Transcript Highlights:

• With the new library coming online, there's some changes they want to be able to...
• With the new library coming online, there's some changes they want to be able to make, including maybe
• say that there's a fair chance that the President may be out there for the ribbon cutting of the library
• say that there's a fair chance that the president may be out there for the ribbon cutting of the library

Bills: HB1603

Keywords: Native American, grave protection, repatriation, cultural heritage, tribal compliance, 908, all

Summary: The Appropriations Committee met with a quorum and announced it would begin meeting at 8 a.m. for the rest of the week to work through a growing bill list. The committee first approved House Bill 1603, a companion to the Historical Society budget dealing with NAGPRA, including a $500,000 matching grant to be divided among North Dakota’s five tribes and a committee to address repatriation of human remains and cultural items. The vote was unanimous, 15-0. The committee then considered House Bill 1225, which would increase penalties for reckless endangerment involving a firearm and create a mandatory prison term. After debate over public safety concerns versus the bill’s fiscal note and prison costs, the committee adopted a do not pass recommendation by a 9-6-1 vote. Members also discussed House Bill 1018, the State Historical Society budget, and approved an amendment that adjusted one-time funding items, including NAGPRA compliance, museum exhibits, military gallery funding, local historic grants, and line-of-credit repayment. The amended bill then received a due pass recommendation by a 14-2 vote. The committee next approved House Bill 1468, a behavioral health facility grant for St. Hayes, which supporters said would expand in-state access to acute and adolescent behavioral health care and reduce the need to send patients out of state. The bill passed 14-1. It then amended and passed House Bill 1485, increasing the personal needs allowance for certain Medicaid recipients by $15 and indexing it to inflation; the amendment and the bill as amended both passed 14-2. Finally, the committee approved House Bill 1016, the Adjutant General/National Guard budget, after adopting an amendment that funded disaster relief, response equipment, IT and website costs, and staffing changes for the watch center; the amended bill passed 14-2. The committee adjourned after completing six bills and planned to resume the next morning at 8 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• So they are an underlying resource for all of the state's libraries, schools, and our counties.
• c><00:36:52.400><c> of</c><00:36:52.560><c> the</c><00:36:52.720><c> states</c><00:36:53.440><c> libraries
• </c> resource for all of the states libraries resource for all of the states libraries in<00:36:54.800
• And you know, I've had the same people in from the SIS library systems and such and talked highly of
• across the state rely on um libraries across the state rely on the<00:39:23.560><c> resources</c><00

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But at IU, I did my undergraduate work, and I earned my library science degree.
• </c><01:47:21.800><c> near</c> Going back to my childhood, there was no library near me.
• Homeschoolers definitely use the public libraries all the time; it’s their school library.
• Homeschoolers definitely use the public libraries all the time; it’s their school library.
• all the time it's their school libraries all the time it's their school library<02:00:02.320><c> uh<

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate Education Committee met with a quorum and first considered two concurrent resolutions. SCR 76, sponsored by Sen. Amanda Bledsoe, would create a Kentucky School for the Deaf Governance Task Force to examine the school’s future governance and its relationship with the Kentucky Department of Education. Bledsoe described the school’s long history and said the task force would give the small deaf-school community more voice. The committee adopted the resolution unanimously with favorable expression. The committee then took up SCR 131, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, to continue the Efficient and Effective Districts Task Force from 2024. Wise said the prior task force met about 10 times and focused on student achievement and district policy, and the new version would continue that work as a legislature-only task force. The resolution passed unanimously with favorable expression. Members next considered HB 240 on primary school promotion. Rep. Truitt explained that the bill would require students who are not ready in kindergarten to repeat kindergarten, while a committee substitute softened the approach by allowing a school to hold a child back in kindergarten but requiring action in first grade. He said the bill aligns with existing reading-screening efforts and is intended to strengthen early literacy foundations. The committee adopted the substitute and passed the bill unanimously with favorable expression; Sen. Williams briefly explained his support as favoring performance-based advancement. The committee also approved HB 298, which would change the identification of schools for comprehensive support and improvement from every three years to annually, require KDE recommendations during management audits, add professional development in reading and math, and require effective instructional resources. The committee substitute also allowed districts with multiple CSI schools to contract for a turnaround vendor. The bill additionally carried employee-misconduct provisions from prior sessions, including disclosure requirements for applicants; the only change discussed was removing the word “investigation” from one disclosure section. HB 298 passed unanimously with favorable expression, and the committee also adopted a title amendment. Finally, the committee heard HB 424 on employment at public postsecondary institutions. Rep. Tipton said the bill would require performance and productivity reviews for faculty at least every four years, clarify appointment and removal authority for presidents at certain institutions, and expand “cause” for dismissal to include failure to meet performance and productivity requirements. Dr. Ray Horton, speaking for faculty groups, proposed a small substitute that would tie any performance measures to existing employment contracts to preserve academic integrity and avoid unintended changes to tenure processes. Members discussed how tenure works at Kentucky universities, and the committee was still in the middle of considering the proposed substitute when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Committee on Rules, to whom was referred the Senate bill addressing challenges facing public libraries
• resource collections, Senate No. 2710, reports in part a bill addressing challenges facing public libraries
• Senate Rule 7 and the rules to the contrary, the Senate bill addressing challenges facing public libraries

