Transcript Highlights:

• In exchange, if a person is compelled to testify while claiming that the testimony or document may incriminate
• removes the incentive. to avoid criminal prosecution. testimonial immunity to compelled witnesses that claim
• State so that she can utilize it for list maintenance so that it Again, we keep those voter rolls clean

Bills: SB16 , SB76 , SB310 , SB311 , SB396 , SB505 , SB827 , SB964 , SB1209 , SB1210 , SB1386 , SB1470 , SB2035 , SJR37 , SB 16

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Keywords: voter registration, proof of citizenship, Election Code, criminal offenses, limited federal ballot, transportation, infrastructure, funding, public safety, state regulation, election, polling places, voter access, state oversight, electronic voting, voting, polling place, elections, countywide program, election integrity

Transcript Highlights:

• And when claims come in higher than that, say $1.9 or $2 million, then we have to prorate those claims
• It made it easier for producers to manage that process, but it did result in more claims.
• So all of those are essentially now drawn as well, and they have until March 15th to claim them.
• So all of those are essentially now drawn as well, and they have until March 15th to claim them.
• So it is—there's not a clean line.

Summary: The committee first heard a budget presentation from the Department of Fish and Game. Legislative Services outlined the agency’s funding structure, noting it receives no general fund and is supported mainly by dedicated and federal funds, with most spending going to personnel and many requests being one-time items. Director Jim Fredericks described the department’s mission, staffing, hatcheries, wildlife management areas, habitat work, enforcement, and funding sources, including license and tag revenue, federal excise taxes, and mitigation funds. Members asked about rescissions, temporary employee restoration, fisheries inflation items, depredation claims, nonresident tag sales, communications with the public, predator management, chronic wasting disease, habitat projects, and the relationship with the Office of Species Conservation. Fredericks said the department is working to right-size depredation funding, that the new nonresident draw system appears to be maintaining strong revenue, and that many habitat and disease-related costs are rising because of changing conditions and expanded work. He also acknowledged the technology-rule advisory process could have been handled better, especially regarding wolves, and said he would have structured that committee differently in hindsight. The committee then took up the Office of Species Conservation. Janet Jessup explained that the office is small, mostly federally funded, and often passes grant money through to Fish and Game for on-the-ground work. Administrator Mike Edmondson said the office serves as the state’s technical, policy, and legal advisor on endangered and candidate species and works closely with Fish and Game on habitat and consultation issues. He described measurable work on sage grouse, salmon and steelhead, and grizzly bears, and said the office has concrete metrics such as acres treated, river miles restored, and conflict-reduction actions. Members asked about the overlap with Fish and Game, the number of species covered, and a proposed merger with the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources. Edmondson said there is strong synergy with OMER because many energy and mining projects come through species consultation first, and he said the office would support a merger if the Legislature pursues it, though he cautioned against cutting too deeply. Questions also touched on grizzly bear delisting, wolf-trapping litigation, and tribal consultation on salmon, steelhead, and other species. Finally, Attorney General Raul Labrador presented his office’s budget and performance. He argued that the office has returned more money to the state than it costs, citing $242 million recovered or settled over three years, and said the proposed reductions would force furloughs or elimination of positions because the office is mostly personnel costs and largely general-fund supported. Labrador highlighted major gains in the Internet Crimes Against Children unit, saying the backlog of cyber tips was eliminated, review times are now within 24 hours, and arrests have risen sharply; he also noted the Legislature expanded the child sexual abuse material law to cover AI-generated content. He described expanded civil defense and appellate work, creation of a solicitor general function through reorganization, more in-house handling of risk cases, and a reworked consumer protection division that now responds to complaints within 24 hours and has increased enforcement and direct consumer recoveries. Members asked about the source of the recovered funds, whether cyber crimes are increasing or just being caught better, and whether the office could help develop a framework for transferring incarcerated noncitizens to federal custody for deportation. The budget analyst later clarified that some of the office’s apparent underspending reflects vacancy savings and the ability to move funds between expenditure classes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please keep our water clean. Science may say one thing today.
• The only adjectives that should be acceptable are sacred water, clean water, pure water, healthy water
• The industry should clean up its own messes, not pipe them to another state.
• How close are we to cleaning this water where it'd be safe for a human to drink?
• And they're cleaning the water so much that it's not healthy for a human to drink it, and they're cleaning

