Transcript Highlights:

• House when drivers fail to obey traffic control instructions or exceed the posted speed limit in highway
• construction or maintenance work zones when any worker is present. ...limit in highway construction
• penalties for drivers who fail to obey traffic control instructions or exceed the posted speed limit in highway
• penalties for drivers who fail to obey traffic control instructions or exceed the posted speed limit in highway

Transcript Highlights:

• We were also able to get some trunk highway funding projects, and so there's a $40 million earmark for
• Republicans, House Democrats, and Senators from both sides of the aisle... said that the theft of trunk highway
• The DFL made sure that our trunk highways were funded, That the DFL made sure that metro transit was
• Our trunk highway funds are healthy.

Transcript Highlights:

• Bill 576, introduced by the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, makes appropriations to the Nevada Highway
• Bill 576, introduced by the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, makes appropriations to the Nevada Highway
• Bill 576, introduced by the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, makes appropriations to the Nevada Highway
• Assembly Bill 593 makes a general fund appropriation of $53.5 million and a highway fund appropriation

Transcript Highlights:

• So that just shows you the total amount of um bonding that would occur with general fund, highway fund
• occur with of um bonding that would occur with general<00:10:03.200><c> fund,</c><00:10:03.440><c> highway
• fund</c><00:10:04.080><c> and</c><00:10:04.680><c> others</c><00:10:05.680><c> of</c> general fund, highway
• fund and others of general fund, highway fund and others of 170<00:10:06.720><c> million.

Committee: Senate Capital Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a cleanup bill to a bill that passed out of both chambers last year.

Bills: SB6134

Committee: House Labor & Workplace Standards

Keywords: unemployment insurance, UI benefits, striking workers, strike, labor dispute, retroactive wages, overpayment assessment, overpayment recovery, Employment Security Department, ESD, claimant notice, benefit recoupment, Washington unemployment law, worker notice, federal unemployment tax credit, state unemployment fund

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a cleanup bill to a bill that passed out of both chambers last year.

Summary: The Labor and Workplace Standards Committee met in executive session on February 25, 2026, to act on four bills. Staff briefed the committee on Second Substitute Senate Bill 5292 (PFML premium rate-setting would move from a statutory look-back formula to an actuarial approach and require a four-month reserve by 2030), Engrossed Senate Bill 6106 (a cleanup bill related to mass layoff and closure notices that also excludes tribes from the employer definition and protects worker information from public disclosure), Senate Bill 6134 (requiring notice to striking workers about possible unemployment overpayment liability if they later receive retroactive strike wages), and Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6197 (changing plumbing credential suspension from three violations in six months to five violations in five years). Staff also clarified that L&I would count infractions from the prior five years for purposes of ESSB 6197. Members generally described the bills as negotiated or cleanup measures with broad support, though some concerns remained. On ESSB 6106, one member noted support for the bill but said the caucus would be mixed because of concerns about how the layoff notice requirement would apply to farmworkers whose work ends naturally with the season. On ESSB 6197, members said the bill reflected compromise between union and open-shop plumbing stakeholders and referenced L&I guidance supporting the five-year lookback. On SB 6134, members said the bill would help inform workers and improve overpayment processing. On 2SSB 5292, supporters said the actuarial approach and reserve requirement would strengthen PFML financing, while also acknowledging more work remains on the program. All four bills were moved out of committee with due-pass recommendations. Second Substitute Senate Bill 5292 passed 9-0, Engrossed Senate Bill 6106 passed 7-2, Senate Bill 6134 passed 9-0, and Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6197 passed 9-0. The committee then adjourned after thanking staff for the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• RS 32-840 is a cleanup bill for a piece of legislation this committee passed and was approved in the

Committee: House Revenue and Taxation

Transcript Highlights:

• There are just overall cleanups that need to happen, so everything that the majority and the minority

Committee: Senate Senate Rules

Transcript Highlights:

• The last 38 years was with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and I retired two years ago.
• In every position that I've been in the Highway Patrol, I've always served the community where I lived
• I had the opportunity with the Highway Patrol to interact with many state agencies.

