Transcript Highlights:

• I am, like, searching in the back of my mind for the process for how we do this.
• This colleague does live, like, relatively near to the Capitol, so maybe they were told that, like, when

Summary: The Assembly Business and Professions Committee heard a full agenda of bills covering travel consumer protections, cannabis commerce with tribes, medical record integrity, pest control licensing, pawn and gold-buying regulation, pharmacy discipline, land surveying, and expedited licensing for veterans separated under a federal transgender military policy. Members also later heard AB 1973, which would expand the ability of advanced practice clinicians to provide abortion care, with supporters arguing it would improve access and opponents warning about safety and scope-of-practice concerns. Several bills were presented before quorum was reached, and the chair repeatedly urged absent members to arrive so the committee could vote. Testimony on the bills was largely in support. Authors and witnesses said AB 1758 would raise the seller-of-travel assessment cap to keep the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund solvent; AB 2506 would allow state cannabis licensees to sell products from tribal licensees while respecting tribal sovereignty; AB 1637 would prevent non-physicians from altering physician-authored medical notes; AB 2477 would create a short provisional period for pest control workers awaiting licensure; AB 2633 would close a loophole involving remote gold-buying events and stolen property reporting; AB 2141 would let the Board of Pharmacy resolve some cases through stipulated settlements before formal accusations; and AB 1933 would make technical clarifications to land surveying law. AB 1775 drew emotional testimony from transgender service members and advocates describing the impact of federal separation policies and the need for California licensing and support. Once quorum was established, the committee voted out the consent calendar and each of the heard bills, generally on party-line or near-unanimous votes. AB 1637, AB 1758, AB 1775, AB 1933, AB 2141, AB 2477, AB 2506, and AB 2633 all passed out of committee, most to Appropriations or another policy committee as noted. AB 1973 also passed, despite a no vote from some members and an opposition witness from the California Family Council. The committee later took vote changes and additional roll calls for absent members before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• I am, like, searching in the back of my mind for the process for how we do this.
• This colleague does live, like, relatively near to the Capitol, so maybe they were told that, like, when

Committee: House Business and Professions

Transcript Highlights:

• RECEIVING AND HOW THEY WILL MOVE FORWARD AND WE THEN DO THE FOLLOW UP INSPECTIONS ON THOSE PLACES RELATIVELY
• THEY DO THIS WITH KEYWORDS THEY SEARCH FROM AND THEY MAY USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR ALL I KNOW.

Transcript Highlights:

• to individuals who possess firearms and have been convicted... ...and have been convicted either relatively
• You can have a search warrant that doesn't have a circuit court case yet.

Bills: SB324 , HB395 , HB222 , HB310 , HB285 , HB144 , HB251 , HB380

Committee: House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• It's accessible to go on Amazon and maybe just search for anything, right?
• members are responsible... for the exploitation of children and youth, sometimes treating their young relatives

Bills: HF2779 , HF1645 , HF1885 , HF1289 , HF1534 , HF2707 , HF1675 , HF3046

Committee: House Health Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• I was fortunate to see a psychiatrist relatively quickly, but it took over a year to see a therapist.
• She told us to search and filter for which providers take TRICARE and to connect to a provider like that

Committee: Senate Senate Veterans' Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Excessive and traumatizing strip searches are a common experience.
• SB 337 will require documentation of every single search and scan, creating a paper trail of abusive
• SB 337 will require documentation of every search and scan, creating a paper trail of abusive searches
• , strip searched, and body scanned, contracts hiring promotions cannot be made with people convicted
• I think it's important to have a third-party advocate whenever you're getting searched.

Committee: House Public Safety

Summary: The Assembly Public Safety Committee met to consider several Senate bills, first adopting a five-bill consent calendar that included measures on missing and murdered Indigenous persons, peace officers, prison clearances, and related public safety topics. SB 221 by Senator Ochoa-Bogh was pulled from the agenda for later consideration. The committee then heard SB 281 by Senator Perez, which would require judges to use the exact statutory immigration-consequences advisement for noncitizen defendants. Supporters said the bill would restore consistency and avoid confusion, while district attorneys warned it could create plea-withdrawal problems and sought amendments; the bill was held on call after a split vote. The committee next heard SB 337 by Senator Menjivar, a broad prison-safety bill focused on women’s prisons, including documentation of searches, body-camera rules, grievance timelines, hiring restrictions for staff with violent or sexual convictions, and stronger oversight of investigations. Supporters said it would improve transparency and protect incarcerated people from abuse; opposition testimony focused largely on transgender inmate placement and was criticized by members as not germane. The bill passed 9-0 to Appropriations. SB 379 by Senator Jones, which would add Department of State Hospitals oversight to sexually violent predator conditional release placements, also passed to Appropriations after support from law enforcement and district attorney groups and opposition from criminal justice advocates. Later, SB 734 by Senator Caballero passed to Appropriations. It would give law enforcement officers due process protections when findings from California Racial Justice Act hearings are later used in employment or decertification proceedings. Supporters argued officers should have notice and a chance to defend themselves, while the bill was presented as not changing defendants’ CRJA rights. Finally, SB 551 by Senator Cortese, which would codify normalization and dynamic security principles in corrections policy to promote rehabilitation and safer prison conditions, passed to Appropriations despite objections that prisons should remain punitive. The committee adjourned after updating vote records and announced its next hearing would be July 1 in Room 126.

Transcript Highlights:

• According to Lori McElwain, co-founder of the National Autism Association, extended search operations
• Earlier public notification through the Purple Alert will reduce the search duration, limit overtime
• And you would say no, and they would keep searching. But if you said yes, it would be okay.
• It just talks about authority of law in order to get search warrants and court orders.
• An intensive search and rescue effort lasting over six days failed to find him, except for two teams

Committee: House Community Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• This is not because we're not missing, but because we're not searched for.
• According to Lori McElwain, co-founder of the National Autism Association, extended search operations
• In Maryland, House Bill 195 establishes that police will help with searching and all items regularly
• And they would keep searching. But if you said yes, it would be okay.
• So I'd like you to consider maybe extending that search point policy to allow officers to make those.

Bills: SB5925 , SB5906 , SB6070 , SB6002

Committee: Senate Law & Justice

Keywords: Attorney General, civil investigative demand, CID, subpoena-like demand, investigative authority, consumer protection, civil enforcement, pre-suit investigation, document production, interrogatories, deposition, oral testimony, confidentiality, trade secrets, judicial review, enforcement action, Washington RCW, law enforcement powers, government transparency, due process

Transcript Highlights:

• What we'd like to do is increase the work search requirements.
• This bill would require claimants to conduct five work search actions per week.
• Conduct five work search actions per week to be eligible for benefits.
• Currently, only three searches are required in Alabama.
• Rather than increasing the number of searches, because... ...increase the number of searches because

Transcript Highlights:

• The chair said that sounded relatively technical and asked whether there was any member discussion on
• He asked what would happen if people could not find something without searching it, and said that if
• something can be searched, it can be read out loud and be accessible with Braille and more inclusion.
• He asked what would happen if people could not find something without searching it, and said that if
• something can be searched, it can be read out loud and be accessible with Braille and more inclusion.

Bills: HF390 , HF1202 , HF550

Committee: House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law

Keywords: government data, data practices, record keeping, penalties, legal enforcement, public meetings, transparency, government accountability, interagency groups, Minnesota Statutes, redistricting, Bipartisan Commission, Minnesota Constitution, census, legislative districts

Transcript Highlights:

• To frame this up, the current statute requires that law enforcement obtain a search warrant to fly a
• According to Sprinkle, there's not likely time to obtain a search warrant.
• Secondly, as you know, UAVs are an incredibly effective way to search in time-sensitive missing person
• Occasionally, we're asked to search for lost or missing kids in those cornfields.
• We believe it's a solution in search of a significant problem.

