Transcript Highlights:

• Do you have impact fees?
• consolidate the libraries and utilize consolidate the libraries and utilize the<01:05:38.920>
• Can you share with these committees for the impact fees, correct? Yeah, for the impact fees.
• Can you share with these committees for the impact fees, correct? Yeah, for the impact fees.
• of the impact fees were what impact fee of the impact fees were what impact fee districts<02:16:

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• hii<00:22:31.919> Figures the utility and the utility hii Figures the utility and the utility
• We do appreciate the intent of this bill, which seeks to protect utility customers when a utility has
• <00:58:12.559> assistance need for ancillary utility assistance need for ancillary utility
• Utilities is the next big issue.
• questions sorry uh Public Utilities questions sorry uh Public Utilities Commission<01:01:41.200>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee met on March 19, 2025, and first heard SB 137 SD2 HD1 relating to electric utilities. The Division of Consumer Advocacy and the Public Utilities Commission said they stood on their written comments, IBEW Local 1260 supported the bill, and Ulupono Initiative also supported it. Hawaiian Electric supported the intent but asked for an amendment, saying the bill’s definition of “acquiring entity” was too broad and could unintentionally cover purely local utility transactions. A later witness from Life of the Land supported the bill only if the merger/acquisition language were removed, arguing the PUC would not have a workable mechanism to let a cooperative intervene in a utility sale process. Committee members questioned whether the bill could still work without that section, and Ulupono said it was open to clarifying language but did not seek to remove the provision; the discussion ended without a vote in the excerpt provided. The committee then took up SB 1220 SD2 relating to a renewable gas tariff. The Division of Consumer Advocacy and the PUC again stood on written comments. HGas strongly supported the measure, saying it would create a faster, more cost-effective path for a voluntary renewable gas tariff without requiring a full rate case, while preserving PUC oversight and consumer protections. The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas also supported the bill, emphasizing that it would expand consumer choice and help Hawaii’s clean energy goals while keeping the program voluntary and shielding non-participating customers from costs. Henry Curtis of Life of the Land opposed the bill, arguing that HGas already had an active rate case and could have raised the issue there, and that the proposal did not increase renewable gas supply or speed up acquisition; he called it a gimmick. In response, HGas said the bill was mainly a mechanism to speed filing and that the details would be worked out in a PUC docket. Committee members pressed HGas on whether the measure would actually add renewable gas, what source would be used, and whether customers would simply be paying more for the same gas; HGas said it had two projects in development, including banagrass and hydrogen-related work, and that the tariff would be a voluntary opt-in rate for customers seeking renewable natural gas to meet sustainability goals. No vote was taken in the excerpt provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Forge Project, utilizing its ash and carbon...
• So there is... ...no longer a fee, monthly fee charged to customers in North Dakota for excess use of
• The following states have... ...mentioned toward the utility cost portion.
• Utility cost protections is one of the largest areas across the states.
• to establish separate utility rates or service classifications and protect existing utility customers

Summary: The committee met at the Coteau Freedom Mine in Mercer County, approved the June 2 minutes, and heard an overview of the mine from Coteau Properties president Andrew Hawbaker. He described the Freedom Mine as the largest lignite mine in the United States, supplying coal to Dakota Gasification, Antelope Valley Station, and Leland Olds Station. He emphasized the mine’s scale, safety record, reclamation work, workforce needs, community involvement, and economic impact, including payroll, taxes, royalties, scholarships, and local hiring. Members asked about how long land stays in production, how quickly it returns to agriculture after reclamation, labor shortages, and how mining affects groundwater and water wells. Hawbaker said most tracts are mined for about three to five years, reclamation is coordinated with landowners, and the company continues to struggle to find electricians, welders, mechanics, operators, and engineers. The committee then heard from Public Service Commission Chairman Randy Christman on coal mining reclamation and permitting. He reviewed North Dakota’s coal mining history, the state’s reclamation laws, federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act primacy, bonding, permit renewals and revisions, prohibited mining areas, inspection and enforcement, and contemporaneous reclamation requirements. Christman stressed that North Dakota’s program is professional and thorough, with frequent inspections, financial assurance, and a 10-year revegetation monitoring period before bond release. He also discussed federal coal ownership issues that can delay mine plans, the treatment of prime farmland, and how reclamation differs for wind and pipelines. In response to questions, he said one challenge is sometimes releasing land too soon before long-term compaction issues are fully understood, and he noted that data centers do not currently have a comparable reclamation model because they typically own the land. In the afternoon, the committee received an update from Lignite Energy Council president Jonathan Fortner on the lignite industry. He said North Dakota’s lignite sector supports five commercial power plants, four mines, about 12,000 direct and indirect jobs, and more than $5.5 billion in economic activity, while helping keep the state’s electricity rates among the lowest in the nation. Fortner reviewed coal severance and conversion tax revenues, the lignite research fund, federal regulatory rollbacks, carbon capture policy, and the industry’s legal costs fighting federal rules. He also highlighted a study on large-load development, saying new data centers and critical mineral processing facilities could create major local tax revenue and help justify new baseload generation. Members asked whether new gas pipelines would crowd out coal plant development and whether the economic study included jobs and broader local impacts; Fortner said the industry sees room for both and that the study did include construction, operations, jobs, and tax effects.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:14:20.880> property longer be subject to utility property longer be subject to utility
• tax there no longer a regulated utility tax there no longer a regulated utility as<01:14:23.320>
• regarding the assessment of utility regarding the assessment of utility properties<01:18:30.880>
• Power plants are taxed as if they're the utilities, and utilities can recover their costs and guarantee
• Power plants are taxed as if they're the utilities, and utilities can recover their costs and guarantee

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Agencies set fees within guardrails as set in law now, generally that the fee must be set only as much
• But what's interesting is fees are regressive. Fees are regressive.
• If the fees are assessed regardless of your income, then those who make less and have to pay these fees
• Fees are regressive.
• on fees is good for billionaires?

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What I was going To say is the fees would prohibit fees on certain things.
• And how much money are these fees?
• President, how prevalent are these fees. Mr.
• , you will be charged an extra fee.
• From what the fees and the services you described, we're going to remove the fee from the screening and

Bills: SB273, SB37, SB100

Keywords: SB273, appropriations, general fund, hold harmless, local government finance, municipal revenue, county revenue, correctional facility, jail contract, private prison, detention facility, immigration detention, revenue bonds, clawback, child welfare, juvenile justice, protective services, school improvement, New MexiCare, aging services

Transcript Highlights:

• We've utilized your guys' outreach. We've utilized the region planning commission's assistance.
• We've utilized your guys' assistance. We've utilized the region planning commission's assistance.
• We've utilized your guys' outreach.
• We've utilized your guys' assistance.<02:23:27.040> We've<02:23:27.280> utilized<02:23:
• their fee comes out of my budget every their fee comes out of my budget every year<02:44:12.720> and

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , if they don't cut the fees they can charge for these.
• National Utility Contractors Association of Kerry Brink.
• So I wonder what that was included in regards to the fees.
• how the fees are calculated.
• Chair in reference to 2 the fees.

Transcript Highlights:

• language in the statute is utility language in the statute is utility specific<00:03:38.640>
• and some of the other large utilities and some of the other large utilities they<00:04:11.319>
• And then, how many utilities would this bill impact, and what utility would that be?
• And then, how many utilities would this bill impact, and what utility would that be?
• And then, how many utilities would this bill impact, and what utility would that be?

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• housekeeping right off the bat: I do know that a number of people here are testifying regarding broker's fees
• For the education of the public, the broker's fees issue was actually addressed in the state budget.
• barrage last week or so, we have a number of members of the Legislature taking credit for the broker's fees
• to the great work of this committee, the great work of my colleagues, specifically on the broker's fee
• I wouldn't even be able to raise the fee to cover the broker fee. You'll put me out of business.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure heard testimony on several real estate, housing, and consumer protection bills. A major portion of the hearing focused on bills to create licensure for commercial interior designers (H.324/S.254), with supporters from the architecture and interior design fields arguing the measure would recognize a distinct profession, expand permitting authority for qualified designers, improve public safety, and remove barriers to firm ownership and public contracting. Witnesses said the proposal had been redrafted through collaboration among interior designers, architects, engineers, and building officials, and Senator Gomez said the Senate had passed the bill previously and hoped to advance it again. The committee also heard support for H.450 on solar customer protections, with solar companies backing standardized disclosures, a consumer brochure, a longer rescission period, and sales registration requirements as consumer safeguards that would not materially disrupt business operations. The committee then took testimony on H.431/S.245, a bill to end housing discrimination in the Commonwealth. Senator Gomez, fair housing advocates, and several renters described alleged discrimination against Black renters and voucher holders, citing testing data and personal experiences. They said the bill would strengthen enforcement by linking court findings to temporary license suspensions, require fair housing training, increase public reporting, and add board representation with fair housing or voucher-holder experience. A real estate appraisers representative also supported S.196, which would make appraisal licensure mandatory in Massachusetts, arguing that home valuation should be done by licensed professionals. A substantial part of the hearing addressed broker-fee and rental-timing bills, including H.335, H.336, H.374, H.224, and H.449. Supporters of the broker-fee changes argued that tenants should not be charged fees when the landlord hired the broker, while opponents warned the language could restrict tenant representation and harm small landlords, students, and the rental market. Several witnesses opposed the 90-day lease-signing window in H.336, saying it would compress the September rental cycle, worsen competition, and make it harder for students and out-of-state renters to secure housing. The chairs noted that broker fees had already been addressed in the state budget, and the hearing concluded with no votes on the bills, only the close of testimony and an announcement that the committee would not hold another hearing until later in the year.

Transcript Highlights:

• The project is to be funded with fees and self-generated revenues, and the estimated cost is $3 million
• The project is to be funded with fees, self-generated revenues, and the estimated cost is $3 million,
• So the only amount that will be utilized would be based on the amount of kids, actuals.
• The increase will be covered by fees and self-generated revenue.
• Obviously, this is going to be an increase for now on other fines or other fees.

