Week 5 of the short 60-day legislative session is complete. On Monday, February 9, the Legislature cleared the second major cutoff of the 2026 session. All bills were required to pass out of their fiscal committees in their house of origin to remain alive this session. Bills deemed necessary to implement the budget (NTIB), including all revenue proposals, are exempt from cutoff deadlines. Several bills cleared the cutoff and are now in Rules, you can view the list of bills that survived here.

Revenue shortfalls continue to trouble lawmakers this session, as they grapple with a significant projected budget deficit. We are closely monitoring all tax and revenue-generating proposals as potential components of broader budget negotiations. The Millionaires Tax  (SB 6346) advanced out of its fiscal committee this week and now sits in Rules, with debate highlighting a clear partisan divide over its practicality, economic impact, and long-term reliability as a revenue source. In addition to the “Millionaires Tax” there are dozens of other tax proposals on the table. Because tax bills are not subject to cutoff we will likely see which of these proposals have legs later in the session.

Following Monday’s cutoff legislators are headed to the floor to pass bills out of their respective chambers. The House worked late into the early morning hour and on Saturday in order to pass bills before Tuesday, February 17 which is the chamber-of-origin cutoff. Bills that have not passed the chamber in which they were originally introduced by that date will not advance further this session.

AI & Data Centers

HB1170 establishes new transparency, disclosure, and provenance requirements for large generative artificial intelligence providers, effective January 1, 2028. The bill passed out of the House on February 13th (56-37) and will now move to the House for further consideration.

HB 2515, creates a comprehensive new regulatory framework for large, energy‑intensive data centers (“emerging large energy use facilities”). A second substitute version of HB2515 was voted out of the House Appropriations Committee on Monday, February 9 on a 16-12 vote. The bill was then voted out of the House on February 14th (51-41), and is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee on February 20.

Housing & Zoning

HB 2480 and Senate Bill 6026, , both require larger Growth Management Act jurisdictions with populations of 30,000 or more that are planning under the act, including non‑rural counties, to allow residential development in most commercial and mixed-use zones. SB 6026 was considered in executive session in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on February 9, where the second substitute bill was adopted and voted out of committee 20-0, and on February 13 the bill passed the Senate on third reading 36-12.

Important Session Dates:

  • February 4, 2026: House of Origin Policy Cutoff
  • February 9, 2026: House of Origin Fiscal Cutoff
  • February 17, 2026: House of Origin Floor Cutoff
  • February 25, 2026: Opposite House Policy Cutoff
  • March 2, 2026: Opposite House Fiscal Cutoff
  • March 6, 2026: Opposite House Floor Cutoff

Helpful Links for Session: