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Cost of LA Wildfires Could Reach $150B J.P. Morgan said last week that insured losses from the wind-driven wildfires in Los Angeles could reach $10 billion, according to reporting by Reuters. AccuWeather...
More Kids’ Online Safety Measures Expected in 2025 Despite legal challenges that have blocked new state laws aimed at protecting kids from the potential harms of social media from taking effect...
New MA Law Increases Oversight of Private Equity Investment in Healthcare Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) signed a bill ( HB 5159 ) expanding oversight of private equity investment in the healthcare...
Just a couple of weeks into the new year, state legislators appear to be watching and waiting to see how things shake out with the new Trump administration. But despite the uncertainty, one issue—...
MI’s Minimum Wage Rising Most Next Year Twenty-three states’ minimum wages are increasing in 2025, typically by about 3%. But Michigan’s minimum wage will rise 21% by the end of February...
State Lawmakers Not Reluctant to Regulate Tech in 2024: All 46 states that held legislative sessions this year enacted measures regulating technology, 238 measures in all, a 163% increase from 2023, according to a new report from New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics and Center on Tech Policy.
Almost half of the new laws—107 in 41 states—deal with artificial intelligence, including a first-in-the-nation comprehensive measure in Colorado (SB 24). Another 48 laws concern children’s online safety.
The report also noted that 89% of the laws were enacted in trifecta states where the legislature and governor’s office are held by a single party. California alone enacted 26 new tech laws. (PURIBUS NEWS, CENTER ON TECH POLICY, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
Social Media Warning Label Bill Introduced in CA: California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) introduced a bill (AB 56) that would require social media sites to routinely display a warning label stating: “The Surgeon General has advised that there are ample indicators that social media can have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.” The measure is sponsored by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D). (SACRAMENTO BEE)
Bitcoin Reserve Bill Prefiled in TX: Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R) prefiled a bill (HB 1598) for next year’s session that would provide for the establishment of a strategic bitcoin reserve in the state. The measure would allow the state to accept taxes, fees and donations in bitcoin that it would hold for a minimum of five years.
In November Pennsylvania Reps. Mike Cabell (R) and Aaron Kaufer (R) introduced HB 2664, providing for the establishment of a bitcoin reserve in that state by allowing the state treasurer to invest up to 10% of the General Fund, Rainy Day Fund and State Investment Fund in bitcoin and crypto exchange-traded products or ETPs. (CNBC, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)
—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK