Lobbying for surveillance and more news from the states

It’s Friday! And we’re starting this morning’s lineup with news out of Washington, D.C.

A federal judge froze for two weeks a Trump administration regulation to restrict mail voting, calling the U.S. Postal Service rule a violation of states’ power to administer elections. The judge’s temporary restraining order reinstated a pause that had been lifted just a day earlier, following the U.S. Supreme Court procedural ruling earlier this week that allowed the administration to implement the policy, States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau reports. 

Next week, the Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents more than 50,000 public workers, is planning a tentative walkout in response to strained labor negotiations with the state.

Massachusetts will hold its state primary elections on Tuesday. And the Missouri Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the appeals of two ballot measure cases, including a referendum on the state’s gerrymandered congressional map.

Come back next week for the latest. Have a great weekend.

National: Twenty-three states are challenging new Trump administration funding requirements that threaten family planning grants. The suit claims the new conditions on the Title X program in the upcoming fiscal 2027 funding period will penalize states that “refuse to abandon nondiscrimination protections.”

New Jersey: Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation requiring data centers to report their water and energy use to state energy regulators every six months, touting it as a highlight of her plan to “hold data centers accountable.”

Kentucky: After more than half a decade of advocacy, supporters of freestanding birth centers celebrated as a legislative committee approved regulations — essentially, the details — for how the centers will now be able to open and run. 

North Dakota: A ban on purchasing candy, soda and other sweetened drinks with federal food assistance was postponed days before it was set to take effect. The restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were expected to take effect Sept. 1.

Virginia: Former educators and parents say state leaders must implement guidelines to regulate the digital tools students use in schools, arguing that technology is obscuring the essential learning methods they need most.

New Mexico: New Mexico Democratic Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice seeking records related to allegations that Drug Enforcement Administration agents knowingly let fentanyl flow into the state.

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.

Flock Safety, the multibillion-dollar producer of Flock automatic license plate reader cameras, spent $102,000 last year lobbying for Wisconsin legislation to increase its nationwide surveillance network. That’s according to a report by OpenSecrets, which found that the controversial company dedicated more than $2 million on lobbying efforts across the country in 2025, Wisconsin Examiner reports.

The findings come as communities continue pushing back against Flock cameras. Some areas have canceled contracts and removed the cameras altogether, while others have opted to increase oversight and auditing of how the cameras are used by police.

Flock cameras work by photographing every vehicle and license plate that passes by their view. The images and information are stored in a database that can be searched by law enforcement officers who work at agencies with Flock contracts. In many cases, police officers may query tens of thousands of cameras at once to determine whether any have sighted a vehicle sought by law enforcement. Using the captured data, police departments can also use Flock to keep track of a vehicle’s regular movement patterns.

In Wisconsin, Flock lobbied last year for two Republican bills that would have provided grants to allow local law enforcement agencies to obtain and install automatic license plate reader cameras, but neither passed.

States move to fortify elections against Trump

Since his loss in the 2020 election, President Donald Trump has continued to deny the official results and baselessly sow doubt about election integrity. With an executive order to restrict mail-in voting and lawsuits demanding states turn over their voter rolls, Trump and his administration have been pushing for more federal involvement in how elections are run. That has some state leaders preparing for worst-case scenarios. 

In Episode 43 of the Stories From The States podcast, you’ll learn about how state attorneys general are getting ready for the possibility of federal agents at the polls and contested election results.

Subscribe to Stories From The States on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.

A group of veterans who are incarcerated at the Idaho State Correctional Institution is providing fresh vegetables to local families from a new garden the inmates started this year, Idaho Capital Sun reports.  

The Idaho State Correctional Institution Veterans Group partnered with the Kuna Food Bank to distribute the food to families in the community, officials with the Idaho Department of Correction announced Thursday.

Members of the veterans group spent the year learning about crops, planting vegetables and caring for the garden, Case Manager Steve Mitchley said. 

In the first year of the garden’s existence, the veterans group harvested potatoes, onions, bell peppers, squash and beets. American Legion Post 113, A New Path Idaho and Lowe’s provided about $800 worth of donated materials to support the garden, officials said. 

Correction officials said that while the garden is small, it has grown into something much bigger  by providing a sense of community service and hope.