Transcript Highlights:

• As a friendly reminder, please ensure your cell phones and other communication devices are turned off

Summary: The Conference Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget and Agriculture, Environment, and General Government met to resolve differences on the budget spreadsheet, projects, back of the bill, proviso, and the implementing bill. The House presented offers on the budget spreadsheet, projects, and back of the bill, including acceptance of certain shaded rows and proposals to bump specified unshaded lines, and also proposed to bump two conforming bills related to fuel taxes and petroleum cleanup programs (SB 250 and HB 5701E). The Senate accepted the House’s offers on the budget spreadsheet, projects, back of the bill, and the conforming bills, while the House then accepted the Senate’s offer on the implementing bill with several lines bumped and accepted Senate proviso offers on selected lines, with the remaining proviso lines bumped. Both chambers ultimately concurred on the remaining bump lists for the proviso and implementing bill, indicating agreement on the conference package. A motion was adopted without objection to allow staff to make technical and conforming adjustments related to the bump process. There was no public comment, no further business, and the meeting adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please ensure that all your cell phones and other things that make noise are turned off or on vibrate

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Please make sure that all cell phones and other communication devices are turned off or placed on silent

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Please make sure that your cell phone and other communication devices are turned off and placed on silent

Summary: The Conference Committee on the House State Administration Budget and the Senate Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations met to organize the committee and begin budget negotiations. Representative Maggard was nominated and approved as chair, and Senator Broder was nominated and approved as vice chair. Members were given the initial side-by-side budget materials, including the starting positions, the House offer, and related proviso, back-of-the-bill, implementing, and conforming bill documents. The House presented its first offer to the Senate on the budget, proviso projects, and back-of-the-bill items, saying it had moved closer to the Senate on several issues and identifying changes in the highlighted budget figures. Senator Broder said the Senate would review the offer and respond later, likely not that evening. The Senate then presented an offer to the House on its conforming bill, SB 2508E, concerning the State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System, and the House said it would review and follow up. There was no public comment. Members were told to watch for notice of the next meeting, possibly the following day, and were reminded they were on one-hour notice. The committee then adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please ensure that all your cell phones and other things that make noise are turned off or on vibrate

Summary: The House Budget and Senate Appropriations Conference Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development met to organize the conference and begin budget negotiations. Members unanimously adopted motions naming Representative Schof as chair and Senator DeSigley as vice chair. Staff then presented the initial side-by-side comparison of the TED conference budget materials, including spreadsheets, projects, proviso, back of the bill, implementing bill, and conforming bill, along with a House offer to the Senate. The House noted that gray rows reflected items already agreed to and black-highlighted rows showed changes in the House offer, which was described as a good-faith effort to move toward Senate positions. Senator Hooper said the Senate would review the offer and respond after working through the first proposal, noting that initial offers typically take time to evaluate. No public comment was offered. The committee announced it was on one-hour notice for the next meeting and adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please make sure that your cell phones and other communication devices are turned off or put on silent

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• JUSTICE AND APPROPRIATIONS AND HOUSE JUSTICE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE WILL COME TO ORDER, PLEASE ENSURE CELL

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I remind everybody to turn their cell phones to silent.

Bills: SB190, HB515, SB190

Keywords: SB190, prostate cancer, prostate screening, PSA test, digital rectal exam, preventive screening, health insurance mandate, cost-sharing, copay, deductible, coinsurance, high-risk men, African American men, family history, genetic marker, men over 50, men over 40, health benefit plan, insurance coverage, mandated benefits

Transcript Highlights:

• We take it for granted: GPS on our cell phones and on vehicles and everywhere.
• We're currently fighting... ...of helping to protect the industry and keep it viable.
• That was important in terms of protecting our pollinators, bees in particular.
• So we spent a lot of time and effort in terms of trying to protect the industry for...
• I do want to mention that we do have a managed pollinator protection process.

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:

• I want to remind everyone to please make sure that your cell phones and any other communication devices
• We've got insurance and consumer protection, which is a lot of what the department does.
• In the area of insurance and consumer protection, we're going to start with the Division of Consumer
• We've got insurance and consumer protection, which is a lot of what the department does.
• The second key area is safety, reliability, and consumer protection.

