Transcript Highlights:

• He also served as chief of the General Crimes Border Crime Section and later as chief of the financial
• that the commercial port of entry will be built, and more trucks will be able to come across our border
• They understood that a government that watches everything controls everything.
• Benjamin Franklin famously warned... ...controls everything.
• liberty is security and that a government powerful enough to watch everyone is powerful enough to control

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, attendance, journal approval, and numerous guest introductions, including several judges shadowing senators, Chief Justice Ann Timmer, mining industry representatives, a doctor of the day, and student and youth visitors. The chamber then moved into Committee of the Whole to consider a calendar of bills, with several measures receiving committee amendments and do-pass recommendations, including SB 1272 on Douglas port of entry funding, SB 1327 on Arizona Board of Regents restrictions involving foreign countries, SB 1400 on public safety employee information, SB 1519 on off-highway vehicles, SB 1627 on unmanned aircraft, SB 1630 on AHCCCS home- and community-based services and mental illness, HB 1720 on parenting time, SB 1763 on school district finances, SB 1826 on rural wayfinding signs, and SB 1827 on vertiports. Members offered brief explanations on some bills, especially SB 1519 and SB 1720, which addressed off-road vehicle use and equal parenting time standards, respectively. On third reading, the Senate passed SB 1272, SB 1327, SB 1400, SB 1519, SB 1627, SB 1630, SB 1720, SB 1763, and SB 1826. SB 1827 failed on third reading by a 15-15 vote. Senators gave explanations on several measures, including concerns about confidentiality in SB 1400, environmental and trail impacts in SB 1519, and the parenting-time standards in SB 1720. SB 1763 passed overwhelmingly, while SB 1630 passed 28-2. The chamber then moved to a second Committee of the Whole for additional bills. In the second COW, SB 1111 on automatic license plate readers drew the most extensive debate. Senator Payne described guardrails such as case-number access, training, and penalties for misuse, while Senator Hoffman offered a sweeping hostile amendment to sharply limit use and impose civil penalties and a private right of action, arguing the bill enabled mass surveillance. The Hoffman amendment failed 13-17, and the Payne-backed amendment was adopted; the bill was then advanced as amended. Senators also considered SB 1214 on stem-cell/regenerative therapy, SB 1683 on foreign land ownership advisory prohibitions, SB 1686 on a memorial at Wesley Bolin Plaza, and SB 1745 on local excise tax rate limits, all of which received do-pass recommendations after amendments where applicable. The Committee of the Whole report was adopted, with further floor debate continuing on SB 1111 over privacy, public records access, and surveillance concerns.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, as you know, I'm big on local control.
• There are over $54 billion in unfunded flood control projects, according to the Texas Water Development
• Whenever we're going through a jurisdiction, going through a discipline, or on a bordering community
• We had the Border Patrol with their boat attack and their search and rescue on their federal radio systems
• The whole point of putting the funding in trust at the comptroller is so that not one agency is controlling

Bills: HB2, HB1, HB18, HB19, HB20, HB1, HB 2, HB18, HB19, HB20

Keywords: emergency communication, interoperability, grant program, first responders, state council, disaster response, emergency management, mass fatality, justices of the peace, training programs, emergency manager license, volunteer management, justice of the peace training, criminal history checks, state health services, broadband, public safety, disaster preparedness, funding, flood disaster plan

Transcript Highlights:

• And the other concern is I'm not big on centralized control in another state.
• authority of a participating state to regulate the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene within its borders

Bills: SB540, HB1085, HB1484

Keywords: service warranty, administrative fees, financial statements, insurance, Oklahoma statutes, fentanyl, drug awareness, schools, substance abuse prevention, education policy, youth education, public health, 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• trapped in failing schools, crushing local debt, regulatory agencies that respectfully are out of control
• Members, Brownsville leads in innovation, space exploration, cross-border trade with an amazing focus

Transcript Highlights:

• And it's the angle of the drums that controls the reactivity.
• You've got drums, and it's the angle of the drums that controls the reactivity.
• We should be able to control emissions and bring down, you know.
• When you don’t have control of these things, you really don’t have control of the ability to maintain
• We're looking at new control rod mechanisms.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And it’s the angle of the drums that controls the reactivity.
• Um, you’ve got drums, and it’s the angle of the drums that controls the reactivity.
• We should be able to control emissions and bring down, you know.
• When you don't have control of these things, you really don't have control of the ability to maintain
• We're looking at new control rod mechanisms.

