Transcript Highlights:

• If you'll notice, the bill would state If you'll notice, the bill would state that we would reinstate
• that we also listened to other people and made that unpaid kind of timeline and gave people 60 days' notice
• Representative Sauter, in our area, I've noticed we have a real problem with, but I don't know if it's

Committee: House Transportation and Defense

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1470, Voter Registration Changes, Text Notices. Judiciary and Elections.
• SB 1472, Mayor's Council Members' Resignation Notices.
• SB 1472, Mayor's Council Members' Resignation Notices.
• SB 1479, Deeds Identification Forgery Notices Notaries. SB 1480, Crime-Free Lease Addendum Renters.

Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the pledge of allegiance, and an electronic roll call showing 26 members present and four excused. The journal for January 29, 2026, was approved, and the chamber recognized Lucid Motors Day at the Capitol, highlighting the company’s Arizona operations, investment, and job creation. The Senate also received a gubernatorial nomination for Troy L. Campbell to the State Liquor Board, which was referred to the Committee on Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency. A large number of bills were introduced and read for the first time, covering topics such as commerce, E-Verify, municipal self-certification, voter registration text notices, immigration enforcement training, school eligibility and testing, campaign finance, vulnerable adults, temporary vehicle plates, tribal flags, water projects, public works apprenticeships, housing and water supply, special plates, controlled substances research, and election-related resolutions. One bill, SB 1429, was further referred to the Committee on Finance. The Senate also placed many measures on second reading, including bills on roads, labor and collective bargaining, tax relief, education data, assisted living, liquor policy, public pensions, housing, utilities, and election and redistricting proposals. The President noted that it was the final day to submit bills by the 5:00 p.m. deadline and announced upcoming caucus and committee meetings for February 3. During a personal privilege statement, the Majority Leader criticized the Attorney General’s recent remarks as dangerous and confusing, argued she should retract them, and said elected officials should lower the temperature around rhetoric that could contribute to violence. The Senate then adjourned by motion until Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at 1:15 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1470, Voter Registration Changes Text Notices. Judiciary and Elections.
• SB 1472, Mayor's Council Members Resignation Notices.
• SB 1472, Mayor's Council Members Resignation Notices.
• SB 1479, Deeds Identification Forgery Notices Notaries. SB 1480, Crime-Free Lease Addendum Renters.

Transcript Highlights:

• I um just wanted to give members notice that um there will be a return of the YWCA Dress for Success
• Um it will begin next month, but I wanted to give members ample notice that if you are able to, while
• members notice that um there<00:56:56.680><c> will</c><00:56:56.840><c> be</c><00:56:56.960><c> a</c
• </c><00:57:12.960><c> that</c> wanted to give members ample notice that wanted to give members ample
• notice that if<00:57:13.320><c> you</c><00:57:13.440><c> are</c><00:57:13.640><c> able</c><00:57:13.960

Bills: HR204 , SB2925 , SB2798 , SB2320 , SB2800 , SB1230 , SB2706 , SB3233 , SB2405 , SB3320 , SB2543 , SB3097 , SB3096 , SB3140 , SB2593 , SB2567 , SB2466 , SB2140 , SB2088 , SB3090 , SB608 , SB2795 , SB3294 , SB3263 , SB3001 , SB2907 , SB3251 , SB2074 , SB2360 , SB2354 , SB2908 , SB2353 , SB3045 , SB2047 , SB3254 , SB3246 , SB3133 , SB2425 , SB2671 , SB3229 , SB2969 , SB1166 , SB896 , SB2391 , SB2125 , SB3118 , SB3325 , SB2613 , SB2614 , SB494 , SB2376 , SB3326 , SB2001 , SB2599 , SB3048 , SB3169 , SB2002 , SB3247 , SB3253 , SB2155 , SB2192 , SB3187 , SB2190 , SB2398 , SB2424 , SB3028 , SB2338 , SB3219 , SB2981 , HCR14

Keywords: H.R. 204, House Resolution, Hawaii LifeSmarts, LifeSmarts State Competition, student competition, academic recognition, congratulatory resolution, Iolani School, Kalani High School, Waipahu High School, personal finance, consumer rights, health and safety, technology education, environmental education, National Consumers League, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Credit Union League, youth achievement, high school teams