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate took up several final-passage matters, first adopting emergency preambles for H. 3388, establishing September 22 as Military Service Members’ and Veterans’ Suicide Awareness and Remembrance Day, and H. 4249, relative to vital statistics. It then enacted three bills: S. 23, authorizing alternate members to the Swampscott Conservation Commission; H. 1024, allowing the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to provide sewer service to certain parcels in Sharon; and H. 1590, establishing a sick leave bank for a Trial Court employee. The Senate also advanced local bills concerning Boston district council vacancies, Arlington town clerk procedures, and a Marlborough Ward 7 council vacancy, ordering some to third reading and passing others to engrossment. The chamber considered several committee and House reports under suspension of rules, including Senate bills on public libraries and digital resource collections and on the Commission on LGBTQA+, both placed on the Orders of the Day for future consideration. It also advanced House bills on the continued employment of a Lancaster firefighter and alternate members for the Beckett Conservation Commission, and suspended Joint Rule 12 to refer several petitions to the appropriate committees. The Senate marked the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps with remarks from Senator Collins and Senator Durant, a citation to the Boston Semper Fidelis Society, and brief comments from Tom Lyons on behalf of local Marines and veterans. The session concluded with an order to meet again on Thursday at 11:00 a.m., a motion to adjourn in memory of Wayne T. Laundrie of South Boston, a moment of silence, and final adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• AUTHORITY AND THE FEDERAL GRANT TRUST FUND REQUESTING IT TO MATCH THE TOTAL GRANT AWARD FROM THE LIBRARY
• SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGY ACT FROM THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES.
• THIS ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY WILL BE SUPPORTING A NONRECURRING INCREASE IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES LIBRARY

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is also on the state geospatial data library.
• addition to the kind of analysis we're doing with it, this is available to anyone who accesses that data library
• So we put the WASA data into the state's data library, and DOT now uses that as a layer inside their
• data from the standpoint that you're pulling data from different sources into some different data libraries
• Yeah, once it's in the data library, you could pull the data on Public Works Board projects and you could

Bills: HB2201, HB2154

Keywords: urban growth, city planning, county regulations, development standards, land use, land ownership, conservation districts, property rights, regulatory authority, environmental policy, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Some of the other things are the 148th Fighter Wing that was cut out, and the Duluth libraries out a
• Some of the other things are the 148th Fighter Wing that was cut out, and the Duluth libraries out a
• Some of the other things are the 148th Fighter Wing that was cut out, and the Duluth libraries out a
• Some of the other things are the 148th Fighter Wing that was cut out, and the Duluth libraries out a
• Some of the other things are the 148th Fighter Wing that was cut out, and the Duluth libraries out a

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And for those of us with a high ACE score, sometimes it's hard to imagine that there are people who say
• So sometimes that might be a library.
• We might meet at the library... Sometimes that might be a library.
• We might meet at the library or on days like today at the park.
• I can't imagine how painful that must have been.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Public libraries. That's on line six of A or C, Mr. Chair.
• I get the library organization saying they need more technology, they need upgraded, and then I get hit
• from the other side, the younger crowd, we don't use the libraries anymore.
• I mean, we have so many public libraries. Is that anywhere close to enough? Mr.
• Part of the reason for that is just that these allocations get divided up among all of the libraries

Bills: HB1

Keywords: feed bill, legislative appropriations, legislative branch, New Mexico Legislature, general fund, legislative council service, legislative finance committee, legislative education study committee, house chief clerk, senate chief clerk, per diem, mileage, session expenses, interim committees, district staff, capitol complex, capital outlay data system, legislative processing system, redistricting, census redistricting

Transcript Highlights:

