Transcript Highlights:

• You, through the state general funds, subsidize this to a great degree through state aid to schools.
• Second, it holds you harmless at the state level from the state-aid implications of that property not
• Second, it holds you harmless at the state level from the state-aid implications of that property not
• The state general fund, therefore, will be insulated from millions in state aid to schools that, in our
• The rest of the state.

Bills: SB1090 , SB1293 , SB1414 , SB1429 , SB1503 , SB1536 , SB1633 , SB1724 , SB1764

Committees: Senate Finance , Senate Senate Finance Committee of Reference

Keywords: savings and loan, technical correction, Arizona Revised Statutes, financial institutions, prohibitions, GPLET, abatement, tax incentives, local government, property improvement, central business district, insurance, settlement demands, time limits, third-party claims, regulatory compliance, initiative, referendum, ballot measures, petition circulators

Transcript Highlights:

• State laws on page 3.
• It allows the municipality to, if it chooses to, match the state statute, the fine established in state
• This deals just with state incentives, and if you look at the state programs here, this is a different
• and the state does their portion.
• Those are going to have to be delved out to the municipality and to the state according to state statute

Bills: SB1519 , SB1775 , SB1900 , SB1948 , SB2080

Committee: Senate Local and County Government

Keywords: municipal zoning, home-based businesses, no-impact businesses, local government, regulation, short-term rentals, municipal ordinance, municipal court, court of record, court not of record, city penalties, fine limits, penalty cap, ordinance enforcement, state statute, traffic offenses, speeding, parking, DUI, DWI

Transcript Highlights:

• My thought was we rotate between the two sides of the state.
• Why would we give tribal, but we do need to respect both sides of the state?
• My thought was we rotate between the two sides of the state.
• Why would we give tribal, but we do need to respect both sides of the state?
• ...give tribal, but we do need to respect both sides of the state.

Bills: SB5816 , SB5838 , SB5930 , SB5960 , SB5971 , SB6075 , SB6097 , SB6104 , SB6216 , SB6233 , SB6318 , SJM8015

Committee: Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources

Keywords: juice grapes, agriculture, commerce, state regulation, market access, tribal representation, natural resources, board of natural resources, environmental policy, community involvement, irrigation districts, director contracts, beneficial interests, transparency, governance, ungulate populations, wildlife management, habitat restoration, conservation, sustainability

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome, everybody, to the State Government and Tribal Relations Committee.
• And we're hearing from the governor in his State of the State that he wants to multiply that by eight
• Washington State Governor Dan Evans welcomed the first 34 refugees to our state on May 20, 1975.
• I asked him if you wanted the state to make the six-gill shark his state shark, and he said, well, it's
• As you well know, we work to protect salmon in this state.

Bills: HB2447 , HB1364 , HB2632 , HB2637 , HB2520 , HB2235 , HB2401 , HB2574

Committee: House State Government & Tribal Relations

Keywords: shark conservation, marine life, state symbol, ecological importance, biodiversity, bingo, raffles, charity, nonprofit, amusement games, revenue threshold, licensing, fundraising, citizenship, immigration, terminology, rights, legal status, public records, public disclosure

Transcript Highlights:

• I was elected in 2020 to the State Board of Education and served 12 years there.
• Fund in the United States.
• Responsibly, and it takes no state funding required. I ask for your support.
• way, knowing all the problems that had happened in other states.
• We are the last state with this mandate. We were the last state to bring in equity loans.

Bills: HB1342 , HB2889 , HB3002 , HB3254 , HB4820 , HJR40 , HJR40

Committee: House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

Keywords: private activity bonds, housing, residential rental projects, low-income, affordable housing, bond measures, funding equality, political subdivisions, public communications, election fairness, debt collection, consumer rights, disclosures, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, settlement agreements, State Board of Education, group benefits program, health insurance, state employees, dependents eligibility

Transcript Highlights:

• State of Texas has a The $235 billion budget by itself has GDP in the state of Texas was just stated
• not just the state of.
• That's not just the state.
• This supports 93... state agencies across 238 cities in our great state.
• Out of state.

