REPORT FINDS PROGRESSIVE VICTORIES IN THE STATES

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http://www.cfpa.org/about/press/prcomplete.cfm?ID=157

For Immediate Release
August 9, 2005
For Further Information
Center for Policy Alternatives
Rachel Balick
[phone]


REPORT FINDS PROGRESSIVE VICTORIES IN THE STATES
2005 an excellent year for progressives in the states, enacting 144 measures so far

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The progressive movement is alive and well in state legislatures across the nation according to a new study, Progress in the States: A Report on Proactive, Progressive Victories in 2005, released by the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA). CPA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on state policy.

"Today, state legislators are leading the fight for progressive solutions," the study says. "They are proposing the nation's most far-reaching, proactive legislation. They are experimenting with new tactics and messagesﾗand they are winning."

Progress in the States describes 144 proactive, progressive measures that have become law, or will become law, in 2005. Overall, the study demonstrates the vitality and variety of progressive successes in the states.

Among the highlights of this report:

* Most Progressive States—The states which have enacted the most progressive laws so far in 2005 are: Illinois (15 laws); Colorado, Connecticut and Washington (11 laws each); New Jersey (9 laws); New Mexico (8 laws); and Maryland and Montana (7 laws each).
* Minimum Wage—As Congress stood on the sidelines, six states increased the minimum wage in 2005. A total of nine states have increased the minimum wage since April 2004. Thanks to the states, by October at least 45 percent of Americans will live in jurisdictions with a minimum wage above the federal level.........