Transcript Highlights:

• As an example, a rancher who has spent thousands of dollars, years, and decades improving pasture on
• underground storage tanks or tank systems must satisfy in the event of a confirmed release of jet fuel
• c><00:12:56.560><c> Rancher</c><00:12:57.199><c> who</c><00:12:57.360><c> has</c><00:12:57.519><c> spent
• </c> an example a Rancher who has spent an example a Rancher who has spent thousands<00:12:58.680><c>
• Thank you so much. we can make it direct and spent on the we can make it direct and spent on the thing

Committee: House Energy & Environmental Protection

Summary: The committee on Energy and Environmental Protection heard several measures focused on water quality, waste management, aquifer protection, wastewater, and climate-related funding. SB 984 on water pollution drew opposition from DLNR and the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council, with the latter arguing the bill could unfairly blame landowners for runoff caused by terrain and storm events; the chair noted there were also supporters and commenters submitted in writing. SB 639 on underground storage tanks received support from the Department of Health, the Board of Water Supply, and the Sierra Club, with testimony emphasizing environmental restoration standards after jet fuel releases; no opposition was noted in the live testimony. SB 946 on wastewater management was presented as clarifying that the ban on discharging wastewater or raw sewage into state waters applies to treatment plants, and it drew support from the County of Maui, DOH, and Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, with no questions or opposition raised in the hearing. The committee also heard SB 438 on waste disposal facilities near significant aquifers. DOH and the Water Commission offered comments, while the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services opposed the bill because of a provision affecting ash recycling; the Board of Water Supply and Sierra Club supported the measure, and the Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board and Energy Justice Network raised concerns about fly ash and bottom ash recycling, landfill capacity, and potential contamination of aquifers. Testimony reflected a split between environmental protection concerns and arguments that the bill could block beneficial reuse of ash. The committee then took up HB 1395 on state funds, which would direct interest from the Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund to the general fund when the reserve exceeds the state’s target. The Governor’s office, emergency management, the State Energy Office, the Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority, the Nature Conservancy, and several other groups supported the bill’s climate-resilience intent, while the Tax Foundation and committee discussion raised concerns that the measure functioned mainly as a revenue transfer without a dedicated spending mechanism. Members discussed whether a special fund or legislative appropriation process would better ensure the money was used for climate mitigation and related projects.

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, I think we've interfaced with a lot of appraisers, spent a lot of time with them.
• </c><01:31:15.120><c> working</c><01:31:15.480><c> with</c> of my career has been spent working with
• of my career has been spent working with private<01:31:16.440><c> forest</c><01:31:16.840><c> land</c
• reductions, sanitation and it's fuels reductions, sanitation and salvage<01:47:18.280><c> treatments
• </c> the our changing climate, fuels the our changing climate, fuels reduction,<01:51:58.760><c> forest

Summary: The meeting began with introductions, approval of the March 6 minutes as amended to add an attendee list, and a brief overview of the day’s agenda. The committee heard two presentations from carbon project developers, with the first from Dylan Jenkins of Finite Carbon. He described Finite Carbon’s work in improved forest management projects, its role in developing carbon methodologies and protocols, and its experience with projects in New England, Appalachia, Alaska, and Canada. He also outlined the difference between compliance and voluntary carbon markets, the role of registries and intermediaries, and the types of buyers in the market, including large corporate buyers and long-term off-take partners. A major focus of the presentation was how forest carbon projects are structured and how credits are monetized. Jenkins distinguished between removals and reductions, explaining that removals come from new forest growth while reductions are tied more closely to baseline assumptions and standing stock. He said improved forest management projects can generate both types of credits, and that removals generally command higher prices because they are easier for buyers to understand and verify. He also emphasized that carbon project commercialization can occur before, during, or after credit issuance, and that landowners may be paid through a variety of structures, including leases, advance fees, per-unit payments, or off-take agreements. Jenkins then addressed the committee’s tax-related questions, saying House Bill 123 appeared intended to treat carbon credit sales similarly to timber sales for local tax purposes. He argued that carbon credits are a forest product and that taxing them can be reasonable in principle, but he stressed that lawmakers should distinguish between commoditization and commercialization when deciding what event to tax. He noted that credits may be created but never sold, and that in some programs landowners retain timber and carbon rights while in others the developer has deeper control over those rights. In response to questions, he said the industry uses protocols, verification, and third-party oversight to address baseline and quality concerns, but acknowledged that baseline setting remains a major point of debate in the market.

