Transcript Highlights:

• I think I have not seen it in any other agency where it's defined as 500 percent.
• We don't want to lead, and we don't want to follow any other state in the country.
• These are the accreditation standards for all accrediting agencies.
• These are the accreditation standards for all accrediting agencies.
• This leads to a better educational environment for our students.

Bills: SB 2

Committees: Senate Education K-16 , Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• California state agencies all operate under different and complex rules and processes.
• The commission is an independent bipartisan oversight agency, charged with investigating state operations
• It's about ensuring that California's public agencies have access to competitive, equivalent options
• It gives public agencies more flexibility without lowering California's performance expectations.
• I went to the Latina LEADS breakfast, and I was asked...

Committee: House Governmental Organization

Transcript Highlights:

• In addition, the agency has submitted Florida's grant application yesterday.
• My name is Brian Meyer, the deputy secretary for Medicaid at the agency for Healthcare Administration
• And then certainly once the agency is or did or the state of Florida were, it funding will be working
• Representative Rosenwald, as you mentioned, you know, the agency is not administer the snap program.
• The House's lead on a lot of these matters are freshman term.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the reason I ask is because in other correspondents with the agency, they've stated to me they do
• This is a newer program that was based off some agency request legislation in 2021.
• You mentioned the impact of media on the agency and staff. You did not mention the youth.
• Agencies include child care Licensed by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
• Agencies include child care businesses, child placing agencies, foster homes, group care facilities,

Bills: HB1544 , HB2219 , HB2253

Committee: House Early Learning & Human Services

Keywords: child welfare, risk assessment, investigation, child abuse, neglect, HB 2219, child care licensing, early learning, DCYF, Department of Children Youth and Families, Washington child care, preschool licensing, family child care, child care centers, nature-based child care, outdoor preschool, mixed-age ratios, staff-to-child ratio, group size, zero tolerance

Transcript Highlights:

• and intra-agency cash flow characteristics and processes, reviewing state agency cash management technology
• Does it go back into our returns, or does it go to the agencies? Mr.
• And are other agencies doing the same?
• You asked before about state agencies not really working together.
• I respectfully disagree with you on the agencies that I work with.

Summary: The Leadership Division of the Budget Section approved the prior meeting minutes and then received an update from Senator Jonathan Sickler on the Cash Management Board’s interim work under House Bill 1278. He said the board has reviewed state cash, investments, and liquidity across agencies and concluded the state’s overall mix of long-term and short-term assets is appropriate, with about $35 billion in total liquid assets and investments and roughly 89% in longer-term investments. He highlighted process improvements already underway, including replacing more than 500 six-month CDs with a special-rate savings account to reduce administrative work, and said the board sees opportunities to improve forecasting, automation, and statewide coordination. Members asked about whether the CD change would increase returns, how the Legacy Fund transfer for the homestead tax relief bill affected earnings, and whether more state cash could be consolidated or better managed through BND; Sickler and BND staff said those issues are being studied and may lead to legislation for the 2027 session. Representative Nathan Toman then updated the committee on the Task Force on Government Efficiency. He said the group has focused less on cutting dollars and more on defining metrics and asking how the legislature knows whether programs are working. The task force is pushing a standard set of questions for new or expanding programs—who is affected, expected outcomes, alternatives, how success will be measured, and full funding—and OMB has agreed to require those answers in future budget requests. Members discussed possible use of dashboards, program evaluators, AI tools, and possible rule or statutory changes to require performance measurement. Toman said the task force will continue meeting with agencies such as the courts, university system, auditor, HHS, Commerce, and ITD to identify workflow bottlenecks and potential efficiencies. Phil Davis of Job Service North Dakota gave a workforce update, reporting that North Dakota’s unemployment rate is 2.5% and labor force participation is about 68.7%, both well above national performance. He described Job Service’s 15 workforce programs, including H-2A housing inspections for foreign agricultural workers, the job placement partnership program with DOCR, WOTC, and other federal and state workforce efforts. Davis said the agency served more than 11,000 individuals in 2025, operates nine workforce centers, and tracks outcomes through quarterly and annual reporting. In response to questions, he said job openings data reflect only positions in the system and may understate actual hiring needs, that child care and other assistance programs could be better tied to employment outcomes, and that the DOCR partnership has shown strong results with lower recidivism and higher earnings. He also said the H-2A inspection workload is growing quickly and additional staffing or less frequent federal inspection requirements could help. Allen Knutson then presented S&P Global’s updated revenue forecast. He said oil prices have risen sharply since the prior month’s outlook, improving the state’s near-term revenue picture, though the economy remains volatile and agriculture is facing weaker commodity prices. Based on the updated forecast, total major tax revenues for the current biennium are projected to be about $89 million above the legislative forecast, and the next biennium could be about $500 million higher, though that estimate is preliminary and may change. He also walked through an alternate oil-price scenario showing significantly higher oil and gas collections and a larger Strategic Investment Fund balance if prices remain elevated. Members asked whether another forecast should be requested once oil markets stabilize and about tribal allocation changes in the alternative scenario; Knutson said additional updates are possible through OMB and future forecast cycles.

