Transcript Highlights:

• Seeing none, all those in favor of approving the gentleman's motion will now vote yes.
• With the yeas being 126 and the nays being two, the gentleman's motion is approved.
• I appreciate the body's approval of this amendment. Discussion on the amendment.
• All those in favor of approving the lady's motion will now vote.
• All those in favor of approving the gentleman's motion will now vote yes.

Transcript Highlights:

• And in establishing this, we have seen some parts that we love the idea of an approval process.
• We also saw, I believe it's right around line 590 in the approval process, there's mention of a state
• If you're talking about an approval process, there are only a few testing labs in the entire country
• as the games that are approved, some process to end up making sure how the games are reviewed afterward
• What's the process?

Bills: S0468 , S0822 , S1234 , S1260 , S1580 , S1706

Committee: Senate Regulated Industries

Transcript Highlights:

• If they are approved by the FDA, under... One, most of them aren't approved by the FDA.
• I am completely comfortable with the conditional approval upon FDA approval, but I do want to make...
• ...with the conditional approval upon FDA approval, but I do want to make sure that the county's concerns
• So again, I understand the process.
• So again, I understand the process.

Committee: House House Public Safety & Law Enforcement Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several public safety and corrections measures. SB 1161 would prevent $750,000 appropriated to DPS for Yuma County’s Amberly’s Place Family Advocacy Center from lapsing; testimony emphasized that the bill preserves existing funding for crisis response and victim services. The committee also advanced SB 1215, which clarifies the cancer list tied to the occupational disease presumption for firefighters and peace officers and adds retroactivity to June 30, 2021. SB 1270, aimed at retention for Tier 3 corrections employees, would allow optional employer supplemental contributions to defined contribution accounts at specified service intervals, with an amendment capping annual contributions at $5,000 and requiring employer policies; members discussed retention, vesting, and whether the incentive could simply be taken and left after the waiting period. Both SB 1161 and SB 1215 received due pass recommendations, as did SB 1270 after one no vote and several members noting the need for better retention tools. The committee then considered SB 1400, which authorizes law enforcement wellness and crisis response programs and sets confidentiality rules for information shared in those programs. Supporters said the bill would expand access to peer and professional support while preserving public records and misconduct investigation access, but members raised concerns that the privilege language could be too broad for licensed therapists; the sponsor indicated openness to an amendment, and the bill was advanced with members reserving the right to change their votes if the language is not tightened. SB 1538, as a strike-everything amendment, would require workers’ compensation coverage for PTSD treatment for firefighters and peace officers and could include one course of MDMA treatment if federal approval and DEA rescheduling occur by the stated deadline. Supporters described promising clinical trial results and argued the bill is a conditional authorization, while counties opposed the mandate and raised cost concerns; after debate over whether the bill is permissive or mandatory, the committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and gave the bill a due pass recommendation. The committee also passed SB 1537, which renames the Peace Officer Training Equipment Fund as the Public Safety De-escalation and Life Safety Fund and repeals the advisory commission. Supporters said the new name better reflects the fund’s use for de-escalation and less-lethal equipment, while some members opposed the change and preferred the money be used for raises. Finally, the committee began hearing SB 1580, which would appropriate funds for fire incident management support hardware and software and, under a chairman’s amendment, redirect money from the Peace Officer Training Equipment Fund to additional public safety technology and retention/recruitment purposes; testimony focused on regional data-sharing systems and the need for accountability and clarity on how the funds would be spent.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, there are 5 items on consent for your review and approval.
• So where are you guys in the design process?
• And with that, I'll call for approval of the motion.
• I see Dexter is on here, that project we just approved, um.
• Inherent process driven by policy that we're also building in on creating repeatable processes that we

Transcript Highlights:

• process... ...common sense into the project or into the process because that process, when we're talking
• That was not a state approval.
• It structures a public process.
• It will be an entire process.
• It will be an entire process.

Committee: Senate Local Government

Transcript Highlights:

• You said start the process to withhold funds—is that what you...
• I didn’t quite... yeah, so this is simply to start the process, and the process is built into our rules
• So we have four that we've approved and are asking for your approval.
• So we have four that we've approved and are asking for your approval.
• Since we just approved that grant, they are now in compliance.

