Transcript Highlights:

• They fill skilled labor needs as well at the national labs and in school districts from Grants to Hobbs
• Immigrant workers urgently need access to job trainings so that we can develop new skills and pursue
• other careers or trades with better pay, skills which are greatly needed in our state.
• So they recognize that having this kind of an office in place is really going to be a game changer in
• making sure... ...that having this kind of an office in place is really going to be a game changer in

Committee: House House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> robot that performs well in that game. robot that performs well in that game.
• :04:45.919><c> set</c><00:04:46.160><c> them</c> these hands-on skills that set them these hands-on skills
• The table alum, they had the skills.
• </c><00:25:10.880><c> skills</c><00:25:11.760><c> that</c> actually teaching the skills skills that actually
• teaching the skills skills that poor<00:25:12.480><c> readers</c><00:25:12.960><c> use</c><00:25:13.919

Committee: House Primary and Secondary Education

Transcript Highlights:

• or football game.
• Gives you the opportunity to find their spark and help us gain the knowledge and life skills.
• We're learning life skills. Beyond the context.
• community service skills and 89% develop self-confidence and 97% learn new skills.
• I seize every opportunity home to new skills, expanded my network and began to shape my future.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm but somebody has to tell us this is a skill set.
• I would've been like Christmas, but they don't go to games or practices, so they don't see them.
• The blame Game has been placed on families and parents.
• People say, you know, you need to show up for your kids' baseball game.
• What is, what are they, what are organizations or You know, social services doing after math.

Committee: House House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• If you go have a large student or a large event there, a hockey game, basketball game, a football game
• </c> during a hockey game during a hockey game &gt;&gt; or<03:09:19.200><c> a</c><03:09:19.520><c> concert
• bans firearms at playoff games.
• bans firearms at playoff games.
• I am also formerly a social Hampshire.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• Um expansion of gaming is going to come up. Uh this is not an expansion of gaming.
• </c> Uh this is not an expansion of gaming. Uh this is not an expansion of gaming.
• We don't need an expansion game. Well, this isn't. Skilled games aren't growing.
• We don't need an expansion game. Well, this isn't. Skilled games aren't growing.
• We don't need an expansion game. Well, this isn't. Skilled games aren't growing.

Bills: SF0024

Committee: House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• Game Code to protect fish and wildlife.
• Game Code to protect fish and wildlife.
• Those hours represent learning to communicate, to stay safe, and to build crucial life skills.
• Those hours represent learning to communicate, to stay safe, and to build crucial life skills.
• When we communicate, to stay safe, and to build crucial life skills.

Committee: House Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• As many Today is not just hiring workers, but finding workers with the right skills.
• Total game. Total scheme.
• This bill applies skilled and trained workforce standards to pharmaceutical facilities.
• It actually applies skilled and trained workforce standards to pharmaceutical facilities.
• We are standing strong with the skilled trades and are in support. Thank you.

Committee: Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement

Transcript Highlights:

• As many Today is not just hiring workers, but finding workers with the right skills.
• Total game. Total scheme.
• This bill applies skilled and trained workforce standards to pharmaceutical facilities.
• It actually applies skilled and trained workforce standards to pharmaceutical facilities.
• We are standing strong with the skilled trades, and we're in support. Thank you.