Transcript Highlights:

• Offer them wisdom, guidance, compassion, and empathy as they lead us.
• Offer them wisdom, guidance, compassion, and empathy as they lead us.
• We had a number of individual agencies involved.
• What agency is going to have control of what's put in the curriculum?
• Once again, we are the key contributor and we have to step up and lead.

Summary: The Senate opened with roll call, an invocation, pledges, and a series of announcements and guest introductions tied to several recognition days, including Disability Rights Awareness Day, Elevate the Spectrum Day, Geothermal Rising Legislative Day, DWI Awareness Day, and Adult Education and Literacy Day. Senators also welcomed guests for New Mexico Down Syndrome Day and other constituent visits, and the chamber read certificates recognizing the Hurley family and the New Mexico Military Museum, as well as adult education and literacy programs across the state. Testimony and remarks highlighted the service of the Hurley family, the importance of adult education for workforce and civic participation, and the contributions of people with disabilities and their families. The Senate adopted multiple committee reports and received House messages on several bills and resolutions. On third reading, the Senate passed Senate Bill 96, as amended, which streamlines child care licensing and reduces administrative barriers to opening or expanding child care homes and centers; an HOA-related floor amendment was adopted after discussion about local restrictions and neighborhood traffic concerns. The chamber then passed Senate Bill 14, as amended, which expands the state’s health professional loan repayment program with $25 million in funding split between physicians and allied health professionals/nurses, with questions focused on eligibility, prioritization, and whether the funding would be sufficient to address shortages. Senators also debated the bill’s support for part-time service and its role in helping New Mexico compete for medical workers. The Senate next passed Senate Bill 104 unanimously, establishing a process for removing a wildlife commissioner that requires gubernatorial initiation, notice and a hearing, and direct review by the state Supreme Court; debate centered on due process, the removal standard of incompetence, neglect of duty, or malfeasance, and how the new process compares with prior law. Finally, the chamber took up Senate Bill 50, which would give the Law Enforcement Training Standards Council more flexibility to set training curricula for officers, especially in rural departments; sponsors said the bill preserves minimum training while allowing updates for current issues, but several senators raised concerns that the measure could weaken explicit statutory requirements for domestic violence and sexual assault training and asked how those topics would remain protected in the future curriculum.

Transcript Highlights:

• Your divine wisdom and guidance as they lead our state.
• President, I want to thank you as our leader for leading the team.
• These agencies under the Southwest Region are the Hickorya Agency, Mescalero Agency, the Northern Pueblo's
• Agency, Ramah Navajo Agency, Southern Ute Agency, Ute Mountain Ute Agency, and the Zuni agencies.
• These agencies are... These agencies offer range support and assistance. At the regional level, Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• often approves line item budgets agency often approves line item budgets for<00:09:28.880><c> the</c
• </c> restricted in that those agencies restricted in that those agencies generally<00:09:45.880><c> do
• Thank you, Lead Wont.
• We have one final thing from Lead Wont, and then we'll need to move on. Just have copies of that.
• We need to be investing and empowering the work that is done in our nation, leading world-leading research

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> that paid family medical leave um leads that paid family medical leave um leads to<00:09:11.760>
• </c> groups in talking with state agencies groups in talking with state agencies that<00:10:45.360><c
• </c> consult with theed and other agencies consult with theed and other agencies because<00:24:18.799
• Frasier for leading on this issue and former Rep. Richardson.
• Representative Baker, I will take the lead on the chairs of those committees.

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• by limiting agency exposure to dollars by limiting agency exposure to overly<00:11:50.240><c> broad<
• </c> maintained by the agencies themselves. maintained by the agencies themselves.
• state agencies are those individual<00:15:10.520><c> agency</c><00:15:10.839><c> records.
• from agencies.
• Maybe the records from agencies.

