Transcript Highlights:

• I also do have a policy question because we've been meeting with our local public defenders and other
• I also do have a policy question because we've been meeting with our local public defenders and other
• for domestic violence, stalking, and sexual violence, when the petitions are dismissed or when disclosure
• of public necessity explaining why these records must be temporarily or permanently exempt from disclosure

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Summary: The Criminal Justice Committee met with a quorum present and temporarily postponed SB 156. The committee first considered the confirmation of Matthew Walsh as Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Walsh described his background in law enforcement, social work, and juvenile justice, and outlined DJJ priorities including recruitment and retention, staff wellness, collaboration with DCF and other agencies, aging facilities, and expanding educational and vocational opportunities for youth. Members asked about his social work training, lockout youth, bed space, recidivism, and the Florida Scholars Academy. The committee voted unanimously to favorably report his confirmation. The committee then took up SPB 704, a committee bill extending the public records exemption for conviction integrity unit reinvestigation information. Senator Martin explained that the exemption was originally created to protect active innocence reviews and should continue past its current sunset date. With no opposition or debate, the committee voted unanimously to report the bill favorably as a committee bill. Next, the committee considered CS for SB 32, as amended, which creates an injunction for protection against serious violence by a known person and adds it to the statewide injunction verification system and related enforcement provisions. Senator Sharif said the bill is intended to give judges a faster tool to protect victims who have reported serious violence to law enforcement, while supporters said it addresses cases where victims are harmed before a repeat-violence injunction can be granted. Eric Friday of Florida Carry opposed the bill, warning it could be misused against self-defense situations and create problems in cases already covered by existing injunction laws. After debate, the committee voted unanimously to report the bill favorably. The committee then considered SB 210, which extends public records protections to petitions for injunctions for protection against serious violence by a known person, including dismissed petitions and identifying information before service. There was no opposition, and the committee voted unanimously to report SB 210 favorably before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> re-referred to the Education Policy re-referred to the Education Policy Committee.
• </c> to education policy. Thank you, Mr. to education policy. Thank you, Mr.
• First, the appropriations and policy.
• branch implement these policies.
• implement these policies.

Committee: Senate State and Local Government

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, so turning to our policy review, our first task was to identify policies that supported SMRs.
• We consolidated the policies in these trackers, filtered down to policies that affected SMRs or advanced
• So after identifying policies, we set about analyzing them, and we categorized policies according to
• policies...
• waste-disposal policies.

Summary: The committee heard public testimony on Senate Bill 5821, which would direct the Department of Commerce, if funded by gifts or grants, to develop a nuclear power strategic framework and integrate it into the state energy strategy. Supporters, including Sen. Braun, Energy Northwest, public power representatives, and several pro-nuclear advocates, said Washington needs to keep advanced nuclear on the table to address rising electricity demand, reliability concerns, and clean energy goals. Opponents, including the Sierra Club, Columbia Riverkeeper, tribal representatives, and other environmental advocates, argued the bill gives nuclear special treatment, lacks sufficient guardrails on waste, safety, cost, and public process, and was rushed without adequate tribal consultation. Several tribal testifiers said the bill should require early, meaningful government-to-government consultation and stronger protections for treaty rights and cultural resources. The committee then held a work session on a Washington State Institute for Public Policy report reviewing state policies supporting small modular reactors. Staff and researchers explained that the report surveyed 79 policies in 35 states and found most states are still in preliminary planning stages, with policies focused on feasibility studies, siting, workforce development, permitting, financial support, and market integration. Members asked about water use, waste, footprint, and whether the report covered fusion; the researchers said it was limited to fission and that water needs vary by reactor design. Some senators noted the need to consider lifecycle impacts and compare nuclear with other energy technologies. The committee also heard Senate Bill 6010, which would change FSEC tribal consultation procedures by exempting most government-to-government consultations from the Open Public Meetings Act when there is no deliberation or commitments, requiring all FSEC members to participate in consultation, and giving tribes a chance to review and correct the consultation summary before it goes to the governor. Tribal witnesses and environmental groups supported the bill as a way to improve confidentiality and meaningful consultation, while the Association of Washington Business opposed it, saying it could add delays and suggesting timelines. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 6004, which would update contracting statutes so public entities can contract for renewable or non-emitting generation capability under CETA definitions; utilities supported the update as a modernization, while consumer and environmental opponents warned it could shift financial risk to ratepayers, especially for nuclear projects. No votes were taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c> of the 2.5% above the spending policy, of the 2.5% above the spending policy, 0.45%<00:08:12.720
• </c> And that seems like a good policy. And that seems like a good policy.
• </c><01:03:39.599><c> So,</c> does without good policy. So, does without good policy.
• this policy.
• policies.

