Transcript Highlights:

• Can you elaborate as to how they will be utilized and what the information will be used for?
• I come today on behalf of utilities, products that we are growing in the state of Florida to get to those
• I come today on behalf of utilities, Alicia Keeler, Florida Rural Water Association, is recognized.
• I come today on behalf of utilities, small utilities around the state of Florida.
• Currently, all of our utilities in the Panhandle of Florida take it out of state to Alabama for their

Summary: The committee heard several bills and took favorable action on a number of them. CS/CS/SB 54 by Senator Sharif would require district medical examiners to perform toxicology screening for psychotropic drugs and intoxicating substances in autopsies of identified violent offenders, consult treating providers when available, document findings, and report results to state agencies; it passed after brief questions and one opponent waived against. CS/SB 176 by Senator Polsky would require public colleges and universities to publish clearer campus safety reporting and response procedures for threats to students, faculty, or staff; it also passed favorably with no opposition. CS/CS/CS/SB 290, the Florida Farm Bill by Senator Trumbull, was the longest item and drew extensive testimony. The bill covers fair association rules, preemption of local limits on gas- and diesel-powered farm equipment, surplus of certain state-owned lands for agricultural use, a food animal veterinarian loan repayment program, permanent funding for Farmers Feeding Florida, forest service training, signal jammer penalties, CDL exam cheating penalties, no-solicitation protections, inspector protections, biosolids rules, and contractor payment enforcement. Members adopted multiple amendments, including changes to contractor payment language, expanding vet loan repayment to equine vets, merging citrus research entities, technical updates to fair statutes and nonprofit definitions, and a late amendment removing the bill’s disparagement/free-speech section after significant public testimony and debate. A separate late amendment on biosolids delayed compliance timelines for Broward County, and the bill then passed favorably as amended. The committee also approved CS/CS/SB 834 on nonprofit religious organizations, which repeals a restriction on health care sharing ministries partnering with licensed insurance agents, while adding a disclaimer requirement through amendment; the bill passed with support from some faith-based and consumer groups and one waiver against. SB 936 on temporary door locking devices passed without opposition. CS/SB 50 would expand veterans’ courts statewide as an option in all judicial circuits for service-related issues such as PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and substance abuse; it received broad support from veterans and advocacy groups and passed favorably. CS/SB 1004, in strike-all form, would regulate dog and cat sales by requiring disclosure of medical records and financing terms, adding a three-day waiting period for financed purchases, and treating violations as unfair trade practices; an amendment removed an appropriation section, and the bill passed after questions about financing and pet retention. The committee then approved CS/CS/SB 178, which directs the Florida High School Athletic Association to adopt rules allowing coaches to provide good-faith support to student-athletes for basic needs like food, transportation, and recovery services, while requiring reporting and preserving anti-recruiting enforcement; members discussed possible parental-consent language, and the bill passed favorably. Finally, the committee began hearing CS/SB 198 on virtual currency kiosks, with Senator Rouson explaining that it would regulate crypto kiosks to combat fraud, require operator registration, fraud warnings, blockchain analytics policies, and transaction limits, but the transcript cuts off before further action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• bills the graph the the the the the the the the the And things like utility bills.
• We're really utilizing everything in our, all the service life in those assets.
• And we utilize AASHTO, which is a group organized and developed with all the state department agencies
• They get together and talk about innovations, and we utilize those types of activities a lot in how we
• And over the last several bienniums, we have utilized some of our preservation dollars, utilizing a lot

Summary: The committee received a detailed staff presentation on Washington State Ferries’ capital needs, current fleet status, and long-range funding outlook. Staff described the current service pattern, ridership recovery since the pandemic, the aging fleet, and the state’s plan to add three new hybrid-electric Olympic-class vessels under the 2025 budget, with delivery expected around 2030-2032. Members also heard that the fleet is operating with no reserve vessel, that preservation time is below the desired level, and that terminal electrification and vessel conversion plans face timing, cost, and procurement risks. Questions focused on ridership trends, biofuel supply, design-risk allocation in vessel contracts, sequencing of terminal electrification with new vessel delivery, and the cost and feasibility of restoring international Sidney service, which would require a SOLAS-certified vessel. Staff then outlined ferry capital funding, saying recent spending and programmed needs are far above regular ferry-specific revenues and that the system relies on a mix of dedicated accounts, transportation package money, federal grants, and transfers. They said the near-term budget is balanced through 2027-29, but the longer-term capital outlook shows a shortfall of roughly $250 million to $300 million per biennium, with broader unmet needs much higher. The presentation estimated costs for future vessels, life extensions, terminal electrification, and additional Jumbo Mark II conversions, and noted that the current enacted plan does not fully fund fleet replacement, full electrification, or life extension of older vessels. Members asked for follow-up information on terminal seismic/environmental issues, contract options for additional vessels, and the timing and cost of alternative vessel designs. The committee then shifted to WSDOT maintenance and preservation. Pascoe Focktich described maintenance operations, including winter response, guardrail repair, facilities, equipment, and the effects of underfunding and inflation. He said most of the maintenance budget is fixed cost and labor, that material prices have risen sharply, and that many facilities are in poor condition with asbestos issues and deferred upkeep. He also noted growing guardrail damage, increasing pavement claims, and the burden of maintaining aging bridges and facilities. Members asked about prior planning for these needs, the role of asbestos, and whether more proactive sequencing could help budget decisions. Troy Suing then presented the highway preservation program, saying WSDOT is in the early stages of critical failure and has stretched preservation dollars as far as possible. He explained the distinction between pavement, bridge, and other highway asset preservation, said the department is largely reactive, and estimated that delaying work can make it three to five times more expensive later. He said about 40% of roadways are currently due or overdue for preservation, bridge conditions are nearing the federal poor-bridge threshold, and the department’s 10-year preservation need is about $8 billion. Members asked about the cost of deferring work, whether the department could do more if funded, how priorities are set, and whether other states face similar problems. Finally, Evan Grimm and Mike Fay briefed the committee on bridge strikes by overheight vehicles. They described recent incidents on I-90 near Cle Elum and SR 410 near White River, the damage and closures caused, and possible countermeasures such as public outreach, improved trip-planning tools, and a pilot warning system with sensors and flashing beacons. Fay explained the state’s financial recovery process for third-party damage, saying WSDOT recovers roughly $20 million per biennium and about 78% to 80% of billed damages, with money going to the motor vehicle fund. Members asked about prevention, insurance recovery, and whether the state uses claim data to inform future design or safety changes.

Transcript Highlights:

• we have an additional request for fiscal year 2027 of 5 million dollars, and that funding will be utilized
• The next slide shows, to the left, the immersive classroom that really will utilize technology.
• If we were to utilize all of the learning spaces, that is where we would pretty much be able to host
• So My first question to you is what are you going to do to try and include the rural areas to utilize
• have at least a core team that is solely focused on the work of the staff, which would obviously utilize

Transcript Highlights:

• So, utilized in expansion of programming in support of opioid use disorder treatment.
• Our doctors are based throughout the state, but we utilize telehealth to expand that prescribing ability
• There's been this trend upward in both visits and patients utilizing the school-based health centers.
• And they utilize primary care about 3 times or more, or if they use primary care visits, primary care
• And for behavioral health, 2 times or more utilization are more likely to graduate on time compared to

Transcript Highlights:

• As the representative noted, the intention is to additionally give us the ability to utilize that over
• I'd like to be able to utilize our hotel occupancy tax to pay back the existing debt that we have for
• So moving forward, we'd like to utilize that hotel occupancy tax to be able to pay that.
• Harlingen arguably made a mistake a number of years ago that instead of utilizing... ...utilizing that
• Authorizes Garland to utilize specific hotel occupancy tax and state sales tax revenue derived from a

Bills: HB 1039, HB2289, HB2370, HB2404, HB3066, HB3076, HB3117, HB3118, HB3169, HB3178, HB3179, HB3182, HB3196, HB3241, HB3377, HB3500, HB3567, HB3715, HB3954, HB4098, HB4109, HB4222, HB4226, HB4412, HB4659, HB4682, HB4683, HB4755, HB4926, HB5165, HB5562, HB5596

Keywords: hotel occupancy tax, municipal revenue, tax authority, border counties, tax legislation, municipalities, hotel tax revenue, convention centers, economic development, local government authority, HB 2370, HOT tax, venue projects, convention center, municipal finance, local government code, Section 334.0082, tourism tax, debt financing, bond repayment

Transcript Highlights:

