Transcript Highlights:

• program to 2045, which aligns with California's carbon neutrality goal of reducing anthropogenic emissions
• and downstream investments that this program encourages through its market-based price on carbon emissions
• Who eliminates funding for zero-emission vehicles when those are being attacked by the federal government
• The fund shift shifts all money away from the AB 617 program, which achieves emission reductions at a
• Last time we were here, we talked about the GHG emission reduction program of the Affordable Housing

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• water and energy consumption, regulated refrigerants used to serve cooling technology, and annual emissions
• the cost burden of the program on data center customers, starting in calendar year 2026 for 2027 emissions
• intent to protect energy affordability and Washington's ability to meet statutory greenhouse gas emission
• when CETA was designed to be the primary driver of emission reduction for the electricity side.
• Data centers pose real risks to affordability, grid reliability, and increasing emissions in the state

Bills: SB6171, SB5965, SB5982, SB6004, SB6010, SB5941, SB6050

Keywords: energy facilities, large energy consumers, regulation, environment, sustainability, retail bags, pollution, customer impact, consumer-owned utilities, clean energy, port districts, market customers, energy transformation, renewable energy, public entities, electric generation, contracting, SB 6010, Washington energy siting, EFSEC

Transcript Highlights:

• The fee is based partially on the level of emissions.
• So when companies reduce their emissions, their fees are also reduced.
• Businesses continue to reduce their emissions while costs to operate the DNR programs have increased
• As emissions continue to decline in the future, we need to find a long-term solution.
• So as the pollution emissions go down, then the amount they pay for fees goes down also.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The fee is based partially on the level of emissions.
• So when companies reduce their emissions, their fees are also reduced.
• Businesses continue to reduce their emissions while costs to operate the DNR programs have increased
• As emissions continue to decline in the future, we need to find a long-term solution.
• So as the pollution emissions go down, then the amount they pay for fees goes down also.

Summary: The Conservation and Natural Resources Committee heard Senate Bill 953, sponsored by Sen. Jason Bean, which would address a projected shortfall in the Department of Natural Resources’ air pollution control program. Bean and supporters from Associated Industries of Missouri, quarry and sand producers, engineering firms, the Missouri Chamber, forest products, and municipal utilities said the bill would stop sweeping unused program funds into general revenue and dedicate a portion of existing sales and use tax revenue from utilities to keep the program solvent without raising permit fees on businesses that have reduced emissions. One informational witness from Armour Vine warned that moving funds out of general revenue could affect broader state revenue and tax triggers. DNR also testified that the fee fund is projected to become insolvent in fiscal year 2028 if current trends continue. No opposition testimony was presented, and the bill hearing was closed. The committee then heard House Bills 3362 and 3364, sponsored by Reps. Colin Wellenkamp and Mike Koslow, which would create guardrails for AI/data center buildout around electricity and water use. The sponsors said the bills are intended to protect ratepayers and local water systems by requiring large-load customers to bear their own infrastructure costs, extending consumer protections to co-ops and municipal utilities, and requiring permits and review for major water withdrawals, with emergency shutoff provisions in water shortages. Support came from environmental groups, conservation organizations, rural advocates, Renew Missouri, the Sierra Club, Missouri Municipal League, Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Ameren Missouri, and Missouri American Water, though some witnesses urged tighter thresholds, more frequent reporting, stronger water-quality protections, and clearer definitions to avoid legal ambiguity. Several witnesses also raised concerns about transparency, local impacts, and whether current thresholds are high enough to protect aquifers, springs, and utility customers. The chair closed testimony after noting time limits and adjourned the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Climate Commitment Act, or CCA, regulates greenhouse gas emissions for certain covered entities in
• Those covered entities are required to purchase allowances to cover their emissions, and those allowances
• Starting on the left-hand side, the carbon emissions reduction account, or CERA, receives a set amount
• from the working families tax credit to energy efficiency in buildings and facilities, to reducing emissions
• Seattle Times called for legislators to, quote, focus investments on the greatest greenhouse gas emission

Bills: HB2251, HB2254, HB2385

Keywords: climate change, commitment act, emission reductions, sustainability, environmental policy, HB 2254, Washington, Health Care Authority, partnership access line, psychiatric consultation line, first approach skills training, behavioral health, mental health, assessment, administrative costs, health insurance, health carriers, self-funded plans, multiple employer welfare arrangement, MEWA

Transcript Highlights:

• The Climate Commitment Act, or CCA, regulates greenhouse gas emissions for certain covered entities in
• Those covered entities are required to purchase allowances to cover their emissions, and those allowances
• Starting on the left-hand side, the carbon emissions reduction account, or CERA, receives a set amount
• from the working families tax credit to energy efficiency in buildings and facilities, to reducing emissions
• Seattle Times called for legislators to, quote, focus investments on the greatest greenhouse gas emission

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee held public hearings on three bills. House Bill 2251, sponsored by Rep. Fitzgibbon, would reorganize Climate Commitment Act revenue accounts by repealing several existing accounts and creating new operating and capital accounts, changing how auction proceeds are distributed when revenues are above or below a set threshold, broadening some tribal and overburdened-community spending language, adding electric vehicles and certain housing uses, capping Ecology administrative costs, and moving some reporting from annual to every two years. Supporters said the bill would simplify a confusing account structure and improve predictability, while opponents criticized the reduced reporting frequency and said it could weaken accountability. No vote was taken. House Bill 2254 would adjust the funding model for the Partnership Access Line and related behavioral health consultation programs by allowing the cost of the third-party administrator to be included in the carrier assessment rather than paid from general funds. Committee staff said this would produce general fund savings, and testimony from HCA, UW Medicine, Seattle Children’s, and others supported the bill as a technical fix that would stabilize the programs and potentially free up funds to restore service levels. No vote was taken. House Bill 2385 would extend deadlines and the expiration date for the Medicaid Access Program created last session, after federal HR1 restrictions prevented implementation of the original program and provider assessment. The bill would push out CMS submission deadlines, update the rate-setting reference year, and extend the act’s sunset date. The sponsor and the Washington State Medical Association supported the bill as necessary to preserve the option of pursuing the program later. The committee took no action and adjourned after the hearings.

Transcript Highlights:

• The manufacture, industry, the traffic of canyons, and emissions.
• In many cases, they don't meaningfully reduce vehicle travel or emissions.
• Applying it the same way creates a mismatch, adding cost and delays without reducing emissions.
• to support the state's net-zero emission goals.
• Nor do foreign refineries have to reduce on-site emissions or pay into cap-and-invest programs.

Summary: The committee heard a long series of bills, beginning with AB 2026 on groundwater recharge. The author and supporters said the bill would streamline permitting for recharge projects, codify long-standing CEQA exemptions for flood diversions to recharge, and add tribal consultation and other guardrails. Water agencies and local districts supported the measure as a way to capture high-flow water and reduce groundwater subsidence, while environmental groups and some irrigation districts opposed it, warning that the bill’s exemptions and broader diversion authority could harm rivers, Delta resources, and public trust values. The bill was discussed but not voted on because the committee lacked a quorum at that point. The committee then took up AB 1577 on data center energy accountability, which would require monthly reporting of energy-use data and permit-related estimates of energy and water demand. The author and the Little Hoover Commission argued the bill would improve transparency, help protect ratepayers, and give regulators better information for grid planning. Data center industry representatives opposed it as duplicative, burdensome, and uniquely targeted, while local governments, environmental groups, and some utilities supported it or supported it if amended. The bill was later reported out with a due pass recommendation once a quorum was established. Members also heard AB 2245 on a producer responsibility program for lubricant products and containers, AB 2170 on CEQA language-access and environmental review protections for overburdened communities, AB 2059 on rural transportation and VMT mitigation, AB 1808 on Western Joshua tree permitting and fee relief, AB 2182 on industrial energy efficiency program changes, and AB 2231 on streamlining two hospital projects. Testimony was mixed on most of these bills: supporters emphasized affordability, local control, environmental justice, or project urgency, while opponents raised concerns about CEQA scope, regulatory duplication, costs, and environmental impacts. Several measures received due pass recommendations and roll-call votes, including AB 2170, AB 2059, AB 1808, AB 2182, and AB 2231, with some members voting no or not voting and some bills left open for absent members.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> provides. um reducing GHG emissions provides. um reducing GHG emissions comes<00:22:36.559><c> out
• </c> fuels um and reductions in GHG emissions fuels um and reductions in GHG emissions um<00:37:42.320
• </c><00:38:13.119><c> So</c> emissions of their green projects.
• So emissions of their green projects.
• </c><00:38:43.520><c> and</c> we we consider GH emissions and we we consider GH emissions and everything

