Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:25.519> to uh clarifies that the appropriation to uh clarifies that the appropriation
• district aid appropriation for FY2627. district aid appropriation for FY2627.
• So the fiscal 2026-27 appropriations for that aid were decreased by $368,000.
• So the fiscal appropriation.
• <00:27:05.039> aid<00:27:05.360> were 2627 appropriations for that aid were 2627 appropriations

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• appropriate committees. appropriate committees.
• appropriate committees. appropriate committees. Quarum<00:07:01.199> call.
• <00:10:31.279> Appropriations. Committee announcements. Appropriations.
• Appropriations.
• at 3 p.m. in the Appropriations Room 120.

Keywords: House streaming session for Friday, February 13, 2026, 957, house, all

Summary: The House convened with 125 members present, heard a prayer and opening remarks, and then proceeded through the journal, committee assignments, and several consent calendars. Introductory House Bills 1358 through 1585 were read the first time and referred to the appropriate committees, along with bond initiatives 34 through 37 and Senate Bill 14. House Bill 1215 was later reassigned to Appropriations. The House also recorded quorum calls showing 129 and later 131 members present. On third reading and final passage, House Bill 28, concerning higher education and private career schools advertising, passed 128-0. House Bill 226, establishing Department of Disabilities housing programs and affiliated foundations, passed 122-6. House Bill 229, increasing the Maryland Transportation Authority revenue bond limit, passed 96-33. No debate was recorded on these bills before the roll calls. The remainder of the session consisted largely of committee, subcommittee, delegation, caucus, and personal announcements. Committees announced upcoming voting sessions or cancellations, including Appropriations, Economic Matters, Environment and Transportation, Health, Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Rules. Members also made numerous recognitions and invitations, including a briefing on the Patuxent River sewer interceptor breakage, district nights, a Tourism Day lunch, and several birthday and family announcements. The protocol chair led a Valentine’s Day recognition of House staff, and the House then recessed until Monday, February 16 at 8:00 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• The motion is due pass to the Committee on Appropriations. Lee? Aye. Lee, aye, McKinner.
• The motion is due pass the committee on appropriations. Lee? Aye. Lee, aye, McKinner.
• The motion is due pass the committee on appropriations. Lee? Aye. Lee. I, McKinner.
• The motion is do pass as amended to the Committee on Appropriations. Chair voting, aye.
• The motion is do pass to the Committee on Appropriations. McKinnor, aye. McKinnor, aye.

Summary: The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee heard several bills focused on wildfire preparedness, industrial safety, and recycling oversight. SB 1153 by Senator Caballero would require urban retail water suppliers to add wildfire-specific procedures to emergency plans and coordinate with fire agencies; supporters said it would improve planning while recognizing water system limits, and the bill was framed as protecting ratepayers and infrastructure. SB 811, also by Senator Caballero, would create a comprehensive DTSC permitting and regulatory framework for metal shredding facilities; supporters argued it would set clear statewide standards and protect communities, while opponents said it would weaken hazardous waste protections and carve the industry out of existing law. SB 883 by Senator Umberg would impose new safeguards for facilities storing reactive chemicals such as methyl methacrylate after the Garden Grove evacuation, including backup cooling, public review, emergency planning, and state tracking; industry groups opposed the breadth of the bill and sought further clarification, while environmental and community groups supported it. SB 1010 by Senator Ashby would strengthen oversight of appliance recyclers by improving reporting, inspections, certification, and funding for enforcement; supporters said it would reduce emissions and improve compliance, while recyclers raised concerns about fees and certification requirements. Each bill drew extensive testimony from industry, environmental, labor, local government, and community representatives. Supporters generally emphasized public safety, transparency, and the need for clearer statewide standards, while opponents warned about overregulation, reduced flexibility, or unintended impacts on existing hazardous waste and recycling systems. Committee members also raised questions about transparency, liability, size-based treatment of facilities, and whether the bills were narrowly tailored enough to address the problems identified. The committee voted to advance all four measures to the Committee on Appropriations, with votes taken on call and some members voting no or not voting on certain bills. The final add-on votes showed SB 811, SB 883, SB 1010, and SB 1153 all passing out of committee, with the roll left open for absent members before the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The fund will be subject to an appropriation from the legislature.
• Yes, it's going to Appropriations.
• Number five is using appropriate tools strategically.
• So while AI isn't math, there are ways to appropriately use AI in math.
• the man. of bullying are properly addressed and appropriately managed.

