Transcript Highlights:

• want to be mindful that, depending on neighborhoods, depending on demographics, depending on your race
• want to be mindful that, depending on neighborhoods, depending on demographics, depending on your race

Summary: The committee began with a work session on juvenile rehabilitation institution capacity, services, and staffing. DCYF Assistant Secretary Jennifer Redmond described overcrowding at Green Hill School and Echo Glen, driven by longer adult-style sentences extending past age 25, limited community placements, and small facility sizes. She said Green Hill remains above safe operating capacity, but staffing, injuries, large-scale aggression, and use-of-force incidents have improved over the past year. She also discussed Harbor Heights, a new 46-bed flex facility that had opened with 22 youth and would expand once a medical trailer arrives, as well as community transition services, vocational programming, behavior management reforms, and a request for more resources for mental health-focused facilities and staffing. Members asked about success metrics, developmental disability screening and supports, college access at Echo Glen, Mission Creek planning, and gender-responsive programming; Redmond said JR uses assessments, family involvement, and specialized living units, and that some requested funding had already been secured for returning a girls’ program at Echo Glen. The committee then heard from Team Child and the Youth Action Coalition. Greta Schultz said youth perspectives should guide system reforms and identified key concerns: overuse of sentence extensions, underuse of community transition services, continued criminal referrals from Green Hill to Lewis County, limited family contact, inadequate mental health access, and unequal education opportunities, especially for young women at Echo Glen. Justella Gonzalez, a former system-involved youth, said her time in county and state facilities was harmful, with staff mistreatment, poor education, limited therapy access, and humiliating restraint practices; she also said girls at Echo Glen lacked the same college opportunities as boys at Green Hill. Committee members asked for follow-up on county versus state experiences and on telehealth mental health services. The next presentation covered county-level services for youth involved or at risk of involvement with the justice system, led by juvenile court administrators Christine Simon-Smeyer and Judge Rachel Anderson. They outlined the juvenile court continuum from prevention and truancy work through diversion, detention alternatives, community supervision, and disposition alternatives, emphasizing evidence-based, trauma-informed, and restorative practices. Clark County was used as an example of a court that partners closely with schools and community providers, uses risk assessments and wraparound behavioral health probation, and offers detention alternatives without electronic home monitoring. They said most courts do not use detention for status offenses, but instead use court involvement to connect youth to services. They also described funding, noting that courts rely on a mix of state block grant and local dollars, and that recent cuts to early intervention funding reduced programming and staff hours. Members asked about detention for truancy, developmental disability identification, restorative justice practices, and the juvenile block grant. Finally, DCYF Assistant Secretary Nicole Rose and Katie Warren of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECAP discussed child care and early learning impacts from recent policy and budget changes. Rose said Fair Start for Kids investments had increased child care access, provider participation, and kindergarten readiness, with more than 60,000 children in Working Connections care and rising ECAP enrollment and provider capacity. She said recent reductions will raise most family copays in 2026, delay eligibility expansions, eliminate some expanded eligibility categories, reduce ECAP slots by about 3,000, delay entitlement timelines, and cut provider supports such as rate increases for centers, complex-needs grants, trauma-informed and dual-language incentives, and infant/early childhood mental health consultation. Warren emphasized ECAP’s role in family stability, workforce participation, and reducing poverty, and noted its two-generation approach to supporting both children and parents.

