State legislatures ‘ramped up activity’ in first half of 2024, report finds

State legislatures were busy in the first half of 2024.

The number of bills introduced among state legislatures in the first half of the year grew 1.4% compared with the first half of 2022 to total 76,756, according to a 2024 State Trends Report by Quorum, a public affairs software. On average, each state introduced 1,599 bills.

Quorum measured the first half of 2024 against the first half of 2022 because the second year of a legislative session tends to see fewer bills compared with the first, according to Quorum.

“Although the uptick in state activity might not sound substantial, it translates to a significantly heavier workload,” the software company noted.

By comparison, Congress introduced 3,189 bills during the same time period in 2024, enacting four. Historically, state legislatures introduce an average of 128,145 bills each year, 23 times Congress’s typical output, according to Quorum. Congress also tends to introduce fewer bills during an election year.

Quorum cited the high number of pressing national issues as a factor for the flurry of state legislative activity so far this year.

“As Congress continues its historically slow pace ahead of the election, state legislatures have ramped up activity across key policy priorities,” Quorum CEO Alex Wirth said in a statement.

For example, more than 445 bills addressing artificial intelligence were introduced across 45 states so far this year, with 69 of them signed into law. Inflation likewise drew action from state lawmakers, with 1,070 bills related to inflation introduced in the first half of 2024.

Gun rights and mental health were likewise among pressing legislative issues for many states, with 1,943 bills related to guns introduced and 250 enacted, and 5,280 bills related to mental health introduced and 859 enacted.

Only five states enacted less than 1% of the bills introduced in the first half of 2024, according to Quorum, including Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and New York, with Minnesota enacting 41 of its 10,947 bills, or 0.37%.

Florida, meanwhile, recorded the largest decline in bills introduced in the first half of 2024 compared with its output in the first half of 2022, introducing 50.8% fewer bills, or 1,801 fewer net bills.

The overall surge in state legislature activity so far in 2024 is also impacting public affairs professionals, who are currently facing staffing shortages, according to Quorum.

“This increased state legislative activity has placed a significant strain on public affairs professionals, many of whom are already tasked with tracking and analyzing legislation across multiple states,” Wirth stated. “The rapid pace of AI innovation provides new opportunities to navigate this increase in legislation and prepare for new state legislatures in 2025.”