Summary: The meeting opened with remarks about the value of public engagement and the quality of questions from the group, followed by a series of technical presentations from Idaho National Laboratory staff. Joe Renovitz described recent nuclear regulatory changes tied to presidential executive orders, including NRC Part 53 for advanced reactors, the forthcoming Part 57 for very small reactors, and DOE updates to reactor authorization standards. He emphasized efforts to align DOE and NRC processes, use risk-informed and performance-based licensing, support reactor deployment for AI/data centers and national security, and use AI to speed communications and crosswalks between DOE and NRC requirements. In response to questions, he said there was no plan to merge agencies, but rather to improve coordination and public outreach through groups like GAIN and NEI. David Tolman then discussed the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, spent fuel storage, transportation, disposal, and reprocessing. He explained high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), why it is needed for advanced reactors, and DOE’s HALEU Availability Program and related investments in enrichment, transportation, deconversion, and supply chain development. He also covered spent fuel management, the possibility of centralized storage or a fuel-cycle campus, the Center for Used Fuel Research, and ongoing work on high-burnup cask testing and reprocessing technologies. Tolman described aqueous, pyrochemical, and fluoride-volatility reprocessing approaches, noting the advantages and waste characteristics of each, and said several companies are working with INL on these technologies. Ashley Shields presented INL’s AI and nuclear work, focusing on the Genesis initiative and the Prometheus effort to use AI to design, license, build, and operate reactors with far less human intervention. She described INL’s broad use of generative AI tools, the need to manage large volumes of legacy technical data, and applications in reactor design, materials discovery, autonomous laboratories, and digital twins. Shields said AI is being used to reduce the enormous documentation burden in nuclear licensing and to support autonomous or remotely operated reactor demonstrations, while stressing that humans remain in supervisory roles. In discussion, she addressed data security, model access, and the continued need for software engineers. The session then recessed briefly and resumed with Mitch Kerman beginning a presentation on critical minerals and materials.

Transcript Highlights:

• Holding the judge accountable for a job when you don't have much control. over the lawyers, how they
• Now, we do recognize that there are many things that we as judges have no control over that prevent a
• My district borders Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and each week I travel between three different
• As a judge, one of the things you have to do to avoid a backlog is control the space that you give the
• So we understand that things like that are outside your control, and we do understand that we don't want

Bills: HB4011, HB2680, HB4325, HB4327, HB4944, HB1761, HB4688, HB3453, HB40, HB1707, HB4749, HB2322, HB3647, HB4139, HB4081, HB2203, HB2100, HB4170, HB3104, HB4623, HB40

Keywords: partition, heirs' property, real estate, co-ownership, family property, non-heir cotenant, right of first refusal, pilot services, liability limitation, maritime commerce, Matagorda Bay, Lavaca Bay, transportation code, maritime industry, civil liability, barratry, penalties, legal actions, damages, wrongful death

Transcript Highlights:

• Mexico, with nearly 690,000 residents, or one-third of the state's population, living within its borders
• It is an act relating to gaming, amending definitions in the Gaming Control Act to include allowable
• for charitable, educational, or other benevolent purposes to a person or entity not under the full control

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:12:47.600> of because they have their own border of because they have their own border
• > expenditure Trustees that controls the expenditure Trustees that controls the expenditure of
• for but we don't have as much control for but we don't have as much control over<00:13:00.440>
• And I would assume the Winnipesaukee River Basin Control Fund, right?
• And I would assume the Winnipesaukee River Basin Control Fund, right?

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The subcommittee met to review the lapse extensions in the back of House Bill 25, which governs capital budget appropriations and bonding. Members were walked through how the bill is structured: section 1 covers general, federal, and other funds; section 2 covers highway fund appropriations; later sections authorize borrowing, restrict spending to the stated purposes, and explain why community colleges and the university system operate through their boards of trustees. The chair also explained that lapse extensions are needed because capital projects can span multiple years, and that appropriations normally expire at the end of the biennium unless extended. A substantial portion of the discussion focused on how to identify unspent balances and whether they should be extended, repurposed, or allowed to lapse. Members discussed that if a project is complete or an agency confirms it no longer needs the money, the remaining balance can be reused for another project or, if not needed, lapse back. The committee also reviewed the meaning of bill references and chapter numbers, and how to read prior-year appropriations and extensions in the worksheet. One example discussed was a 2023 Department of Administrative Services courthouse generators item, and members noted that some agencies may rely on encumbered balances rather than explicit lapse extensions, though the chair said he prefers including the extension for flexibility. The committee identified at least one specific change: the Jeffrey Ringe CTE renovation was removed from the governor’s recommended budget because the required local match was not approved, freeing about $18.5 million for possible reuse. Later, the chair noted that lapse extension 49 on the worksheet was no longer needed and could be removed, leaving an unspent balance of $81,500 available for repurposing. The discussion also referenced a Department of Transportation item, Caroline Stratford Freight Rail Improvements, which the agency asked to keep alive through a lapse extension so the funds would not expire on June 30. No formal votes were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• This legislation will prohibit an aircraft, an aircraft and an air traffic control.
• This is about fiscal responsibility and local control.
• Closed to the southern border and deported more than 400,000 illegal aliens charged with...
• Closed to southern border and deported more than 400,000 illegal aliens charged with Thank you.
• These actions have reduced fentanyl trafficking at the southern border by 56%.

Summary: The Senate convened with an opening prayer, pledge, and several introductions recognizing visitors, students, local officials, and professional groups in the gallery. The chamber then took up a report from the Ethics and Elections Committee confirming 42 executive appointments; the report was adopted by a vote of 36-0. The Senate also adopted a resolution honoring the Ripple Project for childhood cancer awareness and funding. The bulk of the meeting was spent on special-order bills, many of them open-government sunset review measures and policy bills. The Senate passed bills preserving or updating public records exemptions for aquaculture records, trade secrets, and cybersecurity information; a child-abuse reporting statute of limitations bill; a commercial driving schools bill; a human trafficking training requirement for nursing graduates; a new injunction for protection against serious violence by a known person and its companion public-records bill; a nature-based coastal resiliency bill with an amendment restricting dredge-and-fill in Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve; a chiropractic patient-funds bill; specialty license plate legislation; a one-time waiver for late financial disclosure fines; public school personnel compensation changes; the Florida Farm Bill with amendments protecting Everglades lands and technical corrections; homestead exemption clarification for long-term leaseholders; disability presumption clarifications for firefighters and law enforcement; reinsurance intermediary manager conformity changes; patriotic displays in public schools; ADS-B aviation fee restrictions; autism-related law enforcement training and a blue envelope program; public post-secondary safety policy requirements; and a bill allowing licensed agents to market health care sharing ministries. Several bills were temporarily postponed, including local vessel restrictions, temporary certificates for practice, and domestic animals. Members debated a number of measures, especially the health care sharing ministries bill, where opponents raised consumer-protection and commission concerns and supporters argued for free speech, religious liberty, and expanded consumer choice; it passed 32-5. Other debated bills included the autism law enforcement bill, the school athletics bill addressing coach support for student-athletes, and the Farm Bill, where senators discussed surplus land safeguards and biosolids timing. Most bills passed overwhelmingly, often 37-0 or 38-0, with a few closer votes such as the patriotic displays bill (36-2) and the health care sharing ministries bill (32-5).

