Video & Transcript : 'boat stops' :
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AZ
Arizona 2026 Regular Session
03/23/2026 - Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Study Committee
Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Study Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- Just to start off, because I think about boating. My district is all boating, right?
- If you buy a boat, you don’t—you know, everybody on the boat doesn’t need to take a class.
- My district is all boating, right? Like Havasu, Bullhead, Parker.
- If you buy a boat, you don’t—you know, everybody on the boat doesn’t need to take a class.
- sign and you stop on a red light.
Summary:
The Arizona Off-Road Vehicle Study Committee met to review Senate Bill 1519 and broader OHV policy issues, including funding, mitigation, enforcement, and education. Staff summarized the bill’s amended provisions: raising the OHV/ATV weight threshold from 2,500 to 3,500 pounds, directing ADOT to create a new usage classification, creating an Off-Highway Vehicle Law Enforcement Fund, and setting a 50% vehicle license tax for vehicles in the 2,500–3,500 pound range. Members discussed how many vehicles would be affected, with industry testimony estimating about 2,600 new Arizona sales in that weight class in 2025 and growth of roughly 10% annually. Committee members also debated whether changes should be revenue-neutral to ADOT/HIRF or instead generate dedicated enforcement and mitigation funding without reopening HIRF distribution.
The committee then turned to education. Staff reviewed SB 1567, which requires OHV course completion before issuance of an OHV indicia and includes a report due December 1, 2026. Game and Fish said the mandatory education appears to be improving behavior, especially helmet use by children. Several witnesses, including representatives from Riding Arizona and ABATE Arizona, supported a consistent statewide training model and suggested expanding the requirement from owners to operators, with possible reciprocity or compact-style recognition with other states. Members also raised practical questions about proof of completion, online access, and how law enforcement would verify compliance.
For mitigation and enforcement funding, committee members and invited stakeholders discussed the scale of the need. A research presentation from Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation estimated about $3.5 million annually for additional law enforcement and about $7.5 million annually for natural resource mitigation, for a combined target of roughly $11 million per year. The estimate was based on county sheriff input and existing federal land-management data on illegal or user-created roads, with a statewide rough range of 12,000 to 17,000 miles of roads needing some form of closure or decommissioning. Members emphasized that the estimate did not include all possible costs, such as fence repair, tank restoration, or environmental compliance, and discussed soft versus hard closures, prevention, and the need to pair any mitigation spending with enforcement and education. No formal vote was taken in the portion provided; the committee mainly received information, asked questions, and continued discussion of possible recommendations.
FL
Transcript Highlights:
- We get out at a rest stop. Could you have— Senator Martin: We want to stop and stretch our legs.
- We get out at a rest stop.
- So I know that this is something that the boating industry talks about.
- That exists for boating.
- If there's bad behavior, we want to make sure it stops.
Summary:
The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge, and heard several member introductions and recognitions. The Rules Chair moved CS/CS/SB 622 to the end of the special order calendar, which was adopted without objection. SB 80 on state land management was temporarily postponed, as were later bills SB 716 and CS/CS/CS/SB 1348.
The chamber then took up a series of bills, often substituting House companions and adopting amendments before final passage. Measures approved included a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan (HB 295, 38-0), mitigation banking and land development changes with a phosphate mining lands amendment (CS/CS/SB 492, 35-3), aggravated animal cruelty with a searchable FDLE database and sentencing multiplier (HB 255, 37-0), the Spectrum Alert for missing children with autism and related training/funding (HB 711, 37-0), newborn screening for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (CS/CS/HB 1089, 36-0), and revisions to the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to expand eligible mitigation projects and adjust approval thresholds (CS/CS/HB 393, 37-0).