Bills: HB10 , HB 12 , HB675 , HB10 , HB12

Committee: House Delivery of Government Efficiency

Keywords: regulatory reform, government efficiency, administrative law, rulemaking, agency deference, judicial review, de novo review, Texas Government Code, Administrative Procedure Act, state agencies, plain language, regulatory burden, regulatory reduction, cost-benefit analysis, fiscal note, public benefits and costs, contested case, rule challenge, Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, advisory panel

Transcript Highlights:

• and directing state medicine state and directing state agencies<00:04:29.680><c> to</c><00:04:30.000
• </c> state workers in the executive branch. state workers in the executive branch.
• </c> paycheck for state retirees. Thank you. paycheck for state retirees. Thank you.
• </c> state police were not exempt from that. state police were not exempt from that.
• </c> across Kentucky and neighboring states. across Kentucky and neighboring states.

Summary: The meeting opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then moved into committee and floor reports. Several measures received favorable committee reports and were ordered to first reading and placed on the calendar, including Current Resolution 9, Senate Joint Resolution 23, House Bill 145, House Bill 567, and House Bill 506 with House Committee Substitute 1. The chamber also noted that House Bills 500 and 504 had already received two readings and were sent to the Rules Committee before House Bill 500 was brought up for final consideration. Most of the discussion focused on House Bill 500, the executive branch budget bill. Members described it as a “good first draft” and emphasized a budget process they said was more transparent than in prior years. The bill was presented as a restrained two-year operating budget with spending growth kept at a little under 2% annually, while setting aside about 2% of projected revenues, or roughly $614 million, in the Budget Reserve Trust Fund for future needs. The budget also used base reductions in some areas while exempting others such as Medicaid benefits, SEEK, corrections, behavioral health, and veterans programs. Subcommittee chairs then outlined major spending areas. Education provisions included a 2% annual increase in base SEEK funding, transportation funding held flat, equalization for recallable nickel funding, continued retirement contributions, and major support for postsecondary access, dual credit, asset preservation, and workforce training. Health and family services provisions held Medicaid steady while adding waiver slots, behavioral health and substance use support, public health investments, and funding for rural health and laboratory capacity. Other sections covered personnel and pensions, veterans services, infrastructure, public safety, economic development, tourism, and environmental projects. The only recorded action on the floor was adoption of House Committee Substitute 1 to House Bill 500, followed by a motion for final passage of the bill as amended. The transcript ends as discussion on final passage begins, before any final vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:25.440><c> Army,</c> soldiers in the United States Army, soldiers in the United States Army
• </c> pays our Marines in the United States pays our Marines in the United States Marine<00:15:00.079>
• </c> pays our airmen and the United States pays our airmen and the United States Air<00:15:17.920><c>
• . states. states.
• </c><03:36:39.840><c> He</c> president of the United States. He president of the United States.

Transcript Highlights:

• And this would undercut our the state.
• </c><00:54:22.000><c> and</c> policy administration over state and policy administration over state and
• </c> state supplemental programs such as APD. state supplemental programs such as APD.
• </c> bianium uh at at the at the uh state bianium uh at at the at the uh state fiscal<01:01:51.760><c
• Um and so we Hampshire in our state.

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• The second item, the emergency state.
• So they're Senator Abler the state.
• </c> because now it's here in our state. because now it's here in our state.
• </c> of the taxpayers in the other 49 states of the taxpayers in the other 49 states help<00:35:41.359
• </c> do not have a prohibition in state law. do not have a prohibition in state law.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• industries over the summer to address other rules that they are double regulating our industries in the state
• the Board of Alcohol and Drug Influence, the Attorney General, the Department of Public Safety, the State
• Fire Marshal Commission, and the State Board of Licensed Social Workers.

