Good morning, it’s Friday, August 30, 2024. In today’s edition, California lawmakers race to wrap up work; Nebraska limits lab-grown meat; New Orleans wants to make Katrina anniversary a holiday:

Top Stories

HEALTH CARE: The California legislature gave final approval to legislation that would establish licensure and regulation requirements for pharmacy benefit managers and require those companies to report fee and rebate information to the state Department of Insurance.

The bill will also require pharmacy benefit managers to pass on prescription drug manufacturer rebates to health plans or insurers. An earlier version would have prohibited “spread pricing,” in which the pharmacy benefit managers charge insurers or drug plans more for a drug than the price for which they reimburse the pharmacy.

Drug companies have waged a huge lobbying campaign over similar proposals in D.C. Today, at least 29 states license and regulate pharmacy benefit managers, and 23 states require reports on rebates or fees, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy. Read more at Pluribus News.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The California legislature gave final approval to a bill requiring companies that spend more than $100 million to train AI models to test whether those models could be used for cybersecurity or infrastructure attacks. Major AI firms like Google, Meta, OpenAI and others oppose the bill, which now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) desk. (CalMatters)

MARIJUANA: California lawmakers this week approved legislation that will allow businesses selling marijuana to open “cannabis cafes,” which could sell food and nonalcoholic beverages while people consume marijuana. The bill passed in a bipartisan vote as lawmakers seek to help the legal cannabis market compete with the black market. (Los Angeles Times)

PUBLIC HEALTH: California legislators have approved a bill to ban schools from selling or distributing foods with six common food dyes found in snacks like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, cereals and baked goods. The bill won unanimous approval in the Assembly, its final stop before heading to Gov. Newsom’s desk. (Sacramento Bee)

MORE: Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) issued an executive order prohibiting state agencies from procuring lab-grown meat or other meat alternatives. The order requires government contractors to promise not to discriminate against natural products in favor of lab-grown or -cultivated meat. (Nebraska Examiner)

In Politics & Business

TEXAS: Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has filed suit seeking to block a ban on firearms at the Texas State Fair. Fair organizers announced the ban earlier this month after a shooting last year. (Associated Press)

LOUISIANA: New Orleans officials are calling on the state to make the August 29 anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina a state holiday. Thursday marked the 19th anniversary of the storm, which flooded 80% of the city and killed nearly 1,400 people. (Baton Rouge Advocate)

CRIME BLOTTER: Florida Rep. Carolina Amesty (R) has been indicted on four felony charges after she allegedly forged a man’s signature on a document she notarized for her family-run school. Prosecutors say Amesty falsely claimed a veteran educator was an employee of Central Christian University, which she runs. (Orlando Sentinel)

By The Numbers

576: The number of public officials in California who have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last decade, more than any other state over that span. (New York Times)

$987 million: The estimated personal income tax “kicker” that Oregon officials anticipate sending back to taxpayers, after the state brought in substantially more revenue than excepted. Oregon law, unique in the nation, requires a tax rebate when income tax payments come in 2% or more above expectations. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Off The Wall

An important update to a story we brought you earlier this week: A water buffalo on the loose in the Des Moines area has been captured after five days on the lam. It’s being treated at the Iowa State University Large Animal Hospital in Ames. (Des Moines Register)

As California lawmakers race to finish their work before adjournment — see above — they’re considering two critical bills: One would name the banana slug the official state slug, while another would make the Dungeness crab the official state crustacean. (KTLA)

How has Washington State, home of Dungeness Spit, failed to make the crab its official state crustacean? Come on, folks.

Quote of the Day

“Someone has to step in here, and that’s what we’re doing today. It’s like playing Whac-a-Mole with these folks.”

— Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), alerting about 5,000 state businesses about a new law banning the advertising, selling or distributing of e-cigarettes meant to imitate candy or desserts commonly meant for children. (MPR News)