
State Government Affairs
What Will Legislatures Focus on in 2022?
February 3, 2022 | Bill Kramer, Elizabeth Johnson, Ben Fallick
What are the top goals of legislators this year? To find out, we sorted through media reports, interviews, and political analyses in every state and noted big policy ideas cited by legislative leaders. Those issues were then sorted into policy categories and totaled to determine what the most prevalent policy priorities for state legislators across the country. Two issues are driving much of the legislative priorities this session: the effects of COVID-19 and budget surpluses. This year also saw a surge in controversial social issues with red and blue states coming down on opposite sides of abortion access, firearms, vaccine mandates, and banning critical race theory.