Video & Transcript Research : 'school lunch program'
Page 109 of 500
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- offered by school districts.
- offered by school districts.
- And dual credit programs offered by school districts. Ms. Howard: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
- Right, and if we don't have the money to put in our schools, think about it.
- When we got rid of vocational training in schools, it hurt what?
Summary:
The House convened with a quorum, offered an invocation and pledges, and received several announcements and recognitions before moving to legislation. Members honored the UTRGV chess team for winning a share of the 2025 President’s Cup, educator Jessica Lopez, the late Jennifer Maddenly, Jeanette Valdez Duran and Mobile Blessings from the Heart, TAMAC’s 50th anniversary, and journalist Bernardine Steptoe’s retirement. The chamber also adopted motions allowing committees to meet, setting a local and consent calendar, and suspending posting rules for a Public Health hearing on SB 2721.
The House then considered a long series of Senate and House bills on third reading, with many passing by wide margins. Measures included SB 906 on Ysleta del Sur Pueblo peace officers; SB 1229 designating Veterans Memorial Highway; SB 855 on foster care medical costs; SB 703 on massage therapy licensing and trafficking protections; SB 1025 on tax-increase ballot language; SB 1119 on water park liability; SB 1080 on provisional occupational licenses for people with criminal convictions; SB 929 on lien deadlines; SB 1355 on liquor sales credit disputes; SB 2231 on fee waivers for college applications; SB 1877 on Public Utility Commission data access; SB 1998 on pediatric preceptorships; and several House bills on topics such as bond forfeiture notice, health workforce planning, civil commitment counsel, expunction of contempt records, consumer transactions, nuisance birds, theft venue, military grant applications, AI cancer-detection grants, cybersecurity contract language, military-related tuition, utility recovery mechanisms, psychedelic therapy studies, teacher retirement funding transparency, election procedures, juvenile parole eligibility, and more.
Some bills drew notable debate or amendments. HB 200, creating a “second look” parole process for certain juvenile offenders after 20 years, prompted extended discussion about serious offenses and juvenile rehabilitation before passing 102-4. HB 2298 on AI-assisted cancer detection passed 85-62 after the sponsor emphasized “augmented intelligence” and physician oversight. HB 5247 on utility capital recovery saw a failed amendment to require ratepayer credits, then passed. HB 3045, a franchise tax exemption for spaceport operators, initially failed 73-74 but later passed after verification showed a 70-69 result. SB 2420, regulating app stores and mobile software distribution, was postponed for later consideration after substantial debate over age verification responsibilities. Several other measures were postponed, including SB 888, SB 552, SB 17, and SB 2420, while HB 1128 on election judges carrying concealed handguns passed 85-57 after a withdrawn point of order.
ND
North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Higher Education Institutions Committee Apr 9th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- programs.
- We’ll talk about our ASPIRE program, which is a new program.
- program.
- We also have a guaranteed admission program, which is open to those North Dakota high school graduates
- Governor's School is open to sophomores and juniors in high school, and those are programs.
Summary:
The Higher Education Institutions Committee met on the Minot State University campus for presentations on campus operations, enrollment, and new academic initiatives. President Shirley reviewed recent audits, noting mostly clean results with only minor technical findings, and highlighted MSU’s broad academic offerings, specialized accreditations, athletics, and partnerships with Minot Air Force Base and the MSU Development Foundation. Members asked about declining interest in teacher education, tuition waivers for athletes, dual credit incentives, and how MSU decides when to launch new programs and avoid duplication within the university system.
Shirley also discussed several workforce-focused initiatives supported by the Legislature’s Workforce Education Innovation Funds, including the purchase of the Trinity Health Center West building for a downtown health sciences hub, a new daycare/preschool partnership near campus, the Aspire program to recruit rural students into teaching, and a paraprofessional-to-special-education degree pathway. Enrollment data showed overall headcount was flat at just under 2,750, but full-time equivalent enrollment rose slightly and new student numbers increased, including the largest freshman class in 15 years. The committee also discussed Minot State’s in-state tuition rate for all students, its dual credit “Emerging Scholars” scholarship, and concerns about the share of high school graduates who do not immediately pursue postsecondary education.
