Transcript Highlights:

• The existing two-year look-back rule policy was established by the SEBB board at the launch of the program

Bills: SB5834 , SB5835 , SB5883 , SB5905 , SB6151 , SB6163 , SB6177 , SB6173

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: Washington retirement systems, retirement trust funds, interest earnings, public employee retirement system, teachers retirement system, state patrol retirement system, judicial retirement system, judges retirement system, school employees retirement system, public safety employees retirement system, law enforcement officers and firefighters retirement system, PERS, TRS, LERS, legal expenses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, fraud prevention, overpayment recovery, trust fund protection

Transcript Highlights:

• The existing two-year look-back rule policy was established by the SEBB board at the launch of the program

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on January 20, 2026, hearing several bills related to retirement systems, school employee health coverage, port district pensions, environmental fee accounts, developmental disability services, legislative budget transparency, and a new Apple Health employer assessment. Early in the meeting, the committee heard SB 5834, which would make permanent a temporary expansion allowing certain retirement trust fund earnings to pay broader administrative expenses, and SB 5835, which would raise the lump-sum retirement allowance threshold for Plan 2 members from $50 to $250. Both bills were presented by Department of Retirement Systems staff and supported by the department, with questions focused on the scope of the administrative-expense language in SB 5834 and the technical nature of SB 5835. The committee then entered executive session and moved three bills without recommendation to the Rules Committee: Substitute SB 5249, allowing kit homes as emergency housing; Substitute SB 5053, allowing certain counties to include school district boundaries when forming a public facilities district; and Substitute SB 5203, directing state agencies to develop a wildlife habitat connectivity strategy and creating related accounts. After returning to public hearing, members heard SB 5883 on SEBB eligibility for school employees in their second school year of employment. Supporters, including labor representatives and individual school workers, said the bill would reduce coverage gaps and improve recruitment and retention, while school district officials and administrators argued it would create an unfunded mandate, increase costs, and add administrative burden. No action was taken on the bill. The committee also heard SB 5905, which would exclude certain port district employees from PERS if they are covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Plan or a collectively bargained defined benefit pension plan. Port representatives, labor stakeholders, and the Department of Retirement Systems described it as a narrow technical fix to avoid duplicate pension coverage and retroactive liabilities, and the bill drew support. SB 6151 would create dedicated accounts for Ecology fee revenue tied to laboratory accreditation and landfill methane work; Ecology and county representatives supported the measure as a way to reinvest fees in the programs that generate them. SB 6163 would require the Individual and Family Services waiver for developmental disability services to be budgeted at maintenance level; advocates said it would stabilize services and prevent waitlists, and no opposition was heard. The final two bills were SB 6177, which would require LEAP’s budget website to display additional budget detail such as carry-forward data, program and subprogram expenditures, and balance sheets for all public accounts, and SB 6173, which would create an Apple Health employer assessment on larger private employers with workers enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage. SB 6177 was framed as a transparency measure, while SB 6173 drew extensive testimony both in support and opposition: supporters said it would help offset expected Medicaid losses after federal work requirements take effect and stabilize the health safety net, while opponents argued it would be an unfunded tax, create administrative and legal complications, and could discourage hiring or reduce hours. The committee heard no final votes on the public hearing bills, and staff reminded members that signature sheets would be held for 24 hours under Senate rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• Since program launch, paid family and medical leave has paid over $8.2 billion in benefits to roughly

Bills: SB6014 , SB5972 , SB5869 , SB5874

Committee: Senate Labor & Commerce

Keywords: pregnancy accommodations, pregnant workers, workplace accommodations, reasonable accommodation, undue hardship, lactation, breastfeeding, express milk, maternity leave, childbirth, pregnancy discrimination, employment law, labor and industries, L&I, confidential records, public records exemption, health care certification, workplace standards, employee rights, employer obligations

Transcript Highlights:

• Since program launch, paid family medical leave has paid over $8.2 billion in benefits to roughly 723,000

Summary: The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee opened its 2026 session with member introductions and a work session on the Employment Security Department’s structure and programs. ESD officials described their roles and reviewed paid family and medical leave, WA Cares, unemployment insurance, workforce services, and agricultural worker outreach. Senators raised concerns about call volume, program solvency, fraud detection, employer access to information, and whether workers can receive leave benefits while working other jobs. ESD said WA Cares is in a limited pilot, PFML has seen rapid growth, UI trust fund solvency is projected to be near the statutory trigger level, and they would follow up with more detailed information on eligibility, fraud referrals, and employer scenarios. The committee then heard Senate Bill 5292, which would replace the current PFML rate-setting formula with a forward-looking actuarial model and require a four-month reserve beginning in 2030. Supporters, including the sponsor, JLARC staff, labor advocates, and employer groups, said the change would improve stability and follow JLARC recommendations; opponents warned it could lead to higher payroll taxes and argued the program is already too costly. The chair said she intended to keep the bill narrow as it moved forward. The committee also heard Senate Bill 6014, a technical bill on pregnancy-related accommodations that would preserve the ability of pregnant workers to request certain accommodations without a doctor’s note and create a public records exemption for sensitive complaint and investigation records; the sponsor and supporters said it corrects a drafting error and protects privacy. Next, the committee heard Senate Bill 5972, which would remove the population threshold limiting interest arbitration for correctional officers in jails, and Senate Bill 5869, which would make permanent and expand from residential to all building construction sites a requirement that L&I notify employers or owners within 10 working days when a hazard is identified. Correctional officers’ representatives and labor groups supported SB 5972 as a fairness and safety measure, while the sponsor said it would create consistency across jurisdictions. Construction industry groups supported SB 5869, and L&I said it had no concerns but wanted the bill kept narrow; the chair noted the bill’s purpose was to speed hazard communication. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 5874, which would allow ESD to waive penalties for minor errors in quarterly unemployment reports, especially missing SOC/job-title information. The sponsor said small businesses were being hit with unnecessary fines, and ESD said it had identified a sharp rise in penalties and was working with the sponsor on possible fixes. The committee adjourned after the hearings.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's for launch.

Summary: The committee received a broad budget overview from Legislative Services staff on the state’s fiscal position, focusing on the general fund, structural balance, cash reconciliation, and the governor’s budget recommendations for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Staff explained that projected revenues are below the current budgeted level, creating a need for either budget reductions or the use of cash balances and reserve funds to maintain balance. They reviewed major drivers of spending growth over recent years, including Medicaid expansion, public schools, the State Public Defender, IT services, and water resources, and noted that these statutory and ongoing obligations are crowding out other spending. Members also discussed the governor’s proposed use of interest earnings and reserve balances from several funds, the Budget Stabilization Fund cap, and the policy question of whether changes to fund interest allocations would require legislation or could be handled through appropriation language. The committee also reviewed current-year adjustments, including supplementals, rescissions, deficiency warrants, and the governor’s proposed holdbacks. Specific items discussed included public school enrollment adjustments, the proposed rescission of Empowering Parents funding, Medicaid growth and provider rate changes, Department of Corrections costs tied to inmate placement and medical services, invasive species treatment funding, and a possible tax conformity impact tied to federal law changes. Members asked about fire suppression deficiency funding, the use of reserve balances, and the difference between current-law and governor-recommended spending levels. Staff emphasized that the governor’s budget relies on short-term money and reserve transfers to smooth the current deficit, while the legislature must decide whether to follow that approach or make deeper structural changes. Later, staff provided an overview of the budget hearing process and the Legislative Budget Book, explaining the standard reports, agency organization charts, fund analyses, performance measures, and five-year snapshots that committees will use during hearings. Another presentation clarified the difference between deficiency warrants and supplemental appropriations, noting that deficiency warrants cover certain last-year expenses authorized by statute, while supplementals adjust the current-year appropriation and can apply to general, dedicated, or federal funds. The committee then heard a detailed presentation on state health insurance costs, including rising medical claims, reserve balances, the 80/20 employee-employer cost split, and projected FY 2027 premium increases. Members asked about school district participation in the state plan, the role of the insurance carrier contract, and whether broader participation could lower costs. No votes were taken during the meeting, and the committee adjourned after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood has partnered with Volta to launch an electrical transmission

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Energy Supply, Energy Conservation, and Energy Resilience

