Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:03.120><c> it</c> So earlier in the in the bill, it it So earlier in the in the bill, it it
• </c> forward it would be um transferred or it forward it would be um transferred or it would<00:19:40.400
• It doesn't benefit them at all. It It doesn't benefit them at all.
• into</c> constraints on it, pulling it back into constraints on it, pulling it back into some<01:36:
• sound like it go it almost making it sound like it go it would<02:52:19.279><c> go</c><02:52:19.439>

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• /c><00:15:28.000><c> taught</c><00:15:28.240><c> with</c> It would it would be taught with It would it
• it, and how you borrow it.
• it, and how you borrow it.
• it, and how you borrow it.
• . it. it.

Committee: Joint Education

Keywords: Education - Room 216, 22 January, 2026; 10:30 AM, 925, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It lies over.
• It lies over.
• It lies over.
• It lies over.
• It lies over.

Bills: SR107 , SCR53 , SCR54 , SCR55 , SCR12 , HB167 , HB181 , HB243 , HB316 , HB321 , HB335 , HB492 , HB578 , HB624 , HB708 , HB864 , HB906 , HB968 , HB969 , HB978 , HB985 , HB1005 , HB1032 , HB1077 , HB1095 , HB1104 , HB1118 , HB1157 , HB1187 , HB1189 , HB1195 , HB1198 , HB1220 , HB221 , HCR58 , SB283 , SB338 , SB488 , SB520 , HB90 , HB127 , HB138 , HB150 , HB201 , HB268 , HB273 , HB285 , HB315 , HB354 , HB355 , HB360 , HB376 , HB445 , HB506 , HB606 , HB649 , HB665 , HB681 , HB721 , HB746 , HB757 , HB781 , HB835 , HB844 , HB857 , HB872 , HB886 , HB889 , HB892 , HB972 , HB982 , HB987 , HB1037 , HB1068 , HB1072 , HB1078 , HB1085 , HB1132 , HB1137 , HB1167 , HB1174 , HB1232 , HB1238 , SB68 , SB76 , SB149 , SB191 , SB196 , SB318 , SB162 , SB382 , SCR33 , SCR30 , SB112 , SB194 , SB307 , SB341 , SB346 , SB363 , SB495 , SB503 , SB507 , SB509 , SB513 , SB408 , SB131 , SB145 , SB333 , SB464 , SB466 , SB500 , SB35 , SB65 , SB215 , SB228 , SB246 , SB249 , SB268 , SB269 , SB282 , SB296 , SB312 , SB319 , SB323 , SB369 , SB431 , SB474 , SB484 , SB490 , SB492 , SB501 , HCR14 , HB537 , HB652 , HB653 , HB661 , HB726 , HB756 , HB851 , HB964 , HB966 , HB34 , HB35 , HB48 , HB474 , HB553 , HB758 , HB852 , HB10 , HB16 , HB36 , HB44 , HB46 , HB52 , HB61 , HB78 , HB98 , HB102 , HB124 , HB126 , HB131 , HB135 , HB141 , HB142 , HB164 , HB170 , HB171 , HB179 , HB194 , HB231 , HB245 , HB280 , HB292 , HB294 , HB297 , HB305 , HB336 , HB337 , HB351 , HB436 , HB594 , HB789 , HB956 , HB957 , HB995 , HB1040 , HB50 , HB117 , HB120 , HB122 , HB139 , HB148 , HB149 , HB185 , HB199 , HB247 , HB271 , HB286 , HB301 , HB358 , HB359 , HB384 , HB413 , HB428 , HB450 , HB462 , HB547 , HB613 , HB631 , HB657 , HB669 , HB675 , HB680 , HB691 , HB712 , HB716 , HB720 , HB723 , HB727 , HB728 , HB735 , HB747 , HB759 , HB825 , HB842 , HB845 , HB846 , HB903 , HB904 , HB907 , HB923 , HB929 , HB941 , HB962 , HB965 , HB1036 , HB287 , HB370 , HB515 , HB521 , HB570 , HB1200 , HB119 , HB129 , HB677 , HB850

Keywords: condolence resolution, memorial resolution, tribute, sympathy, Joel Parker Sr., Louisiana Senate, rodeo, cowboy, horse trainer, stock and rodeo producer, black cowboy, African American history, community recognition, funeral resolution, celebration of life, Lottie Stampede Arena, Easter Sunday Rodeo, ranching, plantation work, faith community

Transcript Highlights:

• It said it took the 50% reduction, because current statute is it goes to $3.
• it is.
• It could have just a baseline, and I think most of it already is.
• Could it be 3.4? Could it be 3.7? Could be 3.2? Yeah, maybe.
• You know, is it $11? Is it $10? Is it $12? I don't know. $11 is, I think, a realistic target.