Bills: HB3045

Committee: Senate Public Safety

Summary: The Public Safety Committee first considered several gubernatorial nominations. Brent Black of Bixby was renominated to the Forensic Review Board, with Senator Guthrie noting the board’s seven-member makeup and the need for mental health professionals; the nomination was advanced 8-0. Lou Ann Moody of Henrietta was then presented for the Forensic Review Board. Moody described her long legal career, her work as city attorney and in juvenile/dependency matters, and her decision to avoid criminal defense work to avoid ethical conflicts. Members asked about the board’s caseload and meeting schedule, and the nomination was advanced 8-0. The committee also heard the nomination of a retired Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer, Mr. McCoy, to the OSBI Commission. He emphasized his decades of law enforcement and emergency-management experience, and the nomination was advanced 8-0. The committee then took up House Bill 3045, with an amendment offered by Senator Reinhart. The amendment would allow certain fire departments, rural fire districts, and fire protection districts in municipalities under 200,000 population to recover accident response fees, while preventing those fees from going into general revenue or funding non-fire services. Reinhart explained the bill was intended to address fire departments’ ability to recover costs while limiting the impact on the state’s two largest cities. Senator Brooks questioned why the exemption would apply only to the largest municipalities, and Reinhart responded that Tulsa and Oklahoma City would see the greatest fiscal impact and that rural departments lacked comparable revenue sources. Senator Murdoch raised a point that the bill had an unescorted fiscal impact on municipalities and asked for a ruling under the Municipal Fiscal Impact Act. The chair took the matter under advisement and, at the sponsor’s request, laid the bill over rather than proceeding further. The meeting concluded with members offering extended personal remarks thanking the chair and vice chair for their leadership and service, and the chair adjourned the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• from your perspective, and I'm curious about this, because I've always compared AI to this brand new highway
• , and any time you build a highway, you level the ground out, you put down the asphalt, put in the rumble
• strips, paint the lanes, put up the guardrails, and then you have a working highway.

Committees: House Artificial Intelligence & Innovation , House House Artificial Intelligence & Innovation Committee of Reference

Transcript Highlights:

• Out here on the Olympic Peninsula, where we have no rail and only one very winding two-lane state highway
• reached the end of its useful life and needs major renovations to keep our connection to the marine highway
• Today the state has grants for improving highways, public transit, and airports, but not so much for

Committee: House Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• Out here on the Olympic Peninsula, where we have no rail and only one very winding two-lane state highway
• reached the end of its useful life and needs major renovations to keep our connection to the marine highway
• Today the state has grants for improving highways, public transit, and airports, but not so much for

Summary: The committee held public hearings on two transportation-related bills. For Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5374, staff explained that the bill would require tribal governments to be included in Growth Management Act transportation coordination and in preparation of county six-year transportation programs, and would create a tribal traffic safety coordinator grant program through the Traffic Safety Commission. Fiscal impacts were described as indeterminate and scalable, with estimates for staffing, grants, and local government coordination costs. The Association of Counties testified in support, saying the bill would better align existing tribal consultation processes with transportation planning and would not force counties to restart plans already near adoption. For Engrossed Senate Bill 5649, staff said the bill would create a Washington State Supply Chain Competitiveness Infrastructure Program to provide grants and loans for public and tribal ports with public operations, with DOT setting priorities and criteria in collaboration with supply chain stakeholders. Fiscal notes estimated significant staffing and program costs, but the amount would depend on appropriations; no funds were included in the current Senate Transportation budget. The Washington Public Ports Association and representatives from the Port of Everett and Port of Port Angeles supported the bill, arguing it would help ports address congestion, improve freight efficiency, and leverage federal matching funds for major infrastructure projects. The Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board director said many proposed projects would not qualify for FMSIB funding because they are not on strategic freight corridors, which is why a separate program may be needed. Members asked about timing, whether the tribal planning bill would require counties to start over on plans already near completion, and how the port bill would interact with existing funding sources and FMSIB eligibility. Staff and witnesses said the tribal bill was intended to work with existing coordination processes and not force counties to restart, while the port bill was meant to fill gaps where current programs do not apply. The chair then reviewed amendment deadlines for budget and committee bills, and the meeting adjourned for caucuses.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill authorizes the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the DHSMV, to create a new
• taxes collected by the utility providers to account for the impact of electric vehicles in the state highway
• taxes collected by the utility providers to account for the impact of electric vehicles in the state highway

