Transcript Highlights:

• We need to pass this bill to fund robust measures to assess and adapt to our climate crisis, so fewer
• We want a really clear process and formula that assesses what that cost will be.
• We want a really clear process and formula that assesses what that cost will be.
• It's kind of step two once we figure out how to assess damages.
• We need to be how to assess damages.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Rep. Athena Hollins and Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart introduced Minnesota’s proposed climate superfund bill, describing it as a way to make major historical greenhouse gas polluters help pay for climate adaptation and infrastructure repair. They said the bill would target large fossil fuel corporations with significant emissions and use the revenue for projects such as stormwater upgrades, bridge and roof protection, erosion control, drinking water protection, cooling cities, and other resilience work. Both lawmakers framed the proposal as a matter of accountability and fairness, arguing that Minnesotans should not keep paying for damage caused by companies that profited from fossil fuel pollution. Several supporters testified in favor of the bill, including St. Paul City Council Vice President Nyang Kheimey, former legislator and medical student Hunter Cantrell, Unidos Minnesota volunteer Bonnie Becol, and 100% Minnesota’s Aurora Vautrin. They emphasized local climate impacts such as flooding, wildfire smoke, extreme heat, emerald ash borer damage, asthma, and infrastructure failures, and said the costs are increasingly falling on taxpayers, local governments, and vulnerable communities. Kheimey highlighted municipal needs and St. Paul’s own climate investments, while Cantrell focused on environmental racism and health harms, and Becol and Vautrin stressed species loss, community recovery costs, and the burden on residents. In the question-and-answer portion, Hollins and Johnson Stewart explained that the bill would apply to fossil fuel corporations with at least 1 billion metric tons of carbon emissions and a nexus to Minnesota, not local utilities. They said the State Auditor’s office would determine the assessments owed by companies, while the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency would hold the fund and administer grants. They also said they were looking to models in Vermont and New York and hoped the proposal could attract bipartisan support because it is tied to affordability and shifting costs away from taxpayers and onto polluters. No vote or formal committee action was taken in the transcript, and the event ended with the sponsors opening the bill to questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Certainly there is a controversy about assessable and non-assessable.
• , assessments, assessments, which<03:31:20.040> starts<03:31:20.600> on<03:31:20.800>
• receive and pay assessments. receive and pay assessments.
• marketplace with surprise assessments marketplace with surprise assessments which<03:37:28.280><
• ,<03:38:39.680> and reserves, never issue assessments, and reserves, never issue assessments

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:10:04.560> done<00:10:05.120> within um standards or assessments done within um
• standards or assessments done within the<00:10:05.760> last<00:10:06.080> 10<00:10:06.320
• >> I think that that additional assessment would stay with the county because that's it's authorized
• penalty assessment fund,<00:21:29.440> but<00:21:29.600> I<00:21:29.760> know<00
• additional my I I think that that assess additional my I don't<00:21:54.080> know<00:21:54.240

Keywords: Highways and Transportation - Room 216, 30 January, 2026; 10:00 AM, 925, all

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 2269, the Mississippi Fully Autonomous Vehicle Enabling Act. The bill was described as simply extending the repealer date to July 1, 2029. A motion was made that the title was sufficient and the bill do pass, and it passed without opposition. The committee then considered Senate Bill 2614, which would authorize county sheriffs and deputies to use radar on county roads, subject to county board approval and population-based limits on the number of radar units. Senator Thompson said the measure was intended to reduce Mississippi’s high rate of speed-related highway fatalities, not to create revenue or speed traps. He explained that fines would be directed to the Mississippi Department of Education to support driver’s education programs, and that the bill includes a 1,000-foot buffer from municipal limits and a definition prohibiting speed traps. Members asked about engineering reviews of speed limits, opt-in/opt-out authority for supervisors, quotas, body cameras, and how the bill would affect counties that already use radar. Thompson said the bill does not require roadway reassessments, that county boards must approve radar use, that he would not oppose a quota-related amendment, and that a body-camera requirement would be beyond the bill’s scope and could burden departments that cannot afford it. Several senators spoke in support, citing public safety and sheriff support, while one senator raised concerns about transparency and public trust. The committee then voted that the title was sufficient and the bill do pass, and the motion carried.

