Transcript Highlights:

• If a district loses capacity at a shared disposal site due to the relocation, the relocating district
• exception that I can think of is if the city is also going through condemnation in that particular site
• I think that is a valid reason why the city would have to say no to that particular second site, but
• But to find another suitable site. Isn't that your assessment, Mr. Reagan?
• Provided by contract and by law on site.

Bills: HB341 , HB791 , HB1564 , HB1695 , HB1722 , HB1729 , HB1772 , HB2003 , HB2954 , HB2989 , HB3084 , HB3134 , HB3135 , HB3309 , HB3611 , HB3679 , HB3727 , HB3832

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: affordable housing, zoning, development, community support, local regulations, bicycle lanes, traffic collisions, Texas Department of Transportation, study, public safety, bicycles, electric bicycles, scooters, road safety, transportation study, HB 791, Central Catholic High School, San Antonio, specialty license plate, specialty plates

Bills: HB341 , HB791 , HB1564 , HB1695 , HB1722 , HB1729 , HB1772 , HB2003 , HB2954 , HB2989 , HB3084 , HB3134 , HB3135 , HB3309 , HB3611 , HB3679 , HB3727 , HB3832

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: affordable housing, zoning, development, community support, local regulations, bicycle lanes, traffic collisions, Texas Department of Transportation, study, public safety, bicycles, electric bicycles, scooters, road safety, transportation study, HB 791, Central Catholic High School, San Antonio, specialty license plate, specialty plates

Transcript Highlights:

• in the transportation of these particular burials.
• in the transportation of these particular burials.
• </c> indigent barrels burials. indigent barrels burials.
• </c> And they can pay for indigent burials And they can pay for indigent burials for for for a<02:34:
• services</c> burials fees indigent burial services burials fees indigent burial services for<02:34:51.000

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill would generally permit natural persons to establish family burial grounds on private property
• It would also require the owner of a property in which a previously established family burial ground
• the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation to ensure that such family burial
• feet of an existing spring source used for drinking water before being deemed a compliant family burial
• while we have addressed that, moving forward, we need a mechanism for addressing it for the past burial

Summary: The committee began by waiving the five-day notice rule for engrossed substitute House Bill 2095 so it could be heard that day. It then took public testimony on House Bill 2248, a technical cleanup bill affecting Secretary of State corporate and nonprofit filings, trademarks, foreign entities, and apostille procedures. The prime sponsor said the bill makes no policy changes or fee increases, while the Secretary of State’s office supported it as a clarification measure. One testifier raised concerns about multiple LLCs and transparency in manufactured home communities, asking for stronger oversight and verification. The committee then heard engrossed substitute House Bill 2508, which expands the Office of Independent Investigations’ jurisdiction over deadly-force and related non-deadly-force incidents, broadens notification and records access requirements, and exempts certain records from disclosure. The sponsor and OII testified in support, emphasizing that the bill clarifies authority and procedures; members asked about how far back investigations could go, and staff confirmed there was no time limit for deadly-force cases under the bill. The committee also heard Substitute House Bill 2203, creating the offense of reckless interference with emergency operations for driving around closures on hazardous roadways. The sponsor described it as a response to flood and disaster rescues, and fire chiefs supported it as a safety and accountability measure. Defense attorneys opposed it as unnecessary and disproportionate, warning of criminal penalties, license suspensions, restitution, and fiscal costs for conduct they viewed as more appropriately handled civilly. Next, Second Substitute House Bill 1909 proposed a Court Unification Task Force to study inefficiencies and inequities in Washington’s fragmented court system; the sponsor and a legal aid attorney supported it as an access-to-justice reform, while the committee noted a large number of signed-in opponents. Finally, engrossed substitute House Bill 2095 would create a rebuttable presumption of negligence for drivers who injure or kill vulnerable road users in designated areas, along with education requirements and damages provisions. Supporters, including a widow, bicycling advocates, and a bike commuter, said it would improve accountability and help injured people who cannot easily prove fault; opponents from cities, trucking, and defense groups argued it would expand litigation, create liability and fee-shifting problems, and go beyond existing negligence law. After public hearings, the committee moved into executive session and advanced several bills. Substitute House Bill 2158 received a do pass recommendation. Substitute House Bill 2239, concerning family burial grounds on private property, was amended to increase a setback from public rights-of-way and easements and then received a do pass recommendation as amended. Substitute House Bill 2178 on court rules and procedures also received a do pass recommendation. House Bill 2543 on county clerk fees was advanced despite concerns about fee increases. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2165 on false identification as a peace officer was amended to clarify intent and then passed out of committee. The committee also adopted an amendment to Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2320 on firearm manufacturing, including a change allowing certain digital code and manufacturing activity for repair purposes, and discussed another amendment removing some possession prohibitions for personal use.