Committee: Senate Transportation

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present and heard a series of transportation-related bills, most of which were reported favorably. SB 532 would exempt 100% disabled veterans from paying Florida tolls. SB 1738 would allow certain counties that previously opted out of transportation concurrency to opt back in by maintaining current levels of service, though there were concerns about congestion and future growth. SB 1696 aimed to reduce transportation network company driver impersonation, allow transit authorities to contract with ride-share platforms, and permit those platforms to participate in state-funded paratransit trips. SB 1378, as amended, would allow courts to order restitution in standard leaving-the-scene crashes; the amendment made restitution discretionary and required that the driver caused or contributed to the crash. SB 1210 would increase penalties for red-light and stop-sign crashes and require bodily injury insurance for drivers who cause such crashes. SB 1820, via strike-all amendment, addressed dealer-manufacturer relations by requiring written explanations of performance measures, prohibiting retaliation against dealers asserting statutory rights, and limiting franchise termination or nonrenewal to substantial breaches. SB 1246 created a specialty license plate for safe coastal wildlife, with proceeds going to the Zoo Miami Foundation for conservation work and an amendment allowing up to 10% for administrative and marketing costs. The committee also considered SB 574, which would allow Florida residents with Purple Heart license plates to pass tolls free of charge; the bill was amended to change the plate reference to a specialty plate and was reported favorably. SB 1662, the FDOT department bill, was substantially revised by strike-all amendment covering a wide range of transportation issues, including USF’s role in the Florida Transportation Research Institute Consortium, Florida Transportation Commission provisions, seaport and airport-related changes, strategic space infrastructure, sewer lines in rights of way, small county road assistance, aggregate supply chain programs, and Jacksonville Transportation Authority board appointments. Testimony on SB 1662 included support from USF and the Florida Public Transportation Association, which raised concerns about added oversight and bureaucracy for transit systems. Most bills received support from affected stakeholders, and several were amended before final favorable votes. Roll calls were taken on each measure, and all of the listed bills were reported favorably by the committee. At the end of the meeting, senators requested to be recorded as voting in the affirmative on several bills, and the committee adjourned after a brief personal privilege remark from Chair Collins.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><04:03:49.359><c> funds</c><04:03:49.520><c> or</c> federal or state highway funds or federal or
• state highway funds or turnpike<04:03:50.080><c> funds</c><04:03:50.319><c> to</c><04:03:50.560><c> be
• </c> and I know there's state and highway and I know there's state and highway funds<04:09:06.399><c>
• We have highway right-of-ways and things in Cheshire County, and they're 8,000 feet long and 100 feet
• We have highway right-of-ways and things in Cheshire County, and they're 8,000 feet long and 100 feet

Committee: House Housing

Transcript Highlights:

• Third reading of the bill: An act designating a portion of State Highway Route 7A in the town of Lenox
• Dindio Memorial Highway. House No. 3645. Question now is on passing the bill to be engrossed.

Summary: The House opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed St. Michael’s School from Fall River, including its eighth-grade graduating class, as guests. The session then moved through several routine matters from the Committee on Rules, including resolutions honoring the Egan Foundation’s IgA nephropathy awareness day, commemorating Danvers’ 1776 meeting anniversary, congratulating two Eagle Scouts, and recognizing the Swansea Fire Department’s 100th anniversary. All of those resolutions were adopted by voice vote, and the House also suspended Joint Rule 12 to send a petition on firefighting staffing to the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. The House next acted on matters reported by the Committee on Steering Policy and Scheduling, advancing a Senate bill authorizing print-free digital legal notices in Newton and a House bill naming a segment of Route 20 the Broder Curve. Both bills were ordered to a third reading. The House then passed to enact House No. 4842, clarifying the organization of the Lexington Housing Assistance Board. Later, the House passed to engrossment House No. 3645, designating a portion of Route 7A in Lenox as the Ross B. Dindio Memorial Highway. It also considered House No. 4604, which directs the Boston Police Department to waive the maximum age requirement for Louisa Fernandez; an amendment making the act effective upon passage was adopted, and the bill was then passed to engrossment as amended. The House adopted an order to meet again the following Thursday at 11 a.m. and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• It ricochets off the highway under the door. Comes upward and Darren Lawson's legs.
• He can see every car coming and going, even on the main highway.
• </c><00:03:48.319><c> and</c><00:03:48.480><c> a</c><00:03:48.720><c> little</c> dragon in state highway
• and a little dragon in state highway and a little city<00:03:49.120><c> street</c><00:03:49.440><c>
• </c> going, even on the main highway. going, even on the main highway.

Summary: The committee heard testimony from Rep. Ashley Tacket Laferty on a bill to expand minimum hazardous-duty retirement and health benefits for certain public safety workers injured in the line of duty. She used a video and examples from Floyd County to describe officers and an emergency management director who were catastrophically injured but did not qualify for existing hazardous-duty coverage because their employers had enrolled them in non-hazardous retirement plans. The bill would provide a minimum benefit of 25% of pay, plus 10% for dependent children and limited health coverage, for eligible workers who cannot return to hazardous work. Laferty said the proposal would apply retroactively through a five-year window, estimated to affect a limited number of workers statewide, and would be funded by small increases in employer contribution rates. Committee members questioned how many former employees might qualify, how the bill interacts with the pension system, and who would pay the added cost. Discussion also noted that local governments choose whether to place employees in hazardous or non-hazardous coverage, largely based on cost. The sheriff’s association was present online in support, and no vote was taken. The committee then heard Rep. Daniel Gber present a revised bill allowing teachers and school district employees to use accumulated sick leave to observe religious holidays not already on the school calendar, if they provide a personal statement and sufficient advance notice. He said the measure is intended to address the rigid school calendar and the difficulty teachers face in observing non-school holidays without losing service credit toward retirement. He noted that the earlier version of the bill had allowed make-up work time, but the current draft is shorter and focused on sick leave use. He also referenced a supporting letter from a constituent who could not attend because of weather. The bill was presented for discussion only, with no committee action reported.

