Transcript Highlights:

• Data. Mr.
• So are we, is the Aurora contract bid then for the data in our special education to move that data?
• of the data center.
• The data centers, when we look at the next AI hyperscale data center, they're typically 100 megawatt.
• So reporting—legislators get data, accurate data, timely data, without a bunch of keys or explanations

Committee: Joint Information Technology Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Public Engagement, the Energy Efficiency Division, the Texas Energy Fund Division, and the Market Data
• Analytics Team.
• analytics team. that is well equipped to analyze those projections.
• We are in the process right now working with ERCOT to identify the data that would allow allow us to
• So why would we as policymakers, given the recent data?

Committee: House Appropriations - S/C on Articles VI, VII, & VIII

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair and members, I would like to share that a new study has been completed by Everest Analytics.
• If anyone would like to see it, it is available at Everest Analytics' website.
• Everest Analytics is the company that performed the study.
• One of the co-founders of Everest Analytics, Alejandro Mendoza, is present in the audience today.
• criticisms I've heard, and I'll bring it up a little bit later, is that with EMIRA, the amount of data

Transcript Highlights:

• So not just feedback that folks are giving as we talk to them in the community, but the data that we're
• I'll pause here for a moment just to say on the facilities, tech, and analytics: sometimes that's sort
• next steps, whether it's, you know, in the written work as we're, as this says, working throughout data
• Because we also want to balance that verification with data security and privacy.
• Because we also want to balance that verification with data security and privacy.

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee met on the first day of the 2026 session and heard a briefing and public testimony on Senate Bill 5966 concerning medically tailored meals. Committee staff explained that the bill would define medically tailored meals and set statewide standards for meals provided through state programs, emphasizing medical guidance, dietary and cultural accommodations, and prioritizing Washington-based nonprofit providers when possible. Senator T’wina Nobles, the sponsor, said the bill is intended to create a clear baseline for quality and accountability without expanding benefits or creating a new program, but rather to streamline and standardize existing efforts. Testifiers in support described existing medically tailored meal and food box programs already operating in Washington. Representatives from Meals on Wheels, Chicken Soup Brigade, Cascadia Produce, Emergency Food Network, and Meals on Wheels Spokane said these programs improve health outcomes for people with chronic conditions, support recovery, and help keep people stable in their communities. They also emphasized that local providers, volunteers, farmers, and food businesses benefit when state dollars stay in Washington. Several members asked whether the bill would create a new system; supporters said it would instead coordinate and standardize current waiver-based and contract-based services. Questions also touched on funding sources, delivery costs, and the role of Medicaid and other programs. The committee temporarily set aside the bill to hear from newly appointed DSHS Secretary Angela Ramirez, who outlined the department’s reorganization into new administrations and said the goal is to reduce silos, improve customer experience, and make services easier to navigate. She also briefed members on federal HR1-related changes affecting SNAP and Medicaid, including work requirements, immigrant eligibility changes, and tribal consultation, and said DSHS is developing a verification hub to reduce administrative burden. Members raised concerns about implementation, data collection, and how to avoid benefit loss due to paperwork issues. After the secretary’s presentation, the committee resumed testimony on SB 5966 and then adjourned without taking a vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• EY leveraged data analytics and automation tools to significantly enhance accuracy and enable robust
• testing across extensive data sets.
• They did the SQL data delivery, and the coding is now stored in our enterprise data repository.
• They did the SQL data delivery and the coding is now stored in our enterprise data repository.
• ACCA, the Florida Medicaid data, and then compare it with the data that our network service providers

