Transcript Highlights:

• that the court deems fair and just for both parties, considering evidence of a number of statutory factors
• As I mentioned, the cost of land is a key factor in the price builders can charge for homes.
• As I mentioned, the cost of land is a key factor in the price builders can charge for homes.

Bills: SB6139 , SB6214 , SB6237 , SB6091 , SB6096 , SB6200 , SGA9278 , SGA9279

Committee: Senate Housing

Keywords: rental payments, landlords, tenants, eviction, legal procedures, housing stability, land banking, property authority, housing development, urban planning, real estate management, SB 6237, Washington landlord-tenant law, Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, rental property disclosure, flood risk, flood hazard area, special flood hazard area, potential flooding, tenant notice

Transcript Highlights:

• And so we have a list here of all the different factors in the SEG: special education, at-risk, bilingual
• One example of, I think, a loophole in the SEG is the rural population factor.
• So the 3,000 factors involved...

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• level is at or below 50% of the state median income and the child meets at least one specified risk factor
• prioritized for available funded slots according to a DCYF prioritization system that considers risk factors
• prioritization system for enrollment in available funded slots, requiring it to take into account factors

Summary: The Early Learning & Human Services Committee held public hearings on several child care and disability-related bills. House Bill 2317 would exempt certain ECAP and Head Start programs from DCYF licensing when they operate part-day or school-day in public school buildings or on public school property. Staff and the prime sponsor said the bill would remove duplicative licensing barriers and help expand preschool seats, especially as Washington prepares to add more ECAP slots. Testifiers from Head Start, school-linked providers, and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools supported the bill, describing licensing delays, added costs, and lost classroom time; no one testified in opposition. The committee also heard House Bill 2099, which would expand ECAP access for military families with incomes up to Working Connections Child Care limits and adjust prioritization for families with deployed or single custodial military parents. The prime sponsor and multiple supporters, including retired military leaders, Head Start/ECAP advocates, ESD staff, and a military-community partnership, said military families face frequent moves, deployment-related strain, and child care shortages that affect readiness and family stability. Testifiers said the bill would help families access care without changing the program’s low-income focus or adding state cost. House Bill 2350 would require DSHS to notify residents, guardians, and family members when a residential habilitation center is found out of compliance with federal CMS requirements, and to provide follow-up notices on correction and enforcement actions. The sponsor said the bill responds to limited communication around recent noncompliance issues at Rainier School and would improve transparency; DSHS had requested a narrow amendment about how notice is provided to residents. Disability rights advocates strongly supported the bill, saying families need timely information to protect loved ones and make informed decisions. Finally, House Bill 2318 would let ECAP and Head Start children count toward the 5% subsidy participation threshold needed for Early Achievers quality improvement awards. Supporters said the current rule can discourage providers from enrolling ECAP children because it risks losing an award, even though ECAP already requires Early Achievers participation. The sponsor and testifiers described the bill as a small fix to reduce a funding disincentive for providers serving high-need children. The committee took no votes and adjourned after closing the hearings on all four bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• On the left-hand side, there's weighting factors for rural facility and population factors.
• The technical score factors are important because they relate directly to the four policy bills that

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: Legislative Management met with a quorum, approved the July 11, 2025 minutes, and then considered recommendations from the Legislative Procedures and Arrangements Committee. Beth Dittes explained proposed special session rule changes, which largely mirror prior special session rules and are intended to speed floor action. The changes would allow faster second readings and transmission between chambers, replace regular standing committees with two joint committees for the special session—Joint Appropriations and Joint Policy—and limit bill introduction methods. The package also included delayed-effective-date changes for the next regular session, such as moving the agency and Supreme Court prefile deadline earlier and advancing several resolution deadlines. Liz Fordall then reviewed revisions to the legislative workplace harassment policy, including clarified definitions, longer intake and review deadlines, an option for informal resolution before a review panel, and clearer disclosure rules. The committee adopted the report and forwarded the rules and policy changes. The committee also approved tentative first-day special session agendas for both chambers, with a Speaker-requested revision to allow time to swear in new House members. Megan Gordon outlined the schedule: early Rules Committee meetings, morning floor sessions, a joint session for the governor’s State of the State, then meetings of the joint appropriations and policy committees, with optional later floor and committee time. Members discussed how the joint committees would handle bills and confirmed the process would mirror the prior special session. The agendas were adopted. Chairman Bekkedahl then reported for the Rural Health Transformation Committee, which had completed its work and recommended five bill drafts for the special session: a Presidential Physical Fitness Test requirement for schools, a nutrition component for physician continuing education, joining a physician assistant licensure compact, expanding pharmacist scope for lab testing and prescribing, and a two-year appropriations bill to cover the program through the next regular session. He explained the federal rural health transformation grant, the state’s application, funding restrictions, and the need to keep the bills aligned with CMS requirements to avoid funding reductions or clawbacks. DHS officials said the department would measure outcomes through required metrics, use templates for awards, and set up an Office of Health Transformation to track long-term impacts. The committee adopted the rural health report and forwarded the bills. Finally, members discussed special-session logistics. Legislative staff said employment committees would approve a limited number of staff, Legislative Management would serve as the delayed-bills committee, and a letter would be sent to legislators explaining the process and a suggested Friday noon drafting deadline for bills to be considered at the January 20 meeting. The committee also discussed how many bills might be introduced and how to assign the rural health bills to the House or Senate for origin. No formal vote was taken on those logistics, and the meeting adjourned with plans to reconvene on January 20.

