Transcript Highlights:

• </c> clear I'm not charging anyone with doing clear I'm not charging anyone with doing that<00:14:40.519
• It is not perfect, but a way we can do it.
• It is not perfect, but a way we can do it.
• </c> a way to pay for it we in fact cannot do a way to pay for it we in fact cannot do that<01:24:50.080
• do is we're not what we're going to do is we're not going<01:45:10.159><c> to</c><01:45:10.239><c> lay

Bills: HF1698 , HF632 , HF1352 , HF2197 , HF618 , HF1248 , HF1697

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• I do not. I'm sorry. It literally was like midnight last night that it closed. All right, great.
• I am proud to work alongside them and could not do this difficult and rewarding work without them.
• Well, do you Just please don't ask me about oil and gas. Well, do you have an opinion? I do not.
• So, for example, there are many times we do get some complaints that come in where, you know, I'm not
• With any issue having to do with human resources? I'm not sure I understand the question.

Committee: Senate Rules

Transcript Highlights:

• That's a good plan, and that they're not paying premium dollars.
• We do not know how that will affect their premiums going forward.
• But if this is not the intention, then why do we need this?
• That's all it seems to be doing to me is not allowing them to be required, not requiring them to do additional
• Speaker in the Assembly, well, where do you start? Glyphosphate is not. Where do you start?

Summary: The House convened with prayer, roll call, and a quorum present, then took up several procedural motions, including suspending House rules for three legislative days and replacing conference committee members on Senate Bill 2282 and SCR 4007. The chamber also recognized visiting student groups from Grafton/Pleasant Valley and Shiloh School. Later, the House agreed to several conference committee reports and moved a number of measures through final passage or final disposition. House Bill 1428, which would have created a sales tax exemption for clothing sold by thrift stores or nonprofit corporations, drew extensive debate over tax policy, revenue loss, and possible conflicts with streamlined sales tax rules. Supporters argued it would help lower-income shoppers and nonprofit thrift stores, while opponents said it created an unfair advantage and could reduce state and local revenue. The conference report was adopted, but the bill ultimately failed on final vote, 37-54. House Bill 1440, relating to cigar lounges, was amended in conference and then passed 75-17. House Bill 1460, concerning adult foster care for private-pay adults, electronic monitoring, and a legislative study, was also adopted and passed overwhelmingly, 91-1. The House then passed Senate Bill 2224, which revises gaming commission structure and gaming stamp requirements, adds Attorney General enforcement provisions, and includes a $25,000 general fund appropriation, by a vote of 88-0. Senate Bill 2327, which expands uses of the agriculture diversification and development fund and appropriates $15 million to it, passed 74-17 after a member was excused from voting due to a personal interest. Senate Bill 2267, creating a regulatory framework for on-site wastewater treatment systems and shifting licensing authority to the Department of Environmental Quality, passed 82-10, and Senate Bill 2276, addressing joint water resource boards for cross-county projects, passed 90-1. The most contentious debate centered on Senate Bill 2160, which would move the state employee health plan from grandfathered status to a non-grandfathered ACA-compliant plan and appropriate about $6.6 million for the transition. Supporters said it would give the PERS board more flexibility, expand preventive and other benefits, and potentially slow premium growth without charging employees premiums. Opponents warned it could raise out-of-pocket costs, add mandated benefits, and shift costs to employees, while also arguing the bill had not been adequately studied. After extended debate, the House passed SB 2160 by a vote of 55-37. The chamber also concurred in Senate amendments to House Bill 1318, a pesticide labeling bill, and placed it on final passage, but the transcript ends before the final vote on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> &gt;&gt; No, I do not. &gt;&gt; No, I do not.
• > this</c> teacher pay that's not helped this teacher pay that's not helped this chart.<00:29:21.039>
• </c><00:48:27.359><c> instruction</c> We do not have to pay to offer instruction that could include high
• So you said not only do K-12 schools are going to do this, and we're going to help pay for it a huge
• So you said not only do K-12 schools are going to do this, and we're going to help pay for it a huge

Transcript Highlights:

• And they're willing to pay for it themselves, not even use state park money.
• And so what this is saying is if their initiative does not pass and they don't have the money to pay
• The money Bay Area would normally receive, they would not receive to pay on this loan.
• only have to pay back the principal, but also the interest that the state has foregone for not having
• But that's not what these natural resources projects are. They have nothing to do with any of that.

Committee: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review

Transcript Highlights:

• And do we really want Oklahoma to pay more than we do.
• That's not really what a GC should be doing.
• What I'm asking you all to do is to not do that.
• I'm not doing anything that's indirect. Everything we do is.
• or not do.

Committee: House Appropriations - S/C on Articles VI, VII, & VIII

Transcript Highlights:

• I do not have that with me today. Did this lady...
• Do you not know? I have not looked at the death certificate.
• Do you not know? I have not looked at the death certificate.
• The staff were not trained on such, and in fact, they were told not to do that.
• have been either not doing what they were doing or supervising differently.

Summary: The Joint State Agencies committee met to approve prior minutes and then focused on the death of Zachary Moore at the Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center, later clarified in discussion as the Warren facility. DHS officials described Moore’s background, said he died after a prolonged prone restraint followed by a delayed chemical restraint, and reported that 13 staff were terminated, the superintendent was replaced, a consultant was brought in, and the agency entered a settlement with the family for $725,000. Members pressed DHS on the cause of death, restraint policies, staff training, supervision, family notification, and why the family had not been kept informed; DHS said a family-notification procedure exists but that communications during litigation had been handled through counsel. The committee also heard that six staff had been criminally charged with manslaughter and neglect of a vulnerable person, and that the death certificate listed the manner of death as homicide with cause of death tied to physiologic stress associated with struggle and prone restraint. DHS officials gave broader context on the five human development centers, their licensing and accreditation, resident population, mortality review process, and training programs. They said the centers serve highly medically and behaviorally complex residents, that annual restraint training and CPI-based instruction are required, and that the mortality review committee and Office of Long-Term Care review deaths and make recommendations. Members repeatedly criticized the agency for not having complete information at the meeting and for what they saw as gaps in oversight, staffing, and chain-of-command clarity during emergencies. DHS responded that the Warren facility had not been meeting the same standards as the others, that the consultant’s root-cause analysis identified multiple failures, and that new crisis-team and chain-of-command procedures were being drafted. A second major topic was staffing and recruitment. Members discussed low pay, turnover, use of float and on-call staff, rural staffing shortages, and a waiting list of about 2,000 people for home- and community-based services. DHS said CNAs at the centers start at about $39,000 a year, that a broader retention and recruitment plan is being drafted for all five centers, and that a separate rate study for PASS services will be implemented in January 2027 but does not cover CNA pay. The meeting ended with testimony from Moore’s mother, Angela Stevens, who said money could not replace her son and urged stronger training, background checks, and supervision so other residents would be protected. The committee asked DHS to keep members and Stevens updated on consultant reports, recruitment efforts, and follow-up on the family communication issue, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So that's the part you need to explain to me because I'm not going to do anything with this bill today
• So that's the part you need to explain to me because I'm not going to do anything with this bill today
• If it went poof and we needed to replace it today, this replacement fund is not meant to do that.
• If it went poof and we needed to replace it today, this replacement fund is not meant to do that.
• So that's we're not going to do it today. >> Okay. >> Just wanted to say this is the amendment you asked

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• You're not worried about the folks who pay, like, the capital gains tax already, kind of being like,
• They could deduct the entire amount of the tax at a business level, right, and then not pay at an individual
• And I do agree that we should not have a very broad, deep income tax on every Washingtonian.
• And I do agree that we should not have a very broad, deep income tax on every Washingtonian.
• So I believe there's not really a disconnect. constituents want to see us do.

Summary: House and Senate Democratic leaders, joined by Speaker Laurie Jinkins and House Finance Chair April Berg, introduced a “Millionaire’s Tax” proposal and framed it as a way to reduce Washington’s reliance on sales tax and B&O tax while raising revenue from the state’s highest earners. They said the bill is a starting point and will continue to change through negotiations with the governor, business groups, local governments, and lawmakers. The leaders also said the proposal is intended to support education, health care, public safety, and tax relief measures such as sales tax exemptions on hygiene products, an expanded working families tax credit, a larger small business tax credit, and an early end to the B&O surcharge. The governor had already said he could not support the bill in its current form, which the sponsors said surprised them because they had spoken positively with him the day before. They said the bill will not be the same by the time it reaches his desk and that they expect continued talks to address his concerns, including more money for small business relief and the working families tax credit. They also defended the bill’s structure, saying it mirrors the state capital gains tax, uses Washington’s capital gains definition, and includes credits intended to prevent double taxation for pass-through businesses and others already paying B&O or related taxes. Much of the discussion focused on criticism from Republicans and outside groups that the proposal amounts to a marriage penalty or could drive away high earners and tech businesses. Democratic leaders rejected those concerns, saying the tax applies only to income above $1 million, that the first million is taxed at zero, and that the state would still compare favorably with other income-tax states. They said about 30,000 taxpayers would be affected and estimated the bill would raise roughly $3.5 billion, with about 5% dedicated to county public defense costs. They also said the bill is not subject to cutoff because it affects state revenue, and that the Senate public hearing is scheduled for Friday afternoon in Ways and Means, with the House expected to hear the Senate version later in the process.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think we need to make Congress do what they're supposed to do and not us.
• If they do not, then it would not. Representative Joseph, thank you, Mr. Speaker.
• I do not believe in capital punishment.
• It covers all people that do not have a right to vote.
• We've been doing it for a long time, and we're not going to stop doing it. It's a fact of life.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, a moment of silence for the Parkland shooting victims, quorum call, and the Pledge of Allegiance. The Rules and Ethics Committee special order report for February 13, 2025 was adopted, setting the day’s special order calendar and debate times. The chamber then took up immigration-related special order items, beginning with Senate Memorial 6C, which urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide guidance and training for 287(g) agreements. Members debated federal immigration policy and state cooperation with DHS, and the memorial passed 85-27. The House next considered Senate Bill 4C, an immigration bill creating new state offenses related to unlawful entry and reentry into Florida and requiring a mandatory death sentence for an unauthorized alien convicted of a capital felony. Members questioned the bill’s constitutionality, including Supremacy Clause, due process, and Eighth Amendment concerns, and several speakers argued it would create separate classes of people and invite litigation. Multiple amendments were offered to narrow or expand exemptions, including protections for Venezuelans on TPS, certain Haitian TPS and humanitarian parole recipients, undocumented people brought to Florida as children working in critical professions, and a proposal to delay action pending court rulings; all of those amendments were rejected. The bill passed 85-29. The chamber then took up Senate Bill 2C, which would create a State Board of Immigration Enforcement led by the Governor and Cabinet, establish a local law enforcement immigration grant program and advisory council, repeal the undocumented-student fee waiver, and appropriate more than $300 million for immigration enforcement. The sponsor described it as supporting cooperation with federal immigration agencies and ending the in-state tuition incentive for undocumented students. Early questioning focused on the impact on “dreamers” and whether the bill would effectively raise their tuition costs; the sponsor said it removed the incentive of in-state tuition but did not bar attendance. The transcript cuts off during that exchange, before final action on SB 2C is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• do not get to expense because now they do not get to keep<00:48:31.240><c> excess</c><00:48:31.599><
• That would not change. They would pay $1 million in SWP.
• No, I'm not talking about the pay.
• No, they do not, right?
• /c><04:04:27.120><c> um</c> impact um no they do not right so so um impact um no they do not right so

Summary: The committee held a work session focused on school funding formulas, adequacy aid, and special education aid, with the chair outlining a schedule for the next several Tuesdays and noting that the committee would likely need multiple executive sessions to narrow down the bills. Members discussed the FY 26 formula, including base cost, differentiated aid, extraordinary needs grants, hold harmless provisions, and the roughly $28 million in excess statewide education property tax (SWP) funds that are not currently returned to the state under the existing formula. The first bill discussed was HB 137, which would allow excess SWP funds to remain with the local municipality for school and municipal purposes. Representative Spilsbury argued the issue is fundamental and suggested the state should require excess funds to be remitted back to the state, while Representative Damon said the bill appears to codify current practice and may be unnecessary, especially given possible court action. The discussion then shifted to a related bill from Representative Fellas that would redefine SWP as local money rather than state money and keep the current adequacy aid numbers revenue-neutral for now. Representative Fellas explained that SWP was created in 1999 after the Claremont lawsuit as part of the state’s effort to show increased school aid, but that it effectively labeled part of the local property tax as state money without changing property tax bills. She argued the state should not be tapping local property tax revenue and said her bill would preserve the current distribution while removing the SWP tax label, with future work possible on a different measure of local capacity such as income, home values, or poverty rate. Members also referenced prior discussions of fiscal capacity aid, relief aid, and other formula changes as part of the broader effort to restructure school funding.

Transcript Highlights:

• Too often defrauded Minnesotans do not report the crimes they've experienced because of shame, guilt,
• We do this a lot in our own consumer cases because often there's not enough money for full restitution
• We do this a lot in our own consumer cases because often there's not enough money for full restitution
• We do this a lot in our own consumer cases because often there's not enough money for full restitution
• even more of we're here today to do even more of that.<00:20:24.080><c> Not</c><00:20:24.240><c> only

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you have any estimate of how much is not being... Collected? I don't.
• Current practice is not that our book pay for the use of the platform; it's what you pay for us to run
• To collect payment and to do all the back-end work that we do, it's not related to occupancy in the room
• They do not. Thank you. So another dumb question.
• I'm not saying it's the perfect way to do it.

Bills: SB209 , SB529 , SB1265 , SB1592 , SB1728 , SCR37 , SCR38

Committee: Senate Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• We do have to pay the MCOs an actuarially sound reimbursement rate.
• I'm just not aware of that maybe we could do to support that.
• The feds do not reimburse for any kind of congregate care, but these ones they do.
• These people do not carry a caseload; their hours vary.
• We do not want any child sleeping in an office. And so we will exhaust...

Transcript Highlights:

• You pay to do the wrong thing, you pay to fix what was done wrong, then you pay to deal with all the
• We do this and we do it in our school systems and for folks on Medicaid by making sure it's not just.
• There's not enough access, it's not affordable and we've got to do a better job of addressing it.
• do with rural healthcare in America. It's not just hospitals.
• And it's not a fair price when we're paying six or seven times what they're paying for the same thing

Committee: Senate Finance Committee

Keywords: Michael Falkender, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, IRS, taxpayer privacy, nomination process, committee hearing

Summary: The committee convened to discuss critical issues surrounding the nomination of Michael Falkender for the position of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. This meeting included a series of remarks from committee members who expressed divergent views on Falkender's qualifications and the implications of his appointment. Senator Wyden voiced strong opposition, arguing that Falkender represents harmful policies expected to be perpetuated under the current administration, especially concerning taxpayer privacy and IRS tactics. Meanwhile, other members defended Falkender, noting his extensive experience, including a commitment to transparency in government operations if confirmed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Customers pay for utility services, not for executive compensation packages.
• While I did not have enough to pay for the basic necessities of life for two kids and a mom, for our
• This is us doing our job as lawmakers and just setting a clear bright-line rule that applies not just
• These corporations do not have a fiduciary duty to their ratepayers.
• ><c> a</c><00:32:29.760><c> fiduciary</c> corporations do not have a fiduciary corporations do not have

Summary: The committee heard House File 76, as amended by the adopted A1 amendment, and the chair moved the bill to be re-referred to the general register. The bill would limit the amount investor-owned utilities can charge ratepayers for executive compensation, capping recoverable pay for the top 10 executives at the governor’s salary. Representative Greenman argued the measure would protect customers from paying for lavish executive pay and said it would not affect what executives are paid, only what can be recovered from ratepayers. She cited recent Public Utilities Commission action and ongoing rate cases as evidence the issue is real and recurring. Supportive testimony came from a Minneapolis resident describing financial hardship and rising utility bills, a local worker who said customers have no choice of utility provider and should not fund monopoly executive pay, and advocates from the Energy and Policy Institute and Utility Reform Now, who said ratepayers should not subsidize excessive compensation and that the bill is a targeted reform. Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy opposed the bill’s premise by defending the current regulatory process. Their representatives said the PUC already reviews executive compensation in rate cases, generally allows only limited recovery, and has used that process for decades. Xcel also emphasized its affordability programs and said executives help secure savings and investments for customers. Members discussed whether the legislature should set a bright-line rule or leave the issue to the PUC. Representative Greenman said the bill is needed because the PUC process can take years and the legislature should establish a clear standard for all investor-owned utilities. Some members supported the bill as a response to an affordability crisis and the lack of consumer choice, while others said the legislature should focus on broader energy-cost issues and existing regulatory tools. The committee did not take a final vote on the bill in the portion of the meeting provided, but the amendment was adopted and the bill was moved for re-referral to the general register.

Transcript Highlights:

• what to do should the stay be, should it not be enjoined any longer. Thank you.
• I do not. I'm sorry. It literally was like midnight last night that it closed. All right, great.
• I am proud to work alongside them and could not do this difficult and rewarding work without them.
• Well, do you Just please don't ask me about oil and gas. Well, do you have an opinion? I do not.
• With any issue having to do with human resources? I'm not sure I understand the question.

Summary: The Senate Rules Committee met with quorum and first approved several non-appearance items, including the appointments of Armin Meyer to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and Uca Danka to the California State Lottery Commission. The committee also approved references to bills, a request to suspend Senate Rule 55 for guest access on the Senate floor, and floor acknowledgments, all by 5-0 votes. The committee then heard the appointment of Arania Ortega to the Public Employment Relations Board. Members questioned her about her background at CalHR and Finance, PERB’s case backlog, implementation of AB 288, recusal rules tied to her prior work, the ride-share caseload, and the board’s role in legislative employee unionization. Ortega said PERB currently has no backlog, is prepared to implement AB 288 if litigation changes, and has strong recusal procedures; she also said the state employee cases affected by her recusal would be a small share of PERB’s workload. Public testimony supported the nominee, and the committee voted 5-0 to send the appointment to the full Senate. The committee also heard Monica Erickson’s appointment as Director of the Department of Human Resources. Questions focused on labor negotiations, CalPERS fiduciary responsibilities, recruitment and retention, telework, discipline and accountability, DEIA efforts, hard-to-fill classifications, degree requirements, return-to-office implementation, and the gender pay gap. Erickson said CalHR is working on recruitment tools, class consolidations, apprenticeship pathways, policy forums, and a skills-matching pilot to help applicants, while also addressing pay equity and reducing barriers such as unnecessary degree requirements. Public witnesses spoke in support, and the committee approved her appointment 5-0 to advance to the Senate floor before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• I do not believe it meets the constitutional muster that the court has asked for us.
• Pennsylvania is in the minority of states that do not pay a single dime in corporate taxes here.
• Do not pay a single dime in corporate taxes here.
• The Senate do not recess until the call of the President pro tempore.
• The Senate do not recess until the call of the President pro-temporary.

Transcript Highlights:

• that are required at that point, you can start doing pay applications, and those are due on a certain
• So it's not like you're doing this job and not getting absolutely anything for a year and a half or two
• Submittals that are required at that point, you can start doing pay applications, and those are due on
• So it's not like you're doing this job and not getting absolutely anything for a year and a half or two
• There's the owner side, which is different than all of us not getting paid, and then the CM not paying

Committee: House A&B General Government Subcommittee

Summary: The committee held an interim study on retainage in public construction projects, with representatives from the Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma, the Subcontractors Association of Oklahoma, and construction firms discussing how retainage works and whether current law should be changed. AGC speakers said retainage is a statutory tool that helps ensure completion and closeout, and warned that eliminating it could create more problems by shifting leverage to owners or general contractors and leaving contractors with fewer remedies. Subcontractor representatives said retainage often functions as delayed profit, can tie up cash flow for one to two years, and can be especially burdensome for early-phase trades such as dirt work, concrete, and demolition. Several participants explained that retainage is typically withheld from monthly progress payments and paid at final closeout, with current law generally allowing retainage to drop from 5% to 2.5% after 50% completion on public projects. Subcontractors said that in practice they often still have to fight to get the reduced rate applied, and that some owners or construction managers do not follow the statute consistently. They also noted that bonding companies are a last resort but still an important enforcement tool, while AGC cautioned that bond claims and litigation are not ideal substitutes for a workable retainage process. The discussion focused on possible benchmarks or compromise approaches, including line-item or trade-specific release of retainage when work is complete, especially for demolition or other early-finish subcontractors. Committee members emphasized that owner, GC/CM, and subcontractor issues may need different solutions and that the study was intended to gather perspectives rather than produce immediate legislation. No vote was taken, and no formal action was announced.

Transcript Highlights:

• It does not. It does not state that. Thank you. Any further questions?
• And I do want to clarify the fees are not, the rate of the fee is not being adjusted.
• So if you're over 6,000 pounds, you're currently not paying the fee.
• We know that heavier vehicles do more damage to roads, and they're doing it without paying their fair
• required to do.

Bills: SB6253 , SB6311 , SB6262 , SB6335

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: public transportation, governing bodies, transit authorities, local government, community planning, pedestrian safety, construction, accessibility, public safety, urban planning, vehicle weight, transportation, fees, public infrastructure, funding, state commission, infrastructure, traffic safety, responsibilities