Good morning, it’s Friday, July 18, 2025. In today’s edition, Hawaii moves to pay-by-mile program; Georgia will try to eliminate income tax; Youngkin hits the 2028 trail:
Top Stories
TRANSPORTATION: Hawaii has become the fourth state to enact a voluntary pay-by-the-mile program for electric vehicle owners. EV owners would choose to pay either $8 per 1,000 miles, capped at $50 a year, or $50 a year, in an effort to replace some revenue lost from declining gas taxes. The pay-by-mile program will become mandatory in 2028. (Pluribus News)
PUBLIC SAFETY: New Jersey lawmakers are advancing legislation to hold parents accountable if their children are involved in public brawls. The bill, which passed the Assembly in a bipartisan vote, would mean parents face fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail for neglectful supervision. (NJ Advance Media)
TAXES: Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) has created a new Committee on Eliminating Georgia’s Income Tax to consider ways to phase out the 5% tax rate. Three senators Jones appointed to the committee are running to replace him as lieutenant governor. (State Affairs)
HEALTH CARE: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has launched a plan to eliminate up to $144 million in medical debt held by 210,000 state residents. The state Senate has proposed adding $5 million in medical debt forgiveness funds to the state budget. (State Affairs)
WATER: Water levels at Lake Powell could fall low enough to end hydropower generation by December 2026, federal officials said in a report issued this week. If the lake drops below 3,490 feet, it would be too low to continue generating power. (Colorado Sun)
ELECTIONS: The North Carolina Board of Elections has launched a digital campaign to collect identification numbers from 103,000 voters whose information is absent from voter rolls. The state will seek out driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers to verify voter registrations. (State Affairs)
In Politics & Business
2028: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said he backs Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus during a visit to the state Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Dinner on Thursday. Youngkin is also headed to South Carolina to headline another Republican Party fundraiser. (Des Moines Register)
FLORIDA: The state Supreme Court has upheld congressional district lines that eliminated a majority-Black district in northern Florida, a win for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The court ruled that restoring the district, which stretched from Jacksonville to Tallahassee, would be an impermissible racial gerrymander. (Los Angeles Times)
MINNESOTA: Former state Sen. Scott Jensen (R) will run for governor, after losing a bid against Gov. Tim Walz (D) by 7 percentage points in 2022. Three other Republicans are running for governor, and Walz has not formally declared he will seek a third term in office. (MPR News)
NEVADA: Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D) will run for attorney general next year. Cannizzaro served as a prosecutor in the Clark County District Attorney’s office before running for office. Incumbent Aaron Ford (D) is running for governor. (Nevada Independent)
TEXAS: Former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski (D) will run for attorney general, after losing the 2022 nomination in a runoff. Jaworski will face state Sen. Nathan Johnson (D) in the Democratic primary; incumbent Ken Paxton (R) is running for a U.S. Senate seat. (Texas Tribune)
ARIZONA: State Democrats have ousted party chair Robert Branscomb II after months of infighting in which Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) and Sens. Ruben Gallego (D) and Mark Kelly (D) said they had lost faith in his leadership. First Vice Chair Kim Khoury will serve as interim chair ahead of a Sept. 13 election. (Arizona Republic)
By The Numbers
$115 million: The final amount spent on a Wisconsin Supreme Court contest this spring, more than double the previous record high for a similar contest. Justice-elect Susan Crawford and her allies spent $56 million, while conservative candidate Brad Schimel and his allies dropped $59 million. (State Affairs)
121.1 lbs.: The size of a blue catfish caught on the Kansas side of the Missouri River in May, the largest catfish ever caught in Kansas. The previous record stood at 102.8 lbs. (Topeka Capital-Journal)
Off The Wall
You too can own a piece of history: The Ebenezer Hancock House, a Flemish bond brickwork building that was once home to founding father John Hancock, is for sale. Hancock’s younger brother Ebenezer once stored 2 million silver crowns loaned by the French government at the home, before he distributed the cash to Continental Army troops. (Boston.com)
The iconic Rosebud sled used in Orson Welles’s 1941 classic Citizen Kane sold for $14.75 million at auction. It’s the second-most expensive movie prop ever sold, after the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz sold for $32.5 million last year. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“We will be sure to make sure everyone knows about that.”
— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), on state budget cuts caused by the reconciliation measure President Trump signed earlier this month. (Albany Times-Union)