Transcript Highlights:

• of roughly 10% in our morning and afternoon commute hours.
• Hours of service or adding more frequent service in the later hours of the evening to provide that, again
• Next slide is happy hour on the unparked side of the street. People need that barrier of steel.
• at all hours of the day, and not just nine to five.
• at all hours of the day, and not just nine to five.

Summary: The Select Committee on Downtown Recovery held an informational hearing on the future of public transit and its role in downtown recovery. Chair Haney framed the discussion around how downtowns have changed since the pandemic and how transit, walkability, housing, and street design can support more 24/7 activity. The hearing included three panels: transit agency representatives, street design and curb management experts, and housing/transit development advocates. Transit agency witnesses from BART, LA Metro, and Sacramento Regional Transit described post-pandemic ridership shifts, with more weekend, evening, and event-based travel and less reliance on traditional weekday commute patterns. BART highlighted downtown San Francisco’s dependence on transit, its event service, safety investments, and transit-oriented development pipeline, while asking the state to protect transit funding and honor SB 125 and greenhouse gas reduction fund commitments. LA Metro emphasized special event service, especially around the World Cup and Union Station activations, as a way to make transit a destination and improve customer experience. Sacramento Regional Transit reported bus ridership recovery above pre-pandemic levels, light rail lagging behind, new vehicles and stations, stronger security measures, and concerns about future funding cuts affecting student fares, capital projects, and service levels. The second panel focused on making downtown streets more walkable and transit-friendly. Jeff Speck argued that walkability depends on places being useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting, and urged cities to restripe streets, reduce lane widths, add bike protection, improve crossings, and redesign one-way streets. Mark Vuksevich of Streets for All said downtowns are statewide economic assets and called for frequent transit, bus priority, modern curb management, parking pricing tied to availability, and parking benefits districts that reinvest revenue locally. He also said the state should provide model enabling legislation and more flexibility for local experimentation. The final panel focused on housing near transit. California YIMBY’s Aaron Eckhouse supported AB 2074, which would encourage large-scale housing in transit-rich downtowns, and argued for more financing tools, condo reform, and building code changes to reduce costs. Transbay Joint Powers Authority Executive Director Adam Van Water described the Transbay Transit Center and surrounding district as a case study in transit-oriented downtown growth, with millions of square feet of development, thousands of residents, and a major portal project still awaiting funding and pre-construction work. Members discussed office-to-housing conversions, the need to repurpose underused office stock, and the importance of state funding and policy support for transit, housing, and downtown revitalization.

Transcript Highlights:

• Also, an operator may not operate an electric bicycle at speeds greater than 10 miles an hour if a pedestrian
• , age of the e-bike operator, and whether the operator had a valid... and provide an audible signal for
• Also, an operator may not operate electric bicycle at speeds greater than 10 mile an hour if a pedestrian
• Date and time of the crash, class of the e-bike or scooter, age of the e-bike operator, where the operator
• The crash report must include the scooter, the age of the e-bike operator, and whether the operator had

