Good morning, it’s Friday, December 5, 2025. In today’s edition, DeSantis floats AI legislation; SCOTUS backs Texas remap; Maryland Speaker resigning:
Top Stories
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has unveiled what he calls an AI bill of rights he will introduce in the legislature next year. The proposal would require notice to consumers when they are interacting with a chatbot, mandate parental controls and prohibit chatbots from providing mental health therapy.
Other parts of the bill call for prohibitions on explicit deepfake images; barring the unauthorized use of someone’s name; image and likeness, and limiting the amount of personal data AI companies can sell. DeSantis wants to bar government use of DeepSeek or other AI models from China. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a new congressional district map approved by Republican lawmakers this summer, reversing a lower court order that struck down those maps. The court granted Texas’s request for emergency action because of the impending Dec. 8 filing deadline. Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent with her two liberal colleagues. (Associated Press)
A huge victory for Texas and U.S. House Republicans that will mean a shift of up to five seats toward the GOP.
MORE: Democratic dark money groups have contributed $1.25 million to a referendum effort aimed at blocking Missouri’s new congressional district maps. They have until Dec. 11 to collect 107,000 valid signatures to qualify the referendum, which would put the pro-Republican map on hold until voters weigh in. Republican groups have spent about $2.1 million to block the measure. (Politico)
ENERGY: The New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee will hear testimony on legislation to establish advanced nuclear reactors and energy storage. The measure, which has already advanced through the Environment and Energy Committee, would require the Board of Public Utilities to adopt optimization programs. (NorthJersey.com)
WATER: The Trump administration is unveiling plans to send more water to farmers in California’s Central Valley. California officials object to the plan, which they say will threaten water delivery to the rest of the state while harming salmon. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
CALIFORNIA: Tech entrepreneur Jon Slavet (R) will run for governor in 2026, he said Thursday. Slavet, the co-founder of Guru.com and a former WeWork executive, said he would spend what it takes to win the race. (Los Angeles Times)
GEORGIA: The state Ethics Commission has ruled that Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) can loan a leadership committee supporting his campaign for governor $10 million. Attorney General Chris Carr (R), one of Jones’s rivals for the Republican nomination, had challenged the legality of that loan. (Associated Press)
MISSOURI: A state appeals court has ruled Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) wrote ballot language that failed to accurately inform voters that a proposed amendment would strike down a separate measure protecting abortion rights. The three-judge panel has kept the measure on the 2026 ballot, but rewrote the question and the language that will appear at polling places. (Kansas City Star)
MARYLAND: House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D) is resigning from office after six years on the job. Jones, the first woman and the first Black legislator to hold the gavel, didn’t give a reason for her timing. House Democrats will meet Dec. 16 to choose a new speaker. (Maryland Matters)
CRIME BLOTTER: California lobbyist Greg Campbell pleaded guilty to charges of bank fraud and defrauding the federal government in connection with a public corruption case that includes former chiefs of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and former U.S. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra (D). Campbell admitted to ordering an employee to write three fake work contracts to help a co-conspirator, former Newsom chief Dana Williamson. (Sacramento Bee)
By The Numbers
14%: The share of Virginia’s population that has limited or no access to pharmacy services, according to the Joint Commission on Health Care. Lawmakers are considering bills targeting pharmacy benefit managers in next year’s legislative session. (WTVR)
15%: The rate hike Duke Energy has requested from the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Gov. Josh Stein (D) and Attorney General Jeff Jackson (D) oppose the rate hike. (Carolina Journal)
$72 billion: The amount Netflix will pay to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s Hollywood studio and streaming business. The deal will bring HBO Max and DC Studios under the Netflix banner. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
After 15 years of work, Detroit has finally erected a statue honoring RoboCop. Detroiters began a fundraising campaign in 2010 that raised more than $67,000 to fund the statue. “He’s a cyborg crime fighter! In the movie, in the futuristic Detroit, he’s there to save the city. He’s a symbol of hope,” one of the statue’s backers told Bridge MI.
A debate over the health and safety of reusing seafood shells in Louisiana has raised questions about the legal definition of a bisque. Health officials say they want to ensure that stuffed crawfish heads sometimes used in bisque recipes aren’t impacted by a rule banning the reuse of shells. (Baton Rouge Advocate)
Quote of the Day
“However much you hate social media, you do not hate it enough. You do not hate these companies enough.”
— Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), urging action to protect children from AI chatbots. (Utah News Dispatch)