Transcript Highlights:

• Florida growers when Rick Hlb or citrus greening was found in commercial production began to assess themselves
• And at this point, they've probably assess themselves up to 100 million dollars off of their production
• Look at how we assess the lands.
• It mention, you know, the assessment for some of these growers, then, you know, I'd love to, you know
• That specialize in feasibility studies management on its specialize in feasibility studies management

Transcript Highlights:

• which would then end that assessment which would then end that current<01:55:42.079><c> assessment</
• "Before acceptance into DHHS for a voluntary assessment to be completed.
• </c><04:01:01.520><c> survey</c> gave the youth risk assessment survey gave the youth risk assessment
• </c> is a locally funded uh yrbs assessment is a locally funded uh yrbs assessment in<04:48:16.400><c
• meeting um no School District at special meeting um no School District at a<06:02:36.840><c> special

Summary: The House Education Policy and Administration Committee heard testimony on House Bill 71, which would bar public elementary and secondary schools and higher education facilities from being used as shelters for certain non-citizens, with a stated exception for short-term emergency sheltering of up to 72 hours and for community-wide emergency use. Prime sponsor Rep. Juliet Harvey-Bolia said the bill was modeled on federal and out-of-state proposals and was prompted by examples in New York and Massachusetts where schools or other facilities were used as shelters, causing disruption. She argued the bill does not truly “ban” anything, but instead places a condition on receipt of state funds, and said the fiscal note’s projected loss of federal funding was unsupported and should have been described as undeterminable. Committee members questioned the bill’s scope and practical effects, including whether it would apply to vacant school-owned buildings, schools used during summer, charter schools, and situations where other states send people without advance notice. Harvey-Bolia said vacant buildings not functioning as schools would not be covered, and that the bill would still allow short-term emergency sheltering and community-wide use during weather events. She also said the bill would not prevent remote learning, and that its purpose was to avoid displacing students. Several members pressed her on the fiscal note and whether any federal or state program would actually be at risk; she said she found no evidence that funding would be lost and that DHHS had not identified a real threat. A witness from the New Hampshire Association of School Administrators, Jerry FW, raised practical concerns about who would determine eligibility at a shelter site, how the 72-hour limit would be enforced, and whether the bill would apply to charter schools. He also noted that remote learning is no longer an option in New Hampshire, making one of the bill’s stated concerns less relevant. The discussion also included clarification of the terms “refugee” and “asylum seeker,” with members and the sponsor debating the distinction and whether refugees are vetted. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are doing a very robust risk assessment so that we can better align all of the funding that's going
• We're going to be targeting some special audits during this election cycle for our individuals who are
• We brought in OMES to help us with an independent technical assessment of the project we pursued.
• Like performance audits, investigative, special, and forensic audits are also by request only.
• A number of other special investigative audits are in the final stages.

Transcript Highlights:

• of the sponsoring jurisdiction's total assessed value, whichever is less.
• The assess property value within area and describing the proposed public improvements, the assessed property
• This funding will be paid out of the general fund until the assessment is in place.
• At that point, funding should shift to the tourism assessment account.
• Finally, our Washington State Wine Commission has a self-assessment-funded model.

Bills: HB1069 , HB2091 , SB6355 , HB2104 , SB6003 , HB2441 , HB2124 , HB2610 , HB2338

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: collective bargaining, retirement benefits, employee rights, public sector, supplemental benefits, public employers, employee information, bargaining representatives, labor relations, union representation, electric transmission, energy policies, infrastructure, regulatory framework, transmission systems, aviation, wildland fires, funding, disaster relief, emergency response

Transcript Highlights:

• Many times our max overrides in that location are our special assistance unit.
• Judges have been doing unstructured risk assessments using these factors for years, but newer assessments
• So they're basically these pretrial assessment tools.
• This is what the risk assessments are.
• It does not simply increase every point assessment across the board.

