Transcript Highlights:

• This is community-wide risk mitigation.
• That's the difference between capitalism and communism, frankly.
• That's the difference between capitalism and communism, frankly.
• That's the difference between capitalism and communism, frankly.
• as a community and you make substantial investments to, wait for it, reduce the risk, as a community

Committee: Senate Insurance

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• outside of their usual work hours. about constant communications likely out of fear.
• Like, it seems like that is also a communication.
• It's a communication where somebody can look at the communication and then elect to go work if they wanted
• relationships with our community.
• This is our community that we care for.

Committee: Senate Labor

Summary: The Senate Committee on Labor met with a quorum, adopted the June 4 minutes, and then took up Senate Bill 948, the Workplace Employees Boundaries Act (WEB Act), after adopting an S-1 substitute by a 4-1 vote. Senator Geis presented the bill as a Michigan “right to disconnect” measure that would generally bar employers from requiring employees to access or respond to work communications outside usual work hours, allow employees to set availability hours, prohibit retaliation, direct LEO to write rules, and provide complaint and enforcement procedures with exceptions for emergencies and existing collective bargaining agreements. In questioning, Senator Albert raised concerns about how the bill would apply in small businesses and practical situations like staffing calls, school notifications, and emergency-like circumstances; Geis said the bill was meant to protect non-work time while preserving emergency carve-outs and informational messages. NFIB’s Amanda Fisher opposed the bill, arguing it was too broad, difficult to define across industries and schedules, potentially duplicative of existing wage-and-hour law, and likely to create confusion and reduce flexibility, especially for small employers. The committee then shifted to testimony on health care workforce and labor disputes. Nurses from Teamsters Local 332 described a 291-day strike at Henry Ford/Genesis over safe staffing, return-to-work terms, and alleged union-busting, saying the hospital’s staffing levels and use of replacement workers threatened patient safety and could displace experienced specialty nurses. Michigan Nurses Association president Aaron McCormick and Marquette RN union president Christina Hanson said Michigan’s problem is not a shortage of licensed nurses but of nurses willing to stay in overworked, hostile workplaces; they cited retaliation, slow grievance/arbitration processes, hospital consolidation, rural OB closures, and unsafe staffing ratios as drivers of burnout and departures. They urged stronger protections and faster dispute resolution, especially given the limited effectiveness of the NLRB and delays in labor processes. Additional testimony came from UAW Local 4911’s Kim Wheeler, who said UMH Sparrow was outsourcing two low-paid support groups—patient transport/housekeeping and food and nutrition—despite their importance to hospital operations and despite a recently ratified contract, and asked for transparency and limits on corporate outsourcing. Don Hill of SEIU Health Care Michigan described chronic understaffing in nursing homes, mandatory overtime, burnout, retaliation fears, and the need for enforceable patient-to-staff ratios and stronger wage support; he also noted that home care workers are negotiating first contracts after restored bargaining rights. The committee took no vote on SB 948 beyond adopting the substitute, heard extensive testimony, and adjourned without further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's the bedrock of any strong arts community.
• , but also in the disability community.
• So they have to know their community.
• They have to know whether that's a geographic... ...a community, or if it's a community of interest,
• So what we did is we brought them to various communities, partnering with a local community organization

Committee: House Legacy Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• A bill to be entitled an act relating to rural communities.
• The Office of Rural Prosperity, connecting communities to opportunities.
• Senate Bill 250, a bill to be entitled an act relating to rural communities.
• Your heart and your passion for our rural communities knows no bounds.
• A little goes a long way in these rural communities, and so I'm tremendously thankful.