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint informational briefing focused on the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s work under the Navah settlement, which was described as a first-of-its-kind climate agreement tied to the state’s constitutional public trust and clean-environment obligations. Speakers said the settlement was intended to accelerate progress toward Hawaii’s 2030 and 2045 clean energy goals, especially by addressing transportation, the state’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. They emphasized that the agreement formalizes milestones, reduces dependence on changing administrations, and includes a role for the legislature alongside the courts and executive branch. DOT and Earthjustice representatives outlined the main settlement deliverables: creation of a new Office of Energy Security and Community Outreach, formation of a youth council, and development of an emissions reduction plan that will be updated over time. They also highlighted a new project-level greenhouse gas/VMT scoring tool, described as the first of its kind in the nation for DOT-wide use, to evaluate the climate impact of transportation projects. The presentation tied these efforts to prior legislative actions, including the state’s climate emergency declaration, net-zero/net-negative targets, and Act 131’s requirements for multimodal network planning and emissions reporting. A substantial portion of the briefing was devoted to the youth council, which reported 20 members selected from 83 applicants, representation from across the islands, and work on bylaws, committees, and outreach. Youth members described feedback they gave on the energy security plan, a student leadership summit presentation, and future plans to meet with legislators and participate in the Climate Future Forum. DOT also said the settlement’s transportation strategies include clean fuels, electrification, aviation sustainable aviation fuel, marine shore power, and carbon sequestration, including expanded native tree planting and fire mitigation work. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the briefing. Members discussed implementation challenges, including cost and supply constraints for aviation and marine decarbonization, but DOT said industry stakeholders were not rejecting the goals, only raising affordability and timing concerns. Officials also noted that a GIS map for network gaps was in development and that the settlement’s pedestrian, bike, and transit connectivity requirement would compress roughly 15 years of work into five years, with an estimated annual commitment of $40 million to $50 million.

Transcript Highlights:

• Assembly Bill 2055 by Assembly Member Jeff Gonzalez, an act relating to vessels.
• Assembly Bill 2055 by Assembly Member Jeff Gonzalez, an act relating to vessels. Mr.

Summary: The Assembly convened after a quorum call and opened with a prayer and pledge, then held a ceremonial observance for Jewish American Heritage Month. Assembly Concurrent Resolution 195 by Assembly Member Gabriel was presented with extensive remarks from members of multiple caucuses highlighting Jewish Californians’ contributions, the importance of solidarity amid rising antisemitism, and themes of tikkun olam and tzedakah. The resolution was adopted by voice vote after 67 co-authors were added, and the chamber then recognized 14 honorees for their service in public life, philanthropy, media, faith leadership, education, and civic engagement. The floor also featured guest introductions and a procedural vote on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9 by Assembly Member Borrero, which would add affordability as a required consideration in CPUC rate-making, remove telecommunications from the commission’s portfolio, create an office of broadband, and expand legislative appointments. The amendment was adopted. The Assembly then moved through a long third-reading file, passing measures including AB 1697 delaying implementation of a 2025 employment law, AB 2322 on stormwater permit definitions, AB 1653 on hearing-illness education, AB 2274 closing a loophole involving secrecy in trafficking cases, AB 2512 on Anaheim Angels naming language tied to a land exemption, AB 1956 prioritizing young men and boys in suicide prevention, and AB 2273 addressing prosecutorial handling of a local sexual abuse case. Additional bills passed included AB 1809 extending job order contracting for school and community college districts, AB 1970 banning step therapy for serious mental illness and substance use disorder medications, AB 1973 expanding practice authority for advanced practice clinicians, AB 2055 updating vessel law, and AB 2059 narrowing CEQA vehicle-mile-traveled mitigation for certain rural highway projects. The Assembly also adopted ACR 186 designating May 2026 as California Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being Month and H.R. 11 recognizing the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia after a lengthy debate that included support from several caucuses and some disagreement over the resolution’s framing of current threats to LGBTQ+ communities.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the vessel registration fee, it is a good look in order for us to be self-sufficient, and so a portion
• So the vessel registration fee, it is a good look in order for us to be self-sufficient, and so a portion

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The gobies came in on the large shipping vessels.
• The gobies came in on the large shipping vessels.

Keywords: Meeting start: 00:00 Roll Call: 00:37 SB 39 discussion: 04:10 SB 39 vote: 26:35, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• has moved to Pensacola, and UWF was able to partner and create a program called the Watercraft and Vessel
• So that's a perfect example of where... ...called the Watercraft and Vessel Engineering Program.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• When we brew any beer, we have two big pots or vessels.
• We're not after the oatmeal; we're after the... ...that goes into the second vessel, and that's where

Bills: HB249, HB 1186, HB2313, HB2408, HB2508, HB2730, HB2974, HB3045, HB3232, HB3336, HB3710, HB4044, HB4236, HJR133, HB249

Keywords: ad valorem taxes, property taxes, homestead exemption, disabled veterans, senior citizens, tax payments, installment payments, municipal tax revenue, hotel, convention center, tax code, economic development, local government, municipality, tax revenue, qualified projects, municipal taxation, hotel project, municipality funding, veteran

Transcript Highlights:

• It will reduce ...the amount of emissions that is used to move our freight around if we do that.
• Let's do it for the greenhouse gas emissions, but also for the safety of the people on our roadways.
• The way we calculate emissions is all kinds of screwy in our law.
• and greenhouse gas emissions policies.
• and greenhouse gas emissions policies.

Bills: HB2720, HB2073, SB5467, SB5820, SCR8406, HB2487, SB5816, SB5919, SB5995, SB6278, SB5831, SB5915, SB5963, SB6025, SB6046, SB6084, SB6134, SB6136, SB6137, SB6188, SB6291, HB2689, SB5922, SB5944, SB5957, SB5988, SB5994, SB6011, SB6065, SB6103, SB6151, SB6244

Keywords: behavioral health, emergency services, health insurance, provider access, mental health funding, premium assistance, funding, healthcare, subsidies, SB 5467, water-sewer district, water sewer district, surplus property, public property sale, local government, RCW 57, real property disposal, personal property, notice of intent to sell, public auction

Transcript Highlights:

• Pick up that coal or burn it and have air emissions.
• We should be able to control emissions and bring down, you know.
• I... ...to that now is that you appreciate nuclear because it's low emissions.
• Did I have been anybody when I said it's low emissions?
• You understood that it's less emissions and maybe another other generations.

Summary: The meeting opened with remarks about the value of public engagement and the quality of questions from the group, followed by a series of technical presentations from Idaho National Laboratory staff. Joe Renovitz described recent nuclear regulatory changes tied to presidential executive orders, including NRC Part 53 for advanced reactors, the forthcoming Part 57 for very small reactors, and DOE updates to reactor authorization standards. He emphasized efforts to align DOE and NRC processes, use risk-informed and performance-based licensing, support reactor deployment for AI/data centers and national security, and use AI to speed communications and crosswalks between DOE and NRC requirements. In response to questions, he said there was no plan to merge agencies, but rather to improve coordination and public outreach through groups like GAIN and NEI. David Tolman then discussed the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, spent fuel storage, transportation, disposal, and reprocessing. He explained high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), why it is needed for advanced reactors, and DOE’s HALEU Availability Program and related investments in enrichment, transportation, deconversion, and supply chain development. He also covered spent fuel management, the possibility of centralized storage or a fuel-cycle campus, the Center for Used Fuel Research, and ongoing work on high-burnup cask testing and reprocessing technologies. Tolman described aqueous, pyrochemical, and fluoride-volatility reprocessing approaches, noting the advantages and waste characteristics of each, and said several companies are working with INL on these technologies. Ashley Shields presented INL’s AI and nuclear work, focusing on the Genesis initiative and the Prometheus effort to use AI to design, license, build, and operate reactors with far less human intervention. She described INL’s broad use of generative AI tools, the need to manage large volumes of legacy technical data, and applications in reactor design, materials discovery, autonomous laboratories, and digital twins. Shields said AI is being used to reduce the enormous documentation burden in nuclear licensing and to support autonomous or remotely operated reactor demonstrations, while stressing that humans remain in supervisory roles. In discussion, she addressed data security, model access, and the continued need for software engineers. The session then recessed briefly and resumed with Mitch Kerman beginning a presentation on critical minerals and materials.

Transcript Highlights:

• Firefighters continually are going out to scenes and often have the residual emissions from all types
• We know that hard-to-electrify end uses now are causing 15% of the state's greenhouse gas emissions,
• Even with the EU's stricter emissions limits, modern incinerators...
• Even with the EU's stricter emissions limits, modern incinerators contaminate dioxins, heavy metals,
• Potentially the air emissions are too high in that area.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But we are, by far, very, very far from China in terms of global emissions, right?
• Municipalities have to get to net zero with emissions. Senator Avala. Thank you, Mr. President.
• I mean, certainly that's a very bold, a very strong policy to get to no emissions over time.
• Even if they have a modest goal of we want to reduce carbon emissions...
• So both FPL and Microsoft have net zero greenhouse gas emissions policies.

Summary: The Florida Senate convened with a quorum, heard an opening prayer and pledge, and included a series of member introductions recognizing guests, interns, firefighters, a doctor of the day, and a resolution honoring Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza for winning the Heisman Trophy. The chamber then moved to special order business, with several bills temporarily postponed before taking up a series of measures on health care, public records, cybersecurity, court clerks, trademarks, septic permits, and elections. The first major bill, CS/HB 355 on health care patient protection, would require hospitals with emergency departments to adopt evidence-based pediatric emergency care policies, train staff, designate a pediatric emergency care coordinator, complete the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment, and have AHCA publish scores and adopt minimum standards. Senator Harrell said the bill was intended to ensure emergency rooms are prepared for children, and it passed 36-0. The Senate also passed CS/HB 1113 on public records, which protects victim identities and temporarily exempts the name of a law enforcement officer who is a victim from disclosure, after questions about access for victims of police misconduct; it passed 33-4. The chamber then approved CS/HB 1085 on local government cybersecurity, after adopting an amendment and an amendment to the amendment that kept the program within Florida Digital Service and extended the grant-award timeline; Harrell said it would help local governments defend against ransomware and hacking, and it passed 37-0. CS/HB 925 on clerks of court passed 38-0 after amendments that let clerks retain more excess revenue and adjusted related fee distributions, though Leader Berman warned it would shift revenue away from municipalities and law enforcement. CS/HB 679 on trademark registration and CS/HB 589 on septic system permits also passed unanimously after technical amendments, with the septic bill intended to reduce permit delays and clarify liability if construction begins before a permit is issued. The most extensive debate came on the elections bill, CS/HB 991, which incorporated citizenship verification using Real ID data, changed candidate-qualifying rules, altered acceptable voter IDs, and added other election-related provisions. Multiple amendments were offered and rejected, including proposals to preserve student and senior IDs for voting, exempt some seniors from citizenship-document requirements, rely on human review rather than automated systems, and delay implementation. Supporters argued the bill would improve election integrity and address non-citizen registration and voting, citing state reports and examples of prosecutions; opponents argued it would disenfranchise eligible voters, especially students and seniors, and create barriers based on access to documents. The amendment package was adopted, and debate on the underlying bill continued with questions about federal law, documentation, and whether voters could still participate if state verification failed.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the remainder of CCA revenue each year would go 68% to the carbon emissions reduction accounts
• We also expect a revenue decline as emissions decline in the years to come, and I would much rather us
• less of these dollars so that more of them go to project-type investments that really do reduce emissions
• decline in the years to come and I would much rather us do that and as emissions decline in the years
• less of these dollars so that more of them go to project-type investments that really do reduce emissions

Bills: HB2159, HB2251, HB2521

Keywords: preK, education funding, childcare, youth development, state budget, climate change, commitment act, emission reductions, sustainability, environmental policy, firearms, background check, gun control, public safety, legislation, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Craft continued: “Since 2005, commercial has gone up 48% in greenhouse gas emissions and
• Do you know how we’re doing on agriculture greenhouse gas emissions since 2005?”
• Do you know how we’re doing on agriculture greenhouse gas emissions since 2005?”
• Do you know how we’re doing on agriculture greenhouse gas emissions since 2005?”
• and and I find reducing carbon emissions and and I find it<01:01:56.799><c> just</c><01:01:57.480><c

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I ran a bill that tried to address the transport emissions that were coming into the state, which...
• ...that tried to address the transport emissions that were coming into the state, which, depending on
• Aside from that, the reason I'm asking this question is Zeldin's decision on transport emissions: how
• Aside from that, the reason I'm asking this question is Zeldin's decision on transport emissions: how
• So they are a little bit distinct jurisdictionally between those out-of-state emissions and what we're

Bills: HB2013, HB2026, HB2056, HB2098, HB2113, HB2156, HB2158, HCM2011, HCR2057

Keywords: air pollution, wildfires, environmental standards, public health, Arizona Revised Statutes, assured water supply, groundwater, commingling, commingled water, water supply, Arizona Department of Water Resources, ADWR, active management area, AMA, subdivision plat, development approval, water rights, municipal provider, private water company, certificate of assured water supply