Transcript Highlights:

• Thirty days after publishing the required notice and making the items available to school districts and
• As an alternative to satisfying the public notice requirements, a school district... Or entities.
• As an alternative to satisfying the public notice requirements, school districts and ESDs may grant or
• I noticed that there's no fiscal note. I guess I have a question.
• I noticed that there's no fiscal note on the EBB. Was one requested? I believe that was the case.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Thirty days after publishing the required notice and making the items available to school districts and
• As an alternative to satisfying the public notice requirements, a school district... Or entities.
• As an alternative to satisfying the public notice requirements, school districts and ESDs may grant or
• I noticed that there's no fiscal note. I guess I have a question.
• I noticed that there's no fiscal note on the EBB. Was one requested? I believe that was the case.

Summary: The House Education Committee heard several bills focused on school district operations, student access, and special education. Substitute Senate Bill 6222 would allow school districts and educational service districts to sell or grant surplus technology hardware, such as laptops and tablets, directly to public school students, with priority for low-income students and documentation of the transfer. Testimony from the sponsor, district staff, and advocates emphasized helping students keep familiar devices, reducing waste, and extending the public investment in technology. The committee also heard Second Substitute Senate Bill 5969, which would better integrate IEP transition plans with the statewide online IEP system and the universal high school and beyond plan platform to reduce duplication; staff noted a fiscal note had been requested, and there were no public testifiers on the bill. The committee spent substantial time on Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6247, a school district financial management bill. The bill would require additional ESD oversight and support for districts showing signs of financial distress, create mandatory school director training on funding and finance, strengthen penalties for knowing violations of budget expenditure limits, and require disclosure authorizations before hiring certain budget or accounting personnel. Senator Dozier said the bill was prompted by district financial problems, declining enrollment, failed levies, and reserve fund declines. ESD, WSSDA, WASA, WOSBO, and OSPI testified in support overall, though some witnesses raised concerns about mandatory training, funding for implementation, and whether training should extend beyond school directors. Committee members asked about the bill’s scope, the undefined term “significantly,” the $750,000 reimbursement cap, and how it compared with House Bill 2593. The committee also heard Substitute Senate Bill 622, which would exempt school districts and ESDs from certain surplus-property notice requirements when selling or granting surplus technology hardware to students at depreciated cost or no cost to low-income students. Senator Hunt said the bill came from constituent concerns about unused laptops and tablets and would help students transition to work, college, or technical school. Zero Waste Washington and an Issaquah School District official supported the measure, citing environmental benefits and practical student access to technology. The committee closed public hearings on the bills, noted sign-in counts for pro and con positions, and announced amendment deadlines and upcoming executive sessions.

Transcript Highlights:

• The victim will be able to get some advance notice.
• The victim will be able to get some advance notice if the offender is coming near them.
• And then, in addition to that, the bill also requires an annual report of voter registration notices
• So not within this, but within the act as a whole, there's notice requirements.
• There's already a notice requirement that has to be given within 90 days of the act.

Bills: SB1450 , SB1458 , SB1232 , SB1238 , SB1325 , SB1209 , SB1362 , SB2072 , SB1451 , SB1540 , SB1581 , SB1535 , SB1266 , SB1927 , SB1460 , SB2084 , SB2182

