Debt collection lawsuits have increased dramatically over the past few decades, now accounting for an estimated one in four of all civil cases. These lawsuits—which can include suits to recover student loan debt, medical debt, car loan debt, credit card debt, and more—are overwhelmingly resolved in favor of the debt collector. Debt and debt collection judgments can have severe and far-reaching consequences, including wage garnishment, bank account seizure, and inability to secure housing, employment, or medical care.

This article provides 18 years of data (1999–2017) on anti-bullying legislation and amendments across 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and describes how the legal content analysis was conducted, provides information on the reliability of the coding, and details provisions of the legislation that were coded, such as funding provisions and enumerated groups (a total of 122 individual codes are provided).