Summary: The committee met on May 19, 2026, with a quorum present and first heard a presentation from Superintendent Cade Brumley on Louisiana’s recent education scorecard, which showed the state ranked first nationally in reading growth, second in math growth, and first overall in academic growth from 2022 to 2026. Members praised teachers and the department for the results. The committee then deferred SB 507 at the author’s request. The committee reported several bills favorably. SB 484 by Sen. Abraham, as amended, transfers selected duties from the Board of Regents to university management boards and Louisiana Works, adjusts authority over certain higher-education initiatives, creates a study of LUMCON’s placement, and adds financial reporting and early-warning requirements for universities. SB 157 by Sen. Jenkins, as amended, creates six weeks of paid parental leave for eligible public K-12 employees for birth, adoption, or fostering, with a reimbursement fund subject to appropriation; testimony emphasized family support, recruitment and retention, and health benefits. SB 83 by Sen. Edmonds, as amended, requires human trafficking prevention and victim-identification training in schools and updates coordination and service language; the amendment made implementation subject to appropriation and clarified the governor’s office role. The committee also reported SB 450 by Sen. Edmonds, as amended, requiring mandatory reporting of school threats and physical security assessments, with student witnesses and members stressing school safety and the need for funding and practical security measures. SB 132 by Sen. Klein-Peter, as amended, requires exterior master key boxes and updated school mapping data for emergency response, with an amendment exempting districts already using such boxes. Finally, Rep. Carver presented HR 251 on recess for K-3 students, citing Oklahoma’s expanded recess law and research on physical activity and learning, but said he would keep the resolution parked for further discussion rather than seek a vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1001, an act appropriating monies to the Department of Economic Security.
• I move that the Appropriations, Transportation and Technology amendment be adopted. Excellent.
• The Appropriations, Transportation and Technology amendment as amended be adopted.
• Senate Bill 1523, an act appropriating monies to the Department of Administration.
• We'll have other items going on on the lawn, appropriately on the lawn, right? It's golf.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for useful work and for the honor of bearing this responsibility appropriately.
• Authority, making an appropriation Authority, making an appropriation therefore<00:18:38.240>
• Friday, January 16th, 2026. appropriations and revenue, House Bill appropriations and revenue, House
• Burke to appropriations and revenue. Burke to appropriations and revenue.
• appropriations and revenue. appropriations and revenue.

Keywords: Video Starts 00:00 Convene 07:18 Calendar/Second Readings 12:04 Report of Committees 12:31 Motions, Petitions, and Communications 13:30 Introduction of New Bills and Resolutions 16:50 Recess for ConC and Rules Meeting 20:44 ConC and Rules Report 23:01 Adjournment 25:50, 958, all

