Good morning, it’s Wednesday, February 18, 2026. In today’s edition, Virginia charts path to legal pot; Washington Senate adopts millionaire’s tax; poll finds tight California governor’s race:
Top Stories
MARIJUANA: The Virginia General Assembly approved legislation creating a legal, adult-use cannabis market. Similar bills were vetoed by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) in previous years. The current bills would open legal cannabis sales on Nov. 1, 2026. (Virginia Mercury)
IMMIGRATION: New Jersey Democrats plan to introduce legislation setting new 50% taxes on gross receipts of private detention facilities in the state. Another bill would disqualify ICE agents hired during President Trump’s term from holding state jobs, and a third would make it a crime for anyone, including federal officers, from blocking law enforcement from a crime scene. (New Jersey Globe)
MORE: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Tuesday signed legislation barring local law enforcement agencies from forming agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The bill, the first to make it to the legislative finish line in Annapolis, covers 287(g) agreements. (Baltimore Sun)
TAXES: The Washington Senate adopted a new income tax on those earning more than $1 million a year. The bill would levy a 9.9% tax on earnings over the seven-figure mark, aiming to bring in about $3.5 billion annually. Three Democrats joined Republicans in opposition. (Seattle Times)
GUN POLITICS: The Colorado Senate on Wednesday will debate legislation restricting the sale of gun barrels to in-person transactions with a federally licensed dealer. The House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony today on a bill to ban the use of 3D printers to manufacture firearms. (Denver Post)
HEALTH CARE: The New Mexico legislature has given final approval to a bill capping the amount of punitive damages a jury can award in medical malpractice cases. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) supports the bill, which she said would help reverse the state’s severe doctor shortage. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
HOUSING: Idaho’s Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee has advanced bills barring local governments from setting zoning restrictions on starter homes and duplexes. The median list price for a single-family home in Idaho stands at $569,000, up 119% from 2016. (Idaho Statesman)
GAMBLING: Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Michael Selig said Tuesday the commission would move to protect prediction markets from state-level regulations. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said he would take the commission to court, calling prediction markets “gambling — pure and simple.” (Deseret News)
In Politics & Business
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington (D) will run for governor, the first major Democrat to jump into the race against Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R). (WMUR) Warmington finished second in the 2024 Democratic primary behind then-Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig (D), who lost to Ayotte by 9 points.
CALIFORNIA: A new Emerson College poll finds businessman Steve Hilton (R) leading the all-party gubernatorial primary at 17%, with U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) at 14%. Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D) stands at 10%, with investor Tom Steyer (D) at 9%. No one else cracks 5%. (Emerson College)
ARIZONA: The Arizona Independent Party is condemning a Senate bill that would force them to change their name. The bill, backed by Sen. T.J. Shope (R), would prohibit the use of the word “independent” in a party name. Several groups, including the state Democratic and Republican parties, are suing to block the AIP from using its name on ballots. (State Affairs)
2028: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will all travel to New Hampshire in the coming weeks to back local Democratic candidates. The trips are the latest in a parade of White House hopefuls trekking to the first-in-the-nation primary state. (Boston Globe)
By The Numbers
$827 million: The projected increase in Washington State revenue collections, compared to expectations in November. Total revenue expectations are up 1.1% to $75.3 billion over the two-year budget cycle. (Washington State Standard)
1,966: The number of bills introduced in the Arizona legislature so far this year, a new record high. (State Affairs)
More than 18%: The decline in Canadian visitors to California in 2025, compared with 2024. About 1.4 million Canadians visited California last year, down from 1.7 million in 2024. (Los Angeles Times)
Off The Wall
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) has a side gig teaching law school at the University of Florida. His $100,000 a year salary for two hours of teaching a week makes him the highest-paid adjunct professor at the law school this century. (Miami Herald)
A U.S. District Court judge in Chicago has ruled that boneless wings at Buffalo Wild Wings could be marketed as wings. Judge John Tharp leaned heavily into the puns in a case he said “has no meat on its bones.” The plaintiff “did not ‘drum’ up enough factual allegations” in his claim, the judge wrote. (New York Times)
Quote of the Day
“You can deeply disagree and still be kind. Melissa never dismissed my perspective and I never dismissed hers.”
— Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R), during a memorial for her predecessor, the late Speaker Melissa Hortman (D), who was assassinated last year. It was the first time Minnesota’s legislature had met after the attack. (Minnesota Star Tribune)