Video & Transcript Research : 'background screening'

Page 107 of 476
NH

New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session

House Finance Division III (03/10/2025)

Transcript Highlights:
  • good background about the situation<01:03:46.680> not<01:03:46.920> that<01:03:47.279>
  • as far as, I think that was an allocation in HB 2 as well, to make sure that adults are getting screened
  • as far as, I think that was an allocation in HB 2 as well, to make sure that adults are getting screened
  • to make sure that adults<01:11:59.239> are<01:11:59.400> getting<01:11:59.679> screened
  • screened in the importance<01:12:01.320> of<01:12:01.679> you<01:12:01.840> know
Keywords: 928, house, all
Summary: The Division of Long-Term Supports and Services presented its budget and program overview as part of the Department of Health and Human Services operating budget review. Leadership described the division’s three bureaus—Aging and Adult Services, Developmental Services, and Family-Centered Services—and explained that the division provides guidance, technical assistance, quality monitoring, and contracted provider oversight across the lifespan. Members also discussed staffing, with reported vacancy rates of 4% in Aging and Adult Services, 15% in Developmental Services, and 6% in Family-Centered Services; the division said the higher BDS vacancy rate is partly due to the small number of authorized positions. The governor’s budget had left eight positions unfunded in the division, including three in Aging and Adult Services and five in BDS. A major topic was the division’s roadmap initiatives, especially building a system of care for healthy aging and strengthening developmental disabilities systems through a new reimbursement rate structure. The division said it contracted with an actuary to study DD service costs and found rates had not been reviewed since 2017 and were significantly below actual costs and other states’ rates, contributing to provider shortages even when services are authorized. Members asked about the impact on service delivery and whether rates would need to rise overall; the division said its strategy is to focus on lower-cost services that help people remain in the community. The division also reported waiver enrollment figures, including about 4,161 people on the Choices for Independence waiver, 3,688 average nursing facility residents, 5,061 people on the DD waiver, 228 on the acquired brain disorder waiver, and 488 children on the in-home support waiver, while noting there is no funding waitlist but provider availability remains a constraint. The division highlighted IT modernization as a major accomplishment, especially moving Adult Protective Services and Developmental Services into the New Heights system. Officials said these changes improve case-note access, data retrieval, service authorization tracking, and transparency for providers, and they asked for future oversight discussion focused on IT leverage. Members noted that New Heights maintenance is budgeted in the Office of the Commissioner under class 27 and suggested better transparency on system costs and benefits. The division also reported that it closed out a long-running CMS corrective action plan for BDS on July 1, 2023, and said it is now focused on strengthening the system rather than compliance alone. Other discussion covered the Aging and Adult Services bureau’s name change from Elderly and Adult Services to Adult and Aging Services, intended to avoid negative connotations and better reflect preventative services. The bureau described Adult Protective Services trends involving scams, financial exploitation, self-neglect, and isolation, and explained that it administers the CFI waiver, determines medical eligibility for nursing facility level of care, and braids funding from Medicaid, state funds, Older Americans Act money, Social Service Block Grants, and other grants. Members asked about waiver growth targets and federal consequences if enrollment remains below projections; the division said it would explain the shortfall in a future waiver amendment and did not anticipate a federal penalty. The meeting ended without any votes or formal actions taken.
TX

Texas 89th 2nd C.S.

The July 2025 Flooding Events, General Investigating Apr 27th, 2026

The July 2025 Flooding Events, General Investigating

Transcript Highlights:
  • She was a sanitation officer who basically checked for whether you did background checks on your employees
  • Officer who basically checked for whether you did background checks on your employees? Check.
  • , If you look towards the background, you can see the flooding.
  • You can see the lights still on in the background.
  • that email was sent about the video from 2017, that email was actually from 2017, as I saw on the screen
Keywords: 1184, house, all
KY

Kentucky 2026 Regular Session

Senate Legislative Session Day 22 (2-6-26)