Transcript Highlights:

• system of assessment that we created. system of assessment that we created.
• different types of assessments.
• I'm not a fan of assessments.
• how I feel about assessments. how I feel about assessments.
• a fan of assessments. a fan of assessments.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:09:08.000> on does this by putting an assessment on does this by putting an assessment
• Paragraph H identifies the procedures for underpaid or overpaid assessments.
• Section 3 governs the... a new state assessment on hospitals net a new state assessment on hospitals
• <01:15:44.360> required uniformly reduce the assessment required uniformly reduce the assessment
• <01:16:03.360> section assessment section assessment section two<01:16:06.840> section

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, and I think that it might alleviate some of the special assessments and some of the activity trying
• afford to maintain it if your board doesn't stay on top of things and then hits you with a huge assessment
• Have to maintain properties so that your owners don't have huge assessments and don't have surprises
• and then therefore sell their properties so that, um, they can get out from underneath the assessment
• So, sorry if that was assessment?

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee heard and considered a series of gubernatorial nominations to boards and commissions. Early nominees included Falleno Vital for the Boxing Commission, Rebecca Moore for the Board of Nursing, and Alexander Smith and Zachary Johnson for the Board of Public Accountancy. DCCA and board representatives testified in support of each, and the nominees who were present briefly described their qualifications and willingness to serve. The chair noted the unusually large volume of written testimony in support of the boxing nominee and emphasized that these are voluntary positions and nominees had already been vetted through questionnaires and resumes. The committee then heard several nominations to the Hawaii Board of Optometry, the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Board, and the Hawaii Medical Board. Ashley Porter and Katherine Mao spoke in support of their optometry nominations, Nathan Konishi supported his motor vehicle repair board nomination, and Gary Belchure discussed his reappointment to the medical board. A substantial portion of the discussion on the medical board focused on physician shortages, especially on the neighbor islands, and efforts to address them through the Interstate Medical Compact and pending legislation such as SB 1365. Board staff also discussed possible pathways for foreign medical graduates and the need for criminal background checks to fully participate in the compact. The latter part of the hearing shifted to real estate commission nominations, including Audrey Abbe and Denise Lacosta. Testimony and member questions focused heavily on condominium governance, deferred maintenance, reserve studies, insurance costs, and the need for better education and oversight of volunteer board members and property managers. Both nominees said older buildings, rising insurance premiums, and lack of expertise among volunteer boards are major challenges, and they suggested more training, clearer guidance, stronger enforcement against unlicensed property management, and better access to qualified consultants and financing. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee heard testimony and moved through the agenda nominee by nominee.

Transcript Highlights:

• And they say, ‘We’ve identified, as I noted, it’s a risk assessment process.
• The crux of our program is we assess for risks.
• The crux of our program is we assess for risks.
• The crux of our program is we assess for risks.
• The crux of our program is we assess for risks.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• cost out of their special fund, that's part of their fringe benefit assessment.
• cost out of their special fund, that's part of their fringe benefit assessment.
• That's just the assessment that we're getting.
• > getting that's the assessment that we're getting that's the assessment that we're getting we<00
• benefit rate that's going to be assessed benefit rate that's going to be assessed yeah<00:12:14.560

