Transcript Highlights:

• I do really encourage having a conversation with the exchange.
• I do really encourage having a conversation with the exchange.
• And it requires existing state-directed payments.
• And then tribes are also a big part of this conversation.
• They invested $9 million in a direct retrofit of a clinic.

Summary: The committee first received an update on the effects of HR1 and related federal Medicaid and marketplace changes from Governor’s Office and Health Care Authority staff. Presenters said the most immediate coverage losses are expected in the individual market beginning in January, with premium increases and an estimated 80,000 people potentially unable to afford coverage. They warned that larger Medicaid impacts will follow over the next year and beyond, including tighter eligibility checks, work requirements, reduced retroactive coverage, limits on state-directed payments and provider taxes, new cost-sharing, and changes affecting certain non-citizen adults. They also said the state plans to seek a waiver or extension for work requirements and will continue to analyze impacts, including on rural providers and Planned Parenthood-related services. Members asked about the effect on nursing homes, rural hospitals, and how the state can help providers and enrollees navigate the new requirements; staff said timelines and a state-specific implementation chart are being developed. The committee then heard a report on the International Medical Graduate Work Group and Washington’s efforts to create pathways for internationally trained physicians. Testimony described the clinical experience license, the clinical evaluation assessment tool, grant funding for IMG support organizations, and a new hardship waiver process enacted this year. National presenters said many states have adopted similar pathways because of physician shortages, but Washington and Tennessee are among the few states that have actually issued licenses so far. They recommended clear guardrails, an employment offer before application, ECFMG certification, supervised practice, and data collection to avoid exploitation and protect patients. Members asked about state-to-state variation, retention of IMGs, and whether Washington should pursue dedicated residency or preceptorship options; presenters said the key next step is moving successful participants from supervised experience to a durable long-term license. The final topic was implementation of Washington’s Apple Health doula benefit and the statewide doula hub and referral system. Senator T’wina Nobles highlighted the state’s $3,500 per-birth Medicaid reimbursement rate for doulas and the importance of the hub for referrals, training, and billing. Health Care Authority staff said the benefit launched January 1, 2025, and covers prenatal intake, labor and delivery, postpartum visits, and telehealth-supported services. They reported 336 state-certified doulas, 134 enrolled in Apple Health, 287 unique clients served, and 641 claims paid so far. Testimony emphasized doulas’ role in improving birth outcomes, reducing unnecessary interventions, and addressing racial disparities in maternal health, while noting that implementation is still early and ongoing.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so that's the important conversation that we'll be having with them.
• We can have a conversation and actually bring entities in for public conversation if we do have concerns
• I mean, we just had a conversation.
• We anticipate launching this direct-to-consumer option this spring.
• We absolutely had conversations about that piece.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We would love to continue that conversation.
• And that change was really through conversations with folks that I represent.
• And the only reason I didn't include pre-K based on our conversation.
• I mean, I'm very open to conversations... Around the dollar amount, really.
• Just for clarification, maybe help direct the answer.

Bills: SB1632, SB1594, SB2045, SB1251, SB1884, SB1250, SB1630, SB1262, SB1374, SB1292, SB1432, SB1199, SB1790, SB1481, SB1614, SB1734, SB1437, SB1489, SB1718, SB1778

Keywords: career readiness, education reform, high school assessments, workplace skills, state education, credentialing, teacher certification, principal requirements, education administration, special education, Oklahoma education law, SB2045, Grow Your Own Educator Program, teacher recruitment, teacher retention, alternative certification, alternative teacher certification, teacher preparation, tuition reimbursement, course fee reimbursement

Transcript Highlights:

• It's easy to lose sight of that direct connection.
• I've enjoyed our conversations in our office here.
• We have that conversation.
• So I think we'll have further conversations about the special fund cuts. ...further conversations about
• forward in this direction.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:02:35.480> are length and I think the conversations are length and I think the conversations
• any stakeholders from the team at Direct any stakeholders from the team at Direct Care<00:04:58.800
• officially the the uh the head of direct officially the the uh the head of direct care<00:10:44.720
• received some feedback conversations received some feedback from<00:23:11.600> Direct<00:23:11.880
• I'm glad you guys are still having this conversation, and this is the best committee to have that conversation

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• able to do afterwards so the direct able to do afterwards so the direct admission<00:47:27.079><
• senior year a student is at a direct senior year a student is at a direct admissions<00:47:53.119
• get in or can I afford this direct get in or can I afford this direct admissions<00:52:27.160>
• started to notice that too directed started to notice that too directed missions<00:54:06.839>
• students the direct admission program shifts<00:58:28.799> the<00:58:29.000> conversation<

