Transcript Highlights:

• production. increased need for veterinary services, increased need for medication and insecticide, as
• We saw increased cases in Panama in July of 2023.
• They saw increases in Costa Rica in March of 2024.
• And so there's Is there any hope for an increase in production?
• Increased value of hunting to landowners is also an important factor.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As CPF president, Brian is a statewide leader in advocating for firefighters' wages, hours, and working
• While that takes many forms, Firefighters' wages, hours, and working conditions.
• The increased speed and accessibility of e-bikes have consistently led to higher rates of injury, with
• an increasing number of injuries occurring when riders piggyback.
• This resolution designates the month of May 2026 as ALS Awareness Month to increase awareness of this

Summary: The Assembly met in session after a quorum call and opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a ceremonial observance for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Members from multiple caucuses spoke in support of House Resolution 107, which designates May as AAPI Heritage Month, emphasizing the community’s contributions, resilience, and the need to confront discrimination and hate. The resolution was adopted, and the chamber then recognized 13 honorees for the 2026 AAPI Heritage Month celebration, highlighting leaders in education, business, labor, media, cultural preservation, and public service. After guest introductions, the Assembly took up a series of bills. Measures discussed included HOA reserve funding for common interest developments (AB 2050), professional review requirements for lawsuits against design professionals (AB 2106), direct home delivery of enteral formula (AB 1794), expanded CalWORKs-related support for student parents (AB 1829), longer insurance moratoriums for wildfire survivors (AB 2038), election cybersecurity (AB 2281), medical privacy protections for reproductive and gender-affirming care (AB 2448), water district board compensation (AB 2568), county public contract change-order authority (AB 1658), and several other education, health, and licensing bills. Most measures passed with broad support; AB 2050 passed 44-6, AB 2038 passed 45-8, AB 2448 passed 49-13, and AB 1658 passed 61-2, while several others passed unanimously or near-unanimously. The Assembly also adopted AJR 29, a resolution opposing a federal executive order affecting vote-by-mail and affirming California’s mail voting system. The resolution prompted extended debate over election integrity, voter access, and federal versus state authority, with supporters arguing mail voting is secure and accessible and opponents calling for stronger voter list maintenance and verification. The resolution passed 47-13. In addition, ACR 141 and ACR 123 were adopted by voice vote after co-author roll calls, and the chamber continued or passed on numerous other file items as it worked through the daily file.

Transcript Highlights:

• Massachusetts law that presumes all workers are employees and therefore entitled to protections under wage
• As a former nonprofit attorney representing low-wage, vulnerable workers for nearly two decades prior
• 2018, she was widely credited with a renaissance in enforcement and creative approaches to combating wage
• Please join me in a warm, Adding wage staff and protecting immigrant workers.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and several ceremonial recognitions. Members welcomed championship student-athlete teams from Medfield and Georgetown High School, including Georgetown’s 2025 MIAA Division 4 boys basketball champions, and presented citations. The chamber also welcomed former U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, with remarks highlighting her labor and worker-protection record. On formal business, the Senate adopted a Ways and Means report on House No. 4010, a fiscal year 2025 supplemental appropriations bill, amended to insert Senate Document No. 2512 and providing $1,283,200,000 in direct appropriations. The Senate also adopted an order placing the bill on the Orders of the Day for Thursday, May 8, 2025, for immediate consideration, with amendments in order. The Senate then adopted an order to adjourn and reconvene the following Monday at 11:00 a.m. without printing a calendar. Members also approved a motion to adjourn in memory of former state representative, state senator, Amesbury mayor, and civic leader Nicholas J. Costello, followed by a moment of silence in his honor.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 235 removes the July 1, 2017, sunset date for the base rent and additional rent increase
• , increase more than 24-month CPI-U over a 12-month period.
• I think that we should be increasing access to our elections. I'm not supportive of it.
• I think that we should be increasing access to our elections.
• It's somebody working for a low wage or, you know, someone who's on the road most of his life.

Summary: The House convened with quorum, offered prayers and moments of silence for community members who had recently died, and recognized several guests and family members in the chamber. After routine communications and passage of consent calendar 29, the chamber took up a series of measures on the main and colored agendas, with several bills and resolutions passing by voice vote or roll call. Among the measures approved were House Concurrent Resolution 157, which as amended requested a State Lottery report on options to support traditional lottery retailers; Senate Bill 53 on the Delaware Farm to Community Program; Senate Bill 307 on PSC authority for Lifeline telecommunications carriers; Senate Bill 339 clarifying health directive forms in mental health facilities; Senate Bill 235 on manufactured home community rent increases; Senate Bill 325, as amended, updating fire prevention and volunteer fire/EMS background check rules; Senate Bill 309 on inmate work and discharge of incarceration-related balances; Senate Bill 324 on deadly weapons and constable agency representatives; Senate Bill 293 on youth camp child care licensing; Senate Bill 94 on respiratory care practitioners and ECMO medication delivery; and Senate Substitute 2 for Senate Bill 100, proposing a constitutional amendment protecting the right to marry regardless of race or gender while preserving religious freedom. House Bill 188, changing Delaware primary elections to allow unaffiliated voters to choose a party primary, also passed after debate. Two measures drew extended discussion and amendments. Senate Bill 233, requiring snow and ice to be removed from vehicles, was tabled once, then later amended and passed after debate over whether the law was workable for truck drivers and other vehicle operators; a proposed truck-related exemption amendment failed. House Substitute 1 for House Bill 404, creating a pilot program for artificial intelligence and extended reality in schools, passed after testimony from the Department of Education emphasizing guardrails, privacy, and educator oversight, alongside concerns from members about data, bias, and long-term effects. Several items were tabled or reconsidered during the session, and the House adjourned after completing the day’s business.

Transcript Highlights:

• We need to make sure people can have a living wage. games every day.
• </c> Increasing utilization controls.
• </c><02:22:30.319><c> that</c> and still not cover the increases that and still not cover the increases
• The increases in our Medicaid budget are unsustainable.
• </c> Kirkmire concerning ending wage Kirkmire concerning ending wage enhancement,<03:03:35.520><c> supplemental

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The increased cost of insurance is reflected in the cost of goods and services that Texans buy, while
• The tort tax is dramatically increasing.
• It's, it's increased cost.
• I want my economic wages and my pain and suffering that medical evidence, uh, Mr.
• Same for lost wages in the past. That is just crazy. And it also applies to property claims.

Transcript Highlights:

• So that increases the state's Share to 75%.
• Again, the complexity of H.R. 1 is only going to increase this.
• Again, the complexity of HR1 is only going to increase this.
• And I know that CDSS and the state is working hard to increase the amount of local programs and increase
• That's a 120% increase over prior to the pandemic.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Minimum wage in 1977 was $2. Now we're at 20. Gas was under 50 cents a gallon.
• I have a lot of farmworker friends that really took that minimum wage hit hard.
• Without them, yields would drop significantly and land would be less productive, and food costs would increase
• The board membership is increased to nine members, two of whom must be registered commercial interior
• You mentioned behavioral health; that is an increasing demographic in our industry and our nation.

Bills: HB2721, HB2616

Keywords: commercial interior designer, interior design licensure, registered interior designer, NCIDQ, Washington State Board for Architects, professional regulation, title protection, firm registration, seal and signature, continuing education, building code, nonstructural interior design, space planning, interior architecture, design profession, public safety, occupational licensing, architects, engineering scope, permit review

Transcript Highlights:

• Minimum wage in 1977 was $2. Now we're at 20. Gas was under 50 cents a gallon.
• I have a lot of farmworker friends that really took that minimum wage hit hard.
• Without them, yields would drop significantly and land would be less productive, and food costs would increase
• The board membership is increased to nine members, two of whom must be registered commercial interior
• You mentioned behavioral health; that is an increasing demographic in our industry and our nation.

