Transcript Highlights:

• Well, last statement, police officers, we know that this is how some of our not-so-respectful officers

Bills: SB3073 , SJR87

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Keywords: Texas criminal procedure, magistrate, probable cause, written findings, arrest review, criminal justice, Article 15.17, pretrial release, judicial recordkeeping, court transparency, law enforcement, defendant rights, criminal proceedings, no probable cause, magistrate findings, bail reform, felony offenses, constitutional amendment, public safety, 1185

Transcript Highlights:

• LET ME JUST GO OVER MY PREPARED STATEMENTS REALLY QUICK, SINCE I WAS RUNNING LATE FOR THE OTHER BILL

Transcript Highlights:

• So, because I think that is the case, I have been statement that I think would correct where we are on

Bills: HB441 , SB274

Committee: House Health

Keywords: speech-language pathology, licensure, clinical supervision, educational qualifications, healthcare assistant, makeup application, blow-dry styling, cosmetology, licensing, regulation exemption, 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• THE MANDATORY STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COST REQUIREMENT REGARDLESS OF THE FISCAL IMPACT MAY

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I believe that is a statement rather than a question.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's all I have for my statement.
• Uh, and also they make statements.
• They make political statements in some cases or other types of statements.
• They make um they make statements.
• > statements.

Committee: House State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But then two other things were slid in there: the Kalaupapa State Historical Area and a statement that
• Chair, before you, you did mention earlier that you had a statement from one of the board members, Gloria
• Why don't you go ahead and read her statement?
• </c><00:29:45.760><c> that</c> then there was a a uh statement that then there was a a uh statement that
• </c><00:31:19.240><c> from</c> earlier that you had a statement from earlier that you had a statement

Committee: House Health

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up SB 1494 on hearing aids. Testimony was generally supportive of expanding hearing-aid coverage, with the Insurance Division raising concern about possible federal defrayment issues, SHPDA supporting the goal of hearing augmentation, DCAB strongly supporting the bill as an important access issue, and health plans and insurers asking for amendments. Kaiser Permanente and the Hawaii Association of Health Plans requested changes to add a medical-necessity standard and clarify annual notice language, while HMSA suggested the proposal should be studied by the auditor. The chair noted concerns about federal preemption and the lack of an audit, and deferred the bill in favor of a related resolution calling for a study. The committee then heard SB 1448, an emergency appropriation for the Hawaii State Hospital. DAGS and the Department of Health supported the measure, with the hospital administrator saying the funding would improve the environment of care, support cleaning, and allow a third-party review of the building. Committee members questioned the size of the request and the status of litigation against the design-builder. Administration witnesses said they were pursuing a comprehensive study involving destructive testing, had made a demand on the design-builder to fund the study, and were using different processes than before. They also said the roof work would be handled through a separate CIP request. No final action was taken in the portion provided. The committee next heard SB 1432, relating to the future responsibilities of the Department of Health and land issues at Kalaupapa after the last patient dies. DOH supported the bill in part but said its long-term role would be limited mainly to environmental cleanup, with operations expected to continue under the National Park Service and land-use decisions left to DHHL and beneficiary consultation. DHHL asked that the measure reflect that any land-use or zoning changes on homeland lands require commission approval and beneficiary consultation. Testifiers from Kalaupapa and Maui County, including Degra Vanderbilt-Papa and Council Member Keani Rollins-Fernandez, supported deferring the bill, saying there had been no meaningful community discussion about provisions affecting Kalaupapa’s future management and possible transfer of responsibilities to Maui County. The committee also read into the record written testimony from Gloria Marks emphasizing that Kalaupapa stakeholders must be included in future discussions. Finally, the committee heard SB 955 on fitness-to-proceed examinations. The Judiciary and the Public Defender’s Office both supported raising pay and standardizing expectations for private examiners, but opposed reducing felony fitness evaluations from three examiners to one and opposed expanding use of expedited reports. They argued that a single examiner would reduce reliability, create a more adversarial process, and likely increase costs and contested hearings, while expedited reports do not contain enough information for a proper fitness determination. The Department of Health also supported the bill’s intent but asked to preserve a three-examiner framework and said the goal was to reduce the number of people sent to the State Hospital, where admissions have reportedly risen about 20% year over year since Act 26. The bill remained under discussion in the excerpt, with no final vote shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll send you the rest of this statement if you would like, but I don't think that.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications met to hear several bills, noting that ACA 9 would be heard at a later date. The committee first approved a consent calendar item, then heard AB 2458 by Assemblymember Bennett, which would extend California Energy Commission appliance efficiency standards to appliances that are rented or leased, not just sold. Supporters included Ceres and Southern California Edison, and the bill was clarified to not affect commercial food processors. The committee also heard AB 2476 by Assemblymember Ellis, which would expand eligibility for pumped storage hydro projects under the state’s central procurement program by removing an outdated pre-2020 funding requirement while keeping the 500-megawatt cap. Support came from Rye Development, GreenGen Storage, and an irrigation district representative, with discussion focused on ratepayer benefits, competition, and grid reliability. The committee then heard AB 2518 by Assemblymember Sharp-Collins, a San Diego County pilot program to set faster utility connection timelines for certain projects, including affordable housing, hospitals, municipal infrastructure, and EV charging projects. Testimony in support came from the San Diego Housing Commission and San Diego Gas & Electric, which said the timelines were feasible and would help reduce energization delays. Members discussed whether the bill would create unintended consequences for other customers, and the author and utility representative said it would complement existing CPUC work and not conflict with SB 410-related proceedings. All three bills received unanimous or near-unanimous committee approval and were ordered to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The committee also repeatedly reopened and closed rolls to capture absent members, ultimately recording 16-0 votes on the measures that were heard.

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's make a statement that we don't want to continue spending $265,000 a year on bad results and demand

Committee: All JBC-PERSONNEL

Summary: The committee met and took several budget-related items out of order. It first approved a revised Auditor’s Office letter and amendment that reduced requested salary and match increases to 10 percent for operations and UCP, and then approved a revised Lieutenant Governor’s Office request that kept positions at line-item maximums while revising regular salary and match appropriations to a total increase of $99,876. Both items passed without objection. The committee then considered a member amendment from Senator Rice to Senate Bill 30 affecting the Governor’s Office. The amendment would eliminate one Governor senior advisor position, reducing authorized positions from 59 to 58 and cutting regular salaries and matching funds by a total of $264,895. Senator Rice argued the change was warranted because of concerns about former Corrections Secretary Joe Profury’s conduct, transparency, and refusal to appear before Joint Performance Review. Members debated the relevance of the amendment to current duties, whether the governor could still hire the individual in another role, and whether a Board of Corrections member could speak. After discussion, the committee rejected the amendment on a roll call vote. Under regular business, the committee approved an OPM request to reinstate a labor market rate at the crime lab so it can recruit two medical examiners, with pay up to $300,000 for those positions. Members also approved Arkansas State University-Jonesboro’s request for 11 positions tied to the new veterinary medicine school, including clinic, lab, communications, mental health, and administrative roles. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have sent a written statement with further information. Do you have any questions?

Bills: S3044 , S3031 , S3017 , H5189 , H5246 , H5297 , H5248 , H5359

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Service

Keywords: retirement benefits, teachers' retirement system, creditable service, public education, emergency law, sick leave bank, leave donation, personal days, vacation days, extended illness leave bank, public employee, county sheriff, Worcester County Sheriff's Office, personnel bill, employee leave, disability leave, illness leave, compassionate leave, Massachusetts public service, police recruitment

Transcript Highlights:

• Is that a true statement, or...?

Committee: All CODE REVISION COMMISSION

Summary: The commission approved the prior meeting minutes and then adopted the annual authorization for expense reimbursement for commissioners under Arkansas Code 25-16-902. Members noted that legislative commissioners would not receive reimbursement for the meeting day itself, consistent with their understanding of legislative per diem rules. The commission next considered LexisNexis pricing and replacement volume proposals. Company representatives proposed roughly a 7% price increase, citing higher costs and the Producer Price Index, and recommended replacing three volumes in 2026 and four in 2027 based on supplement size and age. Members asked about pricing for the public, the criteria for selecting replacement volumes, and the number of state sets sold. LexisNexis said the state pricing was tied to the public price structure and explained that replacement decisions are driven by keeping supplements manageable and volumes current. The commission approved the pricing and replacement volumes. Senator Tucker also raised the possibility of a statewide legal research contract for circuit judges, and LexisNexis said it would connect him with its sales team. Staff then updated the commission on the funds codification project. They reported reviewing state treasury funds and identifying many that are codified in more than one place, with the goal of moving the technical creation language into Title 19 only and repealing duplicative language elsewhere. The project is intended for inclusion in a fall technical corrections bill, after coordination with BLR Fiscal and DFA. Members discussed whether obsolete funds could also be identified for possible cleanup legislation, and staff said DFA maintains a list of obsolete funds and that any such information could be incorporated into future technical corrections work. The commission concluded by noting that no further business was expected before a later fall meeting to review technical corrections, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• just keep throwing stuff out there that you know we talked about my concerns, and you just made a statement

Bills: SB1475 , SB2049 , SB1966 , SB1531 , SB80

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: memorial, infrastructure, transportation, dedication, Toby Keith, SB 2049, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, ODOT, Transportation Commission, surety bond, surety company, performance bond, contractor nonperformance, construction contract, public works, transportation contracts, bond claim, state transportation projects, Title 69, OMES

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, really more of a statement. Senator, thank you for coming.