Summary: The Judiciary interim committee met with a full quorum and approved the June 17 minutes. The main discussion centered on a detailed Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation presentation about prison population, placement authority, classification, recidivism, and the role of transitional facilities. Director Colby Braun emphasized that DOCR’s job includes incarceration, supervision, victim services, and reentry, and said the department is operating over capacity, with people waiting in county jails and deferred placements. He described current and planned bed expansions, including added beds at MRCC, a proposed 600-bed minimum-custody men’s facility, and broader campus studies, while stressing that minimum, medium, and maximum custody are different security levels and that transitional facilities are tightly controlled placements, not releases. Committee members questioned the meaning of “release” versus “placement,” the use of terms like inmate and resident, and whether state law should be clarified to distinguish incarceration from supervision or placement in community-based settings. Braun said the parole board controls release authority, while DOCR controls placement, and explained that people who reoffend while in community placement are generally returned to prison after due process. He also reviewed data showing lower one-year recidivism in recent years, the impact of GPS monitoring, and statistics indicating that most people released never get a transitional-facility placement, while those who do generally have better outcomes. Members also discussed whether transitional facilities and work-release programs should be considered halfway houses and how much freedom and security they involve. The committee then heard a report from the Attorney General’s office on House Bill 1193 funding for law enforcement retention bonuses and tuition assistance. The office said all funds had been distributed, 73 of 101 recipients had reported back, 1,490 officers had received bonuses, and the average bonus amounts differed by agency size. Members generally viewed the program positively. Representative Steve Vetter also presented a pretrial services report, describing constitutional and statutory limits on pretrial detention, the use of risk assessment tools, court reminders, victim-notification practices, and North Dakota’s pilot pretrial programs. He suggested possible future legislation to expand detention authority for certain serious offenses and to require the Judiciary Committee to receive updated jail-population data before sessions. Finally, Megan Gordon from Legislative Council began her annual technical corrections bill presentation, outlining a series of non-substantive Century Code fixes such as cross-reference corrections, punctuation changes, and obsolete-reference removals.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has been very dynamic, all the way from two special sessions giving us the tools and transparency
• So I'm shifting to the actual assessment, monitoring, and remediation at a site.
• And so some examples for assessment and monitoring are included here.
• The boards would like to have the opportunity to conduct additional assessment if needed.
• And then part of that requires assessment, as I had mentioned.

Committee: Senate Environmental Quality

Transcript Highlights:

• So our assessment is assessing really their literacy skills based on their participation and interaction
• /c><00:47:20.400><c> um</c> mentioned about assessing students um mentioned about assessing students
• that our assessment think that our assessment is<00:47:44.720><c> probably</c><00:47:45.200><c> separate
• assessing</c><00:48:00.640><c> really</c> So our assessment is assessing really So our assessment is
• In 2018, a evaluations for assessment.

Summary: The committee opened hearings on SB 69, including a germane amendment on school board votes to accept or reject gifts and donations, and a non-germane amendment creating a virtual early childhood readiness family engagement program for preschool children not yet in kindergarten. Prime sponsor Rep. Glenn Cordelli said the literacy program was modeled on earlier HB 671, would be funded through gifts and donations rather than state appropriations, and would include reporting requirements to the governor and legislature. Members questioned changes from the earlier bill, including the move away from center-based language, the lack of a dollar threshold for school board action on donations, anonymous gifts, and whether the amendment preserved enough evaluation data. Testimony on the donation provisions raised concerns about broad language, timing, and public-meeting requirements. Rep. Timothy Han and Becky Wilson of the New Hampshire School Boards Association both noted that school districts already have policies and asked how the bill would work for routine donations, anonymous gifts, and situations that might require non-public discussion under right-to-know law. Wilson cited examples such as field-trip scholarships, backpack drives, and sports uniforms, and said the association was not taking a position but wanted clearer guardrails. Rep. Han said school boards may need to discuss some gifts in non-public session and that the bill should better address those circumstances. On the early literacy amendment, Wilson and others questioned whether the program was sufficiently developed, whether it was appropriate to rely on a primarily online model for very young children, and how it would interact with special education services and IEPs. A representative from Waterford.org, Rob Riley, testified in support, saying the program would be supplementary, adaptive, and family-engagement based, and that Waterford could provide devices and internet access for families who need them. He said the program would work alongside school districts and IEP teams rather than replace existing services. No vote was taken during the hearing; the chair said the committee would later exec the bills and try to get reports in for the calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a penalty in the bill of $10,000 that must be assessed for each retail sale or lease transaction
• It is a special authorization under the unfair practices code in Title 46 that the dealers can assess
• We respectfully oppose Senate Bill 6354 and any special treatment granted to any automaker under the
• As passed by the Senate, this bill grants some automakers special treatment to operate outside the state's
• exemption... ...provided a stable framework for years, and if the Legislature is now making a special