Summary: The House convened with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, then established a quorum with 95 members present. Members approved excusing absences, suspended rules to allow co-sponsorships and vote modifications, and approved the journal from January 14, 2026. The clerk reported second readings of House Bills 176, 184, and 265, and the Health Services Committee reported favorably on House Bills 178 and 280, as well as House Joint Resolution 24, which would direct the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to withdraw a previously submitted 1115A waiver application for a mandatory community engagement program; those measures were advanced to first reading and placed on the calendar. During announcements, members noted a KPA breakfast the next morning, a House Committee on Local Government meeting cancellation, a POB meeting after adjournment, a “Bags of Hope” service project for children in foster care, an open house for higher education leaders, and a Legislative Oversight and Investigation Committee meeting after adjournment. The House then received a large batch of new bill and resolution introductions covering school bus safety, education, literacy funding, local public agency transactions, Alzheimer’s services, tax-dollar restrictions, curriculum, public holidays, trophy catfish, electric generating unit decommissioning costs, sexual offenses against children, fertility treatment, medicinal cannabis, workers’ compensation, occupational license fees, pension supplemental payments, certificate of need, end-of-life patient-directed care, risk protection orders, affordable housing, physician continuing medical education, constitutional term limits for governor and lieutenant governor, jail booking procedures, educators, farmland preservation loans, domestic violence, and several resolutions including Burn Awareness Week, Profound Autism Day, and Suits and Sneakers Day. The House recessed for a Committee on Committees meeting, then received the committee’s report assigning numerous bills to standing committees and making several membership changes, including appointing Representatives Burke, Gentry, and Camuel to specified committees and removing Representatives Gentry, Watkins, and Stevenson from others. No floor amendments were introduced. The House then adjourned by unanimous consent until 9:00 a.m. Friday, January 16, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Moipin, members, as amended by the Committee on Appropriations, House Bill 2229 appropriates $3
• Appropriates $3 million from the state general fund in fiscal year 2027 to the Department of Health Services
• Madam Witt, members, as amended by the Committee on Appropriations, House Bill 2403 appropriates $2,500,000
• Madam Witt members as amended by the government and Appropriations Committee House Bill 2620 appropriates
• Madam Witt, members, House Bill 2889, as amended by the Committee on Appropriations, appropriates $50,000

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The meeting was a caucus-style review of two packets of bills, with staff reading summaries and members briefly explaining several measures. Topics included appropriations for pregnancy resource centers, home- and community-based services for the elderly and people with disabilities, veteran specialty courts, child care grants and infrastructure, language acquisition services for deaf or hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers, ambulance service regulation, short-term rental rules, tourism improvement areas, manufactured home installer licensure, CPR/AED training in schools, veterans’ park fee exemptions, and multiple child welfare and family-court bills. Several Senate bills were also reviewed, including optometry standards, behavior analyst licensure transfer, virtual mental health hearings, and assisted-living residency rules. Members speaking for bills emphasized themes such as supporting aging in place, improving rural ambulance access and reporting, protecting children in DCS cases, preventing poverty alone from being treated as neglect, and expanding access to health screenings and services. Other sponsors described measures to help veterans, strengthen school safety, and create local funding or improvement mechanisms for tourism and child care. Some bills were described as technical or administrative changes, such as post-nuptial agreement rules, tax lien procedures, and local government contract posting requirements. No formal votes were taken in the transcript excerpt, but many bills were noted as being on the consent calendar or third-read consent calendar, while a few had been removed from consent or were not yet on a calendar. The meeting concluded after the final bill on the second packet, HB 4025, was summarized as creating a study committee on gasoline and petroleum refinery feasibility.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the annual LCCMR appropriation.
• Subdivision 16 of the bill includes 11 extensions of previous appropriations.
• <00:01:28.320> The<00:01:28.440> total previous appropriations.
• The total previous appropriations.
• <00:03:31.160> and those dollars are be appropriated and those dollars are be appropriated

