Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 43- now proposes a study to assess these costs and takes a step further by providing the data
• So we need to look at it from all angles We need as much data and information.
• It's House Bill 4158.
• House Bill 3781.
• House Bill 1407.

Bills: HB1520 , HB1525 , HB1530 , HB1535 , HB2068 , HB2091 , HB2347 , HB2372 , HB2805 , HB2815 , HB2867 , HB3154 , HB3482 , HB3483 , HB3663 , HB3781 , HB3901 , HB3915 , HB4135 , HB4153 , HB4158 , HB4329 , HB4331

Committee: House Natural Resources

Keywords: Angelina and Neches River Authority, river authority, Sunset Advisory Commission, Texas Sunset Act, Special District Local Laws Code, local government, natural resources, board of directors, director training, board governance, public testimony, open meetings, public information, conflict of interest, ethics, complaint system, general manager, board president, staggered terms, removal of director

Transcript Highlights:

• Retailers cannot have the option of assessing it or not assessing it.
• </c> option of assessing it or not assessing option of assessing it or not assessing it<01:11:08.280>
• Okay, this is it, House Bill 79.
• We just did House Bill 77.
• We just did House Bill 77.

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on House Bill 451, which would create a postconsumer paint stewardship program in New Hampshire. Prime sponsor Representative Karen Ebel described the bill as a bipartisan, broadly supported model based on PaintCare programs used in other states. She said consumers and businesses could drop off leftover paint at participating retailers or municipal household hazardous waste sites, with the paint then collected and recycled by the stewardship organization. She emphasized that the program is intended to reduce landfill disposal, improper dumping, and contamination of groundwater and soil, while also helping municipalities save on hazardous waste handling costs. Members asked several questions about how the program would work and how it would be funded. Ebel explained that the program would be financed by a small fee charged at the point of sale on paint products, not a general sales tax, and that retailers could either list it separately or roll it into the price. She said the fee would cover the Department of Environmental Services’ administrative costs, which were described as minimal, and that the program’s structure was developed with DES and industry input. Questions also addressed whether cans would be recycled and how collected paint would be processed; Ebel said the ACA and PaintCare representatives could provide more detail, but that the paint and containers would be handled through recycling or other approved disposal methods rather than landfilled. Representative Judy Aron, a co-sponsor and chair of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee, testified in support, saying the bill had been developed over several years with stakeholders and would keep toxic paint out of landfills while saving municipalities and taxpayers money. Representative Peter Bixby, the ranking member of Environment and Agriculture, also supported the bill, saying his committee had heard it many times and that it had strong bipartisan enthusiasm. No vote was taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• , needed to be by CNM.
• I'm glad you asked that because we do need to push north. We very much need to push north.
• It just needs to be put into motion.
• Then we had, I think it was technically our third open house in the lower right, and that open house
• Need to take place, whatever needs to, as far as so that we can speak with one voice.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• curious what right so house oh the house curious what right so the<00:04:52.240><c> house</c><00:04:52.680
• </c> a long-term need or a short-term need a long-term need or a short-term need and<00:26:25.799><c>
• ><c> more</c> you need presumably You' need more you need presumably You' need more employees<01:29:25.520
• /c><03:57:37.239><c> we</c><03:57:37.479><c> have</c> we need we need help um we have we need we need
• In order to even reach us, they need to have disputed the assessed value at the municipal level.

Summary: The committee first reviewed House Bill 1, focusing on the legislative branch budget, especially the Senate and House lines. Members discussed that the Senate’s fiscal year 2025 adjusted authorized amount was higher than 2024 actual spending, largely due to personnel, benefits, and travel, and one member proposed a $500,000 annual cut. Staff explained that any reduction would need to be allocated across specific line items such as personnel, benefits, and travel, and noted that the Senate budget is entirely General Funds. After discussion of how the adjusted authorized figures were calculated and why the branch no longer staffs some joint committees as it once did, the committee moved on without taking a vote on that section. The committee then heard a detailed presentation from the New Hampshire Retirement System. NHRS officials described their statutory administrative budget, which is funded through the retirement trust rather than the General Fund, and said the FY 2026-2027 increase is driven by IT modernization, cybersecurity, a new strategic plan, and additional staff positions. They also reviewed the system’s funding progress, clean audit opinions, investment performance, and changes to asset allocation, while noting that several recent pension-related laws required major database changes. Members questioned the large increase in salaries and benefits, the need for new employees versus contractors, the purpose of training costs, and the source of the Group Two benefit funding. NHRS said the governor’s budget includes General Funds for Group Two benefit changes, with $5 million in FY 2026 and $27.9 million in FY 2027, and that the figures reflect the governor’s recommendation and related HB 2 provisions. Committee members also asked about employer and employee contribution rates for Group Two police and fire members, which NHRS said were not included in the budget document but were about 31.2% for police and 30.35% for fire, with employee shares around 11.55% and 11.8%. The committee did not make a decision on the NHRS budget during this exchange and indicated it would review the details further before returning to it later. The committee then heard from the Community Development Finance Authority on the State Treasury Department budget line for the required state match to administer the federal Community Development Block Grant program. CDFA explained that its $280,000 annual request for FY 2026 and FY 2027, totaling $560,000, supports administration, technical assistance, contracting, and monitoring of roughly $19 million in annual federal CDBG funds. Members asked about the leverage of the state match, oversight of projects, staffing, and grant prioritization. CDFA said it has 18 employees, uses public hearings and a scoring system to prioritize awards, and conducts both desk and on-site monitoring, with annual audits to ensure compliance. No vote was taken on the CDFA item in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill have that assessing has.
• </c><00:33:55.919><c> Um,</c> opposition to this in the House. Um, opposition to this in the House.
• We are opposed to House Bill 1526.
• </c> remedy if that needs to be cleaned up. remedy if that needs to be cleaned up.
• </c> are opposed to House Bill 1575. are opposed to House Bill 1575.

Committee: Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• The mitigation bank connects the state's urgent need for affordable housing to an existing funding The
• mitigation bank connects the state's urgent need for affordable housing to an existing funding stream
• And so there's a lot of those people that exist that are on the streets that need that type of housing
• Thank you. ...of those people that exist around the streets that need that type of housing that you're
• So this is an attempt to many and more things that we need to infuse into the housing market for the

Summary: The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee heard several housing bills. AB 2270, by Assemblymember Arambula, would give farmworker housing projects scoring parity in the state low-income housing tax credit program so they are not disadvantaged by amenity-proximity criteria that do not fit rural agricultural areas. Supporters, including La Cooperativa Campesina, said the bill would help farmworker projects compete fairly for credits; there was no opposition, and the bill was later approved 11-0 and sent to Appropriations. The committee also considered AB 2552, which would clarify use of the state’s new CEQA vehicle miles traveled (VMT) mitigation bank for affordable housing near transit. The author and supporters from the California Building Industry Association and business groups said the bill would add guardrails so the program is cost-effective and usable, while Housing California, the Planning and Conservation League, and others opposed the least-cost requirement, arguing it could undercut the new mitigation bank before implementation. After discussion about balancing housing and environmental goals, the bill passed 11-1 to Appropriations. AB 2689 would require good cause for nonrenewal of certain state-subsidized housing tenancies when a household’s income exceeds 140% of area median income for two consecutive years, with notice requirements and protections if the tenant cannot afford market rent. Some members supported the bill as a way to free up scarce subsidized units and create a housing “ladder,” while others objected that it could punish people for increasing their income. The bill was amended and passed 11-1. The consent calendar items AB 2308, AB 2397, and AB 2512 were also approved unanimously.

Transcript Highlights:

• The whole purpose of the Water Development Office is to assess our needs and to help allocate funding
• assess our needs and office is to is to assess our needs and to<01:18:37.520><c> help</c><01:18:37.760
• House Bill one passed. So, now we need House Bill one passed.
• So, House, House sponsor, agency number.
• </c> the house position. the house position.

Transcript Highlights:

• Things that we need immediately, temporary housing, transportation, and yes, large equipment.
• We need knowledge. officials, debris removal, housing support, and mental health care.
• And they ordered us, as a local mental health authority, to have a needs assessment conducted of the
• Also, there was a the focus in that Meadows Needs Assessment, as Veronica had acknowledged.
• One of the recommendations of the Meadows needs assessment was youth crisis outreach teams.

