Transcript Highlights:

• And then uh life of the land >> Thank you.
• And then uh life of the land not<00:15:14.399><c> on</c><00:15:14.560><c> Zoom.
• And then Trust for Public Land, Hawaii Land Trust in support, Maui Bicycling League, West Maui Greenway
• Maybe Life of the Land. Do you have a different take?
• </c> purchase power costs, our energy. purchase power costs, our energy.

Bills: HB1617

Committee: House Energy & Environmental Protection

Summary: The committees heard testimony on HB 1949, which would create a public dashboard for the green fee to improve transparency and accountability. Testimony from the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, and many community and conservation groups was generally supportive, with several speakers urging that the governor’s project recommendations remain largely intact and that community-driven projects continue to guide spending. One amendment was suggested to place the dashboard at the Department of Budget and Finance for fiscal expertise, while other testimony favored keeping it with the commission. Members asked about procurement, ETS involvement, recurring hosting costs, and whether the dashboard could be funded from green fee revenues; the commission said it could work with ETS and that green fee funds could reasonably be used. The committees then voted to pass HB 1949 with amendments. The committees also heard HB 2618, which would require the governor to submit a separate bill for amounts tied to any increase in the transient accommodations tax and, in later discussion, was expanded into a broader restructuring of future green fee allocations. Testimony from the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, and others supported the bill and emphasized the value of more predictable, dedicated funding for conservation and climate-related work. During decision-making, the chair described amendments creating several special funds under DLNR, including a watershed biodiversity and wildfire risk reduction fund, an aquatic resources conservation fund, a coastal restoration fund, a cesspool conversion revolving loan fund, and a green fee special fund for remaining revenues, with recommended amounts discussed for some of the funds. The committees voted to pass HB 2618 with amendments. The hearing then moved to HB 1644, a consumer protection measure for residential solar sales that would require compliance with consumer protection laws, licensing or contractor affiliation for sellers, and a standardized disclosure form. Testimony in support came from the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority, DCCA’s Office of Consumer Protection, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, the Hawaii Solar Energy Association, and several solar companies and individuals. Supporters said the bill would address complaints about third-party sales practices and improve disclosure, especially around financing. The committee then began hearing HB 2243, which would require electric utilities to provide public, electronic customer bill impact analyses and annual reports to the Public Utilities Commission; the Division of Consumer Advocacy and the PUC offered comments supporting the measure’s intent.

Transcript Highlights:

• , recognizing Judea and Samaria, intends to stop using the term West Bank and instead refer to the land
• It recognizes to Jewish people the land that they have liberated, and it is accuracy and history that
• to protect certain production records related to aquaculture, shellfish facilities, and submerged land
• It recognizes to Jewish people the land that they have liberated, and it is accuracy and history that
• to protect certain production records related to aquaculture, shellfish facilities, and submerged land

Committee: Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability

Transcript Highlights:

• , or enter the land restoration workforce.
• The total for land grants in ASECIA would then be 2.2%.
• Cemeteries are on land grant and common lands, as well as community campgrounds that are open for use
• One thing I'd like to highlight is that oftentimes, local schools are constructed on land grant land
• through the purple and our tribal land?

Committee: House Water & Natural Resources Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we purchased Power at that time.
• The legislature already provided them previously money to purchase the land and do the design, so they're
• The legislature already provided them previously money to purchase the land and do the design, so they're
• The legislature already provided them previously money to purchase the land and do the design, so they're
• The legislature already provided them previously money to purchase the land and do the design, so they're

Committee: Senate Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:

• more than a particular price, all of these specifications, and I want a particular weather when I land
• </c> particular weather when I land there. particular weather when I land there.
• Um, well, I think a number of startups are coming up with humanoids that you can either purchase or buy
• So, I think the price point is something like 30, 35 grand where you can actually purchase a robot that
• Um, well, I think a number of startups are coming up with humanoids that you can either purchase or buy

Committee: Senate Labor

Transcript Highlights:

• homes and market dynamics have purchase homes and market dynamics have led<00:21:14.840><c> to</c><00
• At its root, we believe that community-based decisions related to land use should remain intact, and
• </c><00:41:16.319><c> use</c> Commonwealth believe that land use Commonwealth believe that land use policies
• related to land you should remain<00:42:14.480><c> intact</c><00:42:15.480><c> uh</c><00:42:15.680><
• It also includes an updated land use map showing how an aging property could be utilized.

