Transcript Highlights:

• One is, counselors missed the deadline, and that deadline fell on Friday during spring break.
• Spring break. And that was not, and it was earlier than normal.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, recognized guests, and adopted consent-calendar resolutions before taking up House Resolution 1052 regarding Arkansas Girls State. Rep. Vaught explained that about 150 eligible girls were denied registration because a counselor missed the deadline, and said the House would instead host an “elite Girls State” program for them this summer. He then moved to withdraw the resolution, and the withdrawal was accepted. The chamber also presented a citation to Pastor Richard Hamlin for his service during the session. The House then considered several Senate appropriation bills. Senate Bills 3, 4, 7, 15, 21, and 31 all passed with broad support and emergency clauses. Senate Bill 77, an unfunded appropriation related to Arkansas Television Network/PBS matching funds, drew extended debate. Supporters said it would encourage private donations and could help with programming and infrastructure, while opponents argued the department had not requested the money and that the House should not force additional funding. The bill failed on the first vote, was brought back for a second vote after questions about the rules and the nature of the appropriation, and failed again. After the fiscal session business concluded, Rep. Meeks moved to adjourn sine die, and the House agreed. The House caucus then met to elect the Speaker-designate for the 96th General Assembly. The chamber suspended the formal election process by voice vote and unanimously elected Speaker Brian S. Evans as Speaker-designate. Evans thanked members, reflected on the 95th General Assembly, and pledged continued leadership and accountability.

Transcript Highlights:

• One is, counselors missed the deadline, and that deadline fell on Friday during spring break.
• Spring break. And that was not, and it was earlier than normal.

Transcript Highlights:

• issue in the southeast because we've had Mills close in Georgia as well and south West Georgian Cedar Springs
• Boundary and surveys so boundary maintenance includes fire, breaks down the marking sign posting in many
• Our resources in the Florida state parks encompasses natural resources such as forests springs, seagrass
• Loose are in danger of breaking loose since January. 1st of 2020, the FWC has issued 3,396 citations

Transcript Highlights:

• Particularly given the fact that in the spring, the water is cold, fish are fairly shallow, and hooking
• Trees are planted just like row crops each spring, with the intention of selling them to eventually turn
• They help eliminate soil erosion, provide wind breaks, produce oxygen, provide wildlife habitat, and
• I apologize for breaking decorum beforehand.

Bills: HF647 , HF2824 , HF1249 , HF623 , HF820

Committee: House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> when</c><00:09:02.000><c> our</c> Spring and Morehead started when our Spring and Morehead started
• But Minneapolis and Rochester and Duluth and Spring Lake Park all look different.
• Rochester and Duth and, um, Spring Lake Rochester and Duth and, um, Spring Lake Park<01:06:20.319><c>
• One was from Ramsey, one was the mayor of Cold Spring, and one was the mayor of Granite Falls.
• [clears throat] Cold Spring, and one was [clears throat] Cold Spring, and one was the<01:35:38.639><c

Bills: HF3418 , HF3739 , HF3791 , HF3356 , HF3695 , HF3430

Committee: House Transportation Finance and Policy

Keywords: pedestrian safety, traffic safety, roadway improvements, nonmotorized transportation, crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes, complete streets, Vision Zero, Toward Zero Deaths, MnDOT, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, local road authority, county roads, city streets, tribal transportation, capital improvements, safety design solutions, grant program

Transcript Highlights:

• going to share for every single district or town, but if we had acted on House Bill 651 this past spring
• million dollars would have been available to the schools in these communities had we acted in the spring
• going to share for every single district or town, but if we had acted on House Bill 651 this past spring
• going to share for every single district or town, but if we had acted on House Bill 651 this past spring
• Maybe I shouldn't confess to breaking laws over here.

