Transcript Highlights:

• For instance, I could dig a deep hole in my property Raise up a large rock and then have it drop slowly
• If I had a deep well, I could raise up the water and store it above.
• Through her years of service, Lorraine has developed deep insight into the overall legislative process
• member of the Senate thoroughly prepared him for the role of president of the Senate, as he developed deep

Bills: SB273, SB37, SB100

Keywords: SB273, appropriations, general fund, hold harmless, local government finance, municipal revenue, county revenue, correctional facility, jail contract, private prison, detention facility, immigration detention, revenue bonds, clawback, child welfare, juvenile justice, protective services, school improvement, New MexiCare, aging services

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to say a deep thank you to this body for the two bienniums of support and asset preservation.
• want<00:10:27.600> to<00:10:27.760> say<00:10:28.320> a<00:10:28.640> deep
• thank<00:10:29.120> you<00:10:29.600> uh<00:10:29.760> to I want to say a deep
• thank you uh to I want to say a deep thank you uh to this<00:10:30.160> body<00:10:30.800>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education met to begin hearing budget requests from Kentucky universities. Eastern Kentucky University President David McFaden highlighted EKU’s enrollment growth, its large population of Pell-eligible and first-generation students, and its role in producing graduates for Kentucky’s workforce, especially in health care, public safety, manufacturing, engineering, and aviation. He said EKU is seeking support for a Center for Health Innovation, including a doctor of osteopathic medicine program, with a $50 million accreditation escrow and startup funding that would be returned to the state after accreditation. He also described EKU’s health programs, which have strong pass rates and high in-state employment outcomes, and said the university wants continued asset preservation funding, inflationary operating support, and other recurring budget items. McFaden also outlined EKU’s aviation request, including $10 million for new aircraft and support for an enhanced air traffic control program created in response to a legislative study. He said the program would enroll cohorts of about 30 students, likely attract out-of-state students, and require a $5 million startup investment plus $1.5 million in annual recurring support. He added that EKU’s lab school is seeking a revised funding model tied to enrollment rather than a flat mandated amount. Committee members asked follow-up questions about the medical school escrow, aircraft needs, and program capacity, and McFaden clarified that the escrow would remain intact until accreditation and then be returned to the general fund. Kentucky State University President Kakpo then reviewed prior capital support that helped repair a dorm and several leaking roofs, and said the university is still addressing campus infrastructure problems. He said KSU’s main request is a new health sciences building to house its growing nursing program and language program, along with $40 million for additional dorm renovations and a carve-out for its aquaculture program. Kakpo said the aquaculture PhD proposal would be federally funded and could bring in more revenue, while the new building would help relieve overcrowding and support KSU’s research role. In response to questions, he said KSU’s campus housing capacity would be about 1,334 beds if all dorms were repaired, and that the university is rotating students through renovated buildings while trying to keep them on campus. Committee members also raised safety concerns about the December campus shooting at KSU. Kakpo said the incident was isolated, expressed sympathy for the families affected, and said the university has reviewed campus procedures, added police and security positions, and is strengthening safety processes. The meeting did not include any votes or formal actions; it was a budget presentation and question-and-answer session.

Transcript Highlights:

• And we totally have the data to do the deep dive that you're calling out." "Yeah." "Thank you.
• At the same time, we had a lot of pockets of very deep poverty in which people were going hungry.
• And as Chris mentioned, there's this deep bench of knowledge and experience, there's a lot of...
• And with this deep bench of knowledge and experience, there's a lot of cross-pollination happening with

