Transcript Highlights:

• concerning required payments upon registration of a vehicle for a member of the United States Armed Forces
• Senator Daugherty, concerning the continuation of the Kidney Disease Prevention and Education Task Force
• Department of Regulatory Agencies in the Department's 2025 Sunset Report for the sunset of the Task Force
• Senator Daugherty, concerning the continuation of the Kidney Disease Prevention and Education Task Force
• Department of Regulatory Agencies in the Department's 2025 Sunset Report for the sunset of the Task Force

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The Senate met with a quorum, approved the journal, and recognized Girls Inc. of Metro Denver in a personal privilege presentation. Senators highlighted the organization’s history, its work serving youth through programs focused on healthy living, academic success, and leadership, and its STEM outreach. Senator Danielson also noted a free science box program available through Girls Inc. and praised the group’s work. On third reading, the Senate laid over Senate Bill 66 and then passed House Bill 1339, which renames the March 31 voluntary holiday from Cesar Chavez Day to Farm Workers Day. Supporters said the change was prompted by reports of abuse by Cesar Chavez and emphasized continued respect for farm workers and the movement. Senator Benavidez later corrected earlier remarks about Colorado farm worker history, noting a unionized farm in Center, Colorado and describing the broader legacy of farm worker organizing in the state. The Senate also passed House Bill 1144, prohibiting the use of 3D printing to manufacture firearms, and Senate Bill 48, which removes the exception allowing minors 16 or older to marry with judicial approval; both bills were reconsidered and repassed after initial votes. The chamber also passed House Bill 1200 on vehicle registration payments for military members serving outside the state, House Bill 1011 on the transfer of certain pet animals, and House Bill 1133 regarding an environmental education program under the Traveling Animal Protection Act. House Bill 1011 and House Bill 1133 drew more divided votes than the other measures. The Senate then granted leave for the Joint Budget Committee to meet while the Senate was in session. In Committee of the Whole, members adopted the consent calendar and advanced House Bills 1257, 1095, 1089, 1277, and 1198 on second reading. The Senate also took up Senate Bill 40 on the Affordable Home Ownership Program; supporters described it as a response to Prop 123 workforce housing issues, especially AMI restrictions affecting teachers and first responders. An amendment removed the proposed loan program from the bill, and the amended bill was adopted. Finally, the Senate adopted House Bill 1134, which requires municipal court defendants to be subject to conditions similar to state court defendants, including sentencing rules, transparency, and access to counsel.

Transcript Highlights:

• AI has been rolled out is a five-alarm fire for our society and has devastating consequences and deadly
• chatbot that can talk them about virtually any topic with no regulation whatsoever has been proven deadly
• ><00:13:50.160> has<00:13:50.320> been<00:13:50.520> proven<00:13:50.880> deadly
• <00:13:51.440> in whatsoever, um has been proven deadly in whatsoever, um has been proven
• deadly in a<00:13:51.720> number<00:13:52.240> of<00:13:52.360> cases.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Senators Erin Maye Quade, Eric Lucero, Liz Boldon, and Chair Ron Latz discussed a package of bipartisan bills aimed at regulating artificial intelligence and related technology in Minnesota. The speakers argued that AI can be beneficial but has been rolled out without adequate safeguards, citing concerns about consumer surveillance, insurance claim denials, dynamic pricing, chatbot harms to children, and the use of AI in healthcare utilization review. Maye Quade and Boldon emphasized protecting kids, consumers, and constitutional rights, while Lucero framed the issue as keeping law aligned with rapidly changing technology and protecting individual liberties. A major focus was the “reverse warrant” bill, which would restrict law enforcement from using warrants that start with an unknown suspect and sweep up data from everyone in a location or search terms in a broad area. The senators said such warrants are the opposite of the Fourth Amendment’s particularity requirement, though they noted ongoing conversations with the BCA and police chiefs about balancing privacy and public safety. They also discussed a bill to prohibit minors from accessing chatbots, describing chatbots as conversational, addictive, and uniquely harmful to developing brains; Maye Quade cited examples of self-harm, sexual content, and dangerous advice allegedly given to minors. The senators said the package was intentionally heard in Judiciary first so it could be referred to Commerce, and they expressed hope for further hearings there and in the House. Lucero said he did not support all the bills, naming the dynamic pricing bill and the AI utilization review prohibition as measures he had reservations about, while supporting the reverse warrant, disclosure, and minor-access restrictions. The discussion also touched on federal preemption concerns, with the senators saying states are stepping in because federal action has lagged and the harms cross party lines. No formal votes or committee actions were described in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Prostitution when they were being forced into a horrible life.
• Forced to work in, again, awful conditions.
• I was at a task force two weeks ago in Deming. They had a massage parlor.
• ; or three, when the perpetrator is armed with a deadly weapon.
• You have to be a resident of New Mexico or in the armed forces.

