I’m interning at NWLC while attending college in the heart of Tennessee. While I spend my days tracking the ways the Trump administration is jacking up prices for working families, rolling back protections for transgender people, and undermining abortion rights, I am navigating the grim reality of these attacks in a state that was ahead of the game on implementing Project 2025. However, here in Tennessee and across the country, I’m watching state lawmakers rise up to protect our rights, lower costs, and show what governing should look like. And it gives me hope.
From passing bills protecting abortion access to issuing executive orders addressing the rising cost of housing, states in 2026 are taking action to protect families from this administration’s harmful agenda. Across the country, states are pushing back on extremism and advocating for inclusive policies that help everyone get ahead.
States making life more affordable for working families
In July 2025, Trump and his allies in Congress passed H.R. 1, also known as the Big, Ugly Bill, which cut taxes for the billionaire class and corporations while slashing federal funding for programs families rely on, including SNAP and Medicaid. Some states are working hard to protect families from the fallout of this disastrous legislation.
This March, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed the Millionaires’ Tax into law, which taxes households making over $1 million and expands the state’s Working Families Tax Credit. Thanks to this law, K-12 students will receive free school meals, parents will be able to more easily able to afford diapers, and half a million families will receive a check to help them meet their basic needs.
Additionally, Maine signed into law their own millionaires’ tax, while a proposed ballot initiative in California would impose higher taxes on billionaires. Across the country, legislators are rejecting big tax breaks for the wealthy from the Big, Ugly Law and using the revenue to support families: in Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico, disconnecting their state tax codes from the federal changes is making good things possible, like tax credits for families and affordable housing.
Indiana activists win fight to defend reproductive and LGBTQIA+ rights
With a near total ban on abortion, Indiana has some of the most restrictive reproductive health care laws in the country. This spring, extremist legislators doubled down, proposing legislation that would have made it illegal to distribute or even possess abortion medication, as well as a bill that targeted trans people. Thanks to the tireless work of advocates and lawmakers, both of these bills died before becoming law.
Virginia legislature expands protections for workers
From gutting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to overturning protections against workplace discrimination, the Trump administration is aggressively targeting working women. Luckily for the 8 million plus people living in Virginia, the state’s legislature and governor are fighting back. This session, the legislature has passed bills guaranteeing paid sick, family, and medical leave; expanding collective bargaining rights for public sector workers; mandating salary transparency for employers; and raising Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. Governor Abigail Spanberger has already signed the minimum wage bill, paid family and medical leave program, and salary transparency mandate, representing a major step forward for millions of Virginians.
Oregon strengthens rights for home care workers
Under Trump, last year the U.S. Department of Labor threatened to strip home care workers of vital federal workplace protections. In response, Oregon codified those federal protections into state law. Governor Tina Kotek signed a bill into law in March 2026 affirming that home care workers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay—because, as NWLC said in our testimony before the Oregon Senate Committee on Labor and Business, all workers deserve jobs that help them live and thrive.
Michigan lawmakers introduce bill to protect students from sexual harassment and violence
Schools are failing to protect students from harassment based on sex, race, disability, and other protected classes, and victims cannot rely on federal agencies or federal courts to seek justice. That’s why, this legislative session, Michigan lawmakers introduced the Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights (SAFER) Act. In addition to affirming that harassment victims have an equal right to access education, the bill requires schools to offer comprehensive supportive measures, to act quickly after incidents of harassment, and to create enhanced protections against retaliation.
Nebraska advocates push to extend child care funding
As if freezing essential child care funding wasn’t devastating enough, the Trump administration has also proposed repealing a federal rule that helps make child care more affordable. Thankfully, Nebraskans are fighting to continue their investments in child care. In 2021, the state expanded the number of families who were eligible to receive child care subsidies, a measure that was set to expire in October 2026. Community members, advocates, and business leaders came together to support a bipartisan bill to extend that law—recognizing that when children and families thrive, everyone thrives. This bill was signed into law in April 2026.
The post States in the Resistance Spring 2026: State Wins Protecting LGBTQIA+ and Reproductive Rights, Lowering Child Care Costs, and Giving Us Hope appeared first on National Women's Law Center.