Bills: SJR49 , HB3281 , HB4319 , HJR1086

Committee: Senate Administrative Rules

Keywords: wildlife, conservation, Oklahoma, regulations, permanent rules, administrative procedures, guidance documents, transparency, public inspection, rulemaking, rulemaking authority, specific authority, legislative review, agency rules, judicial rules, public safety, state agencies, legislative approval

Transcript Highlights:

• I didn't give this question to you earlier, but I just realized: where are the for the out-of-state colleges
• Now that I'm on the right bill, can you just answer where the out-of-state colleges and universities
• Colleges or universities, and then because Oklahoma's in the SCC, that we incorporate that other states
• whenever you say it's all going to just go to the same pot, is that fund and money controlled by the state

Bills: HB3147 , HB4299 , HB4265 , HB4266

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: special license plates, Route 66, Oklahoma, funding, community support, memorial, infrastructure, transportation, Toby Keith, road designation, highway, bridge, license plates, Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association, higher education, special interest, vehicle registration

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair Reeves: 29 tribes in our state.
• Our state public lands should support our state climate goals and be compensated for doing so.
• Other states, like Michigan, are already implementing carbon projects on public state lands, and Washington
• The courts have reaffirmed in state law that state forest lands, the ones that are managed specifically
• of Washington becoming a state in 1889.

Bills: HB2170 , HB2544 , HB2578

Committee: House Agriculture & Natural Resources

Keywords: natural climate solutions, ecosystem services, revenue generation, economic opportunities, environmental policy, water rights, adjudication, Columbia River, environmental impact, natural resources, tribal members, fish and wildlife, commission, indigenous rights, state regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 2299 creates the state senior independent living ombuds.
• I'm here today representing the Washington State Long-Term Care Ombuds Program.
• We have lots of state programs that are there that can help people navigate that.
• I will say that this is funded by the state, and so there's no cost to the residents.
• Most other states don't have the kind of home care options that we have.

Bills: HB2299 , HB2118 , HB2236

Committee: House Housing

Keywords: seniors, independent living, ombudsman, elderly support, continuing care retirement communities, common interest communities, restrictions, property rights, homeowners association, community governance, housing finance, affordable housing, housing commission, state agency, financial assistance

Transcript Highlights:

• I state your full name.
• I state your full name.
• House Bill 101, state symbol: model duck, official state waterfowl.
• water belonging to the state to be used outside the state, 599.
• water belonging to the state to be used outside the state, 599.

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then received and processed multiple resignation notices and special-election proclamations for vacant seats. The chamber later recognized and swore in newly elected members Doyle Boudreaux, Reese Broussard, Chassity Verrett-Martinez, and Edwin Murray after no objections were raised to their qualifications. The House also appointed committees to notify the Senate and the governor that it was ready to conduct business for the 2026 regular session, and it adopted the proposed standing committee meeting schedule and referred prefiled bills to committee without objection. The bulk of the meeting was devoted to the introduction and reading of a very large number of House bills and resolutions across many subject areas. Measures included the annual appropriations bill, a proposed constitutional convention, carbon dioxide sequestration and pipeline permitting, retirement-system changes, criminal justice and public safety proposals, education and workforce measures, local government and district creation bills, insurance and liability reforms, and numerous commemorative resolutions. Several prefiled bills were withdrawn, and many introduced measures were assigned to committees or allowed to lie over under the rules. The House then entered a joint session with the Senate for the governor’s address. Governor Jeff Landry outlined his administration’s priorities and praised recent legislative actions on taxes, insurance reform, transportation, education, and fiscal discipline. He urged support for Amendment 3 on teacher pay and retirement, called for further workforce and health initiatives, defended insurance and transportation reforms, and pressed for judicial reform, especially in Orleans Parish, citing the death of Jacob Carter and failures in electronic monitoring as examples. He also promoted replacing the vehicle inspection sticker with a QR code system and highlighted economic growth, lower taxes, and infrastructure investments. The joint session also included a presentation of the colors by the Louisiana National Guard and a Distinguished Flying Cross ceremony for Technical Sergeant Adam W. Brister, recognizing his 2018 rescue mission in Alaska. After the governor’s remarks and the military honor presentation, the joint session concluded and the House resumed introducing additional bills, continuing to file measures on topics such as health care, education, ethics, elections, local districts, and constitutional amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• many other states.
• constitution and by state and federal law.
• One of the reasons TTK has grown over the state is because educators across our state are recognizing
• in the state.
• state does.