Kentucky Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • President, with that, as the orders are displayed on the screen, I move that Senate Bill 132 be taken
  • Physician assistants working with podiatrists will focus on diabetic foot screenings, wound care, and
  • And don't get me wrong, it's having a law enforcement background, I understand when you're dealing with
  • And don't get me wrong, it's having a law enforcement background, I understand when you're dealing with
  • And don't get me wrong, it's having a law enforcement background, I understand when you're dealing with
Keywords: 958, all
Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the pledge, roll call, and approval of the February 5, 2026 journal. The House clerk then delivered messages that the House had passed House Bills 103, 188, 189, 258, 276, and 419 and requested concurrence. The chamber also received second-reading reports for Senate Bills 2, 4, 71, 136, and 183, which were sent to the Rules Committee, and later committee reports that posted SB 2, SB 4, and SB 71 for Monday, February 9, and SB 136 and SB 183 for Tuesday, February 10. The Committee on Committees also referred several bills to standing committees, including SB 155, 118, 153, 158, 160, 72, 98, and 145. The main floor action was passage of Senate Bill 132, relating to massage therapy. The sponsor said the bill was intended to help local governments investigate businesses posing as massage parlors and to strengthen enforcement against unlicensed practice, including raising the penalty for certain violations from a class B to a class A misdemeanor and treating each unlicensed session as a separate offense. Supporters said it would aid efforts to combat human trafficking and preserve local zoning and licensing authority. Several senators voiced concerns that the bill could be too broad and might unintentionally affect trafficking victims or impose harsh penalties for unlicensed massage without injury or fraud, but they still voted yes. SB 132 passed 32-0. The Senate also adopted Senate Committee Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 18 and then passed the bill 32-0. SB 18 updates Kentucky’s podiatry laws, formally recognizes podiatric assistants and residents, gives the Board of Podiatry authority to license and regulate them, allows podiatrists to supervise physician assistants with board approval, limits supervision to four assistants, and requires new podiatrists starting in 2027 to complete at least two years of residency training. The sponsor said the measure modernizes oversight and improves access to foot and ankle care, especially for patients with diabetes. After the floor work, the Senate recessed for meetings of the Rules Committee and Committee on Committees, and later received the committee reports noted above.
CA

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

Assembly Education Committee Apr 30th, 2025

Education

Transcript Highlights:
  • In my background I am a former school District Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Chief Business
  • This fall, 1.2 million kids, kindergarten, first and second grade will be screened for reading difficulties
  • So for those looking at the screen this is not a bill on school facilities heating, ventilation and air
  • This is true no matter the zip code, background, home language, neurodiversity or other factors that
  • A little background of who we are at San Diego Unified.
Keywords: 988, house, all
US

US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session

US House Floor Proceedings (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)

US Federal House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • Lisel trots over to anyone who will scratch her ears, noticing their kindness first before their backgrounds
  • We are so defined by our differences, our backgrounds, our languages, or our histories.
  • We are so defined by our differences,<01:10:27.679> our<01:10:27.920> backgrounds,<01:10
  • :28.480> our differences, our backgrounds, our differences, our backgrounds, our languages,<01
LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

Health and Welfare May 6th, 2026

Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:
  • You want people who have a medical background to make this medical determination, correct?
  • But imagine a brand new graduate with no clinical background. nothing.
  • But imagine a brand new graduate with no clinical background.
  • We conduct all the hearing and vision requirements, scoliosis screenings.
  • We conduct all the hearing and vision requirements, scoliosis screenings.
Summary: The committee heard a personal privilege update on HB 1227, which Representative DeWitt said would return next week as a proposed HCR for a two-year study of the three-doctor panel after discussions with Dr. Nia Colotta. Better Louisiana also presented its new Leadership Louisiana Health Fellows Program, describing it as a data-driven leadership initiative focused on health care workforce, rural access, chronic disease, and other system issues; members discussed whether the program could also help generate policy research, including on managed care organizations. The committee then considered SB 427 on anatomical gifts. After adopting technical amendments, Senator Presley and Dr. Jeff White explained that the bill would strengthen organ donation law by creating a decision registry that records both yes and no choices, clarifying the legal effect of refusal, and codifying ethical principles such as the dead donor rule. Questions focused on organ viability, registry procedures, minors, and a Monroe case involving a disputed donor designation. Supporters included LOPA and the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the bill was reported favorably. HB 946, dealing with hospital price transparency and compliance with federal pricing rules, drew extensive testimony. Representative Landry and a witness from Patient Rights Advocate described it as a consumer transparency measure, but the Louisiana Hospital Association opposed the bill’s state-level enforcement and debt-collection provisions. Landry offered an amendment removing the debt-collection and affirmative-defense language, but after debate the substitute failed on a 5-6 vote and the bill was voluntarily deferred. The committee also reported favorably on SB 109, which revises membership qualifications for the Louisiana Emergency Medical Services Commission; SCR 20, urging federal flexibility on Medicaid redetermination for elderly and disabled beneficiaries; SB 216, allowing coroners to rely on licensed practical nurses for medical pronouncements of death; and SB 45, exempting certain gratuitous hospice houses from licensure, with testimony from hospice house operators and supporters. Finally, HCR 71 by Representative Chasson sought an LDH study of how Louisiana’s law and guidance on pregnancy-related emergency medications is working in hospitals, urgent care, and retail settings. Supporters said providers are hesitant to use medications such as misoprostol because of stigma and uncertainty, while opponents from Louisiana Right to Life argued the resolution was unnecessary and could create controversy. The discussion centered on whether the study should be narrowed or made more objective, but no final action on the resolution was reached in the portion provided.
FL

Florida 2026 Regular Session

Senate in Session Feb 19th, 2026

Florida Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • Melvin Screen, Miami... ...sponsored by Senator Collateau, and Breel Lambert of Orlando, sponsored by
  • And there's never been a president that has had this kind of divisiveness, this kind of background.
  • I mean, we've never had a president. ...of divisiveness, this kind of background.
  • And there's never been a president that has had this kind of divisiveness, this kind of background.
  • I mean, we've never had a president. of divisiveness, this kind of background.
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).
NH
Transcript Highlights:
  • We're doing the background work to make sure everything reconciles appropriately, and then we can just
  • We're doing the background work to make sure everything reconciles appropriately, and then we can just
  • So that's just background.
  • >> Newborn<03:08:56.080> screening.
  • newborn screening. newborn screening. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Okay.
Keywords: 928, house, all
Summary: The Joint Committee on Dedicated Funds met to review inactive and dedicated accounts, note prior legislation that had passed, and begin its annual review of agency funds. Members discussed several inactive funds, including some HHS-related accounts, a law enforcement memorial fund, and possible cleanup of accounting references where funds had been reorganized or merged. Staff noted that some newer funds may simply not have started receiving revenue yet, and the committee agreed to follow up on specific accounts later rather than address everything immediately. The committee then heard from Fish and Game on its dedicated funds. Topics included the statewide public boat access account, which is used for boat ramp and access-site maintenance and is supported by boat registration fees and federal funds; the ORV education, training, and enforcement account, which has declined over time and may need attention because revenue depends heavily on weather and snowmobile use; and the search and rescue account, which is funded by Hike Safe cards, a $1 fee from boat and OHRV registrations, and court-ordered fees. Fish and Game also explained that the conservation license plate fund had been merged into the non-game species management account, which is supported by donations, federal funds, and a statutory general fund transfer, and that pheasants are treated as game species under a separate program. The committee spent considerable time on the lifetime license account, an off-book Treasury-held account that collects lifetime license sales and returns funds to Fish and Game based on annual sales plus 9% of the fund balance. Members questioned why the account’s presentation did not clearly show the transfer as a revenue reduction and suggested the reporting format needed cleanup so the flow of money would be easier to understand. Fish and Game said the account is operating properly and that the transfer to the unrestricted Fish and Game fund exceeded $400,000 in the most recent year. The committee also reviewed the publications and fundraising revolving fund, which keeps a $100,000 balance for inventory purchases and transfers excess year-end funds to the unrestricted Fish and Game fund; members again raised concerns that the reporting format did not clearly show the transfer, and staff said they could add a note or other clarification.
FL