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Summary: The Senate Judiciary Committee met with a quorum and considered a long series of bills, mostly on criminal justice, elections, civil procedure, and higher education liability. Early measures included SB 1450, allowing judges to waive certain fines and fees for people who have completed probation or incarceration, with an amendment requiring a request and a judicial order; SB 1458, repealing a statute that allowed disclosure of grand jury witnesses; SB 1232, increasing penalties for tower vandalism and copper theft; SB 1238, making domestic assault and battery in the presence of a minor a felony on the first offense; and SB 1325, requiring GPS monitoring and victim-alert protections for certain domestic abuse defendants before release. All of those bills advanced, most on strong or unanimous votes, though SB 1458 and SB 1232 each had one nay. The committee also advanced SB 1209, which adjusted eviction-related civil procedure timelines by replacing “weekends” with Sundays and holidays in the filing-to-summons period, and SB 1362, which standardized early voting hours across the state’s consolidated election schedule, with Thursdays through Saturdays set at 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays retained for general elections. Members asked about the effect on landlords, voters, rural counties, and staffing, and the authors said the changes were intended to improve consistency and give more time for payment or mediation. SB 2072, dealing with deed fraud and title theft, was amended to clarify that fee waivers apply to orders restoring title after a fraudulent conveyance, and then advanced unanimously. Later, the committee considered SB 1451, which adds a checkbox for prior voter registration, codifies cancellation of prior registrations, and requires an annual statistical report on registration notices; it advanced on a 6-2 vote after questions about whether the bill could burden voters. SB 1540 created a new felony offense for “grooming” a minor, prompting debate over whether existing indecent-proposal statutes already cover similar conduct; it advanced 7-1. SB 1581 extended the time for county grand jury initiative petitions from 45 to 90 days and added a protest period, and SB 1535 would adjust charity-enforcement procedures for the Attorney General; both advanced. The committee also advanced SB 1266, increasing penalties for violations of the anti-notario law, SB 1927, elevating unauthorized boarding or refusal to leave a school bus to a felony, SB 1460, strengthening penalties for repeat peeping Tom and clandestine recording offenses, and SB 2182, creating civil remedies for nonconsensual sharing of intimate images. SB 1618 was laid over, and the meeting adjourned with notice of another meeting the following week.

Transcript Highlights:

• Penalties still apply when taxes are owed or a taxpayer ignores a Department of Revenue notice.
• home valued at $300,000 to the information required to be included in a truth in taxation hearing notice
• Truth and taxation, bonds notice. I vote no. She votes no. Four ayes, three no.
• You'll notice that the statute is narrowly tailored; the bill before you was narrowly tailored.
• Requiring advance notice of inspection further undermines proper oversight.

Bills: HB2016 , HB2104 , HB2105 , HB2174 , HB2256 , HB2289 , HB2477 , HB2903 , HB2939 , HB2979 , HB2996 , HB4103

Committees: Senate Finance , Senate Senate Finance Committee of Reference

Keywords: salvage vehicles, insurance claims, abandoned vehicles, salvage auction dealers, vehicle title, taxation, bonds, school finance, budget override, tax increases, voter approval, informational pamphlet, social credit score, social scoring, credit scoring, lending, loan approval, banking regulation, financial institutions, consumer lending

Transcript Highlights:

• And actually, before we get started, Madam Vice Chair—Madam Chair, I move that the five-day notice will
• Madam Vice Chair—Madam Chair, I move that the five-day notice will be suspended for Senate Bill 5962.
• It's a statutory form, and it gives notice of the garnishment and an explanation of the rights of the
• Section 12, 14, and 16, and 18 all require notice to the court within 120 hours of filing.
• Does the court need notice? I don't know, but it just seems impractical that that would occur.