Transcript Highlights:

• This federal administration, who supposedly cares so much about waste, and they are about to force us
• I did want to just turn to where this proposal seems to be deadly silent: one is around indigent care
• Eliminating this benefit will also force many counties to cut services for children, youth, and adults
• We can't go back, but the big deadly bill is making us go back.
• We support care coordination for the same populations forced into the fee-for-service model.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health held a May Revision hearing covering several health-related budget proposals and broader concerns about the state’s budget structure. The Chair opened by praising some May Revision changes, such as added health IT funding, county administration support tied to Medi-Cal changes, a delay in Medi-Cal cuts for some lawfully present immigrants, and additional support for Covered California subsidies, while criticizing proposed increases in Medi-Cal premiums, changes to senior eligibility, the lack of a Medi-Cal dental solution, and other reductions affecting counties, mobile crisis units, workforce incentives, and physician shortages. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the state’s budget condition remains weak despite progress on the structural deficit, and the Department of Finance said the May Revision uses a mix of reductions, reforms, revenue proposals, and fund shifts to cut out-year deficits. The committee first heard Department of State Hospitals proposals, including adjustments to county bed billing authority, contract exemption language for online clinical/pharmacy subscriptions, reversion of unspent funds, a revised Metro Central Utility Plant replacement project, electronic health record implementation, and workforce development funded partly through Behavioral Health Services Act resources. DSH also described savings and realignments in incompetent-to-stand-trial and conditional release programs, including extending the independent placement panel program and shifting funds to support additional bed capacity and a mental health rehab center. Members asked about the use of BHSA funds for workforce programs, and the department said the proposal would replace General Fund support with BHSA reimbursements. The Emergency Medical Services Authority proposed funding for statewide behavioral health crisis response guidance and for enterprise system development, and the Department of Managed Health Care proposed modernization of its complaint system and claims-settlement data system to improve oversight and comply with AB 3275. The largest discussion centered on the administration’s BHSA spending plan under Proposition 1, including state-directed prevention, workforce, and other uses, plus General Fund offsets for existing programs. The LAO questioned whether some proposed offsets fit Proposition 1’s non-supplant and eligible-use requirements, while the administration argued the uses were consistent with the measure and that the state-directed share can be adjusted annually. The Commission for Behavioral Health’s proposals drew the most public and member concern. The administration proposed cutting the commission’s Innovation Partnership Fund from $20 million to $10 million and reducing the Community Advocacy Program by $6.7 million, while redirecting BHSA dollars to other state purposes and direct services. Commissioners, advocates, and several members argued the cuts would weaken community voice, reduce support for underserved populations, and disrupt grants already in process; they also objected to using BHSA funds to backfill General Fund commitments. Public commenters, including youth, disability, behavioral health, LGBTQ, tribal, veteran, immigrant, and community-based organization representatives, overwhelmingly opposed the cuts and urged preservation of prevention, advocacy, mobile crisis, and innovation funding. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• background checks, increased criminal penalties for straw purchasing guns, and passed legislation to ban deadly
• legislation purchasing guns, and passed legislation to<00:27:19.600> ban<00:27:20.000> deadly
• binary<00:27:20.840> triggers,<00:27:21.680> which<00:27:21.920> we to ban deadly
• binary triggers, which we to ban deadly binary triggers, which we need<00:27:22.400> to<00:27