Committee: House Disaster Preparedness & Flooding, Select

Transcript Highlights:

• needed for law at $7,154,155.
• </c><00:01:07.240><c> Jud</c> $2,485 General funds needed for uh Jud $2,485 General funds needed for
• </c> require these um patients to be housed require these um patients to be housed in<00:05:35.840><c
• The discussion needs to continue.
• The discussion needs to continue.

Committee: Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs

Summary: On the deferred agenda, the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs took up SB 1364, which makes emergency appropriations for law enforcement personnel costs, and SB 1452, which relates to the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. The chair recommended both measures pass with amendments, including technical corrections and a committee-report effective date of July 1, 2077. For SB 1364, the amendments included specified general fund and transfer fund amounts for DAGS, the Judiciary, and the Department of Law. For SB 1452, the chair said the bill was being corrected to fix a drug-name error that had been replicated from a federal mistake. Both recommendations were adopted by vote, with Senator Dort excused. The committee then discussed SB 1612, a joint measure on fitness to proceed that would require and appropriate funds for a five-year pilot program involving the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Health, with interim and final reports to the Legislature. Testimony was mixed: the Judiciary and Department of Health were supportive, while the Office of the Public Defender and the Disability Rights Center opposed it, arguing it conflicted with best practices and the Clark consent order, and that people found not fit to proceed must be sent to the state hospital. DCR said its main concern was that the bill would still require patients to be housed in its facilities, which it said are not rehabilitative and are already strained by staffing shortages and limited access. The bill’s author argued the proposal was meant to create joint custody and reduce the high cost of state-hospital placement, but the committee did not take final action in the portion provided. In the joint hearing with Health and Human Services, the committees heard SB 1322, a broad rewrite of the state mental health code. The Attorney General supported the measure as a comprehensive cleanup and modernization effort, but many testifiers raised concerns. Queen’s Health System and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation supported the concept but warned about emergency-room impacts and asked for amendments; IHS supported the bill with a caveat about assisted community treatment procedures; and the Public Defender, Disability Rights Center, and others opposed parts of it, citing due process, privacy, HIPAA, counsel rights, liability immunity, and the reduction of an involuntary-treatment panel from three clinicians to one psychiatrist. The hearing also covered SB 951 on child protection, where the Department of Defense supported the bill and proposed technical amendments and MOUs with military components to clarify reporting and coordination procedures; DHS and the Attorney General said they were still working through possible changes. Finally, SB 228 on excited delirium was heard, with the Public Defender and Disability Rights Center supporting the bill and arguing the term has been misused and that better police de-escalation training is the real solution.

Transcript Highlights:

• And right now, our children need all the support they can get.
• By the way, I need more money, too, to keep feeding my hungry pigs.
• When it's not flashy nor innovative, the need is really foundational.
• When it's not flashing or innovative, the need is really foundational.
• Districts must still dip into local levies to cover basic needs.

Bills: SB5992 , SB5918 , SB5951 , SB6042 , SB5952 , SB5961 , SB5969

Committee: Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education

Keywords: youth development, funding, positive programs, youth services, community programs, school funding, education, supplies, operating costs, K-12 education, albuterol, access, public schools, private schools, healthcare, school safety, emergency preparedness, mapping, local education policies, curriculum requirements

Transcript Highlights:

• Subject to tax decreases, which in turn results in less tax being assessed.
• I think it may need to be taken into consideration.
• Change may be difficult, but it's needed. Thank you. Hello.
• Nurses witnessed firsthand how public support programs like food, housing, and housing assistance, Medi-Cal
• The gap between student need and the number of teachers we have for students who need them.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you need a motion at the proper time? Yes. I move we put this into an ISP.
• We do have a process where we go and collect and assess that tax from the individual on the purchase
• , House District 69.
• Colleagues, this interim study proposal is from House Bill 1636 from the 2025 session.
• This proposal, House Bill 1636 from 2025, did not replace the revenue.

