Good morning, it’s Monday, June 17, 2024. In today’s edition, Vermont Gov nixes data privacy bill; New Hampshire pot bill dead, again; Dems plan $10 million opening salvo in legislative races:
Top Stories
PRIVACY: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) has vetoed an age-appropriate design code and a consumer data privacy bill that would have given residents a right to sue data brokers that allegedly violated sensitive data privacy rules. It’s not clear whether the legislature has the votes to override Scott’s veto. (Pluribus News)
Vermont legislators meet today for a veto override session. Read more about it at VT Digger.
HEALTH CARE: The Pennsylvania House is considering legislation that would impose penalties on hospitals that fail to publish patient costs. The bill would require hospitals to inform patients of facilities fees and to post a list of standard charges on their websites. (Pluribus News)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: The California Senate has given final approval to legislation banning school districts from adopting policies that would require staff to notify parents if their child uses a different name or pronoun at school. The Assembly must approve amendments before the bill heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). (Sacramento Bee)
BUDGETS: The California legislature on Thursday backed a budget plan that would restore funding to child care programs, homelessness services and other programs where Newsom’s budget proposed cuts. Newsom has until June 27 to sign or reject the proposal. (Pluribus News)
California legislators voted to cancel a $400 million loan payment meant to extend the lifespan of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant as budget negotiations continue. (Associated Press)
MARIJUANA: New Hampshire’s latest effort to legalize recreational pot is dead once again, after the state House voted to table the bill. The Senate had voted to approve the revised bill hammered out by a conference committee. (WMUR)
“The perplexing thing about the immortality of this bill is that literally nobody in the body likes this bill,” state Rep. Jared Sullivan (D) said.
GUN POLITICS: The Delaware House has approved legislation making it a felony to bring a firearm onto a college campus. The bill adds higher education institutions to the existing School Safe Zone Act. (Delaware Public Media)
SPORTS: Kansas lawmakers will unveil proposed legislation to allow the state to issue bonds covering 75% of stadium projects with budgets over $1 billion, the opening salvo in a bid to lure the Kansas City Chiefs or the Kansas City Royals across the Missouri border. The bill would allocate 100% of sales tax revenue on alcoholic beverages within a stadium district to pay off the bonds. (Kansas Reflector)
In Politics & Business
DEMOCRATS: The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee will send $10 million to party caucuses in Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to compete for state legislative seats, the group said Monday. It’s part of the DLCC’s $60 million budget for the cycle. (New York Times)
Don’t miss our story from last week on the constellation of Democratic groups planning to spend an unprecedented $165 million on legislative races this year.
INDIANA: State Republicans picked far-right podcaster and pastor Micah Beckwith (R) as their nominee to be lieutenant governor. Republicans rejected state Sen. Julie McGuire (R), who had the support of gubernatorial nominee and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R). McGuire won a last-minute endorsement from former President Donald Trump, but Beckwith narrowly won the convention vote. (Associated Press, Indianapolis Star)
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig (D) formally filed papers to run for governor Friday, the last day of candidate filing. She faces Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington (D) and Newmarket Democrat Jon Kiper in the Democratic primary. (WMUR)
NEW JERSEY: New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller (D) will run to replace retiring Gov. Phil Murphy (D) next year, joining a crowded field of Democrats vying for the top job. Conservative radio host Bill Spadea (R) intends to announce his campaign today. (NJ Advance Media)
FLORIDA: Democrats have filed candidates to run in all 120 state House districts and 20 Senate districts this year for the first time in three decades. Democrats portrayed it as a step toward exiting the super minority status they entered two years ago amid a GOP sweep. (Florida Politics)
By The Numbers
175,000: The number of marijuana convictions Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) plans to sweep away Monday by issuing a mass pardon. The order will impact as many as 100,000 people previously convicted of low-level pot crimes. (Washington Post)
119%: The increase in chronic absenteeism in New Mexico schools between 2019 and 2023, the largest increase in the country. The national average rose 71% over the same period. Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing more than 10% of school days in a year. (Albuquerque Journal)
$70,000: The projected cost of a temporary air conditioning system installed at Vermont’s state capitol in Montpelier for a two-day veto session this week. Legislative leaders say they were taken aback by the system’s cost. (VT Digger)
Off The Wall
Vermont Rep. Mary Morrissey (R) has apologized after she was caught on camera, twice, dumping water into the tote bag of her district-mate, Rep. Jim Carroll (D). Carroll said the behavior was part of a repeated pattern of harassment that began with an abortion debate in 2019. (VT Digger)
Another entry on the list of things California is running out of: License plate numbers. The state Department of Motor Vehicles says it will implement a new number sequence in late 2025, two years earlier than planned, as motorists order plates faster than expected. (Sacramento Bee)
Quote of the Day
“If you can’t find something good in this budget, you will not find anything good in any budget.”
— Arizona Rep. Travis Grantham (R), on a bipartisan spending deal lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) reached on Saturday erasing the state’s $1.4 billion budget shortfall. (Associated Press)