Summary: The Consumer Protection & Business Committee held public hearings on two bills. House Bill 2616, described as an agriculturally resilient markets act, would create a broad package of agriculture-related policies and appropriations, including a strategy to expand state purchasing of Washington-grown food, temporary packaging and emissions exemptions for certain agricultural uses, changes to labor notice rules for agricultural and dairy layoffs, several grant and study programs, a transfer of cannabis production/processing/testing oversight to the Department of Agriculture, and an appropriation for the tree fruit leadership program. Representative Christine Reeves said the bill was intended as a state-level “farm bill” to address farm losses, food security, and regulatory burdens, and she emphasized stakeholder input and the need to support family farms and farmworker well-being. Testimony on HB 2616 was overwhelmingly supportive, with growers, commodity groups, dairy and potato representatives, and other agricultural stakeholders arguing that Washington farms face low margins, high regulatory and labor costs, refrigeration and processing challenges, and competition from foreign producers. Several speakers said the bill’s exemptions, grants, and studies would help keep farms viable and preserve local food production. Committee members asked about stakeholder outreach, the role of Washington State University and commodity commissions, the impact of federal versus state policy, and possible ways to reduce compliance burdens. The hearing ended without a vote, and the chair noted the bill was after cutoff and would not move this year, but that stakeholder meetings would continue over the summer. The committee then heard House Bill 2721, which would create a registration system for commercial interior designers, expand and rename the Board of Architects, set education, examination, and experience requirements, define the scope of practice, require seals and technical submission attestations, and establish penalties and a fee account. Supporters from interior design organizations said the bill would recognize a profession already performing code- and safety-related work in commercial spaces, align Washington with other states and national model law standards, and remove barriers to ownership and advancement, especially for women. Testifiers also said the bill would clarify responsibility for life safety, accessibility, and non-structural interior construction in schools, health care, and public buildings. The committee heard only supportive testimony, but members raised questions about how the profession compares with architecture, the impact of delaying the bill until 2027, and demographic diversity in the field. The chair closed the hearing noting the bill would not advance this session and that further interim work would be needed.

Transcript Highlights:

• THE PROPOSED BILL PROHIBITS CERTAIN FELONS AND NONCITIZENS FROM ACTING AS PETITION CIRCULATORS AND INCREASES
• STRENGTHEN THE PROCESS OF CITIZEN LED AMENDMENTS BUT WHAT I SEE IS MAKING THE SYSTEM MORE ROBUST BUT INCREASING
• SINGLE MOM ABLE TO BUY HER CHILD THE NEW BACKPACK THEY NEEDED FOR SCHOOL BECAUSE WE RAISED THE MINIMUM WAGE
• ENGAGEMENT INCLUDING DETERMINING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION DUE TO THE MILL A DOLLAR BOND INCREASE
• THE LEGISLATURE DIDN'T TO BECOME IN THE CITIZENS WANTED TO RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE, THE LEGISLATURE DIDN'T

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• All we're doing is increasing the same.
• 10.720><c> to</c><00:10:10.880><c> fund</c> This increase is necessary to fund This increase is necessary
• And the Mega Cavern, a temporary rate increase was accepted a temporary rate increase was accepted until
• </c> footage but increasing the amount per. footage but increasing the amount per.
• </c><00:57:35.440><c> was</c> instructional and no tax increase was instructional and no tax increase

Keywords: 0:00:08 Call to Order and Roll Call 0:00:38 Approval of Minutes 0:01:02 Information Items 0:02:17 Lease Rpt from Postsecondary Institutions 0:06:42 Project Rpt from Finance and Administration Cabinet 0:15:03 Lease Rpt from Finance and Administration Cabinet 0:24:00 Rpt from OFM – KY Infrastructure Authority 0:42:55 Economic Development Fund Grants 0:53:38 Rpt from OFM – New Debt Issues 1:16:33 Remaining 2025 Meeting Dates 1:16:45 Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The committee first handled routine business, including roll call, approval of the July minutes, and several informational reports. Those reports included a University of Kentucky restricted-fund medical equipment purchase for Chandler Hospital, debt issues for five school districts, Eastern Kentucky University’s planned model laboratory school using construction management risk delivery, a Division of Real Properties lease advertisement, Kentucky Communications Network Authority quarterly project reports, and EKU asset preservation revisions. Members then heard and approved a new UK St. Clair Urgent Care Clinic lease in Morehead and an amendment expanding space for the UK Family and Community Medicine Clinic at Turflin Clinic. Testimony explained that both properties are privately owned, the Morehead lease predated the UK/St. Clair arrangement, and the Turflin Clinic is tight on space. The committee also approved three new projects and an appropriation increase: two Department of Military Affairs projects, a Window Ford Training Center underground electric project and a Williamsburg Readiness Center interior repair project, a Fish and Wildlife property acquisition adjoining Veterans Memorial Wildlife Management Area, and an $8.113 million increase for the Department of Revenue integrated tax system (DORIS). The DORIS increase was described as needed for change orders tied to legislation and to complete the unified tax system. The committee next reviewed no-action items, including a $3 million emergency flood-damage repair project for the Bush Building and Vest-Lindsay House in Frankfort, and three pool projects over $1 million: a Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women window replacement phase 2 project, a Department of Criminal Justice Training interior refurbishment at Thompson Hall, and the Muddy Gut Branch stream mitigation project in Johnson County. The flood project was confirmed to be fully reimbursed by insurance proceeds. Finally, the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority presented six loans and nine grants. Action items included water and sewer financing for Cumberland County, Lebanon, Northern Kentucky Water District, Lewisport, and Providence, plus a major Taylor Mill treatment plant project and several cleaner water grants and reallocations. Members asked about loan rates, local rate increases needed to repay debt, and the Providence emergency water interconnect; staff explained that Lewisport had begun a rate increase process, and that the Providence project would connect Webster County Water District and the city of Providence to stabilize pressure after a systemwide failure. All action items were approved.