Transcript Highlights:

• Total fire department time personnel spent on sleeper calls in 2026 is approximately 64 hours.
• So today in our fleet, we see a 14% improvement in fuel efficiency relative to the 2023 national fleet
• average of fuel consumption.
• And so that's great for our customers because that reduces their fuel costs, but it's also great for
• He spent a day with our team.

Summary: The Assembly Transportation Committee heard an informational hearing on California’s newly finalized autonomous vehicle regulations, with DMV and CHP officials describing the updated framework and committee members pressing them on safety, enforcement, and first-responder impacts. DMV said the rules, effective April 28, 2026, expand reporting, create a phased permitting system from testing to deployment, add requirements for safety cases, remote operations, and first-responder coordination, and open a path for heavy-duty AV testing and deployment while still prohibiting oversized loads and hazardous materials. CHP said it worked with DMV on enforcement tools, first-responder interaction plans, and training local agencies on the new notice of noncompliance process. Members asked about crash data, immobilizations, freeway and construction-zone safety, weigh-station enforcement, and whether foreign licenses can qualify for remote assistants or drivers; DMV and CHP said the rules are intended to keep AVs accountable and that heavy-duty AVs will be held to the same roadway standards as human-driven commercial vehicles. A second panel focused on data collection and enforcement. Consumer attorneys argued the prior rules were too limited because DMV stopped collecting meaningful data once AVs moved from testing to deployment, making it difficult for the public and litigants to understand incidents; they supported the new regulations but urged that the collected information be made public. The industry association said California now has the nation’s most robust AV oversight, with monthly or quarterly reporting of collisions, system failures, immobilizations, harsh braking, vehicle miles traveled, and notices of noncompliance, plus broad DMV authority to restrict or suspend operations. In response to questions, the industry said it generally supports the new framework, believes the regulations are clear, and does not favor full federal preemption of state AV rules, though it wants federal standards for design, construction, and performance. A third panel addressed first-responder interaction and remote operations. The San Francisco Fire Department described repeated AV interference with emergency scenes and said AVs have generated hundreds of “sleeper calls,” where passengers fall asleep and trigger 911 responses; the department said these incidents consume significant staff time and it wants better protocols to reduce unnecessary dispatches. Waymo said it has trained thousands of public-safety personnel, maintains a 24/7 emergency line, uses geofencing/avoid-the-area messages, and can allow first responders to manually override or move vehicles when needed. Committee members asked about sleeper-call prevention, remote assistant licensing and drug testing, communication redundancies during outages, and how manual overrides work for vehicles without traditional controls; Waymo said it is collaborating with responders and that its vehicles are designed to reach a safe stop if connectivity is lost. The final panel began with testimony on heavy-duty autonomous vehicles. A transportation researcher said freight is essential to California’s economy and that heavy-duty AVs pose distinct safety risks because of their weight, stopping distance, and the potentially severe consequences of crashes or immobilizations on highways. He said the new regulations are important because they create a regulated pathway for heavy-duty AV deployment, require a safety case, set mileage thresholds, and add reporting categories that can serve as leading safety indicators. The hearing was still in progress when the transcript ended, with additional testimony expected from labor and industry witnesses on heavy-duty AV deployment.

Transcript Highlights:

• up running the boom is where you fuel up running the boom is where you fuel up the planes.
• So he told me time to fuel the plane. So he told me time to fuel the plane.
• You hear a lock in locks and then we fuel the plane. I feel the and then we fuel the plane.
• up those planes. fuel up those planes. fuel up those planes.
• They've already spent the money. It's They've already spent the money.

Transcript Highlights:

• Instead, they spent it slashing Medicaid and the ACA by a trillion dollars.
• And I have spent my entire career trying to help rebuild it in America.
• And I have spent my entire industry.
• Poor Americans are hit hardest as tariffs fuel price rises. Mr.
• price rises. tariffs fuel price rises.

Bills: HR713 , HB5143 , HB5125 , HR722 , HB3481

Keywords: censure, Ilhan Omar, Committee removal, ethical conduct, freedom of speech, political discourse, law enforcement, vehicular pursuits, public safety, District of Columbia, policing standards, judicial reforms, nominations, executive power, termination of commission, appropriations, fiscal year 2026, government resolution, continuing funding, legislative process

Transcript Highlights:

• mining to storage to processing and fabricating of fuels.
• mining to storage to processing and fabricating of fuels.
• mining to storage to processing and fabricating of fuels.
• But have clean nuclear fuel is coming.
• This is dollars well spent. like this. This is dollars well spent.

Transcript Highlights:

• Before I joined OpenAI about a year and a half ago, I spent six years at the U.S.
• I've spent six years at the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.
• I've spent 30 years of my life learning how to do what it is that I do.
• If an AI data center exists, it is running on fossil fuels now.
• If an AI data center exists, it is running on fossil fuels now.

Summary: The Senate Judiciary Committee and Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational hearing at Stanford on the intersection of artificial intelligence, copyright, transparency, and California’s creative economy. Chairs and members emphasized that the hearing was not on a specific bill and would not include a vote, but was intended to gather information ahead of the next legislative session. Opening remarks stressed the tension between protecting artists’ intellectual property and allowing AI innovation to continue in California, with several members noting the state’s outsized role in both the tech and entertainment sectors. The first panel featured Professor Pamela Samuelson and Stanford researcher Rishi Bommasani. Samuelson reviewed the current copyright litigation landscape, including dozens of lawsuits against generative AI companies, and explained that fair use will likely be central, especially the market-effects factor. She said state action is constrained by federal copyright preemption, but transparency, privacy, and deepfake-related regulation may still be possible. Bommasani described widespread opacity around training data among major California AI companies, discussed AB 2013 and the EU AI Act as transparency models, and warned that disclosure rules face enforcement and design challenges. Members asked about market dilution theories, open-source models, user data, machine unlearning, and what California can do without conflicting with federal law. The second panel included SAG-AFTRA board member Jason George, Animation Guild president Danny Lynn, and OpenAI copyright counsel Mark Gray. George and Lynn argued that AI training on performers’ and artists’ work without consent or compensation is already harming careers, devaluing creative labor, and enabling digital replicas and style imitation; both supported stronger transparency so rights holders can identify when their work is used and negotiate licenses. Gray said AI is increasingly being used as a productivity tool and pointed to growing partnerships between AI companies and publishers, studios, and record labels, while acknowledging concerns about deepfakes and specific harmful uses. Committee members pressed him on labeling AI-generated content, training-data disclosure, and how to protect creators while still encouraging innovation. No formal action or vote was taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• in Tucumcari, we're in Southeast New Mexico, and Hobbs to. learn about this oil boom that's been fueling
• And I spent much time with risk management this year, Mr. Chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• deteriorating mental health, often feeling that those in his community, including family, and those he spent
• As a sitting senator at the time, I went to Monterey Park and spent long days grieving with the families
• After he returned from the Army with an honorable discharge, he spent the next few years chasing his
• If you met Bob again, if you spent any time with him, you also knew that he was intensely proud of his
• Her stories about how to be taken seriously as the first woman fueled my young mind in government.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we need to make sure our CalFresh money is spent locally.
• And so there are regulations to govern where the funds can be spent.
• that they are received, and they are spent locally.
• We see that one in every four SNAP dollars spent on food eaten at home actually go to farmers.
• These cuts were designed to fuel other federal priorities.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the reality is that he has spent this money irresponsibly. And we need to pull that back.
• Just to confirm, it could still be spent on the detention facility, as we've talked about.
• This is not the best use of us being able to make sure the money that is being spent in a way that is
• Over a half a billion dollars of our taxpayer money has already been spent.
• Taxpayer money has already been spent.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, a moment of silence for former Judge John Carlin, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a recognition of FSU Police Officer Cody Popple for his actions during the April campus shooting. The Speaker also outlined the final week of session, noting the House would focus on Senate bills and returning messages, and that the 2026-27 budget would not be completed by the end of the week. The chamber then adopted the special order calendar for the day. The House passed several technical and open-government bills, mostly on strong bipartisan votes. These included SB 100, SB 104, and SB 102 on the Florida Statutes and reviser changes; SB 7006, SB 7014, SB 7002, SB 7012, SB 7024, SB 7016, SB 7026, SB 7008, SB 7000, and SB 7004, which extended or preserved various public records or meeting exemptions involving the Public Service Commission, social media investigations, military affairs, highway safety investigations, cybersecurity, small business loan records, trade secrets, emergency shelter locations, and conviction integrity units. Members asked questions on several of these bills, especially about the scope and purpose of the exemptions, but the bills generally advanced with little opposition. The chamber also took up more substantive measures. SB 7040 recreated the emergency preparedness and response trust fund and drew extended debate over whether the fund had been misused for the Everglades detention facility; an Escamani amendment to let the fund expire failed, while a Griffiths amendment adding limits and oversight was adopted, and the bill ultimately passed 82-25. CS/CS/SB 302 on coastal resiliency passed unanimously after supporters highlighted nature-based shoreline protection and a Biscayne Bay provision. CS/CS/SB 984 on firefighter cancer benefits passed after a House amendment aligned it with the House version. CS/SB 474 on military affairs passed unanimously after an amendment allowing local governments to extend Guard leave. SB 488 on the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles was debated extensively over vehicle registration requirements, license plate frames, and I-94 documentation, with amendments including one for disabled veterans and another on dealer allocation; the transcript cuts off before final disposition of that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> incorporated that type of potential fuel incorporated that type of potential fuel is<00:25:34.720
• Fuel diversity also makes us less dependent on fuels with very volatile prices.
• Fuel diversity also makes us less dependent on fuels with very volatile prices.
• and the price of fossil fuels.
• and the price of fossil fuels.

