Video & Transcript Research : 'Native American'
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CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Floor Session May 18th, 2026
California House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Jewish American history is American history.
- Today I rise on behalf of the California Legislative Native American Caucus.
- American people and Jewish people that share a common thread. ...histories of not only Native American
- Jewish American history is American history. It has made the world better.
- We have blemishes on our American story. We have blemishes on our American story.
Summary:
The Assembly convened after a quorum call, heard a prayer from Rabbi Mona Alfie, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The chamber then held its first official Jewish American Heritage Month ceremony, beginning with Assembly Concurrent Resolution 195 by Assembly Member Gabriel. Gabriel and several colleagues from multiple caucuses spoke in support, emphasizing Jewish Californians’ contributions, the diversity of the Jewish community, solidarity with other communities, and opposition to anti-Semitism. The resolution was adopted by voice vote after 67 co-authors were added, and the Assembly then recognized 14 honorees for their service and leadership in California.
After the ceremony, members offered guest introductions and the body moved to floor business. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9 by Assembly Member Bonta, which would add affordability as a required factor in CPUC rate-making, remove telecommunications from the CPUC, create an Office of Broadband, and expand legislative appointments to the commission, was adopted. The Assembly also passed AB 1697 delaying implementation of a 2025 labor law, AB 2322 on stormwater permit definitions, AB 1653 on pupil instruction, AB 2274 and AB 2273 on criminal justice and child sexual abuse-related prosecutorial practices, AB 2512 on Anaheim Angels naming language tied to a potential land exemption, AB 1956 on suicide prevention for young men and boys, AB 1809 on job order contracting, AB 1970 banning step therapy for serious mental illness and substance use disorder medications, AB 1973 expanding authority for advanced practice clinicians, and AB 2055 on vessel law modernization.
The Assembly also adopted ACR 186 designating May as California Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being Month and H.R. 111 recognizing the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia, after extensive debate reflecting both support and criticism over LGBTQ rights and parental rights issues. Several measures were passed with recorded votes, while some items were passed and retained on file or continued. The transcript ends as the Assembly was moving into AB 2059, a CEQA-related bill on rural transportation projects, with the sponsor describing it as a narrow exemption for 21 rural counties.
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - Legislative Health and Human Services Jul 21st, 2025
Legislative Health & Human Services Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- And then regarding the first question you had about the initiatives targeting Native Americans, um, in
- compiling... all of this information, and I didn't see per se any initiatives targeting directly Native
- Americans.
- We live in a very deeply rooted traditional Hispanic and Native American lands and cultural traditions
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Floor Session May 18th, 2026
California House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Jewish American history is American history.
- Today I rise on behalf of the California Legislative Native American Caucus.
- American people and Jewish people that share a common thread, ...histories of not only Native American
- Jewish American history is American history. It has made the world better.
- We have blemishes on our American story. We have blemishes on our American story.
Summary:
The Assembly convened after a quorum call and opened with a prayer and pledge, then held a ceremonial observance for Jewish American Heritage Month. Assembly Concurrent Resolution 195 by Assembly Member Gabriel was presented with extensive remarks from members of multiple caucuses highlighting Jewish Californians’ contributions, the importance of solidarity amid rising antisemitism, and themes of tikkun olam and tzedakah. The resolution was adopted by voice vote after 67 co-authors were added, and the chamber then recognized 14 honorees for their service in public life, philanthropy, media, faith leadership, education, and civic engagement.
The floor also featured guest introductions and a procedural vote on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9 by Assembly Member Borrero, which would add affordability as a required consideration in CPUC rate-making, remove telecommunications from the commission’s portfolio, create an office of broadband, and expand legislative appointments. The amendment was adopted. The Assembly then moved through a long third-reading file, passing measures including AB 1697 delaying implementation of a 2025 employment law, AB 2322 on stormwater permit definitions, AB 1653 on hearing-illness education, AB 2274 closing a loophole involving secrecy in trafficking cases, AB 2512 on Anaheim Angels naming language tied to a land exemption, AB 1956 prioritizing young men and boys in suicide prevention, and AB 2273 addressing prosecutorial handling of a local sexual abuse case.
