ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Senior citizen advocates and AI safety proponents are urging state lawmakers to pass laws protecting adults, not just kids, from potential harms related to chatbot use. States have enacted 18 chatbot laws since last year, most of which focus on minors’ wellbeing, but advocates are worried about the possible impact on seniors.
The Alliance for Secure AI has endorsed model legislation dubbed the People-First Chatbot bill. Versions of the bill have been introduced in eight states, from conservative Louisiana and South Carolina to liberal Maryland and Vermont. (Pluribus News)
MORE: New Jersey Assemb. Andrew Macurdy (D) has introduced bills requiring the disclosure of AI use in the creation of some content; impose civil penalties on AI platforms for harmful activities including the exploitation of children; and require AI developers to make disclosures to the state attorney general. Macurdy pointed to disclosures by OpenAI and Anthropic that their systems escaped testing “sandboxes” and attacked other companies. (New Jersey Globe)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE: New Jersey’s Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee approved legislation prohibiting police from relying solely on facial recognition technology to establish probable cause for an arrest warrant. The ACLU backed the bill, which aims to protect against false matches that can compromise investigations. (New Jersey Globe)
EDUCATION: The Pennsylvania House approved legislation to ban cell phones from schools in a bipartisan vote. The measure would require schools to bar students from using phones during the school day beginning in the fall of 2027. It carves out exemptions for students with certain medical conditions and special needs. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
ALCOHOL: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments over a federal law from 1868 that bans home distilling. A Texas-based hobby distilling group claims the law violates the taxation and necessary and proper clauses of the Constitution. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ban in July 2024, but the 6th Circuit upheld the ban. (State Affairs)
In Politics & Business
FLORIDA: A new YouGov poll conducted for Univision finds U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R) leading former U.S. Rep. David Jolly (D) 50%-42%. President Trump’s job approval rating stands at 44%. Cuban voters back Donalds by a 51%-42% margin, while Puerto Rican voters back Jolly 51%-35%. (Univision)
OHIO: A new Marist College poll finds former state health director Amy Acton (D) leading entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) 50%-43%. Independents back Acton by a 53%-34% margin. President Trump’s job approval rating stands at 43%. (Marist)
GEORGIA: A University of Georgia poll conducted for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution finds businessman Rick Jackson (R) statistically tied with former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) 46%-45%. Independents are breaking for Bottoms by a 43%-38% margin. (WSB-TV) A Quantus Insights poll has Jackson ahead by a 48%-47% margin. (Quantus)
MASSACHUSETTS: A new Suffolk University poll finds Gov. Maura Healey (D) leading tech executive Mike Minogue (R) 59%-36%, while 2% back independent Andrea James. The poll finds just 26% of Massachusetts voters have a favorable view of President Trump, while 56% see Healey favorably. (Suffolk) A UMass-Amherst poll puts Healey up 57%-32%. (UMass-Amherst)
By The Numbers
572: The number of teacher vacancies in Maryland this year, down from 2,145 in the 2022-2023 school year. The 70% decline in vacancies is attributed to a $15 million grant program aimed at supporting teachers who focus on special education and early childhood education. (Maryland Matters)
108,000: The estimated number of Connecticut residents who will lose healthcare coverage under the 2025 Republican reconciliation bill, according to state health officials. That’s about a third of the total population covered under the state healthcare program. (CT News Junkie)
Off The Wall
Iowa First Gentleman Kevin Reynolds is recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor. It’s Reynolds’s second battle with cancer, after he fought off lung cancer in 2023. (Des Moines Register)
Our best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Brady Rogers, 33, has won election to the Kelowna City Council in British Columbia after running a campaign based on funny yard signs. Rogers’s signs read: “I barely want to do this,” “Just trying to pay my rent,” and “How hard can it be”. The slogan on Rogers’s campaign website reads “Do I enjoy politics? No. Do I know what I’m doing? No. But am I qualified? Also no.” (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“It was so dark and dreary in here, initially, for a rotunda. It just didn’t scream ‘state capitol’ as much as it will now.”
— Philip Atilano, the foreman in charge of the project to restore South Dakota’s Capitol rotunda. Early reviews rave about the clean-up job. (South Dakota Searchlight)