Transcript Highlights:

• We're able to monitor the spending of those funds and also track the outcomes.
• This is one of the most important ways we can spend our funds in the state.
• We will be doing an accounting quarterly to see how they are spending those funds.
• spending them.
• Where you're spending money makes a big difference.

Transcript Highlights:

• dollars at local restaurants and spend dollars at local restaurants and<00:03:57.079> boutiques
• greater Minnesota as well as spending greater Minnesota as well as spending money<00:05:24.919><
• You can also see that we spend the majority of our funding on spring and summer.
• Additionally, of this total spend, 11.6% goes into diverse markets.
• great um you can also see that we spend great um you can also see that we spend the<00:07:27.919

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Explore Minnesota Executive Director Lauren Bennett McGinty gave the committee an agency overview focused on the state’s tourism, livability, business attraction, film, and outdoor recreation promotion work. She highlighted record 2023 tourism results, including 80.2 million visitors, $4.1 billion in economic impact, more than 180,000 hospitality jobs, and $2.3 billion in state and local taxes, and said tourism sales, hotel occupancy, and other metrics continued to improve. She also described the agency’s marketing strategy, including a new campaign centered on authentic Minnesota stories, expanded domestic and international advertising, and a strong emphasis on winter, diverse markets, and accessibility. McGinty reviewed several one-time-funded programs launched or expanded in the last year, including Explore Minnesota for Business, the tourism recovery grant program, the first Tribal Nations Grant program, and the outdoor recreation industry partnership with IRRR, DEED, and DNR. She said the recovery grants had distributed $1.15 million to 110 grantees, the tribal grant program had spent $1.4 million with eight tribal nations, and outdoor recreation was estimated at $13.5 billion annually with 10.5% growth. She also noted strong media and social media results, including a viral Timberwolves-related campaign, high video completion rates, and increased website traffic. In response to committee questions, McGinty said the workforce and business attraction campaign is aimed at showing why people choose to live and work in Minnesota, using stories from newer residents and businesses, and that it is performing well in markets such as Silicon Valley, Boston, and Seattle. She said the agency is investing more in winter advertising to promote Minnesota as a winter destination and is working with partners to highlight activities beyond outdoor cold-weather recreation. Members also discussed the agency’s new film program, resident retention efforts, and a planned music-themed tourism ad tied to Prince and Bob Dylan. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• money or accepting money to spend. and in connection with elections.
• At least half of its spending is for political expenditures.
• to all other spending.
• dollars from non-corporations, can I come into Texas and stay under 20% of my spending?
• Can I come to Texas and continue to spend, provided I keep these accounts separate?

Transcript Highlights:

• This is new spending.
• It's not spending more. We didn't spend more this year. All right. Moving on.
• We didn't spend it's not spending more.
• Automatically you spend spending, right?
• a lower spend than what was budgeted. a lower spend than what was budgeted.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Committee of Conference on HB 1 and HB 2 met to review revenue estimates and begin working through the HB 1 detail change sheet. New Hampshire Lottery Director Charlie McIntyre reported stronger-than-expected lottery performance, raising the current-year return estimate to $27 million and the next biennium estimate to $200 million, with the increase attributed to improved scratch ticket sales and sports betting not hurting revenue as much as expected. Members questioned the assumptions behind the higher estimates, including the impact of $50 scratch tickets and whether the figures accounted for future conversion from historical horse racing (HHR) machines to video lottery terminals (VLTs). McIntyre and committee members discussed machine counts, per-day revenue assumptions, and the likelihood that VLT conversion would increase revenues over time, though the timing and pace of conversion remained an open question. The committee also discussed several gaming-related policy items in HB 2, including changes to kino hours and local option games of chance, and noted that the Senate and House differed on how gaming revenues would be allocated between charities, education, and general funds. Members emphasized that revenue projections should remain conservative because operators, not the state, would control the pace of machine conversion. Representative Sweeney noted that operators could earn more per machine under the VLT model, and McIntyre said the new facilities and expansions were largely concentrated near the Massachusetts border. The committee then moved to the HB 1 detail change sheet. It agreed to Senate position on the Department of Safety’s road toll bureau and international registration program changes, which were described as a zero-cost realignment of positions, and held the Department of Corrections section for later discussion. On the judicial side, members approved a technical footnote fix, but held a new contract counsel item for involuntary mental health admissions and deferred discussion of the public defender program increase. The committee also noted no change for the PE development authority, moved safety rest area funding from HB 2 into HB 1 with no additional cost, and flagged the tourism development fund and other judicial items as issues that may depend on overall available revenue.

