You know what we do here at ProPublica: investigative reporting that sparks change and holds those in power to account. As we approach the end of February, we wanted to share five examples of how our surveys have already achieved this goal this year.
From Colorado to Massachusetts to Texas, ProPublica’s investigations, many of which were published in collaboration with local partners, have led to proposed changes to laws and practices. And while we report in detail on how these changes are happening, our goal is to never lose sight of how these changes might affect real people. This could mean, for example, that people in conservatorships in New York receive better care or that rape survivors in Massachusetts can get justice without delay.
Read on to learn more about our recent impactful reports.
Colorado marijuana regulators consider major changes to how labs test for contaminants
More than a decade ago, Colorado created the nation’s first regulated recreational marijuana market. Lawmakers promised state voters that legalizing marijuana would eliminate the black market and create a safer environment through regulation. But, as Denver Gazette reporters said Christopher Osher And Evan Wyloge revealed in an investigation in January in partnership with ProPublica, hemp derivatives have put that promise in jeopardy.
For years, hemp, which is a close cousin of marijuana and is cheaper to produce, has infiltrated Colorado’s marijuana market. While Colorado allows hemp to be used in certain items such as clothing and rope, the state has banned companies from using it to make intoxicants sold in the state. Our investigation found that despite the ban, Colorado’s Legislature and regulators failed to pass critical regulations that other states have used to keep harmful hemp products off shelves. One result, some marijuana manufacturers say, is that some companies send samples and products that they know will pass mandatory testing at labs; dispensaries, for their part, could receive products likely to be contaminated by chemical solvents, fungi or pesticides.
But, as Osher and Wyloge reported this month, Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division can now require independent labs or outside vendors to collect product samples for testing before they can be sold. This would remove the ability of marijuana manufacturers to choose which products they send.
Read the full story.
Clear Label Law Would Change What You Know About Your Prescription Drugs
U.S. senators introduced legislation this month that would require prescription drug labels to indicate where the drug was made, adding momentum to a years-long campaign to bring more transparency to the often elusive generic drug industry.
Current labels often only list the distributor or repackager of a drug and sometimes provide no information at all. The Clear Labels Act, introduced by Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., calls for labels to disclose the original manufacturer as well as the suppliers who produced key ingredients.
A spokesperson for commercial group for branded drugmakers told ProPublica that the industry would “welcome conversations about how to strengthen the biopharmaceutical supply chain.” THE generic drug lobby group said additional labeling requirements would impose “significant costs in exchange for limited returns,” adding that drugmakers already disclose country of origin information under U.S. Customs and Border Protection rules.
Our journalists have had to file public records requests and sue the FDA in federal court for information on where generic drugs are manufactured and whether government inspectors have flagged these factories for safety or quality concerns. We finally created a unique tool of its kind which allows consumers to find the information themselves.
Read the full story.
Massachusetts governor proposes eliminating statute of limitations for rape when there is DNA evidence
Last year, WBUR and ProPublica told the story of a woman who, according to a police report, was raped and stabbed after agreeing to give her a ride in 2005 by a man who claimed to have recognized her when she was a student. DNA testing later linked a man accused of multiple assaults to his case, but prosecutors had to drop the charges under Massachusetts’ statute of limitations.
Under Massachusetts law, prosecutors only have 15 years to file charges after an alleged rape — and it’s almost impossible to bring charges beyond that statute of limitations, even if new evidence emerges. This places Massachusetts is behind almost every other state in the country. Attempts to expand that window have failed every year since 2011, in part because defense attorneys opposed the changes, arguing that a longer deadline risked violating the defendant’s rights.
WBUR’s Willoughby Mariano reported that Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey wants to eliminate that time limit for rape cases when there is DNA evidence. The provision, which is included in Healey’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal, must pass both houses of the state Legislature. If passed, it would affect cases where the statute of limitations has not yet expired as well as future cases, but not older cases.
Read the full story.
We found New York’s guardianship system in shambles. State lawmakers now say they have a plan to help solve the problem.
Two years after ProPublica’s Jake Pearson first documented New York’s dire shortage of tutors — and the substandard care some provide — state lawmakers introduced legislation to increase the system’s spending by $15 million a year. It would be an unprecedented cash infusion for a bureaucracy that has long struggled to care for the tens of thousands of disabled and elderly New Yorkers who cannot care for themselves.
The new bill, called the Good Guardianship Act, aims to help the most vulnerable segment of this population: those who are too poor to pay for a private guardian and who do not have family or friends willing to serve. Advocates say the Good Guardianship Act is the most promising step yet to improve the system — if it can get support from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The proposal follows a ProPublica 2024 survey which exposed how the state’s guardianship system was failing this particular group by conducting little or no oversight of guardians, some of whom provided substandard care and exploited those they were charged with caring for. These stories also prompted the the state attorney general will open an investigation in several guardianship providers and has stimulated the the justice system must appoint a special advocate to implement reforms.
Read the full story.
After years of silence, Texas Medical Board offers training to doctors on how to legally perform abortions
For the first time since Texas criminalized abortion, the state’s medical regulator is telling doctors when they can legally terminate a pregnancy to protect the patient’s life — guidance doctors have long sought as women died and doctors feared imprisonment for their intervention.
The new mandatory training for any doctor providing obstetric care covers nine case studies for doctors where abortion is considered legal to protect the life of the patient. Some of the scenarios in the training are similar to cases studied by ProPublica, such as miscarriages where a patient’s water breaks before term but there is still a fetal heartbeat or when a person suffers complications from an incomplete abortion.
ProPublica reporting showed that pregnancy became much more dangerous in the state after the law took effect: Sepsis rate increased for women suffering miscarriage, as did emergency room visits in which miscarriage patients needed a blood transfusion; at least four women in the state died after not receiving timely reproductive care. More than a hundred obstetrician-gynecologists said the state’s abortion ban was to blame.
Read the full story.
