Transcript Highlights:

• Next we have the University of Hawaiʻi Systems and Support.
• </c> striking over the issue so we've long striking over the issue so we've long sought<00:18:00.200>
• Next, one to eliminate ambiguity between the term claim and application, we replace the term application
• claim and application we replace term claim and application we replace the<00:49:12.079><c> term</c>
• </c> Benefits year next to clarify the term Benefits year next to clarify the term designated<00:49:19.599

Committee: House Labor

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Enforcing a fixed long-term notice period regardless of circumstances could delay necessary business
• It puts pressure on premiums and increases the risk to the long-term health of the system.
• For injured workers with very long-term claims and those on total permanent disability pensions, this
• For injured workers with very long-term claims and those on total permanent disability pensions, this
• system will take care of you.

Summary: The Labor and Commerce Committee heard public testimony on several bills. Senate Bill 618, the Eric Schrauss Memorial Act, would remove the current time-and-exposure qualifiers for the workers’ compensation presumption that certain heart problems in firefighters and law enforcement officers are occupational diseases. The sponsor and family members of fallen firefighters testified in support, describing delayed claims and arguing the bill would spare grieving families from lengthy appeals. Opponents including counties, self-insurers, cities, and L&I’s research staff said the current qualifiers are based on science, warned the change would greatly expand claims and costs, and noted a 2023 advisory committee did not recommend the change. No vote was taken. The committee also heard Senate Bill 5379, which would extend interest arbitration rights to Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission law enforcement rangers. The sponsor and a park ranger testified that rangers are commissioned peace officers who cannot strike and are paid less than comparable law enforcement, leading to staffing shortages and turnover. The bill was presented as a fairness and retention measure. Testimony on Senate Bill 6147, concerning grocery store closures in food deserts, was split: supporters from Tacoma, labor, and local government said a six-month notice requirement would help communities respond to closures like the Fred Meyer shutdown in South Tacoma, while grocers and industry groups argued the bill was too prescriptive, would add legal risk, and would not solve underlying crime and business pressures. Senate Bill 6106, requested by the Employment Security Department, would exempt tribes from the state WARN-style notice law and make employee names and addresses submitted in layoff notices confidential under the Public Records Act. ESD and business groups supported the bill as a clarification and privacy fix, and no opposition was heard. The committee then took testimony on Senate Bill 5927, which would cap future workers’ compensation COLAs at 3%; employers and self-insurers supported it as a way to address volatility and long-term liabilities, while labor, injured-worker advocates, and others opposed it as an across-the-board benefit cut that would erode wage replacement. L&I explained it has been studying possible COLA changes but did not bring forward its own proposal. Finally, Senate Bill 6287 on kratom would restrict adulterated or harmful kratom products, require labeling, set a 21+ sales age, and allow local regulation; supporters backed the age limit and bans on concentrated 7-OH, while some industry witnesses opposed the private right of action and local patchwork rules. The committee adjourned after public testimony; no final votes or executive action were taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• , and long-term conservation outcomes.
• and long-term conservation outcomes.
• Public education is the foundation of wildlife conflict prevention and long-term coexistence. L.A.
• Coexistence builds long-term solutions instead of short-term fixes.
• In contrast, range riders, fladry, and guardian animals reduced conflict over the long term and help

Summary: The hearing focused on human-wildlife conflict in California, especially predator management involving bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves. The chair and Assemblymember Hadwick framed the issue as a balance between protecting people, livestock, and property while preserving wildlife and biodiversity, citing habitat loss, development, drought, wildfire, and climate change as drivers of conflict. Department of Fish and Wildlife officials described their conflict-response work, including public education, depredation permits, wildlife incident reporting, and coordination with sheriffs, counties, and other agencies. They also noted that wildlife sightings and conflicts are increasingly common in both rural and urban areas, including recent mountain lion activity in San Francisco and ongoing bear conflicts in places like Tahoe and Sierra Madre. CDFW staff outlined the department’s human-wildlife conflict program, including the WEIR reporting system, a public toolkit, limited-term staff, and regional response efforts. They said the program grew out of drought-related incidents and later state funding, but that one-time money has expired, creating service gaps. Officials also discussed specific management approaches such as Tahoe’s trap-tag-haze bear program, DNA-based incident tracking, and the use of nonlethal deterrents before lethal action. For wolves, they explained that the species is protected and managed differently from bears and lions, that there is no general depredation-kill process for wolves, and that the department is working on data-sharing agreements, county liaisons, compensation programs, and improved coordination with ranchers and local law enforcement. Members pressed the department on underreporting, trust in state agencies, the need for sheriffs to participate in investigations, and whether more authority should be given for public-safety removals or hazing. Assemblymember Gonzalez also raised wildlife trafficking and border enforcement issues in Southern California. The panel repeatedly emphasized that more resources, technology, and local partnerships are needed. Officials gave budget context, saying roughly $17 million in one-time funding over several years supported conflict response and wolf compensation efforts, but that staffing and program capacity remain limited. The chair concluded by noting interest in further work on technology, funding, and institutionalizing collaboration, and the hearing then moved to a second panel of university researchers who presented on wolf and mountain lion conflict, habitat planning, trust, and the need for flexible, science-based, locally tailored mitigation strategies.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's probably going to cost money in the long term.
• I ain't been a lawyer that long. And you hadn't been alive that long at what you said.
• I think it expires roughly at the end of the... term in office, the current term.
• And so for us, changing this system disrupts that system overnight.
• And so for us, changing this system disrupts that system overnight.

Bills: SB256

Committee: House Judiciary

Keywords: court consolidation, judicial administrative, Orleans Parish, civil district court, criminal district court, court clerk, judicial funding, 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• System of their choice.
• 73% are condos, meaning that many communities are managing aging buildings that require significant long-term
• the country highlight the dangers of inadequate reserve funding and the importance of responsible long-term
• And it may have a short-term cost, but far less pain in the long term.
• And it may have a short-term cost, but far less pain in the long term.

Committee: House Judiciary

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Fund by increasing reserves, capturing more revenue during boom years, and helping the state pay down long-term
• That's how we protect essential services and maintain long-term fiscal stability.
• The other half goes towards paying down those long-term liabilities.
• So for a long time, the state paid for state retiree health care on a pay-as-you-go basis, so kind of
• Proposition 2 is, in terms of reserve deposits, indefinite.

Committee: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Recognizing that lowering financial barriers improves outcomes and reduces long-term healthcare costs
• and our prior approval system.
• And, and also the same study showed long term, there's not a big difference in rates, uh, when you do
• system was the issue because it's the same regulatory system.
• The system is working.

Committee: House Insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• of care.
• There have been so many issues with behavioral health providers and our managed care system.
• There have been so many issues with behavior health providers and our managed care system.
• Right now, long-term pharmacies are often treated differently from retail pharmacies on paper, but in
• Right now, long-term pharmacies are often treated differently from retail pharmacies on paper, but in

Committee: Senate Health & Welfare

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Health and Welfare met on May 13 with a quorum present and approved the prior meeting minutes. The committee first heard HB 971, which would equalize Medicaid reimbursement rates between independent clinics and hospital-owned rural health clinics; supporters said independent clinics are disadvantaged by a large payment disparity, and the bill was reported favorable without objection. The committee also recognized visiting Alpha Phi Alpha members and other guests during personal privilege remarks. Members then considered HB 414, which would bar hiring certain health care workers and direct support professionals with serious disqualifying convictions from other states and address background-check issues for therapeutic group homes. After adopting three amendment sets, the bill was reported as amended. HB 740, creating an independent review process for Medicaid behavioral health claim disputes in the coordinated system of care, was amended to clarify applicability and CSOC definitions and then reported as amended. HB 288, which would place the term “miscarriage” alongside “spontaneous abortion” in medical documentation, drew emotional testimony from affected parents and advocates; the committee reported it favorable. The committee also advanced several more bills: HB 405, updating the name of the national acupuncture certifying body, was reported favorable; HB 786, prohibiting extrapolation in certain managed-care claims recoupments, was reported favorable; HB 1095, allowing alternative backup power sources for nursing homes, was reported favorable; HB 403, raising the cottage food gross-sales cap, was amended from $50,000 to $150,000 and then reported favorable; HB 930, modernizing cosmetic-product regulation and creating a small-producer exemption, was reported favorable; HB 557, defining long-term pharmacies for policy purposes, was reported favorable; HB 779, on expedited partner therapy for sexually transmitted diseases, was reported favorable; HB 915, setting utilization-management timelines and standards, was reported favorable; HB 546, expanding criteria for peace officers to take someone into protective custody during a mental health crisis, was reported favorable; HB 796, creating a chiropractic preceptorship program, was reported favorable; and HB 933, authorizing commemorative birth certificates, was reported favorable. The final major item was HB 1041, a “no-mandate” bill barring discrimination based on medical intervention status. The sponsor and Surgeon General said it was aimed at healthy, asymptomatic individuals and not at public health quarantine powers, but Senator Boudreaux objected to exemptions for schools and hospitals and offered an amendment to restore broader coverage. That amendment failed on a roll-call vote, and the bill remained under discussion as the transcript ended, with no final committee disposition shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• Even the term that we're you think about it, this is new.
• I care more about humanity that I care about political positioning.
• I'm not saying we care enough that we're going to dig deeper.
• the goal of having a building stock that can sustain and recover from adverse events and adapt to long-term
• We have an amazing system.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• long-term care for vulnerable adults.
• for long-term residents.
• Senator Koran, we have had conversations with the long-term care imperative.
• </c><00:49:05.760><c> care</c> conversations with the long-term care conversations with the long-term
• </c><00:53:31.440><c> care</c> having right now in long-term care having right now in long-term care

