Stateline reports:

After lobbying state by state for years, some supporters of paid family leave say it’s time for a federal solution. A proposal in Congress from Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York would export the models used in California, New Jersey and Rhode Island nationwide. Those are the only three states with their own paid leave laws. . . .

Following passage of FMLA, there were nascent efforts to build a national paid leave program on top of the existing Social Security or unemployment insurance systems, but those foundered. So advocates instead turned to the states.

Nearly a decade later, in 2002, California became the first state in the nation to provide paid family leave.

Aside from California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island,

. . . proposals have failed or, in the case of Washington state, collapsed. The experience there convinced advocates that a nationwide approach might be a smarter tack.

Unlike California, New Jersey and Rhode Island, Washington had no state temporary disability insurance program prior to creating its paid family leave. That meant state officials had to build  a new program from the ground up, without the dedicated funding and revenue stream the other states enjoyed. So far, state lawmakers have been unable to decide how to fund it, and then-Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, suspended the program in 2008, despite signing it a year earlier.

The difference among states with regard to temporary disability insurance programs is especially important because only five states have them at all, and three of those (California, New Jersey and Rhode Island) have already passed paid family leave. Supporters are pushing the remaining two — Hawaii and New York.

As noted, Washington’s paid family leave program was enacted in 2007. The Legislature delayed implementation by three years in 2009, three additional years in 2011, and indefinitely in 2013 (HB 2044).

“Historically, and certainly with respect to paid leave, the states have been laboratories,” said Vicki Shabo, director of work and family programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families, which focuses on workplace fairness, health care access and policies to support working parents. “We certainly would hope to see more state innovation, but ultimately I do think that a national solution is the way to go.”

And so the push for paid family leave has come full circle. Contrast this with what Eric Liu said at the income inequality symposium in Seattle last month, that DC has become less and less consequential in bringing about change, which is instead happening in cities.