Summary: The House Standing Committee on Local Government met for its first meeting of the year, established a quorum, and heard two bills. House Bill 211, sponsored by Representative Chris Lewis, would create a definition for cigar bars and allow indoor cigar smoking in qualifying establishments if they meet criteria such as deriving at least 15% of gross income from cigar-related sales, restricting entry to those 21 and older, prohibiting cigarettes and vaping, and requiring a smoke-free area for deliveries. Lewis and Louisville Metro Council member Anthony Pantini described the bill as a small-business and tourism measure modeled on Tennessee law, while the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and a St. Elizabeth physician opposed it, arguing it would undermine local smoke-free ordinances and expose patrons and workers to harmful secondhand smoke. Several members raised local-control concerns, and Lewis said he was open to local governments making decisions on less restrictive approaches. The committee adopted a committee substitute and then approved HB 211 on a roll call vote, with multiple members voting yes and several no votes, sending the bill forward as amended. The committee then heard House Bill 160 from Representative Susan Whitten, with Logan Haynes of the Kentucky Manufactured Housing Institute. They said Kentucky faces a housing shortage of roughly 200,000 units and that starter homes are increasingly unaffordable, making manufactured housing an important part of the solution. Whitten said the bill would treat manufactured housing more like site-built housing while still allowing local governments to enforce cosmetic standards such as roof pitch, exterior facade, and foundation material, and she emphasized that HOA, deed, and historical preservation restrictions would remain in place. Haynes argued that modern manufactured homes are federally and state inspected, more energy efficient, faster to build, and more affordable than site-built homes, and he said the bill would not open the door to older-style mobile homes or single-wides except in limited narrow-lot situations. Representatives from the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Counties expressed concerns about the bill’s current language, saying land-use decisions should remain local and warning that the definition of qualified manufactured home and the bill’s treatment of local standards could have unintended consequences. They said they appreciated Whitten’s willingness to work with them and indicated they hoped to continue negotiating amendments as the bill moved forward. No vote on HB 160 was taken during the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• They did not come to an easy land. They came to build permanence and stability.
• It's still said of my paternal grandfather, Leroy Vipper, Sustained commitment to the land.
• Yet they rebuilt, season by season, because leaving the land was not an option.
• This was all either donated or I purchased it. So one of the prizes donated by in this.
• This was all either donated or I purchased it.

Transcript Highlights:

• up here on third floor, right behind the diocese. and it's steak and chicken right now from Austin Land
• Money received from the purchase of an attendance credit by a school district.
• Home Rule municipalities to regulate the occupancy of dwelling units referred to the Committee on Land
• events involving concrete facilities and for the committee on environmental regulation HB 2884 by land
• allow person to file an application to stop a non-conforming use of property for the committee of land

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> software vendors to process land software vendors to process land transactions. transactions. transactions
• Versus Cargill transferring funds within their portfolio of land across the state.
• </c> exchange of permanent school fund lands exchange of permanent school fund lands exemption<00:54:
• When these facilities left the program or were sold, how was the land developed?
• </c><01:14:20.560><c> developed</c> were sold, how was the land developed were sold, how was the land

Transcript Highlights:

• And after the local election law, we had issues where, like in the HILOC, we had people that had land
• Are we talking $20 million purchase, or how much money are we talking to get the equipment...
• And it's not currently available for the most part for economic development occurring on tribal land.
• And then depending on who the purchaser and the seller are, you know, may or may not come through that
• Chair and Representative Lundstrom, I think the complication for them probably is that they have land

Committee: House House Taxation & Revenue

Transcript Highlights:

• The exemption does not apply to the value of the land.
• The exemption does not apply to the value of the land.
• Food co-ops prioritize local purchasing, prioritize organic purchasing, and are preferred employers as
• When taxes increase sharply, consumers don't stop purchasing. They just shift where they buy.
• When taxes increase sharply, consumers don't stop purchasing. They just ship where they buy.

Bills: HB2038 , HB2297 , HB2382 , HB2487 , HB2018

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: HB2038, Washington, B&O tax, business and occupation tax, social media tax, platform tax, youth behavioral health, mental health, adolescent mental health, children's mental health, telebehavioral health, behavioral health account, state treasury, digital services tax, internet platform, social media companies, youth services, depression, anxiety, public health funding

Transcript Highlights:

• In general, cigarettes and vapor products sold on tribal land during a contract term are subject to a
• When taxes increase this sharply, customers don't stop purchasing. They shift where they buy.
• So for people who live along state and border lines, they're able to go across state lines to purchase
• For purposes of the tax, real property includes property affixed to land or affixed to other property
• that is affixed to land.

Bills: SB6073 , SB6113 , SB6116 , SB6129 , SB6162 , SB6114 , SB5857

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: SB 6073, LEOFF, Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' Retirement System, retirement system, pension, public safety retirement, wildland firefighter, aviation firefighter, wildland fire, forest firefighter, Department of Natural Resources, DNR, firefighter benefits, retirement benefits, service credit, disability retirement, survivor benefits, employer contributions, Washington RCW, public employees

Transcript Highlights:

• And I understand that the dollars provided to the Dollywood Foundation were used to purchase books.
• So I have four invoices here for web digital landing page.
• It states that these were all for web digital landing page fee.
• So if it's not $125,000 for this single-page website, then what is web digital landing page fee?
• And what is web digital landing page fee beyond the website page?

Transcript Highlights:

• And I understand that the dollars provided to the Dollywood Foundation were used to purchase books.
• So I have four invoices here for web digital landing page.
• It states that these were all for web digital landing page fee.
• So if it's not $125,000 for this single-page website, then what is web digital landing page fee?
• And what is web digital landing page fee beyond the website page?