Committee: Senate State and Local Government

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The long-term impact of Prop. 36 remains uncertain, but CDCR continues to monitor the data and partner
• term.
• approach and a longer-term approach.
• And then how do you similarly prioritize meting out long-term fixes versus the shorter-term fixes like
• failing roof affect the fire alarm system.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Colleagues, AB 1574 addresses the over-representation of tribal youth in our foster care system.
• cervical cancer early and reduce long-term costs to the state.
• cervical cancer early and reduce long-term costs to the state.
• system and that a licensed health care professional is exercising professional judgment in reviewing
• We’ve also seen the rapid deployment of AI in health care and pending upheaval in our health care system

Summary: The Assembly met on May 7, 2026, after an initial delay caused by the absence of a quorum, then proceeded with prayer, a moment of silence for victims of a hate-motivated attack at the Islamic Center in San Diego, and the Pledge of Allegiance. The Speaker pro tempore then moved through the daily file, repeatedly urging members to be on time and at their desks as the House of Origin deadline approached. Procedural actions included dispensing with the journal, deferring some items, and moving AB 1667 to the inactive file. The bulk of the session was devoted to floor consideration of many bills, most of which passed with little or no opposition. Measures approved included bills on artificial intelligence provenance information (AB 2713), community college trustee compensation (AB 2528), transit camera enforcement and privacy (AB 1837), excess proceeds claims in taxation (AB 2705), HOA technical cleanup (AB 1892), hepatitis C treatment access (AB 1843), child care planning in local general plans (AB 1914), greenhouse energy code flexibility (AB 2200), rent-now-pay-later consumer protections (AB 2350), housing cleanup and density bonus measures (including AB 2390, AB 2480, AB 1567, AB 1751, and others), spay/neuter access (AB 2010), workforce housing financing tools (AB 2110), supportive housing and homelessness-related changes (AB 2146), mental health and health plan notification measures (AB 1598, AB 2613), student aid and education bills (AB 1534, AB 1636, AB 1669, AB 1728, AB 1784, AB 1871), public safety and criminal justice bills (AB 1546, AB 1572, AB 1872, AB 1877, AB 1932), and several health and social services measures (AB 1602, AB 1628, AB 1680, AB 1825, AB 1845, AB 1906, AB 1907, AB 1925). Most bills were described as support measures, often with bipartisan backing and no opposition, and passed by wide margins. A few bills drew more discussion, especially AB 1751, a housing/townhome bill that sparked extended debate over wages, prevailing wage, stakeholder engagement, and whether the measure could depress pay for construction trades; despite concerns and an opposition speech, it ultimately passed 44-0. AB 1793, which would allow symmetrical rounding of cash transactions to the nearest nickel in light of the penny’s phaseout, also drew light debate and passed 47-1. AB 1932, an urgency measure expanding community-based crisis response, passed with one no vote on both the urgency and the bill. Several urgency or 54-vote bills, including AB 1534 and AB 1932, required later roll calls or calls to be lifted, but all measures described in the transcript were ultimately approved.

Transcript Highlights:

• What are systems, and how are they failing?
• , and child care.
• providers for reproductive justice health care or gender-affirming health care.
• in place to audit access to these systems and then systems in place to punish officials who violate
• I can’t take care of my families. I can’t take care of myself. I don’t understand the language.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on responding to federal immigration enforcement in Massachusetts, with opening remarks from Sen. Liz Miranda and Rep. Bud Williams emphasizing fear in immigrant communities, recent ICE operations, and the need to learn from advocates and affected residents rather than debate individual bills. The hearing was organized around three topics: detention, arrests, and surveillance, with members repeatedly asking what the legislature can do to improve transparency, legal access, and oversight. On detention, Leah Hastings of Prisoners’ Legal Services said most people end up in ICE custody through contact with the criminal legal system and argued that state carceral systems are deeply intertwined with immigration enforcement. She described conditions at Plymouth County House of Correction and Burlington ICE holding as concerning, citing limited medical care, disability accommodations, solitary confinement, retaliatory transfers, and poor attorney access. Hastings said Massachusetts should reduce funding for sheriffs and the Department of Corrections, ban intergovernmental service agreements and 287(g) agreements, and invest instead in housing, treatment, and other community supports. Members also discussed ICE reimbursement, the immigrant legal defense fund, and the need for more immigration attorneys. On arrests and enforcement tactics, David Albright of JALSA said federal immigration enforcement has been expanded by major new funding and incentives, including higher payments for 287(g) and bed contracts, and he noted that most ICE detainees nationally do not have criminal records. He said Massachusetts has one 287(g) agreement with the Department of Corrections and one IGSA with Plymouth County, and that ICE also uses Burlington, Hanscom, and informal local collaboration in places such as Milford and Auburn. Danny Tampona of Neighbor to Neighbor and the LUCE Rapid Response Network described more than 10,000 hotline calls from 46 cities and towns, with arrests often involving masked agents, surveillance of workers and families, traffic stops, broken windows, and arrests at check-ins or schools; he said the network is concentrated in places including Everett, Chelsea, Lynn, New Bedford, Milford, Marlboro, Framingham, and Springfield. He urged legislation requiring clear identification for law enforcement, limits on surveillance technologies, and stronger legal defense resources. On surveillance, Joshua Dancoff of Citizens for Juvenile Justice argued that current state policies allow broad sharing of fingerprints and surveillance data with ICE, including through BRIC, the Massachusetts Fusion Center, and municipal police policies. He cited cases in Chelsea and Everett where children were taken from police custody into ICE custody and said many departments automatically share arrest fingerprints and other information with federal authorities. He recommended limiting fingerprint sharing, restricting surveillance databases and task-force participation, and curbing police and sheriff collaboration with ICE even where no formal 287(g) exists. Members and witnesses also discussed the need for more immigration lawyers, possible bar advocate-style funding for immigration defense, and legislative action to prevent further collaboration and deportation infrastructure.

Transcript Highlights:

• We see refineries making decisions, they make long-term decisions, 10-plus year decisions, to invest
• where we need to be long-term.
• And so the other piece of this is, you know, again, going back to kind of California's long-term vision
• It's about reducing carbon emissions and standing behind the bar that was set for the long-term goal.
• Is there a long-term plan for the post-implementation of these SERPs?

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The word alternative learning in 1995 was a positive term.
• And so the term has outlived its usefulness.
• Well, the term that we're using is remote for not being on campus at all.
• with students and help build lifelong healthy eating habits, supporting both student well-being and long-term
• Well, fortunately, the Moreno show will be concluding here before too long.

Bills: HB2142 , HB2369 , HB2432

Committee: House Education

Keywords: remote learning, hybrid learning, education reform, alternative education, student engagement, local food, public schools, nutrition, sustainability, agriculture, technology access, educational resources, surplus hardware, student support, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The companies don't care.
• In the most generous terms and the most horrifying terms, we hear testimony from Victoria and Paul.
• We all care. We're all parents. We care about creating safe experiences.
• We care about creating safe experiences.
• What measurable actions have you taken to eliminate systemic racism in your systems, and how are you

Committee: House Privacy and Consumer Protection

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:43:18.480><c> security</c> sustainable long-term security sustainable long-term security situation
• We had one of the best health care systems in the country.
• We had one of the best health care systems in the country.
• We had one of the best health care systems in the country.
• We had one of the best health care systems in the country.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and not enough child care slots.
• On family child care providers.
• As someone who personally went through the foster care system, I know how important these programs are
• These programs were designed to provide short-term, clinically appropriate care, and that's a mission
• These programs were designed to provide short-term, clinically appropriate care, and that's a mission

