Transcript Highlights:

• There's been days that almost the entire day we've had levels well above safety.
• And as funny as it might sound right now, it actually was a really bad day that day.
• one on that day.
• how come California doesn't care about us?
• And in the capacity of their jobs, they're exposed to it eight hours a day, five days a week, four years

Summary: The joint Senate and Assembly Environmental Quality/Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials informational hearing focused on the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis, with members from both parties emphasizing that the problem is long-running, cross-border, and severe enough to require federal, state, local, and binational action. Opening remarks described the crisis as an environmental and public health emergency affecting beaches, air and water quality, marine life, tourism, and residents’ quality of life in South Bay communities. Assembly Member Boerner and Senator Jones both stressed the need for continued funding and cooperation, while Senator Padilla said the issue is underappreciated because of where it occurs but has major public health, economic, and educational consequences. Congressman Mike Levin’s office reported more than $650 million in federal funding secured for infrastructure and cleanup, along with federal legislation and requests for CDC and EPA involvement. Supervisor Paloma Aguirre gave a detailed overview of county efforts and the scope of the crisis, citing decades of sewage flows from Tijuana, nearly four years of beach closures, and the county’s expanded water-quality monitoring. She said the county is pursuing warning signs, an air purifier distribution program, an epidemiological study, soil testing, an economic impact study, and a feasibility analysis to remove the “hot spot” near Saturn Boulevard, which she described as a key local source of airborne pollution. She also pointed to binational funding for treatment plant upgrades and said the county is seeking state support, including from Proposition 4 cross-border river funds, to expand relief and mitigation efforts. Scripps researchers Dr. Sarah Giddings and Dr. Kimberly Prather presented scientific findings on water and air transport. Giddings described a high-resolution forecast model that predicts wastewater movement and beach closure risk up to five days ahead, using real-time observations and showing about 72% accuracy against county measurements. Prather said the main exposure route is through air, not just water, and reported that turbulence at the river hot spot aerosolizes pollutants, with hydrogen sulfide and other gases spiking at night and dropping when river flow is diverted. She said the team has identified thousands of gases and linked measurements closely to odor complaints, while also noting that air purifiers can reduce indoor exposure but are not a permanent solution. Dr. Paula Stigler Granados added that community health surveys and CDC assessments show widespread symptoms, sleep disruption, anxiety, and daily life impacts, especially during nighttime odor events. She said her team has found more than 900 contaminants in river water and 106 chemicals uniquely associated with the Saturn Boulevard hot spot, with passive air sampling showing similar chemical fingerprints in nearby homes. The panel discussion ended with questions about standards and accountability, and witnesses and legislators agreed that the crisis requires updated air-quality standards, more health research, and continued coordination to reduce exposure and address the source of pollution.

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to Idaho Day. What a great day to be an Idahoan. I'm Representative Jeff Ehlers.
• Dear legislators, happy Idaho Day.
• Stewardship required care.
• Sitting beside him day after day was one of the great privileges of my life.
• I had the great fortune of being in the room on the day he introduced Idaho Day.

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . day. day.
• </c> and access to care favorable. and access to care favorable.
• </c> determined by the treating health care determined by the treating health care provider.<00:07:52.840
• MDH must within three business days.
• </c> child care teachers in a child care child care teachers in a child care center<00:47:47.120><c>

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 960, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're taking care of the kids. They're doing all this.
• I can help that veteran the day they walk into my office.
• Right now, it's averaging anywhere from 89 days to 120 days.
• are, I like you, I want you to take care of my claim.
• It does not replace clinical care. It operates upstream.

Committee: House Veterans and Armed Forces

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we're also looking at one less day of daycare.
• They're part-time jobs because they don't want to give health care.
• I was there five days a week. I still had to pay five days of child care.
• , child care centers, but if employees, employers are...
• This bill will also reduce access to health care.

Summary: The Labor and Workplace Standards Committee held public hearings on three bills. HB 2524 would create a State Security Guards Industry Standards Board within L&I to set minimum standards for security guard pay, leave, benefits, and training, funded in part by a $25 transfer from security licensing fees. The bill’s sponsor and labor supporters said it would professionalize the industry, improve safety, and address high turnover and inadequate training. Security workers described unsafe conditions, retaliation, and being expected to handle crises without enough support. Opponents from business and security companies argued the bill duplicates existing licensing and training rules, would raise costs, and gives too much authority to an unelected board; L&I said it had administrative concerns about timing and fee handling. The hearing on HB 2524 was then closed. HB 2513 would change plumbing license suspension rules by keeping the current three-infractions-in-three-years standard for residential work, while creating a five-infractions-in-five-years standard for non-residential plumbing violations. The sponsor and supporters from mechanical contractors and labor said repeat violators undermine safety and fair competition, and that the bill gives L&I a stronger enforcement tool against bad actors in commercial work. Several plumbing contractor groups opposed the bill as written, focusing on a new subsection they said was vague and could create an undefined corrective process or overly broad discretion for L&I; they asked that the subsection be removed or the bill be delayed for more stakeholder work. L&I requested an effective date of January 1, 2027 to allow time for rulemaking. HB 2611 would reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours starting January 1, 2028, and would also change paid sick leave accrual from one hour per 40 hours worked to one hour per 32 hours worked. The sponsor and labor supporters said a shorter workweek would improve work-life balance, reduce burnout and turnover, and could increase productivity, citing examples from San Juan County and other places. Business, hospitality, grocery, construction, agriculture, and janitorial representatives opposed the bill, saying it would raise labor costs, reduce hours and flexibility, complicate scheduling, and hurt industries with thin margins or seasonal demands. The committee heard no votes or final action on HB 2611 before closing the hearing and ending business for the day.

Transcript Highlights:

• Two, we made it on election day instead of all 28 days of early voting.
• And whether it takes 30 days, 28 days, 25 days, whatever that day is, I value those days to research
• for the entire 28 days, but on election day.
• Senator Shope for the work that you do on the dais day in and day out.
• Supply, self-care, care, care, diabetes monitor. 21 and 9, RB, personal homes, education. 824, 24, 17

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't really care. I don't care about the credit. I don't care about what looks good.
• I don't care about the credit. I don't care about the credit.
• after day.
• after day.
• Well, we have a streets day after day.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Joining me on the dais today are Kate Sanchez, who is subbing in for Leticia Castillo; Chris Rogers;
• It's something that we do live every day in Solano County.
• It's about setting a consistent minimum standard of care for 911 callers.
• You can come set up at the dais if you want. You mind if I stand, Madam Chair?
• Our opposition witness, who doesn't want to sit at the dais, is now back up with the mic.

Committee: House Communications and Conveyance

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• No one cares, nobody cares.
• I love it when students, oh wait, go Ducks, no one cares, nobody cares.
• And the child often waits days.
• And the child often waits days, years, to tell their story.
• A typical child hearsay hearing lasts half a day or even a full day, and judges take these hearings very