Summary: The Oklahoma 9-1-1 Management Authority met in special session, confirmed a quorum, welcomed new member Josh Huffines, approved the prior meeting minutes, and accepted financial reports for September through December 2025. The chair and staff also presented recognition awards, including thanks to former legal counsel Austin and outgoing chair Mark Sharpton, and honored Leachin Lockwood of Tulsa 911 as the state’s third-quarter Emergency Telecommunicator of the Quarter. The board addressed compliance and funding issues for several PSAPs. It authorized notice and a public-hearing process for Chokota Police Department and Pawnee Police Department if they did not complete required annual audit/reporting documents by the stated deadline. It also approved a recruitment campaign for the 9-1-1 profession, including a website landing page and media outreach, and transferred $150,000 from reserves to support that effort. In addition, the board approved a technology roadmap outlining statewide priorities such as mapping, GIS integration, satellite emergency communications, push-to-talk interoperability, and CAD sharing. Several grants were approved, including GIS remediation and maintenance for Drumright and Love County, a Next Gen 9-1-1 call-handling solution for Muskogee 911, and CAD integration for Sand Springs and Mercy EMS. A Love County public hearing on GIS noncompliance was rendered moot after the grant approval, and the board voted to take no action on escrowing Love County funds. Staff reports highlighted boundary verification letters, the upcoming 911 Day at the Capitol, cybersecurity training, 911/988 integration progress, Virtual Academy training totals, and ongoing work on NG911 RFPs, coordinator workshops, and county-level implementation projects. The meeting also included legislative updates on HB 4092 and HB 2710, with the latter described as creating a parallel state radio/911 structure, and the session adjourned with no public comments or new business.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have learned in that process.
• Pedestrian and bicycle projects approved, while well intended, there are a number of processes and regulations
• speed bump approved.
• process.
• process.

Committee: House Local Government

Transcript Highlights:

• It moves approval of the minutes from Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
• We haven't got approval for some of the items.
• It's always an insightful piece of our process here.
• This one hears about county processing those applications.
• whole process.

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you, and the item is approved. Thank you. Next, the item is approved 5 to 0.
• That item is approved.
• All right, that motion is approved. Those motions are approved, five to zero.
• Later steps in this process.
• That appointment has been approved.

Committee: Senate Rules

Summary: The Senate Rules Committee first handled several routine items, approving two governor appointments not required to appear: Armin Meyer to the Division of Consumer Financial Protection and Uca Danka to the California State Lottery Commission. The committee also approved referral of bills to committees, a Rules waiver request to suspend SR 55 for guest access on the Senate floor on April 6, and floor acknowledgments, with each action passing 5-0. The committee then heard from Arania Ortega, appointed to the Public Employment Relations Board. Members asked about her background at CalHR and the Department of Finance, her approach to board decision-making, recusal rules, the status of AB 288, PERB’s caseload and backlog, ride-share enforcement, and the legislative employees’ unionization process. Ortega said PERB currently has no backlog, is preparing for possible new workloads, and has recusal procedures that would automatically exclude her from certain state employee and child care cases for one year. Public testimony supported her appointment, and the committee voted 5-0 to move her nomination to the full Senate. The committee also heard from Monica Erickson, nominated to lead the Department of Human Resources. Questions focused on state labor negotiations, CalPERS, recruitment and retention, telework, discipline and HR training, DEIA efforts, hiring pipelines, degree requirements, veteran hiring, return-to-office implementation, and the gender pay gap. Erickson said CalHR has reduced the vacancy rate from 20% to 17%, is expanding recruitment tools and class consolidations, is working on a skills-matching tool and career counseling, and has helped reduce the gender pay gap from 21.1% in 2013 to 12.2%. Public witnesses spoke in support, and the committee approved her nomination 5-0 to advance to the Senate floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• The gentleman's motion is approved.
• That was approved in House Judiciary 10 to 0.
• The gentleman's motion is approved.
• Maybe the tax credit process ought to actually be an appropriated process so that instead of having $550
• All those in favor of approving the gentleman’s motion...”

Transcript Highlights:

• But you said it's FDA approved. In what context is it FDA approved for prescription? Yes. Okay.
• ...more with your bill, the process.
• Approved for use against COVID-19.
• That dynamic means everything to this process.
• Can you walk us through the process?

Bills: HB265 , HB25

Committee: House Public Health

Transcript Highlights:

• I think we have approval. So now we will move into... ...approval.
• If members have any questions about the process, I can answer those.
• So this was a fast-moving process, and we thank OFM as we made this process a lot smoother than it seems
• And so, to give you just a little idea of what went through that process, it was a year-long process.
• It was a year-long process. We included fiscal staff agencies.

Committee: Joint Legislative Evaluation & Accountability Program

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the June 18, 2025 minutes, and heard four proposed budget format changes. Washington State Parks requested a structural change to separate and better track its Stewardship Services Division, including cultural and natural resources, environmental planning, and Climate Commitment Act investments. DCYF proposed moving direct service functions now housed in program support into the child welfare program so operational costs and direct services would be reported separately; members asked how this would help avoid across-the-board reductions affecting direct services, and the agency said the change would improve transparency and prevent that problem. The Department of Transportation sought to create a new Ferries Program Support sub-program to consolidate four related projects and two existing sub-programs into one administrative/project support structure, while the Department of Veterans Affairs requested only a title change for Program 20 from Field Services to Veteran Services and Counseling and Wellness. The committee voted unanimously to approve all four changes. Kevin Feltis then gave an interim work plan and staffing update for LEAP. He said the office is continuing work on the rewritten capital budget application (BuildSUM), updating the transportation bond model, completing carry-forward levels for the 2027-29 biennium, publishing 2026 legislative budget notes, updating 2025 salary data, and participating in a LegiTech AI pilot for system development within the legislative network. He also noted LEAP’s role in supporting the new Joint Legislative Executive Committee on Budget Transparency and Fiscal Sustainability. Staffing remained steady at 11 FTEs, with no retirements or staffing changes in the past year, though one vacancy may be filled later and two retirements are anticipated over the next four to five years. The committee also discussed updates to the fiscal.wa.gov website. Planned work includes streamlining how budget data is updated when budgets are released, converting more than 100 reports from Microsoft Reporting Services to Power BI because support is ending, and evaluating whether the site’s search tool should be improved or replaced. Senators and representatives raised concerns about the number of clicks needed to reach capital and transportation project maps and about making public-facing budget information easier to find and understand. Staff said the website redesign was based on prior user testing and that they would look at ways to make maps and other top-level information more accessible. Finally, the committee elected new officers under its alternating-chair rule. Representative Gregerson was nominated and elected chair, and Senator King was nominated and elected vice chair. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• At this time, we have minutes to approve. Can we approve those? I believe we can.
• to the approval...
• The solicitations and the subgrant opportunities to the approval process to awarding and getting funds
• The process at this point.
• So happy to revisit that process.

Summary: The Rural Health Transformation Committee approved the minutes from its May 28 meeting and received an update from DHW Director Juliet Sharon on the status of the Rural Health Transformation Program. Sharon said the department has posted a public funding-opportunities page with a subscribe feature, is using an expedited committee review process for solicitations and subgrant opportunities, and plans to provide monthly summaries, award information, and federal progress reports. Members asked for clearer access to information on applicants and awards, and Sharon said the department is open to posting more complete listings in SharePoint and to simplifying provider-facing applications. The committee also discussed outreach to rural providers and the need to ensure smaller organizations know about opportunities and can apply within the short timelines. The committee then heard from the Idaho Military Division on its portion of the program. Bureau Chief Wayne Denny said the division is working with DHW on modernizing state communications and emergency systems, including next-generation 911, relocating backup communications infrastructure, coordinating exercises, and supporting rural health extenders such as community health workers and community health EMS providers. Members asked how those roles would function, how counties would participate, and how the work would be sustained after the five-year funding period; Denny said the goal is to demonstrate return on investment so counties and payers can support the services long term. Jennifer White of the State Board of Education described higher education and graduate medical education proposals. She said Idaho’s institutions are coordinating on statewide strategies for rural health workforce training, including mobile simulation, shared clinical infrastructure, learn-in-place programs, and targeted equipment and facilities. She also outlined GME and medical education options, including a strategic rural GME incubator, a rural training site network, and possible support for undergraduate medical education such as expanded seats or the University of Idaho–University of Utah partnership. Members debated sustainability and whether rural health funds should support only GME or broader medical education; some supported using the funds to build Idaho-based training capacity, while others cautioned against creating long-term state obligations without broader legislative approval. No formal votes were taken on those policy questions. In closing, Sharon said the department expects more provider subgrants, ongoing assessments, the first federal reporting deadline at the end of August, and the creation of a governor-appointed rural health transformation task force with legislative and rural representation. The committee tentatively scheduled an additional meeting for August 18 and discussed a later September meeting, likely around September 23-25, to review the federal report and any emerging issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> but they did not retain the approval but they did not retain the approval from<00:10:41.839><c>
• </c> then their supervisor would approve then their supervisor would approve their<00:15:47.199><c> time
• </c> processed, and paid and documented. processed, and paid and documented.
• the process will go.
• </c> processes are implemented. processes are implemented. &gt;&gt; Followup. &gt;&gt; Followup.

Transcript Highlights:

• Minutes are approved.
• We have a motion to approve. Docket 24-4101-2501. Approve docket 24-4101-2501.
• I move to approve docket 24-091-2501. We have a motion to approve docket 24-091-2501.
• I move to approve docket 24-1901-2501. We have a motion to approve docket 24-1901-2501.
• I move that we approve Docket 24-1701-2501. Okay, we have a motion.

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:

• Current law streamlined the approval process for restaurants seeking these types of projects.
• It's exactly the same process as was approved under AB 671.
• As we know, the public process is not always a perfect process. Right.
• process.
• process.

Committee: House Local Government

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's do an approval of our agenda. So moved. All right.
• Seeing no opposition, we've approved the agenda.
• We have processes already in place to deal with that.
• LCS staff has been analyzing current processes and envisioning a more efficient future state of the process
• . modernize our processes.

Committee: House Legislative Council

Transcript Highlights:

• When we process those, the bank approves or declines the transactions. want to note that we're relatively
• When we process those, the bank approves or declines the transactions.
• Eric Michelson continued: “When we process those, the bank approves or declines the transactions based
• In most industries, if a system approves a transaction and that approval is wrong, the party that approved
• is their processing fee.

Summary: The commission met to continue studying credit card payments, interchange fees, fraud, chargebacks, and the impact of card processing costs on small businesses, especially restaurants and retailers. Members heard extensive testimony from credit unions, retailers, restaurant owners, payment-industry representatives, and an airline trade group. Supporters of reform argued that swipe fees are a major and rising expense, that businesses are paying fees on sales tax and tips that are merely pass-through amounts, and that merchants have little negotiating power. Several restaurant and retail witnesses described thin margins, higher costs for card-not-present transactions, and chargebacks that they said usually favor cardholders and leave merchants absorbing losses and fees. Witnesses from the Cooperative Credit Union Association cautioned that state-level interchange regulation could reduce revenue used for fraud prevention, compliance, and member services, and could lead to higher rates or reduced access. Retail and restaurant representatives countered that fees have risen sharply, that statements are difficult to decipher, and that rewards programs and card-network pricing are subsidized by merchants and ultimately by all consumers. The Massachusetts Restaurant Association and independent operators urged legislation to bar fees on tax and tip portions of transactions and to allow businesses to pass along card fees if they choose, saying this would improve transparency and fairness and help keep small restaurants open. Other testimony came from the National Restaurant Association, which supported interchange reform and said modern point-of-sale systems can already separate tax and tip amounts, and from a payments-industry group that emphasized the broader economic benefits of digital payments and warned against state-by-state rules. Airlines for America opposed changes that could undermine airline credit card rewards programs. Commission members asked detailed questions about fee structures, card types, chargebacks, POS systems, and whether consumers paying cash are also affected. No votes or formal actions were taken at the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> before that application is approved. before that application is approved.
• Uh, the state would then be repaid for that admission when the Medicaid approval is approved.
• It is a very specific process not.
• </c><00:53:24.480><c> Um</c> until approved and effective. Um until approved and effective.
• approved by CMS.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• Is there anybody in opposition to the approval of the letter? Seeing none, that letter is approved.
• In that same process, Mr.
• Process.
• projects once they have approved.
• Do you go through that same process?

Committee: House House Rural Development, Land Grants And Cultural Affairs