Transcript Highlights:

• Some families spend their time at the lake, while others actually spend it in the cities too.
• To spend time together and the impact that they have on the economy.
• Also mentioned that opportunity, the time that they get to spend together.
• They need to spend that time in school.
• Speaker; I would also like to spend a minute on compensatory aid.

Transcript Highlights:

• citywide and needed spending.
• On the spending side, we grouped spending into three categories.
• On the spending side, we grouped spending into three categories: first, administration and operations
• pandemic, but has since increased, and so 2024 spending surpassed the level of spending in 2020 when
• spending increased overall and for all city types, large to small.

Summary: The committee began with member introductions, then heard a presentation on a draft final report studying alternative funding mechanisms for sidewalks and related pedestrian infrastructure. Consultants said current local funding sources are insufficient, with most jurisdictions unable to complete planned sidewalk networks within 50 years. They evaluated four options: a sidewalk utility fee, a modified transportation benefit district sales tax, a new real estate excise tax option, and expanded stormwater fee use for ADA sidewalk ramps. The consultants recommended authorizing the modified TBD sales tax and new REET option, considering a sidewalk utility despite legal uncertainty, broadening any authorization to all pedestrian improvements, and not pursuing the stormwater fee option. Members asked about legal authority, fairness, revenue adequacy, and whether jurisdictions had been consulted; the presenters said state enabling legislation would likely be needed for a sidewalk utility and that fairness could be defined either by direct benefit or by need. The committee then received an update on the 2025 assessment of city transportation funding needs. The consultants reported that city transportation revenues have grown in some local and federal categories since 2019, but state revenues have remained relatively flat and smaller cities are especially affected by declining fuel tax revenues and limited tax bases. They estimated annual city transportation needs at $4.25 billion, average annual spending at $1.89 billion, and a funding gap of $2.37 billion, larger than in the prior study because of updated data, inclusion of system improvements, and higher preservation costs. Draft recommendations focused on reducing costs and improving efficiency, preserving and increasing state support, and expanding local funding options, including preservation-first spending, a permanent federal fund exchange program, streamlined review processes, better coordination with WSDOT, possible property tax flexibility, and exploration of new local tools. Members raised questions about design standards, the role of density and transit, federal compliance, and whether the report would identify specific consolidation or process changes. The committee also heard a project update on evaluating zero-emission vehicle and electrification programs funded by the Climate Commitment Act. Consultants said they had reviewed roughly 23 programs and projects across seven agencies and were now evaluating options to improve delivery, including process improvements, reorganizing programs, or consolidating governance and administrative functions. Early findings highlighted staffing shortages, duplication and variation across agencies, differing levels of risk, and the challenge of coordinating climate priorities across agencies with other core missions. Members asked about program outcomes, administrative costs, whether some programs should have exit strategies, and how to strengthen the EV Coordinating Council. Finally, WSDOT provided an implementation update on its new public-private partnership authority under SB 5801, saying work is underway to prepare governance, legal, policy, and organizational structures ahead of the January 1, 2027 effective date.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're spending money in a lot of other places.
• This is one place we wouldn't be proposing to spend money.
• I would like to spend $0 on vouchers.
• We came up with the position of spending $50 million on vouchers.
• We talk about spending taxpayer dollars in private schools.

Summary: The meeting was a lengthy conference committee review of multiple budget bills, with most of the discussion focused on House Bill 2 and related education funding. Members walked through numerous fund switches and appropriations tied to the foundation formula, blind pension, Capital Commission, Lottery Proceeds, and Classroom Trust funds. Several members urged fully funding the foundation formula or getting as close as possible, while others defended the compromise approach as a way to close the gap with available revenue. The committee also settled a number of education-related items, including child care grants, career ladder, school safety training, assessment pilots, Title I reallocation, parents as teachers language, child care subsidy language, and flex percentages on selected lines. The committee agreed to sign the House Bill 2 conference report after resolving the listed positions and language compromises. The committee then moved through House Bill 3 on higher education, agreeing to most Senate positions and a conference proposal directing the department to develop a new higher education funding model by December 1, 2026. Several members raised concerns about the timeline and whether the model would preserve separate funding buckets for two-year and four-year institutions, but the proposal was retained. House Bill 2004, covering transportation, was also reviewed, with compromises on items such as safety operations, low-volume roads, port funding, and several flex percentages. Members discussed the use of Capital Commission dollars and the status of road and port projects, and the bill was advanced with the agreed positions. House Bill 5, dealing with information technology and administration, generated substantial debate over a new Senate-added language proposal for OA/ITSD. Several members objected that the language was overly prescriptive, resembled a resolution, and could steer the state toward a specific cloud-computing direction or vendor; others said it was intended to create accountability and a plan for better oversight of IT spending. The committee left some items open briefly, then returned with a shorter conference proposal and agreed to distribute it. House Bill 7, House Bill 8, House Bill 9, and House Bill 2010 were also handled, with a mix of Senate, House, and compromise positions on public safety, veterans, agriculture, economic development, and behavioral health items. The committee recessed several times and repeatedly instructed members to sign the conference reports after the agreed changes were read into the record.

