Transcript Highlights:

• for consumers. the form of higher prices for consumers.
• We have one, um, Senator Seaburgger, we have one, um, testifier online.
• </c> higher prices for goods and services. higher prices for goods and services.
• </c> Shantel Gruba is are you online? Shantel Gruba is are you online?
• </c><01:26:45.840><c> for</c> maintaining artificially low prices for maintaining artificially low prices

Committee: Senate Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• Is he online? Louser? Is he online? Motschenbacher? Here. Murphy? Here. Olson? Here. Richter? Here.
• The initial price is $80,000 a year.
• We can do that on an a la carte price.
• So if you prefer the online version, you can use it.
• Amira is an online tutor that the students read to.

Committees: Joint Education , Joint Education Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Santa Cruz study found employers raised prices, cut staffing, and replaced workers with technology.
• Santa Cruz study found employers raised prices, cut staffing, and replaced workers with technology.
• , and online sales are actually also a big problem in the state.
• And I also just want to recognize how important it is to be dealing with the online part because it is
• The price is too high.

Summary: The Assembly Business and Professions Committee heard several Senate bills, with most of the discussion focused on worker training, public safety, and consumer protection. SB 1203 by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas would expand training and de-escalation requirements for private security officers. Supporters, including security workers and labor groups, said the bill would better prepare officers who often respond first to mental health crises and violent incidents. Opponents, including security industry representatives and business groups, argued it would impose major costs, create training bottlenecks, and could reduce licensed security coverage. The committee ultimately voted the bill out on a due pass recommendation to Labor and Employment, with some members noting future amendments to address training capacity and employer-provided training. The committee also approved SB 936 by Senator Blakespear, which would restrict retail sales of nitrous oxide canisters larger than 8 grams while preserving legitimate medical, dental, culinary, and automotive uses. Support came from county officials, public health groups, waste management organizations, law enforcement, and local governments, who described rising misuse, impaired driving, and recycling hazards. No opposition testimony was presented, and the bill passed to Public Safety. SB 1271 by Senator Reyes, aimed at strengthening California’s midwifery training pipeline by requiring data collection on licensed midwife preceptor capacity, also passed unanimously to Health. Supporters said the bill would help address shortages in rural birth care and improve access to training for aspiring midwives. SB 903 by Senator Padilla, which would place guardrails on the use of AI in mental health and psychotherapy settings and prohibit AI from being marketed as a therapist, drew emotional testimony from a mother whose son died by suicide after extensive chatbot interactions. Health and behavioral health groups supported the measure, while several industry and health organizations were opposed unless amended; the committee nevertheless sent it to Privacy and Consumer Protection on a unanimous vote. The committee also approved SB 1165 on consent and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• One of the great things about the ERCOT wholesale market is its ability to send immediate price signals
• And I think the part of the bill that says, "Hey, notice..." ...we're coming online and we're going to
• There are provisions in the bill that hold wholesale price formation harmless to where it's accounted
• It may have a price distortive effect, but there are a lot of unknown consequences.
• These loads are real, and they are coming online. The state of Texas needs this bill.

Bills: SB6 , SB11 , SB33

Committee: House State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• The data collection under this program would be available online and to the public.
• We currently don't have an online filing capability for gas utility annual reports.
• If you've heard anything about egg prices, this is one of the factors.
• If you've heard anything about egg prices, this is one of the factors.
• The price of eggs, I mean, ultimately the health and safety, but the price of eggs and the price of milk

Committee: House Appropriations - S/C on Articles VI, VII, & VIII

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present to hear Article VI Natural Resources agency budget recommendations, beginning with the Railroad Commission. LBB staff summarized the commission’s 2026-27 base recommendation at $458.7 million, down from the prior biennium, with an increased FTE cap. The presentation highlighted reduced federal IIJA funding, volatility in oil and gas regulation account 5155, continued support for IT modernization, and rider changes. The commission’s major exceptional items were then presented, including requests for produced water and injection data reporting, an authorized pit registration system, regulatory filing/permitting upgrades, an underground injection well investigation team, site remediation support, and especially $100 million for orphan well plugging. Members asked about biennium-to-biennium comparisons, salary biennialization, the scale of orphan well risks, federal funding delays, bonding, and whether the state should rely more on industry or general revenue for plugging costs. Commission leadership explained that orphan wells can threaten water and public safety, that plugging costs have risen sharply, and that current funding is insufficient to keep up with emergency wells and the backlog; they also said the agency is moving to cloud-based systems with cybersecurity protections and that the proposed performance measure may need adjustment if funding does not increase. The Railroad Commission testimony was followed by LBB and agency testimony for the Texas Animal Health Commission. LBB described a $42 million recommendation for 2026-27, an increase overall, but with a reduced FTE cap due to turnover and salary reallocation. The recommendation maintained funding for cattle fever tick work, chronic wasting disease, lab testing through an MOU with Texas A&M’s veterinary diagnostic lab, and a new $5 million spay-and-neuter pilot program, while deleting a capital budget rider and adjusting riders tied to entry point inspection stations and clinical trials. Agency leadership then outlined the commission’s mission to protect livestock health and the state’s $22 billion animal industry, and described major disease threats including highly pathogenic avian influenza, cattle fever ticks, New World screwworm, and chronic wasting disease. Their exceptional items focused on recruiting and retaining veterinarians, replacing fleet vehicles, creating an ectoparasite identification lab, adding field staff and IT support, improving records and epidemiology reporting, strengthening central administration, supporting secure food supply planning, expanding chronic wasting disease work, and staffing the new spay-and-neuter program. Members asked about field identification of ticks, the use of disinfectants and PPE, fleet management, the scale of cattle fever tick risk, and chronic wasting disease; the agency explained its current inspection and lab-confirmation process, its reliance on field disinfecting and biosecurity, and the need for more staff and better data systems to keep pace with growing workloads and disease threats.

Transcript Highlights:

• Backs, no spread pricing, no this.
• It has been posted online and is in your folders.
• However, when it comes to the question of using a net price versus a WAC price, this bill uses WAC.
• One, WAC price is known. You know what the WAC price is. Everyone can see the WAC price.
• One, WAC price is known. You know what the WAC price is. Everyone can see the WAC price.

Committee: House Insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we have folks online? Anybody in opposition?
• Now we're going to online.
• Anybody online? Or either? All right, we go right to the committee. None. Anybody online?
• All right, we also have four people online.
• We're going to go ahead and go online first.

Bills: SB251 , SB150 , SB154 , SB73 , SB111 , SB172 , SB76 , SB181 , SB235

Committee: Senate Senate Tax, Business & Transportation

Keywords: horse racing, program training, program owning, state licensing, racehorses, regulation, local news, newspaper printing, journalism, media tax credit, print media, digital news, news publisher, newsprint, press operator, printing industry, local journalism, tax credit, income tax, corporate income tax

Transcript Highlights:

• Is Miha Hanlon online? Good morning. I'm online.
• structures that may include real-time pricing.
• structures that may include real-time pricing.
• real-time pricing or dynamic pricing mechanisms.
• Please consider clarifying Which may include real-time pricing or dynamic pricing mechanisms.

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 2343, which would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to obtain CAFO or individual discharge permit coverage for its game farms, and to treat game farms with at least 5,000 birds as large CAFOs. The prime sponsor and local officials from Centralia said the WDFW pheasant farm has contributed to nitrate contamination in a critical aquifer, affecting drinking water and public health, and argued the state should be held to the same standards as private operators. WDFW testified that it has already voluntarily secured the permit the bill would require and is working with Ecology and local partners. Testimony from county health and residents largely supported the bill, citing elevated nitrate levels and health risks, especially for infants and pregnant people. The committee then heard House Bill 2301, which expands Washington’s paint stewardship program to cover additional paint-related products, aerosol paints, and certain non-industrial coatings. The sponsor and industry supporters said the existing paint recycling program is working well and should be broadened to keep more materials out of landfills and reduce local hazardous waste costs. Local government witnesses supported the expansion but asked for changes on convenience standards, packaging coverage, and reimbursement for local collection costs. Ecology supported the overall concept but raised implementation concerns, including the need for uniform standards, full reporting, and more time for rulemaking. A wood preservatives industry representative opposed including wood preservatives, saying they are not paint and have different handling requirements. The committee also took testimony on House Bill 2515, a proposed substitute addressing emerging large energy use facilities, defined mainly as large data centers and virtual currency mining facilities. The bill would require utilities to adopt tariffs or policies to protect other ratepayers, require long-term contracts, demand response or curtailment provisions, reporting on energy and water use, and new clean energy targets for these facilities, while also changing how no-cost allowances under the Climate Commitment Act are allocated and creating an annual fee for the facilities. Supporters, including environmental groups, community action agencies, some utilities, and labor and tribal representatives, said the bill would protect ratepayers, improve transparency, and keep Washington on track for climate goals. Opponents, including data center and business groups, some ports, and several labor organizations, argued the bill is too prescriptive, could raise costs or discourage investment, may affect existing contracts and other large industrial loads, and could reduce construction jobs. No votes or final actions were taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• are buying or kind of the average of those, see how that compares to average median price, et cetera
• It is our neighbors with the least who pay the highest price of our changing climate.
• Do we have Christel online? Hello. All right, thank you. Hello.
• We do not need bots determining the price of housing. We need human beings to do that.
• Looks like we have Adrian online when she's ready. Yes, thank you so much, and good afternoon.

