Transcript Highlights:

• The first is in the situation where the lender has first postponed the sale.
• The third is the situation where the homeowner in foreclosure dies before the sale.
• In Minnesota, prior the mortgage sale.
• The second has first postponed the sale.
• </c><00:35:41.599><c> So</c> foreclosure dies before the sale. So foreclosure dies before the sale.

Transcript Highlights:

• breach of fiduciary duty; and any person who's been acting in concert with another person for the sale
• , it is incredibly difficult to unwind the sale of a home, unwind the sale of real property, get the
• Right now, Washington does not prohibit the possession or sale of nitrous oxide.
• of nitrous oxide contained in food products for uses of propellant like whipped cream, the sale and
• “The bill does prohibit the sale of nitrous oxide for personal consumption.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills. Substitute House Bill 2158 would authorize remote notarization of tangible records and remote oaths/affirmations, with record-retention requirements and no fiscal impact; the prime sponsor and staff described it as an access-to-justice measure, and the bill drew strong support in signed-in testimony. Substitute House Bill 2239 would create a framework for family burial grounds on private land, including setbacks, notice, recording, local regulation authority, and grandfathering of existing sites; supporters said it would help rural families and some tribal members bury loved ones on family land, while WSDOT raised a technical concern about the setback from rights-of-way. Substitute House Bill 2178 would reconcile statutes with court rules on malicious mischief aggregation, infraction deadlines, payment plans, and treasurer handling of certain funds; the sponsor and AOC described it as a technical cleanup with no fiscal impact, and it was supported by AOC. The committee then heard Engrossed House Bill 2445, which would tighten probate procedures to curb “probates for profit” by extending the time to petition, narrowing who qualifies as a suitable personal representative, changing venue, adding notice and reporting requirements, and regulating agreements with transferees for value and heir-finding firms. The sponsor, Attorney General’s Office, and Northwest Justice Project said the bill would protect grieving families from predatory actors, while some probate attorneys warned it could sweep too broadly and affect legitimate heir-finding services; the sponsor said he was open to further discussion and written recommendations. Substitute House Bill 2543 would update county clerk fees to match new appellate court rules and modernize outdated references such as CDs; county clerks and county officials supported it as a technical, cost-recovery measure. Finally, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2165 would create a standalone gross misdemeanor for false identification as a peace officer, replacing part of the criminal impersonation statute and adding prohibitions on badges, vehicles, and attire that mimic law enforcement, with exceptions for lawful, artistic, and inherited items. The sponsor, the governor’s office, and a city representative supported it as a public-safety and trust measure, citing impersonation incidents and protections for immigrant communities. The committee also began hearing Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2532 on nitrous oxide, which would make it a gross misdemeanor to sell or distribute nitrous oxide canisters for personal use while exempting medical, veterinary, dental, food, industrial, and automotive uses; members questioned how the law would be enforced and whether additional controlled-substance treatment would be needed. No votes were taken during the hearing excerpts provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• The sale price of those eight sales was $4,608,943, and there are four of those with no sales data.
• tax or a county sales tax, or both.
• tax or a county sales tax, or both.
• local sales tax or a half percent.
• You know, to think that sales tax might be a silver bullet for, ...to think that sales tax might be a

Committee: Joint Tribal and State Relations Committee

Summary: The meeting focused on Turtle Mountain’s public health and behavioral health priorities, especially access to rural health transformation funding and a long-running data use agreement with the state. Tribal public health leaders described how, during COVID, a temporary data-sharing arrangement allowed them to do their own contact tracing and case management, and they argued that a similar agreement is now needed to respond more quickly to very high syphilis rates and other infectious disease concerns. Committee members generally expressed support and said they would follow up with state officials, while tribal representatives emphasized that they already have the staff and infrastructure to use timely data effectively. A major portion of the meeting was devoted to the Turtle Mountain Recovery Center and the broader issue of the IMD exclusion and residential treatment capacity. Tribal leaders described the center’s opening, its five levels of care, its 16-bed limit, and its efforts to become financially sustainable through billing, grants, and partnerships. They shared success stories and argued for an IMD waiver or similar flexibility so the center could expand to 32 beds and better meet local need. Committee members discussed the policy barriers to expanding residential treatment, including federal approval timelines, state funding choices, and the need to preserve a continuum of care that includes outpatient and community-based services. The committee then heard a detailed presentation from Hector Hernandez-Dogato of the National Health Law Program on the history and mechanics of the IMD exclusion and Section 1115 waivers. He explained that the exclusion limits Medicaid payment for services in facilities with more than 16 beds, but noted existing exceptions and alternatives such as state plan options, managed care arrangements, telehealth, and community-based services. He also reviewed mixed results from states that have used IMD waivers, warning that they do not automatically improve overdose deaths, emergency room use, or access to community care, and may risk reinforcing institutionalization if not paired with strong upstream services. The committee discussed a draft bill to appropriate $49,000 and one FTE for HHS to pursue an IMD waiver, with members suggesting the bill may need to explicitly include serious mental illness as well as substance use disorder and asking for department input at a future meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• If they decide not to, sales tax is based on transactions.
• So if there's not a transaction, there's no sales tax collected.
• We would get sales tax revenue from those purchases.
• It's 0.76% of my gross sales, but it's going to take out 51% of my net income.
• The data center sales tax exemption is based on long-standing sales tax exemptions for manufacturing

Summary: House Finance held public hearings on three Senate bills. SB 6129 would raise cigarette taxes, replace current nicotine/vapor product taxes with a 95% tax on nicotine products, and adjust revenue distributions to the Andy Hill Cancer Research account, the Foundational Public Health Services account, and a youth prevention account; staff and supporters said it would correct an unintended loss of public health funding and reduce youth nicotine use, while opponents argued it would be highly regressive, harm retailers and wholesalers, and push sales into illicit markets. SB 6231 would repeal the data center sales tax exemption for refurbishment and end replacement server equipment eligibility; the sponsor and staff said it would raise roughly $200 million and remove an obsolete preference, while labor, port, business, and data center representatives opposed it, citing lost jobs, reduced investment, and concerns about upsetting existing contracts and rural economic development. SB 6228 would repeal the preferential B&O rate for warehousing and reselling prescription drugs and create a lower preferential rate for critical access pharmacies; the sponsor said it would restore horizontal equity in the tax code and offset impacts on rural pharmacies, but pharmacy groups, wholesalers, retailers, and business organizations warned it would raise medication costs, worsen pharmacy closures, and be passed through to patients. The committee heard extensive public testimony on all three bills. Supporters of SB 6129 included public health, cancer, pediatric, and emergency medicine advocates who emphasized youth prevention, cessation funding, and long-term health savings; opponents included tobacco, vape, retail, and business groups who said the bill would increase black-market activity and burden small businesses. SB 6231 drew opposition from construction trades, ports, local governments, chambers, and data center interests, who argued the tax preference supports ongoing construction, permanent jobs, and local tax bases, while committee questions focused on whether the bill would affect existing refurbishment contracts. SB 6228 was opposed by pharmacy associations, independent pharmacists, wholesalers, grocery retailers, and AWB, who said the tax increase would be passed through and could accelerate pharmacy desert conditions; the sponsor and supporters framed the bill as a correction to an outdated preference and a way to protect critical access pharmacies. No votes were taken; each hearing was closed, and the chair announced amendment requests were due Thursday at 5 p.m. and amendments posted by Friday at 5 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh vice sale for more than 60 days.
• </c> residents on nonseed estate plan sale residents on nonseed estate plan sale land<00:24:38.720><c
• .<00:45:29.520><c> So,</c> sale.
• So, sale.
• &gt;&gt; That's a cost not the sales per right. &gt;&gt; That's a cost not the sales per right.

Bills: HB1604 , HB1713 , HB1722 , HB2270 , HB2401 , HB2515 , HB1979 , HB1593 , HB1743 , HB2122 , HB1756 , HB1837 , HB1729

