Transcript Highlights:

• It starts with general education.
• Hawaii State Board of Education. >> The Board of Education offers comments.
• </c> director to the board of education. director to the board of education.
• </c> education will implement it. education will implement it.
• </c> Department of Education. Department of Education.

Bills: SB2003

Committee: Senate Water, Land, Culture and the Arts

Summary: The joint committees on Water, Land, Culture, and the Arts and Education heard testimony and discussed SB 20003, which would require the auditor’s report under Act 255 to include a recommendation on whether the Monarch Stewardship and Oversight Authority is fit to continue managing Monaca lands. Testimony focused on the bill’s reversion language, the role of the auditor, and whether the measure gave the auditor too much discretion without clear criteria. The Office of the Auditor’s position, read into the record, was that it had strong reservations because the bill did not provide standards for assessing fitness and asked that the requirement be held or amended. Other testimony suggested a work group with relevant agencies and Hawaiian practitioners to manage the transition and reduce conflict. Committee members debated whether the bill should simply restore the original reversion language or also require an audit-based fitness determination. Several members questioned the need for a 2031 audit when Act 255 already provides for a performance and financial audit in 2031 and noted that the bill could shift authority away from the legislature. In response, the committee chair explained that the measure was intended to restore language removed during conference and to address the transition back to the University of Hawaii if the authority was not meeting the act’s purpose. The committees ultimately recommended SB 20003 be passed with amendments. The amendments would strike the auditor/audit section, add language addressing timelines by providing a 10-year lease extension and sublease extension, and make technical changes including a defective date. The committees voted to adopt the amended measure and send it forward as an SD1. The transcript also included a separate Education Committee hearing on SB 3286, which would require the University of Hawaii to develop a facilities and student housing master plan and report to the legislature. University of Hawaii testimony said the system supports the intent but that the bill’s requirements are a heavy lift across 10 campuses and should follow development of a broader academic strategy. Members raised concerns about deferred maintenance, shifting priorities, and the lack of a systemwide plan, while the university said it already has a six-year capital improvement plan but acknowledged it does not fully incorporate the broader academic and housing strategy the bill contemplates.

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaker, gentlelady, again my focus is on STEM and education. ...focus is on STEM and education.
• But my father told me it was to be educated.
• It was not to necessarily get a job, but to be educated.
• But to be... ...educated, you went to higher education. And so that would be the difference. Mr.
• to just be educated, but our education should be bettering our community.

Transcript Highlights:

• evidence-based education.
• </c> hard to support you know the education hard to support you know the education and<03:15:11.680><
• </c> supped supposed to backfill the educ supped supposed to backfill the educ education<03:16:19.120
• ><c> and</c><03:16:39.040><c> so</c> into educ education trust fund and so into educ education trust
• So these are Department of Education-related sections. The first is the education trust fund law.

Summary: The committee first took up HB 129, which would redefine “evidence-based” in public education. The Department of Education testified that the bill’s definition would conflict with federal definitions and be very restrictive, potentially affecting a wide range of instructional methods, curriculum materials, teacher training, civics requirements, suicide prevention training, and other programs. The department said the bill could force a broad overhaul of school practices, create local implementation burdens, and require at least one new state position, with a fiscal note estimating roughly $118,000 in FY 2026 rising in later years. Members also raised concerns about possible impacts on federal pass-through funding and whether the bill was workable. Representative Papovich moved to retain HB 129, and the motion passed 7-0. The committee then heard HB 133, a Department of Safety/DMV bill involving follow-up when a person votes using an out-of-state license or non-driver ID and then does not obtain a New Hampshire credential within the statutory timeframe. DMV officials said the bill would require a $40,000 technology upgrade plus a new full-time position, and that the fiscal note did not include postage or fully account for the manual work needed to match records, send notices, and review responses. They said the proposal also raised broader tracking issues because it would apply not only to voters but to anyone who had not obtained a New Hampshire license within 60 days, and they questioned whether DMV was the proper agency to make those inquiries. Committee members pressed the department on how the 60-day clock would be determined, whether the bill could amount to a kind of poll tax or raise privacy concerns, and whether voter ID cards or other exceptions would avoid that problem. The department explained that New Hampshire offers a free voter identification card through town clerks for people without a license or state ID, but said the bill did not exempt those cards and that the DMV would still be asked to investigate status after voting. Officials also said the bill would be difficult to enforce, that some cases would be ambiguous, and that any response from the DMV would likely amount to a request for information rather than an enforceable consequence. No vote on HB 133 was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Senate Education Committee of Reference is called to order.
• I apologize in advance for all the acronyms that we have, but I guess that's higher education.
• Madam Chair, I moved at the Senate Education Committee of Reference, thank you.
• All right, now we have a presentation by the Arizona Department of Education.
• By the Arizona Department of Education. Come on down.

