Transcript Highlights:

• He was the last surviving signer of the Declaration at age 95.
• So we're talking about an age. With that, debate is open. Is there any debate in opposition?
• The AG only has one office, one budget, and a thousand other cases.
• So the point is, if we strip this out, that'll make them happy, because they can manage an AG.
• These include the right to live in a safe and healthy environment, freedom from abuse, and...

Summary: The Senate met with a quorum present, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and approved the previous day’s journal. Early in the day, members received committee reports and messages from the Governor and House, including the transmission of several bills and resolutions. The chamber also advanced a number of measures to later orders of business, and several bills were held on the calendar or referred to committees for further action or possible amendment. The Senate then considered and passed a series of bills on third reading. Among them were Senate Bill 1227 on generative AI in education, which passed after debate over teacher control, local control, and parent transparency; House Bill 603 on camping at the Capitol Mall, which passed after debate over free speech, public safety, and sanitation; House Bill 688 updating airbag and counterfeit airbag laws; House Bill 645 creating a voluntary portable benefits framework for independent contractors; House Bill 738 allowing LLCs to use a commercial registered agent’s address; House Bill 521 correcting background-check statutory placement; House Bill 615 clarifying disturbing-the-peace protections for houses of worship; House Bill 695 correcting a fee reference from possession to restitution; House Bill 568 repealing obsolete Department of Lands provisions; House Bill 774 repealing outdated fish and game penalty language; House Bill 762 revising charter school admissions preferences for foster and military children; House Bill 661 extending solid-waste competition rules to counties; House Bill 733 adopting a partnership audit procedure aligned with federal law; House Bill 749 revising city annexation rules to address hardship and property-rights concerns; House Bill 662 expanding milk testing provisions and Department of Agriculture dispute resolution; House Bill 664 eliminating differential speed limits for heavy trucks; and House Bill 716 revising transportation-funding distributions and increasing bridge inspection funding. Most of these measures passed by substantial margins, often using the same roll-call vote by unanimous consent, and titles were approved without correction. One bill, House Bill 684, was sent to the 14th order for possible amendment. The Senate also received committee reports on additional bills and gubernatorial appointments, then moved into the Committee of the Whole, where it began reviewing several measures and adopted amendments to Senate Bill 1297 and Senate Bills 1352, 1353, and 1354, with motions to report those bills back as amended without recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• You can have age-gating so it's not sold to children. You can restrict where it's at in the store.
• You'd like to see age-gating. You'd like to see limits on dosing.
• We can talk about restrictions on age. We can talk about ...saying we're open to regulation.
• We can talk about restrictions on age. We can talk about the synthetic parts.
• Nearly one in four of those children is under the age of one.

Summary: The House Health and Welfare Committee continued testimony on House Bill 864, which would schedule kratom as a Schedule I substance. Testimony was sharply divided. Family members of people who died after using kratom urged a full ban, arguing that kratom leaf and extracts can be lethal, that labeling is misleading, and that regulation would leave loopholes. Retail and industry witnesses, along with the American Kratom Association, argued that the problem is synthetic 7-OH and other adulterated products rather than natural kratom leaf, and said the bill would criminalize users and push products into the black market. A physician who worked in corrections testified that kratom is an addictive opioid-like substance and supported the bill, while other witnesses said kratom helped them manage pain or avoid stronger opioids. After debate, the committee adopted a motion to hold HB 864 to a time certain of March 25 by a roll call vote of 11-5. The committee then took up House Bill 903, a SNAP-related bill clarifying which foods can be purchased with benefits. The sponsor said the bill was intended to clean up the earlier SNAP restrictions and keep more nutritious items eligible, but he also announced planned amendments to remove cookies, cakes, brownies, sprinkles, chips, and snack bars from the allowable list. Retailers and related industry groups supported the bill as a clarification measure, but several members objected to advancing it before the proposed amendments were formally available and before stakeholders could weigh in. A substitute motion to hold the bill failed, and the committee then voted to send HB 903 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. Finally, the committee began hearing House Bill 757, which would define medical neglect in state law and create protections for parents and guardians from bad-faith or false reports. The sponsor said the bill narrows medical neglect to life-threatening conditions, adds a reasonable-person standard, and provides safe harbors for parents seeking care or dealing with complex medical situations, including alternative treatments. Members began asking questions about what qualifies as life-threatening as the hearing moved into testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• period year to date relatively healthy period year to date through<00:24:56.960><c> November</c><00:
• . aging. aging.
• </c> and we know that um our workforce age and we know that um our workforce age population<01:53:50.239
• </c><02:38:41.920><c> and</c> part of why we have an a healthy and part of why we have an a healthy and
• And all of us are wondering that we would be stuck in the Stone Age if they were not around.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Is that for the aging population, or is it more school-based? Mr.
• So, ages of kids that stay in the offices, from the youngest to the oldest, what have they been?
• Chair, members of the committee, Representative Chavez, I'm sorry, what was the last age?
• Ages of the children who have stayed...
• And so we have various ages.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, the language is relatively broad, so I don't believe I can speak to how the AG is using those
• I would need to go back and look if there was anything unique to the AG related to BARs.
• I saw in the Santa Fe New Mexican this morning that there's a formal letter sent from LFC to the AG,
• This happens between ages 3 to 5 and then again later in young adulthood.
• In terms of kids who may be identified as high risk, are they followed once they age out?