• and CDC have recently implemented new trial processes with the goal of increasing referrals and utilization
• distribution infrastructure, which includes the replacement of the existing transformer substation, utility
• And standing up these programs, which is shown through early engagement and the increase in utilization
• They also utilize clinically validated assessment tools.
• So, for example, with Bright Life Kids, they utilize the Pediatric Symptoms Checklist tool, which is

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, the sooner we get broadband out there, it is an essential utility now.
• construction work uh including broadband construction work uh including broadband and other underground utility
• and other underground utility and other underground utility installation.<00:04:20.400> And
• And then just appreciation to Minnesota Cable, Minnesota Telecom Alliance, many contractors, our utilities
• And then just appreciation to Minnesota Cable, Minnesota Telecom Alliance, many contractors, our utilities

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Utilize this additional 30 days to help as many students apply for financial aid as possible.
• We're also utilizing California Department of Education data to give our high schools and counselors
• We've also utilized additional resources that we've received philanthropically to translate these into
• because it affects how many of our families are considering which application they might want to utilize
• The Governor's budget utilizes estimates provided by the Student Aid Commission to determine student

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the Air Force, the military, and I definitely expect more community engagement to be proactive, utilizing
• <00:14:54.160> to<00:14:54.279> be<00:14:54.519> proactive<00:14:55.000> utilizing
• <00:14:55.399> the engagement to be proactive utilizing the engagement to be proactive utilizing
• Public Utilities Commission approv Public Utilities Commission approv labels<00:28:06.640> on<
• Next is the Public Utilities Commission. Aubrey Austin with the Public Utilities Commission.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint AEN-PSM hearing on February 7, 2025 focused primarily on three agriculture-related measures and one animal welfare bill, with additional discussion of pesticide drift monitoring, coffee labeling, and a gas-pump labeling bill. SB 762 would create an Agricultural Crimes Council and authorize agricultural crime investigators; testimony from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Attorney General’s office, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Hawaii Farmers Union, and several members of the public was generally supportive, with repeated calls for stronger enforcement, community involvement, and in some cases allowing investigators to be armed. Some testifiers also urged changes to the appointment process for council members, preferring neighborhood boards or local officials over gubernatorial appointments. The committee discussed combining related agricultural crime bills and noted concerns about investigator safety in remote areas. SB 763 would establish an agriculture enforcement program within the Department of Law Enforcement and a special fund. Testimony was strongly supportive from state agencies and farm groups, with speakers emphasizing the need for more effective response to agricultural theft, poaching, and related crimes. Several public testifiers linked the bill to broader community safety and asked for clearer funding, training, coordination, performance metrics, and technology use. The committee also heard SB 1022, which would prohibit leaving pets in dangerous conditions in vehicles and allow officers, firefighters, animal control, and in some cases private citizens to rescue animals; the Attorney General said existing cruelty statutes may already cover the conduct and suggested amendments, while HPD opposed the bill. Members asked about liability for rescuers and whether the proposal might affect property-crime enforcement. The committee also heard SB 1304 on pesticide drift monitoring funding, with the Department of Agriculture supporting the measure and explaining it was needed to complete a required project under an EPA-related agreement. A Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action representative raised concerns about the methodology of prior studies, and a public testifier described a recent odor incident near a roadway and school. SB 1015, requiring labels on gas dispensing equipment warning about fossil fuel impacts, drew support from the Department of Agriculture and the Public Utilities Commission but opposition from the Hawaii Energy Marketers Association. SB 500 on coffee labeling and regional origin was also heard, with the Department of Agriculture in support. In decision-making, the committees adopted recommendations to pass SB 762 with amendments, SB 763 with amendments, SB 1022 with technical amendments, SB 1304 with technical amendments, and SB 1015 as is; SB 500 was not acted on in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Would city utilities also prevent them from non-disclosure?
• Often many of our small cities have their own utility company. >> Mr.
• Would city utilities also prevent them from non-disclosure?
• Often many of our small cities have their own utility company. >> Thank you.
• Would city utilities also prevent them from non-disclosure?