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 3426, the annual LCCMR appropriation bill funding projects from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), which is supported by state lottery proceeds and does not affect the general fund. The bill was described as containing 108 appropriations totaling $102.036 million, including 11 extensions of prior appropriations, and a new community grants program funded at $28.18 million under the constitutional limit. The author noted the bill is the second year of funding after the 2024 voter-approved amendment renewing the ENRTF and community grants program. Members discussed the bill’s scope and purpose, including projects for scientific research, PFAS mitigation and testing, rapid testing for chronic wasting disease, parks and trails, outdoor recreation, and solid waste/recycling innovation. Co-Chair Heintzeman said the bill had involved many conversations, thanked the author for working with the caucus, and noted that a missing project issue had been addressed to improve the bill’s path forward. He also said statutory changes were being made to the community grants program to reduce fraud risk and incorporate suggestions from the Office of the Legislative Auditor. Co-Chair Koznick asked about whether lottery-funded ENRTF dollars had ever been considered for proportional returns to districts, but the author said he was not aware of such discussions and emphasized that the fund benefits all Minnesotans through projects across the state. After no further questions, the chair renewed the motion to recommend House File 3426 for placement on the general register, and the committee approved it by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• law enforcement records management; SB 1580, appropriation fire incident management; SB 1581, appropriations
• 1584, appropriation DOC recruitment retention; SB 1585, sex offenders fund assessment subcommittee;
• homeless shelter services fund; SB 1597, child care waiting list appropriation; SB 1598, appropriations
• SB 1654, appropriations and point monitoring elections.
• SB 1673, appropriation, crime victim notification fund.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That have depleted the Appropriation Contingency Fund.
• Appropriating funds in response to recent federal budget cuts. 5.
• Transferring funds into the Appropriation Contingency Fund. 9.
• Appropriating funds for the expenses of the 57th Legislature First Special Session 2025.
• An act relating to general appropriations, making appropriations from the legislative cash session of

Transcript Highlights:

• Appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations
• certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects.
• Appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations
• An act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations
• An act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2026 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate considered and advanced several local and appropriations measures. It first took up Senate No. 2552, authorizing the town of Berkeley to recall elected officials; an amendment substituting Senate No. 3018 was adopted, and the bill was passed to be engrossed. The Senate also passed to be engrossed a Springfield local tax measure, House No. 3213, which had been retitled to authorize the city to appropriate funds to help certain residents meet local tax obligations. The Senate then concurred in House amendments to Senate No. 2859, the Sandwich charter bill, after suspending the rules. It also adopted a rules committee order extending the Public Health Committee’s reporting deadline to April 17, 2026, for bills related to establishing a celiac disease screening pilot program. Finally, the Senate advanced House No. 5348, a fiscal year 2026 supplemental appropriations bill, ordering it to a third reading, passing it to be engrossed, adopting the required emergency preamble by standing vote, and then passing it to be enacted. The bill was ordered sent to the Governor. The Senate then set its next meeting for Wednesday at 11 a.m. and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• House File 2620 is a $10 million appropriation for emerald ash borer response.
• Are all those dollars expended, and how did that go with the money that was appropriated?
• Part of these appropriations went to the Department of Natural Resources.
• Chair: what I want to know is, is the money that was appropriated, did that achieve the goal?
• This is going to be a decade or more-long problem. these Appropriations went to this to the these Appropriations

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:16:20.200> to article includes that appropriation to article includes that appropriation
• DHS appropriation is omitted. So, Mr. DHS appropriation is omitted. So, Mr.
• the appropriations from the other bill. the appropriations from the other bill.
• <01:17:11.040> and report as well as the appropriation and report as well as the appropriation
• about is whether or not it's appropriate about is whether or not it's appropriate to<01:33:08.120

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate File 101, General Government Appropriations, an act to make appropriations for the fiscal biennium
• Sponsored by appropriations. appropriations. appropriations. Senator<01:23:57.440> Netheroff.
• just to go over the two, appropriations just to go over the appropriation<01:29:50.400> itself
• of just appropriations. of just appropriations.
• <01:44:52.159> be Senate Appropriations Committee will be Senate Appropriations Committee

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• an appropriation, Then carrying an appropriation, the<00:30:19.320> bill<00:30:19.600> was
• Member from West Windsor. section two, the appropriation, doing section two, the appropriation, doing
• on Appropriations? on Appropriations?
• , Appropriations, Appropriations, which<01:05:05.880> recommends<01:05:06.480> that<01:
• <01:38:20.160> of The bill proposes an appropriation of The bill proposes an appropriation

