Transcript Highlights:

• This bill comes as a request bill from the Department of Retirement Systems.
• This is Court of Appeals request legislation. And we had enacted... Bill.
• This is Court of Appeals request legislation.
• This bill is another request bill from the Department of Retirement Systems.
• additional requests for 30 calendar days after receipt of the claim.

Bills: SB5223, SB5928, SB6071, SB5995, SB5966, SB5841, SB6061, SB5944, SB5520, SB6087, SB6076, SB5916, SB6016, SB6137, SB6009, SB5833, SB6161, SB5890, SB5973, SJM8015, SB5816, SB5053, SB5249, SB5536, SB5834, SB5837, SB5872, SB5879, SB5899, SB5925, SB6019, SB6148, SB6190, SB6237, SB6086, SB5574, SB5873, SB5992, SB5924, SB6134, SB6263, SB5395, SB6282, SB5905, SB6302, SB5950, SB6074, SB6096, SB5970, SB5609, SB5827, SB5838, SB5845, SB5862, SB5880, SB5901, SB5922, SB5943, SB5971, SB5975, SB5981, SB5982, SB5984, SB5988, SB5994, SB6034, SB6035, SB6070, SB6097, SB6110, SB6246, SB6248, SB6278, SJM8016, SB5496, SB6054, SB5835, SB5907, SB6031, SB6155, SB6158, SB6227, SB5947, SB6247, SB6085, SB6234, SB6274, SB6194, SB5909, SB5868, SB6026, SB5974, SB6044, SB5906, SB6081, SB6239, SB5923, SB6323, SB6210, SB6045, SB6106, SB5346, SB6089, SB6170, SB5954, SB5968

Keywords: criminal offense, fingerprinting, law enforcement, state regulations, public safety, wildfire risk, disclosure, safety, environmental policy, risk assessment, overpayment recovery, modernization, health care, legislation, zero emission, cargo handling, port district, environmental impact, grant allocation, healthcare

Transcript Highlights:

• The new funding that's requested in this bill is just essential for food shelves in our effort to keep
• </c> grants the new funding that's requested grants the new funding that's requested in<00:09:44.560>
• We do receive about— and the entire network probably receives— we receive less than 10% of our budget
• </c> we receive less than 10% of our budget we receive less than 10% of our budget in<00:20:58.080><c
• , the cost of food even at the wholesale level is impacting food bank budgets.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Subsection 2 there, again, was added at the request of law enforcement.
• We strongly oppose S.J.R. 103 and request a no vote.
• We strongly oppose S.J.R. 103 and request a no vote.
• I mean, that's not even in the cards, and it's not in the budget.
• And we all know it's not in the budget. And that's not even in the cards either.

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> swaths of data that are being requested. swaths of data that are being requested.
• Um this was uh management and budget.
• </c><00:57:25.119><c> And</c><00:57:25.280><c> it</c> Hawai's pending funding requests.
• And it Hawai's pending funding requests.
• Uh the agreement included upon request.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Judiciary Committee held an informational briefing on the State of Hawaii’s affirmative litigation against the federal administration, with no public testimony. Attorney General Lopez and deputies said the office’s goal is to enforce the rule of law, not make partisan points, and noted that Hawaii is involved in 27 ongoing cases. They grouped the cases into four broad areas: immigration, funding freezes and grant terminations, federal agency dismantling/reductions in force, and protecting elections, health, and safety. Several immigration-related cases were discussed in detail. These included a challenge to the federal sharing of Medicaid data with DHS for immigration enforcement, a similar challenge to USDA’s demand for SNAP applicant and recipient data, and litigation over immigration-enforcement conditions attached to federal grants. The office also described the birthright citizenship executive order, saying it conflicts with the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court precedent; lower courts granted preliminary relief, and the U.S. Supreme Court later addressed only the scope of nationwide injunctions, not the merits. In the Department of Transportation case, the court granted a preliminary injunction against the “Duffy directive,” finding the immigration conditions lacked statutory authority, were arbitrary and capricious, and violated the Spending Clause and APA. The briefing also covered multiple funding disputes. In the education funding freeze case, the Department of Education and OMB withheld about $6 billion in formula funds, including roughly $33 million for Hawaii; after suit was filed, the funds were released. Other cases included the termination of over $11 billion in public health grants, which affected Hawaii Department of Health grants, the NIH indirect cost cap case, and NIH grant terminations tied to DEI, transgender issues, and vaccine hesitancy. The speakers said some cases have already resulted in preliminary or permanent injunctions, while others remain on appeal or are still being litigated.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our agency request bill. Thank you for hearing this bill again.
• You can't budget. So please consider that as part of this bill.
• You can't budget. A knock on your door with someone saying, you owe us a bunch of money now.
• You can't budget. So please consider that as part of this bill.
• We're talking budget dust that you guys are missing out on.

Bills: SB5234, SB6110, SB6176

Keywords: snowmobile, snowmobile registration, vehicle registration fees, registration fee, Department of Licensing, DOL, recreational vehicles, winter recreation, vintage snowmobile, parks and recreation, vehicle license fee, RCW 46.17, fee schedule, renewal fee, initial fee, Washington state, electric-assisted bicycles, electric motorcycles, transportation regulation, safety standards

Transcript Highlights:

• In the governor's budget. This bill, as Chair Dolio said, closes some key loopholes.
• Finally, this bill has a fiscal impact that's not in the governor's budget. Thank you.
• I don't have that data on hand, although I have a request in to get it.
• To gain the support of CTUIR, we have three main requests.
• To gain the support of CTUIR, we have three main requests.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills. House Bill 2272 would update state park inspection language for ski lifts and related equipment to better match current equipment and federal standards; the sponsor and State Parks said it was a simple modernization bill, and there was no opposition. House Bill 2245 would expand Clean Energy Transformation Act coverage to port districts that distribute electricity, utilities with a single customer, and certain affected market customers such as data centers; supporters said it closes loopholes and applies clean-energy rules more fairly, while ports, business groups, and some utilities warned of unintended consequences, added reporting burdens, and impacts on cogeneration and rural economic development. Ecology and Commerce supported the goal but raised concerns about allowance allocation, fiscal impacts, and possible double counting, and WAPUDA asked that existing single-customer PUDs be grandfathered. House Bill 2215 would lower Climate Commitment Act thresholds for gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, and propane suppliers and extend coverage to some purchasers; supporters said it would prevent entities from gaming the system and cover significant emissions now below the threshold, while Ecology, fuel distributors, propane suppliers, grocers, and business groups warned of compliance costs, supply-chain impacts, possible linkage issues, and the need to preserve existing reporting authority for natural gas. Ecology estimated about 50 additional covered entities could be brought in, and several opponents argued the bill would sweep in small family-owned businesses not intended to be regulated. House Bill 2090 would direct Commerce to develop a nuclear strategic framework for inclusion in the state energy strategy, contingent on outside funding. The sponsor and supporters argued the bill is only a planning measure to ensure Washington considers advanced nuclear as a firm, low-carbon, small-footprint resource amid rising demand, grid constraints, and land-use concerns; supporters included Energy Northwest, local governments, labor/environmental Democrats, and pro-nuclear groups. Opponents, including the Sierra Club, Columbia Riverkeeper, tribal representatives from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and several environmental advocates, said the bill gives nuclear special treatment, relies on private funding that could bias the study, and risks advancing projects at Hanford without early, meaningful tribal consultation. Tribes requested explicit consultation, independent and publicly funded analysis, and attention to treaty rights and historic nuclear impacts. Testimony also sharply divided over cost, waste, and land use, with supporters emphasizing reliability and footprint and opponents citing high costs, unresolved waste disposal, and the immaturity of small modular reactors. No votes or final actions were taken in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• It reduces the cost to the state's special education-based budget since these amounts are funded directly
• It reduces the cost to the state's special education-based budget since these amounts are funded directly
• special reduces the cost to the state's special education<00:02:05.320><c> based</c><00:02:05.840><c> budget
• </c><00:02:06.600><c> since</c><00:02:06.880><c> these</c> education based budget since these education
• based budget since these amounts<00:02:07.759><c> are</c><00:02:07.960><c> funded</c><00:02:08.800><

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• on each copy and your testimony will be distributed to each committee member. and any member who requested
• There is a committee substitute requested by TEA, but I do not believe it's ready.
• What recommendations... to optimize the, you know, our budget number?
• I think we are and up until now that has been subject to an appropriation and a budget rider and so I
• budget to the Texas taxpayers.

