Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for the support of our faculty, our staff.
• Our pro forma budget was presented to our board of directors in February, and our deadline for budget
• roads, our bridges, our rails, our public transportation systems, and our aviation centers here in Western
• And then also in the Mass Ready Act, we know that our grants alone can't keep up.
• Key to this budget in our approach falls with the Mass Ready Act and looking at a lot of supports, I

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Ways and Means

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing at UMass Amherst on Governor Healey’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, focusing on energy/environment-related transportation issues and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The hearing opened with welcomes from the co-chairs and local legislators, followed by remarks from UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes, who highlighted the university’s research, sustainability, transportation, and workforce contributions and thanked the administration and legislature for support of public higher education. MassDOT Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, along with agency leaders, presented the administration’s transportation budget package. They described a combined funding plan through House 2, a Fair Share supplemental budget, and a Chapter 90 bill, emphasizing investments in MassDOT operations, snow and ice response, regional transit authorities, the MBTA, bridge and pavement repair, housing-related transportation improvements, sustainable aviation fuel, microtransit, and local road programs. Officials also highlighted record highway construction activity, safety initiatives such as work zone speed cameras and pedestrian protections, RMV service and equity improvements, airport and drone technology programs, and MBTA gains in reliability, accessibility, ridership, and service expansion. Committee members asked about Western Massachusetts priorities, especially Chapter 90 funding for rural road mileage, bridge repairs, and the Compass Rail/West-East Rail program. MassDOT officials said pending federal grants were moving forward, with some awards recently obligated and others expected as federal processes advance, and they said Palmer Station remains part of the long-term rail plan. Members also raised the Cape Cod bridges and the need for multi-year Chapter 90 funding. Officials said the Sagamore Bridge procurement would begin soon, with construction targeted for 2027, and reiterated that transportation investments support jobs, local economies, and municipal infrastructure statewide.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our trucks don't do that. Our trucks don't drive drunk. They don't drive tired.
• Our thoughts, our prayers, you know, our hopes and dreams are that we find a cure for that terrible disease
• Our concerns.
• our water crossings.
• DOT loves acronyms, our match. program our co-op.

Transcript Highlights:

• How does spraying all these types of chemicals and metals in our atmosphere affect our water supply,
• our crops, our animals, our rivers and streams, and most importantly, all of us?
• skies, our air, our water, our land, our lungs with weatherization chemicals or pollutants.
• And so trying to find a legislative fix for this problem is what's causing all of our concerns and our
• , to our culture, and to our communities.

Committee: Senate Environment and Natural Resources

Summary: The committee first heard SB 200, which would implement recommendations from DEP’s 2020 Recycling Goal Final Report by creating a technical assistance group to develop a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan by 2026. The bill focuses on recycling education and outreach, evaluating the former recycling grant program, and developing markets for recyclable materials. Supporters from the waste and recycling industry and counties said the bill would finally create a real plan to help Florida move toward its recycling goals. The bill was reported favorably. The committee then considered SB 50 on nature-based coastal resilience, which would promote green, gray, and hybrid infrastructure, direct USF’s Flood Hub to develop guidelines, require DEP rulemaking on erosion and mangrove protection, and study whether nature-based flood reduction could help lower insurance costs. Supporters appeared in favor, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee also passed SB 7000 as a committee bill to continue a public records exemption protecting site-specific location information for threatened and endangered species. Members next took up SB 56 on weather modification activities. The bill would prohibit the release of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere to affect weather or sunlight, define geoengineering, increase penalties through an amendment, and create a DEP reporting hotline with possible referral to DOH or emergency management. The sponsor and several supporters argued the bill was needed to address public concerns and lack of oversight, while several senators questioned the evidence, the role of state agencies, and whether the bill was ready for passage. Despite opposition from some members, the committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably. The committee also approved CS for SB 62 creating a resilient building tax credit program, after amending it to shift agency references from DEP to DBPR and add university advisory members, and CS for SB 80 to clarify state park management as conservation-based, require public notice and advisory input for plan changes, and improve reporting on park repairs; both bills were reported favorably after testimony from supporters and conservation groups who sought tighter language to prevent incompatible uses. Finally, the committee received presentations from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on gopher tortoise relocation, wildlife disease surveillance, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. FWC described tortoise relocation and recipient-site programs, ongoing monitoring of wildlife diseases such as chronic wasting disease and feline leukomyelopathy, and efforts to address fish die-offs and update sanctuary agreements amid state-federal jurisdiction issues. No votes were taken on the presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a day we are honored honoring our Texas music recording industry, our musicians and artists.
• state and our legal system, a vital role in our nation's legal system. today offers an ideal opportunity
• Let's have our staff stand up, too.
• There's 550 game wardens that serve our state each and every day to protect our state resources and respond
• themselves our Texas Game Wardens.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's very important to our economy. So how are import tariffs affecting our agriculture?
• China used to be our number three market. It was our number three market for many years.
• As you can see, 90% of our wheat crop is exported every year. 70% of our potato crop in the form of our
• China used to be our number three market. It was our number three market for many years.
• China used to be our number three market. It was our number three market for many years.

