Transcript Highlights:

• So that's open and ready for due.
• Project readiness information. How ready is the community for economic competitiveness?
• </c> readiness information.
• How ready is the readiness information.
• </c> business ready community program. business ready community program.

Committee: Joint Minerals, Business & Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• Are you ready for that question?
• Are you ready for that question? Senator... Thank you, Mr. President.
• They're a shovel-ready project.
• Uh, so, one other question: there were shovel-ready, there was no other region that was as ready as the
• Are you ready for that question? Oh, are there any announcements?

Transcript Highlights:

• Please begin when you're ready. Christopher.
• Please begin when you're ready. Mr.
• Please begin when you're ready. Thank you. Good evening. Chair. Please begin when you're ready.
• Please go ahead when you're ready. Good evening.
• Go ahead, Jennifer, whenever you're ready.

Bills: HB2289

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: appropriations, budget, fiscal matters, state spending, general fund, supplemental budget, biennial budget, substitute bill, public defense, civil legal aid, courts, judicial branch, homelessness, supportive housing, affordable housing, behavioral health, juvenile rehabilitation, youth services, child welfare, foster care

Transcript Highlights:

• And yes, She's ready. Thank you, members of the committee. Mr.
• Come forward to get your witness sheet, and proceed when ready.
• Please come forward and start when you're ready. Thank you, Mr.
• This is about readiness, not expanded authority.
• Come forward and proceed when ready. Good afternoon, Mr.

Committee: House Insurance and Banking

Summary: The Committee for Insurance met with a quorum and first took up three bills in executive session. House Bill 2902 was amended with a committee substitute that removed the commission language while keeping provisions on software and key-emulating devices, and members confirmed it still included a Class D felony penalty. The committee adopted the substitute and voted the bill do pass, with one member voting no. House Bill 1789, dealing with delivery network companies and insurance coverage during the delivery availability period, was also amended and adopted; the substitute clarified that the availability period is not commercial activity and that auto insurance applies until a driver is actually engaged in delivery. The committee then voted the bill do pass, with one no vote and one present. House Bill 1647 was amended to remove it from the collateral source rule section and clarify that it applies only to civil actions for damages and property claims; the substitute was adopted and the bill voted do pass, with several no votes recorded. The committee then held a public hearing on House Bill 1894, which would implement federal nondiscrimination requirements for licensed health care providers in Missouri insurance law. The sponsor said the bill is about patient choice, fairness, and access, especially in rural areas, and does not expand scope of practice or require coverage of new services. Supporters from chiropractic, nursing, occupational therapy, podiatry, and nurse anesthetist groups said the bill would ensure equal reimbursement for the same covered services and improve access to local providers. Opponents from the insurance industry argued the bill would interfere with network design, reduce negotiating leverage, and require equal payment regardless of provider type or credentials; they also said current federal law already governs network adequacy and that the bill’s rulemaking language was standard but the reimbursement mandate was the main concern. The committee also heard House Bill 3314, which updates Missouri’s insurance guaranty association laws. The sponsor and supporters explained that the bill would clarify coverage for cyber policies, ensure coverage follows the policyholder in insurance business transfer or corporate division transactions, and allow limited pre-liquidation information sharing from the Department of Commerce and Insurance to guaranty associations so claims can be handled faster after insolvency. Witnesses said the bill is technical and intended to modernize the system without expanding coverage or increasing taxpayer exposure. Members asked about the $300,000 property and casualty claims cap, the definition of high-net-worth individual, oversight of guaranty associations, and confidentiality concerns; supporters said the cap is longstanding, high-net-worth means over $25 million, and the department’s existing oversight and confidentiality protections are sufficient. The hearing closed after a final supportive statement from the Missouri Insurance Coalition, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> You ready for the question? You ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the amendment. Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the for the committee. Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the question? Interim study. Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the the amendment? Are you ready for the question?

Transcript Highlights:

• Are you ready the committee amendment.
• </c> Are you ready for the question? Are you ready for the question?
• </c> Are you ready for the question? Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the question? Roll call, Madam President.
• </c><01:01:28.520><c> Roll</c> Are you ready for the question? Roll Are you ready for the question?