Bills: HF4077, HF3798, HF3886

Keywords: municipal nondisclosure agreement, NDA, public records, transparency, local government, county, city, town, school district, housing and redevelopment authority, economic development authority, port authority, economic development, land development, public financing, tax increment financing, TIF, abatement, municipal bonds, debt obligations

Transcript Highlights:

• Increase special fund ceilings to allow divisions to utilize user fees to support our facilities.
• Increase special fund ceilings to allow divisions to utilize user fees to support our facilities.
• Special fund ceilings to allow divisions to utilize user fees to support our facilities.
• then we can also utilize the then we can also utilize the preservation<01:21:55.120> professional
• We are not utilizing that particular product.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is a utility and a necessity.
• And that doesn't include utilities, which is not part of the FIR.
• And then second, yes, you know, in the bill, it's street, highway, bridge, road, utility, or maintenance
• And that is the only utility-scale geothermal electricity plant in the state, generating power for the
• We only have one utility geothermal power facility in the state of New Mexico.

Bills: SB190, SB152, SB77, SB150, SB151, SB156, SB172, SB182, SB185, SB212, SB170, SB133, SB174, SB163

Keywords: cancer treatment, revenue bonds, Gila Regional Medical Center, Nor-Lea General Hospital, healthcare funding, telecommunications, low-income assistance, lifeline, broadband, rural broadband, universal service fund, public regulation commission, PRC, 911 surcharge, telecommunications relay service, VoIP, mobile service, internet affordability, digital equity, digital inclusion

Transcript Highlights:

• think she asked this question, but I didn't hear exactly the copyright and artist's songs, voice utilized
• Once it's offline, their likeness and so forth is still being utilized; do they still get compensated
• Like, and so forth is still being utilized. Do they still get compensated for that?
• I'm wondering why that was utilized as the focus to support this bill when this bill won't do anything
• Martin Vindiola, on behalf of the Coalition of California Utility Employees and IBEW Local 1245.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• By utilizing the General Fund to support repayment of the loan, it will sustain the Bureau's admin fund
• It assumes CalHR's projected utilization rate of 15%.
• The actual service cost could actually be lower if utilization is below 15%.
• Actual utilization has far exceeded that, with over 295,000 requests to date in less than five months
• Current utilization to date provides initial data on what resources are required to sustain the system

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on State Administration held a May Revise hearing focused on state administration proposals, with the chair noting no actions would be taken and all items would remain open. The committee heard presentations on a range of budget proposals, including technical adjustments for the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement and the California Workforce Development Board, security and election-related funding for the Secretary of State, modernization and loan-backfill requests for the Department of Consumer Affairs, and multiple Employment Development Department updates covering EDD Next, UI and DI/PFL benefit estimates, workforce funding, and an EMT training reappropriation. Several items drew discussion from the LAO and committee members. The LAO generally supported technical or modernization items such as PERB’s implementation requests, GoServe’s College Corps adjustment, the Secretary of State’s security and HAVA grant items, and the Board of Pharmacy modernization proposal, but raised concerns about the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education’s proposed $10 million General Fund backfill and interest-free loan language. For EDD, the LAO flagged the size of the DI/PFL benefit adjustment and the unusual structure of the document management system proposal within EDD Next, while EDD said the changes reflected higher participation and benefit levels after SB 951 and ongoing modernization needs. The Department of Industrial Relations drew the most extensive questioning. It proposed funding for legal unit reclassifications, EAMS and Cal/OSHA data modernization, a new Cal/OSHA emerging technologies unit, a COYA reappropriation, and trailer bill changes requiring electronic payment of employer assessments and adjusting the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board timeline. Members pressed DIR on high vacancy rates, long wage theft and workers’ compensation backlogs, low collection rates for fines, and the need for clearer workload and outcome measures. DIR said the requests were intended to improve efficiency, support audits and corrective action plans, and better address emerging workplace risks, while the LAO said the workload drivers behind delays remain unclear. The hearing also included support for CalHR’s employee assistance program consolidation and CDT’s proposal to expand “Poppy,” a statewide generative AI assistant for state employees.

Transcript Highlights:

• By the same token, however, Nebraska's evaluation showed reduced utilization.
• So we do utilize the SUD vouchers. Absolutely. So we do utilize the SUD vouchers.
• We are going to be utilizing telehealth.
• We utilize IHS.
• So that is something that we're utilizing as well.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, I have members from the coal industry, the oil and gas industry, renewables, and the utility space
• Now, Black Hills and each utility has to submit their plan for that, and not everyone has done that.
• Now, Black Hills and each utility has to submit their plan for that, and not everyone has done that.
• think it really depends on where in the state they're looking to build and who is the co-op or the utility
• Who is the co-op or the utility in that area?