Committee: Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement

Summary: The committee heard several labor and workforce bills. SB 1059 would modernize the Employment Training Panel by allowing electronic record-keeping, digital attendance documentation, and updated training terminology; supporters said it would reduce paperwork and better match current training systems, while no opposition appeared. SB 966 would codify refinery process safety protections adopted in 2017 after the 2012 Chevron Richmond fire, including worker participation in safety proceedings, anonymous hazard reporting, access to safety information, and stop-work authority; labor supported it, while the Western States Petroleum Association opposed it as conflicting with a 2024 settlement and potentially preempted by federal labor law. SB 1024 would provide 26 weeks of paid postpartum and recovery leave for firefighters who give birth, with job restoration and no requirement to use sick or vacation time first; firefighters and labor groups strongly supported it, and the committee discussed staffing and operational coverage concerns, but no opposition testified. The committee also heard SB 1316, which would strengthen wage theft enforcement by allowing Labor Commissioner liens to be renewed, limiting employers’ late use of records, and requiring Cal/OSHA to report complaints and citations data annually. Supporters said the bill would help workers actually collect wages after long delays and prevent employers from hiding records; it passed the committee on a 5-0 vote. SB 1185 would apply skilled and trained workforce requirements to pharmaceutical facility construction and maintenance, with supporters arguing these facilities require high precision to protect public health and supply chains; construction industry opponents said the bill was an unnecessary expansion of state mandates into private projects. SB 1227 would create apprenticeship pathways into DIR enforcement jobs, including Cal/OSHA and Labor Commissioner roles, to address staffing shortages and improve labor law enforcement; supporters emphasized vacancies and backlogs, and the bill was framed as a way to build a merit-based pipeline into state service. After hearing testimony, the committee took final votes on all six bills once the full membership returned. SB 966, SB 1024, SB 1059, SB 1185, and SB 1227 were all reported out of committee, and SB 1316 was also passed and sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The recorded final votes were unanimous or near-unanimous in favor, with the bills advancing on 4-1 or 5-0 votes depending on the measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• and Game.
• and Game.
• and Game.
• and Game.
• Why can't Fish and Game go back seven years on game violations?

Committee: House Fish and Game and Marine Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• College students in particular are navigating independence, peers, social networks, social media, potentially
• This work is motivated by my hope to equip students with the knowledge and skills to intervene during
• They're not a way to game the system.
• From a fundraising and impact perspective, this is a game changer.
• If I was in a different job where I was getting Social Security money contributed into it, I would have

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Joint Committee on Higher Education held its fourth public hearing, opening with remarks about the importance of protecting and expanding access to higher education amid federal disinvestment. The chairs also announced future informational hearings on the impact of federal cuts and on ASAP models. The hearing then focused on several bills, beginning with S. 951/H. 1462, An Act to Support College Students in Recovery, which would require recovery-focused housing on public campuses and expand naloxone access and overdose training. Senator Rausch, medical professionals, students, and advocates testified in support, emphasizing the prevalence of overdose risk among college students, the value of recovery housing, and the need for campus naloxone; committee members asked about implementation details and the existing state pilot program. Deb Schmill and Rep. Tarski gave especially personal testimony in favor of the bill, and the committee discussed broadening the naloxone language to opioid reversal agents. The committee also heard testimony on H. 1461, which would expand MassReconnect scholarships to practical nursing students at vocational and technical schools to help address the long-term care workforce shortage. Rep. Stanley argued that vocational schools graduate more practical nursing students than community colleges and serve many low-income students in areas without nearby community college programs. The committee then took up H. 1433, which would require public higher education institutions to accept IEPs and 504 plans as sufficient documentation for disability accommodations. Advocates from the National Center for Learning Disabilities described the high cost and burden of repeat testing, the lifelong nature of disabilities, and the need for more uniform access across campuses; committee members raised questions about documentation freshness, campus autonomy, and how to preserve the integrity of accommodations. Later, the committee heard S. 919/H. 1454 on modernizing the Community College Endowment Match Program so community colleges could receive state matching funds for current-use donations as well as endowments and capital gifts. Community college foundation leaders said the change would help fund immediate student needs such as food pantries, child care, emergency aid, and equipment. The hearing then moved to faculty-related bills: S. 933 on UMass faculty rights and tenure transparency, S. 930/H. 3948 on contingent faculty rights and career advancement, and S. 940/H. 1429 on an Adjunct Bill of Rights. Testimony from faculty and union representatives focused on low pay, lack of benefits, job insecurity, and the need for clearer pathways to full-time positions and fairer treatment for adjuncts who teach large shares of courses. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee primarily received testimony and asked clarifying questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, like Fish and Game.
• </c> hypothetically the uh U uh fishing game hypothetically the uh U uh fishing game where<00:46:32.319
• </c> and provide greater opportun for skill and provide greater opportun for skill development<04:13:
• </c> agencies as well including kushion game agencies as well including kushion game Municipal<04:13:
• </c> Fabrication the specialized skills Fabrication the specialized skills needed<04:29:16.279><c> to