Summary: The committee first adopted a 4-0 consent calendar for SB 1345, SB 1410, and SB 1421. It then heard SB 1200 on child care, which would redefine infant and toddler age categories so providers could count 18- to 24-month-olds as toddlers without changing ratios. The author and family child care providers said the bill would better reflect child development, improve reimbursement, increase capacity, and help keep family child care businesses open; there was no opposition, and the bill passed 4-0 to Appropriations. The committee next approved SB 971, a permissive framework for counties to offer senior education and technology training through local public health systems and community partners. Supporters said it would help older adults with digital literacy, fraud awareness, health, and social connection, while remaining optional and locally tailored. There was no opposition, and the bill passed 4-0 to the floor. The committee also passed SB 1234, which requires fentanyl to be included in court-ordered drug testing in dependency cases when drug testing is already ordered. The author, an angel family member, and a sheriff’s office witness described child deaths and fentanyl exposure risks; the bill passed 4-0 to the floor. SB 1109, dealing with oversight of short-term residential therapeutic programs in small rural counties, drew substantial testimony. Supporters from Alpine County argued that two facilities there strain local emergency response and that annual review should be triggered by repeated serious citations or placement in counties lacking basic infrastructure. Opponents said the bill was too broad and could destabilize needed placement capacity. After discussion, the author accepted committee amendments, and the bill passed 4-0 to Appropriations as amended. The committee also passed SB 961, which would notify financial aid applicants that they may be eligible for CalFresh; students and advocates said it would reduce food insecurity and improve college success, with no opposition, and it passed 4-0 to Appropriations. Later, SB 1099, clarifying local governments’ authority to provide state or local public benefits to all residents under federal PRWORA exemptions, was heard and supported by local government attorneys; it was held on call after a 2-0 roll. SB 1190, creating licensing and safety rules for youth transport companies used in out-of-state residential placements, was supported by survivors and advocacy groups, with some support-if-amended testimony; it passed 4-0 to the Public Safety Committee. Finally, SB 1325, a narrow San Diego County measure to allow Feeding San Diego to participate in Cal Food under specific conditions, drew support from the author and Feeding San Diego but opposition from the California Association of Food Banks, which argued it would shift limited resources and add administrative burden. The transcript ends during committee discussion on SB 1325, before a final vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and so if somebody... one of the things that we see in our health care system that we all can see
• </c><00:34:25.839><c> can</c><00:34:26.000><c> see</c> health care system that we all can see health
• care system that we all can see with<00:34:26.240><c> our</c><00:34:26.480><c> eyes</c><00:34:26.800>
• It wasn't, in terms of the Affordable Care Act, limits.
• ><c> affordable</c><01:03:31.520><c> care</c><01:03:31.760><c> act</c> in terms of the affordable care

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up an insurance-related chronic pain bill and an amendment modeled on language from Massachusetts and Maine. The sponsor explained the amendment was developed after stakeholder meetings because the original bill would have created an unaffordable insurance mandate in New Hampshire. The amendment was intended to improve access to non-opioid therapies by limiting prior authorization and step-therapy barriers so they are not more restrictive than for other treatments, including opioid therapies. After questions, the committee took a straw vote and advanced the amendment. The next item was a department-sponsored bill involving the state’s all-payer claims database. Insurance Department officials explained that the bill would encourage self-funded employer plans to opt in voluntarily by giving them aggregated, deidentified claims information in return. They said self-funded plans cannot be required to report data because of federal law, but the bill would provide an incentive while protecting employee privacy. Members asked detailed questions about who would see the data, whether individual employees could be identified, and how privacy would be enforced; the department said access would be aggregated and deidentified, and employer privacy issues would be governed by ERISA and the U.S. Department of Labor. The committee also discussed a glucose-monitoring bill. Members debated whether the bill was aimed at type 1 diabetes coverage or broader access to continuous glucose monitors, and whether it would amount to an unnecessary insurance mandate that could raise premiums. Department testimony estimated the equipment cost and said the annual impact per member would be modest, but also noted that non-insulin therapies have not consistently shown clinically significant A1C reductions. The chair and some members emphasized that the bill should be considered on its own terms as a CGM coverage issue, not as a general diabetes mandate. The committee discussed the bill’s cost implications and asked the department for any prior cost analysis.

Transcript Highlights:

• And these tools improve both immediate response and long-term accountability.
• lives, where they literally say, I don't care.
• So in terms of interoperability, Next Gen 911 So in terms of interoperability, Next Gen 911 will certainly
• , also known as SEMS, and supporting long-term recovery for victim families and survivors.
• So it sounds like you went from an honor system to a trust-but-verify system where we really want to

Committee: House Emergency Management

Keywords: 988, house, all