Transcript Highlights:

• Under this bill, if a historic African-American cemetery has excess land not being used as burial grounds
• It allows us to protect history by giving communities a tool to maintain these sites for future generations

Transcript Highlights:

• People want their burials usually close to home, and this won't be a burial, but it is the final disposition
• Why I first got interested in this point was because of green burial.
• We had a good family friend who died suddenly in Vermont and chose to have a green burial on his own
• But natural organic reduction I see as a way to have natural burial even in the winter; you are still
• even in the winter you are still burial even in the winter you are still going<01:12:30.639><c> back

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• It's going to be about burial sites, properties? I mean, it's many things.
• It covers many things, and we know Hawaiian burials are not just one site.
• </c><00:19:20.320><c> sites</c> going to be about burial sites going to be about burial sites properties
• </c> Hawaiian burials are not just one site Hawaiian burials are not just one site they're<00:19:29.480
• I would ask, has this proposal been taken up with the burial councils?

Committee: House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several housing, land use, and preservation bills. HB 1008 HD2 would require the Department of Land and Natural Resources to complete historic preservation determinations for state affordable housing projects within 90 days and create sensitivity-based review pathways. HHFDC, DLNR’s State Historic Preservation Division, and written testimony from DBEDT supported the bill as an expedited process for projects unlikely to affect significant historic resources. Members asked how the bill would define significant versus non-significant historic properties, how it would interact with Kapakai analysis, and whether burial councils had been consulted; SHPD said the bill would not replace Kapakai review and that burial councils had not been included. Written support also came from OHA, Hawaii Realtors, and the Maui Chamber of Commerce. HB 1093 would clarify the Hawaii Public Housing Authority’s powers relating to housing projects. HPHA supported the measure, saying it would align definitions with prior law and help deconcentrate poverty by allowing mixed-income rebuilding. The director also said the bill was increasingly urgent because of reported federal HUD priorities that could affect public housing and Section 8 funding. HB 1096 HD1 would repeal state low-income housing preferences for disabled veterans and spouses of deceased veterans, with HPHA saying federal veteran programs such as VASH are a better mechanism and that the state preference has not been used in years. HB 1411 would allow HHFDC projects to give sale or lease preferences to applicants who live or work within five miles of a project; HHFDC and the Hawaii Chapter of NAIOP supported it as a way to keep residents connected to their communities, while members raised constitutional concerns about broader local-preference policies. The committee also heard HB 367 HD1, which would create county permit exemptions for certain agricultural and maintenance activities. Written testimony included opposition from the Department of Planning and Permitting and support from the Hawaii Farm Bureau, Grassroot Institute, and others. A public testifier opposed the bill, arguing that permit exemptions could worsen safety and compliance problems. Finally, HB 826 HD1 would allow county planning commissions, by special permit, to authorize residential housing in agricultural districts for agricultural workforce housing, long-term rental, or fee simple ownership under certain conditions. HHFDC supported it as a faster alternative to lengthy state land-use redistricting, but the Department of Agriculture, Land Use Commission, and Office of Planning and Sustainable Development raised concerns about food production impacts, due process, service provision, jurisdictional conflicts, and the use of special permits for what could amount to district boundary changes. Public testimony was mixed, with some support and some opposition. No votes or final actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• So it prohibits funeral and burial service providers from contracting with hospice providers to be the
• Why does this bill limit available causes of action against a funeral or burial service provider?
• Why does this bill limit available causes of action against a funeral or burial service provider?
• that Florida does not recognize so that an individual who wants to pursue this more natural form of burial

