Pluribus AM: Calif. to cap gas prices; N.C., Conn., Wash. advance gun bills; Del. votes for legal pot

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, March 29, 2023. In today’s edition, Calif. to regulate gas prices; gun bills advance in N.C., Conn., Wash.; Del. votes for legal pot:

Top Stories

CALIFORNIA: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday signed into law a measure creating a new agency with the authority to oversee profits reaped by oil companies. The law will allow the California Energy Commission to set a maximum gross gasoline refining margin, essentially capping oil company profits. (Pluribus News, CalMatters)

GUN POLITICS: The North Carolina Senate voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) veto of a bill that would allow handgun purchases without a permit obtained from a county sheriff. (Carolina Journal, Associated Press) The Connecticut legislature’s Judiciary Committee advanced a bill to ban open carry and bulk purchases of firearms, and raising the age to purchase long guns to 21. (CT Mirror) The Washington Senate’s Law and Justice Committee approved a bill banning the manufacture, distribution and sale of some semiautomatic firearms. (Everett Herald)

LGBTQ RIGHTS: The Montana Senate will take a final vote today on a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors. If the bill wins approval, it would go to Gov. Greg Gianforte (R). (Daily Montanan) Idaho’s House gave final approval to a bill criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors, sending it to Gov. Brad Little (R). (Idaho Capital Sun) An Arkansas House committee has advanced a bill creating a criminal penalty for adults who knowingly enter a bathroom of the opposite sex while a minor is present. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)

MORE: The Texas Senate State Affairs Committee has advanced two measures restricting drag performances. (KXAN) The full Senate backed a bill banning transgender athletes from university women’s sports. (Texas Tribune) The Senate gave initial approval to a bill that would block minors from updating the gender identity on their birth certificates. (Texas Tribune)

TECH: Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) has filed two lawsuits against TikTok and one against Meta accusing the social media giants of violating deceptive trade practice law over alleged misleading claims about data protection and child safety. (Talk Business & Politics, Associated Press) Florida’s Senate Fiscal Policy Committee has approved a bill requiring school districts to block social media platforms at school. (Florida Politics)

EDUCATION: The Arkansas Senate has given final approval to a bill requiring public and school libraries to create a process for challenging books. The bill, which now heads to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), creates an offense of “furnishing a harmful item to a minor.” (Arkansas Democrat Gazette) The Texas Senate will consider legislation establishing education savings accounts of up to $8,000 per student after the bill passed out of committee. The bill also restricts lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity. (Texas Tribune)

ABORTION: The Florida Senate will vote later this week on a measure banning abortions more than six weeks after conception. The bill also requires women seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours before the procedure is performed. (Orlando Sentinel)

MARIJUANA: The Delaware Senate voted overwhelmingly to legalize recreational marijuana, sending the bill to Gov. John Carney (D). Carney vetoed legalization last year, setting up an intraparty showdown in the heavily Democratic state. (Delaware Public Radio, Associated Press) The Maryland Senate will consider a bill allowing the legal pot market to begin operating by the summer, after voters approved legalization last year. (Baltimore Sun)

MISSISSIPPI: The legislature has given final approval to a measure allocating $103.7 million to help 28 rural hospitals continue operating. The legislature approved bills establishing grants for community college nursing programs and allowing community hospitals to consolidate facilities and services. (Supertalk)

KANSAS: The state Senate voted to raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21, sending the bill to Gov. Laura Kelly (D). The bill passed the state House earlier this month. Kelly’s administration has said it supports the age hike, but Kelly herself has not yet commented. (Associated Press)

In Politics & Business

WISCONSIN: Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz raised $12.4 million over the last two months, about six times the $2.2 million raised by former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly ahead of next week’s critical Supreme Court election. Majority control is on the line. Protasiewicz is backed by Democrats, Kelly by Republicans. (Associated Press)

GEORGIA: The state House approved a bill barring local governments from accepting funding from outside groups to administer elections. The bill would allow DeKalb County to keep $2 million it received from a coalition that includes the nonprofit group funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. (Atlanta Journal Constitution, Associated Press)

IDAHO: The state Senate has approved a bill removing student IDs as valid forms of identification for voting. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to issue free photo ID cards for voting. (Idaho Press)

UTAH: State Republican Party vice chair Rob Axson is expected to become chairman at the party’s annual convention next month after his only rival, Mike Bird, dropped out of the race. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will keynote the April 22 gathering. (KSL)

By The Numbers

$470,000: The salary Phillip Eng will collect as the new general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Oh, and he also collects a $185,000 pension as a former head of the Long Island Rail Road. (Boston Herald)

We’re in the wrong line of work.

85,800: The number of nips — 50-milliliter liquor bottles — collected during the 90-day Great Nip Pickup Challenge in Rhode Island. (Providence Journal)

Off The Wall

Massachusetts’s 240-year old state constitution still refers to the governor as “his excellency” and the lieutenant governor as “his honor.” Which is a bit outdated, now that women hold both offices. State lawmakers are considering a bill to send a constitutional amendment using neutral pronouns to voters. (Eagle-Tribune)

Iowa residents who subscribe to MLB.tv to get their baseball fix are barred from watching Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Royals, Twins and Brewers games. But state Reps. J.D. Scholten (D) and Bobby Kauffman (R) want to ban blackouts. MLB representatives were at the capitol in Des Moines to discuss the bill on Tuesday. (KCCI)

A Cleveland County, Ark., man is facing felony vandalism charges for shooting a hole through a silhouette of Johnny Cash stenciled on a water tower in Kingsland last year, “successfully making it appear as if Cash was urinating on his hometown.” (Arkansas Times)

Trust us, you’re going to want to click for the photo.

Federal authorities have offered rewards of up to $20,000 for information about the whereabouts of Roy McGrath, a former chief of staff to ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) who failed to show up for a corruption trial two weeks ago. McGrath faces fraud and embezzlement charges. (Associated Press)

This story keeps getting weirder.

Quote of the Day

“I’m going to lay the blame on King James the 6th of Scotland.”

— Connecticut Sen. John Kissel (R),who backed a bill formally apologizing to the 34 people who were indicted for witchcraft in the 17th century. (Hartford Courant)