Good morning, it’s Tuesday, September 9, 2025. In today’s edition, California chatbot bill gets a boost; Missouri House to vote on redistricting plan; Mamdani posts big lead in mayoral campaign:
Top Stories
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A coalition of youth advocates is urging the California Senate to adopt legislation regulating companion chatbots before adjourning on Friday. The bill, authored by Assemb. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D), would prohibit companies from making chatbots that encourage self-harm, criminality or sexual behavior available to minors. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: The Missouri House is poised to give final approval to new congressional district boundaries that would create an additional Republican-leaning seat. The new map targets Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s (D) Kansas City-based district. (New York Times) Nebraska lawmakers travel to Washington this week for meetings on redistricting at the White House. (Nebraska Examiner)
ABORTION: New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) will seek to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) against a Hudson Valley doctor that seeks to compel New York to comply with a Texas law banning abortion. New York law allows James’s office to defend the constitutionality of state acts, including an abortion shield law. (Albany Times-Union)
ECONOMY: New legislation in Pennsylvania would fast-track permitting of new data centers, requiring the state Department of Environmental Protection to create a public list of 15 sites for data centers. (State Affairs)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has issued an executive order directing the state Department of Health to remove barriers to vaccines. The order requires the department to issue a standing order later this month to give guidance for pharmacists and health care providers giving Covid vaccines. (MPR News)
MORE: The federal government has granted Alaska a waiver to use out-of-state contractors to tackle a backlog in food assistance applications. Federal law requires state employees to process SNAP applications, but Alaska has struggled to keep up with requests since a 20% staff reduction at the Division of Public Assistance. (Anchorage Daily News)
MARIJUANA: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) plans to issue an executive order to regulate THC and set a minimum age of 21 to purchase those products. The legislature failed to reach a deal regulating pot products in two special sessions last month, after Abbott vetoed a full ban lawmakers approved earlier this year. (Texas Tribune)
In Politics & Business
RHODE ISLAND: Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes (D) will launch a second bid to challenge Gov. Dan McKee (D) on Tuesday, after losing the 2022 Democratic primary by just three points. Foulkes had $2.1 million in the bank at the end of June; she’s hired former Gov. Gina Raimondo’s (D) campaign manager to shepherd her race. (Providence Journal)
WISCONSIN: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (D) formally launched his bid for governor, joining what’s likely to be a crowded Democratic primary. Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez (D) is already in the race, while former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D), state Rep. Francesca Hong (D), Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) and state Sen. Kelda Roys (D) all consider bids. (State Affairs)
OREGON: State Rep. Cyrus Javadi will leave the Republican Party and run for re-election as a Democrat, after he was the only Republican to vote for a transportation tax measure last week. Javadi represents a coastal swing district in northwest Oregon. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
NEW YORK CITY: A Siena College poll conducted for The New York Times finds Assemb. Zohran Mamdani (D) leading the mayoral field with 46% of the vote, ahead of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I) at 24%, activist Curtis Sliwa (R) at 15% and Mayor Eric Adams (I) at 9%. In a head-to-head matchup, Mamdani leads Cuomo 48% to 44%. (New York Times)
MINNESOTA: House Democrats have elected Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) as their new caucus leader, nearly three months after former Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) was assassinated in her home. Stephenson is the co-chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. (MPR News)
By The Numbers
$820,000: The value of travel provided to California state lawmakers in 2024. Nearly 100 groups sponsored trips for 92 lawmakers to destinations ranging from Napa to Hawaii, Europe, Southeast Asia and Israel. (Associated Press)
175 years: The length of time California has been a state. California was admitted to the union on Sept. 9, 1850. (Sacramento Bee)
$900: The fine Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) will pay to settle charges he broke state ethics law by failing to disclose private flights he accepted while serving as attorney general. The settlement documents list six flights Landry failed to disclose in 2022 and 2023. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
Off The Wall
Research scientists have found something unexpected under the sea floor off Cape Cod: A massive reservoir of fresh water. A joint expedition between the National Science Foundation and the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling this summer found the aquifer holds enough water to supply New York City’s water needs for 800 years. (Associated Press)
Mark your calendar: Fat Bear Week is back. The National Park Service says online voting for the best fat bear at Katmai National Park will take place Sept. 23-30. “As far as we know, the bears have no idea this thing exists.” (Anchorage Daily News)
A Kentucky nurse saved a drunk baby raccoon from drowning in a dumpster by performing CPR. The raccoon got a little tipsy on fermented peaches; it recovered overnight at a veterinary clinic and released the next day. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“Our whole goal is not to make a headline, but to keep other people out of headlines.”
— Minnesota Auditor Julie Blaha (D), on what it takes to be a successful auditor. Blaha won’t seek re-election next year; she’s keeping her options open for a potential run for another office. (MPR News)