Transcript Highlights:

• We're trying to eradicate that problem within the cattle industry.
• And then of course the avian influenza and the dairy cattle.
• I've seen law enforcement that have no cattle knowledge and.
• It's not fun to watch because they don't know how to handle cattle.
• If you find someone who knows how to handle cattle and then you put a badge on them and teach them how

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't have such a list, but I will tell you right now there's 15,000 cattle ranchers in the state of
• We would talk about cattle trucks. We're talking about feed vehicles.
• We would talk about cattle trucks. We're talking about feed vehicles.
• The arguments you gave about the cattle ranch farmer, the egg farmer, those are all quite compelling
• The cattle ranch farmer, the egg farmer, those are all quite compelling for me.

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on March 20, 2025, and first approved HB 4025, creating the Duke Farm Stewardship District in Lee County, on a 17-0 vote. The committee then advanced HJR 1215, which proposes a constitutional amendment to exempt agricultural tangible personal property from property tax, after extended debate about the fiscal impact on counties, especially rural and fiscally constrained ones; it passed 16-1. HB 411 also passed unanimously after an amendment, extending affordable housing tax exemption treatment to certain nonprofit projects on leased land, including Habitat for Humanity projects. The committee likewise approved CS/HB 669, allowing local governments to purchase certain unrated bonds, and CS/HB 4017, codifying the Vermont Drainage District charter in Charlotte County, both without opposition. The committee also approved HJR 1039, which would let the Legislature prevent assessed-value increases for homestead properties that are improved to mitigate flood damage, and the related implementing bill HB 1041; both passed 17-0. Public testimony on these items included some opposition to the flood-related amendment, but no floor debate changed the outcome. The final major item was CS/HB 1221 by Rep. Miller, which would require local option taxes to be renewed by voter referendum every eight years, with longer terms allowed for bonded projects. That bill drew the most extensive testimony and debate, with counties, tourism groups, and local officials warning about impacts on tourism funding, infrastructure, schools, and public safety, while supporters argued for taxpayer accountability and periodic review. After debate, the committee reported the bill favorably on a 13-4 vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> page 10, it's the Gatekeeper Cattle page 10, it's the Gatekeeper Cattle Company,<00:15:55.040><c
• Working in this business full-time to market some of their livestock also, working with other cattle
• And you can see this is to construct a new working cattle facility at the clinic.
• </c><00:20:12.160><c> So,</c><00:20:12.400><c> we're</c> cattle facility at the clinic.
• So, we're cattle facility at the clinic.

Summary: The Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee met on June 11 but did not have a quorum, so it could not approve the prior minutes. The committee then received a compliance and program update from Brandon Reed and Bill McClowski of the agricultural development board, who said the office is fully staffed, has digitized most records, and has added a Facebook page to share board actions, projects, and compliance work. They also reported that the board and finance corporation continue to operate with strong county-council participation and that the office had completed numerous site visits, program reviews, and project closeouts over the reporting period. The presenters reviewed monthly funding actions from December through May, including board approvals ranging from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars, with a December finance meeting delayed by a snowstorm. They highlighted that the Kentucky Agriculture Finance Corporation now has 57 loans generating more than $2 million per month in payments, and that the revolving loan program has grown to support more than $24 million annually in repayments available for relending. They also noted that 75% of the portfolio is in beginning farmer loans and that the office had recently surpassed 1,000 active loans. Several projects were discussed in detail. These included a grain facility in Callaway County supporting organic corn production for expanding egg-layer operations, a Union County cattle business expansion, a West Liberty Veterinary Clinic project to build a working cattle facility, a Grayson County farmers market project, a Casey County veterinary services project, and a packing warehouse for the Kanye family to support specialty crops. The presenters emphasized that county and state tobacco settlement funds are often combined, sometimes with participation loans, to leverage local investment. They also stressed the importance of supporting greenhouses, farmers markets, specialty crops, and large-animal veterinary services as key agricultural priorities. No votes or formal actions were taken beyond the lack of quorum and the informational presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• It boils back to an issue of keeping the food supply safe with our cattle industry and whatnot.
• It boils back to an issue of keeping the food supply safe with our cattle industry and whatnot.
• </c><01:27:33.760><c> And</c><01:27:33.920><c> and</c> our grain or our cattle are.
• And and our grain or our cattle are.
• If we do that in the cattle industry, we may have to look at a ban for him. >> Yeah.

