Transcript Highlights:

• More needs to be done to show that these state-level reforms are working.
• ... ...on state-controlled land, especially on Caltrans, by the way.
• The state can't...
• Pulling all that data together at the state level creates opportunities.
• and more expensive to build in California.

Transcript Highlights:

• Family members drive hours across the state.
• So having oversight is something that this state should really consider because other states are already
• the mental state of our people seeking habilitation, or do we want to create conditions that build the
• The opportunity to build a family, advance my music career, build organizations, and provide support
• Justice, we got a lot of building to do. But keep on building, and I appreciate you guys' advocacy.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Summary: The hearing before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security focused on several correction-related bills, including visitation reform, elder and medical parole, incarcerated persons’ human rights, and creation of an independent correctional oversight office. Vice Chair Christopher Worrell chaired the hearing in place of Chair Dan Cahill for much of the session and explained that the committee would first hear from incarcerated individuals remotely, then move to public testimony. The committee repeatedly enforced three-minute limits and accepted written testimony as well. Much of the testimony from incarcerated people emphasized that visitation is central to rehabilitation, family stability, and reentry, and that current DOC policies—visitor caps, pre-approval requirements, scheduling rules, dress-code enforcement, and restrictions on contact—have reduced family contact and caused harm. Several speakers argued that elderly and medically frail prisoners should be released through parole because incarceration is costly, ineffective, and inhumane for people who pose little public-safety risk. Others described poor prison conditions, limited programming, inadequate healthcare, segregation-like housing, and the impact of K2 use, suicides, and self-harm. Supporters of the oversight bill said an independent office is needed to address racial disparities, grievance failures, and lack of accountability within the DOC. A number of speakers tied their support to personal experiences, including alleged racial discrimination, denial of programs, and barriers to family visits. Some testified that rehabilitative programming, education, and restorative justice reduce violence and improve outcomes, while others said the DOC spends too little on programming and too much on punishment. Committee members asked a few follow-up questions, including about K2 contraband and how to reduce drugs in facilities, and one member asked about typical visitation lengths. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee heard testimony on the bills and several witnesses urged favorable reports.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:04:48.880><c> six</c> states are now doing it in building six states are now doing it in building
• A three-story building is permitted under our State Building Code, so there's definitely a need to align
• our state fire code and our State Building Code here in our state to provide some better access to four-story
• The four-story buildings, if we didn't have the conflict today between our current State Building Code
• and State Fire Code, we could build four-story buildings that are sprinklered and have one exit.

Committee: Senate Commerce

Transcript Highlights:

• It's phase two state funds.
• It's phase two state funds.
• That's state funds. State fund. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Senator Womack. Chairman Womack. Okay.
• When the contractor got to the site, he informed us that the current state of the levee would not be
• This well site being one of them.

