Transcript Highlights:

• These funds maintain critical emergency management systems within FDM used to support statewide emergency
• Within FDM used to support statewide emergency preparedness.
• Operational costs are rising.
• Nearly $250 million for the Emergency Response Fund for Ron DeSantis.
• Nearly $250 million for the Emergency Response Fund for Ron DeSantis.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, a moment of silence for former Senator Don Childers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of Officer Antonio Richardson as law enforcement officer of the day. The chamber announced it would take up 11 budget conference committee reports, with no third-reading bills or special-order calendar items. Members were reminded that conference reports were subject to debate but not amendment, and that the required review periods had been satisfied. The first major action was on HB 7031E, the tax package. Representative Duggan explained that the conference report included a mix of retained, modified, and new tax provisions, including sales tax holidays, property tax and homestead-related changes, reductions in certain gaming and carbon-related taxes, changes to child care and documentary stamp tax credits, a new refund process for public works construction tax paid by universities and colleges, and other tax administration changes. Debate focused on the bill’s consumer impact, the reduction of the child tax credit from three years to one, the inclusion of firearm accessories in a sales tax holiday, the absence of gas tax relief and combined reporting, and the homestead exemption provision for certain deployed diplomatic and foreign service personnel. Critics argued the package favored niche or corporate interests over broad affordability relief, while supporters said it provided targeted tax relief and reflected conference negotiations. The House adopted the conference report and passed HB 7031E by a vote of 88-11. The House then began presenting the conference report for HB 501E, the state budget, which totaled $114.5 billion for fiscal year 2026-27 and was described as below the prior year’s spending level while maintaining reserves. Subcommittee chairs outlined major budget areas: pre-K-12 funding included an increase in FEFP, salary increases for veteran teachers, stabilization funding, and support for declining enrollment; higher education included full Bright Futures funding, workforce programs, college operating support, university initiatives, and school guardian expansion; IT funding focused on Palm, ACCESS, APD’s I-Connect replacement, corrections systems, emergency management systems, and cybersecurity grants; health care funding covered Medicaid, nursing home rates, waiver provider increases, ADAP funding and restructuring, child welfare, and behavioral health; transportation and economic development included housing, cultural grants, jobs and rural infrastructure, Visit Florida, Space Florida, highway patrol equipment, and local transportation projects; justice funding included correctional construction, juvenile justice facilities, law enforcement grants, and clerk and due process reimbursements; state administration included fire stations, constrained counties, building maintenance, and Safe Florida Home; and agriculture/natural resources funding emphasized Everglades restoration, water quality, land acquisition, Florida Forever, state parks, and citrus research. Members then began questioning the budget details, including school voucher accountability, school funding formulas, public defender parity, prison technology, wastewater monitoring in prisons, ADAP policy, SNAP fraud controls and AI-assisted verification, Florida Forever funding, school lunch funding, and coral reef restoration. No final vote on HB 501E appears in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• They had only been operational for about a year.
• I I I operate a very high there. I I I operate a very high performing<00:25:49.080><c> school.
• California found that the operator of California found that the operator of Culver<00:42:11.520><c> Port
• to operate a school in Kentucky. efficiency.
• <c> in</c> allowed to operate a school in in allowed to operate a school in in Kentucky.<00:43:00.800

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate Education Committee heard House Bill 132, which would change home and hospital instruction funding so schools can be reimbursed sooner when students miss school for short-term mental health-related stays. Representative Nick Wilson said current law requires a student to be out five days before funding begins, leaving schools unpaid when they provide instruction during 2- to 4-day absences. The committee gave HB 132 favorable expression unanimously. The committee then heard House Bill 193, a cleanup bill on dual credit scholarships. Representative J.T. Payne and KHEAA’s director explained that the bill consolidates academic and CTE dual credit scholarships into one statute to reduce administrative confusion, since the programs have been funded together in recent budgets. HB 193 passed unanimously with favorable expression. House Bill 241 drew the most discussion. The committee first adopted a substitute, which members said changed the bill to give the Commissioner of Education discretion, rather than a mandate, to grant calamity days. The bill and substitute centered on virtual instruction and Cloverport Virtual Academy: supporters said the school was a pilot project that needed more time and that a prior agency effort to cap virtual instruction would have effectively shut it down, while opponents argued the substitute would reward a low-performing virtual model and extend NTI/virtual learning too broadly. Testimony from an Oldham County parent criticized NTI quality and opposed adding more virtual days. No final vote on HB 241 was included in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• They do not operate. There's one in my mind that does not operate. The others are very small.
• It isn't an operating loan program.
• And is it like a swing-bed operation, or? There is a swing-bed operation.
• I am here in support of Senate Bill 2403 relating to the medical facility emergency operating loan program
• under the Medical...” “...relating to the Medical Facility Emergency Operating Loan Program under the