Committee: House Housing

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 1604, which would create an agricultural workforce housing group within the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to address shortages of farmworker housing. The department said it supported the bill’s intent but emphasized that the group’s early work should focus on gathering data and surveying farm operators to assess actual demand, to avoid “mission creep.” Testimony from the City and County of Honolulu Office of Economic Revitalization, Hawaii Farmers Union, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Housing Hawaii’s Future, and the Maui Chamber of Commerce was in support, with one witness suggesting a housing advocacy nonprofit be added to the working group for balance. The committee then discussed HB 1713 on school impact fees, which would clarify exemptions for certain affordable housing projects and exempt new residential developments of fewer than 100 units. The Attorney General’s office said the bill should define “low to moderate income households” because that term is not defined in chapter 302A. HHFDC, the School Facilities Authority, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, and others supported the measure, arguing it would reduce administrative burden and remove barriers to housing. Members questioned whether the bill should instead repeal the school impact fee entirely; supporters said they also favored full repeal but viewed this bill as a more feasible step. The School Facilities Authority also explained that about $28 million in school impact fees had been collected across four districts and none had yet been spent, and discussed how recent nexus requirements limit how the funds can be used. HB 1722, relating to residential condominiums, drew extensive testimony and questioning. HCDA supported the bill and explained that it amends the 99-year leasehold pilot program created by Act 97 of 2023 by reducing owner-occupancy restrictions from 100% of units to 60%, allowing some rental or subleasing flexibility for the owner-occupied units, and permitting up to 40% of units to be sold to qualified residents after being on the market for more than 60 days. HCDA said the original restrictions, combined with rising construction costs, higher interest rates, and competition from nearby projects, made the pilot project difficult to market and finance; it said the changes are needed to make the project feasible and competitive. Supporters including AP Hawaii, Kila LLC, and project representatives said the amendments would help make the demonstration project in Kakaʻako viable. Some members raised concerns that the changes could weaken long-term affordability and questioned why certain ownership language was being deleted if rentals would still be restricted. No votes or final committee actions were taken in the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• I remember a time when I was growing up when the sales tax rate was 6%, and sales taxes are very regressive
• The downward trend in retail sales is driven entirely by prices.
• Fortunately, recent regulations from DPH have now prohibited these sales.
• That sales tax that's coming right back to California. So this is not a giveaway.
• That sales tax that's coming right back to California. So this is not a giveaway.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation met as a subcommittee and heard several bills, with members explaining that measures with significant fiscal impacts would be held for suspense or taken up later. AB 761 would let the Monterey-Salinas Transit District place a local sales tax measure on the ballot with approval from two-thirds of its board rather than needing approval from each member jurisdiction; supporters said it would preserve transit funding for veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities, while an opponent argued it would make it easier to raise a regressive tax. The bill was voted out 5-2 after being called for absent members. AB 1253, which would clarify property tax treatment for wildfire reconstruction beyond substantial equivalence, drew support from the Los Angeles County Assessor and the California Assessors Association but was sent to suspense. AB 8, dealing with hemp enforcement, intoxicating hemp products, and integration of hemp cannabinoids into the cannabis supply chain and tax system, drew strong support from cannabis operators and labor groups and opposition from small cultivators and public health advocates concerned about supply, tax revenue, and voter intent; it was also sent to suspense. The committee then heard AB 1138, a major expansion and modernization of the film and television tax credit program. Supporters, including entertainment unions, workers, studios, and local officials, said the bill would help keep production and jobs in California amid competition from other states and countries; opponents criticized it as picking winners and losers and argued broader business costs were the real problem. The bill was referred to suspense. AB 829, which would create a California Parkinson’s Disease Research Fund and voluntary tax contribution program to support research and services, received unanimous support from advocates and was approved 6-0 to Appropriations. AB 474 would exempt rental income from nonprofit home-sharing programs for low-income homeowners from state income tax and protect participants’ eligibility for certain benefits; supporters said it could help older adults age in place and address housing shortages, and the bill was sent to suspense after members asked for clarification on the fiscal estimate. The committee also heard AB 376, which would exempt wildfire settlement payments from state income tax for certain disaster survivors; supporters from rural counties said the money is meant to help victims rebuild and should not be taxed, and the bill was referred to suspense. Finally, AB 480 would allow developers using low-income housing tax credits to switch from allocated to certificated state credits after an award, with supporters saying it would maximize private investment and stretch housing dollars further; it too was sent to suspense. Throughout the hearing, members repeatedly emphasized the need to balance policy goals with fiscal impacts, and several bills were held or referred to suspense rather than voted out immediately.

Transcript Highlights:

• But I guess the main thing I have is really the sales tax exemption whenever they're buying.
• This is giving a reciprocity for the ag sales tax exemption. Texas does it with us.
• This is giving a retroposity for the act sales tax exemption. Texas does it with us.
• So, and a lot of these stores, they have a list of items that are okay for ag sales.
• I don't look at it as a loss of sales tax revenue for that city or that town.

