Transcript Highlights:

• First up was the Real Estate Commission, offering comments.
• On behalf of the Real Estate Commission, we support this bill.
• On behalf of the Real Estate Commission, we support this bill.
• Estate Commission in uh the Real Estate Commission in support<01:34:28.000><c> morning</c><01:34:28.280
• </c><01:34:31.119><c> estate</c> um on behalf of the real estate um on behalf of the real estate commission

Committee: Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection

Summary: The committee opened by outlining testimony procedures and then heard SB 376 on tax credits, which would create a home fire safety improvement tax credit. Testimony from the Tax Foundation of Hawaiʻi urged that the concept would be better handled as a subsidy program and raised drafting concerns about unclear definitions and eligibility. Later, the committees agreed to pass SB 376 with amendments, including making the credit nonrefundable, clarifying third-party certification, deleting recapture-related language, and making technical changes. Members then heard SB 417, which would make unlicensed contractor work during or within five years after an emergency or disaster a class B felony. The Contractors License Board was listed for comments, and the Subcontractors Association supported the measure. The committees ultimately recommended passage with technical, non-substantive amendments and an adjusted effective date, and the measure was adopted. A substantial portion of the meeting focused on SB 782, which would require free and accessible voice communication services for incarcerated people and prohibit state agencies from profiting from those services, while also directing the PUC to set standards and providing funding for the SAVIN victim notification program. Supporters, including the Public Defender, ACLU of Hawaiʻi, Worth Rises, and others, argued the bill would reduce costs for families, improve reentry, and align adult corrections with the juvenile system. Opponents, including the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Hawaiʻi Paroling Authority, and SAVIN-related witnesses, warned that changing the funding structure could weaken victim notification and safety services. The committees deferred SB 782. The committee also heard SB 999 on fireworks, which would repeal permissible consumer fireworks uses, impose civil penalties and forfeiture remedies, and create a forfeiture special fund for safety education. The Department of Law Enforcement and Honolulu Police Department supported the bill, while fireworks industry representatives and others opposed it, arguing prohibition would be ineffective and urging stronger enforcement and education instead. The committees deferred SB 999 for further consideration, and SB 1136 on insurance was also deferred after insurers and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs opposed it. In the later joint session with the Committee on Economic Development and Tourism, SB 744 on condominium loans was heard with support from the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority and banking groups, while one testifier raised concerns that the program could function like C-PACE financing and add risky debt to condominium associations; testimony and discussion continued on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's give him a round of applause real quick.
• ...County Commission on Aging from 1977 to 1985.
• estate transactions.
• House Bill 230 makes some changes in the... 230 makes some changes in the real estate law that were needed
• I mean, excuse me, the County Commission...

Transcript Highlights:

• But it was a directive of the commission, and the commission was driving the ship on that.
• The commission...
• Consider a real-world example. It was brought up. Consider a real-world example.
• I didn't commission it. The CCA didn't commission it. It's impartial.
• Okay, the amount The amount of real estate that we use in Louisiana is a lot smaller than all of the

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 886 by Rep. Orgeron, which would make seasonal catch totals and related reporting for the commercial menhaden fishery publicly available by carving out an exception to confidentiality rules. The author said the bill was intended to align with the original intent of prior reporting legislation and to ensure the public can see how much menhaden is being taken from Louisiana waters. Supporters, including Louisiana Wildlife Federation, CCA, charter captains, and recreational anglers, argued the fishery uses a public resource and that transparency is needed for policymaking. Opponents said they did not object to transparency in principle, but one speaker asked that size-sampling data be removed, arguing it has no scientific value and is already handled through NOAA and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Council processes. The committee reported HB 886 favorably without opposition. The committee then heard House Bill 855, also by Rep. Orgeron, which would establish a 22-foot depth requirement for the commercial use of purse seines in the menhaden fishery. The author said the bill was based on a state-funded bycatch study showing red drum bycatch rises sharply in shallow water and that the current quarter-mile buffer is insufficient, especially in nearshore areas where recreational fishing and sensitive habitats are concentrated. Supporters emphasized the public trust nature of menhaden, the economic value of recreational fishing, and concerns about bycatch, beach fouling, and localized depletion. Several speakers cited the bycatch study, public comments opposing the recent reduction from a half-mile to a quarter-mile buffer, and the belief that deeper-water fishing would reduce impacts on redfish and other species. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries staff and the study’s principal investigator, Dr. Scott Rayburn, answered questions about the current buffer rules, enforcement, and the science behind the 22-foot threshold. They explained that the recent reduction to a quarter-mile buffer came from a commission directive and that the department had investigated complaints but found no violations. Dr. Rayburn said the 22-foot figure came from modeling red drum bycatch as a function of depth and that the study focused on red drum because of its economic and social importance, while not analyzing every species in the same way. Opponents of the bill, including West Bank Fishing and Ocean Harvesters representatives, said the rule of three is a standard confidentiality concept, argued the bill should not be framed as anti-transparency, and urged removal of the size-sampling provisions. The committee heard extensive testimony but no final action on HB 855 was recorded in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:38:32.720><c> Commission,</c><00:38:33.119><c> Miss</c> Oversight Commission Commission, Miss
• Oversight Commission Commission, Miss Kristen<00:38:33.760><c> Johnson.
• </c> um and worth as people, I think real um and worth as people, I think real room<01:27:59.679><c>
• ,</c> Victim Commit Compensation Commission, Victim Commit Compensation Commission, Miss<01:33:12.480
• . commission. commission.