Summary: The Water Sector Commission met with a quorum and first approved the minutes from the prior meeting. Chairmen reminded members that no funding had yet been appropriated for future Water Sector awards, so any discussion of upcoming projects remained speculative until the legislature acts. The committee then moved through a series of deadline extension requests for phase two state-funded projects, including Delcambre, Faraday, Meyer Branch Water Corporation, and Waterworks District No. 1 of Pointe Coupee Parish. Each extension was approved after brief discussion, including testimony explaining local match timing, consolidation agreements, and project delays. The committee next considered several phase one ARPA-funded requests. St. Tammany Parish Project 845 received approval for a scope change to relocate an unmarked fiber optic line discovered during construction. Tallulah’s mayor gave an extended update on the city’s water rehabilitation project, explaining that the original project had been bid twice, that the state had already completed some emergency work, and that the city wanted to isolate the purchase of four permanent media filters and related electrical work from the original rehab plan. Members questioned whether the request was a scope change or a partial implementation of the original project, but ultimately approved it. The committee also approved additional funding for the City of Kaplan’s sewer project and for Ponchatoula’s sewer project, with Ponchatoula explaining that the increase covered emergency levee repair, miscellaneous equipment and safety items, and a force main reroute around unmarked fiber and other obstacles. St. Martin Parish Water Project 1001 was approved for additional funding after engineers explained that the final well site and related work cost more than originally estimated, though the project remained within the original consolidation plan. West Allen Water Works also received approval for additional funding after its new groundwater well encountered unexpected geologic problems; the contractor and engineers agreed to reduce their fees to preserve the project’s match structure, and members asked that the in-kind match be clearly documented for JLCB. By contrast, Tensaw Water Distribution Association’s large request for additional funding to complete a consolidation with Newelton drew significant concern over cost growth and timing. After discussion of the project’s scope, the need to serve Newelton, and the possibility of future reapplication or further value engineering, the committee voted to defer the Tensaw item to the next meeting for more review. At the end of the meeting, staff reported that 42.11% of ARPA funds remained and reviewed a list of high-risk projects, noting that the committee was trying to ensure ARPA dollars are drawn first and reconciled properly before deadlines. Members discussed the need to ground-truth self-reported project status and potentially adjust procedures to better track construction progress and final draws. The meeting concluded with no subfund or termination items and adjourned after a motion by Senator Bass.

Transcript Highlights:

• 00:01:21.960><c> to</c><00:01:22.079><c> make</c> to our state and our country to make to our state and
• Please state your name for the record. Next testifier, please state your name for the record.
• We are working to secure additional state-to-state agreements.
• </c> secure additional state-to-state secure additional state-to-state agreements<00:29:15.799><c> we'll
• </c> foraging on state lands since all state foraging on state lands since all state lands<01:38:24.800

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Transcript Highlights:

• After site assessment with WSDOT, it turns out several sites After site assessment with WSDOT, it turns
• State Department of Transportation.
• We're again building accountability.
• We're again building accountability.
• evidence-based programs at the federal and state level.

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee met in Yakima to focus on tribal traffic safety, with members and Yakima Nation leaders emphasizing the importance of safety, the right to travel, and continued partnership on U.S. 97 corridor improvements. Yakima Nation Vice Chair Christopher Wallachie and engineering staff described the Tribal Traffic Safety Committee, the U.S. 97 safety project, heritage connectivity trails, roundabout construction, and the use of federal grants and advanced sensing technology to identify hazards before crashes occur. They highlighted collaboration with WSDOT, the Traffic Safety Commission, the University of Washington, and other regional partners, and explained that the goal is to move from reactive crash response to proactive risk reduction. The Yakima Nation engineering team and AI Vision presented the MUST sensor project, which uses compact AI-enabled devices to collect traffic counts, speeds, near-miss events, roadway conditions, and pedestrian activity, with data transmitted to a dashboard and used for real-time warnings and longer-term planning. Committee members asked about speed tracking, driver behavior, enforcement, and partnerships with WSDOT and counties. Yakima Nation staff said the relationship with WSDOT has improved over time, especially after community outreach on proposed roundabouts, and that the tribe now supports several roundabout projects and broader safety coordination. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission then presented statewide fatality trends and tribal traffic safety data. Mark McKekney said 2024 showed a roughly 10% decrease in fatalities statewide, though recent years remain among the highest in decades. He noted that race and ethnicity data are only available for people who die in crashes, and that many American Indian and Alaska Native fatalities involve passengers, pedestrians, or bicyclists rather than drivers. Penny Rerick outlined tribal traffic safety coordinator grants and other state-funded tribal projects, including work with Yakama Nation, Colville, Kalispel, Makah, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Muckleshoot, Lower Elwha, and Puyallup, stressing that flexible state funding helps fill gaps left by federal programs and supports community-led solutions. The final presentation covered impaired driving enforcement and ignition interlock compliance in Yakima County. Yakima Police Chief Sean Boyle said the city created a DUI enforcement and education officer program that helped reduce serious injury and fatal impaired-driving crashes, supported by state funding and social media outreach. Yakima County District Court’s Nick Bazan described a supervision program for DUI offenders and interlock compliance, reporting more than 1,000 DUI convictions in 2024-25 and about 3,800 noncompliant interlock users countywide. He said the court is using a two-pronged approach—pretrial assistance for indigent clients and post-conviction accountability and case planning—to improve compliance and reduce impaired driving. The committee expressed support for the work, noted the progress made, and adjourned the work session after thanking presenters for their updates.