Transcript Highlights:

• that were anchor businesses with massive capital investments who can deliver on the promise of high wage
• pay for profit organization in terms of a a their their earnings at 12,505 or 5 times the monthly increase
• It will increase to 8.6, 4 million and they give a cost 10 million 27 13 million and some change in 28
• As a department talked about those type of expenditures in the increase that's going to happen over be
• children to work unlimited hours, allow companies to sidestep are constitutionally mandated minimum wage

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 215 relates to prohibiting employers from seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees.
• Wage or salary range transparency, cost of action.
• SB 215 relates to prohibiting employers seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees.
• Wage or salary, range transparency, cost of action.
• Senate Bill 597 relates to wage garnishments, treasurer's liens for unpaid taxes and charges.

Keywords: April 22, 2026 - Reconvened Session Part 2, 976, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• At the same time, in the urban areas, we increased capacity for additional housing units by a quarter
• And that was simply to increase the threshold for short plats within the UGAs from the current limit,
• And then wages and income is another side of the equation.
• And then wages and income is another side of the equation.
• And then finally, increased education on effective permitting and enforcement.

Summary: The committee held a work session on local government issues, beginning with an update from the State Building Code Council on four legislatively mandated code amendments now in CR-102 rulemaking: temporary emergency shelters, reduced minimum dwelling unit size, multiplex housing up to three stories and six units, and single-exit apartment buildings up to six stories. Council staff also described a separate embodied-carbon appendix proposal that remains under public review, with testimony both supporting and opposing it. Members asked about the rationale for some of the code limits, including the restriction on connecting multiplex buildings. The committee then heard a panel on annexations from MRSC, Pierce County, and the Association of Washington Cities. Witnesses reviewed annexation methods, including petition, election, and interlocal agreement approaches, and said larger annexations are increasingly using interlocal agreements because they can address infrastructure, revenue sharing, and public process concerns. They described barriers such as inconsistent local standards, the cost of infrastructure, referendum risk, census requirements, and the difficulty of persuading residents and local officials to support annexation. Members asked about the five-year restriction on residential zoning changes in one annexation method and whether a hearing examiner could reduce political pressure on local decision-makers. A second panel discussed subdivision reform. The Master Builders Association urged raising the short-plat threshold within urban growth areas to 30 lots as a simpler first step, citing permitting delays and added housing costs. The City of Spokane described implementation problems with recent housing laws, including uncertainty about how to review plats under HB 1110, lot-splitting administration, and added notice requirements for unit lot subdivisions. AWC said there was broad agreement that subdivision decisions should be more administrative, but public hearings remained a point of disagreement. The committee also heard from FutureWise, the Washington State Association of Counties, and Lewis County on county development regulation and enforcement, with witnesses emphasizing underfunded code enforcement, inconsistent standards between counties and cities, and the need for better coordination, incentives, and possibly stronger enforcement tools. No votes were taken; the chair said the committee would continue working on possible solutions in future sessions.

