Good morning, it’s Monday, June 5, 2023. In today’s edition, Fla. expands liability protections for space companies; Texas bans gender-affirming care; Conn., Colo., Hawaii advance gun safety bills:
Top Stories
SPACE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed legislation expanding liability protections for commercial spaceflight operators like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Boeing. The new law protects those companies from lawsuits brought by spaceflight crew members. Virginia, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas have all adopted some form of liability protections for space companies. (Pluribus News)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has signed legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, making Texas the 18th state to do so. The ban extends to puberty blockers and hormone therapies, and those who are currently on such treatments will be “weaned off,” the bill says. (Texas Tribune) Alaska’s education department is moving to ban transgender students from sports leagues that conform to their gender identity. (Anchorage Daily News)
FINANCE: California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation is crafting rules for companies that advance worker paychecks, known as earned wage access companies. The new rules would limit the interest those companies could charge to 5% per transaction. (CalMatters)
GUN POLITICS: The Connecticut Senate has approved a measure banning the open carry of firearms and boosting gun storage requirements. The bill raises the minimum age to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, and limits the number of handguns someone may purchase to three in a month. (CT Mirror)
MORE: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has signed legislation banning the manufacture, possession or sale of unserialized firearms or firearm parts, known as ghost guns. (Colorado Sun) Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) has signed legislation banning guns from “sensitive locations,” including state buildings, public transportation and businesses that serve alcohol. He signed a bill requiring schools to conduct active shooter drills. (Hawaii News Now)
HOUSING: The Connecticut House has approved omnibus housing legislation that enacts new tenant protections, increases fines for code violations and offers new state support for workforce housing. A provision to reform zoning rules got scrapped at the last minute. (CT Mirror) Allstate has become the second major insurance company in just a week to say it will not sell new home insurance policies in California. (Los Angeles Times)
MORE: Nevada lawmakers are considering a $100 million fund to build a “transformational campus” to house those at risk of homelessness. Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D) introduced the bill, backed by the resorts industry, on Friday. (Nevada Current)
IMMIGRATION: More than a dozen migrants dropped off in Sacramento by a private jet originating in New Mexico appear to have been transported by the state of Florida, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said Saturday. The undocumented migrants had documents tying them to Vertol Systems Co., which operated a similar flight from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last year. (Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel)
SOCIAL ISSUES: The Connecticut legislature has given final approval to a bill that will ban anyone under 18 from receiving a marriage license. Current law allows emancipated minors and those who obtain a probate court judge’s approval to be married. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
KENTUCKY: A new survey from Cygnal, a Republican polling firm, finds Gov. Andy Beshear (D) tied with Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) at 47% each. Beshear’s favorable rating stands at 55%, while Cameron’s is at 46%. (Cygnal)
IOWA: State Democrats have approved a plan to allow voters to cast caucus votes by mail-in ballot, setting up the 2024 caucuses eight days before any other presidential nominating contest. The plan now goes to the Democratic National Committee, which wants South Carolina to hold the first nominating contest next year. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
WASHINGTON: A federal district court judge is hearing testimony over whether the state violated federal voting laws by creating a Latino-majority legislative district in Central Washington. Plaintiffs say the district includes so many low-turnout communities that Latino voter rights are being diluted. (Crosscut)
PEOPLE: Tennessee state Rep. Bill Beck (D) died of a heart attack over the weekend at age 61. (Tennessee Lookout) Our condolences to the entire Tennessee legislative family.
By The Numbers
$14 billion: The size of Rhode Island’s budget, which passed the House Finance Committee on a party-line vote on Friday. It’s the first time the state budget would top $14 billion. (Providence Journal)
30: The number of vetoes Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) has issued this year. He’s got a ways to go before he matches or exceeds the 48 vetoes that then-Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) issued in 2009. (Nevada Independent)
$266,000: The amount Missouri will spend on a social media campaign aimed at steering women away from abortions. The state Department of Social Services has hired a Columbia-based advertising agency to market the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Off The Wall
A Connecticut couple has sued the state over a camera the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection placed on the head of a bear that frequents their property. Mark and Carol Brault says their 4th Amendment rights are being violated, and they want the agency to delete any film taken of their property. (New Haven Register)
The atmospheric rivers that dumped hundreds of inches of snow in California’s mountain ranges have left mangled highway signs along important mountain passes. The snow is so heavy its bending road signs trapped underneath. (Sacramento Bee)
Quote of the Day
“There’s always an excuse, and the reason is that there’s a lot of money to be made by getting this stadium funded. And so the owner is going to benefit tremendously.”
— J.C. Bradbury, a sports economics researcher at Kennesaw State University, on proposed legislation in Nevada that would send up to $380 million to help the Oakland Athletics build a new stadium in Las Vegas. (Nevada Independent)