Transcript Highlights:

• Actually, it was a mandate.
• Should we do it or shouldn't we do it?
• It gave us critical faculties to look through it.
• It was a total loss.
• So it basically slows down the strategy. It does. Okay, understood.

Committee: House Government Efficiency

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Should we do it or shouldn't we do it?
• It gave us critical faculties to look through it.
• Oh, it was in a I appreciate you bringing it forward.
• It was a total loss.
• So it basically slows down the strategy. It does. Okay, understood.

Committee: House Government Efficiency

Summary: The Committee on Government Efficiency heard House Bill 2226, sponsored by Rep. Riggs, which would require fiscal notes to estimate the employee hours needed to implement new programs, in addition to costs. Riggs argued the bill would help lawmakers understand the real workload imposed by mandates, especially on schools and teachers, and said it was similar to language that previously passed committee. Several members supported the concept, citing burdens on educators and the need for better information, though some questioned the bill’s own fiscal note and suggested fiscal notes should be more accurate or grounded in facts. No vote was taken during the hearing, and the bill was opened to public testimony but no witnesses spoke for or against before the hearing closed. The committee then heard House Bill 2330, sponsored by Rep. West, an annexation bill. West said the bill would raise the contiguity requirement for annexation from 15% to 25%, bar cities from annexing adjacent unincorporated areas within 24 months of a prior annexation, and repeal a petition-based annexation procedure in certain counties. He argued the measure would slow aggressive annexation, protect rural landowners and county zoning, and reduce strain on roads, schools, water, sewer, and emergency services. Members generally agreed the bill addressed real concerns about strip annexation and overdevelopment, though some questioned whether the 25% threshold was too restrictive and whether the bill should distinguish between voluntary and involuntary annexation. A witness from St. Charles County testified in support, while an opposition witness said the bill reflected a misunderstanding of existing annexation law and noted current procedures already include voter protections and zoning review. The hearing concluded without a vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll just read it real quick so that everyone has it.
• </c> that language, um it sounds like um it that language, um it sounds like um it it<00:07:11.840><c
• </c> that it would seem to me might give it that it would seem to me might give it the<00:23:34.240><
• Um it sounds It sounds like they don't.
• </c> it and it is postponed until next month. it and it is postponed until next month.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes and adopted the consent calendar without objection. It then took up Department of Safety Rule 25161 on administrative license suspension forms. After discussion of a staff concern that the rule text should expressly require a defendant’s signature or refusal to sign, and the officer’s witness signature, the agency agreed to revised language. The committee voted to grant conditional approval with those edits. The committee next considered Department of Agriculture rule 192, concerning importation of bovines and domestic animals. Staff identified several issues, including an overly broad federal citation, an unclear definition of infection, a possible conflict between provisions on telephone-issued permits and documents that must be carried, and missing struck-through repeal language. Because the department had not proposed written fixes, members moved to postpone the item until next month, and the motion passed. A second Agriculture item, 25207, was discussed as a long-expired set of rules that the agency said were still needed to run its programs; the committee granted conditional approval. The Public Utilities Commission’s competitive natural gas supplier and aggregator rules prompted the most extensive debate. Staff argued the cited statutes did not clearly authorize the commission to impose fines on natural gas suppliers, while the agency responded that authority could be read from related Department of Energy transition language and general rulemaking provisions. Members discussed whether the issue reflected a statutory gap created when responsibilities were split between the Department of Energy and the commission. The committee ultimately voted to waive and postpone the item to next month so the attorneys could work out the authority question. The committee also postponed Department of Energy items 219 and 220 at the agency’s request, and it noted that the Liquor Commission’s emergency rule had been revised to reduce reporting from monthly to quarterly before being reissued, with the item also postponed.

Transcript Highlights:

• The ayes have it. The ayes have it. You have adopted the substitute.
• It seemed like it was large enough to be meaningful, but not so large that it was, you know, ridiculous
• Oh, it does. Mr.
• It would... This would make it more likely that I could do that?
• It could be either. It could be an insurance company or it could be an individual.

Committee: House General Laws

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It didn't make it into the final bill.
• It didn't make it into the final bill.
• And again, we have it. It needs twothirds majority.
• And again, we have it. It needs two-thirds majority.
• Um it will it will be continue to meet.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Lay it aside. Lay it aside.
• So, it is that freedom.
• That's what it is.
• THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
• AND, IT IS AN HONOR FOR ME TO HAVE SERVED AND IT IS AN HONOR And it is an honor for me to have served

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened with ceremonial opening proceedings, approved the prior journal, and then moved through a series of calendar actions, including discharging and substituting identical companion bills from committee and restoring several bills to the Third Reading Calendar after reconsideration. The chamber also took up a supplemental budget calendar and a controversial supplemental budget extender, with Senator O’Mara questioning the delay in final budget negotiations, the size of the extender, table targets, and unresolved policy issues such as auto insurance reforms, SEQRA, New York for All, and CLCPA changes. Senator Serrano responded that negotiations were ongoing and that the extender was a clean measure to keep state government functioning. The budget extender bills were then passed, with Senator Weik voting in the negative on one of them. The Senate also adopted a resolution memorializing May 4, 2026, as 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Day, and hosted Major General Scott Naumann and other Fort Drum leaders and soldiers for remarks on the division’s deployments, readiness, economic impact, and requests for continued state support on items such as microreactors, health care, DMV services, dining facilities, airports, and mineral-related development. The Fort Drum resolution drew extensive bipartisan praise from Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Minority Leader Ortt, Senator Scarcella-Spanton, Senator Ashby, Senator Walczyk, and others, who emphasized the division’s military history, its role as a major employer and economic driver in Northern New York, and the sacrifices of service members and their families. Several senators highlighted individual soldiers in attendance and their service records, while the resolution was opened for co-sponsorship and adopted. The Senate also recognized a visiting child author, Thomas Ortiz, who was introduced for publishing a book encouraging kindness and friendship. After the ceremonial segment, the Senate returned to regular business and passed a series of bills on the calendar, including measures affecting environmental conservation, executive law, public service, education, public authorities, real property tax, criminal procedure, election law, and civil rights. Some bills drew negative votes from a bloc of senators, particularly on the environmental, criminal procedure, election, and civil rights measures, but all listed bills were ultimately passed. The Senate then adjourned until the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• it out of the market.
• And if they don’t meet it, they have to do it again.
• Deuterium, you can get it out of the oceans; you can get it out of... you just have to refine it.
• If there wasn’t, scratch it. We took it out. We took it out.
• Basically, it uses gas to take the heat out of it.

Committee: Joint Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee

Summary: The meeting was a presentation and Q&A at Idaho National Laboratory focused on the state of nuclear energy, advanced reactors, and the lab’s role in testing, regulation, and commercialization. Speakers described INL’s broader mission beyond nuclear, including cybersecurity and critical infrastructure, but emphasized its major nuclear capabilities: the Advanced Test Reactor, TREAT, the Materials and Fuels Complex, and other test beds used to accelerate fuel and materials testing. They also highlighted the lab’s size, workforce, internship pipeline, and partnerships with DOE, DHS, DOD, and private companies. A major topic was the federal push to speed up nuclear deployment through executive orders and regulatory reform. Speakers said DOE and the NRC are reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, streamlining environmental reviews, and working toward a goal of having three new nuclear systems achieve criticality by July 4, 2026. They discussed the difference between microreactors, small modular reactors, and traditional gigawatt-scale plants, arguing that advanced reactors can be factory-built, safer, and better suited for data centers, military bases, remote communities, industrial heat, and other nontraditional uses. They also said the U.S. is rebuilding its nuclear supply chain, including enrichment and fuel fabrication, and that states willing to host parts of the fuel cycle could see major economic benefits. The speakers addressed questions about cost, safety, waste, and international competition. They said advanced reactors rely on passive safety features, TRISO fuel, and natural circulation, and that the industry’s challenge is often cost uncertainty rather than a precise fuel or materials limit. They argued used nuclear fuel should be viewed as a resource rather than waste if recycling becomes policy, and said microreactors should produce relatively small amounts of spent fuel. They also noted that China and Russia continue to build aggressively, with China on pace to surpass the U.S. in total nuclear generation, while U.S. projects such as Palisades, Crane Clean Energy Center, Duane Arnold, Oklo, Aalo, MARVEL, and Project Pele are moving forward under DOE and private-sector partnerships.

