Transcript Highlights:

• I really feel like housing and the communities that we build are really, you know, difference makers
• The second one is, when the new home communities come on board, why are they so expensive?
• What type of products in homes, square footages, price points would be of interest to this community?
• So this is a floor plan that we determined to be a good option in this community: 1580 square feet, 3
• It's also one of our highest input costs in many communities.

Committee: House Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force

Transcript Highlights:

• I know Senator Campbell has had her own struggles at her community hospital because of it.
• Our communities have depended on their volunteers for years to run their ambulance services.
• There's good communication.
• Texans and rural communities. In our great state, we have over 254 counties.
• A bare-bones ambulance has a minimum cost of $300,000. ...and survival of these communities.

Bills: SB868 , SB1337 , SB1371 , SB1377 , SB1426 , SB1620 , SB2064 , SB2065 , SJR4 , SJR 4

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• a law enforcement workforce shortage that has a direct threat to the safety and security of our communities
• Stacked on top of that, there are over 2,700 members of the law enforcement community who are in the
• </c> Safety and Security of our communities Safety and Security of our communities right<00:00:37.920
• who are in the retirement age Community who are in the retirement age between<00:00:53.640><c> 50</c
• keeping us safe one of those communities keeping us safe one of those tools<00:01:18.000><c> that</c

Transcript Highlights:

• and communication services tax.
• We had a workshop on this communication tax. And in my view, frankly, it's a slush fund.
• Public testimony: Mike Zarelli, for Charter Communications. Good morning, Chairman.
• So our consumers will still pay that communication services tax.
• So I'm in a community that's getting a surcharge on water and sewer.

Summary: The Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee met with a quorum present and considered five bills. The first, PCS for HB 987, was an honorary transportation facility designation bill naming several roads and an overpass for fallen officers, a military service member, and first responders. An amendment added the Sheriff Gary S. Borders Memorial Highway designation in Lake County. Members offered supportive remarks, and the bill passed 17-0. The committee then heard HB 703, which would require authorities such as FDOT or local governments to pay the costs when they require telecom providers to relocate infrastructure from public rights-of-way. Support came from Charter Communications, Associated Industries of Florida, and Florida Internet and Television, with discussion focused on the communication services tax and the cost burden of relocations. The bill passed unanimously 18-0. HB 1523 followed, addressing municipal utilities serving customers outside their boundaries by requiring public meetings, annual reporting, limits on transfers to general revenue, and reduced or eliminated surcharges for outside-boundary customers. Municipal utility representatives opposed parts of the bill, citing rural impacts, debt obligations, and the need for a glide path, while supporters argued for transparency and fairness to ratepayers outside municipal boundaries. An amendment changed a reporting date to January 31, 2026, and the bill passed 14-4. HB 867 established a legal framework for commuter rail operations along Florida’s coastal corridor, including insurance and indemnification arrangements for Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties using the Florida East Coast Railway right-of-way. An amendment clarified that Florida East Coast Railway and Brightline are not state entities and do not have sovereign immunity unless expressly provided by law. The bill passed 18-0. Finally, HB 1137 clarified a prior energy preemption law by adding boards, agencies, commissions, and authorities of counties and municipal corporations to the entities covered, aimed at preventing discriminatory energy-source practices by an appointed board. Public testimony included support from the Florida Natural Gas Association and the Florida Home Builders Association and opposition from Florida Student Power. Members noted the bill was a cleanup measure, and it passed favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• committee will have a lasting impact, not just on land use and development, but also on the very communities
• public education, restoring and preserving the Alamo, safeguarding our Texas coast, supporting communities
• For our disaster recovery area, we provide significant relief funds to Texas communities impacted by
• To date, more than $14 billion has been allocated to counties and communities impacted by hurricanes
• when they're going into older communities, the standards that they put up, their city is not even in

Committee: House Land & Resource Management

Transcript Highlights:

• and the I guess the clique disable physically challenged communities that Senator Berman was talking
• and we want them to serve our underserved communities very, very much so.
• We are not targeting underserved communities seeing any way.
• We are known for great facilities, you know, working with the community, working within the industry,
• work in the legislature with our community members.

