Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Merkley and I have a bill, the No Up Code Act, that actually achieves that.
• And there is frustration with coding.
• That is responsible. for coding and it is time.
• In West Texas, the South Plains of Texas, 223 cases.
• The child has unfortunately died in the state of Texas. My question is simple.

Keywords: Michael Falkender, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, IRS, taxpayer privacy, nomination process, committee hearing

Summary: The committee convened to discuss critical issues surrounding the nomination of Michael Falkender for the position of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. This meeting included a series of remarks from committee members who expressed divergent views on Falkender's qualifications and the implications of his appointment. Senator Wyden voiced strong opposition, arguing that Falkender represents harmful policies expected to be perpetuated under the current administration, especially concerning taxpayer privacy and IRS tactics. Meanwhile, other members defended Falkender, noting his extensive experience, including a commitment to transparency in government operations if confirmed.

Transcript Highlights:

• trip report, as you're well aware, there were $7 billion behind in funding for the Department of Transportation
• Speaker, Funding for the Department of Transportation. And so with that, Mr.
• this state, as I've stated several times, we have underfunded, in my opinion, the Department of Transportation
• Gentlemen, when we consider an organization like NDI, where the children come and dance, and they're transported

Bills: HB145, HB164, HR1, HB20, HB65, HB66, HB80, HB306, SB29, SB37, HB99, HB206, HB213, HB270, SB104, SB193, HB38, HB254, HB256, SB58, SB64, HJM1, HM7, HM17, HM4, HM22, HM23, HM24, HM26, HM2, HM16, HM32, HM13, HM47, HM20, HM51, HM1, HM31, HM35, HM36, HM46, HM53, HM54, HM39, HM29, HM43, HM59, HM11, HM14, HM21, HM34, HM50, HB253

Keywords: high-wage jobs, tax credit, job creation, New Mexico, economic development, lobbying, transparency, public records, government oversight, accountability, House Resolution 1, HR1, House investigatory subcommittee, special committee, legislative investigation, subpoena power, public corruption, criminal activity, Zorro ranch, Santa Fe County

Transcript Highlights:

• That's, as a reminder, our federal transportation bill.
• That's, as a reminder, our federal transportation bill.
• Yeah, I paid those for my kids, and they were in Texas. They'd send you a bill.
• Yeah, I paid those for my kids, and they were in Texas. They'd send you a bill.

Summary: The committee received a report from Director Wiley of the Arkansas Department of Transportation on a series of routine and quarterly items, including the closeout of the department’s efficiency review. Wiley said all five remaining recommendations from that review had been implemented, highlighted a new public maintenance dashboard on the agency website, and reported four surplus properties sold since the last meeting. He also noted that ARDOT had obligated $3.14 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding to date and reviewed the annual expenditure report tied to 2019 revenue changes, which funded $98.7 million in maintenance projects last year. Members asked about the balance between maintenance and new construction, with Wiley saying about 75% of construction dollars go to maintaining the existing system and that ARDOT’s overall spending is overwhelmingly focused on upkeep because of the size of the state highway network. He also discussed major projects and corridor priorities, including Interstate 57 and Highway 5 work in Lonoke County, Interstate 49 public meetings, passing-lane improvements on Highway 412/62 in north central Arkansas, Highway 82 widening in south Arkansas, and long-range plans to widen Interstate 40, possibly including a toll study. On the Toad Suck Bridge flood mitigation project, he said the design had been revised to reduce public impacts and would not require a long-term bridge closure. The committee also discussed safety and enforcement tools in work zones. Wiley said new work-zone cameras and cell phone detection tools were being used on projects such as I-30, I-57, and I-49, mainly to improve safety rather than issue citations. In addition, he said ARDOT spends about $8 million annually on litter control and is expanding anti-litter efforts, including a spring cleanup day involving more than 2,500 operations employees and some office staff. He also announced agency initiatives on human trafficking awareness training for field and office staff and the Street Smart education program for middle school students, with plans to expand it to high school content next year. No votes were taken, and the meeting adjourned after the director’s presentation and member questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• and Montana passed wrong that Texas and Montana passed versions<00:19:04.880> of<00:19:05.039
• :07.599> uh<00:40:07.680> the<00:40:07.760> New Department of Transportation uh
• > of<00:40:08.480> Transportation, Hampshire Department of Transportation, Hampshire Department
• of Transportation can come up. up. up.
• of Transportation Bureau of Aeronautics. of Transportation Bureau of Aeronautics.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And the Nuremberg laws were drafted after the Black Codes and the Jim Crow laws of the South here in
• They live in Texas, his grandmother actually got into a fender bender and got on the side of the road
• Natural Resources in Capital Room 437, Revin Tax in Capital Room 126, Transportation and Swing Space

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , was introduced, while others, like other researchers, suggest a natural range expansion from the Texas
• And so it wouldn't change building code, but it may reduce the burden and the process of getting to that
• We transport a lot of food around, but we won't have any food without pollinators.

Transcript Highlights:

• <02:04:28.320> on we have Department of Transportation on we have Department of Transportation
• Robin Chishu with the Hawaii Department of Transportation.
• Yamaki. and transportation obviously is very and transportation obviously is very important,<02:13:35.440
• actually the chair of the transportation actually the chair of the transportation committee<02:38
• :59.359> of in compliance with title 49 code of in compliance with title 49 code of federal<02

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 1531, HD1, which would require the governor or county mayors to provide American Sign Language interpreters during official emergency announcements broadcast on television or the internet, ensure the interpreter is visible, and provide a primary pool feed with picture-in-picture so rebroadcasters would not need to add the feature themselves. Testimony from the Disability and Communication Access Board and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities strongly supported the bill, emphasizing effective communication for deaf and hard-of-hearing residents and noting that interpreter placement and size can make broadcasts inaccessible. The council requested an effective date of July 1, 2027 to allow implementation time. Members raised concerns about interpreter availability and emergency logistics on Hawaiʻi Island, but the chair moved to pass the bill with amendments reflecting the picture-in-picture recommendation and the later effective date. The committee adopted the motion, with several members voting aye and others voting with reservations. The committee then heard House Bill 1880, HD2, which would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2027, the use or application of pesticides containing 1,3-dichloropropene, such as Telone. The Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity explained that pesticides are already regulated at both the federal and state levels, with EPA risk assessments and state enforcement of label restrictions, reporting, and school-buffer requirements. The Hawaii Public Health Institute supported the bill, citing cancer and respiratory risks and arguing that safer alternatives exist. In opposition, Dole Food and the Hawaii Farm Bureau said Telone is important for controlling nematodes in pineapple production, that it is applied underground under EPA conditions, and that no comparable registered alternative exists for pineapple; they also said the bill’s 2027 start date is too short for growers to adjust. A representative from the Y Alliance for Progressive Action and Support supported the measure, citing statewide usage data and concerns about drift and chronic health impacts. Committee members questioned both sides about drift monitoring, groundwater impacts, alternative methods, and whether a transition period or research into resistant varieties could reduce reliance on the chemical.

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas to your east and Arizona to your west.
• Texas has lower payouts.
• Texas and green at the bottom.
• Actually, this is Texas data.
• I have studied Texas very closely.

Transcript Highlights:

• Promoting and handing out improper solicitations is a violation of the honor code.
• Promoting and handing out improper solicitations is a violation of the honor code.
• He is bringing a renewed focus on efficiency, transportation, and customer service for the people of
• The state-term contract for building code inspection services.
• Not that there's documentation, but, you know, what is the recourse for the public if that transport?

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a quorum present, then moved into returning messages from the Senate. Early action focused on CS/CS/HB 1503 on computer science education and certification, which would add computer science and artificial intelligence content in high school and create a K-12 teacher certificate program; after adopting a House amendment restoring certificate language and adjusting implementation timing, the House concurred in the Senate amendment and passed the bill 105-0. The chamber then took up CS/CS/HB 1085 on local government cybersecurity, adopting a House amendment to allow local governments to buy into the cyber grant program and add a five-year sunset, then concurring in the Senate amendment shifting grant administration back to the Florida Digital Service; the bill passed 104-1. The House refused to concur in Senate amendments to CS/HB 351 on concurrent legislative jurisdiction over U.S. military installations and HB 6011 on reporting gifts or honoraria, sending both back to the Senate. It also refused to concur in the Senate amendment to CS/HB 851 on professional learning for instructional and school administrative personnel, saying the Senate version expanded the bill beyond its original autism-focused scope. After a recess, the House unveiled Speaker Daniel Perez’s portrait and heard extended remarks praising his leadership, institutional reforms, and the work of House staff and members. In the second returning-message list, the House debated CS/CS/HB 1471 on systems of law and terrorist organizations. The Senate amendment clarified the definition of “promote,” refined notice and timeline provisions for terrorist organization designations, and kept references to Sharia law as an example in the foreign religious law section. Supporters argued the bill was aimed at conduct beyond speech and was intended to protect the Constitution and public safety; opponents warned it would chill free speech, target Muslim Floridians, and give the governor and cabinet unprecedented power without adequate due process. After lengthy debate, the House concurred and passed the bill 80-25. The House then took up CS/CS/HB 1473, a public records bill tied to HB 1471, and moved to concur in a technical Senate amendment aligning the records exemption with the revised structure of HB 1471.