Bills: HB0075 , HB0128

Committee: House Minerals, Business & Economic Development

Keywords: virtual currency, kiosk, financial institutions, regulation, Wyoming Money Transmitters Act, penalties, severance tax, oil production, tax exemption, energy sector, economic impact, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You will reaffirm Florida's commitment to religious freedom and compassionate outcome driven policy.
• And for far too long, we've allowed protective issam to policies in these local communities to dictate
• >> That >> protects the disclosure of the identity of the physician who is rendered adverse determination
• This will lead the nation in collecting meaningful data that will shape research and policy for decades
• The strike all will also impact training of non-physician personnel at least annually on the policies

Transcript Highlights:

• BECAUSE OF OUR GREAT ECONOMY AND TAX POLICY PEOPLE CONTINUE TO MOVE HERE.
• THIS IS A CONVERSATION WE ARE CONTINUING TO HAVE OF THE SPONSOR IN THE STAFF AND THEIR OPEN DOOR POLICY
• BUT AGAIN, THAT HAS TO BE INCLUDED IN THESE DISCLOSURES.
• YOU ARE RECOGNIZED. >> MY NAME IS JOHN AND I AM THE PUBLIC POLICY DIRECTOR FEE QUALITY FLORIDA.
• THAT'S ON POLICY, THAT'S A STANDARD GROUND CASE WAITING TO HAPPEN.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have 7.6, 1 million residential insurance policies in force.
• Will all disclosures are great and we advocate for that generally.
• we've not ever seen and personal lines policies.
• We have seen it and commercial policies.
• When you're looking at their management policies, etc.

Transcript Highlights:

• filling of those vacancies, ongoing staff trainings, um, developments, implementation of our updated policies
• developments, implementation of our developments, implementation of our updated<00:06:40.560><c> policies
• </c><00:06:41.000><c> and</c><00:06:41.120><c> procedures,</c><00:06:42.520><c> um</c> updated policies
• and procedures, um updated policies and procedures, um strengthened<00:06:43.640><c> uh</c><00:06:43.800
• First of all, I want to make a full disclosure. I'm familiar with the case. It was in my area.

Committee: Joint Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations

Keywords: 00:00 Call to Order 02:45 Roll Call 05:25 Cosmetologists 13:48 Barbers 01:16:06 Adjournment, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• in Louisiana government, a highly competitive opportunity for student leaders to experience public policy
• and action and gain firsthand Student leaders to experience public policy and action and gain firsthand
• H.R. 289 by Representative Mack, to request the Department of Conservation and Energy to renew policies
• Surgeon General to review the state's informed consent laws, identify any gaps, current medical disclosure
• Bowman, the longtime director of the LSU Center for Energy Studies and trusted advisor in energy policy