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a work session on food systems and food security, with no public testimony. The first panel focused on household food security and data. Marie Spiker of the University of Washington explained what food insecurity means, its health impacts, and the importance of reliable measurement, warning that the federal Census food security data is being terminated and that there is no true replacement. She described Washington’s WaFOOD surveys as a useful complement, not a substitute, and noted that they show food insecurity affects households at a range of income levels. Katie Raines of WSDA described the state’s food systems work, the need for shared data and dashboards, and the role of agriculture in both food production and the hunger safety net. Committee members asked about the $2.2 million state food assistance allocation, the scale of the SNAP gap, and how household size, housing costs, and other factors intersect with food insecurity. The committee then heard from Tracy Roof of the University of Richmond on the history of SNAP and its relationship to agriculture. She traced the program from Depression-era commodity distribution through the modern farm bill, emphasizing that food assistance has long functioned both as anti-hunger policy and as an agricultural and economic stabilizer. She highlighted how SNAP expands during recessions, supports retailers and farmers, and has become more important since the Great Recession because participation stayed high even as the economy recovered. Roof also noted that Washington has relatively high SNAP participation and low payment error rates, but that recent federal changes could reduce eligibility and shift more costs to states. Members asked how Washington compares to other states and why the program is structured as it is. A later panel featured the Washington State Food Policy Forum and a joint systems presentation from the Washington Farm Bureau, Washington Retail Association, and Washington Food Industry Association. The Food Policy Forum described its consensus-based recommendations on food insecurity, climate and water, regional food infrastructure, farmland protection, and farm viability, including more support for producer purchasing, water planning, and farmland conservation. The industry groups presented a systems map showing how agriculture, processing, retail, and transportation are interconnected, and argued that rising costs, regulations, labor and fuel expenses, retail theft, and thin margins make it harder to keep farms and stores viable. They said food security depends on store viability and local agricultural profitability, and promised to provide a more detailed list of policy recommendations. The final panel included state agency staff from DSHS, DOH, and WSDA. Bryce Montgomery said the Basic Food program serves about 920,000 Washingtonians monthly and warned that H.R. 1 could require Washington to pay up to 15% of SNAP benefits, broaden work requirements, and restrict immigrant eligibility. Karen Mullen described DOH nutrition programs, including WIC, farmers market nutrition benefits, fruit and vegetable incentives, and a fruit-and-vegetable prescription program, while noting funding instability and the end of SNAP-Ed. WSDA’s Katie Raines began describing ongoing food assistance and farmer support challenges, including farmer mental health and the need to address food insecurity across both producers and consumers.

Transcript Highlights:

• Deep breath. Excellent.
• having a regular look at those metrics would help us as a committee and a legislature to continue to do deep
• a policy nerd kind of concerned, we're not having like a more discussion about how to Some of the deep
• , deep seated policy issues, it's sort of like all the coverages on horse trading and what the, the process

Transcript Highlights:

• This experience has given me a deep understanding of the horse industry and the long-term implications
• alongside the other Seminole tribal towns in the Seminole Wars of the 1800s, until we were pushed deep
• alongside the other Seminole tribal towns in the Seminole Wars of the 1800s, until we were pushed deep
• All I can reassure you with is a deep commitment that we are seeking to get this right.

Summary: The committee first handled Senate confirmations, hearing two support waivers from the Florida Swimming Pool Association, and then voted to recommend confirmation of all appointees in a block vote. It then took up several bills, adopting amendments and reporting each measure favorably: CS/SB 462 on transportation, which included FDOT authority over speed limits, EV-related funding, MPO changes, workforce grants, and an I-4 widening report; SB 1574 on energy infrastructure investment, creating a PSC mechanism for renewable natural gas infrastructure cost recovery; SB 1002 on utility service restrictions, limiting local government energy-source restrictions; and SB 726 on swatting, adding liability for prosecution/investigation costs and restitution for injuries or property damage. The committee also approved CS/SB 496 on timeshare management and CS/SB 1076 on roof contracting, both with technical or clarifying amendments. A major portion of the meeting focused on SB 408 on thoroughbred permit holders and decoupling live racing from gaming licenses at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs. Senator Burgess presented a strike-all amendment that would delay decoupling for seven years, with a three-year notice period and a four-year guarantee of racing and current purse/breeder award structures. The sponsor and supporters said the longer runway was intended to create room for negotiations and align Florida with other pari-mutuel operations. The committee heard extensive public testimony, overwhelmingly opposed, from horsemen, breeders, veterinarians, farm owners, sales companies, and related businesses who warned the bill would reduce racing, depress breeding, threaten tens of thousands of jobs, and harm a major agricultural industry. A few speakers, including representatives of the Miccosukee Tribe, opposed the bill as a casino expansion that would benefit out-of-state interests and undermine existing gaming arrangements. No final vote on SB 408 was taken in the portion provided, and the committee continued public testimony after a recess.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is a very deep detailed report on their service quality performance, how many lines were out
• We've spent the better part of several years under this chair. having deep conversations with CPUC in
• lot of fiber in the ground, you have to put a lot of construction workers and technicians out there. deep
• One of the companies in this state that has very deep relationships with labor has embedded in their

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 2010, the EPA created a Class six, well, uh, class specifically to regulate the injection of CO2 into deep
• There are 11 deep disposal wells that we have asked to shut in, and we are doing an inspection to see
• well as we have made most everybody, if not everybody shallow up because what we now understand is deep
• Two, we've shallowed up everything that was deep in those areas, everybody's had to shallow up.

