Transcript Highlights:

• those districts if those districts<00:06:57.360> choose<00:06:57.680> to<00:06:57.840>
• It requires districts to use the commissioner's template for their local literacy plans and districts
• It requires districts to use the commissioner's template for their local literacy plans and districts
• It requires districts to use the commissioner's template for their local literacy plans and districts
• replacement for all school districts. replacement for all school districts.

Bills: HF1388

Keywords: BARR Center, Building Assets, Reducing Risks, education finance, school funding, grant appropriation, evidence-based program, student achievement, social and emotional learning, school climate, teacher effectiveness, high school graduation, students in poverty, students of color, BIPOC, equity in education, Minnesota Department of Education, urban schools, suburban schools, rural schools, school coaching

Transcript Highlights:

• Improvement<00:08:48.640> road significant Improvement road significant Improvement road map
• > appropriating<00:08:51.959> out<00:08:52.240> the<00:08:52.399> funds map
• prior to appropriating out the funds map prior to appropriating out the funds that<00:08:53.160>
• district for flood Hazard<00:10:37.680> mitigation<00:10:38.480> projects<00:10:39.480
• <00:29:04.240> like day I mean I represent a district like day I mean I represent a district

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It sounds like this has been successful, so I don't know who is quantifying or, um, I see the map of
• c> um<00:09:25.440> I<00:09:25.519> see<00:09:25.720> the<00:09:25.880> map
• <00:09:26.240> of<00:09:26.399> the quantifying or um I see the map of the quantifying
• or um I see the map of the participating<00:09:27.920> lakes<00:09:28.360> or<00:09:28.640
• and dissemination of analysis mapping and dissemination of foundational<00:27:15.240> data<00

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• geographic information systems and the geographic information systems and online<00:03:15.640> maps
• <00:03:26.519> to<00:03:26.840> update<00:03:27.120> our<00:03:27.280> maps
• <00:03:27.560> and very difficult to update our maps and very difficult to update our maps
• with more accurate data and improve maps with more accurate data and improve uh<00:04:10.239> Land
• Good maps save lives, and it's a reality. It means it saves people money.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 1478, a bill to continue and expand a grant program for locating Minnesota’s public land survey system (PLSS) monuments and survey corners. The author explained that many of the state’s 325,000 PLSS monuments have unknown locations, which contributes to boundary uncertainty, lawsuits, and inaccurate land records and taxation. The bill, as described, would add criteria for counties, allow tribes to access the program, and continue funding it. The committee also noted Senate authors and bipartisan support for the measure. An A1 amendment was offered by Representative Fryberg to put the bill in the desired form, and it was adopted without objection. Testifiers from the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors and county surveying offices supported the bill, saying better monument location improves maps, property transfers, land management, and tax accuracy, while reducing disputes and lowering survey costs for landowners and public projects. One testifier said the work is important but often underappreciated; another emphasized that more monuments can make surveys much cheaper and more accurate. Committee members expressed support for the bill’s goals, with several indicating they would sign on. The chair repeatedly referenced uncertainty around the budget forecast and said the committee would have to consider practical fiscal realities. In the end, Representative Fryberg renewed his motion, and House File 1478, as amended, was laid over for possible inclusion.

Transcript Highlights:

• House District 49, Sierra, Catron, Socorro, and Valencia.
• I have three districts in my district, so I'm excited to be on the committee, learn a lot, and help make
• I represent House District 9, that's the Gallup area.
• I represent House District 12.
• I'd like to ask the Cabinet Secretary if you could provide a state of New Mexico District map for everyone—a

Transcript Highlights:

• from a gentleman uh a few districts from a gentleman uh a few districts south<00:53:40.880> of
• Also last year, the Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey, they took more of a piecemeal
• Also last year, the Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey, they took more of a piecemeal
• Also last year, the Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey, they took more of a piecemeal
• Also last year, the Federal District Court for the District of New Jersey, they took more of a piecemeal

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If charter public schools were a district, it would be the largest district in the state.
• Receivership has a poor track record of meeting district goals in all three districts.
• hold districts accountable.
• And I’m in a regional district, which, you know, the difficulty sometimes with regional school districts
• If you do it by district, it’s about 38%. That’s huge.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education heard testimony on several bills centered on school accountability, receivership, graduation requirements, charter school access, community schools, school libraries, and student voting rights. Much of the discussion focused on the Thrive Act, S. 374, which would end state receivership and change the state’s accountability approach. Supporters, including educators, parents, advocacy groups, and students, argued that receivership has not improved outcomes in districts such as Lawrence, Holyoke, Southbridge, Boston, and the Dever, and that local communities should have more control, with greater emphasis on community schools, wraparound services, and broader measures of school quality. They also supported related bills on community schools and school library standards, and several witnesses backed a bill to expand student representative voting rights on school committees. Opponents of S. 374, especially charter school leaders, parents, students, and some education advocates, focused on Section 4 of the bill, which would change the charter school net school spending cap in the lowest-performing districts. They argued that the provision would reduce access to charter seats in communities where families are seeking more options, and that schools such as Roxbury Prep, Excel Academy, Brook, Veritas Prep, and Libertas Academy have produced strong results for students, including students of color, low-income students, and students with special needs. Several witnesses said the section would force schools to shrink or close and would remove opportunities for families in districts with long waitlists. Committee members questioned witnesses on both the effectiveness of receivership and the charter school cap language. Chair Lewis and Chair Gordon emphasized the need for a better accountability system and noted concerns about whether current measures, including MCAS-based designations, accurately reflect school quality. Some witnesses said they had discussed the possibility of removing Section 4 from the Thrive Act and suggested it might be addressed in separate charter reform legislation. No votes were taken during the hearing; testimony was received and the committee later closed testimony on S. 374 and several related bills before moving on to the student voting rights bill, S. 367.

Transcript Highlights:

• existing law, Chairman, under existing law, counties and municipalities may create tax increment districts
• So the city gets paid back eventually from establishing that district.
• Current law states that you cannot, if it's your tax increment districts total together, exceed 10% of
• I just wanted to know how do we get To get more districts, it takes the city council creating the map
• . resolution creating those TIF districts.

Bills: HB567

Keywords: tax increment financing, economic development, municipal authority, urban revitalization, local government, 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• students and as you can see from the map students and as you can see from the map we<00:15:02.440
• We have a number of high schools and districts that include their alternative learning centers, their
• We have a number of high schools and districts that include their alternative learning centers, their
• We have a number of high schools and districts that include their alternative learning centers, their
• <00:47:37.760> we or private or a K12 school district we or private or a K12 school district

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee received an informational presentation from the Office of Higher Education on college access efforts, with a focus on FAFSA outreach, the Get Ready program, and Direct Admissions Minnesota. Wendy Robinson said OHE’s role is to provide nonpartisan information, partner with K-12, colleges, and community groups, and use statewide programs to expand awareness of higher education options and financial aid. She highlighted outreach through brochures, virtual sessions, conferences, the State Fair, and events serving specific populations, as well as the Lumina-funded Connect College grant and the federally funded Get Ready program, which serves about 7,500 low-income students across 14 capacity-building schools and 28 additional schools with tutoring, college visits, application help, and financial aid support. A member asked for demographic data on Get Ready students, and staff said they would provide it later. Robinson also reviewed FAFSA outreach, noting that last year was especially difficult for students because of federal FAFSA problems. OHE’s Ready Set FAFSA sessions drew 1,300 unique registrations in October and 939 in January, and the agency continued training K-12 and college staff on state aid programs, FAFSA simplification, and implementation of North Star Promise. OHE said it also held FAFSA completion events with partners, including at the State Fair, and planned another financial aid event in Duluth. The bulk of the presentation covered Direct Admissions Minnesota. Robinson said the program is now in its fourth year, with 55 participating colleges and universities and 182 participating high schools in the third cohort, serving just over 32,000 students. She described the program as a broad, collaborative model that sends students letters listing colleges that would admit them based on junior-year performance, while preserving student choice and waiving application fees for participating schools. She said the program is intended to reduce anxiety about admissions, encourage FAFSA completion, and keep more Minnesota students in-state. Robinson previewed second-year data showing continued positive outcomes, including higher FAFSA completion, increased college enrollment, and more students staying in Minnesota. Participation increased among students eligible for free and reduced lunch, rising from 21% in the first year to 40% in the second year. She noted a continuing concern about American Indian and Alaska Native students, whose FAFSA completion declined and whose participation numbers were lower in the newest cohort, and said the agency would continue to study that data. She also said some of the increase in free-and-reduced-lunch participation may reflect the impact of North Star Promise and related financial aid messaging. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Here’s where our students are located, simply designated by the colors on the map.
• Here’s where our students are located, simply designated by the colors on the map.
• Here’s where our students are located, simply designated by the colors on the map.
• Here’s where our students are located, simply designated by the colors on the map.
• <01:41:19.199> did significant Gap our school district did significant Gap our school district

