As the 2025 legislative sessions come to a close across the South, we’re taking a step back to reflect on what it all means.

This update builds on the themes we surfaced in April: a growing gap between public will and political action, state-level actions that limit what local governments can do to respond to community needs, and the glimmers of progress and innovation that still managed to break through. Now that the bulk of state legislative activity for 2025 is behind us, we can more clearly see which patterns held strong, which values were tested, and where communities are continuing to push for more people-first policies.

What follows is a values-driven reflection based on what we’ve observed, tracked, and heard. These are the trends, tensions, and turning points we believe matter most and what we believe they could mean for the future of a more just and inclusive South.

Legislative Trends that Shaped 2025

As we look back at the 2025 legislative season, a few clear patterns emerged across Southern states — some expected, some more surprising.

Preemption remained a dominant force in 2025 legislative sessions. Across the South, many of these bills reflect a state-driven agenda to curtail local decision making on issues like housing and education policy to diversity initiatives and public health.

• Texas had multiple preemption bills aimed at limiting local regulations. For instance, Texas SB 2858 seeks to establish state preemption over municipal and county regulations in areas such as commerce, trade, elections, and criminal justice. The bill failed to progress as of the last action date on May 27, 2025.
• Arkansas SB 91 preempts local governments from regulating rental application fees and deposits for private residential or commercial properties. Without local flexibility, tenants – especially in low-income or high-rent communities – may face higher upfront osts and fewer tenant protections. This bill was signed into law in early April

At the same time, a few bipartisan bright spots stood out. Issues like child care access, workforce development, and infrastructure investment gained traction in several states, driven by both economic concerns and constituent demand. These areas created openings for meaningful policy action that could benefit working families, especially in rural and under-resourced communities.

• Tennessee HB 106/SB 1288 (passed unanimously in both chambers) reduces regulatory barriers for small-scale child care providers, enhancing flexibility in areas that struggle with formal childcare infrastructure. Programs still must register, meet local safety requirements, and clearly communicate their licensure status, but this type of reduction in regulatory burdens promotes equitable access for families in under-resourced and rural communities by expanding the range of affordable care options available.
• South Carolina S 47 significantly expands tax credits for employers who provide or subsidize child care and offers refundable tax credits to early childhood educators. This legislation aims to make child care more accessible and affordable across the state while strengthening the child care workforce through targeted financial support.

There were other urgent opportunities that were left on the table. For example, in Florida, efforts to expand mail-in voting and restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals haven’t materialized into sweeping reform.

• Florida HB 1317 would have allowed voters in disaster-declared counties to request mail ballots without needing a separate request for each election, a small but meaningful expansion of mail-in voting access during a critical and exigent time of need.
• Florida HB 1409, would have marked substantial expansion in voting access and modernization, addressing barriers to participation with bipartisan tools such as automatic voter registration and vote-by-mail permanency. Its failure to advance reflects an ongoing pattern of legislative resistance to voting rights expansion in Florida, even in the face of broad public support for easier and more secure access to the ballot.

These examples are, of course, just a starting point and not the full picture of what’s happening in the South. That’s why we’re working with our summer interns to develop our upcoming Status of the States reports: a deeper look at how 2025 laws align (or don’t) with the values Southerners say they care about. By combining policy tracking with a values-based lens, we hope to surface the patterns that matter and help chart a better course forward.

Other Emerging Trends

Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Legislation

Across the South in 2025, we tracked a surge of legislation aimed at regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). PBMs are often overlooked intermediaries that negotiate drug prices between manufacturers, insurers, and pharmacies. While these bills varied in scope, they shared a desire to increase transparency around drug pricing, restricting or banning “spread pricing”, and demanding more public reporting on rebates and reimbursements.

Arkansas took the most aggressive step and enacted a law (HB 1150) that effectively bans PBMs in the state. This action could either lower consumer costs or destabilize access in Arkansas for patients and providers to medications. Louisiana was unsuccessful in passing a bill (HB 358) that was amended to prohibit PBMs from owning or operating pharmacies, as well as HB 264 which would ban the spread pricing, mandate rebates be passed to patients or health plans, and create a PBM advisory council for oversight. Mississippi (HB1123) and Alabama (SB 93/99) also sought to increase transparency and fairness in PBM operations, but were unsuccessful in enacting these measures into law in the 2025 legislative session.

