Good morning, it’s Monday, July 13, 2026. In today’s edition, states target data brokers with new fees; blue states want employers to pay for Medicaid costs; Georgia poll shows tied governor’s race:
Top Stories
PRIVACY: Lawmakers in Connecticut and New Jersey have approved bills requiring data brokers to register and pay a fee before selling or licensing consumer data to third parties. The New Jersey law, signed last week, sets registration fees at $1.5 million for the largest data brokers. It also targets data collectors, businesses that collect consumer data to sell to broker businesses. (Pluribus News)
MORE: Five states in recent years have approved bills creating consumer privacy protections for neural data. Bills have been introduced in half a dozen other states as lawmakers consider how artificial intelligence is being used to analyze and translate brain data, especially data generated by wearable devices, which aren’t subject to the same privacy rules as medical devices. (Pluribus News)
HEALTHCARE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed legislation directing the state to study a proposed premium payment for employers with at least 250 employees whose workers are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. The study comes after New Jersey enacted a first-in-the-nation law establishing a fee on employers whose low-wage workers rely on government healthcare. (Pluribus News)
This is becoming a blue state trend. Similar bills were introduced this year in Colorado, Oregon and Washington.
MORE: Iowa will allow doctors 60 years and older to apply for “emeritus” licenses, which would allow them to continue practicing medicine while teaching and supervising medical residents. The new law is aimed at helping mitigate a doctor shortage that is expected to get worse in the coming years. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
ENERGY: Pennsylvania’s new $50 billion budget includes a provision requiring data centers with peak capacity of more than 10 megawatts of energy use to file annual reports on energy and water use with the state Department of Environmental Protection. The budget also requires the transmission system operator PJM to disclose power load forecasting information to the state Public Utility Commission. (State Affairs)
EDUCATION: California Gov. Newsom has signed legislation to create a new educational commissioner position reporting directly to the governor. The bill would make the state’s elected school superintendent a member of the Board of Education, stripping the post of much of its authority. (Sacramento Bee)
MORE: Newsom also signed legislation that boosts spending on special education programs by $2.4 billion. Newsom said rising costs of special education programs are pushing districts including Sacramento City Unified toward fiscal insolvency. (Sacramento Bee)
In Politics & Business
COLORADO: First-time candidate Victor Marx (R) has formally won the Republican nomination for governor, beating out state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer (R) by about 2,500 votes out of 522,000 cast. Marx will face Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) in November’s general election. (Associated Press)
GEORGIA: A new poll conducted by Wick finds businessman Rick Jackson (R) and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) tied in the race for governor at 43% apiece. Independents lean toward Bottoms by a 43% to 35% margin, while moderates back Bottoms 51% to 24%. (Wick)
WISCONSIN: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) has fired her campaign manager after what she descried as “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies” in campaign finance reports. Rodriguez’s campaign said it would contact the Wisconsin Ethics Commission to correct reporting errors. (WTMJ)
ILLINOIS: The state House will investigate Rep. Carol Ammons (D) after she was indicted on ten federal charges this week. House Republicans filed a petition to create a special investigative committee to look into felony charges of wire fraud and obstructing justice. (Capitol News Illinois)
By The Numbers
56: The number of cases of West Nile virus diagnosed in humans in the United States so far this year, the highest number at this point in the summer since 2004. A warm winter and a hot spring have led to an early mosquito season, spreading the virus across 23 states. (Pluribus News)
More than 22,000: The number of Connecticut residents enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans who lost coverage during the first six months of 2026, a 75% increase over the same period last year. (CT Mirror)
Off The Wall
Two new statues are coming to North Carolina’s state capitol building, the first additions since Confederate statues were taken down in 2020. The new statues will honor the late Rev. Billy Graham and North Carolina soldiers who served or were killed in wars. (Raleigh News & Observer)
A museum in Rotterdam has spread 800 lbs. of peanut butter across its floor to honor the memory of the late Dutch artist Wim Schippers, who died last month. Schippers created a peanut butter floor in 1969. He also voiced the characters of Ernie and Kermit the Frog in the Dutch version of “Sesame Street.” (Associated Press)
A new species of sea snail has been named in honor of Vozinha, the goalkeeper for Cape Verde’s national team who stunned Spain in an unexpected shutout last month. The snail, discovered by a Spanish biologist in the Caribbean, has been named Aldisa vozinha. (Reuters)
Quote of the Day
“Whoever takes this seat, whoever the speaker assigns to be the next majority leader, I just a want you to know I’m going to be watching you.”
— New York Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D), who is stepping down from her leadership role at the end of the term. (State of Politics)