Summary: The committee began with Senate Bill 5962 on spring blade knives, first suspending the five-day notice requirement. Staff explained the bill would remove spring blade knives from the list of dangerous weapons while keeping restrictions on carrying them in schools, child care, and other protected locations. Proponents, including Knife Rights and the prime sponsor Sen. T’wina Nobles, described the measure as a modernization and cleanup bill that would reduce confusion and support lawful use and manufacturing; one testifier strongly objected to the bill’s added location-based restrictions. Public testimony was overwhelmingly in support, and the hearing then moved on without a vote. Senate Bill 6105 would raise the wage exemption from garnishment for medical debt judgments from 30 to 60 times the state minimum wage, while keeping the 80% disposable earnings exemption and adding notice requirements identifying the debt as medical. Sen. Marko Liias said the bill is intended to protect low-wage workers from severe financial hardship and reduce incentives to work off the books. Supporters from patient, consumer, AARP, and anti-poverty groups said medical debt is often unexpected and garnishment can destabilize families; opponents from collectors and trade groups argued the bill was too broad, lacked stakeholder input, could hurt providers, and should define medical debt more clearly. The hearing closed with no action taken. The committee then heard Senate Bill 6203, which would clarify that out-of-state convictions can include foreign-country convictions for offender scoring if obtained with sufficient due process safeguards. The sponsor, Sen. Matt Boehnke, said the bill closes a gap in sentencing law; prosecutors supported the concept and suggested simplifying the language, while the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, defense attorneys, and public defense opposed it, citing undefined standards, difficulty verifying foreign convictions, and due process concerns. The committee also heard Senate Bill 6296 on involuntary treatment, which would expand who may petition for detention, change rules for assisted outpatient treatment and police assistance, require firearm surrender compliance procedures, and make other ITA changes. The sponsor and several providers and family members supported the bill as a needed modernization, while DCRs, disability advocates, behavioral health organizations, hospitals, and others raised concerns about due process, implementation, rural transport, capacity, and unintended consequences. No votes were taken on either bill during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• You will notice that they are sitting in chairs.
• found these in our collection and you found these in our collection and you will<00:15:11.920><c> notice
• that the old stools are not will notice that the old stools are not thrown<00:15:14.480><c> away.
• You'll get updates on that, but just to give you an advance notice that that will be happening a week
• an advanced notice that that will<00:43:36.560><c> be</c><00:43:36.640><c> happening</c><00:43:37.280

Transcript Highlights:

• One thing that we notice is that for this part of the population, the release is much slower.
• One thing that we notice is for this part of population, the release is much slower, right?
• And another thing that we noticed here is it seems a fiscal year And another thing that we noticed here
• In fiscal year 2025, we did notice a higher proportion of the most serious crime cases.
• But I also notice in 2024 he stopped. Yes, not you, but stopped. Our group was unable to continue.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on the effects of H.R. 1 on Washington’s Medicaid, developmental disability, long-term care, and food assistance systems, followed by a separate discussion of juvenile rehabilitation caseloads and placement capacity. DSHS officials said HR1 could affect home equity rules, immigration-related eligibility, work requirements for some expansion-population enrollees, and provider taxes, while also creating a future opportunity for a new 1915(c) waiver. Advocates and providers warned that any state response that cuts home and community-based services would worsen already thin provider networks, increase waiting lists, push more people into hospitals or out-of-state placements, and strain families and workers. A pediatric behavioral health expert and a supported living provider said Medicaid reimbursement is already too low and further reductions would threaten outpatient, residential, and inpatient services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and severe behavioral needs. The committee then turned to SNAP and the state food assistance program. DSHS said HR1 would tighten work requirements and exemptions, end some immigrant eligibility for the federal program, eliminate the SNAP education program, raise state administrative costs, and eventually require Washington to share in benefit costs based on its error rate. Officials estimated large numbers of residents could lose or see reduced benefits, with significant added state costs. Anti-hunger advocates, a food bank director, and a SNAP recipient described the program as essential for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities, and said the changes would increase paperwork, reduce benefits, and worsen food insecurity while also harming local food economies. Testimony emphasized that food banks cannot replace SNAP and that work requirements may be difficult to meet for caregivers, people with disabilities, and those facing child care or transportation barriers. In the juvenile justice portion, the Caseload Forecast Council presented the JR forecast, which is currently mostly flat through the end of the biennium but expected to grow modestly over the longer term. Members discussed how policy choices, including the 2019 JR-25 law, have increased lengths of stay for adult-sentenced youth in JR, while diversion and other reforms have affected regular JR trends. A court researcher explained the data available to help forecast admissions and noted ongoing efforts to improve data sharing with JR, AOC, and county systems, though staffing and system-lag issues limit how quickly data can be produced. Juvenile court administrators and DCYF officials described the community-based juvenile justice continuum, rising complexity in the JR population, overcrowding at Green Hill and placement constraints at Echo Glen and Harbor Heights, and the need for more flexible community transition and mental health capacity. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• The hospital must provide 120 days' notice between the announcement and actual closing.
• The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least three times.
• No notice. No notice. No notice, no notification whatsoever.
• Frankly, Red Lobster and Denny's customers got more notice than the patients of Brevard County did that
• I felt like the 75-mile radius kind of captured all of the folks that should have some level of notice