Bills: HM45 , HB276 , HB300

Committee: House House Agriculture, Acequias And Water Resources

Keywords: Taos County, Questa, produced water, treated produced water, water reuse, water quality control commission, freshwater conservation, rural communities, acequias, Indian nations, tribes, pueblos, water rights, industrial water use, data centers, artificial intelligence, AI, quantum computing, economic development, renewable energy

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:54:54.079><c> The</c> hasn't created the chaos they claim.
• The hasn't created the chaos they claim.
• Um, we had to replace the doors, clean up the house.
• </c> Um, we had to replace the doors, clean Um, we had to replace the doors, clean up<01:10:31.280><c
• </c><03:10:49.279><c> only</c> them in the US Constitution claimed only them in the US Constitution claimed

Committee: House Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Just a reminder, our state's cleanup law requires liable persons to take responsibility for cleaning
• We just want to know what do they want, because we want to comply and we want to clean it up.
• We want to clean this up and we want to build a road and get things moving.
• We're not going to do anything until it's clean.
• As I stated earlier, we are as much committed as anybody to clean up the environment.

Bills: HB2495

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: vehicles, streetcar operation, public safety, urban regulation, transportation, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Don't forget to clean out your lockers.
• To claim asylum in the United States of America, you truly have to be in fear of your life.
• </c> last four years, most of them claiming last four years, most of them claiming asylum<04:21:37.520
• </c><04:22:07.279><c> are</c> of 10 of these asylum claims are of 10 of these asylum claims are illegitimate
• </c> my opinion the last four years claiming my opinion the last four years claiming asylum<04:22:27.520

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee held public hearings on three transportation bills. SB 154 would add the Snow Traveler Foundation to the list of charitable organizations authorized to offer multi-use decal plates through the existing Department of Safety program. Senator David Roford said the bill would create a non-tax funding source for snowmobile trail maintenance, especially after flood damage, and Dan Gold of the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association said the foundation would accept tax-deductible donations for projects such as upgraded trail signage. He explained that the association’s 96 volunteer clubs maintain about 7,000 miles of trails and that the sign program is costly. No opposition was presented, and the hearing was closed after questions from members about the foundation’s status and fundraising goals. SB 271 would expand eligibility for veteran license plates to include veterans with a general discharge under honorable conditions. The sponsor’s representative said the change would recognize service members who are already eligible for many veterans benefits but are excluded from plates under current law. Supporters included Phil Grizzo, who argued that general discharges often reflect service that was otherwise honorable, and Kevin Grady of the State Veterans Advisory Committee, which said it strongly supported the bill and was also considering broader statutory cleanup to standardize the definition of veteran across state law. Committee members asked whether the change should be limited to plates or applied more broadly, but the sponsor said broader changes would be a separate policy question. The public hearing was then closed. SB 273, titled “Cheryl’s Law,” would update New Hampshire’s move-over requirements for motorists approaching stopped or standing vehicles on the roadside, including stranded vehicles and those with warning signals. Senator Donovan Fenton said the bill was intended to save lives and honor Staff Sergeant Jesse Cheryl and Brigadier General John Pogo, both of whom died in roadside incidents. He said the measure would require drivers to slow down, change lanes if safe, and move over for roadside vehicles, with the intent of education rather than punishment. Committee members asked about enforcement, the lack of a fiscal note, whether the bill applied statewide, and whether the language could be read as weakening the move-over requirement; the sponsor said it applied to all roads, did not change fines, and was meant to clarify and broaden safety obligations. The hearing continued with additional questions, and the sponsor said state police and other safety stakeholders supported the approach.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair: since the fiscal section was dropped, is this now 781 clean or 781 FN with no fiscal note?
• that between 1 and 67 complaints claim that between 1 and 67 complaints that<03:59:52.000><c> were</
• </c> of so that would say any person claiming of so that would say any person claiming so<04:05:43.159
• to be AG neighbor's Uncle claiming to be AG grieved<04:05:47.279><c> by</c><04:05:47.439><c> an</c><
• It says any person claiming to be grieved by a violation of this section may initiate a civil action