Summary: The committee met to approve special expenses and then considered two interim study proposals. ISP 2025-069, by Representative Perry and presented by Representative Eaton, would move vehicle sales tax collection from the current registration-based process to the point of sale. Members asked about the current 60-day registration period, the fiscal and administrative impact on DFA, the burden on dealerships, verification and audit issues, and whether the change could affect tax collection or vehicle pricing. DFA said it was neutral on the proposal, noted programming and process changes would be needed, and said the total tax collected would not change, though timing would. The committee approved the ISP and sent it on for research. The committee then took up ISP 2025-071, based on House Bill 1636 from the 2025 session, which would phase out the state soda excise tax over five years if Medicaid trust fund revenue triggers are met. Representative Ray said the bill was intended to continue discussion after the underlying bill failed on the House floor. Members asked about the tax’s annual revenue, its dedication to the Medicaid Trust Fund, and whether the revenue would be replaced. Ray estimated the tax brings in roughly $40 million to $50 million annually and said the proposal did not replace that revenue. DFA was asked to explain how withdrawals from the trust fund are authorized and whether the legislature has oversight, and said it would provide that information later. The committee then adopted the interim study proposal.

Transcript Highlights:

• Davis from House Research. Davis from House Research.
• ><c> assessments.
• . house. house.
• House File 3658.
• House<01:34:59.400><c> File</c><01:34:59.840><c> 3658.</c> House File 3658. House File 3658.

Bills: SF1750 , HF2700 , HF1606 , HF3356 , HF3946 , HF3970 , HF3658 , HF3875 , HF2627 , SF856 , HF1268 , HF1338

Committee: House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law

Transcript Highlights:

• But if a household has a smartphone only, when that subscriber leaves the house, the house is unconnected
• What we... subscriber leaves the house, the house is unconnected.
• But, you know, more support is needed.
• But more support is needed.
• We really need resources in our community.

Committee: House Communications and Conveyance

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 1796 is exactly that.
• As their housed peers.
• And, you know, they really need that. They need it to read and absorb it themselves.
• We appreciate and support House Bill 2557 because parents need the completed special education evaluation
• We now have Substitute House Bill 2360. We now have Substitute House Bill 2360 before us.

Bills: HB1796

Committee: Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education

Keywords: school construction, contract indebtedness, school districts, bonding authority, education funding

Transcript Highlights:

• when we need it most.
• More needs to be done.
• developers who are trying to meet Title 24 compliance and are rapidly increasing need for housing production
• I think that the real question, and I think what we all need to better understand, is that we need one
• , specifically the subset of solar needs that we have right now, we're going to need about four to seven

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy held an oversight hearing with leaders from the CPUC, Public Advocates Office, CAISO, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, and the Energy Commission. Chair Petrie-Norris framed the hearing around high utility bills, wildfire risk, grid reliability, clean energy buildout, and the state’s long-term decarbonization goals, and also noted it was CPUC President Alice Reynolds’ final week at the commission. Each agency gave an update on its role: the CPUC described efforts to reduce rate increases while maintaining reliability and clean energy procurement; the Public Advocates Office focused on affordability and the need to control underlying utility costs; CAISO discussed transmission planning, market operations, and the upcoming extended day-ahead market; Energy Safety reviewed wildfire mitigation oversight and inspections; and the Energy Commission highlighted clean energy growth, EV adoption, storage, efficiency, and gasoline price monitoring. A major theme was affordability versus the costs of the clean energy transition. Reynolds said the CPUC has lowered utility revenue requests, reduced utility returns, adopted a base services charge, and reworked net metering, while also continuing to manage wildfire-related costs and support resource adequacy and demand flexibility. Sarazawa argued that recent rate decreases may not be durable because billions of dollars in wildfire and other utility costs are still pending or unbilled, and she urged tighter use of general rate cases, lower-cost financing, program reform, and more equitable rate design. Members pressed the agencies on whether state policy is sufficiently accounting for labor, local economic development, and the cost impacts of transmission and procurement decisions, especially where out-of-state resources are being considered. CAISO and the Energy Commission emphasized that the state’s planning and market reforms are helping lower costs and improve reliability. CAISO said the Western Energy Imbalance Market has produced billions in benefits, the extended day-ahead market is on track to launch, and transmission planning is being aligned with long-term resource needs while reducing queue delays. The Energy Commission said California is now getting roughly two-thirds of its power from clean sources, has added massive amounts of storage and renewables, and is seeing strong EV and charger growth that can help spread fixed grid costs. Energy Safety reported thousands of inspections, hundreds of notices of non-performance, and a decline in reportable ignitions, while noting that major fires show more work is needed. Members also raised concerns about the SB 100 report delay, memo and balancing accounts, the future of battery storage, and whether decarbonization zone pilots will affect residential and commercial customers.

