Transcript Highlights:

• Any questions for staff? All right then. Well, welcome Senator Elias.
• For the record, Kellyn Wright, staff to the committee.
• Elizabeth Wren, staff to the committee.
• For the last time today, Elizabeth Rends, staff to the committee.
• I believe that’s what staff had confirmed.

Summary: The committee held public hearings on several bills related to transportation, utilities, housing permitting, and port financing. Substitute Senate Bill 6309 would give regional transit authorities, such as Sound Transit, more flexibility to apply for permits before acquiring property, exceed certain local height/setback limits when needed for rail systems, and use development agreements to vary local standards; the sponsor and Sound Transit testified that the bill would speed delivery of light rail and bus rapid transit, and an amendment was described to allow permits on property not yet owned if the transit authority remains responsible for obtaining property rights. Substitute Senate Bill 6076 would streamline procurement rules for public utility districts on clean energy, storage, transmission, and distribution projects by raising self-performance and contract thresholds, allowing limited noncompetitive procurement in certain reliability or specialized-technology situations, and extending some provisions until 2045; supporters from PUDs, labor, and industry said the changes are needed because of rising costs, long lead times, and grid reliability demands, while committee members asked about the size of the threshold increases and the scope of the bidding waivers. Substitute Senate Bill 5729 would prohibit local governments from charging applicants for third-party plan review when a licensed local staff professional of the same discipline has already reviewed the materials, while still allowing third-party review at the applicant’s cost in certain cases; the sponsor said the bill was narrowed from a broader version and was intended to prevent duplicative fees, and builders supported it as a permitting streamlining measure. Senate Bill 6132 would create a narrow debt-limit exception for the Port of Moses Lake to support a rail project and preserve federal funding eligibility; the port and economic development supporters said the project is ready to bid and needs additional borrowing capacity because of inflation, and the sponsor clarified that the bill is intended to apply only to that port. Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5374 would require tribal governments to be included in transportation planning coordination under the Growth Management Act and create a tribal traffic safety coordinator grant program; the sponsor emphasized severe pedestrian fatality disparities for Native people and said the bill is about consultation and safety, while county representatives supported the policy goal but asked for clearer cross-references to existing GMA consultation and dispute-resolution processes. The committee also took up Substitute Senate Bill 6070/6076-related testimony and, at the end of the hearing, announced that bills would be executed the next day and amendment requests should be submitted as soon as possible.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> staff, and visitors safe this session. staff, and visitors safe this session.
• And again, my compliments to all the staff in the ACAS.
• This was a to all the staff in the ACAS.
• time</c><00:12:40.760><c> and</c><00:12:40.880><c> I'll</c> Staff will be keeping time and I'll Staff
• </c><00:14:40.120><c> but</c> not just the members and the staff but not just the members and the staff

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security met on April 20, 2026, with a quorum present and adopted the January 13, 2026 minutes. The chair thanked the State Patrol, sergeants-at-arms, and capital security officers for their work during the session, and noted that the committee’s earlier recommendations were reflected in Governor’s Executive Order 2602, including weapon screening at the State Capitol. The chair also said the committee’s annual report included recommendations for bonding, policy, and budget changes, and expressed hope the legislature would act on them. Department of Public Safety and State Patrol officials reported that implementation of weapon screening had gone well overall and said they were continuing to gather feedback for improvements. Colonel Bogayevich said that since the start of session, 121,598 people had been screened at the Capitol’s entrances, 548 permits were verified, and 52 prohibited items were turned away. Examples of prohibited items included knives, a camping/marshmallow skewer, and a screwdriver; no firearms were found in the Capitol building. She also said the busiest day produced a wait of about 15 to 17 minutes, and that staffing was adjusted to handle larger groups such as school tours. The Senate Sergeant-at-Arms reported that 49,277 people had come through Senate screening as of the previous Friday, including 196 concealed carry permits, and that 2,359 people had entered the West Gallery to observe Senate proceedings. He also said some Senate building access doors had been reduced to direct traffic and that an audit of key card access had begun. The House Deputy Chief Sergeant-at-Arms reported about 1,400 people had been screened for the House gallery, and noted that an NCSL visitor from Oregon would shadow House security staff to learn from Minnesota’s approach. Members from both bodies praised the professionalism of security staff and said the added trooper presence made members and the public feel safer. No members of the public signed up to testify, so the public comment period closed without testimony. The meeting adjourned after the chair reiterated that the goal of the security measures was to allow visitors, members, and public servants to participate safely.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh the department flagged on the staff.
• </c><00:04:35.200><c> in</c> sure that we were covering all staff in sure that we were covering all staff
• , professional staff.
• . staff. staff.
• </c> addiction counseling staff. Thank you. addiction counseling staff. Thank you.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 729, an omnibus policy bill, and walked through a series of amendments before moving the bill forward. Early amendments addressed adult maltreatment accountability, senior nutrition flexibility, MA provider enrollment and fraud prevention, Direct Care and Treatment data and staffing provisions, disability and aging policy changes, technical corrections from DHS, behavioral health language, and MDH policy updates. Most amendments were adopted without public opposition, and several members and testifiers described them as clarifications or technical fixes to existing policy. Testimony focused on the practical effects of the bill’s provisions. Direct Care and Treatment representatives said the changes would help with data sharing, governance, staffing, patient care, and longer return stays for certain patients. Several witnesses from the substance use disorder and health care provider community supported changes to discharge summary deadlines and claims recoupment rules, arguing that business-day timelines and limits on late clawbacks would reduce administrative burden and financial uncertainty. A disability advocate also urged passage of the bill, saying services for people with disabilities were at risk if it did not advance. After public testimony and member discussion, the committee adopted the DE2 amendment as amended and then approved the bill as amended. Chair Noor renewed the motion to re-refer House File 729 to the Committee on Ways and Means, and that motion passed.

Transcript Highlights:

• And can we do that after staff report? Thank you. And can we do that after staff report?
• Questions for staff? I'm available for questions. Give me questions for staff, anybody.
• Looking at the fiscal note, maybe this is for staff, actually.
• Looking at the fiscal note, maybe this is for staff, actually.
• Thank you to staff and the sponsor for the excellent and thorough briefing.

Summary: The Senate Local Government Committee waived the five-day notice rule and then took up two House bills. HB 2418 would tighten and expand permit-review timelines for residential projects, including requiring “procedural completeness” determinations, adding excluded time periods, extending timeline and refund requirements to certain fee-charging state and local entities, creating review deadlines for special purpose districts and public utility districts, and requiring local governments to designate a permit responsible official and a single point of contact. The sponsor said the bill was intended to improve predictability and reduce delays in permitting; builders and housing advocates strongly supported it, while sewer and water districts and county representatives raised concerns about incomplete referrals, staffing shortages, business-day versus calendar-day deadlines, and the cost of implementing the new contact requirements. The committee heard testimony but took no final vote on the bill in the transcript. HB 2451 would revise Washington’s local tax increment financing program. Staff explained that the bill adds guardrails and transparency, changes notice and hearing requirements, adjusts the assessed-value cap for increment areas, adds public safety facilities to eligible improvements, requires more detailed project analyses and annual reporting, and creates a negotiation/mediation/arbitration process for impacts to taxing districts. The sponsor said the measure was a carefully negotiated compromise intended to address junior taxing district concerns without creating an opt-out. Supporters from the Port of Tacoma, fire chiefs, cities, and counties said the bill improves the earlier TIF framework by strengthening the but-for test, notice, and participation rules, while counties still expressed concern about cumulative impacts and asked for future opt-out discussions. No final committee action was taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• For this situation, the staff was able to help this student transition to virtual Edmond by securing
• Staff worked tirelessly to make sure this student graduated on time.
• Title VI staff handled this situation immediately.
• Those are real consequences that have impact on people, staff, communities that they serve.
• And that staff would need to stay on top of this program.

Keywords: Native education, Department of Education, federal funding, testimony, treaty obligations, public schools, educational policies, Indigenous students

Summary: The meeting focused on the responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Education towards Native students, highlighting the importance of federal education programs that satisfy treaty obligations to Native communities. Various witnesses testified about the impact of educational policies designed to support Native students who primarily attend public schools. Concerns were voiced over recent proposals that could potentially undermine these programs, citing the role of federal funding in ensuring successful educational outcomes for Native youth. The chair of the committee emphasized the need for continued federal support and attention to the unique educational challenges faced by Indigenous populations.

Transcript Highlights:

• I called staff and I said, who's in charge of this? And they gave me your cell phone number.
• I called staff and I said, who's in charge of this? And they gave me your cell phone number.
• Our staff has been stretched to the point.
• The increased workload has stretched our staff to the point where we do need to get additional staff
• I have to check with our staff on that.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Look at our policy and planning staff.
• This office in the past has asked for more staff.
• People signed up to do for their best measure practice staff to look at say all right.
• Also to reuse it to cross train staff throughout the department.
• So we only one staff member going out, not multiple staff members at different times doing different

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll ask the staff to brief each of the bills and any amendments, and then we will, again, recess.
• For the record, Martha Whaling, staff to the committee, House Bill 1228 relates to the certification
• I just want to thank staff and Representative Griffey for their feedback on the work that staff put into
• and the work that staff put into this.
• Hearing none, will the staff please report the tally?

Bills: HB1228, HB1982, HB2156, HB2165, HB2173, HB2203, HB2220, HB2362, HB2403, HB2464

Keywords: DUI, driving under the influence, impaired driving, toxicology, forensic toxicology, breath test, blood test, THC, marijuana, cannabis, alcohol concentration, state toxicologist, implied consent, evidence admissibility, venous blood draw, forensic phlebotomist, certified laboratory, accredited laboratory, law enforcement, DWI

Transcript Highlights:

• TODAY PLEASE FILL OUT THE APPEARANCE FORM AND PROVIDE IT TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE THROUGH THE SERGEANT STAFF
• REGIONAL DETENTION CENTERS THROUGHOUT FLORIDA STAFFED BY DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES AND IN CONTRACT WITH STAFF
• WE HAVE SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE HR WITH STAFF AND LEADERSHIP.
• SO WE ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING TO BRING STAFF ON IN ANY WAY WE CAN.
• THERE WILL BE A GRADUAL MOVE IN OF STAFF AND EQUIPMENT IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, staff, would you declare the vote?
• Seeing no debate, staff, open the queue for a vote.
• Staff, declare the vote. Six, yay, zero, nay.
• Staff, declare the vote. Four, yay, three, nay.
• Staff, please open to vote. Seeing no debate. Staff, please open the vote.

Bills: HB3056, HB3391, HB3657, HB3617, HB4055, HB3720, HB3902

Keywords: raw milk, unpasteurized, farm sales, Oklahoma Milk and Milk Products Act, local producers, advertising, animal welfare, commercial pet breeders, licensing, animal cruelty, labor, employment definitions, agricultural services, Oklahoma Workforce Commission, confidentiality, data access, right to repair, agriculture, OEM, repair providers

Transcript Highlights:

• It was made by a couple different staff. Okay.
• I have a quick question for staff.
• I have a question for staff.
• I have a question for staff.
• My question was for staff also.

Summary: The committee opened with prayer, approved the January 8 minutes, and then reviewed education audit reports. The first report concerned Northwest Arkansas Community College, which had two findings: repeat internal control deficiencies that caused material misstatements in the financial statements, and a tuition revenue loss tied to a Workday system issue that failed to charge some students after drop-add changes. College officials said the problems were misclassification and process issues rather than missing funds, described corrective steps including checklists, monthly closing procedures, and approval controls, and attributed some issues to staffing turnover and the Workday implementation. Members asked about accountability, staffing, and whether students should have been billed; the report was filed as reviewed. The next report was Cedarville School District, where auditors found improper personal credit card charges of $794 by a former elementary teacher. The employee reimbursed the district, and the matter was referred to law enforcement, the prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, and the Professional Licensure Standards Board. Members asked whether any licensing action would follow, but staff said they were only aware that no further action had been taken by the board. The final finding was for West Memphis School District, which had a repeat capital assets issue involving failure to capitalize $851,000 in construction expenditures for a baseball-softball complex, along with other asset-recording and inspection discrepancies. The superintendent said the district had recently begun using Arkansas Legislative Audit for the first time after previously using a private CPA firm, and described new controls such as multi-level purchase approval, tagging, separation of duties, and inventory cleanup. Members questioned why the district had not been audited publicly before and how private audits are handled; staff explained that private audits are still reviewed and findings come before the committee. The report was filed as reviewed. The meeting ended with notice that 28 school districts had no findings and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So let's have the staff introduction of Second Senate Substitute Bill 5690. Okay.
• For the record, Jennifer Harris, staff to the committee.
• For the record, David Monarchy, staff to the committee.
• David Monarchy, staff to the committee.
• That might be a staff question.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on Second Substitute Senate Bill 5690, which would require WSDOT to improve coordination with utilities on fish barrier removal projects and utility relocations, provide advance notice when feasible, and seek to maximize federal funding for relocation costs. Staff described the bill’s background, including the federal culvert injunction and WSDOT’s fish barrier work, and noted fiscal impacts tied to grant monitoring and possible revenue changes. Senator McEwen said the bill was narrowed from a prior version to reduce fiscal concerns and cited a district example where poor coordination allegedly wasted public and ratepayer funds. Utility representatives from PUDs testified in support, emphasizing better communication, advance notice for budgeting, and access to federal funds; no opposition was presented on this bill before the public hearing was closed. The committee also heard Senate Bill 6148, which would extend the maximum term for regional transit authority bonds from 40 years to 75 years and remove eligibility for regional mobility grant funds if an RTA uses bonds longer than 40 years. Staff and committee fiscal discussion focused on how longer terms reduce annual debt service but increase total interest paid over time, with examples comparing 25-, 40-, 50-, and 75-year bonds. Supporters, including Sound Transit board members, local officials, labor, and transit advocates, argued the bill would give Sound Transit flexibility to manage inflation, preserve project schedules, and align financing with long-lived infrastructure and the federal TIFIA loan program. Opponents argued the bill would increase long-term costs, shift burdens to future generations, and is premature because Sound Transit is still revising its plan and already has substantial cash and bonding capacity. The hearing ended after questions about debt safeguards, refinancing, and how the proposed authority would interact with TIFIA loans.

Transcript Highlights:

• Anyways, we'll start with staff report on House Bill 2548.
• I mean, this could be a question for you, but probably for staff.
• Staff will announce the vote.
• Staff will call a vote. Taylor?
• With that, staff will call and announce the vote.