Transcript Highlights:

• We all agree that third-party litigation funding has been and continues to be an increasing problem.
• CJA agrees that ensuring outside investors do not... ...increasing problem.
• Between 1851 and 1859, the state wrapped up millions of dollars waging a war against tribes.
• What basically has happened is adjudications are starting to increase dramatically with GSAs coming up
• But I definitely think that it's really important that we do everything we can to increase abilities

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This project will increase capacity on I-82 between the U.S. 12 interchange and the SR 24 Knob Hill Boulevard
• PME supports stable living in terms of livable wages, jobs, and contributes to the local economy and
• Automatic increases every year, no future votes needed.
• The diesel-only increase further widens the imbalance, and indexing compounds the impact.
• It also increases the commercial vehicle safety enforcement fee assessed on commercial motor vehicles

Bills: HB2495

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

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaker, they increased funding for secondary education, completing the recurring increase for 7th grade
• With the LFC only increasing 6th grade, Mr.
• What's the increased dollar amount? Mr.
• The recurring increase, Mr.
• increase from $7.50 per hour to $12 per hour.

Transcript Highlights:

• of increases in the classroom site fund that school districts receive.
• of increases in the classroom site fund that school districts receive.
• For instance, fuel cost increases, insurance increases, the minimum wage increase, and these other things
• in the room, we need to increase funding overall.
• I think teacher pay should be increased through increased investment and creating stable revenue, a stable

Bills: HB2035, HB2041, HB2611, HB2860, HB4004, HB4049, SCR1032

Keywords: kinship care, child welfare, foster care, relative placement, child protection, child neglect, financial resources, behavioral health, Christian Science treatment, parental rights, group homes, children's rights, safety protocols, employee training, mental health, child safety, oversight, independent committee, transparency, accountability

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> increased by 1%. increased by 1%.
• </c> Teacher hiring increased by 4.7%. But administrative hiring increased over 27%.
• </c> teachers for salary increases. teachers for salary increases.
• regulation</c> We have increased in regulation We have increased in regulation and<04:09:26.080><c> we
• Do work at or near the minimum wage will receive about a $3 per hour increase.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And, you know, when you take a look at buying a place 15 years later, it increases.
• A place 15 years later, it increases. Inflation happens for them.
• But DHHL, as we issue all of these projects, are still subject to prevailing wage, same laws.
• We've signed a state agreement, prevailing wage agreements with ...
• </c> &gt;&gt; prevailing wage agreements with Okay. &gt;&gt; prevailing wage agreements with Okay.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Act 279 working group met for an informational briefing with DHHL on its use of the $600 million appropriation and progress on the department’s implementation plan. The chair reviewed the working group’s oversight role, noting that it was created to monitor expenditures, project development, and progress toward reducing the Hawaiian Homes waitlist, and that the group must submit a progress report before the 2026 session and a final report before the 2027 session. DHHL said it had provided an updated booklet reflecting the Hawaiian Homes Commission’s February 2024 recommendations and a detailed accounting of encumbrances and project progress across the islands. DHHL highlighted several implementation themes: innovative financing and construction methods, land acquisitions and exchanges, technology, beneficiary services, and partnerships with counties and private entities. The department described a “project lease” model that gives beneficiaries access to a project rather than a specific lot, with options such as turnkey homes, owner-builder, self-help, or rent-to-purchase arrangements depending on financial qualification. Officials said this approach is intended to serve lower-income beneficiaries, expand access for people on the waitlist, and allow beneficiaries to receive support services such as financial literacy and down payment assistance. The department reported that roughly $511 million had been encumbered for infrastructure, about $152.8 million for acquisitions, financing, and beneficiary services, and about $36 million in other covered costs, with about $588.9 million encumbered as of December 31 and about $120 million expected to be spent by that date. Officials said the original implementation plan covered about 2,722 units, while the updated plan projects roughly 6,000 to 7,000 leases and 2,472 lots to be occupied. They also described phase-two needs for additional funding, including projects on Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kauaʻi, and Oʻahu, and said they would need continued legislative support, including possible bonding and private activity bond set-asides, to complete remaining projects. Members discussed the distinction between encumbered and spent funds, and DHHL explained that encumbrances reserve money for specific contracts while construction spending occurs over time through progress payments. The department also showcased examples of innovative projects, including a high-rise project in urban Honolulu financed through a mix of private activity bonds, tax credits, and state funds, and an acquisition-based project in Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi using multiple funding sources. DHHL emphasized partnerships with the City and County of Honolulu and Maui County, and said it is still assessing future projects to keep infrastructure costs manageable and ensure homes are safe and affordable for beneficiaries.