Summary: The committee took up a large health and human services agenda and first approved HB 711, the Spectrum Alert bill, which would create a statewide alert system for missing autistic children and require FDLE to coordinate training with state and local agencies. The measure drew a supportive waiver from the Florida Smart Justice Alliance and passed unanimously, 24-0, reported favorably. Members then considered CS for HB 229 on health facilities, which modernizes the Health Facilities Authority Act to allow additional nonprofit health system structures to use tax-exempt financing. Two amendments were adopted: one requiring advance notice, public hearings, and stakeholder notifications before a nonprofit hospital closure, and another removing a property tax exemption for a nonprofit hospital that closes and fails to maintain emergency services for 120 days, applied retroactively to January 1, 2025. The Florida Hospital Association opposed the amendments, citing workforce and nonprofit-status concerns, but the bill as amended passed 24-0. The committee also approved CS for HB 1405 on juvenile justice status offenders, expanding early truancy intervention, parent involvement, and shelter placement review timelines; it passed 24-0. CS for HB 27, joining the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, and its linked public records bill CS for HB 29 both passed unanimously after supportive testimony from several advocacy and business groups. The committee then debated HB 111 on out-of-network referrals and HB 1083 on patient access to records. HB 111 would require referring practitioners to inform patients in writing when a referral is out of network and to apply out-of-network payments to deductibles; it drew opposition from medical groups over administrative burden and patient-care concerns, but passed 17-8. HB 1083 would shorten the time for producing medical records to 14 working days and standardize access rules, with amendments clarifying portal access and delaying the effective date to January 1, 2026; despite opposition from some health information and provider groups over HIPAA and access concerns, it passed 19-7 as amended. Later, the committee approved HB 883, allowing autonomous practice for psychiatric nurse practitioners with the required credentials, after strong support from nurse practitioner groups and opposition from psychiatric and medical associations; it passed 23-3. HB 1297, which aligns Florida’s electronic prescribing exceptions with federal law and removes several state exemptions, passed 19-7 despite opposition from hospice, emergency physician, rheumatology, and medical groups concerned about paper prescriptions in emergencies and hard-to-find medications. HB 1353 on home health care services and CS for HB 989 on foster home licensure transfers both passed unanimously after supportive amendments. The committee also heard HB 1505 on parental rights, which would require written parental consent for many health care services, surveys, and biofeedback devices for minors and expand parental access to records; the bill drew extensive support testimony but also questions and concerns about confidentiality, abuse reporting, and existing exceptions, and the transcript ended before a final vote on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just need to get it to me fairly fast so I can notice the non-gain notice.
• Just need to get it to me fairly fast so I can notice the non-gain notice.
• Just need to get it to me fairly fast so I can notice the non-gain notice. ...and make it tax-free, make
• Just need to get it to me fairly fast so I can notice the non-gain notice.
• Fairly fast so I can notice the non-gain notice.

Committee: Senate Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:57:17.960><c> the</c><00:57:18.040><c> crack</c> If staff had noted the noticed the crack If
• staff had noted the noticed the crack in<00:57:18.560><c> the</c><00:57:18.680><c> TV</c><00:57:19.160
• But there was no—they did not notice that when they packed up the property.
• </c> but there was no they did not notice but there was no they did not notice that<00:59:37.480><c>
• or notified in the incident noticed or notified in the incident report<00:59:50.320><c> or</c><00:59