Committee: House Science, Technology and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• They're struggling to pay for fuel for their cars to get to work.
• They're struggling... ...for fuel for their cars to get to work.
• like to remind the House and the body is that the presenting officer has been very generous in time spent
• like to remind the House and the body is that the presenting officer has been very generous in time spent

Transcript Highlights:

• We have health care gaps that need closing and economic engines that need fueling.
• This unconstitutional distraction sacrifices the needs of many to fuel the ambitions of the few.
• Every dollar spent here is a dollar that will not be spent in our communities that deserve our full investment

Summary: The House convened with prayer, a moment of silence for former member Mark Weissman and local officials Donna Lou Fiala and Eric C. Brecknitz, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Members approved the journal and adopted the Rules and Ethics Committee’s special order report setting the calendar and debate times for the day. The chamber then took up House Bill 1D, establishing Florida’s congressional districts, as the main item on the special order calendar. During questioning and debate on HB 1D, sponsors and opponents focused heavily on the map’s process and legality. Supporters argued the plan was based on a viable legal theory, used the 2020 census data as required, and was within the Legislature’s discretion to consider mid-cycle redistricting. Opponents repeatedly argued the map was drawn by the governor’s office using partisan data, without meaningful legislative or public input, and that it violated the Fair Districts Amendment by favoring a party, splitting more counties and municipalities, and reducing compactness. Several members also raised concerns about taxpayer costs, the absence of a new census or court order, and the Legislature’s role versus the governor’s office. After structured debate, the House voted on final passage of HB 1D and passed it 83-28. A motion to recess for two hours to consider a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision failed. Following passage of the redistricting bill, the House adopted a motion to adjourn sine die, ending the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have health care gaps that need closing and economic engines that need fueling.
• This unconstitutional distraction sacrifices the needs of many to fuel the ambitions of the few.
• Every dollar spent here is a dollar that will not be spent in our communities that deserve our full investment

Transcript Highlights:

• Number five is $40,000 to Clean Fuels Alliance America for education and marketing of soy-based biodiesel
• Number eleven is $15,000 to the Iowa Soybean Association for a grant for the Farmers Fueling the Future
• I mean, it’s saying to increase funding for one more year, and I’m just thinking, you know, we’ve spent
• If we've spent and are spending $300 million more a year out of a trust fund or a restricted reserve

Committee: All JBC-PEER REVIEW

Summary: The PEER Review Subcommittee met to consider a large agenda of appropriation, transfer, contract, and other review items. Members approved temporary appropriation requests in Sections B through F, including funding for prosecuting attorneys, education-related adjustments, school operating needs, labor licensing divisions, ARPA fund returns from Workforce Services, IIJA grants for state police CDL implementation and a forestry-related county grant, reserve fund transfers for teacher scholarships, school facilities, and economic development, and a Commerce reallocation tied to organizational realignment. Cash fund requests in Section G and budget classification transfers in Section H were also reviewed, along with pay plan requests in Section I, overtime requests in Section J, and multiple methods of finance in Section K. The committee also reviewed discretionary grants in Section L, including agriculture promotion board grants and DHS aging/adult behavioral health grants, plus RFQs, construction contracts, intergovernmental contracts, and out-of-state contracts in Sections M1 through M5. Several items drew questions from members. Workforce Services explained that $225,000 in TANF-related funds would be returned to the federal government because the two-year hold period for uncashed or moved checks had expired. Commerce officials described the $25 million site infrastructure grant program, saying it supports site development, due diligence, and infrastructure build-out at eligible sites of 30 acres or more, including rural communities, with grant agreements and matching requirements providing accountability. DHS and Education officials answered questions about the Care Solace mental health referral contract, saying it is a statewide concierge/referral service that helps schools connect students to Arkansas providers and follow up so students do not fall through the cracks; members asked for more information on provider selection, school-day scheduling, and Arkansas vendor participation. The committee held one item over: the DHS discretionary grant item for the RSVP retired senior volunteer program in L2, after concerns were raised about whether state general revenue was being used effectively and how much administrative overhead the providers retain. Members also questioned several contracts, including a DHS sole-source contract with EMSLink for document management software and a DHS bridge contract with Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care for Medicaid inspections of care reviews; in both cases, agency staff explained the need to avoid service disruption and said follow-up information would be provided. A Department of Corrections reentry center contract was discussed for its recidivism results, and ARDOT retirement-system investment contracts were briefly explained. The meeting ended after a lengthy discussion of the Medicaid Trust Fund balance, with DFA and DHS officials saying the state is expected to finish the fiscal year without exhausting the fund, that a restricted reserve of $100 million is available as a backstop, and that the larger question is what minimum balance should be maintained going forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• Number five is $40,000 to Clean Fuels Alliance America for education and marketing of soy-based biodiesel
• Number 11 is $15,000 to the Iowa Soybean Association for a grant for the Farmers Fueling the Future research
• And I'm just thinking, you know, we've spent over a million dollars.
• If we've spent and are spending $300 million more a year out of a trust fund or a restricted reserve

Committee: All JBC-PEER REVIEW

Transcript Highlights:

• AB 1838 would help ensure taxpayer dollars are well spent, promote fair labor practices, would help ensure
• taxpayer dollars are well spent, promote fair labor practices, and increase transparency for local agencies
• Jack Yons on behalf of the California Fuels and Convenience Lines, respectfully opposed.
• Jack Yons, behalf of the California fuels convenience lines, respectfully most.