Additional bills passed included AB 1809 extending job order contracting for school and community college districts, AB 1970 banning step therapy for serious mental illness and substance use disorder medications, AB 1973 expanding practice authority for advanced practice clinicians, AB 2055 updating vessel law, and AB 2059 narrowing CEQA vehicle-mile-traveled mitigation for certain rural highway projects. The Assembly also adopted ACR 186 designating May 2026 as California Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being Month and H.R. 11 recognizing the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia after a lengthy debate that included support from several caucuses and some disagreement over the resolution’s framing of current threats to LGBTQ+ communities.
PA
Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Session (Jun 29 2026)
Pennsylvania Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- In that amazing feat, only one American was killed in action.
- This week, Pennsylvanians and Americans across the country are celebrating 250 years of our nation's
- This week, Pennsylvanians and Americans across the country are celebrating 250 years of our nation's
- He's now living in Huntington, Tennessee, but he's a native of Brookville, Pennsylvania.
- He's now living in Huntington, Tennessee, but he's a native of Brookville, Pennsylvania.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Emergency rental assistance aid 3/16/26
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- American children, youth, and elders being 12 to 30 times more likely to be the ones who are outdoors
- are Minnesota, over 8,000 Minnesotans are living<00:04:01.680>
outdoors, <00:04:02.920>Native - <00:04:03.280>
American <00:04:03.800>of <00:04:03.920>the living outdoors, - Native American of the living outdoors, Native American of the uh<00:04:04.240>
children, <00:04 - One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit was a Somali-American young man who was on his lunch break when
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- He talked about how guilty he felt that as a Native American himself, his people received stronger protections
- He talked about how guilty he felt that as a Native American himself, his people received stronger protections
- Most American citizens are now aware; the public's aware.
- I currently serve as the president of our American Society for Microbiology Student Chapter, but I’m
- I'm a native Texan, a researcher in molecular biosciences at UT, and a student who will be pursuing a
Bills:
HB18, HB37, HB 116, HB388, HB879, HB913, HB 1151, HB2216, HB2358, HB2809, SB577, SB1590, SB1782, SB1887, SB2744
Keywords:
rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, perinatal bereavement, healthcare, hospital training, bereavement support, maternal care, fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, parent-child relationship, involuntary termination, family law, child welfare, child protection, HB 388, HB388
Summary:
The committee first reopened testimony on House Bill 2216, which would strengthen child welfare requirements by expanding “active efforts” to help families avoid removal and support reunification, while also raising standards related to removals and terminations. Supporters from child welfare and family defense groups said the bill would better protect families and align Texas more closely with ICWA-style principles, but several warned it would require significant new funding, staffing, and community services such as mental health care, housing, child care, and substance use treatment. The committee then left HB 2216 pending.
The committee next heard Senate Bill 1782, aimed at boarding and group homes. Senator Miles said the bill closes enforcement gaps left by prior law by requiring retention of background-check records and creating misdemeanor penalties for failing to conduct or keep them, or for knowingly hiring people with serious convictions. Harris County sheriff’s investigators testified in support, describing illegal boarding homes, operators who evade permits and background checks, and exploitation of vulnerable residents; the bill was left pending. The committee also took up Senate Bill 481 on emergency preparedness for nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, adopted a new committee substitute that softened some requirements and removed the fiscal note, and left the bill pending.