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: This was Governor Tim Walz’s final State of the State address to the Minnesota Legislature. He opened by recognizing legislative leaders, constitutional officers, tribal leaders, the judiciary, and members of his administration, then asked for a moment of silence for the Hortman family and spoke at length about recent tragedies, including the Annunciation Church shooting, political violence, the COVID-19 pandemic, and what he described as the impacts of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota. He framed the address around resilience, unity, and the state’s response to grief and disruption. Walz reviewed major accomplishments from his time in office, emphasizing investments in education, child care, free school meals, housing, infrastructure, climate initiatives, paid family leave, voting access, and worker protections. He also highlighted tax cuts, rebate checks, Social Security tax relief, medical debt protections, and efforts to lower costs for families. Looking ahead, he proposed expanding the dependent care tax credit, cutting the statewide sales tax for the first time, adding housing and first-time homebuyer support, and providing aid to businesses and households affected by Operation Metro Surge. A major portion of the speech focused on public safety and fraud prevention. Walz said he wanted lawmakers to reestablish the binary trigger ban, pass additional gun violence measures including bans on weapons of war and high-capacity magazines, and strengthen safe storage and insurance requirements for firearms. He also urged passage of his anti-fraud package, which would increase penalties, create a centralized fraud prevention office, and restructure human services administration to improve oversight and program integrity. He closed by urging lawmakers to act on these proposals during his remaining months in office and said the next governor would inherit a fiscally strong state.

Transcript Highlights:

• In reference to Representative Lowe, although under the penal code it's called deadly conduct, this alone
• Different offenses include: One, trafficking a child or disabled person with the intent for forced labor
• Painful details of Nancy's suffering over and over, how she was forced on her knees in a field, a gun
• It's the facts of the case, not custom, that forces families into continuous anguish.
• However, just within four months of his sentence, he became eligible for parole, and then we were forced

Bills: HB153, HB1828, HB2306, HB2498, HB3464, HB3488, HB3636, HB3673, HB3834, HB3860, HB4120, HB4937, HB1515, HB153

Keywords: education, funding, student resources, technology access, equal opportunity, veterans treatment court, mental health, criminal justice, rehabilitation, eligibility criteria, veterans, treatment court, military service, legislation, legislative leave, correctional officers, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, accumulated leave, compensatory time, parole eligibility

Transcript Highlights:

• So, through these gates passed the most dangerous weapon in the world, the most deadly force in the world
• Established in 2006 by Sergeant Wesheatland, the Crooked Oak High School OK20061 Air Force Junior ROTC
• They've been recognized by the Air Force Junior RTC.

Bills: HB1675, HB3242, HB1739, HB3320, HB3047, HB4434, HJR1089, HB4432, HB3718, HB3705, SR43, HB1933, HB4248, SB1847, SB1778, HJR1086, HB3001, HB3002, HB3003, HB3004, HB3005, HB3007, HB3008, HB1590, HB1242, HB3818, HB4305, HB1979, HB1225, HB3931, HB4454, HB3849, HB1746, HB3720, HB4275, HB4300, HB3586, HB2268, HB3755, HB4117, HB4294, HB3650, HB4298, HB3270, HB3145, HB3056

Keywords: emergency management, severe weather, youth camp, summer camp, overnight camp, day camp, outdoor education, adventure camp, wilderness program, campground safety, tornado preparedness, flooding, flash flood, high winds, hail, lightning, extreme heat, extreme cold, wildfire smoke, evacuation plan

Transcript Highlights:

• This was tried in the 1970s by President Nixon; it was a deadly failure, and Texas led the fight to get
• Daylight saving time forces us... ...to wake our children in the dark and put them to bed in the light

