Transcript Highlights:

• We will first go online.
• We'll go to public comment online first.
• Any others that would like to speak online in support of HB 145, please raise your hand now.
• We're going to first go online to those joining us over Zoom.
• We're up to House Bill 247, as it's introduced, is available online.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And finally, an in-depth survey of those involved, and those surveys are available online.
• And Roger Arringa is online and will join us for questions on the ad hoc, single-exit, and multiplex.
• Many of those new apartments have come online over the past couple of years.
• Many of those new apartments have come online over the past couple of years.
• I know that we have that presentation online.

Summary: The Senate Housing Committee heard a series of work-session presentations focused on transit-oriented development, commercial-to-residential redevelopment, building code implementation, housing market trends, and the Covenant Homeownership Program. The first presentation, from the Urban Institute, reviewed research on HB 1491 and TOD feasibility, arguing that Washington has made major progress but faces diverging conditions across transit areas. The presenter said rising construction costs, higher interest rates, and lower rents in some markets have made many projects less feasible, and recommended targeted infrastructure funding for lower-market communities, adjustments to MFTE and affordability requirements by local market conditions, more support for very low-income housing in high-market transit areas, minimum density standards near stations, expanded public land/joint development tools, and better tracking of TOD outcomes over time. Committee members asked about AMI calculations, immigration’s effect on construction labor, developer input, and whether a tracking mechanism had been removed from the bill. The Department of Commerce then outlined implementation of HB 1491 and demonstrated the new Washington Zoning Atlas, which is live and intended to help visualize zoning, overlays, and station-area conditions. Commerce said local governments will designate station areas, update zoning and MFTE policies, and handle anti-displacement measures, with Vancouver and Spokane first to implement and Puget Sound following later. Staff described a timeline for updated MFTE guidance, station-area implementation guidance, a TOD model ordinance, and later rulemaking on variances. The committee also heard from the Lieutenant Governor’s office on a report about converting commercial properties to housing, which found substantial potential for redevelopment on vacant or underused commercial land, especially near transit, but noted barriers such as ground-floor retail mandates, affordability requirements, infrastructure costs, private covenants, and slow implementation. The office urged by-right residential use on commercial land and faster rollout of new housing laws. The State Building Code Council updated the committee on its three-year code cycle and several legislatively directed actions, including minimum dwelling size, emergency shelters, and especially single-exit stairs and multiplex housing. Council staff said those code changes are nearing completion and will provide prescriptive solutions, while noting that elevator size and requirements were not changed and would require separate legislative direction if the committee wanted to revisit them. Members discussed the cost impacts of building and energy codes and the council said it is required to consider economic impacts and is increasingly looking at performance-based approaches. Later, the Washington Center for Real Estate Research presented its annual housing report, showing that higher mortgage rates have sharply reduced affordability, flattened house prices in many cities, and slowed single-family permitting and completions, while multifamily construction has recently cooled after a prior surge. Finally, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission reported strong first-year results for the Covenant Homeownership Program, which provides zero-interest down payment assistance to eligible first-time buyers with family ties to Washington before 1968; the program assisted 547 homebuyers in its first fiscal year, with more than $60 million loaned, and the agency said participation has continued to grow after income-limit changes enacted in 2025.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then we have several members online.
• And so I really want to thank our presenters today who are joining us here in person and online.
• So we'll get folks to work with you directly to see if we can't get you back online here quickly.
• Fortenberry back online, once we get through his presentation, he's presenting the core findings of the
• I'm going to start with Representative Orcutt, whose hand I saw first, and then I see several folks online

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:

• So there is, and this is available online for anyone watching, a list of Medicaid medical assistance
• You know, whenever a new program comes online, number one, it's probably coming online because there's
• There's not as much oversight of new programs initially when they come online as there should be.
• So I think when you have those new programs come online, that is one area.
• Online training videos, templates, checklists, sample communication, tip sheets, flow charts, and FAQs

Bills: HF3043, HF2891

Keywords: public safety, illegal remunerations, healthcare fraud, grants, criminal penalties, state law, grants management, state employees training, certification, monitoring grants, accountability, grant fraud

Transcript Highlights:

• Section four modifies the online instruction act.
• to districts and charter schools and allows a state-operated school to qualify as a supplemental online
• <00:02:22.000> instruction four uh modifies the online instruction four uh modifies the online
• as a state operated school uh to qualify as a<00:02:31.440> supplemental<00:02:32.080> online
• a supplemental online course provider. a supplemental online course provider.

