Transcript Highlights:

• Was there any feedback that you received from any source within the judicial branch in regard to the
• We don't really enter into the judicial and they don't really enter into the legislative, but we have
• So I tend to want to give the judicial branch more flexibility than less in terms of trying to make a
• And it has a 50-cent fee baked into it that goes to the Idaho Heritage Trust Fund.
• And it has a 50-cent fee baked into it that goes to the Idaho Heritage Trust Fund.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• Public systems work best when communities trust them.
• Blurring that line damages trust and harms public safety.
• It weakens trust, and it undermines public safety for everyone.
• But perhaps most importantly, the legislation strengthens trust.
• They want institutions they can trust.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on several public safety bills, with testimony first on S.2681, Colby’s Law, which would establish safety standards for BMX and motocross tracks. Supporters, including the family of a child killed at a track, argued the bill is needed because some tracks lack basic protections such as barriers, emergency plans, on-site medical staff, and adequate track maintenance. A motocross track representative opposed the bill as overregulation that could impose major costs and argued existing safety efforts and voluntary safety committees are preferable. No vote was taken during the hearing. The committee also heard testimony on S.2680, which would expand emergency preparedness requirements around aging nuclear power plants and nuclear waste sites from a 10-mile to a 50-mile radius. Supporters from Cape Cod Downwinders, Massachusetts Peace Action, physicians, and other advocates said current law is outdated and insufficient, citing risks from radioactive waste storage, limited federal oversight, and the need for broader evacuation and emergency planning. Testifiers urged the bill’s passage, and no action was taken. A major portion of the hearing focused on the Protect Act, H.5158, dealing with limits on cooperation between state/local agencies and federal civil immigration enforcement. Sheriffs testified about how ICE detainers and notification requests work in practice, emphasizing discretion, public safety, and the difference between sentenced prisoners and pretrial detainees. Supporters from labor, education, and health care groups said immigrant communities are living in fear and asked for stronger protections, including bans on 287(g) agreements and clearer limits on ICE activity in schools, hospitals, and other sensitive locations. The hearing also included testimony on H.4697 regarding training and certification of constables and civil deputy sheriffs, with the Hampshire County sheriff saying sheriffs are already working with POST and MPTC on training standards and that the bill may be duplicative.

Transcript Highlights:

• So right now we have the drinking water trust fund. The money goes to the trust fund.
• So right now we have the drinking water trust fund. The money goes to the trust fund.
• It does not include the trust fund. Well, the trust fund is a bit of an anomaly.
• </c><01:30:41.360><c> I</c> structure of the judicial branch. I structure of the judicial branch.
• </c> control of the judicial branch. control of the judicial branch.

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to thank you as now we move to a judicial branch.
• Judicial branch.
• Let's start with the department, judicial branch. Good afternoon, Assemblymember Ramos.
• and I feel like the administration has not done enough. trust.
• It's 2,000 inmates higher right now from last May. to trust that.

Transcript Highlights:

• Trust is built by ensuring judicial independence, which is critical to protecting the rule of law.
• </c> just assume we have the Public's trust just assume we have the Public's trust we<00:44:38.559><c
• and Trust in our decisions<00:46:41.359><c> trust</c><00:46:41.720><c> is</c><00:46:41.920><c> also<
• </c> has a merit-based system of judicial has a merit-based system of judicial selection<00:47:22.240
• </c> system which promotes both judicial system which promotes both judicial Independence<00:47:26.680

Transcript Highlights:

• H-5305, the Protect Act, is about restoring that trust.
• But hope requires trust, and trust requires that the law be applied fairly, equally, and constitutionally
• This bill restores that public trust in our institutions, especially our state's judicial system.
• When we live in fear, trust is broken. When trust is broken, the whole community suffers.
• Speaker, I thank you for your leadership and trust.

Transcript Highlights:

• The first item on the agenda today is the Judicial Branch budget, which can be found on Legislative Budget
• three divisions in this budget, which include court operations, guardian ad litem programs, and the Judicial
• I move for FY 2027 for the Idaho Judicial Branch an additional $3,900,700 from dedicated funds.
• I move for FY 2027 for the Idaho Judicial Branch an additional $3,900,700 from dedicated funds.
• The first one is on page seven of your materials regarding the Idaho Children's Trust Fund.