Summary: The subcommittee heard two Department of Children and Families implementation updates on measures passed in prior sessions. First, DCF reviewed House Bill 633, which increased oversight of behavioral health managing entities through biennial independent audits, standardized claims-based reporting, and new monthly outcome dashboards. The department said it had awarded the inaugural audit to Ernst & Young, found no significant waste, fraud, or abuse, but identified process risks involving financial controls, claims validation, data access, and system access controls. DCF also described its transition to standardized behavioral health coding and said the new public dashboard of 11 measures is posted on its website, though members asked for easier access and for hard copies of the audit report. Members asked about how the department distinguishes Medicaid-covered services from department-funded services, how duplicate payment risks are being addressed, and whether the new reporting and audit requirements would improve oversight without disrupting services. DCF said it is the payer of last resort for uninsured or underinsured individuals, that some overlap with Medicaid is expected because Medicaid does not cover all behavioral health services, and that new claims edits and cross-checks are being built into the system. The department also said it had not found significant negative feedback from providers and that the new requirements are intended to improve transparency and accountability. DCF then updated the committee on Senate Bill 7012, covering human trafficking data collection, domestic violence center certification, limited background-screening exemptions, expanded recruitment for child welfare staff, subcontractor liability protections, a four-year treatment foster care pilot, case management efficiency recommendations, and a statewide study of residential bed capacity for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The department said several items are already complete or underway, including limited exemptions in the screening clearinghouse, while others are in procurement or rulemaking. It identified Circuits 4 and 12 as the treatment foster care pilot sites and said the pilot will launch in January 2026. Members questioned recruitment metrics, pilot timing, and report deadlines; the department said final reports are expected by January and that some dates were flexible because of procurement and implementation timelines. The meeting ended after the presentations and questions, and the subcommittee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The next thing that's happening is we're continuing the data analysis.
• analysis on a regular basis, so they're using data analytics and making data-informed decisions when
• reporting and analytics on their workforce.
• analytics and making data-informed decision when it comes to their workforce.
• reporting and analytics on their workforce.

Committee: House Transportation

Summary: The committee met to hear an update from Washington State Ferries on its capital program and workforce efforts. WSF leaders reviewed the long-term fleet and terminal strategy, explaining that the system has built relatively few new vessels over the past two decades, now operates a smaller fleet than planned, and must keep aging boats in service longer than typical marine operators. They said the agency is moving ahead with hybrid-electric conversions, new vessel construction, and terminal electrification to support a 26-vessel long-range fleet plan and reduce emissions and operating costs. On new vessel construction, WSF announced the award of a contract to Eastern Shipbuilding Group for up to three 160-car hybrid-electric ferries. Officials said the first vessel is a new design, with about a year of production design work before steel cutting, and that the first boat is expected to cost about $400 million overall, including shipyard work, owner-furnished equipment, engineering, and contingency. Members raised concerns about the decision to build in Florida, transport risk, cost escalation, tariffs, liquidated damages, and whether the contract adequately protects the state. WSF said it will maintain on-site oversight, that the shipyard bears transit risk until delivery at Eagle Harbor, and that the contract includes incentives for early delivery and liquidated damages for late delivery. The committee also discussed the Wenatchee conversion, which WSF said is nearing completion and will enter service soon as the prototype for converting the Jumbo Mark II class to hybrid-electric operation. Officials said the project took longer and cost more than originally planned because it was the first conversion of its kind, required preservation and propulsion upgrades that would have been needed anyway, and revealed unforeseen conditions during work. Members questioned the cost-effectiveness of the conversion and asked for more detailed emissions and savings data. WSF said the three Jumbo Mark II vessels account for roughly a quarter of system diesel use and emissions, and that lessons learned from Wenatchee should reduce costs on future conversions. Siegel consultants then presented a workforce update, saying earlier studies found overtime and staffing problems were driven by seasonal staffing patterns, limited recruiting sources, weak career progression, and a difficult workplace culture. They reported substantial improvement since 2021, including a larger workforce, better retention, more diverse hiring, improved respect from supervisors, and better access to career pathways such as paid pilotage and advancement from entry-level positions. They said challenges remain around communication, HR access, scheduling, accountability, and labor forecasting, and outlined ongoing initiatives including a culture campaign, quarterly pulse surveys, succession planning, and improved workforce data analysis. The meeting then moved to terminal projects, beginning with a presentation on Fauntleroy Terminal and its planning and environmental review process.

Transcript Highlights:

• In the meantime, I would point you to some counter data.
• data.
• And that's based on the raw data. I'm not asking you to believe my internal assertion.
• </c> I would point you to some counter data. I would point you to some counter data.
• </c><00:38:44.480><c> companies</c> called blockchain analytics companies called blockchain analytics

Committee: House Banking & Insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• that's beyond this, and this data would be subject to any other data that... of the request.
• that's beyond this, and this data would be subject to any other data that, Any other data that's beyond
• this, and this data would be subject to any other data that they collect when they're investigating
• They have other analytics. Some of them have a camera.
• This is full of data collection and sharing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Cloud region this summer, over the 100 Deadliest Days, Memorial Day through Labor Day, is a data analytics
• This is actually taking a look at not only historic crash data, but also real-time data to identify not
• At a high level, what the analytic model does is it takes a look at the data and it identifies the corridor
• </c><00:37:16.920><c> is</c> question is is is there any data is question is is is there any data is
• </c> do deep dive into some of the Court data do deep dive into some of the Court data and<00:37:59.240

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• analytics, and removes Access claims payment authority.
• Provider support, quality improvement, and data analytics, and removes Access claims payment authority
• analytics, the collection... ...for medically necessary and appropriate care, data analytics, the collection
• To their credit, the administration has adopted a policy not to sell this data.
• We always stand on the side of more data is always good.