Summary: The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee heard several workplace-related bills. AB 1803 would require anti-hate speech training as part of existing harassment prevention training for employers with five or more employees; supporters said it would help workers recognize and report workplace hate, while opponents raised First Amendment and definitional concerns. The bill passed on a do pass motion and was re-referred to Judiciary, with the roll left open for absent members. AB 1940 would add perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause to FEHA’s sex protections and clarify related workplace protections; supporters emphasized workplace equity and retention, while business groups said existing accommodation laws already cover many issues and raised concerns about expanding protected classifications. It also passed and was re-referred to Judiciary with the roll open. AB 1838 would require bidders on public works projects to disclose recent wage-and-hour violations and how they were addressed; labor groups supported the transparency measure, while contractors and business groups questioned definitions and disclosure scope. It passed and was re-referred to Judiciary. AB 1859 would give joint labor-management committees access to public works job sites to help identify labor-law violations; supporters said it would improve enforcement of wage theft laws, while opponents raised due process, property access, and constitutional concerns. It passed and was re-referred to Judiciary. The committee also considered two workplace AI and surveillance bills. AB 1883 would prohibit certain invasive surveillance technologies in the workplace, including facial, gait, and emotion recognition, while placing limits on some facial recognition uses; supporters argued these tools are discriminatory and unreliable, and opponents said a ban was too broad and could eliminate useful safety and operational tools. The bill passed and was re-referred to Privacy and Consumer Protection. AB 1898 would require employers to give workers advance notice before using AI tools to surveil or manage workers, including disclosure of the tool’s purpose, data collected, and affected decisions; supporters framed it as a basic transparency measure, while opponents objected to the breadth of notice requirements, possible veto power over deployment, and enforcement language. It also passed and was re-referred to Privacy and Consumer Protection. The committee additionally took up AB 1707, which passed and was re-referred to Appropriations with a consent-calendar recommendation, though the transcript does not provide the bill’s subject matter.

Transcript Highlights:

• It was not fueled, but it's that size. It's a mini reactor.
• I go back to the French are using that spent energy again, cutting it in half on how much waste they
• I spent 20 years at national laboratories, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is
• And the rest is the carbon-based fuels, which are obviously limited.

Committee: House Utilities

Transcript Highlights:

• buildings, and stop our progress on protecting people from the toxic emissions caused by burning fossil fuels
• updates address things like safety when installing energy storage systems or batteries, and increasingly fuel
• Madam Chair and committee members, I'm a certified building official, having spent over 25 years on the
• certified building official, having spent over 25 years on the code development side and as a local

Summary: The committee opened public hearings on House Bill 2141, concerning building codes, and House Bill 2573, concerning community access to food, medicine, and health services, then later took executive action on several bills. HB 2141 would impose a 10-year pause on new state building and energy code updates after the 2024 codes, limit local amendments until the 2036 codes, then move to a six-year update cycle and remove the current energy-code 70% reduction target. Supporters, including the sponsor, builders, local government groups, and some code officials, argued the bill would reduce regulatory churn, lower housing costs, and give builders and local governments more certainty. Opponents, including environmental groups, architects, fire marshals, and code organizations, said the freeze would raise long-term energy costs, undermine safety and climate goals, and delay adoption of new technologies. No action was taken on HB 2141 during the hearing. HB 2573 would require advance notice before grocery stores or pharmacies close in communities that relied on them for planning under the Growth Management Act, add a health and food access goal and a healthy communities element to the GMA, and authorize cities and counties to use zoning, excise taxes, and nuisance fees to discourage long-term vacancies and preserve access to food and medicine. The sponsor and supporters said the bill responds to recent store closures that created food and pharmacy deserts, especially in overburdened communities, and would give local governments tools to prevent blight and protect access to essential services. Opponents from grocery and retail industry groups argued the bill would punish businesses and property owners, create a chilling effect on investment, and unfairly burden independent landlords. The committee heard testimony on HB 2573 but did not take final action in the portion provided. During executive action, the committee reported several bills out with do-pass recommendations. HB 2517, on permitting tools for high-capacity transit projects, passed 4-3 after one proposed amendment was rejected and another was adopted to require property-owner consent before certain permits on property not owned by the transit authority. HB 2588, expanding county ferry district authority beyond passenger-only ferries, passed 4-3. HB 1529, allowing cities to use county resources for road construction and maintenance, passed 6-1. HB 2223, creating a limited exemption for irrigation district directors’ spouses’ contracts, passed unanimously. HB 2006, extending the deadline for certain rural counties to designate industrial land banks, passed unanimously after adoption of an amendment narrowing eligibility and adjusting timing requirements.