Good morning, it’s Thursday, August 28, 2025. In today’s edition, God’s backyard housing bills stalling; Texas backs ivermectin sales; Drummond leads GOP field in Oklahoma:
Top Stories
HOUSING: Legislators in at least 15 states this year proposed bills lifting local zoning rules to make it easier for churches and other religious organizations to build housing on land they own. The proposals are dubbed “Yes in God’s Backyard,” or YIGBY. But almost all of the bills stalled as city and county leaders tried to preserve local control over development. (Pluribus News)
PUBLIC HEALTH: The Texas legislature has approved legislation allowing pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription. The bill would allow the horse de-wormer to be kept behind the counter, similar to cough medicines that have pseudoephedrine like Sudafed. Texas would be the fifth state, after Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana and Tennessee, to allow the sale of ivermectin for human use. (Pluribus News)
PUBLIC SAFETY: The Texas legislature has approved a bill requiring outdoor warning sirens in flash flood-prone areas, sending the measure to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for approval. The bill comes almost two months after devastating floods killed more than 100 people in Texas Hill Country. The bill establishes a grant program to help cities and counties cover costs. (KVUE)
REDISTRICTING: Louisiana officials are abandoning a defense of U.S. House district maps that elected two Black members of Congress and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject any consideration of race in redistricting. Arguments in the case will take place Oct. 15. (Associated Press) The California Supreme Court has once again blocked Republican efforts to stop a Democratic plan to redistrict the state. (Sacramento Bee)
MORE: Indiana legislative leaders met privately with President Trump in the Oval Office to discuss redistricting. Some legislators said there is still no consensus among Republicans about whether to move forward with a special session on redistricting, which would likely target a seat held by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan (D). (Associated Press)
BUDGETS: Oregon lawmakers expect to suffer an $888 million budget hit from revenue losses caused by President Trump’s omnibus reconciliation bill, economists told lawmakers. The state’s two-year budget will turn a $472 million surplus into a $373 million deficit. (Oregon Capital Chronicle) Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says the bill will cost his state $284 million over the course of its implementation. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
ENTERTAINMENT: Michigan Rep. Nancy Jenkins-Arno (R) has introduced legislation to prevent ticket resellers from using a website with a domain name that includes the name of an entertainment venue or event without authorization. The bill would block resellers from behavior that misleads customers into believing the website belongs to a venue operator, and require full disclosure of fees. (Michigan Advance)
In Politics & Business
OKLAHOMA: A new Sooner Survey shows Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) leading the Republican gubernatorial field with 43%, ahead of Superintendent Ryan Walters (R) and House Speaker Charles McCall (R) at 8% each. Drummond’s favorable rating among Republican voters stands at 52%. Walters’s favorable rating is at 31%, with 44% saying they view him unfavorably. (McCarville Report)
CALIFORNIA: A recent survey of California voters included U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla’s (D) name, raising questions about whether Padilla is considering a run for governor. Padilla declined to rule out a run during an appearance at a recent policy summit in Sacramento. (Sacramento Bee)
MAINE: Gov. Janet Mills (D) says she will decide on whether to challenge Sen. Susan Collins (R) by November. Mills told reporters she is “seriously considering” a run against the five-term incumbent. Collins has not yet said whether she will seek a sixth term. (Portland Press Herald)
NEW YORK: Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has launched her first campaign ad, highlighting her feuds with President Trump. Hochul’s former chief of staff Stacy Lynch left her position earlier this month to become Hochul’s senior advisor. (City & State)
By The Numbers
$9,354.25: The fine the Texas House levied against Rep. Venton Jones (D), one of more than 50 Democrats who fled the state to block a Republican-backed push to redistrict U.S. House lines. Lawmakers were subject to $500 daily fines, totaling $7,000 for their 14-day absence, plus a share of the $124,943.25 the Department of Public Safety spent to bring them back to Austin. (KXAN)
1,285: The number of U.S. citizens who expatriated in the first quarter of 2025, according to a report from CS Global Partners. That’s up 102% compared to the last quarter in 2024, and higher than the number of Americans who left for other countries in 2020, the previous record. (Miami Herald)
Off The Wall
The Colorado Buffaloes are sidelining Ralphie VI, the buffalo that runs across the field before football games. Ralphie is taking an early retirement after four years “due to an indifference to running,” the school said. (Colorado Public Radio)
We, too, suffer from an indifference to running.
North Dakota resident Duane Svanes, 92, stopped in Bismarck last week to meet Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R), continuing his streak of meeting every governor of North Dakota since 1940. Svanes spoke to First Lady Kjersti Armstrong in her native Norwegian. (Fargo Forum)
Quote of the Day
“Best hot mic ever.”
— A Lansing, Mich., police officer after local dispatcher Julia Jordan accidentally announced Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce to the entire police force. “I had one [officer] ask me when I was planning to retire, and I said not soon enough,” Jordan joked. (Associated Press)