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• 3% state-directed cap.
• We had the conversation.
• That is recent direction from CMS as part of our ongoing financial management review. ...direction from
• So that is direction from CMS.
• tough conversations as we try to figure this out.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Then direct appropriations in the number of 136 valued at a larger sum, $268 million.
• addition to I know the conversations addition to I know the conversations you've<00:02:09.599>
• we've done a legislatively directed we've done a legislatively directed Grant<00:06:51.960> Madam
• competitive grants and direct competitive grants and direct Appropriations<00:17:10.400> as
• It's a much broader conversation, so I won't ask anymore.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Um chairs, would you like conversation.
• :15.839> units, uh directs certain reporting units, uh directs certain reporting units, which<
• <01:53:32.800> at space and for future conversations at space and for future conversations
• glad to see other policy conversations glad to see other policy conversations that<01:53:55.119>
• transportation conversations go. transportation conversations go.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But the Legislature has also given direction on that.
• While this isn't a topic that is part of this conversation.
• Yeah. ...directed last time the program was extended. Okay.
• The statutory direction in AB 32 directs CARB to minimize leakage in operating this program. Okay.
• So I think it's probably a longer conversation. Okay.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• thoughtful and thorough conversation thoughtful and thorough conversation with<00:39:54.079>
• <00:47:47.599> The has directed funding to in law. The has directed funding to in law.
• to<00:51:52.000> establish legislature direct deed to establish legislature direct deed
• these competitive grants or uh direct these competitive grants or uh direct appropriations<01:10
• Thank you for the conversation.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:04:14.360> and options for people to self-direct and options for people to self-direct
• reduce Reliance on that one toone direct reduce Reliance on that one toone direct Human<00:05:08.759
• towards wages and benefit of the direct towards wages and benefit of the direct support<00:14:00.160
• <00:52:31.520> so dialogue and have that conversation so dialogue and have that conversation
• We've had the multiple conversations.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, I had a lot of conversations about this.
• So we’ll continue those conversations.” Senator Padilla: “We’ll continue those conversations.
• These are important conversations.
• It'll require further conversation.
• We're happy to have those conversations.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is a really important conversation. I hope it will be a bipartisan conversation.
• And so having this conversation.
• But much of this money is then directed to other entities around the state.
• And so we have had conversations.
• Chair, but I would hate for this to be the only conversation.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Now there is comfort on both sides of the conversation.
• It’s just good when people have conversations in a room.
• And so this is the conversation I'm glad we're getting to.
• And so this is the conversation I'm glad we're getting to.
• I find that conversation always helps.

Summary: The committee met with limited attendance at first, then took up a series of water, agriculture, and rural affairs measures. HB 3898 would allow the Texas Water Development Board to provide financial assistance for brackish water desalination projects in certain border counties and related nonprofit suppliers even if the projects are not in the state water plan. Supporters said it is needed to address severe water shortages in places like Webb County and to support future planning; opponents, including the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts, argued it bypasses the regional and state water planning process. The bill was left pending after testimony. The committee also heard HB 5339, which would create a higher-education grant program for regenerative agriculture research. A rancher testified that regenerative methods improved soil health, water retention, and farm viability, while a senator noted existing university research but said better coordination could help. Public testimony was closed and the bill was left pending. Members then heard HB 1523, a temporary prohibition on TCEQ issuing Austin a Class 5 injection well permit for an aquifer storage and recovery project in Bastrop and Lee counties until December 2027. Local officials from Bastrop supported the pause, citing unanswered questions about water treatment, recovery rates, and impacts on the aquifer, while Austin Water opposed the substitute, saying the project is central to its long-term water plan and that stakeholder talks were already underway. TCEQ explained its ASR permitting process and said public participation is possible but not always used in the current authorization process. The bill was left pending. HB 5659, concerning the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District and requiring majority city-council approval before certain water sales or interbasin transfers, drew testimony from district officials who said the change could interfere with existing contracts and district authority, but the chair emphasized the need for local buy-in and said the stakeholders had reached a workable compromise; testimony was closed and the bill was left pending. The committee also heard HB 1690, which would expand notice requirements for groundwater export permits so neighboring landowners and potentially affected aquifer areas are informed by certified mail and publication. The sponsor tied the bill to impacts from the Vista Ridge project, and no one testified against it; it was left pending. HB 3333 would prohibit TCEQ from issuing new wastewater discharge permits directly into the Devils River in Val Verde County. The sponsor and a conservation witness said the bill protects one of Texas’s most pristine rivers and reflects a local stakeholder agreement, while TCEQ said it can ensure water quality but acknowledged the river’s unique sensitivity; the bill was left pending. The committee also heard HCR 108 urging continuation of the U.S.-Mexico tomato suspension agreement, with supporters warning of major Texas job and consumer-price impacts if it ends, and HCR 76 urging federal action on imported shrimp, citing public health and industry concerns; both were left pending. Additional measures heard and left pending included HB 4158 on compensation for Texana Groundwater Conservation District directors, HB 654 creating a dismissal path for certain first-time deer hunting violations after self-reporting and hunter education, HB 4530 requiring Texas Water Development Board review of groundwater rights placed in the Texas Water Trust, HB 2128 directing a study of rural versus urban firefighting and rescue disparities, and HB 278 requiring groundwater districts and management areas to track progress toward desired future conditions over shorter intervals. On HB 278, witnesses split over whether the bill’s interim tracking would improve accountability or create new triggers that could be used against local districts, but no final vote was taken and the bill was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so I had a conversation with some of our team, and the conversation went a little bit like this.
• And I think it's tough conversations like this that when we find ourselves in these conversations, all
• But I've had the tough conversation with them. When you're starting conversation with them.
• I've had those conversations. I've had those conversations. I've had those conversations.
• But this is a great step in the right direction.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum present, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and heard several member introductions and recognitions, including awareness resolutions and visiting groups in the galleries. The chamber then moved to special order bills. Senate Bill 88 on utility terrain vehicles passed 32-5 after debate over allowing local governments to opt in to street use of UTVs under safety restrictions; Senator Smith opposed it over safety concerns. Senate Bill 102 on exceptional student education passed 36-0, creating a workforce credential/badge program for students with autism or on modified curricula; supporters emphasized employment opportunities and safety training, while Senator Davis raised concerns about added costs to school districts. Senate Bill 106 on exploitation of vulnerable adults passed 37-0, allowing alternative service on scammers through the same apps used to contact victims. Senate Bill 130 on compensation for victims of wrongful incarceration passed 38-0, extending filing deadlines and removing restrictive barriers; supporters called it a long-overdue justice fix. Senate Bill 158 on diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations passed 38-0, eliminating cost sharing for follow-up breast tests in the state employee health plan to encourage early detection. The most contentious measure was Senate Bill 234 on criminal offenses against law enforcement officers. The bill sought to clarify that violent resistance to officers is not justified by claims about the legality of the detention and to add manslaughter of a law enforcement officer to offenses carrying life imprisonment without release. An amendment by Senator Jones to restore “in good faith” language failed, after debate centered on due process, racial profiling, and the role of juries and suppression motions. Several senators spoke in support of law enforcement but objected to the bill’s breadth and mandatory life penalty; Senator Leek ultimately postponed the bill temporarily rather than taking a final vote. Senate Bill 262 on trust code technical changes passed 36-0. Senate Bill 274 designating roads for Harris Rosen and Geraldine Thompson passed 38-0, followed by a successful co-sponsorship motion and remarks honoring Thompson’s legacy. Senate Bill 280 on candidate qualification passed 38-0, creating an enforcement mechanism for party-affiliation filing requirements. Senate Bill 296 on middle and high school start times passed 38-0, repealing the statewide start-time mandate and shifting implementation decisions to local districts while requiring public reporting and discussion. Senate Bill 356 designating January 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day also passed unanimously, with senators emphasizing remembrance, anti-Semitism, and the educational value of the memorial and observance.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:08.319> the confusion first it directs the confusion first it directs the commissioner
• I remember that conversation.
• I remember that conversation.
• I remember that conversation.
• <01:02:38.680> County we're a we're a state directed County we're a we're a state directed

