Transcript Highlights:

• The water lab provides lab testing for public water sources in the event of a drinking water emergency
• Water Water Supplies<00:04:46.280><c> the</c><00:04:46.440><c> mission</c><00:04:46.880><c> of</c><00
• water emergency or the event of drinking water emergency or enforcement<00:06:07.479><c> action</c><
• </c> Beach program that includes sea water Beach program that includes sea water and<00:06:26.280><c>
• Introduce the prime sponsor, Senator Waters. Sorry to keep you waiting, Senator Waters.

Committee: Senate Executive Departments and Administration

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We've heard some about water usage at these.
• so it's going to fall to political subdivisions to work through the water usage and impacts on water
• so it's going to fall to political subdivisions to work through the water usage and impacts on water
• So I'm thinking about the water use. Mr.
• water.

Committee: Joint Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Committee

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Waters putting this together.
• Waters putting this appreciate Mr.
• Waters putting this together.<00:47:31.359><c> Jim</c><00:47:31.520><c> Waters</c><00:47:31.920><c> is
• and the amount of can't handle the water and the amount of water<01:13:44.800><c> that</c><01:13:44.960
• </c> water that they're putting through them. water that they're putting through them. and<01:13:46.640

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:15 Roll Call 00:00:45 Discussion of Pro-Growth Housing Policies 00:02:33 Adjournment 01:17:15, 958, all

Summary: The Housing Task Force 2.0 reconvened with several new members and heard a presentation from Kentucky Housing Corporation Executive Director Winston Miller and Deputy Executive Director Wendy Smith. They framed the task force’s work as a practical effort to address Kentucky’s housing shortage, update members on the current housing landscape, summarize existing state and federal resources, and suggest areas for the task force to focus on over the coming year. KHC said its 2024 housing supply gap analysis found Kentucky is short about 206,000 housing units, split roughly evenly between rental and homeownership, and projected the gap could grow to 287,000 units by 2029 if current trends continue. They emphasized that every county in Kentucky needs more housing, that the 2008 housing crisis and loss of construction capacity remain major causes of the shortage, and that current pressures include high interest rates, rising insurance and tax costs, construction cost inflation, and housing prices and rents growing faster than incomes. KHC also said homelessness has risen in Kentucky, with point-in-time counts showing double-digit increases in recent years. The presenters reviewed existing resources, including federal programs, the Kentucky Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the rural housing trust fund, KHC mortgage and down payment assistance programs, and the state mortgage interest deduction. They said these resources are important but insufficient to close the gap, and noted that a proposed federal FY2026 budget would cut HUD programs by 44%, potentially removing about $286 million from Kentucky housing resources, though no action has been taken yet. They urged the task force to consider stronger, more flexible tools such as a revolving loan fund, a state affordable housing tax credit, and economic development and employer-assisted housing incentives, and pointed to Indiana’s housing infrastructure and regional development funds as examples. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• are not taking back data center, and to my estimate it's $30 million that, you know, that use our water
• Over $100 million in damage to our infrastructure, waterways, roads, sewer lines, and water lines.
• Doing some research on data centers, I worry about the capacity of our utilities and our water, which
• “I’m reading Section 2 that says Arizona Water Banking Fund. It’s line 12 on the bill.” “1837.
• Water-energy nexus is so important a part of this discussion.

