Good morning, it’s Tuesday, August 19, 2025. In today’s edition, Colorado lawmakers unveil new AI bill; Texas committees advance redistricting plans; Missouri AG to quit for job at FBI:
Top Stories
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Colorado Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez (D) has introduced legislation to overhaul an AI regulation measure adopted last year. In an interview, Rodriguez described the bill as a “big reduction” in the current law, which Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed on the understanding that it would be revised.
The new bill would focus on disclosure, rather than requirements that AI developers have a duty of care to avoid discrimination. The measure would also nix requirements that deployers of AI systems conduct impact assessments and report adverse outcomes. Developers would be required to disclose known and reasonably foreseeable risks. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: Texas House Democrats returned to Austin Monday for the beginning of a second special session under unprecedented security. House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) said lawmakers who had fled the state would be required to agree to be in the custody of a Department of Public Safety officer in order to leave the chamber. (Pluribus News) Rep. Nicole Collier (D) will remain locked in the statehouse chamber after refusing to allow for a police escort. (NBC News)
House and Senate committees advanced the new proposed maps in a Monday hearing. (Texas Tribune)
MORE: Indiana Republicans have been invited to the White House next week to discuss potential redistricting measures. Gov. Mike Braun (R) remains noncommittal, saying he wants to hear from lawmakers before calling a special session. (State Affairs)
DISASTER RELIEF: The Texas Senate has approved legislation responding to last month’s floods in the Hill Country. The bill would create licensure requirements for emergency management coordinators and require training for justices of the peace in disaster situations. Separate legislation would require a state agency to determine areas that need outdoor warning sirens. (Texas Tribune)
SOCIAL MEDIA: A federal appeals court has blocked Maryland’s first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising. The judge ruled that a provision in the law barring tech companies from telling consumers about the tax violates free speech rights. (Associated Press)
IMMIGRATION: New Jersey and a coalition of Democratic states are suing the Trump administration over the alleged illegal use of crime victim data for immigration enforcement. The administration has tied $1 billion in funding through the Victims of Crime Act to state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. (NJ Advance Media)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has taken emergency action to ban the sale of “designer Xanax,” a synthetic drug linked to dozens of overdose deaths. A coalition of 21 attorneys general, led by Kentucky’s Russell Coleman (R), is urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to ban bromazolam. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
SOUTH CAROLINA: A new poll conducted for U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R) campaign shows her leading the Republican gubernatorial primary field with 25% of the vote. She leads Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) at 17%, and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R) at 10%. No other candidate breaks into double digits. (FitsNews)
MISSOURI: Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) will resign in September to become deputy director of the FBI. Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) will announce a successor today. (Associated Press)
FLORIDA: Senate Republicans will meet in October to formally designate Sen. Jim Boyd (R) as the next Senate president, current President Ben Albritton (R) said Monday. Boyd currently serves as majority leader. (The Capitolist)
ALASKA: Supporters of a ballot measure to decriminalize psychedelics have been cleared to begin gathering signatures for the 2026 ballot. They must gather the signatures of 10% of voters in the last general election, including signatures from 30 of the state’s 40 legislative districts. (Alaska Beacon)
PEOPLE: Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) will take on a new position as head of Airlines for America, the airline industry’s top trade group in Washington. Sununu had considered a run for Senate before opting out. (New Hampshire Union Leader)
By The Numbers
$298 million: The amount of recreational marijuana sold in Arizona in the second quarter of the year, down 13.7% over the same period a year earlier. Sales were down $30 million from the first quarter of the year. (AZ Mirror)
36: The number of lawsuits Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) has filed against the Trump administration. Dustin Buehler, the special counsel who liaises with other Democratic states, says those lawsuits have saved Oregon $3.3 billion in federal funding. (Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Off The Wall
Kansas gubernatorial candidate Doug Billings is being sued by his own running mate for allegedly pocketing a $2,700 campaign contribution. April McCoy, Billings’s pick to be lieutenant governor, has filed papers with the Secretary of State’s office to remove her name from the ballot. Billings calls the whole thing a misunderstanding. (Kansas City Star)
The Cambridge Dictionary has added a host of words popularized by Gen Z and Gen Alpha to its online edition. Among the new entries: “Skibidi,” “tradwife” and “delulu.” (AFP)
Skibidi: A term which has “different meanings such as cool or bad, or can be used with no real meaning.” Finally, we understand our kids.
Firefighters in Connecticut on Saturday rescued a 40-year old man who became trapped in a tube slide. Authorities said the man was wedged “feet and head first,” which can’t have been comfortable. They rescued him within half an hour, and he refused treatment. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“I’ve been busy at things like this because I see you guys all the time. Today is ‘Amazon,’ and it became ‘Intel,’ but it’s not ‘Jim Tressel’s future in this world.’”
— Ohio Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel (R), keeping his options open for a potential run for governor. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has repeatedly promoted Tressel’s work, even as the state GOP backs businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (R) for governor. (Ohio Capital Journal)