Transcript Highlights:

• The first item, row 103, this is a technical fix.
• It's just 103, this is a technical fix.
• House-passed section 339 through 341 are all relative to registration fees, 20-day registration, etc.
• um are all relative to registration um are all relative to registration fees,<04:35:26.240> uh
• I'd fees, uh 20-day registration, etc.

Keywords: 928, house, all

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:

• If you have technical issues, use the chat function to communicate with our technical staff, and they'll
• 00:11:54.480> chat<00:11:54.800> function technical issues, use the chat function technical
• <00:11:56.720> staff to communicate with our technical staff to communicate with our technical
• with our overall national registration with our overall national registration in<01:48:28.800>
• > for Uh make technical amendments for Uh make technical amendments for clarity,<02:08:50.800>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 1552, which would make the attorney general the interim chief election officer if that office becomes vacant until the Elections Commission appoints a replacement. The Department of the Attorney General opposed the bill, saying it could create a conflict of interest if the attorney general were both the state’s lawyer and the chief elections officer in any related litigation. The League of Women Voters supported having some interim backup for the office, but said it was not necessarily advocating that the attorney general fill the role. Several other testifiers, including the Hawaiian Islands Republican Women, opposed the bill, arguing the current law already provides for a prompt commission appointment and warning about partisan bias and concentration of power. Supporters, including Indivisible Hawaii, said an interim mechanism is needed to ensure election certification in a crisis. The chair also asked whether any statutory acting capacity already exists, and the attorney general said none was known. The committee then took up House Bill 2125, which would bar corporations operating under state law from engaging in election activity. The attorney general opposed the bill, citing Citizens United and arguing that corporations have First Amendment-protected political speech rights and that the bill would likely be unconstitutional. Indivisible Hawaii supported the measure, saying it would keep elections focused on the will of the people rather than corporate influence. Libertarian Party testimony was mixed: one witness supported the goal of reducing corruption but warned the bill could suppress organized dissent and sweep too broadly by treating many associations as corporations. The bill’s introducer asked whether the legislature could still enact it as a policy matter, but the attorney general maintained federal constitutional law would control. No vote was taken on either bill during the portion of the hearing provided. The committee also heard House Bill 2493 on wrongful imprisonment, which would set procedures and compensation for people whose convictions are reversed or vacated on grounds consistent with innocence and whose charges are dismissed. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation supported the bill’s intent but objected to language assigning it responsibility for helping released individuals secure housing, identification, health coverage, and other reentry needs, saying it no longer has jurisdiction after release and suggesting the courts or a community-based contractor handle that role. The Office of the Public Defender strongly supported the bill, emphasizing the harm of wrongful conviction and the need for compensation, case management, and medical coverage after release. No action or vote was reported on this measure in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• NASA Learning Center to create a trickle occasional spaces in our store for children, which would technically
• We're going to tab 8 Senate Bill 1654, on registration of sexual predators and sexual offenders.
• The Federal Sexual Offender Registration of Station Act prohibits online reporting of out of state travel
• And it specifies that law enforcement, local law enforcement, misconduct and certifications of registrants
• sex offender registry in the first place is a goal to ensure compliance or instead to create a registration

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:26:12.800> system provides an optional registration system provides an optional registration
• Registration is licensure go through.
• Even though this bill has been amended to become a registration, the pattern nationwide is that registration
• :03.960> registration<00:52:04.640> bills nationwide is that registration bills nationwide
• <00:58:10.240> and the reasons why registration and the reasons why registration and licensing

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We manage the registration, distribution, and use of pesticides and fertilizers.
• We manage the registration, distribution, and use of pesticides and fertilizers.
• We need a lot of technical support and research, and WSU factors heavily in that regard.
• We need a lot of technical support and research and WSU factors heavily in that regard.
• I think we might be experiencing some technical difficulty, Dr. Fortenberry.