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Is this actually an ag enclave? There's some other criteria for it.
• Yes, this is an ag enclave.
• Senators, ag enclaves currently exist in law.
• They approve, they go through the checklist, and they say, yeah, this is an ag enclave.
• They go through the checklist and they say, yeah, this is an ag enclave.

Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several introductions and moments of silence, including tributes to those affected by the Florida State University shooting and recognition of Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, John Thrasher, student advocacy groups, conservation organizations, and visiting school groups. Members also adopted Senate Resolution 1878 honoring Coach Abdur-Rahim. The chamber then moved into special order business and considered a series of bills, many of them with House companions substituted in and passed by wide margins or unanimously. Among the measures passed were bills updating child care and early learning provider regulation, imposing costs on false swatting reports, extending protections against extraordinary hospital collection actions, expanding hazardous walking conditions for schoolchildren, creating young adult housing support for foster and homeless students, clarifying school choice disclosure requirements under the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, adjusting interest rules for trust accounts supporting legal aid, revising transportation and traffic enforcement provisions, expanding public records exemptions for certain judicial and health care investigators and appellate clerks, changing municipal water and sewer utility rates in Miami-Dade, strengthening motor vehicle offenses involving impersonation and obscured plates, increasing trespass penalties at certain law-enforcement-controlled sites and large ticketed events, requiring refunds of patient overpayments, authorizing certain stem cell therapies, allowing relatives and direct support professionals to administer insulin in group homes, addressing rideshare impersonation and transit funding rules, and updating the Uniform Commercial Code for digital assets and emerging technologies. Several bills drew notable debate. The trust fund interest bill prompted extended discussion over legal aid funding, bank participation, and whether the measure would reduce support for legal services; it ultimately passed 28-10. The transportation bill was heavily amended, including removal of speed-limit increases and changes to school bus camera enforcement and micromobility rules, and passed 37-0. The Miami-Dade water and sewer rate bill sparked debate over fairness, fiscal impact, and accusations of racism, but passed 36-2. Public records bills protecting agency investigators and JQC employees also drew questions about accountability and transparency before passing. Most other measures passed with little or no opposition, and a few bills were temporarily postponed or set aside.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> through</c><00:15:41.600><c> 64,</c> Specifically, for ages 59 through 64, Specifically, for ages
• ><c> reducing</c><00:17:34.720><c> the</c> ages 59 through 64, reducing the ages 59 through 64, reducing
• </c><01:19:30.640><c> 57,</c> tier one educator, retired at age 57, tier one educator, retired at age
• age.
• An unreduced annuity at age 62.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Second, this bill treats every young person from age 13 to 17 as if they were the same.
• kind of a holdover feeling about the bill, the bills from the past, which I don't know if that's a healthy