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Utilization and then some backfilling of opioid settlement revenue.
• We also have seen acuity and utilization rising.
• We've also seen major trend growth in behavioral health utilization.
• On slide 21, just a comment about behavioral health utilization.
• We have some utilization trends.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then through some maneuvering, I think some of it is being utilized as part of the deal.
• There's a number of places where we've utilized Prop 4 to backfill existing. deficits.
• Is there an opportunity this year to utilize a state highway account to restore any remaining cuts that
• being either proposed to be utilized with the Prop 4 funds or from the general fund to actually get that
• It's a group of local governments, nonprofits, public utility districts in the California side of the

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That's where they're best utilized.
• That's where they're best utilized.
• That's where they're best utilized.
• That's where they're best utilized.
• <01:47:08.320> She's she utilizes for the data. She's she utilizes for the data.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Intelligence Task Force met with a quorum present and approved the minutes from the August 14 meeting. The first presentation was from the National Retail Federation on artificial intelligence in the retail sector. NRF described AI use cases in three areas: consumer-facing tools such as chatbots, product descriptions, and marketing; employee-facing tools such as company-specific apps trained on employee manuals; and internal uses such as supply chain forecasting, inventory planning, fraud detection, cybersecurity, and coding support. The presenters said retail has been among the top deployers of AI and emphasized that the goal is to improve both customer and employee experience. NRF also outlined its principles for responsible AI use, organized around governance and risk management, customer engagement and trust, workforce applications, and business partner accountability. The group said retailers should maintain strong internal oversight, be transparent with customers, ensure compliance with existing laws, closely review workforce-related uses because they can be high-risk, and clearly define responsibilities between retailers and third-party developers. In policy discussion, NRF urged a tiered approach focused first on high-risk uses such as hiring, health care, financial, mortgage, and rental decisions, warned against fragmented rules that could favor only the largest firms, and encouraged voluntary standards and worker upskilling incentives. In response to a question about dynamic pricing, NRF said its members do not target consumers based on pricing and offered to follow up with more information. The committee then moved to a follow-up discussion on energy policy and data centers, hearing from Bartley Cleland of NetChoice. He explained that AI runs largely in data centers and that cloud computing shifts processing and storage away from individual devices, which he argued improves efficiency and can reduce costs. He said electricity demand has been rising over time and that AI will increase compute-related electricity use, but framed electricity as a normal input to economic growth. No votes or formal actions were taken after these presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• transportation reasonably utilized transportation reasonably utilized uh,<00:42:41.680> you
• Honolulu Police Department has utilized it as a front-end tool for recruitment.
• <01:08:29.759> um stuff, but could we start utilizing um stuff, but could we start utilizing
• earlier um the possibility of utilizing earlier um the possibility of utilizing vacancy<01:58:58.080
• 07.679> and We utilize retention incentives and We utilize retention incentives and hiring<01:

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs held an informational briefing on violent crime clearance rates and what resources law enforcement and prosecutors need to improve them. Chair and members noted there would be no public testimony. The briefing was led by Marshall Clement of the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center, with later participation expected from state and county law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. Clement argued that solving violent crime is a systemwide issue, not just a local police function, and said clearance rates have declined nationally over decades for homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. He said Hawaii’s reported data, limited to Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, shows overall violent crime rates are lower than the national average and have been relatively flat with a pandemic-era spike followed by declines in 2023 and 2024. He reported that Hawaii’s overall violent crime solve rate fell from about 52% in 2014 to about 40% in 2024, with 2024 rates of 50% for homicides, 48% for aggravated assaults, and 26% each for rapes and robberies. He also estimated unsolved cases over the past three years at about 17 homicides, 3,300 aggravated assaults, 1,200 rapes, and 1,700 robberies. Members asked about victim and witness support, staffing shortages, the Denver example, whether clearance rates include cases not prosecuted, and whether HPD’s size or structure might affect solve rates. Clement said support can include victim-witness programs and coordinators that help maintain cooperation and trust, especially where clearance rates are low. He said resources, training, technology, and detective caseloads matter, citing Boston, Denver, and Omaha as cities that improved solve rates through relatively low-cost operational changes; he highlighted Denver’s increase in non-fatal shooting clearance from 39% to 65% in seven months after dedicating more resources. He said he had no research showing that breaking up a large department would improve solve rates, and noted that clearance data can include exceptional clearances such as victim noncooperation, prosecutorial declination, or a suspect’s death. No votes or formal actions were taken during the informational briefing.