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Pluribus AM: Redistricting, gas prices & NV, MD polls

Welcome to Pluribus AM, the morning must-read that keeps you up to date on everything happening in state politics! Read more about us here.

Good morning, it’s Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. In today’s edition, our exclusive report on the decline of competitive districts; new polls in Nev., Md.; and legal pot sales begin in Vt.

Welcome to Pluribus AM, the morning must-read that keeps you up to date on everything happening in state politics! Read more about us here.

Good morning, it’s Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. In today’s edition, our exclusive report on the decline of competitive districts; new polls in Nev., Md.; and legal pot sales begin in Vt.:

Top Stories

REDISTRICTING: The number of competitive state legislative districts, where President Biden and former President Trump received roughly equal shares of the vote, has dropped sharply after lawmakers drew new maps in the decennial redistricting process. The number of safely Democratic and safely Republican seats expanded, as parties consolidated gains made over the last decade. (Pluribus News)

FLORIDA: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has waived some requirements for receiving state unemployment insurance in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Residents who are unemployed because of the hurricane can qualify for Disaster Unemployment Assistance, the state Department of Economic Opportunity said. (Florida Politics)

CALIFORNIA: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) directed the California Air Resources Board to transition to winter-blend gasoline in an effort to bring down fuel prices by 5%-10%. Gas prices in California stand at $6.29, about $2.50 higher than the national average. (Pluribus News)

MICHIGAN: The legislature has given final approval to a measure funding a state study of the feasibility of nuclear power plants. Legislators say they want the state to explore new technologies that could lower the cost of nuclear energy, which is more expensive than cheaper gas, solar and wind. (Bridge Michigan)

TRANSPORTATION: Lawmakers in at least 8 states are considering measures to lower the legal blood-alcohol concentration limit from 0.08% to 0.05% in an effort to reduce the rising number of traffic fatalities. Utah is the only state where the legal BAC level is 0.05%. (Pluribus News)

RHODE ISLAND: Child tax rebate checks will start landing in bank accounts today for most state taxpayers. Filers who make less than $100,000 a year, or joint filers who make less than $200,000 a year, will receive $250 per child, up to three children. (WPRI) Lots of states handing out last-minute checks before Election Day this year.

ILLINOIS: The state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is launching a new $6 million grant program for independent meat processing companies. The program is meant to help companies strengthen the food supply chain. (WAND)

NEVADA: Nye County Clerk Mark Kampf says his office will conduct the 2022 midterm elections entirely by paper ballot after conspiracy theories about electronic voting machines swept through the state. Nye County, geographically the third-largest county in America, has about 33,000 active registered voters. (Reno Gazette Journal)

In Politics

LEGISLATORS: Nearly one in 20 state legislators seeking re-election this year lost to rivals in primary elections. At least 216 state legislators lost their primaries, much higher than in any year over the last decade. Republicans were almost three times as likely as were Democrats to lose primary elections; the carnage was most severe in Idaho, Alabama, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. (Pluribus News)

NEVADA: Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo (R) leads Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) 45%-42% in a new OH Predictive Insights poll conducted for the Nevada Independent. Both candidates have net-unfavorable ratings, but Lombardo’s (45% favorable, 48% unfavorable) is better than Sisolak’s (43% favorable, 55% unfavorable).

MARYLAND: Nonprofit executive Wes Moore (D) leads state Del. Dan Cox (R) by a 60%-28% margin, according to a new Washington Post-University of Maryland survey. A whopping 73% of voters approve of the job outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is doing, including 70% of Democrats.

GEORGIA: A federal judge ruled against Fair Fight Action, the group run by former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D), over a challenge to voter registration and absentee ballot procedures used in the 2018 governor’s contest. Abrams’s group had challenged “exact match” rules that singled out new voters; nearly 70% of those affected by exact match rules were Black. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

ILLINOIS: Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is spreading the wealth among his fellow governors and would-be governors. Pritzker is donating $350,000 to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D), and $100,000 each to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D), Rep. Charlie Crist (D) in Florida and ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) in Texas. (Politico Illinois) Handy chits for a possible presidential contender to store.

By The Numbers

$2.2 billion: The amount of money interest groups spent lobbying state legislators in 2021, a figure that covers only 27 states that require detailed expenditure reporting. It’s the highest amount spent on legislatures on record, as the influence industry shifts from D.C. to the states. By contrast, groups spent about $3.7 billion trying to influence Congress last year. (Pluribus News)

3: The number of dispensaries that were able to open in Vermont on the first day of legal marijuana sales. Vermont’s legislature was the first lawmaking body to approve recreational pot sales, two years ago. It is now the 15th state where pot sales are legal. (Associated Press, VTDigger)

Off The Wall

Two Montana state employees got married in Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park while the park was closed to the public, the Legislative Audit Division reported. The couple used the lighting system, which auditors said could have damaged the park. (Daily Montanan)

Alaska legislators who block trolls on social media do so at their own risk. A joint House-Senate panel voted to create a new policy that would bar legislators from state-paid legal protection over social media practices. “[T]he legislature is not going to be put in a position of always having to represent representatives who may or may not handle their social media properly,” state Rep. Matt Claman (D) said. (Anchorage Daily News)