Transcript Highlights:

• as our forecast goes, this is our forecast of real GDP growth, so just think of that as economic output
• situations, because of our isolation, because of our smaller population that we don't have the voting power

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee held a work session covering the state revenue outlook, caseload forecasts, wildfire costs, budget balance, tort liability, water supply, and pension policy. The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reported modest near-term U.S. growth, no near-term Washington employment growth in 2026, continued personal income growth, and elevated inflation, with tariffs and federal policy cited as major risks. Revenue forecasts were slightly improved for the current biennium by about $105 million but down about $185 million for the next biennium. Members asked about income inequality and housing permits; staff said personal income is an aggregate measure and housing production remains below long-term needs. The Caseload Forecast Council then reported that most forecasts were unchanged or only slightly changed, but several programs increased, including Washington College Grant, Working Connections, aged/blind/disabled cash grants, nursing homes, home and community services, and developmental disabilities personal care. The largest policy-driven change was in Medicaid low-income adult caseloads, where federal H.R. 1 was projected to reduce coverage substantially through narrower eligibility, community engagement requirements, and shorter eligibility periods. The committee also heard a wildfire funding update and a 2025 fire season review. Staff explained that the state budgets $93 million annually for suppression and uses supplemental appropriations for costs above that level, with an estimated state supplemental need of about $139 million for the current year. Department of Natural Resources officials said 2025 fire activity remained below the 10-year average in acres burned, but fires were more complex and closer to communities, contributing to higher residence loss. They described expanded use of aircraft, firefighters from other states, corrections crews, and the Arcadia 20 hand crew, and said the state did not need National Guard ground support this year. A budget preview then showed that the near general fund outlook had worsened after vetoes, lapses, and forecast changes, and that maintenance-level costs alone would leave a projected negative balance by fiscal year 2027 and about $4.3 billion by fiscal year 2029, before any policy decisions. Jason Seams, the state risk manager, reported a sharp rise in tort claim costs, with indemnity expenses nearly doubling from fiscal year 2023 to 2025 and DCYF accounting for most of the increase. He said the state self-insurance liability account has run deficits for four straight biennia and is now facing nearly $600 million in deficits, driven largely by a surge in DCYF claims, especially juvenile rehabilitation and long-running sex abuse cases. Members asked about the role of old claims, comparisons with other states, excess insurance, and whether more Attorney General staff could reduce special assistant attorney general costs. The committee then shifted to water policy, hearing from tribal leaders, Ecology, and the Washington Water Trust. Tribal witnesses emphasized overappropriation, declining flows, climate impacts, and the need for legislative oversight and tribal participation in water policy. Ecology described major projects in the Odessa sub-area, Yakima Basin, and Dungeness, along with the need for storage, recharge, conservation, and policy changes to support water supply development. The Washington Water Trust argued that climate change is reducing summer flows and that the state needs more funding, enforcement, and long-term commitment to restore instream flows. The final item was a pension update on LEOFF 1 surplus assets; staff reviewed two 2025 bills that would have merged or restructured the plan and used surplus assets, but neither passed, and instead the budget directed the Select Committee on Pension Policy to study the issue and report back.

Transcript Highlights:

• Policy inputs lead to productive outputs which produce gains and outcomes.
• the programs to benefit from the infrastructure, the knowledge, the expertise, and the purchasing power

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• The ultimate question is, of course, are these outputs changing outcomes?
• The Commission has a powerful opportunity to center culturally-rooted ideas and build public trust.

Transcript Highlights:

• these goals principally by requiring the shielding of lighting fixtures and directing their light output
• I want to start off by recognizing that it's important for me to reclaim this power in this space.

Committee: Senate Senate Conservation

Transcript Highlights:

• The maximum penalty under law for all misdemeanors is $1,000.
• The definition of gross misdemeanor is a maximum penalty that's allowed.
• The definition of gross misdemeanor is a maximum penalty that's allowed.
• The definition of gross misdemeanor is a maximum penalty that's allowed.
• The definition of gross misdemeanor is a maximum penalty that's allowed.

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• We have some concerns about whether this bill will actually do anything because the powers that condominium
• So you can certainly enact this statute to give condo associations this power if you want to, but if
• statute to give condo associations this statute to give condo associations this power power power if<
• We're also going to put in the committee report that they consider a maximum limit for the fee.
• report that they um the comittee report that they um consider<00:16:14.759><c> a</c><00:16:14.959><c> maximum

Committee: House Tourism

Transcript Highlights:

• In terms of what the bill really requires, the thing of the bill doesn't require any type of output.
• require</c><01:13:45.240><c> any</c><01:13:45.480><c> type</c><01:13:45.720><c> of</c><01:13:45.800><c> output
• </c><01:13:46.080><c> I</c> doesn't require any type of output.
• I doesn't require any type of output.

Bills: HF1234 , HF3528 , HF3672 , HF3679 , HF3680 , HF1944

Committee: House State Government Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• By the way, the nine projects approved in FY 2024 will generate $591.5 million in economic output, meaning
• 01:02:48.240><c> in</c><01:02:48.440><c> economic</c><01:02:48.920><c> input</c><01:02:49.720><c> output
• </c> 5915 million in economic input output 5915 million in economic input output rather<01:02:50.920>

Bills: HF1277 , HF812 , HF457 , HF633

Committee: House Taxes

Keywords: data centers, tax exemption, Minnesota statutes, economic development, employment growth, income tax, tax brackets, tax adjustments, Minnesota, tax policy, underutilized buildings, adaptive reuse, building conversion, historic preservation, downtown revitalization, vacant property, vacancy reduction, refundable tax credit, income tax credit, grant in lieu of credit

Transcript Highlights:

• So that's a powerful statement too.
• That was raised from $8,000 to $12,000 maximum match if the participant saved the maximum $4,000 in two
• the maximum $4,000 the participant saved the maximum $4,000 in<00:26:03.679><c> two</c><00:26:03.919
• </c><00:31:34.880><c> people</c><00:31:35.039><c> the</c> powerful when we give people the powerful when
• Um your story is really powerful. home. Um your story is really powerful.

Bills: HF2135 , HF776 , HF1581 , HF1158 , HF2226

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• It extends the maximum length that a levy lid lift may be approved by the voters.
• It excludes a joint operating agency from the definition of electric power utility.
• It excludes a joint operating agency from the definition of electric power utility.
• It requires a city or town creating a fire protection district to reduce its statutory maximum tax rate
• House Bill 2431, increasing the maximum annual limits for regularly scheduled fundraising activities.

Bills: HB2675 , HB2249 , HB2120 , HB1069 , HB1983 , HB2431 , SB6006 , SB6297 , SB6351 , SB6353 , HB2521 , HB2091 , HB2104 , SB6355 , HB2254 , HB2385 , SB5808 , HB1796 , HB1376 , SB6260 , HB2353

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: accounts, finance, business regulation, transparency, audits, HB 2249, Washington Technology Solutions, WaTech, civil service, classified service, exempt employees, state employment, state personnel, network security, cybersecurity, information technology, IT contracting, data center, systems integration, network engineering

Transcript Highlights:

• The committee substitute adds that a public utility agency does not have the power of eminent domain
• This bill, to the extent its provisions are good, and the additional powers it clarifies are good too
• This bill to the extent provisions it has are good and the additional powers it clarifies are good too
• As water supplies in Texas have become scarcer and more valuable, this maximum civil penalty cap, which
• It's powerful enough. It's punitive enough as it is. And do you feel like we're not enforcing that?

