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Good morning, it’s Tuesday, January 30, 2024. In today’s edition, California moves to restrict youth social media use; Florida, Hawaii advance AI disclaimers; the presidential candidate who didn’t know she was running:
Top Stories
SOCIAL MEDIA: California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) has introduced legislation requiring social media companies to display feeds shown to minors in chronological order, rather than those curated by algorithms. Another bill would bar online companies from collecting and selling data from users under 18 without informed consent. (Pluribus News)
The second bill is similar to a proposal out of New York, setting the broad contours around the red state-blue state divide over how to address online privacy for children.
LGBTQ RIGHTS: An Iowa House committee on Wednesday will hear testimony over legislation that would remove gender identity from state civil rights law. The measure would also add a diagnosis of gender dysphoria or gender identity disorders to the disability category of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. (Iowa Public Radio) The Ohio ACLU will sue to block Ohio’s new ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. (Center Square)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The Florida House Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice advanced a measure requiring political advertising that uses generative artificial intelligence to include a disclaimer. Ads that do not include a disclaimer would be subject to fines. A Senate companion bill advanced earlier this month. (The Capitolist)
MORE: Hawaii legislators have introduced three measures to make it a misdemeanor to use artificial intelligence to create “materially deceptive media” using artificial intelligence. One measure would criminalize the distribution of deepfake political messages. (Honolulu Star Advertiser)
PUBLIC HEALTH: The Idaho House passed legislation creating mandatory minimum sentences of at least three years for fentanyl trafficking. The state already requires mandatory minimum sentences for trafficking marijuana, meth, cocaine and heroin. (Idaho Reports)
HOUSING: Missouri lawmakers are considering a tax credit program to entice developers to convert two big empty office buildings in St. Louis into apartment buildings. A measure heard Monday would reimburse developers 25% of the costs of converting those buildings. St. Louis has a higher office vacancy rate than other big U.S. cities. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
TECHNOLOGY: The West Virginia House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would require pornographic websites to collect state-issued identification from users to verify their ages. The bill “provides a detailed list of sexual acts” that would be subject to restriction. (Associated Press)
PAID LEAVE: The Kentucky House overwhelmingly approved legislation to allow employers to purchase voluntary paid family leave insurance. Employers could choose whether to offer the insurance to employees as a benefit. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
MICHIGAN: Voters head to the polls today to pick nominees in special elections to fill two vacant state House seats. The seats will break the 54-54 deadlock in the state House, created when the two incumbents won mayoral elections in their respective cities. Both districts are heavily Democratic. (Detroit Free Press, Bridge MI)
FLORIDA: A House subcommittee has approved legislation that would increase the threshold for passing new constitutional amendments from 60% to 66.67%. The state AFL-CIO and the League of Women Voters testified against the bill. (The Capitolist) The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Feb. 7 over a proposed constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights. (Spectrum News)
CALIFORNIA: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has raised more than $14.2 million to support Proposition 1, a measure to issue $6.4 billion in bonds to pay for hosing and treatment facilities to bolster mental health care services. The lone group campaigning against the March 5 measure has raised $1,000. (CalMatters)
TRUMP: The Illinois Board of Elections meets today to consider whether to allow former President Donald Trump to stay on the primary ballot. The eight-member board is made up of four Republicans and four Democrats. A tie would keep Trump on the ballot. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
$5,415: The price, per square foot, of the average home in the South of Market neighborhood in San Francisco, making it the most expensive neighborhood in America. California is home of five of the ten most expensive neighborhoods, while Florida is home to four. (CNBC)
100: The number of inches of snow that have fallen in Anchorage, Alaska, this year. The city is on track to beat its all-time record of 134.5 inches of snow in a single winter. (Associated Press) Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (R) State of the State speech was postponed Monday after high winds disrupted flights into and out of Juneau. (Associated Press)
$1.4 million: The amount Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) raised in 2023, her campaign said Monday. She finished the year with $1.7 million in the bank. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
Reynolds only needs to win about 19 more terms before she matches the tenure of her predecessor, former Gov. Terry Branstad (R). We kid, but not by much.
Off The Wall
Among the choices Minnesota voters will face on their presidential primary ballot is Krystal Gabel, a Colorado woman who is a candidate for the Legal Marijuana Now Party. That comes as news to Krystal Gabel, who said she never agreed to become a candidate. The party says they have withdrawn her name from consideration, but the ballots are already printed. (Associated Press)
Former Ohio Rep. Steven Kraus (R) can run for office again, nine years after he was convicted of theft from an elderly person, the state Supreme Court ruled. Kraus was booted from office after his felony conviction. He’s challenging a siting incumbent in the March 19 primary. (Columbus Dispatch)
A deep sea exploration company thinks it has found the remains of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra, 86 years after she disappeared somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The company, Deep Sea Vision, has fuzzy images of a plane-shaped object in 5,000 meters of water. (Los Angeles Times)
Quote of the Day
“I look forward to supporting this good bill, no buts about it.”
— Florida Rep. Michelle Salzman (R), on legislation meant to close loopholes regulating Brazilian butt lifts, a popular cosmetic surgery procedure. (Florida Politics)