Bills: HB1531

Committee: House Public Safety

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 1913, which would create a mental health coordinator position within the Office of Veteran Services for the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home and appropriate funds for it. Supporters said veterans, especially on the neighbor islands, need more mental health access and coordination. Several witnesses, including Sean Sonatada and Tom Driscoll, supported the intent but urged amendments to broaden the position beyond one facility and make it a statewide resource. Committee members questioned whether the bill would duplicate existing services at the veterans home and whether the position would be reimbursable through federal VA funding; testimony indicated the state would appropriate the money, while existing home services are already covered through current staff and federal reimbursement structures. The committee also heard testimony on House Bill 9, which would designate Hawaii as a Purple Heart state. Testifiers generally supported the measure as a way to honor wounded veterans and their families, though one member asked what benefits the designation would confer. Witnesses clarified that the bill was mainly symbolic and did not appear to create new benefits, and one testifier noted Honolulu County had already adopted a similar Purple Heart designation. The committee then took up House Bill 1628, which would establish a compassionate release protocol for certain seriously ill or debilitated incarcerated persons. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Hawaii Paroling Authority opposed the bill, arguing that an existing administrative process already works, that the bill could improperly extend eligibility to people serving life without parole or mandatory minimum sentences, and that it lacked victim and family input and sufficient resources. In contrast, the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission strongly supported the bill, saying it would reduce the high cost of incarcerating people with complex medical needs, ease burdens on staff and the prison population, and better reflect human dignity. The commission described having seen severe suffering and deaths in custody and said compassionate release is warranted in some cases. No votes or final actions were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Real quick, Ms. Templeton, how many school-age children are there in Texas right now?
• I'm the Texas State Liaison with the Education Commission of the States.
• We offer various programs such as cosmetology, real estate, education and training, pharmacy technician
• Texas needs more kids who get what I got: a real education, the preparation to leave the innovation that
• A real education, the preparation to leave the innovation that keeps Texas competitive.

Committee: House Public Education

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> real</c><00:03:11.440><c> world</c> commission is tokenize real world commission is tokenize real
• real estate projects that we have other real estate projects that have<00:35:54.480><c> come</c><00:
• </c> real estate. real estate.
• estate holding companies holding real estate or holding companies holding real estate or holding interest
• I'd like to own some real estate. me. I'd like to own some real estate.

Summary: The meeting began with roll call and approval of the prior meeting minutes, which passed unanimously. Members then introduced the day’s presentations, including one on the Canton network and another on tokenizing real-world assets, with a focus on how blockchain systems can support regulated financial institutions and asset tokenization. Julie, the director of policy and government affairs at Digital Asset, presented on the Canton network, describing it as a privacy-enabled public blockchain designed for regulated finance. She said tokenization should preserve the same legal and economic rights as the underlying asset, and argued that blockchain-based books and records can shorten settlement times, improve 24/7 trading, and reduce friction in capital markets. She identified three main barriers to institutional adoption of public blockchains: lack of privacy, limited throughput/scalability, and lack of control for compliance purposes such as freezing assets, pausing transactions, and meeting AML/sanctions obligations. She explained Canton’s structure as a public, permissionless network with application-level privacy controls, a global synchronizer, and super validators chosen by vote. She also highlighted current ecosystem participants and use cases, including Broadridge, Circle, and the DTCC’s planned tokenization of U.S. Treasuries on the network. Members and online participants asked about the relationship between tokenized assets and the Clarity Act, tokenized deposits, safeguards for faster settlement, and whether the platform could be used for municipal or property records. Julie said Digital Asset was not taking a position on rewards, but supported clearer statutory definitions because tokenized securities should carry the same rights as the underlying assets and investors need to know whether a token is a true tokenized security or a synthetic/reference token. She said the company is agnostic on whether the cash leg is stablecoins or tokenized deposits, though it expects both to develop. In response to concerns about rapid settlement, she pointed to institution-level permissions and SEC disclosure expectations as safeguards. She also said the technology could be used for other records, including potentially property-related records, if those assets can be tokenized.