Summary: The committee heard first from Kentucky Farm Bureau leaders, who outlined the organization’s current priorities and recent work on farmland transition. Eddie Melton said Farm Bureau is working through 983 county and advisory committee resolutions and highlighted support for the updated selling farmer tax credit, now law through House Bill 775, as well as Senate Bill 28’s agriculture economic development provisions. He said Farm Bureau’s likely priorities include maintaining the 50% share of the tobacco settlement fund for agriculture, protecting funding for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, preserving sales tax exemptions on farm inputs, keeping property taxes controlled, and exploring additional tools to keep farmland in active farmers’ hands, including possible loan or inheritance-tax changes. He also raised concerns about eminent domain transparency, nuisance deer permits, and access to agricultural inputs and crop protection products. Alita Bots described the farmland transition initiative in more detail, saying the revised state tax credit is generating strong interest and that a new federal tax provision now allows eligible land sales to actively engaged farmers to spread capital gains taxes over time. She said the initiative has reached 22 counties and more than 1,300 people this year through outreach and meetings, and that Farm Bureau is pairing policy work with resources to help farm families plan transitions and prepare wills and other estate documents. Drew Graham added that the effort is also meant to bridge the rural-urban divide and support rural communities, and Farm Bureau invited members to its annual meeting in early December. Members asked about rising insurance costs and deer damage. Farm Bureau representatives said severe convective storms, inflation, and higher repair and material costs have driven insurance rate increases, citing five major storm events since 2021 and a recent Owensboro hailstorm that caused about $350 million in losses; they said the company is moving toward percentage deductibles to help moderate increases. On deer, they said crop-loss totals are hard to quantify but acknowledged the problem and discussed possible coordination with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Hunters for the Hungry. Commissioner Jonathan Shell then began the Department of Agriculture presentation, reporting gains from the department’s school agriculture outreach program, including a 23% increase in county participation between March and September and improved teacher-reported student learning, before continuing into the department’s legislative priorities.

Transcript Highlights:

• No matter how much work we had to do on the farm, feeding cattle, picking rock, building equipment, we
• :58.760><c> the</c><00:03:58.840><c> farm,</c> on the farm, on the farm, feeding<00:04:01.240><c> cattle
• ,</c><00:04:01.960><c> picking</c><00:04:02.200><c> rock,</c> feeding cattle, picking rock, feeding cattle

Transcript Highlights:

• My farm by trade, they've got some cattle, grow corn and soybeans, and some hay.
• So if you work with cattle, you realize why you eat them. Thank you all.
• My farm by trade, they've got some cattle, grow corn and soybeans, and some hay.
• So if you work with cattle, you realize why you eat them. Thank you all.
• So if you work with cattle, you realize why you eat them. Thank you all. Good, good comments.

Committee: House Agriculture Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• No matter the size of the operation, ranchers share a deep love for the land and our cattle.
• But the cattle raisers really took initiative in this and have helped me a lot and helped the State of
• I like to give credit where credit is due, and the Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers have pushed this
• Ray and the Southwest Cattle Raisers, I'm fully aware that the industry doesn't necessarily like the
• You watch in the next three years what beef prices do when there's no feedlot cattle.

Bills: SB34 , SB75 , SB330 , SB1535 , SB18 , SB 18 , SB 34

Committee: House State Affairs

Keywords: wildfire, wildfire mitigation, wildfire prevention, volunteer fire department, Texas A&M Forest Service, West Texas A&M University, prescribed burning, fuel loading, fuel reduction, firefighting equipment database, emergency communications, disaster preparedness, rural fire protection, asset hardening, natural resource management, emergency management, large wildfire risk, fire grant funding, fire suppression, Texas Legislature

Transcript Highlights:

• cattle are sick.
• She acknowledged that there have been depredations of cattle.
• And yes, there has been depredations of cattle. species.
• And yes, there has been depredations of cattle.
• There is no prey base except for cattle, pets, and kids. Thank you.

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, spent grains are an incredible supplement to cattle.
• Yes, you are a rancher with Triple M Cattle Company? Yes. You're testifying for this bill? Yes.
• I'm the owner-operator of Triple M Cattle in Salado, Texas.
• My cattle will literally... ...walk onto a flatbed trailer to get to this.
• Without the utilization of this spent grain by the cattle, this byproduct would end up wasted. ...and

Bills: HB249 , HB 1186 , HB2313 , HB2408 , HB2508 , HB2730 , HB2974 , HB3045 , HB3232 , HB3336 , HB3710 , HB4044 , HB4236 , HJR133 , HB249

Committee: House Ways & Means

Keywords: ad valorem taxes, property taxes, homestead exemption, disabled veterans, senior citizens, tax payments, installment payments, municipal tax revenue, hotel, convention center, tax code, economic development, local government, municipality, tax revenue, qualified projects, municipal taxation, hotel project, municipality funding, veteran

Transcript Highlights:

• There was an 18th state that is affected, but it was not in dairy cattle.
• Um, as you can see here, there's cattle.
• </c> point with this in their dairy cattle. point with this in their dairy cattle.
• That was a swine and that was cattle.
• And uh for this in our dairy cattle.

Summary: The committee met to adopt the minutes of the second meeting by voice vote, then heard an update focused on disaster preparedness, resiliency, response, and coordination among state agencies and partners. The chair emphasized avoiding duplication of resources and highlighted the importance of agriculture-related response issues, including animal evacuation, feed distribution, and the role of extension services during disasters. The Department for Public Health was invited to explain its role in emergency planning and response. Public Health described its Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch as the lead coordinating agency for Emergency Support Function 8, covering health and medical services under Kentucky’s emergency operations framework. Testimony outlined its broad responsibilities, including support for hospitals, morgues, local health departments, behavioral health, crisis counseling, suspicious package testing, disease outbreaks, and coordination with emergency management, EMS, transportation, and nonprofit and private partners. Officials also described the agency’s risk-assessment process, training and exercise programs, and deployed assets such as PPE caches, deployable communications, a federal medical station, a mobile treatment center, and alternate care support used in events like the eastern Kentucky floods and COVID-19. The agency also discussed funding through federal cooperative agreements for public health emergency preparedness and hospital preparedness, noting that these programs have evolved since 9/11 and have been shaped by major disasters and emerging threats. Officials said Kentucky’s funding has declined over time and that current awards are partially funded for the first time in the program’s history. They expressed support for efficiency if federal programs are consolidated, but cautioned that combining programs could risk further funding losses.

Transcript Highlights:

• You can't use it for human consumption, and you can't use it for cattle feed either because if you feed
• And you can't use it for cattle feed either because if you feed it to pregnant cows, they will abort
• They had not begun to build the corral spaces to house the cattle yet.
• It's my understanding that that is pretty much finished now, and they're hoping to have cattle in there
• How many cattle do they hope to get there? Mr. Chairman, thank you for the question.

