Welcome to the Thursday, May 29, 2025, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Fourteen states have passed policies on K-12 public school cell phone use in 2025
- A look at how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would affect the administrative state
- Republican party committees lead in cumulative fundraising as of April 30
Fourteen states have passed policies on K-12 public school cell phone use in 2025
As part of our ongoing coverage of education policy, we ran a story earlier this month on the states that have banned cellphone use in K-12 schools. Here’s an update on that story and a look at these policies nationally.
On May 20, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed Legislative Bill 140, which requires public school districts to adopt policies prohibiting students from using cell phones on school property. The Nebraska Senate approved the bill 48-1 on May 14. The law will take effect before the 2025-2026 school year.
The law has certain exceptions, including for emergencies. Click here to read the full text of the bill.
Thirteen Democrats, all 33 Republicans, and two nonpartisan legislators voted in favor of the bill, while one Democrat voted against it.
Nebraska has a Republican trifecta. Republicans have a 33-14-2 majority in the state Senate, and Pillen is a Republican. The Nebraska Legislature does not have a lower chamber.
On May 20, the Alaska Legislature voted 46-14 to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (R) veto of HB 57, an education funding bill that includes a requirement that K-12 public school districts develop policies regulating student cellphone use. HB 57 does not require that districts ban cellphones during the school day, only that they adopt a policy and share it with parents, students, and school employees. Dunleavy’s veto message did not focus on the cell phone policy rule.
Twenty-three Democrats, 18 Republicans, four nonpartisans, and one undeclared legislator voted to override Dunleavy’s veto. Fourteen Republicans voted against it.
Alaska has a divided government where neither party has a trifecta. Dunleavy is a Republican, and multipartisan governing coalitions control both chambers of the Legislature.
According to the Alaska Beacon, this was the first time since 2002 that the Alaska Legislature voted to override a gubernatorial veto.
As of May 27, 27 states have laws or policies on cell phone use in K-12 public schools.
In May 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed House Bill 379, making Florida the first state to enact a law limiting how public school students can use cell phones at school. In 2024, 13 more states enacted laws or statewide policies banning or restricting K-12 public school cellphone use. So far this year, at least 14 states have enacted such laws or policies.
Twenty states have passed legislation to adopt these restrictions. Eight states have adopted restrictions through gubernatorial executive orders, or a state board of education or superintendent of public instruction policy.
Click here to see our full coverage of state policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools, including when they were enacted and arguments for and against cell phone use in schools. To learn more about the debate over cell phone use in schools, check out our Nov. 30, 2022, and Aug. 14, 2024, editions of Hall Pass.
Hall Pass is Ballotpedia’s weekly newsletter on education policy and school board politics. Click here to subscribe.
A look at how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would affect the administrative state
Ballotpedia previously reported REINS Act and other administrative state-related provisions were included in the version of HR 1 that passed out of the House on May 22, 2025. Those policies were removed in the amended version of the bill.
House Republicans’ 2025 budget reconciliation package, H.R. 1, titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed the chamber 215-214 on May 22. With this House approval, the bill heads to the Senate for consideration. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, with Vice President J.D. Vance (R) as the tie-breaker.
Along with sections on tax policy, border security, immigration, defense, energy production, the debt limit, and adjustments to SNAP and Medicaid, it also includes proposals related to the administrative state.
The administrative state refers to executive branch agencies at the state and federal levels that are staffed by unelected officials. These agencies have the authority to create, interpret, and enforce regulations.
Section 70200 of the engrossed bill text appropriates $100 million to the Office of Management and Budget, to fund associated costs for improving regulatory processes and reviewing and analysis of rules issued by a covered agency. The text of the bill defines seven covered agencies, including:
- The Department of Education
- The Department of Energy
- The Department of Health and Human Services
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Department of Justice
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- The Environmental Protection Agency.