Bills: HB1590 , HB3075 , HB3548 , HB3661 , HB3986 , HB4273 , HB4346

Committee: Senate Revenue and Taxation

Summary: The Revenue and Taxation Committee met and first laid over House Bill 15.9 to the next meeting. The committee then unanimously advanced an executive nomination, James Burleson to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, after brief testimony from Sen. Pugh and Burleson’s comments about his private-sector, nonprofit, and community experience and desire to serve the state. Members then considered several tax-related bills. House Bill 3986, expanding eligibility for the 24-month gross production tax exemption for wells completed using recycled water, passed 10-1 after questions about whether the change was retroactive. House Bill 3548, which would exempt small child-run businesses from certain taxes and permits up to a $1,000 gross-revenue threshold, passed 11-0 after questions focused on enforcement and adult involvement. House Bill 3661, removing the sunset on the forestry equipment sales tax exemption, passed 8-3 despite concerns about the lack of hard data supporting the incentive’s continuation. The committee also passed House Bill 4346, creating reciprocity for agricultural sales tax exemptions for neighboring states, after discussion about verification methods, fraud prevention, and whether the Oklahoma Tax Commission could track out-of-state buyers; the bill passed 8-3. House Bill 3075, the “Oklahoma Common Sense Act” dealing with a post-penny environment and giving agencies and political subdivisions more time to update point-of-sale systems, was amended to set an effective date of November 1, 2026, and then passed 11-0. Finally, House Bill 4273, clarifying that certain R1 university aerospace research employees qualify for an aerospace tax credit, passed 6-5 after debate over whether the credit could create a broader domino effect for other professors and fields. The chair announced the committee would likely meet again the following Monday for its last meeting of the year, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• You don't have to pay all three to get it off the tax sale, correct?
• The larger the county, the more properties go up for tax sale.
• What's on the certificate of sale will be listed.
• triggers that tax sale.
• So on that... ...to go to tax sale, but being three years behind is what triggers that tax sale.

Committee: House Special Committee on Tax Reform

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Sales and use tax provisions.
• The 2% sales and use tax is across the board on all sales transactions.
• residential sales um over the years. And residential sales um over the years.
• </c> sales in 2025. sales in 2025. &gt;&gt; Okay. &gt;&gt; Okay. &gt;&gt; Okay.
• Sack. is very specific to actual sales, right? is very specific to actual sales, right?

Committee: Joint Revenue

Transcript Highlights:

• um they have to only come up with sale um they have to only come up with 50<00:06:22.639><c> because
• if somebody applies for a shareff sale if somebody applies for a loan<00:09:08.120><c> modification<
• > it's</c><00:17:45.679><c> already</c> a sale a forclosure sale it's already a sale a forclosure sale
• So lenders have struggled knowing what do you do—do you have to cancel the sale?
• And then the foreclosure sale can proceed after that.

Bills: HF1027 , HF101 , HF1021

Committee: House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law

Transcript Highlights:

• In major markets across the U.S. and internationally, alcohol sales are permitted for up to 24 hours.
• On-sale general eating place licenses authorize the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for consumption
• An existing law limits the number of on-sale general licenses that may be issued in a county based on
• Currently, state agencies are required to report surplus land, but only if it's ready for sale.
• Ready for sale.

Summary: The Governmental Organization Committee heard a series of bills focused largely on alcohol licensing, nonprofit funding, tribal grants, public transparency, and tobacco policy. AB 342 (Haney) would allow local governments to create hospitality zones with extended last-call hours on certain days; supporters argued it would boost tourism, nightlife, and major-event readiness, while opponents warned of alcohol-related harms and public safety risks. AB 684 (Patel) would subject the UC Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools to open-meeting requirements, with supporters saying admissions-related changes should be more transparent and allow schools time to adjust. AB 1008 (Addis) would authorize up to 10 new on-sale general licenses in San Luis Obispo County to meet tourism demand, and AB 1039 (Hart) would require state agencies to offer advance payments on new nonprofit grants and contracts, which supporters said would help cash-strapped nonprofits deliver services. AB 221 (Ramos) would revise the Tribal Nation Grant Fund to provide more predictable annual distributions to eligible non-gaming and limited-gaming tribes, and it drew broad support from tribal representatives and others. AB 795 (Jeff Gonzalez) would create a California commission for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, with supporters describing it as a privately funded, nonpartisan planning body. AB 828/AB 28 (Mark Gonzalez, as referenced in the transcript) would expand neighborhood-restricted liquor licenses in Los Angeles County to reduce costs and support restaurant recovery, and AB 1246 (Hoover) would increase craft distillers’ direct sales limits and address barrel-storage rules; both were supported as small-business measures. AB 1428 (Ta) would require reporting of all surplus and underutilized state land, and AB 957 (Ortega) would prohibit tobacco sales in pharmacies, with strong public health support. Several bills were voted out on motions to Appropriations, some with amendments, while others were held or left on call until quorum was established; the committee also adopted a consent calendar and left rolls open for absent members on multiple measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, that will only go Lower and your sales and your school taxes.
• We would have to increase the sales tax. 14 to 15 cents on everything you buy.
• You'd have to double the sales tax. And by the way, when I said 40 billion is what.
• There is no sales tax for the double nickel. There's no sales tax for going up $40,000 again.
• OK, so no increase in sales tax. Did anyone else hear me say that? I hope not.

