Transcript Highlights:

• Does the substitute deal with the ballot language?
• I've seen ballot language that talks about a waiver.
• So you aren't voting on something that is an A in one ballot and a B on somebody else's ballot.
• On Representative Fowler's bill about the ballot language.
• Well, no, the original bill, I'm talking about the ballot language.

Committee: House Special Committee on Property Tax Reform

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And this is not the first ballot question ever filed.
• Fourth, a word on the ballot questions.
• A word on the ballot questions now.
• We'll know the outcome of the ballot question in November.
• Oh, last, my friendly proposal.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Ways and Means

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate and House Ways and Means chairs opened the FY 2027 consensus revenue hearing by emphasizing the need for a balanced, fiscally responsible budget amid federal funding cuts, health care cost pressures, and uncertainty around the federal tax law changes referred to as OB3. They also noted the state’s current revenue performance is slightly above benchmark and paid tribute to the late Representative Anne Margaret Ferranti. Secretary of Administration and Finance Matthew Gorkowitz echoed the call for caution, saying Massachusetts has protected core services while building reserves and that the FY27 budget process begins with a careful revenue estimate. Department of Revenue Commissioner Jeff Snyder, along with DOR staff, presented FY26 and FY27 tax forecasts and identified major drivers and risks: OB3’s negative impact on state revenue, surtax collections, labor market conditions, capital gains, and corporate/business excise taxes. DOR estimated OB3 would reduce FY26 revenue by about $664 million and FY27 by about $282 million, while surtax and capital gains were expected to remain strong in FY26 but soften in FY27. Members questioned the outlook for surtax, capital gains, and the potential fiscal effect of a ballot question reducing the income tax rate from 5% to 4%; DOR said that proposal could cost roughly $4.2 billion to $4.8 billion annually, with a smaller but still significant impact in FY27 because of phase-in timing. Treasurer Deb Goldberg testified next on the stabilization fund, lottery, PRIM, unclaimed property, and the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. She reported the rainy day fund at about $8.1 billion, said the lottery was on track for $1.5 billion in FY26 net profit and projected $1.25 billion in FY27, and highlighted that iLottery is expected to launch in summer 2026 with revenue beginning in FY27 and dedicated to child care initiatives. She also described strong PRIM performance and record unclaimed property returns, while members asked about the child care use of iLottery revenue, multilingual outreach, and the economic impact of expanded liquor licensing. Mass Taxpayers Foundation President Doug Howgate and Tufts’ Evan Horowitz then offered differing revenue outlooks and policy warnings. Howgate projected modest growth, cautioned against overusing reserves for ongoing obligations, and urged caution on federal tax conformity changes and health care spending pressures. Horowitz projected higher FY26 and FY27 revenues than other witnesses, warned that the surtax and capital gains make the tax system more volatile, and said a 4% income tax ballot question could reduce FY27 revenues by roughly $800 million to $1 billion. He also flagged the rent control ballot question as a potential risk to municipal finance and suggested the state consider giving a permanent home to the independent revenue model used by Alan Clayton-Matthews.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, the major difference is the grazing rotation proposed by Senator Westrom and also the battle already
• the uh grazing major difference is the uh grazing rotation rotation rotation uh<00:18:45.600><c> proposed
• um</c><00:18:48.160><c> Senator</c><00:18:48.559><c> Westertorm</c><00:18:49.919><c> and</c> uh proposed
• by um Senator Westertorm and uh proposed by um Senator Westertorm and also<00:18:51.600><c> uh</c><00
• 00:24:46.159><c> want</c><00:24:46.240><c> to</c> ...I want to bring back to us the result of the ballot

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I had read in one of the bills, I proposed a 150-foot setback.
• will fulfill that requirement that was put, I guess, into statute from that ballot measure?
• And they need to pay their fair share, not a cut rate down to the 12% that's been proposed.
• And they need to pay the fair share, not a cut rate down to the 12% that's been proposed.
• That's just unfair. fair share, not a cut rate down to the 12% that's been proposed.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Summary: The House Utilities Committee resumed hearing on House Bills 2402 and 2816, which address utility-scale solar development. The chair asked witnesses to keep comments to informational purposes, and testimony focused on setbacks, taxation, land conversion caps, county authority, decommissioning, and impacts on neighboring landowners and rural communities. Several witnesses said they supported solar in limited settings such as rooftops or industrial sites, but opposed or wanted changes to the bills’ treatment of agricultural land, especially the proposed 4% cap on cropland conversion and the 500-foot setback from homes. Testimony from landowners and farm groups emphasized concerns about property rights, viewshed impacts, fire risk, drainage and floodplain issues, and the loss of agricultural tax base and local economic activity. They argued the proposed $2,500 per megawatt tax was too low and suggested higher rates, with some recommending $6,000 per megawatt or more, along with decommissioning requirements and stronger county-level protections. A Renew Missouri representative supported much of the bill but preferred a smaller setback and raised constitutional concerns about changing solar land from agricultural to commercial assessment. Other witnesses, including a county commissioner, described local regulations already in place in some counties and asked for clearer statewide standards. Industry and utility representatives said the legislation was generally workable but needed further discussion on setbacks and property tax treatment. Clean Grid Alliance and related witnesses argued that tax comparisons with other states should account for total tax burden, not just nameplate taxes, and said higher taxes would raise electricity costs for consumers. Ameren Missouri said it was acceptable with most provisions, but cautioned against overly aggressive real-property assessments and noted its current and planned solar buildout. The hearing ended without a vote; the committee adjourned after taking testimony on both bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• We’re proposing calendaring five bills for the supplemental calendar for Thursday, March 13, 2025: House
• Community Grants project when they were campaigning on this, and the last time when it was on the ballot
• She said people talked about the Community Grants project while campaigning and when it was on the ballot
• She said people talked about the Community Grants project while campaigning and when it was on the ballot
• and get these a a very pretty proposal and get these State<00:09:28.120><c> funds</c><00:09:28.560><

Committee: House Rules and Legislative Administration

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> official ballot. official ballot. Further<04:21:47.120><c> comments?</c> Further comments?
• onto the official ballot. When um the onto the official ballot.
• </c> meeting is also on the official ballot. meeting is also on the official ballot.
• </c> government is done by official ballot. government is done by official ballot.
• </c> on the ballot, it's a negative question. on the ballot, it's a negative question.

Committee: House Municipal and County Government

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Municipal and County Government Committee met in executive session on February 17, 2026, to act on a series of bills. Early in the meeting, members agreed that they could consult the online submission summaries rather than have changing submission counts read aloud. The committee then took up House Bill 1386, which would have allowed citizens in a municipality to vote to require a financial audit of a local school district. Members opposing the bill argued that school districts already have audit authority and reporting requirements under existing law, and that the proposal was unnecessary and potentially burdensome. The committee voted 17-0 to recommend the bill inexpedient to legislate, placing it on the consent calendar. The committee next considered House Bill 1181FN on public hearing notice requirements for zoning board of adjustment appeals. Members who opposed the bill said newspaper publication provides independent third-party verification and archival value, and that removing that requirement would weaken public notice. The committee voted 17-0 ITL and sent the bill to the consent calendar. It also voted 17-0 ITL on House Bill 1327, concerning the definition of commercially zoned land, largely because the sponsor was absent and members said they could not do due diligence without hearing from the sponsor. The committee then acted on House Bill 1473FN, concerning the use of agricultural fairground property, and House Bill 1147, concerning the use of capital reserve funds. In both cases, members cited the sponsor’s absence and the need for more information as reasons to recommend inexpedient to legislate; both votes were 17-0 and both bills were placed on the consent calendar. House Bill 1220, which would have allowed municipal governing bodies to review and approve school budgets, was also recommended ITL by a 17-0 vote after members raised concerns about local control, legal conflicts between separate entities, and technical drafting problems. The committee recommended ought to pass on House Bill 118, which raises the amount of money municipal treasurers may hold before depositing it in the bank, with supporters saying the higher threshold would reduce unnecessary trips to the bank and improve efficiency. It also recommended ought to pass on House Bill 1151, a housekeeping bill correcting statutory references related to conservation commission appropriations, and it approved House Bill 1309 as amended after adopting Amendment 2026-0411H to clarify town meeting warrant language. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 1385, prohibiting negative property tax rates in certain municipalities, and recommended ITL by a 17-0 vote after testimony indicated the practice at issue had already ended and that a blanket prohibition could create problems for municipalities with excess revenues. The committee also began work on House Bill 1369, relating to posting warrants for special town meetings, and discussed an amendment to preserve newspaper notice while also allowing website posting where available.

Transcript Highlights:

• Jones of North Reading and other members of the House move to amend the order in proposed Joint Rule
• following proposed rule: Proposed Rule 35A.
• This proposal is not just...
• Now, let's remember, getting a question on the ballot is not an easy thing.
• And further amend the order and proposed Rule 17A.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The House first took up House Bill 58, a fiscal year 2025 supplemental appropriations bill. The chamber adopted a further amendment offered by Rep. Michael Witts of Boston, then concurred with the Senate as amended after a roll call vote of 128-23. The House then moved to the orders of the day and considered the proposed permanent joint rules for the 2025-2026 session (House No. 2026 / Senate No. 18), with Rep. Moran of Brighton presenting the package as a set of transparency and process reforms, including joint committee procedures, a 60-day reporting deadline, public posting of summaries and testimony, and revised formal session timing. A series of minority amendments offered largely by Rep. Jones of North Reading and others were debated and repeatedly rejected, including proposals to require roll call votes for post-July 31 formal business, require two weeks’ notice for such sessions, publish State Auditor audits on the legislative website, require SJC advisory opinions on constitutional disputes, extend poll windows to two hours, require advance notice of electronic polls, and lengthen amendment filing deadlines. Supporters argued these changes would improve transparency, accountability, and member access; opponents said they would slow the legislative process and reduce flexibility. Most of these amendments failed on roll call votes by margins of 128-23 or similar, while a technical amendment from Rep. Galvin was adopted. The House then adopted the joint rules package by roll call, 128-23. The chamber also adopted the House rules package for the 2025-2026 session (House No. 2024) after debate led by Rep. Galvin of Canton, who emphasized modernization, online transparency, in-person participation, and an outside audit and EEO officer. Additional minority amendments on committee reporting, timing of formal business, and poll procedures were debated and defeated, while one technical amendment was adopted. The House later returned to the issue of legislative audits, rejecting an amendment to require House audits by the State Auditor after a lengthy debate over Question 1, separation of powers, and the scope of the auditor’s authority. The session ended with a memorial tribute to former Rep. Carol Doherty and an order to adjourn until the next day at 11 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> current legislation, proposed current legislation, proposed legislation<00:53:01.280><c> that</c
• </c><01:27:01.600><c> Um</c> this proposed warrant article? Um this proposed warrant article?
• So, they absolutely had the power to change the ballot for us, the outcome of that ballot article for
• So, they absolutely had the power to change the ballot for us, the outcome of that ballot article for
• </c> outcome of that ballot article for us. outcome of that ballot article for us.

Committee: House Education Funding

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It shouldn't take weeks to count ballots.
• We're making sure there's an actual voter where this ballot is going to go.
• That is a method by which 80% of Arizonans cast their ballots and make their voice heard.
• It is a method by which 80% of Arizonans cast their ballots and make their voice heard.
• mail-in ballot went on Election Day, and they don't want somebody else's ballot in their mailbox.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Governor's proposal...
• Were there discussions happening last year about this potential proposal, and why was it not proposed
• “I think this proposal came forward.
• And so this proposal, by default, in terms of what it proposes for the future state superintendent, is
• So overall, I believe that with this proposal, Overall, I believe that with this proposal, it may be

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But you also have a chance to cure your ballot or correct your signature or sign your ballot.
• In ballot education, we help people to understand the mechanics of their ballot because the ballot is
• In ballot education, we help people to understand the mechanics of their ballot because the ballot is
• Submit it to the red ballot box. You have churches and employers harvesting ballots.
• ballots.

Summary: The committee held a work session on voting rights in the United States and Washington, beginning with testimony from Marissa Wright of Campaign Legal Center and David Montes of the ACLU of Washington. They described the federal Voting Rights Act’s main protections—preclearance, vote suppression, and vote dilution—and argued that Supreme Court decisions such as Shelby County v. Holder and Brnovich have weakened those tools. They said Washington should consider stronger state-level protections, including a preclearance program and broader safeguards against discriminatory voting practices. Members asked about Washington’s history of discrimination, voter roll purges, noncitizen registration, and remedies under the Washington Voting Rights Act, including ranked-choice voting and district-based systems. The committee then heard from the Office of Equity and several commissions, which described their roles in advising state government and working with communities. They focused on the immigration sub-cabinet created under Executive Order 2509, saying it is intended to improve coordination across agencies, the legislature, the courts, and community organizations on issues such as data privacy, language access, health care, education, and accountability under the Keep Washington Working Act. Members asked about the use of NGOs, accountability for KWW violations, and the sub-cabinet’s goals, and the panel said the effort is meant to help government respond more quickly and collaboratively while centering immigrant, disability, LGBTQ, and other communities. The final panel was from the University of Washington Elections Database Project, which presented data on vote-by-mail ballot challenges, cures, and rejections from 2020 to 2024. They reported that about 1.5% of ballots are signature-challenged in most elections, roughly 60% of challenged ballots are cured, and overall rejection rates are about 1% in general elections and 1.5% in primaries. The researchers said voters of color, younger voters, and some tribal-area voters experience higher rejection rates, and that differences appear tied to signature mismatch, language access, ballot timing, and familiarity with the system. In the last panel, Maria Fernandez and Vicki Frausto of EIA described voter education and civic engagement work in Yakima County and Sunnyside, including concerns about intimidation, language barriers, signature mismatch, and at-large election systems; they said stronger Washington Voting Rights Act protections would help communities elect candidates of choice. No votes were taken during the work session.

Transcript Highlights:

• He proposed voting on the first one, or the third one, and then proceeding from there.
• , especially this year, to allow printing on both sides because this upcoming ballot was going to be
• It's just asking the Secretary of State to put something on the ballot there in November.
• , especially this year, to allow printing on both sides because this upcoming ballot was going to be
• was the time to be asking counties to add multiple pages to their ballot.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• HB 1780 by BC relating to postage for early voting ballots voted by mail referred to the committee on
• HB 1854 by Cole relating to the deadline of an early voting ballot board determined whether or not to
• accept voter ballots refer to the Committee on Elections.
• HB 1856 by Cole relating to the method of returning a ballot to be voted by mail for the Committee on
• HJR 114 by Cook proposing a constitutional amendment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Section 2 covers mail-in ballots for precincts that require mail-in ballots. We have a couple.
• I know that I've got one or two precincts in my district that have to mail ballots out just because it's
• so remote they can't really put in a balloting place.
• to best and final offer, frivolous protests, multiple award, request for information, request for proposal
• agreement between the Department of Administration and the agency before accepting a claim or a proposed

Committee: House State Affairs

Summary: The House State Affairs Committee approved the minutes from March 13, 2026, then heard and advanced several bills with due pass recommendations. House Bill 873, an elections cleanup bill, would standardize filing and canvassing timelines, align soil and water conservation district supervisor elections with other local offices on odd-numbered years, restore the 45-day mail-ballot timeline for remote precincts, and clarify canvassing deadlines. It passed without opposition after a brief question period and no testimony. The committee then considered House Bill 889, a major procurement reform bill. Representative Raibald described changes including new definitions, clearer bid and scoring procedures, use of subject matter experts, multiple-award contracts, prior-performance standards, confidentiality rules for technical information, vendor debarment, a one-year cooling-off period for certain officials and employees, protest bonds, and disclosure of procurement-related expenditures over $50. Members asked about the scope of the cooling-off period and whether the bill covered ITD contracts; Raibald said ITD procurement is outside the act, while health and welfare contracts are included. The bill was sent to the floor with a due pass recommendation. House Bills 890 and 900, also by Raibald, addressed state property disposal and insurance claims. HB 890 repeals a vague surplus-property disposal section and returns the process to existing code with clearer deadlines and transparency, prompted by concerns over the ITD State Street building disposal. HB 900 creates a clearer process for claims of $100,000 or more on state property, including a confidential report, legislative review, possible separate appraisals, Board of Examiners resolution if needed, and public meetings if a claim leads to a change in operations or sale of property. Members asked how insurance proceeds would be used, and Raibald said they would generally return to the affected agency or dedicated fund to repair the property unless the property had been declared surplus. Both bills passed with due pass recommendations. Finally, the committee considered Senate Bill 1321, presented by Representative Heather Scott, which builds on prior transparency legislation requiring agencies to report agreements, MOUs, and contracts to the state controller. The bill sets a process for noncompliance: written notice, a 30-day correction period with a possible 60-day extension, and then inclusion in the controller’s annual report to the legislature, which could inform budget holdbacks. The committee approved the bill with a due pass recommendation and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> um the terminology used in ballot um the terminology used in ballot initiatives.<01:49:15.840><c
• </c> That's what the November ballots for. That's what the November ballots for.
• </c> in ballot questions. in ballot questions.
• I think it is a the ballot before.
• </c> be in the ballot language. be in the ballot language.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm very proud to bring this to the ballot. Mr.
• I'm deeply concerned also adding yet another resolution to the ballot, another long ballot, two pages
• Another long ballot, two pages, four full pages, most likely.
• So I hope the principle that I've tried to espouse in this proposal and other proposals is we really
• This postcard to Congress proposes to weaken the EPA.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> official ballot. official ballot. Further<04:21:47.120><c> comments?</c> Further comments?
• </c> official ballot. Thank you. official ballot. Thank you.
• </c> meeting is also on the official ballot. meeting is also on the official ballot.
• </c> government is done by official ballot. government is done by official ballot.
• </c> on the ballot, it's a negative question. on the ballot, it's a negative question.

Committee: House Municipal and County Government

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It took over a week for them to manually sort a bunch of ballots and And properly count those ballots
• That way you keep all the ballots secure and the pauses when the ballots come in, that's continually
• by ballots by mail.
• Uh, Chair calls Ed Johnson with the Harris County ballot with Harris County ballot security and yourself
• Chair calls Ed Johnson with the Harris County ballot with Harris County ballot security and himself.

Bills: HB304

Committee: House Elections

Keywords: franchise tax credit, food desert, grocery store, healthy corner store, nutrition assistance, economic development, public health

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a ballot from May of '22 in Williamson County.
• The number next to it is the ballot style, which is 310.
• By location, what you're doing is you're pulling a single ballot box from a location.
• When you count by precinct on a... election day, you're pulling ballots from multiple different ballot
• That bill relates to the text on an application for a ballot to be voted by mail and other balloting

Bills: HB223

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Keywords: municipal budget, county budget, local government finance, spending cap, expenditure limit, inflation plus population growth, taxpayer impact statement, budget transparency, property tax, fees, Legislative Budget Board, voter approval, disaster spending, fiscal restraint, Texas Local Government Code, city budget, county expenditures, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a ballot in May of '22 in Williamson County.
• The ballot style, which is 310.
• When you count by precinct on Election Day, you're pulling ballots from multiple different ballot boxes
• to be voted by mail and other balloting materials.
• That bill is about the text on an application for a ballot to be voted by mail and other balloting materials

Bills: HB223

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Keywords: municipal budget, county budget, local government finance, spending cap, expenditure limit, inflation plus population growth, taxpayer impact statement, budget transparency, property tax, fees, Legislative Budget Board, voter approval, disaster spending, fiscal restraint, Texas Local Government Code, city budget, county expenditures

Summary: The Committee on State Affairs heard several House bills, with most measures left pending after testimony and later taken up in a batch of votes. Early in the meeting, HB 5624 on liability protections for motocross/off-road vehicle tracks, HB 223 on requiring competitive procurement for municipal lobbying contracts, HB 3709 on post-election audit procedures, and HB 5081 on protecting personal information of judicial officers and court staff were all discussed and left pending after testimony. Witnesses on HB 223 supported greater transparency in municipal lobbying contracts. HB 3709 drew sharp opposition from an election integrity advocate who argued the bill would reduce precinct-level granularity and make it harder to detect ballot errors, while a Secretary of State resource witness said the bill would simplify and standardize the audit process by location. HB 5081 received strong support from court administration and a district judge who described prior threats and an attack tied to publicly available personal information. The committee also heard HB 3546 on allowing school districts to move elections to November, HB 493 on barring certain felony offenders from serving as poll watchers, HB 5115 on increasing penalties for election fraud and related conduct, HB 4081 on trade secret filing procedures, HB 3909 on limiting restrictions on wireless devices at polling places, HB 2702 on limiting gubernatorial closure authority for certain veterans organizations during pandemics, HB 119 on foreign adversary lobbying, and HB 5138 on the Attorney General’s authority to prosecute election crimes. Several of these bills were explained with committee substitutes and then left pending before final action. Testimony on HB 493 and HB 5115 came from an election integrity advocate who supported both bills, saying the poll watcher restriction was appropriately narrowed and that the election fraud bill would help address invalid votes and refusal to count valid votes. Later, the committee took up pending business and voted out a large number of bills, generally along party lines or with broad support. HB 186 on minors’ social media use, HB 229, HB 2885, HB 3909 as substituted, HB 4285, HB 1661, HB 2820, HB 3181, HB 4157, HB 223, HB 521, HB 640, HB 1234, HB 2253, HB 2294, HB 3053, HB 3697 as substituted, HB 4281, HB 4463, HB 4995, HB 5081 as substituted, HB 5624 as substituted, HB 119 as substituted, HB 3225, HB 5138 as substituted, HB 5115, HB 481 as substituted, HB 3546, HB 493, and HB 4145 were reported favorably to the full Senate, with several also placed on the local and uncontested calendar. The committee also adopted committee substitutes for multiple bills, including HB 3909, HB 5081, HB 5624, HB 119, HB 5138, and HB 481. At the end, the chair noted another committee meeting would likely be needed before deadlines, possibly on a weekend, and recessed the committee subject to the call of the chair.