Transcript Highlights:

• For Father's Day next year, NASCAR... ...NASCAR will be in San Diego, racing at the Coronado Naval Air
• It is an event that will be broadcast, and NASCAR and F1 racing, as you know, are extremely popular globally

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism held an informational hearing on the state of California tourism amid declining international visitation and broader economic and political headwinds. Visit California CEO Caroline Betetta said the industry remains a major economic driver, with 2024 visitor spending of $157 billion, 1.2 million jobs supported, and $12.7 billion in state and local tax revenue, but warned that 2025 forecasts show the first post-pandemic decline in visitation, driven largely by a projected 9.2% drop in international travel. She cited concerns about the strong dollar, visa wait times, border and immigration rhetoric, and a proposed federal visa integrity fee, while emphasizing Visit California’s marketing campaigns and the importance of upcoming mega-events like the World Cup and 2028 Olympics. A second panel of destination leaders described local impacts and strategies. Visit Sacramento’s Mike Testa said the city has diversified beyond conventions into music festivals, sports, and food events, but noted that international apprehension is affecting events like Terra Madre Americas and that California should do more to incentivize major festivals to stay in-state. Santa Monica Travel and Tourism’s Lauren Salisbury said the city is seeing lower international visitation, especially from Canada, Australia, and Europe, and that wildfire coverage and later federal troop presence in Los Angeles hurt local sentiment and caused cancellations. Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau’s Rhonda Salisbury reported steep drops in international visitation to the gateway region, ongoing concerns about wildfire, reservations, insurance costs, and park access, and praised a new federal requirement for quarterly meetings between national parks and gateway communities. San Diego Tourism Authority COO Carrie Verbeck-Cappich said tourism is the region’s second-largest sector, but 2025 is softer than 2024, with spending down despite modest visitation growth. She pointed to weaker Canadian and Asian travel, government-related meeting cancellations, and the need for more support to bid on and host major events; she also highlighted border-crossing delays, insufficient federal staffing at ports of entry, and the Tijuana River sewage crisis as major regional issues. Committee members discussed the effects of federal rhetoric, infrastructure, and cross-border conditions on tourism, and several witnesses urged continued support for Visit California, Brand USA, event incentives, and efforts to present California as welcoming and open. Public comment then opened, beginning with testimony from the California Attractions and Parks Association.

Transcript Highlights:

• the 10th day after the election, which will also allow the public to know the results in almost all races
• the government is going to take the land of an individual for any reason, but especially based on race

Transcript Highlights:

• They are racing not just to acquire more health insurance companies, but to acquire actual providers
• They are racing not just to acquire more health insurance companies, but to acquire actual providers

Transcript Highlights:

• didn't just ask out of curiosity; it was a reflection of a curriculum that hadn't shown him his place. race
• provide a more comprehensive understanding of the issues facing these communities. understanding of race

Bills: HB178 , HB178 , HB1551 , HB1939 , HB2040 , HB2354 , HB2674 , HB3029 , HB3460 , HB3631 , HB3662 , HB5201 , HB5381

Committee: House Public Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam President, Senate Bill 2023 is the Racing Commission budget.
• 2023, a bill for an act to provide an appropriation for defraying the expenses of the North Dakota Racing