Committee: Senate Senate Education Committee of Reference

Transcript Highlights:

• President: Education today, we'd ask our secretary to take a silent roll. No, no, sorry, sorry.
• After that, then we'll have a presentation by Brandon Wolfe, Transparent Idaho, Education Data.
• Peter Kohler to serve as a State Board of Education member. Thank you, Senator.
• Okay, here's our main home page, but I'm going to jump over here to education.
• We've had the educational salaries, so certified and classified.

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm really struck by your emphasis on education for the educators, but I also am hearing that some of
• You cannot legislate good educators.
• But you can absolutely legislate bad education—education that is too afraid of challenge and honesty
• Holocaust education optional, and has to be a failure.
• If one thing that you can fix, it’s public education. Okay. It is public education.

Summary: The Special Commission on Combating Anti-Semitism opened by approving the minutes from its November 5, 2025 meeting and outlining plans for its next meeting on November 20, when it expects to vote on the draft master report and recommendations. The chair explained that revised drafts would be circulated, changes would be handled by motion, and the final vote would be by roll call. The meeting then moved through several public panels focused on prevention, education, workplace support, and community safety. Parents for Peace testified that anti-Semitism and extremism should be treated as a public health crisis and urged state funding for training in K-12 schools, healthcare, and law enforcement. The panel described its intervention work with radicalized youth and families, argued for early-warning training for educators, and recommended diversion resources for courts and prosecutors so cases can be addressed before they escalate. Commissioners asked about the origins of radicalization, the need for school-based training, and how to connect courts and police to available resources. Project Shema’s Orrin Jacobson argued that effective anti-Semitism education must be nuanced, pluralistic, and grounded in a better understanding of Jewish identity and contemporary anti-Semitism, especially in conversations about Israel and Palestine. He said the group has run dozens of workshops in Massachusetts and emphasized that institutions should adopt content-neutral norms, train staff and administrators, and measure whether trainings lower tensions and increase willingness to intervene. Commissioners asked about handling activists who reject nuance, the role of faculty versus students, and whether classroom norms should limit teachers from advancing personal agendas. A workplace panel from Klaal and Combined Jewish Philanthropies presented survey data showing many Jewish employees feel unsafe being openly Jewish at work and that antisemitism training is the top requested support. They described rapid growth in Jewish employee resource groups, existing programming and stipends for ERG leaders, and recommended mandatory anti-Semitism training, support for Jewish affinity groups in public and private sectors, and broader convenings of major employers. The commission also heard from Truah rabbis and educators, who urged stronger interfaith solidarity, a state office of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships, and explicit attention to democracy and civil rights as part of anti-Semitism strategy. After a recess, the commission heard from Israeli-American, Russian Jewish, and Persian Jewish witnesses who described antisemitism as a lived, personal, and civic issue affecting immigrants and their families. They called for inclusion of diverse Jewish voices in state initiatives, stronger protections for Israeli-American businesses, and recognition that anti-Zionist rhetoric often becomes direct harassment of Jews. The chair said the testimony and suggested edits would be incorporated into the draft report, and the meeting ended with plans for further revisions before the final vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> all the other different education all the other different education organizations<00:03:29.439><
• </c><00:14:59.040><c> ERS</c> year this is a time when educator ERS year this is a time when educator
• </c><00:48:48.119><c> in</c> to the office of higher education in to the office of higher education in
• </c> within reach and that higher education within reach and that higher education is<00:53:11.200><c
• </c> have access to the higher education have access to the higher education opportunities<00:59:59.240

Committee: House Education Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Our previous hearings looked at DEI, higher education, and immigration.
• to living-wage careers is simply not educational policy.
• Another data point that I wanted to share with you is in education.
• So in addition to the history of discrimination and education and in higher education against people
• These schools predominantly educate students of color.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion

Summary: The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion held a hearing on the impact of federal policy on the racial wealth gap in Massachusetts, the fourth in a series on federal impacts on racial equity. Chair Bud Williams and Chair Miranda opened by emphasizing that no bills were being heard and that the committee would instead take testimony from invited witnesses; public written testimony was also accepted. The chairs and witnesses repeatedly cited long-standing wealth disparities affecting Black and brown communities, including homeownership, wages, business ownership, and access to capital, and linked those disparities to federal policy changes, housing, education, health care, and workforce development. Administration officials testified first. Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones described persistent labor market disparities, including higher unemployment for Black and Latino residents, lower median hourly wages, and underemployment among degree holders, and highlighted state efforts such as ESOL-for-work funding, workforce training grants, MassHire career centers, skills-based hiring, and the state equity dashboards. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kiami Mahania argued that poverty drives poor health, not the reverse, and said wealth gaps contribute to chronic disease, maternal health inequities, medical debt, and shorter life expectancy; she pointed to the Advancing Health Equity Massachusetts initiative, a health care affordability working group, and the governor’s push to bar medical debt from credit reporting. Assistant Secretary Juan Vega of EOED focused on entrepreneurship and procurement, citing technical assistance grants, founder support programs, place-based investment, the Business Front Door, and the need to broaden access to contracts, capital, and business growth opportunities. Committee members pressed the panel on the effects of the federal “big beautiful bill” on households, especially single-parent and Black women-led households, and on whether the state could develop more timely data systems instead of relying on federal numbers. Officials said the impacts were still being monitored, but warned that Medicaid and SNAP changes would likely hit lower-income households and community institutions hard. Members also asked about unions and apprenticeships, microbusiness definitions, supplier diversity, pay equity, and degree inflation; the administration said registered apprenticeships and skills-based hiring are key tools, and noted that wage equity reporting is still in its early stages. Later testimony from BECMA’s Nicole O’Bean stressed that tariffs, DEI rollbacks, immigration enforcement, capital gaps, and federal funding cuts are constraining Black-owned businesses and inclusive procurement, while Gastón Institute researchers described severe Latino homeownership and rent burdens, educational inequities, and the need for housing, labor, and education policy changes to close the wealth gap.

Transcript Highlights:

• Jacob Beliva, Department of Education.
• Like, I like to say our entire educational family, right?
• Being an educator myself, I really appreciate you all.
• We've had several go to the Department of Education.
• Every single education cooperative... Every single education cooperative has literacy coaches.

Summary: The committee first approved the March 9 and 10 minutes, then heard a presentation from the Arkansas Excellence in Teaching Fellowship Program featuring three third-grade teachers from Poyen, Drew Central, and Cabot, along with Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva. The teachers described the fellowship as a year-long collaboration among 23 merit-pay recipients from across the state, focused on sharing classroom strategies, data use, and professional support. Members asked about teacher experience, how the fellowship information is shared locally, the role of merit pay, and how teachers are addressing third-grade reading and retention concerns under the ATLAS assessment system. The teachers emphasized early intervention, relationships with students, small-group instruction, progress monitoring, and communication with families; they also described community supports such as churches, food backpacks, and local donations. Several members raised broader questions about poverty, trauma, social services, DHS involvement, and whether similar professional learning should be expanded to more teachers. Secretary Oliva said the fellowship is a small subset of a larger merit-pay program, that participation was voluntary, and that the state is working to improve literacy supports, clarity, and alignment across grades. He also said ATLAS results are now available to schools and families much faster than in the past, often within 24 to 72 hours, and that the state is using the data to identify at-risk students earlier and support intervention before retention decisions are made. The committee then moved to the adequacy/resource allocation presentation from the Bureau of Legislative Research. Staff explained that the report is part of the statutory adequacy review and focuses on state funding sources beyond foundation aid, including categorical and supplemental funds. They noted that districts and charters spent more than $7 billion in the 2025 school year, with roughly 49% from foundation funding and 51% from other sources over the last three years. The presentation outlined the four categorical funds—Alternative Learning Environment, English Learners, Enhanced Student Achievement, and Professional Development—describing their restricted uses, student-based funding formulas, and the ability of districts to transfer some money among categoricals while keeping it within allowable purposes. Staff said categorical funds account for about 4% of total spending, or less than $300 million, and reviewed superintendent feedback on whether those funds met district needs, with responses varying by category and district.

Transcript Highlights:

• The exemptions found in the boating education statute 327.395 do not apply.
• The exemptions found in the boating education statute 327.395 do not apply.
• So what the statute says is they have to meet minimum requirements for education.
• That can be a boating safety education course, but it also can be a temporary certificate.
• It is SB 472, Education and Correctional Facilities for Licensed Professionals.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice

Summary: The Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice met with a quorum present and first received an implementation update on CS for SB 606, the Boating Safety Act of 2022, from FWC Lieutenant Colonel Robert Roe. He described the livery permit system, safety and insurance requirements, required pre-rental and pre-ride instruction, recordkeeping, overdue-vessel reporting, accident reporting, and penalties for violations. He also reported enforcement results since the permit requirement took effect in January 2023, including 1,428 permits issued, 1,093 liveries operating, three 90-day suspensions, one revocation, and two pending revocations. Members asked whether liveries may require boating safety education even for people exempt under current law; Roe said they may do so as a business decision, but current law does not require it unless the statute is changed. A member noted concern that many accidents involve boaters in the older exempt age group and said the issue may be revisited this session. The committee then considered SB 878 by Senator Martin, which extends probation for misdemeanor offenders who were using controlled substances when they committed the offense, allowing supervision for up to one year and aligning those cases more closely with existing alcohol-related misdemeanor probation rules. With no appearance forms or debate, the bill was voted favorably. Next, the committee took up CS for SB 538 by Senator Bradley, the state court system package. The bill updates statutes to reflect current court operations, including duty judge procedures, removal of a location limit for duty hearings, repeal of a cap on arbitrator compensation in court-ordered non-binding arbitration, and an alternative method for judicial authentication when a court seal is unavailable. An amendment shifting certain clerk reimbursement requests through the Justice Administrative Commission was adopted, and the bill was then reported favorably with support waivers from several court-related entities. Finally, the committee heard SB 472 by Senator Truenow, which provides that inmates who complete classes meeting required curriculum standards may receive credit toward licensure requirements for those classes. Several organizations waived in support, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:13:23.680><c> Um</c> education. So, thank you. Um education. So, thank you.
• </c> post-secary school education post-secary school education commitments,<00:14:21.839><c> apprenticeship
• </c> made up of superintendents and educators made up of superintendents and educators and<00:56:14.799
• want</c><01:07:23.920><c> from</c><01:07:24.160><c> the</c> of education, I want from the of education
• </c> passionate and champion for education passionate and champion for education for<01:29:36.719><c>

Committee: House Education Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• educational resources is inequitable.
• DESE has already documented inequities in higher education by race, parental income, and parental education
• get an education.
• I think K-12 education is different than higher education.
• I think K-12 education is different than higher education.

Summary: The House convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, approved the previous day’s journal by a 126-0 vote, and suspended business for the Speaker to sign several bills and substitutes. Members then spent much of the day introducing guests, including county assessors, students, civic groups, and visitors from local schools and universities. The chamber then took up House Bill 2002, the elementary and secondary education budget. Members adopted several amendments, including technical fixes to allow board-operated schools to use personal service funds for career ladder payments, clarifications to child care subsidy language, and changes to Parents as Teachers rules so that enrollment remains voluntary and virtual visits are not reimbursable. An amendment to shift $1 million from one child care facilities line to Child Care Works passed, as did an amendment to fund a new Success-Ready Student Assessment with $2 million to help replace the MAP test. A proposal to pay child care subsidies for foster children based on enrollment rather than attendance failed 53-93, and an amendment to divert $10 million in Title I funds into a competitive grant program also failed. A later amendment to send budget reports to the ranking minority member passed, while an attempt to remove child care subsidy language from the bill failed. The House then moved to higher education and workforce development appropriations. Members approved an amendment broadening a pre-apprenticeship program statewide and supported funding for Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries through a transfer from dual credit scholarship funds. The most extensive debate centered on House Bill 2003’s higher education funding model, where the chair defended an FTE-based approach as more transparent than the long-standing status quo, while opponents warned it would sharply cut funding for institutions such as Harris-Stowe, Lincoln, Truman State, and some community colleges, and would ignore factors like graduation rates, research, and workforce needs. A compromise amendment to soften the transition was withdrawn, and a separate amendment to restore the governor’s recommendation was also debated at length, with members arguing over the fairness and consequences of the proposed model.