Summary: The Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee heard and acted on five bills. House Bill 2548, dealing with hospital and provider material change transactions, was presented with a proposed substitute that added disclosure requirements, quarterly AG website notices, filing fees, and nonprofit-related notice provisions while removing several original enforcement sections. Members debated the 25% ownership threshold and concerns about market effects, but the substitute passed 7-6 with a due pass recommendation. House Bill 2453 would allow board-certified psychiatric pharmacists to sign certain involuntary commitment and treatment-related petitions and opinions. Members said the bill was intended to expand access to treatment while preserving court decision-making authority, and it passed 8-5. House Bill 2640, addressing unauthorized UCC filings, would let the Department of Licensing refuse or terminate filings made to harass or defraud debtors; members described it as a Department of Licensing request bill, and it also passed 8-5. The committee then considered House Bill 2095 on vulnerable users of public ways. The proposed substitute created a rebuttable presumption of negligence against drivers, expanded protected areas, excluded motorcycles from the definition, and adjusted damages and education provisions. Members adopted several amendments, including an emergency-vehicle exemption and a reporting clarification, but rejected amendments that would have removed attorney fees, limited joint liability, or replaced the presumption with a direct civil action. The substitute passed 8-5. House Bill 2386, which removes statutory garnishment answer forms and directs the Washington Pattern Forms Committee to develop a form, passed 12-1. Finally, House Bill 2239, authorizing family burial grounds on private land, passed unanimously after a substitute added setbacks from water sources, local remediation procedures, burial reporting requirements, relocation permits, and seller disclosure language.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has the same effect for DCFS staff.
• So we've been sending support staff.
• And so we've been sending support staff.
• So I know we're struggling across the state with staff and getting staff replaced, so can we go over
• So we have a new staff training model that starts on July 1.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Aging, Children, and Youth first approved the February 11 minutes and then reviewed a DCFS policy manual update from Director Tiffany Wright. The rule changes were described as largely terminology and compliance updates to align with new laws, an executive order, and current practice, including moving internal procedures out of the public manual and into DCFS’s internal procedure manual. Members asked whether the changes altered practice or just wording, and Wright said they were mainly procedural and vernacular updates, such as changing terms like “protection plan” to “immediate safety plan” and “safety factor” to “safety threat.” The committee then reviewed and accepted the rule without objection. Wright also presented DCFS performance data for the third quarter of FY 2026, including hotline reports, investigations, foster care, in-home services, permanency, and adoption measures. She noted staffing shortages in some counties, lower timeliness in completing maltreatment reports, and efforts to support those areas with central office staff and daily calls. Members asked about neglect trends, sexual abuse/exploitation categories, behavioral issues, and workforce recruitment and retention. Wright said DCFS is expanding hiring support, outreach, retention efforts, trauma support through UAMS, and a new staff training model beginning July 1. She also presented the biannual overturned investigations report, which tracks hotline calls, true findings, appeals, and reversals by county, and answered questions about comparing it with prior years. Major Jeff Drew of the Crimes Against Children Division presented the 2025 annual report, saying the hotline received 67,987 calls and 37,986 were accepted for investigation, with 6,539 CACD investigations assigned and a 28% substantiation rate. He described hotline operator training, including a four-week program with policy review, scenarios, recorded calls, live call monitoring, and evidence-chain and decision-making instruction. He said the starting salary for hotline operators is $43,888 plus benefits and would check on comparisons with other states. Elizabeth Pooley of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas reported that the state’s 29 CACs and 64 multidisciplinary teams served 13,568 children and families in 2025, up about 3,000 from the prior year, and hosted 259 trainings. Members asked about funding, and she said state funding is the same for each center at roughly $70,000 to $75,000, supplemented by federal and community support, with work underway on Arkansas-specific best practices. The meeting ended after a brief unrelated question about Meals on Wheels and a Project Zero adoption event announcement.

Transcript Highlights:

• have Assistant Attorney General Julia Eisenhower calling in representing the Legislative Ethics Board staff
• Board is Assistant Attorney General Julia Eisenhower, who represents the Legislative Ethics Board staff
• Board staff filed a response to their motion, but we have not moved for summary judgment at this time
• The board staff has alleged a violation of this statute in several ways.
• Board staff have pointed to facts that show Representative Simmons was amended...

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: The Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings held oral argument before the Legislative Ethics Board in the matter of Tara Simmons, docket 401-645, on a respondent-filed motion for summary judgment. Judge T.J. Martin identified the issues as whether Simmons violated the Ethics Act by using her legislative position for the benefit of others and by holding outside employment that conflicted with her official duties, under RCW 42.52.070 and RCW 42.52.020, and, if violations were found, what penalties or sanctions would be appropriate. The judge clarified that board staff had not filed its own summary judgment motion, only a response to Simmons’ motion. Attorney Doug McKinney argued that the complaint and board staff’s allegations were legally insufficient because they did not allege a personal benefit to Simmons, only benefits to her employer, EEC, or to others. He contended that the Ethics Act has historically required a benefit to the legislator herself, that employees do not automatically have a disqualifying interest in their employers, and that the board’s position would create a new bright-line rule and unfairly change the law as applied to Simmons. He also addressed allegations involving a contract provision, a campaign surplus donation to AEG, a subcontract dispute involving AEG and EEC, and text messages with Anthony Powers, arguing none showed a special privilege or conflict of interest for Simmons. Assistant Attorney General Julia Eisenhower, for board staff, argued the motion should be denied because the record sufficiently alleged violations of both statutes. She said Simmons’ involvement in securing funding for EEC, her employment duties involving stakeholder and legislator connections, her donation of campaign surplus funds to AEG to help secure a job for someone she knew, her role in the AEG-EEC subcontract dispute, and her text messages referencing her official capacity all supported the allegations. A board member asked whether the allegations were sufficient to show a special benefit, and Eisenhower responded that the facts were enough at the summary judgment stage. After rebuttal by McKinney, the ALJ closed the hearing and the board went into deliberations; no ruling was announced during the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• With that, staff will announce the vote.
• All right, if staff will call the roll, please." The roll was called.
• If staff will call the roll, please.
• With Representative Volz excused, staff will announce the vote.
• Staff announced the vote: 12 ayes and one excused. Thank you.

