Transcript Highlights:

• First up on our list is the Attorney General, uh, Deputy Attorney General Trishan Nakatoh, appearing
• general the attorney general uh attorney general the attorney general uh attorney general an<
• <00:22:07.640> general of the committee Deputy attorney general of the committee Deputy attorney
• Yeah, Senator S, for the Attorney General, are you listening?
• for the Attorney for the Attorney General<00:30:01.080> are<00:30:01.200> you<00:30

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint committees heard testimony on several fireworks-related bills. On HB 550, which would allow law enforcement to use drone recordings to establish probable cause for fireworks arrests in public areas and appropriate funds for drones, the Department of Law Enforcement and Honolulu Police Department supported the measure. The Public Defender and some public testifiers opposed it, arguing that a statute cannot mandate probable cause and that the bill raises constitutional concerns. A prosecutor later explained that the bill is intended to address Hawaiʻi case law, especially State v. Kit, which limits aerial surveillance over homes under the state constitution, and suggested that changing “shall” to “may” could reduce constitutional problems. Members also questioned whether current law already allows video evidence of fireworks violations and whether the bill was necessary. Testimony included both support and opposition from individuals and organizations, and no vote was taken during the hearing. The committees then heard HB 806, which would appropriate funds for the Department of Law Enforcement to conduct sting operations on Oʻahu to enforce fireworks laws. The department and police supported the bill, while the Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi opposed it, arguing that fireworks are already illegal and that the measure adds unnecessary enforcement powers and constitutional risk. Committee members asked what “sting operation” means and whether the term should be defined more clearly; the department said it refers to police or criminal investigations involving deception and agreed a definition would help guide use of the funds. The department also said the funding would support training, storage, and other operational costs for undercover investigations. Finally, the committees heard HB 1483, a broader fireworks enforcement bill that would create an adjudication system for fireworks infractions, revise definitions and penalties, establish new offenses, and increase penalties when fireworks offenses cause injury or death. The Attorney General’s office strongly supported the bill, saying it would improve enforcement by clarifying definitions and allowing cases to be proven without particle testing or expert witnesses when fireworks leave no physical evidence. The Department of Law Enforcement also supported it. The Public Defender opposed the bill, focusing on the bill’s penalty enhancements for offenses that are rarely enforced and its concurrent trial provision, which it said raises problems because of the differences between civil and criminal proceedings. No final committee action or vote was reported in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• The agency is mandated to generate 9.6 million dollars.
• General for enforcement at this point in time.
• His response is generally, Microsoft doesn't care.
• As far as the general street.
• In my day job, I'm a general. I'm a general contractor.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The attorney general was advised of the lawsuits when they were filed.
• The attorney general advised us that the attorney general's office has a conflict on it and that they
• We went through that route when the attorney general said that that office was not able to handle the
• district attorney.
• two new attorneys?

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• serve as uh the Ramsey County Attorney. serve as uh the Ramsey County Attorney.
• Um, I have a question for you, County Attorney Choy, if you could stay where you are.
• > there<00:25:51.600> are<00:25:52.320> um Attorney Choy that there are um Attorney
• The county attorney charged them, but they were released.
• County Attorney Choy. Oh, thank you, Mr. Chair.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll hit it on a general tax a little bit later.
• If you look at the executive program, my program, which includes general counsel, inspector general,
• Right now, finally, there's general tax. General tax causes a little pause.
• And it's not general revenue funding, okay?
• General tax is funded not only from general revenue, but also from our operating trust fund.

Transcript Highlights:

• He is a senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation.
• He is a senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation.
• I am a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation.
• And the 2004 opinion of Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is in there.
• You know, yeah, I wouldn't mind having the Attorney General come in and talk about it.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• representing the state, meaning district attorneys?
• In the prosecution of offenses by attorneys representing the state, meaning district attorneys.
• It may be the DA and one, you know, another attorney.
• From generative AI, and the results are mixed.
• Power generation.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I feel that it is part of the privilege of serving as the district attorney to be...
• It does, but all of it is the Commonwealth in general?
• What happens when the weight of generational neglect outweighs principle?
• I'll close by lifting up the voices of our next generation.
• The Massachusetts Inspector General is investigating local corruption.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing covered a broad set of environmental and water-related bills, with much of the testimony focused on blue economy and circular economy proposals, drought management, drinking water safety, flood resilience, and water infrastructure funding. Supporters of bills such as H. 987 and H. 988 described grant programs for blue economy workforce development, research, small businesses, and public education about a circular economy. Other speakers backed measures on coastal erosion research, recreational boating dredging, cranberry water-right transfers, sand mining oversight, and a voucher program for home water filtration in PFAS-impacted communities. Several elected officials and advocates also urged passage of bills to require private well testing, improve school drinking water safety, and address sand mining pollution and PFAS contamination. Water supply and drought issues drew extensive testimony. Senator Eldridge and others supported legislation to let the state, through DEP and the drought management task force, impose regional water-use restrictions during droughts and make the task force permanent in statute. Advocates from watershed groups, farms, and environmental organizations said the current town-by-town approach is inconsistent and ineffective, and they described drought impacts on rivers, farms, private wells, and wildfire risk. A related bill on private wells was supported as a way to help homeowners test and remediate contaminated wells, especially in rural areas without public water. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to allow the Lynnfield Water District to join the MWRA, with local officials saying the move would help address PFAS and other contamination and improve supply reliability. Another major panel supported a water infrastructure funding bill, arguing that aging drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems need major new investment, including support for PFAS treatment, sewer rate relief, biosolids research, and regional interconnections. Members asked about costs, funding sources, and the relationship to existing revolving loan funds; witnesses said the bill would need to be paired with future bond funding and new revenue ideas. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chairs repeatedly invited written testimony and noted the large number of speakers.