Summary: The Senate convened with a prayer, pledge, doctor-of-the-day introduction, and several recognitions, including a Founders’ Day tribute to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a welcome to a nationally ranked student debater in the gallery. The chamber then took up a committee report on 52 gubernatorial executive appointments; after explanation by the Ethics and Elections chair, the Senate adopted the report and confirmed the appointments by a vote of 39-0. The first major bill was SB 250 on rural communities. Senator Simon described it as a broad “Rural Renaissance” package creating an Office of Rural Prosperity, a Renaissance Grant Program, housing and transportation investments, education funding, and rural health care improvements. Two amendments were adopted to remove overlapping health-care provisions in light of new federal rural health funding and to update hospital funding amounts. Senators from both parties spoke in support, emphasizing the bill’s focus on rural infrastructure, health care access, and local flexibility. The bill passed 39-0. The Senate then considered CS/SB 318 on educational scholarship programs. Senator Gates explained that the bill responds to Auditor General concerns by separating scholarship funding from public-school funding, tightening enrollment verification, reducing administrative fees, requiring student identification numbers, improving reimbursement processes, and directing the Department of Education to develop a business plan for scholarship funding organizations. Three amendments were adopted, including removal of a declining-enrollment provision from the bill, with that issue expected to move elsewhere. Senators discussed transparency, accountability, and protections against overpayments and unverified enrollments, while also noting the need to preserve support for school districts. The bill passed 38-0. After both bills passed, the Senate waived rules to immediately certify SB 250 and CS/SB 318 to the House. The chamber also heard announcements recognizing Palm Beach County Day at the Capitol and scheduled a group photograph for the following Thursday before adjourning until January 22 or upon the President’s call.

Transcript Highlights:

• And in my community, we have had situations where there have been threats of action.
• Thank you. the readiness of the providers in those communities.
• We're not planning on taking any funding away from those communities.
• I know in my community that...
• These funds come into our community.

Committee: House Budget

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and our rural communities.
• Yes, we are focused on the impact of communities that Especially in our coal communities, that is a big
• the community. But it's devastating.
• A sense of engagement with their community holds our democracy together as well as our communities.
• I know that when I'm in rural communities, and I've been to, I think, all of your communities over the

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Homestead Community Homestead Community Association<00:03:03.080><c> uh</c><00:03:03.200><c> Haw
• We can really go about building communication and relationships with the community that they can trust
• Aloha, thank you very much. strengthen ha's art community but in the strengthen ha's art community but
• Our community deserves leaders whose policies do not further fracture our communities and suppress our
• </c> programs that the the Community programs that the the Community Foundation<01:21:41.280><c> has<

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint committees first heard House Bill 229, which would establish a statewide speed restriction for motor vehicles under certain circumstances. Testimony on the bill was limited and came in support from the City and County of Honolulu’s transportation services, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization. No one testified in opposition, and there were no questions. The committees then took up House Bill 860, which would grant immunity from liability to the state or counties when they repair or maintain a street whose ownership or jurisdiction is disputed between them. The Department of Transportation and the Department of Land and Natural Resources submitted written testimony, and the Hawaii State Association of Counties, Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee, Hawaii County Council member Heather Kimble, and the Iolani Homestead Community Association for Justice testified in support. The Ho Association for Justice opposed the bill, arguing the immunity was too broad and that the issue had already been addressed by prior legislation. In discussion, members raised concerns about liability and asked whether a different approach, such as extending the 2017 law transferring Oahu roads in limbo to the counties, would be acceptable; county representatives said that path could be considered if immunity were removed. House Bill 1161, which would authorize counties to use a road usage charge mechanism similar to the state’s, drew support from the Department of Transportation, the Energy Office, the Hawaii State Association of Counties, several county and city offices, and the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization. Rental car companies and industry groups supported the concept but asked for amendments, including a flat fee instead of a per-mile charge, relief for plug-in hybrid vehicles, and a delayed implementation date. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii also supported relief for hybrids. Members questioned the rental car representatives about the flat-fee proposal, and they said a per-mile charge would be difficult to calculate and pass on to customers. At the end of the joint agenda, the committees deferred decision-making on HB 1161 to Tuesday, March 18 at 3:00 p.m., and the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs committee also deferred the three measures to that date and time. The Transportation and Culture and the Arts committee then began hearing House Bill 925, which would create a Performing Arts Special Fund, and House Bill 1378, which would establish a Performing Arts Grants Program and Special Fund and revise the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts’ responsibilities and funding sources. HB 925 received support from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and written support or comments from DBEDT, the Hawaii Arts Alliance, and others. HB 1378 drew extensive testimony and discussion focused on preserving arts funding while addressing concerns about the use of Works of Art Special Fund dollars for positions and programming. The Governor’s office said it supported the intent but had concerns; the Attorney General warned that the bill’s cap and transfer provisions were unclear and could affect the tax-exempt status of bond-funded dollars; and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts opposed the measure, urging an audit, tracking of deposits, and a shift of positions and programs to general funds instead of changing the law. The chair explained that the bill was intended to protect arts funding while tightening the legal guardrails around bond-financed dollars and preserving federal support, and asked testimony to focus on new points as the hearing continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:19:00.559><c> that</c> think the the recovery community that think the the recovery community
• </c> we worked with the recovery community we worked with the recovery community over<00:19:23.400><c
• </c><00:45:54.559><c> around</c> the effect is on the community around the effect is on the community
• Dormitories have those communal spaces where there's a communal kitchen, communal bathrooms.
• :38:03.679><c> communal</c><01:38:04.239><c> um</c><01:38:04.520><c> bathrooms</c> communal kitchen communal