Summary: The Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee heard testimony on several bills. On SB 5906, the SAFE Act, staff and Sen. Hansen described protections limiting immigration enforcement access to non-public areas in schools, early learning settings, higher education, health care facilities, adult family homes, and ballot-processing areas, and restricting collection of immigration-status information. Supporters said the bill would clarify and strengthen existing Keep Washington Working policies, while some witnesses requested amendments to better define health care facilities, clarify adult family home and election-related provisions, and keep Section 6 on ballot security. Some members questioned the factual basis for reported ICE activity near schools and daycares and the distinction between judicial and administrative warrants. The committee also heard SB 5886 on personality rights and forged digital likenesses. Staff explained that the bill would add digitally created or modified likenesses to the Personality Rights Act, raise civil penalties, and allow recovery of actual and non-economic damages in forged-digital-likeness cases. The sponsor and supporters said the bill is intended to address AI deepfakes and identity misuse while preserving satire and fair use; student and advocacy witnesses supported the measure as a way to protect students and victims of digital impersonation. The committee then heard SB 5169, which expands child hearsay and closed-circuit testimony rules to older children and additional offenses. Prosecutors and forensic interviewers supported the bill as necessary in trafficking and child abuse cases, while defense advocates opposed it as an overbroad expansion that could raise confrontation-clause issues and create legal challenges. Additional hearings included SB 5865, which would move garnishment form updates from statute to the Washington Pattern Forms Committee; judges supported it as a way to fix a wage-withholding calculation error and allow future updates without legislation. SB 5912 would reinstate the Indigent Defense Task Force to study statewide public defense delivery and recommend sustainable reforms; counties, the Office of Public Defense, and defense groups supported it. SB 6009 would make permanent the current process for direct review of administrative decisions by the Court of Appeals and retain land-use transfer provisions; a Court of Appeals judge supported the bill. SB 6087 would extend limited liability for donations of children’s items to religious organizations and add strollers and car seats, with support from Zero Waste Washington. The committee did not take final votes on these bills during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• At that point, drivers would still have 60 days to take care of their back payed fines.
• Implicit bias is actually a big deal in the health care industry. It's not even a DEI thing.
• It's a health care thing.
• care providers themselves.
• At the end of the day, he said, they are trying to provide the best health care and be the best steward

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• According to mental Health, America's 2025 access to care rankings.
• team and we work collaboratively every day.
• It is patient quality of care with this expanded access.
• Action is that's not increasing access to psychiatric care.
• So we are trying to to fill that gap and care.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's certainly necessary in these days and times.
• We end up paying for it for health care. And we're cutting back on health care, right.
• If we're cutting back on health care, we should do things to prevent them from needing the health care
• &gt;&gt; CALENDAR 663 IS HIGH AND WILL BE LAID ASIDE FOR THE DAY.
• President, as I say, you learn something new every day.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate opened with routine business, approved the prior journal, and received several motions to discharge identical Assembly bills from committee and substitute corresponding Senate bills. Members also offered brief recognitions for visitors, including Yemeni American community advocates and Cheri Davis, who was honored for her Alzheimer’s advocacy and support work. The chamber then took up several previously adopted resolutions, including Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, Period Poverty Awareness Week, and Nurses Week, with senators speaking in support of each measure’s purpose and importance. The body then moved through a long calendar of bills, passing a wide range of measures on education, public health, correction law, environmental conservation, municipal law, agriculture, and consumer protection. Notable floor discussion included Senator Ramos explaining her support for a bill requiring salons and similar businesses to display multilingual domestic violence resource information, and Senator Gianaris and Senator Borrello debating a bill to prohibit electronic shelf labeling in stores over concerns about surveillance, dynamic pricing, and impacts on brick-and-mortar retailers. Senator May and Senator Skoufis also spoke on an environmental conservation bill concerning American eel management, with May supporting the species protections and Skoufis objecting to the bill’s structure. Most bills were adopted by wide margins, though several drew recorded negative votes. The Senate passed the domestic violence information bill, the electronic shelf-labeling bill, and multiple other measures, including bills on eviction notice procedures, surrogate court procedure, and environmental conservation. After completing the calendar, the Senate reported no further business and adjourned until the next day at 11:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, move to I go by every day right now.
• So, we took care of all of the right.
• </c><01:00:50.880><c> services</c> including the long-term care services including the long-term care
• ,</c> um, this Thursday's, um, session day, um, this Thursday's, um, session day, and<01:06:23.760><c
• </c> Bill 131, long-term care Bill 131, long-term care eligibility<01:12:03.440><c> and</c><01:12:03.760

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• She was being videoed virtually every day on live stream.
• We're going to take care of you vets, and then Jamie Bodden, if you're here as well.
• Chairman. ...in a health care facility.
• We're going to take care of you vets, and then Jamie Bodden, if you're here as well.
• We're going to take care of you vets, and then Jamie Bodden, if you're here as well.

Summary: The committee heard public hearings on several bills, with testimony limited because of the large number of sign-ups. House Bill 2146 would expand the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor to include causing a minor to view sexually explicit conduct that is being photographed or shown in a live performance. The prime sponsor, Olympia police, and Pierce County prosecutors described cases involving adults masturbating in front of children and argued the current law leaves a gap by treating such conduct as only misdemeanor indecent exposure or communication with a minor. Committee members asked about comparisons to other states, forensic interviews, and whether related offenses could be enhanced. House Bill 2349 would expand notice requirements for sexually violent predator releases, conditional releases, address changes, discharges, and escapes to include local elected officials such as sheriffs, county executives, city officials, and legislators. The sponsor said the bill would codify a practice already occurring in some cases and help officials respond to community concerns with accurate information. DSHS supported increased communication but requested technical amendments. Several city officials testified in support, saying they had not always been notified in advance of placements in their communities. Defense advocates opposed the bill, warning that broader notification could fuel public pressure, vigilante responses, and constitutional problems for the civil commitment system. The hearing on the bill was left open for amendments. House Bill 2532 would make it a gross misdemeanor to sell or distribute nitrous oxide canisters or similar containers, with exemptions for medical, dental, food, industrial, and automotive uses. The sponsor and supporters described rising misuse among youth and young adults, public health harms, and incidents involving impaired driving and overdose deaths. Tribal representatives, the Attorney General’s Office, the Washington Poison Center, and public health officials supported the bill, while veterinary representatives asked for clarification or an amendment to preserve veterinary use. The committee also heard testimony on House Bills 2430 and 2457, which both concern the crime victim penalty assessment. Representative Barno’s bill would restore the assessment for certain offenses involving victims, while Representative Davis’s bill would increase the assessment and add a surcharge for defendants with substantial financial resources. Victim advocates, prosecutors, and sheriffs supported the bills as needed to restore funding for victim services, while defense groups opposed them as burdensome fees on indigent defendants. The chair directed the two sponsors to work together on a single proposal, and the hearings were held open.

Transcript Highlights:

• And also the rainy day.
• Half of it used to go to Rainy Day.
• statutorily required to Rainy Day.
• So the growth in the rainy day... ...is statutorily required to Rainy Day.
• , changes every day.

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And members, this gentleman has single-handedly given me personally strength on days.
• care setting and team up with community partners to improve access to care and health outcomes.
• Welcome to the Senate, Doctor of the Day Jane Peterson. I turn my microphone on.
• Section 36-2904, relating to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.
• House Bill 3305, private care rate regulation rates.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a roll call showing 25 members present. The journal was approved, and several guests were introduced, including Pastor Caden Metcalf as Pastor of the Day and Dr. Jane Peterson as Doctor of the Day. The chamber also took up a motion to reconsider SB 1827, which passed on a division vote, and then resolved into Committee of the Whole to consider bills on the calendar. In Committee of the Whole, the Senate considered and advanced several bills, generally by adopting committee strike-everything amendments and then recommending each bill do pass. Measures included SB 1041 (Arizona Trail Fund), SB 1131 (cardiac emergency response plans in schools), SB 1140 (expungement of misdemeanor records), SB 1249 (Alzheimer’s disease/state brain appropriation), SB 1275 (sentencing and imprisonment), SB 1517 (Barbering and Cosmetology Board), and SB 1673 (Crime Victim Notification Fund). SB 1275 drew the most debate: Senator Ortiz argued a floor amendment would gut judicial discretion and preserve prosecutorial power, while Senator Gowan said the amendment preserved a veterans diversion program; the amendment was adopted on a 15-13 division vote. The Committee of the Whole then reported the bills back to the Senate, which adopted the report. The Senate then took up third-reading votes on multiple bills. SB 1161, SB 1209, SB 1598, SB 1118, SB 1399, SB 1563, SB 1564, SB 1629, SB 1754, SB 1041, SB 1131, SB 1140, SB 1249, SB 1517, and SB 1673 all passed, with recorded votes ranging from unanimous to more divided outcomes. Several members explained votes, especially on SB 1598 and SB 1754, which involved community garden funding and special education/parent complaint issues, respectively. The Senate then recessed, received a large batch of House bills for first reading and committee referral, announced upcoming committee meetings, and adjourned until Monday, March 9, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Calling the Ways and Means Committee to order on Monday, February 2nd, Groundhog Day, 2026.
• Also, child care could be impacted. At Four Amigos, we had a one-year property tax of $15,000.
• Every day we work directly with families, child care providers, and early learning programs, and we see
• So, wild day, right? But this is a good common-sense way to incorporate the J.
• You don't get it until your last day in service.

Bills: SB6256 , SB6275 , SB5868 , SB5954

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: tax exemptions, affordable housing, nonprofit, unoccupied property, housing policy, community reinvestment, economic development, local investment, financial assistance, SB 5868, superior court, judge, judgeship, judicial vacancy, court administration, Skagit County, Yakima County, RCW 2.08.061, Washington courts, county judges

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:59:14.200><c> of</c><00:59:14.359><c> their</c> and Care of their and Care of their children<
• </c> upbringing education and Health Care upbringing education and Health Care ensuring<01:24:49.920>
• </c><01:29:15.880><c> and</c> allowed for family day and allowed for family day and graduation<01:29:
• </c> dependent children for health care dependent children for health care benefits<01:31:03.600><c>
• <01:37:55.599><c> don't</c><01:37:55.880><c> test</c> day don't test day don't test me me me quiet<01

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In registering or testifying, please speak with the assistant clerk at the desk in front of the dais,
• Uh, House Bill 2036 closes an important gap in access to mental health care.
• Um, friends in the, in the real world, uh, you know, out in the, um, managed care space and adult care
• services, uh, mental health care is a continuum with the highest level of mental health care being in
• Um, there is no in-between, uh, and that is not the standard of care in mental health care.

Bills: HB231

Committee: House S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health

Keywords: HB 231, Texas Water Code, TCEQ, permit exemption, dam, reservoir, erosion control, flood control, floodwater control, sediment control, watershed protection, Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, local sponsor, water appropriation, small dam, water diversion, maintenance, rehabilitation

Transcript Highlights:

• Beth Milligan is our doctor of the day. Serving alongside Dr.
• Milligan here with us day after day when we're in session, we appreciate her very much.
• The 12-day war with Iran lies. Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
• The 12-day war with Iran last summer, and now Operation Epic Fury.
• She talked about it for days ahead of time. She talked about it for days ahead of time.

Summary: The meeting was the opening of the Arkansas General Assembly’s 2026 fiscal session, beginning with quorum calls, prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of guests, including law enforcement officers, a doctor of the day, nurse of the day, constitutional officers, Supreme Court justices, and family and friends of legislators. The House adopted House Resolution 1001 to convene a joint session for Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s address, appointed committees to notify the Senate and the Governor, and later received the Senate into the chamber before recessing for the joint session. In the joint session, members observed a moment of silence for former Representative Stan Berry, then heard Governor Sanders’s fiscal session address. Her remarks focused heavily on the proposed budget and her administration’s priorities: fully funding education and the LEARNS Act, supporting teachers and literacy efforts, funding public safety and corrections, expanding the 1033 initiative to move people from crisis to career, and holding down government growth while pursuing further income tax cuts. She also highlighted economic development, low cost of living, and support for veterans, while emphasizing conservative policy themes and thanking several Arkansans whose stories illustrated the administration’s agenda. No substantive legislation was debated or voted on beyond the adoption of House Resolution 1001 and the procedural motions to adjourn the joint session and then adjourn the House until the next day. The House announced that Joint Budget would meet later that afternoon and again the following morning.