Transcript Highlights:

• Flood prevention, which is becoming a much larger part of our, uh, water trust board funding.
• And the Water Trust Board is rolling that out in two different ways.
• So that's one of the reasons the Water Trust Board has put its money there.
• It was created about 10 years after the Water Trust Board in the, and in the likeness of the Water Trust
• heard of a role for NMFA or the Water Trust Board in the, the, those funds.

Transcript Highlights:

• Almighty God, we choose to trust you today. We trust that you see mighty where we see meager.
• We trust that “Am I not sending you?”
• Almighty God, we choose to trust you today.
• We trust that you see mighty where we God, we choose to trust you today.
• We trust that “Am I not sending you?”

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then confirmed a quorum of 30 present and approved the Journal from January 27, 2026. Several senators used points of personal privilege to welcome guests, including Aliento students visiting for an education day, gun safety advocacy groups, constituents, a legal studies shadowing guest, a scientist from Tempe, and aging-services advocates. Senators also spoke in support of student walkouts protesting ICE activity and praised the students’ activism. The chamber then moved through the second reading calendar, listing a large number of bills and resolutions covering topics such as water policy, health care, public records, education, insurance, elections, housing, utilities, criminal justice, and appropriations. No floor debate or votes on those measures were recorded in the transcript, and committee reports were placed on the journal without being read. After a recess, the Senate took up first-reading introductions and referred additional bills to committees, including measures on public benefits eligibility, public safety counseling, missing kidnapped children reporting, solar energy, elections, firearms instruction in schools, HOA and condominium issues, housing restrictions, water quality testing, and cargo theft. The Health and Human Services Committee was announced to meet Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in Senate Hearing Room 2, and the Senate adjourned until Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 10 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• well so you'll have the education trust well so you'll have the education trust fund<01:22:00.880
• The banking and trust divisions.
• So both of the trust... Name a few.
• In addition to the 46 non-depository trust companies, how many of those 46 are family trust companies
• <03:03:24.960> fund um or additional education trust fund um or additional education trust

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• this legislation makes clarifying changes to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trust
• Changes include authorizing the FWC to invest and reinvest the administrative trust fund and hold over
• With the bill allowing this trust fund's dollars to support FWC law enforcement, could you elaborate
• And so this allows them to use those dollars that are in the non-game Wildlife Trust Fund to oversee
• Fund and the Florida Panther Research and Management Trust Fund.

Summary: The Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee met to consider three bills before moving to its budget presentation. HB 843, relating to Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trust funds, was explained as a set of clarifying changes to improve budget flexibility, including use of certain trust funds for law enforcement and other conservation-related purposes. After questions about whether the bill would shift resources away from conservation, an amendment removed the sections dealing with the Administrative Trust Fund and the Florida Panther Research and Management Trust Fund. The amended bill received support in public testimony and was reported favorably. The committee then heard HB 295, which directs the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan by 2026 based on prior recycling recommendations. Supporters, including students involved in an “Ought to Be a Law” program and representatives from the waste and recycling industry, said the bill would create a roadmap for improving recycling and waste diversion. An opponent argued the state should instead enact more direct statutory changes on issues such as food waste, yard waste, and manure handling rather than study them further. Members praised the student participation and the bill passed. HB 339, creating a temporary alternative credentialing pathway for surveyors and mappers, was presented as a response to workforce shortages and an aging profession. The sponsor said the bill would help meet demand while preserving oversight, and an amendment added a four-year work requirement and adjusted renewal provisions. After brief supportive debate, the amended bill passed. The subcommittee then received its Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget proposal, which emphasized spending reductions, vacant-position cuts, and a smaller overall budget than the current year while still funding water resources, Everglades restoration, resiliency, land management, cleanup programs, agriculture facilities, and other projects. Members closed by thanking the chair for an inclusive budget process, and the meeting adjourned after a motion to rise.

Transcript Highlights:

• I trust they're supposed to have trust in the trust, but I don't trust them at all.
• I trust they're supposed to have trust in the trust, but I don't trust them at all.
• I trust they're supposed to have trust in the trust, but I don't trust them at all.
• I trust they're supposed to have trust in the trust, but I don't trust them at all.
• Trust the HHL. I trust they're supposed to have trust in the trust, but I don't trust them at all.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint Housing and Public Safety/Water and Land hearing first took up HB 1096, which would repeal statutory tenant-selection preferences for disabled veterans and spouses of deceased veterans in state low-income housing. HPHA testified in support, saying the change was a housekeeping measure because the same preferences already exist in administrative rules and could be adjusted later to align with other local preferences, while also noting the federal VASH program provides stronger veteran housing support. Several members questioned why the preference should be removed at all, emphasizing that veterans have long been underserved and asking for a stronger justification; the committees ultimately deferred HB 1096. The later Housing/Hawaiian Affairs agenda heard HB 606 HD1, a measure to extend Act 279 funding and related exemptions for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. Supporters argued the bill would give DHHL more time to use the $600 million appropriation to acquire land, work with developers, and address a wait list of about 29,000 applicants, while also helping restore Hawaiian communities and reduce the Hawaiian diaspora. Opponents focused on accountability and oversight, saying DHHL needs clearer plans, measurable goals, and stronger safeguards before receiving more money, and warning that prior spending and strategic-plan changes had reduced the number of applicants served. The committee also heard testimony that the bill would help DHHL fulfill long-standing obligations to Native Hawaiians and that the housing need affects the broader state, not only Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have some trust in custo custody of.
• talking about trust this type of trust talking about trust this type of trust trust<00:26:05.520
• the education trust fund. Um, let me the education trust fund.
• The uh, in the RSA that uh works with uh cemetery trusts and trustees of trust funds and library trusts
• cemetery trusts and trustes of trust cemetery trusts and trustes of trust funds<02:04:51.840>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee held a work session on HB 302, which would add precious metals and digital assets as potential investment options. State Treasurer Monica Misipelli said she took no position on the bill and did not see an immediate fiscal impact or operational problem, but explained that the state’s operating funds and rainy day fund require liquidity and stability, so they would not be suitable for volatile assets like precious metals or digital assets. She said the only funds that might potentially use such investments would be certain trust funds held in perpetuity, which are managed by an outside investment advisor under a contract and investment policy. Members asked about the treasurer’s current investment practices, including the types of funds managed, the role and discretion of the investment advisor, the state’s risk profile, and whether the bill would affect existing authority. Misipelli said the office follows RSA 11 and related statutes, with different objectives ranging from conservative to aggressive depending on the fund, and that the advisor meets with the office regularly, with formal performance reviews on a quarterly basis. She also said the office recently centralized management of about 40 trust accounts totaling roughly $60 million into five combined portfolios under a five-year contract with an RFP-selected vendor. When asked whether precious metals or digital assets are already indirectly available through mutual funds, she said that was possible for some mutual funds, but she was not certain about digital assets. Representative Ammon, the bill’s sponsor, said similar legislation had passed the Oklahoma House, the Texas House and Senate, and had advanced in Arizona. He argued the bill was intended to give the treasurer more tools to help balance portfolios and hedge inflation, noting concerns about federal debt and inflation. No vote was taken in the excerpt, and the chair ended the questioning after thanking the treasurer and asking her to remain available in case further questions arose.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:08:12.639> If Trust pass and two courts upheld it.
• If Trust pass and two courts upheld it.
• So trustful is in two they opt in.
• Yes, >> Trustful is required as this law.
• <00:16:54.320> We "Trust area or two counties or what?"

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• LAST POINT, COURT REVENUES REMITTING TO ALMOST 40 DIFFERENT STATE TRUST FUNDS.
• FUNDS AND THE EXACT AMOUNT OF THE TRUST FUND FROM THE LAST FISCAL YEAR.
• TRUST FUND. THERE ARE 40 TRUST FUNDS GENERATED FROM TRAFFIC, PARKING TICKETS, AND FILING FEES.
• WATER QUALITY ASSURANCE TRUST FUNDS. ARE THESE BEING USED AS INTENDED?
• A LOT OF THESE TRUST FUNDS ARE TRUST FUNDS THAT COME THROUGH ON CIVIL TRAFFIC CASES.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The public trust is not friends.
• <00:20:22.799> What restore trust in the Senate. What restore trust in the Senate.
• ,<00:27:24.640> or behavior, betrays the public trust, or behavior, betrays the public trust
• behavior that betrays the public trust behavior that betrays the public trust or<01:21:25.760>
• . trust. trust.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the very top is data trust. the very top is data trust.
• Create the trust. Build the trust.
• Create the trust. Build the experience. Create the trust.
• be the trust issue. be the trust issue.
• <00:43:31.400> Because part of the trust agreement. Because part of the trust agreement.

Keywords: Technology - Room 409, 5 March, 2026; 8:00 A.M., 925, all

Summary: ATS and Gartner presented preliminary findings from the feasibility study required by Senate Bill 2267, which directed ATS to establish a CIO Council, study statewide data exchange feasibility, develop a phased implementation plan, and report progress to the legislature. ATS said the CIO Council has already met several times and has heard from other states, including Tennessee and Ohio, with Georgia expected to follow. Gartner explained that it interviewed about 17 agencies and was also gathering input from other states and market research to identify Mississippi’s current data-sharing landscape and possible paths forward. Gartner’s main findings were that Mississippi agencies strongly prioritize data security and compliance, but that this focus has also contributed to silos, point-to-point integrations, and inconsistent data definitions across agencies. The presenters said the state lacks a central legal framework and common standards, so agencies rely on individual memoranda of understanding. They emphasized that other states have generally not built “everything at once,” but instead started with specific outcomes such as citizen services, fraud detection, or reporting, then created statewide legal frameworks, common standards, and governance structures, often led by a chief data officer or similar office. The discussion also highlighted examples from other states, including Utah’s single portal for services and Maryland’s 360-degree citizen view for caseworkers. Gartner said Mississippi should first decide what outcome it wants from a data exchange and suggested that the effort should be framed as information sharing rather than moving all data into one central repository. Members and presenters discussed the need for foundational standards, a chief data office, and change management, including agency “change champions,” to build trust and participation over time. No votes were taken; the meeting was informational, and the presenters said the remaining CIO Council work would help prioritize use cases for the final feasibility report.

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't think we voted the same way very often, but I certainly learned to trust you, and you've got
• We're told are of interest: one around this past wildfire season and also the trust land transfer program
• We were told by the chair that our wildfire work and the trust land transfer program were the topics,
• So yeah, talking about the trust land transfer, I know we presented a bill to make the trust land transfer
• So yeah, talking about the trust land transfer, I know we presented a bill to make the trust land transfer

Summary: The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a work session with an update from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Commissioner Dave Upthe Grove outlined DNR’s size and scope, previewed agency-request legislation, and emphasized budget priorities. He said DNR will seek authority to sell ecosystem service credits, better use underutilized water rights with tribal consultation, add a tribal representative to the State Board of Natural Resources, make minor timber-sales efficiencies, and include wildland firefighters in the LEOFF pension system. He also urged restoration of wildfire prevention and preparedness funding, warning that reduced funding would mean fewer firefighters, less forest health work, and less support for rural fire districts. He noted DNR’s wildfire suppression costs are rising and argued prevention spending can reduce larger, more expensive fires. State Forester George Geisler followed with a detailed wildfire season review. He said Washington now responds to fires year-round and also assists other states, including Texas. He described DNR’s use of 31 aircraft, 691 firefighters, and corrections-based crews, and said the agency’s success rate for keeping fires under 10 acres improved slightly from 93.7% to 94.1%. He highlighted increased arson activity, especially around Spokane, and described the Crescent Road Fire as an example of early detection, rapid response, and the use of bulldozers, aircraft, and hand crews to contain a fire to 182 acres with no structure losses. Senator Saldan praised the emphasis on prevention and the use of bulldozers as cost-effective tools. Assistant deputy supervisor Dwayne Emmons then reviewed the trust land transfer program, which was codified in statute in 2023 after being funded through the capital budget for decades. He said more than 130,000 acres of underperforming trust land have been transferred since the 1990s to other public or tribal entities for more appropriate use, while DNR acquires replacement lands to keep the trust whole. He described the current application and ranking process, including tribal input, and said DNR is requesting funding for remaining parcels from the last round, including portions of Tract C, Babcock Bench, and Middle Fork Snoqualmie. In questions, Senator Wagoner raised concerns about DNR’s decision to remove some acres from timber harvest rotation and its impact on local revenue and mills; the commissioner responded that current five-year harvest plans provide short-term stability and that any changes would be explored through the Board of Natural Resources process, not through immediate reductions in supply. The committee then received a history briefing from staff member Jeff Olson on the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and agency structure. He traced the evolution from early fish and game commissioners to the current commission-appointed director model adopted by voter-approved Referendum 45 in 1995. Olson explained the commission’s statutory duties, membership requirements, and how Washington compares with other states. Chair Chapman said he had no plans to hear a bill this session changing the commission’s makeup, but he expressed personal interest in exploring reforms, accountability, and possibly a future broader coalition or referendum process. No votes were taken; the meeting was informational only, and the chair adjourned the session with holiday and New Year’s wishes.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the trust is there.
• And the trust is there.
• And the trust is there.
• And the trust is there. But to it free. And the trust is there.
• I trust my pharmacists just as much as I trust my doctors.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . >> But public trust, I think y'all trying to redefine public trust.
• trust realm. trust realm.
• . trust. trust.
• . trust. trust.
• I guess there's a flip to that, too. hope the trust the public can trust us a hope the trust the public

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• H-5305, the Protect Act, is about restoring that trust.
• But hope requires trust, and trust requires that the law be applied fairly, equally, and constitutionally
• When we live in fear, trust is broken. When trust is broken, the whole community suffers.
• Trust to serve the interests of public safety.
• Speaker, I thank you for your leadership and trust.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The House first handled several routine matters, including adoption of a birthday resolution honoring Caroline San Martino Moran and suspension of Joint Rule 12 to allow consideration of a petition involving the City of Waltham and the Veterans Memorial Rink. It also advanced two local bills: one authorizing DCAMM to release a sewer line easement in West Roxbury, and another relative to the town administrator of Carlisle. Both bills were amended by Ways and Means and ordered to third reading or engrossed as amended. The chamber also passed a memorial-marker bill for fallen law enforcement officers in Milton and Canton. The main floor debate centered on House Bill 5305, the “Protect Act,” which was presented as a measure to limit state and local involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement, restrict ICE access in courthouses and other sensitive locations, strengthen notice and language-access protections for detainees and workers, and expedite U and T visa certifications. Supporters, including members of the Black and Latino Caucus and other legislators, argued the bill would protect due process, encourage victims and witnesses to come forward, preserve public trust, and keep local police focused on criminal matters. They cited courthouse arrests, fear in immigrant communities, and the need for clearer boundaries between state and federal authority. Several amendments were offered and voted on during consideration of H.5305. An amendment to strike Section 4 was rejected, as were amendments seeking to alter the courthouse enforcement provisions and to recognize immigration judge warrants. Other amendments were adopted, including one clarifying sheriff-related provisions, one expanding language around release dates, one adding protections related to school settings, and one expediting U visa certification for family members aging out. A roll call was taken on the bill and on multiple amendments, with the House ultimately adopting the amendments described and continuing consideration of the bill as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• The city of Austin created the OPO in 2018 to build trust.
• You've got to have public trust. That's the number one.
• Individual liberty and public trust is that balance.
• The public needs to trust them.
• How is the public going to trust law enforcement, you know?

Bills: SB7, SB14

Keywords: gender designation, civil penalties, private civil rights, multiple-occupancy spaces, Texas Women's Privacy Act, law enforcement, confidentiality, personnel files, employee records, misconduct