The Senate also passed workforce education legislation allowing charter schools access to grant funding and expanding money-back guarantees (HB 1145, 37-0), a statewide study on automation and workforce impact (HB 827, 35-0), parole guideline revisions (HB 181, 37-0), court-appointed psychologist procedures in family law cases (HB 901, 37-0), sexual cyber harassment protections covering digitally forged intimate images (HB 1451, 37-0), a home health aide program for medically fragile children with training and reimbursement provisions (CS/CS/SB 1156, 37-0), substance abuse and mental health care changes including 988 oversight and involuntary examination procedures (HB 1091, 37-0), a feasibility study for a statewide pond data database (HB 1359, 37-0), and Department of Law Enforcement housekeeping changes and retired police dog reimbursements (HB 1053, 37-0). The most extensive debate centered on the charter schools bill (HB 443), which expanded charter autonomy, reporting parity, enrollment flexibility, and governance rules; after a delete-all amendment and a friendly amendment, it was placed on the third-reading calendar rather than immediately voted on. Several bills were briefly discussed with concerns about transparency, accountability, funding, and constitutional issues, but all bills brought to a vote during this segment passed.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety (02/05/2025)
Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Transcript Highlights:
- c> to stop I have to stop to stop I have to stop fishing<05:18:04.240><c> and</c><05:18:04.600><c> they
- him driving his car on the way to the dock than it would be to stop his commercial fishing boat, which
- boats.
- I can't do that from a distance with a pair of binoculars, so we would not be able to stop boats in state
- to stop boats in state would not be able to stop boats in state waters<05:34:03.360><c> however</c><05
Committee:
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Floor Session Apr 28th, 2025
California House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- It's never stopped, never.
- in the hull of the boat knowing she was on her way to the United States.
- And yet, as the Assembly Member from San Francisco said, so many other boats were turned away.
- , she came on the boat from England by herself.
- And yet, as the assembly member from San Francisco said, so many other boats were turned away.
Summary:
The Assembly convened, established a quorum, and opened with a prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Members then handled several procedural motions, including suspending rules to allow committee hearings and guest access, re-referring bills, and removing one bill from the consent calendar. The chamber also observed Holocaust Remembrance Day with a lengthy ceremony and remarks from many members across caucuses, emphasizing the importance of remembering the Holocaust, combating antisemitism and other forms of hate, and supporting survivors and descendants. ACR 59, the California Holocaust Memorial Day resolution, was adopted by voice vote after 76 coauthors were added.
After the ceremony, the Assembly took up the daily file. AB 390, which strengthens California’s “slow down, move over” highway safety law, passed 64-0. AB 439, making small changes to the Coastal Act and reporting requirements, passed 44-11 after debate over Coastal Commission oversight. The body also approved a rules waiver to allow the Education Committee to meet on AB 1468. Later, AB 50, allowing Medi-Cal enrollees to access over-the-counter contraceptives without a prescription, passed 67-0 urgency and 67-0 overall; AB 55, streamlining alternative birth center licensing, passed 68-0; AB 596, protecting workers’ right to wear masks or respirators unless there is a direct safety hazard, passed 53-8; AB 631, requiring animal shelters to post intake and outcome data, passed 60-0; and AB 792, allowing consolidated negotiations for court interpreter contracts, passed 52-1.
The Assembly also passed AB 867, banning cat declawing, by 68-0 after bipartisan support; AB 1089, expanding local permitting authority for Western Joshua Tree projects, by 16-0; and AB 1154, clarifying ADU rules, by 63-1. SCR 57, proclaiming Dolores Huerta Day, was adopted 66-0. The second-day consent calendar was then adopted 71-0. The session concluded with adjournment-in-memory remarks for Mary Hammer, a longtime San Lorenzo Valley community leader and environmental advocate, followed by recognition of her family and friends in the chamber.
NH
Transcript Highlights:
- </c> not only for the marina and the boat not only for the marina and the boat owner,<00:22:12.960><c
- We worked with everyone to narrow it to just boat trailers.
- It slows down the sales process of a new boat and it's just an all-around challenge situation.
- We worked with everyone to narrow it to just boat trailers.
- It slows down the sales process of a new boat and it's just an all-around challenge situation.
Committee:
Senate Transportation
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Apr 10th, 2025
Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government
Transcript Highlights:
- a boat.
- So I think we're moving in the right direction to keep boating alive. Additional debate?
- onto a boat.
- Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like people are going to stop moving to Florida anytime soon.
- Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like people are going to stop moving to Florida anytime soon.
Summary:
The Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government heard and advanced a large slate of bills, beginning with SB 978, which directs DEP to report on large sewage disposal facilities, rank them for wastewater treatment upgrades, and provide progress reports; it was reported favorably without public opposition. The committee also adopted an amendment and favorably reported SB 1388, which restricts vessel safety inspections without probable cause, creates a five-year safety decal, addresses spring protection zones, and bars FWC fishing licenses for commercial vessels owned by alien powers. Members raised some questions about spring protections and boating access, and one public witness urged further review of the spring-zone language. The committee then favorably reported SB 880, designating the American flamingo as state bird and the Florida scrub jay as state songbird, after testimony supporting both birds as symbols of Florida’s identity and conservation values.
Several other measures were heard and passed. SB 830, dealing with lost or abandoned migrant vessels and aligning with House language, was amended and reported favorably. SB 1326, which requires local plans to maintain hurricane evacuation clearance times and allocates building permits in Monroe County and nearby municipalities, was amended to spread allocations over at least 10 years and then passed. SB 490, expanding off-duty concealed carry eligibility to correctional officers and correctional probation officers and exempting certain public safety personnel from the waiting period for rifles and shotguns, was reported favorably after support from the Florida PBA. SB 26, an uncontested claim bill for injuries from a 2022 crash, also passed, with one member suggesting future consideration of health insurance coverage for victims in similar cases.
The committee additionally approved SB 98 on securities regulation and fingerprinting requirements, SB 1212 on firefighter health and safety, SB 196 on labeling food and cosmetics that contain vaccine materials or certain chemicals, SB 1300 restricting oil and gas drilling structures in sensitive areas, SB 1612 on financial institution assessment and stock offering timelines, and SB 492 on mitigation banking and wetland conservation easements. SB 1212 drew strong support from firefighters, while SB 492 drew both support and opposition from environmental and development interests, with concerns raised about wetland function, credit release timing, and conservation easement releases. Finally, the committee unanimously recommended confirmation of 12 appointees to water management district governing boards and adjourned after members recorded individual votes on selected bills.
AL
Alabama 2025 Regular Session
Alabama House Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee Apr 2nd, 2025
Boards, Agencies and Commissions
Transcript Highlights:
- My first ever boat excursion was on a rented boat from Walter Fox's Fish Camp. ...rented boat from Walter
- It's a boat wash with 140° heat. Our boat wash is equipped to have a 140° heat.
- They rent boats, but they don't allow outside boats into that boat launch.
- It was a makeshift boat launch. You could back up, put your boat in, and go.
- We even bought another boat and fixed it up, and started going boating again.
Committee:
House Boards, Agencies and Commissions
FL
Transcript Highlights:
- We get out at a rest stop.
- So I know that this is something that the boating industry talks about.
- And I discussed this in all the committee stops.
- That exists for boating.
- If there’s bad behavior, we want to make sure it stops.
Summary:
The Senate convened with a quorum, prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several member introductions recognizing interns, guests, and advocates. The Rules Chair added CS for CS for SB 622 to the special order calendar, and SB 80 on state land management was temporarily postponed. The chamber then moved through a series of bills, often substituting House companions for Senate bills when the measures were identical or nearly identical.
The Senate passed SB 200/HB 295 on a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan, requiring DEP to develop a recycling and waste diversion roadmap by 2026; SB 492 on land development and mitigation banking, after adopting amendments related to mitigation credit use and former phosphate mine lands; and SB 494/HB 255 on aggravated animal cruelty, which increases sentencing consequences and creates a searchable FDLE database of convicted animal abusers, with an amendment clarifying the database language. The Senate also passed SB 500/HB 711 establishing the Spectrum Alert for missing children with autism, SB 524/HB 1089 adding Duchenne muscular dystrophy to newborn screening, SB 592/HB 393 revising the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, SB 742/HB 1145 on workforce education, SB 936/HB 827 on a statewide study of automation and workforce impact, SB 964/HB 181 on parole guidelines, SB 976/HB 901 on court-appointed psychologists, SB 1084/HB 1451 on sexual cyber harassment, and SB 1156 on a home health aid program for medically fragile children. Most of these bills were adopted after brief sponsor explanations, questions, and in some cases amendments or House-substitute motions.
Debate centered on several policy issues. Senators raised concerns about the constitutional and environmental implications of mitigation banking credits in SB 492, the scope and privacy implications of the animal abuse database in SB 494, the funding and eligibility details of the condo resilience program in SB 592, and the public-school/charter-school balance in SB 822, which drew extensive questioning about enrollment, governance, discipline, accountability, and data sharing before being placed on the third-reading calendar after amendments. The Spectrum Alert bill drew support from members who compared it to the Purple Alert and emphasized the risks faced by children with ASD. The medically fragile children home health aid bill also drew strong support, with senators describing it as a long-needed fix to help families provide in-home care without losing Medicaid coverage. Votes on the measures reported in the transcript were overwhelmingly favorable, with bills passing by margins such as 38-0, 35-3, 37-0, 36-0, and 35-0.
LA
Louisiana 2026 Regular Session
Joint Transportation, Highways and Public Works Mar 3rd, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- But you could see there, the capacity for these—these are approximately 195 by 50 feet boats—has a...
- And so it's similar to the capacity of the existing boat that's there now.
- We refer to that as stop testing, and that's the policy... ...per se level of 0.08.
- One of the things that is also missing in this is boating impaired operators. Rep.
- But I submit that boating, and I like boaters and I'm a boater, all right, but I think there's a high
Summary:
The Senate Joint Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee received an update from DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledet and Deputy Secretary Bo Black on the department’s transformation efforts. DOTD highlighted its new project delivery dashboard, key performance indicators, and litter abatement work, including nearly $15 million spent on litter pickup and a new highway sponsorship pilot. Members also received updates on LTIF 1.0 and 2.0, with officials reporting that most LTIF 1.0 work is complete and that LTIF 2.0 is progressing under budget. The committee also heard updates on the Office of Highway Construction’s bridge bundling program, the Calcasieu River Bridge project, and the Cameron Ferry boat replacement and privatization solicitation process.
The committee reviewed the draft 2026-2027 highway priority program, which DOTD said includes $913 million for construction and about $1.2 billion across 302 projects. Members discussed the public roadshow comments, project acceleration, and corridor planning, including the I-12 corridor and the Calcasieu River Bridge environmental review and public meetings. No vote was taken on the highway priority program at this meeting.
The statewide flood control program presented six recommended projects for fiscal year 2026-2027, including projects in Gretna, St. John, St. James, Mandeville, and two Lafourche-area projects, with officials saying the projects meet benefit-cost criteria and would reduce flood damage. The airport construction and development priority program was also reviewed, with 31 air carrier projects and 99 general aviation projects recommended. The rail program reported no new projects but said it expects a $13 million request and has 19 projects in the queue, while the port program presented three unfunded projects for future consideration.
The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission and LSU’s Center for Analytics and Research presented crash data focused on impaired driving. They said 2024 saw 753 traffic fatalities, with impaired driving accounting for about one-third of fatal crashes, and estimated the economic cost of impaired driving at roughly $700 million. Members discussed youth driving, marijuana and alcohol trends, ignition interlock, DWI courts, and enforcement challenges on waterways. The meeting concluded with no formal votes or final actions on the major program items presented.
OK
Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session
Appropriations and Budget Select Agencies Subcommittee Jan 5th, 2026 at 09:00 am
A&B Select Agencies Subcommittee
Transcript Highlights:
- The third one is regarding boating and fishing access.
- 3 new or renovated boating or fishing access projects.
- This is the boating access project. The boating access projects are at the top.
- That's typical of a boating excess project.
- They operate big boats and take big groups.
Committee:
House A&B Select Agencies Subcommittee
HI
Hawaii 2025 Regular Session
HRE-WTL, TCA-WTL, WTL-AEN Public Hearings 02-12-2025
Transcript Highlights:
- I am the administrator for the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.
- I am the administrator for the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.
- And unfortunately, the aku boats are gone, the fish are still gone.