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Summary: The Transportation Committee heard and advanced several measures. SB 654 on traffic infraction enforcement was presented as a comprehensive cleanup of camera-based enforcement for red lights, school zones, and school bus violations. The sponsor said the bill aims to improve consistency, transparency, privacy limits, and due process, including clerk fee retention, virtual hearings, recordkeeping, limits on data use, school district approval for bus cameras, and reporting requirements. An amendment clarifying reporting and liability-transfer procedures was adopted without objection. Members raised questions about information sharing, facial recognition, school-zone flashing lights, private school buses, and bus stop safety; the sponsor said those issues were either already covered in statute or outside the bill’s scope, though he was open to future clarification. The committee reported the bill favorably. The committee also heard SB 1080, which received a delete-all amendment concerning FDOT direct payments to first-tier subcontractors and takeover agreements with sureties. The amendment was adopted and the bill was reported favorably. A block of appointments to various boards was then considered together and reported favorably after a single confirmation vote. Later, SB 382 on electric bicycles and scooters was substantially revised with a strike-all amendment. The new version keeps pedestrian-yield and audible-signal rules, adds a 10-mph limit when pedestrians are within 50 feet, creates an e-bike task force, and requires crash data collection and reporting. Members discussed whether the speed rule applies to shared-use paths, how it would be enforced, whether licensing or speedometers should be required, and whether the bill could create barriers for seniors or others who rely on e-bikes. Supporters emphasized safety, data collection, and the need for stakeholder input; the bill was reported favorably. The committee also reported favorably SB 684, which allows electronic signatures in connection with total-loss vehicles and vessels, and SB 880, creating a Miami Northwestern Alumni Association specialty license plate. The meeting ended after all bills and appointments were approved and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• timeline. hour by hour, minute by minute progression of our day.
• Angelo. the day of and a few hours into that.
• I work with a lot of organizations, a lot of spirits. serious operators.
• of the cooperation that they had 48 hours.
• operate as a network of networks.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There was a lot of fatigue and problems with that 12-hour model.
• There was a lot of fatigue and problems with that 12-hour model.
• We're tracking every single man-hour, every single hour of overtime.
• And it's as simple as getting one of our charts of all of our operational dorms, our post chart, and
• side of operations.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice heard an update from Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon on staffing, overtime, capital needs, and inmate population growth. Dixon said the prison population has risen by about 8,000 since January 2021 while staffing has not kept pace, forcing the agency to open 53 housing units without funded positions and rely heavily on overtime and National Guard support. He cited a $189 million deficit tied to salaries and overtime, noted that most staff have less than three years of experience, and argued the solution is to fully fund posts for operational housing units. He also reviewed the department’s fixed capital outlay projects, including repairs, new housing construction, and medical modular units intended to reduce outside hospital transports, and gave an update on the VINE victim notification system and its expansion. The committee then heard from Florida clerks of court representatives Jason Welty and Miami-Dade Clerk Juan Fernandez-Barquin, who described clerks’ court-related and county duties and said clerk budgets have not kept pace with the broader justice system. They requested reimbursements for injunctions for protection ($3.3 million), Baker Act/Marchman Act/sexually violent predator cases ($2.5 million), and juror management ($4.8 million), and said future funding for new judges should include the full courtroom system, not judges alone. Fernandez-Barquin also raised concerns about unfunded mandates, rising retirement and health costs, low court-side pay, and the need to revisit filing fees and trust fund allocations. Members asked about collections, payment plans, license suspensions, and whether some fees or trust fund distributions could be redirected; the governor’s budget had already picked up the $2.5 million request for Baker/Marchman/SVP cases. During public testimony, speakers urged broader criminal justice reforms and additional funding priorities. A prosecutor emphasized that adding judges requires funding for prosecutors, public defenders, and clerks as well. Other speakers called for parole or long-term sentencing reform to reduce prison populations and costs, criticized staffing and conditions in prisons, and raised concerns about inexperienced correctional officers, visitation delays, and lack of air conditioning in some facilities. The committee took no substantive votes on the items discussed and adjourned after hearing the presentations and public comments.

Transcript Highlights:

• The floor is one hour of earned sick and safe time for every 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours of earned
• So, the law is one hour for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours.
• </c><01:26:32.600><c> they</c> they use all eight of those hours they they use all eight of those hours
• for every 30 hours that they worked, a maximum of 48 hours.
• of 48 hours that's they worked a maximum of 48 hours that's four four four days<01:35:21.760><c> four

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To that effect, Operation Lone Star was launched in March of 2021 and bore the fiscal burden of enforcing
• Yes, they must have 80 hours of training. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
• And so all of our reserves have been having to go in and do additional hours.
• And so all of our reserves have been having to go in and do additional hours.
• , and virtually every facet of daily life of our residents. business operations and virtually every facet