Summary: The Joint House and Senate Subcommittee on Claims convened on April 30, first without quorum and then with quorum, at which point the committee corrected and approved the prior minutes. Members then reviewed several claims held over for informational purposes, including injury claims for Fraser, Larson, Schmidt, Stuart, and Washington, and property claims for Lidberg, Robecky, and Young, with no action taken on those items. The committee dismissed a claim by Ms. Prevally seeking reimbursement for funds liquidated from irrevocable trusts after hearing that the matter had already been litigated in court and that subcommittee rules bar claims for public assistance compensation. The panel then approved two exoneration claims: James Jovan Davis, whose murder conviction was vacated after postconviction proceedings and who settled for $250,000, and Clayton Douglas Groves, whose sexual-conduct convictions were vacated after evidence of prior false accusations was admitted and who settled for $350,000. Testimony from counsel for both claimants emphasized wrongful conviction, the length of incarceration, and negotiated settlement amounts, with members asking about the basis for the compensation and attorney-fee allocations. The final exoneration claim, Marvin Haynes, was also approved. The committee heard that Haynes was convicted as a teenager, later exonerated after new evidence showed false evidence and suggestive eyewitness identification, and that the state and claimant had reached a $4.5 million settlement. The committee then turned to Department of Corrections injury claims, denying Arnold Baker’s claim for lack of evidence of a compensable permanent injury, and approving Mark Carroll’s claim for a $4,570.40 award after he suffered a compensable ankle fracture while working. In property claims, the committee discussed Anthony Edwards’s claim for food, a JPay tablet, and shoes. After testimony from Department of Corrections counsel about property inventory procedures and the lack of a current replacement tablet program, members agreed to compensate Edwards $70 for the missing shoes, deny the food claim, and deny the tablet claim because the tablet had been returned and any malfunction was reported outside the department’s reporting window.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're now under motions, resolutions, and notices.
• It has to be fully noticed, and they have to be accountable for that.
• It has to be fully noticed, and they have to be accountable for that.
• The bill does not require a physical notice to be provided to guests.
• We will now move to motions, resolutions, and notices. Senator Ashby, you are recognized.

Summary: The chamber took up a long series of concurrence and third-reading votes on bills spanning education, housing, elections, public safety, labor, insurance, corrections, and public employment. Early items included SB 1083 on school employee misconduct reporting and investigations, SB 1312 and AB 929 on abandoned cemeteries and cemetery transfer authority, SB 1359 on natural gas ratepayer transparency, SB 534 on foster youth family contact information, SB 457 on housing element data, SB 691 on body-worn camera redaction requests for EMS treatment, SB 1361 on transit and housing, SB 685 on special education placements at religious nonpublic schools, SB 677 on housing appeals and affordable housing bonds, SB 811 on hazardous waste licensing for metal shredders, and a series of election-related bills including AB 2017 on Eid holidays, SB 1078 on gift cards, SB 259 on vote-by-mail interference, AB 2281 on election cybersecurity, AB 2604 on electronic signature curing, and AB 2592 on lobbyist training. The chamber also considered AB 1198 on prevailing wage updates for large public works, AB 1537 on secondary employment for peace officers, AB 1627 on disqualifying immigration enforcement personnel with misconduct from becoming peace officers, AB 1578 on harassment and hate-speech training for elected officials, AB 1383 on public employee retirement changes, AB 1843 on hepatitis C treatment access, AB 2721 on hotel notice requirements when CBP or ICE is present, AB 2434 on prison visitor protections, AB 2724 on insurance distressed-area reviews, and AB 2121 on community college spending rules when federal funding is withdrawn. Several measures were described as technical or narrowly tailored, while others drew debate over federal preemption, worker protections, public safety, housing, and election administration. Key points of contention centered on SB 685, where supporters said the bill responds to a Ninth Circuit ruling by removing the non-sectarian requirement for nonpublic schools serving special education students, while opponents argued it would expand state funding to religious instruction. AB 811 drew a split over environmental licensing and small-business impacts, with opponents warning of burdens on small recycling facilities and supporters emphasizing licensing and environmental justice. SB 259 and AB 2721 prompted objections that the bills could conflict with federal authority or create risks for mail delivery and human trafficking investigations, while supporters framed them as protections for voting access and workplace transparency. AB 1537 and AB 1627 were presented as accountability measures for law enforcement and immigration-enforcement misconduct, and AB 1383 drew support from labor and public safety advocates for retirement and pension changes, especially for firefighters. The chamber also heard strong support for AB 2017 recognizing Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state holidays, though the item was later ruled not eligible at that moment and the body returned to unfinished business. AB 2724 on insurance and AB 1843 on hepatitis C treatment were presented as consumer and public health measures, respectively, with broad support. AB 2434 on prison visitor protections and AB 2592 on lobbyist training were described as administrative or procedural reforms. Most measures passed on recorded roll calls, often with bipartisan support, though some drew notable no votes; SB 259 passed 30-10, AB 2721 passed 29-11, AB 1537 passed 27-11, and AB 1383 passed after extended supportive remarks from labor and public safety members.

