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Good morning, it’s Monday, December 9, 2024. In today’s edition, the grey tsunami arrives; Texas House speaker drops re-elect bid; Kansas, Missouri lawmakers target trans rights:
Top Stories
DEMOGRAPHICS: The costs of providing medical and long-term care to low-income seniors is beginning to squeeze state budgets as the oldest baby boomers begin to turn 80. Long-term care accounted for nearly 13% of Pennsylvania’s entire general fund budget last year, and other states aren’t far behind.
Nearly one in five residents of Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont and West Virginia are over 65. By 2030, the entire baby boom generation will hit retirement age. By 2034, the Census Bureau projects adults over 65 will outnumber children for the first time.
It’s a crescendo state policymakers have seen coming for decades: The largest generation in American history is well into retirement age, and there are fewer younger workers to help pay for the inevitable costs. Now, legislators are contemplating how to shift priorities for a society with more old people and fewer children. Read more at Pluribus News.
HEALTH CARE: State lawmakers passed at least 176 bills this year to adjust laws relating to telehealth and virtual medical appointments. Observers said the increased focus on telehealth stood in contrast to the federal level, where rules allowing Medicare to pay for telehealth services, expanded during the pandemic, are set to expire at the end of the year. (Pluribus News)
TRANS RIGHTS: Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson (R) has pledged to try again to bar gender-affirming care for transgender minors, after failing to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) veto in each of the last two years. Republicans gained seats in the legislature in this year’s elections, giving them a wider margin to try to override future vetoes. (Kansas City Star)
MORE: Missouri Republicans have introduced legislation to add new restrictions on residents who want to change their gender marker on state-issued identifications. One bill would codify a state policy requiring proof of gender-transition surgery before a gender marker could be changed. Another would bar changing gender markers altogether. (Missouri Independent)
IMMIGRATION: Missouri Sen.-elect David Gregory (R) has introduced legislation to offer $1,000 bounties to residents who turn in undocumented immigrants to the state highway patrol. The bill would create a certified bounty hunter program. (Kansas City Star)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Maryland highway officials will use sensors driven by AI at busy intersections to keep traffic moving. The State Highway Administration rolled out the new sensors at five locations where traffic congestion has skyrocketed after the collapse of the Key Bridge last March. (WBAL)
In Politics & Business
TEXAS: Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) will not seek another term in leadership in the face of opposition from some fellow Republicans. Phelan has feuded publicly with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), after he backed the House effort to impeach Paxton. (Associated Press)
Rep. Dustin Burrows (R) said Saturday he has the votes to become speaker, with the support of 38 Republicans and 38 Democrats. Rep. David Cook (R) beat Burrows in a vote within the Republican conference, though Texas House speakers have a long history of winning bipartisan support. (Texas Tribune)
PENNSYLVANIA: U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R) is considering challenging Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) in 2026. Meuser served as revenue secretary under former Gov. Tom Corbett (R). State Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) is also said to be considering a bid. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
MISSISSIPPI: State Sen. Jenifer Branning (R) has won a seat on the state Supreme Court, ousting Justice Jim Kitchens. Supreme Court candidates do not run under party labels, but most Republicans backed Branning while most Democrats backed Kitchens. (Associated Press)
DEMOCRATS: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) will continue to lead the Democratic Governors Association in 2025. Kelly took the job when Vice President Harris picked her predecessor, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), to serve as her vice presidential running mate. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) will serve as vice chair, taking over before the 2026 midterms. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
Hmmm: Beshear created a political action committee in New Hampshire this year to back ex-Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig’s (D) ultimately unsuccessful bid for governor. (Kentucky Lantern)
By The Numbers
$67 million: The amount candidates running for Michigan state House seats spent in the 2024 elections, the most expensive ever. That figure is up from just under $40 million spent on those races just four years ago. (Bridge MI)
$213 million: The decline in general fund revenue Kentucky will collect in 2025, according to projections released by the state budget director. That’s a drop of 1.4% from the current fiscal year. (Kentucky Lantern)
Off The Wall
Merriam-Webster has selected “polarization” as its word of the year. Officials at the online dictionary cited the elections, Taylor Swift’s private jet use, the feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake and that weird breakdancing performance at the Olympics as polarizing moments during the year. (Associated Press)
Congratulations to Philadelphians Bernie Pittman, 100, and Marjorie Fiterman, 102, who have set a new record as the oldest newlyweds in the world. The two met at a Philadelphia-area senior center, where they got hitched in May. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“I don’t think he’s hiding his animus toward me either.”
— Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha (D), on his ongoing — and very public — feud with Gov. Dan McKee (D). The two men have traded insults in recent months over an investigation into a $5.2 million contract the McKee administration awarded. (Providence Journal)