Transcript Highlights:

• Everywhere from the border with Baja... ...and several large skiffs, everywhere from the border with
• Baja all the way to the border with Oregon, doing enforcement.
• I co-chair it with the Director of Cannabis Control.
• tools and different geographies, so things like the environmental flows framework, where we have control
• We can't control if the water's warmer. We can't control if the whales are hanging out longer.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture held its annual State of the Fishery forum, focusing on salmon, Dungeness crab, kelp, ocean conditions, and related aquaculture and committee reports. Opening remarks from committee leadership emphasized climate impacts, reduced federal NOAA support, state investments through Proposition 4, coastal resilience funding, and the importance of fisheries to rural economies and tribal communities. Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot described a decade of drought and climate stress, highlighted progress such as Klamath River dam removal, wetland restoration, and the state’s salmon strategy, and warned that federal funding uncertainty and staffing cuts could undermine restoration and fishery recovery efforts. Senator Cortese raised concerns about illegal cannabis cultivation damaging riparian habitat and water flows, and both Crowfoot and Fish and Wildlife Director Bonham said enforcement against illicit grows remains a major environmental priority but is constrained by resources. Director Bonham provided a broad update on California fisheries, reporting encouraging signs for salmon after several difficult years, including improved ocean conditions, stronger returns in some runs, and successful short recreational openings in 2025. He also noted major challenges, including reduced federal hatchery production at Nimbus, ongoing uncertainty around winter-run and spring-run recovery, and the need for continued habitat restoration, monitoring, and hatchery investment. On Dungeness crab, Bonham said the fishery remained valuable but constrained by whale entanglement risk, warming ocean conditions, and domoic acid concerns; he described new marked-line distribution, ropeless and alternative gear trials, and ongoing aerial and vessel monitoring. He also said the department’s unified cannabis enforcement task force had served numerous warrants and seized large amounts of illegal cannabis, but more funding is needed for sustained operations. In the salmon panel, Yurok Tribe fisheries director McCovey said the Klamath still faces low run sizes, climate-driven warming, wildfire impacts, and federal uncertainty, but he pointed to dam removal, restoration work, and AB 263’s river-flow protections as major advances. PCFFA president Bradshaw stressed that the three consecutive salmon closures have devastated coastal communities and argued for major reinvestment in aging Central Valley hatchery infrastructure and better broodstock management at Fall Creek. CalTrout’s Schneider said salmon remain at risk statewide, but cited Prop 4, habitat reconnection, floodplain restoration, improved water management, and monitoring as the main tools for recovery. In the crab panel, CDFW’s Schumann reported that the 2024–25 season produced record prices per pound and about $55 million in value despite delays and trap reductions, but he warned that three confirmed whale entanglements and elevated whale presence could force a conservative opener for 2025–26. PCFFA’s Domrash supported marked line, alternative gear, and a new gear-recovery network, while also criticizing the current ramp system as a response to a problem not fully grounded in science.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have the WillRogers MRO hanger and then the Tulsa air traffic control tower.
• The Durant air traffic control tower.
• You have to have Mode C, which means positive control.
• This is for FOD control.
• FOD control is important. So we're looking at those asphalt shoulders and islands.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But I think maybe it's like the accident of a geopolitical border, more than anything else, just because
• But I think maybe it's like the accident of a geopolitical border, more than anything else, just because
• And I don't know whether Senator Drazkowski on the border with Wisconsin may have some.
• And I don't know whether Senator Drazkowski on the border with Wisconsin may have some.
• flight through the air um controlled flight through the air um 1.16<01:00:16.799> Aviation<01

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Tom Hman to Minnesota to his borders Tom Hman to Minnesota to have<00:05:21.120> conversations
• Protection, or CBP, Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, which<00:17:50.000> ICE<00:17:50.320
• impacts do not stop at city borders. impacts do not stop at city borders.
• Finally, but definitely not the least, local control matters.
• enforcement like ICE or Border Patrol. enforcement like ICE or Border Patrol.

