Good morning, it’s Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Happy Fiscal New Year! In today’s edition, New York’s AI lobbying wars; California rolls back CEQA; states consider vaccine advisory panel:
Top Stories
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A major lobbying fight is kicking off between AI industry groups and supporters of legislation to regulate AI systems known as frontier models to avoid catastrophic harm to people or infrastructure. Venture capitalists and tech firms say the RAISE Act would set the state back in AI development; academics and safety advocates say the bill would hold major companies to minimum standards. (Pluribus News)
The U.S. Senate has struck a provision from its Big Beautiful Bill that would have barred states from regulating AI for a decade. The provision died in a 99-1 vote. (Associated Press)
HOUSING: California lawmakers on Monday approved major changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, exempting nine types of construction from environmental review, including child care centers, advanced manufacturing and health clinics, among others. The bill narrows legal challenges under CEQA. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the bill Monday night. (CalMatters)
Hard to overstate what a big deal this is in California’s legislature. Our colleague Sophie Quinton wrote about the mounting frustration with CEQA — even among environmentalists — earlier this year.
MORE: Oregon lawmakers have adopted legislation allowing townhomes and triplexes in more cities and towns to boost housing supplies. Lawmakers also approved a $468 million housing package to spur affordable housing and $45 million to fund eviction prevention services — both well short of the requests made by Gov. Tina Kotek (D). (Oregonian)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Public health officials in Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York are considering forming a regional vaccine advisory panel to recommend vaccine schedules and advise patients on who should receive Covid-19 boosters and other shots. The panel comes in the wake of changes to a federal vaccine advisory panel under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic. (Portland Press Herald)
INSURANCE: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has signed legislation limiting the amount in damages someone can win after an automobile accident. The bill allows an insurance company to be reimbursed for medical claims paid on behalf of a plaintiff, but the injured person would not be eligible for additional compensation. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
SOCIAL MEDIA: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and Attorney General Derek Brown (R) are suing Snapchat, accusing the platform of designing an algorithm to be addictive to children while facilitating drug sales and sexual exploitation. Utah has made similar allegations in lawsuits against Meta and TikTok. (Salt Lake Tribune)
JOURNALISM: New Jersey lawmakers have given final approval to a bill ending requirements to publish legal notices in news outlets. Mandatory legal notices are significant revenue sources for newspapers, but many state residents won’t get home delivery after the Newark Star-Ledger and its affiliates stopped printing hard copies. The bill requires public entities to purchase online news ads informing residents where they can find legal notices. (New Jersey Globe)
In Politics & Business
GEORGIA: Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is weighing a run for governor as a Democrat. Duncan, a longtime Republican who broke with his party over the Jan. 6 riots, criticized President Trump’s omnibus budget bill currently making its way through the Senate. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Four other Democrats, including Sen. Jason Esteves (D) and former Atlanta Major Keisha Lance Bottoms (D), are already seeking their party’s nomination.
MISSISSIPPI: House Speaker Jason White (R) says he expects a major education reform bill to come up in the 2026 legislative session. A panel of legislators is working on a bill during the interim; teacher pay raises and returning retired teachers to the classroom are both on the table. (Magnolia Tribune)
IOWA: Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas (R) will run for state auditor in 2026, she said Monday. She will join Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer (R) in the GOP primary. The incumbent, Auditor Rob Sand (D), is running for governor. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
CALIFORNIA: Gov. Newsom’s return-to-office order begins today, but it will only apply to about half the state’s workforce. Workers represented by major state employee unions won exemptions from the four-day-a-week in-office requirements. (Sacramento Bee)
ARIZONA: The state Democratic Party’s executive board has censured party chair Robert Branscomb II, and state elected officials are moving campaign operations to the Navajo County Democratic Party. The censure accuses Branscomb of failing to be transparent and accountable when he circulated emails critical of his tenure. (Arizona Republic)
By The Numbers
2016: The last time Massachusetts lawmakers approved a state budget on time — until yesterday, when they reached a deal and sent a budget to Gov. Maura Healey just before the July 1 start to the fiscal year. (Boston Globe)
More than 10%: The decline in the U.S. dollar compared to a basket of currencies from America’s closest trading partners since the beginning of the year. It’s the dollar’s worst start to the year since 1973, when the country went off the gold standard. (New York Times)
2,150: The size, in square feet, of the median new single-family home in the United States. It’s the third year in a row the median size of new starter homes has fallen, according to a Harvard study. (Deseret News)
Off The Wall
South Carolina legislators voted themselves a pay raise in the state budget this year — but a state Supreme Court order issued last week means they’ll actually take a pay cut. The high court ruled against a $1,000 monthly in-district compensation payment that lawmakers have been receiving since 1995. The decision came in light of a lawsuit from Sen. Wes Climer (R), who challenged the new pay hike in court. (SC Daily Gazette)
The Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, invited a Flemish Giant rabbit to throw out the first pitch at a recent game. The bunny, Alex the Great, bounced the ball toward home plate — with the assist of a pitching machine. Alex is the only certified therapy rabbit in the country. (MLB.com)
Quote of the Day
“I don’t care how tired you are. I don’t care what your vacation plans are. We are going to solve this.”
— Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), preparing to call lawmakers back into special session to deal with a transportation funding package that stalled in the final days of session. (Oregonian)