Transcript Highlights:

• to get through that process and I just couldn’t do it... ...or I got tired, or maybe it was the electrical
• I'm happy to speak with you today because I see our child care supply crisis as a systems problem.
• I'm happy to speak with you today because I see our childcare supply crisis as a systems problem.
• And, you know, in 20 years, all cars will probably be electric.
• And, you know, in 20 years, all cars will probably be electric.

Summary: The committee held a work session on form-based codes, child care facility siting, and street standards/frontage improvements. On form-based codes, Commerce’s Dave Anderson explained that these codes emphasize building form, orientation, and the public realm more than traditional use and density tables, and that they are typically applied in specific districts rather than citywide or statewide. Lacey’s Vanessa Dolby described the city’s Woodland District code, developed through community charrettes, fiscal and market analysis, and subdistrict-specific standards to create a walkable downtown. She said the approach has helped produce a more desirable built environment and more flexibility in permitted uses, but also noted it can be less user-friendly for applicants and still requires some use restrictions; both presenters said a hybrid approach is often best. The committee then heard from DCYF and multiple providers about barriers to opening child care facilities. DCYF officials said Washington has more than 6,500 licensed providers and that a new pre-licensing support team is helping applicants navigate licensing, but local zoning, building, fire, parking, utility, and occupancy requirements still create delays and confusion. Testifiers described long permitting timelines, inconsistent local interpretations, costly upgrades, and utility hookup delays; one Yakima provider said county requirements, a floodplain-related elevation certificate, and a private well issue stopped her in-home child care proposal, while others described traffic impact fees, parking mandates, and zoning barriers that made projects infeasible. Enterprise Community Partners highlighted examples of successful local reforms, including fee waivers, expedited permitting, and zoning changes in several cities, and DCYF said it is working toward a 2026 action plan and a resource guide for providers. In the final section, planners and developers discussed how street standards and frontage improvement requirements can undermine infill and middle housing. Poulsbo’s planning manager said current standards were designed for greenfield subdivisions and often force costly curb, gutter, sidewalk, stormwater, and utility upgrades on small infill sites, sometimes adding tens of thousands of dollars and causing projects to be abandoned. A Seattle-based developer made similar points about small middle-housing projects being burdened by frontage work, curb ramps, buried standards, and EV-ready parking requirements that can trigger expensive undergrounding. Committee members asked about possible state-level changes, including whether child care should be treated as an essential public facility and whether parking requirements had already been reduced; one senator noted that minimum parking requirements for child care facilities were eliminated in prior legislation, with implementation phased in over the next few years.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do they help with the supply regarding the lake? Madam Chair, no sir, they do not.
• We finally have an approved route for electricity to come over South Highway 337, but it is progress
• We have infrastructure in place: roads, electricity, and water, but at a deeper detail as far as the
• For water, electricity is in close proximity.
• We have been given an estimate of $72,000 to run electricity from a pole back over the state highway

Transcript Highlights:

• As we lean more towards electric batteries in our state, it's important that we are prepared for any
• Tires on your car, plastics in your electric vehicle.
• Now, if you want to talk about fusion and hydrogen and electric and clean energy, that's awesome.
• Is that when you blow open, using a laser, that is, by the way, electrically driven from natural gas.
• As electric vehicles become increasingly common on our roads powered by lithium ion batteries, it is

