This Week in Legislative Trends: March 31, 2025

Welcome to Legislative Trends, your go-to source for the latest updates on state policy action affecting infants, toddlers, and their families during legislative sessions. Each week, our team of policy analysts tracks key legislative movements, from state budget proposals impacting Medicaid and SNAP to bills advancing paid family leave, child care, and other critical prenatal-to-3 policies. Below is a sampling of legislation we’re tracking from across the country, all grounded in the evidence-based policies highlighted in our Prenatal-to-3 Policy Roadmap. Stay informed and ahead of the curve with our timely analysis of the trends shaping early childhood policy.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Child Care: North Carolina and Minnesota are considering changes to their child care subsidy systems, including eliminating copayments for some families.
Doulas: Utah enacted a bill to require Medicaid coverage of doula services and several other states are considering similar legislation.
Paid Family and Medical Leave: Mississippi enacted a law to provide paid family and medical leave to state employees and legislators in Alabama passed a bill which would paid parental leave for eligible state employees and teachers.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Administrative Burden

California A.B. 936, which would make permanent the CalFresh Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefit program, passed out of committee.
Idaho H.B. 109, which prohibits Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from being spent on candy and soda, passed the Senate.
Iowa H.F. 970, which would limit what foods families can use SNAP benefits to purchase, passed the House. The bill also appropriates $1 million to Iowa's Double Up Food Bucks nutrition incentive program.
Montana L.C. 1226 would require the Department of Public Health and Human Services to submit a waiver to have SNAP only cover healthy food items that are high in nutrients.
Oklahoma H.B. 1575 would establish a unified and streamlined eligibility and enrollment system in the Department of Human Services that would include SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs. The bill requires the agency to develop a single website and application that is mobile-friendly and available in multiple languages.

Child Care

Idaho H.B. 243, which would relax child-to-staff ratios, eliminate local authority to establish more strict ratios, and loosen child care supervision definitions, was delivered to the governor.
Indiana H.B. 1248 would makes foster parents categorically eligible for child care subsidies. The bill passed both chambers and has been sent to the Governor.
Minnesota S.F. 2937 would limit child care copayments to 7% of family income and eliminate copayments for families under 150% of the FPL, families experiencing homelessness, families with children with disabilities, families enrolled in Head Start, and children in foster or kinship care.
North Carolina S. 483/H. 507 would expand income eligibility to 85% of the SMI, eliminate copayments for families under 200% of the FPL, and increase reimbursement rates to the 75th percentile of the most recent MRS.
West Virginia S.B. 811 would create a pilot program to provide child care subsidies to child care workers.

Doulas

Maine S.P. 172/L.D. 376 would request the Department of Health and Human Services to cover doula services under Medicaid, covering up to four prenatal and four postpartum visits effective January 1, 2026.
Montana S.B. 319 would create a voluntary certification process for doulas and allow for Medicaid coverage of certified doula services.
North Carolina H. 507/S.483, the Children First Act, would require that the Department of Health and Human Services seek approval from CMS for Medicaid coverage of doula services in addition to making several changes to child care.
Tennessee S.B. 44 would require the Department of Health to establish a process to issue certifications to doulas.
Utah S.B. 284, which will require Medicaid reimbursement for doula services, was signed by the Governor.
West Virginia S.B. 292 would require the Public Employees Insurance Agency and Medicaid to cover doula services and permit the Commissioner of Health to issue statewide standing recommendation regarding a doula benefit. The bill passed the Senate.

Early Intervention

Illinois H.B. 3327 would expand EI eligibility to infants with birth weights under 1,000 grams and require public awareness campaigns on those new requirements. Additionally, the Department of Early Childhood would assume the role of lead agency for EI services after July 1, 2026, taking over from the Department of Human Services.
Nevada S.B. 368 would ensure that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act remains applicable in the state if repealed federally.

Medicaid

Alaska H.B. 151 would establish continuous Medicaid eligibility for children under age 6.
Kentucky Gov. Beshear vetoed H.B. 695, which would have required the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to receive authorization from the legislature before making any changes to Medicaid eligibility, coverage, benefits, or reimbursement rates.
North Carolina H.B. 491/S.B. 403 would require the state seek and implement work requirements for Medicaid that are approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
Texas H.B. 321 would introduce express lane eligibility to notify parents of their children's Medicaid eligibility when they apply for SNAP.

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Alabama S.B. 199, which would provide paid parental leave for eligible state employees and teachers, passed the House and is now on the Governor's desk.
Mississippi H.B. 1063, which will provide 6 weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers who are state employees for the birth or adoption of a child beginning on January 1, 2026, was signed into law by the governor.
North Carolina H.B. 499/S. 480 would create a PFML program providing up to 12 weeks of family leave and 18 weeks of medical leave.
Pennsylvania H.B. 200, which would create a PFML program providing up to 20 weeks of leave, was voted favorably out of committee.
Virginia H.B. 2531 to create a PFML program providing up to 12 weeks of leave was vetoed by Gov. Youngkin.

State Minimum Wage

North Carolina S. 525 would increase the state minimum to $15.00 in 2026.
Oklahoma H.B. 1833, which would create a task force to develop a plan for phasing out the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities, passed the House. 
Virginia H.B. 1298 to gradually increase the state minimum wage until it reached $15.00 by 2027, was vetoed by Gov. Youngkin.

Tax Credits

Louisiana H.B. 133 would increase the generosity of the state's existing refundable earned income tax credit (EITC) from 5% to 10% of the federal credit effective tax year 2026.
New Mexico’s tax package, H.B. 14, includes changes to the state's EITC. The new credit, unlike the previous credit, is not based on a percentage of the federal credit, but would be worth around 34% of the federal credit according to ITEP.
New York S.B. 6839 would increase the generosity of the state's existing refundable EITC from 30% to 45% of the federal credit and allow for advanced quarterly payment of credits worth over $200.
North Carolina Gov. Stein's initial budget proposal, S.B. 440, would reestablish a refundable state EITC worth 20% of the federal credit and replace the state's child tax deduction with a credit worth up to $150 per child.

Thank you for staying up to date with this week’s legislative updates. Our team is dedicated to monitoring the policies and trends that impact the prenatal-to-3 space and beyond. For deeper insights into the evidence-based policies driving early childhood progress, explore our Prenatal-to-3 Policy Roadmap. If you have any questions or have an important update from your state, please contact Alyssa Rafa, Assistant Policy Director, at alyssa.rafa@vanderbilt.edu. Let’s work together to drive lasting progress for young children and their families.

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