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:01:23.280> even really made our conversations even really made our conversations even
• But I just wanted to thank conversation.
• Um, the conversation there you go.
• more conversation that we can have. more conversation that we can have.
• conversations, hard conversations with. conversations, hard conversations with.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Members met to review a budget bill agreement using a nonpartisan spreadsheet and summary materials. Chairs and members thanked fiscal, research, revisers, and agency staff for the collaborative process, noting the bill had been difficult and that the final product reflected compromise. The chair also said only minor technical changes were expected before final enactment, and the spreadsheet walkthrough was then turned over to fiscal staff. Fiscal staff explained that the agreement met the overall budget target and walked through major human services provisions. Key items included nursing facility payment changes, including a phased PDPM change, APS inflation, modified single-bed incentives, and a CPI-U capped payment cap; a nursing facility surcharge; workforce standards board rule costs; continuation of certain nursing facility property tax rates; regulation of for-profit acquisitions of nursing homes and assisted living facilities; repurposing assisted living special project funds; funding the SEIU self-directed worker agreement; CFSS reimbursement in acute care hospital settings; and multiple disability waiver rate and authorization changes, including CPI-U inflation caps, waiver authorization reforms, and a waiver reimagined advisory task force. The agreement also included family residential service rate increases, a temporary extension of customized living disproportionate share payments, tribal eligibility for targeted case management, positive supports training changes, out-of-home respite modifications, swimming lessons as an allowable service for certain children with disabilities, a provisional EID provider license, and program integrity services funded by licensing fee increases. Additional provisions covered MinnChoices studies and assumed savings, behavioral health fund changes, substance use disorder treatment billing and rate changes, supportive recovery housing, housing support supplemental rates for specific providers, disability determinations, enteral nutrition payment timing, temporary funding for Boundary Waters Care Center, several one-time human services grants, senior nutrition funding, and grant reductions and extensions. No formal vote was described in the transcript; the discussion focused on explaining the agreement and its fiscal effects.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think that was where our conversation was.
• I think that was where our conversation was.
• I think that was where our conversation was.
• Which is why we're having this conversation.
• Which is why we're having this conversation.

Summary: The committee held a work session on state environmental policy act (SEPA) implementation and carryout bags. Ecology staff Diane Buterak described the Clean Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (PEISs) completed for utility-scale solar, onshore wind, and green hydrogen, plus a new PEIS underway for sustainable aviation fuel. She explained that PEISs provide broad planning-level analysis to help developers and agencies avoid or mitigate impacts, but do not replace project-level review. Members asked about permitting timelines, greenhouse gas emissions from different hydrogen production methods, water use, agricultural land conversion, battery fire risk, and tribal consultation. Buterak said the PEISs identify potentially significant impacts and mitigation measures, including fire response planning, early tribal outreach, and agrovoltaics as an option for solar projects. EFSEC’s Amy Hofkimer then presented the transmission-facility programmatic EIS required by SB 5165 for 230 kV and higher transmission projects. She said the statewide review covers new lines and certain upgrades/modifications, analyzes impacts to water, cultural and tribal resources, habitat, and other areas, and uses general measures, design considerations, avoidance criteria, and sensitivity maps to guide siting and corridor planning. She said the final document would be issued in early October. Questions focused on reconductoring, tribal lands, scenic areas, and whether the review could affect existing lines crossing tribal lands. A Grant County planning director, Jim Anderson Cook, said Ecology’s PEIS would help with cumulative impacts for clustered solar projects, but noted tight local review timelines and the need for strong pre-application coordination, especially on cultural resource studies and decommissioning plans. Yakama Nation attorney Shona Leverett argued SEPA is only an assessment tool and said tribes face barriers from short comment periods, limited confidential tribal input, weak cumulative impact analysis, and challenges in the FSEC process; she urged better upfront developer diligence and more effective tribal coordination. Puget Sound Energy’s Sarah Leverett said the utility needs efficient and predictable permitting to meet clean energy mandates while maintaining reliable service and aging infrastructure. She described the scale of needed clean energy and transmission buildout, including a 10-year process for the Energize Eastside transmission rebuild, and said more consistent SEPA and PEIS processes could help. Members asked about future generation sources, reliability, and hydropower as a firming resource; she said PSE is pursuing an “all of the above” approach and would welcome more firm, dispatchable clean energy options. The committee then shifted to carryout bags. Staff Jacob Lipson and Tracy Taylor reviewed Washington’s bag law, its preemption of local ordinances, the current 8-cent charge, the scheduled increase to 12 cents, and the 2025 change delaying the 4-mil thickness requirement until 2028 while adding a temporary 4-cent penalty for thicker bags. Ecology’s Peter Lyon said the agency emphasizes education and complaint-based enforcement, has received 872 reports, and has not yet imposed any fines. Commerce’s Kirk Esmond summarized a WSU study finding fewer plastic bags distributed but more plastic by weight, and said Commerce and Ecology support keeping the 2.25-mil standard and not allowing thinner single-use bags again. Retail industry testimony from Brandon Housekeeper said grocers comply with the law but oppose the added 4-cent penalty and thicker-bag requirement, citing higher costs and confusion in the policy changes.

Transcript Highlights:

• A lot of the conversations that they talked about...
• We're going to be dealing with that conversation over and over.
• The finance bill is a step in the right direction.
• To be clear, this was directed at a different group of workers—this was directed at our hourly School
• Today's bill is a direct response to those conversations, and it delivers on our promise to put the success