Summary: The Committee on State Affairs took up Senate Bill 14, which would create a confidential department file for law enforcement officers and jailers and limit public access to records involving unsubstantiated misconduct, while preserving access for hiring agencies, TCOLE, and certain criminal justice uses. TCOLE’s Gretchen Grigsby explained the current rollout of law enforcement recordkeeping reforms, including the distinction between the public personnel file and the confidential G-file, and answered questions about when TCOLE would request files during investigations. Senator Perry and other members focused on how the bill would interact with existing personnel-file rules, public transparency, and criminal discovery obligations. Public testimony was largely opposed. Critics argued the bill was drafted too broadly, could sweep in records beyond misconduct files, and would reduce transparency for the public, journalists, oversight bodies, and families seeking answers in cases such as Uvalde and jail deaths in Tarrant County. Several witnesses said the bill could allow small or single-officer agencies, including elected constables, to shield their own records, and some warned it could chill reporting and oversight. Supporters, including law enforcement representatives, said the bill would protect officers from false or unsubstantiated allegations, align agencies without civil-service protections with those that already have G-files, and preserve confidentiality for records that should not be public. Dallas County prosecutors and Harris County deputies supported the general policy but asked for clarifying amendments, especially to separate language they said could affect the Michael Morton Act and to preserve existing protections through in-camera review or protective orders. Committee members spent significant time questioning witnesses about how substantiated versus unsubstantiated allegations would be handled, whether body camera footage and case files would remain public, and how the bill would affect discovery in criminal cases. After hearing all registered witnesses, the chair closed public testimony. Senate Bill 14 was left pending, and the committee recessed.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then Chapter 113, which was Senate Bill 88, established the Medicaid Trust Fund.
• A lot of that revenue has been coming from the trust fund.
• now some of that money will be going to the Medicaid trust fund and the Behavioral Health Trust fund
• fund and the other half was taken to go into the um The, uh, Medicaid trust fund.
• Anything that's above that goes into the trust fund to the trust fund.

Transcript Highlights:

• and maintain that trust in those relationships.
• and maintain that trust in those relationships.
• ways that we may never regain the trust ways that we may never regain the trust that<00:18:09.840
• That's a violation of community trust.
• . trust. trust.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Brady trusted them. We trusted them. My sister and Bill trusted this company.
• Brady trusted them. We trusted them. My sister and Bill trusted this company.
• Brady trusted them. We trusted them. My sister and Bill trusted this company.
• Brady trusted them. We trusted them. My sister and Bill trusted this company.
• Brady trusted them. We trusted them. My sister and Bill trusted this company.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's built on a principle of never trust, always verify. And...
• Zero-trust architecture says we don't trust anything ever. It always has to... trusted.
• Zero-trust architecture says we don't trust anything ever.
• zero-trust architecture, 800-207.
• You have to trust government not to turn on the switch.

Keywords: 985, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's just that trust is not there.
• But let's not talk about the trust.
• trust that trust chairman before about or the distrust but let's not talk about the trust the trust
• And of course, thank you to the trust.
• This program is gaining trust.

Summary: The hearing focused on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) grant program under the Board of State and Community Corrections and related Department of Justice efforts. BSCC reported that it now administers 36 MMIP grants across three cohorts, with awards ranging from $436,000 to $1 million, plus five collaborative grants at $2 million each, totaling $35.4 million awarded to federally recognized tribes. Testimony from tribal leaders and grantees described how the funding supports prevention, family advocacy, domestic violence services, law enforcement coordination, youth programming, culturally grounded healing, and new tribal public safety positions such as investigators, social workers, and drone operators. Speakers repeatedly emphasized that the crisis is longstanding, tied to generational trauma, and that the grant has helped build trust and infrastructure in tribal communities. Several witnesses and committee members urged continued and preferably ongoing funding, noting that demand now exceeds available one-time money. BSCC and tribal representatives described outreach efforts that increased participation from four applicants in cohort one to 20 in cohort two and more applicants than funding in cohort three. Tribes also raised implementation concerns, especially the burden of quarterly narrative reporting, limited staff capacity, and the need for flexible administration. BSCC said it uses steering committees, separate small- and large-project categories, orientations, monitoring visits, and technical assistance to support grantees. Tribal leaders and advocates stressed that the program should remain accessible without requiring a waiver of tribal sovereignty. The second major topic was DOJ’s update on AB 3099, the Tribal Assistance Program, and the tribal police pilot under AB 134. DOJ officials said the Office of Native American Affairs and the Division of Law Enforcement have been conducting outreach, trainings, listening sessions, and coordination with tribal, local, state, and federal partners to address Public Law 280 jurisdictional issues, improve reporting and data, and support Feather Alert and MMIP-related resources. DOJ said the AB 3099 report is in internal review and that the tribal police pilot is moving forward with the Yurok Tribe as a participant, with a July 1, 2026 start date. DOJ and tribal witnesses said the pilot’s main barriers are cost and, for some tribes, the waiver of sovereign immunity. No votes were taken, and the hearing ended with broad support for expanding and sustaining MMIP-related funding and infrastructure.