Bills: HB4530 , HB4931 , HB5559 , HB5560 , HB143

Committee: House Natural Resources

Keywords: water rights, Texas Water Trust, water bank, environmental conservation, water quality, instream flows, aquifer, water injection, Edwards Aquifer, environmental regulation, groundwater, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, water conservation, drought, utility regulation, water use restrictions, Public Utility Commission, civil penalties, drought contingency, environmental protection

Summary: The Committee on Natural Resources met with a quorum present and first took up several pending bills for reconsideration and committee substitute adoption. House Bill 2692, relating to codification and clarification of local laws concerning the San Antonio River Authority, was reported favorably to the full House and sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars by an 11-0 vote. House Bills 1407, 1520, 1535, 2970, 4153, 291, 3663, and 3915 were also reconsidered or laid out as pending business, with committee substitutes adopted where needed and each bill reported favorably, generally by unanimous vote, to the full House and then to Calendars or Calendars/Calendars-related referral as applicable. The committee then heard House Bill 4530, which would expand the Texas Water Trust framework to include groundwater rights, require Texas Water Development Board review and approval of groundwater dedications, and notify local groundwater districts when groundwater rights are placed in the trust. The bill’s author and witnesses from the Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Chispa Texas supported the measure as a conservation tool and a way to create a clear process for voluntary donations; a Texas Water Development Board witness testified neutrally. The bill was left pending. House Bill 4931, relating to an aquifer storage and recovery project in Medina County, drew support from the author, the Medina County judge, and a regional water alliance witness, who described severe stress on the Edwards Aquifer, low levels at Medina Lake, and the need for a local water-supply tool. The bill was left pending. House Bill 5559, which would clarify enforcement of drought contingency plans for investor-owned water utilities and involve the PUC in model plan development, received support from groundwater district representatives but also concerns from water company and utility witnesses about enforcement authority, approval procedures, and potential conflicts with existing obligations to provide continuous service; the committee substitute was withdrawn and the bill was left pending. House Bill 5560, which would raise the maximum civil penalty for certain groundwater conservation district enforcement actions from $10,000 to $25,000 per violation, prompted debate over whether current law is already sufficient; supporters said the higher cap would better deter overpumping, while opponents argued existing penalties are already severe. That bill was also left pending, and the committee adjourned subject to call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill creates a powerful new tool. Just that important goal.
• So unemployment indexing, as you heard from the bill author and sponsor, is a powerful tool.
• So unemployment indexing, as you heard from the bill author and sponsor, is a powerful tool.
• It's essentially halving the maximum weekly benefits that laid-off workers can receive.
• So that's above the 14-week new maximum benefit. Okay, so that's problematic.

Bills: HB 112 , HB199 , HB621 , HB1349 , HB2214 , HB3466 , HB3698 , HB3699 , HCR9 , HB112 , HB199 , HCR9

Committee: House Trade, Workforce & Economic Development

Keywords: science park district, economic development, technology innovation, higher education collaboration, infrastructure development, Texas Economic Development Office, workforce development, unemployment benefits, state average unemployment rate, benefit year, economic support, Texas Workforce Commission, property owners' association, free speech, assembly rights, government officials, political candidates, floodplain, landlord, tenant