Committee: House Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm assuming is because now is going to be assesses that what we're looking at because it's already required
• I can I want to know by the feedback and I want to know, but students that may be special needs students
• But to the extent where they might be pulled out of what schools call specials, art music and PE, I'm
• And the maybe there could be a core special specially for high school students that would qualify them
• I have to get a special that we could. We track that in real time also.

Transcript Highlights:

• They would not have to spend years navigating unnecessary barriers or seeking special permission.
• Today I'd really like to recognize two special guests we have with us today, Bill Owens Jr. and Shara
• Recently, a home in Back Bay valued at $20 million was assessed by the city at $12.5 million.
• At the same time, these unfair assessing practices by the city are hammering the middle class, taxing
• At the same time, these unfair assessing practices by the city is hammering the middle class, taxing

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, category O is really reserved for those special, very unique cases.
• </c> learners or like students with special learners or like students with special needs.<00:09:00.160
• </c><00:09:20.160><c> very</c> really reserved for those special very really reserved for those special
• They just have, uh, a special curriculum.
• They just have, uh, a special schools.

Committee: House Education Policy and Administration

Summary: The committee first heard HB 1334, which would remove the Education Freedom Account scholarship organization’s authority to approve “any other educational expense” under the EFA statute. The prime sponsor, Representative Porchelli, said the bill would narrow the law to the specifically listed qualifying expenses, avoid broad interpretation, and shift any questions to the Department of Education or the legislative oversight committee. In response to questions, she said she did not think the open-ended category had been needed and that the statute already clearly lists allowable expenses. A representative of the Children’s Scholarship Fund testified in opposition, saying the category is used rarely but is important for unusual cases, especially students with special needs, and that removing it could create unintended consequences. After testimony, the chair closed the hearing on HB 1334. The committee then heard HB 1513, which would move several EFA reporting and oversight requirements from administrative rules and the contract with the Children’s Scholarship Fund into statute. Representative Porchelli said the bill would consolidate existing requirements on timely responses to oversight requests, publication of expense reports by category and provider, and transmission of eligibility and enrollment data to the Department of Education. She described the bill as mostly a clarification and transparency measure rather than a substantive policy change. Members asked about the meaning of “timely access,” the 45-day deadline, whether the contract already covered these duties, and whether the scholarship organization had ever failed to comply. The Children’s Scholarship Fund said it had generally met the 45-day deadline, had not knowingly refused information requests, and that the quarterly reporting requirement could add cost; the sponsor said the DOE had provided guidance and was neutral. The hearing on HB 1513 was then closed. Finally, the committee heard HB 1256, which would repeal the state librarian’s authority to award scholarships for graduate library school attendance at American Library Association-accredited schools. Representative Drago said the law was unnecessary because the state does not currently have a state librarian, scholarships are not typically granted by statute, and he objected to the ALA accreditation requirement and what he described as the association’s political advocacy. In questions, he clarified that the bill targets the accreditation requirement rather than a specific school and said he did not think the state should direct taxpayer-funded scholarships toward ALA-accredited programs. A member raised First Amendment concerns, but the sponsor said the issue was not speech itself, only the use of taxpayer dollars and state law to support that direction. The transcript cuts off before any vote or final action on HB 1256.