Summary: The Department of Administrative Services presented its capital budget process and priorities, explaining how agencies assess facility needs, rank projects, and submit requests to the governor’s office. DAS described its Plant and Property division, which maintains 96 state buildings, and Public Works, which develops detailed cost estimates for selected projects. Officials said the governor’s office has traditionally narrowed requests into priority tiers, but this year all projects were estimated, creating more work and less detail. They also emphasized that the capital budget book functions as legislative intent and can be binding on how approved funds are used. On the substance of the request, DAS highlighted several priorities: continued funding for the state ERP system upgrade to the cloud, with about $5 million requested for sustainability and related Treasury functions; emergency fund and annex renovation work; a sprinkler replacement at DMV; and elevator repairs at the main building. Karen Rocky also identified maintenance projects that rose in priority after a facility condition assessment, including HVAC work for Portsmouth Circuit Court and Coos County Courthouse, boilers and controls for Carroll County and Lebanon Circuit Court, brick repointing at the main building and annex, window replacement at Spalding, and Brown building elevator replacement. Officials noted that the governor’s proposed capital budget included fewer DAS projects than in past years and no projects for the Bureau of Court Facilities. The committee also discussed lapses and reprogramming of prior appropriations. DAS said the first eight projects approved in 2023 remain under construction and should be extended, while many 2021 projects are delayed because of ARPA-related workload and broader construction backlogs. Members reviewed a 2019 project list and agreed to lapse project number 49, the Spalding roof project, with about $81,000 remaining. DAS also said some small 2019 balances, including courthouse generators, a boiler, cooling and controls, roof and exterior repairs, and the State House Annex elevator, could be redirected through Capital Budget Overview toward the Hillsboro County South Cell Block project. The hearing ended with questions about project schedules, ARPA deadlines, and the division of authority between DoIT and DAS for the ERP system.

Transcript Highlights:

• Prepare those teachers in meaningful ways and support retention and practice-based skills.
• </c> representing over 70,000 skilled representing over 70,000 skilled construction<00:51:44.799><c>
• You know, if you go to a football game, let's say, if there was no referee, well, we know how things
• You know, if you go to a football game, let's say, if there was no referee, well, we know how things
• You know, if you go to a football game, let's say, if there was no referee, well, we know how things

Committee: Senate Labor

Transcript Highlights:

• put an extra marker on my co-chair's note that today is also Wu Sox opening day, so at 4 o'clock the game
• caregivers at Boston Health Care for the Homeless for primary care, behavioral health services, and social
• nurse aide into this new class, creating a career pathway and a ladder for that individual to gain skills
• The multimedia campaign utilized TV, social media, and radio ads, billboards, and transit placement,
• The DMH rental subsidy program is kind of at the heart of DMH because it is addressing a core social

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• First, the availability of skilled trade and craft workers for construction.
• First, the availability of skilled trade and craft workers for construction.
• With the skills and qualifications that we need, or can we build that capacity between now and as we
• This will help make sure that people have the skills and competencies for energy jobs, not just nuclear
• And essentially what those are are the requirements that people need to have in terms of their skills