Summary: The joint appropriations committee met on April 28 to review the FY 2027 budget package, including the general appropriations feed bills (HB 4138 and SB 1831) and related budget reconciliation measures. Staff described the budget as including about $17.96 billion in general fund appropriations, a one-time transfer of state monies to increase revenues, a 5% lump-sum reduction to most agencies’ discretionary general fund budgets, and several one-time restorations or continuations for items such as school facilities, child care, child safety, corrections stipends, and public safety operating costs. Members spent much of the meeting debating how the across-the-board cuts would be implemented, which programs might be affected, and how fund sweeps from prior-year appropriations and special funds would work, including questions about universities, public safety, rural hospitals, transportation grants, the Corporation Commission, and health insurance costs for state employees and troopers. A major point of discussion was the impact on universities and higher education. Arizona Board of Regents representatives said the proposed reductions and fund sweeps would affect already obligated dollars, research, staffing, and student aid programs, and could force difficult decisions about programs such as the Promise Program, Teachers Academy, and other pass-through funds. Committee members also raised concerns about whether the cuts could lead to tuition increases or reductions in services, while majority members emphasized that agencies and the executive branch should decide how to absorb the reductions. Another major topic was health care and the state employee health plan: staff explained that the budget includes a $228 million general fund infusion to stabilize the plan, while a separate reconciliation bill would raise employee premiums over three years. Members also discussed whether the budget’s changes to AHCCCS/Access and hospital eligibility rules could increase costs for hospitals and reduce coverage. Public testimony largely opposed the budget. Speakers from Opportunity Arizona, the Arizona Board of Regents, and local governments argued that the proposal would shift costs onto working families, reduce support for education, housing, SNAP, health care, and rural infrastructure, and protect tax benefits for data centers and higher-income taxpayers. A mayor from Globe asked for state help after severe flooding damaged roads, water lines, and homes, while a motorcycle safety advocate asked the committee to review a DPS motorcycle safety fund appropriation. Committee members and staff repeatedly clarified that some items discussed were one-time appropriations not continued into FY 2027, that some fund sweeps were from unspent or unencumbered balances, and that the committee planned to take a mass roll-call vote on the budget bills at the end of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• One, we have access to open water.
• I provided you a water handout.
• you crack water.
• cite these projects, they need to have a source of water.
• You were getting some water out there. That's temporary. You were getting some water out there.

Committee: House Energy Resources

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And I said, you got to tell me when Joe gets out of the water, because that's the gap I'm going to have
• The rule applies to water users in the North Florida Regional Water Supply Partnership Area and consists
• First, it strengthens water conservation by establishing clear milestones and...
• reporting for large water users and a 75-gallon-per-day residential per-capita goal.
• water use that were demonstrated in 2025 demand.

Summary: The Senate began with opening prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognitions, including the doctor of the day and a lighthearted “Cannoli Day” introduction. The chamber then held an extended farewell celebration for Senator Joe Gruters, with numerous senators, colleagues, and family members praising his loyalty, political skill, family focus, and service in the Legislature and Republican Party. Gruters was presented with a commemorative gift recognizing his work on a 2019 public-safety and immigration bill that prohibited sanctuary cities and required local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The Senate adopted a motion to spread Gruters’s remarks upon the journal and then recessed briefly. After recess, the Senate returned to regular business and took up third-reading bills. Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 354, relating to blue ribbon projects, was temporarily postponed. The chamber then considered Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1758, relating to public assistance, with Senator Gates explaining that it contained five reforms to the public assistance system discussed earlier in session. During debate on SB 1758, Senator Berman opposed the bill, saying he could not support it in its current form because he believed the Medicaid-related provisions would create a coverage cliff after the one-year transition period and could leave people without care while increasing costs to hospitals and taxpayers. He also said SNAP error reduction should be a priority, but argued the state should focus on fixing administrative errors and fraud rather than imposing a work requirement whose costs and effects were uncertain.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, brothers and sisters, we have come over a way that the tears have been watered.
• body within 150 feet to be equipped with at least one water or pool safety feature.
• If the rental property has a swimming pool on the premises, they can choose from one of the two water
• Senate Bill 1120, a bill to be entitled an act relating to water management districts.
• Senate Bill 1120, a bill to be entitled an act relating to water management districts.

Summary: The Senate convened with an opening prayer, pledge, and several introductions recognizing visitors, students, local officials, and professional groups in the gallery. The chamber then took up a report from the Ethics and Elections Committee confirming 42 executive appointments; the report was adopted by a vote of 36-0. The Senate also adopted a resolution honoring the Ripple Project for childhood cancer awareness and funding. The bulk of the meeting was spent on special-order bills, many of them open-government sunset review measures and policy bills. The Senate passed bills preserving or updating public records exemptions for aquaculture records, trade secrets, and cybersecurity information; a child-abuse reporting statute of limitations bill; a commercial driving schools bill; a human trafficking training requirement for nursing graduates; a new injunction for protection against serious violence by a known person and its companion public-records bill; a nature-based coastal resiliency bill with an amendment restricting dredge-and-fill in Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve; a chiropractic patient-funds bill; specialty license plate legislation; a one-time waiver for late financial disclosure fines; public school personnel compensation changes; the Florida Farm Bill with amendments protecting Everglades lands and technical corrections; homestead exemption clarification for long-term leaseholders; disability presumption clarifications for firefighters and law enforcement; reinsurance intermediary manager conformity changes; patriotic displays in public schools; ADS-B aviation fee restrictions; autism-related law enforcement training and a blue envelope program; public post-secondary safety policy requirements; and a bill allowing licensed agents to market health care sharing ministries. Several bills were temporarily postponed, including local vessel restrictions, temporary certificates for practice, and domestic animals. Members debated a number of measures, especially the health care sharing ministries bill, where opponents raised consumer-protection and commission concerns and supporters argued for free speech, religious liberty, and expanded consumer choice; it passed 32-5. Other debated bills included the autism law enforcement bill, the school athletics bill addressing coach support for student-athletes, and the Farm Bill, where senators discussed surplus land safeguards and biosolids timing. Most bills passed overwhelmingly, often 37-0 or 38-0, with a few closer votes such as the patriotic displays bill (36-2) and the health care sharing ministries bill (32-5).

Transcript Highlights:

• However, during periods of intense drought, municipalities often restrict residential water use, making
• However, during periods of intense drought, municipalities often restrict residential water use, making
• At some point, instead of us taking, poking a hole here, a hole here, and a hole here to stop the water
• Eligible air, water, and waste permits.
• Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs will meet at 6:35 p.m. in E1.012.

Summary: The Senate opened with an invocation by Pastor Tedrick Woods, followed by routine chamber actions including excusing Senator Gutierrez and receiving House messages that the House had passed HB 21 and HB 49. Senators also recognized advocates visiting the gallery on focal segmental glomerulosclerosis awareness and introduced the Doctor of the Day. The chamber adopted several resolutions, including HCR 66, by voice vote. The Senate then took up and passed a series of measures, often by suspending the regular order and the constitutional three-day rule. Among the bills finally passed were HJR 2, which would prohibit state death taxes; HB 206, limiting counties from requiring cash bonds for pipeline construction; HB 517, barring property owners associations from fining homeowners for discolored vegetation during watering restrictions; HB 2756, requiring TDCJ correctional officers to receive de-escalation and behavioral health training; HB 451, expanding screening for commercial sexual exploitation risk among children in DFPS and TJJD custody; SB 705, cleaning up the air conditioning and refrigeration contractors advisory board; SB 2017, creating an offense for burnouts and wheelies; SB 1858, expanding body armor grant eligibility to ISDs; SB 1400, directing a study on transfer-student outcomes for community college funding; SB 2764, requiring notice to manufactured home buyers about converting homes to real property; SB 748, a licensing cleanup bill on laser hair removal; SB 2519, restricting certain ad valorem tax uses and bonds after amendment; SB 2878, the courts bill with amendments on Brazoria County courts and youth diversion provisions; SB 466, allowing families to request fetal death certificates at any gestational age; SB 1608, requiring timely physical exams for inpatient mental health admissions; SB 1730, limiting civil damages claims arising from certain uses of force or deadly force; SB 2417, clarifying Attorney General antitrust investigation work product and discovery rules; and SB 1946, creating a family violence, criminal homicide prevention task force. The Senate also passed HB 3204, renaming and updating the Polytechnic College at Sam Houston State University, and SB 1986, requiring opioid warning labels. Several bills drew brief debate or amendments. Senators discussed broader HOA reform while considering HB 517, and SB 2203 on TCEQ discovery procedures was amended to require party motions, set a 15-day expiration for certified issues, and limit hearing abatement. SB 2017 was amended to change the mens rea language from knowingly to intentional. SB 2519 was narrowed by amendment to a forward-looking policy statement separating maintenance-and-operation taxes from debt-service taxes. SB 2878 also received amendments to reduce the number of new Brazoria County courts and add youth diversion and crisis-response provisions. SB 466 prompted a floor debate over whether fetal death certificates are appropriate for pre-20-week losses, with supporters emphasizing family closure and opponents arguing the document has no estate-related purpose. SB 1730 also prompted questions about the relationship between criminal findings and civil liability in self-defense cases. The session concluded with additional House and Senate measures being signed in the presence of the Senate and continued consideration of SB 2177, a grant program to help local law enforcement solve violent and sexual offenses.