Bills: SCR59 , SCR70 , HR275 , HR279 , HR282 , HR289 , HR307 , HCR112 , SCR61 , SCR62 , SCR64 , SB121 , HR310 , HR314 , HR316 , HR317 , HR321 , HCR117 , SCR5 , SCR29 , SCR33 , SCR37 , SCR63 , SCR30 , SCR40 , SCR65 , HCR3 , HCR49 , HCR66 , HCR67 , HB54 , HB137 , HB321 , HB368 , HB386 , HB414 , HB431 , HB552 , HB555 , HB578 , HB590 , HB593 , HB618 , HB638 , HB670 , HB692 , HB707 , HB708 , HB715 , HB718 , HB732 , HB741 , HB748 , HB776 , HB796 , HB807 , HB822 , HB848 , HB856 , HB887 , HB888 , HB917 , HB921 , HB1082 , HB1243 , HB1246 , HB1 , HB2 , HB42 , HB45 , HB71 , HB79 , HB126 , HB133 , HB159 , HB213 , HB218 , HB222 , HB289 , HB291 , HB312 , HB313 , HB324 , HB352 , HB383 , HB398 , HB403 , HB429 , HB457 , HB459 , HB549 , HB571 , HB579 , HB591 , HB608 , HB616 , HB624 , HB766 , HB769 , HB783 , HB804 , HB864 , HB874 , HB909 , HB951 , HB971 , HB983 , HB1005 , HB1017 , HB1051 , HB1056 , HB1126 , HB1186 , HB1193 , HB1223 , HB1224 , HB1235 , HB1249 , SB259 , SB295 , SB312 , SB348 , SB444 , SB485 , SB441 , SB149 , HB359 , SB29 , SB43 , SB78 , HB463 , HB998 , SB197 , SB268 , SB123 , SB276 , SB326 , SB80 , HB901 , HR20 , HR74 , HCR65 , HCR71 , HCR98 , HB284 , HB306 , HB341 , HB366 , HB393 , HB458 , HB577 , HB603 , HB605 , HB614 , HB625 , HB646 , HB733 , HB752 , HB773 , HB798 , HB911 , HB955 , HB996 , HB1035 , HB1069 , HB1113 , HB1140 , HB1180 , HB1191 , HB1240 , HB1255 , SB82 , SB89 , SB97 , SB479 , HB74 , HB119 , HB134 , HB210 , HB258 , HB468 , HB784 , HB870 , HB953 , HB956 , HB1117 , HB1236 , SB42 , SB208 , SB217 , SB274 , SB300 , SB341 , SB379 , SB382 , SB387 , SB401 , SB449 , SB487

Keywords: Major Richard Star Act, veterans, military retirement, disability compensation, VA benefits, combat-wounded, medically retired, military retirees, service members, veterans benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, concurrent receipt, retirement offset, combat-related disability, bipartisan support, memorial resolution, Congressional memorial, Louisiana delegation, Richard Star

