Legislative Action at a Glance

This week’s legislative activity included state action to support the early educator workforce, increase access to doula services, and provide paid family leave to state employees.  

• Child Care: Iowa and Kentucky are advancing bills to support the child care workforce. 

• Doulas: Virginia and Utah took steps to increase access to doula services. 

• Paid Family and Medical Leave: Georgia and Tennessee are working to expand access to paid family leave for state employees. 

Our policy analysts monitor legislative activity across these nine policy areas, with weekly updates reflecting where states are taking action. 

• Georgia H.B. 1118 would provide 3 weeks of paid maternal leave for state employees who give birth. This bill passed both chambers.
• Tennessee H.B. 957  would provide up to 6 weeks of paid leave for state employees who foster a child. This bill was signed by the governor and will go into effect in January 2027. 
• Wisconsin S.B. 1001 would have created a statewide PFML program of up to 12 weeks. This bill died at the end of session. 

• Colorado H.B. 1260 would postpone implementation of several provisions related to the child care subsidy program, including a 7% cap on family copayments. This bill passed the House.  
• Iowa H.F. 2514 would make early educators eligible for child care subsidies regardless of their income. This bill passed both chambers.   
• Kentucky H.B. 6 would require the use of a cost estimation model to set provider reimbursement rates and permanently make child care workers eligible for child care subsidies regardless of income, among other provisions. This bill has been sent to the governor.  
• Oklahoma H.B. 4199 would establish a 3-year child care cost-share pilot program in which the cost of care is equally distributed between employees, employers, and the state for children up to age 8. This bill passed the House. 

• Oregon S.B. 1510 will remove the sunset of the increased credit value and ITIN eligibility for the state earned income tax credit (EITC), so they no longer expire in tax year 2026. The credit will now remain valued at 12% of the federal credit for families with children under 3, and 9% for other filers, available to ITIN filers. This bill was signed by the governor. 
• South Carolina H.B. 4216 will cap the nonrefundable state EITC at $200 for all filers. This bill was signed by the governor and will be effective for tax year 2026. 
• South Carolina H.B. 5477 would create a partially refundable state child tax credit (CTC) of up to $400 per child, effective tax year 2027. 
• Washington S.B. 6346 will expand age eligibility for the state EITC to younger filers aged 18 and older, and filers over age 65. This bill was signed by the governor and will go into effect in June 2026.  

• Viriginia H.B. 838 would codify Medicaid coverage for doula support at labor and delivery and add coverage for two linkage-to-care incentive payments for doulas providing postpartum and newborn care. The bill has been sent to the governor. 
• Utah implemented Medicaid coverage of doula services this week. It is the 28th state to implement Medicaid coverage and reimbursement. Reimbursement rates are not available yet, but coverage will include 8 hours of perinatal care and attendance at labor and delivery. 

• Hawaii H.R. 29/S.R. 49 would establish the Hawaii Health Plan Working Group to design and recommend a basic, affordable health plan available to every resident of the state. 
• Iowa H.F. 2716 would make a wide range of changes to Medicaid and SNAP including new cost-sharing for some Medicaid enrollees. This bill passed the House.  
• Kentucky H.B. 2 would implement the new federal Medicaid work requirements with a 3-month lookback period for current enrollees, adding more frequent reviews and verification. The bill also expands on some maternal health-related benefits such as lactation support and maternity-related telehealth coverage. This bill has been sent to the governor. 
• Oklahoma H.B. 4440 would move Medicaid expansion from the state constitution to statute. H.J.R. 1067 would amend the state constitution to add a trigger law to Medicaid expansion, terminating the program if the federal matching rate falls below 90%. Both bills passed the House. 

• Idaho H. 730 will terminate the state's use of categorical income eligibility, and it contains additional rules and restrictions around data-matching, citizenship verification, and enforcement. This bill was signed by the governor and will go into effect in July 2026. 
• New Hampshire H.B 1797 would shorten certification periods to 4 months or less for certain households, expand data-sharing and eligibility verification processes, and  terminate the state's use of categorical income eligibility. This bill passed the House.