Data Stories: What Happened After the Law Changed

Laws are written to change what people do. These stories look at what the numbers did afterward: crime counts, prices, building permits, traffic, tax receipts, lawsuits and, sometimes, stock prices. Each one names its sources, shows the data in charts, and explains what the data can and cannot show about cause and effect.

Every story is checked by a separate reviewer who re-pulls the numbers from the original sources before it is published. A story can appear under more than one subject.

Latest stories

• Chicago Speed Camera Violations Before and After the 6 mph Threshold
• Colorado Marijuana Sales Fell 41% From 2021 to 2025
• U.S. Fireworks Injury Estimates and State Fireworks Laws, 2008-2025
• FTC Do Not Call Complaints Fell by Half From FY2019 to FY2025; YouMail's Robocall Estimate Fell 10%
• Tariff Revenue After the Supreme Court Ruling: Refunds Exceeded Receipts for Three Months
• Congress Redefined Hemp in 2025: What USDA Farm and Poison-Center Data Show

Tech, Privacy & Surveillance

• Chicago Speed Camera Violations Before and After the 6 mph Threshold: Chicago began $35 tickets at 6-10 mph over on March 1, 2021. Recorded violations went from 1.6 million to 6.0 million over two-year windows, about 3x at fixed cameras.
• FTC Do Not Call Complaints Fell by Half From FY2019 to FY2025; YouMail's Robocall Estimate Fell 10%: FTC Do Not Call complaints fell from 5.42 million in FY2019 to 2.62 million in FY2025, while YouMail estimated 58.5 billion robocalls in 2019 and 52.5 billion in 2025.

Housing & Property

• In NYC, 96% of Airbnb Listings With 30-Plus-Night Minimums Are Set at Exactly 30 Nights: Inside Airbnb, Oct 2026: 22,988 of 23,921 NYC listings with 30+ night minimums sit at exactly 30 nights. Plus OSE Local Law 18 registration counts.
• Save Our Homes Kept $815 Billion Off Florida's 2026 Assessments; What Amendment 3 Would Change: Save Our Homes kept $815 billion off Florida assessments in 2026. Amendment 3 would not change that cap; what it would change and the official revenue estimate.

Work & Money

• Overdraft Fee Revenue at Banks Halved Before the CFPB Rule and Its Repeal: Overdraft/NSF revenue at banks over $1B fell from $11.96B in 2019 to $5.83B in 2023, before the CFPB's 2024 rule, which Congress repealed in May 2025.

Roads & Vehicles

• Chicago Speed Camera Violations Before and After the 6 mph Threshold: Chicago began $35 tickets at 6-10 mph over on March 1, 2021. Recorded violations went from 1.6 million to 6.0 million over two-year windows, about 3x at fixed cameras.
• NYC Congestion Pricing Data: Manhattan Toll-Zone Entries 4.1% Lower in 2026 Than in 2025: MTA open data: 141.3M Manhattan toll-zone entries Jan 5-Oct 17, 2025 vs 135.6M in 2026. The MTA's 11% claim, a two-tunnel check, subway, revenue, the appeal.

Cannabis & Substances

• Colorado Marijuana Sales Fell 41% From 2021 to 2025: Colorado marijuana sales went from $2.23 billion in 2021 to $1.32 billion in 2025 and tax revenue from $423.5 million to $236.4 million. State data by year.
• Congress Redefined Hemp in 2025: What USDA Farm and Poison-Center Data Show: A 2025 law caps hemp products at 0.4 mg total THC per container; a 2026 law limits it to certain products until Dec. 11, 2026. USDA farm and poison-center data.
• Massachusetts Votes on Ending Its $1.65 Billion Adult-Use Cannabis Market: Massachusetts Question 8 would end adult-use cannabis retail sales from 2028. State data on sales, price per gram, tax revenue and licences, and what each vote does.

Gambling

• Illinois Video Gaming Machines Now Out-Earn Its Casinos: The Record From 2009 to 2026: Illinois video gaming terminals took in $3.3 billion in FY2026, casinos $2.1 billion. What sponsors and opponents said in 2009, and what the record shows since.

Health, Family & Vices

• U.S. Fireworks Injury Estimates and State Fireworks Laws, 2008-2025: CPSC annual reports put ER-treated fireworks injuries at 7,000 in 2008 (9,200-10,800 in 2004-2007); its news releases give 14,700 for 2024 and about 13,000 for 2025.

Energy, Trade & Consumer

• Tariff Revenue After the Supreme Court Ruling: Refunds Exceeded Receipts for Three Months: Customs duties hit $33.1B in Oct 2025. After the Feb 2026 IEEPA ruling, Treasury booked $134.4B in refunds May-Sep 2026; net receipts went negative.