Faculty then presented two new programs funded in part by WEAF: an Innovation Engineering degree and a master’s program in counseling with an integrated addiction studies focus. The engineering program was described as industry-driven, designed with broad early coursework, hands-on learning, and local employer input to prepare students for western North Dakota workforce needs; officials said it had already drawn more applicants than expected and would use renovated library space and donated or grant-funded equipment. The counseling program will be mostly face-to-face with hybrid options, aims to address shortages in mental health and substance use providers, and is structured to help students meet licensure requirements. Committee members asked about startup costs, licensure supervision hours, and whether the programs would be on campus rather than online, and presenters said both programs had recently received required approvals and were moving forward.
AR
Transcript Highlights:
- I have two programs that I'm going to be talking about today: the HOWL and the ATLAS transition programs
- HOWL is our comprehensive transition program. ATLAS is not a comprehensive transition program.
- ...come to our program.
- you first start the program.
- When we do back-to-school at UCA, we have Lunch on the Lawn. It’s a big event.
Summary:
The committee first approved the minutes from November 17 by motion and voice vote. It then heard a presentation from Arkansas State University on its inclusive postsecondary education programs, HOWL and ATLAS, led by Dr. Kristen Johnson and Shane Broadway. The programs serve students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, by providing on-campus living, academic support, life-skills training, financial literacy, internships, employment support, and community integration. Johnson explained that HOWL is a comprehensive transition program that does not lead to a degree but is eligible for financial aid, while ATLAS is degree-seeking and provides additional supports. She reported strong outcomes, including high goal attainment and a majority of graduates working full time, and emphasized that the programs are designed to help students build autonomous adult lives.
Members asked about recruitment, eligibility, costs, school outreach, business partnerships, and transition planning. Johnson said the programs have done extensive outreach through IEP meetings, transition symposia, email blasts, and school visits, but that awareness remains a challenge. She identified major roadblocks as business concerns about liability, fragmented collaboration, and difficulty navigating funding streams such as vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid. She also said more coordinated statewide communication and coalition-building are needed, and noted that ASU is helping launch a state alliance for similar programs, with new programs opening at ASU Mountain Home and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff.
The committee then heard from the University of Central Arkansas about Project Ascend, a new low-sensory living-learning community for neurodiverse students in Hughes Hall. Dr. Debbie Daly and Jeremy Gillum described it as a voluntary, self-identified program focused on community building, belonging, and retention rather than remediation or degree planning. The program has hosted a few low-sensory social events and plans to expand outreach through campus tours, orientation, and targeted communications. Members asked about recruitment, participation, success measures, and how to avoid duplicating ASU’s efforts; UCA said it is still in its infancy and will measure success mainly through participation, retention, and student engagement. The meeting ended with general support from members, discussion of collaboration across institutions and agencies, and adjournment of the task force.
VA
Virginia 2026 Regular Session
Virginia Commission for the Arts Board Meeting Jun 17th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- neighborhood, providing free art programming and creative opportunities for young people.
- The unique feature of this location is that the arts are central to their programming.
- We did supply lunch, but I wasn't sure if people were going to do that.
- All right, before we break for lunch, I want everybody to high-five the person next to you.
