Good morning, it’s Wednesday, August 6, 2025. In today’s edition, new strategies to combat overdose deaths; lawmakers weigh eVTOL advances; Dems decry redistricting push:
Top Stories
That’s a wrap on our coverage of the National Conference of State Legislature’s annual Legislative Summit! Don’t miss all our stories here.
PUBLIC HEALTH: States are using new harm reduction strategies to reduce threats posed by synthetic drugs, a sharp break from the say-no-to-drugs campaigns of the 1990s and 2000s. Those strategies include alternatives to jail sentences for drug users, incentives for employers to hire drug court graduates, and allowing users to check drugs for synthetic ingredients like fentanyl and xylazine. (Pluribus News)
CDC statistics show overdose deaths dropped by 25.9% in 2024, but deaths still remain substantially higher than at the dawn of the century.
TRANSPORTATION: State lawmakers sketched out plans for advanced air mobility projects, necessary for the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. Several states this year approved legislation to support the eVTOL industry, including Oklahoma and Hawaii, while Massachusetts is working on drone deliveries for medicines and lab samples. (Pluribus News)
REDISTRICTING: Democratic legislators from more than 35 states stood with Texas Democrats to warn against a Republican attempt to redraw U.S. House district lines on Wednesday in Boston, against the backdrop of NCSL’s annual summit. California Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) pledged that her state would redistrict its seats in response to Texas. (State Affairs)
MORE: Retiring U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) says early conversations Arte happening about redrawing his Omaha-based district to make it more safely Republican. Bacon won re-election in 2024 despite then-Vice President Kamala Harris winning his district. (Nebraska Examiner) Vice President J.D. Vance heads to Indiana today to discuss redistricting the state’s congressional district lines with Gov. Mike Braun (R). (Associated Press)
BUDGETS: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) will call lawmakers back into special session to deal with a $700 million budget hole caused by President Trump’s reconciliation bill. Polis will ask lawmakers to make budget cuts and offset higher health insurance premiums. At the same time, he announced a statewide hiring freeze. (KDVR)
DISASTER RELIEF: Texas House members heard testimony on legislation to require flood disaster plans for vulnerable camps and to establish a licensing requirement for emergency management coordinators. Lawmakers also heard a bill to expand a broadband infrastructure fund to pay for emergency communications and warning systems. (Texas Tribune)
TRANS RIGHTS: The Texas Senate approved legislation to require transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to their sex assigned at birth in school and government buildings. The bill carries a $5,000 fine for first-time offenses for agencies or schools where violations occur. (Texas Tribune)
EDUCATION: A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against an Arkansas law requiring the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms. Judge Timothy Brooks called the law “plainly unconstitutional.” (Talk Business & Politics)
In Politics & Business
NCSL: Illinois Assistant Majority Leader Marcus Evans (D) is the new president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, the group announced Wednesday. Montana Sen. Barry Usher (R) has been named president-elect, meaning he will take over after next year’s Legislative Summit in Chicago. (Daily Montanan)
VIRGINIA: President Trump will endorse Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R), the Republican nominee to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Trump’s team has been skeptical of backing Earle-Sears, who trails former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (R) in public polls. (Washington Post)
WISCONSIN: Businessman Bill Berrien (R) is up with his second television spot, part of an early $400,000 ad buy targeting conservative voters. Berrien has faced criticism from fellow Republicans for backing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R) in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. (State Affairs)
MICHIGAN: Anti-tax activist Karla Wagner (R) will run for governor in 2026, she said in an 18-minute video posted to Facebook on Wednesday. Wagner is using her petition drive to try to qualify a measure for the ballot to eliminate commercial and residential property taxes. (State Affairs)
MASSACHUSETTS: Wednesday marked the deadline for proposed 2026 ballot initiatives to be filed. Secretary of State Bill Galvin (D) filed a measure to allow same-day voter registration. Good-government groups filed measures to subject the governor’s office and the legislature to public records laws and to end stipends for legislative leaders. (State Affairs)
By The Numbers
$702.5 million: The amount Ohioans spent on legal recreational marijuana in the first year of legal sales, according to state data. That equates to 109,706 pounds of pot sold. (Ohio Capital Journal)
3.6%: The share of U.S. agricultural land owned by foreign businesses or individuals. People or entities from Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany own 62% of that total. (State Affairs)
Off The Wall
The United States will auction off a 348-foot yacht owned by a Russian oligarch, seized after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The yacht, currently docked in San Diego, has eight state rooms, a beauty salon, a spa, a gym, a helipad and a swimming pool. Yours for the low, low price of $325 million. (Associated Press)
A truckload of hot dogs spilled across a stretch of Interstate 83 near Shrewsbury, Pa., last week, shutting down traffic in both directions. “I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery,” the local fire chief said. (Associated Press)
That’s just the wurst. Frank-ly, that truck didn’t cut the mustard. Okay, we’ll stop there.
Quote of the Day
“We have effectively no input now.”
— West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R), on the lack of influence states have over Congress. (Pluribus News)