Good morning, it’s Wednesday, August 27, 2025. In today’s edition, lawmakers ban AI therapists; Dems break Iowa GOP supermajority; California governor’s race wide open:
Top Stories
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Legislators in Illinois and Nevada have approved new laws banning AI mental health therapists, while similar bills are under consideration in California and New Jersey. The Illinois law allows providers to use AI to assist in administrative and clinical support functions, but it bars bots from providing therapeutic services. The Nevada measure bans chatbots from providing mental health care. (Pluribus News)
GAMBLING: Lawmakers in Ohio and New Jersey are taking steps to ban certain types of proposition bets in the wake of sports betting scandals. Prop bets make up just a small fraction of overall wagers, but gaming observers say they can cause gamblers to wager more often and threaten the integrity of sports. (Pluribus News)
EDUCATION: The Trump administration has ordered 40 states and the District of Columbia to remove references to gender identity from sex education materials or risk losing federal funding. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families asked school departments to delete definitions of transgender and related terms from curricula. (New Jersey Monitor, VT Digger)
MORE: Mississippi lawmakers held hearings this week on a proposal to expand school choice plans, spurred on by support from the Trump administration. Nineteen states have some form of education savings account plan in place; a Trump administration official encouraged Mississippi lawmakers to establish a universal program. (Associated Press)
TRANSPORTATION: The Trump administration is threatening California, Washington and New Mexico with millions in federal funding cuts if those states fail to enforce English language requirements for truckers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said those states are not implementing rules the Trump administration put into effect in June. (Associated Press)
PUBLIC SAFETY: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed two bills this week creating a state account dedicated to funding wildlife crossings. The accounts will raise money from a new specialty license plate and from recreational marijuana sales. Montana has the second-highest rate of wildlife collisions in the country. (Daily Montanan)
CYBERSECURITY: A cyberattack has caused Nevada state offices to close for two days this week, Gov. Joe Lombardo’s (R) office said Tuesday. Workers were put on administrative leave on Monday as officials worked to bring systems back online; the state said there is no evidence that personal information was compromised. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
IOWA: Democrat Catelin Drey won 55% of the vote against Republican Christopher Porsch in a special election to fill the Sioux City-area state Senate seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Rocky De Witt (R). Drey’s victory gives Democrats enough votes to break the Republican supermajority. De Witt had won re-election by more than 10 percentage points in 2022. (Des Moines Register)
CALIFORNIA: A new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll finds former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D) leading the crowded gubernatorial contest with 17% of the vote, followed by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) at 10%. No other candidate broke into double digits, and 38% of voters said they were undecided. (Los Angeles Times)
NEW JERSEY: Democrats are challenging the nominating petitions for Green Party gubernatorial candidate Lily Benavides, alleging she did not turn in the required 2,000 valid signatures necessary to appear on the ballot. No Green Party candidate has ever won more than 1% of the vote in a New Jersey gubernatorial contest. (New Jersey Globe)
PEOPLE: West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Tim Armstead, a former speaker of the state House of Delegates, has died at 60. Armstead won a 12-year term on the court in 2020, and served four years as chief justice. (Associated Press) Our condolences to the West Virginia political family.
By The Numbers
Nearly 80%: The share of CDC grants cut by the Trump administration in blue states that have been restored after court fights initiated by Democratic governors and attorneys general. Just 5% of grants cut in red states have been restored. (KFF Health News)
854,977: The number of attendees at the Indiana State Fair this year. Attendance has grown every year for the last five years, but it hasn’t yet equaled the 2013 record of 978,296 attendees. (State Affairs)
Off The Wall
Nebraska Auditor Mike Foley has accused a local county commissioner of redeeming rebates at the department store Menards to purchase a whoopee cushion, a load of lumber, toy boats and other items. The commissioner in question says the purchases were an honest mistake, and that he intends to repay the county. (Nebraska Examiner)
The Massachusetts Seal, Flag and Motto Advisory Commission is seeking input from the public on possible redesigns of state symbols and emblems, and residents are delivering some fantastic ideas. Some of the more creative flag designs include a dinosaur with a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee in hand, a seal on a surfboard, and our favorite, a great white shark in a pilgrim hat. See those and more at MassLive.
Quote of the Day
“Skip Florida!!! and exchange your Paper Rings in the majestic Rocky Mountains.”
— Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), a self-proclaimed “Certified Swift Wedding Officiant,” congratulating Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on their engagement. (Denver Post)