Summary: The Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committee considered several FY 2027 budget items, beginning with the Idaho Judicial Branch. The committee approved an additional $3.9007 million from dedicated funds for court operations, including $800,700 from the Senior Magistrate Judge Fund, $700,000 from the Drug Court/Mental Health Court/Family Court Services Fund, $400,000 from the Substance Abuse Treatment Fund, and $2 million ongoing from the Court Technology Fund. Members noted the technology fund had grown enough to sustain the ongoing transfer, while Senator Wintrow remarked that funding for a treatment-court peer support program had not been restored. The motion passed with a do-pass recommendation. The committee then approved a Guardian Ad Litem Division budget increase of $165,300 in general funds, including $77,900 ongoing for the Second Judicial District CASA program and $87,400 to restore a one-time FY 2027 rescission. Supporters described the CASA request as funding a trainer-recruiter position and related office costs, and several members spoke favorably about the role of guardian ad litems. The motion passed, also with a do-pass recommendation. Members next took up the Millennium Income Fund. They approved $9,872,200 from the fund for recommendations including the Idaho Children’s Trust Fund, Youth Assessment Centers, children’s advocacy centers through the Idaho Domestic Violence Council, an additional recovery center in Kamiah, and a statewide drug awareness media campaign. A substitute motion added $30,000 one time to restore funding for statewide training and coordination of school resource officers, which passed after discussion about whether the Millennium Fund committee had been consulted. The committee then adopted maintenance and new language for the Millennium Fund items, including reporting and oversight provisions, and later adopted language for reappropriating unspent state archives move funds for the Idaho State Historical Society. Finally, the committee approved the Idaho State Historical Society budget, adding $486,300 from dedicated funds for archival moving and OITS hardware. Members explained the move would be handled in phases and funded through dedicated sources rather than general funds. The committee also adopted statewide appropriations language making conditions, limitations, and restrictions in budget bills binding law, and adjourned after announcing the next day’s agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> generally set at 20 years for judicial generally set at 20 years for judicial center<00:38:05.760
• </c><00:40:00.880><c> center</c> requesting for judicial center requesting for judicial center authorization
• judicial center.
• Now, there was a trust fund balances.
• So um or the budget reserve trust fund.

Summary: The Capital Planning Advisory Board opened its fourth meeting, confirmed a quorum, approved the prior meeting’s minutes by unanimous voice vote, and then heard information items and agency presentations. The main substantive presentation came from the Council on Postsecondary Education, which outlined its capital planning recommendations for the 2026–28 biennium. CPE staff described the role of Kentucky’s research and education network (Kron), including connectivity to cloud services, Internet2, identity services, and new local AI/inferencing capacity, and argued that the network is now essential to higher education, health care, and extension services. They said the network’s recent upgrades were driven by privacy, security, redundancy, and the need to support modern research and AI workloads at lower cost than commercial providers. CPE also presented its broader higher-education capital request: $700 million for asset preservation and $1.73 billion for new construction, for a total recommendation of about $2.4 billion. Staff said they do not plan to recommend IT projects or equipment in this cycle, despite reviewing 48 IT submissions totaling nearly $1.4 billion and equipment requests totaling $322.6 million. For asset preservation, they said the recommended allocation method would remain based on each institution’s share of Category 1 and 2 square footage, and they noted that the state’s prior facility assessment is now 12 years old, with deferred maintenance still estimated in the $7–9 billion range. For new construction, they said the requests are heavily focused on STEM and health-related facilities that are difficult to retrofit into older buildings. Board members asked about how asset-preservation amounts were determined, including why Northern Kentucky University’s request was much larger than its prior allocation. CPE staff responded that campus size, building age, and institutional prioritization affect the requests, and that schools are asked to submit more projects than are likely to be funded. The board then moved on to an Attorney General capital plan overview, where senior counsel Will Schroeder began describing the office’s technology needs and the office’s prior reliance on a 2020 appropriation to replace legacy systems and improve security.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just are you talking about the trust or how the generation of revenue from social media works?
• It would continue over time, and then the child would have access to the trust at 18.
• So you mentioned about setting up a trust.
• Can you explain how the trust will be set up and who will monitor that trust?
• The trust also has to follow the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act in Title 58 of the Oklahoma statutes