Transcript Highlights:

• Does it also include the larger portion that the state has to put up for state match?
• It also details what the state owns, such as cash, investments, roads, buildings, bridges, as well as
• site.
• It was done to aggregate what judges are doing throughout the state and to build the formula.
• the state.

Summary: The committee met to review budget and fiscal items, beginning with a roll call and a reminder about severe weather and the need to keep the meeting brief. Members first received the January fiscal status statement and certified the prior-year surplus at $577,073,871, with no changes from the prior month. The fiscal status statement was approved without objection. Staff then reviewed the five-year baseline budget and continuation/standstill budgets, noting projected imbalances in later years driven by revenue declines, including the redirection of motor vehicle sales tax, and by rising costs such as inflation and Medicaid adjustments. Representative Amadee asked about Medicaid growth and SNAP administrative costs, and staff explained that the SNAP federal match change is separate from Medicaid. The governor’s executive budget presentation focused on a third year of standstill budgeting, efficiency savings, and the impact of one-time reductions and agency reorganizations. Officials said the budget avoids recurring spending from nonrecurring revenue and incorporates savings from prior efficiency efforts. Major items discussed included funding for LA Gator vouchers, the high-impact jobs program at Louisiana Economic Development, DCFS modernization, corrections overtime and offender costs, Angola population growth, nursing home and MCO adjustments at LDH, and additional support for the MJ Foster Scholarship and Board of Regents systems. Members also discussed the distinction between state general fund and federal funds, the effect of inflation on specific purchases, and the use of surplus dollars, including deposits to the Budget Stabilization Fund and UAL paydown. No formal action was taken on the budget presentation. Later items included the FY27 expenditure limit calculation of $20.1 billion, up $953 million from FY26, and the annual comprehensive financial report, which received an unmodified audit opinion. The committee approved a BA-7 increasing federal funds for the governor’s office by $2 million for U.S. DOT-related infrastructure and rural transit work. It also approved Facility Planning and Control requests to add five higher education deferred maintenance projects and to combine two Baton Rouge Community College projects. CPRA received approval to extend contracts with Coastal Estuary Services and Access Sciences for monitoring and records-management services. The committee also approved a legislative intent clarification for a $500,000 appropriation to the New Orleans Recreational Development Foundation. The final major discussion was a presentation on a weighted caseload study for appellate and district courts. Judicial officials explained that the study updates an outdated formula used to assess judgeship needs, incorporates specialty courts and commissioners, and is intended as one tool in a broader collaborative process with the legislature. Members raised concerns about the number of judges, court funding, and how Louisiana compares with other states. No vote was taken on the study, but the discussion emphasized future collaboration on judicial resource allocation and possible structural changes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Placing unnecessary restrictions that go beyond that of other states has a negative impact on current
• Do, do they come from other states and are other states doing this to where they're licensed?
• I just, if they're coming from other states. I'll just run real quick through it.
• Yeah, we don't have anything that says it has to be on site, but I, I'm not sure that on-site would be
• Only valid in the state that you get it, so those are state by state.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> background so in 1979 uh the state background so in 1979 uh the state legislature<00:50:20.160><
• So, key to that is the original Section 93, which states that all other state departments and agencies
• Section 93 states that all other state departments and agencies, to the extent possible and consistent
• That section there is meant to apply to certain state departments within the state who have wildlife
• their site plans.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> stating that Minnesota is a state stating that Minnesota is a state committed<00:02:12.520><c> to
• And do you continue to provide state money to those two sites that were in the search warrant and do
• And do you continue to provide state money to those two sites that were in the search warrant and do
• And do you continue to provide state money to those two sites that were in the search warrant and do
• </c> provide State money to those two sites provide State money to those two sites that<01:26:44.119>

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Have we had a site visit there recently?
• On the last page for those youth programs, the Boys' State, Girls' State, and Youth Week, Trooper Youth
• Week—Girls' State is here today with us, and Boys' State was here with us last year—and that program
• It also states that funds are to be audited annually by the state auditor.
• Section 25 refers to the appropriation made to the Delaware State Fair and states that $5,000 of that

Committee: Joint Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• In a period where the state had a very aspirational agenda about all the things that state government
• I mean, and he said it in the State of the State address, right?
• other states.
• My name is Mike West with the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.
• Speaking today on item number seven, the state building trades is in strong support of the Sustainable

Transcript Highlights:

• in state hands and returns to the state of Florida?
• We are working to build collaborative opportunities for Florida students to have access to state data
• , state security, state alert data.
• We are working to build collaborative opportunities for Florida students to have access to state data
• , state security, state alert data.

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations from the Department of Financial Services and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, then returned to its ongoing budget workshop with the Department of Management Services. DFS’s Division of Risk Management described its role as the state self-insurance fund, covering about 200,000 employees and 27,000 vehicles, paying roughly $150 million in claims last year, and managing a pilot ETS treatment program for veterans and first responders that had 49 patients and 804 treatments as of the latest report. The Division of State Fire Marshal outlined its fire prevention, training, emergency response, and grant programs, including hurricane deployments, the Florida State Fire College, and several capital and grant requests for roof, courtyard, memorial, and equipment needs. The Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation explained how it handles insolvent insurers under Chapter 631, currently administering 14 estates with $1.2 billion in assets and $3.7 billion in liabilities, and said no new receiverships had been opened since February 2023. Members asked about grant backlogs, fire truck procurement delays, memorial repairs, and whether affiliate transfers were occurring in insurer liquidations. Secretary Griffin then updated the committee on DBPR’s implementation of House Bill 1021 on community associations. He said the department had used the new authority to expand education, complaint handling, and ombudsman services, including 10 free standardized courses, a new condo website, and a four-hour board certification course that had already drawn more than 12,000 attendees. He reported that outreach to condominium communities had increased by more than 60%, that complaint filings were up 39% while jurisdictional dismissals dropped to 11%, and that about 81% to 82% of the 65 new positions had been filled. Members pressed him on whether the department had enough authority and funding, how condominium counts are determined, how self-reported structural integrity reserve study data is verified, and whether more public-facing complaint tracking and better reporting from local governments or developers would improve the system. The committee then resumed questioning Secretary Allende of DMS about outstanding budget and operations issues. Members focused on the delayed People First contract extension required by statute, with the secretary saying the delay involved technical and contractual complexity in moving a legacy hard-coded system to the cloud. They also revisited the state data team and data catalog project, asking why a statutory 2022 deadline had not been met, how the four-person team and broader data staff were organized, how many applicants were considered for key positions, and what each role was doing. The secretary said the catalog work was being simplified into six metadata fields and supported by a broader community of practice, but no firm completion date was given during the exchange.

Transcript Highlights:

• It isn't enough to build.
• It isn't enough to build.
• Any state funds.
• For example, in Los Angeles, it can cost twice as much to build a low-income project as compared to building
• We'd like to be able to do these, build these projects, but we'd like to be able to build them for a

Committee: Senate Director Nominations

Transcript Highlights:

• That audit, which is underway at the California State Auditor's Office, will also determine whether state
• I would urge the state to build ongoing biomonitoring in agricultural communities, so we can track exposure
• I would urge the state to build ongoing biomonitoring in agricultural communities, so we can track exposure
• The top line of my graphic illustrates the state tier.
• , robust state program in the country.

