Good morning, it’s Monday, July 17, 2023. In today’s edition, Calif. wades into AI policy; GOP AGs ask for out-of-state abortion data; Ala. lawmakers meet to redraw U.S. House lines:
Top Stories
WORKFORCE: Don’t miss our conversation with California Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal (D), chairman of a new Select Committee on Automation and Workforce Development. “This is an issue that’s not going away and we can’t ignore it. There are people in my district being impacted by it from all sides, not just workers, business owners, community owners. Everybody’s being impacted by this.”
ABORTION: Nineteen Republican attorneys general have asked the Biden administration to drop a proposed rule change that would prevent states from obtaining private health information for criminal, civil or administrative investigations. The attorneys general say they need access to information about residents who obtain abortions or gender-affirming care in other states. (Mississippi Free Press)
MORE: Iowa’s new law banning most abortions after six weeks has taken effect as a state judge considers its constitutionality. Judge Joseph Seidlin said he would issue a ruling today at the earliest. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed the bill into law on Friday. (Associated Press)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: A federal judge has lifted an injunction against Kentucky’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, allowing the law to take effect. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a similar temporary injunction against Tennessee’s ban. (Associated Press)
GUN POLITICS: A federal judge on Friday ruled that Oregon Measure 114, which bans the sale or manufacture of high-capacity magazines and requires a permit for purchasing a firearm, is constitutional. Judge Karin Immergut ruled the Second Amendment does not protect high-capacity magazines. (Oregonian)
SOCIAL MEDIA: A bipartisan group of lawmakers are pushing Massachusetts to ban the use of TikTok and other social media apps with ties to the Chinese government from state-owned devices. The legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy heard testimony on legislation banning the apps last week. (Gloucester Daily Times)
SPORTS: Missouri high school athletes will be allowed to sign endorsement deals once they have signed a letter of intent to attend an in-state college. The amendment to the state’s name, image and likeness law, making it one of the most permissive in the country, takes effect Aug. 28. (Kansas City Star)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: The private prison firm GEO Group has sued Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) over a new law that requires the state to inspect private detention facilities for health and workplace safety reasons. The company says the law violates the U.S. Constitution by impairing the obligation of contracts. (Seattle Times) Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) called for more policing and tougher sentencing for repeat offenders after a shooting in Baltimore that injured 28 and killed two. (Washington Post)
In Politics & Business
ALABAMA: Lawmakers meet today to begin considering new U.S. House district lines, after the Supreme Court ruled that previous lines violated the Voting Rights Act. Republicans who control the legislature are considering map lines that would create a district where less than half the population is Black. (AL.com, Associated Press)
OHIO: Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) said Monday he will challenge U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). LaRose will face state Sen. Matt Dolan (R) and businessman Bernie Moreno (R) in the GOP primary. (Columbus Dispatch)
ARIZONA: The state Democratic Party has filed a complaint with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) seeking to force No Labels to disclose its donors. Democrats say the group should have registered as a PAC while it was collecting signatures to qualify as an official party seeking ballot access. (Arizona Republic) A federal judge has ordered attorneys for ex-gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) and Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem (R) to pay $122,000 for filing a baseless lawsuit attempting to ban the use of voting machines. (Arizona Republic)
OREGON: The state Government Ethics Commission has authorized a full investigation into former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan’s (D) contract to work for a private cannabis company. Fagan resigned after her $10,000-a-month contract came to light. (Oregonian)
REPUBLICANS: Secretaries of State in Wyoming, West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas and Louisiana have issued a letter to members of Congress seeking an investigation into the 2020 elections. (Casper Star Tribune)
By The Numbers
26: The number of states that California employees are banned from traveling to, after Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) added Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming to the list after they passed laws targeting transgender people. Senate President Toni Atkins (D) has introduced legislation to end the travel ban. (Sacramento Bee)
1,479: The number of criminal referrals Florida’s Office of Election Crimes and Security made during its first year in operation. Thirteen of those referrals resulted in felony convictions. (WUSF)
$1 million: The amount Ohio lawmakers have budgeted for extra security around next April’s total solar eclipse, which is expected to attract visitors from across the nation. The eclipse’s path of totality — the area where the moon will fully block the sun — will be visible across a range of states stretching from Texas to Vermont. (Columbus Dispatch)
Off The Wall
A new audit of Connecticut State Police have found troopers logged at least 26,000 false tickets over seven years in a database meant to root out racial profiling. A single trooper logged 1,350 fraudulent tickets, the report found. The state patrol will not say whether that trooper still has a job. (Rolling Stone)
Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) installed a new bust of the late Sen. Carl Hayden (D) at the state capitol, two years after an unknown thief stole a Hayden sculpture in broad daylight. The thief was never caught. (Arizona Capital Times)
Nevada officials in March formally ended an $80 million effort to overhaul the state’s payroll system. Originally slated at $50 million, cost overruns and software glitches derailed it. Legislators have appropriated $160 million to start the overhaul anew. (Nevada Independent)
Quote of the Day
“The state that has the workers will be the state that wins the economic race.”
— South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), on a new worker recruitment campaign her office says has garnered 250 million views so far. (WDAY)