Bills: HF711, HF653

Keywords: agriculture, agricultural education, leadership development, Minnesota Agricultural Education and Leadership Council, MAELC, chapter 41D, grant funding, general fund appropriation, commissioner of agriculture, farm education, youth agriculture programs, ag literacy, workforce development, extension education, research funding, extension services, technology transfer, grant programs, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• and complete maps. >> Very good.
• Some are on road maps; some are just purely in maintenance mode and have been around for a while.
• Some are on road maps, some presently.
• <01:21:18.640> So,<01:21:18.800> we they're not yet on a road map.
• So, we they're not yet on a road map.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Roll Call 00:00:27 Legislative Research Commission 00:01:15 KentuckyWired Operations Company 00:17:30 Wireless Internet Service Providers Association 00:40:15 Administrative Office of the Courts 01:08:55 Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts 01:33:00, 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the July 9 minutes without objection and heard from Jay Hartz and Jonathan Harris of the Legislative Research Commission. Members asked about Capitol and legislator security in light of recent targeted shootings in other states. Hartz said LRC had removed members’ home addresses from its website, was reviewing other state-government records for similar information, and was working with the Speaker, Senate President, Kentucky State Police, and outside security experts on broader safety measures. He also said LRC is exploring commercial products to help block personal contact information from public view, but declined to name vendors publicly. Harris added that driver’s license scans at the Capitol are handled by Kentucky State Police, while LRC has a process for flagging high-volume or concerning contacts for police review. The LRC also reported that redistricting work has already begun, with census coordination underway, evaluation of redistricting software including Mapitude and open-source tools, and plans to make the same tools available to the public in the LRC library. The committee then heard from Kentucky Wired Operations Company CEO Robert Morphonius, COO Tom Snyder, and counsel Patrick Hughes about the Kentucky Wired network. They explained the corporate structure: Kentucky Wired Operations Company is a private for-profit special purpose entity that designs, builds, operates, and maintains the network; Kentucky Wired Infrastructure Company is a nonprofit instrumentality used for financing; and Open Fiber Kentucky handles commercialization of excess capacity under a wholesale agreement. They said Kentucky Wired Operations is in the operations and maintenance phase, with those obligations continuing until 2045, and that technical changes to the network generally require KCNA approval through formal change-order processes. They also said the company conducted a market test in June 2023 under Schedule 19 of its contract, considered proposals including Open Fiber and the incumbent service provider, and retained the existing provider. Members asked about KCNA’s role, procurement, network customers, and revenue. The witnesses said Quac operates outside normal state procurement because its process is governed by contract, while KCNA acts as the Commonwealth’s oversight authority and filter for changes. They identified current network users as including AOC, KCTCS, postsecondary education, and other Commonwealth agencies, with all requests routed through KCNA; they also said a separate change process for Exceliccom is in litigation. On funding, they said the operation is paid through monthly appropriations, with roughly a million dollars a month for the service provider and a couple hundred thousand for Quac’s oversight, not including debt service, which is bundled into the availability payment. The discussion ended as members began asking about responsibility for damage-related costs such as squirrel-related outages.

Transcript Highlights:

• that works best for the district.
• We're not in every district.
• , because usually a smaller district moving into a bigger district.
• , because it's usually a smaller district, moving into a bigger district.
• But isolated district is a whole district. Correct. Entirely. Yes. Thank you.

Summary: The committee heard a series of Arkansas Department of Human Services budget presentations and questions, beginning with the Secretary’s Office and then the Division of Aging, Adult and Behavioral Health Services. Staff described the divisions’ appropriations, funding sources, and major programs, including senior centers, Meals on Wheels, mental health grants, substance abuse treatment, community alcohol safety, the Medicaid tobacco settlement program, and crisis stabilization units. Members raised concerns about flat or limited funding for senior services, the use and tracing of federal block grants, the lack of a funding source for the veterans’ mental health grant, and the mechanics of the community alcohol safety and treatment programs. The committee also discussed patient benefits funds at state facilities, transportation for senior center clients, and whether some special-language appropriations or fund balances should be revisited. Executive recommendations were adopted for the divisions considered. The committee then reviewed the Division of Children and Family Services and the Division of County Operations. Questions focused on foster care growth, adoption subsidies, professional fees tied to staff training and onboarding, vacancies, the Children’s Trust Fund, and TANF subgrants. Members asked about the reduction or elimination of TANF funding to child advocacy centers and other subgrantees, and DHS explained that prior reserves had been spent down and that the department was now trying to live within the annual TANF block grant and rebuild reserves. County operations questions also covered summer EBT, SNAP employment and training, the farmers’ market program, and the expected impact of a federal SNAP administrative match change, which DHS estimated would increase state costs by about $24 million annually, with roughly $18 million affecting the current year because the change begins October 1. Executive recommendations were again adopted. Finally, the committee heard from the Division of Developmental Disability Services and the Division of Medical Services. DDS testimony covered vacancies, staffing shortages, human development center construction and repairs, the reopening of the Boonville work training program, and funding for infant infirmary and child/family life programs. Medical Services testimony covered the Medicaid program, the current FMAP rate, the Our Kids B CHIP program, Medicaid payments to schools, nursing home distress funding, and large appropriation lines used to provide flexibility for claims and potential facility closures. Members asked for more detail on school Medicaid payments, reserve balances, and why some appropriations were much larger than actual spending. In each division, the committee moved and adopted Executive REC after questions concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• I represent District 28, which is all of Collier, Hendry, and part of Lee County.
• Jay Trumbull, Senate District 2.
• Tom Leek, I represent Senate District 7, which is all of St.
• Tom Leek, I represent Senate District 7, which is all of St.
• It recommended two additional judges for the 6th District Court of Appeal.