Summary: The State Administration Budget Subcommittee met for an introductory overview of the agencies under its jurisdiction and their current-year budgets. Chair Vicki Lopez welcomed members and staff, and each member briefly introduced themselves and identified areas of interest, with recurring themes including fiscal restraint, insurance regulation, revenue administration, condominium issues, and government efficiency. The chair then outlined the subcommittee’s overall budget, about $3.1 billion, and noted major recent policy areas affecting the budget such as condominium legislation and emergency communications funding. Agency heads then presented high-level summaries of their missions and budgets. The Department of Revenue described property tax oversight, tax administration, and child support enforcement; the Department of Management Services reviewed state purchasing, telecommunications, fleet, state insurance, retirement, and digital services; DBPR highlighted licensing, enforcement, condominiums, and building code work; DFS covered insurance consumer services, risk management, unclaimed property, fire marshal functions, and criminal investigations; the Gaming Control Commission discussed pari-mutuel and tribal gaming oversight and enforcement; OIR explained insurer solvency and rate review; the Lottery emphasized education funding and record sales; OFR described regulation of banking, securities, lending, and money services; DOAH outlined administrative and workers’ compensation adjudication; PSC covered utility rate regulation and consumer complaints; PERC described labor relations and career service appeals; and FCHR summarized discrimination complaint investigations and outreach. Several members asked questions about utility returns, insurance regulation staffing, DMS’s state employee health plan deficit and prescription drug formulary management, agency recommendations for reducing regulatory burden, and state facilities usage. Responses generally emphasized that utility rates and insurer filings are determined through evidentiary and actuarial processes, that OIR has reduced vacancies but still seeks specialized staff and a Tampa office expansion, and that DMS acknowledged rising health plan costs and said the issue likely requires broader budget-level discussion. The chair also pressed multiple presenters to stay focused on agency operations and budgets rather than broader policy issues. No votes or formal actions were taken in the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1119 protects water parks from frivolous lawsuits. Move passage.
• This bill protects Texans' homeownership. I move passage.
• Senate Bill 17 provides thoughtful and common-sense protections that will preserve and protect these
• Senate Bill 17 provides thoughtful and common-sense protections that will preserve and protect these
• in Texas, it will also protect against future litigation.

Bills: SB17, SB1569, SB2420, HB5138, HJR161, HB1937, HB3334, HB5444, HB5137, HB361, HB321, HB5447, HB464, HB678, HB2294, HB4172, HB3225, HB1769, HB5394, HB1837, HB1787, HB2271, HB2440, HB5134, HB5149, HB2151, HB2073, HB2186, HB2025, HB1936, HB1777, HB1663, HB 1306, HB 1290, HB1527, HB4802, HB3462, HB2963, HB2462, HB2560, HB644, HB2725, HB2621, HB2588, HB1443, HB1403, HB3032, HB1557, HB1664, HB2811, HB2088, HB2598, HB3062, HB3134, HB3940, HB4027, HB4097, HB4862, HB4170, HB4157, HB4205, HB4279, HB4377, HB4838, HB5424, HB5294, HB4870, HB4763, HB5639, HB4112, HB2275, HB1677, HB5014, HB3848, HB3797, HB3727, HB3709, HB3177, HB3057, HB4176, HB4202, HB2180, HB3528, HB3658, HCR76, HCR127

Keywords: foreign ownership, real property, national security, criminal penalties, civil penalties, personal information, higher education, privacy protection, governing board, institutional security, software applications, mobile devices, age verification, parental consent, data protection, app store regulation, HJR 161, Texas constitutional amendment, voting rights, non-citizen voting