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The hearing of the Minnesota Senate Select Subcommittee on Federal Impacts on Minnesotans and Economic Stability focused on federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, especially ICE and CBP operations, and their alleged constitutional and civil-rights impacts. Opening remarks from both parties emphasized the need for calm, cooperation, and public safety, though they sharply differed on the causes of the current situation. Republican members argued that violent criminal undocumented immigrants should be removed and that state and local officials should cooperate with federal authorities. Senator McEwen and other Democrats described the federal presence as abusive and terrorizing, citing deaths, family separations, and community fear, and called for accountability and truth-telling. The chair also held a moment of silence for Renee Mlin Good and Alex Prey before testimony began. Testimony from the ACLU of Minnesota and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota described what they said was a large-scale federal enforcement operation, including Operation Metro Surge, with widespread alleged violations of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Tenth, and other constitutional amendments. Witnesses cited alleged racial profiling, warrantless arrests, excessive force, denial of counsel, detention out of state, and failure to comply with court orders. They referenced specific cases involving Susan Tinure, Abdi Khadir Nure, Victor Manuel Diaz, and others, as well as reports of journalists and community members being threatened or detained while documenting ICE activity. The witnesses also said the federal government’s lack of transparency makes it difficult to know how many people have been detained or deported and argued that the harm extends to both immigrants and citizens. Committee members asked questions about ICE entering homes without judicial warrants, federal claims about constitutional limits, and access to counsel for detainees moved out of state. The witnesses said that out-of-state detention, poor locator systems, paid phone access, and lack of privacy make legal representation difficult or impossible, and that civil-rights remedies often come too late because people are removed before cases are resolved. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the portion of the hearing provided; the committee moved from opening statements into testimony and member questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• -Mexico border, and three tribal communities. I think that's it. Great.
• Diaz's hometown of Benson, as well as our border towns of Douglas and in McNeal, we've launched what
• Diaz's hometown of Benson as well as our border towns of Douglas and in McNeil we've launched what are
• point out that the diagnosis was devastating, but this allowed him, the early diagnosis, to maintain control
• He says, 'Knowledge is power; let people take control.'

Bills: HB2056, HB2202, HB2207, HB2224, HB2303, HB2344, HB2532, HB2759, HB2798

Keywords: brackish water, groundwater, desalination, water resources, feasibility study, environmental impact, dementia care, telementoring, healthcare education, rural communities, grant funding, braille, disability access, education funding, state corrections, inclusion, produce incentive, agriculture, economic support, funding

Summary: The Appropriations Committee met on January 28 and heard several bills, beginning with member and staff introductions and a reminder about amendment deadlines. HB 2056 would appropriate $100,000 to the Arizona Department of Water Resources for a feasibility study of brackish groundwater desalination sites; the sponsor said Arizona should explore potential water supplies amid Colorado River concerns. A witness opposed the bill, and members debated whether brackish groundwater should be treated as a resource or a threat to aquifers. The committee approved HB 2056 on an 11-6 vote, with one member not voting. The committee then considered HB 2798, as amended, which would provide $100,000 to the University of Arizona/Arizona Geological Survey to compile data on materials related to nuclear energy, including thorium and other non-uranium fuels. The sponsor framed the bill as an economic development and national security effort, while opponents questioned whether Arizona has enough of the material to justify public spending. The University of Arizona supported the work as within the Geological Survey’s mission. The committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill 11-5, with one member present and one not voting. HB 2303 would codify investment rules for the State Treasurer, requiring safety and principal preservation ahead of return and prohibiting speculative investments and insider-benefit conduct. The Treasurer’s Office said the bill reflects current policy and ethics rules already in place, and members asked about how “speculative” would be defined and whether the bill would affect other investment-related statutes. The committee passed the bill 15-0, with two members present and one not voting. HB 2344 would require the Treasurer to manage the local government investment pool and allow a third-party backup only in emergencies; the Treasurer’s Office argued this preserves a low-cost, high-liquidity service for local governments, while some members questioned whether it limited future Treasurers’ discretion. The committee passed HB 2344 12-2, with three present and one not voting. Later, the committee heard HB 2759, which would appropriate $500,000 to the Department of Veterans’ Services to partner with an educational institution in Yavapai County for veteran programs. A retired Navy SEAL and campus veterans coordinator described emergency housing, equipment, and professional-development needs for student veterans at Embry-Riddle, while several members supported the effort and others objected to using state funds for a private institution or a county-specific program. The bill passed 11-6, with one not voting. The committee also passed HB 2207, appropriating $300,000 for the prison Braille transcription program, after testimony that the program trains inmates in a skilled trade and has had no recidivism among released participants; it passed 17-0, with one not voting. Finally, HB 2224, as amended to reduce the appropriation from $2 million to $1 million, would fund the Double Up Food Bucks produce incentive program through SNAP. Supporters said it helps families, farmers, and local economies and can improve health outcomes, while members discussed budget constraints; the committee approved the amended bill after testimony from program advocates and farmers.