- Is lunch ready? Is lunch ready? Yeah, lunch is ready.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Education Funding (02/25/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- Homeowners Property Tax Relief Program, homeowners property tax relief program, and it's been seconded
- 26 where um where we've got um school 26 where um where we've got um school districts<03:44:39.279
- clearly somebody who gets a free lunch clearly somebody who gets a free lunch is<03:47:51.040>
- um this limit on on spending of schools um this limit on on spending of schools I<04:07:16.600><
- :38.520>
in always had that that program funded in always had that that program funded in your
Summary:
The Education Funding Committee met to review a large package of bills, with the first four—HB 717, 742, 773, and 603—focused on special education aid, formerly called catastrophic aid. Chair Ladin explained that the committee needed to move a special education bill forward by March 4 and was trying to determine which bill would serve as the vehicle. He described the current formula and the difficulty of estimating the fiscal impact of lowering the threshold from 3.5 times the statewide average cost per pupil to a lower level, noting that DOE did not have reliable data on how many students would fall into the lower-cost bands. The committee also noted that several other bills in the package addressed SWEP and adequacy issues, and that HB 510 dealt with due process rather than funding.
Mark Mello of the Bureau of School Finance testified that the department only has reliable data for special education expenditures above $70,000 per student, since claims are submitted for reimbursement at that point. He said the bureau was trying to estimate how many students might fall between 2.5x and 3.5x or 3x and 3.5x the average cost, but that the basic answer was they did not know and that any estimate would be difficult. He explained that moving the threshold from 3.5x to 2.5x would create a minimum additional cost of about $13.6 million based on existing claims, not counting new students who would enter the range. Members discussed whether districts already had the underlying data, whether a survey should be required, and how districts know when to begin tracking costs for reimbursement.
The committee also discussed proration and the state’s share of special education aid. Mello explained that the current 80% state share is modeled in the formula, but the actual payment has been prorated because appropriations have not matched the statutory liability; he said the state liability was about $50 million, while the budget had provided $34 million, resulting in a 68% payment rate. HB 742 was described as a bill that would eliminate proration by paying the liability directly from the education trust fund with an overflow mechanism. Members also discussed possible alternatives such as changing the state share, using a lower threshold in a transition period, or requiring districts to submit data. No votes or final actions were taken in the portion provided; the committee was still in discussion and considering which bills to advance.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Committee on Health and Human Services - 02/12/25
Health and Human Services
Transcript Highlights:
- Buy them lunch; they would go.
- It has the range of our Health Sciences schools and programs spanning the Twin Cities, Duluth, Rochester
- : medicine, nursing, and the rest of the health sciences schools and programs. request and uh she just
- <01:20:45.600>
and <01:20:46.040>programs <01:20:47.040>spanning Sciences schools - and programs spanning Sciences schools and programs spanning Twin<01:20:48.040>
Cities <01:20:
AZ
Transcript Highlights:
- Districts; HB 2378, School Education; HB 2384, School Requirements; HB 2477, Ways and Means; HB 2479
- HB 2637, School Districts Education; HB 2638, School Mental Health Professional Education and Appropriation
- school district gubernate 381, school districts development, 2385 school district's employment contract
- , 2386 school district superintendent, 2387 school district employee prohibited, 2389 replacement units
- , 2578 failure to secure weapon, 2579 appropriation free school, 2581 health insurance program, 2582
Summary:
The House convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, approved the prior day’s journal, and recognized the Doctor of the Day, Dr. John Lynch of Legislative District 12. Members also introduced a number of guests and visiting groups, including Arizona electric co-op representatives, March of Dimes advocates, CRNAs, AEA retirees, a University of Arizona legislative fellow, and other constituents and visitors in the gallery.
The chamber then handled routine floor business: attendance was recorded at 58 present, one absent, and one excused; committee substitutions were announced; HB 2677 was removed from the Judiciary Committee and additionally referred to Public Safety and Law Enforcement; and a large slate of House bills and one concurrent resolution were first read and referred to committees. The clerk also read a lengthy list of bills on second reading, covering a wide range of topics including education, health care, housing, taxation, elections, water, labor, public safety, and other policy areas.
No substantive debate or votes on legislation occurred during the floor session beyond the referral actions and procedural announcements. Members made announcements about upcoming blood donations, a Veterans Caucus coffee and donuts event, and several committee meetings scheduled for later in the day or the following day. The House then adopted a motion to adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
AL
Alabama 2025 Regular Session
Alabama Joint Contract Review Legislative Oversight Committee Mar 6th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- Well, actually, that's just for the summer program.