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held an interim work session focused on Washington agriculture’s viability, workforce, and competitiveness. Director Derek Sanderson of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and WSU Dean Raj Kosla described the size and diversity of the state’s farm sector, declining farm numbers, major export markets, and pressures from labor costs, low commodity prices, trade barriers, drought, regulatory burdens, and pests and disease. Kosla emphasized WSU’s land-grant role in education, research, and extension, including precision agriculture, broadband needs in rural areas, and the need for state support to help producers adopt new technologies and train the next generation of agricultural workers. Members asked about retaining farmland, increasing workforce capacity, and the role of precision agriculture. Kosla said precision agriculture can help address labor shortages and water scarcity, but adoption is limited by cost and rural broadband gaps. He explained precision agriculture as tailoring inputs to the right place, time, amount, and manner, and said WSU is working on low-cost sensor technologies and other innovations. Members also asked about how widely precision agriculture is used and whether it improves farm bottom lines; Kosla said adoption varies by tool and that he would follow up with more data. The committee then heard from Dr. Randy Fortenberry of WSU’s Impact Center on an agricultural competitiveness study and the effects of tariffs and trade. He reported that Washington’s competitiveness has generally declined relative to peer states in dairy, grapes, hops, apples, and wheat, with potatoes as the main bright spot. Surveyed producers said a substantial share of revenue is tied to regulatory compliance, with labor-related costs a major driver, and small diversified farms reported land access, capital, and profitability as bigger barriers than regulation. On trade, Fortenberry said Washington agriculture is highly export-dependent and vulnerable to retaliation, citing past losses in wheat, apples, pulses, and cherries when tariffs disrupted markets, while noting current uncertainty around China and India. The committee asked follow-up questions about compliance time, peer-state comparisons, and regulatory burdens; no votes were taken, and the department said it plans an interim report by the end of the year and a final report by June 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's about prioritizing real misconduct over technical infractions, ending the weaponization of the complaint
• Category 1 consists of technical, minor things.
• In Category 1, members, is just a technical or de minimis violation.
• , if available, and to update their registration if.
• This amendment expands lobbying restrictions to bar registrants from lobbying on behalf of political

Bills: SB312, SB945, SB946, SB1367, SB1861, SB2044, SB2337, SB2403, SB2819, SJR54

Keywords: public school funding, education, budget allocation, financial transparency, state law, local control, fiduciary responsibility, public retirement systems, investment management, proxy voting, financial factors, insurance, political shareholder proposals, fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, environmental regulation, discrimination, credit extension, social credit, value-based standards

Transcript Highlights:

• developed a schedule for each board to meet and begin implementation, and we also built out the technical
• grafting procedures, otherwise known as Brazilian butt lift surgeries, and the office surgery registration
• To implement this bill, MQA modified the Office Surgery Registration Application and inspection forms
• to capture the new financial responsibility requirement and also modified its technical infrastructure
• The program also provided information and hosted technical assistance webinars for hospitals on the new

Summary: The Senate Health Policy Committee received updates from the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Health on implementation of 2024 health care laws. AHCA reviewed progress on workforce and reimbursement measures in Senate Bill 7016 and related bills, including FRAME and TEACH funding, graduate medical education reporting, behavioral health teaching hospitals, acute hospital care at home, advanced birth centers, non-emergent care access plans, and rural emergency hospitals. Agency officials said several programs are already operational or have begun payments, while others are still in rulemaking, federal approval, or report-preparation stages. Senators asked about timing, funding reversion concerns, and whether appropriated dollars would be spent on schedule, especially for behavioral health teaching hospitals and the new birth center category. The Department of Health then reported on practitioner licensure and public health programs. MQA described implementation of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, the Mobile Act licensure pathway, massage therapy enforcement changes, background screening expansion, liposuction safety requirements, pharmacist HIV post-exposure prophylaxis authority, and chiropractic dry needling. Public health staff updated the committee on FRAME and dental loan repayment, the Sinati screening grant program, the cancer research and innovation changes, the health care innovation council and loan program, the pediatric rare disease grant program, telehealth maternity care expansion, newborn screening for congenital CMV, the sickle cell registry and grants, and the swimming lesson voucher program. Members focused questions on how practitioners were being recruited to underserved areas, the pace of licensure approvals, and whether new programs were on track to use appropriated funds. The committee also heard a lengthy update from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use. The director reported more than 900,000 qualified patients, real-time seed-to-sale tracking now integrated across most dispensaries and labs, and ongoing compliance work on product testing, advertising, diversion, and patient safety. Senators questioned the decline in qualified physicians, how THC potency is labeled and verified, and what the agency can do about diversion to non-patients. The director said the office relies on complaints, inspections, lab audits, and coordination with law enforcement, and that patients can be suspended if violations are confirmed.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are proud sponsors of SB 909, which would modernize public works contractor registration fees, update
• it's going to increase the amount that the Labor Commissioner can set public works contractor registration
• I trust that this is going to kind of continue over the summer in working on the technicalities of the
• Pharmaceutical facilities are among the most technically complex construction environments in the modern
• with the author's office and with the sponsor, and we're trying to work out some minor, very minor technical