Keywords: 965, house, all

Summary: The committee received the May fiscal status statement from the Office of Planning and Budget, which reflected the updated Revenue Estimating Conference forecast. The revised forecast reduced the FY26 general fund excess available from $292.6 million to $179.7 million and lowered projected revenues across the five-year baseline, including a drop in FY27 available funds and larger out-year imbalances. The statement was approved without objection. Members then considered several Facility Planning and Control items and approved them without objection: a $3 million LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans project to build out space in the Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation; a $343,600 increase for HVAC upgrades at the Louisiana War Veterans Home warehouse in Jackson; and a $700,000 increase for Southern University’s A.A. Lenoir Law Center addition. The committee also received, for information only, five change orders over $50,000 but under $250,000. The committee approved contract extensions and funding actions for several agencies. Louisiana Economic Development received approval for one-year extensions and increases for marketing contracts with Zender Communications and Graham Group. The Department of Education’s contract amendment for the Louisiana Gator ESA program with Odyssey was reported favorably after questions about the procurement process and how the contract amount relates to student enrollment. The Sabine River Authority’s $9.5 million operating budget increase and its 2026–2027 budget were approved favorably, with members discussing the planned takeover of Cypress Bend Resort operations. The Department of Health’s HERO Fund round of 15 grant awards, totaling about $4.6 million and projected to create 541 new health care credentials, was also approved favorably. Finally, the Water Sector Commission’s recommendations were adopted, including an additional $619,850 for St. Mary Parish Water and Sewer Commission No. 5 and $1.5 million in emergency subfund assistance for the city of Tallulah, conditioned on a limited fiscal administration order. The committee also reviewed a cooperative agreement between the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and its facilities corporation related to Act 35 projects, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh so 10% uh within the fee for service.
• Uh, you can the fee for service portion.
• for service is in those two spent on fee for service is in those two areas. areas. areas.
• The largest piece of that increase is in the fee-for-service side.
• Um, there's increase in utilization. Like I said, we have Medicare Part A, B, and D premiums.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Health and Family Services committee heard an informational presentation on Kentucky personal care homes from representatives of the Kentucky Association of Healthcare Facilities, Management Systems of Kentucky, and Elder Care Partners. Witnesses described personal care homes as a lower-cost, 24/7 residential option for adults, often with serious mental illness, who do not meet nursing home criteria but need structured supervision, medication assistance, meals, and daily support. They said the homes are regulated by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, are not Medicaid-funded, and are supported largely through state supplementation payments and residents’ SSI income. The presenters argued that the current reimbursement rate of about $50.70 per day is no longer sufficient to cover staffing, food, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and other costs, and said the sector has shrunk significantly over time. They cited figures showing a decline from 64 to 34 homes serving the seriously mentally ill since 2002, with 30 closures over 23 years, and said the loss of beds contributes to homelessness, hospital overcrowding, and longer psychiatric stays. They also gave examples of residents who had spent many months in hospitals before being successfully placed in personal care homes, which they said can prevent more costly institutional care. Committee members asked about staffing credentials, fraud controls, referral processes, and how reimbursement works in other states. The presenters said Kentucky does not require licensed or certified staff in these facilities, though some homes use certified medication technicians or an LPN, and they described a county case-manager-based assessment process used to set individualized rates in other states such as Minnesota. Members expressed support for the work but emphasized the need for documentation of savings and budget offsets. The presenters said they are seeking an incremental reimbursement increase over two years, roughly 25% to 50% in the first year and another 50% after that, and urged the committee to support the homes to prevent further closures.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so when you take out and normalize some of that, especially with the utilities and the fire service
• And it's largely to utilities and to our Public Works Department.
• Of the 170-plus fire staff, and then you take out 100-plus utilities, who are all...
• The utilities department is an enterprise fund funded solely by rates, electric and gas.
• The first is a 25% increase to vehicle registration fees. That's us; that's road users.

Transcript Highlights:

• The privilege fees are the taxes that should be going to the state.
• The privilege fees are the taxes that should be going to the state.
• fees.
• privilege fees.
• Thank you. fees that's taxes under our regulated environment privilege fees okay thank you but you did

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And pursuant to the act, we're in a process right now of assessing the fees that are associated with
• And we have heard loud and clear that the fees on small projects are too high.
• In that role, I worked to advance statewide safety standards to improve oversight of utility wildfire
• And I realize that there was a bill that passed that made utilities responsible for wildfires.
• PUC, the Public Utilities Commission, partners, to ensure that there were rules in place that the utilities

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And I look forward to being able to utilize that through this process.
• utility sectors: electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater services.
• The commission also processed two staff-assisted rate cases in the water utility sector.
• The trust fund is funded through fees paid by the utilities that we regulate, collected biannually based
• fees are established by commission rule, all subject to due process, as you would expect.

Summary: The State Administration Budget Subcommittee met for an introductory overview of the agencies under its jurisdiction and their current-year budgets. Chair Vicki Lopez welcomed members and staff, and each member briefly introduced themselves and identified areas of interest, with recurring themes including fiscal restraint, insurance regulation, revenue administration, condominium issues, and government efficiency. The chair then outlined the subcommittee’s overall budget, about $3.1 billion, and noted major recent policy areas affecting the budget such as condominium legislation and emergency communications funding. Agency heads then presented high-level summaries of their missions and budgets. The Department of Revenue described property tax oversight, tax administration, and child support enforcement; the Department of Management Services reviewed state purchasing, telecommunications, fleet, state insurance, retirement, and digital services; DBPR highlighted licensing, enforcement, condominiums, and building code work; DFS covered insurance consumer services, risk management, unclaimed property, fire marshal functions, and criminal investigations; the Gaming Control Commission discussed pari-mutuel and tribal gaming oversight and enforcement; OIR explained insurer solvency and rate review; the Lottery emphasized education funding and record sales; OFR described regulation of banking, securities, lending, and money services; DOAH outlined administrative and workers’ compensation adjudication; PSC covered utility rate regulation and consumer complaints; PERC described labor relations and career service appeals; and FCHR summarized discrimination complaint investigations and outreach. Several members asked questions about utility returns, insurance regulation staffing, DMS’s state employee health plan deficit and prescription drug formulary management, agency recommendations for reducing regulatory burden, and state facilities usage. Responses generally emphasized that utility rates and insurer filings are determined through evidentiary and actuarial processes, that OIR has reduced vacancies but still seeks specialized staff and a Tampa office expansion, and that DMS acknowledged rising health plan costs and said the issue likely requires broader budget-level discussion. The chair also pressed multiple presenters to stay focused on agency operations and budgets rather than broader policy issues. No votes or formal actions were taken in the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Any number of programs where we utilize them.
• Our school transformation and improvement work, we utilize them for that as well.
• To my knowledge, there is not a fee for the dorms.
• They also charge an 8% fee for all money that flows through their organization.
• They also charge an 8% fee for all money that flows through their organization.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That's also going to include any municipal specific fees and costs, so that would be permit fees and
• And so you're seeing permits and fees as the top line.
• So that would be any of your impact fees or permits and fees that you would have with a permit submitted
• And so we have raw land and permitting and fees.
• If I might, in 1993, the legislature passed the Development Fees Act, and think of it as impact fees;

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:37:53.119> and fees that we collect are entry fees and fees that we collect are entry
• , judges may waive filing fees.
• Motions and petitions also make up other fees, and those fees range from $25 to $250.
• How many of these fees are, um, how are these fees increased?
• What's the contracted agent fee?

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The meeting featured presentations from the Department of Administrative Services and the Treasury Department on state revenue reporting and unclaimed property. State Comptroller Dana Call explained DAS’s role in compiling statewide revenue reports, including the annual revenue plan set through the budget process and the monthly revenue focus reports that track cash receipts. She noted that unrestricted general fund revenue is about $2 billion annually, while miscellaneous other revenue is a much smaller and less predictable category, averaging roughly $30 million to $32 million a year. She also described two more material internal revenue lines: statewide indirect cost recoveries and post-retirement benefit recoveries, which are billed to agencies and often tied to federal reimbursement rules. Members asked about the interest line in the revenue charts and about how the figures were presented, and Call clarified that the totals were in millions and that the interest item would be explained by the Treasurer. She also explained that the indirect cost and post-retirement recoveries are internal cost allocations that flow back into the unrestricted revenue pool and are reflected in agency budgets as interagency costs. Treasurer Monica Meissner then outlined Treasury Department functions, including bank deposits, statewide disbursements, banking relationships, investments, debt management, compliance, the FONA College Savings Program, the ABLE Plan, scholarship programs, and the abandoned property program. In discussing unclaimed property, she said holders report property after a five-year dormancy period, the state uses automated systems and outreach to locate owners, and claim activity has increased. In fiscal year 2024, the state returned about $12.2 million to citizens through roughly 12,000 claims; over the last 10 years, about $72.6 million has been returned. She also said the state escheated $19.9 million to the general fund and $1.8 million to counties last year, and explained that securities-related proceeds are harder to estimate because they depend on market conditions. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• But on the attorney's fee for the assessor's appeal, you know,...
• The other thing was about the attorney's fees.
• A situation where costs and attorney fees are awarded to the taxpayer.
• Insurance goes up, everything goes up: utilities, expenses...
• Insurance goes up, everything goes up: utilities, expenses, and we work with them.

Keywords: 959, house, all