Summary: The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee took up Senate Bill 1448, with Senator Todd Lakey explaining that the measure makes technical revisions to Idaho’s obscenity-related library law in response to recent court decisions and language suggested by the Attorney General’s office. He said the bill does not change the underlying policy from the earlier law, but updates definitions such as “adolescent minor,” clarifies exceptions for things like breastfeeding, childbirth, medical treatment, and non-erotic contact, and aligns the statute more closely with the Miller test and current case law. Several library and public witnesses testified in opposition. They argued the bill would still chill access to constitutionally protected materials, create liability for libraries, and force subjective judgments by librarians and boards. Speakers from the Community Library, Idaho Library Association, Library Alliance of North Idaho, and individual residents also criticized the process and timing of the bill, saying it limited public scrutiny. One witness raised concern about language referencing homosexuality in the definition of sexual conduct, while another urged repeal of the law rather than further revisions. After Senator Lakey closed, Senator Foreman moved to send SB 1448 to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation, seconded by Senator Kaiser. Senator Ruchti said the bill’s history gave him pause but acknowledged the new language appeared to improve the statute. The committee approved the motion, with Senator Ruchti recorded as voting no, and sent the bill to the floor with a due pass recommendation before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• ACCESS RESTRICTION, WE THINK IS AS IMPORTANT AS WELL AS AGE RESTRICTION BUT WE FEEL THAT YOU HAVE TO
• THIS BILL IN ORDER FOR US TO MAKE SURE OUR EMPLOYEES ARE SAFE AND THEY HAVE A CHANCE AT LEADING A HEALTHY

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, the senator did mention his age.
• Concerned about his age, but outside of that, I'm not concerned about this ask because I think this puts
• It'll be a lot more healthy than the Senator from Pulaski's. >> Senator Perry. >> Mr.
• It'll be a lot more healthy<01:12:33.920><c> than</c><01:12:34.440><c> uh,</c><01:12:34.520><c> the</
• c><01:12:34.600><c> Senator</c><01:12:35.000><c> from</c> healthy than uh, the Senator from healthy than

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• However, it also affects other fast-growing healthy cells in the body, including hair follicles, which
• In some cases, whether a child can walk, can breathe independently, or survive to school age.
• Not because they don't work, but because coverage is unavailable or unaffordable. 42% of working-age
• We are in a situation where we have tied our health care and our ability to be healthy to whether or
• We are in a situation where we have tied our health care and our ability to be healthy to whether or

Committee: House Health

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He's gotten a little older, but I'm the same age, same age I was when I taught him.
• It allows school-age children who are eligible for purchase of care to receive pre-authorization for
• He has the Secretary, or the Department of Ag Building, also named after him.
• It's okay to have a healthy debate, but let's make sure we're respectful...
• We may not always agree on things, but usually it's a pretty healthy debate.

Keywords: 1064, all

Transcript Highlights:

• wrong but I think for example I think the Socolo bill so-called does raise the handling fee does it not age
• 34 74 74 75 73 age 34 47 one of the problems that's happened with some of the other bills particularly
• the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and having plastic in the brain is not a particularly healthy
• advocacy, and convening local coalitions, two of which include the Pioneer Valley Air Coalition and Healthy
• But we need the forests to recapture the water into the soil to build healthy soil.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing focused mainly on two subjects: expansion of the Massachusetts bottle bill and bills to remove woody biomass from state clean-energy and greenhouse-gas programs. On the bottle bill, supporters from municipal, environmental, public health, and local government groups argued that the 5-cent deposit is outdated, redemption rates have fallen, and expanding coverage to more beverage containers—especially water, sports drinks, and small alcohol bottles—would reduce litter, cut plastic waste and microplastics, and save cities and towns money. Several speakers also backed raising handling fees for retailers and redemption centers, and some supported restoring a Clean Environment Fund so unclaimed deposits would support recycling-related purposes. Opponents, including the Massachusetts Beverage Association and the National Waste and Recycling Association, argued that curbside recycling and transfer-station systems are more convenient, that the targeted containers are valuable to local recycling programs, and that the proposal would shift costs onto consumers and municipalities. Committee members questioned witnesses about redemption rates, handling fees, the 2014 ballot question, and whether the bill had changed from prior sessions. The biomass portion drew strong support from Springfield officials, state legislators, environmental advocates, and public health groups. They said woody biomass should not count as clean energy because burning wood produces particulate pollution and carbon emissions, and they warned that current law contains a loophole that could help finance the proposed Palmer Renewable Energy biomass plant in Springfield. Witnesses emphasized Springfield’s air-quality and asthma burdens, the public health impacts of PM2.5, and the need to close the loophole before a January 1, 2026 deadline. One forest-industry witness supported a separate bill promoting modern wood heat with pollution controls, arguing it is cleaner than older wood systems and has minimal ratepayer cost, while noting that those credits would be affected if the governor’s broader energy affordability bill repeals the alternative energy portfolio standard. No votes were taken during the hearing. The chairs managed testimony by alternating between the bottle bill and biomass topics, asking speakers to keep remarks brief and to note when they agreed with prior testimony. Several legislators also testified in support of the bills, and committee members asked follow-up questions on deposit levels, retailer handling fees, recycling economics, and the public-health rationale for the biomass restrictions.