Transcript Highlights:

• in the State Department of Transportation's testimony in this measure, according to the National Highway
• :36:44.280><c> National</c> measure, according to the National measure, according to the National Highway
• <00:36:45.040><c> Traffic</c><00:36:45.520><c> Safety</c><00:36:45.840><c> Administration,</c> Highway
• Traffic Safety Administration, Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 44% 44% 44% of<00:36:48.840><c
• </c> are killing people out on our highways. are killing people out on our highways.

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to prohibit the operation of high-speed electric devices on any bicycle lane, highway, roadway
• I want to prohibit the operation of high-speed electric devices on any bicycle lane, highway, roadway
• I want to prohibit the operation of high-speed electric devices on any bicycle lane, highway, roadway
• I want to prohibit the operation of high-speed electric devices on any bicycle lane, highway, roadway
• </c> &gt;&gt; um Larry, who is the highways &gt;&gt; um Larry, who is the highways administrator,<02:

Summary: The committee first heard HB 2021, a transportation measure creating a framework for electric bicycle and micromobility regulation. The bill would define electric bicycle and electric micromobility device, set age and helmet rules, restrict class 3 e-bikes from sidewalks, allow limited sidewalk use for class 1 and 2 bikes, prohibit high-speed electric devices and certain nonconforming devices in specified locations, update county tax definitions, and change related terminology. Testimony was largely supportive from DOT, police, Honolulu officials, Hawaii Bicycling League, AAA Hawaii, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, and several individuals, while DCCA’s Insurance Division asked for clarity on whether insurance would be required. Committee discussion focused on safety, enforcement, and the fact that no insurance market currently exists for these e-bike classes; members also discussed the need to target bad actors rather than ordinary riders. The chair then proposed and the committee adopted amendments to HB 2021, including clarifying that road-legal, permitted, classified electric bicycles are not subject to insurance requirements at this time; allowing properly classified electric bicycles on sidewalks at 10 mph or less subject to county restrictions; barring high-speed electric devices and other nonconforming devices from public roadways; authorizing impoundment of non-road-legal or improperly registered devices; and requiring direct parental supervision for riders under 16 on class 2 or 3 e-bikes. The committee also made technical and effective-date changes. The recommendation to pass HB 2021 with amendments was adopted unanimously by the members present. The committee next took up HB 1641, a related transportation bill addressing high-speed electric devices. The chair explained that the measure would prohibit the sale, lease, rental, distribution, possession, or operation of high-speed electric devices and establish penalties, but the committee’s version would narrow the focus to devices covered by HB 2021. The amended bill would prohibit offering high-speed electric devices for lease or rent, require sellers to comply with the new regulatory framework, ban operation on bicycle lanes, highways, roadways, and streets, and set a civil penalty of $250 to $1,000 per violation. After no further questions, the committee voted to pass HB 1641 with amendments, and the recommendation was adopted. The meeting then moved to HB 1709, which would transfer regulation of the Hawaii Water Carrier Act from the Public Utilities Commission to the Department of Transportation and make conforming changes with an appropriation. DOT testified in support, while the PUC and DCCA’s Consumer Advocacy Division raised concerns about preserving consumer protections and the complexity of moving the regulatory framework. Young Brothers supported the bill and said the current system is outdated, but the discussion remained ongoing; the transcript cuts off before any final action on HB 1709 is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've been talking to the state highways folks as well as the governor to discuss this possibility.
• We've been talking to the state highways folks as well as the governor to discuss this possibility.
• [clears throat] >> uh, extending the state highway. Thank you. Thank you.
• We've been talking to the state<00:40:51.800><c> highways</c> state highways state highways uh,<00:40
• </c> &gt;&gt; uh, extending the state highway. &gt;&gt; uh, extending the state highway.

Transcript Highlights:

• What we have here is a bill that addresses farm implements on the highway.
• This is a pretty active community that always has farm implements on the highway.

Committee: Senate Transportation