Good morning, it’s Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Get your taxes in. In today’s edition, Dems advance millionaires taxes; Florida to delay redistricting plan; California poll shows Steyer-mentum:
Top Stories
TAXES: Maine lawmakers have approved a new tax on residents who earn more than $1 million a year, joining Washington legislators who passed a similar tax last month. Democrats in Connecticut, Illinois, New York and Rhode Island are considering similar millionaire taxes. The bills in both Washington and Maine are used to lower taxes on lower-income residents. (Pluribus News)
MORE: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has signed legislation ending tax exemptions for organizations related to the Confederacy. Another bill Spanberger signed last week discontinues specialty license plates featuring Robert E. Lee and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. (New York Times)
REDISTRICTING: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is planning to delay calling a special session to redistrict the state’s congressional district map lines. DeSantis has already moved the qualification week for candidates to June in hopes of giving the legislature more time to redistrict. (Florida Politics)
Wisconsin lawmakers are keeping the door open to ban partisan gerrymandering. Republicans who control the legislature say they are in talks with Gov. Tony Evers (D), who supports a ban. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
ABORTION: The Iowa House has advanced legislation requiring an in-person visit to obtain abortion-inducing medication. The measure would require doctors to perform an exam on a patient before prescribing mifepristone or misoprostol, the two most common abortion-inducing drugs. (Des Moines Register)
PUBLIC HEALTH: An Iowa Senate committee has advanced legislation creating a 5-cent tax on alternative nicotine products, like Zyn pouches, and vape products. Money from the tax would fund the state’s health care trust fund, and to fund pediatric cancer research at state universities. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
SOCIAL MEDIA: A bipartisan measure introduced in Ohio would require social media apps to include warning labels if they include addictive features. The measure would cover apps that feature autoplay, push notifications and like counts. It would fine companies $5,000 each time they violate the law. (Ohio Capital Journal)
ENERGY: Maryland lawmakers approved legislation to provide $150 in annual relief to the average state household. The bill pulls $100 million out of a state fund to pay for energy efficiency, sets new limits on utility rate increase requests and forces data centers to pay an extra tariff if they consume a certain amount of energy. (Maryland Matters)
EDUCATION: The Louisiana House Governmental Affairs Committee advanced legislation that would shield how public universities spend revenue on college athletes. The bill creates an exemption allowing schools to conceal how much public money they pay directly to student athletes, agreements that differ from name, image and likeness deals. (Louisiana Illuminator)
In Politics & Business
CALIFORNIA: A SurveyUSA poll — conducted mostly before news about former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) broke — found entrepreneur Tom Steyer (D) and conservative commentator Steve Hilton (R) leading the gubernatorial field with 21% of the vote apiece. Swalwell clocked in at 9%, with Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) and former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D) at 8% each. (SurveyUSA)
NEW MEXICO: A super PAC attacking former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (D) is tied to the state’s horse racing industry. Haaland’s chief opponent, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman (D), previously served as chairman of the state’s racing commission. (Santa Fe New Mexican) Haaland reported raising about $4.1 million in the last six months. Bregman reported hauling in $1.2 million over the same period. (Albuquerque Journal)
FLORIDA: Personal injury attorney John Morgan won’t run for governor, he said this week. Morgan, 70, said he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren. He also said he enjoyed pot: “I wouldn’t be able to take my gummies during hurricane season,” Morgan said. (WLRN)
INDIANA: Gov. Mike Braun (R) has endorsed 29 candidates in state legislative primary contests. Braun endorsed several challengers to state senators who opposed his plan to redraw state congressional district lines ahead of the May 5 primary. (Indianapolis Star)
By The Numbers
$64 million: The amount Democrats supporting Virginia’s redistricting referendum have raised ahead of next week’s elections. Republicans have raised about $20 million for the opposition campaign. About 88% of the money Democrats have raised came from groups in Washington, D.C. (WHSV)
0: The number of books the California State Library has delivered to children under an agreement with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, after spending $1 million to set up a nonprofit to deliver books to kids. The California State Librarian blamed lawmakers for pulling funding from the program. (CalMatters)
Off The Wall
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will continue publishing after its owner, Block Communications, reached a deal to sell to The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that runs The Baltimore Banner. Block Communications had planned to shutter the paper in May, after 240 years of operation. (New York Times)
Guinness World Records has recognized Gertie, a 15-year-old blind hen, as the world’s oldest chicken. Gertie lives in Portland, Maine. She perks up every time she hears bebop jazz. (Portland Press Herald)
Quote of the Day
“This is not a Walmart.”
— Maine Rep. Melanie Sachs (D), on the state’s first-in-the-nation moratorium on new data centers that draw more than 20 megawatts of power. (Washington Post)