Committee: House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans

Summary: The committee held a work session focused on the effects of tariffs on Washington’s economy and agriculture. An OFM economist said tariffs are raising prices, reducing output and jobs, and lowering state revenue, with the most affected sectors including aerospace, food and beverage manufacturing, and agriculture. Members asked about newer trade deals, crop-specific impacts, inflation versus some deflationary effects in fuel, and whether the net employment effect was negative; the witness said retaliation by other countries largely eliminates any tariff benefits and that updated analysis would be needed as tariff rates change. Washington Department of Agriculture staff then described how import tariffs raise costs for farm inputs such as equipment, parts, packaging, and fertilizer, while export retaliation has hurt key markets, especially China and, in some sectors, Canada. They said Washington agriculture is highly export-dependent, with major exports including wheat, potatoes, apples, cherries, dairy, and wine, and noted that some growers support tariffs on competing imports because they see them as leveling the playing field. Commerce officials followed with an overview of small business export assistance, financing, business recruitment, and industry-sector support, emphasizing the importance of federal STEP funding, foreign consulting networks, and state efforts to attract investment and help businesses adapt to tariff pressures. The committee then heard a series of emergency management updates. The Military Department described 2025 disaster response, including the denied bomb cyclone disaster declaration, wildfire activity, and concerns that FEMA is shifting more responsibility and cost to states and locals, with possible reductions or restructuring of preparedness, mitigation, and disaster grants. Members discussed the need for a funded state disaster assistance framework, mitigation priorities such as unreinforced masonry and tsunami shelters, and language-access support. A cybersecurity briefing followed, outlining the state’s advisory committee, grant program, and plans for a volunteer cyber incident response team, with concerns about the loss of MS-ISAC funding and the need to preserve state matching funds. Finally, emergency management staff reviewed disaster resilience and tsunami preparedness, saying federal support is becoming less reliable while state programs face budget pressure. They highlighted mitigation grants, outreach, and planning work, including tsunami vertical evacuation structures and coastal evacuation mapping, and said Washington’s tsunami program depends heavily on NOAA and FEMA funding. The session concluded with a detailed update on World Cup and counter-drone planning, including federal security grants, fan zones, base camps, and the need for authority to mitigate unmanned aerial systems; members asked how local jurisdictions would participate and what mitigation tools might be used. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's very important to our economy. So how are import tariffs affecting our agriculture?
• As you can see, 90% of our wheat crop is exported every year, and 70% of our potato crop is exported
• have our advantages as well.
• This year's state budget cuts reduced our funding by 50%, prompting our first reduction in force.
• and standing for our questions.