Bills: HF2233 , HF1524 , HF1893 , HF1396 , HF2456 , HF2959 , HF2300 , HF2412 , HF3022 , HF2825 , HF1862 , HF1373 , HF1039 , HF3070

Committee: House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law

Transcript Highlights:

• We deployed 1,250 personnel for search and rescue.
• That was all eight of the Florida urban search and rescue teams, plus two search and rescue teams that
• Palm Beach County has an urban search and rescue team, a Type 3 urban search and rescue team, and Pasco
• County has a Type 3 or 4 urban search and rescue team.
• We deployed over 1,700 personnel for search and rescue.

Committee: Senate Community Affairs

Summary: The Committee on Community Affairs met with a quorum present and heard two hurricane-recovery presentations focused on Florida’s response and long-term recovery efforts. Kevin Guthrie, Executive Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, reviewed response and recovery operations for Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, including meals, water, sheltering, search and rescue deployments, power restoration, debris removal, flood-control efforts, and generator distribution. He also described ongoing public assistance and mitigation funding, the state’s FROC system for standardizing and speeding reimbursement documentation, and the Elevate Florida residential mitigation program, which will use about $400 million to elevate or reconstruct eligible flood-insurance properties and may expand to county-run programs. Senators asked about manufactured homes, school shelter hardening, mobile home tie-downs, reimbursement for USAR teams, debris hauling, regional sheltering, and FEMA review delays; Guthrie said the state is trying to move recovery faster and more proactively, while acknowledging some limits and federal bottlenecks. The committee then heard from Justin Domer, Deputy Secretary of Community Development at Florida Commerce, on HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery programs. He explained that Commerce administers long-term recovery funds through its Office of Long-Term Resiliency for housing, infrastructure, and economic development, with funds used as a last resort after FEMA and insurance. Domer outlined the process for the most recent $925 million allocation covering multiple disasters, including Idalia, Debby, Helene, Milton, Broward flooding, and North Florida tornadoes, and said the state currently manages about $3.4 billion in DR funds, rising to over $4 billion with the new allocation. He highlighted completed and ongoing housing programs for Hurricane Irma, Michael, and Ian, plus workforce recovery programs and subrecipient infrastructure grants. Senators asked about Broward and Fort Lauderdale funding, homeowner turnaround times, and mobile home eligibility; Domer said Broward and Fort Lauderdale will have separate HUD-directed programs, and the committee adjourned after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, this is for those listening, relative to authorized organizations issuing multi-use decal plates
• listening relative to authorized organizations<00:14:32.000><c> issuing</c><00:14:32.480><c> multi-use
• For the people listening, that was relative to the issuance of permits for the alteration of driveways
• to the issuance of that was relative to the issuance of permits<00:17:53.559><c> for</c><00:17:53.760
• The hearing for Senate Bill 157, relative to the inspection and registration of certain fleet vehicles

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• Just here to introduce the bill, HB 1349, relative to exemptions for multifamily zoning requirements
• Uh, no, this is a bill in search of a problem.
• We do not need to do this, and I recommend that we don’t. this is a bill in search of a problem. this
• is a bill in search of a problem.
• In that time, I search for employment.

