Transcript Highlights:

• I'm so happy to see so much energy in the room.
• Our recent report on the clean energy workforce, released in December, highlighted issues relating to
• permitting and financing clean energy projects that have our skilled construction workers facing delayed
• Our recent report on the clean energy workforce released in December highlighted issues relating to permitting
• and financing clean energy projects that have our skilled construction workers facing delayed start

Bills: HB2405 , HB2406 , HB2471 , HB2478 , HB2492

Committee: House Labor & Workplace Standards

Keywords: mental health, PTSD, treatment program, research, pilot program, veteran support, trauma, healthcare funding, labor, communication, Department of Labor and Industries, workplace standards, modernization, collective bargaining, labor relations, employee rights, union representation, non-covered employees, wage enforcement, labor standards

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm so happy to see so much energy in the room.
• Our recent report on the clean energy workforce, released in December, highlighted issues relating to
• permitting and financing clean energy projects that have our skilled construction workers facing delayed
• Our recent report on the clean energy workforce released in December highlighted issues relating to permitting
• and financing clean energy projects that have our skilled construction workers facing delayed start

Summary: The committee held public hearings on several Labor and Workplace Standards bills. HB 2492 would require building and construction apprenticeship programs, beginning in 2027, to include two hours of behavioral health and wellness training covering topics such as suicide prevention, substance use disorder, recognizing distress, peer support, and connecting to resources. The prime sponsor and many labor, apprenticeship, and contractor witnesses supported the bill, describing high suicide and overdose rates in construction and sharing personal stories about losses and struggles in the trades. No vote was taken on the bill during the hearing. The committee then heard HB 2405, a Department of Labor and Industries request bill creating a pilot to allow earlier treatment for PTSD claims in workers’ compensation, including up to 11 treatment sessions before claim adjudication and limited follow-up treatment after closure. L&I and NFIB supported the measure as a way to speed treatment and reduce barriers, while one legal advocate supported it but raised technical concerns about pre-claim treatment and urged more focus on workplace prevention; another witness cautioned against emphasizing psychiatric drug treatment. The bill was heard only; no action was taken. HB 2406 would expand L&I’s ability to send notices electronically, with opt-in/opt-out provisions and some changes to timing rules for workers’ compensation and WISHA notices. L&I supported the bill as a modernization measure, while labor and workers’ advocates opposed changes affecting workers’ compensation notices, arguing that email should not become the default for vulnerable workers who may miss deadlines. HB 2478 would give L&I discretion, rather than a mandate, to investigate wage complaints and allow penalties when the department initiates an investigation; L&I supported it as a more efficient enforcement tool, and the committee discussed how complaints would still be handled and communicated. Finally, HB 2471 would create a state collective bargaining framework for private-sector workers if federal labor law or the NLRB no longer covers them. Supporters said it would preserve organizing and dispute-resolution rights if federal protections fail, while agricultural employers and NFIB opposed it, arguing it would inappropriately apply to agriculture and small businesses, could disrupt perishable harvests, and should rely on secret-ballot elections rather than card check. No votes were taken on any of the bills in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Water agencies do use energy.
• It leaves us with not only high-cost energy, but unreliable sources of energy.
• And as we look at making up the shortfall, where are we getting our energy?
• A third of our energy is coming from other sources.
• He was known for his infectious energy and his street wisdom.