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, back in 2010, we were spending 2.9 billion, excuse me, on Medicaid.
• <00:04:14.000> 2.9 back in 2010, we were spending 2.9 back in 2010, we were spending 2.9 million
• reduces profit for many ski spending reduces profit for many ski organizations.
• And I see the possibility of each Medicaid recipient, we know what we're going to spend on them.
• And you go we're going to spend on them.

Keywords: 00:00 - Call to Order/Roll Call 01:38 - Discussion of 26RS SCR 9 22:00 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS SCR 9 23:15 - Discussion of 26RS SJR 23 33:20 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS SJR 23 35:18 - Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The House Standing Committee on Health Services met with a quorum and first heard Senate Concurrent Resolution 9 from Sen. Steve Meredith. He argued that Kentucky’s Medicaid system is too costly and bureaucratic, saying spending has grown dramatically and that managed care organizations do not align with improving health outcomes. His proposal would create a feasibility study for a five-year pilot of an “accountable community healthcare organization” in three area development districts, with a locally owned, nonprofit, provider-driven model intended to reduce costs, address social determinants of health, and keep savings in the community. Members asked about how the model would differ from MCOs, administrative costs, eligibility changes, and implementation costs; Meredith said the model would eliminate preauthorization barriers, rely on provider and community risk-sharing, and could be funded initially through existing grant opportunities. The committee then voted unanimously to report SCR 9 favorably. The committee next took up Senate Joint Resolution 23, the “Food is Medicine” resolution, introduced by Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer and Dana Feldman of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. They described the resolution as part of a broader wellness and rural prosperity effort, emphasizing that nutrition should be treated as part of health care and that Kentucky agriculture can support better health outcomes through local, healthy food. They said the effort grew out of task force work and regional listening sessions and is intended to build a foundation for continued collaboration between hospitals, agriculture, and state agencies. Members expressed support for the concept and the partnership approach, and the discussion highlighted using evaluation and shared learning to expand the initiative.

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, spending time in Basalt for almost 15 years and then...
• We need to prioritize our spending. That's what we're here for.
• The money that we spend on HUTF is supposed to be for years and years.
• under the state's spending cap set by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.
• We are not spending enough money on roads. Voters know it.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's spend this next 2 days and learn everything that we can.
• And we spend over $2 million managing them.
• And we spend over $2 million conflict. And we spend over $2 million managing<00:33:57.240> them.
• We spend it up front. We have to match it 25%.
• <03:00:21.200> kind<03:00:21.440> of spend hopefully adequate time kind of spend hopefully

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Therefore, do we want to spend it here or spend it in other states?
• stop spending or trying to find some way to spend all week.
• So what you're spending in taxes, there's never going to be any relief until we stop spending or trying
• stop spending or trying to find some way to spend all we collect.
• So counties are spending an average...

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You can't spend it. But what is that number? $3,400 average tax refund.
• We're not spending money on issues that individuals need literally to survive.
• This budget spends less; it spends $300 million less.
• for us to not spend the money that we need to spend to incur hundreds of more dollars from the federal
• for us to not spend the money that we need to spend to incur hundreds of more dollars from the federal

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, and several guest recognitions, including a student honored for a national Mandarin speech contest, a Ms. Black Arizona candidate, and a Madison Elementary School reusable-tray pilot program. The body also recognized interns and approved the prior journal. The chamber then moved through Committee of the Whole calendars and adopted committee reports recommending passage of a series of budget-related bills. The main legislative business centered on the 2026-27 budget package and related omnibus measures, including appropriations, budget implementation, capital outlay, commerce, criminal justice, environment, health care, higher education, human services, K-12 education, state property, revenue/taxation, and transportation bills. Most of these measures were advanced with do-pass recommendations, with repeated debate focused on the tax omnibus and the overall budget’s policy choices. Supporters argued the package provided affordability, tax relief, conformity with federal tax changes, reduced government spending, and reforms to entitlement and other programs; opponents argued it favored corporations and wealthy taxpayers, cut health care, food assistance, housing, tourism, wildfire response, and education, and would forfeit federal matching funds. Several members specifically criticized the failure to close the data center tax exemption and to raise sports betting taxes, while supporters defended those provisions as pro-business and pro-growth. There was also discussion of fund sweeps, including university research funds, housing trust funds, and other agency balances, with opponents saying the sweeps targeted encumbered or already-committed money. After debate, the Senate adopted Committee of the Whole reports and advanced the bills, and later took up House bills introduced and placed on third reading, with members explaining their votes on HB 4138, the General Appropriations Act, largely along party lines. At the end of the session, the Senate processed messages from the House requesting the return of SB 1160 and SB 1786 for reconsideration, and the Senate requested the House return HB 2415 for reconsideration. The chamber also introduced and placed several House budget bills on third reading, including HB 4138 through HB 4153, continuing the budget process.

