HAPPENING TODAY: We host Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) to preview the 2024 gubernatorial landscape. Join us at 1 p.m., register here!
Good morning, it’s Friday, October 4, 2024. In today’s edition, we enter the Terrible Twos; IRS expands Direct File program; Ayotte holds narrow lead in New Hampshire:
Top Stories
PLURIBUS NEWS: This week we celebrated our second anniversary, two years of covering all the emerging trends coming out of state legislatures across the country. We picked a heck of a time to launch — with Congress mired in gridlock, states have never played a more important role in guiding the future of national policy.
Next month’s election is likely to produce another split decision, or, at most, a narrowly-divided Washington where it will be hard to get anything done. But the states are zooming ahead, and we expect the opening months of the 2025 legislative sessions to be an insane sprint to achieve what Washington can’t.
And we’re here for it. Thanks for being a part of our first two years. Read more, including highlights of our coverage, right here.
TAXES: More than 30 million Americans in 24 states will have access to the federal Direct File program to report their taxes for free next year, the Treasury Department said Thursday. A dozen new states will join the dozen that piloted the free-file program last year, and Colorado will add on in 2026. The program is available to citizens who file simple income taxes. (Pluribus News)
SOCIAL MEDIA: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has sued TikTok for allegedly sharing and selling minors’ personal information, violating a new state law. Paxton says TikTok has failed to comply with requirements to allow parents to supervise a minor’s account. (Texas Tribune)
AGRICULTURE: Twenty-two Republican attorneys general are appealing a federal district court ruling that upheld a 2016 Massachusetts ballot measure prohibiting the sale of pork, poultry and veal that were “confined in a cruel manner.” The states challenging the law say it imposes unfair restrictions on farmers. (Louisiana Illuminator)
MARIJUANA: The Arkansas Supreme Court has ordered Secretary of State John Thurston (R) to count signatures he had rejected for a ballot measure that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. The new signatures likely mean the measure has enough support to qualify for the November ballot. (Talk Business & Politics)
ABORTION: Abortion rights backers have raised about eight times as much as abortion rights opponents in the ten states where initiatives and amendments will appear on the ballot. Supporters have raised about $108 million for their initiatives, leveraging their advantage to swamp rivals with television ads. (Associated Press)
REPUBLICANS: Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) will lead the Republican Attorneys General Association, the group said Thursday. He takes over for outgoing chair and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R), who isn’t seeking re-election. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
In Politics & Business
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) leads former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig (D) 47%-44% in a new St. Anselm College poll. It’s the same margin by which Ayotte led St. Anselm’s last poll, in September. Ayotte’s approval rating is inching up, while Craig’s dropped a few points. (St. Anselm)
Remember when we asked for a New Hampshire poll earlier this week?!?
NORTH CAROLINA: High Point University is the latest pollster to kick Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) while he’s down. Robinson trails Attorney General Josh Stein (D) 51%-34% among likely voters in their latest survey. (High Point)
CALIFORNIA: U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D) is dropping hints that she will enter the race for governor in 2026. Porter took to social media to reflect on a poll showing she would lead the crowded field if she entered the race. (Sacramento Bee)
CRIME BLOTTER: Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison over a data breach scheme related to fraudulent claims about the 2020 election. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
Almost $2 billion: The amount of extra revenue California has reported in tax receipts since April. Tax experts believe the extra money is coming from a small number of AI firms like Nvidia. (CalMatters)
42%: The share of Oregon elementary and middle school students who reach “proficient” scores on reading and writing tests, down 9 percentage points from 2019 — which were already the lowest in years. (Oregonian)
Off The Wall
Maryland’s Supreme Court heard arguments over the safety of young athletes and an appeal of a criminal case at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, coinciding with the 57th anniversary of when Thurgood Marshall, a Frederick Douglass alum, was sworn in as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. (Baltimore Sun)
A goat that escaped from its home in a Newfoundland pumpkin patch joined runners in a half marathon for a couple of miles before being apprehended. The goat’s owner drove it to a spot near the finish line so it could finish the race. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“They’re happy to let the governor be the naysayer and kill the bill without them having to vote against it.”
— UC San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser, on why California’s legislature never tries to override a gubernatorial veto. The last time a California governor’s veto was overridden came in 1979, even though about 90% of the bills Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed won enough support to survive an override vote. (CalMatters)