 {
  "slug": "massachusetts-statewide-adu",
  "title": "Massachusetts legalizes accessory dwelling units statewide",
  "summary": "The Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act requires every municipality to allow accessory dwelling units of 900 square feet or less by right in single-family zoning districts, ending local bans and discretionary permitting for small secondary homes.",
  "date": "2024-08-06",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Massachusetts",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": true,
  "partialWhy": "This arrived as a state law overriding local zoning. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and the day after signing that owner could. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. The state also sets its own limits in the same act, 900 square feet and state regulations on what towns may require, so the owner trades a local ban for a state rulebook.",
  "preemption": true,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Boston Globe — Legislature passes zoning reform, funds affordable housing",
    "url": "https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/01/business/housing-bill-passes-at-11th-hour/"
   },
   {
    "label": "McGregor Law Group — Massachusetts' New ADU Law Now in Effect with Final Regulations",
    "url": "https://www.mcgregorlaw.com/attorney-blog/item/143:massachusetts-accessory-dwelling-unit-adu-law-now-in-effect-final-regulation"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Abundant Housing Massachusetts",
    "url": "https://www.abundanthousingma.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "nra-v-vullo",
  "title": "Supreme Court rules unanimously against government coercion of private speech",
  "summary": "In NRA v. Vullo, the Supreme Court held 9–0 that a government official violates the First Amendment by pressuring private intermediaries — here, banks and insurers — to cut ties with an advocacy organization because of its protected speech.",
  "date": "2024-05-30",
  "type": "court-ruling",
  "level": "federal",
  "state": "Federal",
  "issues": [
   "free-speech"
  ],
  "featured": true,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "U.S. Supreme Court — National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, opinion (No. 22-842)",
    "url": "https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-842_8n5a.pdf"
   },
   {
    "label": "ACLU — Supreme Court Sides With NRA in Free Speech Case Argued by the ACLU",
    "url": "https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-sides-with-nra-in-free-speech-case-argued-by-the-aclu"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "American Civil Liberties Union",
    "url": "https://www.aclu.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "louisiana-welcome-home-act",
  "title": "Louisiana enacts one of the nation's broadest licensing-recognition laws",
  "summary": "Louisiana's Welcome Home Act, SB 60 of the 2024 session, grants universal recognition of out-of-state occupational licenses, letting workers who held a license elsewhere in good standing for at least a year work in Louisiana without repeating training or testing.",
  "date": "2024-05-28",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Louisiana",
  "issues": [
   "occupational-licensing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Louisiana Legislature — SB 60 (Act 253 of 2024), the Welcome Home Act",
    "url": "https://legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=24RS&b=SB60"
   },
   {
    "label": "Goldwater Institute — Louisiana Governor Signs Landmark Universal Licensing Reform into Law",
    "url": "https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/louisiana-governor-signs-landmark-universal-licensing-reform-into-law/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Goldwater Institute",
    "url": "https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "austin-home-phase-2",
  "title": "Austin cuts its minimum residential lot size by two-thirds",
  "summary": "Austin's HOME Phase 2 ordinance reduced the city's minimum residential lot size from 5,750 square feet to 1,800, allowing more — and smaller, more attainable — homes on land previously restricted to a single house.",
  "date": "2024-05-16",
  "type": "local-ordinance",
  "level": "local",
  "state": "Texas",
  "issues": [
   "housing"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Texas Tribune — Austin enacts sweeping reforms to cut down housing costs",
    "url": "https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/17/austin-lot-size-housing-affordability/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Community Impact — Austin cuts minimum residential lot size by more than two-thirds under HOME Phase 2",
    "url": "https://communityimpact.com/austin/south-central-austin/government/2024/05/17/austin-cuts-minimum-residential-lot-size-by-more-than-two-thirds-under-home-phase-2/"
   },
   {
    "label": "City of Austin — HOME Phase 2 adopted ordinance",
    "url": "https://speakupaustin.org/r6817"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "AURA",
    "url": "https://www.aura-atx.org"
   }
  ]
 },
 {
  "slug": "kansas-civil-forfeiture-reform",
  "title": "Kansas overhauls civil asset forfeiture with a unanimous bipartisan vote",
  "summary": "Kansas SB 458 raises the burden of proof for civil asset forfeiture, requires judicial review to establish probable cause, makes the government pay attorney fees when an owner successfully challenges a seizure, bars forfeiture for personal-use drug possession, and limits when local police can hand cases to federal agencies for adoption.",
  "date": "2024-04-24",
  "type": "legislation-passed",
  "level": "state",
  "state": "Kansas",
  "issues": [
   "criminal-justice"
  ],
  "featured": false,
  "partial": false,
  "partialWhy": "",
  "preemption": false,
  "statusNote": "",
  "sources": [
   {
    "label": "Kansas Reflector — Gov. Laura Kelly signs civil asset forfeiture reform unanimously passed by Legislature",
    "url": "https://kansasreflector.com/2024/04/24/gov-laura-kelly-signs-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform-unanimously-passed-by-legislature/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Reason — The Kansas Legislature unanimously passed a civil asset forfeiture reform bill",
    "url": "https://reason.com/2024/04/17/the-kansas-legislature-unanimously-passed-a-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform-bill/"
   },
   {
    "label": "Americans for Prosperity — How AFP Sparked Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform in Kansas",
    "url": "https://americansforprosperity.org/blog/rewriting-the-rules-how-afp-sparked-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform-in-kansas/"
   }
  ],
  "organizations": [
   {
    "name": "Americans for Prosperity",
    "url": "https://americansforprosperity.org"
   },
   {
    "name": "Kansas Justice Institute",
    "url": "https://kansasjusticeinstitute.org"
   }
  ]
 }
]