Endangered species

Colorado voters will decide Amendment 83 on Nov. 3, 2026, which would make hunting and fishing constitutionally protected rights and establish them as the preferred method of wildlife management. The measure needs at least 55% approval to pass. If successful, Colorado would become the 25th state with such constitutional protections.

Supporters, led by Luke Hilgemann of the International Order of T. Roosevelt, say the amendment would not change existing seasons, bag limits or licensing rules, but would shield hunting and fishing from future legislative changes by elevating them above ordinary statute. It would not permit hunting of endangered species or trespassing on private land, and would not reverse past bans on certain hunting and trapping practices. Opponents argue the rights are already legal and that the amendment is unnecessary and could invite litigation. The vote follows Colorado's 2020 wolf-reintroduction measure and a 2024 rejection of a ban on hunting mountain lions, bobcats and lynx, continuing a pattern of wildlife policy decided directly by voters.

California lawmakers have sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill, AB 2222, that would create the nation's most ambitious state tax credit program for local news organizations. The measure would redirect revenue generated by conforming state tax law to a federal provision in Trump's tax legislation that eliminated corporate deductions for executive pay above $1 million. Newsrooms could receive an estimated $43 million in credits tied to journalists' wages, with tax credits ranging from $7,500 for part-time positions to $20,000 for full-time roles, plus bonuses for new hires. National outlets and partisan "pink slime" sites would be excluded.

The bill responds to a steep decline in local journalism: more than 12,000 California newsroom jobs have disappeared since 2002, and over 3,500 U.S. newspapers have closed, according to advocacy group Rebuild Local News. The McClatchy chain, which owns the Sacramento Bee, recently announced major layoffs. Newsom's finance department has opposed the bill, questioning its economic benefit, and the governor has not stated his position. Supporters argue the credits, though unable to reverse the industry's decline, would preserve local reporting jobs seen as vital to civic accountability and democracy.

Hawaii has joined 19 other states and the District of Columbia in two lawsuits accusing the Trump administration of illegally weakening the Endangered Species Act. Democratic attorneys general, led by Washington, California, Maryland and Massachusetts, filed the suits against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

One suit challenges a rule narrowing the definition of "harm" to exclude habitat destruction unless it directly kills or injures animals, opening protected habitats to drilling and mining. The other challenges rules that end automatic protections for newly threatened species and require agencies to weigh developer and industry objections before designating "critical habitats."

Officials argue the changes undermine a law credited with saving species like the bald eagle, grizzly bear and humpback whale. The Interior Department has defended the rules as correcting misuse of the 1973 law that it says has hindered development and competitiveness. The case adds to a wave of Democratic-led litigation challenging Trump administration deregulation efforts.

Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar held a San Antonio press conference urging six Bexar County municipalities — Hollywood Park, China Grove, St. Hedwig, Balcones Heights, Sandy Oaks, and Von Ormy — to end their 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agreements, entered under the Task Force model, let trained local police question people about citizenship status during patrols, access ICE databases, and arrest suspected undocumented immigrants.

Castro accused ICE of racial profiling and called the agency "rogue" and "abusive" under the Trump administration, citing conditions at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, which he has visited repeatedly and wants closed. He also suggested financial incentives, not just policy, are driving cities to sign on. Casar called on mayors to stop enrolling police in federal immigration enforcement. Texas law requires counties operating jails to participate in 287(g), a provision dating to 1996 legislation signed by President Bill Clinton, complicating efforts to unwind local participation.