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• I started at the agency three years...
• I started at the agency three years ago. I started at the agency three years ago.
• And in addition to these pathways, our agency—it may not be known as much—our agency operates to civil
• Traditionally, the agency has not really taken a view on this.
• The response was that the agency would provide the numbers it has.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee met to organize the new term, take roll, and hear introductory presentations from the six agencies under its jurisdiction: the Agency for Health Care Administration, Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Children and Families, Department of Elder Affairs, Department of Health, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The chair outlined the committee process, including assigning members to review agencies and make budget recommendations. Each agency head gave a high-level overview of their budget, staffing, major programs, and priorities, with recurring themes including Medicaid, long-term care, disability services, child welfare, mental health, aging services, public health, and veterans’ health care. Several agency leaders highlighted recent initiatives and funding priorities. AHCA emphasized Medicaid managed care, provider regulation, Hope Florida, hospital-at-home, and cancer-related efforts; APD discussed iBudget services, Hope Florida, a managed-care pilot, online applications, and forensic care costs; DCF focused on child protection, foster care, adult protective services, food/cash/medical assistance, mental health, and opioid treatment; Elder Affairs highlighted Alzheimer’s services, community-based senior care, guardianship, ombudsman services, and disaster outreach; DOH covered cancer innovation, maternal telehealth, cybersecurity, HIV/hepatitis/syphilis screening, and school nursing; and Veterans Affairs described benefits and health care access for veterans, long-term care, and federal reimbursement. Several speakers also raised concerns about rising costs, provider rates, disaster response, and access to services. The committee heard two public comments from disability advocates about Medicaid redeterminations affecting iBudget waiver recipients and provider payment delays. In response, AHCA and APD said they were coordinating on data sharing, early outreach, escalation processes, and efforts to reduce disenrollments and make recertification smoother. Members then asked questions about provider rates, opioid settlement spending, managed care quality measures, pediatric rare disease grants, group home transparency, senior outreach, ABA services moving into managed care, annual Medicaid recertification, veterans’ service utilization, waiting lists for elder services, and prevention spending. No formal votes were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:46:18.319><c> jostled</c> legal gray zone while agencies jostled legal gray zone while agencies
• </c> digital asset ecosystem, leading digital asset ecosystem, leading blockchain<00:46:24.480><c> developers
• </c> world that the United States will lead world that the United States will lead in<01:18:42.080><c
• Speaker, I rise today in opposition must lead the way fostering innovation must lead the way fostering
• </c><03:09:16.800><c> in</c> That's the way we should lead in That's the way we should lead in innovation

Transcript Highlights:

• It also builds on the nation-leading SAF tax credit that we passed in 2023.
• It also builds on the nation-leading SAF tax credit that we passed in 2023.
• Two of our leading crops, winter income.
• </c><00:58:22.960><c> is</c> Minnesota Municipal Power Agency is Minnesota Municipal Power Agency is
• The agency representative said the agency worked with member communities, attended city council and board

Bills: HF1669 , HF4709 , HF3531 , HF4048

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• So, real quickly, just in terms of what we do as an agency at the Department of Agriculture at the state
• Always listening and learning because that enables me to lead.
• We're very eager to Listening and learning, which will enable me to lead.
• Again, we're working with other agencies and with the industry. Washington State University...
• We're working with other agencies and with the industry.