Committee: Joint Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Study Committee

Summary: The Arizona Off-Road Vehicle Study Committee met to review Senate Bill 1519 and broader OHV policy issues, including funding, mitigation, enforcement, and education. Staff summarized the bill’s amended provisions: raising the OHV/ATV weight threshold from 2,500 to 3,500 pounds, directing ADOT to create a new usage classification, creating an Off-Highway Vehicle Law Enforcement Fund, and setting a 50% vehicle license tax for vehicles in the 2,500–3,500 pound range. Members discussed how many vehicles would be affected, with industry testimony estimating about 2,600 new Arizona sales in that weight class in 2025 and growth of roughly 10% annually. Committee members also debated whether changes should be revenue-neutral to ADOT/HIRF or instead generate dedicated enforcement and mitigation funding without reopening HIRF distribution. The committee then turned to education. Staff reviewed SB 1567, which requires OHV course completion before issuance of an OHV indicia and includes a report due December 1, 2026. Game and Fish said the mandatory education appears to be improving behavior, especially helmet use by children. Several witnesses, including representatives from Riding Arizona and ABATE Arizona, supported a consistent statewide training model and suggested expanding the requirement from owners to operators, with possible reciprocity or compact-style recognition with other states. Members also raised practical questions about proof of completion, online access, and how law enforcement would verify compliance. For mitigation and enforcement funding, committee members and invited stakeholders discussed the scale of the need. A research presentation from Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation estimated about $3.5 million annually for additional law enforcement and about $7.5 million annually for natural resource mitigation, for a combined target of roughly $11 million per year. The estimate was based on county sheriff input and existing federal land-management data on illegal or user-created roads, with a statewide rough range of 12,000 to 17,000 miles of roads needing some form of closure or decommissioning. Members emphasized that the estimate did not include all possible costs, such as fence repair, tank restoration, or environmental compliance, and discussed soft versus hard closures, prevention, and the need to pair any mitigation spending with enforcement and education. No formal vote was taken in the portion provided; the committee mainly received information, asked questions, and continued discussion of possible recommendations.

Transcript Highlights:

• /c> created it was really kind of its own created it was really kind of its own enclosed<00:02:26.800
• it, whatever it was last year or the year before.
• it, whatever it was last year or the year before.
• it, whatever it was last year or the year before.
• last</c> we when we did it whatever it was last we when we did it whatever it was last year<00:19:20.400

Bills: SF0069 , SF0084 , SF0050 , SF0109 , HB0069 , HB0098

Committee: Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources

Keywords: wastewater, stormwater, infrastructure, environmental quality, public data, data collection, funding, study, water conservation, Colorado River, drought, irrigation, water rights, voluntary program, interstate agreements, groundwater, water resource management, state engineer, aquifer study, corrective controls

Transcript Highlights:

• So it's not a matter of pay it now, pay it later so much as it is a matter of pay what you owe because
• If we were to look at it as just pay it now, pay it later, our problem becomes we need the money now.
• I don't like it at all.
• It doesn't have any substantive policy change to it. Any questions?
• The noes appear to have it. It is so ordered.

Bills: SB1638

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: taxation, income tax, internal revenue code, deductions, tax benefits, retroactive, standard deduction, 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > would</c> &gt;&gt; Like it would I I would say it would &gt;&gt; Like it would I I would say it would
• </c> and it does need a lot of work if it and it does need a lot of work if it were<00:21:55.600><c>
• ><00:22:18.559><c> terms</c> it attempts to do is define it in terms it attempts to do is define it in
• </c> it was there, everybody else loved it. it was there, everybody else loved it.
• </c> get it correct. get it correct.

Committee: Senate Executive Departments and Administration

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is a... It is a very big lake. It is as big as any county in the state of Florida.
• Not suggesting it be its own county, but it is a very big lake. I checked the acreage.
• So it works really well. It does not work that well when it comes to protecting our ecosystems.
• So it has a regulatory enforcement mechanism to it.
• If we could turn it over, we could fill it up.