Transcript Highlights:

• Are you ready for the number only. Are you ready for the question? question? question?
• Are you ready for the concurrence. Are you ready for the question? question? question?
• </c> &gt;&gt; Are you ready for the question? &gt;&gt; Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for read a third time? Are you ready for that<00:25:51.840><c> question?
• </c> Are you ready for the question? Are you ready for the question?

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> &gt;&gt; Are you ready for the question? &gt;&gt; Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the question? Are you ready for the question?
• Are you ready for the of amendment? Are you ready for the question? question? question?
• </c> Are you ready for the question? Are you ready for the question?
• </c> Are you ready for the question? Are you ready for the question?

Transcript Highlights:

• I hope you're ready to endure.
• Are we ready to do the wave? I'm just kidding.
• The committee is ready. We're fired up. We're ready to go, ma'am.
• The committee is ready. We're fired up. We're ready to go, ma'am.
• The committee is ready. We're fired up. We're ready to go, ma'am.

Summary: The Housing, Agriculture, and Tourism Subcommittee heard five bills and reported all of them favorably. House Bill 827, by Rep. Anderson, would require online real estate listings to disclose estimated ad valorem taxes based on the listing price rather than the seller’s current taxes, to reduce surprise tax increases for homebuyers. The bill drew support from the Property Appraisers Association of Florida, the Florida League of Cities, and the Florida Association of Counties, and passed unanimously after a technical amendment. House Bill 483, by Rep. Cobb, aimed to support Florida’s manufacturing sector by formally recognizing the chief manufacturing officer, creating a workforce development grant program, launching a voluntary promotional campaign for Florida-made products and manufacturing careers, and requiring biennial reporting. The bill received broad support from manufacturing, economic development, and business groups, was amended with technical cleanup language, and passed unanimously. House Bill 675, by Leader Driscoll, sought to expand affordable housing efforts by limiting Live Local Act incentives to affordable housing, extending affordability periods from 30 to 50 years, lowering the income cap for eligible units, and eliminating documentary stamp taxes for certain first-time homebuyers. After two amendments and supportive testimony from United Way Suncoast, the bill passed on a party-line style roll call with all members voting yes or excused. House Bill 495, by Rep. Albert, transferred golf course best management practices certification from the Department of Environmental Protection to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services without changing the underlying BMP requirements. After an amendment clarified that all BMPs remain in place, the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association testified in support, and the bill passed unanimously. House Bill 1497, by Rep. Hunschofsky, revised the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program by narrowing eligibility to lower-income associations, removing a coastal-only requirement, and tying grants to completion of opening protection for all common elements; two amendments further refined eligibility and grandfathered pending applications. The Community Associations Institute supported the measure, and it also passed unanimously. The committee ended with remarks about the prior night’s softball game and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So in the post-secondary ready pathway and in the workforce ready pathway, it gives a student an either-or
• And in the Workforce Ready Pathway, it gives a student an either-or.
• So if I can, so we're striking it from the workforce ready, which would meet an ACT of 19.
• Ready, which would meet an ACT of 19. Is that correct? Yeah, so, Mr.
• Because when we went to Choice Ready, I think we struggled with how do we implement the military-ready

Bills: HB1404

Committee: Senate Education

Summary: The Senate Education Committee met with six members present and first took up House Bill 1404, which would update North Dakota scholarship eligibility language by allowing the NDA Plus assessment to be used in place of ACT scores in certain pathways. The Department of Public Instruction explained that the bill does not eliminate the ACT entirely, but removes outdated references tied to ACT accountability testing that will no longer apply after this year’s seniors graduate. Members discussed how the change affects public and nonpublic schools, then voted 6-0 to give HB 1404 a do pass recommendation. The committee then returned to House Bill 1363, a bill dealing with school emergency response planning and automatic external defibrillators. Members adopted an amendment clarifying that the requirements apply to school-owned facilities and grounds, replacing language about school events and venues, and revising the planning language for school-based events not held on school-owned property. The committee also debated whether the bill should be mandatory or permissive; a motion to change “shall” to “may” failed, with members noting the bill’s liability protections. The committee then voted 5-1 to pass HB 1363 as amended, with Senator Gerhardt carrying the bill. Before recessing, the chair noted that House Bill 1533 would be taken up later in the day after additional information from DPI was received.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are you ready for the forthwith. Are you ready for the question? question? question?
• </c> you ready for the question? you ready for the question?
• </c> you ready for the question? you ready for the question?
• </c> ready for the question? ready for the question? Mr. Mr. Mr.
• Are you ready for one legislative day. Are you ready for the<00:49:11.960><c> question?

Transcript Highlights:

• So whenever you're ready. All right.
• Go ahead and proceed when you're ready. Great.
• When you're ready, ma'am. It is.
• So, Erin, when you are ready, actually, I'm going to let David, when you are ready, I see that you are
• So go ahead and proceed when you're ready.

Committee: House Agriculture & Natural Resources

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a work session on food systems and food security, with no public testimony. The first panel covered household food security and data. Marie Spiker of UW explained how food insecurity is measured, its health impacts, and the importance of reliable data, warning that the federal Census food security data is being terminated and that Washington’s WAFOOD surveys are a useful but non-representative complement. Katie Raines of WSDA described the state’s food systems work, including efforts to build shared data and dashboard monitoring, coordinate across agencies and partners, and strengthen the hunger safety net and local food supply chain. The committee then heard from Tracy Roof of the University of Richmond, who gave a history of SNAP/food stamps as both an anti-hunger program and an agricultural support tied to the farm bill. She described how the program evolved from Depression-era commodity distribution to a permanent federal-state program, how it became countercyclical during recessions, and how state policy changes and outreach increased participation. She also noted SNAP’s economic multiplier effects and said Washington’s enrollment is in the middle of the pack nationally, while future federal changes could reduce eligibility and shift more costs to states. A later panel focused on food security challenges and opportunities across the food system. The Washington Food Policy Forum, through Danny Madrone and Chris Elder, outlined its consensus-based recommendations on food insecurity, climate and water, regional infrastructure, farmland protection, and support for small and mid-sized farms. A joint industry panel from the Farm Bureau, Retail Association, and Food Industry Association emphasized agriculture’s economic scale, rising costs, loss of farms, retail theft, and the importance of local grocery stores and SNAP/WIC partnerships. State agency representatives from DSHS and DOH described current program impacts and risks: DSHS said federal H.R. 1 could require Washington to pay up to 15% of SNAP benefits and tighten eligibility, while DOH highlighted WIC, farmers market nutrition, fruit-and-vegetable incentives, and a new Medicaid waiver project, but warned that unstable funding and the end of SNAP-Ed threaten program continuity. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• And when you're ready, go ahead and proceed. Okay.
• Go ahead and proceed when you're ready. Great.
• When you're ready, ma'am. It is.
• When you're ready, ma'am, go ahead. Thank you.
• Katie, when you're ready, go ahead and proceed.

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a work session on food systems and food security, with no public testimony. The first panel focused on household food security and data. Marie Spiker of the University of Washington explained what food insecurity means, its health impacts, and the importance of reliable measurement, warning that the federal Census food security data is being terminated and that there is no true replacement. She described Washington’s WaFOOD surveys as a useful complement, not a substitute, and noted that they show food insecurity affects households at a range of income levels. Katie Raines of WSDA described the state’s food systems work, the need for shared data and dashboards, and the role of agriculture in both food production and the hunger safety net. Committee members asked about the $2.2 million state food assistance allocation, the scale of the SNAP gap, and how household size, housing costs, and other factors intersect with food insecurity. The committee then heard from Tracy Roof of the University of Richmond on the history of SNAP and its relationship to agriculture. She traced the program from Depression-era commodity distribution through the modern farm bill, emphasizing that food assistance has long functioned both as anti-hunger policy and as an agricultural and economic stabilizer. She highlighted how SNAP expands during recessions, supports retailers and farmers, and has become more important since the Great Recession because participation stayed high even as the economy recovered. Roof also noted that Washington has relatively high SNAP participation and low payment error rates, but that recent federal changes could reduce eligibility and shift more costs to states. Members asked how Washington compares to other states and why the program is structured as it is. A later panel featured the Washington State Food Policy Forum and a joint systems presentation from the Washington Farm Bureau, Washington Retail Association, and Washington Food Industry Association. The Food Policy Forum described its consensus-based recommendations on food insecurity, climate and water, regional food infrastructure, farmland protection, and farm viability, including more support for producer purchasing, water planning, and farmland conservation. The industry groups presented a systems map showing how agriculture, processing, retail, and transportation are interconnected, and argued that rising costs, regulations, labor and fuel expenses, retail theft, and thin margins make it harder to keep farms and stores viable. They said food security depends on store viability and local agricultural profitability, and promised to provide a more detailed list of policy recommendations. The final panel included state agency staff from DSHS, DOH, and WSDA. Bryce Montgomery said the Basic Food program serves about 920,000 Washingtonians monthly and warned that H.R. 1 could require Washington to pay up to 15% of SNAP benefits, broaden work requirements, and restrict immigrant eligibility. Karen Mullen described DOH nutrition programs, including WIC, farmers market nutrition benefits, fruit and vegetable incentives, and a fruit-and-vegetable prescription program, while noting funding instability and the end of SNAP-Ed. WSDA’s Katie Raines began describing ongoing food assistance and farmer support challenges, including farmer mental health and the need to address food insecurity across both producers and consumers.

Transcript Highlights:

• Whenever you're ready. Thank you, Madam Chair.
• Whenever you're ready, whenever you're ready. Yes, ma'am.
• Are you ready to go?
• So it's House Bill 848, whenever you're ready. It's House Bill 848, whenever you're ready.
• Whenever you’re ready, sir. Thank you, Madam Chair.” “Whenever you’re ready, sir.

Bills: SCR53 , HB259 , HB267 , HB478 , HB548 , HB555 , HB617 , HB670 , HB672 , HB797 , HB848 , HB917 , HB921 , HB1096 , HB1103 , HB1166 , HB1195 , HB1230

Committee: Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs

Keywords: payable-on-death accounts, transfer-on-death accounts, estate planning, beneficiary designations, Louisiana law, task force, inheritance, nonprobate transfers, excavation, demolition, infrastructure repair, BEAD Program, utility damage, construction coordination, contact point, home inspectors, board membership, licensing, term limits, Louisiana State Board

Transcript Highlights:

• If we have Jim Theophilus ready to go here in the Zoom room. And we have about 20 testifiers today.
• And online, we'll have Sarah Akey ready to go right after.
• Sarah, whenever you're ready, if you could please unmute.
• Christina, whenever you're ready, if you could please unmute and introduce yourself.
• Sam, are you ready?

Bills: SB5957 , SB5977

Committee: House Early Learning & Human Services

Keywords: homeless youth, youth homelessness, runaway youth, young adult homelessness, housing instability, family reunification, family stability, youth services, homelessness prevention, protective services, Department of Commerce, Department of Children, Youth, and Families, DCYF, advisory committee, lived experience, data sharing, outcome measures, interagency coordination, service providers, at-risk youth

Transcript Highlights:

• On page 5, House Bill 1010 is ready. On page 7, House Bill 1018 and House Bill 1020 are ready.
• So that's page 8; 1023 is ready. Skipping over to page 12, 1041.
• Skipping over to page 12, 1041 is ready. Page 14, 1055 is ready. Page 22, 1077 is ready.
• All right, members, we have several items that are ready for do pass as amended.
• For right now, it is, in fact, not ready.