Florida 2026 5th Special Session

Senate in Session Apr 30th, 2025

Florida Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • The House bill requires criminal background checks for circulators. The Senate bill does not.
  • We don't have a background screening requirement in the Senate bill because we have an attestation by
  • Having my background checked, although we don't require that in this bill, and I'm going to submit to
  • I think I understand the background.
  • I think I understand the background.
Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several recognitions, including interns, Denim Day awareness, and a resolution honoring Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Senators also paid tribute to former Senator Karen Johnson Gendron with a moment of silence. The chamber then moved to special-order bills after routine announcements that no committee reports, governor’s messages, or House messages were on the desk. The first major bill, SB 138/HB 687 on transportation offenses involving death, increased penalties for repeat DUI/BUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide offenses and added warnings and misdemeanor penalties for refusing lawful breath or urine tests. After a brief amendment and questions about attorney rights and prior impairing-substance language, the bill passed 37-0. SB 306 on Medicaid providers followed, requiring broader provider access, including after-hours availability and more primary care access for Medicaid enrollees; it also passed 37-0. The chamber then took up the major condominium reform bill, SB 1742/HB 913, addressing post-Surfside safety, reserve funding, milestone inspections, budgeting, reserve flexibility, manager regulation, conflicts of interest, and condo sale rescission periods. Senators from both parties praised the sponsors for extensive stakeholder work and the bill passed 37-0 after multiple amendments. The final major item was SB 7016/HB 1205 on constitutional amendments and petition-gathering rules, with sponsors arguing the bill was needed to combat fraud in the 2024 petition process and opponents warning it would burden citizen initiatives. The Senate adopted the House bill and then considered numerous amendments on petition circulator rules, submission deadlines, invalid-signature thresholds, voter notification, and related enforcement provisions; several amendments were adopted, and the substitute was later withdrawn, leaving the chamber to continue on the underlying bill and remaining amendments.
MA

Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Joint Committee on Education Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm

Joint Committee on Education

Transcript Highlights:
  • Oh, you're together on the screen. So go ahead; you have four minutes between you. Thank you.
  • It's what makes our schools so diverse and creates a community of different backgrounds.
  • It's what makes our schools so diverse and creates a community of different backgrounds.
  • You've got to do the work, and you need to do the background work.
  • In the background, you hear my daughter. This school is unlike any I've worked in before.
Keywords: 995, all
Summary: The hearing focused primarily on H. 517/S. 314, a bill to provide a sustainable future for rural schools, and H. 697, a bill to require full funding of regional school transportation. Witnesses from rural districts, school committees, superintendents, students, and local officials described chronic underfunding, declining enrollment, high fixed costs, special education and transportation burdens, and the loss of programs, staff, and extracurriculars. Several speakers argued that rural aid should be funded at $60 million annually and made non-discretionary, while others emphasized that transportation reimbursement for regional districts has repeatedly fallen short of the state’s promise and is driving budget crises and overrides. A number of students testified in support of rural aid, describing cuts to classes, counselors, and activities, and the impact on their schools and communities. Committee members also discussed whether transportation policy should be revisited to address underlying cost drivers, including bus bidding practices and whether regional districts should have more flexibility in transportation requirements. The committee also heard H. 515, concerning Hancock Elementary School and a school choice-related exemption from a state requirement that has created a large financial burden for the district. Hancock’s superintendent and Rep. John Barrett explained that a decades-old regulation, recently enforced by DESE, would require Hancock to pay tuition for choice-in students through high school graduation even though the district only serves pre-K through grade 6 and sends its own students elsewhere for middle and high school. They said the rule creates a significant per-student shortfall and has forced Hancock to opt out of school choice. Committee members asked for clarification about how the arrangement works and how the costs fall on Hancock. Additional testimony supported related transportation bills for non-regional districts, especially Plymouth/Carver and North Middlesex, describing high and rising bus costs, special education and McKinney-Vento transportation expenses, and the strain on local budgets. Speakers repeatedly said that state reimbursement has not matched actual costs and that communities are being forced to choose between transportation and classroom services. No votes or final actions were taken in the hearing; the committee simply received testimony and closed the hearing on the bills discussed.
MA

Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm

Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:
  • This is a hybrid hearing, which you can see from the screens.
  • Just for quick background, and I have some brief remarks today.
  • My background is exactly what this committee is talking about: hazardous waste, toxins, and pollution
  • Okay, looks like she has tech support in the background. Mary, you've been able to unmute?
  • Lampert, just out of curiosity, given your experience and background, what would the alternative be to
Keywords: 995, all
Summary: The Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held a hybrid hearing with testimony on a range of environmental bills. Early testimony focused on H. 1018, which would update management of the Commonwealth’s water resources and limit new conditions on historic water registrations. Water officials from Wellesley and the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission supported the bill, arguing that drought-related restrictions on registered withdrawals are difficult to administer, create customer confusion, and can undermine utility revenue needed for infrastructure upgrades. A Massachusetts Waterworks Association representative also backed the bill, saying registered systems have long operated within their allocations and should not have those withdrawals conditioned by regulation. A major portion of the hearing centered on H. 1040, which would ban tire-derived materials on playgrounds and playing fields. The bill’s petitioner, environmental advocates, and an environmental chemist testified that crumb rubber and other tire-derived infill can release chemicals into soil and water and may pose risks to aquatic life and public health. Committee members asked about alternatives and costs; witnesses said natural grass and some organic infills are available, though more research is needed on some substitutes. Rep. Schwartz also testified on CSO-related bills, describing combined sewer overflows as a public health and environmental problem and saying the bills set deadlines but leave implementation methods to local and regional officials. Rep. Chacolo supported H. 909, a grant program for low-noise, low-emission landscape equipment, citing worker health, noise, and emissions concerns, and Sen. Cyr testified for bills addressing coastal and environmental acidification and nutrient pollution. The hearing also included extensive testimony on H. 4040, which would prevent discharge of radioactive materials from the Pilgrim decommissioning process. Speakers including a Sierra Club representative, a physician, and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association opposed Holtec’s plan to dispose of radioactive wastewater through evaporation or discharge, citing public health, transparency, and economic risks to fisheries and coastal communities. Another large block of testimony addressed CSO legislation, especially H. 1046 and related bills for the MWRA service area. Environmental groups, residents, and river users described sewage overflows into the Charles, Mystic, and Alewife Brook, impacts on health and recreation, and the need for a timeline to eliminate or sharply reduce overflows. Industry representatives opposed the CSO and waste bills, arguing they would be costly, duplicative, and disruptive, while waste facility operators said they already use continuous emissions monitoring and comply with existing regulations. No votes were taken during the hearing.
NH

New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session

House Session (04/10/2025)

New Hampshire House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • Walmart invites you to the cafeteria for a free lunch and health screening.
  • <02:30:28.479> Make a free lunch and health screening.
  • Make a free lunch and health screening.
  • ,<04:02:12.640> and<04:02:13.040> STI control, cancer screenings, and STI control,
  • to give you a little bit of background to give you a little bit of background on<05:20:27.360>
Keywords: 1189, house, all
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Floor Session 5/14/26 - Part 2

Minnesota House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • Just a few background notes, and my co-chair and co-author on this, Representative Berg, will help me
  • present it today just a few background present it today just a few background notes<00:17:18.160
  • c><02:18:32.160> transfers magazine background checks and transfers magazine background checks
  • ,<03:35:53.359> and heightened security screening, and heightened security screening, and
  • , from every creed, every background, from every creed, every background, every<04:25:59.040>
Keywords: 919, house, all
Summary: The House first adopted a conference committee report on House File 3426, a natural resources bill. Representative Jordan said the report largely reflected the House position, with changes including removal of the word “random” regarding DNR checks, clarification of minimum grant amount limits for trail maintenance and other projects, a two-year sunset on those caps, and repeal of obsolete language requiring DNR approval of ENRTF-funded acquisitions. Representative Heintzeman said the changes were technical and supported the bill. The motion prevailed, and the bill was given third reading. The House then concurred in Senate amendments to House File 4239, the campaign finance bill, and House File 4240, the elections bill. Representative Fryberg said HF 4239 addressed campaign disclaimers and privacy of addresses on campaign documents, with a compromise $10,000 security spending limit, authority for the Campaign Finance Board to dismiss frivolous complaints, and limits on sharing addresses with caucus leaders. HF 4240, the Secretary of State’s administrative bill, added an immediate effective date for a Three Rivers Park Commissioner disclosure requirement, removed an appropriation and related policy language, included amendments on special school district elections and betting on elections, and corrected a discrepancy with public safety language. Both bills were passed as amended by the Senate, with 118-15 and 127-6 votes respectively. The House also passed Senate File 3720, the workers’ compensation advisory council recommendations. Representatives Baker and Berg described bipartisan, unanimous council recommendations updating the workers’ compensation reinsurance process, allowing appellate judges to be assigned when needed, adding psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners as PTSD diagnosticians, updating attorney fee notice rules, increasing compensation for permanent partial disability, clarifying witness rules at employer medical exams, extending the time for employers to deny liability from 60 to 90 days, and correcting a prior error affecting DLI commissioner authority. The bill passed 132-1. Finally, Representative Long moved to suspend the rules to recall House File 5140, the comprehensive gun violence prevention package, from committee and bring it directly to passage. Long and Representative Greenman argued the Senate had already passed the bill and urged immediate action, citing the Annunciation shooting and other gun violence incidents. Representative Heintzeman raised concerns about the bill’s language, arguing a provision on protruding grips could make all handguns illegal and questioning other penalty provisions. Debate on the motion and bill continued, but no final vote on HF 5140 is shown in the transcript excerpt.
ND

North Dakota 2026 1st Special Session

Higher Education Funding Review Committee Jun 3rd, 2026 at 09:00 am

Higher Education Funding Review Committee

Transcript Highlights:
  • If you can put it on the screen, and you should also have it in paper form in front of you, is a new
  • This is that FTE student factor that's listed on the schedule on the screens here.
  • Just to give some more background on the strikeout for lines 9 through 12: In current law, we've been
  • for another meeting online for a brief second, but when you go to this sheet that's right on the screen
  • I share my screen. I just got kind of brief description. What are you? You, it's your show.
Keywords: 908, all
ND

North Dakota 2026 1st Special Session

Higher Education Funding Review Committee Jun 3rd, 2026

Higher Education Funding Review Committee

Transcript Highlights:
  • If you can put it on the screen, and you should also have it in paper form in front of you, is a new
  • So this is that FTE student factor that's listed on the schedule on the screens here.
  • Just to give some more background on the strikeout for lines 9 through 12: In current law, we've been
  • for another meeting online for a brief second, but when you go to this sheet that’s right on the screen
  • I share my screen. I just got kind of brief description. What are you? You, it's your show.
Summary: The Higher Education Funding Review Committee met to continue work on a draft higher education funding formula and related capital building fund changes. Lisa Johnson of the North Dakota University System updated the committee on the board’s developing policy for low-producing academic programs. She said the board is using a five-year rolling window, with thresholds of fewer than 10 undergraduate graduates or fewer than 5 graduate graduates, and that programs flagged in three consecutive review cycles would go to the board for review. Possible outcomes include continuation, continuation with modifications, inactivation, or termination. Members asked about how the policy would account for enrollment, program costs, workforce need, and programs that serve students outside their major. Johnson said the board would likely use an accompanying procedure to consider those factors. She also reported that about 200 programs could potentially be reviewed under current guidance, with 135 inactivated and 112 terminated, and said the process is intended to support quality and stewardship rather than simply cut programs. Jamie Wilkie then reported on the Capital Building Fund. He reviewed the fund’s history, matching requirements, and use for extraordinary repairs, deferred maintenance, and some legislatively authorized projects. He said about $334 million in state and matching dollars has been invested overall, with roughly 78.7% going to deferred maintenance and extraordinary repairs. Committee members pressed for updated information on how much deferred maintenance has actually been reduced, and several members said they wanted clearer reporting on the return on investment from new buildings versus repairs. NDSU representatives said the tier funding has helped significantly reduce deferred maintenance and allowed demolition and renovation work on campus. The committee also discussed the need for updated five-year facility plans and space-utilization information from the institutions. The committee then began a section-by-section review of a draft bill that would replace the current higher education funding formula with an FTE-based model and restructure the capital building fund. The draft would fund UND and NDSU differently from the other nine institutions, use fall enrollment rather than completed credits, add performance funding for completions in in-demand fields, create research incentives for UND and NDSU, and combine capital building fund tiers while changing matching requirements and eligible uses. Members raised concerns about the treatment of professional students, the use of CIP codes, incentives for waivers, and whether the formula should rely on more current data. The committee did not take final action on the draft during this meeting, but it continued detailed discussion and indicated more review would follow.
ND
Transcript Highlights:
  • If you can put it on the screen, and you should also have it in paper form in front of you, there is
  • So this is that FTE student factor that's listed on the schedule on the screens here.
  • Just to give some more background on the strikeout for lines 9 through 12.
  • for another meeting online for a brief second, but when you go to this sheet that's right on the screen
  • I share my screen. I just got a kind of brief description. What are you? You, it's your show.
Summary: The committee met to discuss higher education funding and capital building policy. Members first heard an update from NDUS Deputy Commissioner Lisa Johnson on low-producing academic programs. She described a proposed board policy using a five-year rolling window and thresholds of fewer than 10 undergraduate graduates or fewer than 5 graduate graduates, with programs flagged for three consecutive review periods going to the board. Possible outcomes would include continuation, continuation with modifications, inactivation, or termination. Members asked about how the review would account for program costs, service to other students, workforce demand, and the difference between inactivation and termination. Johnson said the board would consider broader factors and that campuses already do detailed program analysis. Several members also asked about cost savings and staffing impacts from program terminations, and Johnson said the board would try to provide more information later. The committee then received a report on the Capital Building Fund from Jamie Wilkie. He reviewed the program’s history, matching requirements, and recent uses, noting that about $334 million in state and matching dollars has been invested overall, with most going to deferred maintenance and extraordinary repairs. Members discussed whether the program is reducing deferred maintenance and requested updated systemwide data on deferred maintenance and campus space utilization. Wilkie said the board is considering a new study to update deferred maintenance figures, which are based on information more than 12 years old. He also reported that several institutions have used current biennium funds for projects such as residence hall renovations, health sciences housing, generators, and building repairs. Later, the committee began a detailed walkthrough of a draft bill that would replace the current higher education funding formula with an FTE-based model and also revise the capital building fund structure. The draft would use fall enrollment FTEs, add completion incentives for degrees in in-demand fields, and create a separate research funding component for UND and NDSU tied to doctoral completions and external research expenditures. Members raised concerns about the use of older data in the formula, the treatment of waivers, the weighting of professional and health sciences programs, and the use of CIP codes to define CTE and education incentives. The bill draft would also combine capital building fund tiers, broaden eligible uses for deferred maintenance and legislatively authorized projects, change matching requirements, repeal the old formula chapter and the capital pool, and transfer funds from the Strategic Investment and Improvements Fund into the capital building fund. No final votes were taken during the portion provided; the meeting was primarily discussion and review.
CA
Transcript Highlights:
  • I'm now going to share my screen and walk you through just a short set of slides to give you a sense
  • Yeah, we got you on the screen, your task force, your PowerPoint.
  • I'm now going to share my screen and walk you through just a short set of slides to give you a sense
  • Yeah, we got you on the screen, your task force, your PowerPoint.
  • And our report, too, that we have here, the background discusses some of the need for us to incentivize
Keywords: 987, senate, all
Summary: The joint Senate hearing of the Natural Resources and Water Committee and the Emergency Management Committee focused on wildfire resilience, with members discussing the SB 254 report on enhancing California’s response to natural catastrophes. Opening remarks emphasized the scale of wildfire damage, the need for prevention and preparedness, and concerns about the affordability and insurability crisis. Senators repeatedly contrasted the relatively small share of funding going to community hardening with the much larger amounts spent on utility wildfire mitigation and landscape-scale projects, and several members raised concerns about CEQA delays, one-time funding, and the need for more sustainable, ongoing financing. The Legislative Analyst’s Office presented an overview showing about $4.7 billion in state wildfire resilience appropriations from 2018-19 through 2025-26, with funding shifting from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the General Fund and then to Proposition 4. LAO noted that only about $65 million had been specifically targeted to community hardening, while most funding went to forest health, fuels, research, and related programs. LAO also said one-time funding will decline in coming years and that future GGRF support is uncertain, though General Fund use is not legally precluded. Members asked about maintenance costs, polluter-pays ideas, and whether performance metrics should focus more on property and community risk reduction than acres treated. Cal Fire’s State Fire Marshal described the state’s community wildfire preparedness strategy, centered on home hardening, defensible space, and neighborhood-scale mitigation. He said roughly 4 million homes are in the wildland-urban interface, most built before modern fire-resistant standards, and argued that the state must move from response to prevention. He said Cal Fire is incorporating the SB 254 recommendations into its updated action plan, has streamlined some fuel-reduction projects under a recent executive proclamation, and is shifting some grant funding toward maintenance of existing treatments. Cal OES described the AB 38 pilot and FEMA hazard mitigation work, saying the pilot helped build tools and standards for home hardening but that federal approval delays remain a major barrier; the agency reported 155 hardened properties, 19 under construction, and 370 assessed and waiting. The Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force said it has coordinated more than $6 billion in state and federal investments, is moving toward regional block grants and better data-driven prioritization, and is developing separate community and landscape strategies. The hearing ended with discussion of modeling, data gaps, utility coordination, contractor capacity, and possible legislative or budget changes to better align funding and metrics with community safety outcomes.
KY