Summary: The Education Funding Committee Subcommittee on Adequacy and Funding Sources opened its second meeting by reviewing four retained bills assigned to it: HB 651, HB 772, HB 491, and HB 734. The chair said the goal was to compare the bills across the board, consider whether any one of them should be the committee’s recommended vehicle, and then vote on a recommendation to the full committee. He noted the bills would move out before November 21 and be taken up on the House floor in January, while related LSRs were also being developed for the coming session. Representative Ames argued that HB 651 should be the main vehicle because it would substantially raise the adequacy base and adjust differential aid categories to better reflect real school costs, including poverty, special education, and English learner needs. He described the bill as building on court guidance and said the current funding formula is far below actual district needs. He also supported HB 491 as a study vehicle to examine revenue options, saying the legislature needs informed choices about how to pay for the changes. Representative Damon strongly backed HB 651 and HB 491, citing constitutional obligations, the Conval and Rand rulings, and large projected funding increases for districts such as Claremont, Windham, and communities in the chair’s district if HB 651 had passed earlier. Representative Fellows said he has an LSR similar to HB 491 that would study existing and new revenue options using criteria such as revenue potential, administrative cost, affected groups, implementation timeline, and implementation cost, with input from revenue administration and outside agencies. Representative Papich Muller emphasized constitutional separation-of-powers concerns, reading Article 83 and saying he was not comfortable with the broad claim that “cherish” clearly mandates a specific spending level, though he said he intends to follow Supreme Court guidance. Representative Ricky read testimony from a local school board member arguing that the state already imposes many mandates on schools while providing the least funding in the country, and that HB 651 would help restore meaningful local control. No final vote or action was taken in the portion provided, though the chair had indicated the subcommittee would vote before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, Solal, Ortet, is one of the most important holidays
• Also, no breaking of anything because you don't want to break all of the fortune that you will have for
• Also, no breaking of anything because you don't want to break all of the fortune that you will have for
• Thank you. ...of anything because you don't want to break all of the fortune that you will have for
• short film Once Upon a Studio, and recently held a supervisory role on Disney Animation's record-breaking

Summary: The Assembly convened after a quorum call and brief procedural business, including approval of a motion to withdraw SB 107 and SB 117 from the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and place them on third reading. Members also approved procedural requests for adjournment-in-memory remarks and guest seating, and later took up the daily file. The main floor item was H.R. 80, a resolution recognizing Lunar New Year. Assembly Member Fong presented the resolution, and several members from different caucuses spoke in support, emphasizing the holiday’s cultural significance, themes of renewal and family, and California’s large AAPI community. The resolution was opened for coauthors, received 62 coauthors, and was then adopted by voice vote. Fong also distributed prosperity cookie boxes to members after passage. The chamber also observed moments of silence for Reverend Jesse Jackson and later for Babatunde Akinlola and Harold Tripp during adjournments in memory. Members gave tributes highlighting Akinlola’s film and education career and Tripp’s leadership in the Karuk Tribe and work on tribal restoration and natural resources. The session ended with announcements of upcoming committee meetings and adjournment until Thursday, February 19 at 9 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Go ahead and break it again, gentlemen. Still could use it. Thank you. No, the other way.
• Break the line. 163 members, and we've got, we've taken care of a few of them, lady.
• break so that needle phobia is not delaying the timely administration of epinephrine.
• break.
• break.

Summary: The House first established a quorum after introductions of the Freedom of the Road Riders and Warsaw High School students. Members then took up House Bill 1855, a reporting bill on alpha-gal syndrome. The sponsor described the bill as a public health surveillance measure to add alpha-gal to Missouri’s reportable conditions, require lab reporting to the Department of Health and Senior Services, and send aggregated data to the CDC. Supporters said the bill would help identify hotspots, guide education and funding, and address a serious tick-borne condition affecting rural and urban Missourians alike. Opponents raised concerns about cost, false positives/negatives, and privacy, but the sponsor and others said the system would be HIPAA-compliant and de-identified at the federal level. Two amendments to HB 1855 were debated. An amendment changing the department’s follow-up authority from “may” to “shall” was adopted, with supporters arguing that if the legislature funds follow-up, the department should be required to do it. A second amendment creating an opt-in/opt-out consent process for reporting was rejected 41-10 after extensive debate over privacy, data collection, and whether consent would undermine disease surveillance. The House then adopted the House committee substitute for HB 1855 as amended and ordered it perfected and printed. The chamber next considered House Bills 2230 and 2978, a revised education measure aimed at reducing screen time in K-5 classrooms and encouraging handwriting and cursive instruction. The sponsor said the bill was based on research linking heavy screen use to poorer educational and behavioral outcomes, and supporters emphasized local control, parent access to screen-time policies, and the need to bring experts together through a state-level focus group. An amendment to exclude virtual school programs was adopted. The House then adopted the committee substitute for HB 2230 and 2978 as amended and ordered it perfected and printed. Finally, the House began debate on House Bill 2355, the Food Is Medicine Initiative. The sponsor said the bill would let Missouri use federal funds through 1115 waivers to pilot medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, nutrition counseling, and related interventions to improve health and lower Medicaid costs. Members generally supported the concept, citing food deserts and the benefits of better nutrition, but an amendment adding vitamin therapies and cleanup language prompted concern from one member about supplement quality and regulation; the transcript ends during that amendment discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are currently up over 7% this spring, 15% for the upcoming summer term.
• We are currently up over<00:03:15.440><c> 7%</c><00:03:16.080><c> this</c><00:03:16.400><c> spring,</
• My treat is to have the chair take a break from the committee. Yes.
• There have also been numerous water main breaks along this line, most recently on April 4.
• There have also been numerous water main breaks along this line, most recently on April 4.

Bills: HF2418 , HF1666 , HF232 , HF344 , HF402 , HF431 , HF468 , HF547 , HF583 , HF1476 , HF1711 , HF2787 , HF2788 , HF3207

Committee: House Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:

• So either a dramatic safety break.
• You has the interimm stuff that breaks.
• Um, most notably Canton, Mabel, Spring Grove, and Calonia.
• Um, most notably Canton, Mabel, Spring Grove, and Calonia.
• In the decades is breaking the bank.

Bills: HF474 , HF218 , HF210 , HF441 , HF691 , HF720 , HF1068 , HF1314 , HF1465 , HF1860 , HF2046 , HF1389 , HF2404 , HF2854 , HF2985 , HF3128 , HF3103 , HF778 , HF3125

Committee: House Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:

• The Ellen Story Commission for Postpartum Depression's spring meeting.
• We had Commissioner Nekah Hall, who resigned last spring, leaving a vacancy for the Senate chair to appoint
• We would very much appreciate trying to break down those silos, Margarita. Awesome. Thank you all.
• AIM membership and an engagement event, please let me know we would very much appreciate trying to break
• Maybe one time annually is a good time to kind of break bread and celebrate the progress that we've made

Summary: The Ellen Story Commission for Postpartum Depression held its spring meeting with a large turnout, beginning with roll call and a review of the agenda. Co-chairs Representative Brandy Fluker-Reid and Senator Liz Miranda highlighted progress from the recently enacted maternal health omnibus law and the Moms Matter Act, including creation of a midwifery board, expansion of out-of-hospital birth options, doula services, lactation support, MassHealth coverage changes, and a trust fund for community-based behavioral health and substance use grants. Members also discussed implementation of the new law, the commission’s annual report, and the need to continue supporting birth centers and perinatal mental health services. A substantial portion of the meeting focused on commission membership and vacancies. Commissioners discussed whether to remain on the body, the need to fill several open seats, and whether the commission’s statutory composition should be updated to better reflect current practice and expertise. Members suggested adding more clinicians working directly with perinatal families, infant mental health experts, and a representative from PSI of Massachusetts, while also noting the value of having regulators and professional society representatives at the table. Several participants said any changes to membership would likely require legislation, and the co-chairs said they would explore options and possibly circulate a flyer or other invitation process for nominations. The commission also discussed meeting structure and future planning. Members generally supported moving to quarterly virtual meetings, with a preference for a 4 p.m. start time, and some suggested one annual in-person gathering. The group agreed to postpone the usual May Advocacy Day because the Great Hall was unavailable and instead aim for a fall event, with volunteers stepping forward to help plan it. Commissioners raised top-of-mind issues including postpartum depression screening reimbursement, care for people after miscarriage or abortion, access for undocumented pregnant people, and the impact of federal cuts. The meeting ended with agreement to crowdsource legislative priorities for the next quarter, consider future presentations from outside organizations, and send updates between meetings, followed by a motion to adjourn that passed unanimously.

Transcript Highlights:

• Then we have to go back in the spring.
• They're at 0% interest, and if they run into some sort of financial burden—if their well breaks, their
• pump breaks—and they didn't expect it and they're now blown their budget, they can come and tell us
• And we will break for our tour. Thank you, Madam Chair.
• Absolutely, just go out on Hot Springs. It's just not as far.

Committee: House New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• And frankly, now they're getting old, and so now they rupture and break, creating a dramatic safety hazard
• We toured this a couple of years ago when we were there; it has the interim stuff that breaks, you guys
• However, they don't extend through several southeast Minnesota towns, most notably Canton, Mabel, Spring
• We would like to begin this phase in the fall of 2025 or early in the spring of 2026, once our funding
• Richfield's generous contributions to regional roadway projects over the last two decades are breaking

Bills: HF474 , HF218 , HF210 , HF441 , HF691 , HF720 , HF1068 , HF1314 , HF1465 , HF1860 , HF2046 , HF1389 , HF2404 , HF2854 , HF2985 , HF3128 , HF3103 , HF778 , HF3125

Committee: House Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:

• So, they come to Massachusetts, it's actually a tax break for that type of business.
• So, they come to Massachusetts, it's actually a tax break for that type of business.
• </c><01:01:49.440><c> to</c> um you know, we're giving tax breaks to um you know, we're giving tax breaks
• I did sit in the spring...
• </c><01:43:44.480><c> Um</c><01:43:44.800><c> but</c> uh spring. Um but uh spring.