Committee: Joint Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee

Summary: The committee met to hear a series of presentations on advanced nuclear economics, workforce, community impacts, and financing. Nucleon Energy’s William Bridge presented a report estimating the economic impacts of hypothetical 200-megawatt and 600-megawatt SMRs, including construction and operating jobs, local spending, tax revenue, and the private-sector conditions needed to attract investment. He said the report used nth-of-a-kind cost assumptions, discussed security and water siting considerations, and argued that early community engagement and permitting work should be timed to when projects are closer to being economic. Committee members questioned cost assumptions, security staffing, transmission and water siting, and whether large reactors or SMRs are more likely to be financed in the near term. Lori Brady of the Nuclear Energy Institute then outlined national nuclear workforce needs and NEI’s strategic workforce planning. She described declining labor-force demographics, the need for hundreds of thousands of new energy workers by 2050, and six workforce priorities: career awareness, pipelines, training and qualification, policy support, retention, and non-traditional pipelines. She highlighted the Nuclear Works career website, the Nuclear Energy Academic Roadmap, the new federal Energy and Natural Resources career cluster, and the Nuclear Uniform Curriculum Program for community colleges. Members asked about AI, robotics, and when training should begin relative to future plant construction; Brady said AI is not expected to replace workers broadly and that training timelines depend on the specific project and staffing plan. Red Wing, Minnesota Mayor Gary Yako described hosting the Prairie Island nuclear generating facility. He said the plant provides a large share of the city’s property tax base, supports well-paid jobs, contributes to local emergency preparedness, and is a strong community partner through donations and employee involvement. He said the city supports relicensing, has regular emergency drills, and has had no issues with dry cask storage. The committee also heard from NEI’s Benton Arnett, who reviewed the current financing landscape, including federal tax credits, DOE loan authority, offtake agreements, and the shift toward project developers and special-purpose vehicles. He said early projects face high first-of-a-kind costs, but federal support and long-term power purchase agreements are helping make projects financeable. Finally, DOE’s Julie Kazeraki described the Office of Energy Dominance Financing and its role in supporting new nuclear, restarts, uprates, and supply chain investments, emphasizing that federal loan and tax-credit tools are intended to reduce upfront risk and improve project affordability.

Transcript Highlights:

• What skills?
• So these types of skills are quite significant.
• There's a skill called get help.
• There's a skill called get help.
• I remember listening to the Missouri football game. Missouri was playing Vanderbilt that game.

Committee: House Veterans and Armed Forces

Summary: The Veterans and Armed Forces Committee heard presentations from three organizations focused on veteran support and mental health. Dogs for Our Brave described its service-dog program for veterans with mobility limitations and PTSD, emphasizing the dogs’ daily assistance with tasks like retrieving items, opening doors, bracing, and getting help, as well as the emotional benefits for veterans and their families. The group said each dog costs about $50,000 to train, with total lifetime support for a veteran-dog team estimated at $75,000 to $125,000, and noted it serves veterans nationwide from a St. Louis base. Committee members asked about fundraising, expansion, and what happens to a dog if a veteran dies; the organization said it relies mainly on private donations and grants, is moving into a larger facility that will increase capacity, and would try to repurpose a dog when appropriate, with family wishes considered first. Dalton Schmidt of Warriors’ Hoof Haven outlined a newer, free program for combat veterans and their families centered on horses, farming, outdoor recreation, and community outreach. He said the group is based near Thomas Hill Lake in Huntsville on 13 acres and is building activities such as horse handling and riding, meat chicken and produce farming, fishing, kayaking, jet skis, boats, firewood delivery, food bundles, and farm-tool lending. He said the organization funds its work through grants, donations, and sponsors, and that its goal is to reduce financial barriers and get veterans back into the community. Members asked about fundraising and the venison-for-vets effort, which Schmidt said is run by Truman VA and is supported by his group through incentives and outreach. Brian Nooner, founder of the Mental Health Huddle and a commissioner with the Department of Mental Health, gave a personal account of his own depression, anxiety, PTSD, and isolation after a serious fall and a prolonged COVID-related recovery. He said his experience led him to create the Mental Health Huddle to encourage people to seek help, reduce stigma, identify triggers, avoid one-way relationships, and find hope through faith, family, or other supports. He stressed that he is not a medical professional but a patient sharing resources and said the effort is aimed at making help free and confidential. Committee members thanked him for his testimony and courage, and the chair adjourned the committee after the presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• What skills?
• So these types of skills are quite significant.
• So these types of skills are quite significant.
• There's a skill called get help.
• I remember listening to the Missouri football game. Missouri was playing Vanderbilt that game.

