Good morning, it’s Thursday, March 13, 2025. In today’s edition, Google proposes age verification fix; Tennessee seeks student immigration data; GOP wants to make ballot measures more expensive:
Top Stories
SOCIAL MEDIA: Google said Wednesday it would support legislation requiring app stores to verify user ages while sharing that information only with app makers whose software may be risky for minors. The pronouncement comes after Utah approved an age verification law that puts the onus on app stores, rather than app developers like Meta, Snap and X. Similar bills have been introduced in more than a dozen states this year. (Pluribus News)
Worried about a potential government shutdown? Our colleague Sophie Quinton took a look at what a shutdown means for the states back in 2023, the last time we found ourselves in such a mess.
IMMIGRATION: A Tennessee House subcommittee has approved legislation giving K-12 schools the right to refuse to enroll a child who cannot offer proof of legal immigration status. A companion bill in the Senate would require schools to verify student immigration status. (Tennessee Lookout)
PUBLIC HEALTH: The Mississippi legislature has unanimously approved a bill banning the sale of synthetic kratom products and limiting the sale of kratom to those over 21. Both the FDA and the CDC classify kratom as an “opioid-like” substance that have caused thousands of deaths nationwide. (Supertalk)
PUBLIC SAFETY: The Washington House has approved a $100 million plan to hire more police officers, allowing local governments to implement a 0.1% sales tax without voter approval to fund the hiring spree. The bill, backed by Gov. Bob Ferguson (D), would allow sales tax revenue to fund crisis intervention training, public defenders and domestic violence services. (Washington State Standard)
MORE: The New Hampshire House will vote today on legislation reforming state bail laws. The bill would allow suspects to be held for 36 hours, up from 24 allowed under current law. (WMUR)
ENERGY: The Arizona Senate Natural Resources Committee has approved legislation waiving state regulations to allow data centers and industrial energy users to build small nuclear reactors in rural areas. The bill would allow small modular nuclear reactors without certificates of environmental compatibility. (AZ Mirror)
EDUCATION: The Montana Senate has approved legislation allowing local school districts to hire paid or volunteer chaplains. The bill would allow chaplains to perform duties required by a school counselor. Chaplains would have to be people over 18 who are of “good moral character.” (Daily Montanan)
GUN POLITICS: The Florida legislature will consider a bill to lower the legal age for firearm purchases to 18. The bill would roll back restrictions approved by the Republican legislature after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
BALLOT INITIATIVES: Republican legislators in dozens of states have introduced bills to increase regulations and restrictions around ballot measures, all of which would raise costs for supporters who want to qualify for the ballot. A Florida bill would require supporters to secure a $1 million bond; a Utah bill would require initiative backers to place paid ads in newspapers, at a cost of $1.4 million. (Pluribus News)
NORTH CAROLINA: The state Senate has approved legislation barring Attorney General Jeff Jackson (D) from participating in legal actions challenging President Trump’s executive orders. A companion bill is before the state House, where Republicans have enough votes to override an expected veto from Gov. Josh Stein (D). (Carolina Journal)
TEXAS: The state Senate is poised to pass legislation requiring voters to prove their citizenship before voting in state and federal elections. The bill applies to both new registrants and registered voters. Those who do not prove citizenship would only be allowed to cast votes in congressional races. (Texas Tribune)
CRIME BLOTTER: President Trump has pardoned former Tennessee Sen. Brian Kelsey (R), who has served two weeks of a 21-month prison sentence for an illegal campaign finance scheme. Kelsey pleaded guilty in 2022 before trying to reverse his plea. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
32 of 50: The share of top AI companies headquartered in California. The top 50 AI companies worldwide have raised $34.7 billion, led by OpenAI, which raised $10 billion from Microsoft. (Forbes)
80%: The share of students admitted to the University of Iowa’s medical and dentistry colleges who will be required to be state residents or students at Iowa colleges under legislation approved by the state House on Wednesday. An estimated 70% of those students are currently Iowa residents, according to the Legislative Services Agency. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Off The Wall
North Carolina Rep. Donny Lambeth (R) has introduced legislation to recognize the Moravian star as the official state star and the Moravian cookie as the official state cookie. In a committee hearing, Lambeth acknowledged his bills were unlikely to pass the Senate because they are “too silly.” (Raleigh News & Observer)
A city official in Harrisburg, Ore., has agreed to pay a $1,000 fine to settle ethics charges after he lived at the city’s wastewater treatment site rent-free. Two different city managers had approved the living arrangement, saying the public works director had been providing security at the site. (Oregonian)
Quote of the Day
“That’s pretty alarming. … It’s too much, not only because of the missed learning opportunity in the classroom.”
— Lauren Hale, a sleep expert at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine, on a new study that shows teens miss an average of one and a half hours of school because they are on their phones. (The 74)