Good morning, it’s Wednesday, December 11, 2024. In today’s edition, data centers strain energy grids; Michigan Senate advances paid leave program; Jersey candidate in hot water over Springsteen playlist:
Top Stories
ENERGY: Electricity demand in Virginia is expected to double in the next decade as new data centers sprout up in the Washington suburbs. A new report for the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission finds power demand will grow from about 10,000 gigawatt hours in 2023 to 30,000 by 2040.
The legislature’s report found the data center industry had contributed 74,000 jobs and $9.1 billion in GDP to Virginia’s economy. The increased power demand could add between $14 and $37 to consumer power bills by 2040. Read more at Pluribus News.
Data centers are great for economic development, but they carry a price: The energy and water those centers demand is going to put a real strain on already-taut electric grids and resources.
WORKFORCE: The Michigan Senate Housing and Human Services Committee has advanced legislation to create a statewide family and medical leave policy that would eventually allow up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year. Lawmakers have just six days before the end of session to approve the measure. (Detroit News)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Michigan Rep. Stephanie Young (D) has introduced legislation to ban the sale of flavored nicotine vapes, cigars and menthol cigarettes in the state. The bill is meant to combat youth nicotine use. (MLive)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: The Ohio Senate could vote as early as today on legislation that would prohibit descriptions of sexual concepts or gender ideology before 4th grade. The bill would require school staff to alert parents if a student asks to be identified by a gender that does not align with their biological sex. (Columbus Dispatch)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: The Ohio House has approved legislation expanding the definition of rape to include circumstances in which the offender knows a victim is impaired because of drugs for medical treatment. The bill also requires prosecutors and courts to alert regulatory boards when a medical professional is indicted, charged or convicted of a sexual crime. (Columbus Dispatch)
TORT REFORM: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) says he will make tort reform a key priority next year. Kemp has pledged to limit lawsuit verdicts, which he said drive up business costs. The legislature delayed action on tort reform bills this year. (Associated Press)
WATER: The seven Western states in the Colorado River Basin are at an impasse in negotiations over new rules allocating river water. Upper Basin states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico) and Lower Basin states (California, Nevada and Arizona) are divided over competing plans, and negotiations in the last year have yielded “zero progress,” according to California’s top water negotiator. (Los Angeles Times)
In Politics & Business
NEW JERSEY: U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D), running for governor, admitted this week his campaign had faked a Spotify Wrapped social media post that listed five Bruce Springsteen songs as his most-played tracks of the year. Gottheimer said the Springsteen songs would have been in his top five “if I didn’t share my account with my 12 and 15-year old kids.” (NJ Advance Media)
The most New Jersey scandal ever.
ALASKA: A statewide recount has confirmed that voters opted to keep Alaska’s unique ranked-choice voting system by a margin of 743 votes — or about 0.2% of the 341,000 ballots cast. The recount found just six votes were different from the certified results. (Anchorage Daily News)
ANTITRUST: A federal judge in Portland, Ore., has temporarily halted the proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons. In a separate case, a judge in King County, Wash., also ruled that the merger would substantially reduce competition, blocking its progress. (Seattle Times, Colorado Public Radio)
By The Numbers
Nearly 208,000: The number of electric vehicles registered in New Jersey. That’s short of Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D) goal of 330,000 EVs on the road by the end of the year, but New Jersey expects a surge of buyers at the end of the year taking advantage of federal tax credits. (NJ Advance Media)
$7.8 million: The cost of new windows planned for North Dakota’s capitol building in Bismarck. The 21-story building has 818 windows that need replacing. (North Dakota Monitor)
$423,500: The annual salary of Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation CEO Deven Mitchell, after a state board approved a 10% raise. The corporation has about $79 billion under management. (Anchorage Daily News)
Off The Wall
Ohio Rep. Josh Williams (R) has introduced a bill to prohibit planting a flagpole or a flag at the center of Ohio State University’s stadium on the day of a college football game. The bill comes days after a fight broke out between OSU players and Michigan players when the Wolverines upset the Buckeyes at home. (Columbus Dispatch)
Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D) is making (another) comeback. Weiner, a convicted sex offender, has filed papers to run for a New York City council seat in Manhattan. (State of Politics)
Quote of the Day
“It’s like Hollywood. Nobody knows anything.”
— Republican strategist Mike Murphy, on the possibility that Vice President Kamala Harris runs for California governor in 2026. (Los Angeles Times)