Bills: HF1306

Keywords: education, school policy, teacher training, student health, emergency response, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• 05.680> enrolled administrators are full-time enrolled administrators are full-time enrolled online
• c> virtual<00:14:07.000> and<00:14:07.160> remote<00:14:07.440> learning online
• virtual and remote learning online virtual and remote learning programs<00:14:08.680> provide
• 00:15:10.360> numbers<00:15:10.759> of<00:15:11.160> virtual<00:15:11.959> online
• <00:15:12.880> may<00:15:13.079> be large numbers of virtual online may be large numbers

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee met on February 10 with a quorum present, approved the minutes, and then reviewed a long agenda of agency regulations, most of which were accompanied by staff-suggested amendments for drafting conformity under KRS Chapter 13A. The Department of Financial Institutions’ 808 KAR 9:10, the Secretary of State’s 030 KAR 2:11, the Office of the Attorney General’s 04 KAR 5:10, the Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology’s emergency 201 KAR 17:120, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ 301 KAR 2:41, the Department for Environmental Protection’s 401 KAR 47:110 and 48:320, the State Police regulations 502 KAR 1:012 and 1:121, the Department for Public Health’s 902 KAR 4:15, the Department for Medicaid Services’ 907 KAR 1:15, and the Department for Community Based Services’ 921 KAR 1:400 were all discussed and, where applicable, staff amendments were approved without objection. The Workplace Standards emergency regulation 803 KAR 2:320E was also presented without amendment, and the Department of Insurance’s 806 KAR 9:360 was taken up but ultimately deferred at the agency’s request. Several regulations drew brief substantive discussion. The Fish and Wildlife rule on foxhound training enclosures was explained as expanding both commercial and non-commercial provisions for training with dogs involving red fox and coyotes, with enclosure standards intended to protect wildlife inside and outside the facilities. The environmental protection rules were tied to House Bill 478 and addressed permit-by-rule timelines, reporting, and operating standards for certain construction and demolition debris landfills, including sites up to two acres; members asked whether these facilities were private or municipal, and staff said they were a mix, often tied to private demolition contractors or single projects. The State Police fee increase for hazardous materials endorsements was described as reflecting a federal TSA fee change, and the witness estimated the new fee at about $23. The most extended debate concerned the Board of Education’s 704 KAR 3:535 on full-time virtual and remote learning programs. The agency amendment would cap enrollment in such programs at 10% above a district’s prior-year in-person enrollment, while also clarifying accountability, staffing, and monitoring requirements. Education officials said the cap was intended to address concerns about district capacity and student performance, and they cited Cloverport as an example of a district with high virtual participation and participation-rate issues. Members expressed concern that the amendment was too open-ended for regulation and suggested the issue might be better addressed in statute; no motion was made to adopt the agency amendment, so the regulation was left to proceed to the committee of jurisdiction. The Department of Insurance also discussed implementation of Senate Bill 188, saying it had received more than 3,000 complaints since the law took effect and was still working through enforcement and complaint processing before asking to defer its PBM licensing regulation.

Transcript Highlights:

• NIBRS training is provided by the FBI several times a year in two-day online courses and is coordinated
• NIBRS training is provided by the FBI several times a year in two-day online courses and is coordinated
• NIBRS training is provided by the FBI several times a year in two-day online courses and is coordinated
• NIBRS training is provided by the FBI several times a year in two-day online courses and is coordinated
• NIBRS training is provided by the FBI several times a year in two-day online courses and is coordinated

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs met on its 3:15 p.m. reconsideration and hearing agenda. The committee first reconsidered SB 1379 on emergency preparedness and voted to pass it with amendments. The amendments would require HEMA to submit a report to the Legislature on a community readiness centers plan, including public and private sites, funding sources, partnerships, stakeholder coordination, and projected annual funding, due 20 days before the 2026 Legislature convenes. The committee also made technical and fiscal-related changes, including blanking out certain amounts in the bill and committee report while retaining recommended amounts there, and changing the effective date language. The committee then voted unanimously to adopt the amended recommendation. The committee heard SB 1364, which makes emergency appropriations for law enforcement personnel costs. The Department of Budget and Finance supported the bill but said the figures in oral testimony would be slightly higher than those in written testimony and that updated numbers would be emailed later in the week. Because the exact figures were not yet available, the chair deferred decision-making to February 7, 2025. The committee also heard SB 1451 on critical infrastructure, SB 1452 on the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, SB 1149 on hate crimes reporting, SB 1321 on the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission, and SB 1341 on energy industry information reporting. For SB 1451, testimony was split, with support from state law enforcement and opposition from the Public First Law Center, which argued the information was already protected under existing law; the committee later adopted a motion to pass the bill with amendments, including a narrower definition of critical infrastructure information and a revised effective date. SB 1452 received support from law enforcement and prosecutors, with a requested cleanup amendment to correct a federal drug-name spelling issue; decision-making was postponed to allow the department to provide language. SB 1149 drew substantial testimony both for and against; supporters emphasized better hate-crime data collection and transparency, while opponents raised concerns about definitions and free speech. The committee adopted amendments and passed the bill, with the chair summarizing the move from the older UCR system to NIBRS and noting a public dashboard expected by September 30, 2025. SB 1321 was passed with amendments shortening the oversight coordinator term from four years to three years, though one senator voted with reservations in favor of a longer term. SB 1341 was passed as is after brief support testimony, and the committee adjourned after completing the agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• 00:34:38.359> development<00:34:38.879> of<00:34:39.000> an<00:34:39.200> online
• supported the development of an online supported the development of an online pro<00:34:40.000><
• We recently rolled out an online AI-powered Legal Navigator program, and we're actively assessing how
• Our move to remote proceedings means that many of our court hearings can now be viewed online, and with
• <00:44:57.400> and<00:44:57.520> with<00:44:57.640> the be viewed online and

Keywords: State of the Judiciary Address by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald, 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• adding nitrous oxide to the list of things that children are precluded from being able to purchase online
• using gift cards, actually, to buy nitrous oxide, as children are figuring out how they can do that online
• , and online sales are also a big problem in the state.
• And I also just want to recognize how important it is to be dealing with the online part because it is
• true that retail shops are one thing, but then also, of course, online is something that's also of particular

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we have any online? No one online. Public testimony is closed. Gentlemen, what's your pleasure?
• No one online. Public testimony is closed. Gentlemen, what's your pleasure? Moved and seconded.
• Do we have anybody online? >> Uh, could you ... Welcome, everybody. >> Do we have more than one?
• Do we have anybody online? online? online?

Bills: HB0150

Keywords: Wyoming business council, economic development, task force, evaluation, policy reform, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To there's online tools um with you know, that, that are on the website right now and after, as you know
• the protections that we put in place last session with the passage of HB 18, the Securing Children Online
• And I think we've all heard the stories, uh, really some tragic stories of kids getting bullied online
• So that'll include social media apps, Instagram, TikTok, streaming services, Netflix, Spotify, online
• afraid to express their views and ideas at a school board meeting, Bible study, behind a pulpit, online

Transcript Highlights:

• Birds online. page<00:11:36.480> 12. page 12. page 12.
• I'll get that packet online, the holds, so the public can view it online. Okay. So, Mr.
• Well, if we're going to put it online. Oh, we may have copies. There are copies right there.
• I'm going to move to approve two and three since they go together. it online.
• Oh, we may have copies. it online. Oh, we may have copies.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Is there anyone online? Um, see anybody online, so we'll go to the committee.
• OK, now we're going to go online. We're going to try to limit this to one minute apiece.
• OK, we're going to go online. First, we'll go to James Poviwa. Good evening, Mr.
• OK, let's go online.
• We're going to go online to Marla Schulz. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• In 2017, the agency began collecting complaints online.
• According to the agency, most of the complaints that were filed online. were dismissed due to either
• We know that these items are provided online via Westlaw, but we utilize uh Lexus's legal software.
• The library's online research guides serve as publicly available sources of legal information, and the
• According to the agency, as its online visibility grows, they receive more complex requests for legal