Transcript Highlights:

• with distinct specialized agencies with distinct statutory<00:05:43.360><c> roles.
• These programs provide specialized education services for students with behavioral health, special education
• </c> these programs provide specialized these programs provide specialized education<01:35:08.080><c>
• </c><01:35:10.800><c> education,</c> behavioral health, special education, behavioral health, special
• </c><01:42:36.960><c> educational,</c> provide specialized educational, provide specialized educational

Committee: Joint Education

Transcript Highlights:

• So, if that information does not reach those trained to assess that behavior and activate threat assessment
• ><c> assessment</c><00:13:32.800><c> teams,</c><00:13:33.440><c> we</c> activate threat assessment teams
• , we activate threat assessment teams, we lose<00:13:33.920><c> the</c><00:13:34.079><c> ability</c><
• If we give the if we get assessment.
• ed overseen by the blue to special ed overseen by the blue ribbon<00:23:35.600><c> commission.

Transcript Highlights:

• The question before us today is not whether sensitive data deserves special protection.
• </c><00:21:23.200><c> Conversely,</c> specialization in this area.
• Conversely, specialization in this area.
• The results must be provided assessment.
• </c> rely on in assessing uh those factors. rely on in assessing uh those factors.

Transcript Highlights:

• Brown Act, do pass as amended to delay implementation of specified requirements by six months, modify special
• SB 784, Durazo, home improvement. special district definitions and requirements, restore public comment
• SB 57, Padilla, large load utility customer tariff, do pass as amended to limit the bill to the assessment
• and modify assessment language to also consider stranded assets; that is out on a B roll call.
• SB 800, Reyes, state overpass assessment, do pass with author's amendments to direct Caltrans, in consultation

Summary: The Assembly Appropriations Committee held its August 29, 2025 suspense hearing on Senate bills, with the chair emphasizing the state’s ongoing budget constraints and the need to make difficult choices among 261 bills on the suspense file. After establishing a quorum, the committee began taking action bill by bill, with many measures receiving do pass or do pass with amendments recommendations, while others were held in committee or designated as two-year bills. The chair noted the agenda was organized alphabetically by author and that results would be posted later on the committee website. The hearing covered a wide range of topics, including insurance and claims data, wildfire relief and prevention, water planning, energy and utility regulation, housing and land use, health care, labor and employment, criminal justice, education, environmental policy, and election-related measures. Several bills were amended before passage, often to narrow scope, remove sections, adjust definitions, delay implementation, or clarify funding and enforcement provisions. Some notable actions included moving bills on AI regulation, transit-oriented housing, paid family leave, wildfire mapping, chemical hair relaxers, and pharmacy benefit managers, while other bills on subjects such as controlled substances, high-speed rail, and certain education or housing proposals were held. The committee also took formal roll-call votes on selected bills, with some passing on A roll calls and others on B roll calls; a number of measures were advanced with Republicans not voting. One highlighted vote was SB 79 by Senator Wiener, which passed after amendments and a recorded roll call. At the end of the hearing, the committee reported that 190 bills were moved to the Assembly Floor, either as do pass or do pass with amendments, concluding the suspense hearing for the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• But again, a transformer is a very large, specialized piece of equipment, and so it would take a while
• At the same time, we are assessing training and technical assistance strategies and certainly welcome
• We should be moving towards more community-based, specialized, and developmentally appropriate crisis
• During the same time frame, our mobile crisis teams conducted 1,723 in-person crisis assessments.
• They provide in-the-moment de-escalation, suicide risk assessment, safety planning, and direct links