Summary: The Senate met with a quorum present and handled a mix of conference committee appointments, appropriations bills, policy bills, and House amendments. Early in the session, the chamber appointed conference committees for SB 2399 and for House-amended SBs 2213 and 2354, and also named conference committees for HB 103, HB 1308, and HB 1169. The Senate then took up several appropriations measures, including HB 1612, which creates the North Dakota Center for Aerospace Medicine at UND; the Senate adopted an amendment shifting the funding to a one-time $250,000 Community Health Trust Fund appropriation with a required $250,000 match from other sources, and the bill passed 39-7. HB 1193, the “Back the Blue” grant, was amended to make the funding one-time and focus on officer retention, then passed 41-5. HB 1329, a government spending database proposal for school districts, was amended into a legislative study and passed 42-4. HB 1020, the water budget, received extensive amendments reducing and reallocating funding across major water projects, adding studies and oversight changes, and passed 45-0 with the emergency clause. HB 1581, a tribal tourism grant, also passed 40-6. The Senate rejected HB 1330, which would have authorized divestment from direct investments in Chinese companies; after debate over the prudent investor rule, trade impacts, and whether the bill singled out one nation in law, it failed 20-26. HB 1534, limiting property valuation increases, and HB 1266, adjusting the disabled veterans property tax credit, both failed unanimously or nearly so after committee recommendations against them. HB 1566, which would have created a regulatory framework for a product discussed as kratom, was amended on the floor to convert it into a study and then passed 31-15. The chamber also passed HB 2241 on charter schools after a House amendment changed the funding formula to the statewide average from the prior year, and HB 2022, the indigent legal counsel budget, after House changes added funding flexibility, offset lost fee revenue, and included a study on a public defender office. The Senate concurred in several House amendments and then passed a number of Senate bills. SB 2375, allowing joint negotiations between dental providers and insurers under Attorney General oversight, passed 44-2. SB 2251, clarifying that open records requests during state audits should be referred to the audited agency, passed 46-0. SB 2159, related to nuclear energy research, passed 43-3 after House amendments required Industrial Commission approval and consultation with the radioactive waste advisory council. SB 2155, changing gratis antelope license rules, passed 30-16 after debate over landowner rights and tag distribution. SB 251, setting fees and an audit for the Private Investigative and Security Board, passed 44-2. SB 2280, the prior authorization health insurance bill, passed 43-3 with a House-added study and consumer protections. SB 2023, the Racing Commission budget, passed 41-5 after a House change made internship funding one-time. SB 2232, changing prenatal substance exposure reporting requirements and related toxicology rules, passed 44-2. SB 2241, authorizing public charter schools, passed 39-7. The session ended while the Senate was still processing SB 2022’s final passage vote, but the bill had already cleared concurrence on House amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• We also extend our oversight into the integrity of the California horse racing industry, alcohol regulation
• Board, the Department of Cannabis Control, the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel, the California Horse Racing

Transcript Highlights:

• Obviously, we've seen curtailment of horse racing for our fairground.
• So let the race for the microphone begin. Thank you. I am here to testify on item number three.

Transcript Highlights:

• that's a really good point. percent compliant and making sure we have no over-representation of any race
• The plan is to increase the number of students who have autism and other race classifications.

Bills: HB2 , HB2

Committee: House Public Education

Transcript Highlights:

• We don't mind keeping the state committee man and state committee woman races on the ballot, but they're
• starting to get long and... ...mind keeping the state committee man and state committee woman races

Committee: Senate Ethics and Elections

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from several county supervisors of elections and the Florida Supervisors of Elections Association on the 2024 election cycle and priorities for the 2025 session. They described very high turnout in the presidential election, major operational planning needs, and the heavy reliance on seasonal workers, list maintenance, ballot-on-demand systems, and secure chain-of-custody procedures. They also discussed the impact of recent legislative changes on voter-roll maintenance, including inactive voter removal, and said Florida’s election administration has improved to what they called a “platinum standard.” The supervisors outlined several legislative requests: allowing more than one non-government “wild card” early voting site to improve access and emergency flexibility; requiring newly naturalized citizens to update driver’s license information so voter records match DHSMV data; exempting home addresses of certain election workers and ballot transporters from public records to improve safety and recruitment; restoring a checkbox on vote-by-mail return envelopes so voters can stay on the vote-by-mail list for the next cycle; aligning base salaries for supervisors, property appraisers, and clerks with other constitutional officers; and reducing ballot length by removing precinct committee races from the ballot. They also said they expect a committee bill to carry some of these proposals. Members questioned the panel about ballot transport security, signature verification, vote-by-mail expiration, public records transparency, and the petition process for constitutional amendments. The supervisors said ballots are transported under detailed county plans with tamper-evident seals, chain-of-custody logs, trained workers, and in some cases two-person transport teams. On petitions, they said the process is labor-intensive and expensive, that fraud has occurred in some cases, and that they favor reforms such as requiring more personal identifying information and having initiative sponsors mail petitions to voters rather than making supervisors handle the mailing. They also said signature mismatches can be cured within 72 hours after Election Day and that voters are notified when possible. After the supervisors’ presentation, the committee also heard brief public testimony from Kathleen Griffiths, who urged adoption of commercial-style risk management standards in election systems and referenced several election-related bills her group supports.