Bills: HB4319 , HB4317 , HB1225 , HB3076 , HB3081 , HB4226 , SCR17 , HB4432 , HB3304 , HB3411 , HB3435 , HB4339 , HB4331 , HB4341 , HB4342 , HB1770 , HB1016 , HB4113 , HB2950 , HB4141 , HB3277 , HB2988 , HB3029 , HB3338 , HB1889 , HB3834 , HB3831 , HB2939 , HB3045 , HB3657 , HB1739 , HB3759 , HB3755 , HB4484 , HB4486 , HB4108 , HB1250 , HB2961 , HB1219 , HB3025 , HB1782 , HB1907 , HB3718 , HB4459 , HB2976 , HB3548 , HB3545 , HB2952 , HB2929 , HB2956 , HB2973 , HB3055 , HB3086 , HB3040 , HB3794 , HB4336 , HB3151 , HB1590 , HB3581 , HB3313 , HB3429 , HB3448 , HB1752 , HB2650 , HB3584 , HB4202 , HB3586 , HB4321 , HB4280 , HB3650 , HCR1020 , HB2116 , HB2206 , HB4301 , HB3625 , HB3147 , HB3403 , HB3498 , HB3970 , HB3975 , HB3976 , HB3980 , HB4265 , HB4266 , HB3638 , HB3880 , HB3930 , HB3942 , HB3944 , HB4191 , HB3242 , HB3678

Keywords: administrative procedures, rulemaking authority, specific authority, legislative review, agency rules, accounting, CPA, licensure, educational requirements, reciprocity, professional conduct, vital records, birth certificate, birth registration, biological sex, sex designation, male, female, nonbinary, gender identity

Bills: HB4319 , HB4317 , HB1225 , HB3076 , HB3081 , HB4226 , SCR17 , HB4432 , HB3304 , HB3411 , HB3435 , HB4339 , HB4331 , HB4341 , HB4342 , HB1770 , HB1016 , HB4113 , HB2950 , HB4141 , HB3277 , HB2988 , HB3029 , HB3338 , HB1889 , HB3834 , HB3831 , HB2939 , HB3045 , HB3657 , HB1739 , HB3759 , HB3755 , HB4484 , HB4486 , HB4108 , HB1250 , HB2961 , HB1219 , HB3025 , HB1782 , HB1907 , HB3718 , HB4459 , HB2976 , HB3548 , HB3545 , HB2952 , HB2929 , HB2956 , HB2973 , HB3055 , HB3086 , HB3040 , HB3794 , HB4336 , HB3151 , HB1590 , HB3581 , HB3313 , HB3429 , HB3448 , HB1752 , HB2650 , HB3584 , HB4202 , HB3586 , HB4321 , HB4280 , HB3650 , HCR1020 , HB2116 , HB2206 , HB4301 , HB3625 , HB3147 , HB3403 , HB3498 , HB3970 , HB3975 , HB3976 , HB3980 , HB4265 , HB4266 , HB3638 , HB3880 , HB3930 , HB3942 , HB3944 , HB4191 , HB3242 , HB3678

Keywords: administrative procedures, rulemaking authority, specific authority, legislative review, agency rules, accounting, CPA, licensure, educational requirements, reciprocity, professional conduct, vital records, birth certificate, birth registration, biological sex, sex designation, male, female, nonbinary, gender identity

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, currently, complaints regarding judicial conduct are sent to the judicial conduct committee, also
• ><c> overreach</c> The monarchal and judicial overreach The monarchal and judicial overreach ensured<
• </c> have checks and balances on the judicial have checks and balances on the judicial system.<01:58:
• </c> of unchecked executive and judicial of unchecked executive and judicial authority<02:03:08.159><
• That's the judicial privileges. &gt;&gt; Right. That's the judicial privileges.

Committee: House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:02:47.120><c> officer</c> warrant signed by a judicial officer warrant signed by a judicial officer
• She is a trusted and loving teacher.
• </c> trusted and loving teacher. trusted and loving teacher.
• </c> judicial warrant from doing their job. judicial warrant from doing their job.
• </c><00:53:12.720><c> warrant</c> without even showing a judicial warrant without even showing a judicial

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:30:35.040><c> fund</c> citizens account to our trust fund citizens account to our trust fund
• called the Judicial Council, we are not in fact part of the judicial branch.
• </c><01:58:51.760><c> Council</c> to the judicial Council to the judicial Council um<01:58:53.840><c>
• </c> needed both additional judicial needed both additional judicial resources<02:11:25.119><c> and</
• </c> clerical so non-judicial clerical so non-judicial staff<02:46:27.560><c> that</c><02:46:27.680><