Transcript Highlights:

• Smiths, actually, and the insurance industry and the real estate industry, and said, what if we just
• This has happened in Texas, where they've had issues with the East Plano Islamic Center.
• This has happened in Texas, where they've had issues with the East Plano Islamic Center.
• It's like an enclave right in the center of Texas.
• Texas did a proclamation to identify that, and they're working on that.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> My constituents deserve this real My constituents deserve this real relief.<02:19:19.040><c> So,
• No, it's going to be real people.
• </c> do the serious work of solving real do the serious work of solving real problems<02:39:34.000><c
• The burden is real.
• The burden is real. From 2017 to rent. The burden is real.

Bills: HR377

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Bradley, we have Senate Bill 948 on real property and condominium flood disclosure.
• When there is a large amount of real estate transactions, as there were in 2002, 2007, and 2008, legal
• Texas, the state of Texas, has a similar program, and it looks like they are paying even more money right
• now than the state of Texas program.
• I practice real estate and I do development work, and so, I am cognizant of what Mr. Murphy said.

Transcript Highlights:

• So I went to law school in New York, moved to Seattle, and I was a real estate associate at K&L Gates
• I was responsible for the real estate and construction work globally at Amazon, and I stayed there in
• I kind of did the real estate work for maybe the first six or seven years.
• By way of brief background, as mentioned, a common interest community is a form of real estate in which
• And typically in real estate transactions, time is measured in business days, not days.

Summary: The Senate Housing Committee met on cutoff day and first considered two gubernatorial appointments to the Housing Finance Commission. Aaron T. McGrath and Ann T. Malone each testified about their housing finance and affordable housing backgrounds, their prior commission or sector experience, and their interest in improving housing affordability and equity. Senators asked brief questions and offered supportive comments, and both appointments were heard without objection. The committee then heard and later acted on a series of housing-related bills. ESHB 1500 would expand resale certificate requirements for common interest communities by adding reserve studies, audits, and governing documents, limiting certain fees, allowing rush service fees, and creating enforcement rights; testimony was split between Realtors, who supported the consumer-protection goals but sought clarifications and more time for rescission, and HOA/management representatives, who warned against limiting third-party processing tools and sought more flexibility. EHB 1501 would require associations to answer certified written inquiries from owners within 30 days, subject to reasonable association rules; the sponsor framed it as a basic right to a response, while HOA representatives supported the intent but asked for clearer limits and coordination with existing law. EHB 1345 would allow detached ADUs outside urban growth areas under detailed guardrails; builders, Realtors, counties, and housing advocates supported it as a rural housing tool, and the committee heard that it had been the product of years of negotiation. In executive session, the committee adopted amendments and advanced several bills. It approved a metering requirement for water use in SB 5470 on detached ADUs outside UGAs, narrowed SB 5729 to permit-review provisions, adopted a substitute for SB 6015 on permit-ready factory-built housing plans, and moved forward SB 6069 on transitional, supportive, and emergency housing with zoning and local process changes. It also advanced SB 1686 on deferred utility connection fees, SB 6200 on portable cooling devices for renters and mobile home occupants after rejecting an amendment to remove window units, SB 6201 creating tax exemptions for social housing agencies, SB 6214 establishing land bank authorities, and SB 6237 requiring flood-risk disclosures in rental housing. The committee then returned to public testimony on ESHB 1500, EHB 1501, and EHB 1345, hearing additional support and concerns, and adjourned after thanking staff for their work on cutoff day.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll say, and so it had no real value at all.
• We'll say, and so it had no real value at all.

Bills: SB337 , HB520 , HB75 , SB337 , HB520 , HB75

Committee: Senate Education Policy

Keywords: SB337, Montgomery County, probate judge, judge of probate, county officer compensation, salary increase, circuit judge parity, local legislation, county commission, general fund, public official pay, judicial compensation, Montgomery County Legislation, discrimination, immunization, facial coverings, healthcare rights, religious convictions, civil rights, Attorney General

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1273 creates the Oklahoma State Agency Board and Commission Review Task Force.
• will be to review the efficiency, effectiveness, and necessity of all state agencies, boards, and commissions
• Just real quick, we're just going to be looking at all of the agencies, boards, and commissions and then
• this to do This, we've had members that have been involved with looking at agencies, boards, and commissions
• If we get this assigned, just do a deep dive into the agency's boards and commissions.

Bills: HJR1032 , SB1273 , SB1433

Committee: Senate Administrative Rules

Keywords: HJR1032, House Joint Resolution 1032, Service Oklahoma, administrative rules, rule repeal, joint resolution, Oklahoma Administrative Code, OAC 670:15-1-10, OAC 670:15-1-14, agency regulation, legislative oversight, Secretary of State, Oklahoma Register, rulemaking, permanent rules, administrative code, state government, task force, agency review, board review

Transcript Highlights:

• once the nominating commission happened.
• We did this with the Ethics Commission, and we did the exact same thing with Interstate Stream Commission
• Stream Commission.
• We did this with the Essex Commission, and we did the exact same thing with Interstate Stream Commission
• We referenced Interstate Stream Commission bill, which I, exact same thing with Interstate Stream Commission

Bills: SB104 , SJR3 , SM3 , SB104 , SJR3 , SM3

Committees: Senate Senate Rules , Senate House Rules & Order Of Business

Keywords: wildlife commission, removal procedures, malfeasance, appointed officials, governance, education reform, public education, state board of education, superintendent, chartering authority, constitutional amendment, policy setting, insects, insect workshop, insect identification, ecology, monitoring, management, pollinators, pollination

Transcript Highlights:

• Those costs are real, and they're going to be borne by the patients as well as the hospitals that care
• have to go to the nursing home to pronounce someone dead, or he may have to run across the street real
• have to go to the nursing home to pronounce someone dead, or he may have to run across the street real
• I mean, in the real world, that's not even an issue.

Bills: SB63 , SB80 , SB63 , SB80

Committee: Senate Healthcare

Keywords: immigration, law enforcement, fingerprints, DNA collection, illegal aliens, Alabama state law, SB80, Buddy Sharpless Education Institute, Alabama Local Government Training Institute, county commissioner training, local government training, ethics training, State Ethics Commission, county commissioners, Association of County Commissions of Alabama, local emergency management director, public officials, municipal officials, Alabama Code Title 11, Alabama Code Title 31

Transcript Highlights:

• So we set up the judicial safety real estate work group.
• </c> Sherburn County so I did do some real Sherburn County so I did do some real estate<01:18:24.560>
• </c><01:19:36.320><c> estate</c><01:19:36.639><c> market</c> to have a smooth real estate market to have
• real estate work group judicial safety real estate work group we<01:19:52.280><c> met</c><01:19:52.560
• <01:20:02.960><c> estate</c><01:20:03.320><c> professionals</c><01:20:04.280><c> County</c> real estate

Bills: HF1662 , HF1224 , HF1836 , HF1367 , HF1168 , HF1999 , HF1792 , HF102 , HF2127 , HF104

Committee: House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law

Transcript Highlights:

• If we're going to do something that's real, it needs to be real.
• So we're going to deport these people to Texas and other states to be held in Texas.
• As a real estate agent, I'm not even sure this is legal because what it says is not only can you not
• Our responsibility is to build real investment, real jobs, real opportunity, outside of prisons, outside
• Real time, to real families in places that look like our own communities.

Bills: HM3 , HM11 , HM14 , HM15 , HM21 , HM25 , HB9 , SB2 , SB19

Keywords: nurses, health care workers, healthcare workers, frontline workers, hospital staff, clinicians, allied health professionals, support staff, public health, workforce shortage, nursing shortage, safe staffing, patient safety, rural health care, frontier communities, behavioral health, mental health, substance use disorder, substance abuse, health care memorial

Transcript Highlights:

• We are currently prosecuting 153 cases against those who are culpable and have initiated scores of real
• estate civil asset forfeiture.
• estate-based operation.
• Like you, I am involved in real estate regularly, and it is onerous, but it does provide a hook.
• There is still probably 90,000 to 100,000 acres of real estate owned by Chinese nationals.

Transcript Highlights:

• She has some experience in well and water development, including real estate, with all the things that
• the commission and with the department that had absolutely no understanding of real estate or development
• , understanding about real estate is very helpful, and I really support that.
• </c> understanding about real estate is very understanding about real estate is very helpful<00:15:33.839
• Actual property or the real estate under it. We're able to issue a homestead lease upfront.

