Good morning, it’s Friday, August 8, 2025. In today’s edition, our takeaways from a busy week at NCSL; Dems on fire amid redistricting push; DNC to invest $1.5 million in New Jersey elections:
Top Stories
We’re emptying our notebooks after a busy week at the largest policy conference in America. More than 1,600 legislators flocked to Boston to talk about the nation’s future. Here’s what we learned:
FEDERALISM: This year’s annual NCSL Legislative Summit showcased a troubled, uncertain relationship between state governments and their federal partners. Lawmakers are still struggling to understand how President Trump’s reconciliation bill will hit their budgets, Medicaid and social programs. And they’re increasingly frustrated with federal preemption and the lack of communication.
“It’s getting more and more tense,” West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw (R) told us of the state-federal relationship. “We have less and less opportunity to have a meaningful voice in what the federal government does, and more and more of a role in having to fill the interstitial because Congress can’t legislate anymore.”
HEALTH CARE: More than a month after the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, lawmakers are still working to understand its cascading effects on health care in their states. One thing they know for certain: the law — the biggest change to federal Medicaid policy in decades — will require tough choices in the coming months.
BUDGETS: Most legislative leaders told us they do not expect to need special sessions this year unless the law affects their state’s current Fiscal Year 2026 budget. Colorado is one exception, a state where Trump’s tax cuts have created an immediate $1.2 billion revenue decline. We expect the federal law to overshadow state budget negotiations for the foreseeable future.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: One area where lawmakers are pushing back against Congress is in AI reform, where legislators are fiercely defending their right to set regulations and guardrails. Lawmakers from both parties say states have a role to play in setting the rules of the road for AI, while also looking for ways to incentivize the industry and ensure that workers aren’t left behind.
But the strategy for how to approach AI regulation may be changing. A year ago, lawmakers were bullish about replicating a first-in-the-nation Colorado law focused on rooting out algorithmic discrimination by automated decision-making systems. Lawmakers are likely to take a more sectoral approach in 2026, predicted Connecticut Sen. James Maroney (D), who is viewed as a national leader on AI policy.
ENERGY: State lawmakers are concerned about keeping up with a predicted surge in electricity demand spurred by AI and data centers. The need for new electricity generation to meet that demand has put the spotlight on nuclear power, which is carbon-free and reliable, as the Trump administration moves to dismantle or undercut wind and solar projects.
ENVIRONMENT: States have been moving in recent years to regulate PFAS chemicals, known as forever chemicals because they don’t break down. Lawmakers are now turning their attention to another breed of contaminant, biosolids, a sludge used in fertilizers.
In Politics & Business
REDISTRICTING: One more takeaway from NCSL: Republican attempts to redraw U.S. House district maps in Texas have set Democrats on fire. For more than a decade, Democrats have tried to take the moral high ground, tut-tutting when Republicans exercise their political power. That approach is out the window, Democrats say; they’re done bringing a butter knife to the gun fight.
MORE: Florida House Speaker Danny Perez (R) has asked lawmakers to volunteer for a committee to consider mid-decade redistricting. Perez said the House doesn’t have the time or resources for a special session, but he wants a committee to meet in October during a period set aside for interim committee meetings. (Orlando Sentinel)
NEW JERSEY: The Democratic National Committee will pour $1.5 million into New Jersey political contests this year, money raised at a fundraiser at Gov. Phil Murphy’s (D) home featuring former President Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D), the party’s gubernatorial nominee. (New Jersey Globe)
MAINE: Environmental advocate John Glowa Sr. will run for governor as an independent. Glowa joins more than a dozen Democrats and Republicans — and independent state Sen. Rick Bennett — in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Janet Mills (D). (Portland Press Herald)
ROBOCALLS: A bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general have sent a letter to 37 voice service providers demanding they halt illegal robocalls being routed through their networks. The AGs also notified 99 downstream providers that accept call traffic to inform them they are doing business with bad actors. (AZ Mirror)
By The Numbers
$200 million: The estimated cost of a special election proposed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to ask voter permission to redraw congressional district lines. Costs could spike because of the short timeline between now and November’s election. (Sacramento Bee)
$94,000: The amount of tax revenue Delaware earned in the first weekend of sales of legal recreational marijuana. Delaware residents purchased $625,000 in pot products. (Delaware Public Media)
Off The Wall
New Hampshire lawmakers have formally named the Virginia opossum the official state marsupial. Opossums are increasingly moving to New Hampshire as the climate warms. (New Hampshire Public Radio)
Officials in Branford, Conn., are selling five of the Thimble Islands, a string of 365 islands sitting in the middle of Long Island Sound. The islands on the market carry asking prices ranging from $150,000 to $29.995 million. (New Haven Register)
News Media Corporation has shuttered a couple dozen newspapers in Wyoming, Nebraska and other states, creating news deserts at some of the oldest publications around. The Lusk Herald closed after 139 years in business; the Torrington Telegram ended a 122-year run. (Daily Montanan)
Quote of the Day
“We talk about authoritarian regimes in D.C. — what about here on Beacon Hill?”
— Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio (D), escalating her feud with the state legislature as she seeks to audit the body. (MassLive)