Transcript Highlights:

• If you have an Etsy store on the EPSC website, you do not control the website and cannot update your
• particular store to be ADA compliant and ADA accessible because you don't have control over the Etsy
• So, in light of wanting to control costs and deal with affordability and not have the government overreach
• So in light of wanting to control costs and deal with affordability and not have the government overreach
• As someone who has a great deal of tile outlets that were put there to control erosion and control water

Summary: The House opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and approval of the previous day’s journal by a vote of 126-2. Members then observed a moment of silence for former Representative Barney Fisher, who was remembered for his Marine Corps service, business career, and House service from 2005 to 2013. The chamber also welcomed several guest groups, including Southern Boone third graders, Lake of the Ozarks Day visitors, and guests connected to autism awareness and other local interests. The House then took up several third-reading bills. Senate Bill 907, the “Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation,” was amended and passed 148-0; supporters said it would curb predatory ADA website lawsuits and give businesses 90 days to fix problems before suit, while still preserving access rights. House Joint Resolution 159, which would modernize investment authority for the state treasurer and potentially generate about $15 million annually, passed 100-34 after debate over investment safeguards and whether it was too broad. House Bill 2741, requiring CDL holders and applicants to be able to read and speak English sufficiently for safety-related tasks and imposing penalties on operators and carriers, passed 104-22 amid concerns about subjectivity and immigration impacts. The House also passed House Bill 2474, adding progressive design-build as an optional project delivery method for local governments, by 141-5; House Bill 3076, a Department of Natural Resources cleanup bill exempting agricultural non-point sources from water permitting, by 102-41 after sharp debate over environmental protections; House Bill 2436, revising animal abuse/neglect and impoundment procedures, by 88-54; House Bill 2576, a naming/recognition bill, by 140-3; and House Bill 3175, “Mason’s Law,” allowing health-condition information to be shared with law enforcement during traffic stops, by 147-0. The chamber then announced upcoming committee work and adjourned until 4 p.m. Monday, April 20, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Now, I understand that the investors would like to have all of the property under their control.
• We really don't see very many wildfires that go out of control.
• Local control is what we come up here and talk about all the time.
• ,<02:14:16.760><c> equipment,</c> fertilizer, equipment, fertilizer, equipment, and<02:14:18.320><c>
• </c><02:51:03.000><c> supplies</c> Iran has disrupted fertilizer supplies Iran has disrupted fertilizer

Transcript Highlights:

• We manage the registration, distribution, and use of pesticides and fertilizers.
• We control plant and animal diseases, and in doing so, we try to protect the state's natural resources
• Fortenberry, it sounds like you might have control of the slide deck.
• We also import quite a bit of fertilizer.
• From the Caribbean, we also import quite a bit of fertilizer.

Committee: House Agriculture & Natural Resources

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held an interim work session focused on Washington agriculture’s viability, competitiveness, and the effects of federal policy and trade. Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sanderson outlined the agency’s role in inspections, food assistance, pesticide and fertilizer oversight, disease control, and marketing, and described Washington agriculture as a diverse, export-oriented sector facing declining farm numbers, high labor and input costs, low commodity prices, trade barriers, drought, regulatory burdens, and pest and disease pressures. WSU CAHNRS Dean Raj Kosla emphasized the land-grant mission, extension network, education programs, and research capacity, highlighting precision agriculture, broadband needs in rural areas, and the importance of research and outreach to support growers and rural communities. Members asked about farm loss, workforce challenges, precision agriculture, and the cost of technology. Kosla said precision agriculture can help address labor shortages but is often cost-prohibitive and dependent on rural broadband; he described it as applying the right input, in the right amount, place, time, and manner. He also noted that WSU’s research and extension system supports crop development, soil health, forestry, youth programs, and agricultural training, and that the college is eager to partner with the legislature on priorities. Sanderson said the department is working on local food systems, farm-to-school grants, infrastructure, market development, pest and disease response, climate resilience, and access to land for new and underrepresented farmers. The committee then heard from WSU economist Randy Fortenberry on an agricultural competitiveness study and trade impacts. He said the study used producer surveys, case studies, and shift-share analysis for dairy, grapes, hops, potatoes, apples/tree fruit, wheat, and small/diversified farms, comparing Washington to national trends and peer states. His findings indicated that Washington’s competitiveness is declining in most sectors, with potatoes as the main exception; labor and regulatory compliance costs were especially significant in dairy, grapes, potatoes, and tree fruit, while small farms were more constrained by land access, capital, and profitability. On trade, he said Washington is highly export-dependent and vulnerable to retaliation, citing past losses in wheat, apples, pulses, and cherries when tariffs disrupted access to China and India, while noting current uncertainty around Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, and India. No votes were taken. The committee discussed next steps, including a December interim report on food security and agricultural viability and a final report expected by June 2026. Sanderson said the department had already held a stakeholder workshop and is continuing internal and external review, while the chair asked WSU to connect the committee with policy experts who could help identify practical solutions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and moving on, we have Executive Order 14216, expanding access to in vitro fertilization.
• So, Um I'm on the fence on these two executive orders because it almost seems like price controls for
• Is it, is that how, um, are you guys looking at that as, as a price control or is a private industry
• The executive order 14 to 16 expanding access to in vitro fertilization, um, that little dot, the little
• to be contingent, contingent on legislative support and other things that may be beyond even your control

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• that's what you will vote fertility that's what you will vote green<01:15:16.560><c> on</c><01:15:16.760
• What it is about is that we have a government that wants power and control over us, not with and for
• And we know that our gender fluidity scares people because we refuse to be controlled.
• over us not with wants power and control over us not with and<01:37:55.320><c> for</c><01:37:55.639>
• </c> be be controlled be be controlled my<01:38:25.639><c> grandma</c><01:38:26.040><c> taught</c> my

Transcript Highlights:

• From fertilization, a genetically unique living human organism exists.
• Life begins at fertilization. The heartbeat does not create that life.
• Cardiac activity can be detected just 22 to 23 days after fertilization.
• There's 18 to 24, depending on how you count, methods of birth control. Why didn't you use those?
• There's 18 to 24, depending on how you count, methods of birth control. Why didn't you use those?

Bills: HB0117 , HB0126

Committee: House Labor, Health & Social Services

Transcript Highlights:

• He also said they have concerns about the cuts to green fertilizer and the dairy with an eye program.
• </c><00:07:56.400><c> and</c><00:07:56.479><c> the</c> the cuts to green fertilizer and the the cuts
• to green fertilizer and the dairy<00:07:56.800><c> with</c><00:07:56.879><c> an</c><00:07:57.039><c>
• ,</c> the application of synthetic fertilizer, the application of synthetic fertilizer, introducing<00
• So, thank you. ...three that we'd appreciate further consideration on are, first, the green fertilizer

Bills: HF2446

Committee: House Agriculture Finance and Policy

Keywords: agriculture finance, broadband development, Department of Agriculture, Board of Animal Health, Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, Office of Broadband Development, food safety, food handler license, cottage food, home processed food, livestock dealer, meat packing company, milk marketer, milk marketing license, grain buyer, grain storage, beginning farmer, emerging farmer, farm down payment assistance, livestock investment grant

Transcript Highlights:

• This one goes to the Pollution Control Agency, and this is $3 million for a biomass energy generation
• </c> This one goes to the Pollution Control This one goes to the Pollution Control Agency<00:21:03.120
• </c><00:21:23.840><c> um</c> the Talus Egg um green fertilizer um the Talus Egg um green fertilizer um
• </c> the electrolyzer, the thermal control the electrolyzer, the thermal control system<00:28:15.040>
• ,</c> the vague reference to green fertilizer, the vague reference to green fertilizer, it<00:41:18.440

Committee: Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate

Transcript Highlights:

• So the first one is a B&O tax exemption for sales of agricultural fertilizer and seed by eligible distributors
• does meet the legislature's objective, which was to provide tax relief for certain distributors of fertilizer
• does meet the legislature's objective, which was to provide tax relief for certain distributors of fertilizer
• place because we had high inflation, so we had to raise interest rates to try to get inflation under control
• place because we had high inflation, so we had to raise interest rates to try to get inflation under control

Committee: House Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• immunosuppression, liver impacts, high cholesterol, kidney damage, endocrine disruption, reduced fertility
• , lower birth, high cholesterol, kidney damage, endocrine disruption, reduced fertility, lower birth
• A 2009 Journal of Nutrition and Environmental Science Medicine double-blind, placebo-controlled study
• We have completely gone to the other side with chronic pain and trying to control it.
• States need to act now because the EPA is seemingly abandoning efforts to control and mitigate the harms

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Health

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health held a lengthy hearing to take testimony on a wide range of bills related to environmental health, PFAS, medical device chemicals, food access, lead poisoning, air quality, oral health, and school food additives. Chair Driscoll and Chair Decker emphasized that the hearing was for testimony only, no decisions would be made that day, and that written testimony could still be submitted. They also noted the high volume of speakers and asked witnesses to keep remarks brief. A major portion of the hearing focused on PFAS-related legislation, including bills to restrict PFAS in products and food packaging and to create a PFAS remediation trust fund. Municipal officials and advocates described the high costs of PFAS cleanup, especially for drinking water systems, citing Easton’s multimillion-dollar treatment investments and rate increases. Testimony from legislators and advocates argued that Massachusetts should act despite federal uncertainty, and that the state should stop PFAS at the source rather than leaving municipalities and residents to pay for remediation. The committee also heard strong support for a bill banning DEHP in medical devices, with physicians, nurses, and a bill sponsor saying the chemical can leach from IV bags and tubing and that safer alternatives already exist. The committee also heard testimony on bills to establish statewide food truck permitting, with food truck owners and a senator describing the current system as costly, duplicative, and inconsistent across municipalities. Another set of witnesses supported the “Bean New Deal,” which would expand plant-based food options in public institutions, senior nutrition programs, and WIC, citing health, equity, and cost savings. On lead poisoning, housing advocates and a representative backed bills to expand lead-safe housing requirements to all rental units, arguing the current law contributes to discrimination against families with children and leaves too much pre-1978 housing uncertified. The committee also heard support for an outdoor air pollution bill that would create an advisory committee, identify pollution hotspots, expand monitoring, and set reduction targets, with testimony from environmental justice groups, pediatricians, and legislators describing disproportionate asthma and other health harms in overburdened communities. Later testimony addressed oral health bills to create dental therapists and allow dental hygienists to administer nitrous oxide, with supporters saying the measures would expand access, reduce costs, and help underserved patients. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to prohibit harmful food dyes in competitive school foods, with parents describing behavioral and health concerns tied to synthetic dyes. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• And prioritizing efficient budgeting, ensuring that as much control that we have over fees, that tuition
• fourth-generation chairman, CEO, and president of a formerly family-owned company called Harrell's Fertilizer
• fourth-generation chairman, CEO, and president of a formerly family-owned company called Harrell's Fertilizer
• We've been around for 85 years this August, and we are the leading fertilizer manufacturer for the golf

Bills: S1694

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education met with a quorum present and first took up CS for SB 1694, which would require technology-integrated postsecondary general education core courses to include digital literacy and competency instruction, including use of artificial intelligence tools, and encourage high school computer science courses with AI content to teach how AI systems use data, their benefits and limitations, and responsible use in academic and personal contexts. The bill drew support from several speakers who emphasized the need for students to understand AI’s capabilities, limitations, ethics, and risks, while one speaker raised concerns about overreliance on AI and the loss of skills. Senator Davis said the bill was a good step toward preparing the future workforce and suggested earlier instruction might be worth considering later. The bill was reported favorably, and Senator Leek asked to be recorded in the affirmative. The committee then heard a long series of confirmation presentations for trustees at multiple Florida colleges and universities, including Tallahassee State College, USF, UNF, Palm Beach State College, the College of the Florida Keys, Hillsborough College, Miami-Dade College, Florida A&M University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, New College of Florida, Florida Polytechnic University, and the University of Florida. The appointees generally emphasized student success, workforce alignment, fiscal responsibility, access and affordability, and institutional growth; several members and senators offered supportive comments, with some asking about specific issues such as Tallahassee State’s NCLEX passage rates and the need for continued improvement. One appointee’s attendance was delayed or skipped for later consideration, but the committee ultimately took a block vote and reported the confirmations favorably to the Ethics and Elections Committee. Finally, Chair Harrell gave a brief overview of the higher education budget, describing a total of $11.9 billion and highlighting increases for workforce education, Florida College System operating funds, workforce development capitalization, the Rural Incentive for Professional Educators program, the USF Center for Nursing, preeminent research universities, UCF’s community school grant program, UF’s Lassinger Center on Learning, the Florida Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, and campus security through a postsecondary guardian program. Senator Davis asked about a transfer related to the workforce development capitalization and incentive grant fund, and the chair explained it was a transfer of an existing program with new funds being added. There was no public comment on the budget, and the meeting adjourned after Senator Leek requested to be recorded in the affirmative on SB 1694.

Transcript Highlights:

• introduced by Assemblymembers Flanagan et al., requires certain health plans to include coverage for fertility
• introduced by Assemblymembers Flanagan et al., requires certain health plans to include coverage for fertility
• introduced by Assemblymembers Flanagan et al., requires certain health plans to include coverage for fertility
• administered pursuant to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System developed by the Centers for Disease Control

Transcript Highlights:

• So with that, can we go to the next reference, which is ag fertilizer and seed wholesaling?
• The first of these is a B&O tax exemption for wholesale sales of commercial fertilizer, pesticides, and
• I mean, when we're talking about ag products and fertilizer and any tax preferences or any exemptions
• You have to water it, you have to put fertilizer; all that has to be tracked on each separate line.
• so now we're at a point where things have just gotten unruly, like just in terms of compliance and control

Summary: The meeting began with JLARC’s biennial executive committee elections. After confirming a quorum, members unanimously elected Representative Pollet as chair, Senator Wagoner as vice chair, Representative Orcutt as secretary, and Senator Solomon as assistant secretary for the 2025-27 biennium. The committee also approved the May 14 meeting minutes unanimously. Chair Pollet then outlined a commitment to more member input on audit scope and coordination with the State Auditor’s Office. Staff presented a preliminary report on Washington State recreation boating programs. They reported that six agencies administer boating-related activities, that the state collected about $108 million in boating-related revenue in 2021-23, and that $86 million was spent, mostly on infrastructure and water access, environmental protection, boater safety, and marine law enforcement. Staff said Washington’s boating laws and programs are broadly similar to other states and noted that the final report is expected in September. JLARC then reviewed several tax preferences. For natural gas used as a transportation fuel, staff said the preferences reduce fuel costs but did not meet emissions-reduction targets because fewer vessels and vehicles converted to natural gas than expected; staff recommended continuing some exemptions and modifying reporting requirements. For travel agents and tour operators, staff said the preference continues to provide tax relief, but large beneficiaries’ savings are rising while small beneficiaries’ use is declining, leading to recommendations to continue the small-business rate and add or revise performance metrics. Staff also reviewed a nonprofit low-income housing property tax exemption, concluding it helps developers build homes as intended but that the performance metric should better reflect housing outcomes; they recommended the legislature decide whether to continue or modify it. Other reviews covered multipurpose senior citizen centers, disabled veteran adapted housing, trade convention attendance, agricultural fertilizer and seed wholesaling, hazardous substance tax treatment for pesticides, and silicon smelter energy preferences, with recommendations ranging from continuation to expiration depending on whether the stated objectives were met. The committee then adopted the final cannabis market study for distribution. Staff reported that Washington businesses produced two to three times more cannabis than retailers sold in 2023, and that inaccurate and incomplete reporting limits the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s ability to regulate the market. The board said it concurs with the recommendations, including developing a plan for a new data system and considering broader social equity options. Finally, staff presented the proposed final report on Department of Health oversight of hospital data reporting, inspections, and complaints. Staff said DOH was late on most acute-care hospital inspections, had not fully verified third-party inspection standards, and did not adequately review adverse event correction plans or assess language access barriers in its complaint system. DOH said it concurs with all six recommendations and has already made some transparency improvements, including a public dashboard for adverse event reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaker, gentlemen, do you support fertility services?
• and gentlelady, I support fertility services. And Mr.
• Speaker, gentlemen, do you support fertility counseling and education? Mr.
• Any control over, Mr.
• We can control what we're doing here.

Transcript Highlights:

• Fertility rates for Massachusetts are also decreasing over time in most age groups.
• And this is where the peak fertility cohort is, the 30- to 34-year-olds.
• Thank you. 34, so they will be passing through that higher fertility period.
• Yeah, yeah. 34, so they will be constantly that higher fertility period.
• They're meeting in, like, right at fertility age right now.

Committee: Senate Senate Committee on the Census

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census heard presentations on Massachusetts population trends and how they affect state housing planning. Susan Strait of the UMass Donahue Institute reviewed recent Census Bureau estimates, saying Massachusetts grew strongly over the last decade but that growth has slowed sharply in the newest estimates, largely because net international migration has fallen from a post-pandemic surge. She also described the four components of population change—births, deaths, domestic migration, and international migration—along with aging trends, declining fertility, the importance of the millennial cohort, and the role of foreign-born residents in births and the labor force. Committee members asked about college students in group quarters and about counting incarcerated people, and Strait explained the Census Bureau’s current methods and noted that some issues remain under discussion. Jesse Guerrero of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council then explained how MAPC uses UMass Donahue population projections to build household and local land-use forecasts for MassDOT and the statewide housing plan. He said the earlier transportation projections anticipated slower statewide growth and regional decline in western Massachusetts and on the Cape, with more growth in eastern Massachusetts. He also described how household formation, development patterns, zoning, and affordability are modeled, and noted that newer housing-plan scenarios use updated Census data and different assumptions about migration. Senator Miranda raised concerns about Cape Cod population loss and whether seasonal residents are being counted, and Guerrero and Strait said the projections focus on permanent residents, not seasonal populations. Tim Reardon of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities tied the demographic forecasts to the statewide housing plan, saying housing demand exists even under low-growth or slight-decline scenarios. He said the plan estimates about 115,000 homes are needed to address existing shortages, including doubled-up households, shelter families, seasonal conversion losses, and the need for healthier vacancy rates, plus additional units tied to future household formation. He added that the state’s total housing target is about 222,000 units, or as high as 262,000 under a higher-growth scenario. Senators pressed him on whether the scenarios are now too high given the recent drop in immigration, on affordability and out-migration, and on whether the housing plan adequately reflects homelessness and overcrowding in Boston and elsewhere. Reardon said the plan includes production, rental assistance, shelter prevention, and preservation strategies, and noted that HLC is also using grant programs and MBTA Communities-related infrastructure funding to support housing production statewide.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> life or perhaps the fertility life or perhaps the fertility uh<00:30:41.720><c> future</c><00:30
• </c><00:30:43.760><c> Who's</c> uh future fertility of the mother.
• Who's uh future fertility of the mother.
• </c> cost the life or fertility? cost the life or fertility?
• </c> provide certain types of birth control. provide certain types of birth control.