Summary: The committee first heard reports from the House and Senate Health and Welfare chairs on budget issues and related policy concerns. Senator Van Orden said the department’s non-Medicaid budget had been presented and that members were focused on scrutinizing public health contracts, avoiding broad across-the-board cuts, and preserving essential services. She also said she was not in favor of moving 988 suicide crisis hotline services into the behavioral health managed care contract at this time, while Representative Tanner noted prior intent language had only required a cost-benefit analysis and that any change would need more detail. Representative Van der Woude said the House committee was committed to a bill holding back about $21 million for RESHAB, with audit and oversight provisions, and raised concerns about rural health fund oversight, provider rate reductions, and Medicaid expansion spending. Members then questioned the chairs about possible policy changes to reduce costs, including reviewing programs not in Idaho Code, restoring provider rates if revenues improve, and adding work requirements or enrollment caps to Medicaid expansion. Van der Woude said he was drafting a bill that would let Medicaid expansion expire and restart with work requirements and a cap, and he said he would support an asset-based waiver request for people with substantial assets. Several members raised concerns about the human impact of cuts, especially in adult dental and developmental services, while others emphasized the need for clearer evaluation tools and better return-on-investment data for programs. Van der Woude explained that RESHAB funding concerns stemmed from unclear assessment standards and the loss of a prior evaluation tool in litigation, and Senator Wintrow cautioned that a straight $21 million reduction could harm services and providers. The committee then heard from House Agricultural Affairs Chair Gerald Raymond, who reviewed agriculture-related budget items and emphasized the importance of dedicated funds, research, and invasive species prevention. He highlighted funding for quagga mussel prevention, Mormon cricket control, Japanese beetles, and carnal bunt response through a deficiency warrant, and said prevention at boat check stations is cheaper than treatment. He also discussed the University of Idaho dairy/cafe project, saying the facility was nearing completion and expected to have about 400 cows milking by the end of the summer. Members asked about the impact of recent cuts on check stations, and Raymond said his committee had not yet discussed that issue but would consider it, and that the Snake River Basin study had mostly been left to the resource committees. The meeting ended with notice that work groups would meet immediately after adjournment and that budget-setting would begin the next day, with the committee reconvening at 7:15 a.m. and the full committee at 8:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Dairy facility with a TB outbreak, the H5N1 bird flu, and the dairy cattle.
• They have to be able to recognize healthy cattle and sick cattle. They have to be able to count.
• And on cattle that had been brought up from the south.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:43:19.360><c> Keeping</c><01:43:19.760><c> cattle</c> rural communities.
• Keeping cattle rural communities.
• At our farm, we graze 60 to 80 head a year between our own cattle and custom grazing as well.
• At our farm, we graze 60 to 80 head a year between our own cattle and custom grazing as well.
• At our farm, we graze 60 to 80 head a year between our own cattle and custom grazing as well.

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Transcript Highlights:

• There was a serial rapist leaving a trail of DNA, and he had numerous cases of break-ins and so forth
• My cattle are healthier than they’ve ever been. My garden is healthy. My kids are healthy.

Transcript Highlights:

• So that could be drug trafficking, that could be stealing cattle, what have you.
• any permanent impairment to the lands, a lot of conservation folks think that's roads and motorized trails

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• suppose if we hadn't entered into the Wolf program, we would need to reimburse ranchers for their lost cattle
• We would need to reimburse ranchers for their lost cattle with Adam and I. Senator Cuebe, no.
• I'm the chief legislative liaison for Arizona State Parks and Trails.

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 2615, as amended by a strike-everything amendment creating an Independent Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety with 15 members, authority to review DCS data and practices, request briefings and audits, conduct site visits, and receive confidential complaints, with a $2.2 million FY 2027 appropriation. The sponsor and several parents and foster/adoptive caregivers testified in support, describing child safety failures and arguing for independent accountability, while some members questioned whether the Ombudsman’s office was the right home for the committee and suggested other oversight structures. The amendment was adopted, but the bill itself failed on a 5-5 vote. House Bill 2620, which would appropriate $300,000 annually from FY 2027 through FY 2031 to the Arizona Department of Veterans Services for grants to emergency shelters serving veterans, received strong support from the sponsor and shelter advocates who said the funding would help move homeless veterans toward stable housing and connect them with VA services. Members emphasized veterans’ service and the need for trauma-informed case management, and the bill passed with a 10-0 do-pass recommendation. House Bill 2321, requiring DCS to place and later remove a credit freeze for children in care to prevent identity theft, also passed unanimously after the sponsor and members discussed the administrative process and protections for foster youth. The committee then considered House Bill 2601, directing ADOT to seek federal segmentation for the Interstate 11 project between Casa Grande and Wickenburg so environmental review could proceed separately from litigation affecting the southern portion. Supporters framed the bill as a bipartisan way to keep the project moving, while opponents from environmental groups and several members argued it would encourage sprawl, harm desert habitat, and add cost and delay; the bill passed 6-4. House Bill 2992, a pilot program for child sexual abuse and grooming awareness education in six public schools, drew testimony from a trafficking survivor and others who supported prevention efforts, but some members argued the topic should be handled through broader sex education or parent education; it passed 6-4. Later bills also advanced: HB 2156, appropriating $250,000 to the Livestock Compensation Fund, passed 7-3; HB 2165, exempting certain veterans and National Guard members from state park admission fees, passed 6-4 after amendment narrowing the exemption; HB 2960, creating a veterans specialty court grant program and related data-sharing requirements, passed 8-0; HB 2014, directing studies on gasoline blends and fuel feasibility amid EPA waiver concerns, passed 6-2; and HB 2957, preserving non-Real ID licenses and limiting biometric/data retention with a Kavanaugh amendment, passed 5-4-1.