Bills: SB568, SCR5, SB57, SB1447, SB27, SB24

Keywords: special education, funding, individualized education program, visual impairments, accessibility, support services, state education code, SCR 5, Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, Texas School for the Deaf, TSD, Robert Rives, gymnasium naming, building naming, honorary resolution, commemorative resolution, deaf education, hard of hearing, Gallaudet University, alumni hall of fame

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you have any idea what the impact on the budget is, the state budget, what this change in contribution
• Budgets are a major part of our conversation in the Legislature right now.
• They're all struggling with their budgets.
• The Pension Funding Council is more interested in the budget...
• They brought this request to me.

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I would say that one of those requests did come through.
• I would say, as a member of the Budget Committee, I have put in a budget request for funding for CalRx
• And for these reasons, I respectfully request your aye vote. Thank you.
• And for these reasons, I respectfully request your aye vote. Thank you.
• And be the focal person for anything immigration-request related.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> our schools are having to make budget our schools are having to make budget cuts,<00:14:54.639><
• > cut</c><01:24:45.440><c> of</c> would be a budget cut of would be a budget cut of $81,450<01:24:47.199
• </c> improve on the governor's budget improve on the governor's budget proposal<01:40:46.239><c> and<
• We are aware of the budget realities, but we ask that you do not include these harmful cuts in your budget
• </c> budget. Thank you. budget. Thank you.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um I agency to this budget for that.
• </c> since something like 90% of our budget since something like 90% of our budget is<00:02:55.560><c
• </c><00:03:45.280><c> numbers</c> focusing only on the the budget numbers focusing only on the the budget
• ><c> created</c><00:05:22.320><c> uh</c> understand the budget target created uh understand the budget
• And while this bill, of course, does not include full funding of the branch's biennial budget request

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Victims who have requested post-conviction notice must also be notified of the name change application
• Victims who have requested post-conviction notice must also be notified of the name change application
• I am aware that it is a very, very minuscule part of the court’s budget.
• It is impossible for vital agencies to plan or operate efficiently when their budgets are tied to the
• Public records requests attempting to unveil this number have gone unanswered.

Summary: The Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee heard and advanced several House bills dealing with criminal law, victims’ rights, and court fees. HB 2131 would remove the financial-gain requirement from weapons and explosives trafficking and make trafficking three or more weapons or explosives in one offense ineligible for probation, pardon, commutation, or early release until the sentence is served; it passed 6-1. HB 2132 lowered the fentanyl trafficking threshold from 200 grams to 100 grams and adjusted related sentencing language; supporters said it would help law enforcement and prosecutors, while opponents argued it would sweep in heavy users and lacked data on current enforcement; it passed 4-3. HB 2223 requires sex offenders seeking a name change to notify prosecutors and victims, and to register under the new name if granted; it passed 6-1. The committee also passed HB 2411, which creates the crime of coerced abortion for secretly or forcibly administering an abortion-inducing drug with intent to cause an abortion, as a class 2 felony. Supporters described cases of covert or forced abortion drug use and said existing laws do not clearly cover situations where the drug is given but no death occurs; opponents argued current assault, manslaughter, homicide, and food-contamination statutes already address the conduct and that the bill is unnecessary. HB 2043, which adds unborn children to the felony-murder statute, also passed 4-3 after testimony from prosecutors and advocates on both sides; supporters called it a cleanup measure, while opponents warned it advances fetal personhood and could have broader reproductive-health consequences. HB 2046, requiring victims to be notified of pre-hearings in probation review proceedings for certain sex offenders, passed unanimously after emotional testimony from a victim’s family and county prosecutors. The committee then approved HB 2666, which increases penalties for sexual extortion involving 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds when the offender is an adult and knew or should have known the victim’s age. Finally, HB 2265, which eliminates court-imposed fees and assessments on criminal defendants for public defense, jury trials, and appeals, passed 7-0 despite county opposition over lost revenue and shifting costs to taxpayers. The last bill, HB 2133, would require commercial websites hosting sexual material to verify the age and consent of depicted persons, retain records, and treat synthetic depictions like AI-generated images similarly to existing revenge-porn laws; it drew support from adult-industry representatives on some implementation issues but also significant constitutional and privacy concerns, and the committee adopted an amendment before passing the bill as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• Victims who have requested post-conviction notice must also be notified of the name change application
• Victims who have requested post-conviction notice must also be notified of the name change application
• I am aware that it is a very, very minuscule part of the court's budget.
• It is impossible for vital agencies to plan or operate efficiently when their budgets are tied to the
• Public records requests attempting to unveil this number have gone unanswered.