Bills: SB1888, SB3003, SB2417, SB2459, SB3055, HB1393, HB2884, SB2943

Keywords: grand jury, jury qualifications, jury wheel, small counties, Texas legislation, age verification, obscene devices, online sales, juvenile protection, penalties, antitrust, attorney general, Texas Free Enterprise, business regulations, legal confidentiality, personal identifying information, data brokers, judicial safety, civil rights, data privacy

Transcript Highlights:

• This was tried in the 1970s by President Nixon, and it was a deadly failure, and Texas led the fight
• Daylight saving time forces us Texans to wake our children in the dark and put them to bed in the light

Bills: SB 1888, SB 3003, SB 2417, SB 2459, SB 3055, HB 1393, HB 2884, SB 2943

Keywords: grand jury, jury qualifications, jury wheel, small counties, Texas legislation, age verification, obscene devices, online sales, juvenile protection, penalties, antitrust, attorney general, Texas Free Enterprise, business regulations, legal confidentiality, personal identifying information, data brokers, judicial safety, civil rights, data privacy

Transcript Highlights:

• I also served as the Mass Municipal Association's designee on the PFAS Interagency Task Force.
• rather spoke to the task force, about the immense amount of money that Easton invested.
• Families are too often forced to choose between homelessness and housing with lead hazards.
• There's been an interagency task force. It's time to act. The issue has been studied.
• There's been an interagency task force. This committee has released a bill.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health held a lengthy hearing to take testimony on a wide range of bills related to environmental health, PFAS, medical device chemicals, food access, lead poisoning, air quality, oral health, and school food additives. Chair Driscoll and Chair Decker emphasized that the hearing was for testimony only, no decisions would be made that day, and that written testimony could still be submitted. They also noted the high volume of speakers and asked witnesses to keep remarks brief. A major portion of the hearing focused on PFAS-related legislation, including bills to restrict PFAS in products and food packaging and to create a PFAS remediation trust fund. Municipal officials and advocates described the high costs of PFAS cleanup, especially for drinking water systems, citing Easton’s multimillion-dollar treatment investments and rate increases. Testimony from legislators and advocates argued that Massachusetts should act despite federal uncertainty, and that the state should stop PFAS at the source rather than leaving municipalities and residents to pay for remediation. The committee also heard strong support for a bill banning DEHP in medical devices, with physicians, nurses, and a bill sponsor saying the chemical can leach from IV bags and tubing and that safer alternatives already exist. The committee also heard testimony on bills to establish statewide food truck permitting, with food truck owners and a senator describing the current system as costly, duplicative, and inconsistent across municipalities. Another set of witnesses supported the “Bean New Deal,” which would expand plant-based food options in public institutions, senior nutrition programs, and WIC, citing health, equity, and cost savings. On lead poisoning, housing advocates and a representative backed bills to expand lead-safe housing requirements to all rental units, arguing the current law contributes to discrimination against families with children and leaves too much pre-1978 housing uncertified. The committee also heard support for an outdoor air pollution bill that would create an advisory committee, identify pollution hotspots, expand monitoring, and set reduction targets, with testimony from environmental justice groups, pediatricians, and legislators describing disproportionate asthma and other health harms in overburdened communities. Later testimony addressed oral health bills to create dental therapists and allow dental hygienists to administer nitrous oxide, with supporters saying the measures would expand access, reduce costs, and help underserved patients. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to prohibit harmful food dyes in competitive school foods, with parents describing behavioral and health concerns tied to synthetic dyes. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• It weakens the protective measures we already have in place to prevent the spread of a very deadly...
• spread of a very deadly pathogen.
• protective measures in place to prevent that spread. measures in place to prevent that spread of a deadly

Bills: HB509

Keywords: HB509, game breeder, game breeder license, cervid, deer breeder, whitetail deer, elk, fallow deer, deer farm, captive deer, cervidae, wildlife disease, disease testing, antemortem testing, state veterinarian, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, property rights, private property, animal transfer, breeding stock