Transcript Highlights:

• , and culture, and career technical education.
• Technical education and real-world experience are transformed.
• teacher or educator in the district.
• Education isn't a political issue; it's a state issue.
• Education, centering, I believe I heard centering that, Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• . service, family, education, and mentorship.
• educator effectiveness, and college and career readiness across the state.
• The last 15 years—21 years at the county board, the county office of education.
• textbooks with free open educational resources.
• Advancing access to education at our community colleges throughout the state of California.

Transcript Highlights:

• After consulting with educators, reading specialists.
• as well as parents and making sure that those kids are educated.
• There's a one-time investment in the higher education system.
• The fact that education policy groups outside the education space have engaged on this topic really backs
• A child gets one shot at that education in my name. Mr.

Bills: HB4420 , HB3974 , HB3016 , HB3062 , HB3021 , HB3145 , HB4128 , HB3131 , HB3015 , HB3472 , HB3453 , HB1638 , HB4126 , HB2696 , HB2710 , HB3552 , HB3031 , HB3544 , HB3521 , HB4490 , HB4488 , HB1746 , HJR1069 , HB4428 , HB4429 , HB1170 , HB3538 , HB4124 , HB3904 , HB4106 , HB2999 , HB3982 , HJR1077 , HB3464 , HB2588 , HB3462 , HB4440 , HB3674 , HB3345 , HJR1067 , HB4326 , HB4331 , HB4337 , HB4338 , HB4359 , HB4392 , HB3557 , HJR1076 , HB4003 , HB3495 , HB3497 , HB3501 , HB3505 , HB3749 , HB3011 , HB4336 , HB4346 , HJR1087 , HB3240 , HB3647 , HB3796 , HB3969 , HB3972 , HB3983 , HB3984 , HB3989 , HB3383 , HB3130 , HB4358 , HB3327 , HJR1055 , HB3386 , HJR1089 , HB3087 , HB2970 , HB3314 , HB4129 , HB4199

Summary: The House convened, completed roll call, heard the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, and recognized the Doctor and Nurse of the Day. The main floor focus was House Bill 4420, the Strong Readers Act, which Speaker Hilbert described as a major literacy overhaul. The bill’s amendment was adopted without objection and would clean up and standardize the statute, create a new SRA funding formula, expand summer teacher credentialing academies with $3,000 stipends, add statewide benchmarking, notify parents within 30 days when students are below basic, and reinstate third-grade retention beginning with the 2027–2028 school year. Hilbert argued the bill is intended to address Oklahoma’s low reading outcomes, reward improvement rather than penalize schools, and align with science-of-reading practices. The House passed HB 4420 86-0, and the emergency clause also passed 86-6. Members then suspended the rules to hear untimely amendments on HB 3974, which was amended and passed 86-6 with its emergency clause approved. The bill concerns the Government Tort Claims Act and allows governmental entities that share incarceration costs to form an entity with liability protections; Hilbert said the late amendment responded to a recent court ruling that could have exposed cities and counties to unlimited liability in certain jail-sharing arrangements. The House also passed HB 3016, creating a two-year pilot screening project for early childhood reading issues through the Departments of Education and Health, by a vote of 82-7, and HB 3062, allowing retired municipal judges to carry statewide under specified conditions, by a vote of 83-3. Additional bills passed with little or no debate: HB 3021, a graduation requirements cleanup measure consolidating conflicting statutes, passed 82-8 and its emergency clause also passed; HB 3145, a language cleanup bill for commercial hunt areas, passed 92-0 after a question clarified it does not affect private landowners hunting feral pigs. HB 4128, another Game and Fish bill, was laid over until the afternoon. The House then recessed until 1 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• More funding for educational committees.
• </c> enhancements to the educational enhancements to the educational experience,<00:05:01.560><c> they
• IDEA sets the Education Act, IDEA.
• </c><00:26:02.800><c> So,</c> ending disparities in education. So, ending disparities in education.
• ><c> we</c><00:57:17.960><c> heard</c> And our educators, because we heard And our educators, because

