STATE NET® THOUGHT LEADERSHIP SERIES State lawmakers are beginning to regulate what could become one of the most sensitive categories of personal data—information derived from brain and nervous system activity. A study by the Neurorights Foundation...
ND Regulators Approve Bank-to-Bank Stablecoin Use North Dakota’s Industrial Commission approved the use of the state bank’s planned stablecoin, the Roughrider Coin, for bank-to-bank transactions. Ten banks have expressed interest in participating...
Tech Group Pushing Back on NY Chatbot Bill A tech industry group is opposing a New York bill ( SB 7263 ) aimed at preventing chatbots from impersonating a variety of licensed professionals, including veterinarians. The Consumer Technology Association, representing...
KS Lawmakers Pass PBM Bill A bill aimed at tightening regulations on PBMs ( SB 360 ), but which appeared unlikely to move forward this session, was inserted into another bill ( SB 20 ) during a conference committee hearing and passed by the House and Senate....
Who could have predicted this? Prediction markets have emerged as one of the biggest stories of 2026. The online platforms and apps, which allow users to bet on anything from who will win the Oscar for best actor to the temperature in Los Angeles tomorrow, have...
New White House Policy Framework Calls for Blocking State AI Laws The Trump administration released a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence that, among other things, urges Congress to “preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens to ensure...
VT Bill Addresses Privacy of AI in Healthcare The Vermont House passed a bill ( HB 814 ) to bolster privacy protections around the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The bill would establish “neurological rights” to protect individuals’...
Nearly two years after the Environmental Protection Agency set drinking water limits for so-called forever chemicals, the synthetic compounds remain a focus for state legislators. Formally known as per- and polyfluorinated substances or PFAS, the chemicals are...
CA’s Wildfire-Driven Insurance Crisis Spreads to Lower-Risk Homes Insurers have stopped covering homes in some California neighborhoods at lower risk of wildfire damage, forcing thousands of homeowners to turn to the state’s insurer of last resort...
WA Enacts Ban on Microchipping Workers Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed a bill ( HB 2303 ) prohibiting companies from requiring their workers to get microchip implants. The new law allows workers to bring civil lawsuits against employers who require them...
NJ Gov Wants Big Employers to Help Cover Cost of Medicaid New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) unveiled a state budget plan that proposes generating $145 million in funding for Medicaid by requiring large employers to pay up to $725 a year for each employee covered...
When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) spoke about the need for affordable healthcare and housing last month , she joined a chorus of governors of both major parties who have made affordability a focus of their annual state of the state addresses. “Affordability...
MI to Weigh Ban on Stock Buybacks for Companies Receiving Tax Breaks Michigan Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D) introduced a bill ( SB 783 ) that would prohibit publicly traded companies receiving economic incentives through the Michigan Strategic Fund from repurchasing...
VA House Passes Paid Sick Leave Bill Virginia’s House of Delegates approved a bill ( HB 5 ) that would expand the state’s current paid sick leave law, which applies only to a small segment of workers, to include all public and private sector employees...
VA Lawmakers Okay Prescription Drug Affordability Board Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation ( SB 271 / HB 483 ) that would create a prescription drug affordability board to review drug prices and set limits on how much state-regulated health plans can...