Transcript Highlights:

• MARIJUANA PRODUCTS TO REDUCE THEIR APPEAL TO CHILDREN AND LIKE OTHER STATES FLORIDA HAS A SEED IT SALE
• AND OUR SEED TO SALE TRACKING SYSTEM WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WORKED ON IN 2024 TO IMPLEMENT.
• WE PUBLISHED A RULE IN JANUARY DIRECTED THEM TO INTEGRATE WITH OUR SEED TO SALE SYSTEM AND IT REALLY
• PRIOR TO THE SEED TO SALE THE MMTC REPORT OF THE LOAD DISPENSATION TO US TO THE REGISTRY.
• YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU CHANGE THE WAY THAT YOU REPORTED BASED OFF THE SEED TO SALE.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:53.399><c> tax</c> gas tax and the motor vehicle sales tax gas tax and the motor vehicle sales
• </c> registration tax and motor vehicle sales registration tax and motor vehicle sales tax<00:21:41.760
• </c><00:23:02.039><c> tax</c><00:23:02.720><c> um</c> Vehicle sales tax um Vehicle sales tax um 6.875%
• That is revenues from the motor vehicle sales tax and the motor vehicle leasing sales tax.
• tax and the motor vehicle vehicle sales tax and the motor vehicle leasing<00:32:16.080><c> sales</c>

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• majority of the members of the Legislature for consent of the state to be given for any acquisition, sale
• On the opening of escrow for the sale or transfer of private real property to the federal government
• In 2024, sales accounted for around 70% of the State Land Board's revenue, a bad deal for all public
• The amendment is to exempt exchanges, not sales.
• SB 1281 would not have impacted that detention center as it was a private sale. Okay, Mr.

Committee: Senate Senate Federalism Committee of Reference

Transcript Highlights:

• be scheduled for consideration by the House: - House Bill 360, relative to certain licenses for the sale
• And House Bill 4281, relative to successor supply laws and the termination of sales to wholesalers of
• Second reading of the bills: An act relative to certain licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages
• And an act relative to successor supplier laws and the termination of sales to wholesalers of alcoholic
• And an act relative to successor supplier laws and the termination of sales to wholesalers of alcoholic

Summary: The House convened with the Pledge of Allegiance and then took up a slate of bills reported by the Committee on Steering, Policy, and Scheduling. The bills included measures on alcoholic beverage licenses in Holyoke and Swansea, partial payment, telemarketer disclosures, a charter for the city of Cambridge, and successor supplier laws affecting alcoholic beverage wholesalers. The House suspended Rule 7A, completed second readings, and ordered all of these bills to a third reading. The chamber also welcomed student guests from several towns participating in a Burlington High School lab collaborative. During the session, House Bill 2275, authorizing the city of Revere to pay a sum to Denise Matera, widow of Anthony Matera, was released from the Committee on Bills in Third Reading, read a third time, and passed to be engrossed. After a brief recess, the House adopted the order before it and then adjourned on motion, scheduling the next full formal session for Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• This includes setting a harvest level and approving timber sales, among other responsibilities.
• The next report will review a sales and use tax exemption for sales of certain large private airplanes
• We'll also review a sales and use tax exemption for purchases of equipment necessary to process biogas
• This is just the sales tax doesn't apply at the time of sale when This is just the sales tax doesn't
• apply at the time of sale when the buyer notes that they are an eligible buyer under this exemption.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee met on September 17, 2025, in hybrid format. After roll call, the committee initially lacked a quorum and deferred approval of the July 15 minutes until Representative Berg arrived; the minutes were then adopted. Members also discussed the proposed 2026 JLARC meeting schedule, including possible changes to address crowded July meetings and the annual tax exemption review workload. Staff presented the annual lodging tax expenditures report, noting that 213 municipalities received distributions in 2024, with 91% reporting compliance, $114 million awarded for more than 1,700 activities, and no independent verification of the self-reported data. Several members questioned the value and usefulness of the report, and the executive committee indicated it may recommend removing the statutory reporting requirement. The committee then heard the preliminary performance audit of the Office of Privacy and Data Protection, which found the office meets its statutory responsibilities and has high user satisfaction, but recommended updating the statute to better match the office’s current capacity and focus and improving performance measures to reflect long-term privacy outcomes rather than outputs. Members asked about FERPA and other federal privacy laws, and OPDP staff said they provide general privacy training and consultation but not law-specific training unless requested. The committee adopted the final report on Washington State recreational boating programs without recommendation, after staff reported that boating revenues support both general government and boating activities and that no participating agencies submitted formal comments. Members asked about boater safety education and possible overlap among the six agencies involved; Parks staff said education has reached more than 500,000 boaters and that fatalities and incidents have declined. The committee also reviewed planned study questions for a JLARC review of Labor and Industries’ enforcement of farm worker laws, with members raising scope questions about the term “farm worker” versus “agricultural worker,” and for DNR’s Eastern Washington sustainable harvest calculation, which JLARC will review as DNR completes its recalculation. Finally, staff outlined the 2026 tax preference performance reviews covering seven preferences, and members asked about racial equity, environmental impacts, disclosure of beneficiary savings, and how the reviews will measure effectiveness; the meeting adjourned before noon.

Transcript Highlights:

• A single sales factor apportionment, for example, is calculated using the ratio of a company's sales
• within the state. to its sales in either the U.S. or the world.
• within the state as a share of its property, payroll, and sales in either the U.S. or the world.
• Since the passage of Prop 39 in 2012, required to use single sales factor, the single sales factor formula
• The largest of those is the sales and use program.

Transcript Highlights:

• Florida law now prohibits the sale of hemp products to anyone under 21.
• But we are really paving the way here for good processes and procedures for underage sales. Great.
• So we're certainly looking at online sales.
• It's an open question, but online sales is absolutely something we're looking at.
• We're not in that space here, so we're talking about sales.

Summary: The subcommittee first heard presentations on protecting minors from age-restricted products from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Attorney General’s office. DBPR described its Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco division’s licensing and enforcement work on alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, and hemp sales, including inspections, undercover underage-purchase operations, arrests, and coordination with the Attorney General on hemp and nicotine enforcement. Members asked about trends in youth use, retailer training, use of underage decoys in investigations, and whether additional education or penalties could help reduce sales to minors. The Attorney General’s office then outlined the new nicotine dispensing device directory created under last year’s law, explaining the criteria for listing devices attractive to minors, the notice process for manufacturers and retailers, and enforcement consequences once listed devices become contraband. Members discussed online sales, product descriptions, notice to industry, and whether more outreach to parents, schools, and local partners could help. The committee then took up House Bill 105, which would decouple thoroughbred pari-mutuel permit holders from the requirement to conduct live racing in order to operate card rooms/slot gaming. The bill sponsor said the measure would align thoroughbred permits with other live-event permits and argued the industry is already declining and heavily subsidized, so the Legislature should not force a private business to keep an unprofitable line of business. An amendment by Rep. Yeager was adopted to remove live-racing requirements for thoroughbred permit holders who are card room licensees, broadening the bill’s effect to include Tampa Bay Downs as well as Gulfstream Park. Public testimony was sharply divided: supporters said decoupling would give tracks flexibility and not end racing, while opponents from the thoroughbred breeding and racing industry warned it would undermine live racing, breeding, jobs, farmland, and the broader equine economy. After debate, several members spoke in favor of the bill, emphasizing business flexibility, declining foal counts, and the view that the state should not require a private industry to maintain racing to keep gaming rights. Opponents argued the bill could damage a signature Florida industry and its economic impact. The committee then voted 10-6 to report HB 105 favorably, with several members voting no and some excused. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:31:38.840><c> tax</c> changes on who gets sales tax changes on who gets sales tax diversions.
• </c> Gluckstadt, authorize the sale of. Gluckstadt, authorize the sale of.
• </c> are we setting a price for the sale? are we setting a price for the sale?
• </c> it will sale. it will sale.
• </c> on sales. on sales.