September 09, 2025

CA Policymakers Zero in on Chatbots

Chatbot Bills Near Passage in CA A pair of bills aimed at protecting minors from harm by chatbots are nearing passage in California. Of the two, tech groups favor SB 243 , which would allow citizens to sue for damages caused by AI chatbot companions, over the more sweeping AB 1064 , which would require entities that make chatbots available to users to implement protocols to ensure they don’t encourage minors to...

September 09, 2025

Special Session on Safety Net Coming in NM

NM Gov Calls Special Session to Bolster Safety Net New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announced a special session in October to bolster safety net programs in response to the federal spending cuts signed into law by President Trump in July. Among other things, state lawmakers are expected to address rural healthcare access and ensuring health care exchange premiums remain affordable for those who lose Medicaid...

September 09, 2025

‘Debanking’ Draws GOP Lawmakers’ Attention

Political “debanking,” the practice of banks restricting or closing customers’ accounts for political or religious reasons, has once again become a hot topic , thanks to President Donald Trump and lawmakers in several Republican-governed states. Conservatives appear to have been concerned about the practice since at least 2013, when the Obama administration launched Operation Choke Point , an initiative...

August 26, 2025

Possible Changes Coming to CO AI Law & More

CO Lawmakers Tweak Last Year’s First-In-Nation AI Law In a special session that began last week, Colorado Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez (D) introduced legislation ( SB 4 a ) that would make significant changes to the artificial intelligence law he led to passage last year ( SB 205 [2024 ). That first-in-the-nation law raised concerns that it was too restrictive and would stifle AI development, and Rodriguez...

August 26, 2025

State Scramble to Replace Expiring Federal Health Subsidies & More

States Seek Ways to Replace Expiring Federal Health Subsidies Policymakers in California, Colorado, Maryland and other states are considering ways to backfill pandemic-era federal health insurance subsidies expiring at the end of this year. Since states don’t have the resources to replace all that federal funding, health insurance premiums are likely to soar next year. ( PLURIBUS NEWS ) NH Expands Access for...

August 26, 2025

Lawmakers Aim to Cut Utility Returns

The price of electricity has risen faster than inflation since 2022, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects that trend to continue through 2026 . In the past year, the cost of electricity has jumped 5.8%, according to the consumer price index for June 2025 , more than double the inflation rate for all goods and services. But while consumers are feeling the pain, utility companies are profiting...

August 19, 2025

Trump’s ‘Debanking’ Executive Order

Trump’s ‘Debanking’ Order Raises Questions for Lenders Days after accusing JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America of discriminating against him and other conservatives, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Treasury Department and bank regulators to ensure that lenders aren’t denying services to customers based on political or religious grounds, a practice known as “debanking...

August 19, 2025

Tech Industry’s Battle against AI Regulation in CA & More

Tech Groups Battling AI Regulation in CA Tech industry groups including the Business Software Alliance, the Consumer Technology Association and the Chamber of Progress are stepping up their lobbying efforts in opposition to a slew of California bills aimed at regulating artificial intelligence as lawmakers in the state return from their summer recess. The industry appears to be faring well this year, with only about...

August 19, 2025

States with Legal Sports Betting Eye Prop Bets

Seven years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act , states continue to wrestle with how best to regulate sports betting, an industry that now generates more than $10 billion in revenue annually nationwide. Legalized sports betting appears to have powered an increased interest in proposition, or prop, betting , in which bettors wager on an individual athlete’s...

August 13, 2025

Proposed Credit Property Insurance Rate Cuts in SC

SC Proposes Rate Cuts for Some Credit Property Insurance South Carolina’s Department of Insurance plans to cut the rates for some credit property insurance, which lenders sometimes require to protect personal property put up as collateral for loans. The department issued a bulletin stating that it was proposing “to hold the rate for household goods—single interest coverage at the 2025 level and to...

August 13, 2025

State Efforts to Make Data Centers Pay More for Energy, Veto of Gig Worker Portable Benefits Bill in WI & More

States Eying Higher Electricity Rates for Data Centers At least a dozen states are considering ways to make data centers pay more for their power, with evidence mounting that data center demand is driving up rates for other commercial, industrial and residential customers. Lawmakers in Oregon, a data center hot spot , passed legislation in June calling for state regulators to establish new power rates for data centers...

August 13, 2025

WI Gov’s Veto of Insurance Reg Exemption for Direct Primary Care Doctors

Evers Vetoes Insurance Reg Exemption for Direct Primary Care Doctors Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) vetoed a bill ( SB 4 ) that would have exempted primary care doctors who provide care to patients who are billed directly and pay a monthly membership fee from regulation as part of the insurance industry. Evers said in his veto message that the measure failed to provide sufficient protections for patients receiving care...

August 13, 2025

State Lawmakers Seek to Regulate AI Pricing

A few months ago we reported on state legislation targeting “predictive pricing,” the use of “data analytics, machine learning and algorithms to anticipate market demand and adjust prices in real time.” Some of those measures are progressing through the legislative process, while new ones have also been introduced, suggesting that algorithmic pricing legislation may have become a new frontier in...