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held an interim work session focused on Washington agriculture’s viability, workforce, and competitiveness. Director Derek Sanderson of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and WSU Dean Raj Kosla described the size and diversity of the state’s farm sector, declining farm numbers, major export markets, and pressures from labor costs, low commodity prices, trade barriers, drought, regulatory burdens, and pests and disease. Kosla emphasized WSU’s land-grant role in education, research, and extension, including precision agriculture, broadband needs in rural areas, and the need for state support to help producers adopt new technologies and train the next generation of agricultural workers. Members asked about retaining farmland, increasing workforce capacity, and the role of precision agriculture. Kosla said precision agriculture can help address labor shortages and water scarcity, but adoption is limited by cost and rural broadband gaps. He explained precision agriculture as tailoring inputs to the right place, time, amount, and manner, and said WSU is working on low-cost sensor technologies and other innovations. Members also asked about how widely precision agriculture is used and whether it improves farm bottom lines; Kosla said adoption varies by tool and that he would follow up with more data. The committee then heard from Dr. Randy Fortenberry of WSU’s Impact Center on an agricultural competitiveness study and the effects of tariffs and trade. He reported that Washington’s competitiveness has generally declined relative to peer states in dairy, grapes, hops, apples, and wheat, with potatoes as the main bright spot. Surveyed producers said a substantial share of revenue is tied to regulatory compliance, with labor-related costs a major driver, and small diversified farms reported land access, capital, and profitability as bigger barriers than regulation. On trade, Fortenberry said Washington agriculture is highly export-dependent and vulnerable to retaliation, citing past losses in wheat, apples, pulses, and cherries when tariffs disrupted markets, while noting current uncertainty around China and India. The committee asked follow-up questions about compliance time, peer-state comparisons, and regulatory burdens; no votes were taken, and the department said it plans an interim report by the end of the year and a final report by June 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, public works agencies lack structured mutual aid agreements, unlike their other counterparts
• Often, they're working alongside multiple agencies they don't regularly coordinate with.
• Madam Chairwoman, we're a tweener given that there was not another lead testimony.
• I think as the lead witness said this technology is incredibly important and we want access to it.
• They have the relationships to then coordinate with all agencies.

Committee: House Emergency Management

Transcript Highlights:

• We also advise major agencies like the MBTA and MassDOT on energy strategy and EV infrastructure.
• These reforms have shifted EMWIC from a locally driven joint action agency to something like a state
• RF radiation is a carcinogen in the same category as lead and DDT.
• Lead and DDT are now banned, and if there is a source of lead in a house, it must be remedied, or else
• dirty electricity and wireless can misdirect the chemical reactions in our bodies and brains, which lead

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy

Summary: The committee heard testimony on a range of energy, utility, broadband, and municipal infrastructure bills. Representative Powell supported H 3466, which would create a task force to study public ownership of utilities and alternatives to investor-owned electric and gas systems. Representative Therber supported H 3574, which would use RGGI funds to reimburse cities and towns affected by power plant decommissioning, citing lost jobs, tax revenue, and service cuts in communities such as Somerset, Plymouth, Salem, and Everett. Several witnesses from municipal light plants and related organizations testified in support of mutual aid bills, including H 3486/S 2252 and H 3330/S 2277, saying the measures would clarify protections and liability coverage for MLP workers assisting in emergencies and non-emergency work. Jim Leiden of EMWIC opposed H 3514/S 2295, saying the proposed board and governance changes would reduce local control, add burdens, and weaken confidentiality protections. A committee member asked whether the mutual aid bills had been reviewed for municipal impacts, and the witnesses said they had done due diligence. The committee also heard extensive testimony on H 3551/S 2306, the smart meter opt-out bills. Supporters argued that smart meters emit harmful wireless radiation, that some residents have developed health problems or electromagnetic sensitivity, and that opt-outs should be available without fees or penalties; several witnesses urged notification, consent, and non-transmitting analog meter options. The committee also heard testimony from municipal officials and the Massachusetts Municipal Association in support of H 3462/S 2250, which would strengthen municipal authority to enforce timely removal of double utility poles, citing safety, accessibility, and construction-delay concerns. Derek Leffert of Gateway Fiber opposed H 3450, saying it would improperly shift broadband deployment costs to competitors. At the end of testimony, the chair closed the hearing by motion and vote, with members voting aye and no opposition recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's about 60%, but there are other programs within the child welfare agency.
• They're not housed within child protection or the child welfare agency.
• The agency requested backfilling federal funds in their operating budget.
• The agency has two big funders: Hilton gave us a 3-year grant.
• Prescription opioid painkillers do lead to addiction and illicit fentanyl.