Summary: The House convened with a quorum and opened with prayer by Archbishop Checchio, the pledge, and the national anthem. Members also used personal privilege to recognize visiting officials, university leaders, grocers, Governor’s Fellows, and several special guests and honorees, including Grambling State University for its 125th anniversary, Tiger Athletics, and the Tiger Marching Band, as well as CASA volunteers and advocates. The chamber adopted a number of ceremonial resolutions and made several conference committee appointments and committee discharge motions. The floor then took up a series of Senate and House resolutions, many of which were adopted without objection or after brief debate. These included resolutions creating or studying task forces on topics such as homeowner catastrophe claims and insurance-related litigation, the Louisiana-Ireland Trade Commission, informed consent laws, fiscal note procedures, K-12 student success pathways, and military funding alignment. Members also adopted resolutions on domestic violence protective-order access, flood risk mapping, seismic activity in North Louisiana, illegal dumping enforcement, toll signage and customer service, and other local or commemorative matters. Several Senate resolutions were temporarily returned to the calendar, while others were adopted by recorded vote, including SCR 29, SCR 33, SCR 37, SCR 63, SCR 30, SCR 65, and SCR 40. The House then considered Senate Bill 259, which authorizes an online application process for civil protection orders and restraining orders for domestic violence victims; it passed 93-0. Senate Bill 312, dealing with public-sector labor organizations and dues/withdrawal procedures, prompted extended debate focused on whether the bill unfairly singled out teachers’ unions and whether teachers already have the ability to opt out; the bill ultimately passed 60-38. Senate Bill 348, allowing the City of St. George to contract for administrative assistance in motor-vehicle crash response, passed 84-9 after questions about citations, reports, and the role of third parties. Senate Bill 485, concerning St. George’s municipal fiscal authority and insurance premium taxes, passed 91-0 after an amendment removed new public facility charge authority. The House also debated Senate Bill 197, which would reduce the number of judges on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal from 12 to 10 based on a workload and population study by the National Center for State Courts. Supporters cited the circuit’s smaller population and lower per-judge workload, while questions focused on the study’s publication and whether it actually recommended a reduction. The transcript ends during that debate, before final disposition is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• . >> If I could go before you start, I want to have full disclosure here that the funding is coming from
• </c><00:03:33.800><c> here</c><00:03:34.040><c> that</c> to have full disclosure here that to have full
• disclosure here that the<00:03:35.040><c> funding</c><00:03:35.400><c> is</c><00:03:35.560><c> coming
• We Make Minnesota generally does not advocate for dedicated revenue, but we are in favor of policies
• </c><00:21:35.480><c> that</c><00:21:35.600><c> broaden</c> are in favor of policies that broaden are

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: House File 4738 was laid over for possible inclusion in the 2026 tax bill. Representative Keeler presented the bill as a funding source for Minnesota’s Safe Harbor program, arguing that trafficking and sexual exploitation are statewide problems and that current shelter and housing resources are insufficient. She and several supporters emphasized that the program serves youth across greater Minnesota, not just the metro, and that state and federal funding pressures make additional support necessary. Testifiers from Place Called Home/Life House, The Link, the City of Minneapolis, and a survivor all described the impact of Safe Harbor and related shelter programs. They cited data on youth served, bed nights, mental health services, and high unmet need, including waitlists and youth turned away because programs are full. Testimony stressed that stable housing and trauma-informed services help survivors recover and move toward education, employment, and family stability. One committee member, Representative Davis, objected to the proposed funding source, saying he would not support taking money from women’s sports scholarships and urging a different source. The bill’s tax mechanism was described as ending the sales tax exemption for preferred seating, suite licenses, and related amenities at athletic and entertainment events. Alec Williams of We Make Minnesota supported the proposal as a fair way to raise revenue from high-end discretionary purchases for a public purpose. Committee discussion also focused on the size of the revenue estimate and the breakdown of the impact, with nonpartisan staff saying roughly 85% would come from suite licenses, 10% from collegiate seating, and 5% from amenities. Representative Smith and others framed the issue as both a tax and moral question, and the chair moved the bill to be laid over.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:32:29.080><c> of</c> for a review on the non-disclosure of for a review on the non-disclosure
• The steps that need to be taken, some of the policy decisions that need to be considered including how
• The steps that need to be taken, some of the policy decisions that need to be considered including how
• The steps that need to be taken, some of the policy decisions that need to be considered including how
• The steps that need to be taken, some of the policy decisions that need to be considered including how

