Welcome to a Friday edition of Progress Report. I hope you were not supposed to be on a plane today.
While Democrats in DC engage in overdue generational warfare, the lawmakers who rode the blue wave into state capitols are getting to work on their fulfilling campaign promises (or trying, anyway). It’s a fertile time for progressive legislation: there are new trifectas across the upper Midwest and into Arizona, while it’s the first time in memory that Democrats aren’t simply trying to prevent Republicans from doing horrible things in states like Texas and Georgia.
As lawmakers hit the ground running, I’ll be regularly updating you on the big headlines, biggest wins, and biggest frustrations.
Ohio: So we’re actually going to start with legislation being blocked by Republicans, who are using their last hours in power on their biggest priorities… like protecting child marriage.
Though the legislature passed a ban on most forms of child marriage back in 2019, a loophole that allows 17-year olds to marry people up to four years their senior with court approval has led to more than 5,000 minors tying the knot in the state since 2020. A bill to plug that loophole passed unanimously through committee in June, but was left off the agenda when the state Senate returned to session this week.
There’s no clear reason why banning child marriage was dropped from the to-do list, but it seems as if there might be some reticence in the GOP caucus.
“I would vote yes, but I also have to make sure that we have the support and we are going to talk about it in caucus and see where it lands,” Senate president Rob McColley told reporters.
Republicans will still hold a majority in the Ohio legislature next year, albeit a much smaller one. Fingers crossed their anonymous pedophile sympathizers were voted out of office this month, and if nothing else, incoming Gov. Amy Acton can sign the law in January.
OK, now on to less disturbing news.
Between the gerrymanders and election denier movement, newly blue state governments have a lot of work to do to simply return to a basic democratic equilibrium.