Transcript Highlights:

• committee to oversee awards, applications, and reporting, and relied on a public-private partnership model
• That alignment is essential and ensures fair, predictable, and long-term sustainability.

Bills: SB1001, SB1035, SB1056, SB1065, SB1138, SB1161, SB1204, SB1207, SB1248, SB1274, SB1284, SCM1002, SCM1006, SCR1020

Keywords: appropriation, economic security, blind individuals, older adults, state funding, Arizona Department of Corrections, ADC, corrections, prison, jail, correctional officers, prison guards, staffing, retention, salary increase, pay raise, wage increase, general fund, state budget, private prisons

Summary: The committee approved the January 27, 2026 minutes and held SB 1138 for further changes. It then heard SB 1035, which appropriates about $34 million from the General Fund for a 5% pay increase for Arizona Department of Corrections sworn officers and civilian employees, with an amendment extending the raise to private prison employees under contract. Supporters said DOC pay is not competitive and vacancies are high; opponents questioned paying private prison staff and raised concerns about private prison incentives. The committee adopted the amendment and gave SB 1035 a do pass recommendation on a 6-3 vote. The committee also approved two memorials to rename highways: SCM 1002 for L.F. Quinn Memorial Highway and SCM 1006 for PFC Michael Nolan Memorial Highway. Both measures drew emotional testimony about the honorees’ public service and military sacrifice, and both received do pass recommendations, with SCM 1002 passing 9-1 and SCM 1006 passing 9-1 after members discussed tribal jurisdiction and agreed to follow up with a letter to the tribe. SB 1065, which would appropriate $3.64 million for the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Military Veterans Fund, was supported by the sponsor and researchers who said the treatment can help veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, pain, and related conditions. Some members objected that the FDA has not approved HBOT for many of the claimed uses and questioned prior unspent funding, but the bill still received a do pass recommendation on a 6-4 vote. SB 1248, which clarifies funding and attendance-count rules for county jail and juvenile detention education programs, also passed unanimously. Later, the committee approved SB 1204, a $5.5 million General Fund appropriation to design and analyze improvements to the U.S. 60/Loop 303 interchange, after testimony from local officials and residents about severe congestion, crashes, and public safety delays; it passed 8-1. SB 1207, a $150,000 study on financing mechanisms for development-related infrastructure along the same corridor, also passed 7-1. Finally, SB 1001, which restores $1 million for the Older Individuals Who Are Blind program, passed 9-0 after testimony from blind seniors and advocates about long waitlists and the program’s role in preserving independence. The committee then began SB 1274, a police foundation specialty license plate bill, with sponsor and foundation testimony describing wellness, remembrance, and youth programs funded by plate revenues, but the transcript cuts off before any vote on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think we're all just kind of learning that, so I don't predict that that is too worrisome.
• Thank you for that, and that does seem like a great model for our capacity with the contract employment

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We can also help with groundwater modeling. Those expertise are available at NMSU.
• considering in New Mexico, there are a series of questions that they will ask, and they're pretty predictable

Transcript Highlights:

• When we ran them on numbers off the models, they may be off by a tenth of a percent as volumes move.
• Few people are predicting it's all going to go away, and so there may be some students who wouldn't be

Transcript Highlights:

• really think it's probably the biggest issue in the bill that really gives a monthly cash flow predictability
• North Texas State Hospital, which is the only state hospital currently operating under a two-campus model

Bills: HB18, HB37, HB116, HB388, HB879, HB913, HB1151, HB2216, HB2358, HB2809, SB577, SB1590, SB1782, SB1887, SB2744, HB18, HB37, HB116

Keywords: rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, perinatal bereavement, healthcare, hospital training, bereavement support, maternal care, fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, parent-child relationship, involuntary termination, family law, child welfare, child protection, HB 388, HB388

Transcript Highlights:

• necessarily creating computer science classes, or music classes, or other kinds of courses because they predict
• The model works, and the popularity, effectiveness, and need of this program is evident.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• canines and prioritizing the safety of canine handlers and the public, making California a national model
• A well-trained canine team that follows clear statewide guidelines ensures predictable and professional

