Transcript Highlights:

• Assembly Member, do you wish for the first roll to be open for co-authors? Yes, please.
• Members, this is for co-authors. All members vote who desire to vote.
• Excuse me, there are 50—it's late, I'm sorry—there are 50 co-authors added.
• The budget even starts, very first sentence, actually goes, because of Donald Trump and congressional
• Because of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, we have a record budget.

Transcript Highlights:

• They were set aside by the authorities at that time because they knew what our struggle was about.
• Senate Joint Memorial Number 2 authorized the state Game and Fish to Transfer the Laguna del Campo property
• We've asked for funding, and I'll let Monica discuss a bit about future funding from the congressional
• This is what we're asking for through the Congressional Directed Spending Process.
• As I sit on the Primary Care Council for New Mexico and the Health Care Authority.

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

Transcript Highlights:

• They were waiting on New Mexico Housing Authority funding, LIHTC funding specifically.
• state, but particularly the $60 million that the Legislature is investing and the Governor have authorized
• Both House Bill 10 and Senate Bill 93 in combination provide a lot of the authority that we use today
• We do not have any authority over rights-of-way or permitting; we work with our partner agencies in the
• From some of the congressionally directed spending from our congressional delegation for workforce development

Committee: House Economic & Rural Development & Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• the three-year cycle, there are really three pathways for the State Building Code Council in our authority
• So in those three different pathways where the council, under our authority, can amend a code: one is
• The State Building Code Council has authority to help define the rules.
• The local jurisdiction, the State Building Code Council's authority, is to help define the rules under
• the power granted by the legislature, and we ask our local jurisdiction or authorities to still implement

Summary: The committee held its first official work session with member and staff introductions, then received an update from the State Building Code Council on the current three-year code cycle and several legislatively directed code changes. Council staff said the council is moving toward CR-102 rulemaking and final adoption in the spring, with legislative mandates nearing completion on minimum dwelling unit size, emergency shelters, single-exit stairs for buildings up to six stories and 24 units, and sixplexes in the residential code. Members asked about how technical advisory groups are selected, and staff explained that the council advertises seats, reviews applications and recommendations, and approves members in public meetings, typically including firefighters, engineers, architects, and other subject-matter experts. A major portion of the meeting focused on the single-stair and sixplex work and on how fire safety, egress, and local service levels are being considered. Council representatives said the single-stair proposal includes emergency escape and rescue openings on all levels and is intended to provide more options for safe egress while reducing building footprint and cost. They emphasized that the recommendations are still entering the public rulemaking process and that cost-benefit considerations were part of the legislative intent. Members also raised questions about whether self-rescue devices or other builder options could be codified, and council staff said such ideas are considered through the advisory process, though not all become required code provisions. The second half of the session covered performance-based codes, prompted by a bill referred to as HB 2381. Todd Byrd explained the difference between prescriptive codes, which specify exact solutions, and performance-based codes, which set outcomes and allow designers and manufacturers more flexibility in how to meet them. He described the bill as a narrow proposal for low-rise residential buildings up to 24 units and under the high-rise threshold, with third-party or state certification and local jurisdiction approval still required. He cited international examples, especially Japan and Sweden, where performance-based approaches supported innovation and prefabrication, and said such systems can lower costs while maintaining safety. Members discussed seismic safety, builder participation, embodied carbon, and energy-code interactions, and council staff said the proposal could help align material, energy, and design optimization without changing the existing energy code. The committee took no vote and adjourned after the informational presentation and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• order of the House of January 3, 2025, of the following members on the part of the House to the Congressional

Transcript Highlights:

• necessary to protect voters' voices, while the measure itself strips millions of Californians of their congressional

Summary: The Rules Committee met, called the roll, and established quorum. After a consent agenda was presented, one member requested that item 7 be removed for separate consideration, arguing that the urgency request did not meet the constitutional standard for immediate preservation of public peace, health, or safety and was instead driven by political expediency. The remainder of the consent agenda was approved by roll call. The committee then took up item 7, an urgency clause request for SB 280 by Senator Cervantes. A point of order was raised that the amendments were not germane under Rule 92, but the chair ruled the motion was limited to the urgency clause and not the merits of the bill. The committee proceeded to a roll-call vote and the urgency clause request passed. After the vote, a member moved to refer item 7, along with ACA, to the Judiciary and Elections Committees, arguing the measures would significantly affect Californians and democracy and needed more time and hearings. The chair ruled that motion out of order because the matter before the committee was only the urgency clause request. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• necessary to protect voters' voices, while the measure itself strips millions of Californians of their congressional

Committee: House Rules

Summary: The Rules Committee met to consider a consent agenda and a separate item involving SB 280 and an urgency clause request. One member asked to remove item 7 from consent, arguing the urgency request did not meet the constitutional standard for immediate preservation of public peace, health, or safety and was instead driven by political expediency. The committee voted on that procedural motion and it passed. The committee then took up the urgency clause request for SB 280 by Senator Cervantes. A point of order was raised claiming the amendments to SB 280 were not germane to the original bill, but the chair ruled the matter was a procedural motion limited to the urgency clause and not the bill’s merits. The roll was called and the urgency clause request passed. A member then moved to refer item 7 and ACA to the Judiciary and Elections Committees, arguing the measures would significantly affect Californians and democracy and needed more public input and hearings. That motion was ruled out of order because the item before the committee was only the urgency clause request. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have an author in the room, so excited about that.
• It's very obviously author-sponsored, but we are in strong support and are grateful to the esteemed author
• It's very obviously author-sponsored, but we are in strong support and are grateful to the esteemed author
• So I really want to applaud the author.
• We're proud to be standing with the author of this bill.

Summary: The committee heard SB 921, which would create a tax credit to help agricultural employers offset overtime wage costs for farmworkers. Senator Grove and supporters, including farmworkers, the California Farm Bureau, Western Growers, and other agricultural groups, argued that California’s ag overtime law has reduced take-home pay by limiting hours and that the credit would help employers continue offering overtime while putting more money back into workers’ paychecks. Opponents, including the California Federation of Labor Unions and CRLA Foundation, argued the bill would subsidize employers for complying with the law, shift costs to taxpayers, and set a precedent for industry-specific carve-outs. The bill was held in subcommittee and taken up later when more members arrived. The committee then considered SB 1083, a follow-up to last year’s school employee misconduct database law. Senator Perez said the bill would add due process protections for classified school employees by requiring an administrative law judge review before placement in the statewide egregious misconduct database, require notice when an employee leaves during an investigation, and extend vetting to some contractors and non-permanent workers. Supporters, including the California School Employees Association and California Federation of Teachers, said the bill balances student safety with fairness for employees who could be wrongly accused. Opponents, including school business officials, joint powers authorities, administrators, and school employers, warned the bill could delay investigations, create conflicting timelines, and weaken child-safety protections. The committee approved SB 1083 on a 3-0 vote and sent it to Appropriations. SB 1089, authored by Senator Richardson, would require CalPERS health plans to cover GLP-1 medications for chronic weight management and direct CalRx to help make the drugs more affordable. The senator described the bill as a response to personal experience with coverage denials and high out-of-pocket costs, and said broader access could improve health outcomes and reduce long-term costs. The American Diabetes Association and other medical groups supported the measure, citing diabetes prevention and treatment benefits, while a pharmaceutical industry representative said there were still concerns but noted ongoing discussions. The committee passed SB 1089 4-0 to Appropriations. The committee also approved the consent calendar. The committee next heard SB 954, which would revise last year’s CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing by narrowing the definition and adding environmental, tribal, labor, and community protections, including prevailing wage, skilled-and-trained workforce requirements, and review for projects near disadvantaged communities. Support came from labor unions, environmental groups, and community organizations, which said the bill would restore oversight and prevent harmful projects from bypassing CEQA. Business groups and chambers of commerce opposed, arguing the bill would make the exemption too restrictive, discourage investment, and worsen California’s manufacturing job losses. The bill passed 3-1 to Appropriations. Finally, the committee began hearing SB 1299, which would codify training and certification standards for fire sprinkler fitters after a court decision invalidated prior regulations on procedural grounds; the author and supporters said the bill is needed to protect public safety and ensure qualified installation of fire suppression systems.

Transcript Highlights:

• Similar legislation in the state of Kansas, now law, has authorized the invasive genital inspections
• is true in the state of Idaho, where not just body inspections but chromosomal testing could be authorized
• Look, in December, this past December, NCAA President Charlie Baker testified at a congressional hearing
• And to the author, can male athletes who are trans-identified be on the male team under this bill?
• The author of AB-844 frames this bill as an effort to protect women and girls.

Summary: The committee met on April 1, 2025, first adopting its rules and then taking up AB 89, a bill to require CIF to align girls’ high school sports with federal policy and restrict participation to biological females. The author and supporters argued the bill was needed to protect fairness, safety, privacy, and competitive opportunities for girls, citing individual student-athlete stories and examples of transgender participation. Opponents, including parents, athletes, advocates, and technical witnesses, argued the bill would stigmatize transgender youth, invite invasive scrutiny and harassment, and solve a problem they said was extremely rare or unsupported by data. After lengthy public testimony and debate, the committee rejected AB 89 on a 2-7 vote and sent it to the Committee on Education as a failed motion. The committee then heard AB 844, a related measure framed by the author as restoring competitive integrity, protecting student privacy, and bringing California into compliance with Title IX and federal directives. Supporters, including Matt Walsh and a student athlete who said she lost a varsity spot to a transgender student, argued that sex-based sports rules are necessary because biological males retain athletic advantages and that California risks federal funding if it does not change course. Opponents, including educators, parents, LGBTQ advocates, and trans youth, said the bill would increase bullying, harassment, and exclusion, and that existing policies have worked without evidence of harm from transgender athletes. Public comment was again heavily divided, with many speakers on both sides. The transcript ends during public testimony on AB 844, before any final committee vote or action is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• We ask your blessing upon our congressional delegation, our state legislators, Chief Justice Bud, and
• Author of life, yours is the Craft beauty, and offer opportunity.
• Author of life, yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.
• Up until now, if you were a diabetic, you had to get what's called a prior authorization for insulin.
• And you had to get a prior authorization for the insulin pump. That's crazy.

Summary: The joint convention of the Massachusetts Legislature convened to receive the Governor’s State of the Commonwealth address. The session began with procedural motions to appoint committees to notify the lieutenant governor, constitutional officers, Executive Council, and Governor, followed by an invocation from Archbishop Richard G. Henning, the posting and retiring of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the national anthem. The Governor was then formally admitted to the chamber and delivered the address, with a benediction afterward by Rabbi Elaine Zacker. Governor Maura Healey’s address focused on affordability and public services. She highlighted actions and proposals on housing, including faster permitting, use of state land for housing, accessory dwelling units, down payment assistance, and expanded programs to help first-time buyers. She also discussed energy affordability, saying she would oppose utility rate hikes, pursue an energy affordability bill, and temporarily reduce electric and gas bills. On health care, she described efforts to cap costs, prevent prior authorization for insulin, ban medical debt reporting to credit agencies, and form a health care affordability working group. She also proposed making subscription cancellations easier, improving transportation through bridge repairs and transit investments, and strengthening protections for children on social media. The Governor also emphasized education, workforce development, and economic competitiveness, citing the state’s top national education ranking, expanded pre-K and child care, literacy and tutoring investments, early college opportunities, and a goal of 100,000 apprentices over 10 years. She praised Massachusetts’ response to federal actions, including support for vaccines, food assistance, abortion access, and research funding, and she criticized the Trump administration on tariffs, health care cuts, and immigration enforcement. She also noted public safety and veterans’ issues, including new assisted-living protections after the Gabriel House fire and the rebuilding of veterans’ homes. No substantive votes on legislation were taken beyond adoption of the ceremonial orders and the final adjournment motion.

Transcript Highlights:

• We ask your blessing upon our congressional delegation, our state legislators, Chief Justice Bud, and
• Author of life, yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.
• Author of life, yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.
• Up until now, if you were a diabetic, you had to get what's called a prior authorization for insulin.
• And you had to get a prior authorization for the insulin pump. That's crazy.

Summary: The joint convention convened to receive the Governor’s annual State of the Commonwealth address. Before the address, the chamber adopted orders appointing committees to escort the Lieutenant Governor, constitutional officers, Executive Council, and Governor into the chamber, and the Archbishop of Boston and Rabbi Elaine Zacker delivered the invocation and benediction. The proceedings also included the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem, and formal acknowledgments of guests and former officials. In her address, Governor Maura Healey focused on affordability and the state’s response to federal policy changes. She criticized actions by the Trump administration on tariffs, health care, immigration enforcement, and food assistance, while emphasizing Massachusetts’ efforts to lower costs and protect residents. She highlighted housing production and conversion of state and office properties, energy affordability measures, health care reforms including ending prior authorization for insulin and banning medical debt reporting, transportation improvements, economic development, education investments, and workforce training. She also announced short-term relief for winter utility bills, expanded support for food banks, and new proposals to protect children from social media harms. The Governor also discussed public safety and veterans’ services, citing reforms after the Gabriel House fire and improvements to the Chelsea and Holyoke veterans’ homes. She framed the speech around Massachusetts’ historical role in the nation’s founding and the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, urging continued unity and leadership. After the Governor’s remarks and the benediction, the joint convention adjourned without any legislative vote on policy matters during the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• It authorizes families. Strengthening and increasing penalties for certain crimes and offenses.
• It authorizes fantasy sports contests, preempts local government enforcement of gambling activities,
• removes the authority of the commission to reissue certain estuated horse racing permits, and requires
• Veterans of Foreign Wars, the largest congressional-chartered combat veterans service organization, will
• Changes include authorizing FWC to use the non-game trust fund for the purpose of law enforcement and

Summary: The Budget Committee met with a quorum and considered eight bills. The first major item, House Bill 1467 on gambling, drew extensive debate and strong opposition from veterans organizations and related groups, who warned the bill’s language could unintentionally criminalize raffles and gaming machines used by American Legion and VFW posts for charitable fundraising. The sponsor said the bill would strengthen gambling penalties, authorize fantasy sports contests, preempt local enforcement, and require more reporting on illegal gambling, and he said he was open to amendments later. Despite concerns from several members about unintended consequences and local preemption, the committee passed the bill favorably on a roll call vote. The committee then heard and passed House Bill 711, creating a statewide “spectrum alert” for missing autistic children and requiring FDLE training for law enforcement; House Bill 1335, allowing Medicaid coverage for blood-based colorectal cancer screening; House Bill 843, making clarifying changes to Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trust funds; House Bill 1371, strengthening protections for law enforcement and first responders, including penalties for attacks on officers and measures related to false reports and blood-borne pathogen exposure; House Bill 1405, revising youth prevention services for status offenders; House Bill 1053, updating FDLE-related statutes and adding support for retired police dogs; and House Bill 751, expanding health insurance protections for law enforcement and their families after catastrophic injury or death and clarifying fraud penalties. Several bills were amended before passage, including HB 1371, which adopted an amendment removing a section to avoid fiscal impact, and HB 1053, which removed proposed changes to the capital complex definition. Most measures received supportive testimony from law enforcement, health, or advocacy groups and passed with little opposition. The committee concluded by reporting all of the listed bills favorably and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was authorized to implement a system of digital tagging.
• To be truthful, when you meet with Mexico authorities that have the authority to release those waters
• engaged and really has taken a very proactive and more... aggressive tone and tenored with the Mexico authorities
• Most of the Texas congressional delegation has signed on to legislation. resolutions, and letters calling
• In 2004, the Southmost Regional Water Authority, with Brownsville PUB as the owner-operator, began producing

Bills: SCR13 , SB1248

Committee: Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• income, and unemployment, to help us estimate the amount of food insecurity in each county or congressional
• So I think the Congressional Budget Office estimated about $186 billion less over through 2034.
• In 2025, we had over 500 authorized growers in the program, and we've seen over half a million dollars
• This is a new collaboration between the Department of Health, the Health Care Authority, the Department