Transcript Highlights:

• Whether it be an industrial air permit plus an industrial storm water permit and a water discharge permit
• permit and a industrial storm water permit and a water<01:07:06.960><c> discharge</c><01:07:07.520><
• storm water is another air permitting is storm water is another air permitting is the<01:23:58.000><c
• </c> and water for tier one and tier two. and water for tier one and tier two.
• Chair, are you speaking about air or water? water? water? &gt;&gt; Senator<01:43:02.000><c> Green.

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• care of water infrastructure.
• care of water infrastructure.
• 01:35:33.760><c> development</c> today from our water development today from our water development committee
• </c> dollars to take care of water dollars to take care of water infrastructure.<01:35:38.719><c> And
• </c> out the lineal feat of of water out the lineal feat of of water infrastructure<01:42:36.560><c>

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That was done over water using state police helicopter KYM-sponsored rescuers.
• Uh, we do dive, uh, diving water recoveries, essentially.
• Largest inland Coast Guard water station, Coast Guard sector, Ohio Valley.
• ><c> water.
• All within the its own waste water.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the August minutes, and heard a brief announcement from Senator Richardson about the Missing in America Project interring unclaimed veterans’ remains at the Western Kentucky Veterans Cemetery in Hopkinsville. He read the names of several veterans being laid to rest with military honors, and the chair thanked the volunteers involved in the effort. The main presentation was an update on Kentucky’s urban search and rescue program from the Department of Military Affairs and Kentucky Emergency Management. Officials said the program is being built around two regional task force hubs, a helicopter aquatic rescue team, an incident support team, and a rescue aid fund for local search and rescue units. They reported that the $8.3 million appropriated for the program in the 2025 budget was fully executed, that $482,670 of the rescue aid fund went to 29 local teams, and that $493,592 has already been allocated in the current year to 36 teams. They also described warehouse and equipment purchases, staffing with full-time and part-time personnel, and a new training site on state property for collapsed-structure and multi-agency exercises. Officials said the program has already been used in recent disasters, including flood response and urban search and rescue operations in several parts of the state, and claimed the effort has impacted more than 1,500 citizens through rescues, evacuations, and related assistance. They said the helicopter aquatic rescue team is fully operational, the task force roster should be finalized by January, incident support should be online by April, and the full program should be deployable by June 30 or July 1, 2026. Members asked about statewide response times, K-9 search capabilities, and the long-term cost of the program, including concerns about reliance on federal matching funds. The presenters said K-9 assets will be part of the task force, that pre-positioning during forecasted storms can reduce response times significantly, and that they would provide more detailed budget information later.

Transcript Highlights:

• four funds under Legacy and was passed by voters in 2007 to amend the state constitution on clean water
• to amend outstate constitution<00:01:16.439><c> on</c><00:01:16.799><c> clean</c><00:01:17.200><c> water
• on clean water land and Legacy<00:01:19.799><c> the</c><00:01:20.240><c> outdoor</c><00:01:20.720><c
• </c> that first up we have um clean water that first up we have um clean water action<01:17:58.639><c
• PFAS pose a direct threat to our water and our health. Excuse me.

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He's a senior in soil and water systems.
• Parker Trail from Glenns Ferry, who's a senior in soil and water systems.
• And then last, and definitely not least, Caden Water from Lake... ...and then last and definitely not
• least, Caden Water from Lakeview, Oregon.

Committee: Senate Agricultural Affairs

Summary: The Senate Agriculture Committee met to begin its rules review process and welcomed University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences students visiting as part of the 24th ag-economics public policy and legislative tour. Committee leaders introduced the students and thanked them for their interest in Idaho agriculture before turning to the rule dockets. The committee heard presentations from Idaho State Department of Agriculture staff on several zero-based regulation rules: stone fruit grades, bulk permits and retail sale of potatoes, weights and measures, pesticide and chemigation use and application, and organic food products. Testimony explained that most changes were technical cleanups, including removing obsolete or duplicative language, updating incorporation-by-reference citations, clarifying definitions and grade language, and aligning rules with current handbooks or federal marketing orders. The pesticide rule also included more substantive updates such as revised license terms, longer sunset periods for some applicators, and new provisions for drone pesticide applications. Members asked a few questions, including about where removed definitions had gone in the weights and measures rule; staff said those definitions are already in statute. No votes were taken on the dockets. The chair announced the committee would not vote on these rules until a later meeting, after additional presentations, and then adjourned the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• He's a senior in soil and water systems.
• Parker Trail from Glenns Ferry, who's a senior in soil and water systems.
• And then last and definitely not least, Caden Water from Lake...
• And then last and definitely not least, Caden Water from Lakeview, Oregon.

