Good morning, it’s Tuesday, September 3, 2024. In today’s edition, California lawmakers bring hundreds of bills across the finish line; Texas social media law blocked; San Francisco’s Willie Mays highway:
Top Stories
ENVIRONMENT: California lawmakers approved a ban on thick plastic bags, a decade after they outlawed single-use bags at stores. The thick bags were exempted from the 2014 ban, but in the decade since its passage, plastic waste has hit new record highs. Eleven other states have adopted plastic bag bans over the last ten years. (Pluribus News)
ENERGY: California lawmakers passed legislation to ban the sale of leaded aviation fuel beginning in 2031. The state would be the first to ban so-called “avgas,” though a federal ban could supersede it by 2030. Avgas is used to power about 170,000 piston-engine aircraft across the country. (Pluribus News)
MORE: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will call legislators back to special session to consider a package of bills aimed at stabilizing gas prices and eliminating price spikes. But there’s a twist: Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D) said his chamber wouldn’t convene again. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D) said his chamber would come back to consider bills to require oil refiners to maintain reserve stockpiles of gas. (Sacramento Bee)
VOTER ID: California lawmakers gave final approval to legislation that will ban localities from requiring voters to show an identification at the polls. The legislation comes after voters in Huntington Beach passed an amendment to the city charter requiring voter identification. (Pluribus News)
SOCIAL MEDIA: California Assemb. Josh Lowenthal (D) shelved his legislation to levy fines on social media companies that harm children, complaining that the bill had been watered down too much by industry-backed amendments in the state Senate. The Senate lowered maximum fines from $1 million to $250,000, and removed a provision allowing parents to sue. Those changes were recommended by Facebook parent company Meta, according to emails we obtained. (Pluribus News)
REPARATIONS: Two bills to create a new agency to oversee and fund reparations for the descendants of enslaved people failed to pass the California Assembly on Sunday. Black Caucus chair Assemb. Lori Wilson (D) cited concerns that the legislature would have lacked oversight; she said the bills would return next year. (CalMatters)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: California lawmakers approved legislation requiring studios to obtain consent from the family before replicating a dead actor or performer’s likeness with artificial intelligence. The legislature passed a different measure last week requiring consent to use the likeness of living actors or performers. (The Wrap)
MORE: The legislature also approved measures banning election-related deepfakes and requiring social media firms to remove deceptive material 120 days before an election. The legislature also passed measures to develop guidelines for school use of AI in classrooms, and to create a working group to consider incorporating AI into curriculum. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
COLORADO: State voters will weigh in on seven ballot questions this year, including big-ticket measures to protect abortion rights and open partisan primaries to all voters. Citizen initiatives also include a school choice measure, a ban on trophy hunting big cats, police funding and creating a veterinary professional associate for those with master’s degrees in animal care. (Denver Post)
OHIO: Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) will ask lawmakers to eliminate ballot drop boxes, after a federal court ruled that state law violates the rights of those with disabilities. LaRose will require family members of those with disabilities to sign a form confirming that they are following state rules. State voters may only return their own ballots to drop boxes. (Columbus Dispatch)
TEXAS: A federal judge has blocked part of a new Texas law that required social media companies to filter out harmful content in minors’ feeds. The judge allowed a part of the law requiring minors to get parental consent to open a social media account. (Texas Tribune)
NEVADA: Representatives of Philip Morris International pitched Nevada’s Joint Interim Standing Committee on Revenue on a new-to-market “heated cigarettes,” a product set to roll out next year. The company has hired lobbyists in several states as it prepares to bring the new product to market. (Nevada Current)
Expect a big lobbying fight over new tobacco products next year.
By The Numbers
32 million acres: The amount of federal land the Bureau of Land Management plans to open for utility-scale solar development in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and New Mexico. More than a third of that total territory is in Nevada. (Nevada Current)
107.6 degrees: The average daily high in Las Vegas this summer, breaking a record that has stood since 1940. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
53.9%: The labor force participation rate in Mississippi, the lowest in the nation. (Mississippi Today)
Off The Wall
A section of Interstate 80 running through San Francisco will be named for Giants legend Willie Mays, after California lawmakers approved last-minute legislation. The Say Hey Kid died in June at age 93. Sen. Bill Dodd (D), the bill’s sponsor, said even some Dodger fans voted for the bill. (Times-Herald)
You too can own a melted version of the Iron Throne: More than 2,000 items including costumes, props and set pieces from Game of Thrones will go up for auction in October. HBO said they have been preserving the props since the show began in 2011. (Associated Press)
Come to think of it, we’ve been in the market for a few new swords lately…
Quote of the Day
“Instead of kowtowing to special interests, California’s legislature must work for kids and families — especially when the federal government remains unable to act.”
— California Assemb. Lowenthal, shelving his social media bill after amendments proposed by Meta watered it down too much for his liking. (Pluribus News)