Transcript Highlights:

• manufacturers like John Deere controlled manufacturers like John Deere controlled by<00:25:12.080
• colleagues unfortunately are controlled colleagues unfortunately are controlled by<00:26:15.120>
• A foreign entity controlling your food supply will control your nation.
• frankly cannot control our food supply. frankly cannot control our food supply.
• Rascin, each will control Maryland, Mr. Rascin, each will control 20<06:52:27.200> minutes.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Thursday, April 30, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• grant border to- border Broadband grant border to- border Broadband grant program<00:57:58.440><
• program<00:58:25.520> that the Border to- border grant program that the Border to- border
• c> low the Border to- border program low the Border to- border program low density<01:18:53.719><
• you know the border to border and the you know the border to border and the office<01:34:38.320>
• border-to-border border-to-border Broadband<01:38:45.920> Grant<01:38:46.400> report<01

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee met for an introductory session to begin the new legislative session. Members and staff went around the table introducing themselves and describing their agricultural backgrounds, including farming, livestock, crop production, county government, and related research or staff roles. Chair Paul Anderson emphasized agriculture’s importance to Minnesota’s budget and economy, welcomed new members and staff, and noted that the committee would have a full agenda. The committee then heard a presentation from the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, Extension, and the Forever Green initiative on the GREE program (Agricultural Research, Education, Extension, and Technology Transfer). Testimony described GREE as a state investment created in 2015 to support agricultural productivity and growth through research, education, extension, and technology transfer. Speakers highlighted its broad focus areas, including crop and livestock genetics, soil health, water quality, nutrient management, microbial science, agroecological innovation, and technology stewardship, as well as rapid-response funding for emerging issues such as waterhemp, PRRS, and avian influenza. University witnesses said the program has brought in faculty and extension educators, generated sponsored research awards, and leveraged state funding into additional grants and contracts. They cited a reported roughly 12-to-1 return on investment and said the state has invested about $39 million since 2015. They also noted additions such as a deep winter greenhouse program and a tribal representative on the advisory group. No committee votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Waterways, erosion control, and more to go out and educate farmers and ranchers on the programs that
• Dena Kinlath, stand up, Dena, is the manager of the Border Soil and Water Conservation District.
• long-standing policy working relationship with landowners and helped landowners implement erosion control
• Currently, they are offering producer services such as sub-soiling, seeding, brush control, shade balls
• If you go to Arizona, which is right on the border of New Mexico, and I go there quite a bit, you look

Transcript Highlights:

• the strict timing requirements for unlicensed dental assistance to complete the 8-hour Infectious Control
• Before January 1st 5 dental assistants were required to complete the 8-hour infectious control course
• AB 875. to address some unintended workforce challenges caused by recent changes to the infection control
• This maintains patient safety, as new hires already receive Cal OSHA mandated infection control training
• As for cross-border practice or mobility, This has been an integral part of the accounting profession

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And the Knights of Malta came to control.
• <02:21:36.120> and other Federal and local controls and other Federal and local controls and
• Balone, will each control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia, Mr.
• Balone, will each control 30 minutes.
• Balone, will each control 30 minutes. Mr. Griffith, Mr.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 1012, house, all