Transcript Highlights:

• this kind of been on his radar for you know probably three or four years now, and this one is much refined
• this</c><00:18:52.640><c> one</c><00:18:52.720><c> is</c><00:18:52.880><c> much</c><00:18:53.120><c> refined
• </c><00:18:53.440><c> from</c> now and this one is much refined from now and this one is much refined

Committee: House County and Municipal Government

Transcript Highlights:

• And we have other aspects that are just a lot of refining of the language in here, among other things
• just</c><00:14:22.000><c> a</c><00:14:22.160><c> lot</c><00:14:22.399><c> of</c><00:14:22.560><c> refining
• </c><00:14:23.040><c> of</c><00:14:23.199><c> the</c> that are just a lot of refining of the that are
• just a lot of refining of the language<00:14:23.680><c> in</c><00:14:23.920><c> here</c><00:14:24.639

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, I obviously wish we actually had more uh to further help refine this bill uh to get it across the
• Um, I obviously wish we actually had more uh to further help refine this bill uh to get it across the
• Um, I obviously wish we actually had more uh to further help refine this bill uh to get it across the
• Um, I obviously wish we actually had more uh to further help refine this bill uh to get it across the

Committee: House State Government Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• it affordable for individuals and families, and the Step Up is when you're in a home and you will refinance
• it affordable for individuals and families, and the Step Up is when you're in a home and you will refinance
• it affordable for individuals and families, and the Step Up is when you're in a home and you will refinance
• It's been a very heavy lift refining this to be something that we think will be both effective and measured
• It's been a very heavy lift refining this to be something that we think will be both effective and measured

Committee: Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Transcript Highlights:

• activities are ongoing, and the CEC, with partner agencies, has taken several actions to publish data, refiner
• have also taken action; the CEC took action in August to defer any action on the gross gasoline refining
• we are looking at in deferring the action on establishing the max margin and the penalty is the refiners
• It is more expensive to produce gasoline refined fuel.
• They can make more money and put their money into research to refine their products to minimize carbon-neutral

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy heard presentations on six budget-related issues and took no votes; all items were held open for a future hearing. The first item concerned funding for the California Transmission Accelerator Revolving Fund under SB 254 and Proposition 4. GoBiz and IBank requested nearly $26 million over five years and 10 limited-term positions to evaluate and finance eligible transmission projects. The LAO said the proposal was broadly consistent with Prop. 4 but noted many implementation details remain unresolved. Senators questioned how the program would lower ratepayer costs, how funds would be protected, and whether the full requested amount was necessary; the administration said the financing strategy is still being developed and that consultants are needed. The committee then discussed trailer bill language to redirect $22 million in General Fund money from the DEPA program to DSGS for summer 2026, and to use roughly $70 million in CalSHAPE interest for ratepayer relief through ELRP or an equivalent program in 2027-28. CEC and CPUC staff said DSGS and ELRP are reliability tools, not PSPS programs, and explained that DSGS had enrolled over 1,000 MW and was expected to have about $52 million available for 2026. Senators and the LAO raised concerns about ending a successful DSGS program, the complexity of transitioning customers to ELRP, and whether CalSHAPE funds should instead continue school HVAC and plumbing projects. Public commenters largely supported extending CalSHAPE and continuing or expanding DSGS rather than shifting funds to ELRP. The subcommittee also heard on petroleum market oversight under SBX1-2 and ABX2-1. The CEC and its Division of Petroleum Market Oversight requested about $1.67 million and a small permanent staffing increase to implement new inventory, resupply, and market analysis duties. Senators pressed the agencies on gasoline price spikes, refinery maintenance, price gouging, and the status of the transportation fuels transition plan, which staff said would be released in draft form soon. Public testimony supported DPMO’s work and called for continued oversight of gasoline pricing. Finally, the CPUC presented three additional budget proposals: resources to implement AB 1207’s changes to the California climate credit, funding for a study of large electrical loads such as data centers under SB 57, and staffing for AB 825’s regional market participation requirements. The LAO said the AB 1207 request may go beyond the statute and urged the Legislature to decide whether it wants a simpler or more complex climate credit redesign. Senators questioned the cost of the work, the need for ongoing staffing, and how ratepayer interests would be protected. The CPUC said the work is needed to adapt to changing load patterns, electrification, data center growth, and potential regional market participation. Public commenters also supported DPMO funding, CalSHAPE, and DSGS, and some urged the Legislature to keep DSGS at the CEC rather than shift funds to ELRP.