Transcript Highlights:

• I assume that we're online. We're on Zoom. We're streaming. On the webcast, correct this.
• We will go to those that are online first.
• Anyone in opposition to House Bill 19 online? No? Okay, very good. Let's go into our room.
• Okay, let's go to those that are joining us online. Anyone here in support of House Bill 47?
• Nope, nobody online. Okay, let's come to the room. Anyone here in opposition to House Bill 47?

Transcript Highlights:

• We do have a 24-hour rule, and we're also—I haven't checked—but the amendments should be posted online
• Next, we're going to go online. If you are in support of this bill, please raise your hand. Mr.
• So I also have a lot of other really good ideas on how to build our budget, such as legalizing online
• How many jobs do you think will come online? Will we replace oil and gas industry jobs?
• I understand the online comment is. It's not working where we are.

Transcript Highlights:

• , stakeholders, and members of the public who have joined us, both here in person and, I believe, online
• It's great to see you, and I believe you also have some folks joining you, one in person and one online
• You could just come back in five or ten minutes, and once you're back online, we'll hear your testimony
• So moving on, next on the list is Femi Stoltz, who I believe is online.
• I do always ask if there's anyone that hasn't had a chance to testify, certainly whether it's online

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Higher Education heard testimony on a wide range of bills touching student access, campus safety, and institutional support. Early testimony focused on H. 4544, which would create a state Hispanic-serving institution designation to replace a lost federal designation and potentially allow future funding. Representative Kushmerek and Fitchburg State President Donna Hodge described Fitchburg’s growing Latino student population, the university’s local commitments such as the Fitchburg Promise, and argued the bill would help the institution better serve its community. Committee members asked about how the tuition-free local program is financed, and the bill was described as having no immediate funding request but allowing for future appropriations. The committee also heard support for H. 1421, a proposed John F. Kennedy Service Scholarship Program for Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Commonwealth Corps alumni, with Representative Arena DeRosa arguing that student debt discourages service and that the program would help make citizen service more accessible to lower- and moderate-income students. Members raised questions about cost, take-up, and whether the program should be capped. H. 1449, dealing with transcript withholding, drew support from Representative LeBoeuf and USPyre’s Demi Stoltz, who said withholding transcripts over small balances or non-academic fees traps students and harms workforce participation; members discussed how schools could still collect debts without blocking transcripts. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to improve study-abroad safety reporting, with Carrie Pascarello urging a centralized data system after multiple student deaths and serious incidents abroad, and members asking about how other states handle similar transparency measures. Another major topic was H. 4113 on higher education sexual misconduct. Laura G. and Ashley Freeman supported a proposal aimed at preventing “passing the harasser” by requiring disclosure of substantiated findings or departures during open investigations in hiring processes. They said the bill would improve transparency and campus safety while preserving due process, and noted Washington State has a similar law. Members discussed whether the bill should be expanded to K-12 settings and asked about the Washington model’s effectiveness. The committee also heard from Mike Canavan of AFT Massachusetts in support of a bill to create a grant program for librarians to earn a master’s in library science, noting the credential is required for the profession but is not offered by any public institution in Massachusetts. No votes were taken, and the hearing concluded after all scheduled witnesses testified.

Transcript Highlights:

• The presenters will be coming live from Senate Hearing Room 4, and some of us will be online.
• And we'll have the OSPI team introduce themselves when we bring them up or online.
• Have we had anyone sign up for public testimony online?
• We have one person signed up for public testimony: Chloe Pruitt online.
• We have one person signed up for public testimony, Chloe Pruitt, online.