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• RS 33737 is our large load electricity bill.
• So I think it's, if you want the benefit, you know, supply the data. Okay, thank you.
• So I think it's, if you want the benefit, you know, supply the data. Okay, thank you.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met and introduced a series of RS drafts covering state lands recreation, large-load electricity rates, Medicaid oversight and Medicaid expansion work requirements, occupational licensing rulemaking, school discipline, rural health funding oversight, AI-assisted rule review, and Idaho Digital Learning Alliance policy. Representative Raymond’s RS 33739 would direct the Department of Lands and Parks and Recreation to cooperate on recreation on state lands and allow a fee to support the endowment’s return. Representative Veley’s RS 33737 would codify utility practices to prevent costs from new large electricity loads from being shifted to other ratepayers. Representative Van der Wada’s RS 33718 and RS 33740 focused on Medicaid administration and work requirements; RS 33718 drew concerns from Representative Rubel about added staffing and paperwork burdens and possible coverage losses, but both motions to introduce passed with Rubel, Birch, and Church recorded as nays on RS 33718 and RS 33740. Representative Redmond presented several measures. RS 33558 would impose a five-year moratorium on new administrative rules and fee increases while moving small rule chapters into statute; it prompted debate over legislative versus executive authority, with supporters saying it restores policymaking to lawmakers and opponents warning it would undermine agency expertise and public participation, but it was introduced. RS 33724, a revised school discipline bill, was introduced and sent to the second reading calendar after Redmond said it would prevent withholding recess from an entire class. RS 33745, also sent to second reading, would revise rural health funding oversight tied to federal dollars, and RS 33679 would require AI-assisted analysis in rule review; members raised concerns about AI reliability and the need for human review, which the sponsor said was built into the bill. The committee also considered RS 33742 on the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance. The bill would clarify IDLA’s mission, reorganize its board, cap administrative costs at 30 percent, require audits, set course fees, and eliminate certain funding uses; it carried a negative $13.5 million fiscal note. Representative Church moved to return it to the sponsor, arguing IDLA is an essential service, especially for rural schools, but the substitute motion failed and the committee then voted to introduce the bill, with nays recorded for three members. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So for background, under the Clean Energy Transformation Act, or CETA, electric utilities are required
• And the proposed second substitute prohibits an electric utility from reducing any benefits it provided
• My name is Sherry Nelson, and I'm the executive director for the Washington State Rural Electric Cooperative
• One, as you heard before, supply and demand. This is about getting the demand.
• The Recycling Reform Act that you all passed last year is about providing the supply.

Summary: The committee heard public hearings on several bills. HB 2675 would eliminate a number of state accounts and transfer remaining balances from two accounts to the general fund, while also changing how revenues in the Salary Insurance Contribution Increase Revolving Account are deposited; OFM testified in support and there was no public opposition. SHB 1903 would create a statewide low-income energy assistance program through the Department of Commerce, funded by the general fund and Climate Commitment Act revenues; supporters said it would address Washington’s underfunded and uneven energy assistance system, while utilities and rural co-ops raised concerns about cost, reporting burdens, utility authority, and implementation details. SHB 2384 would require actuarial reviews for certain continuing care retirement communities with prepaid life care contracts; residents and consumer advocates supported the added transparency, while providers opposed the added review costs and said they already pay for actuarial work. SHB 1982 would expand the ability of tribal members to vacate convictions tied to treaty rights, add OPD representation and a tribal liaison position, and then an amendment was described that would remove the liaison position and eliminate the fiscal impact; the sponsor and OPD supported the bill, and testimony emphasized correcting past treaty-rights convictions. The committee also heard SHB 2389, a broad juvenile justice bill that would expand suspended disposition options, create midpoint review hearings, reduce some robbery ranges, and address juvenile rehabilitation capacity and transfers. Supporters argued it would reduce racial disparities, favor community-based rehabilitation when safe, and improve outcomes, while prosecutors, sheriffs, counties, judges, cities, victim advocates, and some tribal law enforcement warned it would weaken accountability for serious violent offenses, increase court and local government burdens, and shift costs without funding. Several witnesses and the bill sponsor discussed proposed amendments, including removing presumptions and the mid-sentence review. The committee then heard SHB 2439, which would raise tobacco and vapor product license fees, create a responsible vendor program, add manufacturer certification and enforcement provisions, restrict certain products and sales practices, and redirect tobacco tax revenue to public health, cancer research, and youth prevention accounts; public health and prevention groups supported it, while retailers and industry representatives opposed the fee increases and some of the new restrictions. Finally, HB 2681 would sharply increase cannabis license fees and index them to inflation; OFM supported the change as aligning fees with program costs, while cannabis businesses and associations opposed or sought changes to the fee structure and CPI indexing. The committee also heard a briefing on SHB 2215, which would require the Caseload Forecast Council to forecast SNAP and state food assistance caseloads in light of upcoming federal cost-sharing changes; no questions were raised at the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:09:56.360><c> is</c> agency is protecting our food supply is agency is protecting our food supply
• create the supply chain to grow<00:17:07.360><c> feed</c><00:17:07.600><c> stocks</c><00:17:07.880><
• cooperatives registered as as electric cooperatives registered as as 308a<00:18:33.960><c> or</c><00
• We work with all kinds of different things, being, we buy supplies so that we have them on hand.
• </c> whether that's buying supplies whether that's buying supplies maintaining<00:47:04.920><c> supplies