Transcript Highlights:

• But your overall net fiscal position is around $9 million to the positive even after factoring in this
• So certainly alternative vehicle or electric vehicle adoption is one of the factors.
• Alternative vehicle or electric vehicle adoption is one of the factors that's considered in the forecast

Bills: SB6005

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: transportation budget, transportation appropriations, capital budget, supplemental budget, Washington State Department of Transportation, WSDOT, Washington State Patrol, Department of Licensing, ferries, Puget Sound ferries, tolling, express toll lanes, highway safety, traffic safety, impaired driving, ignition interlock, speed cameras, transit funding, public transit, multimodal transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• But your overall net fiscal position is around $9 million to the positive even after factoring in this
• So certainly alternative vehicle or electric vehicle adoption is one of the factors.
• Alternative vehicle or electric vehicle adoption is one of the factors that's considered in the forecast

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee met on January 13, 2026, for a work session on Governor Ferguson’s proposed 2026 supplemental transportation budget and a public hearing on Senate Bill 6005, which makes supplemental transportation appropriations for the 2025–27 biennium. Committee staff reviewed the transportation budget outlook, noting that the 2025 session had balanced the transportation budget over four years with significant new revenues, but that recent fuel-tax and Climate Commitment Act forecasts had softened the long-term outlook. Staff and the governor’s budget team said the proposal still leaves the budget in positive shape while addressing major needs such as preservation, ferry replacement, maintenance, and the state self-insurance account. The governor’s office described a $16.8 billion transportation budget proposal centered on preservation and maintenance, including $3.1 billion in bonding for eligible preservation projects, $1.1 billion for three new ferries, additional ferry preservation funding, pavement and bridge work, maintenance funding, County Road Administration Board startup money, State Patrol communications upgrades, DOL service access improvements, dredging for the Lower Columbia River, and restored regional mobility grant funding. Committee members asked about ferry capacity, DOL mobile offices, self-insurance costs, and whether additional preservation money could be used in 2026. Testifiers from cities, counties, labor, ports, construction, business, and environmental groups generally supported the emphasis on preservation, ferry reliability, local road funding, and freight projects, while some urged broader transit and rail investment and one witness criticized the budget’s spending approach. During public testimony on SB 6005, speakers from Bainbridge Island and ferry communities supported ferry investments and reliability improvements; local government and labor representatives backed preservation funding and better working conditions for transportation workers; business and construction groups endorsed maintenance, paving, bridge repair, and the Lower Columbia dredging item; and port and environmental advocates supported freight, port electrification, and rail funding. One witness raised concerns about the cost and long-term implications of hybrid-electric ferry maintenance, and another urged restraint in spending. The hearing ended after testimony, with the chair noting the sign-in tally and adjourning the committee without a vote on the bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM TO BE ONE OF THE FACTORS.
• ONE OF THE MYRIAD OF FACTORS THAT MAY FACTOR INTO WHY STUDENTS ARE NOT GRADUATING BUT THE ASSESSMENTS

Transcript Highlights:

• The funding formula itself comprises the following factors: population, arrests, DUI citations, and prison
• Of course, the factors that are included can vary, but these have been selected as what we believe is
• continue protections for user devices and the department's network, enhancing cybersecurity and multi-factor

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• determine what that may be, and that harm is the predominant cause, meaning there could be a lot of other factors
• is it gives them a little more wiggle room to work with, because there could be a number of other factors
• So they evaluate all of these factors and not just look at it from a standpoint of vessel activity.

Committee: Senate Environment and Natural Resources

Summary: The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee first considered the appointment of Joshua Kellam to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Kellam described his background with Garcia Companies, emphasized his conservation interests and land stewardship work, and addressed concerns about his development ties, the commission’s composition, the recent black bear hunt vote, and a prior Yes on 2 campaign supported by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Supporters said he is a conservation-minded landowner and good steward of large acreage, while opponents argued the commission is already overrepresented by developers and lacks scientific or conservation expertise. After debate, the committee voted to recommend his confirmation, with Senators Smith and Arrington voting no and the rest of the members present voting yes. The committee then received an FWC implementation update on recently enacted boating and waterways legislation. FWC staff reviewed five laws: the Boater Freedom Act (SB 1388), Vessel Accountability (SB 164), Lucy’s Law/Boating Safety (HB 289), Disposition of Migrant Vessels (SB 830), and Water Access Facilities (HB 735). The presentation covered new rules on vessel stops, safety decals, Springs Protection Zones, derelict and at-risk vessel enforcement, long-term anchoring permits, tougher boating penalties, removal of migrant vessels, and grants for boating access infrastructure. Staff said rulemaking and officer training were underway, with some provisions already effective and others scheduled to take effect later in 2025 or January 2026. Members asked follow-up questions about derelict vessel cost recovery and the new Springs Protection Zone standard. FWC explained that responsible owners must reimburse removal costs and can lose vessel registration privileges if they do not pay. On Springs Protection Zones, staff said the new law raises the threshold from any harm to significant harm and requires vessel activity to be the predominant cause, with subject matter experts and partner agencies helping make that determination. Senator Smith questioned whether the higher standard makes protections harder to establish and asked about Silver Glen Springs; FWC said that proposal was paused and would be revisited under the new criteria. The committee took no further action and adjourned after the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• The reasoning for that is that we mirrored our constitutional terms and other factors, similar to what
• So the other factors we need to consider play a significant role in overall water management.
• Is it a factor in ensuring water supply?

Bills: HB3077 , HJR2 , HJR7 , HJR7

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: alcohol, taxation, reporting requirements, sales, distribution, death tax, inheritance tax, estate tax, property transfer, constitutional amendment, water fund, Texas water supply, state revenue, infrastructure, HJR 7, Texas Legislature, quorum, majority quorum, two-thirds quorum, legislative procedure

Transcript Highlights:

• BUT ONCE AGAIN I AM A FACTOR OF WORKING IN A WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION WITH A MEN BUT ONCE AGAIN I AM A
• FACTOR OF WORKING IN A WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION WITH A MEN AND WOMEN IN THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM THAT
• RECOMMENDATIONS AND WALL PACK COST EFFECTIVE PROJECTS ARE TRIAGED SOMETIMES COST CANNOT BE THE SOLE DETERMINING FACTOR

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Governor's budget recognized several risk factors that could negatively affect the economy and state
• These factors include stock market and asset price volatility and declines, particularly those affecting

Summary: The Senate Committee on Appropriations met for its first hearing under the new chair and opened with remarks about California’s ongoing fiscal challenges and the need to balance policy goals with budget constraints. The Department of Finance gave general comments on the state’s financial condition, noting risks such as market volatility, revenue uncertainty, and projected out-year shortfalls driven by spending growth outpacing revenues. The chair also reminded witnesses to focus on fiscal impacts rather than policy arguments. The committee then considered 26 Senate bills on the suspense file agenda, with authors waiving presentation on each measure. Public testimony was limited but included support for SB 1240 from California Association of Nonprofits and several related organizations, and support for SB 943 from the State Water Contractors, SB 1056 from a representative of Valerre, and SB 881, SB 886, SB 891, SB 920, SB 937, SB 944, SB 946, SB 948, SB 959, SB 964, SB 987, SB 1006, SB 1009, SB 1044, SB 1047, SB 1049, SB 1053, SB 1054, SB 1108, SB 1132, SB 1140, SB 1198, and others received no testimony or no opposition. The Department of Finance had no file or specific comments on the measures before the committee. With no questions or objections from members on any item, each bill was moved to the suspense file. After a brief recess and the arrival of Senator Wahab, the committee recorded her presence and then concluded the agenda and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Governor's budget recognized several risk factors that could negatively affect the economy and state
• These factors include stock market and asset price volatility and declines, particularly those affecting

Committee: Senate Appropriations

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• separation from employment was based on good cause, and those are based on the unemployment law good-cause factors
• separation from employment was based on good cause, and those are based on the unemployment law good-cause factors

Bills: HB1526

Committee: Senate Labor & Commerce

Keywords: liquor license, snack bar, state regulations, alcohol sales, business licensing, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Lovick, Senate Bill 6131, updating the role of the Traffic Safety Commission in identifying risk factors
• Lovick, Senate Bill 6131, updating the role of the Traffic Safety Commission in identifying risk factors

Bills: SB6131 , SB6311 , SJM8016 , SB6230 , SB6032 , SB6335

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: traffic safety, roadway fatalities, Washington traffic safety commission, policy update, road safety, accident prevention, pedestrian safety, construction, accessibility, public safety, urban planning, bridge repair, infrastructure, emergency funding, transportation, cash transactions, pennies, currency, economic efficiency, financial regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• Lovick, Senate Bill 6131, updating the role of the Traffic Safety Commission in identifying risk factors
• Lovick, Senate Bill 6131, updating the role of the Traffic Safety Commission in identifying risk factors

Summary: The Transportation Committee met in executive session and considered seven measures, with staff briefing members on proposed amendments and substitutes. The main policy bills included Substitute Senate Bill 6066 on crash prevention zones, Senate Bill 6131 on the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission’s role in traffic safety and fatality review, Senate Bill 6311 on maintaining pedestrian passage during construction, Senate Bill 6230 on rounding cash transactions to eliminate pennies, Senate Bill 6032 on covering or cleaning towed vehicles with mud or debris, and Senate Bill 6335 revising the State Transportation Commission. The committee also considered Substitute Joint Memorial 8016, urging federal emergency treatment for the Fairfax Bridge closure and replacement. Members discussed competing amendments on SB 6066, including proposals to clarify enforcement coordination, signage, penalty amounts, and the scope of local versus state crash prevention zones. On SB 6131, amendments were offered to either remove or narrow the Traffic Safety Commission’s public health authority designation, while another amendment added HIPAA-related definitions and confidentiality protections. For SB 6311, the substitute focused on continuous accessible pedestrian passage near hospitals, parks, and schools, with later clarifications on where the requirement applies, local feasibility standards, and liability limits. SB 6230’s amendments would have allowed exact-payment exceptions and permissive rounding authority, while SB 6032’s amendment would have required reusable covers if a driver chooses to cover a towed vehicle. The committee adopted or accepted substitutes and then advanced all seven measures with do-pass recommendations to the Rules Committee. Senator King withdrew his SB 6066 substitute, SB 6131’s withdrawn amendments were replaced by adoption of amendment S-4874.1, and SB 6311’s substitute was withdrawn and then advanced in the revised form. SB 6230’s amendments were withdrawn after members noted a floor substitute was being worked on, and SB 6032’s amendment was set aside because the prime sponsor was absent. The meeting ended with thanks to committee staff and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• And sometimes just the mere factor of a bit of dust, depending on the level of allergy that you have,
• And sometimes just the mere factor of a bit of dust, depending on the level of allergy that you have,

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But there are a lot of other factors that play into...
• But there are a lot of other factors that play into the actual usage in the building.

Summary: The State Administration Budget Subcommittee met to receive an overview and tour of Capitol complex construction projects funded through the Department of Management Services (DMS). Deputy Secretary Tom Berger gave a historical and project-by-project presentation on the Capitol campus, explaining the evolution of the historic Capitol and the current tower complex, and describing major ongoing work including the Waller Park west entry/ADA and waterproofing project, the east entry security screening area, Cabinet meeting room modernization, historic Capitol re-roofing, the large Capitol HVAC replacement, window replacement, Memorial Park improvements, the Holocaust Memorial, the North Loading Zone, and Knott Plaza upgrades. He noted that the Capitol windows and HVAC work are intended to address aging systems and improve resilience, security, and accessibility, and said the broader Capitol window project will continue over several years. Members asked questions about the African-American memorial, the old bank/archives building with water damage, the roofing material and expected lifespan, the legal definition of the Capitol complex, and the history of early legislative meetings in Pensacola and St. Augustine. Berger said the African-American memorial base is built and the installation should be completed in March or April, while the archives building is owned and managed by the Department of State. He also explained that the roof uses a slate-like material designed for a 50-year life cycle, though major storms could still damage it, and clarified that the Capitol complex can be defined differently in statute versus operationally. Chair Lopez and other members requested follow-up information, including a rendering of the African-American memorial and a table summarizing the Capitol investments and when the facilities were last updated, so members can better explain the spending to constituents. Berger said he would provide the requested information, and the committee then concluded the presentation and proceeded to the tour.

Transcript Highlights:

• Americans who have at least one major risk factor, including obesity, physical activity, high blood pressure
• However, good news is that many of these risk factors can be reduced through lifestyle changes such as

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's not a factor of safety or a buffer in there. That's what our roads are designed to.
• There's a lot of factors that I'm not an expert on, but everything that I've... expert on, but everything

Bills: SB46

Committee: House Mobile County Legislation

Keywords: 1136, house, all