Committee: Senate Environment and Natural Resources

Summary: The Committee on Environment and Natural Resources met to hear presentations on Lake Okeechobee from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the South Florida Water Management District, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. FWC described the lake as a major recreation, water supply, and habitat resource, and outlined its habitat management plan, including control of invasive plants, prescribed fire, and restoration of native vegetation. The agency said low water levels have helped submerged aquatic vegetation recover, with gains in 2025 exceeding 24,000 acres and meeting its target, while torpedo grass and floating invasive plants remain active management priorities. Senators asked about bass fishing trends and blue-green algae; FWC said water levels are the main driver of fishery health and that it was not seeing current water-quality impacts on bass, though algal blooms can affect habitat and wildlife. The South Florida Water Management District focused on nutrient pollution, lake ecology, and restoration projects across the watershed. Director Drew Bartlett said the district’s work is aimed at reducing harmful discharges, improving water quality, and moving more water south to the Everglades through storage and treatment projects, including the EAA Reservoir, C-43 and C-44 reservoirs, aquifer storage and recovery, and wetland treatment areas. He said the state and federal governments have invested about $9 billion in restoration, roughly split 50-50, and that the EAA Reservoir is now targeted for completion in 2029. He also said Lake Okeechobee BMAP participation is around 92% and that recent data show phosphorus and nitrogen loading declines, though the lake remains impaired and eutrophic. An industry witness from Associated Industries of Florida said the BMAP and agricultural best management practices are producing measurable improvements and urged continued funding for water storage and treatment. The Army Corps of Engineers then explained LOSOM and Lake Recovery operations, saying the new operating approach balances flood control, water supply, navigation, ecology, and estuary protection. Colonel Brandon Bowman said Lake Recovery was implemented in late 2024 to bring the lake below 12 feet long enough to help submerged vegetation rebound, and reported that the lake met both recovery metrics, with water levels low enough to support a major increase in SAV from about 4,000 acres to 28,000 acres in 2025. He also noted benefits such as improved water clarity and more Okeechobee gourd plants, but acknowledged drawbacks including reduced navigation and some impacts to wading birds and snail kites. Senators pressed the Corps on the C-44 reservoir’s sloughing issue; Bowman said repairs are underway, the problem is geological rather than a safety failure, and the Corps expects to award a contract by 2027 and complete work by 2030. The committee did not take any substantive vote on the presentations and adjourned after Senator Smith moved to do so.

Transcript Highlights:

• It does not replace it, it does not in any way impact those benefits that these children receive.
• already doing it. already checked it, go put your eyes on it, that's the space that we're talking about
• It was a real real pop quiz. Is it right here? Yes, sir. Okay. Got it. Thank you. Okay.
• when it comes to not logical when it, yeah, when you're, yep.
• He's very proud of it. And it was brilliant, I think.

Bills: HB741 , HB 1199 , HB2070 , HB2402 , HB2542 , HB2665 , HB2789 , HB3096 , HB3396 , HB3595 , HB3747 , HB4116 , HB4127

Committee: House Human Services

Keywords: child welfare, relative caregiver, monetary assistance, Department of Family and Protective Services, child custody, family law, emergency power, nursing facilities, assisted living, generator requirements, health and safety, emergency generators, power outage, emergency generator, assisted living facilities, power source, child abuse, neglect registry, court findings, Medicaid

Transcript Highlights:

• You'd given it its own line item at $15 million.
• You'd given it its own line item at $15 million.
• in it.
• realistically, it pushes it too hard.
• Michael, maybe we jumped over it. Maybe you explained it and I missed it.