Transcript Highlights:

• . assistance. assistance.
• <00:03:47.840> and cuts to federal food assistance and cuts to federal food assistance and
• <00:17:40.000> have program and emergency assistance have program and emergency assistance
• assistance programs on a regular basis. assistance programs on a regular basis.
• those programs that provide assistance those programs that provide assistance for<00:35:35.280><

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• President, on assistance, miscellaneous financial assistance to municipalities.
• It is just an assistance. >> Through you, Mr.
• We would have entities, whether it is the Attorney General, who I believe in deeply, and the...
• Attorney General of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
• ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S CRIMINAL DIVISION.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and an invocation, then approved the prior day’s Journal and moved into motions, resolutions, and budget-related business. Senator Gianaris called up Senate Print 5898A for reconsideration; the Senate voted 59 ayes to restore the bill to the third reading calendar. Several amendments were also received on third-reading bills, and the Finance Committee was called into session while the chamber proceeded with resolutions. The Senate adopted Resolution J.2106 recognizing Second Chance Month and the mental health impacts of incarceration, with Senator Brisport speaking in support and a guest from the community recognized in the chamber. The body also adopted Resolution J.1492 designating May 27, 2026, as Taiwan Heritage Day, with remarks from Senators Sepúlveda, Stavisky, and Liu highlighting Taiwanese contributions to New York and expressing support for Taiwan amid current geopolitical tensions. The Finance Committee then reported several budget bills, including Senate Prints 9003D, 9004D, 9007C, and 9009C, which were moved to third reading. The remainder of the session focused on the supplemental and controversial budget calendars, especially tax and spending provisions. Senators debated the “Protecting Our Wallets” energy rebate, with supporters describing it as a one-time check for eligible taxpayers and critics arguing it was too small and not tied directly to utility bills; the chamber accepted the message of necessity and laid the bills aside. Members also debated extensions and changes to tax provisions affecting corporations, alternative fuel exemptions, Broadway and theatrical production tax credits, charitable deductions for certain 501(c)(3)s, nicotine pouch taxes, a new New York City pied-à-terre tax, and a standardbred horse-racing testing fee. Several senators criticized the budget as raising costs or favoring certain industries, while supporters defended the measures as revenue-raising, affordability, or public-health policies. No final votes on the controversial budget bills are shown in the excerpt beyond procedural rulings, adoption of the resolution calendar, and acceptance of committee reports.

Transcript Highlights:

• Through our current auditor, the Attorney General has expanded the Treaty Division to include assistance
• I run the small local public bodies assistance program.
• My assistance program provides direct financial assistance to pay for tier certifications and AUPs conducted
• Every one of these meetings, every private meeting with attorney generals, state engineers, we're in
• They've been paying for it since my grandfather's time—my grandfather's generation, my parents' generation

Transcript Highlights:

• Attorney Greg Martin.
• um attorney Albert, they're the experts. um attorney Albert, they're the experts.
• Um, is it is it generally come in.
• Generally<04:32:55.520> speaking, Generally speaking, Generally speaking, worker<04:32:57.359>
• >> You mean this bill in general? >> You mean this bill in general?

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They provide food assistance, emergency support, housing assistance, even child care, so that the GCC
• I think that attorneys in this body, especially those applying to be the highest attorney in the state
• I hope any other attorney in this body would vote no as well. Thank you. I vote no.
• The U.S. tried to force attorneys into enforcing federal law.
• Not an attorney, not the county attorney, not a municipal police chief. The sheriff.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Community services, individual supports, and other forms of assistance.
• And then, of course, there's state general fund programs.
• And so NMTAP is the acronym for the Technology Assistance Program.
• Our general email address, but these are actual folks.
• Um, I am a, I was, I worked on it as a disability rights attorney.

Transcript Highlights:

• I personally volunteer to assist in any way, and I'm going to volunteer your county attorneys.
• I personally volunteer to assist in any way, and I'm going to volunteer your county attorneys.
• I personally volunteer to assist in any way, and I'm going to volunteer your county attorneys.
• I personally volunteer to assist in any way, and I'm going to volunteer your county attorneys.
• I personally volunteer to assist in any way, and I'm going to volunteer your county attorneys.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:00 Agency Updates: 00:01:45 26RS SB 125: 00:02:10 26RS SB 101: 01:14:58, 958, all

Summary: The Juvenile Justice Oversight Council met on February 6, 2026, took roll, approved a motion to convene, and heard agency updates from materials in the packet. The council then took up Senate Bill 125 out of order because Senator Carol was present. The bill was presented as a collaborative effort focused on creating a secure, state-run high-acuity mental health facility for justice-involved youth who need specialized psychiatric care and cannot be appropriately served in detention or by private hospitals. Speakers said the facility would fill a gap in services, improve safety and treatment outcomes, and be designed with trauma-informed, medically equipped spaces rather than a jail-like setting. The presenters also outlined other parts of the bill, including a placement process in which DJJ and CHFS would evaluate youth and provide recommendations before the judge makes the final decision, with certain hospital-declination provisions to be delayed until the new facility is operating. They described payment incentives for hospitals treating high-acuity youth, confidentiality and escape-related disclosure provisions, and contracts with a public teaching university for clinical services. The proposed facility was described as a 24-bed center at Central State, with staffing to include mental health professionals and juvenile detention staff receiving enhanced training. Dr. Clark Lester said staffing needs would vary by youth and could include one-to-one supervision for some patients. The bill also addressed female juvenile detention capacity. Speakers said the number of detained girls has risen sharply since 2024, peaking at 51 in 2025, and that current facilities cannot meet the separation requirements for boys and girls or high- and low-level youth. The proposal would build two female detention centers, with possible locations discussed in central Kentucky and western Kentucky, and a third or fourth center could be added if population data show the need. Members asked about hospital placement authority, staffing, and average length of stay for girls; the presenters said the current court-order process would remain until the new facility is built and that they would provide additional data later. No vote was taken during the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are prohibited from providing any legal assistance to undocumented. Thank you. Thank you.
• My mom's attorney, she's retired.
• But I will tell you is that general commercial accounts and have the type of activities like this?
• It's the general population in Florida.
• This this policy general is important to me.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• My name is Lea Tapu, and I'm an Assistant Attorney General at the Minnesota Attorney General's Office
• My name is Lea Tapu and I'm<00:02:10.600> an<00:02:10.679> Assistant<00:02:11.040> Attorney
• <00:02:11.320> General<00:02:11.640> at<00:02:11.760> the I'm an Assistant Attorney
• General at the I'm an Assistant Attorney General at the Minnesota<00:02:12.240> Attorney<00:02
• Attorney General ask force. Attorney General ask force.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee met to discuss worker misclassification, beginning with approval of the March 4, 2026 minutes and a note that a late-posted bill would not be heard at this time. Chair Pinto opened the hearing by framing misclassification as timely and invited Lea Takapu of the Attorney General’s office to explain the issue. Takapu described misclassification as labeling workers as independent contractors when they are really employees, which can deprive workers of minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and other protections while also reducing tax revenue. She said the Attorney General’s office and the MEAP partnership have been working on the issue and cited estimates that Minnesota workers lose billions annually and the state loses hundreds of millions to over a billion dollars in revenue, while noting that legitimate independent contracting is not the target. Members questioned how the committee could rely on estimates when the exact number of misclassified workers is unknown. Takapu responded that the figures were based on studies and complaint data, and that underground or undocumented work makes exact counts difficult. Chair Pinto noted the numbers were estimates and referenced a 2024 Legislative Auditor finding that Minnesota lacked an adequate, coordinated approach to proper worker classification, while saying progress had been made since then. Several industry witnesses then testified in support of stronger enforcement. Kevin Pranis of LiUNA said misclassification remains rampant in parts of construction, especially drywall, stucco, thin stone, and broadband installation, and argued it is tax, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation fraud that harms law-abiding contractors and taxpayers. Matt Wollers of Braxton and Sons said his company loses bids to competitors that misclassify workers, creating a labor-cost advantage of 30% or more, and asked for meaningful enforcement rather than new legislation, including regular unannounced jobsite visits. Jesse Madison of Purple Tally Productions said misclassification is anti-competition and described examples from live events and entertainment, urging front-end checks on workers’ compensation, unemployment coverage, and W-2 versus 1099 status before work begins. The next testifier, Ben Ballou of the Minnesota Nurses Association, began his remarks as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• James Liska, and we have District Attorney Tiffany McWilliams. And up in the gallery.
• She was also named a top attorney in employment law by Texas Monthly and honored as a woman of excellence
• General of the Texas Education Agency to investigate complaints of the appearance of a child enrolled
• HB 1467 by Lilani relates to the emergency preparedness of assistive living facilities in the health
• Let's go forward leading to the requiring notice of the Attorney General on an action on the election

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least three times.
• But just to circle back to this, this is an amendment on a general bill.
• This is an amendment on a general bill.
• That definition of a legal representative does not stop at an attorney.
• The bill creates a new definition in statute, legal representative, to mean an attorney.

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

Transcript Highlights:

• Yes, it would go to the Attorney General, and the Attorney General, I believe, would have 10 days to
• Instead of relying on our unelected Attorney General? I recognize. Thank you, Mr.
• I think it would be a lot faster, and it would certainly be in good hands, being that the Attorney General
• That's what our Attorney General should be doing.
• That's what our Attorney General should be doing.

Keywords: 999, senate, all