Transcript Highlights:

• opportunities for welders all across the state, or if you want to talk about any of the programs for the cattle
• unfortunately, our rail operators are taking it on the chin right now, but the bright spot in agriculture is cattle

Committee: House Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources

Summary: The Agriculture Committee first established a quorum and then went into executive session, where it voted House Bill 24-22 do pass by a vote of 18 ayes, 0 noes, and 1 present. The committee then moved into public hearing on House Bills 2713 and 2716, both sponsored by Representative Deal. HB 2713 was described as the larger agriculture tax credit package, including removal of sunsets from several existing ag-related credits and technical changes to programs such as biodiesel, meat processing, specialty crops, wood energy, and rolling stock. HB 2716 focused on the short-line rail tax credit and related rail infrastructure incentives, including track rehabilitation and industrial development credits. Representative Deal said the bills were intended to provide long-term certainty for agriculture and rail investment and noted the programs’ positive return on investment. Committee members raised concerns about eliminating sunsets, how future legislatures would review the credits, and whether some credits could be used if Missouri moved toward eliminating income tax. Questions also focused on whether abandoned or minimally used rail lines would qualify, and on the transferability of rolling stock credits to entities with different tax liabilities. Deal and witnesses said the rail provisions were aimed at active short lines and that data on the credits’ performance could be provided. Testimony in support came from the Missouri Corn Growers Association, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Soybeans, the Biodiesel Coalition of Missouri, Missouri Dairy, Missouri Agribusiness Association, Missouri Bankers Association, Missouri Eastern Railroad, Missouri Economic Development Council, Osage Valley Electric Cooperative, and the Missouri Railroad Association. Supporters said the credits have stimulated ethanol, biodiesel, dairy, specialty crop, meat processing, and rural economic development projects, and that rail credits help preserve and expand short-line service, reduce truck traffic, and attract industrial investment. No opposition testimony was offered on either bill, and the hearings on HB 2713 and HB 2716 were adjourned without any recorded committee vote on those bills in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have been a farmer for about 50 years, when I added it all up, in King County, raising beef cattle.
• I would pay most of the expenses, so we raised Christmas trees in addition to raising cattle.

Summary: The committee heard public testimony on House Bill 2239, which would allow family burial grounds on privately owned land and exempt them from private cemetery requirements, while imposing limits such as recording burials with the county auditor, setbacks, and a cap on the burial ground covering no more than 10% of the parcel. The sponsor said the bill is intended to help rural landowners and families, including Native communities, keep burials on land with family and cultural significance. Testimony from a farmer and the Washington Cattlemen’s Association strongly supported the bill as a way to honor family ties to land. A question was raised about what happens if a later property owner wants to disturb an existing burial ground; staff said the bill requires notice but is silent on that issue. No action was taken on HB 2239 in the transcript. The committee also heard House Bill 2304, a follow-up to last year’s condominium liability reform, expanding the option for declarants to use a 2-10 warranty for stacked-flat or mid-rise condominium buildings up to four stories. Supporters from housing, real estate, builders, AARP, Habitat for Humanity, the City of Seattle, and others said the bill would reduce liability barriers, increase condo production, and create more attainable and accessible homeownership options for first-time buyers, older adults, and people with mobility challenges. The Office of Insurance Commissioner supported the bill but suggested technical language changes to avoid referring to the warranty as insurance. Members asked about consumer protections and the distinction between warranties and insurance, and staff and testifiers noted existing layers of protection. No vote was taken on HB 2304 in the transcript. In executive session, staff summarized House Bill 2095 on vulnerable users of public ways and House Bill 2248 on Secretary of State filing processes. For HB 2095, staff described a proposed substitute and several amendments, including changes to education requirements, civil liability language, protected areas, punitive damages thresholds, and liability rules. For HB 2248, staff said the proposed substitute made cleanup and consistency changes to corporate filing provisions. The committee then moved the proposed substitute for HB 2248 out of committee with a due pass recommendation, and it passed 11-0 with two excused members. Action on HB 2095 was deferred to a later date.

Transcript Highlights:

• Lubbock's cattle industry is the densest in the country.
• thrived on on agriculture with crops like cotton, sugar cane, and tobacco, as well as lumber and cattle

Transcript Highlights:

• So, like a cattle... Lease, for example, you know, that earns some income for the land grant.
• I raise cattle too. There's very little money in this, you know.