Transcript Highlights:

• We stopped doing any kind of active, common-sense stewardship that keeps forests healthy and communities
• talking about communities forced to fight for access to the most basic human right: the right to live healthy
• The life expectancy at birth for Black Californians is 76 years of age, five years shorter than the state
• to understand that health equity is achieved when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthy
• Among American Indian or Alaska Native residents age 25 and over, 16.8% have earned a bachelor's degree

Summary: The Assembly convened after a quorum call, prayer, and Pledge of Allegiance, then approved a procedural motion by a 41-17 roll call to re-refer AB 2690 and AB 1863 to Appropriations and to allow guests for the Latino Spirit Awards ceremony. House Resolution 92, recognizing Cinco de Mayo Week, was adopted after supportive remarks from members of several caucuses, and the chamber then held the 2026 Latino Spirit Awards ceremony honoring 11 individuals and organizations in higher education, human rights, philanthropy, health and science, advocacy, business, environmental justice, journalism and media, culinary arts, and a legacy award for Los Tigres del Norte. After the ceremony, the Assembly resumed business with guest introductions and moved through the daily file, passing or retaining a number of bills and resolutions. Among the measures taken up, the Assembly passed AB 1657 on domestic violence restraining order procedures (64-0), AB 2042 on civil procedure and service of process (66-0), AB 1660 on probate and public guardians (45-10), AB 1917 on criminal procedure and reinstatement of dismissed charges (43-15), AB 2148 clarifying that public school employees are human beings in the context of AI (69-0), AB 1647 protecting juvenile statements at transfer hearings (63-0), AB 1555 expanding community college access in Siskiyou County (66-0), AB 1608 on High-Speed Rail Inspector General oversight and reporting (45-18), AB 1803 requiring anti-hate speech training in workplace harassment prevention (50-9), AB 2128 protecting tenants in subsidized housing from certain federal work requirements and time limits (44-16), AB 2576 as a land-use cleanup bill protecting historic resources (61-0), AB 2601 allowing concurrent review for certain housing projects, and AB 2764 on extended foster care eligibility (60-0). Several items were passed and retained on file, and AB 2601 was interrupted by a call of the house before later business continued. The chamber also adopted ACR 159 on indigent defense after adding 59 coauthors, then heard guest introductions from chief public defenders from multiple counties. ACR 179, designating Wildland Urban Interface Preparedness and Resilience Day, was adopted with 65 coauthors after remarks on wildfire risk and forest management. Later, ACR 183 establishing Black Health Equity Advocacy Week was presented with extensive testimony from members of multiple caucuses emphasizing racial health disparities, maternal mortality, life expectancy gaps, and the need for systemic change; the debate continued beyond the excerpt provided. Throughout the session, members repeatedly used guest introductions to recognize visiting groups and individuals, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority members, UAW President Shawn Fain, California Women in Agriculture, and others.

Transcript Highlights:

• We stopped doing any kind of active, common-sense stewardship that keeps forests healthy and communities
• talking about communities forced to fight for access to the most basic human right, the right to live healthy
• The life expectancy at birth for Black Californians is 76 years of age, five years shorter than the state
• to understand that health equity is achieved when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthy
• Among American Indian or Alaska Native residents age 25 and over, 16.8% have earned a bachelor's degree

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Prior to the incident, she was described as a healthy, playful baby; afterward, she no longer demonstrated
• age-appropriate behaviors.
• Afterward, she no longer demonstrated age-appropriate behaviors or developmental progress.
• This bill, just to be very brief, is along the guidelines of making Arizona healthy again by utilizing
• on poor nutrition, and we should be doing everything at the state level to ensure that Arizona is healthy