Bills: HB2325, HB2481, HB2503, HB2397, HB2278, HB2417

Keywords: tourism, tourism promotion, Washington Tourism Marketing Authority, assessment, self-supported assessment, visitor economy, destination marketing, statewide marketing, lodging, hotels, restaurants, travel services, attractions, recreation, retail, beverage producers, arts and culture, tribal nations, tribal businesses, rural communities

Transcript Highlights:

• We are joined by a number of staff members here.
• And then we have a number of staff here. Everyone sees all of the staff.
• I want you all to stand up so they can see the fabulous staff that we have here.
• You know, during COVID, we did temporary bonuses for nursing staff.
• You know, during COVID, we did temporary bonuses for nursing staff.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Social Services Committee met for its first meeting of the session, with Chair Senator Roxanne Persaud noting a quorum and reviewing the committee’s prior-year activity. She said the committee handled 87 referred bills in 2025, reported 31, passed 25 committee bills in the Senate, and saw five bills pass both houses, with two signed and three vetoed. She also highlighted stakeholder workshops and hearings on rental assistance, youth employment, and human trafficking in the transportation sector, and said the annual report would be posted soon. The committee then heard from Paul Brady of the New York Public Welfare Association and Dave Lucas of the New York State Association of Counties. They focused on federal and state budget pressures, including the HHS withholding letter, TANF, child care, Social Services Block Grant funding, and the implications of HR1 for SNAP and Medicaid work requirements. They warned about staffing shortages, county budget strain, and the need for more time, training, and technology to implement new requirements. Both also emphasized housing instability, supporting rental assistance and shelter-related programs, and Brady urged attention to shelter allowances and safety-net cost sharing. The committee reported several bills to Finance: S.180B to increase enhanced residential care eligibility amounts; S.182 to raise the federal poverty level threshold for a one-time income disregard after job entry; S.184 to establish a full-year youth and young adult employment immersion program, with members questioning how it would be funded; S.1465 to implement an electronic benefit transfer system, which members strongly supported as a fraud-prevention measure; S.3787 to eliminate rent for homeless shelters; and S.7730 to authorize reimbursement for shelters housing a single individual in a double-occupancy room. The committee also advanced S.8570, creating a Fiscal Cliff Task Force to study public assistance program funding shortfalls, despite discussion of prior gubernatorial vetoes of similar measures. All bills were reported, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• to approve the minutes of the October 1, 2025, meeting, except as indicated items A through O under staff
• to approve the minutes of the October 1, 2025, meeting, except as indicated items A through O under staff
• But I have to give that recognition to all our LRC staff and all the work that Jay Hartz has done, as
• well as our partisan staff upstairs.
• well as our partisan staff upstairs.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The commission met following an executive session on personnel matters and announced its intent to move forward with hiring Katie Comstock as the new director of the Legislative Research Commission. Members then approved, by roll call vote, a motion to adopt the October 1, 2025 minutes with specified exceptions, approve items under new business, accept and refer communications items 1 through 151 as indicated, and approve the report of the director selection committee. The motion carried with multiple aye/yes votes and no recorded opposition from those present. In other business, President Stivers thanked Speaker Pro Tem Meade and staff for their work preparing for the Southern Legislative Conference in Lexington, noting the event’s size and expected exposure for the area. Meade credited LRC staff, Jay Hartz, and partisan staff for the work, saying his role had mainly involved phone calls and meetings. Several members then offered extended remarks recognizing Jay Hartz for his leadership, professionalism, responsiveness, and long service to the commission and the building. Speakers said his work had set a standard for staff and legislators alike and wished him well in his next chapter. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• So number eight was staff training, joint employees' staff training and handbooks.
• The House says committee staff; the Senate has proposed that committee staff isn't responsible for ensuring
• The House says committee staff.
• Staff and that's still unresolved. That was no something, right? Okay. Here we...
• Okay, so 29, filing home rule expiration, it's a textual language for the staff.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The conference committee on legislative rules, led by House Chair Michael Moran and Senate Chair Senator Creem, reviewed the many differences between House and Senate versions of the rules and reported that the branches had agreed on 24 of 52 disputed items. Members said they were moving closer to a final compromise, with several provisions already settled and others still being negotiated offline. The discussion emphasized transparency, committee administration, and ways to move bills through the process earlier in the session. Items agreed to included committee name changes such as adding fisheries to Agriculture and changing elder affairs to aging and independent, adopting House language on joint rules, making committee reports and bill/resolution materials available electronically and online, allowing public access to summaries, and several technical or administrative updates. The committee also agreed on rules for executive sessions, temporary employees, committee travel, favorable/unfavorable reporting, joint petitions, home rule expiration, and special commission meetings. Some provisions were tabled for further discussion, including Mason’s Rules, notice and posting timelines, hearing scheduling, in-person hearings, bill reporting deadlines, and several other administrative topics. A few issues remained unresolved, especially who should draft bill summaries, how to handle notice periods for hearings and postings, and how to structure committee votes and reporting deadlines. The committee also discussed Rule 35, agreeing in principle to a public hearing and broader public comment on rules review, which members said would improve transparency. At the end of the meeting, members praised the work of the committee and staff, said there was “light at the end of the tunnel,” and adjourned after a motion and second.

Transcript Highlights:

• For the record, Elena Becker, committee staff.
• Staff did a great job of hitting the high point.
• Jeff Olson, staff to the committee.
• May we have a staff report, please? Thank you.
• Jeff Olson, staff to the committee.

Summary: The Washington State Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard public testimony on several bills. Senate Bill 5930 would create a new conflict-of-interest exception allowing spouses of irrigation district directors to be employed by the district if they were already employed before the director’s election, with disclosure and recusal requirements. The sponsor and a representative of the Washington State Water Resources Association said the bill would help rural irrigation districts recruit and retain workers while keeping safeguards in place. Written testimony was reported as 58 pro and 1 con, and the public hearing was closed. The committee then heard Senate Bill 6075, which would expand use of the Habitat Conservation Account to help landowners when mitigation requirements from Ecology or Fish and Wildlife are unusually costly or reduce the financial benefit of property by more than half. The sponsor said the bill is intended to provide relief to landowners facing expensive mitigation obligations. No one testified in person, though 296 people signed in pro and 2 con, and the hearing was closed. Next, the committee heard Senate Bill 6216, a DNR efficiency bill that would modernize timber and land sale notice requirements by moving publication to the agency website, eliminating pamphlet and certain physical posting requirements, and allowing more flexible methods for smaller sales. DNR and forest industry representatives supported the bill as a cost-saving and efficiency measure, and testimony noted that state trust land sales generate significant revenue for public services. Written testimony was reported as 60 pro and 1 con, and the hearing was closed. Finally, after waiving the five-day notice rule, the committee heard Senate Bill 6233, which would increase criminal wildlife penalty assessments for trafficking in covered animal species and direct half of the penalty revenue to the University of Washington’s Center for Environmental Forensic Science. Committee members asked about the scope of “trade,” the treatment of legally harvested animals, and the center’s role. The center’s director testified that the funding would support wildlife forensic research used to combat illegal wildlife trafficking. Written testimony was reported as 6 pro and 62 con, and the committee concluded its business for the day.