Transcript Highlights:

• A gentleman came up to me and pointed out his wife sitting nearby, and he said, "We noticed you were
• Someone noticed and someone cared. And I'll never forget and have gratitude for it.
• Members, we have two bills on the notice calendar requiring referral to a money committee pursuant to
• Someone noticed and someone cared. me. Someone noticed and someone cared.
• </c> Members, we have two bills on the notice Members, we have two bills on the notice calendar<00:05

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, you know, I did notice, and of course, I will follow up with them independently, but I did notice
• </c> did notice did notice there<00:21:24.560><c> were</c><00:21:24.920><c> in</c><00:21:25.040><c> a
• </c> that were on implemented, but I noticed that were on implemented, but I noticed that<00:21:31.480
• in a number a lot of convers- I noticed in a number of<00:23:37.400><c> places</c><00:23:37.720><c>
• </c><00:40:02.480><c> to</c> when uh it was sent to us as a notice to when uh it was sent to us as a

Committee: House State Government Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• This is largely due to the fact that the mandate is so broad and the rules for requesting notice and
• This is largely due to the fact that the mandate is so broad and the rules for requesting notice and
• This is largely due to the fact that the mandate is so broad and the rules for requesting notice and
• This is largely due to the fact that the mandate is so broad and the rules for requesting notice and
• This is largely due to the fact that the mandate is so broad and the rules for requesting notice and

Summary: The committee took up House File 1325 and adopted the author’s A2 amendment before hearing testimony. Representative Schultz presented the bill as a set of bipartisan changes to make Minnesota’s earned sick and safe time law more workable for small businesses, public employers, and taxpayers, arguing the current law is an unfunded mandate that increases costs and property taxes. The bill’s supporters said it would add flexibility, including changes affecting coverage for certain workers, employer size thresholds, front-loading, weather-related exceptions, and a delay on penalties. Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach of the Department of Labor and Industry opposed the bill, saying it would exclude about 800,000 workers, or roughly 30% of the workforce, from earned sick and safe time protections and create confusion and enforcement problems. She also objected to the proposed penalty delay, saying the department already uses compliance assistance and needs penalty authority for serious violations. The Minnesota Chamber supported modifications to the mandate, saying businesses—especially small ones—have struggled with compliance and that the law has had unintended effects on PTO policies and leave use. The League of Minnesota Cities supported parts of the bill, especially changes affecting more generous city leave policies and weather-event exemptions, saying current language creates confusion and can interfere with emergency staffing. Opponents from Education Minnesota, SEIU Minnesota, TakeAction Minnesota, and a nurse from Unity Hospital argued the bill would strip protections from part-time workers, minors, and workers with family caregiving needs, and would weaken a law they said has helped workers avoid discipline or lost wages when sick. Supporters from counties and an HR consultant emphasized administrative burdens, emergency staffing needs during weather events, and the difficulty of applying ESS rules to existing leave policies. No final vote on the bill was taken in the portion of the meeting provided; the bill was laid over for further consideration.

Transcript Highlights:

• We publicly notice them, we put it out there, and people just don't come.
• We publicly notice them, we put it out there, and people just don't come.
• We publicly notice them, we put it out there, and people just don't come.
• We publicly notice them, we put it out there, and people just don't come.
• We publicly notice them, we put it out there, and people just don't come.

Committee: Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• So with that, the member from Pney on our notice calendar is Senate Bill 190, which is an act relating
• for immediate notice calendar for immediate consideration?
• notice calendar for immediate<00:01:25.759><c> consideration.
• </c><01:53:48.639><c> Are</c> its entry on the notice calendar.
• Are its entry on the notice calendar.