After year of culture wars, states to take up AI, housing and workforce

Workforce shortages, housing and artificial intelligence are likely to dominate state legislatures this year as 37 begin their sessions in January and another nine will follow in the coming months.

Last year, roughly 170,000 bills were introduced in statehouses across the country, while about 39,000 were enacted, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The budget is often the single biggest issue taken up, but many legislatures focused on abortion, education and transgender-related measures in 2023.