• For the libraries, $52 million for the state library system, and under public safety, $7 million to address
• For the libraries, $52 million for the state library system, and under public safety, $7 million to address
• million for security perimeter upgrades, and $4.5 million for technology modernization. ...for the libraries
• , $52 million for the state library system, and under public safety, $7 million to address ADA compliance
• For the libraries, $52 million for the state library system, and under public safety, $7 million to address

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Sims Library, founded in 1905, which stands as Waxahachie's oldest public institutions.
• This bill also ensures that parents have full access to their child's curriculum. library materials,
• I can't imagine how you could continue to say that has nothing to do with DEI when it was a near... $200,000
• certain minority. student population with the most vile rhetoric and and violence that you could imagine

Bills: SCR5, SCR13, SB3, SB6, SB10, SB12, SB13, SB15, SB17, SB18, SB19, SB24, SB35, SB57, SB65, SB112, SB284, SB290, SB388, SB400, SB402, SB412, SB495, SB499, SB502, SB509, SB621, SB706, SB740, SB815, SB842, SB854, SB875, SB893, SB917, SB974, SB1025, SB1061, SB1073, SB1106, SB1268, SB1281, SB1300, SB1362, SB1379, SB1447, SB1451, SB1555, SB1902, SJR36, SJR12, SCR13, SCR25, SCR5, SCR22, SCR12, SCR24, SB495, SB412, SB10, SB18, SB565, SB372, SB842, SB765, SB62, SB19, SB666, SB707, SB888, SB687, SB706, SB847, SB290, SB13, SB1248, SB740, SB14, SB1006, SB504, SB917, SB925, SB388, SB1902, SB1121, SB995, SB857, SB305, SB296, SB284, SB35, SB6, SB815, SB3, SB1281, SB1379, SB1300, SB1497, SB1499, SB1498, SB1451, SB1061, SB15, SB65, SB241, SB304, SB402, SB499, SB621, SB974, SB1023, SB1024, SB1025, SB1106, SB686, SB112, SB371, SB204, SB400, SB609, SB1447, SB670, SB502, SB427, SB850, SB854, SB413, SB1555, SB1362, SB1346, SB1033, SB1220, SB1073, SB810, SB987, SB1539, SB893, SB447, SB875, SB406, SB509, SB985, SB965, SB17, SB1119, SB1505, SB12, SB24, SB57, SB1194, SB1253, SB1215, SB1532, SB1268, SB1302, SB856, SB650, SB583, SB673, SB840, SJR57, SCR8, SB213, SB681, SB1172, SB1252, SB378, SB610, SB918, SB1343, SB608, SB487, SB955, SB957, SB988, SB990, SB1019, SB1021, SB1120, SB251, SB958, SB535, SB761, SB1, SB541, SB315, SB379, SB1018, SB1737, SB266, SB1415

Keywords: SCR 5, Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, Texas School for the Deaf, TSD, Robert Rives, gymnasium naming, building naming, honorary resolution, commemorative resolution, deaf education, hard of hearing, Gallaudet University, alumni hall of fame, football coach, school facility naming, education K-16, State Affairs, Texas Legislature, public school tribute, water rights

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, we have State Library Board and we have libraries all across the state.
• know, textbooks at your libraries.
• And actually, I've already approached our library about that. Okay. And I was turned down.
• And plus, you've got libraries all across the state, and I don't want to throw our library under the
• bus because they are a fabulous library.

Summary: The Administrative Rules Subcommittee met to review a long agenda of agency rule changes, beginning with housekeeping on the order of business and then taking up rules from multiple state agencies. Early items included Department of Energy and Environment rules on landfill post-closure trust fund spending thresholds and liquefied petroleum gas standards, DFA’s odometer disclosure rule allowing electronic signatures and disclosures, and several Department of Health rules covering ionizing radiation, mobile home and recreational parks, lead-based paint, counseling licensure, hearing instrument dispensers, athletic training, dental specialties and compacts, nursing, pharmacy, physician assistants, medical compacts, speech-language pathology and audiology, radiologic technology, massage therapy, community health workers, doula certification, and cosmetology/body art. Most of these were described as technical updates, conformity with recent acts, federal standards, or compact participation, and nearly all were approved without objection after brief questions and, in many cases, no public comment. The committee also reviewed Department of Labor and Licensing rules on minimum wage/independent contractor standards, boiler rules, motor vehicle commission requirements for ATV/LSV dealers, professional wrestling regulation, appraiser qualifications, and military recruiting and retention programs. Testimony generally emphasized that the rules implemented recent legislation, updated fees or licensing standards, or streamlined existing processes. Members asked a few questions about fee structures, the rationale for regulating professional wrestling, and how the National Guard’s public-private partnership and incentive programs would work; the department said the recruiting incentives would be funded from existing appropriations and were intended to improve retention and force strength. These rules were also approved without objection. The most extensive discussion came on the Department of Education’s Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program rule. The department said the revisions, based on Act 920 of 2025, were intended to add guardrails, clarify allowable expenses, and speed approval of core educational purchases. Changes included defining core educational expenses, limiting certain sports-related spending, adding an intentional misuse standard, restricting phone purchases except for disability-related needs, setting a $1,000 threshold for additional review of technology purchases, capping carryover funds at $8,500, and creating a reconsideration process for denied expenses. Members raised concerns about safeguards, appeals, sports equipment, provider credentialing, rural vendor access, and whether the department would be flexible or overly restrictive. The department said it would review every request, provide written explanations for denials, allow appeals up to the State Board, and refer suspected fraud to prosecutors if necessary. After hearing from 13 members of the public, the committee continued to discuss the rule, but the transcript ends before any final vote on the EFA rule is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• And imagine the agony of working in my office.
• Can you imagine if it were a felony? Florida House of Representatives.
• Imagine the environment, Senator Polsky, that we're in.
• Imagine the environment, Senator Polsky, that we're in.
• Imagine the environment, Senator Polsky, that we're in.

Summary: The Florida Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several recognitions, including interns, Denim Day awareness for sexual assault survivors, a resolution honoring Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and a memorial proclamation for former Senator Karen Johnson Gendron. The chamber then moved to special-order bills, with senators also briefly discussing the session’s pace and thanking staff and colleagues for their work. The first major bill, on driving and boating offenses, was amended and passed 37-0. As amended, it increases penalties for repeat DUI/BUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide/vessel homicide offenses, and adds notice requirements and misdemeanor penalties for refusing lawful breath or urine tests. Senators also passed SB 306 on Medicaid providers 37-0, requiring Medicaid managed care plans to offer more after-hours and holiday access and ensuring more primary care appointment availability outside regular business hours. The Senate then passed a major condominium and cooperative associations bill, also 37-0, after extensive debate and multiple amendments. The measure extends deadlines for structural integrity reserve studies, adds flexibility for reserve funding and budgeting, tightens rules for managers and inspectors, limits certain requirements to buildings of three or more habitable stories, and extends the rescission period for condo purchases. Senators from both parties praised the bill’s sponsors for years of work responding to post-Surfside safety and affordability concerns. The longest and most contentious item was SB 7016/HB 1205 on constitutional amendment petition procedures. Sponsors said the bill responds to fraud and abuse in the citizen initiative process by tightening circulator rules, requiring faster submission of signed petitions, adding voter notification, increasing penalties, and shifting costs to sponsors. Opponents argued it would burden volunteers and make it harder for citizens to qualify initiatives. The chamber adopted a series of amendments, including changes to the petition-circulator threshold, volunteer protections, submission timing, invalid-signature investigation thresholds, and notice/cure provisions, while debate continued over whether the overall package would protect election integrity or suppress citizen-led amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c> facilities such as public libraries, facilities such as public libraries, recreational<00:43:33.760
• </c><01:46:10.159><c> a</c> you said that they couldn't imagine a you said that they couldn't imagine
• :15:22.960><c> directly</c> might imagine, dumping sewage directly might imagine, dumping sewage directly
• </c><04:51:12.320><c> a</c> have a system that's leaking, imagine a have a system that's leaking, imagine
• And so imagine detached ADU by right.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, we have a State Library Board, and we have libraries all across the state.
• at your libraries and actually... ...I've already approached our library about that, and I was turned
• Well, I can't think of a better use of a library.
• Why not use those resources that we give to the State Libraries through our State Library Board to ensure
• library.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I can only imagine. I know I just went recently to a homeschooling graduation.
• I I can only<00:38:58.320><c> imagine</c><00:38:59.440><c> uh</c><00:39:00.320><c> I</c><00:39:00.560
• ><c> know</c><00:39:00.800><c> I</c><00:39:00.960><c> just</c><00:39:01.119><c> went</c> only imagine
• Can you imagine that? Our normal legal presumption of innocence is going to be restored.
• Can you imagine that? Our normal legal presumption of innocence is going to be restored.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm sure he'll probably mention $10 million from the Library Archives account.
• library at our Washington Library.
• Also, there's a proposed $10 million sweep of the library archives building account.
• And I'm starting to ask myself, why do I even have this library account?
• Because I'm supposed to build it so I can build the library so we don't do GEO bonds.

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee opened with committee guidelines for the 2026 session, including limits on testimony, amendment deadlines, confidentiality expectations, and professionalism rules. Chair Ormsby also reviewed housekeeping for the public hearing, noting the meeting was recorded and live streamed, and that testimony would be limited to one minute because of the large number of sign-ups. The committee then began its work session on Governor Ferguson’s proposed 2026 supplemental operating budget, presented by OFM Director Katie Chapman, who outlined the state’s fiscal pressures: higher caseloads in major programs, a revenue forecast decline of about $390 million, federal policy changes tied to H.R. 1, inflation, and a relatively small ending fund balance. She said the governor’s budget solves about a $2.3 billion shortfall through nearly $800 million in spending reductions, revenue shifts, fund transfers, use of about $1 billion from the Budget Stabilization Account, and some tax preference changes, while also making targeted investments in areas such as child welfare, behavioral health, wildfire response, housing, and IT modernization. Chapman also explained that the proposal does not fully balance over the four-year outlook under the state’s statutory assumptions, but said the governor relied on the budget-balance law’s exception tied to BSA use and low employment growth. A question from Rep. Connors about credit ratings was answered with the view that the impact is difficult to predict and that Washington’s strong pension funding and balanced-budget framework remain positives. The public hearing drew testimony from state officials and many advocates, most of whom opposed specific cuts or fund shifts in the governor’s proposal. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs objected to proposed sweeps from the corporations and charities fund and the library archives account, citing prior cuts, layoffs, cyberattack-related costs, and the need to upgrade aging systems. Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove urged restoration of wildfire prevention funding, saying the proposed amount was still $30 million short of the commitment in House Bill 1168 and that underfunding would increase suppression costs and risk to communities. Many education witnesses opposed reductions to Working Connections Child Care, transition to kindergarten, local effort assistance, Running Start, and higher education across-the-board cuts, arguing they would harm access, equity, and workforce development. Higher education leaders from community colleges, the University of Washington, Western Washington University, and Evergreen State College described staffing cuts, program reductions, and pressure on student services, while K-12 groups and OSPI said the budget would deepen existing funding gaps. A large portion of testimony focused on human services, health, housing, and civil legal aid. Child welfare and youth-serving organizations supported some targeted investments but opposed cuts to child care, child welfare network administration, and youth programs; advocates for foster youth, homeless youth, and mentoring programs asked for continued or increased funding. Health care and long-term care providers warned that proposed Medicaid and rate changes would reduce access for seniors, people with disabilities, and safety-net patients, while Planned Parenthood and abortion access advocates urged full restoration of the Abortion Access Project and related reimbursements. Housing and legal aid witnesses backed the governor’s proposed right-to-counsel funding but asked for more support, and homelessness advocates sought contingency funding for federal housing programs. Crime victim and domestic violence service providers repeatedly said the proposed $12 million was far short of the roughly $21.38 million needed to avoid service cuts and closures. Other testimony addressed the Climate Commitment Account shift for the Working Families Tax Credit, with environmental advocates opposing the diversion of CCA dollars and workforce advocates supporting the governor’s economic security and employment programs. No votes or formal committee action were taken during the hearing portion described in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Education, the Chancellor, or their designee, the head of career tech, and the head of the Department of Libraries
• good for the regents, but I'm trying to make a tool that would be good for current tech, for state libraries
• Cause I don't know who those would be, especially at the libraries, are more disconnected.
• We could create a group for libraries. We could create a group for K-12.
• But he has about 300 documents we're offloading into our commons library for teachers to put into their

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House librarians, I don't know if you're watching, but I am a geek and I'm a frequent flyer at the library
• am a geek and I'm a frequent flyer at am a geek and I'm a frequent flyer at the<00:03:52.000><c> library
• ><c> they</c><00:03:53.200><c> are</c><00:03:53.400><c> always</c><00:03:53.720><c> there</c> the library
• and they are always there the library and they are always there for<00:03:54.120><c> me</c><00:03:54.960

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• and I was looking for those reports for the bill and I was informed by the legislative reference library
• bill and I was informed by the by the legislative<00:05:29.440><c> reference</c><00:05:29.840><c> library
• 30.800><c> that</c><00:05:31.120><c> in</c> Representative Nadell noted that the Legislative Reference Library
• :38.959><c> the</c> health grant reports, for example, the health grant reports, for example, the library

Keywords: 1183, house