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee heard several bills focused on worker protections, enforcement, and technology in the workplace. SB 909 would strengthen enforcement of public works prevailing wage laws by raising contractor registration fees and penalties and directing part of penalty revenue back to enforcement; labor groups supported it as a way to deter wage theft, while contractor groups opposed the fee and penalty increases as burdensome and potentially costly for public projects. The committee members generally expressed support for stronger enforcement but also concern about the state’s backlog and capacity to enforce the law. SB 909 passed on a due pass vote and was re-referred to Appropriations. The committee also considered multiple bills addressing AI and workplace rights. SB 951 would require 60-day notice when technology displaces 25 or more workers and would require reporting on AI-related job impacts; labor and education groups supported it, while business, public sector, and industry groups argued it was premature and overbroad. SB 947 would require human review of automated discipline, termination, or deactivation decisions and prohibit predictive behavior analysis; supporters said it would prevent algorithmic abuse, while opponents raised concerns about independent contractors, private rights of action, and forum shopping. Both bills advanced on party-line style votes to the Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. The committee also approved SB 1149, which would expand bereavement leave to cover a “designated person” equivalent to family, with emotional testimony from a witness describing the loss of a long-term partner. Supporters said the bill reflects modern family structures, especially for LGBTQ and older Californians; there was no opposition. SB 1185, applying skilled-and-trained workforce standards to pharmaceutical facility construction, also passed despite opposition from contractors and business groups who said there was no demonstrated safety problem and warned of higher costs and fewer bidders. In addition, the committee approved consent-calendar bills SB 1316, SB 1046, and SB 1059, and left rolls open for absent members before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are proud sponsors of SB 909, which would modernize public works contractor registration fees, update
• it's going to increase the amount that the Labor Commissioner can set public works contractor registration
• I trust that this is going to kind of continue over the summer in that working on the technicalities
• Pharmaceutical facilities are among the most technically complex construction environments in the modern
• with the author's office and with the sponsor, and we're trying to work out some minor, very minor technical

Summary: The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee heard several bills focused on worker protections, AI in the workplace, bereavement leave, and construction labor standards. SB 909 by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas would increase public works contractor registration fees, raise prevailing wage and related penalties, and direct half of collected penalties back into the Public Works Enforcement Fund. Supporters said the bill would help combat wage theft and misclassification and strengthen enforcement; opponents argued the higher fees and penalties would burden contractors without fixing enforcement backlogs. The committee voted the bill out on a due pass motion to Appropriations. The committee also approved SB 951 by Senator Reyes, which would require 60-day notice when 25 or more workers are displaced by technology and require reporting on AI-related job impacts. Supporters framed it as a response to rapid AI-driven layoffs and a way to gather real-time data; opponents raised concerns about small employers, proprietary information, and litigation. SB 947 by Senator McNerney, the “No Robo Bosses Act,” would require human review of automated discipline, termination, or deactivation decisions and restrict predictive behavior analysis. Supporters said it would prevent biased or mistaken automated decisions; opponents objected to the inclusion of independent contractors, private rights of action, and other provisions. Both bills were advanced to the Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. The committee also passed SB 1149 by Senator Durazo, which would expand bereavement leave to cover a “designated person,” including chosen family relationships. Supporters, including AARP and a witness who described losing a long-term partner, said the bill reflects modern family structures; there was no opposition. In addition, SB 1185 by Senator Cortese, applying skilled and trained workforce standards to pharmaceutical facility construction, was approved despite opposition from business and construction groups who said there was no demonstrated safety problem and that the mandate could raise costs and reduce competition. Several other bills on the consent calendar were also approved, and all measures were reported out of committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• I would like to start by thanking the committee staff for working with my office to make technical changes
• treasurer Chaim Morton on behalf of the state treasurer's office Trina Johansson, here to provide technical
• I have been working on this issue of career technical education my 11 years here in the legislature and
• plan for the city. was the numerous funding streams that were often duplicative or of the career technical
• Chairman and members for the opportunity to present SB 316 the high school voter registration act on

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have the resource witness here from the TWC for any technical questions and glad to answer any questions
• Their free and open technical framework supports content creditionally, credentials, metadatabases attached
• Provenance data requirements were also tweaked to align with C2PA digital technical standards.
• out if they provide the Attorney General with clear documentation showing they currently lack the technical
• Chairman Meyers's House Bill 4115 will help bring corporate registrations, relocations, and securities

Bills: HB74, HB175

Keywords: environmental project, public money, political subdivision, greenhouse gas emissions, federal law compliance, renewable energy, water conservation, retroactive child support, child conception, paternity, family law, health care expenses

Transcript Highlights:

• "Well, it's technical." Mr. Smith, "Well, it's technical." Mr.
• And uh, thank you, it is technical.
• In addition to these model rules, there are also technical changes around franchise registration and
• <00:57:03.280> changes rules, there are also technical changes rules, there are also technical
• around franchise registration and around franchise registration and authorization<00:57:06.720><

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• against a bill today, please make sure you filled out the electronic witness affirmation form on the registration
• beginning of your testimony, you said on behalf of yourself and the Mitchell family, but in our registration
• of your testimony, you, you said on behalf of yourself and the Mitchell family, but on, in our registration
• rather than 2% of the water fund for administrative purposes and makes other changes to satisfy technical

Bills: HB3115, HB5671, HB5693, SB790, SB1055, SB1302, SB1504, SB1625, SB1663, SB2692

Keywords: Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, groundwater, water wells, domestic well, livestock well, exempt well, metering device, well meter, groundwater conservation district, Special District Local Laws Code, Water Code, Section 36.117, groundwater regulation, water rights, aquifer management, municipal utility, retail public utility, groundwater export, water supply contract, election

Summary: The Committee on Natural Resources heard testimony on a series of water, utility, and groundwater-related bills. Early items included HB 5693, which would let Drainage District 7 hold board elections in November of odd-numbered years when a countywide election is occurring, and HB 5671, which would update the Johnson County Special Utility District by clarifying board eligibility, allowing bond issuance, and removing redundant TCEQ approval language to reduce costs and delays. Both bills were left pending after brief testimony from bill sponsors and local witnesses. The committee also heard SB 1504, which would update the Gulf Coast Authority to allow video-conference participation in meetings, and SB 1302, aimed at closing a TCEQ permitting loophole that allowed dischargers with prior denials or suspensions to reapply through an automated process without meaningful review. SB 2692 drew substantial discussion: it would change the signature threshold for outside-city-limits customers appealing municipal utility rates to the PUC by customer class. Valero supported the bill as a way to avoid requiring large-volume users to gather signatures from unrelated residential customers, while the City of Corpus Christi opposed it, arguing that lowering the threshold to one customer could trigger expensive appeals costing $500,000 to $1 million. A PUC witness said such cases are increasing and that the agency would need additional staff under the fiscal note. SB 790, creating a simplified PUC complaint process for small water and wastewater billing disputes, and SB 1663, expanding TCEQ notice requirements for nearby residents when groundwater contamination is discovered, were also heard and left pending. Additional bills included HB 3115, clarifying that the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District cannot require meters on exempt domestic or livestock wells; SB 1055, raising the Southeast Texas Groundwater Conservation District’s production fee cap from 1 cent to 7 cents per 1,000 gallons; and SB 1625, requiring private water and wastewater utilities to report cybersecurity incidents to TCEQ and DIR. The committee then took up pending business and adopted a substitute for SB 7, which made several changes to water fund use, eminent domain coordination, and EDAP-related provisions, and voted 10-0 to report it favorably. The committee also adopted a substitute for HB 2347, a county water conservation program bill, and reported it favorably 9-1. HB 5675 and SB 2476 were each reported favorably 10-0. The meeting concluded with adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• The whole amendment set is technical.
• We're going to be building out the portal for registration and housing all of that and overseeing it.
• There's no registration.