July 30, 2025

CA Completes Review of First Wildfire Risk Model

CA Regulators Complete Review of Wildfire Risk Model California’s Department of Insurance has completed a review of the state’s first wildfire catastrophe model, which property/casualty insurers can now begin using to assess wildfire risk when setting rates. The major change to the ratemaking process is part of a new regulatory framework created to address a homeowners insurance crisis in the state, with...

July 30, 2025

Trump Administration’s State Regulation-Unfriendly ‘AI Action Plan’ & More

Trump Administration’s ‘AI Action Plan’ Targets State AI Regulation The Trump administration released an “AI Action Plan,” aimed at speeding the development of artificial intelligence in the United States, including by removing “red tape and onerous regulation.” Among other things the plan recommends that federal agencies with “AI-related discretionary programs...consider...

July 29, 2025

More States Grant Unemployment Benefits to Striking Workers

In the span of just 36 days this spring and summer, the number of states offering unemployment benefits to striking workers doubled—to four. New Jersey was the first to offer such benefits, beginning in 2018 . New York followed in 2020 . Then Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed SB 5041 by Sen. Marcus Riccelli (D) on May 19, establishing unemployment insurance benefits for striking workers in the Evergreen...

July 23, 2025

New Front in ESG War & CA’s First Fine for Violation of Crypto Law

Developing Anti-‘Debanking’ Trend in Red States? A new front appears to have opened in the ongoing battle over environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. In March Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed the Transparency in Financial Services Act ( SB 1027 ), prohibiting financial institutions with over $100 billion in assets from denying services for ideological reasons, a practice known as “debanking...

July 23, 2025

FL’s Bid to Expand Health Workforce with Medicaid Funding

FL Requests Medicaid Waiver to Bolster Health Workforce Florida is seeking a federal waiver to use Medicaid funding to expand its health care workforce, a plan that could be adopted by other states. The Sunshine State aims to use up to $3 billion in federal and state money over five years for training and loan repayments of health care workers who care for Medicaid patients in underserved areas. ( PLURIBUS NEWS ) ...

July 23, 2025

Four-Day Workweek Proposals Return to State Capitols

A couple of years ago, the idea of switching to a four-day workweek seemed to be catching on in state legislatures . As many as six states, including Maryland , Massachusetts and Pennsylvania , considered it, although no state has actually mandated it for all workers. But the proposal has made a bit of a comeback this year. In Maine, Sen. Rick Bennett (R) is carrying a resolution ( SB 735a ) calling for a pilot...

July 16, 2025

PA’s New Crypto Transmitter Licensing Law

PA Enacts Crypto Transmitter Licensing Requirements Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) signed legislation requiring cryptocurrency and other virtual monetary transmitters to be licensed by the state. The new law will also require licensees to submit annual reports on their operations. ( STATE AFFAIRS , LEXISNEXIS STATE NET) —Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK Visit our webpage to connect with a LexisNexis®...

July 16, 2025

Repeal of MO’s Paid Sick Leave Law

MO Lawmakers Repeal Voter-Approved Paid Sick Leave Law Eight months after Missouri voters approved Proposition A, mandating paid sick leave and a $13.75 minimum wage, Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed legislation ( HB 567 ) repealing the law. Voters in Alaska and Nebraska also approved paid sick leave ballot measures in November but Alaska’s is the only one that hasn’t been changed by state lawmakers. ( ASSOCIATED...

July 16, 2025

ME’s New Click-to-Cancel Law & Frontier AI Bill in CA

ME Makes it Easier to Cancel Subscriptions Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed a bill ( SB 650 a ) last month intended to make it easier for Mainers to cancel subscriptions, from gym memberships to mobile apps and online software. Providers of such products and services will now have to give consumers clear information about renewals and consumers will have to provide consent for such renewals and will be able to cancel...

July 16, 2025

CT’s Unique Bid to Lower Cost of GLP-1 Drugs

CT to Seek Federal Approval to Make Generic GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation ( HB 7192 ) allowing the state to seek to hire a generic drug-manufacturer to make cheap versions of Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1 drugs the state could then provide to those covered by Medicaid or the state employees’ health plan. No other state has a law in place for such drugs ( NEW HAVEN...

July 16, 2025

States Look to Rein in AI in Insurance

With Congress punting on artificial intelligence regulation during budget negotiations this year, states remain key watchdogs of the technology as it continues to be embraced throughout American society. One area of particular concern to the states: insurance, a historically state-regulated industry . Colorado became the first state to formally regulate the use of AI in insurance in 2023, although other states before...

June 24, 2025

Support for Small Pharmacies in Multiple States, Support for 340B Program in RI & More

States Passing Laws to Aid Small Pharmacies States including Colorado ( HB 1094 ), Georgia ( HB 196 ), Indiana ( SB 140 ), Iowa ( SB 383 ) and Montana (HB 740) have passed laws this year setting minimum prescription drug reimbursement rates for pharmacies. The laws are coming in response to complaints from independent pharmacies that contracts with pharmacy benefit managers aren’t covering their costs for obtaining...