Summary: The joint Assembly and Senate hearing examined whether California’s pesticide program is meeting its public-protection goals, with opening remarks from committee chairs emphasizing the state’s large pesticide use, the need to transition toward sustainable pest management, and ongoing oversight including a state audit of DPR and county agricultural commissioner enforcement. The hearing also referenced recent concerns in Ladera Ranch about childhood cancer cases and the need for transparent investigation and community access to information. Panel one focused on human health and the regulatory framework. Dr. Anna Maria Mora described long-running CHAMACOS research showing widespread pesticide exposure in farmworker families, links to neurodevelopmental, respiratory, liver, and cardiometabolic harms, and greater impacts on children facing social adversity. She urged biomonitoring, better linkage of exposure data to health outcomes, regulation of chemical classes and mixtures, stronger buffers around homes and schools, and more community-based research. Professor Tim Malloy explained California’s two-tier system of DPR registration and county permitting, said the state’s program is strong but falls short on cumulative exposure analysis and alternatives assessment, and argued that DPR and counties need better tools, training, and funding to implement legally required protections. Committee members asked about biomonitoring, class-based regulation, and how to make pesticide data more usable for the public. Panel two brought testimony from environmental justice and farmworker advocates, who argued that California remains behind other jurisdictions by allowing highly hazardous pesticides, including 1,3-dichloropropene and paraquat, and by relying on a funding structure tied to pesticide sales. Witnesses said DPR often moves too slowly on reevaluations, rarely assesses combined exposures, and does not adequately account for health, environmental, and social costs or conflicts of interest involving pest control advisors. They also described inconsistent county-level implementation, weak outreach, and confusion over whether DPR or county agricultural commissioners are responsible for enforcement, and urged faster phaseouts, tiered fees, stronger local protections, and clearer accountability. Panel three represented regulated entities and agricultural stakeholders, who supported the goals of safer pest management but stressed that California’s registration process must be more predictable, transparent, and timely. They said AB 2113’s staffing and timeline reforms were important, but backlog and delays still hinder access to newer, lower-risk products and can hurt both consumer and agricultural uses. Agricultural witnesses also emphasized the need to invest more in pest prevention, invasive species detection, extension support, farmer training, and practical incentives for sustainable pest management. No votes were taken; the hearing was informational, with members pressing witnesses on timelines, implementation, funding, and the division of responsibility between DPR and county agencies.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> amends</c><00:28:44.880><c> the</c> the description states amends the the description states amends
• </c> and even liability for our state and even liability for our state government.<00:54:34.319><c> So
• Eliminating fines and fees altogether would eliminate the need to evaluate statutes state by state to
• /c><01:00:12.799><c> which</c> statutes state by state to see which statutes state by state to see which
• It it is difficult as as we sites.

Transcript Highlights:

• There are maybe two sites that we could build one of these.
• There are maybe two sites that we could build one of these.
• There are maybe two sites that we could build one of these.
• There are maybe two sites that we could build one of these.
• There are maybe two sites that we could build one of these.

Transcript Highlights:

• and around the state.
• It's not a state issue.
• Organizations in the state.
• Currently, we don't have the ability to address that, and as I've stated in this building Before on this
• result of that state question.

Bills: SB1090 , SJR49 , SB633 , HR1059 , SB650 , SB2063 , SB122 , SB1614 , SB1884 , SJR52 , SJR53 , HJR1101 , SJR50 , HB3021 , HR1058 , SB514 , SB382 , HB3320 , SB740 , SB833 , SB2143 , SB1209 , SB244

Transcript Highlights:

• It isn't enough to build.
• Any state funds.
• For example, in Los Angeles, it can cost twice as much to build a low-income project as compared to building
• We'd like to be able to do these, build these projects, but we'd like to be able to build them for a
• We'd like to be able to do these, build these projects, but we'd like to be able to build them for a