Committee: Senate Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• Now, we've got a spring and a summer subsidy. Spring and summer are purely subsidy.
• Spring and summer are purely cooling programs, so they're electricity only at this point.
• We just operated a spring. We believe it will be operating a summer.
• and a summer subsidy to operate a spring and a summer subsidy program. program. program.
• We we just operated a spring. We here. We we just operated a spring.

Bills: SB8

Committee: Joint Natural Resources & Energy

Keywords: utilities, public service commission, energy regulation, appointment, emergency declaration, tax increases, consumer protection

Transcript Highlights:

• Not sure how that will break up yet, but we do have 40 spaces allotted for that other category.
• I'd like to see I'd like to see those break. I'd like to see those breakdowns.
• The learning to read initiative in Oklahoma is going to break out this summer.
• There's several million dollars that's available that's going to be available this spring if you can
• OK, next meeting What week is spring break? You're not looking forward to it or anything, are you?

Committee: House Oklahoma Education Commission

Transcript Highlights:

• Health care, child care, housing costs—all of these factors work together to make or break a family’s
• Health care, child care, housing costs—all of these factors work together to make or break a family’s
• In the spring of 2024, Alex actually asked me if we could include this for JR as well, so I did.
• So in the spring of 2024 is when I started sending these pending counts. Right.
• So in the spring of 2024 is when I started sending these pending counts. Right.

Committee: Senate Human Services

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee held a work session focused first on the impacts of H.R. 1 on Medicaid and SNAP, especially for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, older adults, and low-income families. DSHS Assistant Secretary B. Rector explained Washington’s Medicaid structure for developmental disabilities and long-term care, noting that most community-based services are optional under federal Medicaid rules and could be vulnerable if state budgets tighten. He described several H.R. 1 changes, including possible cost sharing, a lower home equity limit, work requirements affecting the ACA expansion population, immigration-related eligibility losses, and a future new waiver opportunity. He said Washington could see about 2,700 people lose Medicaid eligibility due to immigration status and that most people with DD or long-term care needs would likely qualify for work requirement exemptions, but he warned that reduced federal dollars could put home and community-based services at risk. Advocates and providers described the practical effects of Medicaid cuts on crisis services, supported living, and family stability. Dr. Eric Bolter said Washington has only a small continuum of services for people with IDD and severe behavioral needs, and that lower ABA reimbursement and other Medicaid reductions could shrink already limited outpatient, residential, and inpatient options, leading to more hospital stays and out-of-state placements. Scott Leavengood said supported living is already underfunded, with high turnover and staffing shortages, and warned that past cuts led to longer waitlists and fewer people served. Stacey Dimm of The Arc of Washington argued that HCBS is the main service system for most people with developmental disabilities and that cuts would push people into more restrictive and expensive institutional care. She also emphasized that many families already lack access to paid services and that workforce, housing, and family support shortages make the system fragile. The committee then shifted to SNAP and food assistance. DSHS Assistant Secretary Carla Reyes outlined H.R. 1 changes to SNAP, including expanded work requirements, reduced exemptions, tighter immigration eligibility, elimination of the SNAP education program, higher state administrative costs, and a new state share of benefit costs tied to error rates. She said about 129,000 Washington residents could be at risk under the new work rules, roughly 30,000 legal immigrants could move to the state-funded food program, and the state could face hundreds of millions in new costs. Anti-hunger advocates and food bank leaders said the changes would increase hunger and administrative burden while reducing benefits, and they stressed that food banks cannot replace SNAP. A SNAP recipient, Amy Rourke, testified that even with extensive civic involvement she barely meets the proposed work-hour threshold and said the rules would punish parents, caregivers, and people facing transportation or child care barriers. She urged the state to count caregiving, advocacy, and community service as qualifying work and to build more flexible pathways for compliance. In the second half of the meeting, the committee turned to juvenile rehabilitation caseload forecasting and court data. Caseload Forecast Council staff presented the current JR forecast, saying caseloads had declined for years, rebounded after COVID, and are now projected to remain mostly flat through the current biennium before rising modestly over the longer term. Members asked about the distinction between regular JR and adult-sentenced youth, and staff explained that longer lengths of stay in the adult-sentenced population reflect policy choices made in prior legislation. Andrew Peterson of the Administrative Office of the Courts described data-sharing efforts intended to help JR forecast admissions, including quarterly counts of pending felony cases and youth criminal history information. He said the courts began sharing some data in 2022 and 2024, but staffing limits interrupted the effort, and JR recently asked to resume and expand the information flow to support weekly forecasting and better planning for facility capacity.

Transcript Highlights:

• That breaks out how we got to $1.3 million.
• He said, "If you want to break request.
• it. that breaks out uh highlighting on it. that breaks out how<00:15:38.959><c> we</c><00:15:39.199>
• Is is it going to be I 20 spring of 27?
• </c> request by divisions, can you break request by divisions, can you break down,<01:22:37.440><c> you

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• But we as a country have agreed that when collusion is happening, that breaks the free market and breaks
• that breaks those healthy forces.
• And the last bill we'll hear before our break is Senator Cabaldon, SB 351.
• Break is Senator Cabaldon, SB 351. I wasn't going to leave you hanging.
• I'm going to go through add-ons and such right now before we break until 1:30 p.m.

Summary: The committee met as a subcommittee without quorum at first, then later established quorum and continued hearing several bills. SB 27, the annual CARE Court cleanup bill, would require courts to consider CARE referral for certain misdemeanor defendants found incompetent to stand trial, combine some hearings, allow limited data sharing among licensed medical professionals, and expand eligibility to include mood disorders with psychotic features. Supporters said it would clarify the meaning of “clinically stabilized,” streamline the process, and help more severely ill people receive treatment; opponents argued it would expand CARE Court too broadly, strain county resources, and divert attention from housing and voluntary services. The bill passed to the Health Committee on a roll call vote and was placed on call. SB 82, dealing with so-called “infinite arbitration clauses,” would limit consumer contract arbitration provisions to disputes arising from the product or service actually purchased. The author and supporters said the bill would stop companies from forcing arbitration in unrelated claims and would not ban arbitration itself. Opponents from business and banking groups argued the language was too restrictive, could create litigation over related transactions, and should be clarified as prospective only. The committee approved the bill and placed it on call after a roll call vote. The committee then heard two reparations-related bills. SB 437 would direct CSU to develop a genealogical methodology and framework for verifying descendants of enslaved people, with oversight, reporting, and guardrails tied to recently allocated state funding. Supporters said the bill would create a fair, evidence-based process; opponents, including professional genealogists and reparations advocates, argued the work is already well understood, the bill is unnecessary, and it could delay action. SB 518 would create a Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within state government, with divisions for genealogy, property reclamation, outreach, and legal affairs. Supporters framed it as needed infrastructure to implement reparations recommendations; opponents objected to locating it in the Department of Justice, warned about data privacy and law enforcement control, and criticized the inclusion of broader communities. Both bills were moved to Appropriations and placed on call. The committee also heard SB 52, the End AI Rent Hikes Act, which would prohibit the use of algorithms to collude on and artificially inflate rental prices; the author and supporters described it as a response to AI-assisted rent fixing in California’s housing market.

Transcript Highlights:

• millennia to the cultures of the Iranian plateau and surrounding regions, marking the arrival of the spring
• equinox and the renewal of the natural world. ...marking the arrival of the spring equinox and the renewal
• and Central Asia, and whereas Nowruz symbolizes renewal, hope, and the transition from winter into spring
• marks... ...and honor the celebration of Nowruz, the ancient observance that marks the arrival of spring
• And my heart was just breaking for the man.

Bills: SB6061 , SB6234 , SB6176 , SB6335 , SB6047 , HB2235 , HB2272 , HB2340 , HB2543 , HB2554 , HB2632 , HB2464 , HB2619 , HB1376 , HB1796 , HB2091 , HB2249 , HB2254 , HB2353 , HB2431 , HB2441 , SB5808 , SB5949 , SB6006 , SB6260 , SB6297 , SB6351 , SB6354 , SB6355 , HB2124 , HB1069 , HB2104 , HB2624

Keywords: tourism, self-supported assessment, funding, statewide promotion, economic development, sewage, grinder pumps, residential buildings, regulation, construction, vehicle registration, enforcement, renewal, transportation, state law, state commission, infrastructure, traffic safety, responsibilities, state capital projects