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 763, an early bill concerning AED access at athletic events and venues. Representative Morris offered amendment 0743H to clarify the bill by removing charter schools from the language and tying AED placement to American Heart Association guidance, emphasizing that AEDs should be readily accessible within a reasonable walking distance rather than mandated on every field. The amendment and then the bill as amended both passed 17-0, and the bill was reported out as Ought to Pass with Amendment. The committee then considered House Bill 781, requiring school districts to adopt cell phone-free education policies, and a related bill, House Bill 131. HB 781 was amended to include charter public school boards, cover other personal electronic communication devices, require at minimum restrictions on student personal cell phones during class instruction, allow superintendent-approved exceptions for medical or language needs, protect students with medical needs or disabilities under Section 504, and set an effective date of July 1, 2025. Some members argued the amendment was too prescriptive and limited local control, while supporters said it still left districts flexibility outside classroom instruction. The amendment passed 16-1, and the bill then passed Ought to Pass as Amended 16-1. HB 131, described as a mirror bill, was then retained by a 17-0 vote. House Bill 398, a title bill requiring Holocaust and genocide studies to include impacts on people with disabilities, was moved to ITL after Representative Selig reported the genocide commission believed the topic was already being covered. That motion passed 17-0. The committee also agreed to hold several bills for later consideration, including HB 754, HB 1221, HB 360, and HB 699, citing the need for more review or missing copies. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 361, prohibiting mandatory mask policies in schools. Supporters argued the bill would preserve individual choice while preventing statewide or districtwide mandates in future public health emergencies, and cited a Department of Health and Human Services letter saying masks remain effective but decisions should be based on individual choice and risk assessment. Opponents emphasized local control and the need for districts to respond to different public health conditions. The transcript cuts off before the final vote on HB 361 was completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• For the record, Sam Evans-Brown, executive director of Clean Energy New Hampshire.
• </c> Evans-Brown, executive director of Clean Evans-Brown, executive director of Clean Energy<00:58:19.440
• The utilities are currently allowed to claim those unregistered renewable energy credits and use them
• The utilities are currently allowed to claim those unregistered renewable energy credits and use them
• The utilities are currently allowed to claim those unregistered renewable energy credits and use them

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They all have a statutory right to claim post-conviction relief, to claim their attorney was not good
• enough, to claim that they were factually innocent.
• I just want our state to try to find a clean conscience.
• I believe we can clean our conscience if we'll just look.
• So that is something I would ask you to take into account when assessing these claims or the Ramos cases

Bills: HCR50 , HB123 , HB219 , HB251 , HB404 , HB769 , HB1065 , SB58 , SB81 , SB92 , SB97 , SB141 , SB156 , SB181 , SB207 , SB396 , SB410

Committee: House Administration of Criminal Justice

Keywords: electronic monitoring, GPS ankle monitor, ankle bracelet, pretrial release, post-conviction supervision, bail monitoring, house arrest, corrections, criminal justice, law enforcement, prosecuting authority, court reporting, provider registration, LCLE, Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, data privacy, personal information, cybersecurity, confidentiality, monitoring violations

Transcript Highlights:

• We would like it to go to legislative review, clean it up just a bit, and hopefully bring it back.
• We just want to clean it up a little bit and bring it back here.
• We just want to clean it up a little bit and bring it back here.
• We cannot claim the value of life, family, and community while simultaneously stripping away the resources
• And contrary to what the bill sponsor claimed earlier, yes, the constitutional ban on taxing real estate

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Experience modifiers if they have an alternative dispute resolution system for workers' compensation claims
• This helps align our education system with California's growing clean energy economy.
• Meanwhile, a nonpartisan report from Economy and Environment last fall found that clean energy jobs are
• They are key drivers in high-demand sectors such as healthcare, technology, education, clean energy,
• But anyway, which is why I think it should be an initial claim and not something that is race-based.

