This Week in the States

For the Week of March 25, 2024

View our legislative session calendar here.     

  • In session or committee meetings: Blue
  • Upcoming or in special session: Red
  • Adjourned or in recess: Grey 

Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO, GUAM, NORTH MARIANA ISLANDS and UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS. 

 

SOUTH DAKOTA

Projected Adjournment on March 25

Issue Spotlight: Psilocybin, MDMA, and Therapeutic Psychedelics

Every Monday, Stateside staff highlights a notable issue from the past week. This week, we explore states' efforts to establish legislative frameworks for the medicinal use of psilocybin, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and other psychedelic drugs. 

Indiana's HB 1259, signed by Governor Eric Holcomb (R) on March 13, establishes a therapeutic psilocybin research fund. This fund supports qualified research institutions in conducting clinical studies on psilocybin's potential as an alternative treatment for mental health conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, or migraines.

Similarly, Utah's SB 266 awaits approval from Governor Spencer Cox (R). If signed, the bill allows qualified in-state healthcare systems to develop a behavioral health treatment program utilizing FDA Phase 3 tested forms of psilocybin or MDMA for investigational drug use. Governor Cox's decision is due by March 21.

Increased media and clinical attention on psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment follows the FDA's June 2023 draft guidance on clinical trials with psychedelics and a Phase 3 clinical trial examining MDMA-assisted psychotherapy's effectiveness in treating PTSD.

Maryland's HB 548, passing the House by a vote of 136-1, establishes a task force on the responsible use of natural psychedelic substances. Similar measures in Arizona, Alaska, and Vermont received legislative action last week, with potential further action this week (VT Senate Bill 114's hearing is anticipated upon the agenda's release). 

Though not actively advancing, California's SB 1012 could have a significant impact.

For updates or insights on state oversight of medicinal psychedelics, please contact Matthew Lidz.

STATE AND LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS 

STATE AND LOCAL LEGISLATURES MEETING THIS WEEK:

CALIFORNIA

The San Ramon City Council will meet on March 26 to consider an ordinance repealing and replacing Title B, Division B6 (Health, Sanitation and Environmental Quality), Chapter III (Ozone Depletion Control), Article 1 (Chlorofluorocarbon-Processed Food Packaging) of the Municipal Code to specify that all polystyrene foam is banned for use as takeout foodware by any food or drink vendor within jurisdictional limits, as the material is harmful to wildlife whether made with or without CFCs, and there are substitute foodware options widely available on the market that are recyclable or compostable. 

Contact: Stephanie Rojo

 

COLORADO

The Aspen City Council will meet on March 26 to receive an update on the status of Aspen’s Short-Term Rental (STR) Program after one year of full implementation of the new set of regulations that became effective following the 2022 Moratorium and after several months of collection of the STR-specific sales tax (since May of 2023.)

Contact: Stephanie Rojo

 

CONNECTICUT

The Hartford City Council will meet on March 25 to receive communication concerning a resolution calling for more electrical vehicle charging stations in the city.

Contact: Stephanie Rojo

 

DELAWARE

The House Natural Resources and Energy Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 13. This measure requires the Executive Director of the SEU to administer a program that provides financial assistance for the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment at or near the applicant's place of residence. 

Contact: Maxwell Klein

 

The House Economic Development, Banking, Insurance, and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 253. This measure requires private health insurance and Medicaid to provide coverage for annual mammograms for women 40 years of age and older, without a referral requirement.

Contact: Dylan Hughes

 

GEORGIA

The House Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on March 25 regarding HB 1491. This measure requires all electric vehicle charging stations installed on or after January 1, 2026, to be capable of accurately measuring and displaying the amount of electricity delivered to each vehicle on a per kilowatt-hours basis, either directly or remotely through the use of a digital network. Stations installed after this date shall be equipped with meters to record the total kilowatt-hours dispensed.

Contact: Maxwell Klein

 

HAWAII

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee will hold a joint hearing on March 25 regarding the following. For more information on these measures, contact Stephanie Obieroma.