Committee: Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Summary: The committee first approved the January 21 minutes and then heard SB 1179, which would remove the delayed repeal date and appropriation contingency from the Developmental Disabilities Group Home Monitoring Program. Testimony from Disability Rights Arizona and program managers described the program’s monitoring and investigative work, including identified systemic concerns in group homes, while the sponsor said the effort should continue. SB 1179 received a do-pass recommendation on a 6-1 vote, with some members reserving their right to revisit the bill on the floor. The committee then took up SB 1114, appropriating $1 million for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to investigate behavioral health patient brokering. Witnesses, including Native advocates, described widespread recruitment of vulnerable people—especially Native Americans—into fraudulent treatment and sober-living schemes, often through social media and across state lines. Members and the sponsor framed the bill as an enforcement response to long-running abuse. SB 1114 passed 6-0. The committee also heard SB 1115, which would require AHCCCS/Access employees to work in person rather than remotely; supporters argued remote work had harmed oversight and service delivery, while Access said it would need substantial office space and warned of costs and staffing impacts. SB 1115 passed 4-3. The committee next considered SB 1051, requiring hospitals that accept Access payments to collect patients’ citizenship or immigration status on intake forms and report aggregate data to DHS. Supporters said it was a data-collection and accountability measure; opponents, including nurses and physicians, said it would deter care, undermine trust, and function as immigration surveillance. The bill passed 4-3. SB 1122, dealing with prior authorization and prepayment review for behavioral health services under the American Indian Health Plan, was amended to require a corrective action plan before 100% prepayment review; Access said it had minimal concerns with the amended version. It passed unanimously 7-0. SB 1132, a blank appropriation for a new Arizona State Hospital wing, drew testimony from families and advocates about the shortage of psychiatric beds and the effects of the Arnold v. Sarn consent decree; it passed 7-0. The committee also approved SB 1169 for graduate medical education funding, SB 1171 on dual enrollment checks between AHCCCS and exchange plans, and SB 1172 on DCS investigations and court notification, with votes ranging from 4-2 to unanimous support. Finally, the committee heard SB 1173, which would require owners and applicants for outpatient behavioral health facility licenses to be U.S. citizens or lawfully present, with an amendment clarifying lawful permanent resident status. The sponsor said the bill was intended to curb fraud tied to behavioral health licensing and patient brokering; discussion focused on whether the bill language matched that intent. The transcript ends before a final vote on SB 1173.

Transcript Highlights:

• require by law that every child shall attend the public school of the state throughout the period of the age
• legislature may require by law that every child shall attend the public schools of the state through the ages
• legislature may require by law that every child shall attend the public schools of the state through the ages
• of six and 18 years. unless of the state through the ages of six and 18 years.
• splitting up the districts, you do get representation from different parts of your town, which I think is healthy

Committee: House State Affairs

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from February 23 and 24. It then heard H.J.R. 9, a proposed constitutional amendment by Representative Hawkins to remove the compulsory-attendance language from Article 9, Section 9 and add language stating that the right of parents to educate their children without government regulation outside the public schools shall not be infringed. Hawkins argued the change would align the Constitution with existing parental-rights law and protect families from future legislative changes. Supportive testimony came from the Idaho Family Policy Center and the Idaho Republican Party resolutions chair, both framing the measure as a protection of parental authority and educational choice. Some members questioned whether the added language was necessary or could create litigation, but the committee voted to send H.J.R. 9 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee next considered H.B. 720, which lowers the population threshold for requiring city council districts from cities over 100,000 to cities over 25,000. Representative Alfieri said the bill would improve local representation and make it easier for residents to run for office by reducing campaign costs. Opponents, including the Association of Idaho Cities, warned that the lower threshold would create very small districts, especially in college towns, make it harder to recruit candidates, and add costs and complications for cities. Several members raised concerns about whether the change was optional or mandatory and about uneven representation within districts, but the committee ultimately voted to send H.B. 720 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. Finally, the committee heard H.B. 736 from Representative Haas, which lowers the threshold for ballot-name rotation from 100,000 registered voters to 25,000. Haas said the change would reduce the primacy effect and improve fairness and transparency in elections, especially in countywide and legislative races. The bill was described as preserving the Secretary of State’s discretion over how rotation is administered. The motion to send H.B. 736 to the floor with a due pass recommendation passed without opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• The program is for children ages 17 and younger and is provided through a couple different pathways in
• Colby was born full-term and was a typically developing, happy, healthy baby.
• is where House Bill 449 was introduced, and it was to support Montana health care members under the age
• Medication administration is only available for children under the age of 21 via PCCA.
• Sixty-six percent of our population is under the age of 21, considered pediatric.

Summary: The House Health Care and Wellness Committee met at policy cutoff and first took up executive session on four bills. It considered a proposed substitute for HB 1589 on health carrier contracting practices, which would require carriers to provide providers advance notice and clean copies of contract changes and payment methodologies, and would also add notice requirements for significant payer contract modifications. The committee also considered HB 2402 on phthalates in IV solution containers and tubing, with a substitute delaying implementation dates and creating shortage and FDA-related exemptions. HB 2555, concerning Medicaid coverage of traditional health care practices, and HB 2685, concerning tribal data and disease reporting to tribal health jurisdictions, were also before the committee. HB 2599 was deferred. The committee reported HB 1589, HB 2402, HB 2555, and HB 2685 out of committee with do pass recommendations, with recorded votes showing some members voting no or no without recommendation on the more contested bills. The committee then held a work session on private duty nursing in the Medically Intensive Children’s Program. Health Care Authority and DSHS staff described how the program serves children with complex medical needs through managed care and fee-for-service pathways, the role of prior authorization and medical necessity review, and the ongoing shortage of nursing staff. They said many approved hours are not filled, especially in rural areas, and that family members often provide unpaid care to fill gaps. Committee members asked about the structure of the children’s and adult PDN programs and about how many authorized hours are actually being served. The committee also heard testimony from a home care agency representative and a parent caregiver, both of whom described severe staffing shortages and the burden on families when nursing shifts go unfilled. They supported models that would allow trusted family caregivers to be paid for some of the skilled care they already provide. The committee then heard examples from Montana and Massachusetts of similar family caregiver or complex care assistant programs. Montana described its pediatric complex care assistant model as a gap-filling service with prior authorization and a set hourly rate, while Massachusetts outlined its complex care assistant program, including training, supervision, wage pass-through requirements, and early growth in participation. The meeting concluded after the work session.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm not going to say her age, but she was my pediatrician.
• And whereas at an early age, Miss Jacquine realized her lifelong ambition to be a pediatrician.
• So it's good that we keep them healthy.
• </c> &gt;&gt; So it's good that we keep them healthy.
• &gt;&gt; So it's good that we keep them healthy.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• exemption from the current 12,500 to 25,000 by tax year 2029 for all military retirees regardless of age
• exemption from the current 12,500 to 25,000 by tax year 2029 for all military retirees regardless of age
• And that's really the cornerstone of a healthy democracy.
• So I just wanted to say I do appreciate that with the age limit because I don't think we do that enough

Summary: The House Revenue and Finance Committee met to consider two tax-related measures sponsored by Representative Holofsky. The first was House Substitute 1 for House Bill 386, the Tipped Worker Tax Relief Act of 2026, which would allow a temporary Delaware income tax deduction of up to $15,000 for qualified tips for tax years 2027 through 2029, with phaseouts at higher incomes and a refundable credit for lower-income workers. Committee discussion focused on whether the bill applied to residents and non-residents, whether credit-card tips were included, the need for an updated substitute, and the expected fiscal impact. The Office of the Comptroller General said the bill would likely reduce general revenue and that the fiscal note had not yet been fully reviewed, while Deputy Secretary Goldsmith said the Department of Finance could administer it and that implementation costs would be modest. After public comment, the committee voted on a motion to release the bill, but it did not receive enough votes, so the chair said she would walk it for additional signatures. The committee then heard Senate Bill 219, which would phase in an increase in the military pension income exemption from $12,500 to $25,000 by tax year 2029. Representative Holofsky argued the measure would help attract and retain military retirees, support the economy, and provide a strong return on investment through spending, taxes, and community participation. Members raised concerns about whether the benefit should be income-based, with one member arguing that higher-income retirees may not need the tax break, while supporters emphasized the multiplier effect and the value of veterans to the state. Public testimony from Veterans of Foreign Wars representatives strongly supported the bill and described how the exemption could influence retirement decisions and local economic activity. A motion to release the bill also failed to get enough votes, and the chair said she would walk it for signatures before adjourning the meeting.