Transcript Highlights:

• across the state uh for quite some meals across the state uh for quite some time<00:22:14.720><c> um
• If we're really serious about putting more local food in our school meals, then we're going to have to
• It looks to make it easier to support our farmers and bring local produce into our school meal system
• </c><00:22:43.640><c> system</c><00:22:44.320><c> so</c> produce into our school meal system so produce
• into our school meal system so thank<00:22:44.720><c> you</c><00:22:44.840><c> very</c><00:22:44.960

Committee: House Agriculture & Food Systems

Transcript Highlights:

• Now we're coming back and provided universal meals, great theory, but now they're coming back and saying
• Now we're coming back and provided universal meals, great theory, but now they're coming back and saying
• Now we're coming back and provided universal meals, great theory, but now they're coming back and saying
• Now we're coming back and provided universal meals, great theory, but now they're coming back and saying
• great Theory but now they're uh uh meals great Theory but now they're coming<00:21:02.000><c> back</

Committee: House Rules and Legislative Administration

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, you got, I don't know, well over a million dollars returned to you to the state to the town for meals
• Okay, you got, I don't know, well over a million dollars returned to you to the state to the town for meals
• Okay, you got, I don't know, well over a million dollars returned to you to the state to the town for meals
• Okay, you got, I don't know, well over a million dollars returned to you to the state to the town for meals
• For meals and rooms. What are you going to use that money for?

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• bipartisan legislation that would phase out particularly harmful ultra-processed foods from school meals
• This year California is projected to serve over 1 billion school meals so changing what we serve in our
• this bill is actually to get more of that healthy locally grown California produce onto our school meals
• and parents you can do this, I promise I have adult adult children, you can take items out of their meals
• So some of the things that are still served in our public school meals are pizzas, brownies, churros.

Transcript Highlights:

• know, $7 million that we're not providing for our seniors and all for basic home services, including meals
• , Meals on Wheels and all.

Transcript Highlights:

• know, $7 million that we're not providing for our seniors and all for basic home services, including meals
• , Meals on Wheels and all.

Summary: The meeting began with a JLBC presentation on the state budget proposal. Staff reviewed revenue changes from the April forecast, which lowered expected growth slightly, and then walked through major tax policy provisions. Those included full conformity with HR1 for the current tax year, a shift to the provisions of SB 1106 for future tax years, new deductions for retirement/pension distributions and Roth IRA contributions, an increase in the dependent credit, and a child and dependent care subtraction. Staff said the tax changes had an overall fiscal impact of about $1.4 billion over four years. They also described offsets from repealing several tax credits and exemptions, including solar-related tax breaks, a renewable energy production credit, a new employment tax credit, a refundable R&D credit for smaller employers, and a pollution-control device credit, totaling about $75 million in added revenue. Another budget item would redirect Arizona Commerce Authority Competes Fund lottery distributions to the general fund. Members asked questions about the budget’s effect on ACCESS eligibility checks, state employee health insurance funding, and cuts to one-time funding for area agencies on aging and Alzheimer’s programs. The committee then moved to caucus items on several bills. HB 2249, as amended by the Senate, would expand the parents’ bill of rights to include access to a child’s complete educational record and notice if school staff facilitate social transitioning, and would require investigation of prior violations; the sponsor concurred with the amendment. HB 2035 would require DCS and courts to identify and consider extended family for kinship foster care placement, with Senate changes shortening a reporting deadline and adding adopted family members to the definition. HB 2170 would bar state contracts for electronic or IT goods with PRC-controlled companies, with a certification requirement added in the Senate. HB 2573 would remove a waiting period for ignition interlock restricted licenses after DUI revocation and adjust psychotherapy language. HB 2415 on kratom would classify synthetic kratom as a narcotic drug and add advertising, packaging, and retail restrictions, but the sponsor intended to refuse the Senate changes. HB 2873 would let local petition sponsors withdraw municipal referendum petitions retroactively, which members noted could affect the Marana data center petition effort. The final bill discussed, SB 1798, would create a Financial Aid Awareness Program in the Department of Education to recognize schools that support FAFSA completion. Members questioned whether the department would need additional staff or resources, but no fiscal note had been provided. The meeting ended with recognition of interns and a brief photo opportunity before the caucus moved into closed session.