Kentucky 2026 Regular Session

Senate Legislative Session Day 44 (3-11-26)

Kentucky Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • President, the orders are before us on the screen, so with that, I move that Senate Bill 19 be taken
  • before<00:11:44.360> us<00:11:44.480> on<00:11:44.600> the<00:11:44.680> screen
  • ,<00:11:45.120> so orders are before us on the screen, so orders are before us on the screen
  • First, it will call for background checks for child support services staff.
Keywords: 958, all
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • So, begin with a little bit of background.
  • Um, phone screens and glasses, the coatings that are on them to repel oils or to be scratch resistant
  • Um phone<00:10:51.120> screens<00:10:51.600> and<00:10:51.920> glasses,<00:10:52.320
  • > the<00:10:52.480> coatings phone screens and glasses, the coatings phone screens and
Summary: The committee met and approved the minutes, then heard announcements and introductions from members and guests, including an invitation to an East Kentucky trail ride opening and welcomes for new EPIC and Kentucky Coal Association representatives and several constituents. After the opening business, the committee turned to a presentation on nanotechnology and energy applications by Rodney Andrews of the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research. Andrews explained how nanoscale materials behave differently because of their size and surface area, and described uses in consumer products, batteries, solar panels, catalysts, coatings, sensors, and energy storage. Members asked about the relationship between nanomaterials and coal, and Andrews said carbon nanotubes can be made from coal-derived hydrocarbons, which members noted as an opportunity for Kentucky’s coal and manufacturing sectors. He also discussed work on improved solar coatings, more stable perovskites, fuel-processing catalysts, hydrogen storage, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, electromagnetic shielding, and conductive yarns and fabrics. The presentation also covered more advanced applications such as thermoelectric textiles, power transmission materials, thermal transport composites for aerospace, nanofluids for cooling, and fusion reactor shielding. In the final discussion, members raised questions about electromagnetic pulse protection and quantum computing; Andrews said the materials discussed could absorb and spread energy and that shielding applications may help with EMPs, while quantum computing remains limited by extremely low operating temperatures. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • In that sense, what we're now learning is that the screening guidelines for cancer among transgender
  • So a transgender man who still has a cervix, we will still follow the recommended cancer screening guidelines
  • prostate, regardless of them. being a transgender woman, we will still follow the regular prostate screening
  • We are seeing emerging data suggesting a mammogram and other breast cancer screenings in transgender
  • I don't have a background in marketing, but this is such... a big deal and the message is out really