Committee: House Municipal and County Government

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The House Municipal and County Government subcommittee met on February 19, 2025 to gather additional information on House Bill 432, which concerns recovery houses. The first witness, State Fire Marshal Sean Tumi, said his office had worked with stakeholders for more than a year on the bill’s definition changes and supported the revised definition. He explained that the bill removes vague language such as “safe, healthy, family” and instead relies on fire-code requirements and certification standards, including a primarily non-transient dwelling unit and living as a single household. He distinguished recovery houses from boarding or rooming houses and from other congregate settings such as group homes or transitional housing, saying those other uses do not currently have the same exemptions. Members questioned Tumi about fire safety, inspections, smoke alarms, egress, and whether sprinklers should be required. He said recovery houses are inspected by the fire marshal’s office and local fire departments, with annual inspections under state fire code provisions, and that operators must work with a certifying body. He described the inspection process as checking alarms, extinguishers, heating systems, cooking equipment, street numbers, and no-smoking rules, and said new houses are generally given time to obtain certification. He also said he would prefer sprinklers everywhere but believed mandating them for these existing structures would likely shut down many recovery houses and significantly harm the recovery community. Bill McKenny of the New Hampshire Building Officials Association then testified in support of HB 432. He said recovery housing is an important step after treatment and that the 2024 code changes and the bill help align state law with federal disability law. He emphasized that certification through a recognized organization gives code officials confidence that standards are being monitored, and warned that if a recovery home loses certification it would lose the waiver from sprinkler requirements and could be treated more like a boarding or rooming house. No vote or final action was taken at this meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Families and communities are shattered.
• It has been that way for communities that we love for a very long time.
• Community investment is working.
• Think about your friends, family members, community members.
• Michael, or Mike, dedicated his life to serving his community and his country.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Item number four, Senate communications. Mr. Clerk, are there any Senate communications?
• Clerk, are there any communications. Mr.
• Yes, Madam Senate communications?
• </c><00:13:41.440><c> the</c> receipt of communications returning the receipt of communications returning
• </c> further receipt of communications further receipt of communications informing<00:14:04.399><c> the

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're safe, social, community-first spaces.
• They're safe, social, community-first spaces.
• That proves as a testament to our deep ties to this industry and to our community.
• Beer tenders are here to be a part of the community. We go through rigorous training.
• That's the cool things that are going on in our communities.

