State and Local Policy

The Center for American Progress constantly strives to find meaningful solutions and pathways to promote progressive policy advancement at the state and local level. Our work focuses on locally driven solutions as well as the vast policy and communications expertise in the organization. We hope this research and data can help facilitate thoughtful debate among state and local leaders so that we can bring about progressive change in an ever-changing political landscape.

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It’s time for local policymakers to cement the Biden administration’s workforce gains In the News

It’s time for local policymakers to cement the Biden administration’s workforce gains

Karla Walter writes in Route Fifty about the need for policymakers to build on the Biden administration’s historic federal infrastructure investments, arguing that one of the best ways to cement these workforce gains is for local jurisdictions to strengthen their job quality standards.

Route Fifty

Karla Walter

The Protection of Voting Rights Requires State Action Report
Photo shows a red sign with blue text that reads

The Protection of Voting Rights Requires State Action

As legislation on voting rights awaits action in Congress—and states continue to pass restrictive, discriminatory voting policies and the courts strip federal voter protections—states must step up and protect the right to vote.

Rebecca Mears

North Carolina Wolfspeed Materials Efficient Silicon Carbide Facility Article
President Joe Biden speaks outside of a building at a podium in front of a crowd including construction workers.

North Carolina Wolfspeed Materials Efficient Silicon Carbide Facility

Wolfspeed Silicon Carbide Materials is building a new facility in North Carolina to expand production and become the largest plant using silicon carbide to make semiconductor chips.

Fixing the Brent Spence Bridge Article
President Joe Biden is seen at a podium in front of a river with a bridge in the background.

Fixing the Brent Spence Bridge

This grant provides funding to repair the Brent Spence Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio and to build a new companion bridge.

Arizona Semiconductor Technician Quick Start Program Article
President Joe Biden is seen walking in front of tractors, with an American flag in the background.

Arizona Semiconductor Technician Quick Start Program

This program provides students at Maricopa Community Colleges with the opportunity to become trained as semiconductor technicians.

Cirba Solutions Battery Recycling Plant Article
Stacks of green used electric vehicle batteries sit on the floor of a factory.

Cirba Solutions Battery Recycling Plant

A $74 million investment from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help Cirba Solutions open and operate a new battery recycling facility.

First Solar Thin Film Research and Development Center Article
A field of solar panels is seen in the middle of the desert.

First Solar Thin Film Research and Development Center

First Solar is spending $450 million to establish a research and development center focused on the production of thin film photovoltaic modules.

What California Can Teach America About How To Increase Housing Production Article
Construction of apartment complex with palm trees in background

What California Can Teach America About How To Increase Housing Production

Recent legislation in California has reduced the legal barriers to producing new housing units—everything from accessory dwelling units to large, multifamily buildings—when local governments fail to zone their communities for adequate housing.

Kevin DeGood

‘Clean Up To Green Up’: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and a Brighter Future in Detroit Video

‘Clean Up To Green Up’: Building a Clean Energy Workforce and a Brighter Future in Detroit

The Green Door Initiative is using federal investments from President Joe Biden's Justice40 Initiative and the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that all people—regardless of race, income, or ZIP code—have access to good jobs and live in safe and healthy communities.

Construction of Tennessee EV Battery Facility Highlights Promises and Challenges of Biden Administration Policies Report
Electric vehicle charging station

Construction of Tennessee EV Battery Facility Highlights Promises and Challenges of Biden Administration Policies

Tennessee’s BlueOval City electric vehicle battery facility shows how public investments can lead to good union jobs, but anecdotal evidence suggests that workers are not connecting these jobs to important economic policies.

David Madland, Kyle Ross

Community Violence Intervention: Juan Carter and Giffords Center for Violence Intervention Video

Community Violence Intervention: Juan Carter and Giffords Center for Violence Intervention

Juan Carter, outreach manager for the Giffords Center for Violence Intervention, explains how community violence intervention (CVI) programs take a holistic approach to public safety by investing in the long-term health and well-being of individuals affected by violence.

States Are Taking Action To Address the Child Care Crisis Article
An empty classroom is pictured at a New Glarus, Wisconsin, child care center.

States Are Taking Action To Address the Child Care Crisis

Federal COVID-19 relief funding for child care stabilization grants ended in September 2023, but a number of states have stepped up this year to address the child care needs of working families.

Anna Lovejoy

2024 Hawaii Bill Would Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S. Corporations Testimony

2024 Hawaii Bill Would Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced U.S. Corporations

Michael Sozan, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, filed written testimony before the Hawaii Senate in support of S.B. 3243, a bill that would strengthen campaign-related spending disclosure requirements and limit political spending by U.S. corporations with appreciable foreign ownership.

Michael Sozan

Executive Summary: How Federal Investments in Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Are Improving Public Health Fact Sheet
Photo shows a hand holding a clear glass underneath a running faucet

Executive Summary: How Federal Investments in Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Are Improving Public Health

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center for American Progress report highlighting the use of federal investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to replace dangerous lead service lines and advance public health among vulnerable communities.

Community Violence Intervention: Susan Lee and Chicago CRED Video

Community Violence Intervention: Susan Lee and Chicago CRED

Susan Lee, chief of strategy and policy at Chicago CRED, explains why gun violence is a modern-day civil rights issue and how community violence intervention (CVI) strategies must be part of any public safety strategy to address racial inequity and structural violence.

Arizona KOREPlex Battery Manufacturing Plant Article
An aerial view of the city of Buckeye, Arizona, with mountains in the background.

Arizona KOREPlex Battery Manufacturing Plant

KOREPlex is opening a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Arizona that will be operated by electrical hardware and automatic software made in the United States.

Laz Paz County, Arizona, Mohave Road Reconstruction Article
A cyclist is seen alongside a truck on a long strand of road with mountains and clouds in the background.

Laz Paz County, Arizona, Mohave Road Reconstruction

This grant provides funding for a project to rebuild a critical road in Laz Paz County, Arizona, in the Colorado Indian River Tribe Reservation.

Michigan Technological University Battery Recycling Plant Pilot Project Article

Michigan Technological University Battery Recycling Plant Pilot Project

Michigan Technological University is receiving funding to develop a better battery recycling and metal refining technology in partnership with the only nickel mine in the United States.

Fact Sheet: 3 Trends in K-12 Assessments Across the Country Fact Sheet
Student running down sidewalk; school bus in distance

Fact Sheet: 3 Trends in K-12 Assessments Across the Country

Reforms of state assessment systems could measure student learning more accurately and effectively, providing educators the information they need to close achievement gaps.

Allie Pearce

Community Violence Intervention: Denise Villamil and Southern California Crossroads Video

Community Violence Intervention: Denise Villamil and Southern California Crossroads

Denise Villamil, executive director of Southern California Crossroads, discusses how her own lived experience in a community with fewer opportunities has informed her holistic approach to community violence intervention.

Related Resources on Child Care and Early Learning Article
A 3-year-old walks to a park with her family in Rockville, Maryland.

Related Resources on Child Care and Early Learning

This webpage offers a list of resources that can help make the case for investments in child care and early learning at the state level.

the CAP Early Childhood Policy Team

The Biden Administration’s Opportunity To Protect the Brooks Range From Unnecessary Mining via Ambler Road Article
Photo shows an aerial view of a mountain range, mostly bare with no trees, against a grey, cloudy sky. A serpentine river snakes through the valleys between the mountains.

The Biden Administration’s Opportunity To Protect the Brooks Range From Unnecessary Mining via Ambler Road

President Joe Biden has the opportunity to safeguard the ecologically sensitive lands of the Brooks Range in northwest Alaska from the threat of Ambler Road—a destructive path to a speculative mine that local communities have loudly opposed.

Sam Zeno

Detroit Mobility and Innovation Corridor Article
Photo shows people walking across a street as the sun sets in the distance.

Detroit Mobility and Innovation Corridor

This grant provides funding for a project to modernize and update safety features on Michigan Avenue, one of the most important downtown transportation corridors in Detroit, Michigan.

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Related Priorities

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice

We pursue climate action that meets the crisis’s urgency, creates good-quality jobs, benefits disadvantaged communities, and restores U.S. credibility on the global stage.

Restoring Social Trust in Democracy

Restoring Social Trust in Democracy

Democracy is under attack at home and abroad. We must act to ensure it is accessible to all, accountable, and can serve as a force of good.

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