Committee: House House Rural Development, Land Grants And Cultural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• 26:24.799><c> dairy</c> top 10 in livestock and de and dairy top 10 in livestock and de and dairy cattle
• :26.640><c> big</c><00:26:26.880><c> concern</c><00:26:27.520><c> and</c><00:26:27.760><c> so</c> cattle
• Uh this is a big concern and so cattle.
• </c><00:26:37.520><c> and</c><00:26:37.760><c> into</c> poultry into dairy cattle and into poultry into
• dairy cattle and into humans<00:26:38.880><c> that</c><00:26:39.120><c> we're</c><00:26:39.679><c> uh

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Or if you say you want to go work at one cattle industry and you're working with abscesses and somehow
• <02:19:10.280><c> cattle</c><02:19:10.639><c> industry</c><02:19:11.200><c> and</c><02:19:11.360><c>
• you're</c> cattle cattle industry and you're cattle cattle industry and you're working<02:19:11.719><
• We also have alfalfa for cattle production. There's beets, onions, potatoes that are also grown.
• </c> alfalfa for cattle production. alfalfa for cattle production.

Summary: The House convened with 58 members present and seven excused, establishing a quorum, and approved the April 15, 2026 journal as corrected. The chamber then moved through announcements recognizing visiting railroad workers, LIUNA Local 720, Colorado West Christian Schools, Religious Freedom Day, and several school and community groups, along with birthday acknowledgments and committee schedule notices. The House also adopted a motion to remove House Bill 1245 from special orders and returned it to the general orders second reading calendar, and set House Bills 1290, 1312, and 1321 as special orders. The House adopted Senate Joint Resolution 18, recognizing Nowruz and expressing support for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Iranian people, including the Women, Life, Freedom movement. Supporters described Nowruz as a holiday of renewal and resilience and tied the resolution to solidarity with Iranian communities. Representative Zokaie also spoke at length about the personal impact of war on Iranian families and urged a vote. The resolution passed 59-2 with four excused. The chamber then considered several bills in committee report. House Bill 1290, concerning assault and clarifying sentencing, was amended in Judiciary to remove the medical professional provision and passed after testimony emphasizing strangulation as a serious warning sign in domestic violence cases; it then passed the House. House Bill 1312, dealing with peace officer participation, POST Board composition, academy training, and related grants, was amended for clarity and passed the Judiciary report and then the bill. House Bill 1321, modifying the School Security Disbursement Program, had the Education Committee report defeated, but amendments were adopted to broaden eligible service providers and adjust funding language; the bill then passed as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, that's the section of the state where there is a trail. It looks like an ATV trail.
• So, that's the section of the state where there is a trail. It looks like an ATV trail.
• So, that's the section of the state where there is a trail. It looks like an ATV trail.
• trails they desire.
• . trail. trail.

Summary: The committee heard House File 1012, as amended by the A1 amendment, and the author moved the bill to be laid over for possible inclusion in a future bill. The amendment, adopted on a voice vote, changed the timing for public input in trail planning, removed language on decommissioning trails, and combined the measure with another ATV-fee bill. The author said the bill would unify ATV trail signage policy statewide, align statute with DNR best practices, and not affect the forest trail inventory, existing ATV-accessible miles, or hunting exemptions. Testimony was sharply divided. Supporters, including representatives of the Minnesota Public Lands Coalition, tribal officials from the Max Band and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, a retired DNR conservation officer, a retired wildlife manager, and the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, argued the bill would better protect wetlands, wildlife habitat, and culturally significant areas, improve transparency and tribal consultation, and make trail planning and enforcement more workable. The EQB said the amended bill’s rulemaking timeline was more workable, and the DNR described its existing multi-step trail review and consultation process. Opponents, including ATV Minnesota, county commissioners from northern counties, and a representative of the Minnesota Trappers Association, argued the bill would burden or restrict existing trail systems, increase costs, and threaten tourism and local economies. They said current trail development already involves DNR and local review, and that the bill could reduce access for riders, trappers, and other users. In member questions, the author and a Minnesota Association of Townships representative said the bill was intended to codify DNR best practices and bring local governments into the process earlier, while confirming that hunting exemptions were not removed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Trails bird watching Etc one of the Trails bird watching Etc one of the trails<01:19:25.800><c> of</c
• trail.
• trail.
• trail.
• trail.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• Ramstad North Shore State Trail is already a motorized trail.
• Ramstad Red Dot Trail connected Silver Bay with ... the trail to ATV use in the summer this the trail
• </c><00:43:04.480><c> if</c> the echo Trail and the echo Trail if the echo Trail and the echo Trail if
• nor our trail maintenance.
• from going off trail.