Transcript Highlights:

• An investigation found the disaster could have been prevented if the refiner had acted on workers' safety
• It expands mandates into nearly every aspect of refining operations and creates broad, vague standards
• Shipments on refined products heading to California have dropped from 100,000 barrels a day in April
• There is no report required of these refiners to do that.
• I think the refiners should absolutely do their part in ensuring that this report is public and that

Transcript Highlights:

• And again, certainly appreciate we have to do some refinement there of language.
• And again, certainly appreciate we have to do some refinement there of language. trying to draw in the
• And again, certainly appreciate we have to do some refinement there of language.
• But you are correct that there could be some refinement done here, and we do look to have conversation
• I think that there seems to be opportunity to continue to refine that measure as well.

Committee: House Health

Summary: The committee heard several health-related bills, with most testimony focused on access to care, patient safety, and health system costs. AB 554 (Prepare Act) would expand and clarify protections for HIV prevention medications, including PrEP and injectable PrEP, by limiting prior authorization and step therapy, extending no-cost coverage requirements, and improving reimbursement for small clinics. Supporters said the bill would protect access amid federal threats to HIV prevention, while insurers opposed it as an expensive mandate that could raise premiums and conflict with state affordability targets. The author argued the bill would prevent infections and preserve California’s existing public health protections. AB 577 would limit health plans and PBMs from restricting physicians’ ability to administer or dispense medications directly to patients when medically necessary. Supporters, including physicians and patient advocates, said the bill would improve continuity of care and prevent delays for vulnerable patients; opponents argued it was too broad, could increase drug costs, and could undermine specialty pharmacy networks. The author said amendments narrowed the bill to in-network providers, required patient consent and cost transparency, and exempted hospital outpatient facilities, but the measure still drew opposition over cost concerns. The committee also heard AB 546, which would require coverage of portable HEPA purifiers for vulnerable enrollees during wildfire emergencies, and AB 224, which would codify California’s updated essential health benefits benchmark plan to add infertility treatment, hearing aids, and expanded durable medical equipment coverage if approved by CMS. AB 1032 would require plans to reimburse additional behavioral health visits for wildfire survivors, and AB 849 would require trained chaperones for sensitive ultrasound exams after testimony about sexual abuse in a hospital setting. AB 1196 would update outdated rules requiring three surgeons for certain heart-lung bypass procedures, and AB 1113 would codify a right to wear a mask for health reasons. AB 1386 would add perinatal care as a required hospital service, but the author said the bill would be amended further to address hospital closures and workforce concerns. Several bills drew support from patient advocates, medical groups, and county officials, while insurers and hospital groups often opposed or sought amendments over staffing, cost, and implementation concerns. Some measures were held pending quorum or were scheduled for later action, and no final votes were taken on the bills discussed in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• So what we need to do is we're just going to refine the bill and make sure that or refine the law and
• So what we need to do is we're just going to refine the bill and make sure that or refine the law and
• So what we need to do is we're just going to refine the bill and make sure that or refine the law and
• So what we need to do is we're just going to refine the bill and make sure that or refine the law and
• Do is we we're just going to refine the bill and make sure that or refine the law and make sure that

Bills: HF1667 , HF2526 , HF68

Committee: House Elections Finance and Government Operations

Keywords: correctional fees, supervision fees, probation, Department of Corrections, criminal justice funding, electronic home monitoring, drug testing, restitution collection, community service work, postprison supervision, court-ordered services, fee sunset, fee phaseout, offender fees, community corrections, supervised individuals

Transcript Highlights:

• What this bill does, it creates the framework for the program that allows each university to refine it
• , wholesalers, miners, and other industries. ...refiners, wholesalers, miners, and other industries.
• people that do transactional apps like what's being discussed here, and then everything from the refining
• process to getting the metal out of the ground, to refining it, to shaping it, and then selling it to
• people. ...refining process to getting the metal out of the ground, to refining it, to shaping it, and