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Their teamwork electrical engineering.
• I'm so excited about our... electric grid. The construction of a new electric grid.
• </c> characteristics that could supply characteristics that could supply military military military applications
• This is a secure our supply chains.
• </c> they'd had an equal amount of supplies they'd had an equal amount of supplies to<08:10:40.240><c

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, May 19, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• tax credit, grape and wine producers tax credit, alternative fuel vehicle refueling property and electric
• Alternative fuel vehicle refueling property and electric vehicle recharging property tax credit, small
• Chairman, Shannon Cooper this morning, representing the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, Railway Supply

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These lands supply clean water to 60 million Americans and support more than 1,600 species.
• Minerals like copper and cobalt are critical for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels,
• Minerals like copper and cobalt are critical for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels,

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Senate State Affairs Committee approved the January 19, 2026 minutes and then considered a temporary and pending rule for the Idaho Public Safety Communications Commission. Sheriff Andy Creech testified that the rule would reduce administrative burden and costs by allowing longer-term contracts for Next Generation 911 equipment and services, helping modernize degraded legacy 911 systems and improve location routing, redundancy, and interoperability. The committee moved and passed the rule. The committee also introduced RS 32996, sponsored by Senator Shippey, which would create a new licensing procedure for established caterers. The proposal defines an established caterer as a business at a publicly accessible premise that caters at least 50 events per year and would allow such caterers to obtain liquor licensing for service at events, addressing the current limitation that they lack a brick-and-mortar premise for licensing purposes. The motion to introduce the bill was approved. After official business, the committee hosted the American Falls FFA Ag Issues team. The students presented a courtroom-style debate on the federal Roadless Rule and the USDA’s 2025 rescission, with testimony and arguments focused on wildfire risk, forest management flexibility, tribal consultation, economic development, recreation, and environmental protection. Committee members praised the students’ preparation and public speaking, asked questions about their research process and how their views evolved, and recognized their achievements before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Sarah Brennan, on behalf of Supply Chain Federation, in support.
• And certainly the electric vehicles are getting off and have been getting off tax-free for quite some
• think that as much as we appreciate the environmental... ...environmental improvements we get with electric

Summary: The Assembly Transportation Committee met and first took up AB 1091 on consent, which passed without discussion. The committee then heard AB 647 by Assemblymember Gonzalez, a cleanup/clarifying bill related to last year’s AB 630 pilot program for Los Angeles and Alameda Counties allowing local agencies to dispose of low-value, inoperable RVs that are public safety or environmental hazards. The author and supporters said the bill would clarify which local jurisdictions can use the pilot and help address abandoned RVs, while opponents argued it was a premature expansion that could destroy people’s only shelter and create a patchwork of local rules. Despite the opposition, the bill was approved and sent to Appropriations. The committee also heard AB 1421, which would create a research and information process around California’s long-term transportation funding challenges and possible road user charge or mileage-based funding options. The author and sponsor argued that declining gas-tax revenue from more fuel-efficient and zero-emission vehicles is making the system less stable and less equitable, and that the bill would support a transparent, research-driven transition without imposing a new tax. Many local government, labor, business, and industry groups testified in support, while no opposition speakers came forward during the hearing. Members raised questions about equity, rural drivers, privacy, double taxation, and whether any future revenue would be dedicated to transportation infrastructure; the author said the bill was intended to inform future decisions, not set a tax policy now. AB 1421 passed on a 12-1 vote and was re-referred to Appropriations, and the committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just a reminder to the committee and public to please silence your phones and all other electrical devices
• 2025, right up front, guided by the following goals, ensuring a cost-effective and affordable energy supply
• is the mission of the Public Service Commission: to set the right price and affordable price for electricity