Transcript Highlights:

• Retirees are treated differently under our tax code.
• If that state, Texas, or wherever had withholdings, then it sounds like I would have to file proving
• If that state, Texas, or wherever had withholdings, then it sounds like I would have to file proving
• A gentleman, I can't do anything about the tax laws in the State of Texas or any of those.

Summary: The House Ways and Means Committee met in executive session and first took up Senate Bill 1032, a tax deduction bill tied to the birth or adoption of a child. Vice Chair Davis offered a committee amendment to broaden eligibility by changing the trigger from “gives birth or adopts” to “attains legal parentage,” expressly including surrogacy, adoption, and legal parent-child relationships by operation of law, while keeping the $2,400 deduction amount and limiting it to one claim per child. Members discussed the bill’s limited practical tax benefit, with supporters saying it would help families and opponents arguing the deduction would amount to only about $112.80 in reduced taxes and would not meaningfully change behavior. The committee adopted the amendment and substitute, but the final do-pass motion failed on a 4-4 vote, so House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1032 did not advance. The committee then held a public hearing on House Bill 3294, sponsored by Representative Mayhew, which would eliminate the need for active-duty military personnel to file a Missouri income tax return when their military pay is already exempt from state income tax. The sponsor and supporters said the bill would prevent unnecessary withholding and refund processing, reduce administrative work for the Department of Revenue, and leave service members with the same benefit but without paperwork. Members asked about residency, withholding, retirees, and how the change would work for service members stationed in or out of Missouri; the sponsor explained the bill applied only to active duty and that Missouri residents serving elsewhere would still be governed by residency rules. No vote was taken on House Bill 3294 before the committee adjourned, and the chair noted it was likely the last committee hearing of the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• Through that mechanism, he has reviewed trauma systems in Texas, Wisconsin, and Ohio.
• and our fire codes.
• This bill addresses the fire code.
• So, we'd be addresses the fire code.
• code compliance, stuff<01:37:06.239> like<01:37:06.400> that.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, Representative, if you're specifically related, is there finality in the Texas v.
• Let's go to the Texas-New Mexico settlement first.
• Let's go to the Texas-New Mexico settlement first. I was born in 1963.
• We've been fighting with Texas on the water since then.
• Just you can kind of walk through in more detail your specific questions about Texas v.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• it's a national medical organization, there is actually a bigger shortage of medical providers in Texas
• We are in competition with the Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Texas provider pay rates. And we...
• As a referral source, finding out what the issue is and what their transportation availability is crucial
• Transportation is a huge disaster in Northeast New Mexico for health care.
• And get them enrolled in Medicaid so they can access the transport.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we could look at federal transportation funding, their budget to support that cost.
• Like in Clovis, we're having to transport juveniles from Clovis all the way to Farmington or I think
• The remoteness of your community, Madam Chair, do you have a helipad if you need to transport people
• So in the urban areas, it's a lot from transportation and buildings, as well as other sources.
• We know down in the south what our relationship is with Texas and the Rio Grande water system.

Transcript Highlights:

• We didn't want to totally preempt cities and counties from being able to enforce codes.
• It's like it equally applies to their zoning code, whatever they would make... which says, and this is
• We didn't want to totally preempt cities and counties from being able to enforce codes.
• It's like it equally applies to their zoning code, whatever they would make person. ...their zoning code
• There can't be two separate codes applied.

Bills: SB1290, SB1530, SB1847, HR1050, SB169, SB1377, SB1990, SB1991, SB1778, SB1579, SB1992, SB3, SB2028, SB1928, SB2127, SB2117, SB1439, SB1930, SB330, SB1191, SB2110, SB2134, SB2069, SB2095, SB1613, SB1246, SB1976, SB1346, SB1509, SB2071, SB259, SB1314

Keywords: 2-1-1 services, revolving fund, Department of Human Services, crisis pregnancy, abortion, legal funding, research funding, development rebate, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, tax incentives, higher education partnerships, Medicaid, ADvantage Waiver, home-based services, eligibility criteria, healthcare, senior services, Taiwan, Oklahoma, sister-state relationship

Transcript Highlights:

• Whereas, on Sunday, April 22, 2026, AVH was crowned as Tier VIB champions in Dallas, Texas.
• minority leader from the House Democratic Caucus in the state of Georgia, Carolyn Hugley, and the Texas
• Senate Bill 83 by Senator Edmonds is an act to amend Title 46, the Children's Code, relative to human
• Senate Bill 33 by Senator Cloud is an act to amend the Children's Code relative to child in need of care
• Senate Bill 33 by Senator Cloud is an act to amend the Children's Code relative to child in need of care

