Good morning, it’s Thursday, September 26, 2024. In today’s edition, Newsom signs oil and gas bills while special session looms; New Mexico considers magic mushrooms; Robinson staff exodus continues:
Top Stories
ENERGY: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed three new laws targeting the oil and gas industry. One measure would require large-scale oil well operators to plug 15% of idle wells beginning next year, with that share rising annually. Another will allow local governments to limit or prohibit oil and gas operations and development.
Those bills come against a backdrop of ongoing work still happening in Sacramento, where an Assembly panel is set to consider legislation today that would require oil refiners to carry enough reserves to ensure supply during maintenance outages. The industry, as well as governors of neighboring Arizona and Nevada, hate the idea.
And even once the Assembly passes the measure, it’s not clear what Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D) plans to do. Newsom said Wednesday discussions are ongoing, but McGuire has yet to commit to calling his members back to session. The intrigue is killing us. Read more at Pluribus News.
MORE: The Michigan House has approved legislation creating tax breaks for data centers. The measure also requires data centers connected to municipal water systems to add protections to prevent rate increases on residents. (Detroit Free Press)
An overlooked factor in data center operations: They require a lot of water to cool down.
EVEN MORE: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has signed legislation requiring the Public Service Commission to publish more information about rate changes by public gas and electric utilities. Hochul also signed a bill creating civil penalties for making false statements to the commission in a bid to boost transparency. (State of Politics)
GUN POLITICS: Alabama Republicans are lining up behind legislation to ban so-called Glock switches, devices that convert semi-automatic handguns to automatic fire. Senate Rules Committee chairman Jabo Waggoner (R) said he decided to support the bill after a mass shooting in Birmingham. (AL.com)
PUBLIC HEALTH: New Mexico legislators held a hearing Wednesday over the potential benefits of psilocybin treatments for those suffering mental health issues. They could follow Oregon and Colorado, where magic mushrooms have been decriminalized. (Albuquerque Journal)
In Politics & Business
NEW YORK CITY: Federal prosecutors filed a sealed indictment against Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Wednesday, making him the first sitting mayor to be charged with a federal crime. Adams released a defiant video claiming innocence. Federal agents searched Adams’s official residence this morning and seized his phone. (New York Times, New York Times)
NORTH CAROLINA: A new Marist poll, conducted entirely after CNN’s bombshell report on Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s (R) online activity, shows Attorney General Josh Stein (D) leading Robinson 54%-43%. Stein’s favorable rating stands at 45%, while Robinson’s is at just 34%. (Marist) A poll conducted by Republican Tony Fabrizio and Democrat John Anzalone for AARP shows Stein up 52%-42%. (AARP)
At least four of Robinson’s official staffers will resign effective next week, including Chief of Staff Brian LiVecchi and Robinson’s policy, communications and government affairs directors. (WRAL)
UTAH: Votes on Amendment D, the measure that would allow the legislature to amend or repeal voter-passed initiatives, will not count on this year’s ballot. The state Supreme Court sided with a lower court on Wednesday in booting the measure off the ballot. (Deseret News)
OHIO: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s (R) office said votes for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein will not count because the party nominated Stein’s running mate after a state administrative deadline had passed. Stein’s name will still appear on state ballots, which began going out to overseas voters last week. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
By The Numbers
1.1%: The drop in sales McDonald’s reported for the second quarter of the year, compared with an 11.7% increase a year ago. By contrast, grocery giant Kroger reported a 1.2% increase in sales and expects stronger increases later in the year. Economists see more people choosing to eat at home as grocery prices ease. (Associated Press)
More than 49,300: The number of deaths by suicide reported in the United States in 2023, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s slightly below the figure for 2022, but it’s still among the highest ever recorded in American history. (Associated Press)
If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by phone or text at 988.
$1.24 billion: The amount Nevada has set aside in its rainy day fund, the first time the fund has been fully filled. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Off The Wall
Stephen Loyd, the new director of West Virginia’s Office of Drug Control Policy, has some personal experience with the fight to curb addiction to painkillers: He was once addicted himself. Loyd was an inspiration for Michael Keaton’s character on the Hulu series “Dopesick.” (Associated Press)
Oregon lawmakers have unveiled a plaque naming the potato the official state vegetable. Oregon grows more than 2.7 billion pounds of potatoes annually, accounting for about a quarter of all French fries in America. (Oregonian)
Idaho sees your 2.7 billion pounds and raises its own 13 billion pounds.
Quote of the Day
“I’m having trouble siting facilities for wind, storage and solar just to feed the AI centers.”
— Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), making a pitch for more renewable energy to account for the rapid growth in power that new data centers need to operate. (Washington State Standard)