Which states introduced bills in 2024-2025 to lower the age of consent and what are the bill numbers?
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Executive summary
Reporting in the provided sources shows active legislative movement in 2024–2025 on related topics (child marriage, raising or changing ages tied to consent and medical decisions) but does not supply a definitive, sourced list of U.S. states that in 2024–2025 introduced bills explicitly to lower the criminal age of sexual consent or the statutory “age of consent” for sex; instead the material highlights bills to raise ages, end child marriage, or create exceptions (for example New Hampshire HB 433 and multiple state child‑marriage actions) [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not mention a comprehensive set of 2024–2025 bills that sought to lower the age of sexual consent; specific bill numbers lowering ages are not found in the current reporting provided here.
1. What the sources actually document: reform activity but mostly raising or restricting exceptions
The reporting in our packet documents a wave of state activity around minors’ legal thresholds in 2024–2025 — chiefly efforts to raise minimum ages for marriage, tighten protections against adult‑minor sexual relationships, or add exceptions — rather than a clear pattern of states trying to lower the general age of sexual consent. For example, New Hampshire’s HB 433 (described as creating a military exception to a child‑marriage ban) would allow marriage at 17 in some circumstances after the state raised the marriage age; the source frames this as a rollback of a prior ban (BillTrack50 summary cited in p1_s2). Governing’s survey of 2024 child‑marriage bills also catalogs state efforts to end or limit child marriage rather than lower consent ages [3].
2. Child‑marriage bills vs. sexual age‑of‑consent bills — the distinction matters
Many entries in the search set focus on child‑marriage statutes (marriage age and exceptions) rather than statutory rape/age‑of‑consent criminal laws. FreedomUnited and Governing list HB 1154 and other state child‑marriage bills in 2024 but do not equate those to wholesale lowering of sexual consent ages; instead they show contested proposals to eliminate or create exceptions around marriage age [2] [3]. That distinction matters because a bill that permits 17‑year‑old marriage under circumstances (military service, parental consent) is not identically the same legal change as lowering the criminal age of sexual consent for non‑marital sex — and the provided sources often do not assert that equivalence [1] [2].
3. Examples in the record: exceptions and proposals, not broad lowering
The specific examples in the record include New Hampshire’s HB 433 (military exception to a child‑marriage ban, House Bill 433 in BillTrack50 reporting) and other state bills aiming to raise ages or ban child marriage (Governing, FreedomUnited) [1] [3] [2]. Missouri’s HB1471 is logged as increasing the age of consent from 17 to 18 in a 2025 Senate bill entry — again an upward change, not a lowering [4]. Several other entries catalog efforts to raise medical consent ages (Alabama SB 101 raising medical consent to 16, effective 2025) or to tighten educator‑student prohibitions (Enough Abuse and state legislative reporting) [5] [6].
4. Where the packet is silent — and why that matters
The assembled sources do not provide a list of 2024–2025 state bills that explicitly sought to lower the criminal age of sexual consent, nor do they show bill numbers for any such proposals. The packet includes a later Wikipedia page about “age‑of‑consent reform” that documents historical changes and international controversies but is dated October 2025 and does not anchor a 2024–2025 U.S. pattern of lowering consent ages in specific states with bill numbers [7]. Therefore: available sources do not mention a comprehensive set of U.S. states or bill numbers from 2024–2025 that introduced measures to lower the age of sexual consent.
5. Competing viewpoints and likely reasons for confusion
Some outlets and advocacy groups focus on child‑marriage bills (raising or removing exceptions) while others discuss proposals that change related legal ages (medical consent, criminal‑trial ages). That overlap fuels confusion: a bill allowing a 17‑year‑old to marry in certain circumstances can be portrayed as “lowering age limits” by opponents but is technically an exception to a marriage ban rather than an across‑the‑board lowering of sexual‑consent law (BillTrack50 on HB 433 and Governing’s state tally illustrate this tension) [1] [3]. Advocacy groups on both sides frame bills to fit policy narratives — anti‑marriage‑for‑minors groups emphasize bans while some legislators have pursued carve‑outs [2].
6. Bottom line for your original question and next steps
Based on the provided reporting, I cannot produce a sourced list of states and bill numbers in 2024–2025 that introduced bills to lower the age of sexual consent because the supplied sources do not document such a list or those specific bill numbers; instead they document activity largely aimed at raising ages, banning child marriage, or creating exceptions [1] [3] [2] [4]. If you want a verified list of any bills that explicitly sought to lower age‑of‑consent statutes in 2024–2025, I can recheck if you supply additional sources or authorize me to search outside this packet for state legislative records and bill texts.