Committee: House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• trail system.
• Trails 25 State Trails and grant and aid Trails 25 State Trails 1500<00:55:54.200><c> miles</c><00:55
• hiking, biking trails and not so much a prospector's loop, the Tanite Trail, Tomahawk Trail.
• hiking, biking trails and not so much a prospector's loop, the Tanite Trail, Tomahawk Trail.
• </c> and trails visitors as well as Trails and trails visitors as well as Trails visitors<01:14:31.520

Committee: House Legacy Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• manufacturing products, and especially out in the panhandle, you've got a lot of cow-calf guys and a lot of cattle
• made a strong push to get good shoulders and infrastructure out in the panhandle for cases like if a cattle
• manufacturing products, and especially out in the panhandle, you've got a lot of cow-calf guys and a lot of cattle
• made a strong push to get good shoulders and infrastructure out in the panhandle for cases like if a cattle

Summary: The committee took up a long agenda of appropriations and budget bills, with most of the early action focused on retirement cost-of-living adjustments. Senate Bills 1144, 1145, 1146, 1148, and 1149 all advanced, covering COLAs for retired teachers, public employees, police, judges, and a special “tweener” group of police and fire retirees. Members questioned the actuarial impacts, funded ratios, and timing of the apportionment changes, and the author explained that the retirement bills were based on TRS or system actuarial estimates and that the 2036 apportionment cutoff could be revisited by future legislatures. SB 1149 was described as a one-time $25,000 payment for a limited group of older retirees, with estimated costs of $3.5 million for police and $5.8 million for fire. Most of these retirement measures passed on votes of 23-24 ayes with one nay. The committee also considered House Bill 4071, creating the Oklahoma Dream Accounts Investment Program to match the federal “Trump accounts” with up to $250 per eligible child, capped at $12.5 million. Democrats criticized it as a poor use of funds and objected to the federal program’s uncertainty and the emergency clause; the bill passed 17-8. House Bill 4072 created a taxpayer endowment trust fund by moving $200 million from the Revenue Stabilization Fund and redirecting a portion of future gross production tax overages into the new fund until it reaches $1 billion, after which it would generate future revenue streams. Members raised concerns about investment risk, oversight, and whether the fund was a “shell game,” but it passed 18-6. Several agency budget and limit bills were also approved, including HB 4057 for $25 million to expand the Bureau of Narcotics headquarters, SB 1158 for $252,000 to fund medication for minors in custody, SB 1164 for the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse with $1.2 million in new appropriations plus $5.97 million for the 988 revolving fund, and HB 4040 for the Department of Health rural health transformation cash-flow needs tied to federal reimbursement. The committee also passed HB 4051 on FMAP preservation, SB 1161 for the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, SB 1162 for the State Department of Health, and SB 1163 for DHS, where the largest discussion centered on avoiding an Advantage waiver waitlist, SNAP administrative costs, and child abuse multidisciplinary care centers. Most of these bills passed with little or no debate, though some drew questions about federal matching dollars and reporting requirements. Education-related items were also approved, including HB 4030, the State Department of Education budget limits bill, which maintained prior-year funding for textbooks, early intervention, literacy coaching, school security, and other line items; HB 4044 for OEQA’s growth-based teacher compensation and NBCT stipends; HB 4065 for school security funding at the School of Science and Math; HB 4067 for the School for the Blind and School for the Deaf; and HB 4038 directing $5 million of ODOT FY27 appropriations to the eight-year work plan. The committee also advanced HB 4046, which directs funding to the Military Readiness, Innovation, Education, Aviation Revolving Fund for projects including McAlester, Fort Sill, Altus, and Enid, with members questioning why additional money was needed so soon after prior appropriations. Throughout the meeting, most measures were reported as passed by wide margins, with a few dissenting votes on bills viewed as controversial or as reallocating funds away from other priorities.

Transcript Highlights:

• in the company of their owner, because sometimes those animals do wander when they're working the cattle
• :10:06.240><c> they're</c><00:10:06.440><c> working</c><00:10:06.840><c> the</c><00:10:06.920><c> cattle
• </c> wander when they're working the cattle. wander when they're working the cattle.

Transcript Highlights:

• Any profit that would occur in this context happens with the increased value of the cattle who graze
• </c><00:43:24.000><c> value</c><00:43:24.160><c> of</c><00:43:24.319><c> the</c><00:43:24.480><c> cattle
• </c><00:43:24.800><c> who</c> the increased value of the cattle who the increased value of the cattle

Transcript Highlights:

• When they are buying farmland, they pretend to be using it to grow crops or raise cattle to help the
• However, they often export those crops and cattle, or they dump huge amounts of crops and.
• What hormones, steroids, and antibiotics are they injecting into those cattle?
• They process cattle and work in the meat packing plants up in the Panhandle.