Transcript Highlights:

• suppose if we hadn't entered into the wolf program, we would need to reimburse ranchers for their lost cattle
• We would need to reimburse ranchers for their lost cattle with Adam and I. Senator Cuebe, no.
• I'm the chief legislative liaison for Arizona State Parks and Trails.

Bills: HB2014 , HB2111 , HB2156 , HB2165 , HB2202 , HB2305 , HB2321 , HB2399 , HB2403 , HB2416 , HB2418 , HB2446 , HB2601 , HB2615 , HB2620 , HB2812 , HB2939 , HB2940 , HB2955 , HB2957 , HB2960 , HB2992 , HB4026 , HB4049

Committee: Senate Appropriations, Transportation and Technology

Keywords: air emissions, fuel blends, environmental quality, feasibility study, Arizona Department of Agriculture, driver license, examinations, motorcycle awareness, public safety, traffic laws, livestock, compensation, funding, ranching, agriculture, veterans, state parks, admission fees, military exemption, recreation access

Transcript Highlights:

• the open range and never tired of participating in the cowgirl life, from baking bread to moving cattle
• LOVED THE OPEN RANGE AND NEVER TIRED OF PARTICIPATING IN THE COWGIRL LIFE FROM BAKING BREAD TO MOVING CATTLE
• districts in America, and I am honored to represent so many talented local leaders who have blazed a trail

Bills: HR818 , HR832 , HR825 , HR828 , HR804 , HR754 , HR788

Keywords: impeachment, judge, criminal conduct, judicial behavior, Supreme Court, assassination attempt, sentencing, ideology, National Chemistry Week, education, STEM careers, science promotion, public engagement, government transparency, communication, House of Representatives, appropriations, furlough, Federal agencies, military service

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair, members, Brittany Bingold here today on behalf of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association and full
• that is doing regenerative grazing and multi-paddock grazing, and so the inspector comes and the cattle
• that is doing regenerative grazing and multi-paddock grazing, and so the inspector comes and the cattle
• Brittany Bingold with the Arizona Cattle Growers Association.
• I just want to echo the importance to the Cattle Growers Association.

Bills: HB2016 , HB2104 , HB2105 , HB2174 , HB2256 , HB2289 , HB2477 , HB2903 , HB2939 , HB2979 , HB2996 , HB4103

Committees: Senate Finance , Senate Senate Finance Committee of Reference

Keywords: tax penalties, filing, tax returns, administration, Arizona Revised Statutes, insurance regulation, modeling organizations, financial disclosure, rate-making, predictive models, salvage vehicles, insurance claims, abandoned vehicles, salvage auction dealers, vehicle title, taxation, bonds, school finance, budget override, tax increases

Transcript Highlights:

• We're also the number one beef cattle state east of the Mississippi.
• My grandfather was a cattle rancher back in the good old days when we raised Hereford instead of...
• That her weekends are spent on horses, raising cattle, barrel racing, and at Friday night football, at
• To be beef cattle is now soy and corn, alternatively.
• South Dakota cattle producers work really hard and tirelessly to produce some of the highest quality

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee