Good morning, it’s Tuesday, June 6, 2023. In today’s edition, La., Mich. advance LGBTQ bills; Nev. Gov vetoes aid-in-dying bill; the GOP’s governor-flavored WH field:
Top Stories
LGBTQ RIGHTS: Louisiana lawmakers give final approval to bills banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, and barring lessons about gender and sexuality in school classrooms. (Baton Rouge Advocate) Michigan legislators plan to hold hearings this week on bills to expand hate crime protections to include gender identity and sexual orientation, and to ban conversion therapy on minors. (Michigan Advance) Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) is expected to sign legislation banning the state’s Medicaid program from paying for surgeries, hormones or puberty blockers used in gender transitions. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
IMMIGRATION: A second plane carrying undocumented migrants from Texas landed Monday in Sacramento. California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) says he is investigating whether crimes were committed. A first plane-load of immigrants that arrived Friday were carrying documents showing they had been transported by Florida’s Division of Emergency Management. (Associated Press, Sacramento Bee) The Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office says it has filed several counts of unlawful restraint related to flights Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) administration chartered to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. The office did not say who had been charged. (Texas Tribune)
GUN POLITICS: Illinois lawmakers have approved a bill expanding and extending a probation program for first-time offenders charged with illegally possessing a firearm. The bill passed with bipartisan support, as some Republicans worry the state’s strict gun laws could ensnare otherwise law-abiding residents. (Chicago Tribune)
AID IN DYING: Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) has vetoed legislation that would have allowed those with a terminal illness to end their lives with a physician’s assistance. Lombardo is the first governor to reject aid-in-dying legislation that passed his state’s legislature. (Pluribus News)
HEALTH CARE: Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) administration has reached agreement with the state Hospital Association to help bring down health care costs. The agreement would ban anti-competitive terms in contracts between providers and insurers, and require Connecticut to join a multi-state program that lowers prices through bulk purchases of generic drugs. (CT Mirror) Connecticut lawmakers unanimously approved legislation making it easier for social workers to get licenses in a bid to expand mental health access. (CT Mirror)
PRIVACY: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) has signed legislation shielding personal information of some elected officials, judges and law enforcement officers from being released in public records. The bill also creates a legal offense of “doxing” — disseminating personal or identifying data online with malicious intent. (Yellowhammer News)
EDUCATION: The Louisiana legislature has approved a bill requiring third graders to pass a state reading test before they advance to fourth grade. (Baton Rouge Advocate) Since applications for Iowa’s new education savings accounts opened May 31, more than 10,000 people have applied for the program. If all those people are accepted, it would cost the state about $76 million a year. The Iowa Legislative Services Agency estimated that the program would cost $107 million in the first year, and up to $878 million over four years. (Iowa Starting Line)
WORKFORCE: Maine lawmakers are readying votes to implement a paid family and medical leave bill. Gov. Janet Mills (D) has outlined concerns with the bill. (Maine Public Radio) The Nevada Senate has unanimously passed legislation extending up to eight weeks of paid family leave to state employees. Employees would be eligible to earn up to 50% of their regular salary for those eight weeks. (Nevada Independent)
Nevada lawmakers finished their biennial session without a budget deal. Expect a special session, and a lot more news to come from Carson City in the next few days.
In Politics & Business
WHITE HOUSE: Busy week for current and former governors running for president: Former Vice President Mike Pence (R) filed papers to run on Monday, ahead of a planned Wednesday kickoff. (Associated Press) Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will launch a bid tonight at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. (Associated Press)
MORE: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) released a video previewing his Wednesday entrance into the race. (Twitter) New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is a no go. Writing in The Washington Post, Sununu said the path to winning was clear, but that it is more important for him to stop former President Donald Trump from winning the nomination.
UTAH: Gov. Spencer Cox (R) says he is willing to call lawmakers back into special session so they can set an earlier date for a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart (R), who will resign from office. Current law does not allow a special election until 180 days after Cox receives a resignation letter. (Deseret News)
OREGON: Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (D) is investigating whether to file a stockholders’ lawsuit against the board of directors of Fox Corporation over false claims about the 2020 elections and the $787 million settlement in the defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems. (Pluribus News) The Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund owns more than 250,000 shares of Fox stock. (Oregonian)
ARKANSAS: Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) has certified ballot language for a proposed referendum to repeal the LEARNS Act, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s (R) key education overhaul initiative. The group has until July 31 to collect 54,522 valid signatures to make the ballot. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
WASHINGTON: State Republican Party chairman Caleb Heimlich will step down after five years on the job. State Republicans will pick his replacement at an Aug. 12 committee meeting. (Washington State Standard)
WISCONSIN: A bipartisan group of lawmakers is considering a proposal to provide the Milwaukee Brewers annual payments over the next 27 years instead of a one-time lump sum of $290 million. The annual payments, meant to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee, would be funded in part by income tax revenue paid by pro ball players. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
By The Numbers
106: The number of vetoes issued by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), after she rejected another seven on Monday. Hobbs is close to doubling the previous record, held by former Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), who vetoed 58 bills during one of her sessions. (AZ Mirror)
The Wall Street Journal took a look at Hobbs’s rocky first session, in which she lost key staff members and angered Democrats who felt shut out of budget negotiations and who took exception to Hobbs’s decision to veto a “tamale bill.”
$298 million: The appraised value of Republic Plaza, the tallest building in downtown Denver — down from $535 million the building was valued at in 2012. More than a quarter of Denver’s downtown office space is vacant. (Colorado Public Radio)
Off The Wall
Someone forked over $675,000 this weekend to purchase the bar used in the hit sitcom “Cheers” during an auction in Dallas. The cost included three wood-paneled counter sections where cast members carved their names, removable chromed beer taps and six walnut bar stools. The antique cash register was sold in a separate lot. (Boston Globe)
After a long session of Republican wins, Iowa Democrats actually won something — the second-annual slow-pitch softball game, 10-6. Though to be fair, Iowa Democrats have a ringer on their team: State Rep. J.D. Scholten (D), a former pro ball player, led off the game with a home run. (Nexstar)
Kansas, long a national leader in wheat production, has had such a terrible drought year that the state’s flour mills will have to import wheat grown in Eastern Europe. Industry experts say that’s never happened before. (KCUR)
Quote of the Day
“We don’t even know how much we owe.”
— Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano (D), after a routine audit showed the state spent $2.5 billion in federal funds on unemployment insurance money that was supposed to come from state tax dollars. The snafu has scrambled budget negotiations. (Boston Herald)