Open AI and Common Sense Media announce joint California ballot initiative to regulate minors' use of AI chatbots.

 

How states oversee federal grants

Federal grants to states totaled about $1.12 trillion in 2023, accounting for 36.7% of all state revenue. Federal funds as a portion of total revenue differ widely by state. Louisiana had the highest share of its state budget come from federal sources at 51.6%, while Hawaii had the lowest at 26.6%. States use a range of statutory frameworks to review, approve, and manage these funds. These frameworks determine who — governors, legislatures, agencies, auditors, or the public — evaluates grant applications, accepts federal dollars, and regulates how entities administer those funds. Although states can use many forms of oversight, below we'll look at gubernatorial or legislative approval of federal grants. Thirty-two states involve governors in the approval of federal grants. A governor's role in approving federal grants can take three forms: Explicit approval: Sixteen states require governors to approve federal grants. Partial or indirect approval: Sixteen states involve governors through coordination, notification, or budget review. No approval role: Eighteen states assign approval authority to agencies, budget offices, or legislatures. Forty-four states involve legislatures in approving federal grants. This role can take these forms: Explicit approval: Seventeen states require legislative approval—either by the full legislature or a designated committee. Partial or indirect approval: Twenty-seven states rely on reporting, fiscal review, or notification without formal approval. No approval role: Six states assign no statutory approval responsibility to lawmakers.   LEARN MORE

An early look at state supreme court retention elections this year

This year, 32 states will hold elections for their state supreme courts. Fourteen of these states will hold retention elections, 12 will hold nonpartisan elections, and six will hold partisan elections. Retention elections are not like traditional elections, as a justice doesn't run against other candidates, but is subject to a yes-or-no vote. The most recent retention elections occurred in Pennsylvania in 2025, in which the three justices up for retention — Christine Donohue (D), Kevin M. Dougherty (D), and David N. Wecht (D) — each won retention with at least 64% of the vote. Traditionally, justices win retention elections more often than any other type of election. According to our analysis of retention elections, nine justices in seven states have lost retention elections since 1990. The last time a justice lost a retention election was in 2024, when Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger lost. Since 1990, voters have retained state supreme court justices with an average of 71.5% of the vote.   LEARN MORE

OpenAI and Common Sense Media announce joint California ballot initiative to regulate minors' use of AI chatbots. January 9

On January 9, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that focuses on kids' digital safety, announced that they had filed a joint ballot initiative in California to regulate minors' use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. As we covered back in December, the two groups had previously filed separate, competing ballot initiatives. The campaign has titled the initiative the "Parents & Kids Safe AI Act." The initiative would adopt a new state law governing AI companion chatbots that would: Require AI chatbot developers to restrict content when minors use them, Prohibit the sale of a minor's data without parental consent, Require independent audits of chatbot technology for safety risks to minors, and require those audits to be reported to the state attorney general, and Prohibit the promotion of isolation from family or friends or romantic relationships by AI chatbots to minors. Common Sense Media filed its original initiative on October 22. It included provisions similar to those in the recently proposed measure. OpenAI filed its initial initiative on December 5. Three other initiatives were filed in California that also propose various regulations on artificial intelligence and its developers. Click here to see our coverage of these three initiatives and what they would do iDecember 23ec. 23rd edition of the Daily Brew. All of the AI initiatives are statutes that require 546,651 signatures (5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election). The deadline for signature verification is June 25. However, the secretary of state recommends a signature deadline of January 12. 12, for initiatives requiring a complete check of signatures; April 17ril 17, for initiatives requiring a random sample of signatures to be verified. Since 1985, an average of between 19 and 20 ballot measures have appeared on even-year ballots in California. Since 2010, the average number of initiatives certified per election cycle has been 9.   LEARN MORE

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