Committee: Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Summary: The committee first approved the February 4 minutes, then heard Senate Bill 1086, which would require AHCCCS contractors to reimburse non-contracting providers for certain lab services when a member was referred by a contracting provider and would bar prior authorization for diagnostic services. The sponsor said the bill was intended to address unpaid claims and improve access, while Access testified neutral but warned the prior-authorization ban could increase utilization and create a fiscal impact. The committee adopted the Warner amendment limiting non-contracting reimbursement rates to no more than contracting rates, then passed SB 1086 as amended on a 4-2 vote. The committee then took up Senate Bill 1611, an emergency measure to require Access to contract with an administrative services organization for the American Indian Health Plan, while keeping Access ultimately responsible for administration. The chair’s amendment expanded ASO duties to include provider support, quality improvement, and data analytics, removed Access claims-payment authority, added tribal observers to the selection committee, and exempted IHS and tribal-facility services. The sponsor and tribal witnesses described the bill as a response to fraud, provider nonpayment, and harm to Native communities, while Access raised concerns about the fast timeline, tribal consultation requirements, possible duplication of program-integrity functions, and fiscal uncertainty. After debate over the emergency clause and tribal consultation, the committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1611 as amended on a 5-2 vote. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1630, which would direct Access to seek federal approval for a Medicaid home- and community-based services program for adults with serious mental illness. Supporters said the bill would create a long-term community-care option for the sickest SMI members, reduce cycling through hospitals, jails, and homelessness, and potentially save state general fund dollars; family members and advocates testified in support. Access was neutral and said it was finalizing a fiscal estimate. The Angus amendment narrowed eligibility to long-term SMI, reduced the enrollment cap from 500 to 250, changed reporting to semiannual, and removed priority-order language; the committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1630 as amended unanimously. Later, the committee passed Senate Bill 1193, which protects emergency medical care technicians’ personal identifying information from sale or disclosure by the Department of Health Services, after adopting a clarifying amendment expanding the protected information and addressing commercial requests. It then heard Senate Bill 1318, which repeals the state’s separate dense-breast notification requirement so Arizona law aligns with the FDA’s newer mammography notice standard; the sponsor and DHS said the change would reduce confusion from duplicate, slightly different notices, and the bill was moving forward with discussion of possible future amendment language.

Transcript Highlights:

• This data would allow California to monitor chemical levels in menstrual products, empowering us with
• Systematically collecting data on chemicals present in menstrual products and making these data available
• increases transparency for consumers, and facilitates scientific evaluation by providing critical data
• Lastly, we do show concern about publishing analytical results on DTSC's website without any regard to
• Lastly, we do show the concern of publishing analytical results on DTSC's website without any regard

Summary: The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee heard three bills after beginning without a quorum and later establishing one. SB 328 would cap DTSC hazardous waste generation and handling fees for infill housing and master development projects and set response timelines for cleanup reviews. Supporters said the current fee structure has made some housing and remediation projects infeasible, while opponents warned that capping fees for one sector could shift costs to other hazardous waste generators. The committee discussed the need for broader DTSC fee reform, and SB 328 was approved on a 7-0 vote and sent to the Committee on Revenue and Taxation. SB 754 would require manufacturers of disposable menstrual products to test for and disclose concentrations of certain contaminants, with DTSC able to verify results and publish them. Supporters framed the bill as a transparency and public health measure, citing recent studies finding toxic metals in tampons and emphasizing consumer right-to-know. Opponents, including manufacturers and hygiene product groups, argued the bill adds duplicative testing, vague requirements, and public disclosure that could be misinterpreted, and urged amendments. The committee members generally supported the goal of transparency, and the bill passed 5-2 with not voting members, moving to Appropriations. SB 466 would provide temporary legal protections for public water systems that are complying with approved chromium-6 compliance plans while they work toward the new drinking water standard. Supporters from Los Banos, Coachella Valley Water District, and other water agencies said the measure would help avoid costly litigation during a lengthy and expensive compliance period, especially for systems dealing with naturally occurring chromium-6. Committee members raised concerns about limiting recourse for harmed individuals and discussed possible alternative language, but the author said the bill would not affect state enforcement authority. SB 466 passed 7-0 and was sent to the Committee on Judiciary. The committee also adopted a consent calendar of additional measures by voice vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm currently the founder and chief data scientist of Matto-Hitiga Analytics LLC, an American I'm currently
• the founder and chief data scientist of Matto-Hitiga Analytics LLC, an American Indian data science
• is the representation of all the treaties that were in the Boldt decision to provide a location analytic
• So this provides location analytics of the modern reservation system that we currently have today.
• It was about facilitating hits data, specifically with MMIWP cases.