Summary: The Assembly convened with a quorum call, prayer, and Pledge of Allegiance, then handled a large procedural and floor agenda. Members suspended rules for adjournments in memory, guest introductions, and expedited committee action, rereferred AB 1199 to Health and AB 2728 to Local Government, and removed several items from calendars or returned bills to the Senate at authors’ requests. The chamber then moved through concurrence and third-reading files, with many measures passing on unanimous or near-unanimous votes, including AB 230 on Pierce’s disease control, AB 1636 on a Cerritos College seamless enrollment pilot, AB 1982 on alcoholic beverages, AB 2120 on school district employees, AB 2413 on political reform and billboard use, AB 2437 and AB 2453 on vehicles, AB 2596 on housing, AB 1760 and AB 1873 on technical clarifications, AB 2312 on tidelands, AB 2390 on housing cleanup, AB 2685 and AB 2778 on agriculture, and ACR 194 on Women’s Equality Day. The Assembly also adopted several resolutions and Senate measures. HR 112 designating Black Music Month drew extensive remarks about Black artists’ influence and was adopted with 62 coauthors. HR 132 declaring September Young Women’s Reproductive Health Awareness Month was adopted with 50 coauthors. SJR 8 urging federal immigration reform passed 45-2, with supporters emphasizing immigrant contributions and the need to modernize the registry system. SCR 7 on permanent standard time was debated at length, with supporters citing health benefits and opponents warning about darker mornings and voter intent; the resolution ultimately passed 41-3 after a roll call. Other Senate bills passed included SB 105 on penny rounding for local agencies, SB 928 on AI guardrails in CSU classrooms, SB 1038 on CalPERS audit notices, SB 308 on community college reporting, SB 1172 on tax-sharing consultant fees, SB 1159 on AI-generated public participation, SB 1055 on flood project procurement, SB 1285 on juvenile dismissals, SB 1274 on industrial cities and transportation funding, SB 965 easing library card access for 16- and 17-year-olds, SB 1375 creating a narrow CEQA exemption for certain transit projects, SB 952 on clean energy accounting for water agencies, and SB 917 expanding farmers market wine sales eligibility. Several measures drew notable opposition or discussion. On SB 965, one member objected that the bill should preserve parental decision-making, while supporters argued it would remove an unnecessary barrier to library access. On SB 952, one member criticized state energy policy and the bill’s project labor agreement, but the measure still passed 64-1. On SB 1375, supporters framed the bill as reducing duplicative environmental review for major transit projects like Diridon Station while preserving other protections. The chamber also added coauthors to consent-calendar resolutions and adopted the second-day consent calendar items without objection. The meeting concluded with multiple adjournments in memory, including tributes to Eric L. Washington Jr., Ivan Garza, Darryl Preston Jackson, Richard “Dick” Oliphant, and former Madera Mayor Santos Garcia. Members described Washington as a community leader and peacemaker, Garza as a young athlete whose life was cut short, Jackson as a mentor and founder of the 1020 Club, Oliphant as a civic leader who helped shape the Coachella Valley, and Garcia as a labor advocate and public servant who fought for working families and helped reopen Madera Community Hospital. The Assembly observed moments of silence in their honor before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• currently limit the ability of a CIC to restrict or prohibit homeowners from installing things like solar energy
• For the program administered by the Housing Finance Commission, the fee may only be collected on the
• Instead, the fee may be financed in the loan and paid from loan proceeds at the time of closing.
• the fee must be disclosed in accordance with federal and state law, but may be excluded from the finance
• The homeowner assistance fund study would require Commerce, in consultation with the Housing Finance

Committee: House Housing

Transcript Highlights:

• So I have the great privilege of working on all things customer related, and obviously energy is a lot
• Between the OCC and the Department of Finance, and prior to my role as the Financial Institutions Bureau
• But I'm more about the people, the engagement, and finance in general, and that's really... ...if I did
• , and finance in general, and that's really my trigger, so.
• It's probably unfair, but where you're so embedded and your career is so into finance and all those kinds

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• It restricts cities' and HOAs' ability to add costly requirements beyond those needed to meet energy
• Colleagues, we know that many residents want to weatherize their windows to lower their energy costs,
• It's scarcities driving up prices of these energy capacity contracts.
• But this bill highlights a much larger problem with California's energy policy.
• Just saying the germaneness, we wouldn't have to do that bill if we had cheap reliable energy.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are hearing more every day in this chamber about the rising cost of energy in the Commonwealth.
• the choice for consumers to choose reliable, affordable baseload energy sources.
• Especially preserving the choice for consumers to choose reliable, affordable baseload energy sources
• Let's continue supporting an affordable, homegrown energy resource while relying on facts to guide our
• House Bill 2685, Finance. House Resolution 583, Human Services. House Bill 268, Legal Control.