The committee then heard House Bill 388, which would require the Texas Department of Insurance to create a single standardized coordination-of-benefits form for dual health plans to reduce errors and surprise bills; it was left pending. Senate Bill 1590 would move paternity registry searches for adoptions to an electronic process with a 10-day target, and House Bill 2809 would track child suicide attempts in managing conservatorship and require related reporting and parental notice; both were left pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1887, which would prohibit administering mRNA-containing products for immunization for 10 years, with exceptions for cancer and genetic disorders. Supporters argued the bill was needed for safety, informed consent, and medical freedom, while opponents from the medical, research, and public health communities said mRNA vaccines are well-studied, save lives, and that the bill would harm access, research, and Texas’s biotech economy. The bill remained under discussion as testimony concluded.
HI
Transcript Highlights:
- The Hawaiian native Hawaiian youth suicide epidemic, we have sex trafficking of native women here.
- I've witnessed a cycle of creating these bombs, starting on Native American land where Indigenous people
- I've witnessed a cycle of creating these bombs, starting on Native American land where Indigenous people
- indigenous Native American land where indigenous Native American land where indigenous people<01:
- I'm a Native Hawaiian descendant of the native inhabitants of Hawaii prior to 1778.
Summary:
The committee heard testimony on HB 1233, relating to storm management systems, which would add safety and maintenance requirements for detention and retention ponds. Supporters, including Alison Schafers of the Ki Injury Prevention Coalition and Kristen Herstead of the Hawaii Lifeguard Association, said the measure is needed because poorly maintained ponds can become hidden drowning hazards, especially for children, and argued that fencing, signage, and life-saving equipment would have minimal cost. Schafers described the death of her daughter in a detention pond and said the bill reflects recommendations in the Hawaii Water Safety Plan. Members asked about whether the issue should be handled at the county level; testifiers responded that a statewide standard is needed, though counties would likely handle permitting. No vote was taken on the bill during the excerpted discussion.
The committee then heard HB 867, relating to recreational facilities, which would require accessible playgrounds. The Department of Land and Natural Resources said it submitted comments and that state parks do not generally have recreational facilities affected by the bill, while most such facilities are under county jurisdiction. The Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Disability Communication Access Board, and the Disability Rights Center all supported the bill’s intent but recommended changes, including replacing the term “special needs” with “accessible,” focusing the requirement on new and renovated playgrounds, and specifying wheelchair-accessible swings. Testifiers emphasized that accessible play spaces promote inclusion for children with disabilities and benefit all children. No final action or vote was reported.
The committee also took up HB 1358, relating to a public land trust working group. DLNR supported the measure and said it had provided written comments, while the Office of Hawaiian Affairs strongly supported the bill and described longstanding problems with incomplete land inventories, self-reported revenue data, and disputed public land trust payments. OHA said an audit it funded suggests the state owes more than current payments reflect, and other supporters said the bill is needed for transparency, accountability, and a complete inventory of public trust lands, including submerged lands. Committee questions focused on how the public land trust information system is maintained, who updates it, and how revenue reporting works; DLNR said the system is older, has limited dedicated IT staffing, and relies on agency self-reporting rather than independent verification. No vote or final committee action was announced in the excerpt.
WA
Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Housing Dec 5th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- And these are Black, African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American, Indigenous, Native Hawaiian
- or other Pacific Islander, Korean American...
- Native American, Indigenous, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander, Korean American, Asian Indian
- the Washington Homeownership Resource Center. ...who runs the hotline for the state, as well as American
Summary:
The Senate Housing Committee heard a series of work-session presentations focused on transit-oriented development, commercial-to-residential redevelopment, building code implementation, housing market trends, and the Covenant Homeownership Program. The first presentation, from the Urban Institute, reviewed research on HB 1491 and TOD feasibility, arguing that Washington has made major progress but faces diverging conditions across transit areas. The presenter said rising construction costs, higher interest rates, and lower rents in some markets have made many projects less feasible, and recommended targeted infrastructure funding for lower-market communities, adjustments to MFTE and affordability requirements by local market conditions, more support for very low-income housing in high-market transit areas, minimum density standards near stations, expanded public land/joint development tools, and better tracking of TOD outcomes over time. Committee members asked about AMI calculations, immigration’s effect on construction labor, developer input, and whether a tracking mechanism had been removed from the bill.
The Department of Commerce then outlined implementation of HB 1491 and demonstrated the new Washington Zoning Atlas, which is live and intended to help visualize zoning, overlays, and station-area conditions. Commerce said local governments will designate station areas, update zoning and MFTE policies, and handle anti-displacement measures, with Vancouver and Spokane first to implement and Puget Sound following later. Staff described a timeline for updated MFTE guidance, station-area implementation guidance, a TOD model ordinance, and later rulemaking on variances. The committee also heard from the Lieutenant Governor’s office on a report about converting commercial properties to housing, which found substantial potential for redevelopment on vacant or underused commercial land, especially near transit, but noted barriers such as ground-floor retail mandates, affordability requirements, infrastructure costs, private covenants, and slow implementation. The office urged by-right residential use on commercial land and faster rollout of new housing laws.
The State Building Code Council updated the committee on its three-year code cycle and several legislatively directed actions, including minimum dwelling size, emergency shelters, and especially single-exit stairs and multiplex housing. Council staff said those code changes are nearing completion and will provide prescriptive solutions, while noting that elevator size and requirements were not changed and would require separate legislative direction if the committee wanted to revisit them. Members discussed the cost impacts of building and energy codes and the council said it is required to consider economic impacts and is increasingly looking at performance-based approaches. Later, the Washington Center for Real Estate Research presented its annual housing report, showing that higher mortgage rates have sharply reduced affordability, flattened house prices in many cities, and slowed single-family permitting and completions, while multifamily construction has recently cooled after a prior surge. Finally, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission reported strong first-year results for the Covenant Homeownership Program, which provides zero-interest down payment assistance to eligible first-time buyers with family ties to Washington before 1968; the program assisted 547 homebuyers in its first fiscal year, with more than $60 million loaned, and the agency said participation has continued to grow after income-limit changes enacted in 2025.
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - Legislative Education Study May 30th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- Um, the rule amendment also proposes charter schools with enrolled Native American students to comply
- dog, so to speak, you know, having something like, and I'm making up the numbers, 70% of the total native
- Districts and charters includes all Native American counts within students, students who are affiliated
- So the LEAs are receiving funding for students who identify as Native American.
NM
Transcript Highlights:
- an active inquiry on the record, affirmatively asking and inquiring whether a child is, in fact, Native
- American children in the system, but I would assume it's probably pretty high.
- At the end of 2024, there were 209 American Indian, Native American children in state custody, and that
- She is doing the job of CYFD this morning because they didn't do it with a Native American child.
- American children that are in the state custody. custody.
HI
Transcript Highlights:
- First to testify in person, we have Lauren Simpson Gomez, Government Relations Director for the American
- American Heart stands in strong support of HR 84 and HCR 92.
- Initiatives such as the American Heart Association's Nation of Lifesavers campaign emphasize the importance
- <00:05:11.640>
Heart Initiatives such as the American Heart Initiatives such as the American - It disproportionately impacts Native Hawaiian communities in a state where the ocean is not recreational
Keywords:
automated external defibrillator, AED, cardiac arrest, state buildings, health education, public health, lifeguards, first responders, public safety, ocean safety, emergency response, Hawaii, workers' compensation, auditor, procurement audit, compliance, Department of Human Resources Development, transparency, accountability, medical care
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House State Government Finance and Policy Committee 3/24/26
State Government Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- It is especially devastating to the native stations and to the stations in greater Minnesota.
- It is especially devastating to the native stations and to the stations in greater Minnesota.
- I'm a policy fellow with Americans for Prosperity, federally based out of Virginia.
- I'm a policy fellow with Americans for Prosperity, federally based out of Virginia.
- So, as a native Minnesotan, I'm laws.
Keywords:
Inspector General, fraud prevention, state audit, public funds, misuse, transparency, government accountability, HF4482, Minnesota Historical Society, state historic sites, historic site management, historic preservation, county historical society, local historical society, municipality, county government, admission fees, grants-in-aid, site operations, site maintenance
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on Climate Crisis, Resources, Energy, and Transportation May 20th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- Native American tribes and the public.
- This is the same location where Governor Newsom apologized to the California Native American tribes.
- This entity is going to be directed by Native Americans.
- Native American tribes to ensure the build-out and the programming of the actual Native, the Indian Heritage
- Center has the voices and the culture and education of the Native American tribes of California.
KY
Kentucky 2025 Regular Session
Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity (8-26-25)
Transcript Highlights:
- Examples of presumed disadvantaged groups include Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans
- , Asian-Pacific Americans, subcontinent Asian-Americans, and women.
- ,<00:21:29.919>
Hispanic <00:21:30.480>Americans, <00:21:31.039>Native Americans - , Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans,<00:21:32.240>
Asian-Pacific - <00:21:33.120>
Americans, Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans
Summary:
The August 2025 interim meeting of the Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity began with roll call, confirmation of a quorum, approval of the June meeting minutes, and welcoming a new member, Ivonne Smith, who noted her background in MWBE and DBE work. The chair also offered condolences to a member whose father recently passed away and explained that the committee had invited agency officials to answer questions raised at the prior meeting.
The first presentation was from Singer Buchanan of the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, who described the state’s equal opportunity and contract compliance office and its certification programs for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and minority/women business enterprises. He outlined outreach efforts, including partnerships with veterans’ organizations, the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, UK, and transportation-related groups; explained that the programs are intended to expand market access rather than provide grants; and said the office has moved to an online application portal that has processed 227 new applications since December 2023. He reported 536 total vendors across the programs, including 29 service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and said the office is considering website testimonials to improve outreach. Members asked about staffing, application assistance, and whether the state program conflicts with federal policy; Buchanan said the office has three staff members and that the program is state-funded and, based on legal advice, should continue under Kentucky law.
Tony Yusefi of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet then presented on the federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. He explained the program’s legal basis under federal DOT regulations, its eligibility standards, and its purpose of creating a level playing field while helping firms grow and eventually compete without assistance. He described certification requirements, annual documentation, prompt-payment protections, commercially useful function reviews, good-faith effort requirements, and sanctions for violations. He also discussed barriers facing DBEs, including access to capital, bonding, insurance, training, and prequalification requirements, and noted that 50 firms were removed last month for noncompliance with annual documentation rules. Yusefi said the cabinet has expanded supportive services, including an online application platform, bid notifications, and a nine-class business development program; 95 DBEs are enrolled this year, and the bid-matching system reaches an average of 377 DBEs monthly.
HI
Hawaii 2025 Regular Session
House Chamber - Fri Feb 14, 2025, 12:00PM HST - Day 20
Hawaii House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Due process should be given to all American citizens, not illegal immigrants. Thank you.
- at all, is able to call themselves a Native Hawaiian practitioner and practice.
- at all, is able to call themselves a Native Hawaiian practitioner and practice.
- fully recognizes the role of native fully recognizes the role of native Hawaiian<01:01:44.760>
current form anybody who is of native current form anybody who is of native Hawaiian<01:03:23.599
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Committee on the Census Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Senate Committee on the Census
Transcript Highlights:
- Census Bureau provides primarily on ACS, the American Community Survey, getting information from respondents
- And here we're showing that the native-born labor force has grown only 6% since 1990.
- And this is the households the American Community Survey PUMS, correct? Yep.
- They do tend to be, so foreign-born householders tend to be larger than native-born householders.
- So 51% are three or more people, as compared to only 35% of native householders.
Summary:
The Senate Committee on the Census heard presentations on Massachusetts population trends and how they affect state housing planning. Susan Strait of the UMass Donahue Institute reviewed recent Census Bureau estimates, saying Massachusetts grew strongly over the last decade but that growth has slowed sharply in the newest estimates, largely because net international migration has fallen from a post-pandemic surge. She also described the four components of population change—births, deaths, domestic migration, and international migration—along with aging trends, declining fertility, the importance of the millennial cohort, and the role of foreign-born residents in births and the labor force. Committee members asked about college students in group quarters and about counting incarcerated people, and Strait explained the Census Bureau’s current methods and noted that some issues remain under discussion.
Jesse Guerrero of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council then explained how MAPC uses UMass Donahue population projections to build household and local land-use forecasts for MassDOT and the statewide housing plan. He said the earlier transportation projections anticipated slower statewide growth and regional decline in western Massachusetts and on the Cape, with more growth in eastern Massachusetts. He also described how household formation, development patterns, zoning, and affordability are modeled, and noted that newer housing-plan scenarios use updated Census data and different assumptions about migration. Senator Miranda raised concerns about Cape Cod population loss and whether seasonal residents are being counted, and Guerrero and Strait said the projections focus on permanent residents, not seasonal populations.
Tim Reardon of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities tied the demographic forecasts to the statewide housing plan, saying housing demand exists even under low-growth or slight-decline scenarios. He said the plan estimates about 115,000 homes are needed to address existing shortages, including doubled-up households, shelter families, seasonal conversion losses, and the need for healthier vacancy rates, plus additional units tied to future household formation. He added that the state’s total housing target is about 222,000 units, or as high as 262,000 under a higher-growth scenario. Senators pressed him on whether the scenarios are now too high given the recent drop in immigration, on affordability and out-migration, and on whether the housing plan adequately reflects homelessness and overcrowding in Boston and elsewhere. Reardon said the plan includes production, rental assistance, shelter prevention, and preservation strategies, and noted that HLC is also using grant programs and MBTA Communities-related infrastructure funding to support housing production statewide.
LA
Louisiana 2026 Regular Session
Commerce May 20th, 2026
Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs
Transcript Highlights:
- Present, not wishing to speak, but in opposition is John Kaye with LMHA, Gina Goans with the American
- Present, not wishing to speak, but in opposition is John Kaye with LMHA, Gina Goans with the American
- form, whether the reporting and database system support native-form receipt, or whether the cost of
- Since 1988, Louisiana has required unclaimed securities to be held in their native form for at least
- Louisiana has required unclaimed securities to be held in their native form for at least three years
Summary:
The committee took up several House measures. HCR 66, as amended, asked Louisiana Economic Development and the Governor’s Office of Rural Development to study rural parish assets, infrastructure, workforce, and development opportunities, and it was moved forward without objection. HB 387, a clarification to allow the fire marshal’s office to review architectural and engineering plans equally, also passed favorably without objection. HB 1223, which would have LED promote Louisiana’s clinical trial capacity and adjust internal review board processes, was amended and moved favorably. HB 950, aimed at helping older adults recognize and avoid fraud through materials and resources from the Office of Elderly Affairs, was reported favorably. HB 975, a routine measure to recreate the Public Service Commission, was also reported favorably. HB 1186, which would create a more uniform statewide building code and licensing system for inspectors, was amended and moved favorably. HB 1222, described as a Grocery Initiative Act to let LED identify ways to address food deserts and food insecurity, was introduced near the end of the meeting.
The most extensive debate centered on HB 617, a consumer transparency bill requiring mandatory fees to be included in upfront pricing. The author said the bill was intended to curb hidden fees and help consumers compare prices, with examples such as hotel resort fees and automatic restaurant service charges. Supporters argued it would improve transparency, while opponents from grocery, restaurant, hotel, housing, retail, and business groups said the bill was too broad, vague about terms like “total price,” unclear on enforcement and penalties, and could create compliance burdens and litigation risk, especially for small businesses. Housing advocates opposed the bill’s housing carve-out, arguing it could weaken renters’ ability to bring unfair-practice claims. Senator Morris moved to defer HB 617, and the committee agreed without objection.
The committee also heard lengthy testimony on HB 797, which would create a Bayou Gold certification for certain transactional gold vendors that meet state-defined standards such as segregation, insurance, and nearby storage. The sponsor said the goal was to give consumers confidence and encourage vendors to keep gold closer to Louisiana, while critics argued the program would amount to a state endorsement of private companies, create misleading consumer impressions, and expose the state to confusion or liability. The bill drew opposition from the Sound Money Defense League and others, but the committee ultimately reported HB 797 favorably, with the understanding it still had to go to Finance. HB 1228, a hearing-aid cleanup bill updating definitions, contracts, testing periods, and licensing rules, was also moved favorably without objection.
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - Legislative Health and Human Services Aug 18th, 2025
Legislative Health & Human Services Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- they do the plan of care in the hospital is if there's reason to believe that that child may be of Native
- American heritage.
- One is that the Native American population is exempt from the work requirement.
- It's really for folks who let us know that they're Native, because we don't know automatically, so it's
- But for folks who have reported to us that they're Native American and had that verified, then...
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Floor Session May 5th, 2025
California House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- However, Native Americans have purposely been disregarded when it comes to California's water rights
- one of the starkest moments for me in my time in this Legislature around what has happened to our Native
- This is extending an American A little bit of background.
- Water Parks and Wildlife Committee, I had the privilege of overseeing an informational hearing on native
- Instead, I’m going to say if we just turned the land back to the Native people and followed their lead
Summary:
The Assembly convened after a quorum call, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then held its Latino Spirit Awards ceremony. Members adopted House Resolution 16, proclaiming May 4–11, 2025 as Cinco de Mayo Week, after supportive remarks from several caucuses emphasizing Mexican history, women’s contributions, LGBTQ solidarity, Black and Brown unity, and AAPI and Jewish community support. The chamber then recognized 11 Latino Spirit honorees for achievements in human rights, business, arts, public service, community empowerment, health and science, environmental justice, philanthropy, and entertainment.
After the ceremony, the Assembly returned to floor business and approved a series of measures. AB 60, banning synthetic nitro musks in cosmetics and personal care products, passed 56–3. AJR 6, urging Congress to protect federal school meal and local food funding, drew extensive debate and broad bipartisan support; members cited child hunger, farm economies, and local food systems, and it passed 76–0 with 73 coauthors added. Other measures adopted included AB 679 on state park land acquisitions, AB 681 expanding Dream Loan Program caps for undocumented graduate students, AB 1224 on substitute teacher continuity, AB 831 on gaming technical changes, AB 259 extending Brown Act teleconferencing flexibility, AB 467 extending Los Angeles Neighborhood Council teleconferencing authority, and AB 519 targeting deceptive puppy mill sales.
The chamber also passed AB 1522, an urgency Judiciary Committee bill protecting attorneys from politically motivated discipline and creating an expedited licensing path for some former federal attorneys, and AB 263, which extends temporary water flow requirements on the Shasta and Smith Rivers; that bill drew sharp disagreement over water rights, tribal participation, and impacts on farmers, but ultimately passed 51–16. Additional measures approved included AB 428 on pooled insurance for water corporations, AB 492 requiring notice to local jurisdictions when recovery treatment facilities are licensed, and AB 536 preserving colorectal cancer screening coverage. The Assembly also adopted a motion to suspend file notice so Appropriations could hear AB 379 on May 7.
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
Committee on Environment, Climate and Legacy - 03/11/25
Environment, Climate, and Legacy
Transcript Highlights:
- And these are the very treasured values of all American citizens that we hope our children become as
- The American family rising above the chaos—this is more than just a design.
- <00:47:21.400>
flag male soldier saluting the American flag male soldier saluting the American - Our Native News initiative includes a Native news art focus as well as the North Star Journey piece,
- news uh initiative includes a our native news uh initiative includes a native<01:08:55.000>
news<