Good morning, it’s Monday, July 24, 2023. In today’s edition, Ala. lawmakers finish redistricting work; Ky. Gov leads GOP opponent in new poll; Ohio voters back abortion amendment:
Top Stories
TECHNOLOGY: A new Washington State law that took effect Sunday makes it illegal to create a geofence within 2,000 feet of a location that provides in-person health care services if that geofence targets consumers based on health-related needs. Backers say the law will protect those seeking abortions and gender-affirming care. Lawmakers in Connecticut, Nevada and New York passed similar measures that have yet to take effect. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: Alabama lawmakers on Friday approved a new U.S. House district map aimed at preserving the GOP’s 6-1 hold on the delegation. The new maps increase the Black share of the population in Rep. Barry Moore’s (R) district from 31% to almost 40%. Democrats hope the U.S. District Court that initially rejected the state’s maps forces Republicans to create a second Black-majority district. (Associated Press)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: New York Assemb. Angel Santabarbara (D) will introduce legislation increasing penalties for repeat shoplifters. Offenders who are convicted twice within three months or three times within a year would be guilty of fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony. (State of Politics)
TAXES: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) has signed a bill reinstating tax incentives for film production companies a decade after the original incentives ended. The state will give a 20% tax credit to film productions, with added bonuses if the film takes place in a rural or blighted area, if Missouri residents are hired to work on set, and if the productions depict the state in a positive way. (Fox4)
Our colleague Sophie Quinton has been covering the race to enact film tax credits this year. Missouri is at least the fifth to pass new incentives.
WORKFORCE: Colorado is launching a new $38 million program to provide free community college to residents who want to become nurses, fire fighters or construction workers. The program, launched by Gov. Jared Polis (D) last week, covers books, tuitions and fees at 19 community colleges around the state. (Denver Post)
TRANSPORTATION: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) will sue the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration in an effort to stop New York’s $23-per-day congestion pricing plan. Murphy says the federal agencies failed to conduct environmental reviews under the National Environmental Protection Act and the Clean Air Act. (New Jersey Globe)
In Politics & Business
KENTUCKY: A new poll conducted by the GOP firm Public Opinion Strategies shows Gov. Andy Beshear (D) leading Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) 52%-42%. Beshear’s approval rating stands at 63%. The poll shows he’s winning 15% of Republican voters, compared with Cameron’s 5% among Democrats. (Kentucky Fried Politics)
OHIO: A new poll conducted by Suffolk University for USA Today shows 58% of Ohio voters support a proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to an abortion, set for the November ballot, while 32% are opposed. (Columbus Dispatch)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) will run to replace retiring Gov. Chris Sununu (R), she said Monday. Ayotte lost her seat in the Senate by fewer than 1,000 votes in 2016. She will face former Senate President Chuck Morse (R) in the GOP primary. (WMUR)
TEXAS: Lawyers for impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a motion asking Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) to disqualify three Democratic senators as jurors, calling them biased. (Texas Tribune) Defend Texas Liberty PAC, a group opposing Paxton’s impeachment, contributed $1 million and loaned another $2 million to Patrick’s campaign. (Texas Tribune)
MAINE: Lawmakers will return to Augusta Tuesday to attempt to override Gov. Janet Mills’s (D) veto of legislation banning foreign spending in state and local campaigns. Foreign-owned energy companies are pouring millions into a campaign against a ballot measure that would create a publicly-owned utility. (Portland Press Herald)
WISCONSIN: The Elias Law Group has filed suit to reinstate absentee ballot drop boxes, as liberals prepare to take control of the state Supreme Court. The Supreme Court banned drop boxes outside of a county clerk’s office just months before the 2022 midterm elections. (Fox News)
By The Numbers
21%: The share of Washington State trooper positions that are vacant. The State Patrol says 146 of 684 trooper positions are unfilled as lawmakers consider new ways to recruit officers. (Seattle Times)
30: The median age of women giving birth in the United States in 2019, up from age 27 in 1990, according to Census Bureau figures. (Boston Globe)
Off The Wall
Politicians are getting in on the Barbie act: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is promoting a dark-haired version of the doll that sure looks like her. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) claims Barbie “embraces many of the values that make California the Golden State.” And California Sen. Scott Wiener (D) celebrated the new movie with a TikTok video showing him riding a BART train in hot pink stilettos. (Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press)
Congratulations to competitive eater Dan Kennedy, who scarfed down 35 (and three quarters) corn dogs to take the crown at the annual Milo’s Corn Dog Eating Competition at the California State Fair & Food Festival. Kenned dethroned reigning champion Molly Schuyler, who managed to eat 33 corn dogs. (Sacramento Bee)
Quote of the Day
“It took years to get in the ditch and it will take a couple of years to get out of it.”
— Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R), on the state’s homeowners insurance crisis. (Florida Politics)