Committee: House Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several public safety, criminal justice, and regulatory bills. HB 4995 would create a training and certification program allowing licensed physicians and certain EMS personnel assigned to tactical units to carry firearms during high-risk deployments, with supporters saying it would let tactical medical staff protect themselves while providing immediate care; the bill was left pending. HB 2609 would repeal the failure-to-appear-or-pay/OmniBase license-hold program, with the author and advocates arguing it creates compounding debt and unnecessary barriers to driving, while judges and municipal court representatives said the program is a voluntary, cost-effective tool that improves court appearances and reduces warrants; the bill was also left pending. HB 4879 would create a grant program to help local law enforcement pay for lab testing of suspected hemp/Delta-9 THC substances, and HB 5436 would let licensed auto recyclers buy certain untitled vehicles for scrap or parts to curb illegal sales, VIN cloning, and chop shops; both measures were left pending after brief testimony in support. The committee also heard HB 1777, which would require a discrete designation on driver’s licenses and state IDs for people required to register as sex offenders. The author and supporters argued the marker would help law enforcement and businesses quickly identify potentially dangerous offenders and prevent harm, while opponents called it a stigmatizing “scarlet letter” that would increase harassment, family harm, and reintegration barriers. The bill was left pending. HB 4155 would create a two-year Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force in the Governor’s Office to study family violence homicides, gather stakeholders, and recommend policy changes; the author, HHSC, the Texas Council on Family Violence, and a survivor testified in support, and the bill was left pending. The committee also heard HB 4514, which would authorize DPS to use facial image verification, with consent and privacy safeguards, to help businesses confirm identities and combat fraud; supporters from the lumber and identity-verification industries said it would reduce theft and fraud, and the bill was left pending. Finally, HB 5139 would clarify that peace officers and jailers are justified in using less lethal force weapons when acting within training and official duties; law enforcement groups supported the measure as a way to encourage use of less lethal tools without fear of prosecution, and testimony was underway when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget proposal maintains base funding and adds modest operating adjustments for the Department of
• The budget proposal maintains base funding and adds modest operating adjustments for the Department of
• The budget proposal maintains base funding and adds modest operating adjustments for the Department of
• </c><00:10:34.000><c> of</c> the program would require 6,000 hours of the program would require 6,000
• instruction</c> hours of related classroom instruction hours of related classroom instruction that<00

Committee: Senate Labor

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The storm dumped more than 12 inches of rain in under six hours.
• One two-man team of dispatchers handled 650... ...those first few hours, one two-man team of dispatchers
• We initiated that with the county and the city of San Angelo the day of, in a few hours into that.
• I work with a lot of organizations, a lot of serious operators. I was a Green Beret myself.
• to operate as a network of networks.

Summary: The joint Senate and House disaster preparedness and flooding hearing opened with quorum calls, prayer, testimony time limits, and remarks from legislative leaders emphasizing decorum, respect, and the goal of learning from the July 4 flood to prevent future loss of life. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Dustin Burrows said the special session and hearings were intended to hear directly from local officials and residents, and that the state would pursue immediate and longer-term legislation and continue working beyond the current session. The committee then heard invited testimony from Kerr County, Kerrville, Kendall County, Real County, and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, followed by member questions. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha, and emergency management coordinator William B. Thomas described the flood as a sudden, unprecedented event that overwhelmed local systems before many officials or residents understood the danger. They said the county received multiple National Weather Service and IPAWS alerts, but the rain fell in remote upstream areas with limited gauges, and the flood rose too quickly for normal response. They detailed the emergency response, including dispatchers handling heavy call volumes, deputies and volunteer firefighters conducting rescues, and state and federal partners assisting. County officials said 108 people died, including 37 children, and two remained missing. They called for better real-time flood detection, stronger rural emergency management resources, improved broadband and cell coverage, and more funding for swift-water rescue and warning systems. Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring and City Manager Dalton Rice said the city had floodplain rules, emergency plans, and prior preparedness efforts, but the event exposed gaps in communications and regional warning capacity. They urged the Legislature to fund a flood warning system, whether sirens, automated alerts, or a hybrid, and asked for support for predictive weather modeling, broadband expansion, a hazard mitigation fund, and disaster recovery resources. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority said it had long funded gauges and pursued flood-warning and mitigation projects, including a new software-based flood prediction system and possible retention dams, and planned to dedicate reserve funds to feasibility studies and infrastructure improvements. Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk said his county’s emergency action plan and early alerts helped prevent deaths there, and he recommended easier access to alerting tools, a river-wide warning system, simpler grant applications, and regional coordination. Real County Judge Bella Rubio said rural counties face major challenges because of limited cell service, broadband, staffing, and funding, especially for camps and visitors along the Frio and Nueces rivers, and argued that reliable alert systems should be treated as a necessity, not a luxury. Members asked about the timeline of the flood, low-water crossings, communications failures, sirens, bridges, and funding, and several witnesses said the key lessons were better communications, better warning systems, and more investment in rural flood mitigation and emergency response.

Transcript Highlights:

• A quick overview of the scale of our programmatic operations: we have about 240 people in our compliance
• A quick overview of the scale of our like programmatic operations.
• A quick overview of the scale of our, like, programmatic operations.
• Amy Jenkins here on behalf of the California Cannabis Operators Association.
• The board currently operates with an IT budget of only $497,000, which is insufficient to meet its operational

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of growth in hours.
• of care, and hours per case.
• of care, and hours per case.
• the hours. and because of have an objective system of determining the hours.
• hours of respite for his care.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of required training, may access up to 12 hours of paid continuing education each year, and are exempt
• And family parents have seven hours of training, plus the five onboarding hours.
• Since November of 2025, caregivers have completed over 19,000 hours of our new CE courses.
• top of your head how much a course costs per hour.
• Sometimes you just need a simple refresher of an hour.

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on HB 2337, which would repeal the planned 2027 requirement that certain family-member long-term care providers complete annual continuing education. Rep. Barnard said the bill was intended to reduce burdens on relatives caring for one loved one and to avoid forcing them into courses that are often not relevant to the person they support. Supportive testimony from family providers and disability advocates emphasized that family caregivers already receive individualized training from doctors and therapists, that the available course library is often geared toward aging-related care rather than developmental disabilities, and that mandatory CE could create compliance barriers and risk losing caregivers. Opponents, including SEIU 775 representatives and family caregivers who support the current system, argued that continuing education improves care quality, helps caregivers stay prepared as needs change, and should remain mandatory; they also said the state had already responded to prior concerns by expanding the course catalog and allowing repeat courses for credit. No action was taken on HB 2337. The committee then heard HB 2311, a technical bill making administrative changes to the Workforce Education Investment and Accountability and Oversight Board. The bill would extend co-chair terms, allow more than four meetings per year, shift consultation on workforce investment effectiveness to the Student Achievement Council, and eliminate the requirement for a public data dashboard. The bill sponsor and supporters from WASAC, Microsoft, and the United Faculty of Washington State said the changes would improve board operations and oversight, while also raising broader concerns that WEA funds have been used to supplant general fund support for higher education. Testimony noted the dashboard had not been funded and that WASAC already tracks related metrics through other tools. No vote was taken on HB 2311 during the hearing. The committee then moved to executive action on HB 2132, which limits disclosure and retention of personally identifying information in WASFA records. An amendment by Rep. Levitt was adopted to allow the Student Achievement Council to share applicant information with entities beyond higher education institutions under binding data-sharing agreements. The committee then adopted the amended substitute bill and voted it out of committee. The final roll call was 9-8 in favor, and Substitute HB 2132 was reported out with a do pass recommendation. The committee also announced that executive action on HB 288 and HB 2148 would be delayed and that no action would be taken on those bills that day.

Transcript Highlights:

• director of operations.
• phase-in of the 66-hour work week?
• So they're not large airports where you see the larger air tankers operating out of.
• And so there has been ways for us to reduce the cost of this program in terms of flight hours that doesn't
• have to actually be flying in a plane because service is related to a number of hours flown.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We established an initial incident command center within hours, within the first hour of correction.
• of Texas State Operations Center.
• I'll refer to this here shortly on the hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute progression of our day.
• We initiated that with the county and the city of St. Angelo the day of. in a few hours into that.
• I work with a lot of organizations, a lot of serious operators. I was a Green Beret myself.

Committee: House Disaster Preparedness & Flooding, Select

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 630-hour threshold in any given period of time.
• They can pretty quickly get that 630 hours, but all of a sudden they're getting letters in August that
• Under the current two-year look-back, my school district has been forced to limit the number of hours
• The Ponderay Valley Railroad has been owned and operated by the Port of Ponderay since 1984.
• The Pondere Valley Railroad has been owned and operated by the Port of Pondoree since 1984.

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on January 20, 2026, hearing several bills related to retirement systems, school employee health coverage, port district pensions, environmental fee accounts, developmental disability services, legislative budget transparency, and a new Apple Health employer assessment. Early in the meeting, the committee heard SB 5834, which would make permanent a temporary expansion allowing certain retirement trust fund earnings to pay broader administrative expenses, and SB 5835, which would raise the lump-sum retirement allowance threshold for Plan 2 members from $50 to $250. Both bills were presented by Department of Retirement Systems staff and supported by the department, with questions focused on the scope of the administrative-expense language in SB 5834 and the technical nature of SB 5835. The committee then entered executive session and moved three bills without recommendation to the Rules Committee: Substitute SB 5249, allowing kit homes as emergency housing; Substitute SB 5053, allowing certain counties to include school district boundaries when forming a public facilities district; and Substitute SB 5203, directing state agencies to develop a wildlife habitat connectivity strategy and creating related accounts. After returning to public hearing, members heard SB 5883 on SEBB eligibility for school employees in their second school year of employment. Supporters, including labor representatives and individual school workers, said the bill would reduce coverage gaps and improve recruitment and retention, while school district officials and administrators argued it would create an unfunded mandate, increase costs, and add administrative burden. No action was taken on the bill. The committee also heard SB 5905, which would exclude certain port district employees from PERS if they are covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Plan or a collectively bargained defined benefit pension plan. Port representatives, labor stakeholders, and the Department of Retirement Systems described it as a narrow technical fix to avoid duplicate pension coverage and retroactive liabilities, and the bill drew support. SB 6151 would create dedicated accounts for Ecology fee revenue tied to laboratory accreditation and landfill methane work; Ecology and county representatives supported the measure as a way to reinvest fees in the programs that generate them. SB 6163 would require the Individual and Family Services waiver for developmental disability services to be budgeted at maintenance level; advocates said it would stabilize services and prevent waitlists, and no opposition was heard. The final two bills were SB 6177, which would require LEAP’s budget website to display additional budget detail such as carry-forward data, program and subprogram expenditures, and balance sheets for all public accounts, and SB 6173, which would create an Apple Health employer assessment on larger private employers with workers enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage. SB 6177 was framed as a transparency measure, while SB 6173 drew extensive testimony both in support and opposition: supporters said it would help offset expected Medicaid losses after federal work requirements take effect and stabilize the health safety net, while opponents argued it would be an unfunded tax, create administrative and legal complications, and could discourage hiring or reduce hours. The committee heard no final votes on the public hearing bills, and staff reminded members that signature sheets would be held for 24 hours under Senate rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, essentially, they can't be operated on any type of a public right-of-way. Yeah. >> Interesting.
• any type of a public operated on any type of a public right-of-way. right-of-way. right-of-way.
• Somebody was going to operate those on a public right-of-way.
• we</c> unsafe operation of e-bikes which we unsafe operation of e-bikes which we explored<01:34:06.440
• </c> and operators of safe legal electric and operators of safe legal electric bicycles<01:34:26.520>

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• that financial pressure is... rights of our members to own operate and rights of our members to own
• poses</c> fits-all nature of of this mandate poses fits-all nature of of this mandate poses operational
• </c> array of Workforce needs and operational array of Workforce needs and operational challenges<00:
• </c> operators they're often under a lot of operators they're often under a lot of uh<00:49:47.720><c
• 80 hours during the course of the year.

Committee: Senate Labor

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There are lots of ways we make sure that there is operational oversight, but adding it back into the
• There are lots of ways we make sure that there is operational oversight, but adding it back into the
• staff support for these types of homes, first, a lot of the larger projects we actually do see 24-hour
• First, a lot of the larger projects, we actually do see 24-hour staffing in those projects with someone
• the operations plan that a lower level of supervision is appropriate for the population being served

Summary: The Senate Housing Committee met in executive session on several housing-related House bills. Staff briefed bills expanding affordable housing on religious-organization property (HB 1859), requiring cities and counties to allow various forms of supportive and emergency housing in certain zones (ESHB 2266), making changes to common interest community law and WUCIOA (SHB 2354), changing service requirements for rent-increase notices and unlawful detainer notices (SHB 2452 and HB 2664), and exempting limited equity cooperatives from WUCIOA (2SHB 2590). The committee also reviewed fiscal notes and noted that most bills had no state fiscal impact, while the limited equity cooperative bill had a small Department of Revenue cost that would be absorbed. The most extensive discussion centered on ESHB 2266. Senator Gildon offered amendments to require step housing to be near transit, allow local review of operational plans, require 24-hour on-site supervision unless otherwise justified, and limit new requirements for smaller cities; Senator Gaynor offered a population-based amendment for cities under 10,000. Supporters of the underlying bill argued it would reduce barriers and expand needed shelter and housing, while opponents raised concerns about local control, neighborhood impacts, and operational oversight. None of the amendments were adopted, and the committee advanced the striker and underlying bill. The committee then voted to send HB 1859, SHB 2354, SHB 2452, 2SHB 2590, and HB 2664 forward with due-pass recommendations, with HB 1859 and ESHB 2266 sent to the Rules Committee and 2SHB 2590 sent to Ways and Means. Members generally expressed support for expanding housing options, though some noted concerns about implementation, local impacts, and the need for further work on WUCIOA-related issues. The meeting concluded with the chair thanking members and staff and adjourning the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• They will be included uh in the loop in terms of notifications of an incident. >> Okay.
• They will be included uh in the loop in terms of notifications of an incident. >> Okay.
• They will be included uh in the loop in terms of notifications of an incident. >> Okay.
• of notifications of an the loop in terms of notifications of an incident. incident. incident.
• </c> passes out of this committee favorably. passes out of this committee favorably.

Committee: House Tourism & Outdoor Recreation

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00 Roll Call: 00:04 HB 168 Discussion: 01:20 HB 168 Voting: 05:12, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And they depended on those number of And they depended on those number of hours. hours. hours.
• It might be zero days of zero hours of picking.
• </c> zero hours of picking. zero hours of picking.
• of hours worked.
• Instead, the true winners of a universal 56-hour standard are year-round industrial operations such as

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• street with a speed limit of 20 miles per hour.
• street with a speed limit of 20 miles per hour.
• Has there been any weight of the fact that that congested period could be only a few hours of the day
• Wouldn't it a few hours of the day?
• hours of the day an hour because for 22 hours of the day um<01:04:51.960><c> there</c><01:04:52.160>

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: House Transportation opened public hearings on three Senate bills and discussed a fourth scheduling issue. On SB 499, which would change Traffic Safety Commission reporting requirements, the sponsor’s representative said the bill would require annual aggregated data on the causes of traffic collisions in New Hampshire and recommendations to address them. Members asked about the added Trauma Medical Review Committee seat, and a representative explained that it is a longstanding state board of emergency and trauma professionals; the bill had already been amended and passed unanimously earlier in the process. On SB 500, concerning restroom access for certain commercial motor vehicle operators, the sponsor and trucking-industry supporters said the measure arose from concerns raised by female truck drivers and was intended to require larger commercial facilities with available public or employee restrooms to allow truck drivers to use them when there are no public safety concerns. Supporters from the New Hampshire Motor Transport Association said driver shortages make it important to recruit and retain women, and that lack of bathroom access is a significant barrier. Committee members asked about the scope of the problem and whether the issue affected male and female drivers differently. The committee then heard SB 559, which would reduce the minimum allowable speed limit on locally controlled roads. Supporters, including bicyclists and the Bike-Walk Alliance, testified that lower speeds improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, citing personal crash experiences and national guidance supporting lower urban speed limits where warranted by traffic or engineering studies. They emphasized the bill would not mandate lower limits statewide but would give towns local discretion. Members questioned whether the group would support 15 mph limits and how congestion and travel-time concerns were weighed. A Department of Transportation official testified neutrally, saying the agency had no formal position but had concerns about public perception and possible spillover to unnumbered state roads. The chair also noted an earlier scheduling problem that prevented immediate executive action on a bill until later in the day.