Summary: The committee held a work session focused on the effects of tariffs on Washington’s economy, agriculture, and small businesses, followed by updates on emergency management, cybersecurity, disaster resilience, tsunami preparedness, and World Cup security planning. Office of Financial Management economist Abdelamintrawe Trieri said tariff increases are expected to raise prices, reduce output and employment, and lower state revenue over a four-year horizon, with the hardest-hit sectors including aerospace, food and beverage manufacturing, and agriculture. Members asked about updated tariff scenarios, crop-specific impacts, inflation versus deflation in different goods, and whether some manufacturing sectors could benefit; staff said updated numbers would need to be rerun as tariff rates changed. Washington Department of Agriculture representative Ryan Hamm described how tariffs raise costs for farm inputs such as equipment, parts, packaging, and fertilizer, while also affecting exports of key commodities like wheat, potatoes, apples, cherries, dairy, and wine. He said some sectors support tariffs on competing imports, but retaliation and market restrictions have hurt exports, especially to China and, in the wine sector, Canada. Department of Commerce representative Andrea Chartock outlined export assistance, business finance, recruitment, and industry-sector development programs, and proposed expanding tariff-resilience support through market diversification, supply-chain optimization, and efforts to attract investment and federal funding. She also noted uncertainty around delayed federal STEP funding for small business export assistance. Emergency Management Division Director Robert Ezell warned that federal disaster and mitigation funding is becoming less reliable, citing the denied bomb cyclone disaster declaration, delays in FEMA grant processing, and possible restructuring of FEMA that could shift more responsibility to states. He said Washington may need stronger state-funded public assistance, individual assistance, and mitigation programs, along with broader coordination among state agencies and local governments. Cybersecurity staff described state efforts to support local governments through the Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, threat intelligence sharing, vulnerability assessments, and a proposed volunteer incident response team, while noting the loss of MS-ISAC funding and the importance of continued state matching funds for cybersecurity grants. Hazard mitigation and tsunami staff emphasized the need for sustained investment in flood, wildfire, earthquake, lahar, and tsunami resilience, including vertical evacuation structures and language-access outreach. Ezell also briefed the committee on World Cup security preparations and federal grants for counter-unmanned aircraft systems, explaining that the state can buy mitigation capabilities but current authority to use them remains largely federal; the committee asked follow-up questions about fan zones, training, and the meaning of drone mitigation. No votes were taken, and the meeting ended with adjournment after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• , our districts to the best of our ability.
• </c> privilege you've given us to serve our privilege you've given us to serve our constituents,<00:07
• :07:42.120><c> best</c> constituents, our districts to the best constituents, our districts to the best
• Lord, we pray that of our ability.
• And I our regular meeting spot, 204.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's the designated time for our hearing in House Revenue and Taxation, and this hearing is called
• It's evident in our discussions.
• We took a shuttle to the hotel, had our meetings, and then we conned the van driver into taking us to
• We'll do our best to get that. Any further questions? Representative Barbieri: Thank you, Mr.
• A committee, that concludes our business for today. We do have business to conduct tomorrow.

Committee: House Revenue and Taxation

Transcript Highlights:

• And so that's how we act on that.
• And this is really where we've loaded all of our policies and to our own large language model.
• So you know, our our current STA starting salary average statewide is about 65.
• Our turnover rate is high.
• our compensation for our attorneys and our caseworkers.

Transcript Highlights:

• We would also want to work with our BIPOC advisory committee and our small producer advisory committee
• On March 13th, we issued our draft strategic plan, which will guide our work over the next five years
• Our strategic plan will be finalized at our August board meeting in time to guide our investments this
• Our next speaker is Brian Cash.
• goals and our 30 by 30 goals.

Transcript Highlights:

• And arguably our state budget, insurance scarcity, and other issues that plague our otherwise wonderful
• I am here today because I don't want him and all of our kids chasing our tails and working on these same
• Of justice that covers our society.
• So, you know, our whole goal, our whole mission is to create a future where everyone has a real shot
• That's our infrastructure. Zero.

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• Our clinics and our Health and Human Services...
• the City of Wichita Falls, our philanthropic partners, our campus, and our community.
• So we're holding that decision fixed, and then we're finding other ways to hopefully grow our revenue
• pockets of some of our best and our brightest.
• students, our communities, our state, and our economy.