- She's the director of the program for... ...the program. Good morning.
- The Charter School Commission is looking for ways to support our charter schools. Mr.
- ...schools? Mr. Chair, I have a question. Yes, sir. So is this a grant writer?
- It's for our assisted technology program. Any questions?
WY
Transcript Highlights:
- They did remove the dual enrollment pilot program or grant program and the $7.5 million for CTE.
- fund for a leadership programs. fund for a leadership programs.
- Senate Third Reading 34, CRGO, is an addition of $21.9 million for the school foundation program, and
- Program Account.
- directly into the school foundation program<00:34:35.040>
account <00:34:36.399>senate
Keywords:
911 services, emergency response, grant funding, next generation technology, government accountability, public safety, mental health, detention, competency evaluation, treatment, contractual agreements, Wyoming, budget, funding, education, wildfire prevention, healthcare, community colleges, grants, economic development
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Should schools ban immigration enforcement without a warrant? 2/18/26
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- This is my fifth year as a school social worker and 12th year working in children and youth programming
- school breakfast and<00:43:48.240>
lunch <00:43:48.800>are <00:43:49.119>not <00: - attending school and lunch are not safe attending school right<00:43:50.720>
now. - Um, you know, I'm glad they don't have to worry about lunch or breakfast at school anymore, but that's
- <01:23:17.520>
anymore, lunch or breakfast at school anymore, lunch or breakfast at school
Summary:
House File 3435 was moved before the committee and, after an author’s DE1 amendment was offered and adopted, the bill was sent to the general register. The bill, as described by Co-Chair Jordan, would limit immigration enforcement on school grounds unless agents present a judicial warrant, identification, and notify school leadership; supporters said it is intended to create clear separation between ICE/DHS activity and schools while preserving local law enforcement responses to other emergencies.
Testimony was overwhelmingly in support of the bill. School leaders, teachers, union representatives, and Education Minnesota’s general counsel argued that immigration enforcement near schools has caused fear, absenteeism, disrupted operations, and serious mental health harms for students and staff. Several witnesses described students carrying passports or birth certificates, families keeping children home, and schools shifting large numbers of students to virtual learning. Speakers from districts in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota said the presence of ICE or federal agents near schools and bus stops has undermined attendance, trust, and the ability to teach and learn.
Witnesses also emphasized that the bill would provide needed clarity for educators and administrators about how to respond if federal agents come to school property. Some speakers framed the issue as protecting all children and families, including immigrant and refugee communities, and said schools should remain safe, stable places focused on education rather than immigration enforcement. No opposition testimony or committee vote beyond adoption of the DE1 amendment and the motion to place the bill on the general register was shown in the transcript.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Nani is an immersion program where we work to immerse kids in Ojibwe language throughout their school
- Nani is an immersion program where we work to immerse kids in Ojibwe language throughout their school
- and nagani is an Elementary School and nagani is an immersion<00:08:42.680>
program <00:08:43.680 - Ninety-eight percent of our school community receives reduced-price or free lunch, so we serve them free
- Six schools participated in the program.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Education Policy and Administration (05/20/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- device usage during the entire school device usage during the entire school day. day. day.
- They're going to be schools, particularly small schools, that have not—we're not talking 504.
- Um, I just want to make a very quick point, and that is that we do have a program in the schools, one
- Let the school do it. Let the child. Let the school do it.
- do have a program in the schools<01:28:34.479>
one <01:28:34.800>trusted <01:28:35.200><
Summary:
The committee took up Senate Bill 206, which requires public schools to adopt policies limiting student cell phone use. Supporters argued that cell phones and personal devices contribute to student mental health problems, bullying, distraction, and disruptive behavior, and said teachers and administrators want a clear statewide rule rather than having to enforce policies themselves. Opponents raised concerns about local control, the breadth of the term “personal communication device,” and whether the bill would interfere with instructional uses of devices, especially in schools that rely on bring-your-own-device or have limited access to school-issued laptops.