Summary: The Insurance and Banking Subcommittee met with a quorum present and heard four bills. HB 1231, relating to final disposition, funeral, and cemetery services, was presented as a consumer protection and workforce modernization measure. After questions about hospice/funeral provider exclusivity, direct disposal licensing, causes of action, and funeral director/embalmer licensure, the bill was amended by strike-all to remove some provisions and add authorization and regulation of natural organic reduction. Support came from funeral industry representatives, and the bill was reported favorably with the committee substitute. HB 943 would require Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to create a commercial lines clearinghouse by January 1, 2027, to move certain commercial residential and other commercial risks into the private market while maintaining current eligibility rules. The sponsor and members discussed Citizens’ remaining commercial exposure, surplus lines participation, and carrier financial-strength guardrails. A strike-all amendment conforming to the Senate version and making technical corrections was adopted, and the bill passed favorably with the committee substitute after supportive debate from members. HB 1221, a Department of Financial Services bill, was described as streamlining DFS processes, improving licensing, updating the My Safe Florida Home Program, strengthening public adjuster protections, and modernizing unclaimed property rules. Three amendments were adopted: notice before a My Safe Florida Home application is deemed abandoned, removal of a misdemeanor disclosure requirement for certain licensure applicants, and a provision allowing public officials to appoint or promote relatives to firefighter positions through a competitive process in a collective bargaining agreement. Testimony was generally supportive, including from firefighters and unclaimed-property claimants’ representatives, and the bill was reported favorably with a committee substitute. HB 99, concerning reinsurance intermediary managers, would exempt certain underwriting managers handling limited facultative reinsurance business from the intermediary manager statute and instead require an agency license. With no public testimony or debate, the bill was reported favorably. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:10:17.920><c> work</c> isn't a lot of planning or on-site work isn't a lot of planning or on-site
• We need to get a six-foot burial.
• We need to get a six-foot burial.
• Just a a quick contaminated sites.
• And so we have about them for 114 sites.

Committee: House Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:

• also qualify for payment of burial expenses by counties, increasing the amount paid for burial expenses
• veterans for burial, specifying indigent veterans<00:17:04.040><c> who</c><00:17:04.160><c> qualify<
• for burial expenses veterans who qualify for burial expenses paid<00:17:06.600><c> by</c><00:17:06.800
• expenses by counties, increasing burial expenses by counties, increasing the<00:17:12.920><c> amount
• expenses</c><00:17:14.640><c> by</c> the amount paid for burial expenses by the amount paid for burial

Transcript Highlights:

• But when they do a surface test, aluminum levels, burial mercury, heavy metals are found.
• Alabama does not consent to being a test site for dangerous geoengineering schemes.

Bills: HB248 , HB311

Committees: House Tourism , House Economic Development and Tourism

Keywords: weather modification, atmospheric pollution, chemical dispersion, environmental law, public health, improvement districts, assessment collection, property taxes, local governance, foreclosure procedures

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> much like we do for the island burial much like we do for the island burial councils. councils.
• sites um identified on the state list or the federal list do trigger 343.
• .<01:08:32.400><c> So</c> sites.
• So sites.
• </c> this bill removed both the historic site this bill removed both the historic site and<01:08:55.279

