Good morning, it’s Thursday, November 20, 2025. In today’s edition, lawmakers prepare new AI legislative blitz; California faces $18 billion budget hole; Steyer to run for governor:
Top Stories
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: State lawmakers are preparing for a third consecutive year of debates over AI regulations when sessions return next year. Lawmakers say they feel emboldened in the face of industry opposition and criticism from President Trump, who has railed against state-level efforts to place rules around AI use and behavior.
Lawmakers plan to introduce bills to prevent algorithmic discrimination and to regulate the use of AI in mental health care. Some aim to approve first-in-the-nation regulations around companion chatbots, after high-profile incidents of youth harming themselves at a chatbot’s instruction. (Pluribus News)
The political fallout: A big Silicon Valley PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Leading The Future, is spending big against lawmakers who back AI regulations. Their first target: New York Assemb. Alex Bores (D), author of an AI safety bill who’s now running for Congress.
REDISTRICTING: Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) appeared to call for a leadership challenge to Senate President Rodric Bray (R) after Bray said he didn’t have the votes to pursue a mid-decade redistricting plan. “We can’t have a Senate that’s constantly a wet blanket,” Braun said. (State Affairs)
BUDGETS: California lawmakers will likely need to close an $18 billion budget hole next session, the fourth straight year of budget deficits, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said Wednesday. Lawmakers will have to make permanent cuts to spending or raise taxes to plug the hole. (Pluribus News)
ABORTION: A Florida House subcommittee has approved legislation allowing parents to pursue wrongful death lawsuits for the loss of developing fetuses. An anti-litigation group backed by the state Chamber of Commerce registered their opposition to the bill. (WLRN) The Ohio House has approved legislation requiring schools to show a video on fetal development produced by an anti-abortion group to students in 5th through 12th grades. (Ohio Capital Journal)
HOUSING: Nine states have proposed a settlement with Greystar Management Services, one of the nation’s largest apartment manager companies, for alleged illegal use of algorithmic pricing software to share confidential information about rental rates an occupancy with other real estate companies. The proposed settlement would fine the company $7 million. (Colorado Public Radio)
CROWN ACT: Legislation banning discrimination based on hair texture and style has won approval in the Pennsylvania Senate and now heads to Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) for a signature. Pennsylvania would be the 28th state to adopt the CROWN Act, and at least half a dozen others have introduced similar bills. (Harrisburg Patriot-News)
In Politics & Business
ALABAMA: A new Cygnal (R) survey finds U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) leading former Sen. Doug Jones (D) 53% to 34% in a potential gubernatorial matchup next year. A full 56% of Alabama voters approve of President Trump’s handling of the economy. (Cygnal)
CALIFORNIA: Billionaire activist Tom Steyer (D) has filed papers to run for governor in 2026. Steyer has spent millions in recent years calling for President Trump’s impeachment, backing hikes on tobacco taxes and, most recently, supporting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) redistricting push. (Associated Press)
IOWA: State Sen. Mike Bousselot (R) will drop his bid for governor and run instead for a different open state Senate seat. (Des Moines Register) His exit leaves five other Republicans vying for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Gov. Kim Reynolds (R).
2028: Road to Michigan’s Future, a nonprofit group that backs Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), raised $7.8 million in 2024 and hired members of Whitmer’s campaign team. The group could spend its money on Whitmer’s political future; she faces term limits in 2026 and cannot run for governor. (Detroit News)
By The Numbers
58%: The expected increase in wholesale natural gas prices across the country in 2025, compared with 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. Power bills in Maine, which relies mostly on natural gas to generate power, are already hitting record highs. (Maine Public Radio)
$471 million: The size of Nebraska’s projected budget deficit this year. Economic forecasters warned that the next biennium’s projected deficit could be up to $1 billion. (Nebraska Examiner)
$250 million: The amount Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission has ordered FirstEnergy to repay utility customers in the scandal surrounding House Bill 6, a corruption investigation that sent former House Speaker Larry Householder (R) to prison. (State Affairs)
Off The Wall
The National Transportation Safety Board said a single loose wire caused the initial blackout that caused a container ship to slam into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge back in March 2024. The board chair compared finding the single loose wire to finding a single loose bolt in the Eiffel Tower. (Maryland Matters)
Michigan Gov. Whitmer has pardoned another pair of turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving. Whitmer gave a pass to sisters “Faygo” and “Vernors,” a nod to the state’s two local soft drinks. (MLive)
Quote of the Day
“I think if you eliminate the only remaining Republican congressional district, you’re going to find yourself in court with, again, extreme partisan gerrymandering, and I think, quite frankly, the state will lose.”
— Karl Aro, a former executive director of the Maryland Department of Legislative Services, warning lawmakers against a mid-decade redistricting plan. (Maryland Matters)