Summary: The Joint Committee on Energy Supply, Energy Conservation, and Energy Resilience opened by electing Senator Shewmake as chair and Representative Alex Ybarra as vice chair. Members then turned to a work session on data centers, transmission, and workforce issues, with the committee noting the statutory rotation of leadership and the urgency of these topics for 2026 and beyond. Kate Bruns and Glenn Blackman presented preliminary findings from the governor’s Data Center work group, which met from May through November and received more than 1,000 public comments. They said the group did not reach full consensus, but agreed Washington’s grid has limited excess capacity, data centers are expected to be a major source of future load growth, ratepayer protections and better load forecasting are important, and the state should preserve its energy and climate laws while seeking more clean power and transmission. They also described tribal consultation underway through the Department of Revenue, and noted that a proposed expansion of the data center sales tax exemption tied to new clean electricity narrowly failed and was left for the legislature to consider. The committee then heard from West Tech consultant Keegan Moyer on regional transmission planning. He described a broad Western transmission portfolio developed through interconnection-wide studies, including roughly 70-plus planned projects and additional upgrades totaling about 12,000 line miles and an estimated $56 billion. He said the West faces rapid load growth, reliability stress, and major transmission constraints, and that the portfolio is intended to support reliability, economic efficiency, and public policy goals. Members asked about crossing utility and market “seams,” state ownership or pre-permitting of corridors, and whether the process could speed interconnection delays; he said the main barriers are permitting, rights-of-way, and interconnection queues, not construction itself. Stephanie Scott then summarized the electrical transmission workforce needs study. She said the study focuses on substation technicians, line workers, and line clearance tree trimmers, and found that meeting Washington’s clean energy goals will require far more workers than current training pipelines produce. She emphasized that apprenticeship depends on active projects, that retirements are reducing experienced mentors, and that barriers such as costly CDL training, limited pre-apprenticeship access, and wraparound support needs must be addressed. The committee also heard from Brant Johnson of Grid United on barriers to new transmission, using the North Plains Connector as a case study. He described a long development process centered on early stakeholder engagement, tribal consultation, route changes, and coordinated federal and state permitting, and said the project has largely relied on private capital with a federal GRIP grant covering a portion of costs. Members discussed eminent domain, landowner compensation, financing, and whether similar approaches could help speed other transmission projects.

Transcript Highlights:

• With your approval of our full funding request for Fiscal Year 27, we will launch a girls program. for

Transcript Highlights:

• They launched a new family practice residency in Lovington, New Mexico. So we're excited.

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• And have launched jails on a path to better conditions becomes confidential by law. Thank you.

Bills: SB 15

Committee: House Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, and number three, finally in this triad, our road trips focus campaign just launched in March with

Committee: House Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism

Transcript Highlights:

• We discussed this on our July 30th board meeting, and we'll soon be launching a media campaign showing

Committee: House Culture, Recreation & Tourism

Transcript Highlights:

• Earlier this summer, we launched a Safe and Strong University Avenue initiative to focus efforts on the

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you have a date when that's going to be launched, and what else would you like the legislature to

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• We also launched... an annual family survey in 2021 to understand and uplift the experiences and perspectives

Committee: House Communications and Conveyance

Transcript Highlights:

• In the Big Country region, we launched a rural health care hub with Cisco College and UTA Arlington and

Bills: HB875 , HB1667 , HB2369 , HB3844 , HB4415 , HB4479 , HB4483 , HB4676 , HB5118 , HB5400 , HB5545

Committee: House S/C on Workforce

Keywords: workers' compensation, municipal construction, bidding requirements, small municipalities, contracting policies, first responders, PTSD, mental health, emergency services, medical expenses, injury claims, insurance carriers, opportunity youth, workforce development, employment, education, federal funds, employment discrimination, immunity waiver, public employees

Summary: The subcommittee heard testimony on a broad agenda of workforce, labor, and workers’ compensation bills. HB 4676 would require political subdivision workers’ compensation networks to follow the same notice, access, and complaint rules as certified TDI networks; supporters said public employees and first responders deserve equal access to care, while municipal risk pool representatives opposed added regulation and said existing 504 networks already perform well. HB 4479 would create a rural workforce development grant program at TWC to support college-and-career readiness and local workforce alignment, and HB 3844 would define “opportunity youth” in state law to improve data, coordination, and access to services for disconnected young Texans; both drew strong support from rural, education, and chamber witnesses. HB 5545 would clarify federal tax treatment for wage-replacement benefits in non-subscriber injury benefit plans, with proponents calling it a win for employers and injured workers. HB 5118 would direct TWC and DIR to study AI and automated employment decision tools in hiring, including bias and oversight concerns. HB 1667 would move existing PTSD workers’ compensation language into a broader Labor Code chapter so more first responders, including state and campus officers, could qualify for benefits; supporters called it a technical fix to extend coverage more evenly across agencies. The committee also heard several first-responder and workers’ compensation bills. HB 2369 would speed up claims handling for injured first responders by allowing a single medical evaluation, giving carriers 60 days to accept or deny a claim, and letting workers seek treatment while disputes proceed; law enforcement supporters said it would help injured officers return to work faster, while opponents warned it would revive extent-of-injury waiver problems and increase litigation. HB 4483 would reclassify certain workers’ compensation maintenance taxes as surcharges to reduce retaliatory taxes imposed by other states on Texas-domiciled carriers, and HB 875, as revised by committee substitute, would create a small-project exception to municipal workers’ compensation and bonding requirements for certain low-value construction contracts in small cities; both were presented as cost-saving measures for Texas employers and local governments. HB 4415 would extend anti-retaliation protections for workers’ compensation claimants from first responders to all public employees and expressly waive sovereign immunity for those claims, with supporters describing it as closing a loophole that leaves public workers without the same remedy available in the private sector. The committee also took testimony on HB 5400, which would expand remedies for sexual harassment victims by removing the requirement to first file an administrative charge, extending the filing deadline from 300 days to two years, clarifying retaliation, and eliminating current damages caps. Supporters, including employment lawyers and a parent of a victim, said the current deadlines and caps prevent many survivors from obtaining counsel or full relief, especially younger workers and those in small workplaces or franchises. Across the agenda, witnesses repeatedly emphasized access to care, fair treatment for injured workers, rural workforce development, and stronger protections for vulnerable employees. After each bill was laid out and testimony heard, the chair generally closed the public hearing and left the bill pending; no final votes were taken, and the subcommittee adjourned after completing the agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• Launching our farm, I spent years in information technology, managing global projects across all sectors