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, received the invocation and pledges, and heard several announcements and recognitions before moving into floor action. Members honored the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley chess team for winning a share of the 2025 President’s Cup, recognized educator Jessica Lopez, and paid memorial tribute to Jennifer Maddenly, along with recognitions for Jeanette Valdez Duran’s food pantry work, TAMACC’s 50th anniversary, and Bernardine Steptoe’s retirement from WFAA. The House also granted permission for committees to meet while the House was in session, set a local consent calendar, and suspended posting rules for a Public Health Committee hearing on SB 2721. The chamber then considered a long series of Senate and House bills, with many passing on record votes. Measures addressed local law enforcement authority (SB 906), veterans highway designation (SB 1229), foster care medical billing (SB 855), massage therapy trafficking safeguards (SB 703), tax ballot language (SB 1025), occupational licensing for people with convictions (SB 1080), lien deadlines (SB 929), liquor sales complaints (SB 1355), higher education application fee waivers (SB 2231), utility data access (SB 1877), pediatric preceptorships (SB 1998), and several House bills on bond forfeiture notice, health workforce coordination, indigent civil commitment representation, consumer transaction cancellations, bird dispersal rules, theft venue for digital property, military grant applications, AI cancer-detection grants, cybersecurity contract language, in-state tuition for military-related programs, utility capital recovery, energy waste advisory oversight, gas utility rate recovery, psychedelic therapy study, teacher retirement funding transparency, pension changes, tax payment plans, and voter registration security. Some measures drew notable debate or amendments, including HB 5247, where a ratepayer-credit amendment failed, and HB 2298, HB 4014, HB 510, HB 561, HB 1128, HB 1904, HB 30, HB 200, HB 3045, and HB 5111, which all passed after recorded votes with varying margins. A major point of contention was SB 2420, the app store age-verification bill, which prompted extended debate over whether the bill should also require app developers to verify users’ ages. Representative Bryant offered an amendment to preserve developer verification obligations, arguing the bill would otherwise shift responsibility away from app makers; the author opposed it, saying the bill’s approach was more workable and raised concerns about First Amendment issues. Multiple points of order were raised and withdrawn during the debate, and the amendment discussion remained unresolved in the excerpt. The House also postponed further consideration of SB 17, SB 552, and SB 2420 at different points, and recessed for lunch after completing a large block of third-reading votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you, Senator. taking care of our pro protecting our taking care of our pro protecting our communities
• <00:44:48.880> our best in New Hampshire, protecting our best in New Hampshire, protecting
• I too want to thank protective services for the work they've done.
• We protected our children from AI images, and we're protecting women's spaces.
• /c><06:50:19.040> phones students off their cell phones students off their cell phones and<06:

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , provide some more upfront protections, provide some more upfront protections, which<00:26:23.040
• fraud protection fraud protection I<00:40:45.520> am<00:40:45.680> bringing<00:40:
• <01:04:03.600> are uh constitutional protections are uh constitutional protections are uh<
• protect their identity. protect their identity.
• In closing, Public protection will be maintained. Public protection will be maintained.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, as you know, the state pays $77 million a year for Minot flood protection, and now we're asked
• My name is Michael Olson from North Dakota Protection & Advocacy.
• So fire protection is much more than responding to an emergency that is occurring at the time.
• The goal of fire protection is to reduce that risk before the emergency occurs.
• Fire protection is more than just fire protection; it's emergency response, and we feel that we have

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• :38.880> with protects small business owners with protects small business owners with significant
• Kathy, this was before cell<02:24:24.800> phones.
• I went and put a quarter cell phones.
• protecting anyone.
• I think you're not protecting anywhere.

Keywords: 920, all

Summary: The Alabama Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, confirmed a quorum, excused absent senators, and adopted the previous day’s journal. The chamber also recognized guests, including members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and employees of the Central Alabama Electric Cooperative. A senator then delivered a Black History Month-style presentation highlighting James Weldon Johnson, A. Philip Randolph, Jan E. Matzeliger, and Percy Lavon Julian for their contributions to civil rights, labor, industry, and science. The Senate received House messages referring two Archives and History board appointments to the Committee on Confirmations, then took up numerous committee reports. Several bills from Finance and Taxation, Judiciary, Education Policy, Agriculture, Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development, Healthcare, Tourism, Veterans and Military Affairs, State Government Affairs, and Local Legislation received favorable reports, some with amendments or substitutes, and were advanced to second reading and placement on the next legislative day’s calendar. The chamber also recommitted Senate Bill 266 to the Tourism Committee. The Senate confirmed multiple appointments, including Llaya McNair to the Alabama Trust Fund Board, several members to the Credit Union Administration Board, and Elizabeth Smithart, Leslie Sanders, and Wayne Sers to the Alabama State Board of Human Resources. It then adopted several resolutions, including commendations and memorials, such as resolutions honoring Mary Francis Holland, the Stanhope Elmore boys bowling team, and Alicia Cannon for more than 50 years of service to the Alabama judicial system. The Senate also adopted a resolution creating the Study Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Children’s Internet Safety, after discussion about its purpose, membership, and duties; an amendment to the commission resolution was adopted before the resolution itself was adopted.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please make sure that your cell phones and other communication devices are turned off or placed on silent