Keywords: 916, all

Summary: The Judiciary Interim Committee met under time constraints and asked members to rank interim topics for a letter to Management Council. The committee then took brief public testimony on a series of proposed study topics, with no formal votes recorded in the transcript. Early testimony focused on landlord eviction rights, where speakers said the court eviction process is too slow, can worsen housing shortages, and leaves landlords unable to recover rent, fees, or damage costs. The foster care topic was presented as a request to examine whether the system gives too much weight to reunification and not enough to the child’s best interests, especially for younger children. A Blue Envelope Program proposal was also discussed; supporters said it would help law enforcement communicate with autistic or otherwise communication-challenged individuals during traffic stops and emergencies, and improve consistency statewide. The committee also heard a proposal to study Wyoming’s homicide-by-vehicle statute, with testimony from a constituent whose mother was killed by a repeat dangerous driver. Speakers argued the current law leaves a gap because prior DUIs, high-risk driving history, and other aggravating factors do not meaningfully affect charging unless intoxication or extreme conduct is present. Related testimony from Wyoming Pathways said the change should be a tool in the toolbox for prosecutors and could improve safety for pedestrians and drivers. Senator Cooper then raised campaign finance reform and dark money, urging a resolution asking Wyoming’s congressional delegation to seek a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and restore state control over election spending transparency. Additional topics included a request from the Wyoming Livestock Board to review peace officer statutes so its investigators could act on felonies committed in their presence or prevent imminent bodily harm, while remaining within their current duties and certification. Representative Lee asked for review of non-disclosure agreements in public-private partnerships and executive sessions so the public can eventually understand how such agreements were used. Senator Pearson asked for interim consideration of shared custody amendments, saying fit parents should have a fair opportunity for shared parenting after separation. Representative Storer proposed revisiting DUI penalties, especially for refusal of chemical testing, arguing that refusal often prevents prosecution and that the law should impose treatment and license suspension consequences. The committee also heard a request to review statutes involving political parties, and the state court administrator asked for interim study of remote public access to court records, citing ongoing automation efforts, privacy concerns, and funding needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• What this does is just prohibits municipalities from entering into non-disclosure agreements to negotiate
• </c> um, from entering into non-disclosure um, from entering into non-disclosure agreements<00:09:14.120
• I don't think this is good policy for the state of Minnesota.
• </c><00:53:41.720><c> on</c><00:53:41.880><c> those</c> we need a statewide policy on those we need a
• statewide policy on those things<00:53:42.360><c> cuz</c><00:53:42.440><c> they</c><00:53:42.560><c>

Committee: Senate State and Local Government

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a Durham voter and public policy fellow with Open Democracy.
• disclosure is so important. important. important.
• I'm a Durham voter and public policy fellow with Open Democracy.
• </c><00:40:02.320><c> And</c><00:40:02.480><c> I</c> policy fellow with Open Democracy.
• And I policy fellow with Open Democracy.

Committee: Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division found inconsistency in the policy
• This isn't just about legislation or partisanship or policy. It's about humanity.
• This isn't just about legislation or partisanship or policy. It's about humanity.
• That was one of the concerns that he had, and in full disclosure, he had some ideas on how maybe we could
• </c><00:45:55.839><c> he</c> that he had and in full disclosure he that he had and in full disclosure

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:05 Roll Call: 00:00:14 SB 26: 00:01:50 SB 64: 00:18:29 SB 73: 00:22:54, 958, all

Summary: The Senate Judiciary Committee met with a quorum and heard three bills. Senate Bill 26, sponsored by Chair Storm, would protect parents and prospective parents with disabilities by barring disability alone from being the sole basis for denying an adoption petition or terminating parental rights. Testimony from Judge Marcus Vanover and Crystal Adams described the bill as a product of the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health and its work groups, cited Kentucky and national cases and federal ADA guidance, and said the bill would require consideration of supportive services, clearer documentation, retention of records, and conforming language changes. Senator Carroll asked how the bill would apply to a hypothetical adult child with special needs; witnesses said the bill is aimed at adoption and termination proceedings where the Cabinet is already involved, not proactive service requests. The committee approved SB 26 by a unanimous 7-0 vote and sent it to the floor with favorable expression. The committee next considered Senate Bill 64, also sponsored by Chair Storm, which would expand the definition of key infrastructure assets to include telecommunications services such as telephone lines and broadband and make damaging, tampering with, or rendering those services inoperable a Class D felony. Representatives from Charter/Spectrum and AT&T testified that copper theft and vandalism have increasingly damaged fiber and other facilities, citing more than 20 incidents in Kentucky in 2024 affecting over 30,000 customers and diverting resources from broadband expansion. The committee adopted a committee substitute and then passed SB 64 by a 7-0 vote with favorable expression. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 73, sponsored by Senator Julie Adams, which would create a felony offense for sexual extortion, allow victims or their representatives to bring civil actions, include the offense in Kentucky’s sex-crime definitions, and require school-based notification and education efforts along with resource information for students. Senator Adams and witness Lady T. Thompson described sextortion as a fast-growing online crime targeting minors, often through social media, gaming, and messaging apps, and argued that stronger penalties and prevention efforts are needed. The transcript cuts off before any committee action on SB 73.