- And unfortunately, the aku boats are gone, the fish are still gone.
- </c> fish and and they get one small boat fish and and they get one small boat know<01:00:43.440><c>
Summary:
The joint committees first heard SB 1146, which would appropriate funds to the University of Hawaiʻi to develop an action plan and pre-engineering concept plan for debris management and water quality control in the Ala Wai Watershed. Testimony was largely supportive from DLNR, a UH student, and a special improvement district representative, while one speaker suggested the work should be coordinated with existing efforts to avoid duplication. Committee discussion focused on the multi-jurisdictional nature of the watershed, existing debris-trap work that captures only about 20 to 30 percent of debris, the role of the university in capstone projects and recommendations, and the relationship to the existing Geni project and other community efforts. Members also asked about costs, tracking progress, and the difference between water-quality improvements and the larger debris problem.
The committees then voted to pass SB 1146 with amendments, including blanking out the appropriation and deferring the effective date to July 31, 2050. The motion passed in both committees, with votes recorded in support and no opposition noted during the decision-making.
The committees also heard SB 321, which would deem certain fee simple privately owned lands transferred to adjacent property owners or community associations if specified conditions are met. Testimony was in support from several individuals, but members raised concerns about the lack of input from counties and the state, and about how the bill might affect roads already used by the public or maintained by local governments. After discussion, the committees voted to advance SB 321 unamended to the next committees, with the measure adopted in both committees despite one recorded no vote in the Water and Land committee.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
Environment and Natural Resources Mar 17th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- Stop like I did last year on this bill.
- for the next stop.
- There's nothing that stops someone who lives.
- Let's say I live in Homestead and I go to Miami Beach and I decide to stop at let's say to delay and
- The boating community provides economic value goods and services.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
Environment and Natural Resources Mar 31st, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- WHEN I GREW UP IN MIAMI WE HUNTED IN THE EVERGLADES AND I WENT BOATING IN BISCAYNE BAY AND I REMEMBER
- WE HAVE MORE REGISTERED BOATS THAN ANY OTHER STATE IN THE COUNTRY SO WATERWAYS ARE IMPORTANT.
- BOAT MANUFACTURING, BOAT BUSINESS OF FLORIDA IS A BIG BUSINESS.
- MOST PEOPLE COME AND RETIRE HERE IN THE FIRST THING THEY DO IS BUY A BOAT AND ENJOY FLORIDA.
- WE ASKED FWC TO STOP THE SPRAY INTO MECHANICAL HARVESTING.
AZ
Arizona 2026 Regular Session
03/23/2026 - Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Study Committee
Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle Study Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- Just to start off, because I think about boating. My district is all boating, right?
- If you buy a boat, you don’t—you know, everybody on the boat doesn’t need to take a class.
- My district is all boating, right? Like Havasu, Bullhead, Parker.
- If you buy a boat, you don’t—you know, everybody on the boat doesn’t need to take a class.
- sign and you stop on a red light.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety - Part 1 - 04/04/25
Judiciary and Public Safety
Transcript Highlights:
- Um, I think a boat that's their boats.
- Owning a boat is fun. I have a boat. Madam Chair, you've been on my boat. It's a great boat.
- buy your boat and the day you sell your boat.
- Owning a boat is fun. I have a boat. Madam Chair, you've been on my boat. It's a great boat.
- </c> owning a boat is fun. I have a boat. owning a boat is fun. I have a boat.
Committee:
Senate Judiciary and Public Safety
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- , boat access and parking areas, as well as improved access by paddle craft and small boats on those
- , boat access and parking areas, as well as improved access by paddle craft and small boats on those
- We're not expecting a nice like to go boating fishing.
- We're not expecting a nice like to go boating fishing.
- have all the money or not, it will be stopped. involved.
