‘CASH 4 HOMES’ offers and more news from the states

Happy Monday! Thanks for joining us for this morning’s edition of Daybreak. Over the weekend, several politicians made appearances at the 2026 Texas Tribune Festival. 

U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, a Texas Republican, said the U.S. should err on the side of innovation in AI regulation. Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman spoke about why he’s charting his own course and what he thinks of the current Democratic Party. And Republican state Rep. Mitch Little said he expects his party to retain control of the Texas House. 

In Maryland, residents who purchase individual health care plans on the state’s insurance marketplace will see a second year of double-digit increases to their monthly healthcare costs, after state insurance officials approved a 14.6% average premium rate hike across plans in 2027.

And in case you missed it, the U.S. Supreme Court drove a stake through the heart of Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map, ordering it be buried for the year and for voters to cast ballots in the districts they’ve used the past two election cycles.

Also this morning, our thoughts are with the millions of Americans affected by a deadly early season nor’easter that brought strong winds, heavy rain and flooding to several states in the Northeast.

Maine: The state Department of Corrections has opted to continue its policy that allows staff to punish incarcerated people before and regardless of a finding of guilt, underscoring the discretion that props up the prison system. 

Wisconsin: Voters will decide on three proposed constitutional amendments this fall. The proposed amendments would ban state and local governments from enacting diversity, equity and inclusion policies; limit the governor’s use of the partial veto to raise taxes and fees; and prohibit the closure of places of worship during public health emergencies.

Virginia: Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger unveiled a package of legislative proposals to rein in the data center industry, with goals to tighten environmental regulations, increase cost allocation for the industry and make the proposal process more transparent by barring nondisclosure agreements between localities and developers.

Michigan: Less than a week out from the annual deadline for the state’s Safe Homes, Safe Schools law, which requires school districts to distribute information about safe firearm storage each year, half of the state’s schools had not yet complied, according to a member of Statewide Indivisible Michigan.

Alabama: The attorney general’s office and TikTok reached a settlement over a state lawsuit that alleged the social media platform addicted children and lied about the safety of its platform. The settlement requires TikTok to install features that prevent teens from accessing the platform from midnight to 6 a.m.

See the rest of the news of the day from all 50 states, plus our D.C. Bureau and Stateline, on News From The States.

The signs, text messages and mailers promise cash, quick sales and a seamless means of unloading unwanted homes: WE BUY HOUSES. CASH 4 HOMES. FA$T CA$H. But advocates say the business of buying homes for cash can confuse vulnerable homeowners and rob them of home equity. And now, many states are cracking down, Stateline reports. 

Wholesalers often solicit directly, calling or door knocking looking for sales. But they’re best known by the signs lining curbs and utility poles.

Real estate wholesaling operates distinctly from the traditional real estate market of listings, showings and agents. Wholesalers look to get unlisted homes under contract at a discount and then sell or assign that contract to another speculator before finalizing the property transfer — acting as a middleman and pocketing a profit along the way. The end buyer may flip the house for a profit or hold it as a rental property, but critics say the process can deprive owners of realizing the full value of their homes.

A growing number of state lawmakers worry that buyers don’t fully understand the wholesaling process or even who will end up owning their home at the end of the sale. Lawmakers and regulators, backed by organized real estate trade groups and consumer advocacy organizations, are pushing for more limits on the practice. At least 15 states have recently approved new regulations of wholesalers.

Kentucky towns are serving as the backdrop of holiday movies, thrillers and “Ethan Almighty,” an upcoming film about the dog who inspired the passage of a state law criminalizing abuse of dogs and cats, Kentucky Lantern reports.

The bump in film production in the commonwealth can be attributed to Kentucky lawmakers building up the state’s film incentives in recent years. But some criticize the program for providing state funds to private companies with little return on investment. 

Republican Senate President Robert Stivers told Kentucky Lantern in a recent interview that the state has an opportunity to become a destination for movie and television filming. Not only that, boosting a new industry “would be great to diversify our economy,” Stivers said.  Some major productions have moved out of traditional film hubs like California as other states began offering lucrative tax credits. 

In 2025, the General Assembly approved a measure to establish the Kentucky Film Office, overseen by the Kentucky Film Leadership Council, within the Cabinet for Economic Development. 

Andrew McNeill, the president and senior policy fellow at the Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education, said film incentives, which differ from a traditional economic development incentive in that they give direct subsidies from the state to the companies, are for “temporary job creation that doesn’t leave nearly anything in state or in the communities as permanent fixed investment.”