Members debated Amendment 2249H, which added an exception for teacher-led instruction and clarified that superintendent-approved exceptions could still apply for medical, disability, or language-proficiency needs. After discussion about whether the amendment was too restrictive or too broad, the committee adopted the amendment on a 9-8 vote, with one member not voting. The committee then voted 9-8, with one not voting, to recommend Senate Bill 206 ought to pass as amended.
The committee then moved to Senate Bill 96, concerning mandatory disclosure by school district employees to parents. The sponsor offered Amendment 2199H to replace language that would have required referral to DCYF whenever an educator withheld information due to concern about possible abuse at home. The amendment instead allows a district to withhold information if a reasonably prudent person would believe disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect, and requires the decision to be documented in the student record. The amendment was discussed as a narrower, more workable safeguard, and the committee was still in discussion on the bill at the end of the transcript.
ND
North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Floor Session Apr 7th, 2025 at 01:00 pm
North Dakota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- The Mandan High School e-sports program isn't just preparing students to be successful in the digital
- tablets in school.
- individual schools.
- means a public school or a non-public school.
- Page 2, line 5, it says school means a public school providing pre-K, etc.
Summary:
The North Dakota House convened with prayer, roll call, and recognition of guests and student visitors, then moved through a long calendar of resolutions and bills. Early in the session, members honored Mandan High School’s e-sports team for state championships and recognized House Minority Leader Zachary Ista’s birthday. The House then passed HCR 3037 unanimously, urging mandatory reporting requirements for public officials, after committee support and remarks emphasizing accountability in public office.
The chamber then considered numerous Senate amendments and final-passage votes on bills covering ambulance service grants (HB 1597), Public Service Commission records and open meetings (HB 1110 and HB 1063), squatter/trespass law (HB 1305), nonconforming structures in local governments (HB 1500), academic tenure policy (HB 1437), retirement eligibility for correctional officers and state radio dispatchers (HB 1274 and HB 1419), a Medicaid dental study (HB 1567), above-ground fuel storage tank regulation (HB 1058), gaming site authorization procedures (HB 1615), an oil extraction tax incentive outside the Bakken and Three Forks formations (HB 1483), and simple assault protections for hospital workers (HB 1341). Most of these measures passed, though HB 1231, which would have created a study on early discontinuation of sex offender registration, failed on final passage.
A major point of debate was Senate Bill 2354, which would restrict student use of personal electronic devices during the school day in public and nonpublic schools, with exceptions for medical and special education needs and annual reporting on impacts. Supporters argued it would improve focus, behavior, and mental health, while opponents raised concerns about private-school regulation, logistics, liability, and duplication with a similar bill. The House passed SB 2354, and also passed SB 2112, which temporarily authorizes the Life Skills and Transition Center to serve certain non-eligible youth in crisis, despite objections that the facility should remain focused on developmental disabilities and concerns about repeating past institutional problems. The House also debated and rejected HB 1300 on legislative term limits after extensive discussion about whether the Senate’s date change altered the effect of the voter-approved measure. The session ended with announcements, committee notices, and adjournment until April 8, 2025.
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - Legislative Health and Human Services Jun 25th, 2025
Legislative Health & Human Services Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- So as we do lunches, I will announce the lovely sponsors, but I have to especially thank Juliana Kub
- I asked them on Monday to get lunches, and they've got lunches for all three days, so much appreciation
- to support operating 14 mental health rooms in schools around the state.
- The nutrition assistance programs that bill did pass, um, but it was vetoed by the governor.
- but not this program or vice versa, so.
ND
North Dakota 2026 1st Special Session
Tax Reform and Relief Advisory Committee Jun 23rd, 2026 at 10:00 am
Tax Reform and Relief Advisory Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- And so we offered a program for everybody, a homestead program for everybody over 65?
