Good morning, it’s Monday, July 10, 2023. In today’s edition, Iowa prepares new abortion ban; N.Y. considers single-payer health care; Calif. social media journalism bill shelved for the year:
Top Stories
ABORTION: Iowa legislators will return for a special session Tuesday to consider a ban on abortions after six weeks, with exceptions for medical emergencies, rape, incest and fetal abnormality. The state Supreme Court deadlocked over a similar law earlier this year, though largely on procedural questions. (Associated Press, Iowa Capital Dispatch)
MORE: A Dane County judge has allowed a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s 173-year old abortion ban to continue. The judge ruled the 1849 ban outlaws killing a fetus, but that it does not apply to consensual medical abortions. (MPR News) Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has rejected a request from county attorneys to undo an executive order that prevents them from prosecuting abortion-related cases. (Arizona Republic)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) has asked a state court to order the state Division of Vehicles to comply with a measure requiring driver’s licenses to reflect someone’s sex at birth. Gov. Laura Kelly (D) has ordered the agency to ignore the law. (Kansas Reflector) Seven Republican attorneys general have written to Target warning the company that clothes and merchandise sold as part of Pride month celebrations might violate state child protection laws. (CBS News)
HEALTH CARE: New York lawmakers have reintroduced legislation creating a statewide universal health care system after months of negotiations with labor unions. The first effort to create a single-payer system was introduced in New York more than 30 years ago. (State of Politics)
IMMIGRATION: Florida will no longer recognize driver privilege cards issued to undocumented residents in other states. The new rule, which went into effect July 1, means cards issued in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii and Vermont won’t be considered valid licenses in Florida, putting drivers at risk of misdemeanor charges. (Boston Globe)
ENERGY: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is expected to sign legislation lifting the state’s 40-year ban on new nuclear power plant construction. The bill sailed through the legislature this year, though environmentalists raised objections. Pritzker has said he’s interested in small modular reactors. (Chicago Tribune)
Fun fact: Illinois has more nuclear power plants than any other state.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said Sunday his state is preparing to sue social media companies over “harms” caused to children. (The Hill) California lawmakers are shelving a proposal to require tech giants like Google and Facebook to pay a “journalism usage fee” to media companies. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold informational hearings on the bill in the fall. (Pluribus News)
Google and Facebook have restricted posting news in Canada after lawmakers there passed a similar law.
In Politics & Business
WASHINGTON: Former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R) formally entered the race to replace outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee (D). Another Republican, Raul Garcia, ended his own campaign to support Reichert. Reichert left Congress in 2019, after seven terms in office. (The Olympian)
MISSOURI: House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D) will run for governor in 2024, she said Sunday. Quade, 37, would be the state’s first female governor. Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) are vying for the GOP nomination. (Kansas City Star)
OHIO: House Speaker Jason Stephens (R) has asked state Rep. Bob Young (R) to resign after Young was charged with two misdemeanor counts of first-degree domestic violence and one felony charge for disrupting emergency service. The alleged incident occurred just hours after Young had hosted Stephens for a fundraiser. (Columbus Dispatch)
NEW MEXICO: The Legislative Council Service will begin studying proposals to allow legislators to hire full-time staff in district or regional offices. New Mexico remains the only state in the nation that does not pay legislators a salary. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
IOWA: The first presidential nominating contest is officially on the books: Iowa Republicans said they will hold the caucuses on Jan. 15, 2024. Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann said holding the caucuses on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday, could improve turnout. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
By The Numbers
$50.7 billion: The amount of revenue Illinois collected in the last fiscal year, the highest total the state has ever collected. They ended the fiscal year with a one-time $700 million surplus. (Capitol News Illinois)
17: The number of county elections officials in Arizona who have quit their jobs since the 2020 elections. Mohave County Recorder Kristi Blair quit her job last week, more than a year before her term was to end. (Arizona Republic)
$38.1 million: The sales price of a 10-bedroom, 15,000-square foot compound overlooking Nantucket Harbor. It’s the most expensive home ever sold on the island. (Boston Globe)
Off The Wall
That’s an oops: Minnesota lawmakers are racing to fix an error in a massive tax bill passed earlier this year that, if left in place, would cost taxpayers an extra $352 million. Lawmakers inadvertently returned to a 2019 formula for standard deductions, skipping out on four years of inflation that would cost the average married couple to face an extra $210 bill beginning in 2025. (MinnPost)
A Nevada driver who wanted to use his license plate to send a stern message to California drivers is appealing the Department of Motor Vehicle’s order that he return his plates. The license plate reads “GOBK2CA.” (KOLO)
The New Bedford Free Public Library finally has its copy of “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” back — almost 120 years after someone checked it out. A librarian at West Virginia University found the book in a donated collection and called her colleagues in Massachusetts to arrange its return. (New York Times)
Better late than never.
Quote of the Day
“Civil service served its purpose for many years. It just got antiquated.”
— Northbridge, Mass., Police Chief Timothy LaBrie, whose department is one of dozens across Massachusetts to have left the civil service process for hiring new officers. Once meant to prevent political patronage, the rules are now a barrier to hiring. (Boston Globe)