  • SR 146: This measure urges the state Department of Health to investigate and implement policies to reduce the importation of products, packaging, or materials containing PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl) substances into the state.
  • SCR 170: This measure urges the state Department of Health to investigate and implement policies to reduce the importation of products, packaging, or materials containing PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl) substances into the state.

The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee will hold a hearing on March 27 regarding HB 1896. This measure, beginning January 1, 2027, prohibits the manufacture, sale, offer for sale, distribution for sale, and distribution for use of any food packaging, food service ware, cosmetic, or personal care product that contains intentionally added PFAS substances. This measure excludes products approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and products that do not contain intentionally added PFAS but do contain an added chemical where PFAS are intentional breakdown products from the prohibition established by this measure.

Contact: Stephanie Obieroma

 

LOUISIANA

The House Committee on Health and Welfare will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 193. This measure allows for prescriptions or prescription information for controlled substances to be transferred between pharmacies.

Contact: Matthew Lidz

 

The House Committee on Health and Welfare will hold a hearing on March 27 regarding HB 392. This measure requires the Louisiana Department of Health to make Medicaid coverage available for hormonal care for women who are in menopause or have perimenopausal symptoms.

Contact: Dylan Hughes

 

MAINE

The Joint Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding LD 1977. This measure governs and establishes the privacy rights and privacy practices of companies and individuals. This measure does not apply to a person that meets the following criteria for the period of the three preceding calendar years for the period during which the person has been in existence if the person is an entity that has been in existence for less than 3 years:

  1. The person's average annual gross revenue is less than $20 million;
  2. The person, on average, did not annually collect or process the covered data of more than 75,000 individuals during the period beyond the purpose of initiating, billing for, finalizing, or otherwise collecting payment for a requested service or product, as long as all covered data for that purpose was deleted or de-identified within 90 days; and
  3. No component of the person's revenue comes from transferring covered data during a year or part of a year if the person is an entity that has been in existence for less than one year.

Contact: Alex Aceto

 

MARYLAND

The Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 1147. This measure prohibits the use, supply, sale, solicitation, or offer for sale of playground surfacing materials containing specific concentrations of lead, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for playground construction or renovation in the state. It prevents counties, municipalities, or local government units from adopting less stringent regulations concerning these materials. 

Contact: Stephanie Obieroma

 

The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 689. This measure allows a rebate for a zero-emission plug-in electric vehicle or fuel cell electric vehicle.

Contact: Maxwell Klein

 

The House Environment and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on March 27 regarding SB 1065. This measure establishes an annual surcharge for zero-emission vehicles of $150 and $122.50 for each plug-in electric drive vehicle that is not a zero-emission vehicle.

Contact: Maxwell Klein

 

MASSACHUSETTS

The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 4255. This measure allows individuals over 21 to use natural psychedelic substances for therapeutic use.

Contact: Matthew Lidz

 

MINNESOTA

The Senate Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on March 25 regarding SF 903. This measure provides Medicaid coverage for care evaluations, reimbursed at a currently unspecified percentage of the skilled nursing visit rate. It also delegates administrative authority to set homemaker reimbursement rates under several disability waivers and ties the base rate for homemaker services to inflation.

Contact: Dylan Hughes

 

MISSOURI

The Senate Insurance and Banking Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding SB 843. This measure states that no pharmacy benefits manager will prohibit, redirect by contract, or otherwise penalize a covered person from obtaining prescription services, consultation, or advice from a contracted pharmacy. 

Contact: Matthew Lidz

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

The House Finance Committee will hold an executive session on March 26 regarding HB 1649. Beginning on July 1, 2028, the following PFAS-added consumer products are prohibited from being offered for final sale or use or distributed for promotional purposes in the state: (1) Carpets or rugs,  (2) cosmetics,  (3) textile treatments,  (4) feminine hygiene products, (5) food packaging and containers, (6) juvenile products, (7) personal protective equipment, (8) upholstered furniture and (9) textile furnishings.

