Good morning, it’s Monday, September 15, 2025. In today’s edition, California advances AI safety bill, auto buyer law; Missouri approves redistricting plan; DOJ shares voter info with Homeland Security:
Top Stories
Deep breath for a big wrap-up of California’s end-of-session sprint…
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: California lawmakers approved a new AI safety bill aimed at preventing catastrophic harms by large models. Large AI companies would have to implement and publish safety frameworks, and assess the potential for their AI models to cause catastrophic harm. The bill includes whistleblower protections for workers involved in AI development. (Pluribus News)
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a similar bill last year. The new version incorporates recommendations from a working group Newsom commissioned.
ENERGY: Newsom and California lawmakers have reached a deal to extend the state’s cap and trade program through 2045. The deal includes the creation of a new regional independent grid operator, $18 billion to replenish the state wildfire fund and $1 billion a year for high-speed rail. (Pluribus News)
CONSUMER PROTECTION: California lawmakers adopted legislation to allow buyers up to three days to return a newly purchased used vehicle without financial penalties. The first-in-the-nation bill would require dealers to disclose total prices up front and in advertising. It’s based on a Biden-era FTC rule struck down by the 5th Circuit last year. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: Missouri Republicans have given final approval to legislation redrawing the state’s political map. The plan, which would carve up a Kansas City-based seat held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D), now goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) for a signature. (Associated Press)
The ACLU immediately sued to block the plan, arguing the entire redistricting process was unconstitutional from the jump. (KCUR) Opponents of the plan are trying to gather 100,000 signatures within 90 days to force a referendum, blocking the measure from taking effect. (KCUR)
GUN POLITICS: A Minnesota Senate working group will meet Monday to discuss proposals to curb gun violence. Democrats have filed measures to boost funding to a state violence prevention research center and to limit local governments from imposing their own restrictions on firearms. (MPR News)
TAXES: Bipartisan legislation to be introduced in Ohio would allow residents who regularly give to churches to deduct that money from their taxable income. Ohio is one of 14 states that do not allow such deductions. (Statehouse News Bureau)
ELECTIONS: The Department of Justice is sharing voter roll information with the Department of Homeland Security to search for noncitizens, the Trump administration said. The DOJ has asked nearly two dozen states to turn over voter rolls, a request most Democratic states have resisted. At least ten states have complied. (Stateline)
In Politics & Business
NEW JERSEY: U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D) and former Assemb. Jack Ciattarelli (R) will meet for their first general election debate on Sept. 21. State law requires candidates to participate in two official debates to qualify for public campaign financing. (New Jersey Globe)
WISCONSIN: State Sen. Kelda Roys (D) will run for governor, she said Monday. She joins Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (D) in the Democratic field. Roys ran for governor in 2018, finishing third in the Democratic primary. (State Affairs)
ILLINOIS: Ted Dabrowski, who heads the conservative research publication Wirepoints, will run for governor, he said Friday. He tapped Chicago-area emergency room doctor Carrie Mendoza as his running mate. (Capitol News Illinois)
NEW YORK CITY: Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has formally endorsed Assemb. Zohran Mamdani (D) for mayor. Hochul and Mamdani have met three times since he won the Democratic primary. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) have yet to back Mamdani. (State of Politics)
PEOPLE: Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar (R) has died at 79. Edgar, a moderate who carried Chicago’s Cook County when he ran for re-election in 1994, served as president of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation after leaving office. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
8.2%: The share of Americans who went without health care in 2024, up from 7.9% in 2023 and the first increase in a decade. The share of Americans covered by Medicaid dropped from 21.3% to 20.5%. (Pluribus News)
29%: Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee’s approval rating, according to a new University of Rhode Island poll. The poll found McKee statistically tied with potential Democratic challengers ahead of next year’s primary. (Providence Journal)
Off The Wall
Prospect, Conn., Mayor Robert Chatfield (R), 82, is running unopposed for a 25th term in office. Chatfield has led Prospect for 48 years — a quarter of the two centuries it’s been an incorporated town. (CT Insider)
Pro golfer John Daly set a new PGA Tour record on Friday by taking 19 strokes on a par-5 hole at the Sanford International. Daly hit his tee shot into the rough, and then seven straight shots into a water hazard. The previous record for a single hole was 16 shots, last tied back in 1996. (Associated Press)
Quote of the Day
“I don’t want to offend anybody. I never intended to hurt anybody. It is really Jimmy Buffett-love.”
— Connecticut Rep. Bill Buckbee (R), on tiki torches affixed to the back of his Jeep. Some online commentators wondered whether the torches were a reference to the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va. Buckbee says he’s just a big Jimmy Buffett fan. (CT Insider)