Committee: All JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

Summary: The committee first reviewed a list of bills already ready for “do pass,” including several House bills (HB 1010, 1018, 1020, 1023, 1041, 1055, 1077) and Senate bills (SB 4, 16, 23, 24, 55, 59). It then took up the JBC Personnel Subcommittee report (B1), where a substitute motion to separate out the governor’s staff-related item for a separate vote was debated at length. Members raised concerns about transparency, a requested appearance by a governor’s staff member, and whether the administration should be compelled to testify. The substitute motion failed on a roll-call division vote, and the committee then adopted the subcommittee report as presented. The committee next questioned Treasurer John Thurston on House Bill 1034 and his office’s budget request, focusing on salary increases for his executive team, the size of raises under the new pay plan, office hours, and whether the increases were justified. Thurston said the request was to fully fund the approved pay plan, later reduced to a 10% increase after discussion with legislative leaders, and explained that salaries were set within the approved plan. Several members criticized the raises as too large or unfair, while others noted the compromise and thanked him for cooperating. The committee then adopted the HB 1034 letter. After that, the committee reviewed Schedule C and several special-language items, including amendments to SB 4, SB 58, HB 1052, and SB 77. It discussed a new item allowing DFA to establish a GAMP program for agricultural extension office improvements, with no funding attached, and adopted it. The committee then passed or adopted a series of measures, including SB 29, SB 51, HB 1034, and the remaining ready bills listed at the start of the meeting. SB 4 was set aside as not ready. The meeting ended with notice that the committee would reconvene in 15 minutes in another room to handle special language.

Transcript Highlights:

• If it's not ready by end of July, we're going to move forward at the end of October.
• You may begin when you're ready.
• And you begin when you're ready. Thank you. Good morning.
• We have questions from the committee, so you're ready? I'm ready.
• We have questions from the committee, so you're ready? I'm ready. Okay.

Summary: The Administrative Rules Committee met on June 11 and first approved the March 12, 2026 minutes by voice vote. It then granted the Board of Medicine an extension of time to implement rules tied to recent legislation, including North Dakota’s participation in the physician assistant licensure compact and a new physician nutrition continuing education requirement. The Board said it was waiting on compact rules and fee information before finalizing its own changes. The committee heard a lengthy presentation from the Office of Management and Budget on broad personnel rule revisions, including salary administration, recruitment, leave, sick leave, funeral leave, service awards, appeals, and shared leave. OMB said the changes modernize HR language and implement recent legislation such as enhanced annual leave for hard-to-fill positions and new hire leave. Members questioned the hard-to-fill leave provisions, but OMB and counsel said those standards come from statute, not the rules. The committee also heard and accepted rule packages from the Lottery, the Board of Examiners for Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, the State Electrical Board, the Industrial Commission, PERS, and Health and Human Services, with each agency describing mostly technical, clarifying, or statutory-conforming changes and noting the public notice and comment process. The most significant action came during the Gaming Commission rules presentation. After questioning whether the commission had authority to raise the poker tournament buy-in limit from $300 to $1,500, members moved to void Section 99-01.3-09-01 on the ground that the agency lacked statutory authority for that change. The motion passed on a roll call vote. The committee also discussed several gaming-related issues, including online raffles, kiosk use, advertising restrictions, and the broader policy question of whether charities should be allowed to own bars, but took no further formal action on those topics.

Transcript Highlights:

• When you're ready, Representative. Thank you, Madam Chair.
• We are ready for House Bill 247 when you are, Mr. Chair.
• and ready to spend that money.
• Ready? Yes, please. Yeah, very good.
• and ready to spend money and put from the bank to the dirt.

Committee: House House Taxation & Revenue

Transcript Highlights:

• Please go ahead whenever you're ready.
• Please begin whenever you're ready.
• Begin whenever you’re ready.”
• Please begin whenever you're ready.
• We're ready for you whenever you're ready. Thank you.

Bills: HB2428 , HB2399 , HB2087

Committee: House Consumer Protection & Business

Keywords: life insurance, policy lapse, policy cancellation, nonpayment of premium, premium grace period, lapse notice, termination notice, third-party notice, third-party designee, beneficiary protection, consumer protection, insurance regulation, insurer notice requirements, policyholder, beneficiary, Washington RCW, insurance code, unintentional lapse, coverage continuation, premium delinquency

Transcript Highlights:

• We get them ready. We then develop an investor network.
• We tell them you can't just expect that, you know, when you're ready to hire, to go find the hires.
• Once we have our site readiness board in place, we'll review those sites to determine whether or not
• Secretary, and your team on the utility readiness and the site readiness, and so those are the questions
• And then my last question, Chair, is just along the lines of the utility readiness.