Summary: The Committee on Hawaiian Affairs heard nominations for several members of the Burial Council and the Hawaiian Homes Commission. For Burial Council nominations, the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division testified in support of Leimana Abunes, Cyrus Sito, Chantel Freeman, and Chadley Shiml Fenig, emphasizing their genealogical ties, cultural knowledge, experience with iwi kupuna, and commitment to preservation and reinterment. Each nominee also briefly introduced themselves and described their background and motivation to serve. Committee members said they had favorable conversations with the nominees and indicated votes would be taken at the end of the agenda. The committee then took up Governor’s Message 773, Shaylin Ornellas, for the Hawaiian Homes Commission. Testimony in support was strong, including 45 written supports and no opposition, along with oral testimony from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and community supporters. Supporters highlighted Ornellas’ education, real estate and development experience, public service, and connection to Kauaʻi and homestead communities. Ornellas said she was answering a call to serve and discussed her background and commitment to the community. Members questioned Ornellas closely about Act 279, the DHHL waitlist, beneficiary consultation, housing options, and the department’s “paper lease” practice. She said Act 279 was intended to help reduce the waitlist, supported broader housing options and beneficiary input, and acknowledged limited familiarity with the technical details of paper leases. One senator raised concerns that paper leases may not guarantee actual lots and urged further research. The discussion also touched on policy issues such as beneficiaries maintaining their waitlist positions after declining offers or taking rentals, with committee members noting these are commission policy choices rather than statutory mandates.

Transcript Highlights:

• The FBI reports real estate fraud losses in the hundreds of millions annually, and Wyoming is not immune
• Real estate professionals, closing agents, attorneys, gain a straightforward tool to advise clients on
• Real<00:49:56.040><c> estate</c><00:49:56.280><c> professionals</c> Real estate professionals Real estate
• </c> yeah, that isn't real. yeah, that isn't real.
• These are real people. people. These are real people.

Committee: Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions

Transcript Highlights:

• , and the Youth Bridge Housing Commission at UC San Diego.
• Let's check real quick because she was waiting for a very long time. I see Ms.
• And when we're talking about real estate, since you have a background in that, we also know it's location
• We didn't just rent; we owned our homes, and we built a real community there.
• We just want to run through these votes real quick. Give us a couple minutes.

Summary: The committee heard several housing bills, with the longest discussion focused on SB 79, which would allow more housing near high-capacity transit stops and on transit agency-owned land. The author and supporters argued it would address California’s housing shortage, reduce vehicle miles traveled, and strengthen transit systems by putting more residents near rail and rapid transit. Supporters included housing advocates, local officials, environmental groups, and transit-oriented development organizations. Opponents, including many cities, the League of California Cities, and some tenant and legal advocacy groups, raised concerns about affordability requirements, displacement, demolition protections, local control, and the bill’s interaction with existing local planning efforts. The committee discussed amendments to strengthen anti-displacement protections, minimum density, affordability standards, and a local flexibility alternative, and SB 79 was moved out on a due-pass-as-amended vote of 8-1, with one member not voting. The committee then took up SB 21, which would amend the Housing Crisis Act to allow limited unit reductions when converting deed-restricted SRO buildings into larger, more livable affordable units with private bathrooms, kitchens, and supportive services. The author and nonprofit housing providers said many SRO buildings are financially unsustainable and that the bill would preserve deeply affordable housing while improving conditions for residents. There was no organized opposition testimony at the hearing, though one business property group registered opposition. Members expressed support for the preservation-focused approach, and SB 21 was approved on an 8-0 vote and sent to the Assembly Committee on Local Government. Next, SB 92 was heard, a measure to close a density bonus loophole by limiting how much additional commercial floor area a project can receive and preventing the law from being used to justify very large nonresidential projects with only minimal affordable housing. The author cited a San Diego project as an example of the problem, and the City of San Diego supported the bill as a reasonable fix. Several labor and housing groups also supported it, while no formal opposition witnesses testified. The committee accepted amendments, members praised the effort to curb abuse while preserving feasibility, and SB 92 passed on a 7-0 vote. Finally, the committee began hearing SB 522, which would extend just-cause eviction protections to units rebuilt after disaster if they had previously been covered by the Tenant Protection Act. The author and the Los Angeles City Attorney said the bill would help preserve rental housing in disaster-affected communities, especially after the Pacific Palisades fires, and would not create new rent control. Opponents, including apartment, realtor, and property owner groups, argued it would add burdens to rebuilding and could discourage reconstruction. Members raised questions about whether existing law already protects returning tenants and whether the bill was necessary, and the hearing continued into committee discussion.