Transcript Highlights:

• And they can raise the money in these communities on their own if they want to make improvements.
• Can you tell me how that is different than the conduit bonds versus the community revenue bonds?
• Community would allow for that, what community individuals to invest in projects to help the port authorities
• They are fourth graders from High Plains Community School in Clarks.
• or a community of a million people or 500,000 people, we're just trying to do the best we can.

Bills: LB815A , LB838A , LB912A , LB972A , LB1126A , LB962A , LB1114 , LB921 , LB937 , LB803 , LB803A , LB1032 , LB1032A , LB1075 , LB1075A , LB889 , LB878 , LB933 , LB304 , LB304A , LB1096 , LB1096A , LB1165 , LB1165A , LB958 , LB958A , LB762 , LB1187 , LB966 , LB929 , LB962 , LB753 , LB788 , LB913 , LB1055 , LB1195 , LB429 , LB721 , LB722 , LB727 , LB743 , LB745 , LB749 , LB778 , LB787

Transcript Highlights:

• The underlying bill targets my community, targets the immigrant community, people who work hard, who
• The underlying bill targets my community, targets the immigrant community, people who work hard, who
• the community, did you have to sign some sort of contract?”
• They are constantly being abused, both by executive…” “Communities.
• I'm here representing the Arizona Association of Community Managers.

Bills: SB1206 , SB1254 , SB1290 , SB1421 , SB1432 , SB1515 , SB1563 , SB1641 , SB1649 , SB1670 , SB1671 , SB1747

Committee: House Commerce

Transcript Highlights:

• President, I don't know the exact specifics of how they are communicating.
• And when our grocery store closed in the same community, we had to implement... ...in the same community
• . ...impacts of what happened to the community in which I serve and what is still happening in the community
• And now the community has to pay for that.
• And I am more than happy to partner with you however I can to help your community and any other community

Bills: SB1521 , SB372 , SB1232 , SB1307 , SB1338 , SB1390 , SB1451 , SB1463 , SB1558 , SB1567 , SB1595 , SB1621 , SB1734 , SB1749 , SB1827 , SB1833 , SB1991 , SB1992 , SB63 , SB2063 , SB2180 , SB1198 , SB80

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, prayer, pledges, and a series of guest and gallery introductions, including medical professionals, interns, students, and advocates visiting for Disability Day. The chamber then moved quickly through a long floor agenda, with leaders repeatedly noting the need to stay at desks and proceed efficiently. Several bills were taken up with floor substitutes or minor amendments, most often restore-title amendments, before advancing to final passage. The Senate passed a number of measures addressing technology, public safety, education, health care, elections, and state agency operations. Among the most notable were SB 1521, which creates safeguards around AI social companions for minors after discussion of teen suicides linked to such products; SB 1734, which sets guardrails for AI use in schools and requires district policies by 2027; and SB 1307, which removes statutory language conflicting with religious-freedom case law and passed after debate over whether it could open the door to funding religious entities. Other bills approved included SB 372 on carrying firearms in certain state-owned lodges and cabins, SB 1232 on escalating penalties for major copper theft damage, SB 1338 making the literacy-coach program permanent and tying Strong Readers Act dollars to district access, SB 1451 on voter-registration cleanup and reporting, SB 1463 extending the polygraph examiners board sunset, SB 1558 clarifying that some OJA youth in Level E group homes may remain served until age 19, and SB 1567 clarifying APRN prescriptive-authority rules and supervision compensation. The chamber also approved SB 1595, an anti-steering/anti-discrimination bill aimed at CDL training grants and workforce boards, and SB 1621, treating public law libraries as public entities represented by district attorneys. SB 1749, which lets the LP Gas Board create permitting and inspection rules for mobile food vendors and delegate inspections to more local permit holders, drew concern from some senators about added costs and burdens on food-truck operators but still passed. The Senate also advanced SB 1833, codifying the SNAP waiver executive order and limiting certain non-nutritive foods, with questions focused on how the restrictions would be communicated and applied. Most measures were passed by substantial margins, and several were declared emergency measures after final votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill adds $1,368,700 back for our community colleges.
• These community... $245,500 reduction.
• This is a cut to community colleges that...
• This is a cut to community colleges that directly invest back into Idaho.
• Again, since 2022, we have put $300 million into this in-home and community-based service.

Transcript Highlights:

• For our communities and for other communities across the state, that's why it matters to us.
• It reaches into the lives of families and communities across New Mexico.
• This brings us one step closer to healing and community. Thank you. Thank you.
• We can't keep letting this happen to our communities. Thank you. Thank you.
• About those who are disappearing from communities in indigenous country.

Bills: SB41 , SB33 , SB32 , SB30

Committee: Senate Senate Health & Public Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• In our community, we regularly see survivors continue to be contacted, threatened, harassed, and monitored
• It's time we start holding people that inflict the most damage on our communities accountable.
• It's time we start holding people that inflict the most damage on our communities accountable.
• That communities across Arizona are already building and sustaining.
• are facing. effective way to solve serious societal ills that our communities are facing.

Summary: The Judiciary and Elections Committee approved the January 21, 2026 minutes and held SB 1208. It then heard SB 1211, which would allow victims of felony aggravated harassment involving domestic violence to seek a lifetime injunction against a convicted defendant. Supporters from victim advocacy organizations and a survivor described the bill as an important safety measure that would reduce repeated court appearances and trauma. The committee voted 7-0 to give SB 1211 a do pass recommendation. The committee next considered SB 1239, which removes the statute of limitations for failing to register as a sex offender or providing false registration information. The sponsor said the bill closes a public-safety loophole and was requested by DPS, while opponents argued existing warrant procedures already address the issue and raised due process concerns. After discussion, the committee voted 4-3 to recommend SB 1239 do pass. SB 1240 would exclude probationers convicted of dangerous crimes against children from the probation incentive payment formula. The sponsor tied the bill to a recent child sexual assault case and said the change would keep those cases separate from probation performance incentives; defense attorneys warned it could discourage treatment and push more people into prison. The committee voted 4-3 to recommend SB 1240 do pass. The committee also heard and approved SB 1095, as amended, which bans gender transition procedures and referrals for minors and restricts public funding and facilities for such care; supporters called it necessary child protection, while opponents said it was discriminatory. The committee then heard SB 1243 and SB 1244, both related to court-ordered mental health treatment. SB 1243 adds notice to guardians and lets them seek continued treatment, while SB 1244 creates a continuing court-ordered treatment process after repeated annual reviews. Supporters, including family members of seriously mentally ill patients, said the bills would close gaps and prevent dangerous lapses in care; opponents raised due process concerns and warned about expanded involuntary treatment. Both bills received do pass recommendations, with SB 1243 passing 7-0 and SB 1244 passing after amendment and roll call vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• So while there are certainly folks that transition to an independent job after these community supported
• It's 20 hours a week on average over the course of a month, and community engagement like volunteering
• Part of what's driving that is supports for the home and community-based services out in the community
• That's because they receive such low rates and are a core part of the home and community-based services
• Assertive Community Treatment, or ACT, is a service that helps people; providers go out into the community

Summary: The committee heard a budget presentation on the Division of Medicaid within the Department of Health and Welfare, including an overview of the division’s five programs, staffing, spending trends, and the large share of the budget that goes to trust and benefit payments. Ms. Williamson explained the difference between ongoing and one-time enhancements, the role of population forecast adjustments, and why the fiscal year 2026 and 2027 numbers change significantly. Members asked about the growth in the budget, the FMAP match rate, the impact of provider rate changes, and the shift of some positions into Medicaid from other divisions after last year’s reorganization. A major topic was House Bill 345 and related budget changes, including the hospital assessment fund alignment, the 4% provider rate reduction, and the effect on Medicaid expansion and other populations. The committee discussed the decline in expansion enrollment, rising costs in traditional Medicaid populations, and the governor’s recommendation to offset part of the 2027 increase with additional reductions. Members raised concerns about access to care, especially for dental, behavioral health, developmental disability, and home- and community-based services, while the deputy director said the department is trying to contain costs through prior authorization, fraud and abuse work, and policy changes. The committee also focused on the MMIS replacement project, which is in year four of a five-year procurement and is funded through dedicated and federal dollars tied to milestones. Another significant item was estate recovery, where the department requested funding to replace an outdated case management system and add contractor support to address a backlog of roughly 20,000 cases; members questioned the return on investment and asked for more detail on the software and staffing split. The deputy director also explained the federally qualified health center reconciliation issue, saying the state had not been properly paying change-in-scope amounts and is now using a new process with interim payments and later reconciliation. In addition, lawmakers asked about program integrity staffing, the use of AI, and whether the department could better target fraud, waste, and abuse investigations. The deputy director said the department is reviewing AI use cautiously and sees opportunities for it in claims review and anomaly detection, but emphasized that the current request is for dedicated receipt authority rather than general funds. No formal votes were taken in the excerpt, but the committee received the presentation, asked extensive questions, and was told that some follow-up information would be provided later.

Transcript Highlights:

• Commercially available systems allow comprehensive community protection.
• The community over 60 is growing.
• We have 20 community group homes.
• We have five IDLA sites that we provide We have 20 community group homes.
• community and deprives the community of their highly specialized skills during this time, engaged in

Committee: Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Summary: The committee heard a series of bills and public testimony, beginning with introductions and then taking up several health and human services measures. A major focus was SB 1120 and SB 1121, which address radiation protection in cardiac catheterization and other ionizing-radiation procedure rooms. SB 1120 would require health care facilities to equip at least 50% of procedure rooms with radiation protection systems by July 1, 2027, while SB 1121 would prohibit requiring lead aprons in rooms with such systems and instead require real-time dosimeters for staff who opt out of lead aprons. Physicians, nurses, and a hospital executive testified that enhanced radiation protection systems can dramatically reduce occupational exposure, lower cancer and orthopedic risks, and help with workforce recruitment and retention; a hospital alliance remained neutral pending further stakeholder discussions. Both bills were amended and passed out of committee on 7-0 votes, and SB 1118, which appropriates state funds for a rural hospital grant program to install radiation protection systems, also passed 7-0. The committee also approved SB 1001, which appropriates $1 million to the Department of Economic Security for the Older Individuals Who Are Blind program, after testimony from blind and low-vision Arizonans and advocates describing long waitlists, the need for independent living training, and the program’s role in preventing unnecessary dependence. SB 1072, a major funding bill for home- and community-based services and room-and-board rate increases for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, drew testimony from providers about severe staffing shortages, overtime, turnover, and underfunding; it passed 6-0 with one not voting. SB 1125, requiring DCS to pursue MOUs with tribes and improve tribal communication and access to licensing and enforcement information, also passed 6-0 with one not voting. The committee then considered SB 1123, which removes a board-certification requirement so trained forensic pathologists can supervise autopsy training for residents and fellows; Maricopa County supported it as a workforce and training fix, and it passed 6-0 with one not voting. SB 1052, allowing mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy in assisted living facilities under physician order and DHS rules, generated mixed testimony: supporters argued it could improve health and independence for residents, while opponents raised concerns about off-label treatment in nonmedical settings. The bill passed 5-2. SB 1112, which reduces the number of acquaintance witnesses required in court-ordered treatment proceedings from two to one and allows the court to waive the witness requirement under certain conditions, drew strong testimony from families and mental health advocates on both sides; it passed 5-2. The committee also began hearing SB 1113, which would allow certain service of process in court-ordered evaluation and treatment cases by evaluation-agency employees or other court-authorized persons, but the transcript cuts off before final action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• So if the disability community wants this pier, they can go out and fundraise for it.
• </c><01:45:12.080><c> wants</c> a agency the disability community wants a agency the disability community
• It's working with the local communities to be able to establish this pier.
• And I see on community. Right. Yeah.
• So, we're leaving it up to the disability community to go out and do their own work.

Summary: The committee of conference first discussed House Bill 557, which concerns information on the school budget ballot. The main issue was how to define and calculate the “average cost per pupil.” House members favored a simple calculation dividing the operating budget by enrollment, arguing that it is clearer to the public and matches how taxpayers think about school costs. Senate members preferred the existing RSA-based definition for consistency across statutes and noted that the current definition was about to take effect. Members also debated whether the ballot language should specify the figure as being for the “preceding year,” and some House members ultimately agreed to that clarification while one member did not. After discussion, the Senate declined to move off its position on the calculation method, but agreed to a compromise amendment adding “for the preceding year” to the Senate language so it would align with the rest of the ballot information. The committee then agreed to draft the report with that amendment. The committee then turned to House Bill 71, dealing with restrictions on using public school and higher education facilities to shelter certain migrants, along with a Senate-added provision requiring DHHS contracts to comply with the patient bill of rights. Members generally said they supported the base policy of the bill, but Representative Noble raised a drafting concern about a repeal section that appeared to undo the new contract requirement; the group discussed removing that repeal language and adjusting effective dates. The committee also reviewed Senate-added language creating a donation fund for a proposed accessible pier at Hampton Beach. Supporters said the project would be privately funded through donations, with the state park division managing the fund and any remaining balance eventually transferring to an existing state park donations account if the pier is not built. Members questioned maintenance costs, fundraising responsibility, and whether the account was necessary, but the Senate explained the fund was intended to provide a mechanism for private fundraising and future maintenance support.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c><00:10:48.720><c> for</c> empowered in the Hawaiian community, for empowered in the Hawaiian community
• I think our Hawaiian communities need to be leading these discussions.
• </c><00:19:15.679><c> leading</c><00:19:16.160><c> these</c> communities need to be leading these communities
• </c><00:25:36.880><c> is</c> crime element of it that my community is crime element of it that my community
• ,</c><00:38:19.520><c> I'm</c> Although it's not my community, I'm Although it's not my community, I'm

Committee: Senate Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The Committee on Hawaiian Affairs briefly met and adjourned after noting that GM 574, a nomination on its agenda, had been withdrawn, leaving the committee with no business to consider. A separate joint hearing of the Senate Committees on Economic Development and Hawaiian Affairs then took up HCR 192, a resolution to convene a tourism and gaming working group. Testimony was sharply divided. Supporters, including representatives from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Nation of Hawaii, and CARES, said the measure would allow Hawaiians to have a seat at the table, learn from Native nations with gaming experience, and make informed decisions about whether and how gaming should be approached. Some supporters emphasized that the working group was about research and self-determination, not immediate legalization, and suggested the state should focus on broader economic development options as well. Opponents, including the Honolulu prosecuting attorney and several community members and faith leaders, warned that gambling would increase addiction, crime, family breakdown, debt, and exploitation of low-income and vulnerable residents. They argued that online sports betting and other forms of gaming would be especially harmful, with some citing examples from other states and concerns about problem gambling, domestic violence, and illegal activity. Committee members questioned witnesses about the purpose of the working group and whether it could provide enough data to make an informed decision, while supporters and opponents alike acknowledged the need for Hawaiians to be involved in any future discussion. No vote or final action on HCR 192 was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Right, community supervision for an offense. Right, right.
• It is not good for the community. It is not good for the public school.
• I'm worried that the one-size-fits-all approach won't fit for all of our communities.
• We're trying to help our most vulnerable people in our community.
• I'm proud of our community. We've been successful in addressing homelessness.

Bills: SB604 , SB843 , SB1636 , SB2395 , SB571 , SB1224 , SB1832 , SB2392 , SB747 , SB2623 , SB2624 , SB2185

Committees: Senate Education , Senate Education K-16

Transcript Highlights:

• These are the communities that sent the most people to help or to serve and are yet the communities least
• Um you VA has community healthcare.
• I would also note we community care.
• </c> problem uh with our veteran community. problem uh with our veteran community.
• </c> also to the stakeholder community also to the stakeholder community leaders<01:23:30.159><c> uh<

Bills: HF4588 , HF3685 , HF4577 , HF4932

Committee: House Veterans and Military Affairs Division

Transcript Highlights:

• The community comes first comes first.
• We've is it's community-based living.
• ><c> home</c><00:09:50.120><c> where</c> In the community residential home where In the community residential
• </c> and a supportive community. and a supportive community.
• </c> our communities. our communities.

Bills: HF4110 , HF2113 , HF4569 , HF4414

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• I think I my community has complained.
• </c> community can make these decisions. community can make these decisions.
• I would argue between my community and I would argue between my community and the<00:44:25.599><c> one
• And to have that up our community.
• Let them go throughout the community.