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So a fun way to start our transportation meeting today.
• There's a stretch in Texas where it's 85.
• There's a stretch in Texas where it's 85.
• in the transportation system and network, we've grown the public transportation dollars.
• Other public transit concerns, WSDOT, public transportation staffing, as you've grown the transportation

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee met on October 16, 2025, for a budget and revenue overview, a traffic safety presentation, and a discussion of potential transit and active transportation grant programs. Committee staff reviewed the adopted 2025-27 transportation budget, noting $15.5 billion in expenditures, the large share for WSDOT, and the mix of revenue sources including fuel tax, vehicle-related fees, federal funds, Climate Commitment Act revenue, and new 2025 revenues from SB 5801 and SB 5802. Staff said the 2025 session produced a balanced four-year plan, preserved major project schedules, maintained highway preservation funding, and added money for culverts, local preservation, and other priorities. They also described a September forecast showing lower motor fuel consumption than previously expected, but still enough revenue growth to keep the transportation plan balanced. For the 2026 supplemental, staff said agency requests were relatively modest overall, with most capital requests reflecting reappropriations and timing shifts rather than new projects, while WSDOT’s addendum identified much larger future needs for maintenance, preservation, paving, culverts, and safety work. Senators asked for more detail on how revenues are distributed by fund type and geography, how much of the maintenance and preservation request is actual maintenance versus equipment, whether paving needs could be supported through bonding, and how electric vehicle sales trends might affect forecasts. The committee then heard a remote presentation from Dr. Jessica Chikino of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on traffic safety trends and countermeasures. She said U.S. traffic fatalities have risen sharply over the past decade, with especially large increases for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists, and argued that the U.S. lags other high-income countries in roadway safety. Her presentation highlighted IIHS’s “30 by 30” goal to reduce fatalities 30% by 2030 through safer speeds, stronger impaired-driving countermeasures, better pedestrian protection, and safer commercial vehicles. She discussed research linking higher speed limits to higher fatality risk, the benefits of lower urban speed limits, speed safety cameras, traffic calming, lighting, pedestrian beacons, and safer intersection design. She also described ongoing work with Bellevue on smart signal technology and pedestrian safety pilots. Committee members thanked her for the presentation and said they would share the materials with others. In the final work session, the committee revisited transit and active transportation grant concepts that had been included in the Senate budget proposal but did not advance in 2025. Barb Chamberlain of WSDOT’s Active Transportation Division explained how grant programs need runway, staff capacity, applicant readiness, and clear criteria, and compared program design to getting a plane off the ground. She discussed the proposed Senior Transportation Emphasis Program and regional trails/cycle highways concepts, noting that some projects could be structured as funding-first programs while others would work better as project-line or project-first models. She said regional trail projects are already eligible under existing programs but often score lower because current criteria emphasize safety and population served. Justin Leighton of the Washington State Transit Association then reviewed transit grant programs and argued that transit safety and security needs remain underfunded, including operator barriers, lighting, shelters, behavioral health coordination, and non-uniformed security staff. He said many transit capital programs are oversubscribed, that operator barrier retrofits alone could cost $20 million to $30 million, and that agencies face uncertainty about how recent sales tax changes apply to security-related contracts. No votes were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll call this Transportation Committee hearing to order.
• . transportation committee.
• The time is transportation committee. The time is 5:56<00:00:20.240> p.m.
• It's been re-referred back to the transportation from taxes.
• Our California, Texas, and basis.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And will the doctor then be held criminally liable because it's against the law in Texas?
• I mean, they can do an abortion in New Mexico, but in Texas there are different rules.
• Texas wanting to work here? Madam Chair, Representative, I'm going to defer to Mr.
• like a paramedic to have the same set of skills in New Mexico as in Texas.
• Every state neighbor New Mexico except for Texas, and this is a new compact, so it's not fully up and

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He's currently Edmonds basketball coach at South Plains College in Lebanon, Texas.
• And his wife is also on the staff of the Texas Tech Lady Red Raiders.
• main interest in supporting you here is I've got a grandson 50 Freshman down in the little town in Texas
• Wimberley, Wimberley, Texas. Yeah, he's a Wimberley Texan. Thank you all very much.
• So we travel to Colorado and Nebraska for a conference, and then we spend our time in February in Texas

Bills: SB194, SB200, SB203, SB204, SJR3

Keywords: appropriation, higher education, sports facilities, community college, Luna Community College, KANW, educational radio, rural news, public education, funding, education, documentary, historical figure, Padre Antonio Jose Martinez, cultural heritage, research funding, federal funding, New Mexico, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University