Committee: House Special Committee on Tourism

Summary: The Special Committee on Tourism met in executive session with a quorum present and first took up House Concurrent Resolution 52, which concerns Missouri’s participation in America’s 250th birthday celebration. After a brief procedural discussion about whether the resolution could go to consent, the committee voted 11-0 to give HCR 52 a do pass recommendation. The committee then opened a public hearing on Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 1000, sponsored by Sen. Brad Hudson. Hudson said the bill would reestablish the tourism supplemental revenue fund in statute after it was inadvertently sunset, and he described the measure as a continuation of previously discussed policy that had already passed the House companion committee unanimously. Members from both parties voiced support for tourism as an important statewide economic driver and asked for continued advocacy to move the bill through the process. During questioning and comments, members discussed the importance of tourism funding for regions across Missouri, including Branson, the lake area, St. Charles, Texas County, and the 138th District. The chair emphasized that the bill should move cleanly and quickly, noting tourism’s major economic impact. No witnesses testified in opposition or for informational purposes, and the hearing on SB 1000 concluded with no further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• I did note on here that it says you've not filed your statement of economic interest, but I think you

Committee: Joint Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

Keywords: Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks - Room 210, 25 March, 2026; 1:00 PM, 925, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What legislation you have before you, 1224, is just—let me just read the statement of purpose.

Summary: The committee approved the March 12, 2026 minutes and then heard Senate Bill 1224, as amended, from Senator Van Burtenshaw. The bill would clarify that operators of slow-moving vehicles, farm equipment, construction equipment, and similar machinery only need to pull off the road when a safe, size-appropriate turnout or exit is available. Burtenshaw described the practical problems faced by large farm and logging equipment in areas like Twin Falls and Canyon County, including narrow bridges, limited shoulders, and the danger of forcing oversized machinery off the road into unsafe locations. He also cited crashes and fatalities involving farm equipment struck from behind, and argued that current enforcement can be unreasonable when no safe place to pull over exists. A farmer testifying in support said the equipment is often too wide to safely leave the roadway, that pilot cars are already used in some crossings, and that the bill would help operators comply with the law without creating hazards. Committee members raised questions about freeway use and safety, and the sponsor and witnesses responded that such equipment generally should not be on freeways except where no other option exists, and that pilot cars and warning vehicles are used when required by law. Representative Pohanka also spoke in support, noting the difficulty of moving large equipment through growing urban and rural corridors and the need for more turnouts. After testimony and discussion, the committee voted unanimously to send Senate Bill 1224 as amended to the floor with a due pass recommendation. Representative Shepherd was named to carry the bill on the floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• What legislation you have before you, 1224, is just—let me just read the statement of purpose.

Committee: House Transportation and Defense

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair, I'm looking for a statement of policy.

Committee: House House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee took up two bills. SB 1075 would create a foreign entity review commission and bar the conveyance, sale, lease, or sublease of state land to hostile foreign entities without commission approval, with penalties for violations. Supporters said it was needed to protect land and critical infrastructure from foreign ownership, while opponents argued it duplicated existing safeguards and could burden lawful property transactions. The bill passed on a 5-4 vote, with one member absent. The committee then heard SB 1280, which would prohibit the Arizona Game and Fish Commission from transporting Mexican gray wolf pups into Arizona or using public funds or resources for that purpose. The sponsor and supporters said the state should not spend money importing wolves and argued the population had already reached recovery goals, while opponents from Sierra Club and Humane World for Animals said the bill would undermine science-based recovery efforts and genetic diversity for a highly endangered species. Members debated wolf recovery numbers, population status, and potential impacts on ranchers and public safety. After public testimony and member discussion, the committee voted SB 1280 out with a do pass recommendation on a 4-3 vote, with one member absent. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair, I'm looking for a statement of policy.

Bills: SB1075 , SB1144 , SB1280

Committee: House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs

Keywords: foreign ownership, land sales, review commission, national security, property rights, veterinary technicians, certification, education alternative, Arizona Revised Statutes, veterinary education, Mexican gray wolf, Mexican wolf, Mexican gray wolf puppies, Arizona Game and Fish Commission, Arizona Game and Fish Department, endangered species, wolf reintroduction, wolf translocation, cross-fostering, wildlife management

Transcript Highlights:

• This concurrent resolution is asking the legislature, making a statement about, as we move to comprehensive

Summary: The Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard House Bill 777, which updates Idaho’s Controlled Substances Act. Testimony from the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses explained that the bill adds several substances to Schedule I and two opioids to Schedule II, makes clarifying and cleanup changes, updates registration to biennial registration, and expands limited prescription drug monitoring program access for certain federal and tribal investigators. The bill was described as having no expected fiscal impact and no public opposition was reported. The committee voted to send HB 777 to the floor with a do pass recommendation. The committee also approved the minutes from February 11, 2026. It then took up House Concurrent Resolution 30, which seeks legislative authorization to hire an independent consultant to assist the Medicaid Legislative Review Panel as Idaho moves toward comprehensive managed care under House Bill 345. Senator Van Orden said the panel is facing a large volume of contract and RFP material tied to a roughly $5.5 billion Medicaid budget and needs help meeting an October deadline. Supporters argued an independent consultant would provide needed oversight on a complex contract, while opponents questioned whether the work would duplicate the Department of Health and Welfare’s consultant and raised concerns about added spending and the broader direction of Medicaid managed care. After debate, the committee voted by roll call 6-3 to send HCR 30 to the floor with a do pass recommendation. The meeting ended with notice that the committee would meet again the next day on additional bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• This concurrent resolution is asking the legislature, making a statement about, as we move to comprehensive

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare

Keywords: 989, all