Committee:
House Legacy Finance
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Feb 5th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- OR MORE TO A FACILITY INSIDE A PORT OR ON PORT PROPERTY WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE COURT OR IF A BOAT
- ABANDONMENT IS THE NEXT BIGGEST COST BECAUSE ONCE THEY REALIZE THEY CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THESE BOATS THAT
- IN YEARS PAST I'VE CONTACTED YOU GUYS BECAUSE THERE IS A BOAT IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INLET OR CANAL AND
- PLACE WHERE WE CAN STORE THEM BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF ALL THE WATER FACILITIES WE CAN LET THE BOAT
- LANDLORD TENANT LAW WE CAN JUST STOP A LEASE SUBJECT TO ANNUAL APPROPRIATION OF COURSE.
OK
Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session
Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Feb 24th, 2026
Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight
Transcript Highlights:
- They say it's a growing problem there, where they're stopping cars with fake tags.
- So this is an attempt to give them authority when they stop. Catch them but refuse to clean them.
- So they stop a truck and the truck is defective. They're able to tag the truck.
- Start stopping people for speeding. They can't go into a county and start enforcing law.
- It establishes a formal certificate of title for vessels and boats, like motor vehicles.
Bills:
HB2936 , HB2937 , HB2951 , HB2960 , HB2979 , HB2980 , HB3062 , HB3082 , HB3087 , HB3148 , HB3152 , HB3262 , HB3264 , HB3266 , HB3268 , HB3269 , HB3278 , HB3299 , HB3544 , HB3606 , HB3678 , HB3790 , HB3903 , HB3996 , HB4139 , HB4140 , HB4142 , HB4143 , HB4144 , HB4260 , HB4272 , HB4296 , HB4324 , HB4339 , HB4341 , HB4342
Committee:
House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight
Summary:
The committee heard a long series of House bills, mostly on criminal justice, public safety, transportation, and administrative procedures. Measures included lowering school-zone speed issues on certain highways (HB 2979), allowing DMV staff to accept physical proof of insurance (HB 2980), barring people convicted of pedophilia from adopting children (HB 2936), allowing lawful weapon carry on boats (HB 2937), and restricting fire departments from hiring people required to register as sex offenders (HB 382). Other bills addressed warrant fee increases for counties (HB 3262), making strangulation in domestic violence cases an 85% crime (HB 3264), creating offenses for reckless driving tied to racing and collisions (HB 3266), criminalizing knowingly making or displaying fictitious license plates (HB 3268), and allowing electronic arrest warrants (HB 3269). The committee also advanced bills on Open Meetings Act enforcement, OCC port-of-entry arrest authority, expanding protections for municipal officials and notaries, creating vessel titling, and modernizing vehicle inspection/title procedures.
Several members raised questions about costs, enforcement authority, and whether new penalties would shift burdens to consumers or local governments. For example, HB 3262 drew concern about passing warrant-fee costs to the public, and HB 3268 prompted questions about existing law and the need for a new felony for fake tags. The OCC port-of-entry bill generated extended discussion about whether a regulatory agency should have arrest authority, with supporters arguing it would free up Highway Patrol and sheriff resources and opponents questioning the expansion of quasi-law-enforcement powers. Other bills were presented as request bills from agencies or constituents, including the Attorney General, Oklahoma City police, the Bomb Squad, the Corporation Commission, and local residents.
The committee also approved a number of bills with little or no opposition, including a domestic violence strangulation measure, a bill on Open Meetings Act remedies, a bill allowing sentence modification requests by district attorneys, and a bill requiring domestic violence incident reports and judicial training. Later, the committee considered additional public safety and criminal procedure bills such as making firearm theft a felony, increasing the damage threshold for police response in property-damage crashes, and requiring the state to pay expert witness costs in capital appeals. Most measures were reported out do pass, with several unanimous votes and a few split votes, including HB 3262 and the OCC port-of-entry bill. The meeting ended after laying over a few bills and adjourning.
LA
Louisiana 2026 Regular Session
Natural Resources and Environment May 12th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- We're trying to stop it before it starts.
- , as well as the number of stops.
- incidents, fatalities, safety-related stops, how many citations were issued within those stops, the
- boating safety.
- boating safety.