Committee: House Housing

Summary: The committee heard public testimony on HB 1065, a housing bill that would clarify when multifamily and mixed-use housing may be allowed on commercially zoned land, define infrastructure standards, and preserve municipal discretion over where such development can occur. Prime sponsor Representative David Priest said the bill is intended to help address the housing shortage by using already developed commercial areas without overriding local planning. The New Hampshire Municipal Association, through Brody Dees, said it supports the bill and views it as a priority, but noted it is still discussing related language with stakeholders and wants clearer definitions for multifamily development, infrastructure, and adaptive reuse while preserving local control over commercial land use. Testimony was mixed. Ivy Van, a certified planner, opposed the bill because she said the infrastructure language is too restrictive and could exclude properties served by private utilities or septic systems. Chris Freeman, a housing provider, was generally supportive but recommended technical changes, arguing the infrastructure definition may be too broad and that the adaptive reuse language could unintentionally block useful building modifications. He said the bill should be clarified so it does not discourage reuse projects. The committee then moved to discussion of an accessory dwelling unit bill, with Representative Turkot describing changes that would shift some ADU approvals from a matter of right to conditional use or special exception, allow municipalities more control over attached versus detached units, set parking standards tied to single-family dwellings, and adjust size limits. He argued the bill would restore local discretion and prevent ADUs from becoming primarily rental units. Representative Reed pushed back, saying detached ADUs can help meet housing needs and provide opportunities for small landlords, while other members questioned how the bill would affect existing detached structures and breezeways. No votes were taken in the excerpt, and the chair also noted a recess and time limits for later testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• that the search charge would actually<00:07:03.440><c> have</c><00:07:03.599><c> to</c><00:07:03.680
• </c><00:07:12.720><c> the</c><00:07:12.880><c> search</c><00:07:13.199><c> charge</c><00:07:13.680><c
• > can't</c> that the search the search charge can't that the search the search charge can't be<00:07:
• </c><00:07:43.759><c> charge</c> facing basically a 60% search charge facing basically a 60% search charge
• So I think like a 21% search charge.

Committee: Senate Higher Education

Transcript Highlights:

• state law requires county jails to verify an inmate's veteran status through the Veterans Reentry Search
• They're also supposed to, as the Senator said, run the Service Member Civil Relief Act search, but the
• Motor Vehicle Report does not provide the one thing they need to run that search, a date of birth.
• Accuracy in a service member's search is greatly improved with a social security number, which is also
• The VSS right now have no ability to run the search since they have no date of birth, and we don't want

Bills: SB2007 , SB2104 , SB2543 , SB2545 , SB2926 , SB2938

Committee: Senate Veteran Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> The majority of the committee on finance, to which was referred House Bill 661FN, an act relative
• </c> care for a relative who needs care. care for a relative who needs care.
• Committee on Hillsborough County Government to which was referred House Bill 488, an act relative to
• </c><06:16:24.878><c> and</c> significantly hindering early search and significantly hindering early
• search and rescue<06:16:25.520><c> efforts,</c><06:16:26.080><c> costing</c><06:16:26.558><c> many</c

Transcript Highlights:

• According to Lori McElwain, co-founder of the National Autism Association, extended search operations
• Earlier public notification through the Purple Alert will reduce the search duration, limit overtime
• And you would say no, and they would keep searching. But if you said yes, it would be okay.
• It just talks about authority of law in order to get search warrants and court orders.
• An intensive search and rescue effort lasting over six days failed to find him, except for two teams