Summary: The Judiciary Committee met with a quorum present and heard several Office of the State Courts Administrator presentations. Judge Mark Mahan discussed the impact of 2023’s HB 837 litigation reforms on court operations, explaining that the law’s changes to comparative negligence, filing deadlines, collateral source evidence, premises liability, bad faith claims, attorney’s fees, and offer-of-judgment rules triggered a major March 2023 civil filing surge. He described how filings tripled statewide, with especially large increases in auto negligence and premises liability cases, and outlined how circuits responded through active case management, added resources, and workflow changes. Members asked whether the bill’s immediate effective date contributed to the surge and whether clearance rates would normalize over time; Judge Mahan said the court system viewed its response as a success and expected rates to settle as the backlog is worked through. The committee then received a presentation on problem-solving courts from Jennifer Grandal and Judge Nina Richardson. Grandal reviewed Florida’s drug courts, mental health courts, veterans courts, dependency and early childhood courts, noting statewide best-practice standards, annual reporting requirements, funding sources, and data collection systems. Judge Richardson gave a local perspective on treatment courts, emphasizing that they address underlying mental health and substance use issues, rely on judicial supervision and sanctions as well as incentives, and help participants achieve recovery and avoid reoffending. She said the programs are accountable, transparent, and effective, and thanked the Legislature for continued support. Finally, Judge Rachel Nordby and Eric McClure outlined the judicial branch’s legislative agenda. Nordby summarized the Supreme Court workgroup’s recommendations to expand Florida’s vexatious litigant law, including broader coverage, fewer qualifying adverse cases, a longer lookback period, and a public records exemption for stricken defamatory or sham material. McClure then highlighted additional agenda items: modernizing the duty-judge statute, expanding senior management retirement eligibility, authorizing additional judgeships based on workload studies, removing the statutory cap on court-ordered nonbinding arbitration compensation, protecting appellate clerks’ personal information, allowing alternative authentication for certain judicial notarizations, and creating a hearsay exception for guardian ad litem reports and testimony. No votes were taken, and the committee adjourned after member introductions and staff introductions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Air Force bases in my district, Fort Bliss and Laughlin Air Force Base, I'd love to be able to work with
• They had a map, a heat map of the entire state of Texas, and I was just blown away by how great it was
• for our district 74.
• I mean throughout Texas, but specifically for us in district 74. I'm a big proponent for it.

Bills: HB1647, HB2612, HB3125, HB3158, HB3240, HB3506, HB3516, HB3707

Keywords: carbon sequestration, environmental policy, Texas, energy, climate change, regulatory council, geothermal energy, workforce development, education and training, energy industry, apprenticeship, energy production, energy policy, renewable energy, state council, administrative law, public information, transparency, government accountability, judicial process

Transcript Highlights:

• In fact, Representative Kendris, they were in your district, as a matter of fact.
• To answer your question, yes, those numbers have changed because they are based off of the FCC map, which
• We are not allowed to overbuild, so we have to base every decision off the FCC map, and if those speeds
• Because there have been six variations of the FCC map since I was here at the broadband office, and again

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I just want to thank you for bringing this up because my district has a very large number of group homes
• would answer the question, but in this grant process, how will we make sure that we've seen these maps
• would answer the question, but in this grant process, how will we make sure that we've seen these maps
• would answer the question, but in this grant process, how will we make sure that we've seen these maps

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• When anyone asks me, what is your district
• if you've been in the on the only your district
• The exemption includes the maps operated by
• The exemption includes the maps indicating
• the location of the exemption includes the maps Keywords: 999, senate, all