Bills: HB2043, HB2046, HB2126, HB2131, HB2132, HB2133, HB2223, HB2265, HB2411, HB2666

Keywords: felony murder, unborn child, homicide, Arizona Revised Statutes, life imprisonment, death penalty, education, funding, school districts, state aid, education reform, venue, employee conflict, superior court, legal proceedings, workplace disputes, weapons, explosives, trafficking, firearm regulations

Transcript Highlights:

• But that really doesn't have a bearing on the fact of the claimant's request for compensation.
• The amendment also requires DHS, on request, to provide technical assistance to the Arizona State Fair
• and county health departments, on request from the respective county fair, to assist with compliance
• I’m concerned about broader budget and funding priorities.
• We’re doing a deep dive in this budget.

Summary: The committee approved the minutes from February 3 and February 10, 2026, then heard two nominations. Jessica Manuel was introduced as a nominee to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission. She described a science-focused background and experience with state and multi-agency work, and members discussed wildlife management, including gray wolves and conservation. The committee voted 8-0 to recommend her confirmation. Stephen Williams was then introduced as a nominee to the Arizona Livestock Loss Board. He emphasized his experience with the State Land Department and livestock operators, and members asked about compensation claims and wolf-related livestock losses. The committee voted unanimously to recommend his confirmation as well. The committee next considered SB 1785, which would codify ADWR’s existing one-mile safe-harbor policy for recovery wells near groundwater storage facilities. Supporters said it would provide certainty and preserve current practice, while ADWR requested clarifying language about the bill’s definitions. Opponents argued it would lock current policy into statute and could reduce flexibility. The bill received a 5-3 do-pass recommendation. SB 1082, which would impose sanitation and handwashing requirements on petting zoos and similar animal encounter exhibits, drew emotional testimony from a parent advocate describing children hospitalized with STEC HUS after a state fair petting zoo exposure, while opponents said the bill was unnecessary and overly burdensome. The committee adopted the sponsor’s amendment but then deadlocked 4-4, so the bill failed. The committee then took up SB 1336, a continuation and reform bill for the Arizona State Land Department that also created a temporary oversight committee and, through a large amendment, added lease, notice, and committee-structure changes. Supporters from mining and agriculture backed the measure as a way to improve predictability and transparency, while some members objected to the amendment’s scope and the committee’s composition. The amendment passed 4-3 and the bill as amended was recommended 6-2. SB 1200, an emergency measure directing ADWR to revisit certain Phoenix AMA assured water supply applications using older groundwater models, was supported by the sponsor but opposed by CAP/GRD and ADWR, who warned it would add replenishment obligations and rely on outdated models; it passed 5-3. SB 1335, requiring the Arizona Water Banking Authority Commission to post its annual report online, passed 7-0-1. SB 1559, creating rural groundwater management work groups in each basin with NRCD involvement and annual reporting to ADWR, drew support from conservation district representatives and opposition from Mohave County interests concerned it would not address overpumping; it passed 5-3. Finally, SB 1761, appropriating $47.7 million to the University of Arizona for its desert agriculture, Cooperative Extension, and experiment station programs, was presented as a land-grant mission funding measure and received broad support from agriculture and several members, with some concerns about budget priorities and the size of the appropriation.