Bills: HB256 , HCR19 , HB256 , HB1308 , HB1554 , HB1743 , HB2308 , HB2351 , HB2858 , HB3676 , HB3784 , HB4312 , HB4552 , HB4823 , HB4852 , HB5007 , HB5010 , HB5520 , HB5524 , HCR19

Committee: House State Affairs

Keywords: severe weather, adaptation plan, vulnerability assessment, environmental protection, state agencies, federal agents, transparency, law enforcement, identification, public trust, immigration enforcement, HCR 19, Texas concurrent resolution, federal immigration enforcement, masked agents, facial coverings, visible identification, uniforms, badges, name tags

Transcript Highlights:

• seasonal and traditional crops such as mangoes, lychee, pineapples, taro, and traditions such as cattle
• traditions cheese, pineapples, taro, and traditions such<00:42:19.839><c> as</c><00:42:20.400><c> cattle
• </c> such as cattle roundups and rodeos. such as cattle roundups and rodeos.

Committee: Senate Agriculture and Environment

Summary: The committee heard multiple gubernatorial confirmation nominations, beginning with GM509 for Jay Stone to the Environmental Advisory Council. The Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and other supporters praised Stone’s more than 30 years of engineering experience and said he would help balance environmental protection with economic development. Stone said he wanted to contribute to environmental health and sustainability, and identified sea level rise and PFAS in drinking water as key concerns. The committee then moved to GM531 and GM532, nominations of Judson Leair and Nicholas Ta to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. The Department of Agriculture and Hawaii Farm Bureau supported both nominees. Leair emphasized his farming background and said pesticide policy should be more comprehensive, selective, and threshold-based rather than relying on broad-spectrum use; Ta said he would focus on integrated pest management, label compliance, education, and using the least amount of pesticide necessary, including non-chemical alternatives such as exclusion and behavior changes. The committee next considered GM533, Janet Ashman’s nomination to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. The Department of Agriculture, the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, and the Hawaii Farm Bureau all supported her, citing her experience, responsiveness, and prior service. Ashman said she wanted to help make pesticide regulations more understandable and stressed targeted pest control, scouting, and more precise products. Members asked about the complexity of pesticide regulations and the shift away from broad-based pesticide use; Ashman explained that regulations are complicated for both farmers and homeowners and that newer, more targeted products are needed as pests develop resistance. The committee then heard GM57 for Don Hegger Nordl to the Environmental Advisory Council. Supporters said she has environmental planning experience and knowledge of Chapter 343 and related rules. Nordl said she could bring state, county, and federal experience to the council and identified the need for more volunteers and broader professional representation as the council’s biggest challenge. Finally, the committee took up GM697, Dean Matsukawa’s nomination as deputy director of the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture, the Hawaii Farm Bureau, and several other testifiers strongly supported him, highlighting his 30 years with the department, his family farming background, and his understanding of farmers’ needs, especially access to capital and biosecurity challenges. Testifiers said he is calm, logical, experienced, and already familiar with the department’s work. Matsukawa was described as a reluctant nominee who was sought out for the role. The transcript does not show any final votes or committee action on the nominations during the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• In my case, we identified two drainage ditches that both my equipment and my cattle were regularly trudging
• In my case, we identified two drainage ditches that both my equipment and my cattle were regularly trudging
• In my case, we identified two drainage ditches that both my equipment and my cattle were regularly trudging
• And my cattle were regularly trudging through to access pasture, and so they helped me install three

Transcript Highlights:

• Grayson Stevens says she appreciates the lessons that she learned growing up showing cattle in 4-H.
• The cattle industry taught her that true success is about the effort and passion put into each project
• </c><00:08:49.760><c> The</c> growing up showing cattle in 4. The growing up showing cattle in 4.
• ><c> the</c><00:08:51.440><c> true</c> cattle industry taught her the true cattle industry taught her
• </c> contributes to a shrinking US cattle contributes to a shrinking US cattle herd<01:49:17.520><c>

Bills: HCR66 , HB2550 , HR432 , HB3898 , HB3383 , HB3638 , HB3628 , HR939

Keywords: military funding, defense, appropriations, fiscal year, government, labor relations, collective bargaining, federal employees, workforce protection, executive order, federal labor relations, labor management, federal oversight, government reform, Clean Water Act, Federal Water Pollution Control Act, PERMIT Act, waters of the United States, WOTUS, EPA

Transcript Highlights:

• And as far as creating trails...
• I mean, we've all been on trails; we see these social trails, people going off.
• Please let the people who want to use the trails participate in the process of building the trails.
• S. 548, H. 915, or the Trails for All Act. Being out in nature on a trail is transformative.
• Most of the trails are not accessible. But it's possible for trails to be accessible.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources

Summary: The hearing covered several environment and natural resources bills focused on natural and working lands, forest protection, municipal reforestation, trail accessibility, and a park naming bill. Representative Moschino and Senator Comerford described the natural and working lands bill as part of the state’s climate roadmap, arguing that protecting these lands supports carbon sequestration, resilience, biodiversity, and helps prevent development pressure on the least expensive land. Senator Comerford also testified on a separate bill to expand access to trails for people of all abilities, saying it would build on the administration’s Trails for All initiative and create a permanent advisory structure and trust fund. Representative Consolvo and family members testified in support of H. 4259 to name the tennis courts at Wether Park in Roslindale after Kim O’Connell, describing her long community service and activism. A large portion of the hearing focused on H. 952 and H. 953, bills to protect watershed and state forest lands as parks or reserves. Supporters, including environmental advocates, scientists, and organizations such as Standing Trees, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, and the Massachusetts Forest Alliance’s opponents, debated whether state forests and watershed lands should be permanently reserved from logging and other active management. Supporters said the bills would improve carbon storage, water quality, biodiversity, flood and drought resilience, and would protect large acreages of public land at no cost. Opponents, including the Massachusetts Forest Alliance, argued that sustainable forest management and a mix of reserves and managed forests are needed for climate, water quality, wildfire prevention, rural jobs, and carbon outcomes, and urged the committee to allow the administration’s existing reserve process to continue. The committee also heard extensive testimony on the municipal reforestation bill, H. 1013/S. 553, which would create a statewide program, advisory council, and trust fund to support urban tree planting and maintenance. Municipal officials and advocates from Wellesley, Cambridge, Boston, the Mystic River watershed, and other communities said urban trees are critical for cooling, stormwater control, air quality, public health, and equity, especially in environmental justice neighborhoods with low canopy cover and high heat. Several witnesses emphasized that consistent funding is needed because trees take years to mature and many municipalities lack staff or watering capacity. Some witnesses asked that the bill be funded at $100 million and tied to the Mass Ready Act or environmental bond funding. No votes or final committee actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• trail riding and the trail riding so the trail riding and the groups<00:19:48.559><c> I</c><00:19:48.720
• trails.
• trails should be Trails new or expanded trails should be for<00:56:20.000><c> ATV</c><00:56:20.640><
• and</c><01:11:43.400><c> of</c> Trails um snowmobile trails and of Trails um snowmobile trails and of
• trails.

Summary: The meeting was an orientation for the Resources, Recreation and Development Committee, led by Chair Bob Harb. He reviewed committee procedures, including pink cards for witnesses, blue sheets for counts, use of drawers in the committee room, scheduling practices, and how bills would be posted and distributed. Members briefly introduced themselves and explained why they wanted to serve on the committee, with several citing interests in conservation, water quality, outdoor recreation, land use, and related local issues. The committee then opened a hearing on HB 1113, relative to OHRV operation on certain highways within the town of Windsor. Representative Ré Colcombe, the sponsor, explained that the bill would allow local OHV/UTV access across a short section of state road in Windsor so residents on divided portions of town could travel legally between areas. He said the town selectmen were already allowing OHRV use on town roads, the route was paved, traffic impacts were expected to be minimal, and local police had no objections. He also said the town would hold public hearings and notify abutters as required, and that if the select board ultimately opposed the proposal he would recommend killing the bill. Members asked about the legal authority for the change, speed limits, traffic volume, winter maintenance, and whether the Department of Transportation or select board had to approve the route. Colcombe said the town must hold a public hearing and that the change would need to be incorporated into RSA 258:10, section 4. He said the road is maintained by the town in winter and by the state in summer. An opponent, Anne Davis, testified that she opposed the bill, saying ATV use should be treated as a tool for forest management rather than recreation, that law enforcement capacity in Windsor was a concern, and that she believed affected residents should be fully notified before any approval. No vote or final action was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> them on the trails? them on the trails?
• trails specifically rail trails uh other trails specifically rail trails where<02:16:43.519><c> uh</
• The northern rail trail is on our trail.
• </c> usable safe trail. usable safe trail.
• </c> trails uh through the Bureau of Trails. trails uh through the Bureau of Trails.

Committee: House Transportation