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• A lot of these workers and small businesses are able to sort of claim unemployment benefits.
• I'm just very curious in the sense that, so you're claiming there's an economic output multiplier of
• you, not to some studio execs, not to all these things, because at the end of the day the people who claim
• catering companies which is mostly stocked by persons of color, customer use laundry service, dry cleaning
• to local communities including homeowners, affected residents, local businesses. like locksmiths, cleaning

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 00:03:50.640><c> have</c> going to want to make sure they have going to want to make sure they have clean
• <00:03:51.080><c> safe</c> clean safe clean safe water<00:03:53.159><c> every</c> water every water every
• And we're going to amend the measure to disqualify any state department or attached agency from claiming
• state department or attach<00:07:43.360><c> agency</c><00:07:43.759><c> from</c><00:07:43.919><c> claiming
• </c><00:07:44.280><c> the</c> attach agency from claiming the attach agency from claiming the lowincome

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee met in decision-making on a long list of Senate bills and adopted most measures with amendments or unamended, often with members voting aye and some recording reservations. Among the measures acted on were SB 40, SB 411, SB 436, SB 443, SB 447, SB 572, SB 583, SB 739, SB 742, SB 746, SB 816, SB 826, SB 830, SB 841, SB 850, SB 865, SB 952, SB 955, SB 1040, SB 1042, SB 1083, SB 1229, SB 1359, SB 1469, SB 1553, SB 1578, SB 1609, SB 1610, SB 1619, and SB 1641. Common amendments included deferring effective dates to 2050, adding sunset dates, adopting LRB technical changes, and narrowing or clarifying program language. Several bills drew brief discussion on policy details. SB 583 was amended to remove references to selling naming rights, leaving only leasing. SB 739 was discussed for its land exchange provisions and concerns about ceded lands and OHA revenue, but it was still adopted with reservations. SB 830 was amended based on DNR testimony to address reconstruction after disasters, excluding certain coastal hazards. SB 850 added State Council on Developmental Disabilities recommendations to address health disparities for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. SB 952 shifted administration of a pilot program to the Department of Human Services in partnership with the Office of Wellness and Resiliency, and SB 1610 added requirements for utility connections and capped spending on the Ohana Zones/Cales-related program. The committee also heard substantial discussion on SB 442, which concerned returning retirees to state employment. Testimony from the Department of Law Enforcement and the Attorney General focused on whether the bill should allow a shorter waiting period and how it would interact with current 89-day hiring practices, succession planning, and law enforcement retirement rules. After debate, the committee moved to decision-making and adopted amendments to include investigators, expand eligibility to hard-to-fill or succession-planning positions, and set a term limit for returning retirees with director approval for extensions. In a separate joint Ways and Means/Judiciary hearing, SB 716, SB 763, and SB 804 were also advanced with amendments, including organizational placement changes for DLE programs and Attorney General amendments to avoid retroactivity and contract-impairment issues. Several items were deferred, including SB 983, SB 1220, and SB 828.

Transcript Highlights:

• We had the flood claim and we had the hurricane claims.
• We had the flood claim and we had the hurricane claims.
• And she still hasn't had her claim filled.
• takes, when we do a market conduct exam, it's a forensic-level review of the books of the company, claim-by-claim
• What are those claim services?

Summary: The subcommittee held its first meeting on homeowners property insurance, with members from both parties introducing themselves and repeatedly noting that insurance affordability, roof condition, claims handling, and storm recovery are top concerns for their districts. Chair Yeager said the meeting was intended as an educational discussion rather than a legislative debate, and introduced a panel that included Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworski, consumer Chad Carr, agent Mary Catherine Lawler, insurer executive Melissa Burt DeVries, and policyholder attorney Chip Merlin. The panel and members discussed major cost drivers in Florida homeowners insurance, including inflation, home age, roof age, mitigation features, claims history, litigation costs, reinsurance, and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Commissioner Yaworski said underwriting has become more sophisticated and that litigation costs, reinsurance, and replacement-cost inflation all affect premiums; he also said litigation is down about 30% and average requested rate increases have fallen from about 22.1% in 2022 to 0.8% today. DeVries said age of home, replacement cost, roof age, and coverage choices can materially change premiums, and explained that reinsurance is a major expense passed through to consumers. Merlin emphasized transparency concerns, argued that insurers are increasingly individualizing risk, and said consumers often struggle with coverage limits, deductibles, and claim denials. Members asked about flood coverage, hurricane deductibles, managed repair programs, mitigation credits, new insurer capitalization, and whether savings from reforms are reaching consumers. Yaworski explained that flood is generally excluded from homeowners policies and covered separately, that hurricane deductibles are mandatory in Florida and usually around 5%, and that the office tracks savings from reforms through rate filings and insurer discussions. He said the state is updating mitigation discounts and monitoring new entrants closely for solvency and market conduct. Several members and panelists said recent reforms have helped reduce some abuses and litigation, but many consumers are still seeing higher premiums because replacement costs and reinsurance remain elevated. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Rivian welcomes the opportunity to operate within a clean and certain regulatory framework.
• In addition to limited manufacturer sales, the bill will direct funds to the state's clean transportation
• Thank you for considering this important step forward for clean transportation.
• Thank you for considering this important step forward for clean transportation.
• prevents manufacturers from circumventing the law by establishing a subsidiary or affiliate and claiming

Summary: The committee heard briefings and public testimony on three transportation bills. Substitute Senate Bill 6170 would raise WSDOT monetary thresholds for doing repairs in-house and for contracting work intended to support small, veteran-, minority-, and women-owned businesses, increasing the regular repair limit from $60,000 to $100,000, the emergency repair limit from $100,000 to $160,000 with annual inflation adjustment, and the contracting threshold from $100,000 to $160,000. The sponsor and WSDOT supported the bill as an efficiency measure; the fiscal note indicated no fiscal impact. Washington Federation of State Employees also supported it, saying the higher limits would let highway maintenance crews do more work in-house while preserving the existing work split with contractors. Substitute Senate Bill 6225 would authorize new and expanded transportation general obligation bonds, including $1.1 billion for highway projects in the Move Ahead Washington account, $400 million for listed highway projects with cost increases, and a $500 million increase to the SR 520 bond authorization, while also ending issuance of certain older unissued bond authorizations after June 30, 2026. Committee members asked about debt service, bond capacity, and how the money would be allocated; staff said the projects would be handled through the budget process and that the bill was intended to provide flexibility. Labor and business groups supported the bill as a way to fund preservation and maintenance and provide predictability, while Transportation Choices Coalition said any bonding should be limited and paired with broader transportation funding reforms and protection for multimodal programs. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6354 would allow certain qualifying U.S.-based battery electric vehicle manufacturers that have Washington service facilities and no prior franchise agreements to own and operate dealer licenses and sell directly, while also raising the dealer documentary service fee from $200 to $250 until the end of 2026 and directing part of the increase to an EV rebate program and the multimodal transportation account. Rivian and Lucid supported the bill as a compromise that would expand EV access and direct-sale options; Climate Solutions and the Port of Seattle also supported it, citing emissions reduction and affordability goals. Washington State Auto Dealers Association supported the compromise, saying it strengthens franchise protections while allowing limited direct sales. Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM, and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation opposed the bill, arguing it creates special treatment and weakens the franchise system, and some urged added consumer protections, service requirements, or bonding. The committee took no final action and closed the public hearings after testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair Holt's bill cleans it up, and it's a really good opportunity to go back into the insurance code
• The way that the plans tried to set this up back in 2008 and 2009, when all they had was claims data,
• It's trying to clean it up, but keep that kind of nationally recognized, you know, accepted data.
• So we think that it's important to kind of clean that up too, but I'll stop there.
• You're sort of going back and just trying to clean up the old outdated insurance code again here.

Bills: HB139 , HB1818 , HB1942 , HB1959 , HB2221 , HB2254 , HB2563 , HB2067 , HB2275 , HB3211 , HB139

Committee: House Insurance

Keywords: HB 1818, Texas Insurance Code, Texas Department of Insurance, commissioner of insurance, health maintenance organization, HMO, insurer, utilization review, preauthorization, prior authorization, medical necessity review, health care services, medical care, insurance regulation, insurance examination, regulatory oversight, confidential records, public information exception, Chapter 843, Chapter 1301

Transcript Highlights:

• Only four assembly districts in California can claim the Western Joshua Tree, and mine is one of them
• all have the assurances that if you abide by that decontamination framework, those vessels are then clean
• And that those vessels are then clean to enter a body of water and not transmit the aquatic invasive

Committees: House Water, Parks and Wildlife , House Water, Parks, and Wildlife

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I do want to bring up some clean elections issues because currently clean candidates can start qualifying
• that individual, that they have to have some level of treatment for the very thing that they're claiming

Summary: The Judiciary and Elections Committee met with a hard stop at 4:30 p.m. and approved the February 4, 2026 minutes. Members announced several bills would be held for a later supplemental meeting, then took up SB 1426, the “squatter” bill, which would expand forcible detainer law to cover certain unauthorized occupants who refuse to leave after a reasonable request and require immediate writs of restitution after judgment. Law enforcement and county representatives testified in support, and the committee voted 7-0 to give SB 1426 a do-pass recommendation. The committee next considered SB 1687, a strike-everything amendment moving Arizona’s primary election date from late July to the Tuesday before Memorial Day beginning in 2027. The sponsor said the goal was to create more time between the primary and general elections and align Arizona more closely with other states. County election officials were neutral but raised implementation concerns, including filing deadlines, redistricting timelines, polling place availability, and interactions with presidential preference and local elections. The committee adopted the amendment and gave the bill a 4-3 do-pass recommendation, with some members voting no over concerns about clean elections timing and local control. Members then heard SB 1110, creating a home confinement program for certain nonviolent inmates with GPS monitoring, work requirements, and DOC rulemaking, while excluding serious and violent offenses. Supporters said it would reduce recidivism, save money, and help families; an opponent questioned the fiscal impact and monitoring costs. The bill received a 5-1 do-pass recommendation. The committee also heard SB 1275, which would allow judges limited discretion to depart from mandatory minimum sentences for qualifying veterans and first responders with diagnosed service-related PTSD or similar conditions; supporters framed it as a narrow safety valve, while opponents warned it could undermine mandatory sentencing and victims’ rights. SB 1275 passed 7-0. Finally, the committee considered SB 1140, a misdemeanor expungement bill. The amendment adopted by the committee extended the waiting period for expungement of convictions to five years for all eligible misdemeanor convictions, while keeping a three-year period for eligible matters that did not result in conviction. Supporters said the bill would remove barriers to employment and housing and help survivors and people who have turned their lives around; the committee adopted the amendment and then passed SB 1140 as amended 7-0. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• This prohibits carriers from requesting refunds from health care providers on claimed payments unless
• President, this is a bill about streamlining consumer-owned utility procurement requirements for clean
• President, this is a bill that is about streamlining consumer-owned utility procurement requirements for clean

Committee: Senate Rules

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• are up, you know, we have more damage from hail than we had 10, 15, 20 years ago, and so claims are
• </c><00:35:12.560><c> are</c> think it's a combination the claims are think it's a combination the claims
• </c><00:46:31.040><c> so</c><00:46:31.160><c> we</c> homes and uh I do a duck cleaning so we homes and
• uh I do a duck cleaning so we get<00:46:31.400><c> a</c><00:46:31.480><c> lot</c><00:46:31.559><c> of
• </c><00:47:59.480><c> done</c> new homes and wanting the cleaning done new homes and wanting the cleaning

Committee: House Housing Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house