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House opened with a devotional and the Pledge of Allegiance, then moved through first readings and referrals of several bills. House Bill 950, the pay act for certain state employees, was read and referred to Appropriations, and House Bill 951, the government appropriations bill, was read and referred to Ways and Means. Senate bills referred included S. 138 on commercial property assessed clean energy projects, S. 181 on eliminating a pre-sentence investigation requirement for deferred sentences, S. 206 on licensure of early childhood educators, S. 219 on an energy navigator program report, S. 239 on the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Working Group, and S. 291 on travel disclosures for legislators and certain executive officers, each sent to the appropriate committee. The chamber also read several House concurrent resolutions adopted on the consent calendar. These included resolutions congratulating Rice Memorial High School’s Division Two girls soccer team and Division One field hockey team, designating March 2026 as Athletic Trainers Month in Vermont, and remembering the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters in Japan. The Japan remembrance resolution included a message from the Japanese consul general expressing gratitude for Vermont’s solidarity and friendship after the disaster. Later, members offered announcements recognizing guests in the gallery, including Rice Memorial athletes and coaches, representatives of the Vermont Association of Athletic Trainers, and students and teachers from Pondbrook and Sterling College. The House also heard a detailed floor speech in support of House Bill 861, which would establish a statewide Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator. The sponsor described accessibility barriers faced by disabled Vermonters, argued that ADA responsibilities are currently uneven across state government, and said a coordinator would improve coordination, compliance, and access across agencies. The House then announced the order of upcoming bills, starting with H. 861 and H. 931, but no final vote on H. 861 was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• on Appropriations.
• on Appropriations.
• the Committee on Appropriations.
• call at the appropriate time. call at the appropriate time.
• Appropriations voted 6-0-1.

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• PRESIDENT'S REFERENCE: APPROPRIATIONS. THE READING OF THE BILL, MR. PRESIDENT.
• THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE WILL MEET FROM 2:00 P.M. TO 4:00 P.M. IN ROOM 412.
• HOUSE BILL 5001, A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT RELATING TO APPROPRIATIONS.
• HOUSE BILL 5001, A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT RELATING TO THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT.
• TO HAVE A SECOND MEETING WITH RULES OR PUT IT ON APPROPRIATIONS WITH THEM TO DISCUSS IT.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• At the appropriate time, we will do a roll call on that bill. Thank you. Thank you very much.
• No, one more short of quorum, and then we'll call the roll at the appropriate time.
• I know one more short of quorum, and then we'll call the roll at the appropriate time.
• We think that the CEQA process is a perfectly appropriate process to do that.
• Motion is due pass to Appropriations. Chair voting aye. Absent members, Alanis? Aye.

Summary: The committee heard a long agenda of natural resources and related bills, with several measures taken up as the committee reached quorum and many others moving on consent or with due-pass recommendations. Early items included AB 80 on carpet recycling, AB 452 creating a local process for state surf reserves, and AB 823 restricting microplastics in personal care and cleaning products. AB 80 drew broad support from recycling, labor, and environmental groups and was described as a follow-up to earlier carpet recycling reforms. AB 452 was backed by surf, tourism, environmental, and local government interests as a voluntary, community-driven way to recognize and protect surf breaks. AB 823 generated the most extensive debate, with supporters citing public health and environmental harms from microplastics and opponents warning the bill’s language could sweep in products such as sunscreens, cosmetics, and fragrance-encapsulation materials; the committee discussed possible ambiguity and EU comparisons before voting the bill out on a due-pass-as-amended basis to Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. The committee also advanced AB 1046, which would create a narrow exemption from SB 1383 organic-waste requirements for certain crop preparers and tree nut processors that do not send organic waste to landfills. Agricultural witnesses said the bill would clarify that their operations already reuse byproducts and should not face duplicative reporting, and the measure passed with support from agricultural and rural county representatives. AB 252, the “Stop Laying Off Firefighters Act,” proposed year-round Cal Fire staffing; the author and Cal Fire supporters argued that wildfire conditions are now year-round and that maintaining trained crews would improve response and prevention, and the bill was sent to Appropriations. AB 571, a targeted CEQA exemption for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Anaheim, drew strong bipartisan and veterans’ support and also passed out. Later, the committee approved AB 1455, which would authorize emergency rulemaking and streamline future updates for ember-resistant building regulations after recent wildfire emergencies, and AB 687, which would let public agencies use forest-practice rules and timber-harvest plans for certain publicly funded fuel-reduction projects; AB 687 drew some opposition over scope and enforceability concerns but was still advanced. The committee also moved AB 652, allowing alternate members on the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District board to prevent quorum problems, and AB 317, a first-time homebuyer housing bill that would exempt certain small, lower-cost homes from CEQA and defer some property taxes; AB 317 prompted discussion about guardrails to avoid unintended use on larger subdivisions. Finally, AB 900, requiring the Natural Resources Agency to develop a stewardship plan for 30-by-30 lands, was heard with broad support from land trusts and conservation groups and advanced on a due-pass recommendation, and AB 738, a wildfire-rebuild bill easing solar requirements for certain disaster survivors, was introduced and discussed with questions about its narrow scope and the number of homes affected.