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight met to receive an overview from Public Counsel Walt Trierweiler on the work of his office. He described the office’s role in representing Florida utility customers in rate and service cases, including investor-owned electric, water, and wastewater matters, storm cost recovery, fuel clauses, storm protection plans, and specialized dockets. He emphasized the office’s use of depositions, expert witnesses, customer correspondence, and service-hearing testimony to challenge unsupported utility costs and seek “fair, just, reasonable, and affordable” outcomes for customers. Trierweiler highlighted several current issues, including affordability, data centers, and the growing use of AI in reviewing large utility filings. He said the office has begun using affordability experts and data center witnesses, and that data center-related utility proposals raise concerns about energy demand, water use, and community impacts. He also expressed caution about AI and machine learning because of confidential utility information, while acknowledging that utilities, regulators, and his office are increasingly using such tools. Members asked questions about how customer input is gathered, how profit is evaluated in rate cases, the role of settlement agreements, and whether the office is considering water consumption impacts from data centers. Trierweiler said customer feedback largely comes in through hearings, correspondence, and direct calls rather than office-led canvassing, and that his office seeks to limit imprudent costs while allowing utilities a fair return. He also explained that the office may file motions for reconsideration and appeals after PSC orders, and that it sometimes submits alternative settlement proposals even when approval is unlikely, to present a different option for the commission’s consideration. No votes were taken, and the committee adjourned after concluding its agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then we also include the electrical companies as well.
• How effective would they be in a storm given the loss of electricity and Hunt lost electricity?
• I mean, I think I heard Kerr County schools are going to supply school supplies, but some of these kids
• Well, somebody asked when the electricity goes off. Love it.
• how you get around electricity being out.

Summary: The joint Senate and House disaster preparedness hearing convened in Kerrville with quorum, public testimony limited to three minutes and invited testimony to 10 minutes. Leaders from both chambers, along with the lieutenant governor and speaker, framed the hearing as an unprecedented joint effort focused on learning from the July 4 flood, honoring victims, and identifying actions to reduce future loss of life. The committee also heard opening remarks about decorum, logistics, and the intent to continue work in future sessions. The first panel included Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha, Emergency Management Coordinator William B. Thomas IV, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr., Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice, Upper Guadalupe River Authority representative William Rector, Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk, and Real County Judge Bella Rubio. They described the flood as sudden and catastrophic, with Kerr County reporting 108 deaths and two missing. Local officials emphasized that they received no timely warning of the scale of the event, that responders and volunteers acted heroically under extreme conditions, and that communications, cell coverage, and rural emergency resources were strained. Several witnesses said the county’s existing alert systems were limited by geography, sparse broadband, and the speed of the flood. Testimony focused on possible improvements, including real-time flood gauges and predictive monitoring, stronger rural emergency management staffing and training, better interoperability and alerting tools such as IPAWS, CodeRED, WENS, and sirens, and expanded broadband and radio coverage. Kerrville asked for a flood warning system before next summer and state help for stormwater, floodplain, and disaster recovery funding. UGRA described its past and current flood-warning and mitigation efforts, including gauge funding, a new software-based flood prediction project, and consideration of additional retention dams. Kendall and Real counties highlighted successful or needed alerting and evacuation practices, while also stressing the difficulty of funding and maintaining such systems in small rural counties. Members asked detailed questions about the timeline of the flood response, low-water crossings, communications failures, sirens, bridges, and whether regional consolidation or additional infrastructure could improve future preparedness.