Transcript Highlights:

• But typically though, this usually would happen more so in congressional races, right?
• Not—I mean, there hadn't been an issue like with most state races."
• congressional</c> would h happen more so in congressional would h happen more so in congressional races
• Not I mean there hadn't races, right?
• . races. races.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, and that is my race every time I am at that grocery store to see if I can beat them.
• Uh, and that is my race every time I am at that grocery store to see if I can beat them.
• Uh, and that is my race every time I am at that grocery store to see if I can beat them.
• and</c><00:32:36.720><c> that</c><00:32:37.039><c> is</c><00:32:37.200><c> my</c><00:32:37.360><c> race
• every time I am Uh, and that is my race every time I am at<00:32:38.720><c> that</c><00:32:38.960><c

Committee: Senate Labor

Transcript Highlights:

• And this research is unique and comprehensive in that it looks at traditional race and ethnic categories
• If we look at this graph, what we do is we disaggregate these numbers by race and ethnicity, where we
• If we look at this graph, what we do is we disaggregate these numbers by race and ethnicity, where we
• If we look at this graph, what we do is we disaggregate these numbers by race and ethnicity, where we
• If we look at this graph, what we do is we disaggregate these numbers by race and ethnicity, where we

Committee: Senate Jobs and Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• incident reports because we want to keep an eye on that statistic for particular students, for particular races
• incident reports because we want to keep an eye on that statistic for particular students, for particular races
• Ensure data includes disaggregation by race and disability.
• Ensure data includes disegregation<00:58:50.480><c> by</c><00:58:50.720><c> race</c><00:58:51.040><c>
• </c> disegregation by race and disability. disegregation by race and disability.

Transcript Highlights:

• have not ago two years has gone by they have not gotten<01:48:14.520><c> their</c><01:48:14.760><c> race
• c> no</c><01:48:15.440><c> we</c><01:48:15.560><c> gave</c><01:48:15.719><c> paid</c> gotten their race
• no we gave paid gotten their race no we gave paid differential<01:48:16.400><c> for</c><01:48:16.560
• <01:48:20.960><c> waiting</c><01:48:21.480><c> for</c><01:48:21.840><c> their</c><01:48:22.159><c> race
• </c> been waiting for their race been waiting for their race um<01:48:24.080><c> well</c><01:48:24.360

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Print 7908B, Gounardes, an act to amend the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Breeding Law.
• President, so after each congressional race, we could technically, if the Legislature, which is controlled
• this event will be to ensure that this goes on to the 2027 ballot initiative, when the only major races
• INITIATIVE WHEN THE ONLY MAJOR RACES ARE DOWN IN NEW YORK CITY BECAUSE WE VENTLY MOVED ALL OF THE ELECTIONS
• Calendar 1631, Senate Print 7908B, Senator Gounardes, an act to amend the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering

Summary: The Senate convened, approved the journal, and then moved through a large number of motions to discharge bills from committees and substitute identical Senate bills for third reading. The chamber also received and accepted a Finance Committee report on nominations for Kathleen Mosier as Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Terrence O’Leary as Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and John Kagia as Executive Director of the Office of Cannabis Management. All three nominees were confirmed, with Mosier and O’Leary confirmed unanimously and Kagia confirmed 57-1, with Senator Walczyk voting no. The Senate adopted previously approved resolutions recognizing June 2026 as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month and mourning the death of Susan Irene Wright of Harlem. Senators Brisport and Bottcher spoke at length in support of Pride Month, emphasizing LGBTQ+ history, resilience, and ongoing threats to the trans community. On the Susan Wright resolution, Senators Cleare, Bailey, and Bottcher praised her community leadership, philanthropy, and family legacy, and Assembly Member Jordan Wright was recognized in the chamber. The body then considered and passed many bills on the calendar, including measures on insurance, environmental conservation, public health, education, business law, labor, social services, highway law, and local tax exemptions. Several bills drew brief explanations of vote, including a measure to end higher insurance premiums for widows, a bill to prohibit correctional facilities from denying visitation because of menstrual products or IUDs, and a Medicaid-related bill to expand access to blood pressure monitors for pregnant people. Most bills passed with broad support, though some had notable opposition from a small group of senators. Late in the session, the Senate took up a proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting. Senator Stewart-Cousins sponsored the measure, and Senator Walczyk questioned it extensively, arguing voters had previously approved an independent redistricting process and objecting to changes that would remove the Legislature’s two-thirds map-approval requirement and alter the commission’s role. The sponsor said the changes were needed in response to aggressive partisan redistricting in other states and would still require voter ratification in future sessions. The transcript ends during that debate, with no final vote on the amendment shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• the conclusions are the same, regardless of continent, regardless of religion, system of governance, race
• the conclusions are the same, regardless of continent, regardless of religion, system of governance, race
• under the CCPA, including but not limited to a consumer's precise geolocation, immigration status, race
• under the CCPA, including but not limited to a consumer as precise geolocation, immigration status, race
• , Including, but not limited to, a consumer’s precise geolocation, immigration status, race or ethnic

Summary: The committee heard AB 1988, which would require AI companion chatbots to respond to credible self-harm or violence-related crisis expressions by displaying the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, warning users, and pausing the chat for human review after repeated crisis signals. The author and supporters said the bill is a measured safety standard to redirect vulnerable users to human help, citing research and cases where chatbots worsened suicidal ideation or violent behavior. Support came from crisis and medical advocates, while no opposition testimony was offered. The chair and members expressed strong support, and the bill was held pending quorum before later action on the agenda. The committee then took up AB 1709, which would set a minimum age of 16 for users to create or maintain accounts on social media platforms with harmful addictive features and would create an E-Safety Advisory Commission in the Attorney General’s office. The author argued the bill targets product design, not speech, and is intended to curb compulsive features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds while allowing safer or non-addictive platforms to remain available. Supporters, including a psychologist and the Organization for Social Media Safety, described cyberbullying, predation, compulsive use, and mental health harms; opponents, including EFF, ACLU-Cal Action, TechNet, and youth advocacy groups, warned about privacy, First Amendment, and access-to-community concerns, especially for LGBTQ youth and other marginalized groups. Committee members debated whether the bill is a ban or a delay, how age assurance would work, and whether the proposal would be effective or could push youth to less safe spaces. Several members said they would support the bill as a first step, while others raised concerns about enforceability, privacy, and constitutional issues. The author emphasized that the bill is limited to specific harmful design features, not content or general internet access, and that the new commission would monitor evolving technology and recommend future updates. No final vote was taken during the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• She's hypotensive, her blood pressure's low, her heart's racing.
• She's hypotensive, her blood pressure's low, her heart's racing.
• <00:29:54.280><c> heart's</c> blood pressure's low, her heart's blood pressure's low, her heart's racing
• . racing. racing.

Bills: HF4841 , HF4234 , HF3697

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• Operation Metro Surge has put these daycare workers at risk simply on the basis of their race and ethnicity
• workers at risk simply on the basis<00:55:11.120><c> of</c><00:55:11.200><c> their</c><00:55:11.400><c> race
• </c> basis of their race and ethnicity. basis of their race and ethnicity.
• A convoy of agents in big bright SUVs racing down the street in front of the school with commuters following

Bills: HF3415

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, to the good speaker that has the race horses, this wouldn't apply to the private sector.
• First off, I want to say that this is an agriculture bill because it supports the horse racing industry
• We're allowing local control for the HHR, the horse racing machines that are in everybody's city, town
• the horse racing machines that are in the horse racing machines that are in everybody's<01:45:44.639>