Transcript Highlights:

• Why is it not just part of their regular budget and appropriation?
• We could put it in an appropriation to go through.
• If this body chooses to, it can appropriate money through.
• Appropriation bill that would not necessarily have to go through the land commissioner.
• It could be paid separately from the appropriation bill. Okay. Correct.

Summary: The committee first reviewed litigation reports from the Department of Labor and Licensing involving wage claims brought under the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act. Members questioned the department’s authority, jurisdiction, use of attorney fees and costs, and whether defendants had to be licensed. The department explained it has long enforced wage and overtime laws, that the claims were small-dollar cases handled by investigators and counsel, and that one case had been paid and dismissed while others were unresolved or had service issues. The committee voted to review or batch-file the labor cases after discussion. The University of Arkansas System then reported three pending lawsuits: an age- and race-discrimination claim by a tenured professor that was resolved early; an ADA/FMLA retaliation claim by a former employee that survived in part on a motion to dismiss and was moving into discovery; and a Section 1983 claim against a UAMS sergeant arising from a parking-ticket dispute, with the university explaining that only punitive damages could create personal exposure for the officer. The committee reviewed each report and voted to accept them. The Department of Finance and Administration presented a proposed tax settlement reducing a sales-and-use tax assessment from about $48,000 to $20,000 and waiving interest and penalties, which the committee approved for review. The Claims Commission then presented several claims: an unpaid salary differential for a Department of Health employee, reissued warrants, unpaid DHS bills, and multiple negotiated settlements involving ATRS, UAMS, Arkansas State Police, and ARDOT. Members approved or affirmed most of these items, including a $65,000 settlement in the Tetronics/ATRS matter, a $150,000 medical-negligence settlement, and several vehicle-accident settlements. The most extended debate involved a tax-delinquent property sale claim by Sharon Greer and relatives. The claimant argued they were not properly notified and sought the $4,200 excess from the 2009 sale. Land Commissioner counsel explained the excess had escheated to the county after the statutory claim period expired, while members debated sovereign immunity, standing, heirs, and whether the committee could or should award money anyway. The committee ultimately chose to hold the matter over for further review in a future joint session rather than decide it immediately. The committee also heard appeals from dismissed claims, including a UAMS medical-negligence claim, a land-sale notice claim, a pothole claim against ARDOT, and a judicial-immunity claim against the Court of Appeals; most dismissals were affirmed, and the Simpson matter was held over for additional review after the claimant testified.

Transcript Highlights:

• Why is it not just part of their regular budget and appropriation? So it's unpaid bills.
• Why is it not just part of their regular budget and appropriation?
• So DHS is approving the payment of unpaid bills that they don't have appropriation for.
• It could be paid separately through the appropriation bill. Correct.
• appropriate money through, there's usually every fiscal session, regular session, there's a claims appropriation

Keywords: 1204, all