Transcript Highlights:

• And shifting supply chains are renewing the urgency of domestic shipbuilding.
• California is already leading with innovations like green shipping corridors and the electric, excuse

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• gas concerns, trafficking, human life issues. education, maternal care, health care improvement, electric
• power supply, and so many other such challenges.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
• plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
• </c> the electric vehicle searchcharge. the electric vehicle searchcharge.
• </c> mechanism to replace the electrical mechanism to replace the electrical vehic<01:02:18.720><c> electric
• </c> electric vehicle uh charging methods. electric vehicle uh charging methods.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• President, House Bill 309 simply clarifies how electric energy storage, like electric distribution and
• timing of electricity supply and demand to facilitate the dispatching of electrical energy or increase
• economic return on the sale of electricity.
• And I could have that on my property to generate electricity.
• President, this is for electric.

Bills: SB273, SB37, SB100

Keywords: SB273, appropriations, general fund, hold harmless, local government finance, municipal revenue, county revenue, correctional facility, jail contract, private prison, detention facility, immigration detention, revenue bonds, clawback, child welfare, juvenile justice, protective services, school improvement, New MexiCare, aging services

Summary: The Senate convened on the 30th day of the 2026 session, established a quorum, heard an invocation from Chaplain Harry Eberts, and received several announcements and House messages. The chamber then took up multiple concurrence and third-reading items, including Senate Bill 273, Senate Bill 37, Senate Bill 100, Senate Bill 41, House Bill 34, House Bill 20, House Bill 43, House Bill 38, and House Bill 256. The body also heard that House Joint Memorial 2 was moved from the President’s table to the calendar, and later received messages from the House on several other Senate and House measures. The most contentious action was concurrence on Senate Bill 273, which concerns correction facility loss of revenue for counties affected by the loss of ICE detainees. Senators debated the economic impact on Torrance, Otero, and Cibola counties, with supporters arguing the bill provided partial relief and critics saying it did not come close to replacing lost jobs and revenue. The Senate ultimately concurred with the House amendments by a vote of 22-18. On Senate Bill 100, which would have expanded burglary-related definitions to include an “extension of a dwelling,” several senators argued the House language was too broad and legally vague, and the Senate voted not to concur, sending the bill back to the House. Senate Bill 41, with a technical correction and addition of second-degree criminal sexual penetration, was concurred with by voice vote. Among the bills passed on third reading, House Bill 34 updated school nurse licensure rules and supervision pathways and passed 38-0. House Bill 43, a PERA cleanup bill, clarified retirement and survivor-benefit provisions, and passed 39-0 after questions about whether it affected PERA’s unfunded liability; sponsors said it did not. House Bill 38 expanded insurance coverage for powered mobility devices and prosthetics, including coverage for batteries and in-state provider requirements, and passed 38-0. House Bill 256 expanded cardiac emergency response planning and AED requirements to athletic activities and schools, including private schools on a phased-in basis, and was debated over cost and scope before passing. House Bill 20, which would allow Native American designation on driver’s licenses and IDs, prompted extended discussion about tribal support, documentation, and possible profiling concerns; the transcript cuts off before final disposition of that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• The first is the $1.5 million that we requested for electrical grid security.
• So very important to have integrity in the electrical transmission as we transition off of fossil fuels
• and onto more electricity.
• This is a huge investment in the supply chain and in our state's economy.

Bills: HB2295

Keywords: Washington capital budget, supplemental capital budget, capital appropriations, state building construction account, taxable building construction account, climate commitment account, natural climate solutions, housing trust fund, affordable housing, supportive housing, homelessness, manufactured home communities, mobile home parks, school construction, school modernization, school seismic safety, healthy schools, school electrification, SCAP, behavioral health facilities

Transcript Highlights:

• The first is the $1.5 million that we requested for electrical grid security.
• So it's very important to have integrity in the electrical transmission as we transition off of fossil
• fuels and onto more electricity.
• This is a huge investment in the supply chain and in our state's economy.