Summary: The House convened, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognized several guests, including a student advocate and family members connected to a resolution on scoliosis awareness. The chamber first took up committee reports from Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, Tourism and Recreation and Economic Development, and later Appropriations, Rules, Commerce, and Environmental and Natural Resource Protection, agreeing to the reported bills and resolutions. House Resolution 531, designating June 2026 as Scoliosis Awareness Month, was adopted 201-1 after remarks describing the condition and the advocacy of a young constituent. The House also adopted resolutions designating Diaper Need Awareness Week, directing a study on PANS/PANDAS, recognizing 717 Day, Little League World Series Week, and commemorating America 250 in Pennsylvania, with broad bipartisan support. The House then considered several bills on final passage. House Bill 2146, updating the Sunshine Act’s 24-hour agenda notice rule after a court ruling, and Senate Bills 130, 511, 971, 972, 1181, and 1235 were agreed to. House Bill 1239, limiting HOA restrictions on rooftop solar, drew multiple amendments; some were withdrawn, and others failed on tied votes, after debate over HOA governance, native plants, and net metering. House Bill 2219, on license plates and transportation provisions, had an amendment agreed to removing indemnification language for elected officials at special events, and then passed as amended. House Bill 2558, banning non-compete agreements for broadcast workers, saw an amendment to preserve limited non-competes fail, and the bill passed. House Bill 2359, prohibiting government NDAs related to data centers, passed 171-31 after extensive debate over transparency and local control. The chamber also passed House Bill 2455, granting Pittsburgh school administrators collective bargaining rights, despite objections that existing appeal protections already exist; it passed 106-96. House Bill 2460, creating hunting and trapping education provisions, passed 180-22 after debate over whether it duplicated existing law and imposed a mandate. House Bill 2499, expanding the State Workers’ Insurance Fund’s equity investment authority, passed 173-29. House Bill 2529, scheduling metatomidine as a Schedule III controlled substance, passed 198-4 amid testimony about overdose risks and concerns about criminalization. Senate Bill 604, joining the Counseling Compact, passed 188-14, and Senate Bill 1259, clarifying parole record privilege and expanding notice to denied parole applicants, passed unanimously 202-0. The House then made referrals and committee assignments, signed the two Senate bills for presentation to the Governor, and adjourned until July 1, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Puerto Rico's energy crisis is not a partisan issue.
• </c> ...critical balance of payments financing.
• We feel, ladies, find your death goddess energy and use it.
• But for those of us that have, this death goddess energy is unmistakable and it's unstoppable.
• </c><08:04:40.718><c> is</c> have this death goddess energy is have this death goddess energy is unmistakable

Transcript Highlights:

• We run projects in resiliency, water, outdoor recreation, fish and wildlife, and energy.
• We run projects in resiliency, water, outdoor recreation, fish and wildlife, and energy.
• </c><00:23:30.480><c> crime</c> Public Safety fraud and finance crime Public Safety fraud and finance
• In fact, I know it hasn't because it would have come to state government finance.
• I I I want us state government finance.

Transcript Highlights:

• When families can't build and hold assets, they have less ability to finance a startup, survive a slow
• They fail for lack of backup office capacity, lack of legal guidance, bookkeeping support, and financing
• be our next, like, what I think about the Black and Latino caucus and how we were channeling our energy
• And, as an aside, we're also seeing the rollback of climate and clean energy work and funding, which
• , mortgage rules that disadvantage Latino applicants financing, mortgage rules that disadvantage Latino

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion

Transcript Highlights:

• We are an Education Finance Committee; therefore, we deal with finances.
• </c> us um we are an education finance us um we are an education finance committee<00:31:55.480><c> therefore
• If you turn to the portion excerpted from the School Finance Guidebook, there are four pages there.
• It's labeled PSO Programs Finance and Classification.
• I think a lot of us have a lot of energy around this issue, and we probably could talk even longer.

Bills: HF984 , HF921 , HF922

Committee: House Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:05:01.480><c> Agency</c> Housing Finance Agency Housing Finance Agency so<00:05:03.400><c> that
• This provides gap financing and ways to make sure that we're building that critical workforce housing
• This provides gap financing and ways to make sure that we're building that critical workforce housing
• We have many categories between lands, fish and wildlife, energy.
• Um and so, those projects go energy.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• In the Senate, Senate Bill 1428 by the Finance Committee.
• In the Senate, Senate Bill 1428 by the Finance Committee.
• In the Senate, Senate Bill 1428 by the Finance Committee.
• In the Senate, Senate Bill 1416 by the Finance Committee.
• underwriter that parcel separation is required for financing.

Transcript Highlights:

• But yet there's very little energy—very little energy—to fix it.
• Department of Finance. Henry, Department of Finance.
• Amanda Garcia, Department of Finance. Yes, hi, Amanda Garcia, Department of Finance.
• Department of Finance. Thank you. Zachary Voss, California Department of Finance.
• Department of Finance, too.

