美国国家公共电台 NPR--States are kicking off new legislative sessions. These are the top issues

States are kicking off new legislative¹ sessions. These are the top issues

Transcript²

In the coming weeks state legislatures across the country will swear in newly-elected lawmakers. What are the top issues state governments will focus on in 2023?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Many state legislatures will meet in the new year. And they will have the power to address some polarizing issues.

ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:

The most polarizing may be abortion³, which the Supreme⁴ Court threw to the states when it overturn Roe⁵ v. Wade⁶. But they may try to pass new laws. The new Congress is divided between the parties. But many state legislatures are not, which gives them more power to act.

INSKEEP: Reid Wilson is following all of this. He's the founder⁷ and editor of Pluribus News. Welcome to the program.

REID WILSON: Well, good morning.

INSKEEP: OK, so some states already acted on abortion in 2022, some of them expanding abortion rights, some of them limiting abortion rights. How much further might they go?

WILSON: Well, I think we're going to see a lot of action on abortion rights this year. Blue states are moving to add abortion rights and reproductive care to their state constitutions. California did so last year. We'll see similar proposals in places like Washington, Colorado and Illinois. Democrats⁸ are also interested in adding privacy protections for those who might travel from out of state to seek an abortion. Washington is working on a data privacy measure specifically aimed at reproductive rights. Imagine if somebody from Idaho travels to Washington to seek an abortion. The bill would protect that person's data from any law enforcement agency in Idaho that might seek to prosecute⁹ them. The Dobbs decision is also forcing a really interesting debate in red states. How far do they go in banning abortion? Fifteen weeks? Six weeks?

INSKEEP: Yeah.

WILSON: Or a total ban? And there's also a debate over whether to add exceptions in the cases of rape¹⁰ or incest and even in some cases, to protect the life or health of the mother.

INSKEEP: I'm really interested listening to you because I'm also hearing battles between the states in some of the legislation you mentioned - states trying to influence how much they will influence people who go to a different state, for example.

WILSON: Right. That's a big part of this discussion, especially because there are several blue states that are sort of islands where abortion access can be provided in the midst of a bunch of red states that are trying to restrict that access.

INSKEEP: Rob mentioned other issues. How are states addressing the economy in 2023?

WILSON: You know, Steve, when I started covering state-level politics about a decade ago, the dominant¹¹ story was about states competing with each other to attract businesses. Now what we're seeing is states competing with each other to attract workers. States have thousands of vacant teaching positions, thousands of vacant government jobs. And even more are going to open up as baby boomers retire. And, you know, as Congress has approved billions of dollars in spending on new high-tech¹² manufacturing sectors¹³, even those jobs are going to need to be filled. So states are using every tool they have to build future workforces¹⁵. They're building new apprenticeship¹⁶ programs, opening up community colleges and technical schools. And they're cutting licensure requirements.

A good example of this is in Tennessee, where companies like Ford¹⁷ are building big electric vehicle facilities. The state is building a branch of the Tennessee College of Applied¹⁸ Technology near the site of a Ford plant so that students can get training for the high-paying, blue-collar manufacturing jobs that Ford's going to provide. And Ford wins, too, because they get the workforce¹⁴ they need to actually operate the plant. This is one of the few things today in America that I think is totally bipartisan. I mean, both Democrats and Republicans know that a state without a workforce is a state without an economic future.

INSKEEP: Although, again, going to be competing there between the states. Is there another issue we would think of as a national issue that's going to be addressed at the state level this year?

WILSON: Yeah, I'd point to technology. I mean, here's a good example of gridlock in D.C. forcing state action. Congress isn't doing anything to regulate technology companies. So the states are really stepping into the void. And that's becoming something of a partisan¹⁹ minefield. Democratic states have tried to force social media companies to cut down on hate speech. Republican states have tried to bar those companies from applying what they call censorship, specifically of conservative states. But there is at least some low-hanging fruit that I think we'll see in both red states and blue states. And that's specifically around how social media companies treat children and data privacy around kids.

INSKEEP: Reid Wilson of Pluribus News, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

WILSON: Thank you.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

6 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

10 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

11 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

12 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

13 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

15 workforces   

全体员工( workforce的名词复数 )； （国家或行业等）劳动力； 劳动大军； 劳动人口

参考例句：

• The Web has allowed companies to become more distributed and workforces to become more flexible. 网站已允许各公司更加分散，工作队伍也变得更加灵活。
• They are large centres of business in their own with skilled workforces and business-friendly environments. 从自身条件来说，它们都是大型商业中心，拥有大批技能型劳动力和友好的商业运作环境。

16 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

17 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

18 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

19 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。