Legislative Action at a Glance

This week’s legislative activity included new state action to establish statewide PFML programs, establish child care tax credit for employers, and increase state minimum wages.

• Paid Family and Medical Leave: The Virginia legislature passed bills to create a statewide PFML program of up to 12 weeks.

• Child Care: Indiana and New Hampshire proposed child care tax credits for employers and the Wisconsin legislature passed its proposal.

• State Minimum Wage: Maryland and Rhode Island proposed increases to their state minimum wage and the Virginia Senate passed its proposal.

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

• New Hampshire H.B. 1761, which would create a statewide PFML program of up to 26 weeks, was referred to interim study.

• New York S. 8795 will allow eligible construction workers with multiple employers to be eligible for paid family leave, effective January 1, 2027. This bill was enacted.

• Virginia S.B. 2, which would create a statewide PFML program of up to 12 weeks, passed the Senate. The House also passed its companion bill, H.B. 1207.

• Indiana H.B. 1177 would expand allowable expenses under the employer child care tax credit to cover operating and contracted child care costs. This bill passed the House.
• Kentucky H.B. 6 would require the development of a cost estimation model to set reimbursement rates for the 2028-2030 CCDF plan and permanently allow child care providers to receive child care subsidies regardless of their income. This bill passed the House.
• New Hampshire H.B. 1433 would establish an employer tax credit covering 50% of eligible expenses to create or expand child care programs.
• New Mexico S.B. 241 would codify the state’s child care subsidy program as universal and open to all families, regardless of their income. The bill passed both chambers.
• Wisconsin S.B. 376 would create a state employer child care tax credit at the same amount as the federal employer-provided child care tax credit. This bill passed both chambers.

• Colorado H.B. 1221 would create a refundable child tax credit (CTC) targeted to low income families, available to families with children under age 17, with a higher credit value for children 5 and under.
• Georgia S.B. 520 would create a refundable state earned income tax credit (EITC) of 20% of the federal credit. The bill would also make the existing state CTC refundable and increase its value.
• Oregon S.B. 1507 would increase the refundable state EITC from 12% to 17% for families with children under 3, and 9% to 14% for other workers. This bill passed the Senate.

• Mississippi H.B. 1296 would require the state to conduct a study on certification of doulas including a doula training program, a doula registry, and reimbursement models for doula services. The bill passed the House.
• Virginia 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 passed the House.

• Hawaii H.B. 1546/S.B. 2087 would create a 3-year pilot program to help individuals who do not have employer coverage and who lose Medicaid coverage due to federal changes to Medicaid eligibility and redetermination processes.
• Maryland H.B. 1331 would prohibit self-attestation and require the state to use stricter documentation and reporting processes for work requirement compliance and citizenship verification.
• Wisconsin S.B. 23 would extend Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum. This bill passed both chambers and is headed to the Governor.
• Wyoming S.F. 0006 would prohibit the state from expanding Medicaid eligibility beyond what is covered as of July 2026, unless the legislature explicitly authorizes expansions.

• Georgia H.B. 1331 would eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers.
• Iowa H.F. 2456 would eliminate the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities.
• Maryland S.B. 0886 /H.B. 1229 would establish a phased increase of the state minimum wage up to $25.00 per hour by January 2030, with the first increase to $17.00 taking effect January 2027.
• Rhode Island H.B. 7769/S.B. 2620 would raise the state minimum wage to $20.00 per hour (up from $16.00).
• Virginia S.B. 1 would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour (up from $12.77) by January 2028, with annual cost-of-living adjustments beginning in 2029. This bill passed the Senate.
• West Virginia H.B. 5485 would raise the state minimum wage to $11.00 per hour (up from $8.75) beginning January 2027.