Transcript Highlights:

• To regulate the injection of CO2 into deep subsurface rock formations.
• There are 11 deep disposal wells that we have asked to show.
• Because what we now understand is deep disposal is causing some of the seismic issues.
• you're required to give us a lot more data before we permit two we've shallowed up everything that was deep

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• understanding, is home to the largest population of Norwegian Americans in the United States, with deep
• Norwegian Americans in the United States Norwegian Americans in the United States with<00:41:08.839> deep
• > and<00:41:10.200> ancestral<00:41:10.839> ties<00:41:11.119> to with deep
• cultural and ancestral ties to with deep cultural and ancestral ties to Norway<00:41:12.640> uh

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We can sit here and we can all look at the numbers and dive deep into it.
• We want to take our time, appreciate very much incisive questions and digging deep.
• We also have a team of program evaluators that go out and conduct deep dives into government accountability
• And then we move on to, it doesn't ask why or what to do about it, so we have to do a deep dive.

Transcript Highlights:

• I feel like we just jumped into the deep end of the pool.
• And I don't think that extending would be beneficial because I think there are deep, deep disagreements

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission met to review its draft final report on continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), with most of the discussion focused on whether recommendations required unanimous consensus and how to handle disagreements in the report. Members agreed that consensus meant no stated opposition, and several participants argued that unresolved issues should still be described in the report rather than omitted. The chairs said the report would include agreed-upon recommendations, note areas without consensus, and preserve written comments or dissent letters submitted by members. The draft report’s findings and slides were reviewed charge by charge, including CCRC definitions, financial condition, entrance fee refunds, regulatory oversight, advertising practices, and closure/change-of-ownership procedures. Members suggested several factual and wording edits, including clarifying financial data sources, correcting a presenter’s name, refining language about entrance fee use and refund timing, and revising statements about Attorney General authority and CCRC advertising. There was also discussion about the need to distinguish nonprofit and for-profit CCRCs and to better explain how different care levels and licensing structures are described. On recommendations, the commission kept the proposal to advance the disclosure bill (S. 478) and update the consumer guide, but removed a recommendation for annual open board meetings after objections that it was inadequate. The group spent considerable time debating whether to recommend resident representation on CCRC boards, timely refund requirements for entrance fees, and possible state registration or definition changes for CCRCs, but no consensus was reached on those items. The chairs said the final report would be completed by the statutory August 1 deadline, with final written comments due before then and the report and meeting materials posted on the legislature website.

Transcript Highlights:

• Whereas Indigenous Arizona pastoral peoples have stewarded rangelands for millennia through deep knowledge
• Whereas Indigenous Arizona pastoral peoples have stewarded rangelands for millennia through deep knowledge
• Association National Guard of Arizona, the highest honor bestowed by enlisted personnel, reflecting his deep

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaker, I'd had some concerns about how deep this was going to go. construction starts, there can be
• Speaker, I'd had some concerns about how deep this was going to go.
• I had some concerns about how deep this was going to go.

Summary: The House first established a quorum after a brief call of the board and then moved through messages from the Senate and committee reports. The chamber received a Senate refusal to concur on House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 994 and later voted to send the bill to conference. Members also reconsidered earlier actions on Senate Bill 1019, then adopted a substitute amendment that narrowed the bill to a smaller set of provisions, including a health-related addition on Lyme disease and alpha-gal, before third reading and passage by a vote of 105-32. The House then took up House Bill 1740, known as Melanie’s Law, a drunk-driving prevention measure. Supporters described the bill as a long-negotiated effort to strengthen penalties and ignition interlock requirements while preserving affordability protections for low-income drivers. Family members of Melanie Wonkham were recognized, and several members spoke in favor of the bill as a response to impaired-driving fatalities. The Senate substitute was adopted 143-2, and the bill was finally passed 144-2. Members also passed Senate Bill 1033, which combined Department of Natural Resources funding language with agriculture-related changes, including exemptions for certain farm trucks and cotton gin permitting and air-dispersion modeling requirements. Supporters said it would help keep state environmental programs solvent and better align Missouri rules with neighboring states, while some members raised concerns about future budget pressure and environmental impacts. The Senate substitute passed 134-9. The House then passed Senate Bill 916, which limits when contractors can be required to indemnify the state before or after work on public projects, with supporters saying it protects contractors from premature lawsuits while preserving liability for negligence; it passed 133-1. Finally, the House adopted and finally passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 21, which promotes Missouri participation in America 250 celebrations in 2026, and then adopted a conference committee report and finally passed Senate Bill 975 after brief debate. The chamber also announced upcoming committee meetings and then recessed, with plans to return later for additional Senate bills and conference reports.