Summary:
The House Natural Resources Committee met with a quorum and took up a series of hunting, wildlife, environmental, and property measures. It reported favorably HCR 79, which urges Congress and the U.S. Forest Service to allow deer hunting with dogs in Kisatchie National Forest, after testimony emphasizing the cultural importance of dog hunting and opposition from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, which supported only the wounded-deer recovery component. The committee also reported favorably SB 419 on using pre-charged pneumatic devices during primitive firearms season, SCR 29 creating a study committee on Atchafalaya Basin water quality, and SB 111 setting black bass and crappie bag and size limits in the basin, with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries saying it would continue sampling and monitor impacts.
Members then approved SB 174 transferring state property in Caddo Parish from Louisiana Tech University to the Caddo Parish School Board, SB 189 prohibiting intentional release of fuels or chemicals for temperature-affecting purposes, and SB 99 modernizing DEQ communications to allow optional electronic notices. They also reported favorably HCR 54 requesting a federal study of flooded corn and migratory waterfowl behavior, and HCR 94 requiring annual boating safety reports from Wildlife and Fisheries; witnesses supported the reporting idea and suggested adding a 10-year average for context.
The committee next approved HCR 104, which asks the Department of Conservation and Energy and the Louisiana Geological Survey to study collection and access to subsurface data, with LSU’s Greg Upton describing ongoing modernization of core samples, well logs, and 3D subsurface mapping. It also passed SB 331, which temporarily removes a section of the Louisiana Scenic Rivers Act for five years to allow work on the lower Pearl River; conservation groups opposed the bill, warning about precedent, flooding, erosion, and habitat impacts, while the author said the measure was narrowly tailored to address severe silting and channel problems. Finally, the committee created a task force on illegal dumping in HCR 85 after amending its membership, adopted a substitute for HR 216 to authorize a committee hearing on the 2022 Louisiana Climate Action Plan, and reported favorably HCR 87 supporting a U.S. senator’s migratory flyway correspondence and SB 505 revising the Motor Fuels Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund grant process and related tank requirements.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Finance Division I (03/07/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- </c> future are proposals for overwater boat future are proposals for overwater boat houses<01:29:11.040
- boating activity.
- approved Doug in boat houses um and approved Doug in boat houses um and because<01:32:46.960><c> of</
- </c> voters um to put a decal on their boats voters um to put a decal on their boats um<02:35:55.960>
- <02:36:48.840><c> in</c><02:36:49.000><c> our</c><02:36:49.240><c> state</c> boat in our state boat in
Summary:
The committee heard a presentation from the Department of Environmental Services on proposed changes in House Bill 2 and related technical changes in House Bill 1 tied to the governor’s permitting realignment initiative. The proposal would move environmental review staff from Fish and Game and DNCR to DES to create a more centralized “one-stop shop” for applicants needing DES permits, especially for wildlife and natural heritage reviews. DES said the goal is to speed permitting, support a 60-day review clock, and improve coordination among agencies while keeping the substantive review work in place.
Members asked about staffing impacts, the scope of the transferred duties, and whether the change would create redundancy or weaken the other agencies. DES said most of the affected staff work primarily on these reviews, though Fish and Game staff also handle other state and federal reviews, which is why the proposal was adjusted to keep one of the four Fish and Game positions there and move three to DES, along with two positions from DNCR. DES also described a new supervisory position in HB 2 to manage the transferred staff within its land resources bureau. Officials said the reviews would still be done by specialists, but under DES supervision, and that the agencies would continue to coordinate recommendations on species impacts and mitigation.
The committee also discussed fee increases intended to offset costs, including a 50% increase in wetlands fees and a 100% increase in alteration-of-terrain fees, with the department saying the changes would cover the new positions. Members raised concerns about impacts on private homeowners, possible incentives to work without permits, and whether fines should be used more as a revenue source or for mitigation. DES said wetlands permits are roughly split between homeowner-related and commercial projects, that permit-by-notification already creates a two-tier structure for smaller projects, and that enforcement relies partly on public complaints and online permitting systems. The department also said most fines currently go to the general fund and vary widely year to year, with about $75,000 budgeted, and that the proposal would also create permit-by-notification authority for alteration-of-terrain projects between 100,000 and 150,000 square feet, mirroring language in Senate Bill 110. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion provided.