Summary: The Senate Ways and Means Committee heard an overview from OFM Director Katie Chapman See on Governor Ferguson’s 2026 supplemental budget proposal. She said the budget was built in response to higher caseloads and inflation, a roughly $390 million revenue forecast drop, new federal costs tied to H.R. 1, and a relatively small ending fund balance. The proposal would increase near general fund spending by about $1.1 billion and solve an estimated $2.3 billion two-year gap through about $800 million in reductions, revenue shifts and tax preference changes, use of other funds, and about $1 billion from the budget stabilization account. She also noted the budget is balanced over two years but not fully over four years under the state’s outlook rules. Chapman See highlighted reductions in Working Connections Child Care, including a soft cap on enrollment and holding subsidy rates at the 75th percentile, delays to long-term care and developmental disability-related changes, and across-the-board reductions to higher education and administrative spending. She also described investments in wildfire suppression and preparedness, affordability programs like utility rebates and home energy assistance, housing-related planning and permitting support, One Washington IT replacement, behavioral health workforce programs, and continued support for some K-12 initiatives such as ninth grade success and homeless student stability. In response to questions, she said some proposed cuts were based on the governor’s subjective judgment about what was critically necessary, that current child care enrollees would not be cut off immediately, and that the budget would maintain services for about 500 highest-acuity Medicaid clients who lost eligibility under federal changes. Public testimony was largely critical of the proposed cuts in K-12, early learning, and higher education. School officials, educators, nurses, and advocacy groups opposed reductions to Transition to Kindergarten, Local Effort Assistance, Running Start, MSOC, school leadership and support grants, and higher education funding, arguing the cuts would worsen existing funding gaps and harm student outcomes. Several witnesses supported restoring or maintaining funding for ninth grade success, Treehouse’s foster youth graduation program, homeless student stability, and Science on Wheels. In early learning, child care providers and advocates opposed the Working Connections cap and subsidy-rate reduction, warning it would reduce access and destabilize providers. In higher education, campus leaders and labor representatives opposed across-the-board cuts and fund shifts, while some institutions and advocates supported targeted investments such as behavioral health workforce programs and DigiPen aid restoration. In human services, Planned Parenthood advocates praised restored abortion access funding and Medicaid reimbursements. The committee took no votes or final action in the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> arm for the state. arm for the state.
• </c> of the state. of the state.
• </c> scholarship. Seeing none, 326 is closed. scholarship.
• </c> our state. our state.
• state of Wyoming? This seems to add a state of Wyoming?

Transcript Highlights:

• Scholarships to admission requirements and institutional changes.
• lines with a multi-state license.
• carry the same meaning or credibility across state lines.
• every other New England state.
• She got a Cape Cod Foundation scholarship, and the state has been very generous this year in helping

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Joint Committee on Higher Education heard testimony on a broad set of bills focused on making public higher education more affordable and accessible, protecting student information, and changing social work licensure rules. Chair Rogers and Senator Comerford opened by emphasizing the committee’s focus on financial aid, tuition and fee waivers, scholarships, admissions, and institutional changes, and they reminded witnesses about the three-minute testimony limit. No votes were taken during the hearing. A large portion of the hearing centered on the “Super Act” (H. 1423/S. 218), which would eliminate the master’s-level social work licensing exam and create grant support for social work internships. Supporters—including students, practitioners, educators, and advocates—argued that unpaid internships and the exam create financial barriers, worsen workforce shortages, and disproportionately affect Black, brown, older, ESL, and other marginalized candidates. Opponents from the Association of Social Work Boards argued the exam is a necessary public-protection standard, helps maintain uniform licensure, and is important to the social work licensure compact; they said workforce shortages should be addressed through pay, working conditions, and caseloads instead. Committee members asked detailed questions about compact participation, exam accommodations, and how other states such as Rhode Island and Connecticut have handled similar changes. The committee also heard extensive testimony in favor of debt-free public higher education bills (H. 1436/S. 929). Witnesses, including students, faculty, advocates, and Senator Eldridge, said Massachusetts should expand on free community college by covering tuition and mandatory fees at public colleges and universities, with additional aid for living costs for lower-income students. Supporters said student debt delays homeownership, family formation, and career entry, and that the state should use Fair Share revenue to invest in public higher education. Some committee members voiced support but also raised concerns about prioritizing K-12 funding and the cost of expanding free college further. Several witnesses also supported bills to extend tuition and fee waivers to young adults raised by grandparents or other kinship guardians outside the DCF system, arguing that these students face the same trauma and financial barriers as foster youth but do not receive the same benefits. Representative Donato, Joseph O’Leary, Shauna Manning, Sandra Vecchio, Karen Gardner, Judy Walter, Elaine Arsenault, and others described the financial strain on grandparents raising grandchildren and urged parity with DCF-related waivers. In addition, Senator Jake Oliveira testified for a bill to protect public higher education student directory information from data mining and unauthorized sharing, and Deirdre Cummings testified for an open educational resources bill to reduce textbook costs. The hearing concluded with continued testimony on kinship care and college access, with committee members thanking witnesses and indicating follow-up on some bill language issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:40.919><c> to</c> know Kentucky was the first state to know Kentucky was the first state to
• </c> keep up with competing with other states keep up with competing with other states on<00:13:55.240
• </c> benefits that I've seen in the state benefits that I've seen in the state would<00:15:06.920><c>
• </c><00:27:29.919><c> leaders</c> um so we've got our state leaders um so we've got our state leaders
• </c> think that's crucial to to our state think that's crucial to to our state represent<00:31:04.840

Summary: Aaron Thompson, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, and Travis Pal briefed the committee on Kentucky higher education performance, affordability, workforce alignment, and budget needs. Thompson said the state has made progress toward its 60x30 attainment goal, reporting 56.2% of adults with a credential of value and a 6.4% one-year increase in credentials. He highlighted gains in completion, enrollment recovery after COVID, lower student borrowing and debt, and faster degree completion, saying Kentucky is now back to an average of 4.1 years for four-year degrees. He also emphasized that postsecondary education has a strong return on investment for both students and the state. A major theme was student success and access. Thompson described efforts to reduce barriers through test-optional admissions, the elimination of zero-credit developmental education, expanded wraparound supports, and Bridge programming for students not fully prepared for college. He also promoted Futurity, a student-facing information website, and said CPE wants modest ongoing funding to maintain it. He argued that higher education must work in a P-20 system with K-12, and that the state should better communicate the value of certificates, trade programs, and other credentials, especially for adult learners and men, who he said are underrepresented in college-going. The presentation also focused on performance funding, capital needs, and workforce initiatives. Thompson and Pal said performance funding has pushed institutions toward more need-based aid and lower costs for low-income students, but they want more base funding, more performance funding dollars, and relief from about $38 million in mandated tuition waivers. They also said asset preservation and deferred maintenance remain major needs, estimating roughly $7 billion in campus need overall. On workforce, they cited healthcare pipeline work supported by state funding and private partners, and said HB 200 continues that effort into aviation, aerospace, and defense. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the presentation, which ended with members indicating interest in further discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is absolutely no state-imposed or industry-imposed state-specific fee. Zero.
• There is absolutely no state-imposed or industry-imposed state-specific fee. Zero.
• There is absolutely no state-imposed or industry-imposed state-specific fee. Zero.
• There is absolutely no state-imposed or industry-imposed state-specific fee. Zero.
• </c> the state than this bill. Thank you. the state than this bill. Thank you.

Committee: House Finance