Summary: The Senate Committee on Director Nominations met to consider Ruby Dylan Williams for Director of the Arizona Department of Housing. Williams described her long career at the department, her work on operational improvements, housing development, manufactured housing, and efforts to expand supply, preserve existing housing, and improve transparency through data and technology. She also said she would work with the legislature, local governments, tribal nations, nonprofits, and private partners, and emphasized the department’s role in addressing housing affordability and homelessness across the housing continuum. Members questioned her about the department’s response to Auditor General findings, including fraud prevention, payment verification, site inspections, and oversight of grantees. Williams said the department had rewritten policies, retrained staff, added stronger controls, and implemented verbal verification steps for wire transfers after a fraud incident. Senators also pressed her on budget priorities, possible cuts, and her view of homelessness policy, with some members characterizing her approach as closer to shelter or transitional housing before permanent placement. Williams said interventions should be individualized and that the department works with local jurisdictions and service providers to match people with appropriate support. Public testimony was overwhelmingly supportive. Developers, housing industry representatives, and nonprofit partners praised Williams’ private-sector housing finance experience, her knowledge of LIHTC and the QAP process, and her leadership in making the agency more efficient and business-friendly. After debate, the committee voted 3-2 to recommend her confirmation to the full Senate. Two members voted no, citing concerns about her answers on fraud oversight, cost controls, and homelessness policy, while the majority supported advancing her nomination.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we currently as the state, does the state pay for those going in people's cars? They do not.
• , even in our state.
• And so do you know, I mean, state to state, where this process is going on, is 0.12... ...state to state
• where this process is going on, is 0.12 one of those kind of medium-level state-to-state, or do you
• Making Missouri an all-offender ignition interlock state and a state with tougher DWI sentencing is,

Committee: House Crime and Public Safety

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and first went into executive session, where House Bills 3012, 2997, and 3058 were combined into a House committee substitute and then voted do pass by a 17-0 roll call. House Bill 2868 was set aside for further work on a substitute. The committee then moved into public hearings, beginning with House Bill 1740, “Melanie’s Law,” which would increase penalties for intoxicated driving cases involving injury or death and expand ignition interlock requirements, including for high-BAC offenders. The sponsor and family members of victims described the bill as a response to fatal crashes involving loved ones, while law enforcement, MoDOT, prosecutors, and MADD supported the measure as a prevention tool and cited data on recidivism and fatal crashes. Members asked about BAC thresholds, whether the bill would cover drug impairment, fiscal impacts, and the relationship to existing sentencing and parole rules. No vote was taken on HB 1740 during the hearing. The committee also heard House Bills 3049 and 368, described by the sponsors as technical cleanup bills to resolve conflicts in Missouri’s sex offender registry statutes after court rulings and to reorganize and clarify the law. A prosecutor testified in support, and members discussed registry tiers, age-of-consent issues, and how the changes might affect people whose offenses were tied to older laws or unusual fact patterns. The bills were presented as consistency and cleanup measures, and no opposition testimony was offered. Next, House Bill 2311 was heard, proposing to raise the age of consent to 18 and reduce the close-in-age exception from four years to three. The sponsor said the change was intended to align the law with recent marriage-age changes and avoid mixed signals. Members raised concerns about criminalizing high-school relationships and about consistency with existing law, but there was no testimony in opposition or a vote. Finally, House Bill 3105, a revised Second Amendment Preservation Act-style bill, was heard. The sponsor said it would remove unconstitutional language from the prior law, bar state and local officials from knowingly violating law-abiding citizens’ firearm rights, and preserve cooperation with federal law enforcement. Supporters, including sheriffs, argued it protects constitutional rights while allowing officers to act against dangerous criminals and people in crisis. Opponents, including gun-rights advocates, argued the bill still lacked a meaningful deterrent to federal overreach and raised concerns about vague language such as “danger to self or others,” which they said could function like a red-flag law and be misused. The hearing ended without a vote on HB 3105.