Summary: The Housing Committee heard public testimony on Senate Bill 5496, which would limit certain business and investment entities from buying additional single-family homes after reaching 100 holdings, with exemptions for banks, nonprofits making affordability-related improvements, and some development/foreclosure situations. Senator Alvarado said the bill is intended to curb speculation and help Washington families compete for homes, while opponents argued it would interfere with the market, reduce rental supply, and could affect REITs and retirement investments. Supporters, including Habitat for Humanity, said institutional buying has made homeownership harder and that the bill would create needed guardrails; opponents from the building and rental housing industries said the data did not justify the restriction and asked for clearer exemptions or data on impacts. The committee also heard Senate Bill 6200, which would prohibit landlords under the residential and manufactured/mobile home landlord-tenant laws from banning tenants from installing portable cooling devices, subject to safety, code, egress, insurance, and damage-related exceptions. Senator Slatter and supporters framed the bill as a public health response to deadly heat events, especially the 2021 heat dome, and said it would help renters, seniors, and people with disabilities stay safe during extreme heat. Landlord and property management representatives were generally neutral or cautiously supportive, but asked for changes on notice, lease language, insurance, and window-unit safety; one testifier raised concerns about evaporative coolers and potential moisture damage. In executive session, the committee acted on several bills. It adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 5156 on elevator standards in smaller apartment buildings and reported the bill out with a due pass recommendation. It rejected amendments to Senate Bill 5938 on the foreclosure prevention fee, adopted an amendment removing a study requirement, and then reported the bill out as amended with a due pass recommendation. It also adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 6054 on fire-hardened building materials and reported that bill out as amended with a due pass recommendation. Finally, the committee reported out Senate Bill 6237B on flood disclosure with a due pass recommendation. After those votes, the committee reopened public hearing on SB 6200 and SB 5496 to hear additional testimony, then adjourned for the day.

Transcript Highlights:

• I believe this is available both to the senators on their screens as well as online, for any online viewers
• I believe this is available both to the senators on their screens as well as online, for any online viewers
• The bill specifies a number of prohibited acts by motor vehicle glass repair shops regarding pricing,
• Again, transparency in pricing is good for the consumer. It's good consumer protection.
• And they dictate that based on their pricing.

Bills: SB5871 , SB5919

Committee: Senate Business, Trade & Economic Development

Keywords: motor vehicle, glass repair, insurance claims, consumer protection, regulations, fire safety, insurance incentives, best practices, community protection, voluntary measures

Transcript Highlights:

• We don't always get the best price.
• The amendment is in your folder and is available online.
• The amendment is in your folder and is available online.
• The amendment is in your folder and is available online.
• What price? What price? Ask her: what price if your dad would have had that? What price to do this?

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 1157, which would create a Louisiana State Infrastructure Bank to provide another funding mechanism for transportation-related projects, including roads, bridges, rail, ports, airports, and other surface transportation needs. Chairman Borek and DOTD Secretary Glenn LaD said the goal is to leverage state, federal, local, and private dollars, using models from Florida and other states. Members asked about board makeup, staffing, project selection, administrative costs, and how the bank would differ from capital outlay and existing transportation programs. Testimony in support came from business and economic development representatives, including Michael Hecht of Greater New Orleans, Inc., who said infrastructure is critical to major economic projects and that the bank could attract outside capital. The bill was reported favorably without objection. The committee then took up several local and procurement-related bills. House Bill 860, allowing fillable electronic public bid forms, was reported favorably. House Bill 972, naming a portion of Highway 93 in Lafayette Parish the Desert Shield Desert Storm Memorial Highway, and House Bill 965, naming a portion of Highway 163 the Sergeant William Billy Earl Collins Jr. Memorial Highway, were both reported favorably after brief testimony honoring veterans and law enforcement. House Bill 692, authorizing local governments to enter group purchasing agreements, was amended and reported favorably. House Bill 685, allowing use of FAST Act cooperative procurement for public motor vehicles and rolling stock, drew support from transit officials and was reported favorably after a roll call vote, with one member voting no. The committee also advanced House Bill 982, which designates portions of highways in Morehouse Parish in memory of local residents killed in a crash after attending an LSU game; it was reported with amendments. House Bill 506, creating special prestige license plates for local high schools as a fundraiser, was amended and reported favorably. House Bill 839, lowering the contract limit for hospital service districts to use construction management at risk from $2 million to $1 million, was reported by substitute after testimony from hospital leadership and industry representatives. House Bill 1072, revising powers and emergency procurement authority for the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction, was amended and reported favorably after discussion about its relationship to DOTD and emergency repairs. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 887, which revises construction management at risk procedures, including committee makeup, scoring, and financial qualification requirements; it was amended and reported favorably. House Bill 647, creating timelines and an annual application process for waterway projects under a waterway assistance program and fund, was reported by substitute. The last major item discussed was House Bill 873, which would fund pursuit intervention technology and training for law enforcement through a $2 fee on driver’s licenses. The bill was presented alongside emotional testimony from the widow and daughter of Sergeant Grant Candies and from a St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s captain, all urging safer equipment and better training for officers. Members expressed strong support, and the discussion continued into funding and grant administration details.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then, of course, the refinery came back online, but the prices haven't come back down to where they
• And when the WTI prices, the crude oil prices... ...more than us, and when the WTI prices, the crude
• to the prices.
• Next, we’d like to explore the use of pricing software, algorithmic pricing, surveillance pricing, dynamic
• prices.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications held an oversight hearing on managing the transportation fuels transition, fuel pricing, and supply reliability. Chair Allen opened by discussing prior legislation, including SB 1322 and special session measures, that expanded reporting to the California Energy Commission (CEC) and gave the state tools to study gasoline costs, refinery margins, inventories, and potential supply disruptions. He framed the hearing around refinery closures, rising imports, global conflict affecting crude markets, and the need to balance affordability, reliability, and the state’s long-term clean-fuels transition. CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda, CDTFA Chief Deputy Director Gentian Droboniku, and DPMO Director Ty Miller presented data showing California’s growing dependence on imported crude and refined products, declining in-state refining capacity, and stable-to-tight inventories that are being supported by higher imports. They said the new transparency laws have improved understanding of the market and pointed to the proposed Gateway Pipeline, marine imports, and distribution constraints as important supply issues. CDTFA and DPMO emphasized that retail margins, especially for branded gasoline, have widened significantly, with large price gaps between branded stations and hypermarts/unbranded stations, and that some of the recent price increases were tied to the Iran conflict while earlier spikes were more consistent with localized market behavior and possible price gouging. DPMO also said it is investigating high-priced branded stations, monitoring algorithmic pricing under AB 325, and continuing to analyze diesel spot-market transparency. The CEC and CARB also discussed the Transportation Fuels Transition Plan and the SB 237 assessment, describing them as efforts to plan for a managed decline in fossil fuel demand while protecting workers, communities, and consumers. They said California’s climate goals remain centered on an 85% greenhouse gas reduction by 2045, with continued use of liquid fuels expected but with lower-carbon alternatives, more efficient vehicles, and alternative fuels playing a larger role. Committee members focused heavily on workforce impacts, the need for concrete transition planning, and whether the agencies could provide a clearer picture of what California’s fuel system will look like under the state’s long-term goals. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> service to keep these prices affordable. service to keep these prices affordable.
• ,<01:03:02.960><c> we'll</c><01:03:03.280><c> say,</c> online, we'll say, online, we'll say, new<01:03
• Uh the price of wood poles have got has Uh the price of wood poles have got has gone<01:29:45.760><c>
• /c><01:30:11.679><c> of</c><01:30:12.320><c> doing</c> the price of the price of of doing the price of
• We have price challenges.

Committee: Joint Minerals, Business & Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> food prices? food prices?
• </c> the increased price would be 30 cents. the increased price would be 30 cents.
• and a credit card price.
• </c> those prices.
• But those are the prices those prices.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• online portal.
• online portal, as well as information that is shared with his office directly.
• For those pondering home ownership in our state, the growing price of insurance and the growing price
• If I may, Senator Wiener, I'm not going to argue price, as you said.
• And that share grows for food prices. That's globally.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• It is available online. It's currently being passed out.
• Jamie, if you could please release that online. This will be available online only.
• Okay, you got it online. Okay, it is online. Okay. Got it online. Okay. It is online. Thank you.
• It's all absorbed into price.
• , and we would select based on lowest price.

Bills: HB12 , HB42 , HB205 , HB222 , HB324 , HB325 , HB350 , HB416 , HB482 , HB610 , HB749 , HB797 , HB807 , HB821 , HB979 , HB992 , HB1193

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: survivor benefits, law enforcement, reserve officer, auxiliary officer, public safety, phased retirement, Teachers Retirement System, faculty retention, administrative fees, public postsecondary education, Medicaid, dental coverage, healthcare access, medical necessity, Louisiana Department of Health, judicial salaries, judges, judiciary compensation, cost of living adjustment, COLA

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> it's been online since 20121. it's been online since 20121.
• </c><01:16:18.080><c> It</c> saying is roughly the same price. It saying is roughly the same price.
• When the price of gas goes up as a commodity, the price of electricity goes up.
• When the price of gas goes up as a commodity, the price of electricity goes up.
• </c> great as the price that I just gave you. great as the price that I just gave you.

Committee: House Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• You can get the LEAP documents online on the LEAP website that has a big packet of information, and Control-F
• You can get the LEAP documents online on the LEAP website that has a big packet of information and Control-F
• When does the public have the opportunity to see it online? This is not online for people to see.
• It online. This is not online for people to see.
• Okay, we have one more online.

Bills: HB2306 , HB2711

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: transportation budget, capital budget, operating budget, appropriations, Washington State Department of Transportation, WSDOT, Washington State Patrol, Department of Licensing, ferry funding, state ferries, highway maintenance, road preservation, bridge replacement, tolling, express toll lanes, traffic safety, speed cameras, ignition interlock, transit grants, public transit

Transcript Highlights:

• Was there a statewide pricing agreement?
• Unique to them, they're statewide price agreements.
• commodity, and they all have different prices.
• I mean, we try to fit everybody into the statewide pricing agreement, pricing columns, and all that.
• And competition is known to bring prices down.

Committee: House Science, Technology & Telecommunications Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• This is really a price restriction on what dealers can charge for this service.
• Paul, he's online. Oh, but Paul. Paul, he's online. Oh, but Paul in the hinterland.
• They can't talk about the price. You can't test drive. But this bill would allow that.
• So if somebody buys the car completely online, then they go into the Rivian showroom and look at it,
• but buy the car online, are they going to be charged the $250 document fee?

Summary: The committee heard briefings and public testimony on three transportation bills. Substitute Senate Bill 6170 would raise WSDOT monetary thresholds for doing repairs in-house and for contracting work intended to support small, veteran-, minority-, and women-owned businesses, increasing the regular repair limit from $60,000 to $100,000, the emergency repair limit from $100,000 to $160,000 with annual inflation adjustment, and the contracting threshold from $100,000 to $160,000. The sponsor and WSDOT supported the bill as an efficiency measure; the fiscal note indicated no fiscal impact. Washington Federation of State Employees also supported it, saying the higher limits would let highway maintenance crews do more work in-house while preserving the existing work split with contractors. Substitute Senate Bill 6225 would authorize new and expanded transportation general obligation bonds, including $1.1 billion for highway projects in the Move Ahead Washington account, $400 million for listed highway projects with cost increases, and a $500 million increase to the SR 520 bond authorization, while also ending issuance of certain older unissued bond authorizations after June 30, 2026. Committee members asked about debt service, bond capacity, and how the money would be allocated; staff said the projects would be handled through the budget process and that the bill was intended to provide flexibility. Labor and business groups supported the bill as a way to fund preservation and maintenance and provide predictability, while Transportation Choices Coalition said any bonding should be limited and paired with broader transportation funding reforms and protection for multimodal programs. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6354 would allow certain qualifying U.S.-based battery electric vehicle manufacturers that have Washington service facilities and no prior franchise agreements to own and operate dealer licenses and sell directly, while also raising the dealer documentary service fee from $200 to $250 until the end of 2026 and directing part of the increase to an EV rebate program and the multimodal transportation account. Rivian and Lucid supported the bill as a compromise that would expand EV access and direct-sale options; Climate Solutions and the Port of Seattle also supported it, citing emissions reduction and affordability goals. Washington State Auto Dealers Association supported the compromise, saying it strengthens franchise protections while allowing limited direct sales. Honda, Toyota, Ford, GM, and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation opposed the bill, arguing it creates special treatment and weakens the franchise system, and some urged added consumer protections, service requirements, or bonding. The committee took no final action and closed the public hearings after testimony.