Good morning, it’s Wednesday, April 2, 2025. In today’s edition, health agencies scramble after Trump cuts; Dems score big win in Wisconsin; California, Nevada take up housing bills:
Top Stories
PUBLIC HEALTH: State health agencies are laying off workers and struggling to reconfigure public health programs after the Trump administration clawed back $12 billion in funding last week. A coalition of 22 Democratic attorneys general and two more governors have sued to try to restore the grants. (Pluribus News)
Some on-the-ground casualties: Utah’s health department laid off 37 people. North Carolina’s plans to let go of 80 employees. Minnesota’s department may lay off as many as 200.
HOUSING: The California Assembly is moving ahead with a four-bill package meant to lower housing costs. The bills would allow homeowners and developers to bypass local building departments, require state permitting departments to move faster and block more restrictive building standards in the future. The bills are co-authored by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D). (Sacramento Bee)
MORE: Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) has laid out a housing package allocating $250 million for “attainable housing” projects aimed at those making up to 150% of the area median income. The bill would expedite processing for attainable housing developments. The state Assembly holds its first hearing on the bill today. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: Ohio Republicans have added provisions to the state budget that would recognize only two sexes, ban public libraries from placing material about sexual orientation and gender identity in areas where minors are present, and ban state agencies from flying pride flags. The budget also restricts state aid for youth homeless shelters that “promote or affirm” gender transition. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
SOCIAL MEDIA: A federal judge has blocked an Arkansas law requiring social media companies to verify the ages of new users. The first-in-the-nation law, signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) in 2023, violates First Amendment rights of state residents, the judge wrote. (Arkansas Advocate)
IMMIGRATION: The Idaho legislature has given final approval to a measure preventing undocumented immigrants from accessing public assistance. The bill would apply to state services that do not currently require agencies to verify immigration status, including health assistance for immunizations and communicable disease testing and treatment and food assistance for dependent children. (Idaho Capital Sun)
MORE: An Iowa Senate subcommittee has advanced a bill establishing human smuggling as a criminal offense, including acts of transporting someone in violation of federal immigration law with the intent to conceal them from law enforcement. Religious groups voiced concern that the bill could criminalize their religious freedom. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
AGRICULTURE: The Nebraska legislature has given secondary approval to a measure that would ban lab-grown meat. The bill does not apply to plant-based products like Impossible Burgers; it covers cell-derived meat, banning its production, import, distribution, promotion or sale. (Nebraska Examiner)
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) is expected to sign a lab-grown meat ban. Florida and Alabama have adopted similar bills.
In Politics & Business
WISCONSIN: Judge Susan Crawford, backed by Democrats, won an open seat on the state Supreme Court on Tuesday, beating back Republican-supported Judge Brad Schimel by a 55%-45% margin. The race attracted more than $100 million in spending, including more than $20 million on Schimel’s behalf from Elon Musk. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Crawford won majorities in nine counties that voted for President Trump last year.
MORE: Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, backed by Democrats, won a second term over Republican-backed Brittany Kinser, scoring 53% of the vote. Voters also approved a proposed constitutional amendment to add a requirement that voters show photo identification when casting a ballot. That measure won 63% of the vote. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Examiner)
FLORIDA: State Sen. Randy Fine (R) won an open U.S. House seat vacated by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, capturing 57% of the vote. State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R) won a special election to a seat vacated by ex-U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R), carrying 57% of the vote over his Democratic rival. (Orlando Sentinel, Pensacola News Journal)
Both districts went for President Trump by about 30 points in 2024. Democrats lost both races on Tuesday, but they cut those margins in half.
MICHIGAN: State Sen. Mallory McMurrow (D) will run for an open U.S. Senate seat, she said Wednesday. She’s the first candidate to enter the race to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D). U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens (D) and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D), Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) and progressive activist Abdul El-Sayed (D) are all considering their own runs. (Detroit News)
“[S]tanding behind a podium in front of the Capitol in D.C. and saying, ‘We’re fighting, we’re winning,’ and then turning around to text people to ask for $5 is, frankly, bulls***,” McMurrow told the paper.
UTAH: Labor unions opposed to a state ban on public sector collective bargaining have begun collecting signatures to place a referendum overturning the new law on the ballot. They have until April 16 to submit 140,748 valid signatures to get the measure on the ballot. They say they’ve collected 130,000 signatures in their first two weeks. (Deseret News)
MONTANA: The state Senate voted to bar former Senate President Jason Ellsworth (R) from the chamber floor and to remove him from his committee assignments. Ellsworth will still be able to vote remotely. Ellsworth is under scrutiny over his approval of a $170,000 contract with a longtime business associate. (KTVH)
By The Numbers
9.4%: The expected decline in people arriving in the U.S. from abroad this year, almost double the decline projected at the end of February. The firm Tourism Economics expects travel from Canada to drop 20% this year. (Associated Press)
246%: The increase in ticket sales registered by the WNBA’s Indiana Fever during star player Caitlin Clark’s rookie season last year. The Fever will host this year’s WNBA All-Star Game. (Indianapolis Star)
Off The Wall
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has vetoed legislation that would have allowed the state to pay its vendors in gold. The bill would have required the state to hire an outside firm to set up a gold payment system. It came after lawmakers approved a bill last year to purchase about $60 million worth of gold for investment purposes. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Three men who allegedly used sledgehammers and crowbars to rob an upscale jewelry store in Beverly Hills are in jail after one of the men posted images of large amounts of cash on his Instagram profile, alongside text that read “Robbery Gang.” The man who posted the image was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. (AFP)
Not the brightest of bulbs!
Quote of the Day
“I’m not helping anybody’s betting odds.”
— New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D), declining to speculate whether the legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) can agree to an already-late budget deal. The legislature passed a stop-gap funding bill that keeps government operational through tomorrow. (State of Politics)