Good morning, it’s Monday, May 1, 2023. In today’s edition, Minn. Senate backs legal pot; Colo. Gov signs gun bills; Ind., N.C. lawmakers target ‘harmful’ library books:
Top Stories
MARIJUANA: The Minnesota Senate has approved a 300-page bill legalizing recreational marijuana on a party-line vote. There are minor differences between the House and Senate versions, meaning lawmakers must take at least one more vote before the bill heads to Gov. Tim Walz (D). (Pluribus News, MPR News)
GUN POLITICS: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Friday signed four gun measures into law. The bills would raise the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21, expand a red flag law, impose a three-day waiting period on purchases and allow people to sue the gun industry. (Colorado Sun) The Oregon House will consider a measure Tuesday to ban ghost guns, made with untraceable parts. (Portland Tribune)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) has signed legislation banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The state ACLU has pledged to sue. (Montana Free Press, Daily Montanan) New Hampshire lawmakers will take up a bill this month ordering teachers and administrators to tell parents if their children want to use a different name or pronoun at school. (WMUR) Alabama lawmakers will consider legislation banning public drag shows in the presence of minors. (AL.com)
EDUCATION: Kansas lawmakers on Friday approved an education budget that expands private school tax credits. The bill would expand the ranks of students who are eligible for a credit to include those whose families make up to 250% of the federal poverty level. (Kansas Reflector) North Dakota lawmakers have approved $6 million to cover free lunch for low-income K-12 students. (Fargo Forum)
MORE: Indiana lawmakers have approved a bill banning “harmful materials” from school libraries. Librarians who violate the ban would face up to two and a half years in prison. (Indianapolis Star) The North Carolina Senate could vote as early as today on a bill increasing the penalty for disseminating obscenity in the presence of a minor. The measure would increase the punishment from unsupervised probation to a jail sentence of four to 39 months. (NC Newsline)
ENVIRONMENT: Alaska lawmakers have approved a bill making permanent a renewable energy grant fund that has already distributed $300 million to projects around the state. (Alaska Beacon) The Florida legislature has approved a bill doubling the amount of grant funding low-income residents can receive to strengthen their homes against wind damage, to $10,000. (Florida Politics) Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) intends to veto a clean heat standard intended to reduce fossil fuel emissions. The legislature will try to override the veto. (VTDigger)
HEALTH CARE: The Kansas legislature has narrowly approved a bill blocking state and local public health officials from issuing test, isolation or closure mandates to counter the spread of disease. The bill did not win enough votes to sustain a likely veto from Gov. Laura Kelly (D). (Kansas Reflector)
In Politics & Business
NORTH CAROLINA: The state Supreme Court, newly under Republican control, has reversed earlier decisions that banned partisan gerrymandering and struck down a voter ID law. The court ruled that claims about partisan gerrymandering are political decisions for the legislature and executive to decide. (Pluribus News, Raleigh News & Observer)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig (D) has filed an exploratory committee as she considers a race for governor. Former state Senate President Chuck Morse (R) is considering his own bid if Gov. Chris Sununu (R) decides to run for president. (Boston Globe, New Hampshire Union Leader)
OHIO: Conservative mega-donor Dick Uihlein has given $1.1 million to a PAC backing Ohio Republicans’ push to raise the threshold for amending the state constitution. The state Senate has already approved a bill creating an August special election, but House Speaker Jason Stephens (R) has not yet set a vote in his chamber. (Columbus Dispatch)
ALASKA: The state House will hear testimony tomorrow on legislation rolling back ranked choice voting, which voters adopted three years ago. (Alaska Current)
SOUTH CAROLINA: Democrats have elected Christale Spain as their new party chair, the first Black woman to hold the position. Spain, who had the support of U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D), previously served as the party’s executive director. (The State, New York Times)
By The Numbers
20: The number of Arkansas lawmakers who filed letters with the House clerk explaining mistaken or missed votes. Some lawmakers accidentally missed the window to vote on legislation, while others say they hit a green button rather than a red button. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
Off The Wall
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) has asked the Government Ethics Commission to look into a side consulting deal that Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (D) secured with a cannabis company, at the same time her office was auditing the state’s cannabis regulatory system. Fagan has refused to answer questions about her consulting work. (Oregonian. OPB)
Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez (R) could soon work from home. Well, closer to home — a budget provision that passed the legislature last week would allow a lieutenant governor who isn’t from Tallahassee’s Leon County to set up an official headquarters in his or her home county. Nunez is from Miami. (Florida Politics)
Three cheers for Dillon Reeves, a seventh grader in Warren, Mich., who took over from a school bus driver who lost consciousness. Reeves grabbed the steering wheel and brought the bus to a stop before it rolled into cross traffic. (Los Angeles Times)
Quote of the Day
“If you have the votes, why do you have to bother with rhetoric?”
— Minnesota Sen. Ann Rest (D), a 40-year veteran of the legislature and the only person to chair tax committees in both the state House and Senate. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)