Transcript Highlights:

• Cal Fire and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources also received about $16 million to help with local
• Additionally, there are long-term benefits such as avoided suppression costs, reduced disaster impacts
• It's just a natural tendency. It's a human tendency.
• It's just a natural tendency. It's a human tendency.
• We partner very closely, as was mentioned today, with Cal OES, who also oversees all natural disaster

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> the Natural Resources Committee. the Natural Resources Committee.
• characteristics including soil natural characteristics including soil type<04:24:48.800><c> and</c><
• </c> involving public lands and natural involving public lands and natural resources<04:47:58.958><c>
• :00:59.840><c> Committee,</c><05:01:00.240><c> I</c> of the Natural Resources Committee, I of the Natural
• The nature of this fishing net is full.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In the event of wildfires or other natural disasters that could impact schools, law enforcement explained
• In the event of wildfires or other natural disasters that could impact schools, law enforcement explained
• So you've got a fairly, I wouldn't say wealthy county, but you have a lot of natural resources.
• You've got a fairly, I wouldn't say wealthy county, but you have a lot of natural resources.
• I appreciate your altruistic nature. I really do.

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative Audit Committee

Summary: The committee began with opening remarks about moving to a monthly, two-hour schedule for more timely and focused oversight of Auditor General findings. Members also recognized Melanie Chesney for 32 years of service to the Office of the Auditor General, with several speakers praising her work and her role in strengthening the relationship between the Auditor General’s office and J-LAC. The main agenda item was the Auditor General’s December 2025 special audit on the school safety interoperability fund and interoperable communication systems. Staff reported that about $26 million had been allocated to 14 law enforcement agencies for systems intended to improve real-time communication between schools and first responders. The audit found that all 14 agencies used the money for interoperable systems, but four agencies allowed private or tribal schools to participate contrary to statute, and several agencies failed to submit required annual expenditure reports. It also found that none of the three systems reviewed met every statutory requirement as written, in part because some requirements were vague or interpreted differently by vendors and agencies. The audit recommended that agencies recover and report any improper benefit to non-public schools, avoid using fund money for ongoing costs tied to non-public school participation, submit missing reports, and improve cost planning and contract monitoring; it also recommended that the legislature clarify eligibility for private and tribal schools and revisit unclear system requirements. The audit further found procurement and contracting problems at nine of 14 agencies, including weak or missing sole-source justifications, contracts that lacked accountability and termination provisions, and poor documentation of pricing and deliverables. Several agencies had not planned for ongoing annual costs, which the audit estimated could range from about $16,000 to $382,000 per rural county depending on the system. In the discussion, members expressed frustration with sole-source contracting and lack of documentation, and some said they would oppose future vendor bills without competitive bidding and stronger payment controls. The auditor also described mixed system performance: some agencies reported useful features such as panic alerts, camera access, and map sharing, but other systems were not fully functional or had never been implemented. The committee then heard from the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association, whose president said sheriffs support the goal of improving school safety, described county implementation challenges, and defended the use of local staff to manage the projects, while acknowledging that smaller counties face staffing and connectivity limits.

Transcript Highlights:

• and non-natural emergencies and disasters.
• and non-natural emergencies and disasters.
• and non-natural emergencies and disasters.
• and non-natural emergencies and disasters.
• and non-natural emergencies and disasters.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 5,000 as potential eligible folks on the bill as well, and I will let nonpartisan staff speak to the nature
• It was an epic disaster at the time, sending sales plummeting and taking years to regain trust.
• to gain access to the data it was an to gain access to the data it was an epic<00:05:00.759><c> disaster
• > the</c><00:05:01.479><c> time</c><00:05:01.680><c> sending</c><00:05:02.039><c> sales</c> epic disaster
• at the time sending sales epic disaster at the time sending sales plummeting<00:05:03.160><c> and</c