Summary: The committee heard testimony from Insurance Commissioner DJ Bettencourt on the New Hampshire Insurance Department budget. He said the department is self-funded through assessments on insurers based on New Hampshire premium volume, with about $8 billion in premiums written in the state and a department budget of roughly $15.5 million. He explained that the department has 88 authorized positions, eight vacancies, and that three full-time positions were unfunded after the governor’s requested 4% reduction exercise. He also said the department is trying to balance staffing needs with not overburdening carriers during a hard insurance market. A major topic was the department’s $2.6 million rebate to industry from the prior fiscal year, which Bettencourt described as a credit against the next assessment rather than a direct cash payment. Members questioned why that credit was not reflected as a reduction in the upcoming budget, and Bettencourt and staff explained that the budget assumes full staffing and full spending, with any year-end surplus returned to insurers. The commissioner said the department had added staff in recent years for succession planning and to preserve institutional expertise, and that the rebate reflects careful budgeting rather than excess spending. Members also asked about staffing changes by division, including positions unfunded in fraud, property and casualty examinations, life and health examinations, and tax. Bettencourt said fraud investigations remain strong and that the department can use outside contractors for examinations, with those costs billed to the company being examined. He also described the department’s examination process, including periodic financial exams and targeted market conduct reviews triggered by consumer complaints or trends. Additional questions covered OIT transfers, the department’s oversight of fully insured health coverage, the insurance premium tax and fines going to the general fund, and the department’s limited role in auto repair reimbursement disputes, where he said complaints have recently declined.

Transcript Highlights:

• The issue of judicial security is prominent in the minds of many judicial officers, and recent events
• The Judicial Council of California has made judicial security a legislative priority.
• in judicial proceedings.
• The Judicial Council also approved a new rule of court and a standard of judicial administration on the
• in judicial proceedings.

Summary: The Assembly met, established a quorum after a roll call, and handled a series of procedural motions, guest introductions, and floor items. Members recognized several guests and student groups, then moved through the daily file, including second-reading items, Senate amendments, and the consent calendar, which was adopted 54-0. The chamber also adopted ACR 151 recognizing March 25 as Greek Independence Day, with 59 co-authors added, and ACR 146 designating March 2026 as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month, with 61 co-authors added; both resolutions were adopted by voice vote. ACR 140, proclaiming March 21 as Women in STEM Day, also passed with 56 co-authors added and was adopted by voice vote. The most substantial debate centered on AB 2156, which renames Cesar Chavez Day as Farm Workers’ Day and declares an urgency clause. Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry and several members spoke in support, emphasizing recognition of farm workers’ collective contributions and, in light of recent revelations about Cesar Chavez, the need to honor the broader movement rather than one individual. Other members echoed support while discussing farmworker history, accountability, and the importance of acknowledging survivors. Assembly Member DeMaio supported the bill but criticized state policies affecting agriculture and argued for broader recognition of Latino Californians and farmworker policy reforms. The bill passed with 67 votes and was transmitted immediately to the Senate. Later, the Assembly recessed for the Joint Convention and heard the 26th State of the Judiciary address from Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero. She focused on judicial independence, threats to judges, remote proceedings, CARE Act implementation, trial court funding and judgeship shortages, AI use in courts, immigration-related courthouse concerns, State Bar reforms after the February 2025 bar exam problems, and judicial salaries. She also highlighted the judiciary’s centennial, the importance of collaboration with the Legislature and Governor Newsom, and the need to preserve equal access to justice. After the address was ordered printed in the Journal, the joint convention adjourned and the Assembly later adjourned until Thursday, March 26 at 9 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Judicial retention elections can add more than a dozen additional contests to the ballot.
• This bill would address a real challenge that we see in judicial retention elections.
• The League has a long history of advocating for judicial independence and accountability.
• The League has a long history of advocating for judicial independence and accountability.
• You're all here today as a result of this trust. This process is called democracy.

Summary: The Assembly Elections Committee met on July 16, 2025, and heard five measures focused on election administration, voter participation, judicial retention elections, charitable solicitation by officials, and local transportation tax initiatives. The chair noted the committee’s rules for limited witness testimony and accepted written testimony through the legislative portal. Several authors presented their bills in person or through a committee member due to scheduling conflicts. SB 3 by Senator Cervantes would tighten and clarify the ballot signature-cure process, including requiring standardized forms from election officials and adding a reminder on vote-by-mail envelopes about signature matching. Supporters said the bill would reduce rejected ballots and make the process more reliable; there was no opposition. The committee voted do pass as amended and re-refer to Appropriations. SB 316 by Senator Reyes, presented by Assembly Member Pellerin, would expand high school voter registration and pre-registration outreach to students, with testimony from students, education groups, disability advocates, and civic organizations in support. One member opposed on the grounds that it could be an unfunded mandate for schools. The bill passed 4-1. ACA 8 by Assembly Member Pellerin would change appellate and Supreme Court judicial retention elections so justices would appear on the ballot only if voters file a petition requesting it. Supporters, including the Secretary of State, the League of Women Voters, and the California Judges Association, said it would reduce ballot length, voter fatigue, and costs while preserving accountability. One member raised concern about the future petition threshold and the possibility it could be set too high, and voted no. The measure passed 4-2. SB 760 by Senator Allen would narrow behested payment reporting requirements for public appeals to charities, especially in disaster response, while preserving disclosure where officials, family members, or staff have conflicts of interest. Good-government groups supported the bill as a balance between transparency and encouraging charitable appeals; it passed unanimously on the recorded vote. SB 512 by Senator Perez would clarify that voters in transportation districts may use citizen initiatives to propose transportation sales taxes where the district already has taxing authority. Supporters argued it aligns Elections Code with Proposition 218 and recent case law, while opponents from business and real estate groups objected to the measure’s implications for tax approval rules. The committee approved the bill 5-2. After calling absent members, the committee cleared the calendar and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The amendment applies to an irrevocable trust and not a revocable trust."
• the trust people. Uh and I hope you'll the trust people.
• irrevocable trust and not a revocable trust. trust. trust.
• The only trusts with respect to which the trust council had expressed concern were the spendthrift trusts
• </c> defined type of trust. defined type of trust.

Committee: House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Garcia's bill Senate Bill 48 related to judicial sales and procedures.
• Basically what this does is it strengthens Florida's judicial sales process by requiring courts to follow
• I consider to restore fairness, transparency and integrity in Florida's judicial sales process.
• It ensures judicial oversight, protect surplus funds and mandates independent professionals to handle
• sales reinforcing public trust in the legal system.

Transcript Highlights:

• Public Records Judicial Qualifications Commission.
• We make clarifications to trust decanting, and that is pouring trust assets into a new trust.
• and can therefore be a trustee of the second trust.
• ademption by satisfaction also applies to revocable trusts.
• We're putting it now in the trust code.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Summary: The Judiciary Committee considered four bills. SB 300 would extend a public records exemption for personal information of appellate court clerks and their spouses and children, mirroring protections already given to trial court clerks; after one support appearance and brief debate about harassment risks, it passed 8-1 and was reported favorably. SB 302 would create a similar exemption for current and former Judicial Qualifications Commission employees, citing doxing, threatening calls and emails, and social media intimidation; it passed 9-1 and was also reported favorably. The committee then took up SB 262, which makes technical changes to the Florida Trust Code, including clarifying trust decanting authority, limiting successor trustee actions where beneficiaries are barred, aligning ademption-by-satisfaction rules with the probate code, and clarifying that transferring homestead property into a community trust does not trigger reassessment. An amendment making the changes retroactive as clarifying and remedial was adopted, and the bill passed unanimously 10-0 and was reported favorably. Finally, SB 322 would create a nonjudicial process for commercial property owners to ask the sheriff to remove unauthorized persons from commercial real estate, similar to the recently enacted residential squatter-removal process. Two amendments were adopted to authorize reasonably necessary force and correct cross-references, and the bill passed unanimously and was reported favorably. The committee adjourned after one senator later asked to be recorded as voting yes on SB 300.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I trust their judgment.
• I completely trust you to get this right.
• I just had a question for Judicial Council.
• So I think it's a question of public safety and trust in the community.
• I mean, I trust the public, but these can be very complex things.

Committee: House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• This is in place to enhance public trust and confidence in our judicial system.
• allegations of judicial misconduct against judges as well as judicial disability.
• of judicial misconduct against judges as well as judicial disability.
• of judicial misconduct against judges, as well as judicial disability.
• in the judicial system.

Bills: SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance