Transcript Highlights:

• We could work on other tools that might help support the project.
• rail: 67% of registered California voters in support, 82% support among younger voters, who will be
• We're going to support those.
• Nobody's talking about the six I polled my grandchildren: 110 percent support.
• of registered California voters in support, 82% support among younger voters will be the long-term beneficiaries

Summary: The Assembly Transportation Committee held an oversight hearing on California High-Speed Rail, focusing on the authority’s supplemental project update report and the newly released 2026 draft business plan. Committee leaders emphasized transparency, the project’s funding challenges, and the need for clear answers on costs, schedule, and scope. The High-Speed Rail Authority said the project has made major progress in the Central Valley, including substantial construction completion, right-of-way acquisition, and railhead development, and highlighted over $14 billion in savings from a rebased project plan, plus an additional $2 billion in savings in the draft business plan. The authority also said it expects to begin laying track by the end of the year and continues to pursue private-sector partnerships and clean-energy opportunities. The Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Inspector General both raised concerns about whether the current funding plan is sufficient and whether the authority has clearly identified the timing of future expenditures versus revenues. The LAO said the project likely still faces a funding gap for Merced-to-Bakersfield once financing costs and the loss of $4 billion in federal funds are considered, and warned that cap-and-invest revenues are volatile and may not be well suited for borrowing without additional safeguards. The Inspector General said the authority still has not provided a precise funding plan, estimated the project is about two years away from lacking funds on hand to stay on schedule, and urged lawmakers to focus on financing costs, procurement timing, schedule risks, and distinguishing true cost cuts from scope changes. Members questioned the authority about proposed statutory changes, including CEQA and permitting streamlining, court resources, third-party process changes, sales tax exemptions on materials, and expanded land-use/value-capture tools. They also pressed the authority on the loss of federal funds, the withdrawal of litigation over those funds, and whether the project’s revised savings depend on moving station locations away from downtown Merced and Bakersfield and on other scope changes such as more single-tracking and blended operations south of Palmdale. The authority said it is still committed to Merced-to-Bakersfield, believes the business plan shows a path to completion with sufficient funding, and will work with the Legislature on any needed changes before the final plan is submitted.

Transcript Highlights:

• If the league doesn't support this bill, the league needs to bring forward legislation that they do support
• If the league doesn't support this bill, the league needs to bring forward legislation that they do support
• This concept has broad public support.
• We are support.
• We are support. So I I don't know.

Bills: HB2143 , HB2273 , HB2290 , HB2373 , HB2784 , HB2794 , HB4037

Committee: House Ways & Means

Keywords: public safety, retirement system, investments, trust fund, board of trustees, financial report, income tax rebate, Pinal County, taxpayer eligibility, state revenue, financial assistance, transaction privilege tax, business location, tangible personal property, shared vehicle, sourcing, income tax, veterans, donations, tax refunds

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, I support innovation and resident choice.
• I am very much in support of treatment and I'm very in support of having a further evaluation of that
• . ...support of having a further evaluation of that.
• All of this we support. Those recommendations save lives.
• All of this we support. Those recommendations save lives.

Committee: Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Summary: The committee heard a series of bills and public testimony, beginning with introductions and then taking up several health and human services measures. A major focus was SB 1120 and SB 1121, which address radiation protection in cardiac catheterization and other ionizing-radiation procedure rooms. SB 1120 would require health care facilities to equip at least 50% of procedure rooms with radiation protection systems by July 1, 2027, while SB 1121 would prohibit requiring lead aprons in rooms with such systems and instead require real-time dosimeters for staff who opt out of lead aprons. Physicians, nurses, and a hospital executive testified that enhanced radiation protection systems can dramatically reduce occupational exposure, lower cancer and orthopedic risks, and help with workforce recruitment and retention; a hospital alliance remained neutral pending further stakeholder discussions. Both bills were amended and passed out of committee on 7-0 votes, and SB 1118, which appropriates state funds for a rural hospital grant program to install radiation protection systems, also passed 7-0. The committee also approved SB 1001, which appropriates $1 million to the Department of Economic Security for the Older Individuals Who Are Blind program, after testimony from blind and low-vision Arizonans and advocates describing long waitlists, the need for independent living training, and the program’s role in preventing unnecessary dependence. SB 1072, a major funding bill for home- and community-based services and room-and-board rate increases for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, drew testimony from providers about severe staffing shortages, overtime, turnover, and underfunding; it passed 6-0 with one not voting. SB 1125, requiring DCS to pursue MOUs with tribes and improve tribal communication and access to licensing and enforcement information, also passed 6-0 with one not voting. The committee then considered SB 1123, which removes a board-certification requirement so trained forensic pathologists can supervise autopsy training for residents and fellows; Maricopa County supported it as a workforce and training fix, and it passed 6-0 with one not voting. SB 1052, allowing mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy in assisted living facilities under physician order and DHS rules, generated mixed testimony: supporters argued it could improve health and independence for residents, while opponents raised concerns about off-label treatment in nonmedical settings. The bill passed 5-2. SB 1112, which reduces the number of acquaintance witnesses required in court-ordered treatment proceedings from two to one and allows the court to waive the witness requirement under certain conditions, drew strong testimony from families and mental health advocates on both sides; it passed 5-2. The committee also began hearing SB 1113, which would allow certain service of process in court-ordered evaluation and treatment cases by evaluation-agency employees or other court-authorized persons, but the transcript cuts off before final action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:03:48.400><c> It</c> GOP amendment that we support. It GOP amendment that we support.
• </c><00:10:30.399><c> program</c> small grants and an agri support program small grants and an agri support
• </c> was more of an expression for support was more of an expression for support for<00:29:03.679><c>
• </c><00:30:27.279><c> this</c> Republican members, in supporting this Republican members, in supporting
• So, I'd ask you to support the journey.

Bills: HF2446 , HF2563 , HF2444

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: agriculture finance, broadband development, Department of Agriculture, Board of Animal Health, Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, Office of Broadband Development, food safety, food handler license, cottage food, home processed food, livestock dealer, meat packing company, milk marketer, milk marketing license, grain buyer, grain storage, beginning farmer, emerging farmer, farm down payment assistance, livestock investment grant

Transcript Highlights:

• I am testifying in support of HB 1393 by Chairman Metcalf.
• Uh, first of all, let me say that I'm very supportive of this effort.
• I support this bill because we need some oversight.
• I mean, so many of us supported this, you know, a lot of us were here and supported it, but it's really
• We support the language, uh, to fund the effort through an appropriation.

Bills: HB 14 , HB 106 , HB 146 , HB 267 , HB 274 , HB 1127 , HB 1359 , HB 1393 , HB 1584 , HB 1640 , HB 1710 , HB 2152 , HCR 101 , HJR 8 , HR 51

Committee: House State Affairs

Keywords: nuclear energy, advanced reactors, energy security, grant programs, Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office, HB 106, oil and gas, Railroad Commission of Texas, overhead electrical lines, electrical distribution system, power line maintenance, administrative penalty, Natural Resources Code, oil and gas lease, well operator, energy safety, utility infrastructure, regulatory compliance, cleanup fund, oil and gas regulation and cleanup fund

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> and reliable resources to support and reliable resources to support successful<02:43:13.800><c>
• </c> reliable funding for cuts to supporting reliable funding for cuts to supporting support<02:48:04.080
• </c> Constitution that tells us to support Constitution that tells us to support Hawaiian<03:14:53.840
• These are to support, uh, to provide support from the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design,
• the effort to support all schools.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• My current revenue does support this.
• My current revenue does support this.
• My current revenue does support this.
• My current revenue does support this.
• The board is entirely fee-supported and receives no general fund dollars to support its services.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They still need to have appropriate housing, a way to support themselves, programming, supports in the
• They still need to have appropriate housing, a way to support themselves, programming, supports in the
• So with that, I support the bill.
• So I was the one and um I'm a very huge supporter of libraries, a huge supporter of the privacy.
• So I was the one and um I'm a very huge supporter of libraries, a huge supporter of the privacy.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We support that effort.
• We support that effort.
• I support that.
• to support the bill.
• to support the bill.

Committee: House Elections Finance and Government Operations

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:16:44.960><c> the</c> situations uh secondly we support the situations uh secondly we support
• </c> protects our public health and supports protects our public health and supports the<01:21:03.400
• I support walking, trip, and bike trails.
• </c><01:42:14.080><c> the</c><01:42:14.239><c> goals</c> we support the goals we support the goals but
• </c> people are going to walk on it I support people are going to walk on it I support uh<01:43:52.480

Committee: House Transportation Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Tate was chosen to be Guardian of the Flame due to his dedication and passion for supporting Special
• Justin Tate for the dedication and passion of supporting the Special Olympics of Arkansas.
• The Warriors were supported by athletic trainers Cody Walker and Jermaine Brown.
• The Warriors were supported by athletic trainers Cody Walker and Jermaine Brown.
• The Warriors were supported by athletic trainers Cody Walker and Jermaine Brown.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have Senator Paul Feeney here to support House Bill 5138.
• And that's exactly what this bill does, and that's why we support it.
• I'm here to testify in support of House Bill 5138, the penny bill.
• We support that.
• So again, we support penny bill. We oppose the tariff bill.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure

Summary: The Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure held a public hearing on House Bill 5036, concerning consumer information related to tariffs, and House Bill 5138, concerning consumer protections for low-value tender scarcity and penny rounding. The chairs opened with procedural remarks, noted both chambers were in session, and explained that testimony would be limited to three minutes. The hearing also included light discussion of the committee’s one-year anniversary and the large volume of bills the committee handles. Testimony on H. 5138 was broadly supportive. Senator Paul Feeney, the bill’s co-sponsor, said the measure would address confusion caused by the penny’s scarcity by creating a statewide cash-rounding standard to the nearest five cents, with rounding up or down depending on the final digit. He emphasized that the bill would apply only to cash transactions and would require consumer notice rules from the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. Representatives from the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, Massachusetts Retailers Association, Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association all supported the bill, citing operational efficiency, legal clarity, fairness, and reduced burden on retailers and restaurants. The Retailers Association suggested amendments to make rounding discretionary rather than mandatory and to clarify that taxes and fees would not be affected. Testimony on H. 5036 was largely opposed by business groups. The Massachusetts Retailers Association, New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, and Massachusetts State Auto Dealers Association all said the tariff disclosure requirements would be difficult or impossible to implement in practice, especially given frequent tariff changes and the complexity of pricing goods and vehicles. They argued the bill would create compliance burdens and could increase costs rather than help consumers. No votes were taken on either bill. The hearing concluded after no further witnesses came forward, and the committee voted to close the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• We fully support passage of this House Bill 511. Fire is our biggest fear.
• We fully support this and ask for it to pass. Thank you.
• We fully support this and ask for a due pass. Thank you. Thank you.
• We fully support this and ask for it to pass. Thank you. Thank you.
• We fully support this and ask for our due pass. Thank you. Thank you.