Summary: The State Administration Budget Subcommittee met with a quorum and took up one bill, House Bill 499, which would allow malt beverage manufacturers producing less than 31,000 gallons annually to sell and deliver directly to vendors. The sponsor and several craft brewery owners and industry advocates testified in support, arguing the measure would help small breweries reach local restaurants, improve quality control, create jobs, and serve as a bridge into the three-tier system for businesses too small to attract distributors. Opponents, including the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association, argued the bill would undermine the three-tier system, weaken accountability and tax collection, and create risks for consumer protection and market fairness. During debate, several members said they supported the bill as a small-business measure while noting they remained protective of the three-tier system. Some members raised concerns about tax tracking and long-term distributor contracts, but others said the bill appeared limited enough to preserve the existing system while giving small breweries a chance to grow. The committee then voted on the bill and it passed, with one recorded no vote. After the bill vote, the subcommittee revisited prior questions about Department of Lottery Secretary Davis’s travel reimbursements. Members reviewed updated documents showing more than $50,000 in travel reimbursements from January 2021 through November 2024, including about $27,840 tied to Orlando destinations, and expressed concern that some reimbursements may have covered commuting between Tallahassee and Orlando. The chair said the information would be sent to Secretary Davis for an explanation, and the meeting adjourned after no further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• They are proud of their community.
• Your service and commitment to our community are deeply appreciated. Welcome.
• It's a part of our community. I want to thank the member from Los Angeles.
• He created a community when he worked alongside many labor leaders in our AAPI community, including Larry
• Fairness and community service will live on.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're both promising thespians and very active in community theater.
• a good-paying job and what it means for a community and for a family. ...and for a family.
• but small communities in New Mexico.
• It could uplift the lives of people in blue communities, red communities, and I think that's really what
• in those communities.

Committee: Senate Senate Rules

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill is critically important for Greater Minnesota cities and rural communities, where ATVs are not
• other end of town, so it does ring with a lot of not just recreationalists but workers in many communities
• The bill is critically important for Greater Minnesota cities and rural communities, where ATVs are not
• </c><00:04:02.519><c> and</c> Beyond helping rural communities and Beyond helping rural communities and
• He said it impacts dozens and dozens of communities.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I served the community that I grew up in, and I've served as a prosecutor in my community for 22 years
• I am very proud in our community.
• They're returned to the community.
• And the problem is for communities where we are sending them out of our community to restore competency
• They're doing community outreach.

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is a dedicated body of community...
• Well as improving community-based supports.
• Children heal best in families and communities, not institutions.
• I see the negative impacts in my community every day.
• , community, and quality of life for each person in community care through an effective and collaborative

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The violence in our communities must stop.
• Local communities pay.
• and the communities we were elected to represent.
• It destroys the trust that they built with communities.
• The community I represent is known for its affordable housing and family-friendly communities.

Summary: The Senate took up a series of third-reading bills covering horse racing, local taxation, consumer financial security, elections, utilities, batteries, sexual health, body-worn cameras, property tax treatment for inherited homes, adoptee birth records, youth housing bonds, workers’ compensation, and civil rights. SB 795 on horse racing, SB 762 allowing Hercules to seek voter approval for a sales tax increase, SB 505 requiring two-factor authentication for money transmitter platforms, SB 46 barring California ballot access for presidential candidates who have already served two terms, SB 73 restricting federal access to voting machines without a court order, SB 327 on utility oversight and ratepayer protections, SB 501 expanding battery producer responsibility, SB 608 on school contraceptive access, SB 691 on EMS-related redaction of body-worn camera footage, SB 288 clarifying Proposition 19 timing for inherited homes in probate, SB 381 giving adoptees access to original birth certificates, SB 492 creating a youth housing bond, SB 555 increasing permanently partially disabled workers’ benefits, and SB 747 creating a civil cause of action for constitutional violations by federal officers were all debated and advanced. Most measures passed on roll call, with SB 505 and SB 288 approved by unanimous roll call, and SB 73 carrying an urgency clause that also passed unanimously. Debate on SB 747 was the most extensive and contentious. Supporters argued the bill was needed to hold federal officers accountable for alleged constitutional violations, especially in immigration enforcement, and described it as a civil-rights remedy for people harmed by federal agents. Opponents said existing federal and state remedies already cover such conduct, warned the bill was politically motivated, and argued it could increase litigation and strain law enforcement resources. The bill nevertheless passed on a 30-10 vote, with the urgency clause also approved. SB 492 on youth housing also drew debate over state bonding and debt, with supporters emphasizing early intervention for homeless and foster youth and opponents arguing the state should avoid borrowing and instead fund projects through the budget; it passed 30-9 on both urgency and the measure. Other bills also drew focused testimony. SB 555 was presented as a long-overdue cost-of-living adjustment for permanently partially disabled workers’ benefits, and SB 381 was supported as a way to give adopted adults access to their original birth certificates for identity and medical-history reasons. SB 691 was framed as a privacy measure for patients receiving medical or psychological treatment, while SB 501 was described as closing a gap in California’s battery recycling and safety rules by adding medium-format batteries used in e-bikes and portable power systems. SB 762 was presented as a local option for Hercules to address revenue shortfalls, and SB 46 and SB 73 both centered on election integrity and constitutional questions, with members split over federal-state authority and ballot access.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 65th Senate bill says fire home hardening practices in common interest communities.
• increase across Washington. ...and communities against wildfire risk.
• This balance is critical for planned communities and condominiums throughout our state.
• But in HOA communities, it is frequently the HOA that moves first.
• That is not just devastating for families, it is also costly for our communities.