Summary: The Civil Law and Procedure Committee met on May 18, 2026, and took up Senate Bill 389 by Senator Connick, which would update Louisiana’s athlete-agent law to cover NIL representation for high school and college athletes. The Attorney General’s office said the bill is needed because NIL agents are currently largely unregulated, especially as NIL activity has expanded into high school sports. Assistant Attorney General Olivia Nuss explained that the bill is based on the revised Uniform Athlete Agent Act and would create a state registry, require disclosure and background checks, and help protect student-athletes and families from unqualified or predatory agents. John Curtis, head of school and football coach at John Curtis Christian School, testified in support, saying schools are seeing more agents around practices and recruiting situations, often charging high fees and making misleading promises. He argued the bill would give parents and athletes a way to verify whether an agent is registered and qualified, and said the LHSAA could help distribute information to schools and families. Members asked about how the law would be implemented, whether the LHSAA or the Department of Justice would oversee it, and how the bill would interact with existing NIL disclosure legislation; the witnesses said DOJ would administer the registry while LHSAA would mainly help disseminate information. The committee adopted a technical amendment set, then Representative Edmondson moved to report SB 389 as amended. There was no objection, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee also voluntarily deferred Senate Bill 525 at the author’s request, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are we going registration requirements.
• I got technical assistance from DLI, from DEED, and it is built on our work that we have done, I believe
• I got technical assistance from DLI, from DEED, and it is built on our work that we have done, I believe
• I got technical assistance from DLI, from DEED, and it is built on our work that we have done, I believe
• assistance from DLI from I got technical assistance from DLI from DED<00:40:58.960> and<00:40

Transcript Highlights:

• This is pretty much a technical bill, should be noncontroversial, and I have Mr.
• is pretty Senate file number 950 uh this is pretty much<00:01:19.159> a<00:01:19.320> technical
• Bill uh should be much a technical Bill uh should be non-controversial<00:01:21.360> uh<00:01
• Right now, as a law enforcement officer, whatever department, they can run a registration on a car.
• When they run the registration, they'd automatically know that that would be there.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It technically was 89.9% that will around it. We're very proud of that. But it didn't just happen.
• We sent him some that tells and they're going to get their voter registration revoked.
• The voter registration should be going up and instead it's diminishing and that's counterproductive to
• address confirmation notices and and our normal databases, this was an algorithm that compared new registrants
• We trust but verify currently in our voter registration process for means checking a box and there's

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Technical bill.
• It's a technical<01:36:12.360> amendment. technical amendment. technical amendment.
• technical<01:38:10.440> bill.
• It's coming at the technical bill.
• this requires point-of-sale registration this requires point-of-sale registration for<01:47:32.360

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's an extremely technical issue, but we did get a lot of feedback from foster families that they are
• of the administrative burdens. of the administrative burdens of making DTS voters use same-day registration
• This means we have to have same-day voter registration agents at each of the polling sites and then hire
• extra people in our office to process those registrations.
• With same-day registration, people can go in that day, register, and vote, and that is this close.

Transcript Highlights:

• clean ones and a couple of, I don't want to call any audit finding minor, but things that from a technical
• Priority class registration event and priority housing registration, which adds significant value to
• We just had yesterday our first registration day of the year.
• We've only done one registration event, and I'm already at eight.
• We've only done one registration event and I'm already at eight.

Summary: The Higher Education Institutions Committee met on the Minot State University campus for presentations on campus operations, enrollment, and new academic initiatives. President Shirley reviewed recent audits, noting mostly clean results with only minor technical findings, and highlighted MSU’s broad academic offerings, specialized accreditations, athletics, and partnerships with Minot Air Force Base and the MSU Development Foundation. Members asked about declining interest in teacher education, tuition waivers for athletes, dual credit incentives, and how MSU decides when to launch new programs and avoid duplication within the university system. Shirley also discussed several workforce-focused initiatives supported by the Legislature’s Workforce Education Innovation Funds, including the purchase of the Trinity Health Center West building for a downtown health sciences hub, a new daycare/preschool partnership near campus, the Aspire program to recruit rural students into teaching, and a paraprofessional-to-special-education degree pathway. Enrollment data showed overall headcount was flat at just under 2,750, but full-time equivalent enrollment rose slightly and new student numbers increased, including the largest freshman class in 15 years. The committee also discussed Minot State’s in-state tuition rate for all students, its dual credit “Emerging Scholars” scholarship, and concerns about the share of high school graduates who do not immediately pursue postsecondary education. Faculty then presented two new programs funded in part by WEAF: an Innovation Engineering degree and a master’s program in counseling with an integrated addiction studies focus. The engineering program was described as industry-driven, designed with broad early coursework, hands-on learning, and local employer input to prepare students for western North Dakota workforce needs; officials said it had already drawn more applicants than expected and would use renovated library space and donated or grant-funded equipment. The counseling program will be mostly face-to-face with hybrid options, aims to address shortages in mental health and substance use providers, and is structured to help students meet licensure requirements. Committee members asked about startup costs, licensure supervision hours, and whether the programs would be on campus rather than online, and presenters said both programs had recently received required approvals and were moving forward.