{"id":45803,"date":"2025-12-30T19:31:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T03:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45803"},"modified":"2025-12-30T19:31:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T03:31:05","slug":"new-state-laws-aim-to-protect-environment-consumers-as-trump-wages-all-out-war-on-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/12\/30\/new-state-laws-aim-to-protect-environment-consumers-as-trump-wages-all-out-war-on-climate\/","title":{"rendered":"New State Laws Aim to Protect Environment, Consumers as Trump Wages All-Out War on Climate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"New<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Harry the Happy Dragon, the mascot for Harris Teeter, on reusable plastic bags for sale at a grocery store on December 22, 2025 in Durham, North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo by Al Drago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe gridlock and partisanship we see in Washington, DC can be dispiriting. But history shows that states can build momentum that eventually leads to change at the federal level.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dec 29, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as President Donald Trump<\/a> and his administration have been ripping up environmental<\/a> and consumer protection regulations<\/a>, a number of state laws are set to take effect next year that could at least mitigate some of the damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Monday statement<\/a> from Environment America and the Public Interest Network highlighted a number of new laws aimed at curbing corporate polluters and enhancing consumer welfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First, the groups highlighted \u201cRight to Repair\u201d laws set to take effect in Washington<\/a>, Nevada, Oregon, and Colorado, which give people the right to repair their own appliances and electronics without burdensome costs or barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The groups lavished particular praise on Colorado\u2019s \u201cRight to Repair\u201d laws that they said provide \u201cthe broadest repair protections in the country,\u201d with new regulations that will give businesses in the state \u201caccess to what they and independent repair providers need to fix their electronics themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illinois, meanwhile, will fully phase out the sale of fluorescent lightbulbs, which will be replaced by energy-efficient LED bulbs. The groups estimate that eliminating the fluorescent bulbs will collectively save Illinois households more than $1.5 billion on their utility bills by 2050, while also reducing energy waste and mercury pollution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Illinois also drew praise for enacting a ban on polystyrene foam foodware that will take effect on January 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The groups also highlighted the work being done in Oregon to protect consumers with legislation mandating price transparency to eliminate surprise junk fees on purchases; prohibiting ambulance companies from socking out-of-network patients with massive fees for rides to nearby hospitals; and placing new restrictions on the ability of medical debt to negatively impact a person\u2019s credit score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California also got a mention in the groups\u2019 release for closing a loophole that allowed supermarkets to continue using plastic bags and for creating a new privacy<\/a> tool for consumers allowing them to request that online data brokers delete all of the personal information they have gathered on them over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily Rusch, vice president and senior director of state offices for the Public Interest Network, contrasted the action being taken in the states to protect consumers and the environment with a lack of action being done at the federal level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe gridlock and partisanship we see in Washington, DC can be dispiriting,\u201d said Rusch.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cBut history shows that states can build momentum that eventually leads to change at the federal level. As we build on this progress in 2026, we look forward to working with anyone\u2014Republican, Democrat, or independent\u2014with whom we can find common ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harry the Happy Dragon, the mascot for Harris Teeter, on reusable plastic bags for sale at a grocery store on December 22, 2025 in Durham, North Carolina. \u00a0(Photo by Al Drago\/Getty Images) \u201cThe gridlock and partisanship we see in Washington, DC can be dispiriting. But history shows that states can… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45803"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45804,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45803\/revisions\/45804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}