Good morning, it’s Thursday, May 28, 2026. In today’s edition, states target addictive social media feeds; New York gets into redistricting game; New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio move to rein in data centers:
Top Stories
SOCIAL MEDIA: Idaho, Connecticut, Minnesota and South Carolina have all enacted laws in recent weeks to target “addictive” social media feeds aimed at kids. Similar bills targeting addictive feeds were introduced in at least 11 other states. The bills in Idaho, Minnesota and South Carolina create a novel provision requiring platforms to estimate user ages at regular intervals. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: New York Democrats are expected to introduce legislation as early as Friday to overhaul the state’s redistricting process. One proposed constitutional amendment would allow minor tweaks to map lines, while the other would permit an aggressive Democratic gerrymander. If passed, voters would get to weigh in in November 2027. (Politico)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The Illinois House has approved legislation requiring frontier AI companies to create and publish plans to address severe or catastrophic risk from their models. The measure would also mandate annual third-party audits of AI companies on safety issues, a provision unique to Illinois after California and New York adopted similar risk bills. (NBC)
ENERGY: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) has proposed a four-step “guardrails” plan to manage data center construction. The proposal requires data centers to provide energy to the grid, report energy and water use, manage community concerns about noise and light pollution and build facilities with union labor. Lawmakers have also introduced legislation to cut tax incentives for data centers. (New Jersey Globe)
MORE: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is asking lawmakers to increase standards data centers must meet to qualify for state tax credits. The guidelines include requirements that data centers bring their own power generation capacity or fully fund new generation to meet demand. Centers must prioritize hiring and training local workers and commit to at least $250 million in community investment. (State Affairs)
EVEN MORE: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has directed the Ohio Tax Credit Authority to pause consideration of any new exemption requests for data center construction. DeWine said he backs a select legislative panel studying the impact data centers have on local communities. (State Affairs)
HOUSING: Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has signed legislation streamlining environmental review processes for housing developments and infrastructure projects. The bill makes substantial changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, approved in 1975, which gets the blame for slowing housing construction projects. (Albany Times Union)
CHILD SAFETY: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has signed legislation making the grooming of a minor a felony. The law requires licensing boards to be notified if a teacher has been charged with grooming and updates training and mandatory reporting requirements. The measure passed the legislature unanimously. (CBS News)
In Politics & Business
MAINE: A new University of New Hampshire survey finds former Senate President Troy Jackson (D) and former state CDC director Nirav Shah (D) are the first choices of 28% of Maine Democrats each, followed by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) at 13% and former House Speaker Hannah Pingree (D) at 12%. Bellows and Pingree lead the second-choice vote at 29% and 23%, respectively. (UNH)
Maine’s ranked-choice voting system makes those second-choice votes important.
MORE: The same UNH poll finds former U.S. State Department official Bobby Charles (R) leading as the first choice among 37% of Republicans, up nine points from the February survey. Businessman Jonathan Bush (R) stands at 18%, up from just 5% in February, and businessman Ben Midgley (R) sits at 11%. (UNH)
CALIFORNIA: A Kreate Strategies poll finds former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra (D) and conservative commentator Steve Hilton (R) statistically tied in the gubernatorial contest, 27% to 26%, with billionaire Tom Steyer (D) at 20%. No other candidate cracks double digits. (Kreate Strategies)
Just 10% of California voters have cast a ballot ahead of next Tuesday’s primary, according to veteran California Democratic strategist Paul Mitchell. (Associated Press)
MICHIGAN: Supporters of a proposed ballot measure to ban political contributions by monopoly utilities and corporations with state contracts turned in more than 562,000 signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot. Measures must turn in 356,958 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The proposal would require disclosure of “dark money” that fuels TV ads. (State Affairs)
By The Numbers
8%: The share of Americans who did not have health insurance in 2025, according to new CDC data. The number of uninsured Americans jumped by 800,000, including 300,000 children, over the year before. (Associated Press)
$195 million: The amount Steyer (D) has spent on broadcast, cable and radio ads, making his bid for California governor the most expensive race of the year so far. In second place is businessman Rick Jackson (R), running for governor of Georgia, who’s spent $83 million on advertising. (Associated Press)
Nearly 60%: The share of legislative races in Massachusetts in which only one candidate has filed. In the Senate, 25 of 40 members are running unopposed. In the House, 91 of 160 districts feature only an incumbent seeking re-election. (State Affairs)
Off The Wall
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), censured by his own party for his decision to commute the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (R), appeared during a state Democratic Party Zoom meeting with tape over his mouth. The censure bars Polis from participating as a guest or speaker at party-sponsored events. (Denver7)
The town of Rutland, Mass., has canceled Fourth of July celebrations because they won’t have enough police or firefighters to provide security. Voters this month rejected a ballot measure that would have funded Rutland’s four full-time police officers and its five firefighters. (MassLive)
A suburban Chicago man has been arrested in the Florida Keys after he stole a police cruiser to drive from one bar to another. The man didn’t even have a valid driver’s license. He was charged with DUI, burglary, grant theft, grand theft of law enforcement equipment, reckless driving, resisting arrest and refusing to submit to a DUI test. (Local10)
Quote of the Day
“They always say in politics you just never know who your next ally is going to be. And this one is pretty unusual, but it just proves that saying is correct.”
— Wisconsin Sen. Chris Kapenga (R), who joined all 15 Senate Democrats to kill a tax cut-and-spending deal negotiated between Gov. Tony Evers (D) and legislative Republicans. (WPR)