Transcript Highlights:

• poisons that have trafficking deadly poisons that have taken<00:08:40.640> the<00:08:40.800><
• <07:08:52.558> tornadoes On Friday, May 16th, deadly tornadoes On Friday, May 16th, deadly
• The greatest force for change is a job. A project like Cynica Commerce Park ensures just that.
• <07:14:01.680> A greatest force for change is a job.
• A greatest force for change is a job.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, May 19, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 312 should pass, an act relating to concealed firearms and deadly weapons.
• act relating to concealed<00:08:18.080> firearms<00:08:18.960> and<00:08:19.280> deadly
• concealed firearms and deadly weapons. concealed firearms and deadly weapons.

Keywords: Convene 00:00 Senate Message 05:10 Calendar/2nd Readings 07:06 Report of Committees 07:47 Orders of the Day 08:52 HB 176 09:09 HB 178 12:19 HB 280 15:34 Motions, Petitions, and Communications 19:55 Introduction of New Bills and Resolutions 32:05 Recess for ConC and Rules Meeting 32:05 ConC and Rules Report 39:04 Adjournment 40:48, 958, all

Summary: The House convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, established a quorum, excused absent members, and approved the journal. The Senate then communicated passage of Senate Bills 10 and 28 and requested concurrence. The House also received second-reading reports for several bills, including measures on custody, human sexuality instruction in schools, tax increment financing, death benefits, postsecondary education, and disabled veterans, along with committee reports advancing bills on agriculture, criminal trespass, concealed firearms, human trafficking, sexual performance material involving minors, reading and writing in schools, and educators. The chamber then took up and passed three health-related bills. House Bill 176, on prior authorization, was explained as a bipartisan effort to reduce insurance-related delays and bureaucracy in patient care; it passed 90-1. House Bill 178, on the psychiatric collaborative care model, was presented as a budget-neutral way to expand timely mental health access through primary care settings; it passed unanimously, 93-0. House Bill 280, a Kentucky Board of Nursing cleanup bill and school rescue-medication update, was amended by House Committee Substitute 1 to restore language allowing investigations involving abuse and to update school medication provisions; the substitute and the bill as amended both passed 94-0. House Resolution 35, recognizing January 21, 2026 as Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Day in Kentucky, was introduced, taken from committee, and adopted. During announcements, members noted upcoming committee meetings and events, including a reception for highway contractors and related groups, and several committee cancellations. One member also spoke about a catastrophic fire in Williamsburg, asking for prayers for the community and first responders. The Committee on Committees and Rules then reported referrals for numerous newly introduced bills to standing committees and made changes to the 2026 Committee on Impeachment, removing Representatives Marzian and Donworth and appointing Representatives Watkins and Gentry. The House then adjourned until 2:00 p.m. Thursday, January 22, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• and a lawyer who decides and triages what approach to give you, which includes locking people into forced
• But the data suggests that forced incarceration, forced treatment, does not really work and puts people
• She's alive today because she was never forced into total isolation.
• Third, Massachusetts law, and we must correct that deadly paradox. Third, H. 225 and S. 1391.
• It didn't happen overnight, but this particular bill forced me into treatment, provided resources, and

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery held a public hearing on several harm reduction bills, including measures to decriminalize simple possession and paraphernalia, authorize overdose prevention centers, and expand access to naloxone for first responders. Chair Mindy Domb and Senator John Velis opened by describing harm reduction as an evidence-based public health strategy and noting Massachusetts’ recent decline in fatal overdoses. They emphasized that testimony would help shape whether and how the bills advance, and explained the hearing process, including time limits and written testimony. Testimony was sharply divided. Supporters, including Rep. Kate Donaghue, Sen. Cindy Friedman, Rep. Marjorie Decker, Rep. Manny Cruz, public health professionals, recovery advocates, and people with lived experience, argued that harm reduction saves lives, reduces stigma, and can connect people to treatment. They supported overdose prevention centers and decriminalization as tools to keep people alive long enough to enter recovery, and several speakers described personal losses to overdose or family experiences with addiction. Some supporters also framed the bills as racial justice measures, arguing that criminal penalties for possession have disproportionately harmed Black and brown communities. Opponents, including Sen. Nick Collins and several South End residents, argued that overdose prevention centers and decriminalization would worsen public drug use, crime, and neighborhood disorder, especially around Mass and Cass. They said current approaches such as Section 35, diversion, and police leverage into treatment are more effective, and they urged more treatment beds and recovery facilities instead of harm reduction sites. Committee members questioned witnesses about research, local siting, crime data, and the relationship between harm reduction and treatment, and several members said neighborhood impacts must be considered alongside overdose prevention. The committee did not take a vote during the hearing; it continued receiving testimony and announced a later break before resuming on H. 2196 and S. 1393.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:47:19.160> isolation criminals um and it can force isolation criminals um and it can force
• What we know is force sobriety is not the same as recovery. It's just not.
• Because one of the risks of forced incarceration is if people don't get the resources, if they don't
• sobriety is not the we know is force sobriety is not the same<00:53:22.359> as<00:53:22.559><
• one of the risks of um forced one of the risks of um forced incarceration incarceration incarceration

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But right now, these are market forces at play.
• But right now, these are market forces at play.
• Whereas this bill, if it was to be passed as written, um, I would essentially be forced to get rid of
• Whereas this bill, if it was to be passed as written, um, I would essentially be forced to get rid of

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• virtue, it is essential that they are empowered to carry a tool that is essential to equalize any deadly
• And our organization's Armed Forces Initiative, a program introducing veterans, active duty military,
• The laws of this state: this man had no criminal record, Air Force veteran, CDL truck driver.
• You know, again, a firearm can be a force multiplier.
• You know, again, a firearm can be a force multiplier.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing focused heavily on firearms legislation, especially bills to repeal Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024 (including H. 2618/S. 1671 and related repeal measures) and bills on firearm industry accountability (H. 2672/S. 1653). Supporters of repeal, including Senator Peter Durant, Rep. Ken Sweezey, gun owners, instructors, sportsmen, and women’s gun-rights advocates, argued that Chapter 135 overreaches, creates confusion in licensing and training requirements, burdens lawful gun owners, restricts pepper spray and semi-automatic firearms, and is being enforced in ways they said criminalize responsible conduct. Committee members defending the law said it was the product of years of work, public listening sessions, and multiple drafts, and argued that Massachusetts remains the safest state for gun violence and that implementation issues, such as live-fire training, had been delayed to allow time for regulations and infrastructure. Several witnesses also testified on H. 2672/S. 1653, which would create firearm industry standards of conduct and allow civil actions against manufacturers, distributors, and dealers that engage in unsafe or unlawful practices. Supporters from the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown, Brady, Giffords, and survivors described the bill as a way to hold the industry accountable, reduce the flow of crime guns, and give victims and the Attorney General a path to sue bad actors. They cited data on crime-gun traces, disproportionate impacts on communities of color, and examples from other states that have enacted similar laws. Opponents, including gun dealers and industry representatives, argued that existing law already punishes illegal sales, that most crime guns are stolen or diverted after lawful sale, and that the bill would improperly target manufacturers for the actions of others. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to remove the non-resident ban on semi-automatic firearms for hunting (H. 2710/S. 1676), with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers supporting the change as a way to restore access for returning residents, veterans, and hunting programs that had been displaced. Later testimony returned to repeal and related gun-law bills, with sportsmen’s groups arguing Chapter 135 was rushed, confusing, and harmful to youth hunting and lawful ownership. No votes or final committee actions were taken during the hearing; it was a public testimony session with extensive questioning by committee members.

Transcript Highlights:

• protected under current law with civil immunity, but if you merely brandish your weapon or threaten force
• Uh, this bill fixes that by extending civil immunity to those who threaten to use deadly force, not just

Transcript Highlights:

• Whereas malignant brain tumors are among the most deadly forms of cancer and are the leading cause of
• Awareness Month and further extends to it its sincere gratitude for its efforts to raise awareness of the deadly

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and adopted a resolution offered by Senator Crichton commending the National Brain Tumor Society for recognizing May 26, 2026 as Brain Tumor Awareness Month. The resolution highlighted the impact of brain tumors, noted Massachusetts research institutions working on treatments, and was adopted by voice vote. The Senate then took up several local matters and passed them without objection. These included a Dartmouth bill authorizing an additional off-premises alcohol license, a Westwood charter bill, and later final passage of bills relating to Andover special town meeting petition requirements, the Plymouth town charter, and an additional off-premises alcohol license for Pembroke. House petitions were also received and referred to committees after suspension of Joint Rule 12. At the end of the session, Senator Tarr offered an order to adjourn in memory of Joseph Elliott McKekney of Gloucester, a former Coast Guard officer and community member, and spoke briefly about his life and service. The Senate observed a moment of silence, adopted the adjournment order, and recessed to meet again on Monday at 11:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• I am a to the uh death blind task force.
• I prefer to be, you know, get ahead of having deadly intersections. >> I totally agree.
• deadly intersections. deadly intersections.
• <01:27:31.760> authorizes<01:27:32.320> the force for the project. authorizes the force
• <01:49:19.360> this law enforcement could have forced this law enforcement could have forced

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several transportation-related bills. HB 1688, which would provide a general excise tax exemption for certain aircraft maintenance materials, parts, tools, and facility construction, received comments from the Department of Taxation and support from Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Kohala Coast Resort, the Activities and Attractions Association of Hawaii, and the Tax Foundation of Hawaii. Testimony indicated the measure was intended to clarify an existing exemption rather than create a new one. The bulk of the hearing focused on HB 2386, which would authorize the Public Utilities Commission to establish automatic adjustment mechanisms and a water carrier inflationary cost index. The Department of Transportation said it would change its testimony to support the bill, citing a 2020 working group recommendation, while the PUC and DCCA offered comments. Matson, the Maritime Group, Hawaii Harbors Users Group, and Young Brothers supported the measure, arguing it would modernize regulation, improve predictability, and help maintain reliable interisland shipping. Hawaii Farm Bureau offered comments, while Hawaii Food Industry Association, Maui Brewing Company, Lani Kai Brewing Company, and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii opposed it, arguing automatic rate increases were not the solution and that underlying costs and efficiencies should be addressed first. The chair noted the bill was essentially the same as one previously considered, and asked questions about how Hawaii’s water carrier regulation compares with other states. The committee also heard HB 1691, which would allow electronic signatures for certain motor vehicle title transfers after total-loss insurance settlements and remove the notary requirement for that narrow transaction. The City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services, Hawaii Insurers Council, Copart, American Property Casualty Insurance Association, and one individual supported it, with Copart saying the change would reduce delays and could allow a faster, largely electronic settlement process. Members asked about county impacts, and Copart said counties would only see a different form with no added cost or electronic integration. HB 1680, requiring county finance directors to notify agencies through a centralized system for vehicle transfers, drew opposition from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services and one individual in support. HB 2516, raising helmet requirements for electric foot scooters and bicycles and requiring helmets for high-speed or Class 3 electric bicycles, received support from DOT, DOH, AAA Hawaii, and the Hawaii Bicycling League. HB 193, allowing deaf vehicle owners to register a deafness designation visible to law enforcement, drew support from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services, the Hawaii Disabilities Rights Center, and an individual who suggested amendments to broaden the bill to deaf and hard of hearing individuals and adjust the proof standard. HB 2442, increasing required accessible and van-accessible parking spaces in larger parking lots, was supported by the Disability and Communication Access Board, the Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the Disability Rights Center, which said the bill would address shortages of accessible parking and may need technical amendments to align terminology with the ADA.