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(1/5) Some optimism from my Local Government Law students: when the feds fall short, state and local governments can step up. Local govs have not only led the effort to flatten the curve but have also made some remarkable (at least short-term) progress on systemic social issues
(2/5) Examples below from my students ( @sturmCOL, inter alia @harshypandher, @JDWilsonXIV) suggest that state and local governments are influencing the feds and generating rare momentum on intransigent social-change fronts (of course pessimistic counterexamples abound as well)
(3/5) Incarceration: police using cite-and-release rather than arrest for low-level offenses, DAs dropping charges and reducing pretrial detention and cash bail, prisons waiving fees for health care, soap, and phone/email, and releasing people near the end of their sentences
(4/5) Housing: Banning evictions (for nonpayment of rent, late fees, minor lease violations), foreclosures, and utility cutoffs. Providing handwashing stations, access to free food, emergency childcare, and housing for people without homes in hotels and shelters
(5/5) Employment: requiring employers to provide paid sick leave; expanding unemployment insurance to people with reduced hours and with unexpected family care, and waiving the wait period and requirements to search for a new job. Providing disaster loans for small businesses.
