Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 587, Delegate Phillips, Procurement Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation
• and the Maryland Transportation Authority.
• Um, but when I was on environment and transportation, I learned a lot from Delegate Otto.
• Um, but when I was on environment and transportation, I learned a lot from Delegate Otto.
• Was on environment and transportation, I learned a lot from Delegate Otto.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Monday, April 13, 2026, 960, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened on the final day of session, heard an invocation, recognized guests and pages, and outlined a tentative plan for multiple sessions and breaks through the day. The chamber then took up several messages between the Senate and House, including a refusal to concur in House amendments to Senate Bill 311 on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and the appointment of conferees, as well as a House message on House Bill 9007 establishing a conference committee on third-degree assault. The Senate also considered a series of second-reader bills. House Bill 6, requiring MHEC to collect data on pregnant and parenting students, was amended to exempt Maryland Global Campus and limit certain provisions to public senior higher education institutions and community colleges before being ordered to third reading. House Bill 182, concerning replacement of faithless electors, was amended to conform with Senate Bill 237 and then passed. House Bill 575, creating excused absences for student civic engagement, drew the most discussion; senators asked about the definition of civic engagement, county discretion, and whether students could use the bill for repeated protests. The floor leader explained that county boards would retain discretion and that the bill would not require weekly absences. The bill’s two amendments were adopted and it was sent to third reading. Additional measures passed with little or no opposition. House Bill 640 revised boards, commissions, and reporting requirements; House Bill 1335 required an independent study of IT and cybersecurity staffing and pay; House Bill 587 created a work group to review transportation procurement procedures; House Bill 854 established a nonpublic special education school renovation program; and House Bill 898 adjusted economic development provisions, including VLT proceeds and film tax credit language, after questions about the general fund impact. The Senate also advanced House Bill 1247 on Prince George’s County tax increment financing for an immersive entertainment venue, with amendments making it an emergency bill and addressing zoning and outdoor advertising issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• <04:03:20.040> excellence day to provide transportation excellence day to provide transportation
• support those non-surface Transportation support those non-surface Transportation bureaus<04:20:
• of the state's 10-year Transportation of the state's 10-year Transportation program<04:22:42.080
• <04:56:51.680> systems um and also our transportation systems um and also our transportation
• /c><04:56:55.400> Systems and management uh Transportation Systems and management uh Transportation

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Division 2 Finance Committee heard an overview and budget presentation from New Hampshire Fish and Game, led by new Executive Director Stephanie Simi and Business Division Chief Kathy Leonti. The agency described its mission to conserve and manage fish, wildlife, and marine resources, and emphasized growing pressures from disease, climate impacts, habitat change, and increased public demand. Simi said the department is largely funded by hunting and fishing license revenue and federal grants, is reviewing staffing and internal processes, and faces critical needs including permanent funding for environmental review staff, infrastructure and IT modernization, and possible service reductions if additional support is not found. Members asked about specific program and policy issues, including chronic wasting disease in deer, hemorrhagic disease in rabbits and hares, moose population decline, and a proposed bait-disease bill. The department said it is actively monitoring diseases and did not see a need for the bait bill at this time. Legislators also discussed the Hike Safe program, which the department said has grown from an expected $100,000 annually to more than $300,000, and a possible boating version of that program, which the department said remains under consideration but would involve complex logistics and multiple agencies. Questions were also raised about rescue costs, out-of-state hikers, and whether boat registrations could be used as a revenue source; Fish and Game said boat registration is handled by the Department of Safety, though the department receives $5 per registered boat for the public boat access program. The budget discussion focused on revenue projections, use of unrestricted Fish and Game funds, and dependence on federal reimbursements. Leonti said the department met the governor’s general fund target but not the Fish and Game fund target without using surplus unrestricted funds, leaving only about $100,000 in the fund by the end of the biennium. She said the budget uses more than $18 million in Fish and Game funds annually against about $14 million in unrestricted revenue, and that five of 193 full-time positions remain unfunded. The department warned that if federal grants were halted, it could cost about $5 million over five months and force the Fish and Game fund to cover the gap. Committee members also requested that future presentations be sent electronically in advance, and the department agreed to do so.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the Nuremberg laws were drafted after the Black Codes and the Jim Crow laws of the South here in
• eight times that number of children who are put on trains, who traveled as part of the Czech Kinder transport
• Capitol Room 447; Natural Resources in Capitol Room 437; Revenue and Taxation in Capitol Room 126; Transportation
• safety in capital room 447, natural resources in capital room 437, Reven tax in capital room 126, transportation

Summary: The Assembly convened, established a quorum, and opened with a prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Members then handled several procedural motions, including suspending rules to allow committee hearings and guest access, re-referring bills, and removing one bill from the consent calendar. The chamber also observed Holocaust Remembrance Day with a lengthy ceremony and remarks from many members across caucuses, emphasizing the importance of remembering the Holocaust, combating antisemitism and other forms of hate, and supporting survivors and descendants. ACR 59, the California Holocaust Memorial Day resolution, was adopted by voice vote after 76 coauthors were added. After the ceremony, the Assembly took up the daily file. AB 390, which strengthens California’s “slow down, move over” highway safety law, passed 64-0. AB 439, making small changes to the Coastal Act and reporting requirements, passed 44-11 after debate over Coastal Commission oversight. The body also approved a rules waiver to allow the Education Committee to meet on AB 1468. Later, AB 50, allowing Medi-Cal enrollees to access over-the-counter contraceptives without a prescription, passed 67-0 urgency and 67-0 overall; AB 55, streamlining alternative birth center licensing, passed 68-0; AB 596, protecting workers’ right to wear masks or respirators unless there is a direct safety hazard, passed 53-8; AB 631, requiring animal shelters to post intake and outcome data, passed 60-0; and AB 792, allowing consolidated negotiations for court interpreter contracts, passed 52-1. The Assembly also passed AB 867, banning cat declawing, by 68-0 after bipartisan support; AB 1089, expanding local permitting authority for Western Joshua Tree projects, by 16-0; and AB 1154, clarifying ADU rules, by 63-1. SCR 57, proclaiming Dolores Huerta Day, was adopted 66-0. The second-day consent calendar was then adopted 71-0. The session concluded with adjournment-in-memory remarks for Mary Hammer, a longtime San Lorenzo Valley community leader and environmental advocate, followed by recognition of her family and friends in the chamber.

Transcript Highlights:

• training or whether it be uh through training or whether it be uh through public<00:04:04.360> transportation
• c> Um,<00:04:05.760> and<00:04:06.000> so<00:04:06.480> there public transportation
• Um, and so there public transportation.
• or not we're going to value that work and value people's lives being saved regardless of their zip code

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• :05.760> criminal is one that's common in the criminal is one that's common in the criminal code
• Um, but<01:25:57.360> transportation<01:25:58.320> is<01:25:58.639> a<01:25:59.199
• > big<01:25:59.520> hurdle<01:26:00.480> uh but transportation is a big hurdle uh
• but transportation is a big hurdle uh for<01:26:00.800> people<01:26:00.960> with<01:26
• to one of these meetings transportation to one of these meetings sometimes sometimes sometimes and<01

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's take up late filed Amendment bar code 1, 8, 1, 1, 5, 6, by Senator Yarborough.
• Code 3, 7, 0, 3, 0, 4, by Senator Collins.
• Criminal punishment code charge changes were modified.
• Let's take up late filed Amendment bar code 5, 5, 8, to 2, 0, by Senator Harrell.
• Code 2 isn't 9, 3, 5, 2, by Senator Avila.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, the Children's Code requires that all children 12 or older have a right to be in court.
• parents that their foster child wants to be in court, but for whatever reason they're not being transported
• And apparently I wasn't the only one who did not know that that's how they were being transported.

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Health and Welfare met on May 6, 2026, with five members present. After adopting the April 28 minutes, the committee heard a brief presentation on the new Leadership Louisiana Health Fellows Program, which is intended to bring together health care, business, policy, and education leaders to study Louisiana health challenges and build a network for action. Members expressed support for the program and its potential value to health policy work. The committee then advanced several bills, often with technical or substantive amendments. SB 57, a nutrition-labeling bill, was amended to push its effective date to December 31, 2028 and reported as amended. HB 62 increased the membership of the Louisiana Women’s Policy and Research Commission to 27 members and was reported as amended. HB 193 updated membership rules for the sickle cell commission foundations so long-serving executive directors would not have to reapply repeatedly, and it was reported as amended. HB 815 would allow financial institutions to receive death certificates to help families manage accounts after a death; it was reported favorably after a question about state-licensed banks. SB 405 was substantially revised to codify LDH’s new Ascend nursing-facility quality initiative, including statewide quality oversight goals, stakeholder involvement, reporting requirements, and tools such as dashboards and surveys; after reconsidering prior action and adopting the new amendment, the bill was reported as amended. The committee also approved HB 222, which provides Medicaid dental coverage when needed for another covered medical procedure, and HB 420, which requires background checks for all DCFS employees with access to sensitive information. HB 475 requires verbal consent when AI is used to record or transcribe a medical visit and was reported favorably after a technical question. HB 246 updated membership of the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board and the council on grandparents raising grandchildren, including replacing an inactive coalition seat with the state police superintendent or designee. HB 486 would enter Louisiana into the psychology inter-jurisdictional compact to expand access to mental health care, and HB 574 updated outdated board names on the Mental Health Advisory Services Board; both were reported favorably. Later, the committee reported HB 949, which creates a licensure framework for radiologist assistants to help address imaging workforce shortages, especially in rural areas, and HB 584, which requires foster children to be provided luggage instead of trash bags for their belongings and restores “rights” language in the Foster Youth Bill of Rights. The committee also reported HB 1214, restructuring certain LDH facilities into a single system under the secretary’s office; HB 1092, a technical renaming/terminology cleanup bill; and HB 203, which adds members to the uterine fibroids commission. Throughout the meeting, members and witnesses emphasized access to care, workforce shortages, child welfare, and quality improvement, and the committee repeatedly adopted amendments and reported the bills favorably or as amended before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• regardless of that, the fact is, the hard data is that 32 states, according to the National Highway Transportation
• the fact is, the data is, the hard data, is that 32 states, according to the National Highway Transportation
• No, I look at the Code of Federal Regulations. Okay, excellent.

Bills: HB2003, HB2063, HB2111, HB2116, HB2210, HCM2007

Keywords: driver education, instruction permit, underage drivers, motorcycle licenses, traffic regulations, corrections oversight, appropriation, independent office, public safety, funding, driver license, examinations, motorcycle awareness, traffic laws, HB2116, Colorado River, litigation fund, water rights, Arizona water law, general fund appropriation

Transcript Highlights:

• We launched free transportation and free activity fees. I get that in the public school system.
• was raising my kids as a mother with 3, I wouldn't have had some choices that could provide the transportation
• He needs it to stickers. >> Bar code 9, 4, 8, 8, 1, to take up.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The California Highway Patrol is a department of the California State Transportation Agency.
• local, state, and federal entities to ensure a seamless, collaborative approach to California's transportation
• None of us are going to pretend to know what it's like to understand the vehicle code.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• afterschool program, if they can't provide the meals for seniors, or if they can't provide the public transportation
• course, names that the least well understood and perhaps the most confusing section of the property tax code
• Here to talk about Senate Tax, Business, and Transportation Committee substitute for Senate Bill 383

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 270, having been referred to the House Transportation, Public Works, and Capital Improvements
• House Transportation, Public Works, and Capital Improvements Committee, thence the House Energy, Environment
• distinguishing health care sharing ministries from insurers as defined by the New Mexico Insurance Code

Transcript Highlights:

• In an ideal world, all employers would create safe environments for their employees, with clear codes
• They're also responsible for transport to social events.
• And I also said that the transport is an issue as well, so I started working for the nonprofit You're
• and check his blood sugar and other vital signs to make sure he was okay and I also said that the transport
• coordinator of You're With Us, and we were able to get subsidized programming for students like me to transport

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development held a hybrid public hearing with testimony on a wide range of labor, workforce, unemployment insurance, apprenticeship, disability services, farm labor, hospital staffing, and workplace harassment bills. Chairs Jake Oliveira and Paul McMurtry outlined hearing procedures, limited testimony to two minutes, and noted written testimony would be accepted after the hearing. Committee members and staff were introduced throughout the session as witnesses arrived in person or remotely. A major portion of the hearing focused on unemployment insurance legislation. Greater Boston Legal Services, the AFL-CIO, and Rep. Joan Meschino supported bills to adjust UI eligibility for workers with fluctuating schedules and to streamline waivers and write-offs for non-fault overpayments, arguing the current system unfairly denies benefits or burdens workers who were not at fault. They also backed bills calling for more oversight and resources for the Division of Unemployment Assistance, citing persistent delays in benefit payments. NFIB opposed the UI changes, warning that the trust fund is headed toward insolvency and arguing the bills would worsen the system’s finances. Rep. Meschino and committee members emphasized that the proposals were meant to protect good-faith claimants and did not apply to fraud. Another large set of bills addressed wages, workforce development, and working conditions. Testimony supported raising and modernizing direct care wages to address severe staffing shortages in human services and disability services, with advocates from the Massachusetts Developmental Disability Council, The Arc of Massachusetts, parents of adults with disabilities, and a direct care worker describing how low pay and turnover harm people needing support. The committee also heard support for apprenticeship-related bills from the AFL-CIO and the Carpenters, while Associated Builders and Contractors opposed mandatory apprenticeship ratios and urged changes to align them with licensing laws. Farm worker advocates supported a bill to raise farm labor standards, including minimum wage, paid breaks, and paid time off, while the Farm Bureau opposed parts of it beyond the minimum wage increase. The hearing also featured testimony on workplace harassment training, overtime protections, hospital mandatory overtime, suicide prevention signage on construction sites, and a proposal to update the Massachusetts Medical Society’s mission language from “citizens” to “people.” Labor groups, educators, and compliance trainers strongly supported mandatory annual sexual harassment training, saying it would improve workplace culture and reduce harm. SEIU 1199 supported extending the hospital nurse mandatory overtime ban to the broader hospital workforce. Witnesses on the suicide prevention bill described personal losses in construction and recovery work and urged posting 988 information on job sites. The committee took no votes during the hearing; witnesses repeatedly asked for favorable reports, and members asked follow-up questions on UI calculations, apprenticeship ratios, small-business impacts, and emergency exceptions for hospital staffing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Low-income people were actually given these color-coded coupons, and they would have to purchase them
• Picking and pack-out programs that help cover some of the labor and transportation costs might help you
• If you have capacity to tell us, like, in that desert, is there also a transportation gap, et cetera,
• If you have capacity to tell us, like, in that desert, is there also a transportation gap, et cetera,
• protein, and grains, providing some compensation to growers making those donations for their transportation

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.

Transcript Highlights:

• We already have that in state code.
• And the last recommendation is improving transportation for behavioral health crises.
• Sheriffs are the ones often transporting individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
• They are further traumatized by being... ...transporting individuals experiencing a behavioral health
• So this is about funding five pilot projects in rural areas to fund innovative ways to help transport

Keywords: 985, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Bills will be laid over upon motion of the Majority Leader, and the code rule is relaxed.
• ,<00:40:07.000> housing, including transportation, housing, including transportation, housing
• If someone knows that a criminal code is going to be repealed within five years, obviously that adds
• and certainly know the criminal code. and certainly know the criminal code.
• And if provisions of the criminal code And if provisions of the criminal code are<01:03:14.440><

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ahead. >> Angela Melody Young testifying on behalf of CARES in strong favor of the uniform probate code
• um and the stealing uniform probate code um and the stealing of<01:06:56.480> the<01:06:56.640
• ...governing the Uniform Probate Code.
• Inflation has driven up labor costs, insurance, rent, utilities, and transportation.
• House Bill 2093 relating to the uniform probate court, excuse me, relating to the uniform probate code

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs heard House Bill 2095, which would provide supplemental appropriations for the Judiciary for the 2025-2027 biennium. Judiciary Administrative Director Brandon Kimura testified in strong support and outlined a request for about $6.4 million in supplemental operating funds, plus four permanent full-time position conversions. He grouped the request into security, services to court users, and staffing needs, including $3.25 million for supplemental armed private security at judiciary facilities statewide, nearly $200,000 for cybersecurity staffing and support, restoration of funding for substance use treatment purchase-of-service contracts, restoration of funding for the Office of Public Guardian on Kauaʻi, salary commission funding, a Kona court operations position, and two Court-Appointed Special Advocates positions converted from temporary to permanent. He also described five capital improvement requests totaling $55.4 million, led by $30 million for construction of a new South Kohala courthouse, $1.2 million each for air conditioning upgrades in Hilo and Kauaʻi, $15 million for elevator upgrades at Kahumanu Hale, and $8 million in lump-sum bond funds for emerging projects. Several organizations testified in support, including Parents and Children Together and the True Cost Coalition. Supporters emphasized the importance of the purchase-of-service funding for domestic violence and substance use treatment services and said the restoration would return funding to pre-COVID levels and help providers maintain capacity. Kimura explained that the Judiciary often shifts funds among contracts during the year to avoid service interruptions, but that the reduced funding has caused delays and operational problems for providers and probationers. Members asked detailed questions about the capital projects and operating requests. Representative Shimizu asked for more information on the lump-sum bond funds and the elevator project, and Kimura explained that the Kahumanu Hale request covers four remaining elevator shafts after earlier funding addressed the first five elevators. Representative Cochran asked about the absence of Maui County projects, and Kimura said the Judiciary is still planning for its older Maui facilities with DAGS. Chair Tarnas questioned the need for armed private guards and discussed whether court security should be prioritized within the Department of Law Enforcement; Kimura said the Judiciary needs additional personnel now and has not asked DLE to deprioritize other missions, though the chair suggested further coordination between the agencies. No vote or final action on the bill was taken in the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• improve the timeline and transportation improve the timeline and transportation of<00:28:39.200>
• You can see that there's two QR codes.
• We're embedding the ability in the sexual assault law itself in the criminal code.
• So that violates US code, New York file.
• And right now we have all of the enumerated acts from the criminal code.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then in the afternoons, they go to research labs or work on projects like coding games and things
• Dante Bataki, CTO of Eleanor Codings, who continues to build his company.
• I would say compliance for state board policy and century code compliance.
• But collapsing programs in like CIP codes, we've also identified new programs.
• So that piece is still in Century Code, but was not funded in the 25-27 biennium.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And also the code of the day, I guess, is data centers.
• And also the code of the day, I guess, is data centers.
• Um, I'd like to echo Representative Corman's concerns about transportation, and I would hate to see us
• And on top of that, um, there are people who are converting both their home systems and their transportation
• their transportation their transportation uh<00:50:30.160> to<00:50:30.559> electric,<

Keywords: 1189, house, all