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• In terms of challenges, what we have heard from the neighborhoods is that the one-time nature of the
• Given the recent wildfires, we did want to note that should there be a large-scale natural disaster that
• It's almost a disaster. Hello again, Chair Jackson and members of the committee.
• The Children and Family Services Division has a disaster planning.
• Now, I just wanted to speak a little bit to the disaster issue that was just brought up.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• condo, the building, or the community can get insurance that they need immediately in case of a disaster
• is to go to in case of a disaster is to go to Surplus<00:27:25.039><c> so</c><00:27:25.559><c> Surplus
• this measure also has Wildfire disasters this measure also has inappropriation<01:05:33.680><c> uh</
• of how instances could change the nature of how homeowners<01:05:59.720><c> insurance</c><01:06:00.119
• </c><01:21:34.719><c> that</c> mortgage uh after some disaster that mortgage uh after some disaster that

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee opened by outlining hearing procedures, including a two-minute limit for live testimony, a request not to repeat written testimony, and a reminder about decorum. The first bill heard was SB 697, which would create a nonrefundable individual income tax credit for expenses to retrofit residences with wind-resistive devices. The Insurance Division said it supported the concept but noted it may need an appropriation or outside expertise to develop certification standards, while the Department of Taxation said the bill should retain a third-party certification requirement if the Insurance Division cannot administer the credit. The Hawaii Insurers Council supported the bill, and the Tax Foundation suggested a subsidy-style program would be more efficient than a tax credit and criticized the bill’s 100% credit structure. A testifier in support argued the measure would help homeowners fortify houses against hurricanes and reduce shelter demand; written testimony from several others, including HIEMA, was noted as supportive. The committee then moved through SB 76, which would require the Hawaii Property Insurance Association to provide commercial property coverage after two private-market denials, and SB 83, which would require insurers to give advance written premium-change notices and explanations to common-interest community policyholders and the insurance commissioner, along with a report on premium increases. For SB 76, the State Insurance Division stood on its written comments, and testimony in support came from Michael Honda, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, and Jessica Herzog. SB 83 drew more extensive discussion: the Insurance Division supported the need for better transparency, while the Hawaii Insurers Council opposed the bill, arguing that agents—not insurers—typically communicate with AOAO boards and that the measure could worsen an already difficult market. Insurance Division staff acknowledged widespread complaints from condo associations about lack of transparency and said the division had received many calls about premium increases and nonrenewals. The discussion on SB 83 expanded into broader concerns about condo insurance, nonrenewals, surplus lines, and the difficulty of getting timely explanations for large premium increases. Committee members and testifiers described older buildings struggling to fund repairs and upgrades while facing steep insurance costs, and some urged the committee to craft baseline statutory protections for unit owners. The Insurance Division said surplus lines serve a critical gap-filling role and warned against regulating that market in a way that could slow access to coverage. No votes or final committee actions were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And SB 643, Caballero, from the Natural Resources Committee.
• SB 237, Grayson, from the Judiciary Committee to the Utilities and Energy Committee and the Natural Resources
• Committee to the Public Safety Committee, and SB 830, Irving, from the Public Safety Committee to the Natural
• our colleague from Santa Clarita, includes compensation. for specified costs and losses related to disaster
• CalFresh so that we can provide critical food benefits during emergencies and natural disasters.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, NRCS, or the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a small agency within the U.S.
• It was just a complete disaster.
• It was a disaster.
• It was just a complete disaster.
• It was a disaster.

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative Committee on Water Supply During Drought

Summary: The committee heard first from Deputy State Climatologist Karen Bumbacco, who reviewed the weather and snowpack conditions that contributed to Washington’s 2025 drought. She said the state had a very warm and dry water year, with April through September ranking among the warmest and driest periods on record, and that three straight years of below-normal snowpack and precipitation had compounded drought impacts, especially in the Yakima Basin. She also explained that a weak La Niña could bring a wetter-than-normal winter, though temperature forecasts were less certain, and noted that long-term climate projections point to continued snowpack decline and earlier runoff timing. Department of Ecology staff Rea Burns and Caroline Melor then described the state’s drought declaration process and response. They said Washington’s statutory drought threshold is less than 75% of normal water supply plus a hardship finding, and that Ecology extended the Yakima drought declaration in April and expanded it statewide in June. They discussed reliance on federal monitoring data and staffing at NRCS, USGS, Reclamation, and NOAA, and said federal staffing and funding instability has created concerns for snowpack and water data. They also reviewed drought response funding, noting that grants have supported projects in the Yakima and Dungeness basins and that the drought emergency account still has a balance available for current needs. Burns gave a detailed update on the Yakima Basin, saying it experienced unprecedented conditions this year, including nearly empty reservoirs, curtailment orders sent to about 1,500 water users, and the first time even the most senior 1855 surface water rights were turned off. She said widespread compliance occurred, though the process exposed areas for improvement, especially coordination with federal partners. Committee members asked about the long-term basis for climate projections, the 75% drought threshold, federal impacts, drought insurance, reservoir storage, and whether the state should consider more drought funding or new storage projects. No votes or formal actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• process and be able to do so without having to find child care or take off work or something of that nature
• As a Texan, I would prefer that this legislative special session was working on disaster preparedness
• special session should have been focused on figuring out how we can protect Texans from climate disasters
• On disaster relief, not dismantling democracy.
• stay to testify; others move on to other... things or the hearing goes too long, something of that nature

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Health emergencies like strokes, heart attacks, and trauma may increase after a natural disaster because
• </c> and trauma may increase after a natural and trauma may increase after a natural disaster<00:21:29.840
• disaster because of pre-existing crumbling<00:21:31.720><c> infrastructure.
• My name is Kellyanne Kobayashi for the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
• We stand on our Natural Resources. We stand on our written<00:28:19.600><c> testimony.

Committee: House Energy & Environmental Protection

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection heard a series of Senate resolutions focused largely on climate, sustainability, public health, and energy policy. Measures discussed included integrating Native Hawaiian and indigenous knowledge into climate policy (STR 93), creating a temporary working group to investigate the dangers of POS (STR 103), studying the feasibility of a green bonds program (STR 110), declaring a public health emergency related to climate change (STR 111), affirming the importance of marine ecosystems to decarbonization goals (STR 115), encouraging adoption of recommendations from the UN global plastics treaty and Rapanui summit declaration (STR 132), convening a geothermal energy working group (STR 136), affirming support for the Aloha Plus Challenge (STR 183), and encouraging insurers to pursue subrogation claims against polluters to reduce costs for residents (STR 198). Testimony was overwhelmingly supportive on most measures, with support coming from agencies such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii State Energy Office, DLNR, PUC, Board of Water Supply, Hawaii Public Health Institute, Hawaii Green Growth, and numerous advocacy groups and individuals. STR 111 drew both support and opposition, with supporters arguing climate change is a public health emergency and opponents disputing the underlying science and urgency. STR 136 also drew mixed testimony, including support from state agencies and one opposition submission from the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii. Several witnesses emphasized indigenous knowledge, climate justice, public health impacts, and the need for coordinated state action. Supporters of STR 93 said Native Hawaiian and indigenous knowledge has sustained communities for generations and should be woven into Hawaii’s future climate decision-making. Supporters of STR 111 described climate change as a threat multiplier affecting heat illness, mental health, displacement, wildfire impacts, and food insecurity, while opponents argued the resolution overstated the issue. Testimony on STR 183 highlighted the Aloha Plus Challenge as a statewide sustainability framework with regional influence across the Pacific, including Guam, and stressed its role in tracking progress toward 2030 goals. On STR 198, supporters argued that polluters should help pay for climate-related costs borne by residents and insurers. After testimony concluded, the committee moved into decision-making and adopted the chair’s recommendation to pass STR 93, SD1 unamended by roll call vote, with the chair, vice chair, Rep. Kahaloa, and Rep. Kush voting aye and Rep. Quinnland excused. The transcript then begins the committee’s action on STR 103, SD1, with the chair again recommending passage as is, but the remainder of the vote is cut off in the provided record.

Transcript Highlights:

• And this is a man-made disaster. 300,000 nationally. And thirdly, it 300,000 nationally.
• </c><00:34:09.760><c> You</c> And this is a man-made disaster. You And this is a man-made disaster.
• </c><00:34:12.879><c> disasters</c><00:34:13.359><c> that</c><00:34:13.599><c> we</c><00:34:13.919><c
• > can't</c> We have natural disasters that we can't avoid, and they still cost us a lot of money, still
• hard to recover from, but this is a man-made disaster that we can change.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Ranchers are key during disaster.
• disasters.
• <01:24:24.159><c> disasters.
• disasters.
• Act 310 is a chance natural disasters.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: This joint informational briefing focused on Act 310 grants and aid, with committee members hearing one-minute testimony from organizations first in person and then by Zoom. At the outset, the chairs explained there would be no Q&A during the briefing and asked testifiers to focus on how federal cuts were affecting their work. The meeting was organized by registration number and included both neighbor island and Oʻahu applicants. Testimony centered on organizations seeking state support to offset federal funding losses or anticipated reductions. Health and social service providers described impacts from Medicaid, SNAP, ACA subsidy, Title X, and other federal changes, including Aloha Care, Community Clinic of Maui, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, West Hawaiʻi Community Health Center, Hawaiʻi Disability Rights Center, Hawaiʻi Youth Services Network, Alcoholic Rehabilitation Services of Hawaiʻi, and Kokua Kalihi Valley. Other groups highlighted losses affecting food security, housing, disaster preparedness, and climate resilience, including the Kohala Center, Feeding Hawaiʻi Together, Hawaiian Lending and Investments, Dynamic Community Solutions, and the Pacific Tsunami Museum. Several arts, youth, and education organizations also testified, including Hawaiʻi Literacy, Hawaiʻi Youth Symphony, Honolulu Theatre for the Youth, Sounding Joy Music Therapy, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaiʻi, Girl Scouts of Hawaiʻi, Kids Hurt Too Hawaiʻi, and US Vets, each requesting funding to preserve programs and staffing. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the briefing. The only action was procedural: the chairs moved through the applicant list, limited testimony time, and then transitioned from neighbor island in-person testimony to Oʻahu and later Zoom participants.

Transcript Highlights:

• What are the natural assets that you have?" What are the natural assets that you have?
• Um, and then make the competitive nature of the economy... nature of the economy less competitive.
• The ninth is the natural gas fueling infrastructure loan program.
• We administer a disaster loan, and so those have been there have been some defaults on those.
• Disaster loans... The non-disaster loans are a challenge, right?

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If the goal is to ensure compliance, we must remove the punitive nature of options and not criminalize
• The courts have said no; the legislature had said due to the nature of how.
• Crime involving any sexual nature is one of the most underreported crimes that we have, not just in the
• So, after Hurricane Beryl and other recent natural disasters, media reports have widely reported the
• Tensions can run high during times of emergency or disaster, but there is never a justification for the

Bills: HB316 , HB353 , HB 1160 , HB1414 , HB1422 , HB1443 , HB1713 , HB1789 , HB1902 , HB2073 , HB2666 , HB2695 , HB316

Committee: House Criminal Jurisprudence

Keywords: motor fuel, criminal offense, metering device, organized crime, Texas Penal Code, trespassing, school safety, day-care centers, education, trespass, public safety, utility employees, criminal penalties, assault, harassment, public duties, safety, law enforcement, driving offenses, license regulations

Transcript Highlights:

• Air Patrol into active service to provide cadet training, communications, disaster relief, cybersecurity
• This includes things like aerial surveys over wildfire areas, flood zones, and other disaster locations
• After a disaster, the Civil Air Patrol aircraft can quickly fly over affected areas to help the state
• Again, that's a governor's disaster response account sort of bill, just like any other state active duty
• disaster or aid in search and rescue is a good thing.

Bills: HB2357 , HB2365 , HB2446

Committee: House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans

Keywords: civil air patrol, military, Washington, emergency services, public safety, digital opportunities, accessibility, technology, economic growth, education, quantum technology, economic development, workforce development, innovation, technology industry, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Oil and natural gas collections...
• Just one real quick question for my colleague: are those national natural disaster declarations not..
• Just one real quick question for my colleague: are those national natural disaster declarations not..
• . ...required to be a governor natural disaster declaration?
• So, right, the governor actually made a natural disaster declaration before they were able to access

Bills: SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee held its first hearing of the 89th regular session, adopted nearly identical committee rules from the previous legislature by a 15-0 vote, and began review of Senate Bill 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2026-27. Chair Huffman outlined the budget framework, emphasizing conservative spending, a $332.9 billion all-funds budget, and major priorities including property tax relief, public education, border security, health and human services, transportation, energy, and water infrastructure. She also introduced committee and leadership staff and described the hearing schedule and public testimony procedures. Comptroller Glenn Hager presented the biennial revenue estimate, saying the state has $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending, including a $23.8 billion ending balance, but warned that revenue growth is returning to more normal levels and that lawmakers should avoid using temporary spikes for ongoing commitments. Senators questioned him extensively about the Economic Stabilization Fund cap, sales tax trends, inflation, and whether the state should consider raising the cap or using severance-tax revenues differently. Hager said the Rainy Day Fund is expected to hit its cap, which would leave more severance-tax revenue in general revenue, and he stressed that infrastructure needs remain significant. The Legislative Budget Board then gave a detailed overview of SB 1 and the budget’s major components. LBB staff explained that the bill includes continued funding for the Foundation School Program, $850 million for the Texas State Technical College endowment, $1.3 billion for the Texas University Fund, $6.5 billion for border security, salary increases for correctional officers and state troopers, $3 billion for dementia research, higher community attendant wages, expanded community-based care, $5 billion for the Texas Energy Fund, and funding to clear volunteer fire department grant backlogs. They also outlined supplemental priorities such as water infrastructure, retirement legacy payments, rail grade separations, wildfire aircraft, and emergency facilities, and said the current controlling budget limit is the tax spending limit. A major portion of the hearing focused on property tax relief. LBB explained that prior-session relief grew from an expected $18 billion to $22.7 billion because of higher-than-anticipated property values and interactions among hold-harmless provisions, and that SB 1 continues and expands relief with $51 billion in total property tax relief, including $3 billion more for compression, $3 billion to raise the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, and a $500 million placeholder for business tax relief. Senators discussed the automatic nature of some of these costs, the effect of the non-homestead circuit breaker, the role of federal COVID funds, and the need to maintain school finance commitments if the state continues to compress school tax rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• Cantella, Secretary, by the State Affairs Committee, Agriculture and Natural Resources and Disaster Subcommittee
• Cantella, Secretary, by the Natural Resources and Disaster Subcommittee, Representative Mooney and others
• By the State Affairs Committee, Natural Resources and the Disaster Subcommittee, Representative Connerly
• By the Natural Resources and Disaster Subcommittee, Representative Nix and others, CS for CS for House
• The clerk will unlock the machine. natural disasters. Thank you. For the debate.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• No matter who you voted for, we are Arizonans and Americans who deserve help when disaster strikes.
• to grow our economy, or who say we must sacrifice our farms, jobs, and businesses to protect our natural
• misguided politicians, from economic hardship, from terrorism and cyber threats, from drought and other natural
• disasters.
• Yes, we have stunning natural beauty, the most stunning of all 50 states.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The transcript is the opening joint session of the Arizona Legislature’s 57th Second Regular Session, featuring remarks from House and Senate leaders and Governor Katie Hobbs. House and Senate leaders emphasized a conservative governing agenda focused on affordability, public safety, parental rights, accountability, school choice, election integrity, and water policy, while also highlighting plans for tax cuts and cooperation across chambers. Governor Hobbs centered her address on the “Arizona promise,” stressing affordability, security, and freedom. She highlighted prior actions on job growth, medical debt relief, housing, public safety, border security, water management, and economic development, and announced new proposals including a middle-class tax cut package, a capacity and efficiency initiative to save state funds, a new active management area for La Paz County, a Colorado River Protection Fund, elimination of the data center tax exemption, a housing acceleration fund, and an Arizona Affordability Fund funded in part by a short-term rental fee. She also called for more accountability in the ESA program and for renewing Prop. 123 to support public schools. The governor and legislative leaders also addressed political violence, honoring retiring Senator Lela Alston and recognizing public safety and firefighting personnel. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken in the session; it concluded with the joint session being dissolved after the governor’s remarks.

Transcript Highlights:

• Now that's a toxic environmental disaster that had been sitting on address for decades.
• This environmental disaster is much more widespread and is impacting a much larger region, the full extent
• At the state level, the Department of Natural Resources is also handcuffed and unable to assist.
• joins me in support of Senate Bill 1586 for our children, for our future, and to preserve all the nature
• They're still getting more than the actual Department of Natural Resources themselves are getting out

Committee: House Emerging Issues

Keywords: 959, house, all