Summary: The committee heard House File 3493, the Safe Schools Revenue Increase bill, and first adopted the DE amendment before moving the bill on for re-referral to Ways and Means. Representative Lawrence described the bill as a multi-layered school safety package for all students and schools, including public, nonpublic, charter, and tribal schools, with increased safety funding, mental health support, anonymous threat reporting, school safety plans, and student discipline changes. Several supporters emphasized the need for flexible safety funding and cited real-world safety concerns, including anonymous tip systems that had generated many reports, classroom evacuations, staff injuries, and the need for more resources for mental health and safety infrastructure. Some supporters, including charter school leaders and Catholic Conference testimony, argued the bill’s flexibility and broader safety approach were important, while others supported the K-3 suspension language as a needed tool in severe cases. Opponents focused heavily on the bill’s repeal of Minnesota’s K-3 suspension ban and non-exclusionary discipline requirements. Legal aid, disability advocates, and education groups argued that suspensions harm young children, worsen disparities, and disproportionately affect students of color and students with disabilities, and they urged the committee to keep restorative and non-exclusionary practices in place. Disability advocates also asked that any safety planning explicitly account for students with disabilities and that the bill remain aligned with IDEA protections and individualized education decisions. Several testifiers opposed using public funds for private schools, saying public money should stay in public programs. Other testimony came from school administrators and staff who supported restoring limited suspension discretion, describing serious elementary incidents, classroom evacuations, and injuries that they said required a short-term removal option to stabilize classrooms and plan for students’ return. Mental health and school support personnel witnesses stressed that safety and mental health funding should remain distinct and that more counselors, social workers, and related staff are needed to address student crises. No final vote on the bill itself was taken in the portion provided beyond adoption of the DE amendment and the motion to re-refer the bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're looking at education.
• </c><01:09:54.159><c> um</c> um utilize the special education um um utilize the special education um
• ,</c> program which for regular education, program which for regular education, special<01:15:00.800>
• </c> and IDEIDA which is special education. and IDEIDA which is special education.
• . education. education.

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Nutrition education: poor nutrition drives chronic disease, yet most doctors receive little training
• Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, which is a mouthful, so we say TAPERED.
• We agree that physicians need ongoing education in nutrition.
• Enthusiasm for continuing education.
• We are attacking it at the education level as a minimum to add in. So here is Dr.

Bills: SB 25 , SB25 , SB314

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• full-time at the institution of higher education.
• of special education funding formulas.
• Washington Education Association testifying on this bill today.
• Washington Education Association testifying con on this bill today.
• Running Start continues to be the most accessible path for higher education.

Bills: HB2747

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: budget sustainability, state finance, fiscal policy, economic growth, government spending

Transcript Highlights:

• at the institution of higher education.
• of special education funding formulas.
• Washington Education Association testifying in opposition on this bill today.
• We ask that Washington Education Association testifying con on this bill today.
• Running Start continues to be the most accessible path for higher education.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee held public hearings on several bills and took executive action on House Bill 2747. HB 2747 would change how Washington estimates future revenue in its four-year balanced budget outlooks by using the official revenue forecast instead of the current 4.5% growth assumption for the next two biennia. Staff described the bill as a technical change with indeterminate fiscal effects, and supporters said it would make budgeting more realistic and sustainable. The committee adopted a technical amendment and then reported the bill out of committee with a do pass recommendation by a vote of 26 ayes, 3 nays, and 2 excused. The committee also heard Second Substitute Senate Bill 6182, which would create an abortion savings program funded by a new annual assessment on health carriers offering exchange plans. Staff said the bill would generate about $10 million in fiscal year 2027 and about $2.1 million annually thereafter, with most funds going to grants for abortion care providers and some administrative costs for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner and the Department of Health. Supporters said it would stabilize access to abortion care and help low-income patients, while opponents argued it would force taxpayers and insurers to subsidize abortion and raised concerns about oversight, morality, and premium impacts. Substitute Senate Bill 6355, which would create a Washington Electric Transmission Authority to support new transmission projects and related tribal clean energy work, drew testimony from utilities, labor, clean energy advocates, counties, and landowners. Supporters said the state needs faster transmission buildout to improve reliability, support clean energy, and reduce congestion costs; opponents and county representatives raised concerns about eminent domain, loss of local tax revenue, board accountability, and the need for stronger landowner and county involvement. Staff estimated the bill would have a several-million-dollar general fund impact and noted possible indeterminate local revenue effects. The committee also received a briefing on engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6260, which would reduce funding or eligibility for several K-12 programs, including bus depreciation, Running Start, and transition to kindergarten; public testimony was overwhelmingly opposed, with school officials, educators, community college representatives, students, and rural districts warning of reduced opportunities and harm to small and low-income districts.