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And a fidelity review is a formal assessment of how closely providers adhere to recognize models and
• plans, and the department must compile a list of approved school safety assessment providers.
• We will assess the department's efforts to implement our recommendations during our six-month follow-up
• We will assess the department's efforts to implement our recommendations during our six-month follow-up
• of Education receive financial risk assessments—full reviews on the risk side.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Senate Education Committee of Reference met for sunset reviews and first heard a presentation on the Credit Enhancement Eligibility Board from the Governor’s Office. The presenter explained that the board, created in 2016, has no dedicated staff or administrative budget and is supported by existing budget and policy staff and the Treasurer’s Office. The board’s purpose is to lower borrowing costs for qualifying schools by using a guarantee fund to enhance credit ratings, and it has largely been used by charter schools. Because the board has reached its statutory leverage cap and has not met since 2022, it is currently in a monitoring role, but it must remain in place to honor guarantees if any approved financing defaults. The committee asked about financing maturities, demand from schools, and whether a shorter continuation period would make sense. No public testimony was offered, and the committee voted to recommend continuing the board for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The committee then reviewed the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WICHE’s president described the interstate compact, its regional role in higher education access, workforce development, and data services, and its major student programs: the Western Undergraduate Exchange, the Western Regional Graduate Program, and the Professional Student Exchange Program. She highlighted tuition savings for Arizona students and the state, the return of many PSEP graduates to practice in Arizona, and additional cost savings through cooperative purchasing and technology contracts. The committee asked no substantive questions, and it voted to recommend continuing WICHE for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The final major item was the Arizona Department of Education School Safety Program performance audit, followed by testimony from the department. The Auditor General reported that the program has grown substantially, especially after expansion to counselors and social workers and increased appropriations, but that ADE did not consistently ensure schools complied with program requirements. In a sample of 16 schools, most had issues such as missing or incomplete operational plans, inadequate safety team activity, incomplete required training, missing activity logs, or reimbursement requests lacking expenditure reports. The audit said these problems reduced the program’s effectiveness and increased the risk of improper spending, and it recommended stronger monitoring, written procedures, and better documentation review. ADE accepted the findings and said it is implementing the recommendations through more direct staff oversight, training requirements tied to funding, encrypted submission of emergency plans, site visits, and representative desk reviews. The discussion then shifted to whether emergency plans should address federal law enforcement actions; the director said the plans are designed for campus safety threats generally and do not specifically contemplate ICE enforcement. The committee took no vote on the audit presentation and adjourned after discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:16:07.040> if protection and impact assessments if protection and impact assessments if
• An<00:16:09.440> impact<00:16:09.840> assessment<00:16:10.320> is<00:16:10.440><
• c> required<00:16:10.920> if<00:16:11.040> a An impact assessment is required if a
• Data<00:16:17.080> protection<00:16:17.520> assessments<00:16:18.120> must Data
• protection assessments must Data protection assessments must identify<00:16:19.000> and<00:16:

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House first took up House Bill 955, relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system. The chamber suspended rules to consider the Senate proposal of amendment immediately, and the House Education Committee reported that while it appreciated the Senate’s work, differences remained on issues including the timing of class size minimums, possible tuition or fees under the foundation formula, school construction details, and merger committee groupings. The committee voted 11-0-0 to refuse concurrence and request a committee of conference. After a brief correction on the committee straw poll, the House voted to refuse concurrence in the Senate amendment and appointed Representatives Conlin, Kornheiser, and Quimby as the House conferees. The House then suspended rules to message its action to the Senate forthwith. The House next took up Senate Bill 71, the consumer data privacy and online surveillance bill. The Commerce and Economic Development Committee recommended amendment, and the floor report described the bill as creating a comprehensive Vermont data privacy law effective January 1, 2028. The report outlined consumer rights to know, access, correct, delete, and port personal data, and to opt out of targeted advertising and sale of data; duties for controllers and processors; limits on sensitive data use; special protections for minors and health-related geofencing; Attorney General enforcement; and an 18-month cure period. The committee heard extensive testimony from a broad range of advocates, industry representatives, privacy experts, and other stakeholders, and it reported the bill out favorably with amendment on a vote of 11-0-0 before the House recessed for dinner.

Transcript Highlights:

• and making sure that we are of assessing and making sure that we are putting<00:21:28.039> the
• That’s the assessment that determines eligibility for services.
• through the Min choices assessment through the Min choices assessment process<00:29:00.519> to
• choices assessment itself the requirement<00:29:26.120> to<00:29:26.559> reassess<00:29
• I think that’s a good question when it comes to the assessments.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Do they assess that as taxable or non-taxable?
• Do they assess that as taxable or non-taxable?
• I mean, if it's a big house, but they only use the front part, how do they assess that?
• I mean, if it's a big house, but they only use the front part, how do they assess that?
• I mean, if it's a big house, but they only use the front part, how do they assess that?

Bills: SF0024

Keywords: lottery, debit card payments, gambling regulations, state revenue, financial transactions, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We use assessments. I'll talk about that later.
• The assessment itself is grounded in risk-need responsivity. We use motivational interviewing.
• This assessment is used, and it can also transfer.
• We do informal workshops, assessments.
• We do informal workshops, assessments.

Summary: The committee began with a work session on juvenile rehabilitation institution capacity, services, and staffing. DCYF Assistant Secretary Jennifer Redmond described overcrowding at Green Hill School and Echo Glen, driven by longer adult-style sentences extending past age 25, limited community placements, and small facility sizes. She said Green Hill remains above safe operating capacity, but staffing, injuries, large-scale aggression, and use-of-force incidents have improved over the past year. She also discussed Harbor Heights, a new 46-bed flex facility that had opened with 22 youth and would expand once a medical trailer arrives, as well as community transition services, vocational programming, behavior management reforms, and a request for more resources for mental health-focused facilities and staffing. Members asked about success metrics, developmental disability screening and supports, college access at Echo Glen, Mission Creek planning, and gender-responsive programming; Redmond said JR uses assessments, family involvement, and specialized living units, and that some requested funding had already been secured for returning a girls’ program at Echo Glen. The committee then heard from Team Child and the Youth Action Coalition. Greta Schultz said youth perspectives should guide system reforms and identified key concerns: overuse of sentence extensions, underuse of community transition services, continued criminal referrals from Green Hill to Lewis County, limited family contact, inadequate mental health access, and unequal education opportunities, especially for young women at Echo Glen. Justella Gonzalez, a former system-involved youth, said her time in county and state facilities was harmful, with staff mistreatment, poor education, limited therapy access, and humiliating restraint practices; she also said girls at Echo Glen lacked the same college opportunities as boys at Green Hill. Committee members asked for follow-up on county versus state experiences and on telehealth mental health services. The next presentation covered county-level services for youth involved or at risk of involvement with the justice system, led by juvenile court administrators Christine Simon-Smeyer and Judge Rachel Anderson. They outlined the juvenile court continuum from prevention and truancy work through diversion, detention alternatives, community supervision, and disposition alternatives, emphasizing evidence-based, trauma-informed, and restorative practices. Clark County was used as an example of a court that partners closely with schools and community providers, uses risk assessments and wraparound behavioral health probation, and offers detention alternatives without electronic home monitoring. They said most courts do not use detention for status offenses, but instead use court involvement to connect youth to services. They also described funding, noting that courts rely on a mix of state block grant and local dollars, and that recent cuts to early intervention funding reduced programming and staff hours. Members asked about detention for truancy, developmental disability identification, restorative justice practices, and the juvenile block grant. Finally, DCYF Assistant Secretary Nicole Rose and Katie Warren of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECAP discussed child care and early learning impacts from recent policy and budget changes. Rose said Fair Start for Kids investments had increased child care access, provider participation, and kindergarten readiness, with more than 60,000 children in Working Connections care and rising ECAP enrollment and provider capacity. She said recent reductions will raise most family copays in 2026, delay eligibility expansions, eliminate some expanded eligibility categories, reduce ECAP slots by about 3,000, delay entitlement timelines, and cut provider supports such as rate increases for centers, complex-needs grants, trauma-informed and dual-language incentives, and infant/early childhood mental health consultation. Warren emphasized ECAP’s role in family stability, workforce participation, and reducing poverty, and noted its two-generation approach to supporting both children and parents.

