Good morning, it’s Monday, August 25, 2025. In today’s edition, lawmakers seek to boost scooter safety; New York, Maryland take steps toward redistricting; new polls in Connecticut, Ohio governor races:
Top Stories
TRANSPORTATION: State lawmakers have introduced more than 50 measures related to electric scooters and bikes that proliferate in cities and urban areas. Versions include adding new safety requirements, age restrictions, battery safety, helmet mandates and speed limits, among other items. Recent studies have showed an increase in scooter- and e-bike-related injuries. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has begun meeting with legislative leaders about a potential redistricting plan that would redraw U.S. House district lines in advance of the 2028 elections. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) said any plan would include revamping the state’s bipartisan redistricting panel. (State of Politics) Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) says he is considering redrawing district lines, too. (Baltimore Sun)
MORE: A federal judge has ordered Alabama lawmakers to draw new state Senate district maps after ruling the state violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the influence of Black voters around Montgomery. Judge Anna Manasco ordered the state to create a new majority-Black district. (Associated Press)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Ohio is the first state in the nation to require K-12 public schools to adopt policies on artificial intelligence. The requirement was tucked into a budget bill Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed last month. The Department of Education and Workforce will put together a model policy by the end of the year. (Statehouse News Bureau)
ABORTION: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) has signed legislation allowing health care professionals to prescribe any medication that won FDA approval prior to 2025 and remains approved by the World Health Organization. The measure is meant to preempt any potential FDA decision revoking authorizations to abortion medication. (Capitol News Illinois)
TORT REFORM: Illinois Gov. Pritzker has signed legislation protecting non-investigative news reporting from strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as SLAPP lawsuits. The state Supreme Court had allowed a lawsuit against the Chicago Sun-Times to proceed because the paper’s reporting wasn’t an investigation, which would have been protected under state law. (Capitol News Illinois)
PUBLIC HEALTH: California lawmakers will vote on legislation that would make it the first state in the nation to require restaurants to disclose whether menu items contain any of the nine most common food allergens: Milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, sesame and soybeans. Restaurants would be able to publish the information on menus, a chart or other printed materials or QR codes. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
OHIO: A new poll from Emerson College shows entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) leading ex-U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D) 49% to 41% in the race for governor. Ramaswamy leads former state health director Amy Acton (D) 49% to 39%. (Emerson College)
CONNECTICUT: A new poll conducted for New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart’s (R) campaign shows her trailing Gov. Ned Lamont (D) in an early matchup. The poll found Lamont leading Stewart by a 50% to 42% margin. (WTNH)
GEORGIA: State Sen. Matt Brass (R), an ally of Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R), has filed an ethics complaint alleging a committee backing Attorney General Chris Carr (R) avoided mandatory registration requirements. It’s the latest salvo between Jones and Carr, both competing to replace term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp (R). (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
PEOPLE: Missouri state Rep. Ken Waller (R) died over the weekend at age 63. Waller, a former Jefferson County executive, had been planning to run for state Senate next year. (St. Louis Public Radio) Our condolences to Waller’s friends and colleagues.
By The Numbers
$87 billion: The cost of an initial stretch of California’s high-speed rail project, between Gilroy and Palmdale. The first section of the rail line is set to open in 2032. (Associated Press)
More than $3 billion: The taxes and fees Colorado has generated from legal marijuana sales. Cannabis sales have dropped in recent years, to $1.4 billion in 2024, down 37% from the peak in 2021. (Colorado Public Radio)
Off The Wall
The Apple Valley, Minn., Eagles high school football and soccer teams are being forced to play day games after a pair of ospreys built a nest in the school’s light poles. Turning on the lights for night games would risk starting a fire and injuring or killing migratory raptors that are protected under state and federal law. (Associated Press)
Jenna Ulrich, a new firefighter with the Doolittle Rural Fire Protection District in Missouri, was part of a team that responded to a tractor-trailer on fire last week. Ulrich is a vegan — so of course the first fire she responded to involved 40,000 lbs. of ribeye steak, according to the department. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“You know, we can actually agree on some things. Some things, they are light-hearted enough that maybe every once in a while we don’t take ourselves too seriously and do something that would maybe bring a smile on the face in light of all the stuff going on in the world.”
— Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora (D), introducing legislation to name the buckeye the official state candy. (Statehouse News Bureau)