Committee: House Housing

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the House Community Safety Committee.
• For background, community custody is the portion of a criminal sentence which is served in the community
• “I ask you to look at the fears rising in our own communities.
• It helps build trust with our community.
• It helps build trust with our community.

Committee: House Community Safety

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And specifically, I'm excited about community land trusts.
• in communities all over Washington.
• Proud Ground is the Pacific Northwest's largest community land trust.
• It's community stability policy.
• I've been supporting the startup community here for 25 years.

Summary: House Finance heard bill briefings and testimony on several tax and property-tax measures. HB 2175 would exempt licensed nonprofit providers of free durable medical equipment from retail sales and use tax on items reasonably necessary to operate and provide care; the sponsor and a nonprofit provider described how the bill would help organizations that refurbish and donate wheelchairs, beds, walkers, and similar equipment, and staff noted a small Department of Revenue fiscal impact. The committee then heard HB 2608, which revises the targeted urban area property tax exemption for nuclear facility projects by requiring labor standards, including submission of a workforce or project labor agreement and related wage/apprenticeship information, and extending project-completion deadlines. Supporters said it would help attract major clean-energy and nuclear supply-chain investment and jobs, while opponents from construction groups, environmental advocates, and some public commenters objected to the PLA requirement, the tax preference for nuclear projects, and the broader policy direction; tribal consultation concerns were also raised. No votes were taken on these bills in the transcript. The committee also heard HB 2227, which expands an existing REET exemption for affordable homeownership sales from self-help housing to other nonprofit affordable homeownership programs, including community land trusts. The sponsor and nonprofit witnesses said the change would lower transaction costs, improve affordability, and support permanently affordable resale models; staff clarified the exemption applies to the initial sale from the nonprofit to an income-qualified buyer, not later resales. HB 2528 would allow cities and counties that fully plan under the Growth Management Act to impose the second local REET without voter approval, aligning opt-in jurisdictions with those required to plan under GMA. Supporters from cities and counties said the revenue would help fund sidewalks, ADA upgrades, water, sewer, and other infrastructure, while opponents argued it would raise home-selling costs and bypass voters. Finally, the committee heard HB 2292, which would subject long-term capital gains from qualified small business stock to the state capital gains tax beginning in 2026. Staff said the bill would affect about 260 taxpayers and raise roughly $1.2 million in FY 2027, while the sponsor and supporters argued the current QSBS exemption mainly benefits very wealthy investors and should be treated like other capital gains; opponents from the tech and startup community said the exemption helps founders attract investment, keep companies in Washington, and create jobs, and warned the bill would send a negative signal to entrepreneurs. The committee also heard HB 2257, a Department of Revenue request bill making technical and administrative changes to the tax code, largely to codify guidance from last year’s sales-tax-on-services law and make other clarifications; DOR said it was intended to provide certainty and had no fiscal impact. School groups testified that the 5814-related service-tax changes have increased costs for districts, especially for staffing and professional learning, and asked for relief or a broader exemption.