Summary: The subcommittee met to hear budget-related updates from the Judicial Branch and the Office of Emergency Services, with no votes taken. The Judicial Council supported the Governor’s proposed budget, highlighting $70 million for increased trial court operating costs, additional funding for court-appointed counsel, Court of Appeal case processing, and courthouse construction and facilities. Trial court representatives emphasized staffing retention problems, especially in counties like San Bernardino, and said stable funding is needed to avoid delays and maintain access to justice. Members also discussed the branch’s remote proceedings program, which has been used in more than 6 million hearings statewide since 2022 and was described as especially important in rural areas and for vulnerable litigants; several members urged making the authority permanent rather than extending it temporarily. A major portion of the hearing focused on Proposition 36 implementation. Finance said the Governor’s budget maintains the $130 million provided in the 2025 Budget Act for court workload and pretrial services, but adds no new Prop. 36 court funding. Judicial Council staff reported nearly 35,000 felony Prop. 36 filings in 2025, with most cases still pending and only a small share of treatment-mandated cases already dismissed after treatment. Witnesses said courts are using the funds for staffing, coordinators, clerks, and treatment-court operations, but that workload varies widely by county and that data collection is limited because courts report aggregate information rather than case-level outcomes. The LAO raised a technical concern about the Department of Finance’s Prop. 47 savings estimate and recommended revising the methodology at May Revision. The committee also reviewed the Orange Central Justice Center facility modification project, where the Judicial Council explained that hidden construction deficiencies and fire-life-safety issues caused costs to rise substantially after demolition began. The LAO said the project itself was supportable but recommended that the Legislature set an ongoing funding level for court facilities, require a long-term facilities plan, and consider more oversight of facility modification projects. Finance said it continues to fund courthouse projects individually and through the State Public Works Board, while acknowledging project delays and cost increases. Finally, Cal OES and advocates discussed victim services funding. Cal OES said it administers about $315 million annually for victim service programs, including VOCA-funded services, but federal VOCA allocations have fluctuated sharply and the state has used one-time General Fund backfills to maintain services. Trauma recovery center advocates warned that an 85% reduction in funding would sharply reduce services for survivors of violent crime, while human trafficking advocates urged reauthorization of the Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Program before funding reverts to pre-pandemic levels in July 2026. Members asked about federal and state funding stability, referral pathways, and the long-term value of these programs in preventing worse outcomes and reducing public costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• So what so it's going to finance next.
• Energy Justice Network in support. >> Yes, from Zoom. Um, good timing.
• </c><01:46:40.639><c> Justice</c> name is Mike Ewong with Energy Justice name is Mike Ewong with Energy
• it and they need to get a home loan to finance this type of purchase.
• </c> loan to finance this type of purchase. loan to finance this type of purchase.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 1588, which would establish a Department of Transportation noise detection program using cameras to enforce noise control laws. DOT supported the measure and said it is already piloting the technology at eight locations, with about 10 sites costing roughly $2 million to $2.5 million to install and operate. The Department of Health said it was willing to work with DOT but noted its current regulations are not designed for vehicular noise sources and that the bill may need clearer standards to be enforceable. Members raised concerns about the lack of a specific decibel threshold and whether the system could accurately identify the source of noise; DOT said the pilot can pinpoint vehicles and that the program would align with existing health standards, but no final number was identified during the hearing. The committee then heard HB 1696, which lowers the minimum age for a commercial driver’s license from 19 to 18 and removes a restriction tied to vehicle category, while requiring DOT rule changes. DOT, the City and County of Honolulu, the Hawaii Transportation Association, Teamsters Local 996, and other stakeholders testified in support. The Hawaii Transportation Association suggested adding a training requirement for drivers ages 18 to 20, proposing at least 320 hours of employer training and recordkeeping. Members sought clarification that the bill would apply to intrastate, not interstate, licensing. For HB 233, the committee considered a measure authorizing DOT to designate airport special district zones statewide to prevent unauthorized access and improve security. DOT and the City and County of Honolulu supported the bill, explaining that defined boundaries would help law enforcement address trespassing, disruptions, fires, theft, harassment, and other incidents around airports and terminals; DOT said commercial airports are ready to implement the proposal, while some general aviation sites would need further work. Members asked about the scope of the boundaries, existing enforcement, and whether the measure would cover state-owned or non-state parcels near airports. The committee also heard HB 2332, which renames the Harbors Division as the Commercial Ports Division and distinguishes “harbor” from “port” in statute. DOT, the Maritime Group, and harbor users supported the bill, saying the change would reduce confusion between commercial cargo/cruise facilities and recreational small boat harbors, and could help with clarity and possibly federal grant competitiveness. Members asked about impacts on small boat harbors and cruise activity, and DOT explained that the bill is aimed at purpose-built commercial ports, not recreational facilities. The committee also took testimony on HB 2283, which clarifies DOT’s consultative role with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in setting port pilotage standards and requirements. DOT, DCCA, Matson, the Hawaii Pilots Association, and others supported the measure, saying it would improve coordination and ensure pilot licensing standards reflect operational realities in the harbors. Finally, after a recess, the committee heard HB 2217, which would allow driver’s permits, licenses, and ID cards to include a notation for a non-apparent disability. The Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities opposed the bill as drafted, saying voluntary alternatives such as Smart 911 may be better and that the category is too broad. The Attorney General’s office supported the intent but recommended limiting the notation to medically recognized, specifically defined conditions so agencies can train personnel and avoid confusion or escalation.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, they just like to save their energy like this and that's right here in Minnesota, same idea.
• They cannot be disposed of in a waste-to-energy facility or a landfill.
• They cannot be disposed of in a waste-to-energy facility or a landfill.
• So we're just working on a bill with finance, our fiscal note intact.
• You know, you can consider it as a mini omnibus bill without a finance target that we send over to finance

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Transcript Highlights:

• In Louisiana's ever-growing all-of-the-above energy, geothermal energy is not yet officially looked at
• to look Urge the state and conservation and energy to look at producing policies that we could pursue
• So can you explain what type of thermal energy this is?
• Tanner McGee, Conservation Energy.
• Tanner McGee, Conservation Energy.

Committee: House Natural Resources & Environment

Transcript Highlights:

• The first one is North Dakota Housing Finance Agency.
• Any questions on Housing Finance Agency before I move on?
• I'm the CFO for North Dakota Housing Finance Agency.
• They charged them with managing the finances of that jurisdiction.
• They charged them with managing the finances of that jurisdiction.

Committee: Joint Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Fremendum 39 for the waste to energy construction back in 1990.
• As we look at the clean energy transformation and the CCA, As we look at the clean energy transformation
• This is really an energy symbiosis idea that's innovative.
• President, just burn the stuff and make energy.
• President, just burn the stuff and make energy.

Bills: SB6061 , SB6234 , SB6176 , SB6335 , SB6047 , HB2235 , HB2340 , HB2464 , HB2619 , HB1376 , HB1796 , HB2091 , HB2249 , HB2254 , HB2353 , HB2431 , HB2441 , SB5808 , SB5949 , HB2124 , HB1069 , HB2104 , HB2624

Summary: The Senate received messages from the House transmitting several signed bills, then moved through a series of second- and third-reading actions on multiple measures. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2508, clarifying the scope and authority of the Office of Independent Investigations, was advanced to final passage without objection and passed 44-4. Senators supporting it described it as a technical housekeeping bill aligning statute with current practice, while noting it had broad support from law enforcement groups and the ACLU; opponents raised concerns about overlapping investigations and authority. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1408, which dedicates a share of sales tax revenue from the stadium area to the South Downtown/Pioneer Square community preservation and development authority, was amended by a Ways and Means striking amendment declaring an emergency and then passed 47-1. Supporters said it would fund earthquake reinforcement, preservation, and community development in a historic district, with reporting and sunset provisions. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1500, dealing with resale certificates for common interest communities and homeowners associations, was amended to clarify disclosure and litigation provisions and passed 39-9. Substitute House Bill 1570, allowing collective bargaining for certain employees enrolled in academic programs at public institutions, failed an amendment to remove the emergency clause and then passed 29-19; supporters framed it as recognition of student workers’ organizing rights, while opponents warned it blurred student and employee roles. The Senate also passed Substitute House Bill 1390, repealing the Community Protection Program and directing participants into other developmental disability services, after rejecting a series of amendments that sought to preserve sex-offender-related restrictions, add assessments, damages, or prosecutorial review. The bill passed 29-20 amid sharp debate over whether the program was coercive and outdated or necessary to protect vulnerable people and communities. Other bills passed included Substitute House Bill 2114 on defective license plates, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2471 on collective bargaining if the NLRB is unavailable, House Bill 1069 on bargaining over supplemental retirement contributions for Department of Corrections employees, House Bill 2441 expanding medical premium reimbursements for surviving spouses of line-of-duty deaths, and Engrossed Third Substitute House Bill 1710 adding preclearance requirements under the Washington Voting Rights Act; the voting rights bill drew opposition over local control and litigation concerns. The transcript ends during the roll call on final passage of Engrossed Third Substitute House Bill 1710.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> committee on finance committee on finance &gt;&gt; thank<00:43:11.599><c> you</c><00:43:11.680><
• </c> recommended by the committee on finance. recommended by the committee on finance.
• I thank the Chair of Finance.
• </c> committee on finance. committee on finance.
• </c> natural resources and energy. natural resources and energy.