HAPPENING TOMORROW: We’re hosting NCSL chief executive Tim Storey for a preview of this year’s Legislative Summit. Join us at noon Eastern, register right here.
Good morning, it’s Monday, July 28, 2025. In today’s edition, states warn of budget cuts; Dems aim to ban masks for ICE agents; new gubernatorial candidates in South Carolina, Wisconsin:
Top Stories
ECONOMY: Governors in at least five states have warned agency leaders to cut spending, an ominous sign of potential budget strains ahead. A senior budget official in Washington told agency leaders to limit supplemental funding requests, while budget directors in Georgia, Idaho and Indiana told agencies to prepare for spending cuts. (Pluribus News)
IMMIGRATION: Democratic lawmakers in at least five states have introduced bills to ban law enforcement personnel from wearing face coverings while performing their duties. Bills in New York and Pennsylvania would require agents to operate in clearly visible uniforms with name badges and identifying apparel. (Pluribus News)
The measures, targeted at ICE agents conducting immigration raids, contain exemptions for medical masks and breathing apparatuses used to prevent smoke or toxin inhalation.
HEALTH CARE: Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) earlier this month signed legislation capping the price of generic and name-brand drugs at wholesale prices. Another law imposes new regulations on pharmacy benefit managers, and a third will direct the Department of Consumer Protection to study the feasibility of importing drugs from Canada. (CT Insider)
REDISTRICTING: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) says she is seriously considering beginning the redistricting process early next year in the face of Texas efforts to redraw their boundary lines. (State of Politics) California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) hosted six Texas House Democrats to discuss redistricting. (Sacramento Bee)
ELECTIONS: North Carolina lawmakers return to session this week to consider legislation allowing the state to take more time to process provisional ballots. The House will take up an elections package that would also ban ranked-choice voting and create a misdemeanor offense for disturbing behavior at a polling place. (State Affairs)
MORE: Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon’s (D) office has rejected a federal Justice Department request to share the state’s voter registration list. In a letter sent Friday, general counsel Justin Erickson said the Justice Department did not identify a legal basis for its request, similar to ones made to officials in Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. (Minnesota Star Tribune)
In Politics & Business
GOVERNORS: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) will chair the National Governors Association this year alongside vice chair Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D). Stitt served as vice chair under outgoing chair Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), who hosted governors at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs this weekend. (Baltimore Sun)
SOUTH CAROLINA: U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R) will run for governor, he said Sunday in Rock Hill. Norman joins Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R), state Sen. Josh Kimbrell (R) and Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) in the GOP primary. (The State)
WISCONSIN: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) entered the race for governor Friday, a day after Gov. Tony Evers (D) said he wouldn’t seek a third term. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (D) said he would take steps to enter the race. (State Affairs)
PENNSYLVANIA: State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) is increasingly teasing another gubernatorial run, with social media posts testing a future campaign logo. The state Republican Party is likely to endorse Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R), after Mastriano lost to Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) by nearly 15 points in 2022. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
2028: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) addressed North Carolina Democrats at an annual fundraiser on Saturday. Pritzker is a Duke graduate who served as a legislative aide for former Sen. Terry Sanford (D-N.C.). (NC Newsline)
By The Numbers
$230 million: The amount paid to California dairy farms to subsidize losses in milk production related to bird flu. The H5N1 flu strain has swept through more than 75% of the state’s 1,000 dairy farms since last August. (Los Angeles Times)
1 in 30 million: The share of Maine lobsters that carry a genetic mutation that turns their shells gold. One such lucky lobster was spared from being sold at a Warwick, R.I., grocery store; the lobster was donated to the Biomes Marine Biology Center in North Kingstown. (Providence Journal)
Off The Wall
A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill to name the walleye the official state fish. Ohio, Indiana and Iowa are the only states that have not designated a state fish; the walleye is already the official fish of Minnesota, South Dakota and Vermont. (Ohio Capital Journal)
The North Dakota Department of Agriculture has awarded a $300,000 grant to a new program that will use drones to scout for weed infestations. The first phase of the project involves teaching AI systems to identify invasive weeds in five southeastern counties, focused on soybean and sugar beet fields. (North Dakota Monitor)
Nauzhae Drake, 26, has four children — ages 6, 4, 3 and two weeks — all of whom were born on July 7. The probability of four people sharing the same birthday is 0.000000000056349%, according to the chairman of Cal Poly Pomona’s mathematics department. (Los Angeles Times)
Quote of the Day
“You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us.”
— Kentucky Rep. Lisa Willner (D), on the lack of women’s restrooms in the statehouse in Frankfort. Many state capitol buildings today still have far more men’s rooms than women’s rooms. (Associated Press)