Committee: House Appropriations

Summary: The committee first considered House Bill 350, which would extend the grade levels at Ecole Pointe-au-Chien from fourth through eighth grade. The sponsor and several members emphasized the school’s importance to Terrebonne Parish, French immersion, and school choice. An amendment was adopted making the bill subject to appropriation, and the bill was reported favorably as amended. Members then approved House Bill 749, which authorizes the Louisiana Tuition Trust Authority to contract with a program manager for certain savings programs, including ABLE, START, and START K-12, in response to a prior cyber incident and to improve security and customer service. An amendment simplified the bill’s effective-date language so provisions would take effect upon execution of the contract. The bill was reported favorably as amended. The committee also advanced House Bill 979 to increase the survivor benefit for law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty from $250,000 to $350,000. Testimony from the governor’s office said the increase could be covered within existing appropriations and that the amount was consistent with inflation since the benefit was last set. The bill was reported favorably. Later, House Bill 42 creating a phased retirement option for public post-secondary employees in the Teachers’ Retirement System was reported favorably, and House Bill 205 to allow local clerks of court to supplement election commissioner pay by up to $100 per election was also reported favorably after extensive testimony about staffing shortages and stagnant pay. The committee additionally reported favorably House Bill 12 extending survivor benefits to reserve officers killed in the line of duty, and House Bill 324 on judicial salaries, after amending it to remove future COLA provisions and leave only the permanent stipend increase.

Transcript Highlights:

• has not been an absolutely easy process this year, but we are continuing to work with the vendor to refine
• To refine those and to make it easier, first for the folks that are applying and receiving these awards
• The majority of those will be front-loaded, and then we start over and begin refining again.
• That's been very good this year, and we continue to refine those processes.

Transcript Highlights:

• So when someone refinances a loan where they get on their kid's mortgage or something like that, they
• The refinance thing—it's actually not an easy thing to filter because a lot of people simply do... filter
• because a lot of people simply do refinance.

Bills: HB479 , HB480

Committee: House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections

Keywords: voting, elections, voter registration, voter rolls, list maintenance, address change, change of address, ERIC, Electronic Registration Information Center, AVID, Alabama Voter Integrity Database, Secretary of State, board of registrars, inactive voter, voter purge, duplicate registration, cross-state voter matching, National Change of Address, NCOA, driver license data

Transcript Highlights:

• life cycle takes into account upstream extraction and transport of the crude oil, emissions from refining
• each step of the life cycle, including feedstock production, transport, energy used to render or refine
• their compliance obligations through investing in technologies that reduce crude extraction and refining
• gallon get impacted by all the other decisions of the price per gallon, whether it's crude oil, refining
• Biofuels are deeply impacting from feedstock to refining to combustion.

Summary: The hearing was a select committee discussion on the transportation costs and impacts of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), with opening remarks from the co-chairs and members emphasizing affordability, climate goals, and the need to explain the program’s benefits to the public. The first panel from CARB and the California Energy Commission described how LCFS works as a market-based, declining carbon-intensity program that rewards lower-carbon fuels, supports zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, and is intended to reduce greenhouse gases and local air pollution. They argued the program has driven billions in private investment, increased alternative fuel use, and that LCFS credit prices are not the main driver of retail gasoline prices, which they said are dominated by crude oil, refining, and distribution costs. Members questioned the panel on the gap between the regulatory target and actual carbon-intensity performance, the role of credit banking, which fuels are generating the most credits, how the 2025 amendments affected the program, and whether LCFS credits are truly additional. CARB explained that banking helps cost-effectiveness and investment certainty, that ethanol, renewable diesel, and biodiesel currently provide the largest volumes while electricity is expected to grow, and that the updated targets were informed by the state’s 2045 carbon-neutrality goals and the 2030 scoping plan. The Energy Commission said its data show environmental programs add some cost to gasoline but do not drive price volatility, which is mainly tied to crude oil and refinery margins. The second panel, featuring academic and research experts, focused on program design, out-of-state credit generation, and broader economic effects. Speakers said LCFS is successful because it ties incentives to emissions benefit, uses life-cycle analysis, and allows flexible compliance that lowers costs compared with more direct regulation. They also said the program’s benefits generally outweigh costs, that it can reduce air pollution disparities and support equity, but that some issues—especially indirect land use change, additionality, and older program assumptions—need more research and may warrant future rulemaking. One researcher noted that while LCFS likely raises gasoline prices somewhat, the effect is uncertain by design and usually smaller than normal market fluctuations, and another warned that limiting credit generation too narrowly could create legal and efficiency problems.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:33:11.120><c> our</c> stakeholders so that we can refine our stakeholders so that we can refine
• </c><00:47:46.520><c> So,</c><00:47:47.160><c> I</c> refine this and see what happens.
• So, I refine this and see what happens.
• And uh, we will—we have defined, but we will refine and add to them over time.
• And then we refine deliverable plans.