- , but the Disabled Veteran Program and the Homestead Program are administered at the local level.
- Program.
- And the smallest was the Wing School District for $170. School districts were denied... $170.
- And the smallest was the Wing School District for $170. School districts were denied $170.
OK
Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session
Appropriations and Budget Human Services Subcommittee Feb 16th, 2026 at 10:30 am
A&B Human Services Subcommittee
Transcript Highlights:
- So when these kiddos who are not receiving reduced or free school lunches and they go home, this would
- help provide some coverage. ...or free school lunches and they go home, this would help provide some
- The schools have had some summer programs.
- If I can answer the follow-up: so it has nothing to do with the school summer program that schools run
- And that would be to cover the summer months that they are not receiving reduced or free school lunches
AZ
Transcript Highlights:
- There's another program, too, that we need to fund: the Alzheimer's Association program to get the word
- These types of programs will do that.
- So this new government program, this ACE program, hopefully will factor, you know, go in many areas.
- Food insecurity grows when affordability declines; cuts to SNAP, school meals, and senior meal programs
- School meals: removed the co-pay for reduced-price school meals, $2 million.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House DFL Press Conference 2/25/26
Transcript Highlights:
- Compare that to the free lunches and breakfast program that the DFL passed without a single Republican
- That program does not have fraud because lunch ladies don't commit fraud, right?
- . uh which relies on our public schools. uh that<00:07:00.240>
program <00:07:00.720>does - does not have fraud because that program does not have fraud because lunch<00:07:02.800>
ladies - . programs. programs.
- does not have fraud because that program does not have fraud because lunch<00:07:02.800>
Summary:
House DFL leaders held a press availability outlining a broad anti-fraud agenda focused on state programs, especially Medicaid-related services, but also unemployment and tax fraud. They said the package is intended to strengthen accountability, improve oversight, and prevent fraud before it occurs, while arguing that fraud harms vulnerable Minnesotans such as children with autism, people with disabilities, seniors, and homeless people. They also tied the problem to long-term privatization of public services, arguing that outsourcing creates more layers and opportunities for fraud, and cited examples like county case management and managed care arrangements.
Specific proposals discussed included strengthening the attorney general’s Medicaid fraud control unit, creating or expanding inspector general functions, requiring more in-person site visits, using electronic visit verification, improving background checks and fingerprinting, and upgrading outdated IT systems. Members said some bills would be relatively low-cost while others would require funding, and that bills without fiscal notes might move separately while others could be folded into budget discussions. They also said the House DFL had already taken steps in prior sessions, including creating a fraud unit at the BCA and adding DHS staff for site visits.
The discussion also covered the Office of Inspector General bill, with DFL members saying they support placing the office in the executive branch and that the governor should make the final appointment for constitutional reasons. They said Republicans had blocked amendments they viewed as adding fraud-prevention authority to the OIG bill, and that the governor’s staff had not been involved in working groups. On a separate bill involving disclosure requirements, they said the committee version was improved but still flawed because it could interfere with investigations; they said it would next go to the Children and Families Committee. No votes were taken in the exchange, and members said they were still early in session and hoped for more constructive negotiations later.