Summary: The Health Services Committee met with a quorum and took up House Bill 414 with a committee substitute. The bill, described by sponsors and supporters as a continuation of prior maternal-health legislation, was framed as a clarification of medical standards and an effort to improve care for women and families facing complicated pregnancies. Representative Tate, Representative Nemes, Adair Wushar of Kentucky Right to Life, and Dr. Jeff Goldberg of ACOG Kentucky all testified in support, saying the substitute was developed collaboratively to reduce confusion in the law and help physicians provide evidence-based care without fear of criminal penalties. Supporters said the committee substitute was intended to define what is not an abortion under Kentucky law and to spell out medical treatments for conditions such as miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, sepsis, hemorrhage, preeclampsia, premature rupture of membranes, and fetal demise. Dr. Goldberg said current statutes contain significant ambiguity and have created unintended barriers to treating pregnancy complications, including emergency situations, and he gave examples of patients who were delayed or harmed because physicians were uncertain about what the law allowed. Representative Nemes said the measure was the result of unusual cooperation among groups that do not usually agree and described it as a first step toward fixing a discrete problem. Representative Wilner raised concerns that the language could effectively require a patient to be in severe distress before treatment is clearly permitted and that it was too prescriptive about how physicians should manage miscarriages. In response, Dr. Goldberg and the sponsors said the substitute was not perfect, was meant as a short-term solution, and was designed to give doctors more confidence in providing routine, medically necessary care for pregnancy complications. The transcript indicates the committee substitute was adopted, but no final vote on the bill itself is shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, the control was still an okay term?
• What we can do for control and also education, which helps with the control. Yeah. And I thank you.
• What we can do for control and also education, which helps with the control. Yeah. And I thank you.
• </c> education, which helps with the control. education, which helps with the control.
• </c><00:25:52.200><c> might</c> would understand that control might would understand that control might

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• We also manage biological control programs for noxious weeds, which is using insects to control weeds
• We also manage biological control programs for noxious weeds, which is using insects to control weeds
• We also manage biological control programs for noxious weeds, which is using insects to control weeds
• We also manage biological control programs for noxious weeds, which is using insects to control weeds
• We also manage biological control programs for noxious weeds, which is using insects to control weeds

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

Transcript Highlights:

• to uh control and eradicate cancers<00:45:58.680><c> so</c><00:45:58.960><c> the</c><00:45:59.240><c
• So that will not be higher requests because they are not our buildings, so we can't control them and
• we can't control how they get fixed up unless we find this solution.
• we can't control how they get fixed up unless we find this solution.
• them and we can't control how they get fixed up unless we find this solution.

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• or fertility service provider that provides services in medically underserved areas.
• By expanding the eligible organizations to include in vitro fertilization and other fertility providers
• By expanding the eligible organizations to include in vitro fertilization and other fertility providers
• treatments and in vitro fertilization, both things that are not currently widely available or covered
• We just voted no to add in other fertility treatments that are currently not covered for a large portion

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee met in executive session on three bills. For Second Substitute Senate Bill 6182, staff explained it would create an abortion savings program funded by a new assessment on health carriers to support grants for abortion clinical care access. Representative Marshall offered amendments to limit grants to Washington residents, expand eligibility to IVF and fertility providers, prioritize medically underserved areas, and add a 2031 sunset; all were rejected or withdrawn. The committee then voted 18-10 to report the bill out with a do pass recommendation. For Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6260, staff briefed a striking amendment that would reduce savings in K-12 spending by changing local effort assistance and Running Start limits, prioritizing some transition-to-kindergarten funding, and eliminating inflation increases for National Board bonuses. Members debated a series of amendments on bus depreciation, charter school LEA payments, transition-to-kindergarten funding, and Running Start. Some amendments were adopted, including a bus depreciation change and a Running Start adjustment, while others were rejected. The committee then adopted the striker as amended and reported the bill out 17-12 with a due pass recommendation. For Substitute Senate Bill 6355, which would establish the Washington Electric Transmission Authority and related board and advisory structures, members considered amendments on rural land-use expertise, eastern Washington board representation, corridor review standards, tribal workgroup removal, and payments in lieu of taxes for transmission facilities. One amendment was withdrawn and the others were rejected except for a landowner/rural expertise amendment that passed. The committee then reported the bill out 18-11 with a due pass recommendation. At the end of the meeting, members exchanged closing remarks thanking staff and colleagues, and the committee adjourned.