Committee: Joint Health Services

Transcript Highlights:

• Second, there was refinement of agency interpretation of the law following the 2023 legislative session
• Second, there was refinement of agency interpretation of the law following the 2023 legislative session
• Upon passage, DEED refined their understanding of the language and went and said, actually, those first
• the refinement of agency assumptions<00:14:58.440><c> regarding</c><00:14:58.759><c> days</c><00:14:
• their understanding of the refine their understanding of the language<00:15:38.160><c> and</c><00:15

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• We're continuing to refine that.
• So we continue to kind of refine and ask why, but I hope to have more information on that for you as
• So making some refinements to our process there.
• Again, another system work group spent many years on that, or two years on that work, to refine that
• So making some refinements to our process there.

Summary: The committee held a work session on the state of Washington’s community and technical college system with State Board executive director Nate Humphrey and Tacoma Community College president Ivan Harrell. They described the system’s open-access mission, 34 colleges serving more than 307,000 students, relatively low tuition, enrollment growth over 12 consecutive quarters, and strong outcomes such as more than 46,000 credentials awarded last year. They also highlighted system initiatives including guided pathways, I-BEST, dual enrollment, tribal partnerships, a new program search tool, and six colleges named Aspen Prize finalists. At the same time, they emphasized major challenges: high rates of student food, housing, and homelessness insecurity; sharply rising emergency aid requests; and federal funding disruptions affecting TANF, BFET, adult basic education, Carl Perkins, NOAA-related tribal work, and several federal grants. Members asked about SNAP impacts, declining high school graduates, and how BFET and TANF interact with other aid programs. The presenters also discussed system priorities such as AI, Workforce Pell, capital planning, nursing accreditation alignment, and the Washington College Grant. The committee then heard testimony from AFT Washington and the Washington Association of Higher Education on faculty and staff conditions in the community and technical college system. Jackie Kane and Suzanne Sutherland argued that classified staff, professional staff, and contingent faculty are essential to student success but face low pay, instability, and weak retention, and they urged lawmakers to protect existing funding and avoid further cuts. They said working conditions for faculty and staff are student learning conditions, and that underfunding leads to reduced services, shortened advising, and program instability. Marina Parr of the Workforce Board presented on federal H.R. 1’s new Workforce Pell provisions and the updated Career Bridge website. She explained that Workforce Pell would allow federal aid for short-term training programs of 8 to 15 weeks, with high completion, employment, and earnings thresholds and a requirement that credentials be stackable and portable. She said Washington is well positioned to implement the program because of its existing eligible training provider evaluation system and Career Bridge, which now has a redesigned public portal, digital portfolios, multilingual access, and performance data on programs. Members asked about rulemaking, possible gaps in state services, and how the wage and completion standards would be applied. The Washington Student Achievement Council then briefed the committee on the new Washington Completes FAFSA campaign created by executive order. Staff described an advisory board with statewide representation, a pilot that used microgrants and other supports at 25 priority schools, and a new goal of 46,000 FAFSA or WASFA completions this year. They reported that completion rates were tracking slightly ahead of last year, with 24% of high school seniors having completed a FAFSA by the end of November, and they showcased a public dashboard with subgroup data and a WIAA-based leaderboard. Members asked about outreach to rural and homeschool students, legislative communications, Pierce County representation, and barriers to FAFSA completion, and staff said they would provide toolkits and continue expanding outreach. The committee then began hearing from student presenters about affordability, access, equity, and student experience.

Transcript Highlights:

• talking about two distinct things, not the slaughter process itself, but then taking the cuts from refining
• talking about two distinct things, not the slaughter process itself, but then taking the cuts from refining
• talking about two distinct things, not the slaughter process itself, but then taking the cuts from refining
• talking about two distinct things, not the slaughter process itself, but then taking the cuts from refining
• talking about two distinct things, not the slaughter process itself, but then taking the cuts from refining

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 345, which would establish ʻōpae ʻula as the state shrimp. The Department of Land and Natural Resources and Kua Ulu Aumo testified in strong support, saying the designation could help protect endemic shrimp in anchialine pools and increase public education and awareness. In response to questions, DLNR said it would use existing education programs, press releases, and partnerships for statewide outreach and was not seeking a separate appropriation for that purpose. Members then took up SCR 132 and SR 111, which encourage adoption of recommendations from the UN Global Plastics Treaty and the Rapa Nui Summit Declaration on climate justice and sustainable development. Greenpeace Hawaii supported the measures, arguing that plastic production is tied to fossil fuel interests and that microplastics pose serious health and environmental risks. The committee later adopted the measures with amendments, including a change from “waste hierarchy” to “zero waste hierarchy” and technical edits. The final measures, SCR 157 and SR 127, urged the state to adopt and implement the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea agreement on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. DLNR testified that it had only just reviewed the resolution but stood on its written testimony. The committee passed SCR 157 and SR 127 as is. The meeting also included a separate hearing on SCR 89 and SR 72, which would create a University of Hawaiʻi Community College pathway for meat processing. The Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Farm Bureau, and Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council supported the idea, citing workforce needs and local protein supply, while several members raised concerns about whether a formal educational pathway or degree requirement might unnecessarily limit entry into the field; discussion focused on whether the proposal should be more vocational and whether there is enough data on workforce demand. No final vote on those measures was shown in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• But as implementation has moved forward, additional refinements are needed to ensure the system operates
• We'd like to extend our tremendous thanks to the author for providing us with this opportunity to refine
• So we're, again, very appreciative that the author has refined SB 848 and that we're working together
• Specifically, SB 954 clarifies the intent of the Legislature to refine what advanced manufacturing should
• Specifically, SB 954 clarifies the intent of the legislature to refine what advanced manufacturing should

Committee: Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement

Summary: The committee heard SB 921, which would create a tax credit to help agricultural employers offset overtime premium costs for farmworkers. Senator Grove and supporters, including farmworkers, the California Farm Bureau, and agricultural groups, argued the bill would restore lost hours and take-home pay after California’s agricultural overtime law reduced schedules. Opponents, including the California Federation of Labor Unions and CRLA Foundation, argued the proposal would subsidize employers with taxpayer dollars and undermine the principle that employers should pay overtime themselves. The bill was held in subcommittee until more members arrived. The committee then took up SB 1083, a cleanup bill to the prior year’s school employee misconduct database law. The author and supporters said it would add due process protections for classified school employees, require an administrative law judge review before placement in the database, and improve notice and vetting rules for contractors and non-permanent staff. School employer groups and other opponents warned the bill could slow investigations and weaken child-safety protections. The committee approved the bill 3-0 and sent it to Senate Appropriations. Members also considered SB 1089, which would require CalPERS health plans to cover GLP-1 medications and expand access through CalRX for chronic weight management and related health conditions. The author and supporters, including the American Diabetes Association and medical groups, said the drugs can prevent diabetes and improve health outcomes but remain unaffordable for many. Pharma representatives expressed concerns about the bill as drafted but said they were open to continued discussions. The bill passed 4-0 to Appropriations. The committee also approved the consent calendar 4-0. Later, the committee heard SB 954, which would narrow and add guardrails to last year’s CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing, including environmental review near disadvantaged communities and labor standards such as prevailing wage and skilled-and-trained workforce requirements. Labor, environmental, and community groups supported the bill as a cleanup of an overly broad exemption, while business and manufacturing groups opposed it, warning it would discourage investment and worsen California’s competitiveness. The bill passed 3-1 to Appropriations. Finally, SB 1299, a fire sprinkler fitter certification bill, was heard and passed 3-0 to Appropriations with support from the sprinkler fitters and building trades and no recorded opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we disassemble and then go into an electric refiner, which is a molten salt bath, basically.
• It's organized into centers that focus on separations, refining, It's organized into centers that focus
• on separations, refining, and beneficiation.
• You extract rare minerals, you have a minor refining process, but how many refiners do you... ...rare
• minerals, you have a minor refining process, but how many refineries do we have to complete the process

Summary: The meeting opened with remarks about the value of public engagement and the availability of presentation materials, then moved into a series of technical briefings from Idaho National Laboratory staff. Joe Renovitz described recent federal and DOE efforts to streamline nuclear regulation for advanced reactors, including NRC Part 53 and upcoming Part 57 rulemaking, DOE authorization updates, crosswalks between DOE and NRC requirements, and use of AI to speed licensing communications and document review. He emphasized that the goal is to align safety standards for advanced technologies, reduce rework for developers, and support deployment for commercial, defense, and research uses. In response to questions, he said there is no current plan to merge agencies, but there is more information-sharing and embedded NRC staff at DOE facilities; he also noted public outreach is supported through groups like GAIN and NEI. David Tolman then discussed the nuclear fuel cycle, covering uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, spent fuel storage, transportation, disposal, and recycling. He explained high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), DOE’s HALEU Availability Program, and the need to expand domestic enrichment, deconversion, and transportation capacity to support advanced reactors and the 2050 nuclear growth goal. He also reviewed used fuel management, including on-site storage at operating and shutdown reactors, the Center for Used Fuel Research at INL, a high-burnup research cask project, and the long-term repository question, which he said is ultimately political as well as technical. He outlined reprocessing approaches—aqueous/Purex, pyrochemical, and fluoride volatility—describing INL’s work on electrochemical processing of EBR-II fuel and noting industry interest from several companies in recycling technologies. Ashley Shields presented on AI for nuclear applications, describing INL’s use of generative AI, high-performance computing, and digital-twin tools to accelerate reactor design, licensing, operations, and materials development. She highlighted the Prometheus effort to pursue highly automated reactor design and operation, the large documentation burden for reactor licensing, and ongoing work on autonomous control, remote operation, and AI-assisted materials qualification through the Vulcan challenge and related data platforms. In questions, she said AI tools are used under data-governance and security controls, with different models chosen for different tasks, and argued that software engineers and human oversight remain necessary. The session ended with a brief recess announcement and a transition to a later presentation on critical minerals and materials.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's been refined a bit to capture differences in proficiency level and formal education level.
• </c><00:15:38.560><c> It's</c><00:15:38.720><c> been</c><00:15:38.880><c> refined</c><00:15:39.199><c
• It's been refined a bit to built out.
• </c><00:15:57.600><c> within</c><00:15:57.839><c> the</c> you have some refinement within the you have
• some refinement within the special<00:15:58.240><c> education</c><00:15:58.720><c> weights</c><00:15

Transcript Highlights:

• They don't think they're going to be able to, for example, refinance their debt in the coming years at
• And on that front, refining the MFTE program further seems really important.
• MFTE program, missing middle, some of the other reforms in the housing space, we've seen the need to refine
• need to be made to try to close that gap. ...and figure out what refinements need to be made to try
• simplifying interagency environmental review; four, continue WSDOT's efforts and support them to refine

Committees: Joint Transportation , Joint Joint Transportation Committee

Summary: The committee met in the Quad Cities area and first heard a joint presentation from public works directors from Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, and West Richland on regional transportation priorities, challenges, and project delivery. The cities said their priorities align with JTC goals such as safety, multimodal access, climate resilience, and economic development. They highlighted regional coordination through the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments and Good Roads, use of multiple funding sources including TIB, REIT, impact fees, transportation benefit districts, and tax increment financing, and a shared approach to Vision Zero, complete streets, ADA access, and active transportation planning. They also described major projects such as Richland’s downtown connectivity and SR 240/Aaron Drive improvements, Kennewick’s Columbia Center Boulevard corridor and rail study, Pasco’s Court/Road 68, Sylvester Street, Broadmoor interchange, and north-south bridge concepts, and West Richland’s SR 224 Red Mountain project. The directors also described common obstacles: rising construction costs, project phasing, permitting and right-of-way delays, utility coordination, pavement preservation needs, and workforce shortages. West Richland emphasized that its SR 224 project stayed on schedule by setting clear roles, maintaining frequent communication, resolving right-of-way issues early, and reducing contractor risk through detailed plans and utility relocation. Committee members asked about sidewalk connections to schools, state-agency right-of-way timelines, apprenticeship utilization, contractor selection, and whether complete streets requirements add burdens. The cities said sidewalk gaps are most common in older infill or unincorporated areas, state right-of-way processes can be slow, apprenticeship requirements are generally built into funded projects but are hard for smaller contractors to meet, and there is no easy fix for low-bid contractors with poor performance histories. After the local presentations, staff introduced a JTC-funded study on transit-oriented development policy, and Urban Institute researcher Yona Freemark presented findings from work covering 33 cities in the Puget Sound, Spokane, and Vancouver regions near rail and bus rapid transit stations. He said Washington faces a severe housing affordability problem, with rising rents and home prices, and that TOD can help connect housing and transit but must be tailored to different market conditions. The study found that higher-cost cities near transit have seen more development but also signs of gentrification and loss of affordable housing, while lower-cost cities have had less development and still face worsening affordability. Freemark identified barriers including high debt and construction costs, limited subsidy resources, high land costs, regulatory and parking requirements, and impact fees, and he said HB 1491 and related legislation may address some zoning and parking constraints. He recommended more targeted state support for neighborhood infrastructure around stations and policies that reflect the different conditions of high- and low-demand communities.