Committee: Senate Agricultural Affairs

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill No. 503, by the Resources and Conservation Committee, is an act relating to the Soil and Water
• Commission, amending Section 22-2718, Idaho Code, to revise provisions regarding the Idaho State Soil and Water
• Section 22-2718 Idaho Code to revise provisions regarding the Idaho State Soil and Water Conservation
• Section 54-12, Idaho Code, to revise provisions regarding the powers of the State Board of Drinking Water

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Civil War, Bandera became a staging point for drives up the Western Trail because of its plentiful water
• And then there are some additional water districts and special districts and river authorities being
• specific infrastructure. and economic development projects such as airports, docks, rail, mass transit, water
• And then there are some additional water districts and special districts. and river authorities are being

Bills: SCR3 , SCR30 , SB2375 , HCR35

Committee: Senate Administration

Keywords: cowboy culture, Bandera, cultural heritage, historical significance, Texas identity, Birding Capital, Matagorda County, wildlife, conservation, Texas Legislature, statutory revision, code corrections, laws omitted, legislative updates, spaceports, tax-exempt bonds, aerospace investment, Texas space economy, Federal legislation, 1185

Transcript Highlights:

• Chairman, I move the Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee amendment be adopted.
• I move the Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee amendment, as amended, be adopted.
• We're still looking at water shortages and how we... ...a bad idea.
• We're still looking at water shortages and how we measure water.
• It modifies the response to concerns that the Department of Water Resources had.

Summary: The House convened, approved the prior journal, received gubernatorial communications, and then moved into an additional Committee of the Whole to consider Senate bills on two calendars. In that committee, members adopted floor and committee amendments and reported SB 1100, SB 1160, and SB 1178 out as amended. On the second calendar, the committee considered SB 1200, SB 1560, SB 1627, and SB 1723, adopting amendments on SB 1200, SB 1627, and SB 1723 and reporting all four measures out, while SB 1725 was retained on the calendar. The House then adopted the committee reports and sent the amended bills to engrossing or third reading as appropriate. The chamber then took up a long series of third-reading votes. Several bills passed with recorded votes and some member explanations focused on public safety, parental rights, school safety, health care, local control, property rights, and wildlife management. Among the measures that passed were SB 1013, SB 1015, SB 1046, SB 1094, SB 1095, SB 1124, SB 1186, SB 1214, SB 1275, SB 1280, SB 1315, SB 1318, SB 1205 on reconsideration, SB 1327, SB 1416, SB 1418, SB 1582, SB 1613, SB 1662, SB 1664, SB 1670, SB 1711, SB 1741, SB 1821, and several concurrent memorials. A number of bills failed, including SB 1052, SB 1170, SB 1457, SB 1074, SB 1540, SB 1649, and SB 1663. Debate on several bills drew pointed partisan and policy disagreements. Members opposing health-related bills argued they targeted LGBTQ people or medical decision-making, while supporters framed them as protecting children or bodily autonomy. On SB 1170, members said the bill contained a drafting error that would create extreme penalties and strain prison capacity. On SB 1280, supporters and opponents split over Mexican gray wolf management and federal conservation efforts. On SB 1199, the Salt River horse herd bill, members discussed herd management, heritage, property impacts, and a required emergency clause; it passed with the needed two-thirds majority. The House also adopted a group concurrence motion on numerous House bills and passed several House bills on final reading, including HB 2013, HB 2016, HB 2028, HB 2086, HB 2118, HB 2140, HB 2170, HB 2226, HB 2244, HB 2248, HB 2249, HB 2327, HB 2379, HB 2380, and others, forwarding them to the Governor.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Committee substitute for House Bill 3076 just clarifies Missouri's clean water law by explicitly
• House Committee substitute for House Bill 3076 just clarifies Missouri's clean water law by explicitly
• plant or something like that, where there's an actual pipe where water is being discharged.
• plant or something like that, where there's an actual pipe where water is being discharged.
• So it doesn't really affect DNR's authority over the clean water law or anything else.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• at-risk oil and gas leases, it's where the production of oil and gas compared to the production of water
• Do you know if we charge gross production tax on the production of brine water?
• believe the language of this bill speaks to that, so I don't know which exemptions apply to brine water
• , that water has to go somewhere, and that water impacts ag and I brought this up earlier that yes, petroleum
• There's no economic offset for the production of brine water in Oklahoma.