Transcript Highlights:

• We talk a lot about that with lunch, universal meals, like everybody.
• We talk a lot about that with lunch, universal meals, like everybody.

Transcript Highlights:

• expenditures, increasing the deduction for business interest expenses, and increasing the amounts of business meals
• deduction allowed on research and experimental expenses, the changes made to the deduction for business meals

Committee: Senate Finance and Tax

Transcript Highlights:

• support practical needs for folks who are seeking abortion care, such as ground transportation, lodging, meals
• create a standard for that, so that chain restaurants would have to tell us how much sodium is in the meals

Committee: Senate Health

Summary: The Health Committee met to consider a series of bills, many of them repeat proposals from prior sessions. Early measures included S.11 on disclosure for non-invasive prenatal screening, S.92 allowing redaction of certain physician names from birth certificates, S.135 creating practical support grants for abortion care, S.428A requiring chain restaurants to label high-sodium menu items, S.555 prohibiting visual images of people undergoing medical treatment without consent, and S.1614A establishing presumptive Medicaid eligibility for people leaving incarceration. The committee also advanced S.1438A to create an abortion clinical training program, S.1468 on access to medical records and limiting copy charges to actual cost, S.1619 expanding pharmacists’ authority to order and administer certain tests, and S.1714 banning the use of “excited delirium” as a diagnosis or cause of death. A substantial portion of the meeting focused on S.1633A, which would add protections for sensitive health information and allow patients to restrict disclosure of specified categories of data. One senator argued the bill could hinder care by limiting access to complete records, especially in emergencies, while supporters said the measure was needed to protect patients and providers from legal action by other states or the federal government, particularly in reproductive health cases. Staff clarified that the bill would allow segregation of specific sensitive data rather than locking an entire record. The committee also discussed S.1913, a 340B prescription drug anti-discrimination bill; supporters said it would protect safety-net providers and federally qualified health centers from pharmaceutical company practices, while one senator raised concerns about broad state intervention in a federal program. Additional bills advanced included S.5981 establishing a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health program, S.6178 directing a sickle cell disparity study, S.7457 permitting cremation or natural organic reduction for certain unclaimed decedents, S.7541 moving up reporting timelines for licensed home care services agencies, and S.8257A directing an alternative payment methodology for federally qualified health centers to support fertility care. Most bills were moved by committee vote, generally with some opposition or without recommendation, and were referred to first reading, rules, or finance as appropriate.

Transcript Highlights:

• The recipients for 2025 included Kitsap County's public school districts, Meals on Wheels Kitsap, and
• The recipients for 2025 included Kitsap County's public school districts, Meals on Wheels, Kitsap, and

Summary: The joint House and Senate committee meeting heard public presentations on tentative tribal gaming compact amendments for the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. Staff from the Washington State Gambling Commission explained the compacting process, the role of ex officio legislative members, and that both amendments would next go to a Gambling Commission hearing on January 8, 2026, where commissioners and ex officio members would vote on whether to forward them to the governor or send them back for further negotiation. Port Gamble S'Klallam Chairwoman Amber Caldera described the tribe’s history, lands, and how gaming revenue supports government services such as health care, housing, education, language and culture, natural resources, and community investment. Commission negotiator Johnny Bray summarized the proposed compact changes for Port Gamble as updates to Appendix F, including higher credit and wager limits, more gaming stations and player terminals, language for a second facility, and adoption of Appendix G for electronic table games. Members asked about pre-screening for high-limit tables and the tribe’s handling of problem gambling and self-exclusion, and tribal counsel said internal minimum control standards were still being developed. A question was also raised about funding for green crab removal, but the tribe said it would follow up with more details. Upper Skagit Indian Tribe attorney David Hawkins gave a historical overview of the tribe, its gaming operations, and how gaming revenue supports member programs such as nutrition assistance, education, and down payment aid, as well as local charitable contributions and emergency housing. He said the tribe is seeking the amendment to add electronic table games after removing traditional table games before COVID, in order to remain competitive. Committee questions focused on air quality and smoking areas, and Hawkins said the tribe maintains a non-smoking floor with separate smoking rooms and supports smoking cessation efforts. Chair Kauffman closed by thanking both tribes for their contributions to tribal members and the broader community, including education, housing, culture, health care, and natural resource protection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Two areas I'm really proud of protecting are linking the general formula to inflation and universal meals
• Do you want us to try to find you a job delivering meals on the bus, working with kids online?

Bills: HF1049

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• We have $42.2 million for school meals, $14 million for literacy, $8.5 million for the statewide student
• row 95, we have $5.2 million that would support any potential cost overruns in the Universal School Meals
• We have $5.2 million that would support any potential cost overruns in the Universal School Meals Program
• a lot more consistency in the cost of the school meals program, PED still needs some contingency funding
• Chair, the universal school meals on all ends here being fully funded.

Summary: The committee first heard a detailed staff presentation on the LESC FY27 public school support recommendation. Staff reviewed the budget structure and explained that, despite a downward revision in state revenue estimates, the recommendation still relied on recurring and non-recurring revenue to support educator compensation, insurance, transportation, literacy, math, special education, and other school programs. Major recurring items included a 3% compensation increase, funding for an 80-20 health insurance cost share, insurance premium growth, and transportation adequacy funding. Staff also flagged a possible supplemental need of up to $35 million for virtual education tied to rapid enrollment growth in Chama and Santa Rosa, and members raised concerns about the quality, accountability, and funding model for virtual programs. Members asked questions about transportation for rural districts, the Martinez-Yazzie lawsuit fees, the treatment of enrollment declines in the school funding formula, and whether the word “average” in salary language should remain in the budget. Staff explained that the SEG should remain whole, that the insurance and transportation recommendations applied to all public school employees but not contractors, and that the budget included multiple math-related investments spread across several lines rather than one single appropriation. There was also discussion of out-of-school learning grants, school meals, literacy center operations, special education training, and the Public Education Reform Fund, including the use of multi-year, evaluation-based appropriations for high-impact tutoring and community schools. After discussion, the committee adopted the LESC budget recommendation. The committee then moved to endorsed legislation proposals. It endorsed a bill allowing the secretary to suspend an individual school board member, with notice and appeal procedures clarified, and a bill creating an 80-20 health insurance cost-share requirement for public school employees, along with a study of the sustainability of public school insurance programs. It also endorsed a bill on attendance provisions for students with severe medical conditions, which would keep those students from being classified as excessively absent. Finally, the committee discussed a teacher residency bill that would raise stipend levels, allow residents to complete service anywhere in New Mexico, and remove the requirement that sponsoring schools must hire them, though the bill did not include an appropriation. Members also raised questions about bilingual, Hispanic, and Black education funding, cultural and linguistic supports in teacher preparation, and where various programs should be placed in the budget or PERF framework.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a program that gave us a meal every Saturday, which was probably the only meal we ate that day
• Kate's, this is where we learned financial skills, got that meal I was talking about, and we let somebody
• financial<00:41:20.720><c> skills,</c><00:41:21.119><c> got</c><00:41:21.280><c> that</c><00:41:21.520><c> meal
• </c><00:41:21.680><c> I</c><00:41:22.000><c> was</c> financial skills, got that meal I was financial
• skills, got that meal I was talking<00:41:22.480><c> about,</c><00:41:23.359><c> and</c><00:41:23.599

Transcript Highlights:

• It also prioritizes students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals or whose household incomes are
• to schools with less than 50 percent of their total enrollment eligible for free and reduced-price meals
• Based on 2025-26 free and reduced-price meal percentages, this would exclude roughly about 45 percent

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee met in executive session on three bills. For Second Substitute Senate Bill 6182, staff explained it would create an abortion savings program funded by a new assessment on health carriers to support grants for abortion clinical care access. Representative Marshall offered amendments to limit grants to Washington residents, expand eligibility to IVF and fertility providers, prioritize medically underserved areas, and add a 2031 sunset; all were rejected or withdrawn. The committee then voted 18-10 to report the bill out with a do pass recommendation. For Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6260, staff briefed a striking amendment that would reduce savings in K-12 spending by changing local effort assistance and Running Start limits, prioritizing some transition-to-kindergarten funding, and eliminating inflation increases for National Board bonuses. Members debated a series of amendments on bus depreciation, charter school LEA payments, transition-to-kindergarten funding, and Running Start. Some amendments were adopted, including a bus depreciation change and a Running Start adjustment, while others were rejected. The committee then adopted the striker as amended and reported the bill out 17-12 with a due pass recommendation. For Substitute Senate Bill 6355, which would establish the Washington Electric Transmission Authority and related board and advisory structures, members considered amendments on rural land-use expertise, eastern Washington board representation, corridor review standards, tribal workgroup removal, and payments in lieu of taxes for transmission facilities. One amendment was withdrawn and the others were rejected except for a landowner/rural expertise amendment that passed. The committee then reported the bill out 18-11 with a due pass recommendation. At the end of the meeting, members exchanged closing remarks thanking staff and colleagues, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, Hungry Greener meals. And then there's come talk to the basic needs navigator.
• So making sure that they had meals over the break when there are limited services on campus was such
• WASAC's basic needs citizen lead because no student should have to choose between textbooks and a hot meal

Bills: SB6325 , SGA9302 , SGA9286 , SGA9289 , SGA9290 , SGA9292 , SGA9293 , SGA9309 , SGA9310 , SGA9311 , SGA9312

Committee: Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development

Keywords: higher education, student procedures, academic policies, enrollment processes, educational standards

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, hungry out of meals. And then there's come talk to the basic needs navigator.
• So making sure that they had meals over the break when there are limited services on campus was such
• WASAC's basic needs citizen lead because no student should have to choose between textbooks and a hot meal

Summary: The Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee heard two work sessions focused on student access and retention, then held public hearings on gubernatorial appointments before taking executive action. Washington Student Achievement Council staff presented the Washington Completes FAFSA campaign, created by Executive Order 2508, describing its advisory board, outreach strategy, dashboard tracking, and progress toward goals of 46,000 FAFSA/WASFA completions and improved equity in completion rates. They also highlighted broader college access tools such as trainings, printed materials, completion events, Otterbot texting support, and the new “Changing the Narrative” report and College Toolkit, which emphasize multiple postsecondary pathways, relatable messengers, and short video content. The committee then heard from the Council of Presidents and Central Washington University and Evergreen State College on student support services. Presenters discussed retention data, FERPA-related limits on parent communication, and the impact of budget cuts on advising, tutoring, wellness, and other services. Evergreen described the Shelton Promise program, including recruitment, summer bridge, basic-needs supports, peer mentoring, texting outreach, and early retention results showing 52 of 53 students continuing. Central Washington outlined its learner access and support plan, including required advising, University 101, early academic alerts, peer mentoring embedded in coursework, the Students First Center, and a Paying for College Guide, while noting that budget reductions have limited some support offerings. In the public hearing, the committee considered Latasha Wortham’s appointment to the Tacoma Community College Board of Trustees and a panel of student appointees to various boards and councils, including Evergreen, Washington Student Achievement Council, the Workforce Education Investment Accountability and Oversight Board, Washington State University, Eastern Washington University, Edmonds College, and Western Washington University. Testimony emphasized first-generation and immigrant backgrounds, student advocacy, basic needs, and the importance of student voice in governance. In executive session, the committee adopted a substitute and gave Senate Bill 6325 a due pass recommendation to Ways and Means; the bill would shift certain higher education cost increases from tuition to state funds over time and direct a WSIPP study on essential student services. The committee also recommended confirmation for the listed gubernatorial appointments.

Transcript Highlights:

• The next bill is 2211, related to medically tailored meals, and there are no amendments.
• that our Washington state nonprofits have an excellent track record of producing these high-quality meals
• anti-competitive language limiting it to those entities because, while they may be producing the best quality meals

Summary: The committee held public hearings on several health-related bills. House Bill 2384 would require continuing care retirement communities that offer life care contracts to submit actuarial analyses every other registration cycle for review by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, with the Department of Social and Health Services using the review in registration decisions. The bill sponsor and residents’ advocates said it would improve transparency and protect seniors’ prepaid care promises, while the CCRC industry supported the goal but raised concerns about scope, cost, and implementation details. House Bill 2505 would exempt certain foster family homes and child-specific foster care homes from adult family home licensure when former foster youth remain in the home as adults and certain safety conditions are met; DSHS supported the narrow exemption as a way to avoid displacing vulnerable young adults. House Bill 2402 would phase out DEHP and other orthophthalates in IV solution containers and later IV tubing, with exemptions for certain blood and cell therapy products; supporters cited health and environmental risks and the availability of safer alternatives, while manufacturers and hospitals supported the goal but asked for longer timelines, supply-chain protections, and implementation assistance. In executive session, the committee took action on a series of bills. It adopted an amendment and passed House Bill 1904, which prohibits cat declawing, on a 13-3 vote. It passed a proposed substitute for House Bill 2145 on the 340B drug program on an 11-5 vote after debate over reporting requirements and the state’s authority. It rejected several amendments to House Bill 2182 on abortion medications held by the Department of Corrections, adopted an Indian health care provider priority amendment, and passed the bill on a 10-6 vote. House Bill 2211 on medically tailored meals passed 15-1. The committee also passed Substitute House Bill 2247 on veterinarian-client-patient relationships, Substitute House Bill 2329 on midwives and lactation consultants, and Substitute House Bill 2339 on nurse licensing, each with technical amendments and broad support.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c><00:18:56.559><c> eat</c><00:18:56.720><c> a</c><00:18:56.880><c> decent</c><00:18:57.200><c> meal
• </c><00:18:57.760><c> um,</c> need to, you know, eat a decent meal um, need to, you know, eat a decent
• meal um, in<00:18:58.080><c> order</c><00:18:58.160><c> to</c><00:18:58.320><c> be</c><00:18:58.480>

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll provide for specific dishes, like a roasted root vegetable meal in the fall, and we grow vegetables
• specifically for that meal for three districts.
• our school menu calendar; we have it sitting in a laundry room where the kids get to choose their meals

Committee: House Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Transcript Highlights:

• as we've worked to advocate for the future of Pappas, several consistent themes have emerged: the delivery
• as we've worked to advocate for the future of Pappas, several consistent themes have emerged: the delivery
• We fully fund universal free school meals.

Summary: The special legislative commission on the future of Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children held a hybrid public hearing focused on the hospital’s future, admissions, staffing, infrastructure, and whether the facility should be preserved, expanded, or reimagined. Opening remarks from legislators, commissioners, parents, and union representatives emphasized that Pappas provides a unique combination of medical, rehabilitative, educational, and residential services for children with complex needs, and several speakers argued that the hospital is effectively being depopulated through reduced admissions and ongoing discharges despite public assurances that it remains open. Multiple speakers urged the commission to extend its authorization and continue its work before any closure or major change can occur. Testimony from labor leaders, including AFSCME, SEIU Local 509, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, described a “silent closure” in practice, with staff reporting confusion about the hospital’s status, declining census numbers, blocked admissions, and uncertainty about the workforce’s future. They called for immediate action to stop admission denials and unnecessary discharges, and some proposed short-term solutions such as temporary modular structures to address infrastructure barriers and allow admissions to resume. Parents and former patients testified that Pappas provided life-changing independence, specialized therapy, and campus-based supports that they said could not be replicated elsewhere, and they criticized alternative placements as inadequate. Commissioner Robert Goldstein of the Department of Public Health said the administration supports keeping Pappas open and funded while the commission works, but he argued that admissions must comply with hospital-level-of-care rules and that the campus’s deteriorating infrastructure limits the kinds of children who can safely be served there. He said the department is continuing admissions for appropriate patients, working to expand outreach and services, and exploring long-term options, including broader statewide models of care. Commissioners pressed him on whether discharge status or lack of a clear discharge plan had been used as a barrier to admission, and requested de-identified data on patients recommended for admission but denied. No formal votes were taken during the hearing.