Bills: HB1881 , HB2218 , HB1956 , HB2151 , HB1845 , HB1844 , HB2103 , HB2424 , HB1650 , HB376 , HB2599 , HB1861

Committee: House Water & Land

Summary: The committee on Water and Land met on February 10, 2026, with Chair Mark Hashem outlining strict testimony rules and noting a time constraint because of later hearings and floor session obligations. The committee then took up several bills, hearing mostly supportive testimony on HB 1881 relating to land use, HB 2218 relating to DLNR/community management, and HB 1956 relating to freshwater waves, while HB 1845 relating to the Land Use Commission drew legal concerns and opposition. HB 2151 relating to building materials had no substantive testimony presented in the excerpt, and the committee moved through it quickly. On HB 1881, testimony focused on protecting North Shore lands from overdevelopment. A supporter described the area as valuable precisely because it remains largely undeveloped, and a member asked whether the bill’s restrictions on “finculars” would affect existing or future private residential installations; the response suggested the bill was aimed at future commercial uses and that grandfathering or personal-use exceptions might be possible, but the exact wording would need legal refinement. HB 2218 received broad support from OHA, DLNR, Kua, Sierra Club, Hui Maka Aana, the Honlay Initiative, and others, who said the measure would expand community-based co-management across DLNR divisions, build on existing park partnerships, and produce real benefits such as better stewardship, safer access, local jobs, and stronger community trust. Members asked about the bill’s five-year review structure, how multiple community groups would be handled, and whether the model could apply to ocean or nearshore areas; DLNR said the board would retain authority, agreements would be non-exclusive and subject to review, and the department was still working through how the approach would function across different divisions and marine settings. For HB 1956, the Attorney General offered technical comments, urging clearer definitions of “residing” and “freshwater way,” clearer timing for citations and arrests, and more explicit procedural safeguards and agency roles. On HB 1845, the Attorney General and Land Use Commission raised concerns that the bill could conflict with constitutional protections for important agricultural lands and could not be reconciled with existing voting requirements; the LUC also said commissioners cannot vote by proxy under sunshine law and warned that the bill could allow too few commissioners to approve major boundary changes. Members questioned how the bill would work in counties without designated important agricultural lands, and the LUC explained that Kauai is the only county to have completed the IAL process, while the broader statutory process remains county-driven and has been the subject of litigation. No votes or final committee actions were taken in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• , sites, sites, &gt;&gt; right?
• site.
• Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the ... and burial sites subject to certain and burial sites subject
• </c><01:48:13.440><c> site</c><01:48:13.760><c> specialist</c><01:48:15.119><c> um</c> historian or burial
• site specialist um historian or burial site specialist um for<01:48:16.480><c> that</c><01:48:16.800

Committee: House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 2046, which would establish and fund an Olo Hawaii Commission to coordinate and promote initiatives supporting the use of Olo Hawaii. The Attorney General suggested adding an end date because the bill creates a temporary commission, and several supporters from the University of Hawaii, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission said the commission could improve coordination, funding decisions, and consistency across agencies. Members discussed whether the commission should include broader representation, including expertise on Niihau dialect speakers and other stakeholders, and the bill was then set aside as the committee moved to the next measure. The committee next considered House Bill 2438, creating the Hawaii Cultural Trust within DBEDT, authorizing an income tax credit for contributions to the trust and qualified cultural organizations, and creating a special license plate to support the trust. DBEDT said it would need additional resources, including staff, to administer the program. The Department of Taxation recommended changing the effective date to 2026 to allow time for implementation and adding a requirement that credits be claimed within one year. OHA supported the bill but objected to language that would require it to maintain a prequalified list of organizations, saying that could limit applicants and conflict with its grant process. The Tax Foundation said it supported cultural funding but preferred direct appropriations and grants over a trust fund and tax credit structure. The final measure discussed was House Bill 2584, which would temporarily increase public land trust revenues transferred to OHA while reaffirming the state’s obligation to the 20% pro rata share, with a repeal date of June 30, 2028. The Attorney General recommended deleting the bill’s requirement that OHA receive a minimum amount equal to the 20% share, arguing the constitution and Admission Act do not specify a precise dollar amount and that the legislature must determine allocation. OHA strongly supported the bill, arguing the state currently pays only about 5% and that historical records show much higher amounts are owed; OHA also pointed to a carry-forward account it said held about $55 million. DLNR opposed the bill because the fiscal impact was unspecified and could affect land management and special fund budgets. Several OHA trustees and supporters urged the committee to pass the bill, and one testifier criticized the state for underfunding Native Hawaiian obligations. No votes were taken in the portion provided, and the committee continued hearing testimony on HB 2584.

Transcript Highlights:

• determine the sex and consider. ...to the remains of my baby and determine the sex and consider a burial
• grieving parents the option to recognize their unborn child and to make personal decisions regarding burial
• fight through a bureaucratic process, that they have the right to give those remains dignity and a burial

Bills: HB2122 , HB2184 , HB2910

Committee: Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency

Keywords: technical registration, engineering, architect, land surveyor, reciprocity, endorsement, qualification standards, fetal death, funeral homes, informed consent, abortion, women's rights, medical assistance, emotional support, contractors, administrative recovery, regulation, statute of limitations, residential contractors' recovery fund

Transcript Highlights:

• 2023 and urge you to please consider the profound human impact that adequate funding could do. for burials
• to rest without the basic respect we afford to all. consistent statewide funding for this type of burials
• Across the state, counties are required to provide. at end of life services, including burials, for those
• record, though, that we do have hospitals that believe this is a more efficient way to derive that site
• have a concern with this in particular, they don't have, right now, unique NPI. for all their clinic sites

Bills: SB500 , SB719 , SB912 , SB1232 , SB1467 , SB1777 , SB1864 , SB2023 , SB2119 , SB2458

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> removal, burial, or other disposition. removal, burial, or other disposition.
• This measure extends burial councils.
• </c> biggest issues um is staffing the burial biggest issues um is staffing the burial councils.<02:21
• The next members of the burial councils.
• </c> relating to island burial councils. relating to island burial councils.

Committee: House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs heard testimony on HB 1875, which would expand Hawaii’s existing protections to include gender-affirming health care, clarify permitted disclosures of protected health information, and bar certain adverse actions by malpractice insurers and health carriers against providers of lawful reproductive or gender-affirming care. The Insurance Division of DCCA supported the bill with a technical amendment, suggesting language tied to actuarial analysis rather than the phrase “actuarially sound.” The Office of Information Practices also provided comments. Most testimony was strongly in support. State agencies and advocacy groups, including the Hawaii State Youth Commission, State Health Planning and Development Agency, Commission on the Status of Women, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Hawaii Public Health Institute, Stonewall Caucus, ACLU of Hawaii, PFLAG Oahu, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the bill would protect patient privacy, reduce chilling effects from out-of-state litigation, and help retain providers in a state already facing shortages. Several testifiers said gender-affirming care is medically necessary, evidence-based, and life-saving, and emphasized that Hawaii should protect its own health care decisions from outside political pressure. A few individuals testified in opposition, arguing the bill was unnecessary or that it protected providers more than opponents of the bill, but these views were not echoed by most of the testimony. The chair repeatedly reminded testifiers to keep comments brief and maintain decorum. The transcript provided does not include a final committee vote or disposition on the bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• And what the House proposed we do was to increase that fee from $350 per burial to $450 per burial.
• And what the House proposed we do was to increase that fee from $350 per burial to $450 per burial.
• And what the House proposed we do was to increase that fee from $350 per burial to $450 per burial.
• And what the House proposed we do was to increase that fee from $350 per burial to $450 per burial.
• The House proposed we do was to increase that fee from $350 per burial to $450 per burial.

Committee: Senate Finance

Bills: SB206 , SB640 , SB667 , SB1344 , SB1380 , SB1423 , SB1425 , SB1436 , SB1484 , SB1500 , SB1502 , SB1503 , SB1557 , SB1562 , SB1572 , SB1644 , SB1645 , SB1794 , SB1796 , SB1806 , SB1849 , SB1984 , SB2007 , SB2074

Committee: House Health and Human Services Oversight

Keywords: SB206, emergency medical services, EMS, ambulance, 911 response, emergency response, essential services, federal funding, grant funding, public health, health care facility, municipality, county, ambulance service district, tribal entity, public entity, contract ambulance service, Oklahoma, 63 O.S. 2021 Section 1-2502, emergency clause

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate File 11, sponsored by Transportation, Burials of Indigent Veterans Amendments, an act relating
• Senate File 11, engrossed burials of indigent veterans amendments, respectfully reports the same back
• Representative Brown, Chairman. file 11 engrossed burials of indigent file 11 engrossed burials of indigent
• Sun Bucks does not is not site specific.
• </c><00:45:04.319><c> to</c> families must go to those sites to families must go to those sites to obtain

Transcript Highlights:

• submit an application for the exemption from property taxation for certain property used for human burial
• of an appraisal district shall grant the property tax exemption for the properties used for human burial
• The exemption for land used for human burial remains if one is not applied for, and they can use the

Committee: Senate Local Government

Keywords: Senate Committee, local government, SB2183, SB2046, committee substitute, legislative measures

Summary: The meeting of the Senate Committee on Local Government was characterized by the passage of several significant bills, including SB2183, SB2046, SB434, and others with recommendations for further consideration. Discussions involved voting on committee substitutes and the implications of various legislative measures. Senator Paxton and other members provided insights and moved bills forward with emphatic support, leading to their successful passing out of committee. Importantly, the bills addressed various local government concerns, showcasing the committee's focus on practical legislative solutions.