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Please make sure all cell phones and other communication devices are turned off or placed on silent mode

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Please make sure that your cell phones and other communication devices are turned off or placed on silent

Summary: The Conference Committee on State Administration, Budget, and Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations met to resolve outstanding differences between the House and Senate on the budget, proviso, back of the bill, projects, and implementing bill, along with conforming bills HB 5203E, HB 5207E, and SB 2508E. Senator Broder presented the Senate’s offers, and the House responded by agreeing to many items while identifying specific lines in each section to be “bumped” to the next level for further resolution. The committee also agreed to bump the three conforming bills in their entirety. The House and Senate then went through the remaining disputed lines in the budget, proviso, back of the bill, project, and implementing bill offers, with the Senate ultimately concurring with the House’s list of lines to bump. Both sides indicated that the conference committee’s work was complete and thanked each other and staff for the negotiation process. A motion was made and adopted without objection to allow staff to make technical conforming adjustments related to the bump process. There was no public comment, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please make sure all cell phones and other communication devices are turned off or placed on silent mode

Summary: The health care budget conference met to exchange and accept offers on the budget and related bill language. Senator Trumbull presented the Senate’s budget and projects offer, and the House responded that it accepted the Senate position on several specified budget rows while stating that all other unshaded budget rows would bump; the conference also agreed to keep projects open as the process continued. The committee then moved to the proviso, back of bill, conforming, and implementing bills, with the Senate accepting a long list of House proviso rows and additional back-of-bill rows, while all remaining unshaded proviso and back-of-bill items would bump and the conforming and implementing bills would be entirely bumped. A motion was made to allow staff to make technical adjustments as needed, and it was adopted without objection. Members then thanked each other and their staff for their work on the conference. With no further business or public comment, Senator Trumbull moved to adjourn, and the meeting adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, members and audience, please remember to silence your cell phones.
• This establishes a patient protection requirement for hospice patients.
• This establishes a patient protection requirement for hospice patients.
• Going backwards on what we were trying to do to protect them and to be able to keep doing what they're
• Senate Bill 426 seeks to bring greater clarity, accountability, and public protection to this growing

Bills: HR174, HR194, HCR98, SB39, SB124, SB190, SB236, SB270, SB273, SB359, SB415, SB426, SB437, SB451

Keywords: fenbendazole, cancer treatment, public health, FDA, clinical trials, patient safety, visual acuity, student health, de-identified data, longitudinal analysis, education policy, SNAP, food stamps, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, grocery delivery, delivery fees, service charges, online grocery, food access, food insecurity

Summary: The House Committee on Health and Welfare met on May 12 and first reported HCR 98 favorably without objection. The resolution asks the Louisiana Department of Health to study whether SNAP benefits could be used to pay grocery delivery fees and related costs, especially for elderly and mobility-limited recipients. The author said the measure would not change SNAP rules, only request a study, and LDH was not opposed. The committee then advanced several Senate bills. SB 273, on hospice care in inpatient licensed facilities, was amended and reported favorably; the bill requires documentation of hydration, nutrition, and care decisions and clarifies facility responsibility when multiple providers are involved. SB 415, creating the Empower Louisiana Food Purchase Program, was amended and reported favorably; the author described it as a privately funded, charity-run food card program for people in need, with LDH to develop rules. SB 437, a cleanup bill on judicially referred residential substance abuse treatment facilities, was reported favorably, with LDH explaining that facilities providing treatment must be licensed and surveyed. The committee also approved SB 451 on newborn hearing screenings, which updates terminology and expands reporting requirements to improve early detection and intervention for deaf or hard-of-hearing children. SB 426, modernizing the addictive disorder regulatory authority and creating a licensure pathway for peer support specialists, was reported favorably with amendments after testimony from behavioral health providers and training organizations. SB 236 on annual LDH reviews of kidney disease treatment in Medicaid, SB 39 creating provisional licenses for massage therapist graduates, SB 190 tightening oversight of nursing facilities in the CMS Special Focus Facility Program, and SB 124 allowing peer review sharing within a health system were all reported favorably, most with technical amendments. The committee also reported favorably HR 174 urging study of fenbendazole for cancer, SB 270 allowing terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in health care facilities, SB 359 changing terms for a Morehouse Parish hospital district board, and HR 194 requesting de-identified school visual acuity screening data for researchers. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn.