March 24, 2023

Health Insurance Reform Bills Vetoed in MS, Prescription Drug Reform Bill Line-Item Vetoed in WY & More

MS Gov Nixes Health Insurance Reform Bills Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) vetoed two health insurance reform measures that were passed by the Legislature with bipartisan support. One of the bills ( SB 2622 ) would have accelerated the prior authorization...
March 24, 2023

ChatGPT Draws State Lawmakers’ Attention to AI

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-driven computer program designed to facilitate interaction between users and their digital devices, has drawn a great deal of public attention since being introduced last year. Some state lawmakers are taking notice too and calling...
March 10, 2023

MT’s Sweeping TikTok Ban Bill, Biden Administration’s Plan to Hold Software, Device Makers Liable for Hacks & More

MT Senate Passes Sweeping TikTok Ban The Montana Senate approved a TikTok ban ( SB 419 ) that goes much further than the executive actions of several Republican governors prohibiting the use of the Chinese-owned video-sharing app on state-issued devices. The...
March 10, 2023

Walgreens Caught in Political Battle over Abortion Pills; IA, TX Targeting Online Abortion Information & More

Walgreens Caught in Red-State, Blue-State Battle over Abortion Pills California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said last week that his state was cutting ties with Walgreens, including a $54 million contract to provide medications to inmates of the state’s correctional...
March 09, 2023

Top Compliance Issues for Insurance, Financial Sectors in 2023

At the start of the year, we took a look at some of the legislative issues we believed would get the most attention from state lawmakers in 2023 within the realms of health, insurance/finance, labor and technology . This week, with the guidance of attorneys Celeste...
February 27, 2023

GOP AGs’ Effort to Block ESG Investment Rule, Another Round of Insurance Industry Reforms Pitched in FL & More

25 GOP AGs Seek to Block Federal ESG Investment Rule The Republican attorneys general of 25 states have asked a federal court in Texas to block implementation of a regulation from the U.S. Department of Labor governing the consideration of issues like climate...
February 27, 2023

CA Lawmakers Take Aim at Crypto Industry Again; IL, WA Lawmakers Weigh Protections for Vloggers’ Kids & More

CA Lawmakers Trying Again to Regulate Crypto Industry California lawmakers are considering legislation ( AB 39 ) that would require digital asset companies to be licensed by the state and also impose new disclosure requirements on them intended to protect consumers...
February 27, 2023

Seattle Bans Caste Discrimination, NY Lifts Statute of Limitations for Sexual Assault Claims & More

Seattle Becomes First U.S. City to Ban Caste Discrimination Seattle’s City Council passed an ordinance ( CB 120511 ) prohibiting discrimination in various arenas, including employment and housing, based on caste, which it defines as “a system of rigid...
February 27, 2023

Amazon’s $3.9B One Medical Deal, NJ’s Crackdown on Nursing Home Medicaid Application Assistors & More

Amazon Closes $3.9B One Medical Deal Amazon announced last week that it had closed its $3.9 billion deal to buy One Medical, furthering its efforts to expand its growing medical services business. The tech giant’s announcement came the day after The Wall...
February 25, 2023

States Following California’s Lead on Children’s Data Privacy

Once again, the California Legislature is proving to be a pioneer in lawmaking, as several states across the country, including Maryland and New Mexico, are looking to follow the Golden State’s lead and pursue comprehensive legislation to protect the digital...
February 17, 2023

Wave of Bills Aimed at Protecting Teens from Social Media, Proposed Data Privacy Protections in VT & More

FL, Other States Seek to Protect Teens from Social Media A bill ( HB 591 ) introduced in Florida this month would require social media companies to disclose to users that that they employ “addictive design features” like auto play and infinite scrolling...
February 17, 2023

Proposed Family Leave Plan in WI, Maternity Leave Bill in AR, MD’s Proposed Four-Day Workweek Experiment & More

WI Gov’s Proposed Budget Includes Family Leave Plan One of the most significant provisions in Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) proposed 2023-25 budget is a new family and medical leave program. Under that program both public and private employees who already...
February 17, 2023

CA’s Proposed $25 Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers, Hospitals’ New ER Staffing Strategy & More

CA to Consider $25 Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers A bill introduced last week in California ( SB 525 ) would establish a statewide $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers and support staff. The bill would require healthcare facilities and home health agencies...
February 16, 2023

States Continue to Roll Back Vaccine Requirements

While the pandemic is slowly fading from the headlines, vaccine legislation continues to be a priority for lawmakers in many states. The flood of proposals and shifting mandates are posing challenges for government affairs and compliance professionals alike and...
January 27, 2023

Congressman’s Apt Call for AI Regulation, Google Ad Tech Lawsuit & More

U.S. Rep Introduces Unique Measure Calling for Regulation of AI U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) introduced a resolution last week calling on Congress to establish a nonpartisan commission to make recommendations about how to regulate artificial intelligence. What made...