Bills: HB1623

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Keywords: HB 1623, North Dakota, rural health, rural health transformation program, medical facility infrastructure loan fund, medical facility infrastructure loan program, rural health loan program, Bank of North Dakota, Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, federal grant, health care infrastructure, rural hospitals, critical access hospitals, nonprofit health care providers, gap financing, loan fund, public health funding, healthcare financing, Medicaid

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 1624, the “Universal Lunch Bill,” from Rep. Mike Nathie. He argued the proposal should be placed in Century Code rather than the Constitution so future legislatures can adjust it if state finances tighten, and said the bill would start the program a year earlier with a $65 million appropriation for one school year. DPI testified that the estimate did not include nonpublic schools that do not participate, and members questioned the impact on Title I, free-and-reduced applications, private-school accountability, breakfast mandates for schools that do not currently serve breakfast, and whether the funding could come from the DPI budget or other sources. Supporters, including North Dakota United, the North Dakota Catholic Conference, a pediatrician, and the American Heart Association, said universal meals improve student health and learning, reduce family costs, and are better handled in statute than by constitutional amendment. No opposition testimony was offered, and the chair closed the hearing for later work-session action. The committee then took up House Bill 1627, introduced by Rep. Tye Dressler, which would raise the income threshold for the state-funded school lunch program from 225% to 300% of poverty, with an estimated cost of about $7 million for 2026-27. Dressler said the bill is intended as a targeted, budget-friendly alternative to the ballot measure and emphasized that the state should maximize federal meal dollars while improving participation in the current program. Members questioned whether raising the threshold would actually increase utilization, whether a dollar amount would be clearer than a percentage, and how the change would affect federal reimbursements and application rates. DPI said it could quickly calculate additional percentage levels, and the chair closed the hearing, directing DPI to prepare more numbers for the work session. Finally, the committee opened Senate Bill 2403, presented by Sen. Schiable, to create a short-term bridge-loan program for financially distressed hospitals, centered on Jacobson Memorial Hospital in Elgin. The bill would authorize up to $5 million per loan, with a $10 million appropriation available on a first-come, first-served basis, and would run only through June 30, 2027. Schiable said the hospital’s debt and operating problems threaten local health care, ambulance service, and the community’s economy, and that the proposal was designed narrowly with Bank of North Dakota review to avoid creating a broad precedent. Committee members asked whether the appropriation could be reduced and whether the bank would still apply commercial feasibility and repayment standards; Schiable said yes, the bank would still evaluate the loan and could reject it if it was not sound.

Transcript Highlights:

• Businesses are already facing record legal lawsuits, record taxes, record operating costs, and record
• As you know, I grew up in Tulare in the heart of California's dairy industry, and my family operated
• So we put an additional $20 million in emergency CPS funding to counties to make sure that...
• in emergency CPS funding to counties to make sure that we protect our children.
• The following committees are meeting right now: Emergency Management, Room 444.