Bills: HB3032 , HB3434 , HB3574 , HB5339 , HB5646

Committee: House Higher Education

Keywords: nursing education, clinical sites, health facilities, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, legislative study, healthcare training, tuition, financial assistance, higher education, public institutions, student support, nonresident students, Texas Education Code, resident tuition, scholarships, regenerative agriculture, grants, sustainable farming, soil health, bioremediation

Transcript Highlights:

• For background, in August 2019, Governor DeSantis launched the governor's faith and community initiative

Committee: Senate Appropriations

Summary: The Appropriations Committee met with a quorum and considered a series of bills, most of them receiving favorable reports. SB 132, as amended, would require the Department of Financial Services to contract for a study on whether Florida should recognize gold and silver as legal tender; an amendment advanced the report deadline to December 1, 2025, and the bill was reported favorably. SB 1050, also amended, expands the intellectual and developmental disabilities managed care pilot program statewide, emphasizes that enrollment is voluntary, adds transparency and reporting requirements for APD, creates a statewide family care council, and requires related studies and coordination; it was reported favorably after supportive testimony about reducing the APD wait list. SB 820 codifies the Office of Faith and Community in the Governor’s office, and the bill drew extended debate over church-state separation and concerns about political activity by the office; despite opposition from several senators, it was reported favorably. SB 1060 creates a joint legislative oversight committee for Medicaid financing and operations, with supporters citing the size of the program and the need for stronger legislative review; it passed favorably. SB 7032 presumes Medicaid eligibility for permanently disabled individuals receiving certain long-term services during redetermination, to prevent gaps in care, and was reported favorably with broad support. SB 12, a claim bill for a minor injured in a DCF-related case, was also reported favorably without opposition. The committee also approved several infrastructure and tax-related measures. SJR 318 proposes an ad valorem exemption for certain tangible personal property used in agriculture or agritourism, such as equipment and tractors, and was reported favorably with support from agricultural and business groups. SB 818, as amended, revises utility relocation funding for public road and rail projects, shifting the financing structure after constitutional concerns were raised and adding a $50 million grant program; it passed after discussion of the impact on local governments and utilities. SB 1348 modernizes DMV services through tax collectors, adds a distracted driving course option, bans appointment scalping, and extends certain disabled parking permit terms; it was reported favorably. SB 1664 requires voter reapproval of local taxes, including tourist development taxes and local option sales taxes, when they expire, with special rules for taxes tied to revenue bonds; it drew significant debate over impacts on tourism-dependent counties and was reported favorably despite opposition from some members and local government groups. SB 1050, SB 820, SB 1060, SB 7032, SB 12, SJR 318, SB 818, SB 1348, and SB 1664 all received favorable committee votes, and the meeting ended with final missed-vote requests and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• We operate brick-and-mortar facilities, satellite sites, and last year we launched a mobile clinic.

Summary: The subcommittee held an oversight hearing on federal actions affecting California’s public health and family planning systems, focusing first on the freeze to Title X family planning funds and then on broader CDC/public health grant terminations. Chair and members described the cuts as abrupt, harmful, and likely to create major gaps in disease surveillance, vaccination, contraception, STI testing, and other preventive services, while also criticizing the federal administration’s explanation that the actions were tied to DEI or civil-rights compliance. The chair thanked Attorney General Bonta for legal action and said the hearing was intended to document the real-world impacts and inform state budget responses. Witnesses from Essential Access Health, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, a Central Coast clinic, and other providers said California’s Title X network serves more than half a million low-income patients annually and relies on the funds for staffing, outreach, training, mobile and school-based clinics, and confidential care. They warned that the freeze has already forced reserve spending, delayed services, and could lead to layoffs, reduced hours, longer waits, and fewer appointments, especially for sexual and reproductive health care. Public comment included support for a proposed state backfill of Title X losses, with advocates emphasizing impacts on low-income, LGBTQ+, and communities of color. On the public health side, CDPH, county health officials, and local health officers testified that the CDC’s rescission of $11.4 billion in grants would affect California by an estimated $840 million and threaten lab capacity, immunization programs, health disparities work, and data systems such as CalConnect and vaccine registries. Sacramento County and others described how the grants supported outbreak response, sequencing, community vaccination clinics, and equity-focused partnerships, and said terminations had already led to canceled appointments, stopped contracts, and layoffs. Several speakers urged the Legislature to preserve and expand state “future of public health” funding and to backfill federal losses, while public commenters from HIV, immunization, labor, and county organizations echoed concerns about workforce losses and worsening health outcomes.

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, last year Biden and his Treasury Department launched a new audit initiative explicitly targeting

Committee: Senate Finance Committee

Keywords: Commerce, International Trade, Tax Policy, Nominees, Inflation, Middle-class, Trade Practices, Economic Concerns

Summary: The committee convened to discuss various bills and nominees, including the critical nominations of William Kimmett for Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade and Ken Keyes for Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the Treasury Department. Discussions highlighted the nominees' roles in managing critical trade and tax policies amidst rising economic concerns, particularly focusing on inflation and its impact on American families. Members expressed both support and skepticism, emphasizing the significance of fostering fair trade practices and ensuring tax policies that benefit the middle-class amidst claims of an agenda favoring affluent individuals and corporations.

Transcript Highlights:

• the Texas Railroad Commission, numerous state policy leaders and other stakeholders, and we also launched

Bills: SB476 , SB664 , SB745 , SB826 , SB989 , SB1080 , SB1171 , SB1320 , SB1437 , SB1727 , SB1809 , SB2289 , SB2320

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several criminal justice bills, with most of the discussion focused on oilfield theft, DWI enforcement, juvenile justice, reentry licensing, jail transparency, and court/judicial standards. SB 1320 would create a DPS oilfield theft unit headquartered in the Permian Basin; supporters from industry, law enforcement, and a district attorney described increasingly sophisticated, organized theft tied to cartels and multi-jurisdictional criminal networks, while DPS said it currently has only two officers working the issue. The committee voted SB 1320 out unanimously and placed it on the local and uncontested calendar. SB 826, which would enhance DWI committed in a school zone to a state jail felony, also passed unanimously after brief explanation and no testimony. SB 1171, adding juvenile justice OIG peace officers to Schedule C salary, was reported favorably on a committee substitute, and SB 1080, which would allow incarcerated people to obtain occupational licenses effective upon release, also passed on a committee substitute after testimony from formerly incarcerated advocates and reentry supporters. The committee also considered several bills aimed at tougher DWI penalties. SB 476 would increase intoxication manslaughter penalties when the offender violates an ignition interlock restriction; the bill was supported by the author, victims’ family members, Galveston officials, and law enforcement, but opposed by the Texas Civil Rights Project, which argued treatment and prevention would be more effective. After discussion about possible amendments, the bill was left pending. SB 745 would create a new first-degree felony option for intoxication manslaughter involving multiple deaths, and it was reported favorably after testimony from a prosecutor supporting the need for a stronger sentencing option. SB 2320 would broadly increase penalties for DWI offenses, including first-time DWI, DWI with an open container, high-BAC DWI, and repeat offenses; it was supported by a grieving family member and a sheriff, and the committee voted it out favorably. On juvenile justice, SB 1727 would expand tools to address assaults on staff at Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities by lowering the age for transfer to adult prison in some cases, allowing earlier transfer of determinate-sentence youth, and restricting release when a criminal case is pending. Juvenile probation officials supported the bill as a public safety and victim-rights measure, while the Texas Civil Rights Project opposed it, arguing it would send children to inappropriate adult facilities and conflict with juvenile justice principles; the bill was left pending. SB 1437 would expand the juvenile justice do-not-hire registry to include non-certified positions, and it passed unanimously after supporters said it would help close loopholes that allow predators to move between child-serving jobs. SB 2289, requiring counties that house inmates out of state to report that information and any deaths to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, also passed unanimously. Finally, SB 989, requiring criminal background checks for court personnel who determine bail, and SB 664, establishing statewide qualifications and oversight for magistrates and associate judges, were explained and discussed as transparency and public-safety measures, with SB 989 reported favorably and SB 664 under committee consideration at the end of the transcript.