KY
Kentucky 2025 Regular Session
Interim Joint Committee on Agriculture (11-6-25)
Transcript Highlights:
- Because the biggest things that we found in surveys post-Farm to School program was there were three
- Because the biggest things that we found in surveys post-Farm to School program was there were three
- Found in surveys post-Farm to School program was there were three areas that made them say why they do
- If you're a school district that's free and reduced lunch and you've gone the entirety of that way, and
- If you're a school district that's free and reduced lunch and you've gone the entirety of that way, and
Keywords:
Meeting Start 00:00:00
Attendance Roll Call 00:01:00
Approval of Minutes 00:02:31
Kentucky Farm Bureau 00:02:42
Kentucky Department of Agriculture 00:28:18
Kentucky Cattlemen's Association 01:48:13, 958, all
Summary:
The committee heard first from Kentucky Farm Bureau leaders, who outlined the organization’s current priorities and recent work on farmland transition. Eddie Melton said Farm Bureau is working through 983 county and advisory committee resolutions and highlighted support for the updated selling farmer tax credit, now law through House Bill 775, as well as Senate Bill 28’s agriculture economic development provisions. He said Farm Bureau’s likely priorities include maintaining the 50% share of the tobacco settlement fund for agriculture, protecting funding for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, preserving sales tax exemptions on farm inputs, keeping property taxes controlled, and exploring additional tools to keep farmland in active farmers’ hands, including possible loan or inheritance-tax changes. He also raised concerns about eminent domain transparency, nuisance deer permits, and access to agricultural inputs and crop protection products.
Alita Bots described the farmland transition initiative in more detail, saying the revised state tax credit is generating strong interest and that a new federal tax provision now allows eligible land sales to actively engaged farmers to spread capital gains taxes over time. She said the initiative has reached 22 counties and more than 1,300 people this year through outreach and meetings, and that Farm Bureau is pairing policy work with resources to help farm families plan transitions and prepare wills and other estate documents. Drew Graham added that the effort is also meant to bridge the rural-urban divide and support rural communities, and Farm Bureau invited members to its annual meeting in early December.
Members asked about rising insurance costs and deer damage. Farm Bureau representatives said severe convective storms, inflation, and higher repair and material costs have driven insurance rate increases, citing five major storm events since 2021 and a recent Owensboro hailstorm that caused about $350 million in losses; they said the company is moving toward percentage deductibles to help moderate increases. On deer, they said crop-loss totals are hard to quantify but acknowledged the problem and discussed possible coordination with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Hunters for the Hungry. Commissioner Jonathan Shell then began the Department of Agriculture presentation, reporting gains from the department’s school agriculture outreach program, including a 23% increase in county participation between March and September and improved teacher-reported student learning, before continuing into the department’s legislative priorities.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Finance Division II (03/21/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- That program has been or reduced lunch.
- And that's um I don't think that just randomly signing up Medicaid recipients for the school lunch program
- And that's um I don't think that just randomly signing up Medicaid recipients for the school lunch program
- And that's um I don't think that just randomly signing up Medicaid recipients for the school lunch program
- c><01:19:55.120>
good school lunch program is a good school lunch program is a good thing.<01:
Summary:
The committee first revisited HB 781, the cell phone bill, after previously retaining it. On reconsideration, members moved to OTP the bill, and it passed unanimously. The committee then moved into the budget tracking packet and adopted an amendment to HB 2 to add the same cell phone policy language, also unanimously, and separately reduced HB 1 by $1 million to match the policy change. Members noted the cell phone language had already been stripped of grant funding language in the House version and that the policy and funding pieces were being aligned across the budget bills.
The committee then took up a Department of Education technical amendment to HB 2 on charter school grants, which made timing and administrative changes without altering grant amounts, and adopted it unanimously. Members also discussed but held other education-related items, including adequacy grants, pending broader decisions on overall education funding. Another HB 2 item concerning E-911/state police radio communications prompted a longer discussion about whether E-911 surcharge funds were being used for purposes that should instead be general-funded. After debate over whether to leave the current practice in place or split the funding 50/50 between E-911 and general funds, the committee adopted a joint HB 1/HB 2 change to shift the funding source to a 50/50 split and delete the HB 2 language authorizing the prior use; the motion passed 7-0.
The committee also discussed but did not act on several lottery-related provisions, including the video lottery terminal amendment, the increase in maximum ticket price from $30 to $50, and related tax split changes, with members planning to hear from the Lottery Commission on Monday. The meeting ended with the committee beginning review of new amendments in the tracking packet, including a Department of Education request related to Public School Infrastructure Commission grant administration, but no action was taken on that item in the portion provided.