Why We’re Paying Attention to This: While EPU doesn’t typically focus on prescription drug policy, the wave of PBM legislation across the South is hard to ignore. These bills have the potential to directly impact the affordability and accessibility of medications, especially for low-income, uninsured, and rural communities that already face steep barriers to care. As more states move to reshape drug pricing and pharmacy access and as changes remain on the horizon on a federal level, we’re watching closely to understand how these changes may widen or close equity gaps in Southern healthcare.

Literacy: A Southern Priority in the Making

Literacy continues to emerge as a top-tier policy focus across the South as great examples of the strides that can be made with dedicated prioritization is increasing the understanding that foundational reading skills are essential for both individual and broader societal opportunity. In 2025, states have increasingly turned to science-of-reading approaches, early interventions, and strategic accountability efforts.

• Mississippi’s fourth-grade reading scores now outpace the national average, with Mississippi ranked among the top states nationally. Economically disadvantaged students scored higher than their counterparts in any other state.
• Louisiana has seen dramatic improvement as well, jumping to 37th in the nation for Pre-K-12 education, up from 40th in 2024.
• Tennessee has regained all pandemic-era losses in both fourth and eighth grade reading and math proficiency thanks to a state push toward high-quality instruction and collaboration with local school systems

Why This Matters: These outcomes show that investments in literacy policy and teacher development – even in states with long-standing education challenges – can yield substantial gains, particularly for students who face the greatest barriers. There’s growing recognition across the region that literacy is not just education. It also provides freedom and is a prerequisite for civic participation, economic stability, and community resilience.

Legislatively, we were excited to see the efforts focused on strengthening literacy through science-based instruction, intervention, and support. For example, Virginia House Bill 2360 expands Virginia’s Literacy Act and extends its requirements to Grades 4 and 5 beginning in the 2026-2027 school year. The Act previously applied to Kindergarten through Grade 3 and required science-based literacy instruction, universal screening, and intervention plans. Extending literacy support into upper elementary helps sustain gains, addresses persistent gaps, and ensures that students who didn’t catch up early still have an ability to receive targeted help.

We will be elevating literacy as a priority as we dig deeper into literacy policy as a core equity strategy, exploring where legislation, funding, and local implementation are aligning and where there is opportunity for improvement. In the months ahead, we’ll share more on how literacy opportunities are unfolding in communities in the South.

SCOTUS Watch: What the Court Could Reshape

While most Southern legislative sessions have concluded, several major U.S. Supreme Court decisions expected by the end of June could significantly shape the region’s landscape for opportunity. Just as legislatures shape policy, courts shape the boundaries of power. For those working toward a more fair and representative South, understanding the judiciary is essential to safeguarding progress, holding leaders accountable, and defending democracy.

The Supreme Court recently upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, setting a precedent that could expand state power with potential implications for other areas like reproductive care, mental health access, and civil rights enforcement. The Court also ordered a re-argument of Louisiana’s redistricting case this fall, delaying clarity on whether a second majority-Black congressional district will remain in that state. In a major decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc.Loui, the Court curtailed federal judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions, severely limiting the ability of lower courts to pause potentially harmful executive actions while cases work their way through the system. This shifts the balance of power away from the judiciary and could make it more difficult for advocates to quickly halt federal actions while legal challenges are still pending.

What Comes Next

This update is a snapshot, not a stopping point. Because if the South is the proving ground for democracy, then how we care for and include all of our people must be the measure. Across the South, communities continue to demand fairness, access, and opportunity but policy responses seem to fall short of meeting these demands. From voting rights to housing to education, we’ve seen a pattern of legislative choices that seem to diverge the values Southerners say they care about.

In response, we’ve started asking a different set of questions: Does this law close gaps? Does it reflect public input or community advocacy? Does it expand access to essential resources or strengthen civic participation? These questions are guiding our analysis of 2025 legislation across the region and will shape our upcoming Status of the States reports: a set of state-by-state snapshots exploring where policy aligned with the people, where it didn’t, and what that means for the path toward a more just and inclusive South.

We’ll also continue sharing quick, accessible insights through our Policy Pulse social media series that will break down what’s happening in Southern policy by connecting it to the values communities care about, and highlighting inspiring examples of opportunity and innovation across the region. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to tune in and share with your networks.