Committee: House Agriculture & Natural Resources

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a work session on food systems and food security, with no public testimony. The first panel covered household food security and data. Marie Spiker of UW explained how food insecurity is measured, its health impacts, and the importance of reliable data, warning that the federal Census food security data is being terminated and that Washington’s WAFOOD surveys are a useful but non-representative complement. Katie Raines of WSDA described the state’s food systems work, including efforts to build shared data and dashboard monitoring, coordinate across agencies and partners, and strengthen the hunger safety net and local food supply chain. The committee then heard from Tracy Roof of the University of Richmond, who gave a history of SNAP/food stamps as both an anti-hunger program and an agricultural support tied to the farm bill. She described how the program evolved from Depression-era commodity distribution to a permanent federal-state program, how it became countercyclical during recessions, and how state policy changes and outreach increased participation. She also noted SNAP’s economic multiplier effects and said Washington’s enrollment is in the middle of the pack nationally, while future federal changes could reduce eligibility and shift more costs to states. A later panel focused on food security challenges and opportunities across the food system. The Washington Food Policy Forum, through Danny Madrone and Chris Elder, outlined its consensus-based recommendations on food insecurity, climate and water, regional infrastructure, farmland protection, and support for small and mid-sized farms. A joint industry panel from the Farm Bureau, Retail Association, and Food Industry Association emphasized agriculture’s economic scale, rising costs, loss of farms, retail theft, and the importance of local grocery stores and SNAP/WIC partnerships. State agency representatives from DSHS and DOH described current program impacts and risks: DSHS said federal H.R. 1 could require Washington to pay up to 15% of SNAP benefits and tighten eligibility, while DOH highlighted WIC, farmers market nutrition, fruit-and-vegetable incentives, and a new Medicaid waiver project, but warned that unstable funding and the end of SNAP-Ed threaten program continuity. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• You have the authority to make this change and turn this tragedy into prevention.
• I began my career running Ian Bowles' primary campaign in the 10th Congressional District.
• Assistant district attorneys, investigators, and believe me, in this Commonwealth I can speak with great authority

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security held a public hearing with opening remarks from Senate Chair John Cronin and House Chair Dan Cahill, followed by member introductions and instructions limiting testimony to three minutes. The committee first heard testimony on S. 2743, an act addressing staged suicides. Elizabeth Sherin Feiner of Jewish Family and Children’s Service and later Susan Altman, a domestic violence advocate, described cases in which deaths initially treated as accidents or suicides were later found to be homicides, arguing the bill would improve training, investigation protocols, and accountability in deaths involving domestic abuse. Committee members asked about current police and medical examiner practices, and one member noted that sudden-death determinations are handled by the chief medical examiner in Massachusetts. The committee then heard testimony on S. 2861, a special commission to examine school bus safety, led by Representative Sabadosa and Amanda Taylor, whose daughter Summer Steel was killed in a school bus door incident. Taylor urged adoption of anti-pinch sensor technology on new buses, saying it could have prevented her daughter’s death. Representative Sabadosa and later a Mazur USA representative supported the bill, explaining that anti-pinch and anti-drag technologies are already used in other transportation sectors and could prevent similar tragedies. The hearing also included discussion of costs and the fact that the proposal would apply prospectively to buses manufactured going forward. Finally, the committee heard testimony on S. 3021, updating Massachusetts student transportation. Ever-Driven Technologies and Chamber of Progress supported the bill, saying it would modernize Section 7D requirements for smaller passenger vehicles used for alternative student transportation while keeping core safety standards in place. They argued the change would help districts serve students experiencing homelessness, in foster care, or with disabilities, reduce costs, and expand transportation options amid a statewide transportation crisis. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the committee adjourned after public testimony concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• He's a motivational author, and he says, 'It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved
• for the Secretary of State, providing reappropriation authority for the Secretary of State.
• There's been a growing notion over the last decade Parental authority and parental rights.
• Idaho's bathroom access statute authorizes $5,000 per incident against the school.
• Idaho's bathroom access statute authorizes $5,000 per incident against the school.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm happy to work with the author on some language.
• Questions for the author on Senate Bill 3013? Very well.
• Senate Bill 2964 by the bill's author, it’s in there.
• Are there any questions for the author on SCR 63?
• Are there any questions for the author on SCR 63?

Bills: SB1065 , SB2117 , SB2217 , SB2363 , SB2533 , SB2742 , SB2743 , SB2881 , SB2964 , SB3013 , SB3014

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Bestow clarity upon our congressional leaders.

Transcript Highlights:

• of the Regional Transportation Authority.
• The lawsuit was based on the Regional Transportation Authority not having the specific statutory authority
• was found to be not within their authority.
• Their attempt to do that was found to be not within their authority.
• They are not the Regional Transportation Authority.

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

Committees: House Ways & Means , House House Ways & Means Committee of Reference

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:

• And that was competitively bid out by the Health Care Authority.
• So, we are authorized to spend $2.275 million a year.
• Chair, Emily, for the Health Care Authority, we'll...
• And then outside of this, you know, 177, 15, 14, 206, 206 authorized staff there.
• It was The expenditure authority was granted to the Office of Broadband in 2023.