The Weekly Update

Special Session  

Both the Assembly and Senate convened last week to consider the May 2026 Special Session Senate Bill 1/Assembly Bill 1. The bill passed the Assembly as amended on a 61-32 vote, but it was nonconcurred by the Senate, so the bill ultimately failed.  

If interested, you can read the legislative fiscal bureau summary of the original bill here, and a summary of the amendment here.  

State Building Commission 

The State Building Commission met last week and unanimously passed all UW items on the agenda. You can view the full agenda here, as well as the meeting minutes here once available.  

Please check back for updates.

House Homeland Security Committee Update 

Last week, as noted in a committee press release linked below, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino "sent a letter to Instructure Holdings, Inc. requesting information on two recent cyber intrusions targeting the company’s platform, Canvas, which were reportedly carried out by the cybercriminal group known as ShinyHunters." 

For more, you can read the letter and full committee press release here.  

Senate HELP Committee Update 

Last week, as noted in a committee press release linked below, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, U.S. Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI), Chairman of the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee, U.S. Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on China, and U.S. Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) sent letters to several universities "following a new U.S. Department of Education (DeptEd) report showing attempts by foreign entities aligned with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other adversaries to influence American universities." 

For more, you can review the committee press release and the requests for information from Bryant University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Arizona, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California – Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Portland State University, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and University of California – Irvine. 

Workforce Pell Update 

On May 18, the final rule for the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: Pell Grant Exclusion Relating to Other Grant Aid and Workforce Pell Grants was pre-published in the Federal Register. Formal publication of the rule is expected on May 19, 2026.  

If interested, you can read more from the Department of Education on the final rule here.  

Full House and Senate Hearing Schedule 

If interested, you can see a full list of upcoming hearings on the Senate Hearings & Meetings Page. A review of the committee hearings in the House of Representatives is available via the Committee Schedule within the House of Representatives Legislative Activity section on the Chamber’s main page.   

House and Senate Floor Schedules 

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are set to return to DC for votes this week. The anticipated schedule for the House of Representatives and the Senate can be found on the preceding websites.