Transcript Highlights:

• We need the partnership of providers, community organizations, churches, schools, and others who are
• including extension to caps on fee-for-service payments, restricts permitted use of value-based purchasing
• Restricts permitted use of value-based purchasing models in our managed care service delivery system,
• And our Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has helped us contract with rural schools to invest
• So all the universities around us, nursing schools, and even smaller colleges.

Summary: The Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee met on July 30, 2026, to hear two main briefings. The first, from the Health Care Authority, focused on implementation of federal H.R. 1 Medicaid changes and Washington’s rural health transformation funding. HCA said the state is preparing for major eligibility changes, including the October 1 loss of Medicaid coverage for about 14,000 lawfully present non-citizens and January 1, 2027 work requirements, six-month renewals, and reduced retroactive coverage for roughly 600,000 Medicaid expansion adults. Officials described outreach efforts, new automated verification systems, a verification hub, and plans to use available data sources to reduce manual paperwork, while noting that about one-third of the affected population may still need manual processing. They also said H.R. 1 will limit state-directed payments over time, with an estimated long-term impact of up to $1.5 billion in hospital reimbursements. On rural health transformation, HCA said it is moving quickly to obligate its $181 million federal award through contracts and competitive grants for rural hospitals, workforce, behavioral health, technology, and tribal and community partners. Committee members asked about the impact on rural providers, community service as a work-requirement pathway, emergency Medicaid, tribal and federal reimbursement issues, and whether the state would submit comments on the federal work-requirement rule. HCA said it would file comments, that emergency Medicaid coverage for certain services remains available, and that it is working with tribes and other agencies to avoid erroneous terminations and to move eligible people into other coverage where possible. Members also raised concerns about the administrative burden on families and providers and the need for congressional attention on issues such as TRICARE reimbursement. The second briefing addressed maternal health and the Department of Health’s Maternal Mortality Review Panel report. DOH said maternal mortality in Washington increased for the first time in the report series, but most pregnancy-related deaths remain preventable. Nearly half were linked to behavioral health conditions, especially overdose deaths, with suicide, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19 also significant causes; most deaths occurred postpartum rather than during delivery. The report found higher mortality rates among American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, multiracial, rural, and Medicaid-covered populations, and identified lack of access to care, financial hardship, housing instability, discrimination, bias, and systemic inequities as major contributors. DOH highlighted existing state actions such as one-year postpartum coverage, doula reimbursement, inpatient substance use treatment coverage for birthing people, and vaccine coverage requirements, and offered 12 legislative recommendations focused on affordable and high-quality care, basic needs and community supports, and equitable, culturally responsive services. Presenters from the Suquamish Tribe and Kitsap OBGYN described how the tribe acquired and stabilized a threatened OB-GYN practice to preserve regional access amid provider shortages and hospital service losses. They said rural obstetric care is difficult to sustain because of thin margins, workforce shortages, long travel distances, and higher-risk patients, and emphasized that tribal health systems can offer stronger reimbursement and integrated family-centered care. The Foundation for Healthcare Quality and the Bree Collaborative then outlined statewide maternity-care quality efforts, including work on perinatal behavioral health, care coordination, postpartum screening, doula support, and better-aligned payment models. They said Washington has strengths in innovation but still needs more OB-GYN capacity, better transitions of care, and more culturally responsive, trauma-informed maternal and Native health services.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 6282 is about recognizing that people who build our state, our schools, our roads, our homes
• , our infrastructure, our care, our schools, our roads, our homes, our infrastructure, are carrying more
• be drafted so that the maximum allowable package size adjusts automatically if LCB changes daily purchase
• Schools are dealing with vape pens, not just the cannabis ones, but the nicotine as well, where they
• And so they've been trying to separate them in a process that probably schools shouldn't be doing and

Bills: SB6053 , SB6134 , SB6147 , SB6106 , SB6045 , SB6135 , SB6128 , SB6282 , SB6068 , SB6303 , SB6290

Committee: Senate Labor & Commerce

Keywords: SB 6053, domestic workers, domestic worker rights, labor protections, minimum wage, overtime, private household employment, nanny, home care worker, personal care provider, housekeeper, cleaner, cook, gardener, household manager, wage theft, retaliation, anti-discrimination, immigration status, privacy rights

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 6282 is about recognizing that people who build our state, our schools, our roads, our homes
• Our schools, our roads, our homes, our infrastructure are carrying more than just physical risk on the
• be drafted so that the maximum allowable package size adjusts automatically if LCB changes daily purchase
• Schools are dealing with vape pens, not just the cannabis ones, but the nicotine as well, where they
• And so they've been trying to separate them in a process that probably schools shouldn't be doing and

Summary: The committee heard several bills and took executive action on a number of them. Senate Bill 6282, by Senator Nobles, would require building and construction trade apprenticeship programs to provide two hours of behavioral health and wellness training starting in 2027, covering stigma reduction, distress recognition, suicide prevention, substance use awareness, peer support, and resource connection. The bill drew strong support from labor and construction groups, who described high suicide and substance use rates in the industry and said the training would help apprentices and, with a planned amendment, journey-level workers as well. No vote was taken in the hearing portion shown, but testimony was overwhelmingly pro. Senate Bill 6135, by Senator King, would require interest arbitration panels for certain uniform personnel at local governments to consider the employer’s ability to pay. Counties and cities supported the bill as a modest fiscal-relief measure and argued it would align local arbitration with existing state-law language. Teamsters representatives and other labor witnesses opposed it, saying it would weaken collective bargaining and give employers leverage to stall or deny fair contracts. The committee closed the public hearing with 5 in favor, 22 opposed, and no other testimony. In executive session, the bill was later advanced subject to signatures. The committee also heard Senate Bill 6128 on independent medical exams, which would require IME recordings to be made through an L&I-approved third-party app and prohibit independent local recording. Supporters said the change would improve security, consistency, and reliability of recordings and reduce cancellations and disputes; opponents said it would burden injured workers and undo the 2023 right to record IMEs on their own devices. The committee then heard Senate Bill 6068, which would make owners and direct contractors jointly liable for unpaid wages and related damages on construction projects, with a notice-and-cure process before suit. Workers and labor groups supported it as a tool against wage theft and labor trafficking, while contractors and industry groups opposed it as overbroad and costly. The committee also heard Senate Bill 6303 on cannabis packaging and vapor devices, with testimony split between sustainability advocates and industry supporters on one side and public health and poison center witnesses on the other, who warned that loosening individual edible packaging could increase child poisonings. In executive session, the committee adopted a substitute for SB 6053 and moved it forward, and also passed SB 6134, SB 6147, SB 6106, and SB 6045 subject to signatures, with SB 6045 amended before passage to Ways and Means.

Transcript Highlights:

• leaving service to seeking employment and education, connecting them with benefits, housing, and home purchases
• The home loan program helps veterans purchase market-rate homes and is over a hundred years old.
• So as a consumer, a $100 purchase turns into $146.
• Stephen was lonely and being bullied at school and getting poor grades until he joined an after-school
• He had learned to play three instruments, was getting straight A's in high school, and was going on college

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on State Administration held an informational hearing on budget issues for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Cannabis Control, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and the California Arts Council. The chair noted there would be no votes. CalVet gave an overview of its programs serving veterans and families, including transition assistance, county veterans service officers, education approvals, housing and homelessness programs, home loans, long-term care homes, and state veterans cemeteries. Members asked about future long-term care needs for aging veterans, staffing and recruitment challenges at veterans homes, and the Yountville steam infrastructure replacement project, for which CalVet sought a $38.8 million reappropriation and said federal reimbursement was expected. CalVet also discussed the role of county veterans service officers in helping veterans file claims and avoid predatory unaccredited representatives. The Department of Cannabis Control described its regulatory role from seed to sale and requested one position to implement SB 1064’s combined activities license. Members and public witnesses focused heavily on the illicit cannabis market, enforcement staffing, and the impact of taxes and fees on the legal market. DCC said it had roughly 87 enforcement positions with about a 15% vacancy rate and more than 200 compliance staff. Its economist presented the 2024 cannabis market report, which found licensed production and retail quantity were up, but retail value and prices were down, with an estimated 11.4 million pounds of illicit production and about 60% of California consumption still coming from the illicit market. Industry witnesses argued the legal market is in crisis, urged repeal of the scheduled excise tax increase, stronger enforcement against illicit cannabis and hemp-derived intoxicants, and expanded retail access. The Department of Consumer Affairs briefly presented nine budget proposals, including a $2.6 million ongoing request to maintain a business modernization system for several boards and bureaus. The Commission on the Status of Women and Girls described its work on economic and educational equity, health care, violence prevention, student rights, and archival and outreach projects, and said its budget request would convert limited-term positions to permanent. A member urged the commission to narrow its priorities toward current issues such as affordability, child care, and women’s health. The California Arts Council outlined its role as the state’s only statewide arts funder and requested restoration of $5 million in local assistance; supporters testified that the funding would leverage additional local investment and help sustain arts access, especially in rural communities. The hearing ended after the non-presentation items were noted and no further public comment was offered.

Transcript Highlights:

• come in up through the first birthday of the child, this would allow that newborn license to be purchased
• And I know it's, you know, what we agree on now when we make a purchase or have purchased in the past
• And I know it's, you know, what we agree on now when we make a purchase or have purchased in the past
• </c><02:09:55.360><c> or</c><02:09:55.679><c> have</c> on now when we make a purchase or have on now
• when we make a purchase or have purchased<02:09:56.480><c> uh</c><02:09:56.639><c> in</c><02:09:56.880

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It represents a 1.4% increase, and the $3,700 requested will be to purchase one laptop.
• So we are considering the purchase of one laptop for the Endowment Fund Investment Board.
• And what they're purchasing with OITS hardware... It's $47,300.
• And what they're purchasing with that, OITS hardware, there's five switches.
• It might say, well, why are we purchasing this today? Why this year?

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The permanent funds and the benefits that we're providing to our schools, our pre-K kids, and the revenue
• the Severance Tax Permanent Fund first and foremost on generating the returns that we need for our schools
• They expect you to purchase things. And so...
• Senator, Bill Loomis from Wyoming has already drafted federal legislation to require the U.S. to purchase
• a dollar that was going to be digitized, but now they could track it and they could watch every purchase

Committee: House Investments & Pensions Oversight Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> particular our schools and children. particular our schools and children.
• It's a choice between protecting our schools and our children at schools or just allowing this violence
• I've seen it myself in my schools in my I've seen it myself in my schools in my community. community.
• </c> made that schools should be protected. made that schools should be protected.
• I think kids should be safe at school.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• with the fact that House Republicans cheered as the Trump administration tore Wi-Fi out of rural school
• </c><02:25:11.600><c> And</c><02:25:11.840><c> it's</c> out of rural school buses.
• And it's out of rural school buses.
• </c> elementary schools across New Mexico. elementary schools across New Mexico.
• In 2007, it made sense to harness the purchasing power of the federal government and support emerging

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and Martin County Middle School to do after-school programming where she brings hands-on experiences
• </c> preschool all the way up to high school. preschool all the way up to high school.
• So, preschool, Head Start, and then elementary, middle school, high school, and even public settings.
• in this current school year.
• </c> serving 220 families over three schools serving 220 families over three schools in<01:22:46.159>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Make America Healthy Kentucky Task Force met with a quorum, approved the minutes, and then heard a presentation on the state’s “food is medicine” efforts. Chair Funky Fromm opened by describing a recent foot injury from a road hazard and used it to emphasize the importance of infrastructure, nutrition, sleep, and activity as part of a broader wellness culture. The main witnesses were Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell, Holly Harris of Appalachian Regional Health Care (ARH), and Jim Muser of the Kentucky Hospital Association. Shell and Harris described a partnership between the Department of Agriculture, the Kentucky Hospital Association, and hospitals such as ARH to connect local farmers with hospital cafeterias, farmers markets, CSA-style subscription food boxes, and medically tailored meals. Harris said ARH serves a large region with 14 hospitals, more than 95 clinics, about 6,700 employees, and 1,300 medical staff, and that the system began by improving employee food options because hospital workers often have limited access to healthy meals during shifts. They reported examples such as a local-protein burger, parking-lot farmers markets, subsidized CSA boxes for employees, and plans for container gardens at some hospitals. The witnesses said the program is intended to improve health outcomes, reduce readmissions, support chronic disease management, and also increase rural prosperity by expanding demand for Kentucky farm products. Shell said more than 40 hospitals had already been onboarded into the food-is-medicine program, with measurable outcomes being studied through pilots such as one at Russell County Hospital. He also noted that some systems, including CHI St. Joseph Health, Taylor Regional, and UK King’s Daughters, have formally embedded food-as-medicine goals into strategic plans. Members and witnesses also discussed barriers, especially the lack of reimbursement, fragmented short-term funding, and regulatory or purchasing hurdles that make it difficult for small farmers to participate. Shell said the goal is to make the model scalable and easier for hospitals and farmers to navigate, while Harris emphasized that ARH has been funding its efforts without reimbursement because of its mission. No votes or formal policy actions were taken beyond approving the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have been unsuccessfully trying to purchase a prosthetic for years.
• My life changed when I was able to purchase MinnesotaCare in 2025.
• Now they can't learn in school because they can't hear their teacher.
• Hospitals, schools, and strengthening our communities.
• sent to schools that ended up as a death sentence.

Transcript Highlights:

• Schools of students that are children of military members are designated as Purple Star schools.
• Many of them were either heading to law school or just come out of law school.
• The other is a school building fund, which are five mills spread throughout the school district.
• So when you combine 25% of the county for mill plus the five mills for county school, the school district
• schools, would reach the school districts that were particularly more affected.

Bills: HR1051 , HR1048 , SB2074 , SJR39 , SJR47 , SB1983 , SB444 , SB1503 , SB1561 , SB592 , SB1501 , SB1946 , SB1567 , SB1833 , SB2026 , SB904 , SB2178 , SB1651 , SB1558 , SB1565 , SB1553 , SB1257 , SB65 , SB1749 , SB1242 , SB1642 , SB640 , SB667 , SB1436 , SB1484 , SB1562 , SB1794 , SB1644 , SB1533 , SB933 , SB1555

Keywords: livestock, judging, Oklahoma State University, championship, agriculture, military children, recognition, community support, military families, April 15, pharmacy benefits managers, reimbursement, healthcare, prescription drugs, cost regulation, property valuation, tax limit, homestead, income threshold, elderly

Transcript Highlights:

• I have a question for the most distinguished looking member of my law school graduating class.
• <00:21:08.480><c> their</c><00:21:08.799><c> new</c><00:21:09.120><c> truck</c><00:21:09.440><c> purchase
• </c><00:21:10.159><c> So,</c> somehow to their new truck purchase.
• So, somehow to their new truck purchase.
• It's kind of an issue that can occur through a trade or a purchase, and as time goes on, you build equity

Committee: Senate Banking & Insurance

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00 Call to Order and Roll Call 00:09 Discussion SB 118 00:58 Vote SB 118 03:25 Discussion SB 153 04:39 Vote SB 153 17:48 Discussion SB 158 19:41 Vote SB 158 24:09, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The audit of Idaho's virtual school funding.
• IDLA does play a very important role in public school delivery.
• The budget recommendation for online schools is designed to ensure online schools are still available
• support going out to schools, whereas IDLA, we're spending $445, obviously a lot less, ...out to schools
• I have a question about the virtual schools and the cuts there.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee opened the session with roll call, confirmed a quorum, and introduced new members, staff, and pages. Co-chairs and staff then reviewed JFAC’s role as the legislature’s main budget committee, the committee’s daily schedule, and the resources available through legislative staff, the impact team, and the newly released 2026 Legislative Budget Book and related budget tools. The committee received a detailed briefing from the Division of Financial Management on the JFAC calendar and then from Governor’s Budget Director Lori Wolf on the governor’s FY 2026 and FY 2027 budget recommendations. Wolf said the budget is balanced but tight, relying on a mix of ongoing reductions and one-time actions rather than reserve fund transfers. Major budget actions included a 3% ongoing reduction across most state agencies, reversions of certain one-time balances to the general fund, no recommended pay increase for state employees or teachers, and higher employee health insurance costs. The budget also proposed reductions or policy changes in Medicaid, virtual school funding, Idaho Digital Learning Academy, and some transportation and water-related funds, while preserving funding for public safety, education, water, and transportation priorities. Members questioned the assumptions behind the budget, especially the projected ending balances, the use of one-time transfers, the impact of rising health insurance costs on employees, the effect of Medicaid cuts on services and cost shifts, and the rationale for reductions to online education and IDLA. Several members also asked about the proposed federal tax conformity changes, including the timing of implementation and the treatment of Idaho’s existing R&E tax credit. Wolf said the conformity estimate was based on Tax Commission analysis and that the administration was not recommending use of the budget stabilization fund. No votes or formal actions were taken; the committee concluded by noting that the Economic Outlook Committee would meet later in the week and that JFAC would continue budget hearings the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you get high school...?
• Do you have high school students that continue if they are in ROTC in high school, and then they get
• Now, interestingly, Holloman middle school and elementary school are pretty solid, very impressive facilities
• The new middle school looks amazing.
• Colonel, you mentioned that the elementary school and the middle school perform extremely well, but then

Transcript Highlights:

• And after that, Elizabeth Ford from the Seattle University School of Law.
• And we purchased a giant transformer that was two stories high, probably half this room, and we had to
• And we purchased a giant transformer that was two stories high, probably half this room, and we had to
• Madam Chair, there are And we purchased a giant transform of this two stories high, probably half this

Bills: HB2479 , HB2091 , HB2105 , HB2107 , HB2151 , HB2190 , HB2191 , HB2218 , HB2243 , HB2303 , HB2345

Committee: House Labor & Workplace Standards

Keywords: unpaid wages, wage theft, wage recovery, labor standards, Department of Labor and Industries, L&I, worker protection, low-wage workers, back pay, interest on wages, civil penalties, retaliation, immigration status coercion, gig workers, transportation network companies, rideshare drivers, app-based drivers, employment law, wage complaint, payroll enforcement

Transcript Highlights:

• RAISED IN SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND THAT WAS HOW DOES THE BILL CONTEMPLATE A SCENARIO WHERE THE PURCHASE
• MEDICATIONS THE PATIENT GETS, HOW MUCH THEY PAY, EVEN WHERE THEY PICK IT UP AND MEDICATIONS ARE PURCHASED
• IT IS AN INSULT TO THE PHARMACIST WHO WENT TO GRADUATE SCHOOL TO MAKE SURE THEY DISTRIBUTE PRESCRIPTION
• WE'VE HEARD THEY'RE NOT GOING TO STACK THE MEDICINE, WHAT ABOUT PHARMACIES WHO PURCHASE THINGS REGIONALLY

Transcript Highlights:

• to make it—again, it's the whole notion of, you know, we have a lot of very astute people who are schooled
• And we have been doing things, been very thoughtful about purchasing and about... ...doing things, been
• very thoughtful about purchasing and about filling empty slots.
• I do want to give a shout-out to DES, who has been helping us immensely with furniture purchases, and

Committee: Joint Statute Law Committee

Summary: The Statute Law Committee met on December 10, 2025, approved the June 10, 2025 minutes, and received a publications update noting that the 2025 RCW volumes and session laws are available, with sales continuing a gradual decline but generally tracking prior years. The committee also heard that the office remains fully staffed and financially stable, with projected year-end funds remaining and a healthy publications fund balance. A major discussion centered on a proposal from retired Judge Ann Levinson to make the code more reader-friendly when chapters are repealed and recodified, especially after the civil protection orders reform in E2 SHB 1320, which consolidated multiple protection order laws into new chapter 7.105 RCW. Levinson argued that current disposition-table language such as “repealed by” can be confusing to the public and may appear to signal legislative disapproval, and suggested adding a simple pointer to the new chapter. Code revisers explained their current practice, the limits of their editorial discretion, and the technical and policy concerns involved, while expressing support for some form of “see also” guidance and noting that hyperlinking session-law citations in disposition tables may also help readers find the new law. The committee also discussed office operations, including a planned move from the modular offices back into the rebuilt Pritchard building, expected in late 2026, with improved space, storage, and enclosed offices. Staff proposed changing regular Monday-through-Thursday office hours from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. to 8 a.m.–7 p.m., with exceptions for active work, client requests, and floor action; the proposal was supported by a chart showing that many evenings have no work after 7 p.m., though late nights would still occur during busy periods. The meeting ended with acknowledgments of retiring staff, including editor Barb Sage after 37 years of service, and a farewell to Vice Chair Sam Thompson, whose successor had just been selected.

Transcript Highlights:

• So instead, what we do is keep that purchase price at $425,000 and then instead use those credits to
• We have to purchase water rights in order. And usually, that's coming from the state.
• We're having to purchase those rights. It's from someone else.
• into housing, and we get them for 2 or 3 years, the chances of them having kids, we put them in our schools

Committee: House Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force

Transcript Highlights:

• Short-term plans typically are plans that you can purchase when you're in between coverage.
• The current pathway is you need 150 hours of school to get the CPA license.
• One of them loved reading and loved school.
• I'm probably going to return back to high school and then compete in the track and field season.
• I'm probably going to return back to high school and then compete in the track and field season.

Committee: House Business

Keywords: 989, all