Transcript Highlights:

• My name is Chavani Nashar, and I'm the policy associate with Initiate Justice.
• I work for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children as a senior policy analyst.
• In the past, I have a family, I have a School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley.
• And I work for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children as a senior policy analyst.
• That data shows why a one-size-fits-all mandate is not sound policy.

Committee: House Public Safety

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 1245 by Representative Wiley is an act to amend Title 44 relative to disclosure of certain
• records and to prohibit the disclosure of certain records pertaining to law enforcement.
• House Bill 1245 by Representative Wiley's an act to putton in Title 44, relative disclosure of certain
• records to prohibit the disclosure of certain records pertaining to law enforcement.
• to provide for the disclosure requirements for individuals serving on certain boards.

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• lot of emails about this bill, which I found to be perplexing because we have already passed this policy
• :27:11.360><c> already</c><00:27:11.720><c> passed</c><00:27:12.240><c> this</c><00:27:12.400><c> policy
• </c> we have already passed this policy we have already passed this policy effectively,<00:27:13.800>
• that we passed and I respect policy that we passed and I respect that.<00:27:22.240><c> But</c><00:27
• Thank you. can um contribute without any disclosure can um contribute without any disclosure on<00:30

Committee: House Election Law

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They have to have ongoing disclosure to us on the status of those incidents and the impact that that's
• And then ultimately the disclosure to legislative management of the status, any response and remediation
• We will typically tailor that to kind of their own internal policies, but we'll make recommendations.
• We also provided guidance out to the school districts on any of their disclosure requirements and how
• The timely disclosure to us by that political subdivision helped get us involved and helped us provide

Committee: Joint Information Technology Committee

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They have to have ongoing disclosure to us on the status of those incidents and the impact that that's
• And then ultimately the disclosure to Legislative Management, the status, any response and remediation
• We will typically tailor that to kind of their own internal policies, but we'll make recommendations.
• We also provided guidance out to the school districts on any of their disclosure requirements and how
• “We can enforce the travel and expense policies, so we can allow or disallow things just very easily

