After going 0 for 11 in the states last year and losing again on a state initiative ballot last fall, animal agriculture and GMO labeling campaigners are back with their same old bills because it’s the start of a new legislative season in most states. Who says America isn’t the land of second chances? In the New Hampshire House, one of the largest legislative bodies in the land, an attempt will be made to get a divided Environment and Agriculture Committee to move a bill to the floor requiring the labeling of genetically engineered food. Democrats control the New Hampshire House 220-179. Starting Wednesday, it will begin where it left off in 2013: trying to decide if it should require additional labeling on food items which committee members last year seemed to agree were safe. As many as 26  state legislatures could consider similar bills for labeling genetically engineered foods during the 2014 legislative season. Two Northeastern states, Connecticut and Maine, have passed bills requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods, but both of those laws are contingent on other states in the region taking the same action. Voters in California and Washington state in 2012 and 2013, respectively, narrowly defeated ballot initiatives for labeling genetically modified foods. Likewise, similar initiatives could be filed this year in Oregon and Colorado. A majority of state legislatures will be in session by mid-January. Off-year elections in 2013 did little to change the partisan makeup in the state houses. Last November, the Virginia House turned a shade more red (Republican), while the New Jersey General Assembly ended up a little darker blue (Democratic). Overall, however, the GOP dominates state legislatures, maintaining control in 26 states and sharing it in five others. Like those who want genetically engineered food labeled, animal agriculture interests who favor so-called “ag-gag” laws are also going to be back when the 2014 legislative seasons get under way. Already, the Corrections and Criminal Law Committee of the Indiana House is reportedly scheduled to hear a Hoosier version of an “ag-gag” bill as early as Tuesday. It was filed quickly enough to be numbered Senate Bill (SB) 101, and opponents say it is “more radical and overreaching” that SB 373, which failed to pass the 2013 session. Typically, “ag-gag” bills put restrictions on taking pictures or making movies of agricultural operations without permission of the owner and prohibit other tactics used by undercover operatives investigating animal abuse. Fifteen such bills were introduced in 11 states last year, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed the one that got the farthest after one of Nashville’s best-known stars, Carrie Underwood, came out against it. State legislatures will be gaveled into session by the end of January in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Most states hold elections during even years, and legislatures adjourn earlier to accommodate the coming campaign season.