Summary: The House Community Safety Committee met on February 23, 2026, with a compressed schedule and limited testimony time. Members first heard Second Substitute Senate Bill 5974, which would set eligibility standards for sheriffs, police chiefs, and marshals, require background checks for sheriff candidates through the Washington State Patrol, regulate volunteers and youth cadets, and create a vacancy in office if an elected law enforcement official is finally decertified or fails statutory eligibility requirements. Supporters, including Senator Lovick and several advocacy groups, said the bill promotes accountability and professionalism. Opponents, including the sheriffs of Walla Walla and Spokane counties, argued it imposes unfunded mandates, conflicts with voter sovereignty and recall procedures, and could create problems for rural counties and volunteer use. The committee later took executive action and reported the bill out with a do pass as amended recommendation, 6-2 with one excused. In executive session, the committee also acted on Engrossed Senate Bill 5068, which expands law enforcement hiring eligibility to people legally authorized to work in the United States. A striking amendment clarified that agencies are not liable for employment discrimination claims if hiring is impracticable, allowed applicants who cannot yet possess weapons to apply if they can possess them when hired, and made technical changes. Representative Burnett raised concerns about background investigations, foreign-country vetting, oath of office, and firearm issues, but the committee adopted the striker and then reported the bill out as amended on a 6-2 vote with one excused. The committee also considered Substitute Senate Bill 5855, which prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings while interacting with the public except in specified circumstances and creates a civil cause of action. Amendments added an intent section, expanded exceptions for health and safety equipment under OSHA/WISHA, and proposed stronger prosecutorial language, though two amendments were rejected. The bill was then reported out as amended on a 6-2 vote with one excused. The committee then held public hearings on several bills. Engrossed Senate Bill 5890 would expand reckless driving to include driving more than 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, and 20 miles per hour over in active construction zones when workers are present; law enforcement, prosecutors, traffic safety officials, and construction industry representatives testified in support. Substitute Senate Bill 5936, a Uniform Law Commission proposal on human trafficking, would allow prosecution of businesses that knowingly engage in or profit from trafficking, strengthen victim confidentiality, and improve U and T visa certification procedures; testimony was overwhelmingly supportive, with one witness urging caution about unintended consequences for businesses that report trafficking. Finally, Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 6070 would expand missing-person response tools by allowing certain surveillance devices to be used for community caretaking to locate missing endangered persons, create Ebony and Purple Alerts, transfer the missing persons website to the State Patrol, and add a public records exemption. Testimony strongly supported the alert provisions, especially for people with disabilities, while one privacy advocate objected to the surveillance provisions as an overreach.

Transcript Highlights:

• With the high amount of traffic coming to our site through search results, Florida Press's staff has
• With the high amount of traffic coming to our site through search results, Florida Press's staff has
• We need a comprehensive centralized place to easily search for and find public and legal notices from
• I know that you can search for notices that have been filed in the past on FloridaPublicNotices.com.
• I know that you can search for notices that have been filed in the past on Florida Public Notices.com

Committee: Senate Community Affairs

Summary: The committee took up a broad agenda of local government, land use, housing, and public notice bills. It reported favorably SB 984 on firefighter cancer benefits, SB 1612 requiring local governments to accept electronic payments, SB 1180 creating a recall process for community development district board members and adding related CDD provisions on synthetic turf and compact urban mixed-use districts, SB 936 on temporary door locking devices, CS/SB 380 expanding options for publishing legal notices, SB 962 clarifying that the Live Local zoning preemption does not unintentionally capture farms and farm operations, SB 1444 on state preemption involving religious gatherings, private clubs, and certain permitting issues, SB 218 narrowing hurricane-related land-use protections to affected counties, SB 1020 regulating chickee huts, and SB 1434 creating a redevelopment framework for environmentally impacted parcels in certain urban counties. Several of these bills were amended before passage, including SB 1180, SB 380, and SB 948. Testimony was mixed on the more controversial measures. Supporters of SB 984 said the bill clarifies benefits for firefighters diagnosed with occupational cancer. On SB 380, the Florida Press Association and Common Cause opposed shifting legal notices away from newspapers and warned that publication would become more fragmented and harder to find, while the sponsor argued the bill would save money and reflect digital practices. SB 1444 drew support from Florida Family Voice on religious freedom grounds, but the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties warned that the bill was broad, undefined in places, and could create unintended consequences for local zoning, parking, and permitting. SB 1434 on redevelopment of environmentally impacted land drew support from housing advocates but opposition from counties and cities, which said it would bypass local development review and could allow overdevelopment. The committee also heard substantial testimony on SB 948, which would create a statewide framework for starter-home and lot-split regulations in residential areas. Supporters, including housing advocates, a Gainesville city commissioner, and an urban economist, said local regulations have constrained housing supply and that the bill would help produce more starter homes. Opponents, including the Florida Association of Counties, 1,000 Friends of Florida, and the Florida League of Cities, argued it would function as a statewide zoning code, reduce local planning authority, and create infrastructure and litigation concerns. The bill was amended and then laid over for further consideration after extensive debate and public comment.