Contact: Stephanie Obieroma

 

The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hold an executive session on March 26 regarding SB 464. Beginning on July 1, 2028, the following PFAS-added consumer products are prohibited from being offered for final sale or use or distributed for promotional purposes in the state: (1) Carpets or rugs,  (2) cosmetics,  (3) textile treatments,  (4) feminine hygiene products, (5) food packaging and containers, (6) juvenile products, (7) personal protective equipment, (8) upholstered furniture and (9) textile furnishings.

Contact: Stephanie Obieroma

 

NEW YORK

The Assembly Energy Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding the following. For more information on these measures, contact Maxwell Klein.

  • AB 8869: The measure requires the development of a plan to help deploy fast electric vehicle charging stations statewide.
  • AB 7091: This measure requires electric vehicle charging stations and electric vehicle-capable parking spaces to accommodate wheelchair-accessible electric vehicles. Such electric vehicle charging stations must include spaces that are large enough to accommodate wheelchair-accessible electric vehicles, including but not limited to, vans and minivans.

PENNSYLVANIA

The House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 1598. This measure expands the definition of "Unfair methods of competition" and "unfair or deceptive acts or practices" to include creating, distributing or publishing any content generated by artificial intelligence without clear and conspicuous disclosure, including written text, images, audio and video content and other forms of media. A disclosure under this measure must state that the content was generated using artificial intelligence and must be presented in a manner reasonably understandable and readily noticeable to the consumer.

Contact: Alex Aceto

 

The House Health Committee will hold a hearing on March 27 regarding HB 2084. This measure adds virtual manufacturers to the definition of "wholesaler distributor of prescription drugs."

Contact: Matthew Lidz

 

RHODE ISLAND

The House State Government & Elections Committee will hold a hearing on March 26 regarding HB 7387. This measure prohibits a person, corporation, or political action committee from using synthetic media, within 90 days of any election. A candidate whose appearance, actions, or speech are depicted through the use of synthetic media in violation of this section may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting 17 the distribution of audio or visual synthetic media in violation of this chapter.  

Contact: Alex Aceto

 

The House Innovation, Internet, & Technology Committee will hold a hearing on March 28 regarding HB 7786. This measure requires companies that develop or deploy high-risk AI systems to conduct impact assessments and adopt risk management programs, would apply to both developers and deployers of AI systems and would require obligations of these different types of companies based on their role in the AI ecosystem.

Contact: Alex Aceto

 

TENNESSEE

The House Government Operations Committee will hold a hearing on March 25 regarding HB 2358. The measure clarifies that the Board of Pharmacy has the authority to register any mechanical or electronic systems that operate solely on the premises of in-state hematology or oncology clinics that perform the storage, control, and dispensing of commercially available drug products under a patient-specific prescription. The pharmacy in charge must maintain the collection, control, and maintenance of all transaction information.

Contact: Matthew Lidz

 

The Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee of the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee will hold a hearing on March 27 regarding HB 2921. This measure requires all Medicaid (TennCare) managed care plans to provide coverage and reimbursement for mental health services and treatment to the same extent that the plans provide coverage and reimbursement for the treatment of alcoholism and drug dependence. This applies to coinsurance, deductibles, and benefit determinations.

Contact: Dylan Hughes

 

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on March 27 regarding SB 2530. This measure creates the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council to recommend an action plan to guide awareness, education, and usage of artificial intelligence in state government that aligns with the state’s policies and goals and supports public employees in efficiently and effectively delivering customer service.

Contact: Alex Aceto

 


INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING AND POLICY HIGHLIGHTS

For weekly updates on funding, policies, programs, and deployment related to infrastructure, click here.

 

GROUPS

Environmental Council of the States (ECOS)

Spring Meeting

Austin, TX

March 25-27

Contact: Mark Anderson 

 

National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)

Preparedness Summit

Cleveland, OH

March 25-28

Contact: Zachary Cook

 

Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA)

Mid-Year Meeting

Washington, DC

March 26-27

Contact: Mark Anderson 

 

Republican Lieutenant Governors Association (RLGA)

Spring Meeting

March 27-28

Amelia Island, FL

Contact: Meaghan O'Brien