Summary: The Conservation and Resources Committee approved the January 27, 2026 minutes and then considered several RSs tied to the Idaho Code Cleanup Act. Representative Dustin Manwaring explained that the RSs were recommended by the DOGE task force to repeal outdated or unused code: RS 32887 (Fish and Game, wolf-management transition and hunting fine provisions), RS 32890 (Parks and Recreation, an unused outdoor recreation enhancement/Park and Recreation Fund program), RS 32902 (Water Resources, obsolete compact and trust-account provisions), and RS 32903 (Lands, provisions on floating timber and townsite claims). Each RS was introduced by committee vote. Representative Mark Sauter presented RS 33049, which would expand and update rules for water-skiing activities on public waters, including allowing driver-and-skier-only skiing in limited circumstances with added equipment, age, and time restrictions. A committee member asked whether other user groups such as paddlers or kayakers had been consulted; Sauter said he had not reached out broadly but would be prepared to answer more if the measure received a hearing. The committee voted to introduce RS 33049. The committee then heard House Joint Memorial 9 from Representative Judy Boyle and J.R. Simplot Company representative Elizabeth Kreiner. The memorial asks Congress to reaffirm FLPMA as the governing law for federal land exchanges after a Ninth Circuit decision raised questions about older land-disposal statutes. Kreiner described a decades-long Simplot-BLM exchange that was later challenged in court and said the ruling could affect completed and future exchanges across the West. The committee voted to send H.J.M. 9 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 511, also from Representative Boyle, to raise the cap on the wildland-urban interface fire-protection surcharge from $40 to $100. Boyle and Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said the current cap has not changed since 2009 and no longer covers rising firefighting costs amid growth in the WUI; logging and forest-industry witnesses supported the bill as a modest way to fund fire protection. After testimony, the committee voted to send H.B. 511 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• waiving in support.
• Olivia Vero, Miami-Dade County Clerk of Court waiving in support.
• Chair: JK Irvin, Hernando Clerk of Court and Comptroller waiving in support.
• Greg Harrell, Marion Clerk of Court and Comptroller waiving in support.
• I wholeheartedly support it. I'm glad that the clerks are here supporting it.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair: Waiving in support from the Florida League of Cities.
• Jonathan Webber from Southern Poverty Law Center waiving in support.
• Sam Wagner, Florida League of Cities, waiving in support.
• Seth Graham, Florida Association of Counties, waiving in support.
• Representative Nix: Thank you for your support.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill relates to a prohibition on certain persons supporting.
• Why don't we just say that no students should support public terrorist activity?
• So, publicly support. I see, I think, I see what you're trying to do here. Okay.
• Publicly supporting terrorist activities. What does that mean?
• Is that what publicly supporting means? Not necessarily, Senator.

Committees: Senate Education , Senate Education K-16

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• person supported or opposed uh she person supported or opposed uh she support<02:31:33.600><c> uh</c>
• <c> the</c> support uh Donna Peterson supports the support uh Donna Peterson supports the Bill<02:31:
• > change</c> that supports uh polic supports change that supports uh polic supports change through<03
• His family supports him, his friends support him, his doctors, coaches, and therapists all support him
• His family supports him, his friends support him, his doctors, coaches, and therapists all support him

Committee: House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Because agencies from across the state routinely support one another, our infrastructure must be supported
• The funding supports the quickly.
• This your support for House File 4597.
• ,</c> appreciate the bipartisan support, appreciate the bipartisan support, especially<00:21:25.640><
• </c> and also I got a late letter of support and also I got a late letter of support from<00:21:31.760

Bills: HF4810 , HF4597 , HF1082 , HF3230

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Keywords: public safety, radio communications, infrastructure funding, county funding, interoperability, ARMER network, local jurisdictions, HF4597, Minnesota public safety, 911, emergency dispatch, emergency communications, public safety appropriation, Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, PSAP, dispatch interoperability, real-time coordination, emergency response coordination, cross-jurisdictional response, 911 center awareness platform

Transcript Highlights:

• They're caused by growth, and that isn't supported. by growth and that isn't supported by districts or
• They're caused by growth, and that isn't supported. by growth and that isn't supported by districts or
• So TML supports MUDs?
• And the county is not supporting it.
• And the county is not supporting it.

Committee: House Land & Resource Management

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we support the bill.
• </c><00:20:51.200><c> and</c><00:20:51.440><c> be</c> bipartisan support and be bipartisan support and
• Uh we believe just we support the bill.
• Uh, as an organization, we support food.
• So, I think we're in great support.

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Keywords: 1187, senate, all