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations from the Department of State Hospitals (DSH), the Commission for Behavioral Health, and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) on budget proposals and implementation updates. DSH outlined its proposed 2026-27 budget, including funding for patient operating expenses, IST solutions savings, conditional release program costs, LPS bed allocation changes, electrical infrastructure projects at Napa and Patton, SB 380 transitional housing feasibility work, and expanded dental services at Metropolitan and Patton. DSH also reported that it has met court-ordered IST treatment benchmarks in the Stiavedi v. Clinton case, with average time to initiate treatment down to about five days and pending placements reduced to roughly 250, while noting that Proposition 36 could increase referrals and SB 1323 may divert some individuals earlier into community-based treatment. Members asked about rising outside hospitalization costs, Medicare enrollment, the timing and structure of capital projects, and whether IST solution funds are being fully used; DSH said the savings reflect slower-than-expected ramp-up of community programs and that the Central California FACT replacement program is still on track for January 2027 activation. The Commission for Behavioral Health described its role under the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), including data, evaluation, grantmaking, technical assistance, and transparency work. It highlighted the new statewide Innovation Partnership Fund, a five-year, $20 million-per-year program with small and large grant categories; the first RFA drew strong interest, with more than 400 questions and over 1,000 bidders’ conference participants. The Commission also discussed a proposed extension to spend down about $4.1 million remaining for the Alcove Youth Drop-in Center grants so sites can finish implementation and Stanford can complete the final evaluation. Members asked about grant duration, whether projects can be renewed, what qualifies as innovation, and whether the fund could support service delivery rather than awareness campaigns or training; the Commission said awards are expected to be three-year contracts and that proposals must be new or meaningfully expanded approaches that support BHSA priority populations. DHCS reviewed major behavioral health changes under CalAIM and BH Connect, including peer support, mobile crisis, contingency management, traditional health care practices for tribal members, updated specialty mental health access criteria, and new substance use treatment standards based on ASAM’s fourth edition. DHCS reported strong contingency management results, with more than 13,000 members served and 95% testing negative for stimulant use during treatment, and said 21 Indian health care providers have been approved to offer traditional health care practices. It also described BH Connect initiatives such as the $1.9 billion access reform and outcomes incentive program, workforce investments, evidence-based practice expansion, IMD participation by four counties, and transitional rent services. On BHSA implementation, DHCS said it is not tracking individual county contract cuts but is monitoring county plans and statewide outcomes, while stakeholders raised concerns about local prevention and service gaps. DHCS also outlined its H.R. 1 implementation strategy, including outreach, streamlined renewals, exemptions for disabled, substance use, and medically frail individuals, and proposed clinic navigator and outreach funding; it said it has not yet produced a focused estimate of H.R. 1 impacts on behavioral health populations. The discussion ended with DHCS noting that B-CHIP bond funding has supported 437 infrastructure projects, creating 546 new or expanded facilities and more than 9,500 residential beds across the state.

Transcript Highlights:

• particularly staff, worked with Covered California to create a new state-level subsidy program using special
• And while this was critical, we put $190 million in special funds into that new subsidy program.
• readiness, assess what it might take, recognizing that this new workload for them.
• I think folks need to take a step back and really assess where that kind of comment is coming from.
• I think folks need to take a step back and really assess where that kind of comment is coming from.

Transcript Highlights:

• You think that may be an accurate assessment? That may be an accurate assessment. Sure.
• Of those selections, we make the selections to do a special...
• Well, there's certain things, you know, we have special events days.
• Watasha Carter did in the special task force and things of that nature.
• Key program components include skills assessments... ...Program components include skills assessments

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, this is so important for principals to be trained in special education law.
• There are nonprofits that specialize in leadership development.
• My other line of question is really on screeners versus diagnostic assessments.
• Why is it not a diagnostic assessment?
• You know, most districts use something similar to the STAR diagnostic assessment or NWEA.