Summary: The committee heard several public safety-related bills. AB 383 by Assembly Member Davies would expand and clarify firearm restrictions tied to juvenile adjudications, allow certain minor firearm possession for hunting or training with guardian approval, and authorize warrants in some domestic violence-related firearm surrender situations. Supporters, including a district attorney representative, argued it would close gaps in existing law and improve public safety; opponents said it would over-criminalize youth and disproportionately affect marginalized communities. The bill passed as amended to Appropriations. AB 400 by Assembly Member Pacheco would require law enforcement K-9 units to meet statewide POST standards covering training, use of force, and handler skills. Supporters said the bill would create consistency, accountability, and safer deployments; opponents argued the standards were inadequate and would legitimize harmful canine practices. After debate over whether the bill expanded canine use or simply standardized it, the committee approved AB 400 and sent it to Appropriations. AB 380 by Assembly Member Gonzalez would extend price-gouging protections during emergencies, including for hotels, food, essential goods and services, and commercial property, and would remove the 12-month lease limit loophole for rent gouging. Supporters said the bill responds to wildfire-related exploitation and provides clarity for disaster victims; business and landlord groups warned it could amount to commercial rent control and create uncertainty for future emergencies. The author said he would continue working on amendments, and the bill passed as amended to Appropriations. AB 358 by Assembly Member Alvarez would create a narrow exception to Cal-ECPA so law enforcement could inspect tracking or surveillance devices found in a person’s home, vehicle, or property with the finder’s consent. Supporters said the change would help stalking and domestic violence victims preserve evidence quickly; privacy advocates argued warrants and existing emergency exceptions already cover these situations. The chair proposed narrowing the language to “tracking or surveillance device,” and the bill was held on call after an initial roll with only three votes in favor. The transcript also began AB 247, which would raise pay for incarcerated hand crew firefighters, with testimony from formerly incarcerated firefighters in support, but the discussion was not completed in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• like this year one was quite an honor to see a bill that's kind of lived across the country and been model
• There was predictability. I knew the consequences of my actions.

Summary: The Student Academic Success Subcommittee met to review Florida’s cell phone and social media literacy law, with Representative Brad Yeager describing the 2023 policy as aimed at removing classroom distractions and teaching students how to use social media responsibly. He said the law was intended to keep phones out of classrooms unless used for instruction, require social media literacy education, and limit access to certain sites on school Wi-Fi and government devices. Yeager said feedback since passage has been mixed: many teachers support it and some have adopted inexpensive shoe-organizer or pouch systems, but implementation varies by school and administrator enforcement. He said he is not currently pursuing a broader statewide mandate. Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez and Timber Creek High School Principal Mr. Wasco described Orange County’s approach as bell-to-bell phone restrictions, while Pasco County’s Dr. Zetchy described a similar policy with some flexibility during lunch or passing periods at the high school level. Both districts said the policy was implemented with parent communication, town halls, surveys, and transition periods, and that concerns about emergencies were addressed by allowing phones to be returned at the end of the day and by establishing procedures for parent contact. They reported few theft problems and said discipline issues related to phones have generally been manageable, though some teachers still struggle with enforcement or with students trying to evade the rules. A major portion of the discussion focused on social media literacy instruction. Orange County said it uses counselor-led programs, Canvas courses, resiliency days, and curriculum materials to teach students about cyberbullying, human trafficking, privacy, and the permanence of online posts, with progress tracked through the learning platform. Pasco said it has some resiliency modules but lacks a fully built-out, pre-made social media curriculum and would welcome more guidance from DOE, especially for high school classrooms where instructional time is limited. Members also asked about student anxiety, 504/IEP accommodations, caregiver students, and parent education; the districts said exceptions are handled through school committees and that parent academies and district resources are being used to help families set boundaries and understand the risks and benefits of phones and social media. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, I do not know of a model for that.
• So they use economic modeling, implant software. economic impact study.
• So what we did was we modeled a new 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant just to serve a 400 megawatt
• Our business model, you know, in contrast, has obviously changed tremendously.
• I don't know that anybody's going to predict these things to change.

Summary: The committee met at the Coteau Freedom Mine in Mercer County, approved the June 2 minutes, and heard an overview of the mine from Coteau Properties president Andrew Hawbaker. He described the Freedom Mine as the largest lignite mine in the United States, supplying coal to Dakota Gasification, Antelope Valley Station, and Leland Olds Station. He emphasized the mine’s scale, safety record, reclamation work, workforce needs, community involvement, and economic impact, including payroll, taxes, royalties, scholarships, and local hiring. Members asked about how long land stays in production, how quickly it returns to agriculture after reclamation, labor shortages, and how mining affects groundwater and water wells. Hawbaker said most tracts are mined for about three to five years, reclamation is coordinated with landowners, and the company continues to struggle to find electricians, welders, mechanics, operators, and engineers. The committee then heard from Public Service Commission Chairman Randy Christman on coal mining reclamation and permitting. He reviewed North Dakota’s coal mining history, the state’s reclamation laws, federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act primacy, bonding, permit renewals and revisions, prohibited mining areas, inspection and enforcement, and contemporaneous reclamation requirements. Christman stressed that North Dakota’s program is professional and thorough, with frequent inspections, financial assurance, and a 10-year revegetation monitoring period before bond release. He also discussed federal coal ownership issues that can delay mine plans, the treatment of prime farmland, and how reclamation differs for wind and pipelines. In response to questions, he said one challenge is sometimes releasing land too soon before long-term compaction issues are fully understood, and he noted that data centers do not currently have a comparable reclamation model because they typically own the land. In the afternoon, the committee received an update from Lignite Energy Council president Jonathan Fortner on the lignite industry. He said North Dakota’s lignite sector supports five commercial power plants, four mines, about 12,000 direct and indirect jobs, and more than $5.5 billion in economic activity, while helping keep the state’s electricity rates among the lowest in the nation. Fortner reviewed coal severance and conversion tax revenues, the lignite research fund, federal regulatory rollbacks, carbon capture policy, and the industry’s legal costs fighting federal rules. He also highlighted a study on large-load development, saying new data centers and critical mineral processing facilities could create major local tax revenue and help justify new baseload generation. Members asked whether new gas pipelines would crowd out coal plant development and whether the economic study included jobs and broader local impacts; Fortner said the industry sees room for both and that the study did include construction, operations, jobs, and tax effects.

Transcript Highlights:

• Sweepstakes casinos need to be included after the prediction market gambling bills that have been signed
• :21.480> the casinos need to be included after the casinos need to be included after the prediction
• > market<00:29:22.920> gambling<00:29:23.360> bills<00:29:23.920> that prediction
• market gambling bills that prediction market gambling bills that have<00:29:24.360> been<00:29

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard public testimony on a health insurance/home care nursing provision and on other consumer protection items. Nick Keis and Emily Walters, both parents of medically complex children, testified that commercial health plans had recently begun capping home care nursing as if it were intermittent home health visits, which they said was contrary to Minnesota law and legislative intent dating to 2010. They described severe impacts on their families, including hospitalizations, loss of nursing coverage, strain on waiver budgets, and the risk of children being forced out of the home and into institutions. Representative Bierman echoed that the bill was a straightforward clarification of existing law, not a new mandate or added cost, and a staff member later cited the statutory definition of home care nursing as ongoing, continuous nursing services that cannot be met through intermittent or visit-based care. The committee also discussed the practical difference between home health visits and private duty/home care nursing, with testimony emphasizing that the latter is medically necessary, assessed, and not unlimited in practice. Laura Sales of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office testified on changes to the Consumer Protection Restitution Fund (CIPRA). She said the fund has begun distributing restitution, starting with consumers harmed by the closure of Woodbury Dental Arts, but that current statutory language limits the office’s flexibility to prorate payments. She asked for an amendment allowing the AGO to distribute available funds more equitably so more eligible consumers can receive some payment, rather than requiring full payment to the oldest claims first. Annette Meeks, representing Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, testified in support of banning sweepstakes gambling in the Commerce Committee omnibus report. She argued that online sweepstakes casinos are an illegal gray-market form of gambling, cited rapid growth and billions in revenue, and said other states have acted through enforcement and legislation to stop them. She urged the committee to include language from Senate File 4474 to clarify state law and prohibit sweepstakes gambling. No votes were taken in the portion of the meeting shown; members mainly asked questions and received testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• I will leave the prediction of what's going to happen in the House, but yes, this has been included in
• >> Senator Johnson Stuart. >> I will leave the prediction of what's going to happen in the House, but
• My name is Andrew Campo and I'm the president of the Minnesota Pipe Trades Association. um prediction
• of what's going to happen um prediction of what's going to happen in<00:28:55.720> the<00:28:

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It protects market stability and premium predictability.
• 47.160> premium protects market stability and premium protects market stability and premium predictability
• . predictability. predictability.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have so much better ways of predicting weather, where it's going to be, where the hazards potentially
• We have so much better ways of predicting weather, where it's going to be, where the hazards potentially
• We have so much better ways of predicting weather, where it's going to be, where the hazards potentially
• We have so much better ways of predicting weather, where it's going to be, where the hazards potentially

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• A clear statewide standard improves predictability while preserving limited local flexibility when safety
• A clear statewide standard improves<00:31:09.560> predictability,<00:31:11.000> while improves
• predictability, while improves predictability, while preserving<00:31:12.160> limited<00:31:12.960

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We talk about how to identify and avoid unhealthy relationships, including factors predictive of physical
• c> unhealthy relationships including unhealthy relationships including factors<00:36:38.480> predictive
• <00:36:39.040> of<00:36:39.200> physical, factors predictive of physical, factors predictive