Transcript Highlights:

• Final Four for the very first time, signifying our state's growing role on the national stage and our deep
• final four for the very first time, signifying our state's growing role on the national stage and our deep
• commitment to uplifting and celebrating sports. and whereas deep commitment to uplifting and celebrating

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And as we reflect on this month, we must also recognize the deep and powerful history of Black and Asian
• constituents of California's 42nd Assembly District, Peyton demonstrated maturity beyond her years and a deep
• John Jackson, a son of Boyle Heights, a servant of his community, and a man whose life reflected a deep

Summary: The Assembly met with a quorum call at the start, then proceeded with Black History Month observances, including a libation ceremony, the Pledge of Allegiance, and remarks emphasizing remembrance, ancestry, and the importance of honoring Black history. The chamber also handled routine procedural matters, including dispensing with the journal, re-referring certain Senate budget items to the Budget Committee, and allowing guest introductions and other unanimous-consent requests. The main floor action was on Assembly Concurrent Resolution 134, recognizing Black History Month. Members from multiple caucuses spoke in support, highlighting the historical contributions of Black Americans, the ongoing effects of slavery and segregation, the need to protect voting rights and education, and the importance of solidarity across communities. The resolution was adopted by voice vote after 74 co-authors were added. The Assembly also adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolution 132, declaring February 28 as Rare Disease Day. Members shared personal stories about ALS and other rare diseases, described barriers to diagnosis, treatment, and insurance coverage, and called for more research and support. The resolution received broad bipartisan support, with 71 co-authors added before adoption by voice vote. The chamber then recognized a series of Black History Month Unsung Heroes honorees, including community leaders, health professionals, advocates, and public servants, and later heard additional guest introductions. The meeting concluded with adjournments in memory of Peyton Trilling and John Jackson, followed by announcements and adjournment until February 26 at 9 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have a deep concern about the future of the people of the great state of Texas as a lifelong resident
• I hope that deep down you at least recognize that you are in the wrong.
• Cities with deep wells are going dry; it's ours, and it's not those sending their waste who live with

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's more than just sentiment; it calls us to a deep active goodness, a posture of mercy and fairness
• Alex's story is one of extraordinary perseverance, deep empathy, and remarkable achievement.
• We want to make sure that the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a deep misunderstanding of what happens to our young people when they enter the foster care
• basically the shortfall in FIG, and this was probably our mistake that we didn't have you... do a deep
• dive into FIG because we certainly did a deep dive into everything else.

Bills: HF2312

Keywords: higher education, college finance, student aid, financial aid, state grants, North Star Promise, scholarships, tuition relief, Minnesota State, University of Minnesota, Office of Higher Education, work-study, child care grants, Indian scholarships, tribal colleges, Hunger-Free Campus, student parents, pregnant students, parenting students, sexual misconduct

Transcript Highlights:

• So it's a deep, deep evil in our society, and it's...
• And I think we have to take a very deep dive, honest look as lawmakers, not just in the lawmaking aspect

Bills: HCR3028

Keywords: human trafficking, victim services, re-entry programs, legislative study, public safety, mental health, law enforcement, 908, all

Summary: The Judiciary Committee heard and acted on several measures related to human trafficking, criminal procedure, and child protection. It first took up House Concurrent Resolution 3028, which would direct a legislative study of human trafficking victim services and re-entry programs. The sponsor and supporters emphasized helping victims rebuild basic life and workforce skills and better understanding existing services; YouthWorks and the North Dakota Catholic Conference described current programs and the trauma victims face. The committee discussed overlap with other interim studies, then voted unanimously to give the resolution a due pass, with Senator Braunberger designated to carry it. The committee then considered House Bill 1263, concerning sealing criminal records, and moved it forward without changing the House version after members noted the House had removed presumption language and reduced the waiting period. That bill also received a due pass recommendation. Next, House Bill 1226, which revises the state’s mask law for public places, drew testimony from the sponsor and an expert witness who argued that masking to conceal identity during group criminal conduct undermines public safety and law enforcement. Members debated the House-added requirement that law enforcement request unmasking; the committee adopted an amendment to remove that language, then passed the bill as amended, with Senator Luick to carry it. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 1410, a study resolution on criminal conduct against children, including child sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and the use of artificial intelligence in exploitation crimes. Supporters from the Child Sexual Assault Prevention Task Force, YouthWorks, and the Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Dakota said the study would help update outdated terminology, review AI-related issues, and improve investigation and prosecution tools. The committee approved the resolution with a due pass recommendation, and Senator Cory was assigned to carry it. The committee also received a brief report that, in a quick review, there were 82 active studies introduced, including 10 shall studies and 35 shall-consider studies, with limited overlap identified beyond the trafficking-related measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• A mom really, really deep in addiction.
• Greater Twin Cities United Way has a uniquely deep body of experience in managing the kinds of payment
• Now we're in a position where we have to tighten our belts a little bit and dig deep to try to figure

Bills: HF2436, HF470, HF2643, HF2456, HF102, HF1367

Keywords: child welfare, economic assistance, child care, grant program, video security cameras, early education, scholarships, funding, children, families, Minnesota education, child care licensing, family child care, child care center, Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, correction order, conditional license, fix-it ticket, documented technical assistance, license suspension