Committee: Joint Information Technology Committee

Summary: The committee received a series of informational reports from NDIT and DPI on major IT projects, cybersecurity, and the K-12 student information system transition. Justin Data reviewed the quarterly major project portfolio, noting 111 projects totaling about $542.8 million, generally under budget and slightly behind schedule overall. He highlighted three schedule-red projects: Bed Management System and Vital Records, both now complete and being closed out, and the Roadway Capital Planning Project, which is delayed due to vendor bug fixes after user testing. He also summarized new project startups, including the Attorney General’s Victim Notification System, HHS Medicaid correctional facilities data exchange, Highway Patrol’s motor carrier e-permit system, and additional RIMS work, and answered questions about project timing, funding, and whether work had begun on legislatively funded IT projects. Chris Gurgan, NDIT’s chief information security officer, reported on mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting under HB 1314. He said 77 incidents have been reported since August 2021, with 47 meeting the statutory definition of a cybersecurity incident; phishing remains the most common type, followed by email quarantine alerts, XDR detections, and malware. He emphasized that most incidents are resolved, but that timely reporting is critical for any chance of recovering funds in business email compromise or ransomware cases. He also described several notable incidents since the last report, including the PowerSchool breach, a SimpleHelp intrusion at a school district, a court intrusion, a WSUS vulnerability, a business email compromise at a K-12 district, and a recent ransomware report involving a non-state critical infrastructure entity. Members asked about smishing, MFA, conditional access, security awareness training, and recovery of lost funds; Gurgan said state systems use phishing-resistant MFA and conditional access, training is provided to state employees and offered to political subdivisions on an opt-in basis, and broader cybersecurity maturity assessments are underway. Craig Falkley gave brief reports on coordination with political subdivisions and higher education, including shared networking, cybersecurity, radio/911, PeopleSoft, and co-location services. He also explained distributed ledger technology as a tool for decentralized, secure data sharing, but said the state has limited use for it and would likely frame future reporting more broadly around emerging technologies. The committee then heard from Tony Ambrose of DPI on the statewide Infinite Campus implementation. He said district implementations are underway, but the project had to terminate its original data migration vendor for poor performance and replace it with Aurora Educational Technology, which had experience with a similar North Carolina migration. He also said DPI is moving special education data from Tynet into Infinite Campus, is still working through how to preserve e-transcripts and Choice Ready-type functionality after the PowerSchool transition, and is developing identity, authentication, and data-sharing arrangements for the summer cutover. Members raised concerns about procurement timing, summer school disruption, and whether some functions would be ready by July 1.

Transcript Highlights:

• adopt all the proposed nameek revisions except those offered on page three, which is the subject to policy
• inserted into other measures requiring insurers to respond to proposal requests for new and renewal policies
• at least 60 days before the policy term ends and adding language requiring providers to automatically
• issue loss run reports at the end of each policy year and to keep the measure discussion going we will
• to clarify a disability for the need of an emotional support animal to also provide the written disclosure

Committee: Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Hawaii State Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection held decision-making and hearing sessions on February 4, 2025, covering a range of bills on public funds, cremation contracts, condominium insurance, insurance protections, veterinarians, landlord-tenant issues, agriculture, sex offender licensing restrictions, and service animals. In decision-making, SB 69 on deposits of public funds was passed with a defective effective date, SB 525 on cremation service contracts was deferred for later work on a concurrent resolution, SB 805 on condominium insurance was passed with amendments incorporating Attorney General recommendations, and SB 1141 on insurance protections was passed with amendments expanding the bill to catastrophic disasters and adding insurer response and loss-run reporting requirements. All of those measures were adopted by committee votes, with some members excused. During the hearing portion, SB 493 on veterinarians drew mixed testimony: state agencies and animal welfare groups supported efforts to create a workforce development fund and scholarship/loan repayment program, while the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association opposed the bill as written, arguing the board lacked capacity to administer the program, suggesting more WICHE funding instead, and objecting to new licensing fees. SB 606 on online business registration received comments from DCCA, SB 822 on landlord-tenant injunctions drew opposition from HPD and comments from the Judiciary, and SB 825 on eviction mediation received broad support from mediation advocates, the Judiciary, and others. Other measures heard included SB 276 on false labeling of Hawaii-grown roasted coffee, SB 1293 on tenant recovery in disaster areas, SB 1369 on solvency reporting for insurers and mutual benefit societies, and SB 1373 on automatic license actions against registered sex offenders, which received support from DCCA and several licensing boards. The committee also heard SB 1493 on emotional support animals, where the Attorney General raised constitutional and enforcement concerns, while disability advocates and others supported the bill and suggested clearer enforcement and disclosure language. SB 1662 on landlord application fees was also heard with comments from Hawaii Realtors and support testimony from individuals. In the later decision-making session, SB 493 was passed with amendments removing the proposed licensing fees and blanking appropriations, while SB 606 was deferred. SB 822 was passed with amendments adopting Judiciary recommendations, adding a Judiciary-facilitated working group to review the landlord-tenant code, and setting a defective effective date of July 1, 2050.