Committee: House Veterans and Armed Forces

Transcript Highlights:

• Calling it a game changer is not a strong enough statement.
• And that just... of the game changer is not a strong enough statement.
• As the legislation requires us, looking at wildfire hazard and social vulnerabilities.
• So we're kind of just on a waiting game.
• So we're kind of just on a waiting game.

Summary: The hearing focused on California wildfire resilience, with the first panel discussing statewide funding, policy, and strategic priorities, and the second panel shifting to home hardening and defensible space. The LAO outlined the state’s wildfire risk, the large increase in resilience spending in recent years, and the fact that most funding has been one-time rather than ongoing. Testimony emphasized that wildfire risk varies greatly by region, that the state must balance response spending with prevention, and that success should be measured more carefully than by acres treated alone. Witnesses also noted the importance of local, federal, utility, and Proposition 4 funding sources, as well as the need for long-term maintenance and strategic prioritization rather than scattered projects. Cal Fire leadership and other witnesses stressed that California’s wildfire problem is not uniform: forested areas, chaparral, and wildland-urban interface communities require different strategies. In Northern California and forested watersheds, speakers emphasized fuels reduction, prescribed and cultural burning, strategic fuel breaks, watershed protection, and maintaining forest health. In Southern California, testimony focused on wind-driven fires, ember intrusion, ignition prevention along roads and power lines, and the limits of large-scale vegetation clearing. Several witnesses argued that the state should invest where it can leverage local and regional partnerships, support capacity-building programs like Regional Forest and Fire Capacity, and improve data systems to track treatment effectiveness and project outcomes. Members repeatedly pressed witnesses on how to prioritize limited funds, asking what should be done more of, less of, and first. The chair argued that protecting homes and communities through hardening and defensible space should be a major priority, especially near structures, while also acknowledging the need for broader landscape work and watershed protection. There was discussion of incentives such as insurance discounts, property tax treatment, and community certification for hardened homes, along with the need for multiple payers rather than relying on the state alone. Cal Fire reported new and expanding data tools, including treatment trackers, defensible space inspection dashboards, and a fuels treatment effectiveness program that evaluates whether nearby treatments affected wildfire behavior. No votes were taken because the hearing was informational only.

Transcript Highlights:

• really do look at these funds as a way to make sure that the family doesn't fall deeper into our social
• investment the public makes in Visit Florida is actually being efficiently spent by bringing skin in the game
• This program represents a direct investment in a more skilled and educated workforce.
• program supports retention efforts, offering targeted reenlistment incentives by providing bonuses for skilled
• They support development of a skilled workforce, and most importantly, they ensure your Florida National