Committee: Joint Water Topics Overview Committee

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• with it.
• Is it the same? Is it still a country of concern?
• It is difficult. It is not easy when you have an F school to see it become an A school.
• I've seen it, I've experienced it, I've lived it.
• I've seen it, I've experienced it, I've lived it.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, quorum calls, and several recognitions before taking up a series of Senate messages and House motions. Members also recognized House Sergeant at Arms staff, visitors in the gallery, and family members. The chamber approved the journal and then moved into message lists and concurrence motions on several bills. On CS/CS/SB 1668, relating to the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association (NICA), the House concurred in a Senate amendment that clarified that if the NICA plan lacks adequate cash flow, the Office of Insurance Regulation may authorize a cumulative transfer of up to $20 million over the life of the plan and removed a proposed time limit on provider assessments. The bill then passed 96-2. The House also concurred in a Senate amendment to CS/CS/CS/HB 905, the foreign influence bill, after debate over a proposed strike-all amendment that would have removed surrogacy-related language; that amendment failed. Supporters said the bill still retained key foreign-influence restrictions, while opponents objected to the surrogacy provisions and other remaining restrictions. The bill passed 83-17. The House then took up CS/CS/HB 1279 on education. The Senate amendment added provisions on tuition residency for certain military and State Department families, a one-year deferral option for Benacquisto Scholarship recipients, virtual school notifications, educational emergency authority for persistently low-performing schools, epinephrine flexibility, VPK and New Worlds Reading changes, math pathways, dance credit, IEP service notifications, charter school safety officer options, and FEFP adjustments for Florida advanced courses, while removing several House provisions including the 95% Florida resident requirement for preeminent universities, the 5% cap on undergraduate international enrollment, and DEI-related provisions. Debate focused heavily on the educational emergency and collective bargaining language for persistently low-performing schools, with supporters saying it would help districts improve student performance and opponents warning it would weaken unions and affect schools that are not truly failing. The bill passed 81-16. Finally, the House considered CS/CS/CS/HB 399 on land use and development regulations. An amendment to repeal portions of last year’s SB 180 was ruled not germane. The House then took up a Senate amendment on compost facilities that would bar local governments from conditioning compost-facility approval on the purchase of additional property to expand a privately owned road and would limit local revocation of permits when facilities comply with state or regional environmental regulation; debate began on that motion as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• It also offers remedies. It defines school. It defines a student.
• > it</c> appears to it appears to say that it it appears to it appears to say that it it can<00:10:58.320
• </c> It appears to say it can occur anywhere. It appears to say it can occur anywhere.
• It has other meaning behind it.
• And a it has other meaning behind it.

Bills: HB0159

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: student rights, free expression, K-12 education, speech protection, religious views, political speech, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We want to stop it in China, we want to stop it in Mexico, we want to stop it in our backyards, however
• We have to do it because nobody else is doing it. It falls back on us.
• It takes time. It takes interagency coordination.
• It has been.
• It can happen if you have people committed to it.

Committee: Senate Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• I just don't remember it. So it was about 40 to 45 million?
• They will be reviewing it and approving it, hopefully, at the board meeting next week, and it is set
• a little bit, how I was figuring it out was wrong, but Senator Roers found it and it was about a $7
• They do include it, yes. They do include it.
• So it targeted those areas, but since it targeted those areas, it also brought up our overall averages

Summary: The Employee Benefits Committee met to approve prior minutes, hear presentations on state employee health insurance, compensation, leave, and related policy issues, and then recess for lunch. PERS reviewed the history and structure of the state health plan, noting the long-standing state-paid family coverage, cost-control measures, wellness incentives, the current grandfathered PPO and high-deductible options, and the effects of recent benefit mandates such as insulin caps, prosthetic coverage, medication management, prescription copay changes, and ambulance balance-billing limits. Committee members questioned the fiscal impact of adding benefits and the possible cost of moving to a non-grandfathered plan, while PERS and HRMS emphasized that health insurance remains the top-ranked employee benefit and that any major plan changes should be considered carefully. HRMS also presented compensation comparisons showing state pay generally below private-market benchmarks, discussed targeted market equity adjustments, identified ongoing recruitment and retention concerns in fields like nursing, IT, engineering, and attorneys, and reviewed leave policies, tuition reimbursement, and family leave comparisons with neighboring states. Job Service provided labor market data showing low unemployment, high labor force participation, and wage growth that still trails some neighboring markets, and OMB explained that prevailing wage requirements apply to federally funded projects under Davis-Bacon, not to ordinary state contracts. After lunch, the committee took up the required process for health insurance mandate bills and adopted an amendment to Joint Rule 211. The amendment clarified that the deadline for submitting mandate measures is intended to allow time for all required reports, including both the cost-benefit analysis and any Employee Benefits Committee actuarial report, while leaving the existing deadline unchanged. The amendment was adopted on a roll call vote, with several members voting yes and a few no votes recorded. The committee then moved into its jurisdiction review of bill drafts, beginning with a bill that would automatically renew pre-tax dental and vision elections; members debated whether it had any actuarial or administrative impact on PERS or the state, and the chair explained that the committee’s role was only to decide whether further analysis was needed before later testimony and recommendations.

Transcript Highlights:

• I consider it—you call it incentive. I call it a, you know, a subsidy.
• I consider it—you call it incentive. I call it a, you know, a subsidy. Either way.
• No, but will it help? It will.
• Farmers didn't want it. None of us want it. We literally hate it, want it to go away.
• It does not have funding tied to it.

Committee: All JBC-SPECIAL LANGUAGE

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It also prohibited...
• You can't get it passed. It won't happen.
• hit, and how big is it?
• Trying to figure out what is it, is it a fiscal note hit, and how big is it?
• It weighs 3,500 pounds.

Committee: Joint Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Study Committee

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It was still in the records. It had been preserved, and it was an indecency with a child case.
• I think it's easy to put it in the bill, just like it is. It says it's illegal. You can't do it.
• To it to tighten it up because it would be a much better bill with this amendment, and I offer today
• But, Senator Menendez, I know, and it may help with your concerns. It may, it may not quite...
• And what it does, it takes the top 10 percent.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, heard an invocation, received a House message announcing passage of H.B. 500, and a gubernatorial nomination for the Upper Neches River Municipal Water Authority Board. The chamber adopted several resolutions, including SR 409 recognizing Blue Ribbon Lobby Day, SR 402 honoring the discovery of the woolly devil plant at Big Bend National Park, and recognitions for Operation Christmas RGV and Wilson County Day. The Senate also heard an announcement that the Committee on Senate Nominations action report had been placed on members’ desks. The body then took up and passed several bills. SB 2365 was passed to prohibit personal wireless communication devices by public school students during instructional time, with exceptions for health, special education, and safety needs. SB 1869 was passed to reaffirm the DSHS commissioner’s authority over controlled-substance schedule changes without rulemaking or judicial review. SB 1124 was passed to revise criminal discovery procedures in response to the Heath decision, with supporters saying it preserves exculpatory evidence protections while limiting suppression of inculpatory evidence when the defense already knew of it. SB 1758 was passed to create a Grayson County pilot study and temporary permitting hold concerning a cement kiln/quarry near a semiconductor wafer facility, and SB 2078 was passed to regulate composting in certain counties, after a clarifying amendment. The Senate also passed SB 33, barring governmental entities from transactions that support abortion assistance or out-of-state abortion procurement; SB 34, expanding wildfire preparedness measures, studies, equipment databases, and rural fire department funding; SB 1208, increasing the penalty for interference with public duties from a Class B misdemeanor to a state jail felony; SB 1030, removing the maintenance, repair, and overhaul tax for general aviation; SB 505, creating processes to address election irregularities; SB 2411, updating the Business Organizations Code and changing filing-method requirements; and SB 1333, addressing unauthorized entry, occupancy, sale, rental, lease, or conveyance of real property. Most measures advanced on voice vote or recorded roll call after motions to suspend the regular order and the constitutional three-day rule, with several members raising questions or objections, especially on the criminal justice, abortion, and public duties bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:47:17.680><c> think</c><00:47:17.839><c> it</c> you felt like it it I I don't think it you felt like
• it it I I don't think it it<00:47:18.319><c> has</c><00:47:18.480><c> much</c><00:47:18.720><c> of</
• It just it just the existing budget.
• </c> about it. Yeah, it was a public hearing. about it. Yeah, it was a public hearing.
• </c> So, we nailed it down to nailed it down So, we nailed it down to nailed it down just<01:15:50.080

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> substituted it. substituted it.
• Anyone can do it now, he's he can do it. Anyone can do it now, right?
• How how will it be uh manning it? How how will it be enforced?
• It actually &gt;&gt; It doesn't.
• ><c> exact</c> is it says it it would prohibit an exact is it says it it would prohibit an exact duplicate

Bills: HB227 , HB454 , SB323 , HB266 , SB52 , SB53 , SB296 , HB37 , HB429 , HB93 , HB249 , HB328 , HB111 , HB132 , HB26 , SB261 , HB227 , HB454 , SB323 , HB266 , SB52 , SB53 , SB296 , HB37 , HB429 , HB93 , HB249 , HB328 , HB111 , HB132 , HB26 , SB261

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Keywords: firefighter benefits, occupational disease, line of duty, disability pension, death benefits, retirement benefits, hypertension, heart disease, respiratory disease, cancer presumption, HIV, hepatitis, municipal firefighters, state firefighters, fire districts, workers' compensation, public safety employees, post-retirement benefits, benefit eligibility cutoff, occupational illness

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> County and it um we I heard about it County and it um we I heard about it through<00:27:12.799><
• It could ways. It could be social media.
• /c><01:10:07.760><c> of</c> um when when does it when is it part of um when when does it when is it part
• to make it more statewide and it needs to make it more statewide and it needs to<01:15:10.640><c> be<
• Then it kind of everyone stayed with it.

Bills: HF3418 , HF3739 , HF3791 , HF3356 , HF3695 , HF3430

Committee: House Transportation Finance and Policy

Keywords: pedestrian safety, traffic safety, roadway improvements, nonmotorized transportation, crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes, complete streets, Vision Zero, Toward Zero Deaths, MnDOT, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, local road authority, county roads, city streets, tribal transportation, capital improvements, safety design solutions, grant program