Bills: SB1 , SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Our first bill is H. 460 and S. 436, an act relative to affirming and maintaining equal access to public
• are doing in standing up for our state's values and for our students and our schools.
• for our state's values and for our students and our schools.
• schools, our communities, and our economy.
• students, our community, and our state.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Education

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held a very full public hearing on the first Education Committee hearing of the session, with testimony taken on a large slate of bills, especially H. 650/S. 436 and related measures. The chairs explained the hearing rules, including two-minute testimony limits, live streaming, written testimony, and accommodations for interpreters and disabilities. The committee first heard extensive testimony on H. 460/S. 436 and later H. 650/S. 436, bills to affirm and maintain equal access to public education for all children, including immigrant students, English learners, and students with disabilities. Witnesses included parents, advocates, educators, attorneys, and state officials, many of whom described fears caused by federal policy changes and argued that Massachusetts should codify protections for school enrollment, special education, interpreter services, and due process in discipline cases. The Attorney General’s office, Mass Advocates for Children, Lawyers for Civil Rights, MIRA, the Children’s Law Center, the Disability Law/advocacy community, and others all urged favorable action, while committee members asked questions about Plyler v. Doe, manifestation determinations, interpreter qualifications, and how the bill would mirror or preserve existing federal protections at the state level. The committee also heard testimony on H. 702/S. 460, establishing an elementary and secondary school robotics grant program, which was supported as a way to expand STEM opportunities and help schools fund robotics programs. Representative Sweeney also testified on H. 713, a bill to support student participation in 4-H programming by allowing excused absences similar to those for athletics and other sanctioned activities; members noted bipartisan support and the bill’s long history. The hearing then moved to H. 543/S. 417, a recess bill requiring at least 30 minutes of free-play recess for K-8 students. Supporters included the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the League of Women Voters, educators, and parents, who emphasized recess as important for physical health, social-emotional development, attention, and academic performance, and noted that unequal local policies create disparities across districts. Several witnesses also tied recess to broader concerns about student well-being and screen time. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee simply received testimony and closed testimony on the bills as it moved through the agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• That act now enables, in our school lunch programs, for both whole and reduced-fat flavored and unflavored
• That act now enables, in our school lunch programs, for both whole and reduced-fat flavored and unflavored
• That act now enables, in our school lunch programs, for both whole and reduced-fat flavored and unflavored
• social</c> vitality to our economy and our social vitality to our economy and our social life<05:12:33.280
• our our brilliance<05:51:57.280><c> there.

Committee: House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Remember, our prayers today will be led by Troy Towns.
• </c> situation like mental health in our situation like mental health in our state.<00:49:47.520><c>
• And should they choose in a few years to say, 'We think we've got our act together and we want to be
• We need you to fix these."
• </c> we're going to fix it over the weekend. we're going to fix it over the weekend.

Transcript Highlights:

• We pay our taxes.
• our R&D section.
• As we know, our seniors—everyone’s struggling, but I think a lot of our seniors who are on fixed incomes
• , serve our youth in our counties and our cities, they are facing or at risk of facing bankruptcy or
• It just speaks well for the government and trying to help our cities and our districts, our special districts

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills, beginning with SB 41 by Senator Wiener, which would regulate pharmacy benefit managers by increasing transparency, banning patient steering and spread pricing, and requiring full pass-through of rebates. Supporters, including independent pharmacists and health advocates, said PBM practices are driving up drug costs and closing neighborhood pharmacies. Opponents from PBM and health plan groups argued the bill overlaps with recently enacted licensing and reporting requirements, would not lower consumer prices, and may be preempted by ERISA. Members discussed confidentiality issues, consumer savings, and the relationship between SB 41 and the new budget trailer bill; the author asked for an aye vote. The committee then took up SB 378, also by Senator Wiener, aimed at online marketplaces that advertise illegal intoxicating hemp and unlicensed cannabis products. Supporters from labor, public health, and the licensed cannabis industry said online sales are undermining regulated businesses and exposing children to unsafe products. Opponents from tech and hemp industry groups warned the bill is overbroad, could sweep in general-purpose platforms and lawful hemp wellness products, and raises Dormant Commerce Clause and First Amendment concerns. The author said he would narrow the bill, remove industrial hemp references, and address strict liability and standing issues; members largely focused on how to target illegal products without capturing lawful marketplaces. SB 243 by Senator Padilla addressed AI companion chatbots, with supporters including Common Sense Media and transparency advocates warning that these systems can be addictive, manipulative, and dangerous for minors and vulnerable users, citing studies and the death of a Florida teenager. The bill would require disclosures, anti-addiction design limits, self-harm protocols, audits, reporting, and a private right of action. Tech and business groups opposed the measure as overly broad and said its definitions could sweep in general-purpose AI tools; several members supported the goal but questioned the breadth of the definitions and the private right of action. Finally, SB 522 by Senator Wahab would extend just-cause eviction protections to rental units that were previously covered by the Tenant Protection Act but were destroyed in disasters and later rebuilt. Supporters, including Los Angeles city officials and tenant advocates, said the bill would help keep displaced renters housed after wildfires and other disasters. Apartment and realtor groups opposed it, arguing it would remove a key exemption needed to finance rebuilding and could discourage post-disaster reconstruction. Members expressed support for tenant protections in disaster areas, and the author asked for an aye vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Much of this damage to our climate, our health, and the continued existence of a lot of our non-human
• Much of this damage to our climate, our health, and the continued existence of a lot of our non-human
• Much of this damage to our climate, our health, and the continued existence of a lot of our non-human
• Much of this damage to our climate, our health, and the continued existence of a lot of our non-human
• our initiatives and our devote some of our initiatives and our and<01:09:49.040><c> our</c><01:09:49.199

Bills: HF7

Committee: House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law

Transcript Highlights:

• These are American Rescue Plan Act appropriation requests.
• We started requirements gathering internally with our team and our procurement office back in May of
• We rolled back our delegation authority to $2 million.
• So that's really not included in our budget, though.
• So that's really not included in our budget, though.

Committee: All JBC-PEER REVIEW

Summary: The PEER Review Subcommittee met to consider a large agenda of budget, appropriation, transfer, and contract items. Members approved temporary appropriation requests for several agencies, including the Auditor of State, Department of Education, and Labor and Licensing; ARPA return requests from Workforce Services; Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requests for State Police and Agriculture; restricted reserve transfers for teacher scholarships, school facilities, and economic stimulus; a Commerce reallocation of positions and spending authority; cash fund, budget classification, overtime, and pay plan requests; and 17 methods of finance items for universities and other agencies. Most items were approved without objection after brief explanations from staff and agencies. Several items drew questions and were held or discussed further. A Department of Human Services discretionary grant package for the RSVP program was held over after Senator Irvin raised concerns about whether the grants were an effective use of state general revenue and asked for more information on administration costs and program operations. In the contracts section, Representative Richardson questioned a DHS sole-source contract with EMS Link for document management software and a DHS contract with Presidio; the EMS Link item was held for additional answers, while the Presidio item was clarified as not sole-source and was allowed to proceed. Members also asked for more information on a Department of Education mental health referral contract with Care Solace, which officials said is a statewide concierge/referral service connecting students to Arkansas providers and telehealth options. The committee also reviewed monthly reports, including the Medicaid Trust Fund. DHS and DFA officials said the fund was currently sufficient to finish the fiscal year, though it was being drawn down and would likely require a $100 million transfer from restricted reserves in FY27, with another $100 million set aside in the governor’s budget as a backstop. Members discussed the need to define a minimum reserve level and to better account for ongoing Medicaid costs in the budget. The meeting ended with no further business and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• If we can be our be our differences. If we can be our be our differences.
• If we can be our be our focus, perhaps our goal may be not for focus, perhaps our goal may be not for
• future, our 2025 under the theme, our future, our 2025 under the theme, our future, our fight. fight
• friends, our alpha members are our friends, our alpha members are our friends, our constituents and
• our tax bills that that in all of our our tax bills that that in all of our our tax bills that we've

Bills: SB 1 , HB 500 , SB 1 , HB 1400 , HB 1094 , HB 365 , HB 1109 , HB 647 , HB 500

Transcript Highlights:

• And so I worked with our good staff and fixed that issue.
• :01.840><c> our</c><01:17:02.080><c> county</c> councilman and our mayors, our county councilman and
• our residents.
• Senate file 85 Raven Act. Senate study. Senate file 85 Raven Act.
• Senate file 85 Raven Act. Senate study. Senate file 85 Raven Act.