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: The committee heard a State Auditor’s Office performance audit on OSPI’s school apportionment system, which distributes K-12 funding to districts. Auditors said the system and its underlying 2008-era infrastructure are outdated, unstable, inefficient, and at high risk of errors or failure. They also found weak controls over data input, documentation, oversight, and monitoring, with heavy reliance on a small number of staff and vendor knowledge. In limited testing of three districts, the system calculated 2023–24 funding correctly, but auditors identified small discrepancies between state budget inputs and underlying statutory language and said broader system risks remain unresolved. JLARC members asked about the scope of the district testing, whether smaller districts face greater risk, the meaning of the funding discrepancies, and whether the system could support a future change to a simpler per-student funding formula. Auditors said the discrepancies were small but could compound into millions statewide, and that the audit did not evaluate broader policy questions or alternative system owners. They recommended OSPI modernize or replace the system and address current control weaknesses while the new platform is developed. OSPI officials largely agreed that the current platform needs replacement and said a feasibility study completed in 2024 found the system at catastrophic risk of failure. They clarified that the Legislature had approved up to $16 million in the state IT pool for the project, but that funding is released through gated oversight and not all of it had yet been appropriated for the current biennium. OSPI disputed the auditor’s characterization of some rounding and budget-law issues, saying the calculations were consistent with agency rules and legislative inputs, and explained that some manual workarounds are used to handle newer statutory requirements. One member of the public testified in support of modernizing the system and strengthening controls. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yep, and it's actually posted online underneath my files. I filed it last week.
• They have a bigger following of Louisiana people that attend their auctions, online, offline, live auctions
• So they went to an online provider out of state, an online auction.
• It does not read online auctions. So since COVID, there's been no bid on it, no competitive bid.
• And once again, we still have that nationwide touch too as well, with online bidding as well, too.

Bills: HB27, HB143, HB205, HB308, HB311, HB417, HB430, HB562, HB812, HB1129

Keywords: inmates, department of public safety, per diem, local correctional facilities, jail funding, insurance premiums, Municipal Fire and Police, dedicated fund, assessments, Louisiana legislation, hazardous waste, cleanup fund, environmental protection, state treasury, Consumer Price Index, law enforcement, firefighters, health insurance, survivors benefits, Lafayette

Transcript Highlights:

• What you might not have known is this has been going on in Arkansas for four years with online sports
• So if you see from the casinos on the online... ...address, and it is the free play.
• So if you see from the casinos on the online sports betting apps, you know, you see on the interstate
• It says that the amount of free play that they can offer on online sports betting is capped at 5% of
• added in on page two, let me see, it would be in section B, the third paragraph, applicable to an online

Summary: The committee resumed consideration of several amendments to fiscal bills. It adopted Senator Johnson’s amendment to Senate Bill 15, which shifts responsibility for Keep Arkansas Beautiful-related functions and roadside litter cleanup coordination toward ARDOT, with the current commissioners becoming an advisory council. The committee also adopted Representative Perry’s amendment to Senate Bill 7, lowering from 50 to 25 the employee threshold for employers to request claims data from insurers for group health coverage, aimed at helping smaller businesses and municipalities obtain more competitive insurance quotes. Representative McKinsey’s amendment to Senate Bill 41, which would have blocked a University of Arkansas at Fayetteville athletic funding transfer and imposed a one-year rider, was rejected after questions about the university’s finances and whether such a transfer had ever occurred. Senator Hester’s amendment to House Bill 1051, intended to cap online sports betting free play at 5% of gross receipts, also failed after debate over whether the proposal was properly fiscal language and whether the free-play incentives constituted a subsidy. Representative Walker’s amendment to a Save the Children appropriation, which would have converted the funding into a matching grant to encourage private donations, failed for lack of a motion. Representative Vaught’s amendment related to an agricultural tax exemption for certain tractor parts and diesel exhaust fluid systems likewise failed, with concerns raised about drafting, enforcement, and whether it belonged in revenue tax committees. The committee then added two late items: Representative Johnson’s technical correction to a physician licensure pathway bill, which was adopted to broaden qualifying underserved-area definitions, and Senator Tucker’s amendment to Senate Bill 77, which deleted a fund-transfer section and created a matching appropriation mechanism to help Arkansas TV/PBS retain affiliation and pay dues. Senate Bill 77 passed as amended, and the meeting adjourned.