Transcript Highlights:

• The proportion of spending on food, however, has remained about the same.
• They're not quite ready to spend it often on construction.
• Not spending our money, and I know that there are lots of reasons.
• You just give the grant, and then they have the money to spend and go.
• You know, we should be able to find a way to spend them in six years.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, turning to page five and the spending overview, the plan before you has $17.8 billion in new spending
• The bulk of that new spending is one-time, $10.3 billion.
• So about 70% of the new spending would go towards...
• So about 70% of the new spending would go towards...
• reserve that can protect that ongoing spending level.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up the May Revision update on Proposition 98 and the school rainy-day fund. The Department of Finance said the minimum guarantee rises by $6.4 billion over the Governor’s Budget across the three-year window, with lower average daily attendance projections offsetting some of the revenue gains. Finance also described a reduced $3.9 billion settle-up proposal, increased deposits into the Public School System Stabilization Account, and an ending reserve balance of about $10.3 billion. The LAO said the revenue and LCFF adjustments were reasonable, but urged the Legislature to be cautious about delaying settle-up payments and to consider more budget resiliency, including larger cushions or other tools to protect ongoing programs. Members then questioned the administration and LAO about the size of the settle-up, the rationale for the reserve deposit, declining enrollment, and how lower attendance is creating savings that can be redirected to other school priorities. The LAO said the May Revision’s mix of one-time and ongoing spending was generally reasonable but recommended keeping a strong cushion and considering alternatives such as advance payments or pension-related savings. Questions also focused on how the May Revision’s funding mix affects districts if revenues weaken, and on the treatment of special education, discretionary block grants, and paid family leave costs for LEAs and community colleges. The committee next heard the community colleges portion of the budget. Finance described a higher SCFF COLA, increased apportionment costs, a student support block grant, deferred maintenance, Common Cloud, Calbright, credit for prior learning, and a one-time adult learner demonstration project. The Chancellor’s Office supported the core investments but asked for more funding for enrollment growth, changes to the SCFF growth formula, and a COLA for Student Equity and Achievement. The LAO recommended funding the statutory COLA increase, noted a $52 million current-year apportionment shortfall not yet included in the May Revision, and suggested the Legislature could instead direct some funds to enrollment growth, categorical COLAs, or one-time uses. Members also clarified how COLA and hold-harmless rules apply to different community college districts. Finally, the committee reviewed the proposed state implementation of the federal Workforce Pell program. Finance proposed one-time funding for the Student Aid Commission and Cradle to Career data work, plus trailer bill changes to set up state approval of eligible programs. CSAC said the program is promising but highly complex, with new federal rules just released and significant data, regulatory, and systems work still needed; it said the state will not be ready by July 1 and that ongoing funding will likely be necessary. The LAO agreed that implementation will require careful trailer bill language and noted that ongoing administrative costs remain unresolved. Members asked about other states’ approaches and the practical effect on short-term workforce programs in California.

Transcript Highlights:

• You reduce spending.
• You reduce spend. That's efforts, right? You reduce spend.
• the first thing we do is reduce spending the first thing we do is reduce spending and<00:54:03.040
• You know, those are the basis for what do we spend money on.
• You know, those are the basis for what do we spend money on.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Roll Call 00:00:11 Executive Budget 00:00:50, 958, all

Summary: The committee met to hear a presentation from Dr. Hicks on the governor’s recommended budget for the next biennium. He reviewed the revenue outlook, noting modest general fund growth, a large rainy day fund balance, and the impact of recent income tax reductions. He said the budget was built around recurring reductions, lower debt service and retirement contribution rates, and the use of excess restricted funds, while protecting K-12 education, Medicaid, postsecondary education, public safety, and pension obligations. Dr. Hicks outlined several major spending and reserve proposals, including $350 million from the Department of Insurance’s excess restricted funds to support Medicaid in the first year, $150 million for the affordable housing trust fund, $125 million for rural hospitals, $100 million to offset lost federal ACA premium tax credits, $75 million for utility assistance, and $50 million for food assistance. In education, the proposal included a phased pre-K for all plan funded by sports wagering tax revenue, a 3% annual salary increase for full-time school personnel, continued full funding of teacher pensions, a 2.5% annual increase in SEEK base funding, and additional support for career and technical education and school facilities. He also discussed Medicaid cost pressures, including higher managed care, pharmacy, behavioral health, and nursing facility costs, and explained the expected effects of federal HR1 changes on Kentucky’s Medicaid program. Those changes include work and community engagement requirements and more frequent eligibility redeterminations for expansion members, which the administration estimated would reduce enrollment by about 4,300 in the first year and 28,000 in the second year. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the meeting, which was limited to the budget presentation and member questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, we really encourage you to spend some time with that report, ask questions.
• Again, we really encourage you to spend some time with that report, ask questions.
• Again, we really encourage you to spend some time with that report, ask questions.
• Again, we really encourage you to spend some time with that report, ask questions.
• So this, uh, Representative Anderson, is additional spending, is that correct?"

Bills: HF770, HF857, HF38, HF1500, HF43

Keywords: HF770, Rural Finance Authority, RFA, capital investment, state bonds, general obligation bonds, bonding bill, agricultural loans, farm loans, beginning farmer, new farmer, seller-sponsored loans, loan restructuring, agricultural improvement loans, livestock expansion, modernization loans, rural development, Minnesota agriculture, farm credit, chapter 41B

Transcript Highlights:

• That said, if we want to spend now $100 million in the current... we have to work to figure out where
• But if we want to spend that kind of money on this, let’s make it much more effective.
• You know, we could spend this kind of money on that program.
• But if we want to spend that kind of money on this, let’s make it much more effective.
• You know, we could spend this kind of money on that program.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We can't just take money and start spending it.
• Permission to get the number of positions we need or spend the kind of money we would need to spend.
• They spend a lot of money and a lot of their budget on gas.
• As you heard, for the most part, this spending plan or the proposal this year is consistent with the
• spending plan that the legislature approved last year.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:08:17.039> The spending, roughly 3.8 billion. The spending, roughly 3.8 billion.
• > support<00:09:41.120> for spending for testing, support for spending for testing, support
• appropriated with the ability to spend appropriated with the ability to spend into<00:20:09.120>
• deadline for spending deadline for spending them.<00:21:32.159> I<00:21:32.320> won't<
• > 80%<00:25:08.000> of think once we spend close to like 80% of think once we spend close

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget we passed holds the line, spending less than last year and reducing per capita spending.
• So you can only spend on this, but you can spend whatever you want.
• , because that is where each local government was spending.
• And this is going to force them to really prioritize their spending and their spending habits.
• I think it's pathetic what Miami-Dade County spends money on.

Summary: The Committee on Appropriations took up SJR 2-F, a proposed constitutional amendment to reduce property taxes by lowering assessment caps on non-homestead property, expanding homestead exemptions over time, and allowing local governments to increase exemptions further. The sponsor argued the measure would provide broad property tax relief while requiring revenues to be directed to core services such as public safety, education, infrastructure, and natural resource projects, with a trust fund intended to help local governments transition. Senators raised concerns about the lack of a fiscal score, the effect on counties, cities, school districts, and special districts, and whether the proposal would shift costs to fees or other taxes. Several amendments were debated. Senator Polsky’s amendment to explicitly authorize user fees and non-ad valorem assessments to offset lost property tax revenue failed. Senator Avila’s amendment broadening permissible uses of ad valorem revenue to include county constitutional officers and other expenditures approved by local governing bodies was adopted after debate over whether the bill would otherwise underfund essential functions. Senator Smith’s sunset amendment, which would have made the constitutional changes expire after five years, failed. Senator Smith’s amendment to allow tourism development tax revenue to support public safety and education also failed. Senator Graal’s amendment removing the constitutional trust fund language was adopted, with supporters arguing the Constitution should not promise an unfunded account. Additional late-file amendments were considered. Senator Berman’s proposal to change the ballot title to more neutrally describe the measure as affecting property taxes and local community service reductions failed. Senator Trumbull’s amendment removing school board ad valorem taxes from the proposal was adopted, preserving school taxes. Senator Smith’s amendment narrowing the non-homestead assessment cap reduction to small businesses only failed. The committee then returned to the bill as amended and continued questioning the sponsor about eligibility, fiscal impacts, and whether the proposal could lead to local governments offsetting lost revenue through special assessments or other charges.