Summary: The committee took up a long agenda of education bills, with several measures passing on bipartisan votes. Early items included SB 1632 on career readiness assessments and college credit pathways, SB 1594 requiring principals to be trained in special education law, SB 2045 establishing 30 minutes of daily recess for younger grades, and SB 1630 allowing districts to count a day of virtual instruction when high school students are taking statewide assessments. Other bills passed addressed school security funds (SB 1251, adding licensed mental health services as an allowable use), teacher association access (SB 1884), library book complaints and penalties (SB 1250), human trafficking survivors’ access to higher education (SB 1262), reduced-price meals moving students into free meal status (SB 1374), high-dosage tutoring for early literacy (SB 1292), and the repeal of the sunset on the Innovative Pathways to Teaching Program (SB 1432). Votes were generally favorable, though SB 1251 and SB 1884 drew the most debate and both passed 8-3, while SB 1250 passed 7-3 and SB 1374 passed 9-1. Several bills generated extended discussion over local control, school safety, and teacher retention. SB 1251 drew concerns that school security funds were being broadened beyond physical security, while supporters argued mental health supports can also improve safety. SB 1884 prompted questions about whether it would open collective bargaining or negotiation meetings to other associations; the author said the intent was to prevent “closed shops” and ensure equal access, while opponents argued equal access already exists and the bill could create confusion. SB 1790, the Protected Learning Environments Act, drew testimony from educator Dr. Elizabeth Pleasant about classroom discipline, teacher burnout, and student behavior; the bill would direct SDE to provide guidance for a three-tier discipline matrix, and it passed 7-2. SB 1481, increasing recess to 40 minutes and prohibiting it as punishment, and SB 1614, limiting adjunct teachers in early grades, also passed after brief discussion. The committee also heard broader policy proposals on federal uncertainty and school leadership. SB 1489 would prepare Oklahoma for a possible federal block grant of IDEA funds, fold some parent-rights and principal-training provisions into state law, and address the cost and backlog of special education dispute resolution; it passed 9-0. SB 1718 proposed an Oklahoma Principal Leadership Development Program for new and early-career principals, with discussion focused on program structure, portability, and stipends. Throughout the meeting, members repeatedly emphasized teacher support, student safety, and the balance between state guidance and local district discretion.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:03:45.159><c> fund</c> would be put into that special fund would be put into that special fund
• Under the criteria for special funds, they should be self-sustaining, and this special fund does not
• fund under the criteria Service special fund under the criteria for<00:10:10.440><c> special</c><00:
• c> self- sustaining and this special fund self- sustaining and this special fund does<00:10:14.480><c
• I do agree that it would be complicated to assess it through points and loyalty programs.

Committee: Senate Economic Development and Tourism

Summary: The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism and on Water and Land heard testimony on HB 504, a measure relating to environmental stewardship and funding for natural resource protection and restoration. Supporters included multiple state agencies and advocacy groups, such as DLNR, HTA, Hawaiʻi Ocean Legislative Task Force, Resources Legacy Fund, the Hawaiʻi Climate Action Coalition, and others, who said the bill would create dedicated funding for environmental, climate, and cultural resource needs and help address wildfire, flood, coastal storm, and tourism-related impacts. Several witnesses emphasized that Hawaiʻi’s environmental funding gap is large and that visitor contributions should be directed to stewardship and restoration. Some supporters also urged that the measure be applied equitably across all visitor accommodations and related uses, including cruise ship cabins and state rooms, while a few suggested amendments to broaden coverage or create a working group for implementation. Opposition and concerns focused largely on the bill’s tax structure and legal/administrative issues. The Department of Budget and Finance and the Tax Foundation questioned the reimbursable general obligation bond special fund in part two, suggesting it be converted to a regular special fund or deleted. The Attorney General’s office said part two may violate the single-subject rule in the state constitution and recommended deleting it. The Department of Taxation said the proposed points-and-miles language would be difficult to audit and enforce, and Expedia and others said the proposed tax treatment of loyalty points and certain payment forms would be operationally difficult. Industry witnesses also warned the bill could raise costs in a high-tax destination and asked for more marketing support if the tax is increased. The committee also heard concerns that a new tax on cruise ship cabins could raise federal preemption issues. The chair noted the testimony count as 23 in support, 179 in opposition, and one with comments. No vote was taken in the portion provided, and the hearing ended with questions from senators and agency responses about possible amendments, enforcement, and constitutional concerns.