Summary: The committee met to hear the Governor’s proposed budget for the Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development silo and to consider one bill. The Governor’s Office outlined a $117.4 billion state budget, including $18.3 billion for the TED area, with major allocations for the Department of Transportation, Commerce, Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, State, Military Affairs, Emergency Management, and the Florida State Guard. Agency heads then presented their priorities, including housing and disaster recovery funds at Commerce; pay, vehicles, aviation, and data systems at Highway Safety; facility modernization, recruitment, retention, and maintenance at Military Affairs; election audit, conservation lab, and historic preservation funding at State; transportation, aviation, seaport, and safety investments at DOT; and emergency response, flood mitigation, grant systems, and alerting at Emergency Management. Members asked questions about Visit Florida’s private match, FHP’s role in immigration enforcement and body cameras, National Guard deployment tempo and staffing, State Guard staffing and facilities, arts grant rules, rail funding, and the number of detainees at the Everglades detention site. Several notable positions were expressed during questioning. Visit Florida said it met and exceeded its private match requirement and described the match as important to ensuring value from public dollars. The Highway Patrol said its aviation assets have been used more heavily in immigration enforcement and that in-vehicle camera systems were a higher priority than body cameras at present. The National Guard and State Guard both emphasized heavy operational demands, readiness needs, and the importance of additional funding for facilities, personnel, and equipment. The Department of State said its audit funding would help counties move to automated post-election audits and that its arts grant rule changes were intended to create more consistent scoring rather than reduce access. The committee then took up CS/SB 48 on accessory dwelling units. The bill requires local governments to allow property owners to voluntarily create ADUs, preserves homestead treatment for the primary residence portion, limits parking restrictions, and extends density bonus incentives to housing for military families receiving basic housing allowance. An amendment was adopted removing reusable tenant screening reports and clarifying that compliant ADUs are allowed by right without a separate hearing or permit. Testimony from the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association supported the bill, especially the long-term rental requirement, as a tool to help workforce housing. The committee reported the bill favorably by a roll call vote, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• really trying to implement that across all of these key sectors in terms of making sure that the right skills
• strategy that builds on market trends, workforce trends, and workforce availability of the different skills
• work, aside from just that sub-program, are to make sure that the industry sectors have the right skills
• I'm the CEO of DH, a social impact communications agency in Washington.
• Are you telling me that I can't take them to a baseball game?

Summary: The Senate Business, Trade, and Economic Development Committee met for its first session under the committee’s new name and heard a work session on Washington’s economic development policy from the Department of Commerce. Commerce described its Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness, including small business finance, export assistance, business attraction, and sector development work, and emphasized the need for a statewide economic development strategic plan with regular review, stakeholder input, and attention to rural and regional needs. Members asked about foreign trade offices, federal funding uncertainty, tax competitiveness, workforce programs, and the role of the Keep Washington Working program. Commerce said the state’s trade and investment efforts are valuable but face funding challenges, and that Washington must compete on more than taxes, including its business ecosystem and workforce. The committee then heard public testimony on Senate Bill 5919, which would encourage fire districts and insurers to develop voluntary incentives for wildfire mitigation best practices related to agricultural activities. The sponsor described the bill as a way to reward farmers for practices such as defensible space, fire breaks, equipment storage, and avoiding high-risk work during red flag conditions. A fire chief testified in support, citing recent standing grain fires and the need for practical incentives in rural areas. The bill was described as having no appropriation and no requested fiscal note. Members also heard testimony on Washington in the Making 2040 from the Association of Washington Business and a business owner. Supporters said the 16-year economic vision plan was built from broad public engagement and focuses on workforce, business climate, infrastructure, housing, and community. They argued Washington needs more housing, a more competitive regulatory and tax environment, and reliable energy to support growth. Senators questioned how the plan would achieve its housing goals and what specific regulatory changes were needed; AWB said it would provide a regulatory study soon. The committee also received a wildfire mitigation work group update from the Office of Insurance Commissioner, which recommended stronger community mitigation, better data sharing, consumer transparency, and a possible grant program for home hardening, though it did not reach full consensus on a single property mitigation standard. Finally, the committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 5871, which would prohibit assignment of benefits in property and casualty insurance and set new rules for motor vehicle glass repair claims, including ADAS-related disclosures and limits on steering and inducements. The sponsor and supporters, including the Office of Insurance Commissioner, Safelite, NAMIC, and the Northwest Insurance Council, said the bill would reduce auto glass fraud, improve transparency, and help stabilize premiums. Independent glass shop owners and the Independent Glass Association opposed the bill as written, arguing it would favor large vertically integrated companies, restrict small businesses, and fail to address insurer steering and conflicts of interest. Several witnesses requested technical amendments, and the committee took no final vote before adjourning.