Transcript Highlights:

• It almost did. Correct. It almost did.
• That's what it says here. Okay, let me find it. That's what it says here.
• The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it. You have it, so ordered.
• it.
• That was it. That was it.

Committee: House Government

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is. It is based on historical data? It was established several years ago.
• I'll do it.
• I'll do it.
• That's not it.
• Did a great job of it. I like it.

Committee: All ALC-HOSPITAL, MEDICAID, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE

Summary: The subcommittee met to review Department of Human Services hospital payments in Arkansas Medicaid, with DHS Secretary Janet Mann and Deputy Secretary Misty Eubanks presenting first, followed by Arkansas Hospital Association Executive Vice President Jody Ann Tritt and a brief comment from Arkansas Children’s. DHS outlined the main hospital payment streams: fee-for-service per diem payments, upper payment limit (UPL) supplemental payments, cost settlements, and smaller payments such as graduate medical education and disproportionate share hospital funds. Members asked for plain-language explanations of cost settlements, why per diem rates vary by hospital type, and why UPL applies to private hospitals. DHS said cost settlements and UPL are mechanisms to help offset Medicaid underpayment, with SFY 2025 hospital payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and no general revenue used for supplemental payments beyond the state share funded through hospital assessments and related financing structures. Committee members focused heavily on whether Arkansas hospitals are adequately reimbursed and why rural hospitals struggle. Tritt explained that critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, PPS hospitals, and specialty hospitals operate under different federal and state rules, and said lower per diem rates for some facilities help with cash flow and later cost settlement adjustments. She said Arkansas hospitals are under financial strain, citing a negative patient services margin statewide and noting that Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payers all contribute to the problem. She also said the association had just authorized a statewide survey of hospital finances and costs, which she expected would take about a year to complete. A major theme was commercial insurance reimbursement. Tritt argued Arkansas hospitals are paid far less than hospitals in neighboring states even though premiums are similar, and said administrative burdens, prior authorizations, and denials add to the problem. She said hospitals receive about 52 to 53 cents on the dollar for Medicaid costs without UPL and about 78 cents with UPL, still below cost. Members also discussed Medicare wage index issues, Medicare Advantage, and whether hospitals could use technology or alternative arrangements to improve finances. No votes were taken on the hospital presentation. At the end of the meeting, DHS provided a brief update on Living Choices and assisted living reimbursement. Officials said one assisted living facility, Pillars of the Community in Crossett, had announced closure, with nine waiver clients being transitioned to other settings. DHS said the current cost reporting period was underway and that a new rate study could be ready for review before the end of the fiscal year if reports were submitted on time. Members also asked about the broader waiver plan, and DHS said the next waiver iteration would likely be brought back to the committee in the summer.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:06:44.000><c> like</c><00:06:44.120><c> it</c> mean to me it it it just seems like it mean to
• me it it it just seems like it makes<00:06:44.720><c> sense</c><00:06:45.199><c> I</c><00:06:45.280>
• </c> propose it then you can vote against it propose it then you can vote against it I<00:17:17.880><
• 00:42:46.480><c> $40,000</c> benefit although it is it it is $40,000 benefit although it is it it is
• That isn't really fair, so by separating it out, it left it more equitable as it went through.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 187, which would allow parents or guardians to seek restraining orders on behalf of a minor child even when the alleged perpetrator is not a family or household member. Tracy Sirles testified that the bill was prompted by her family’s experience after being told by state police to seek a restraining order, only to learn the current law did not allow it because the offender was the child’s best friend’s father. Members agreed the change was straightforward, noted the fiscal note reflected only a small indeterminate cost to the judicial branch, and moved House Bill 187 ought to pass; the motion was approved unanimously. The committee then discussed House Bill 66, a Right-to-Know bill that removes “citizen” language in favor of “person” in some provisions and allows certain New Hampshire-connected requesters to seek records electronically if the records already exist in that format. Members reviewed concerns about defining “member of the media,” the scope of electronic requests, and a sentence stating appeals would have no filing fee or search charge. After debate, the committee voted to amend the bill by removing that fee-waiver sentence, then recommended House Bill 66 ought to pass as amended. The vote was 6-3. Next, the committee heard from the Environment and Agriculture chair about several solid-waste-related bills being folded into trailer bill language, including House Bill 215 and House Bill 171, with discussion of a possible three-year landfill moratorium and the need to address DEES staffing and funding concerns. DEES later clarified that the revised approach would not require new positions or create a fiscal impact because the new solid waste commission would be self-funded through filing fees. The committee voted unanimously to retain House Bill 215. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 566, which requires landfill permit applications to include a detailed leachate management plan and more information about disposal contracts. The sponsor said the bill was developed with DEES to address leachate problems and improve safety oversight. DEES testified that the bill largely reflects current practice and would have no specific fiscal impact, with existing staff able to absorb any review workload. The committee moved House Bill 566 ought to pass, and the motion was approved unanimously. The committee also briefly discussed House Bill 624, a grant program for local river management advisory committees, but no vote was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has lots of designations to it.
• Is we will table it here for those, so don't feel upset about it.
• It got all the way through our House, the Senate, and it made it through T.R.D. without any flags for
• Over time, it will grow and also it will.
• It could go down; it could go up.

Committee: House House Taxation & Revenue

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> looked at it or even realized that it looked at it or even realized that it should<00:54:47.559>
• </c><01:04:57.279><c> it</c> we we we need to finally expand it it we we we need to finally expand it
• it so difficult it aligning so we make it so difficult it is<01:14:32.080><c> often</c><01:14:32.400
• </c><01:18:19.000><c> pipeline</c><01:18:19.480><c> IE</c> it it expands the overall pipeline IE it it
• </c><02:28:16.880><c> directly</c> properties it it it cannot come directly properties it it it cannot

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• on it.'
• It is not.
• It is not.
• It's near lunch, isn't it? It is. Very near lunch.
• us do it, so hurry up and make us do it, okay?

Bills: SB1021 , SB1144 , SB1164 , SB1178 , SB1181 , SB1241 , SB1247 , SB1286 , SB1415 , SCR1011

Committee: Senate Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency

Keywords: health profession, regulatory boards, criminal activity, notification, auditor general, investigations, veterinary technicians, certification, education alternative, Arizona Revised Statutes, veterinary education, ALTCS, providers, ownership change, healthcare, Arizona Long Term Care System, naturopathic physician, naturopathic medicine, naturopathic doctor, naturopathic physicians medical board

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> to what it says. to what it says.
• to it and do it You go ahead and speak to it and do it briefly,<00:15:10.800><c> please,</c><00:15:10.959
• </c> concern and it should be um that it concern and it should be um that it should<00:57:53.520><c>
• Um what's it called? the like that. Um what's it called?
• it. we know what's heard it we heard it. we know what's going<01:17:27.719><c> on</c><01:17:28.719><c

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first discussed HB 771, the open enrollment bill, which had returned from the Senate with language clarifying that districts should list both tuition expenses and offsetting revenue estimates from sending districts. The chair and Representative McGuire supported concurring with the Senate changes, while Representative Luno raised broader concerns about the bill’s structure and equity, arguing that tuition based on 80% of the sending district’s average cost could be unfair and could create problems for receiving districts with different cost structures. After a show of hands, the committee voted to concur and send that recommendation to the House floor, with Luno indicating he would speak against it there. The committee then took up SB 9 in executive session. An amendment, 1920H, was offered to clarify that the tuition calculation should use the sending district’s average cost and to support access to CTE programs, including allowing students to take academic courses at the receiving school and, in some cases, attend the nearest CTE center. Supporters said the bill would help more students participate in career and technical education and noted bipartisan sponsorship in the Senate. Opponents argued the amendment would increase district costs, strain property taxpayers, and could reduce CTE participation or create logistical problems. The committee adopted the amendment 10-8, then voted 10-8 to recommend OTPA as amended; Representative Lad was assigned the majority report and Representative Luno the minority ITL report. After closing the SB 9 executive session, the chair reminded members that committee reports were due immediately and announced retained-bill subcommittees. One subcommittee will address adequacy and school funding issues arising from HB 651, HB 772, HB 491, and HB 434, chaired by Representative Spillsbury. Another will address school building aid issues from HB 295 and HB 366, including whether to keep the current formula or revise it, and how to handle renovations, new construction, and lease arrangements.

Transcript Highlights:

• We see other states passing our CV and loving it. Others are banning it.
• designed it to do.
• We voted it in, we wanted it, and we turned around and voted it out.
• And if you repeal it, I'm for it. Otherwise, I'm against it.
• And if you repeal it, I'm for it. Otherwise, I'm against it.

Summary: The committee opened with member introductions and then heard House Bill 2123, which would change Washington’s foreign-national certification requirements for election contributions and political advertising. Staff explained that the proposed substitute would only require certifications for campaigns or sponsors exceeding a $5,500 threshold, with an amendment raising that threshold to $6,000, which would largely limit the requirement to ballot measure activity. Prime sponsor Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon said the current paperwork burden makes campaigns harder without solving a real problem, and that his proposal would preserve protections where federal law does not already cover ballot measures. Testifiers supporting the bill, including campaign treasurers, said the certification requirement is burdensome and ineffective; one witness raised concern that a related repeal provision might unintentionally allow foreign participation in state elections, and staff/leadership indicated follow-up would occur. The hearing on HB 2123 was then suspended and later reopened with additional supportive testimony from campaign professionals and others before the committee moved on to other bills. The committee then took up House Bill 2210 on ranked-choice voting for local elections. Staff said the bill would replace the current top-two primary structure with a top-five process for jurisdictions using ranked-choice voting, allow counties and other local governments to adopt the system through 2032, and set ballot, tabulation, rulemaking, and public education requirements; Seattle would be exempt because it is already moving toward ranked-choice voting. Rep. Gregerson, the sponsor, framed the bill as a temporary tool to protect free and fair elections amid federal uncertainty and potential Voting Rights Act changes. Supporters from Fair Vote Washington, the Washington Bus, Sightline Institute, and others argued ranked-choice voting can improve representation, reduce vote splitting, and help young, military, overseas, and underrepresented voters. Opponents, including Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, county auditors, and several citizens, said the system is confusing, costly, harder to audit, and may increase ballot rejection or lower participation, especially among communities of color and voters with limited English proficiency. The committee heard extensive debate but took no final action during the transcript. The committee also heard House Bill 2411, which expands the state shared leave program to cover employees who are victims of hate crimes or whose absences stem from immigration enforcement actions affecting themselves or family members. Rep. Osman Salahuddin said the bill responds to real cases where state workers faced detention or family separation and could not use shared leave under current law. OFM, the Office of Equity, and the Washington Federation of State Employees supported the bill, describing it as a humane, low-cost way to help employees remain employed during traumatic disruptions. A Republican member asked whether the change would apply to people not legally present or working under a visa; witnesses said they believed it would not, or would be extremely unlikely, and would follow state hiring documentation requirements. The hearing then closed on HB 2411. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2281 on government-to-government consultation with tribes regarding state actions affecting tribal traditional cultural places. Staff said the bill would require mutually agreed consultation processes, timely notice, meaningful consultation before action, and a heightened legal standard requiring the state to show a compelling interest and least restrictive means if it would burden tribal cultural practices; tribes could sue in superior court. Rep. Chris Stearns said the bill is intended to protect Native identity, sacred sites, and religious practices from further loss, while tribal leaders and faith advocates strongly supported it as enforceable protection for sacred places and sovereignty. Some business and industry groups said they supported the goal but worried the bill’s broad definitions and cause of action could create permitting uncertainty, project delays, and significant costs, especially for clean energy and industrial projects. The committee also heard testimony on House Bill 2206, which would adopt the Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act; supporters said it would streamline absentee voting for overseas and military voters, while opponents argued it could allow never-residents or duplicate registrations and raised constitutional concerns. No votes were taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh it uh it has to do with AED signage.
• comes back here it through it and if it comes back here it comes<00:39:18.240><c> back</c><00:39:18.560
• It reads, oh, you're adding at the end of it, it looks like. Okay.
• So without it, it looks like. Okay.
• Is it thought to myself, is it worth it?

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we've moved it down because it will be receiving potentially a new project award to remove it as an
• dries out, which it normally does, it contracts.
• You know, it doesn't have... Room for electives. It has the core classrooms, and that's it.
• , we can't defend it, we can't fill it, but no, we're not going to build it.
• It was the graduation listing. Because it did go through, but I didn't see it on the vetoes either.

Committee: House Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force

Transcript Highlights:

• Technology we now know today that it hurts children, it hurts their learning, it hurts their development
• And it was very positive. It had this just very optimistic consensus. And it was worldwide.
• It begins in third grade. It goes through eighth grade.
• It got longer, not shorter. It didn't, you know, in July. Okay, get it in July.
• It is.

Committee: House Joint Committee on Education

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education heard testimony focused on the effects of educational technology and screen time on K-12 students, with particular attention to House Bill 2230 and related policy changes. Dr. Mariam Mohamed Connie argued that one-to-one devices, digital instruction, and early screen exposure harm children’s learning, attention, physical development, and mental health, and that schools should return to more analog methods such as paper, handwriting, cursive, phonics, and print-based materials. She cited international and national assessments, research on handwriting versus typing, and her experience on the Springfield Public Schools board, saying the district saw improved MAP scores after scaling back Chromebook use in elementary grades and reintroducing books and cursive. Several witnesses and committee members discussed the practical and budgetary implications of reducing screen use. A Springfield administrator said many teachers were trained in technology-heavy environments and would need support to teach without relying on devices, and she estimated Chromebooks and related infrastructure cost more per student than textbooks, manipulatives, and paper. Another witness from the Missouri National Education Association supported the bill’s direction, saying elementary years are critical and that the state should signal a move away from overuse of screens while allowing districts time to adjust. Committee members emphasized local control, the need for a task force, and the importance of involving DESE because state testing and standards currently drive much of the digital use in schools. The discussion also covered Missouri Learning Standards, computer science requirements, and the tension between digital testing and classroom instruction. Speakers criticized the fact that MAP testing is digital and adaptive, arguing it forces schools to keep devices in elementary grades just to prepare students for state assessments. The chair and other members said the bill was intentionally nonprescriptive, aiming instead to create a task force and encourage local districts to develop screen-time policies, especially for elementary students. The hearing ended without a vote, and the committee adjourned after public comment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our legislator or our counselors didn't sign it, but it required it.
• We could make it better if it wasn't doing what it wanted to do.
• We could make it better if it wasn't doing what it wanted to do.
• </c> um it it will be moving to jobs. um it it will be moving to jobs.
• We um to get it in the shape it I chair. We um to get it in the shape it I want<00:43:21.840><c> it.

Committee: Senate State and Local Government

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• like</c> Medicaid and I'm it it almost feels like Medicaid and I'm it it almost feels like it's<00:56
• not to do it on the fly to make sure it not to do it on the fly to make sure it could<00:57:24.839><
• </c><01:42:36.960><c> um</c><01:42:37.199><c> where</c> it it suspends the compromise um where it it
• Residents but let us call it what it is Residents but let us call it what it is it's<03:11:16.880><c>
• </c><03:41:59.120><c> it</c><03:41:59.239><c> it</c> and to do right okay Mr Cher it it it and to do

Committee: Senate Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all