Summary: The Capital Budget Committee held a hearing on Proposed Substitute House Bill 2295, the supplemental capital budget. Staff said the proposal totals nearly $911 million, including about $400 million in bonds and $511 million from other state and federal sources, with much of the increase over the governor’s proposal coming from Climate Commitment Act (CCA) funding. Major spending areas include housing and homelessness, K-12 construction, human services facilities, and CCA-funded clean energy, decarbonization, and habitat restoration projects. The chair said the committee would not take amendments at the hearing and planned to vote out the budget on Thursday, with a technical fix striker expected. Testimony was largely supportive of the House proposal, with many witnesses asking the committee to preserve or increase specific items in final negotiations. Housing advocates urged support for the Housing Trust Fund, manufactured housing preservation, and projects such as Alliance Place, Cloverdale Cottages, Cherry Street Village, Somos, and the Thrive Center. Education and public facility witnesses backed investments in school seismic safety, small district modernization, Healthy Kids Healthy Schools, community college and university maintenance, and projects at Cascadia College, WSU, CWU, and UW. Health and human services testimony supported behavioral health, Tubman Center, HealthPoint, pregnant parenting treatment, and the Yakima Behavioral Health Hub. Natural resources, climate, and infrastructure witnesses praised funding for Flood Plains by Design, community forests, trust land transfer, salmon recovery, the Skokomish land purchase, and the Lower Columbia River dredging project. Several local governments and organizations requested additional support or Senate-level funding for specific projects, while Climate Solutions cautioned against using CCA dollars to backfill existing obligations. The committee heard no votes during the hearing, and the chair closed by saying the budget would be executed on Thursday.

Transcript Highlights:

• Electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing are building economic opportunity
• selected Arizona as the home of—” “Whereas Lucid Motors selected Arizona as the home of its advanced electric
• Pinal County, strengthening Arizona’s position as a national leader in advanced manufacturing and electric
• presence in Pinal County has created thousands of high-quality jobs across manufacturing, engineering, supply

Summary: The committee first took up HB 2950, which would allow a governing body to approve a tourism improvement area to promote tourism and lodging. Supporters from the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association, Visit Yuma, and Visit Phoenix said the bill would give communities a voluntary, locally controlled tool to market destinations, attract events, and strengthen rural and urban tourism economies without raising taxes on residents. Members discussed tourism’s economic importance in places like Yuma and other rural communities, and the bill was moved forward with a due pass recommendation on a 7-0 vote. The committee then held a presentation on rural economic development in Pinal County, focusing on the Lucid Motors project and its workforce partnership with Central Arizona College. Speakers from the Arizona Commerce Authority, Central Arizona College, and Lucid described the Drive48 training program, the creation of a skilled workforce pipeline, and broader economic impacts such as higher wages, job creation, and related growth in housing and infrastructure. The committee also read proclamations recognizing Lucid Motors and Central Arizona College for their contributions to economic development in rural Arizona. Finally, the committee heard HB 2946, which revises development fee requirements and prohibits development fees on accessory dwelling units. The sponsor argued the bill was intended to address housing affordability and reduce burdens on families and builders, while cities, towns, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, and municipal attorneys opposed it, saying it would shift costs from growth to existing taxpayers and weaken the principle that growth should pay for growth. An amendment in the chair’s name was adopted to remove county-related provisions and make clarifying changes. The amended bill was then passed with a 4-1 vote and two members voting present.

Transcript Highlights:

• , without spending the time there with certificates, welding certificates, plumbing experience, electrical
• . with certificates, welding certificates, plumbing experience, electrical experience.
• economic momentum, diversify our economy because of the range of jobs and opportunities, whether it's supply
• And like AI, there's not going to just be kind of like you don't have any industry without electricity

Bills: SB151, HB8, SB177

Keywords: corporate income tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, tax credit, tax deduction, controlled foreign corporation, CFC, bonus depreciation, interest expense, apportionment, unitary group, high-wage jobs tax credit, local journalism, news media, newspaper printer, physician incentive, health care workforce, affordable housing, multifamily housing, construction materials