Transcript Highlights:

• We need to prioritize.
• We need to prioritize.
• We need to improve threat assessments and protect our students above layering on more government protections
• We need to improve threat assessments and protect our students above layering on more government protections
• need to be safe.

Transcript Highlights:

• We need to re-engage. We need to re-engage. They'll hand them over and say they're yours.
• We need to re-engage the parents.
• Clerk. 27 ayes, no nays; place the House under call. The House is under call.
• If you need lunch, you need lunch. And that's a consistent policy for me.
• If you need lunch, you need lunch.

Bills: LB878 , LB958 , LB958A , LB762 , LB1187 , LB966 , LB929 , LB962 , LB1209 , LB937A , LB962A , LB1050 , LB1050A , LB965 , LB1022 , LB753 , LB788 , LB913 , LB1055 , LB1195 , LB429 , LB721 , LB722 , LB727 , LB745 , LB749 , LB778 , LR293 , LR296 , LR422 , LR495 , LR496 , LR497 , LR498 , LR499 , LR500 , LR501 , LR502 , LR503 , LR504

Transcript Highlights:

• And next up, we'll move right along into low-income housing, nonprofit housing development.
• Of increasing their share of revenues dedicated to affordable housing.
• But only 333 housing units were sold, as reported. That's about 40%.
• And those are used to adapt housing.
• to suit whatever their needs are based on their disability.

Summary: The meeting began with JLARC’s biennial executive committee elections. After confirming a quorum, members unanimously elected Representative Pollet as chair, Senator Wagoner as vice chair, Representative Orcutt as secretary, and Senator Solomon as assistant secretary for the 2025-27 biennium. The committee also approved the May 14 meeting minutes unanimously. Chair Pollet then outlined a commitment to more member input on audit scope and coordination with the State Auditor’s Office. Staff presented a preliminary report on Washington State recreation boating programs. They reported that six agencies administer boating-related activities, that the state collected about $108 million in boating-related revenue in 2021-23, and that $86 million was spent, mostly on infrastructure and water access, environmental protection, boater safety, and marine law enforcement. Staff said Washington’s boating laws and programs are broadly similar to other states and noted that the final report is expected in September. JLARC then reviewed several tax preferences. For natural gas used as a transportation fuel, staff said the preferences reduce fuel costs but did not meet emissions-reduction targets because fewer vessels and vehicles converted to natural gas than expected; staff recommended continuing some exemptions and modifying reporting requirements. For travel agents and tour operators, staff said the preference continues to provide tax relief, but large beneficiaries’ savings are rising while small beneficiaries’ use is declining, leading to recommendations to continue the small-business rate and add or revise performance metrics. Staff also reviewed a nonprofit low-income housing property tax exemption, concluding it helps developers build homes as intended but that the performance metric should better reflect housing outcomes; they recommended the legislature decide whether to continue or modify it. Other reviews covered multipurpose senior citizen centers, disabled veteran adapted housing, trade convention attendance, agricultural fertilizer and seed wholesaling, hazardous substance tax treatment for pesticides, and silicon smelter energy preferences, with recommendations ranging from continuation to expiration depending on whether the stated objectives were met. The committee then adopted the final cannabis market study for distribution. Staff reported that Washington businesses produced two to three times more cannabis than retailers sold in 2023, and that inaccurate and incomplete reporting limits the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s ability to regulate the market. The board said it concurs with the recommendations, including developing a plan for a new data system and considering broader social equity options. Finally, staff presented the proposed final report on Department of Health oversight of hospital data reporting, inspections, and complaints. Staff said DOH was late on most acute-care hospital inspections, had not fully verified third-party inspection standards, and did not adequately review adverse event correction plans or assess language access barriers in its complaint system. DOH said it concurs with all six recommendations and has already made some transparency improvements, including a public dashboard for adverse event reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think it needs to look at and not and it needs one often by the legislature.
• I think it needs to look at and not and it needs one often by the legislature.
• House Bill 1610. Um first, it's House Bill 1610.
• We need possibly need to do that again.
• </c> absolute needs, those priorities. absolute needs, those priorities.

Committee: Senate Education Finance