ONLINE KIDS SAFETY LAWS RUN INTO LITIGATION BUZZ SAW: “Last fall, California lawmakers passed a sweeping online children’s privacy law aimed at regulating how some of the most popular social media and video game platforms treat minors. Many children’s groups heralded the measure, the first of its kind in the United States,†The New York Times’ Natasha Singer reports. — “But last month, after a lawsuit filed by a tech industry group whose members include Meta and TikTok, a federal judge in California preliminarily blocked the law, saying it ‘likely violates’ the First Amendment.†— “The judge’s decision was a blow to lawmakers, governors, children’s groups and parents across the United States hoping to curb the lure that platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube hold for many children and teenagers. It was the latest courtroom setback for backers of new state laws designed to limit how online services are allowed to interact with young people.†ANNALS OF FUNDRAISING DOWN ON THE BAYOU: “House speaker candidate Steve Scalise represents a Louisiana district where energy is a major economic driver. That’s helped him forge longstanding close ties to the oil and gas industry, with Koch Industries Inc. and Valero Energy Corp. among his recent top political action committee donors,†Bloomberg’s Kate Ackley reports. — “Four of the five largest PAC donors to the Louisiana Republican’s joint fundraising committee, known as the Scalise Leadership Fund, hail from the sector and already this year have cut big checks to the sitting House majority leader, Federal Election Commission records show.†— “The political fundraising of Scalise and his main competitor, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), has grabbed a new spotlight because filling the party’s coffers is a major part of the job for modern-day Speakers. House Republicans voted behind closed doors Wednesday to nominate Scalise to be the next speaker, giving him more votes than Jordan.†— “Oil and gas industry representatives view Scalise, who formerly served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as an ally, though they’re not making a public endorsement in the race. A Scalise spokesperson and a fundraising consultant didn’t respond to a request for comment.†— “Former Scalise congressional aides represent oil and gas interests. Kelley Hudak, who managed business and outside coalitions efforts for Scalise’s whip team, joined the industry’s main lobbying group, American Petroleum Institute, earlier this year. The group’s outside lobbyists include former close Scalise aides Matt Bravo and Martin Reiser of the S-3 Group. API donated $5,000 to Scalise’s campaign earlier this year; it hadn’t disclosed any donations to Jordan’s campaign as of June 30, according to FEC records.†CHIP LOBBY NABS MCCAUL AIDE: A top staffer to House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) is headed back to K Street to join the Semiconductor Industry Association, one of the largest trade groups of chipmakers. Zach Isakowitz has joined SIA as a director of government affairs after about three years in McCaul’s office, most recently as his legislative director. — Before that, Iskowitz held several roles at the Treasury Department and interned for former Sen. Rob Portman and Glover Park Group and Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock, the predecessors of FGS Global and Fierce Government Relations, respectively. — McCaul was a vocal champion of last year’s CHIPS and Science Act, and an original co-sponsor of the domestic manufacturing incentives bill that served as its foundation. Still, the China hawk has also supported export controls preventing the sale of technology for advanced semiconductors, with some chipmakers successfully pushing back on restrictions for semiconductor companies with a presence in China. SPOTTED at a reception to mark the opening of Northeastern University's Capitol Hill office, per a tipster: Jack Cline of Northeastern University, Patrick Lyden of CurrentStrategic LLC, Randy Nuckolls of Dentons, Scott Sudduth of Washington Navigators, Toby Smith of the Association of American Universities, Michael Ledford of Lewis-Burke Associates, Anna Quider of The Quider Group, Sarah Spreitzer of the American Council on Education, Paul Weinberger of the University of Illinois, Robert Knotts of Georgia Tech, Tony Gibson of the University of Pittsburgh, Stan Skocki and Bill Couch of Ohio State University, Ian Grubman of Rutgers University, John Latini of the University of Alaska, Kristin Dini of Old Dominion University, Dianne Miller of Cornell University, Sarah Walter of Michigan State University, Jacob Dowd of Washington State University, Kola Akindele and Bogdan Vernescu of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Julia Rowe of Northern Illinois University.
| 