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But with predictability over the course of time, we can't get $40 million one year... ...and then $20
• We're developing projects as we complete projects, and so some predictability and upper-level capital
• But with predictability over the course of time, we can't get $40 million one year and then $20 million
• And so some predictability. And upper level capital funding is needed for us to catch up.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• today: this is one bill, Senate Bill 2, which has a lot of key elements to help us get better at predicting
• We are going to have... better predictability and better warnings. Correct? That's correct.
• Mother nature and the inability to predict exactly when and where and what she's going to do.
• The LCRA, over the years, has become extremely effective at predicting the amount of water that they're

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• should have plan A, B, C, and D going forward because then that makes the next fiscal year more predictable
• year<00:35:22.320> more makes the next fiscal year more makes the next fiscal year more predictable
• 23.400> have<00:35:23.480> to<00:35:23.599> change<00:35:23.920> the predictable
• we don't have to change the predictable we don't have to change the the<00:35:24.480> financial

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's my prediction that they will say no and hell no. And you have to ask them why.
• that they will say no and prediction that they will say no and hell<00:19:00.000> no.
• Well, then why is the EIA predicting that 93%... Electricity from 67% fuel oil.
• Well, then why is the EIA predicting that 93%... so I think just this this this so I think just this
• 93% EIA is predicting that 93% of the new generation that is going to be built this year, or predicted

Bills: HF3298

Keywords: underground storage tanks, petroleum, reimbursement program, environmental regulation, pollution control, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And so what we did is we modeled this after the truth in taxation process, okay?
• So it's not totally identical, but we did model it a little bit off of that.
• I believe it was New Hampshire, if I'm not mistaken, that has a three-minute model.
• I believe it was New Hampshire, if I'm not mistaken, that has a three-minute model.
• Under this model, you would not be able to use ALPRs for any regular traffic enforcement.

Bills: HB2015, HB2060, HB2062, HB2100, HB2118, HB2165, HB2258, HB2327, HB2397, HB2445, HB2460, HB2641, HB2745, HB2876, HB2917, HB4011, HB4049, HB4056, HB4087, HCR2013, HCR2016, HCR2040, HCR2044, HCR2048, HCR2056

Keywords: budget procedures, late filing penalty, accounting standards, financial reporting, state appropriations, abortion, educational institutions, health education, state aid, public schools, Buffalo Soldiers, monument, commemoration, Arizona, public funding, Wesley Bolin Plaza, military history, historical memorial, small land subdivision, land use

Summary: The committee approved the minutes from the prior meetings and then took up several measures, beginning with HCR 2013, which would proclaim June 2026 as Celebrate Life Month in Arizona. The resolution drew emotional testimony in support from Crystal Cooper and Bella Stockton, both of whom shared personal stories about living with spina bifida and argued for celebrating life and supporting people with disabilities. Senator Kennedy voted no, saying the resolution was symbolic and did not address practical supports such as paid family leave, health care, housing, and school meals. The committee ultimately gave HCR 2013 a due pass recommendation on a 4-1 vote, with two members not voting. The committee then advanced HB 2327, as amended, clarifying protections for eligible persons’ identifying information in county recorder records and explicitly excluding voter registration records from the confidentiality provisions. Representative Hendricks said the bill was intended to fix problems created by earlier language protecting elected officials and first responders. The committee also passed HB 2258, which adds La Paz County to the Tourism Advisory Council’s geographic area, with no opposition testimony. A longer debate followed on HB 2397, which expands HOA/condominium disclosure requirements for prospective buyers, including bylaws, declarations, plats, meeting minutes, and information about assessments and known defects. Representative Biasucci said the bill was about transparency for buyers, while the Arizona Association of Community Managers raised concerns about cost and the scope of the disclosure requirements; the Arizona Homeowners Coalition supported the bill but opposed an amendment that would require managers to be on site for capital projects. The committee adopted two Hoffman amendments and then gave HB 2397 a due pass as amended recommendation. The committee also passed HB 2015, which imposes penalties on state agencies that miss federal audit reporting deadlines, and HB 4049, which changes how the Attorney General represents DCS in cases alleging misconduct; both drew opposition over concerns about punitive penalties and existing conflict procedures. Later, the committee approved HB 4087, authorizing a memorial plaque for former legislator Barbara Love, and HB 2100, which allows counties to authorize certain small land subdivisions, despite objections that it could weaken water-supply protections. The committee then passed HB 2460, as amended, preempting local ordinances that penalize businesses for abandoned or stolen movable property such as shopping carts; supporters argued cities were charging victims of theft, while cities and towns said the bill would undercut local nuisance enforcement and shift costs to taxpayers. Finally, the committee began hearing HCR 2056, a proposed constitutional referral recognizing a right to refuse medical mandates, with Representative Cooper and supporters framing it as bodily autonomy and opponents warning it would weaken public health protections, especially in schools and during outbreaks.