Summary: The committee opened with a work session on effective interrogation techniques, hearing from two remote experts, retired homicide detective Matt Jones and former federal agent Mark Fallon. Both argued for science-based, information-gathering interviewing over confrontational or deception-based tactics, emphasizing rapport, open-ended questioning, corroboration, and avoiding coercion, especially with vulnerable interviewees. They said these methods improve reliability, reduce false confessions and wrongful convictions, and better withstand court scrutiny. Members asked for source materials and raised concerns about how friendly or minimization-style questioning could affect victims; the witnesses said they would provide research and noted that some common tactics can be problematic in sexual assault cases. No votes were taken in the work session. The committee then held a hearing on House Bill 1982, which would expand Washington’s existing process for vacating convictions tied to treaty rights. Staff explained that current law mainly covers pre-1975 fishing convictions, while the bill would extend relief to convictions involving treaty fishing, hunting, gathering, and pasturing rights, remove the date limit, include local ordinances, authorize the Office of Public Defense to provide direct representation and consultation, and create a tribal liaison position. The prime sponsor and tribal leaders testified in support, describing the bill as a way to correct historical wrongs and remove barriers to jobs, housing, and other opportunities. The Office of Public Defense said it supports the bill but needs statutory authority and a hub to identify and process cases; an Attorney General’s Office tribal liaison also supported the concept and suggested clarifying amendments. Some members questioned the scope of the affected population, costs, and whether the legislature could vacate the convictions directly, while others raised concerns about competing resource demands and the need for judicial action case by case. No final action was taken. Finally, the committee began hearing House Bill 2156, which would expand the Attorney General’s Office investigators’ authority in limited circumstances. Staff said the bill would let AGO investigators exercise only the authority of the entity granting concurrent jurisdiction, allow them to serve business search warrants only when authorized by a judicial officer, and clarify that they cannot detain, arrest, or carry weapons. The bill sponsor said it would reduce delays in economic-crime cases by allowing investigators to serve electronic warrants themselves instead of relying on local officers. Opponents from the sheriffs and police chiefs association and a retired veteran argued the bill blurs the line between investigation and prosecution, lacks sufficient oversight, and could create constitutional and training concerns. AGO representatives responded that the bill is narrowly focused, that most investigators are retired law enforcement, and that it would mainly streamline service of electronic warrants in cases such as organized retail theft and wage theft. The hearing was still in progress when the transcript ended, and no vote was recorded on this bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh data privacy. right. Uh page four. Uh data privacy.
• That's both through our own internal data and the blockchain analytics companies give us a scam rate
• ,</c> data or not.
• If we don't have a data, data or not.
• </c> data, right? data, right?

Committee: House Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Summary: The subcommittee focused primarily on a bill concerning long-term care insurance rate increases and consumer notice. Members and staff discussed replacing or supplementing a proposed public hearing requirement with annual reporting, website updates, and consumer-facing disclosures about approved rate increases, carriers writing the products, and how the products work. Several participants emphasized that long-term care policies are long-term products, that rate increases can be spread over many years for actuarial reasons, and that consumers need better information about trends and the impact of increases. A major point of disagreement was whether the bill should try to cap premium increases. One member argued the real problem is unexpected increases of 15% to 20% and urged a statutory cap to protect consumers. Insurance department representatives and others responded that hard caps had been struck down in prior case law, that the department’s core responsibility is solvency, and that carriers need sufficient premium to pay future claims. They also said the market is struggling because many carriers stopped selling the product, leaving in-force policies to bear the cost, and that overly restrictive caps could cause insurers to withdraw from the state. The discussion then shifted toward a compromise requiring carriers to notify policyholders before a rate increase is approved and allowing a 60-day comment period. Participants debated whether the notice should come from the carrier, how confidentiality rules would apply before approval, and what the department should do with public comments. The department said it already reviews filings carefully and that submitted rates are often adjusted before approval; lawmakers noted that prior commissioners had pushed back on increases in some cases, including a seven-year moratorium. No final vote was taken in the excerpt, and the chair repeatedly tried to move the subcommittee along to other bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• The key point, he said, is that it is an opinion grounded in hard data and analysis, but at the end of
• The key point is that it is an opinion grounded in hard data and analysis, but at the end of the day
• He said the map simply visualizes the ratings data.
• </c> entity we rate has an analytical entity we rate has an analytical coverage<00:12:37.519><c> team
• </c><00:13:47.079><c> coverage</c> current ratings and analytical coverage current ratings and analytical