Summary: The Committee on Trade, Workforce and Economic Development met with a quorum and moved quickly through a long agenda, hearing testimony and taking recorded votes on several bills. Early in the meeting, HB 2214 was laid out to exempt certain short-term residential leases and leaseback arrangements from flood-disclosure requirements; Texas Realtors supported the change, and the bill was left pending. The committee then voted out a series of pending measures, including HB 46, HB 186 (with a committee substitute), HB 431, HB 1147, HB 1154, HB 2468, HB 2488, HB 2788 (with a substitute), HB 2791 (with a substitute), HB 3260, and HCR 90, all reported favorably to the full House, with HB 1147 receiving two nays and the others passing unanimously or nearly so. A major portion of the hearing focused on HB 112, which would create a Texas Science Park district and commission to support advanced manufacturing and innovation sites. The bill’s author and supporters, including Samsung Austin Semiconductor, the Texas Association of Business, and the Governor’s economic development office, argued it would strengthen supply chains, attract investment, and support national security and workforce development. Testimony described interest from semiconductor and advanced manufacturing companies and referenced the model of foreign science parks such as Sinshu in Taiwan. HB 112 was left pending after testimony. The committee also heard HB 3698 and HB 3699, both related to unemployment insurance administration. HB 3698 would expand eligibility for the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment program using federal funds, while HB 3699 would tighten the definition of “last work” to help the Texas Workforce Commission investigate UI fraud. Both bills were discussed with TWC resource witnesses and left pending after the committee withdrew the substitutes. HB 1349, which would extend HOA transparency and property-rights provisions to condominiums and refine HOA rules, and HB 621, which would require HOA meeting spaces to be available for residents to reserve for qualified political candidates or elected officials, were also heard and left pending. Finally, the committee heard HCR 9 to designate the first Saturday of each month as Small Business Saturday, HB 199 to index unemployment benefit duration to the state unemployment rate, and HB 3466 to exempt certain cancelable service contracts from Texas’s in-home sales cooling-off law; each drew supportive and opposing testimony and was left pending before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• The first is around a defunct mortgage maximum interest rate.
• Every month, the department publishes the maximum interest rate that lenders can...
• The maximum interest rate is the maximum interest rate that the government can charge for certain types
• So there is a maximum rate that can be charged.
• It can be prime plus one and a half; the maximum rate one could charge.

Bills: HF2601 , HF2607 , HF2027 , HF2608

Committee: House Commerce Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• And this is to try to get maximum participation at the local level.
• He wants maximum coordination with the local government.
• Now, I know the power already vests in the governor, right?
• bill are powers that the governor regularly utilizes: the power to uphold the laws, to levy fines, to
• We statutorily gave the governor those powers.

Summary: The Senate opened with a quorum, prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance, then read an amended joint proclamation expanding the special session call to include financial penalties for government officials, criminal penalties for offenses committed by illegal aliens, and programs and appropriations to support law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. No committee reports, governor’s messages, or House messages were on the desk before the chamber moved to the special order calendar. The main item was Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 2B, the immigration bill, along with a late-filed strike-all amendment by Senator Gruters. Gruters said the amendment aligned terminology with federal law, increased penalties for crimes by unauthorized aliens, added transnational crime organizations to gang definitions, required stronger participation in the federal 287(g) program, created financial penalties for noncompliance, offered a $1,000 bonus for officers assisting ICE in large operations, directed more information-sharing with federal agencies, and barred DHSMV from issuing licenses or IDs to unauthorized aliens. He framed the bill as supporting President Trump’s immigration agenda and focusing on criminal illegal aliens rather than street-level enforcement. A long question-and-answer period followed, with Senators Polsky, Pizzo, Smith, Jones, Roscoe, Berman, and others pressing the sponsor on scope, legality, costs, and implementation. Questions focused on whether the bill would require participation beyond jails and detention centers, whether schools or churches could be affected, liability and immunity for local agencies, the size and purpose of the proposed appropriations, and the impact on undocumented students receiving in-state tuition waivers. Gruters and Senator Fine said the 287(g) provisions were intended to apply to jails and detention facilities, that green-card holders and lawful residents would not be affected, and that the tuition waiver repeal would end discounted tuition for students in the country illegally while not affecting their ability to attend. Fine also defended the mandatory death penalty provision for certain capital offenses committed by illegal immigrants, acknowledging it would likely be challenged in court but arguing the bill was designed to test and advance the policy. No final vote or other action on the bill is reflected in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, and so I don't think we've hit the maximum yet.
• </c> Uh, I don't think we've hit the maximum Uh, I don't think we've hit the maximum yet.<00:17:25.919
• I don't understand how we could have that power.
• Do we have the power to pass a law such that that law can never be changed?
• For instance, someone who has got the maximum accruals and gets the largest payout.