Transcript Highlights:

• get covered by the schools, another thing that I'm sure a lot of you all were present in the OSDE budget
• But as we all know, the budget negotiation is ongoing. Historically, as we've, in the last year,...
• The budget negotiation is ongoing.
• , they do not have the best data system currently in the world, because the data that I requested, I
• I will note that the regents in their most recent budget request ask for about a 25% increase in our

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I know we're going into a very difficult budget cycle, so I'm certainly sensitive to the fact that it's
• crisis and understanding the current situation of the budget, knowing that's maybe not a short-term
• It's a tool that we can utilize to sell data sets upon request.
• It's a tool that we can utilize to sell data sets upon request.
• This is our request legislation that was enacted earlier this year.

Summary: The committee began with an extended work session on the long-term care workforce. DSHS Assistant Secretary B. Rector described the new Home and Community Living Administration and outlined major workforce pressures: Washington had about 126,000 long-term care workers in 2022, with demand expected to outpace supply as the 85-plus population and dementia prevalence rise sharply. She emphasized that direct care workers are largely women, people of color, and immigrants, and that family caregivers are also a major part of the system. She highlighted recruitment and retention efforts funded through federal Money Follows the Person dollars, including high school training partnerships, a retention toolkit, transportation support, caregiver newsletters, tribal workforce navigators, and a remote caregiving pilot. Committee members asked about career pathways, technology use, and turnover drivers; Rector said wages, benefits, unstable hours, and workplace support are key issues and promised follow-up data. Aidan Swain of the Washington Health Care Association said skilled nursing and assisted living facilities face acute RN vacancies, wage pressures, and Medicaid reimbursement that does not cover costs, and urged modernization of training, better reimbursement, and continued support for facility-based care. Maddie Fouch of SEIU 775, representing about 55,000 caregivers, said low wages, weak benefits, lack of voice, and certification delays are driving turnover and shortages, and argued for higher compensation, better worker protections, and more transparent reimbursement. Catherine Smith of Behavioral Health Solutions described growing behavioral health needs in nursing homes, the role of expanded behavioral supports programs, and credentialing delays that slow hiring. No votes were taken; the panel was informational only. The second agenda item was an overview of the palliative care benefit work group report required by 2024 legislation. Nico Jansen of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner explained that the work group, convened with the Health Care Authority, studied a potential palliative care benefit for fully insured commercial plans and also Medicaid, PEBB, and SEBB. He said palliative care is a philosophy of care focused on symptom management, coordination, and support for serious illness, and is distinct from hospice because it can be provided alongside curative treatment. The actuarial analysis concluded that creating a new benefit would likely increase costs, estimating about a 28-cent per member per month increase overall and roughly $2.6 million to $4.5 million in annual state Medicaid costs if implemented in 2027. Jansen said the consultants did not find sufficient evidence to assume savings from avoided hospitalizations or long-term care, though several work group members disagreed and submitted response letters. Senators asked about other states, Medicare, health homes, and whether more research could clarify cost savings; OIC said some states, including Hawaii, are moving ahead with Medicaid palliative care benefits, Medicare covers some related services but not in the same way, and further evidence may emerge over time. OIC did not take a position on whether the Legislature should create the benefit. The final presentation covered health care price transparency tools in Washington and federally. Evan Klein and HCA Chief Data Officer Vishal Chaudry reviewed federal hospital and health plan transparency rules, the state all-payer claims database, prescription drug price transparency, the Health Care Cost Transparency Board, the Prescription Drug Affordability Board, and other reporting systems. They explained that the APCD contains claims from fully insured commercial plans, Medicaid, and public employee programs, but not self-insured employer data except for limited voluntary submissions. They also described how machine-readable files, consumer price tools, and aggregated dashboards are used, and noted that data limitations, delays, and complexity remain significant. Senators asked about voluntary self-insured participation, the role of AI in making data more usable, and whether transparency can really help consumers given access barriers and medical debt. HCA said AI is increasingly used by private entities to mine large transparency datasets, but state agencies still face limits in data access and analytic capacity. The committee did not take action; the session was informational and ended with a discussion of how transparency data might better inform policy and purchasing decisions in the future.

Transcript Highlights:

• And testifiers are respectfully requested to keep their testimony to three And testifiers are respectfully
• requested to keep their testimony to three minutes or less.
• That funding was included in the Governor's budget.
• Well, we did a DECAM request to find out, you know, how did that all turn out?
• So this is an opportunity. on college campuses for their 2026 state budget.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Higher Education held its second public hearing of the 194th General Court on capital investments in higher education, focusing primarily on H.54, the Bright Act, along with H.1426/S.949 on green and healthy public colleges and universities and deferred maintenance, and H.1424 on capital investment in Gateway Cities. Chairs and administration officials framed the hearing as a response to aging campus infrastructure, climate goals, workforce needs, and federal pressures on higher education, and explained that testimony would be taken from pre-registered speakers in person and virtually. University of Massachusetts leaders strongly supported the Bright Act, describing large deferred maintenance backlogs, aging buildings, and the need to decarbonize campuses while modernizing research and teaching facilities. UMass officials said the bill would help keep tuition and fees lower by reducing the need for campuses to finance capital work themselves, and argued that the investments would improve competitiveness, support research, and create construction jobs. Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, Secretary of Education Tuttweiler, and Secretary of Administration and Finance Gorzkowicz also backed the bill, saying it would leverage Fair Share surtax revenues for a proposed $2.5 billion in campus investments plus additional targeted grants, and that it would support affordability, economic growth, and climate resilience. Committee members asked about the balance between deferred maintenance and decarbonization, the role of grant programs versus direct spending, the impact on tuition and fees, and how the plan would help campuses respond to federal cuts such as NIH and NSF funding. Administration officials said the proposal was designed to be phased in quickly, with some projects ready to start immediately and others taking longer, and that the grant programs would be structured to include all campuses equitably. They also said the plan would build on an existing financing model similar to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and could help campuses avoid future tuition increases tied to capital costs. Additional testimony came from MassBay Community College, where President David Podell and recent nursing graduate Deanna Cavazos described the benefits of a new Framingham campus building and said community colleges need modern labs, better planning capacity, and deferred maintenance support to serve the enrollment growth from MassReconnect and MassEducate. State university leaders, including President Mary Grant, President Linda Thompson, and President John Keenan, said their campuses face outdated classrooms, insufficient electrical capacity, and aging facilities, and urged passage of the Bright Act as a long-overdue investment in student success and workforce preparation.

Transcript Highlights:

• You've dumped $2 billion 70% increase, into the recurring public school budget since the lawsuit.
• How are they budgeting their money? So we are in this process now with schools.
• We have asked them all to provide an assurance to the department that they have budgeted their funds
• As the plaintiffs are requesting, we would have to look at how we would do that, but we will be doing
• They made the request to be part of the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• And with that, turning to the capital budget request for this year, the governor and lieutenant governor
• The governor's capital budget request for this year is 5 million in general obligation bonds.
• ><c> request</c> The governor's capital budget request The governor's capital budget request for<00:21
• We have three requests that we are looking at.
• of request in AP will reduce. We'll be of request in AP will reduce.

Bills: HF3599, HF3761, HF3523, HF3515, HF573

Keywords: water treatment, infrastructure, municipal funding, bond issuance, Becker, sewer improvements, sanitation, Hibbing, state bonds, infrastructure funding, capital investment, safety improvements, mobility, U.S. Highway 12, bonds, transportation funding, trails, Prior Lake, bond funding, recreational improvements