Bills: HF201 , HF217 , HF314 , HF315 , HF406 , HF408 , HF425 , HF426 , HF730 , HF731 , HF652 , HF761 , HF1079 , HF928 , HF1017 , HF1056 , HF1081

Committee: Senate Capital Investment

Keywords: HF201, Minnesota income tax, tax subtraction, tax deduction, volunteer firefighter, volunteer fire and rescue, emergency responder, ambulance service personnel, EMR, EMS, search and rescue, canine search and rescue, underwater search and rescue, paid-on-call, part-time volunteer, tax relief, state tax law, section 290.0132, drivers license, identification card

Transcript Highlights:

• So not just feedback that folks are giving as we talk to them in the community, but the data that we're
• I'll pause here for a moment just to say on the facilities, tech, and analytics: sometimes that's sort
• next steps, whether it's, you know, in the written work as we're, as this says, working throughout data
• Because we also want to balance that verification with data security and privacy.
• Because we also want to balance that verification with data security and privacy.

Bills: SB5966

Committee: Senate Human Services

Keywords: healthcare, nutrition, medically tailored meals, dietary support, food security, chronic illness

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><02:50:44.560><c> I</c> data, not necessarily the data itself.
• I data, not necessarily the data itself.
• </c> employer being able to use this data. employer being able to use this data.
• </c> surveillance data. surveillance data.
• It's data that they infer from data scraping, data purchase, web browsing history, geolocation, or purchase

Transcript Highlights:

• We have never collected data by court at the district and county level.
• Texas, Research Texas, and now Court Analytics Texas.
• Analytics Texas is beginning with criminal data, and then we'll move to civil and family elements.
• How many total courts are there under your purview that didn't submit data?
• We have much increased the quality of our data.

Committee: House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, it will all be based on credible scientific data and other evidence.
• Again, it will all be based on credible scientific data and other evidence.
• commission to pass rules regardless of what that data says.
• So that's the really big new analytical lab at New Mexico State. Dr.
• So that's the really big new analytical lab at New Mexico State University that is doing all of the analytical

Committee: House House Agriculture, Acequias And Water Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• So we think just acknowledging and naming, collecting data, reporting data, and using data to do your
• This is data, the data that he's asking for, it's not data that we currently collect.
• What this legislation proposes is that we look at the data and we operate more like a business and we
• What this data does is inform each and every one of us sitting here what the actual numbers look like
• We need to know all the data, which is why I brought my bill so that we have all the data in front of

Bills: HR73 , HR272 , HR273 , HR278 , HCR91 , HCR99 , HCR100 , HCR111 , HB255 , HB261 , HB328 , HB378 , HB479 , HB517 , HB564 , HB778 , HB1090 , SB135 , SB278 , SB448

Committee: House Administration of Criminal Justice

Keywords: domestic abuse, protective orders, victim protection, Louisiana State Law Institute, mandatory procedures, parental discipline, corporal punishment, child abuse, cruelty to juveniles, juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice, child welfare, DCFS, Office of Juvenile Justice, reasonable discipline, parental rights, family law, law enforcement reports, abuse allegations, single-parent households

Transcript Highlights:

• Gordon Shemp is here, and he is a senior energy advisor with Nemecu Analytics LLC.
• So in this graphic on the left, you see those last two data points.
• That data simply does not exist today for most agricultural properties.
• the Arizona State Land Department, along with all its administrative matters, personnel, records, data
• With that, I'd be happy to answer questions. ...govern the terms for electric service provided to data

Bills: HB2014 , HB2031 , HB2078 , HB2102 , HB2103 , HB2117 , HB2261 , HB2262 , HB2264 , HB2278 , HB2428 , HB2494 , HB2756 , HB2758 , HB2762 , HB2782 , HB2932 , HB2933 , HB2986

Committees: Senate Natural Resources , Senate Senate Natural Resources Committee of Reference

Keywords: air emissions, fuel blends, environmental quality, feasibility study, Arizona Department of Agriculture, water rights, groundwater, Willcox, active management area, certificate of grandfathered rights, Arizona legislature, aggregate mining, reclamation plans, environmental protection, public safety, land use, domestic water, improvement district, water delivery, water hauling