Transcript Highlights:

• It was essential we started with self-assessments.
• The first baseline tool we used was the School Mental Health Quality Assessment.
• Each building's PBIS team completes a self-assessment 2 times a year.
• Um, in addition, though, there are still, we're not saying assessments are not important because assessments
• How are you assessing students?

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:38:56.800> against it allows for an assessment against it allows for an assessment against
• Good to see you again. taxpayer who's assessed uh the you know taxpayer who's assessed uh the you know
• is assessed they should address this. is assessed they should address this.
• treatment should the required assessment treatment should the required assessment indicate<02:00
• recommended uh by the assessment. recommended uh by the assessment.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard opening remarks and ground rules from Chair David Tarnas, including a request for two-minute testimony limits, clear speaking, Zoom etiquette, and respectful conduct. The first measure taken up was HB 2062, relating to gun violence prevention, which would appropriate funds for enforcement of gun violence protective orders and for public awareness campaigns. Judiciary submitted written testimony recommending technical changes to clarify that it does not enforce laws and instead should be funded for personnel to process temporary restraining orders and gun violence protective orders; the Department of Law Enforcement supported the bill and said it is well positioned to conduct public education. Support also came from county and advocacy witnesses, including Moms Demand Action, Giffords Gun Owners for Safety, HGEA, and a retired police officer, while opposition testimony argued the measure raises due process and Fifth Amendment concerns and that education, not enforcement, should be the focus. The chair noted 37 testimonies in support, 103 in opposition, and three comments; no vote was taken in the portion provided. Testimony on HB 2062 emphasized both public safety and constitutional concerns. Supporters described the bill as a way to increase awareness of an existing legal tool, prevent suicides and shootings, and help law enforcement and the public understand gun violence protective orders. Opponents, including gun owners and firearms groups, argued that red flag laws can be abused, lack due process, and should not be expanded through state funding. A county neighborhood safety witness suggested an amendment to allow public, private, and nonprofit consultants to assist with training and implementation. Members asked a few questions, but the agencies with written testimony were not present, so the chair referred members to their submissions. The committee then moved to HB 2061, relating to firearms, which appropriates money for the state gun buyback program and requires at least two buyback events in each county. Written support was noted from the Department of Law Enforcement, Hawaii County Council, the County of Kauai Prosecuting Attorney, and the Hawaii State Association of Counties, with the latter emphasizing that buybacks are voluntary prevention tools that can reduce risk before crises escalate. Opposition came from the Mid-Pacific Pistol League, SDM Training Group/Bows and Bullets, and others; one witness argued buybacks are ineffective, costly, and can be vulnerable to misuse or black-market diversion, and suggested a year-round surrender option instead. The committee heard additional support from a retired police officer and from a gun violence survivor with Students Demand Action, but no final action or vote was taken in the excerpt provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• They will still pay property tax on the captured assessment at the current rate, whether it's up or down
• They will still pay property tax on the captured assessment at the current rate, whether it's up or down
• They will still pay property tax on the captured assessment at the current rate, whether it's up or down
• They will still pay property tax on the captured assessment at the current rate, whether it's up or down
• It's lessening of what is budgeted, and that's assuming that the assessments are going to go up.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00 Attendance Roll Call: 00:08 Senate Bill 79 (Sen. McDaniel): 00:48 Senate Bill 67 (Sen. Nemes): 08:09 Adjournment: 12:43, 958, all

