The Electronic Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Act, known as ETOPIA, creates a state Innovation Center to inventory the technology infrastructure of the state, encourage local governments to develop and strengthen telecommunications and data processing hardware, software and services for both government and private use, and provides matching funds to help pay for technology infrastructure development.

The act makes part-time workers eligible for unemployment benefits as long as the worker is actually employed part-time, the worker is seeking work, the worker imposes no other restrictions, and is in a labor market in which a reasonable demand exists for the part-time services he or she offers.

States can enact legislation that strengthens enforcement of existing laws, addresses the causes of unequal pay, and requires equal pay for equivalent work. One option, the Equal Pay Remedies and Enforcement Act, enhances existing laws and establishes a multi-sector Equal Pay Commission to study the extent, causes and consequences of wage disparities. Another option, the Fair Pay Act, prohibits pay differentials between women and men and between minority and non-minority workers in jobs that are equal or require equivalent skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. States can also enact laws that prohibit wage discrimination on basis of gender or race.

The Global Warming Impact Assessment Commission Act creates a commission to study the direct effects of global climate change on the state's economy and natural resources. Specifically, the commission shall consist of 11 members including: two senators, two representatives, and seven members of the public. The public members may receive per diem compensation for travel and other expenses incurred in the course of serving the commission. The study conducted shall include: an assessment of the current and potential effects of global warming on citizens, natural resources, public health, and economy of the state; an estimate of the costs to the state and its citizens related to the adverse effects associated with global warming; an examination of measures that might prevent or mitigate the effects of flooding, erosion, drought, or wildfires that might be caused or worsened by global warming, and recommendations for laws or regulations that may be implemented to minimize the adverse impacts of global warming.

This model bill: an employers to provide each employee not less than ten days of sick leave with pay annually for employees working 30 or more hours per week or a pro rata number of days of sick leave with pay annually for employees working less than 30 hours per week on a year-round basis or 1,250 hours throughout the year involved; requires sick leave to accrue at least monthly and allows use as accrued; and provides sick leave calculations for periods of sick leave that are shorter than a normal workday and employee hours that vary from week to week.

This model act requires state agencies to adopt the State Building Rehabilitation Code (BRC), modeled on the nationally applicable rehabilitation provisions developed by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Association of Home Builders Research Center. The State Building Rehabilitation Code must: maintain current minimum safety standards and provide for multiple categories of work with multiple compliance standards; be enforceable by local officials using existing enforcement procedures; apply to a repair, renovation, modification, reconstruction, change of occupancy, or addition to an existing building; provide for an expedited review process for proposed amendments to the Building Rehabilitation Code, and contain provisions that provide an opportunity for a person proposing a complex rehabilitation project involving multiple codes, prior to the submission of a construction permit application, to meet with local officials or their designees responsible for permit approval and enforcement in construction related laws and regulations that may be applicable to the rehabilitation project. The model act also creates an advisory council comprised of 28 members from state agencies, representatives from the building trades who have prior experience in code enforcement, contractors specializing in rehabilitation construction, local government officials, commercial building owners, a multifamily building owner, local fire officials and members of the general public. Members shall be appointed for four years, with member appointments being staggered. The advisory council will be responsible for: advising the Department of Housing and Community Development on the development, adoption and revision of the State Building Rehabilitation Code; providing technical advice on the interpretation of the Code to property owners, contractors, local code officials and local jurisdiction code appeal boards; to the extent possible, developing the code to avoid increasing costs to local jurisdictions arising from implementation of the Code, and, to the extent possible under the state budget, providing training on the Code to officials and other public or private construction-related professionals.

The Environmental Justice Act establishes a commission to investigate incidents of environmental racism and coordinate state efforts to ensure that minorities and low-income citizens are not disproportionately subjected to environmental hazards.

The Civics in Schools Act requires the [State Board of Education] to develop and implement comprehensive civics education curricula for all [high schools and middle schools] in order to improve students' civic knowledge, skills and attitudes

This act: continues overtime pay eligibility after federal overtime law lapses; and pins the minimum salary required for overtime pay loss to federal minimums.

This law is enacted to study the use and misuse of the power of eminent domain. Some states have imposed limits on the power of eminent domain. Examples include: restrictions on the power of eminent domain; impose a moratorium on the taking of homes solely for economic development projects.