Summary: The follow-up informational hearing focused on the State Library’s oversight of the statewide Imagination Library and the Strong Reader Partnership (SRP), including how the original $68.2 million state investment was spent, why funds were not redirected sooner to the Dollywood Foundation, and whether spending complied with AB 157 and later SB 105. Committee members repeatedly raised concerns that SRP and the State Library had been slow to provide documents, that quarterly reporting and other contract requirements were not met on time, and that the State Library did not escalate issues earlier. State Librarian Greg Lucas said the library sent one demand letter, relied on counsel’s view that SRP could continue spending its $4.8 million so long as it furthered the program, and later redirected about $55 million to the Dollywood Foundation after paperwork was submitted. He also acknowledged the library should have shared SRP’s final report with the committee sooner and said the materials eventually received appeared satisfactory, though the chair and Senator Grove remained concerned that there was still no clear accounting of books delivered by SRP. A major portion of the hearing examined SRP’s expenditures and vendor contracts, including Shipyard for marketing and web services, SAGE Strategies for management consulting, Lotus Financial Solutions and other financial vendors, and United Way California Capital Region for a small marketing grant. Committee members questioned whether some spending, especially Changecraft’s work during the AB 157 period, amounted to lobbying or attempts to influence legislation, which the grant agreement prohibited. SRP representatives said the work was communications and stakeholder outreach, not lobbying, and that invoices reflected the board’s oversight and the nonprofit’s startup and closeout phases. They also said some work continued during the rescission and closeout period to unwind contracts and return funds, and that any reporting delays were due to transition, lack of a reporting mechanism from the State Library, and the need to collect records after vendors were canceled. Members of SRP said the nonprofit was created to build the infrastructure for a self-sustaining statewide program, expand local partnerships, and support multilingual outreach in underserved counties. They described a working board that met regularly, selected vendors collectively, and used multiple financial and administrative contractors to maintain checks and balances. However, committee members pressed them on the lack of detailed invoices, the absence of clear metrics showing how many books SRP actually delivered, and the limited apparent return on spending such as the $581,708 Shipyard contract, the $125,000 website work, and the $5,000 United Way grant. No formal vote or legislative action was taken during the hearing; it was an oversight session aimed at obtaining explanations and additional documentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> are community land are community land trusts.<00:15:21.360><c> Section</c><00:15:21.760><c> 8</c
• Section three the value of the land.
• </c> um a property tax abatement for land um a property tax abatement for land bank<00:43:42.400><c>
• </c><00:43:49.599><c> trust</c> and 31 are the community land trust and 31 are the community land trust
• </c><01:20:33.679><c> owners,</c> state has with individual land owners, state has with individual land

Bills: HF2730 , HF2257 , HF2768 , HF1932 , HF2437

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• Paul for land value taxation districts.
• Lines 37 and 38 are land value taxation districts.
• It could also help families purchase a safer car seat.
• They've signed 50 years of covenants on their land to protect it. covenants on their land to protect
• They hunt, they fish, they camp, they snowmobile, and they ATV on a lot of these lands. lands, and when

Bills: HF2730 , HF2257 , HF2768 , HF1932 , HF2437

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• There are four categories of land that are classified and assessed on current use: open space lands,
• farm and agricultural lands, timber lands, and designated forest land.
• The governmental entity will retain the land in its current use classification or will use the land for
• land.
• First is the purchasing of sites or buildings, or purchasing real property.

Bills: HB2521 , HB2249 , HB1796

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: firearms, background check, gun control, public safety, legislation, HB 2249, Washington Technology Solutions, WaTech, civil service, classified service, exempt employees, state employment, state personnel, network security, cybersecurity, information technology, IT contracting, data center, systems integration, network engineering

Transcript Highlights:

• We own the land.
• a regional office, would purchase a parcel of land owned by the city, and then we would basically double
• </c> space needs is designed and land space needs is designed and land acquisition<01:09:22.480><c> cost
• a parcel of office it would purchase a parcel of land<01:09:27.520><c> owned</c><01:09:27.839><c> by
• , music streaming, pay for purchase, music streaming.

Bills: HF2432

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Land, Agricultural and Rural Affairs and Appropriations.
• HB 2171, land ownership, hostile and agricultural and rural affairs.
• Land, Agricultural and Rural Affairs. No, HB 2198 criminal...
• Land, agricultural and rural affairs.
• HB 2023, land divisions disclosure. Mr. Bery.

Transcript Highlights:

• DATA CENTERS ARE THE ESSENTIAL DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE BEHIND EVERY ONLINE PURCHASE, TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENT
• DATA CENTERS ARE 3 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL LAND AREA IN THE COUNTY AND 40 PERCENT OF THE GENERAL REVENUE
• WE ARE FOCUSED AS DEVELOPERS THAT GO OUT AND ACQUIRES THE LAND AND TAKES CARE OF THE ENTITLEMENTS AND
• FOR REFRESH PURCHASING NEW INFRASTRUCTURE BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OLD INFRASTRUCTURE?
• ACQUIRING LAND, DOING THE TESTING, AND GIVE THE COMMUNITY. DOES THE INDUSTRY REGULATE THAT?