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Berman, would you like to lead us in debate? Certainly. Thank you.
• Senator Berman, would you like to lead us in debate? Certainly. Thank you.
• Senator Berman, would you like to lead us in debate? Thank you, Madam Chair.
• Agencies are still required to coordinate with local housing authorities, identify eligible youth, and
• Agencies are still required to coordinate with local housing authorities, identify eligible youth, and

Committee: Senate Education Postsecondary

Summary: The Committee on Education Postsecondary held confirmation hearings for two State University System Board of Governors appointees, M. Carson Good and Speaker Paul Renner. Good described his background in Florida real estate, airport governance, and fundraising, and said he would focus on improving university performance, collaboration among institutions, and growing endowments while keeping in-state tuition stable. Renner emphasized his legislative experience with higher education, and said his priorities on the Board would be transparency, compliance with legislative direction, and reducing administrative bloat. Both nominees were recommended for confirmation on a single vote, with Senator Berman noting concern about the low number of women on the board. The committee then heard and passed SB 1726, a higher education transparency bill by Senator Calatayud. The bill would require Board of Governors members to comply with constitutional financial disclosure requirements, set term limits for State Board of Education and university board members, change rules for presidential searches and public records, and require more detailed textbook and syllabus information for students. A student advocate from Florida Student Power Network supported the bill as increasing student involvement and democratic accountability in higher education. Senator Harrell raised a concern about residency requirements for Board of Governors members, and the sponsor said that issue could be revisited later. The bill was reported favorably. Next, the committee considered SB 1458 on apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship funding. A delete-all amendment was adopted that required clearer funding splits between local education agencies and program providers, annual reporting, a standard DOE contract template, and a cap on administrative fees in certain cases. Supporters from industry groups said the changes would improve transparency and accountability without requesting additional funding. The committee then reported the bill favorably. Finally, the committee heard SB 584 on young adult housing support. An amendment removed a requirement that state agencies act as co-signers or guarantors on leases while preserving coordination for the federal Foster Youth to Independence program. Several former foster youth and advocates testified in support, describing housing instability and its impact on education, and urging broader access to campus housing and vouchers. The sponsor said the bill prioritizes housing and work-study for homeless and former foster youth, supports the FYI program, and directs a statewide study of housing barriers. The committee reported the bill favorably and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• and creates two standalone cabinet-level agencies: the California Housing and Homelessness Agency and
• the Business and Consumer Services Agency.
• The Business and Consumer Services Agency became operational on July 1, 2026.
• toward the inevitable closure of schools. ...doesn't lead toward the inevitable closure of schools or
• Finally, on the pregnancy lead proposal, we're supportive of the overall intent.

Committee: House Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• To this point, the governor included a proposal for a revised direction to the agency in his proposed
• The bill requires the state agencies that are members of the Governor's Indian Health Advisory Council
• The agencies must apply the following principles.
• Advisory Council Tribal Data Sharing Agreement checklist, and the agencies must seek input and advice
• This leads to many patients having to seek mental health care out of network, which leads to higher personal

Summary: The House Health Care and Wellness Committee held public hearings on four bills and then took executive action on three measures. HB 2555 would require the Health Care Authority to apply for a Medicaid waiver to cover traditional health care practices provided through Indian Health Service, tribal, and urban Indian facilities. Supporters, including the prime sponsor, tribal health leaders, and the Health Care Authority, said the bill would recognize traditional medicine, expand access, and leverage federal funding, though HCA noted the July 1, 2026 waiver deadline and urban Indian reimbursement questions may be difficult to resolve. HB 2685 would codify tribal data sovereignty principles for state agencies, require reporting of notifiable conditions to tribal health jurisdictions, and exempt certain tribal data from public disclosure. Tribal representatives supported the bill as necessary for access, governance, and better public health planning, while the Washington Coalition for Open Government and HCA raised concerns about the breadth of the PRA exemption, undefined ownership interests, and implementation details. HB 2658 would require health carriers to submit standardized public data on behavioral health and other coverage and access metrics, with the Insurance Commissioner posting the information on a public dashboard. Supporters said the bill would improve transparency about mental health parity and help families, employers, and policymakers compare plans; opponents argued it duplicates or complicates recent parity reforms and could be misinterpreted. HB 2683 would shorten carrier credentialing timelines from 90 days to 30 days and require carriers to post billing and coverage information online. Supporters said it would reduce delays for providers and patients, while opponents warned the shorter timeline could be hard to meet and that posting information without login protections could raise privacy concerns. In executive session, the committee adopted two amendments to HB 2168, which concerns overdose mapping data, then reported the substitute bill out with a due pass recommendation by a vote of 16-1. It rejected an amendment to HB 2196 that would have extended PANDAS/PANS coverage to public and school employee plans, then advanced the substitute bill with a due pass recommendation by a vote of 15-2. Finally, the committee passed HB 2545, which would allow ambulatory surgical facilities to perform elective percutaneous coronary interventions, by a vote of 13-4, after members discussed safety, access, and cost savings.