Summary: The Assembly convened after a quorum call, prayer, and pledge, then moved through a largely procedural session with several unanimous-consent motions, guest introductions, and budget-related trailer bills. Members also adopted resolutions recognizing June as Dairy Month and June 2026 as Electronic Dance Music Month, and later approved H.R. 88 commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Guest introductions highlighted the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Kappa League, Assembly staff member Mukhtar Ali, and Jennifer Levy, who is advocating against drunk driving after the death of her son. On the floor, the Assembly considered a series of Senate budget trailer bills presented by Assembly Member Gabriel. SB 170 reorganizes housing and homelessness agencies; SB 171 makes labor-related cleanup changes; SB 172 addresses general government, broadband, and NextGen 9-1-1; SB 174 extends remote court hearings and related court provisions; SB 177 advances options related to Medi-Cal and employer contributions; SB 180 extends the California Competes tax credit and conforms tax treatment for certain savings accounts; SB 169 covers transportation and DMV-related provisions; SB 168 creates a zero-emission vehicle incentive program and other clean-energy changes; SB 166 implements natural resources and environmental protection budget items; SB 165 extends the skilled nursing facility financing framework; SB 163 updates developmental services; and SB 135 funds higher education initiatives, including community college enrollment and Cal Grant changes. Most of these measures passed with bipartisan support, though several drew opposition over concerns about bureaucracy, fees, oversight, or policy direction. The Assembly also passed SB 719, which updates vehicle-related protections for domestic violence survivors, SB 97, an urgency bill making clarifying changes to digital financial asset law, SB 1350, which supports hydrogen and clean energy development, and SB 1344, which aims to reduce meritless lawsuits delaying affordable and supportive housing projects. AB 182, which sets the order for proposition numbers on the November ballot, was approved despite criticism that it manipulates the ballot numbering process. Votes on the measures were recorded, with many passing on strong margins and several transmitted immediately to the Senate or Governor as noted in the proceedings.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c><00:37:47.680><c> and</c> case the ability to exist, operate, and case the ability to exist, operate
• When I was working on this, the first code name for this project was Operation Ruby Slippers.
• When I was working on this, the first code name for this project was Operation Ruby Slippers.
• That's my comfort zone. &gt;&gt; Thank you Madam Chair. Thank you &gt;&gt; Thank you Madam Chair.
• That's my comfort<01:31:33.920><c> zone.

Bills: HF4133 , HF3419

Committee: House Commerce Finance and Policy

Keywords: homeowner's insurance, peace officer, property damage, just compensation, exclusion policy, corporate powers, entity law, business corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLC, limited liability company, cooperative, partnership, trust, foreign entity, campaign finance, election spending, political spending, ballot measure, ballot initiative

Transcript Highlights:

• The first being the requirement to utilize wayside detector systems to ensure the safe operation of trains
• According to Union Pacific's press kit found on Google, they operate approximately 618 miles of track
• Representative Hall, currently, it's prohibited to walk across the tops of cars by railroad operating
• If there's stroke alerts, anything like that, I got to be there in an emergency situation.
• I was in the emergency room for 12 and a half years. I did coronary care for 10 years.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> finally the new program is the emerging finally the new program is the emerging contaminants<00:
• </c> 5year period to address emerging 5year period to address emerging contaminants<00:31:00.360><c>
• </c><00:36:25.319><c> but</c> we're able to continue uh operating but we're able to continue uh operating
• </c> administrative operational administrative operational arms arms arms okay<01:10:16.880><c> Senator
• </c><01:20:45.880><c> are</c> understood um management operation are understood um management operation

Committee: Senate Capital Investment

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Amendment H-465 by Representative Walsh exempts drivers of an emergency vehicle from the presumption
• of negligence that is established in the bill if the driver operates the emergency vehicle within the
• course and scope of their employment or official duties directly related to the emergency vehicle.
• This has to do with emergency vehicles, and the amendment makes clear This has to do with emergency vehicles
• And again, this would only apply to an emergency vehicle on the job, not off duty or other things.

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:

• I am the Chief Operating Officer of Smith-Magley Incorporated, SBI, operating as Cellular One.
• Congress established the Emergency Broadband...
• also have the operational investment, is a little less certain.
• We have been blessed to some extent to have some base operating budget.
• because I need to come back and ask for money to continue the work. operations, and those are the operations

Committee: House Science, Technology & Telecommunications Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• And so this is also a big part of transit operators.
• And we're also kind of still in the middle of a transit operator shortage.
• I'd have to check with the individual operators.
• Both federal and state statutes have standards for the safe operation of an OHV.
• However, there is no requirement that operators know these existing or other safety standards.

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is non-emergency. So appointments. This is non-emergency.
• </c> the budget for kind of emergency the budget for kind of emergency reaction<00:42:58.880><c> to</
• So, homelessness and emergency housing."
• But I that we need for emergencies.
• Senate Government Operations President.

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Delegate Lopez: Hospitals, emergency pregnancy-related medical conditions, procedures, finance.
• This is an emergency bill.
• I move for adoption of the committee report. emergency bill.
• It establishes that for emergency bill.
• The schools operated from 1918 to 1958, four years after Brown versus the Board of Education.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Friday, February 27, 2026, 960, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They operate under direct supervision, and this bill reinforces that structure.
• They operate under direct supervision, and this bill reinforces that structure.
• This clarification strengthens accountability, ensures consistent operational control, and supports the
• In cases of substantial emotional emergency, a person may not knowingly rent, lease, or lend a motor
• In cases of substantial emotional emergency, a person may not knowingly rent, lease, or lend a motor

Bills: HB2170 , HB2417 , HB2418 , HB2771 , HB2772 , HB4018 , HCR2059

Committee: Senate Public Safety

Keywords: procurement, foreign adversary, China, state contracts, information technology, security, speeding, speed limit, traffic enforcement, driver safety, speed inhibiting device, appropriation, law enforcement, task forces, funding, criminal justice, community supervision, rehabilitation, supervision fee, victim compensation

Transcript Highlights:

• care, and emergency services.
• We understand emergencies happen. And if you can't, the Healthy Workplace Act protects you.
• There are times when emergencies happen.
• We've had families; we understand emergencies happen. And so most.
• emergency.

Committee: House House Commerce & Economic Development Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 28, an act relating to operating a motor vehicle. Senator Hickden.
• Senate Bill 181, an act relating to schools and declaring an emergency.
• Senate Bill 28, an act relating to operating a motor vehicle. Senator Hickden.
• </c> relating to operating a motor vehicle. relating to operating a motor vehicle.
• Senate Bill emergency. Senator Tishner.

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So today we're going to hear about a number of innovations and emerging technologies and where those
• But who knows, maybe some of the emerging technologies that we're going to hear about today will play
• I'm the Chief Operating Officer of Bakar Labs, and I'd love to tell you where you're sitting and what's
• So by having high-quality water and also more energy and less operational expenses, we can make them
• There are many considerations when it comes to wastewater treatment and emerging technologies.

Summary: The Assembly Select Committee on Biotechnology and Medical Technology held an informational hearing on the role of biotechnology industries in wastewater treatment, hosted at Bakar Labs on the UC Berkeley campus. Opening remarks emphasized California’s water scarcity, the rising cost of wastewater infrastructure, and the need to reuse and clean contaminated water. Committee members framed the hearing as a look at both current treatment challenges and emerging technologies that could improve water quality, affordability, and resilience over time. The first panel focused on statewide wastewater challenges. BACWA Executive Director Laurie Fono described wastewater plants as part of a broader circular economy, noting their roles in recycled water, environmental enhancement, biosolids management, carbon sequestration, and renewable energy generation. She highlighted major challenges including aging 1970s-era infrastructure, nutrient reduction mandates, sea level rise, evolving regulations, and PFAS source control. She said Bay Area agencies face about $11 billion in nutrient reduction costs, with rate increases, state revolving funds, WIFIA loans, and bonds as the main financing tools. Members asked about regional differences, energy revenue opportunities, smaller decentralized plants, and agricultural collaboration. The second panel featured researchers and lab experts discussing biotechnology solutions. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s Dr. Romine Chakarvati described using microbial communities and machine learning to help break down PFAS and treat produced water. CEL Analytical’s Dr. Yigi Dearborn explained pathogen testing for direct potable reuse, wastewater monitoring, and the need for larger sample volumes and more funding to validate methods for viruses and protozoa. Stanford’s Dr. Chunhung-Shin presented an anaerobic membrane system that turns domestic wastewater into clean water and energy with less biosolids and lower operating costs. Committee members asked about AI, assay development, scaling technologies, and funding priorities. Public comment from the California Association of Sanitation Agencies stressed the need to balance scalability, reliability, and affordability, and the hearing adjourned without any formal vote or action.

Transcript Highlights:

• The title 'FORGE Act' is appropriate to communicate the emergency situation that we are in in America
• And while we're in an emergency state, I am optimistic because I believe the ingredients are present
• We need to review the reviewer-to-doer ratio, so get the doers doing, align them with the operational
• We were able to deliver the Operation Warp Speed supply chain in two weeks during Operation Warp Speed
• What legal thinks, what contracts think, and what the operator thinks will go a long way.

Committee: Senate Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Senate only District Court operating Senate only District Court operating adjustment<00:06:52.200
• </c><00:14:16.920><c> vehicles</c> insignia from emergency vehicles insignia from emergency vehicles
• </c> a data practices provision on emergency a data practices provision on emergency contacts<00:19:13.520
• </c><00:37:45.520><c> manager,</c> branch's sole emergency manager, branch's sole emergency manager,
• </c> enforcement coordination, and emergency enforcement coordination, and emergency planning. planning

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The Safety and Security Conference Committee met on May 13, 2026, with a quorum present and no immediate vote taken. Chairs explained the committee was working ahead of a possible target so it could act quickly later if needed, then proceeded with member introductions and a reminder about committee decorum. Staff noted a microphone delay and said the meeting would include a side-by-side walk-through of the House and Senate policy language and a review of the fiscal spreadsheet. Fiscal staff summarized major differences in court, public safety, and legislative security funding. The House and Senate proposals differed on safety and security funding for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Courts, as well as on courthouse grants, capital security enhancements, and a new legislative/protective services unit. Staff also reviewed Senate-only and House-only items, including a Senate proposal to require removal of insignia from public safety vehicles sold to the public, and House provisions for a security services task force and member security costs. Total general fund impacts were reviewed, with the House total corrected to include an open appropriation that had been omitted from the spreadsheet totals. Nonpartisan staff then walked through the policy differences. The Senate language focused on a Protective Services Unit and security for principal state officials, while the House language focused on a Legislative Services Unit and security for legislators. Both bills included provisions on Capitol Complex Security, reporting requirements, and reimbursement arrangements with local law enforcement, but differed on details such as whether elected officials must provide contact information to DPS and how requests for personal protective services are handled. The House-only amendment A8 was presented for discussion; it would revise emergency contact provisions, replace the House’s personal protective services request language with a more detailed threat assessment and mitigation framework, direct implementation of the new unit, and make related reimbursement and technical changes. Judge Richard Kyle, president of the Minnesota District Judges Association, testified in support of stronger judicial and court safety measures. He described rising threats against judges, citing survey results showing high rates of judges limiting personal information, receiving inappropriate communications, changing personal behavior, and experiencing threats to themselves and family members. He said the association supports legislative authorization and funding for home security and personal data protections for judicial officers, and emphasized that safety concerns for judges and court staff have become more serious in recent years.

Transcript Highlights:

• It impacts our emergency systems.
• It impacts our emergency systems. It impacts our emergency systems. Caregivers.
• Community college operations rest on three legs: property taxes, tuition, and state operating aid.
• Community college operations rest on three legs: property taxes, tuition, and state operating aid.
• ... ...operating.

Bills: HB4154 , HB4155 , HB4156 , HB4157 , HB4158 , HB4159 , HB4160 , HB4161 , HB4162 , HB4163 , HB4164 , HB4165 , HB4166 , HB4167 , HB4168 , HB4169 , SB1847 , SB1848 , SB1849 , SB1850 , SB1851 , SB1852 , SB1853 , SB1854 , SB1855 , SB1856 , SB1857 , SB1858 , SB1859 , SB1860 , SB1861 , SB1862

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Keywords: general appropriations act, budget, biennial budget, state spending, appropriations, fiscal year 2026, fiscal year 2027, state treasury, agency funding, operating budget, capital budget, public finance, state agencies, legislative budget, house appropriations, rules committee, HB4155, amusements, amusement industry, entertainment

Transcript Highlights:

• situation, unanticipated cost of an operation, or some other type of cost.
• </c> reason like a some type of emergency reason like a some type of emergency situation<00:11:44.880
• that the person may have had operation that the person may have had some<00:11:48.600><c> other</c><
• I'm Alexis Chapman, director of operations for HFIA, testifying in Lauren's place.
• </c> vendors um and businesses that operate vendors um and businesses that operate nationally<00:45:33.760

Committee: House Labor

Keywords: 910, house, all