Summary: The Senate State and Local Government Committee met and first took up Senate Bill 79, sponsored by Senator McDaniel, with testimony from McDaniel and Deputy Secretary Robert Long of the Personnel Cabinet. They described the bill as a cleanup measure for personnel law that would, among other things, add interns to the definition of employee while excluding them from full-time employee status, remove the Personnel Cabinet secretary as an ex officio member of the KERS Board, clarify personnel board membership and grievance rights, limit appeals of satisfactory-or-above evaluations, address layoffs and reemployment rights, allow leave donation in certain resignations or retirements, restrict remote work from outside Kentucky without approval, permit deductions for unreturned state equipment, and make DJJ facility supervisors non-merit positions. The committee voted on SB 79 and passed it with favorable expression. The committee then heard Senate Bill 67, presented by Chair Nemes, an elder property tax bill. The bill would freeze the assessed value of a primary residence for homeowners age 65 or older until the property is no longer their primary residence, while still taxing at the current rate. Nemes said the measure was intended to help seniors on fixed incomes and noted a fiscal analysis showing little to no direct revenue loss, though it could reduce projected budgeted growth in property tax revenue. Committee discussion noted a local impact and a statewide budget impact estimate of about $4 million for the first two fiscal years. SB 67 also passed with favorable expression, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• You do it as you do a survey or an assessment first, and then that's what you're based on rather than
• But I think we can send it back to the department and say, we think an assessment might be helpful for
• I don't, I can't say or argue one way or the other whether a needs assessment is or wouldn't Or argue
• one way or the other whether a needs assessment is or wouldn't be beneficial for firefighter versus
• I do think about the time that it would take to do an appropriate needs assessment because in terms of

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Working Group on Education and Training of the Special Commission on Xylazine held its first meeting to begin developing findings and recommendations on education and training for first responders, the medical community, the substance use treatment community, and people who use drugs. Members discussed the need for baseline information on what xylazine is, its clinical effects and harms, signs of exposure or poisoning, wound care, and immediate response steps, while also noting that training should be tailored by audience, geography, and role. Several members emphasized that the training should be practical and action-oriented, helping people recognize xylazine exposure and know what to do next, including whether naloxone is relevant and how to reduce risk and mitigate harm. A major theme was whether the group should recommend a needs assessment or survey to identify what different audiences already know and what they still need to learn. Members suggested that BSAS, DPH, local public health departments, licensing boards, and other stakeholders could help gather this information, and that existing resources such as DPH materials, MADS data, Brandeis materials, and trainings already being funded at BMC should be reviewed. The group also discussed the importance of using plain language for non-clinical audiences while still including clinical detail for providers, and of distinguishing between clinical and non-clinical training tracks. The working group agreed to divide into subgroups: Senator Keenan will focus on first responders, Dr. Simon on the medical community, and Millie Batiya on the substance use treatment community, while Chair Domb will focus on people who use drugs. Staff will send meeting notes, an early draft PowerPoint framework, and a shared Google Drive folder for materials. Members were asked to gather sources and ideas by November 25 ahead of the December 11 public meeting. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, a second, and unanimous thanks to staff and participants.

Transcript Highlights:

• c> assess that risk, but assess that risk, but I<00:58:24.840> I I I I I there<00:58:25.600>
• the state pays for the state assessment the state pays for the state assessment and<01:01:35.360
• denied access to the state assessment. denied access to the state assessment.
• .<02:01:07.440> Assessments<02:01:08.360> are<02:01:08.760> the assessments.
• Assessments are the assessments.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• individuals could make an assessment individuals could make an assessment with<00:23:53.760>
• the effect of the ordered corrective controls, including assessing.'
• <01:31:14.320> Uh assess the Larmy County control area.
• Uh assess the Larmy County control area.
• . assessing. assessing.

Bills: SF0050, SF0084, HB0133, HB0116, HB0011, HB0044

Keywords: groundwater, water resource management, state engineer, aquifer study, corrective controls, monitoring wells, public reporting, water conservation, Colorado River, drought, irrigation, water rights, voluntary program, interstate agreements, conservation districts, supervisors, elections, agriculture, local governance, beneficial use

Transcript Highlights:

• The water board conducts an annual drinking water needs assessment.
• The department can rely on assessments by local reclamation districts about need.
• Of an ongoing assessment that will be largely informed by the just-completed engineering assessment of
• There are regional efforts to assess this.
• Water Board's annual needs assessment.

Keywords: 988, house, all