Summary: The Committee of Conference on HB 1 and HB 2 met to review revenue estimates and begin working through the HB 1 detail change sheet. New Hampshire Lottery Director Charlie McIntyre reported stronger-than-expected lottery performance, raising the current-year return estimate to $27 million and the next biennium estimate to $200 million, with the increase attributed to improved scratch ticket sales and sports betting not hurting revenue as much as expected. Members questioned the assumptions behind the higher estimates, including the impact of $50 scratch tickets and whether the figures accounted for future conversion from historical horse racing (HHR) machines to video lottery terminals (VLTs). McIntyre and committee members discussed machine counts, per-day revenue assumptions, and the likelihood that VLT conversion would increase revenues over time, though the timing and pace of conversion remained an open question. The committee also discussed several gaming-related policy items in HB 2, including changes to kino hours and local option games of chance, and noted that the Senate and House differed on how gaming revenues would be allocated between charities, education, and general funds. Members emphasized that revenue projections should remain conservative because operators, not the state, would control the pace of machine conversion. Representative Sweeney noted that operators could earn more per machine under the VLT model, and McIntyre said the new facilities and expansions were largely concentrated near the Massachusetts border. The committee then moved to the HB 1 detail change sheet. It agreed to Senate position on the Department of Safety’s road toll bureau and international registration program changes, which were described as a zero-cost realignment of positions, and held the Department of Corrections section for later discussion. On the judicial side, members approved a technical footnote fix, but held a new contract counsel item for involuntary mental health admissions and deferred discussion of the public defender program increase. The committee also noted no change for the PE development authority, moved safety rest area funding from HB 2 into HB 1 with no additional cost, and flagged the tourism development fund and other judicial items as issues that may depend on overall available revenue.

Transcript Highlights:

• In buying power, not as maybe big.
• I do think it's powerful when we talk about how we reflect on schools.
• Use your power to uphold the promise of our democracy. Every child, fund it. Thank you.
• It has the power to set schools back on the right track.
• It is destruction and this legislature has the power and obligation to stop it.

Committee: House Public Education

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill provides maximum transparency and accountability.
• This bill provides maximum transparency and accountability.
• transparency and maximum accountability.
• By providing clear election procedures, AB 1919 will give voters the power to decide the future of their
• By providing clear election procedures, AB 1919 will give voters the power to decide the future of their

Summary: The Assembly Appropriations Committee met on April 22, 2026, with a quorum present and first took up a large consent calendar. It moved a set of bills to the Assembly Floor consent calendar by unanimous vote, including AB 1773, 1785, 1828, 1873, 1918, 2001, 2085, 2173, 2412, 2536, 2644, and 2781, and separately approved another group of unanimous bills not eligible for floor consent, including AB 1544, 1555, 1614, 1621, 1637, 1704, 1816, 1933, 2529, 2559, 2663, and 2731. The committee then heard several individual bills, with each author describing the measure and witnesses generally testifying in support; no organized opposition was recorded on the bills discussed. Among the measures heard, AB 2393 would create fixed statutory damages for certain false imprisonment and arrest claims, while exempting peace officers, custodial officers, and public entities. AB 1697 would delay implementation of a recently enacted prohibition on employment contracts that require workers to repay employer debts if they leave a job, and AB 2534 would extend Domestic Violence Prevention Act restraining order protections to attempted forced marriages and survivors of forced marriages. AB 1608 would strengthen the High-Speed Rail Inspector General’s office by adding staffing and contracting authority, requiring public reports, and allowing limited temporary confidentiality for sensitive information; the bill drew questions from members about transparency and whether information could be withheld, but the author and Inspector General said the measure would increase accountability and only allow narrow, time-limited confidentiality. The committee also approved AB 1916, which would allow American Sign Language interpreters to participate in the same collective bargaining process as other certified court interpreters, and AB 1803, which would require anti-hate speech training as part of workplace harassment prevention training for employers with five or more employees. AB 1821 would change Public Records Act response timelines from calendar days to business days, with local government sponsors arguing it would better reflect actual processing time for broad and complex requests without reducing access. AB 1919 would establish election procedures to let voters decide the future of Santa Cruz Metro service funding after a one-time grant expires. Each of these bills was moved forward on due pass votes, with some members not voting on certain measures. The committee then approved a long suspense file, and the remaining suspense bills were deemed approved without further discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill provides maximum transparency and accountability.
• This bill provides maximum transparency and accountability.
• transparency and maximum accountability.
• By providing clear election procedures, AB 1919 will give voters the power to decide the future of their
• By providing clear election procedures, AB 1919 will give voters the power to decide the future of their

Committee: House Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• To make matters worse, the city of Gainesville's mandatory training included a wheel of power and privilege
• your life is that you take all of those gifts that you've been given, and you do everything in your power
• Throughout my tenure, I've witnessed firsthand the power of bipartisan cooperation and the Tenure, I've
• celebration, there could be a time that we sing the Negro National Anthem and end it all with the black power
• It was just clarifying that an individual may not be remanded if they've already served their maximum

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then moved through a lengthy special order calendar. Early business included unanimous passage of CS/CS/SB 1062 on speech and debate education, with supporters describing it as a way to expand access to debate programs statewide, create a Hall of Fame, support public-private partnerships, and train coaches. The bill drew broad bipartisan praise for teaching civics, critical thinking, and conflict resolution, and passed 37-0 after adoption of a delete-all amendment. The Senate also passed SB 1072 on an anti-Semitism task force after clarifying amendment language stating the bill does not restrict criticism of Israel and is consistent with First Amendment protections; members emphasized rising anti-Semitic incidents and the need for recommendations on prevention, law enforcement training, and community relations. The chamber then approved CS/CS/SB 1230 / HB 1019 on PFAS chemicals, phasing out firefighting foam containing PFAS, requiring reporting and biosolid testing, and authorizing DEP rulemaking, assistance, and enforcement; the bill was described as protecting firefighters and water supplies and was dedicated in memory of former firefighter Joe Casello. Senators also passed SB 1706 on the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, SB 186 on student health and safety and seizure response training in schools, SB 598 updating funeral and cemetery regulation, SB 990 creating protected cell captive insurance companies, SB 554 modernizing nonprofit corporation law, SB 560 streamlining child welfare and foster care medication procedures, SB 684 on electronic signatures for total-loss vehicles and vessels, and SB 778 on forensic services for certain defendants. Most of these bills were taken up with identical House companions, no amendments, and unanimous or near-unanimous votes. The most extended and contentious debate centered on SB 1134 regarding official actions of local governments and DEI-related activities. Sponsor Senator Yarbrough argued the bill would stop counties and cities from funding or promoting discriminatory or indoctrinating DEI practices, citing examples from several local governments. Multiple amendments were offered, including proposals to narrow the bill to spending, add an intent requirement for penalties, and broaden exceptions for holidays and observances; these amendments were debated at length but were not adopted. The sponsor did accept some clarifying changes, including language protecting certain nonprofit services, heritage resources, and the Pulse Memorial, and he answered questions about Black History Month and at-risk youth services. The transcript ends while the Senate is still working through the amendment process on SB 1134, with no final vote on the underlying bill shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to point out this is still when the maximum amount was $50, so the amount is now up to $75 per
• </c><00:48:42.359><c> in</c><00:48:42.520><c> a</c> maximum that's the maximum refund in a maximum that's
• So that multiple claims are allowed until that maximum is reached.
• Public financing programs put more power into the hands of everyday voters.
• </c> public financing programs put more power public financing programs put more power into<00:54:54.359

Committee: Senate Elections