Bills: SB1627 , SB227 , SB366 , SB1193 , SB1433 , SB1450 , SB1481 , SB1749 , SB1810 , SB1812 , SB1921 , SB1948 , SB2044 , SB2178 , SB169 , SB1877 , HB1409 , SB1266 , SB1432

Keywords: criminal code cleanup, duplicate statutes, statutory consolidation, repealer bill, emergency clause, Title 21 crimes, Title 47 DUI, child abuse reporting, child neglect, child sexual abuse material, child pornography, sex offenses, rape, stalking, domestic abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, sex trafficking, gang-related offense, eluding police

Transcript Highlights:

• Access to land, access to water, and all those markets that kind of keep farmers viable.
• And there was a lot of focus recently on access to water.
• this new Western Washington office to help study statewide needs for agriculture when it comes to water
• And also establishing a senior food water policy advisor position within WSDA to help support this work
• availability needs across the state and try to identify where those water use conflicts will come into

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a work session on food systems and food security, with no public testimony. The first panel focused on household food security and data. Marie Spiker of the University of Washington explained what food insecurity means, its health impacts, and the importance of reliable measurement, warning that the federal Census food security data is being terminated and that there is no true replacement. She described Washington’s WaFOOD surveys as a useful complement, not a substitute, and noted that they show food insecurity affects households at a range of income levels. Katie Raines of WSDA described the state’s food systems work, the need for shared data and dashboards, and the role of agriculture in both food production and the hunger safety net. Committee members asked about the $2.2 million state food assistance allocation, the scale of the SNAP gap, and how household size, housing costs, and other factors intersect with food insecurity. The committee then heard from Tracy Roof of the University of Richmond on the history of SNAP and its relationship to agriculture. She traced the program from Depression-era commodity distribution through the modern farm bill, emphasizing that food assistance has long functioned both as anti-hunger policy and as an agricultural and economic stabilizer. She highlighted how SNAP expands during recessions, supports retailers and farmers, and has become more important since the Great Recession because participation stayed high even as the economy recovered. Roof also noted that Washington has relatively high SNAP participation and low payment error rates, but that recent federal changes could reduce eligibility and shift more costs to states. Members asked how Washington compares to other states and why the program is structured as it is. A later panel featured the Washington State Food Policy Forum and a joint systems presentation from the Washington Farm Bureau, Washington Retail Association, and Washington Food Industry Association. The Food Policy Forum described its consensus-based recommendations on food insecurity, climate and water, regional food infrastructure, farmland protection, and farm viability, including more support for producer purchasing, water planning, and farmland conservation. The industry groups presented a systems map showing how agriculture, processing, retail, and transportation are interconnected, and argued that rising costs, regulations, labor and fuel expenses, retail theft, and thin margins make it harder to keep farms and stores viable. They said food security depends on store viability and local agricultural profitability, and promised to provide a more detailed list of policy recommendations. The final panel included state agency staff from DSHS, DOH, and WSDA. Bryce Montgomery said the Basic Food program serves about 920,000 Washingtonians monthly and warned that H.R. 1 could require Washington to pay up to 15% of SNAP benefits, broaden work requirements, and restrict immigrant eligibility. Karen Mullen described DOH nutrition programs, including WIC, farmers market nutrition benefits, fruit and vegetable incentives, and a fruit-and-vegetable prescription program, while noting funding instability and the end of SNAP-Ed. WSDA’s Katie Raines began describing ongoing food assistance and farmer support challenges, including farmer mental health and the need to address food insecurity across both producers and consumers.