The text of the bill also specifies that the term “covered agency” does not include the Social Security Administration. Previously, Section 70200 of H.R. 1 proposed a number of changes to executive agencies’ rulemaking processes. These provisions were removed prior to the bill passing out of the House on May 22 by H.Amdt.22.
The five provisions of the bill related to the administrative state in the May 20 introduced version of H.R. 1 were:
(1) A REINS Act-like provision which requires that “a major rule that increases revenues… shall not take effect unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of approval.” A resolution of approval would use procedures outlined for a resolution of disapproval in existing Congressional Review Act (CRA) language. Unless Congress passed a joint resolution of approval within 60 legislative days, the major rule would not go into effect. “Major rules” are defined in the CRA as having “an annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more.” The existing language of the CRA requires agencies to submit major rules to Congress, which can pass a resolution of disapproval to block the rule. Currently, if Congress does not do so within 60 days, the rule goes into effect.
(2) A sunset review section requiring agencies to submit existing rules for congressional review over the next five years. This section requires agencies to annually select “not less than 20 percent” of their rules that were on the books when the bill passed and to submit them to Congress for review. If Congress does not pass a resolution of approval for a rule under consideration within 90 legislative days, the rule will be considered to “have no effect and the… agency… may not enforce” it. This is similar to the procedure outlined in the REINS-like provision discussed above, but applied to existing rules. Agencies must submit different rules each year for the next five years, meaning that, according to this provision, Congress would have reviewed and either approved or repealed all existing rules by the end of that period.
(3) A Midnight Rules Relief Act-like provision that would amend the CRA to allow Congress to reject multiple agency rules using one resolution of disapproval if the rules were submitted during the final year of a president’s term.
(4) A required study by the Comptroller General of how many rules and major rules are in effect and their total economic cost. The provision would require a report to Congress on the findings of this study within one year of the bill’s enactment.
(5) Additional reporting requirements for rules submitted to Congress under the CRA. The CRA currently requires agencies to include information like the date a rule would go into effect, whether the rule is considered “major,” and any existing cost-benefit analyses of the rule when submitting it to Congress.
H.R. 1 is still moving through the budget reconciliation process. Budget reconciliation is a legislative process that can be used to bypass the filibuster and enable the passage of legislation that changes spending, revenues, or the debt limit with a simple majority in both chambers.
To end debate on a non-reconciliation bill, three-fifths, or typically 60 members, of the Senate have to vote in favor. Budget reconciliation bills have limits on debate, so they require a simple majority (51 votes) to bring bills to a vote. If the Senate passes an amended version of the reconciliation bill, then the two chambers must either resolve the differences either through a conference committee or exchange amendments until they are in agreement.
You can click on the following links to see Ballotpedia’s full coverage of the bill and its proposed administrative state policies, or to see our comprehensive resource on budget reconciliation.
Republican party committees lead in cumulative fundraising as of April 30
As of April 30, the end of the most recent party committee campaign finance filing period, the three committees associated with the Democratic Party have raised $122 million and spent $116 million in the 2026 election cycle. The three committees associated with the Republican Party have raised $143 million and spent $101 million.
The three Democratic committees are the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). The three Republican committees are the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
The DCCC holds a lead over the NRCC in cumulative receipts, disbursements, and cash on hand as of April 30. The RNC leads the DNC in cash on hand and receipts, while the DNC leads in disbursements. The NRSC leads the DSCC in receipts and disbursements, while the DSCC leads in cash on hand. See the table below for exact figures.
Compared to previous cycles, the Democratic committees’ cumulative fundraising as of April 30 ($122 million) is less than their receipts at this point in the 2022 election cycle ($139 million) and greater than their receipts at this point in the 2024 election cycle ($106 million). On the Republican side, the three committees have raised $143 million as of last month, which is more than their April 2021 fundraising total ($133 million) and their April 2023 fundraising total ($84 million).
Click here to learn more about party committee fundraising during the 2026 election cycle.