Transcript Highlights:

• And the same thing goes with, you know, systems integration and data sharing.
• And the same thing goes with, you know, systems integration and data sharing.
• Sometimes they're using, you know, state longitudinal data system or workforce data quality initiative
• Sometimes they're using state longitudinal data system or workforce data quality initiative funds, but
• You need a state longitudinal data system.

Committee: All ALC-HOSPITAL, MEDICAID, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from Nick Moore, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Office of Career and Technical Education, focused on integrating workforce, education, training, and human services systems. Moore argued that WIOA, Perkins, and ESSA should be aligned more closely, with fewer federal and state bureaucratic layers, more state flexibility, and a stronger emphasis on labor force participation, postsecondary attainment, and training tied to in-demand jobs. He said the federal agencies are moving toward combined plan timelines for 2026, encouraged states to pursue combined plans and waivers, and described efforts to streamline reporting, reduce administrative overhead, and expand tools such as integrated intake, cross-training, virtual and mobile service delivery, apprenticeship, and talent marketplaces. Moore also emphasized accountability and outcomes, saying states should measure training-related employment, retention, and the share of funds going to direct services rather than administration. He criticized the current workforce system as too costly and ineffective, and said states should use primary labor market information, better wage records, and employer input to align training with actual job demand. Members asked about balancing flexibility with accountability, the role of employers versus postsecondary institutions, serving rural “training deserts,” state waivers, and data-sharing systems such as Mississippi’s workforce technology efforts. Moore said states can use waivers and technology to create common intake and co-enrollment across programs, and that enhanced wage records are key to better workforce planning. The committee then received a separate update from DHS Secretary Janet Mann and Director Jay Hill on reimbursement rates for aging and adult behavioral health services. They said DHS had compiled more than 100 public comments, submitted a recommendation to the governor to hold current rates, and was awaiting executive review, which they estimated could take 30 to 60 days. Members asked about the timeline and the scope of the legislation requiring monthly reports. The meeting ended with notice of a later audit presentation scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Big Mac building.

Transcript Highlights:

• Moving on to Senate Bill 1491, Senate Draft 1, House Draft 1, relating to departmental data sharing.
• the data to be shared throughout the state longitudinal data system.
• </c> state agencies required to share data state agencies required to share data and<00:22:31.840><c>
• ><c> be</c><00:22:33.679><c> shared</c> and determine the data to be shared and determine the data to
• </c> throughout the state longitudinal data throughout the state longitudinal data system.<00:22:37.919

Summary: The conference committees reconvened on April 25, 2025, and worked through a series of measures, mostly public employment cost items, appropriations, workers’ compensation, data sharing, and retirement-related bills. Several bills were briefly held for later action because Finance/FIN-WAM or related release had not yet been received, including SB 382, HB 423, HB 480, HB 214, HB 828, HB 717, HB 1065, and HB 1036, with some of those rolled over to a 2:30 p.m. meeting in Conference Room 16. HB 1424, relating to appropriations, was described as requiring the Director of Finance to report on transfers between position funding and operating expenses; the conferees agreed to a CD1 and voted to pass it. HB 430, relating to internships, was also agreed to in CD1 with technical amendments removing certain appropriation language and was passed after clarification that the funding covered both years and included the Helima program. The committees then moved through a block of public employment cost items. HB 1026, HB 1027, HB 1028, HB 1029, HB 1030, HB 1032, HB 1034, and HB 1035 were each reported as having CD1 agreement and Finance/WAM release, with appropriations tied to various bargaining units and governor’s messages; each was voted out. HB 1036 and HB 1037 were held over due to release issues, while HB 1038 was noted as having CD1 and Finance/WAM release and was passed for bargaining unit 13. HB 1039 was also rolled over for lack of release. Later, SB 336 on defense of state employees was agreed to with technical cleanup and passed as a CD, and SB 1491 on departmental data sharing was amended to add agencies to the state longitudinal data system and require aggregation/anonymization of certain data before being passed as a CD. Additional measures were also resolved. SB 935, relating to government, was amended to reduce the ERS multiplier for judges beginning in 2031, remove sheriff and deputy sheriff language, and require a DHR study on changing vesting from 10 to 5 years; it passed as a CD with no appropriation. SB 1567 required DERT to complete a comprehensive review of classification and compensation systems by October 31, 2026, allowed a third-party contractor, required legislative reports, and included $1.75 million in the budget; it passed as a CD. SB 855, relating to the Hawaii Retirement Savings Act, clarified covered employers, required automatic enrollment unless employees opt out, repealed a fee cap, and added funding for FY26 and FY27; it passed as a CD. SB 743 established a data sharing governance working group within the Office of Enterprise Technology Services and required a legislative report; after a brief recess it was passed as a CD. SB 717 and SB 1065 were both continued to the later 2:30 p.m. meeting because release was still pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, those would be the transparent use of the data.
• , state data, or secondary data.
• You want to know, we're going to use the AMA data, we're going to use, well, you know, this set of data
• They don't have the data.
• And run data on any data set you have in is not shouldn't be extremely burdensome.

Bills: HB139 , HB1818 , HB1942 , HB1959 , HB2221 , HB2254 , HB2563 , HB2067 , HB2275 , HB3211 , HB139

Committee: House Insurance

Keywords: HB 1818, Texas Insurance Code, Texas Department of Insurance, commissioner of insurance, health maintenance organization, HMO, insurer, utilization review, preauthorization, prior authorization, medical necessity review, health care services, medical care, insurance regulation, insurance examination, regulatory oversight, confidential records, public information exception, Chapter 843, Chapter 1301

Transcript Highlights:

• and the impact of that data center on that local community.
• It's real data from real wells.
• The subsurface is characterized from decades of production data.
• I think the talk of the town has been a lot about data centers.
• ...gone on recently about data centers in Oliver County.

Summary: The Energy Development and Transmission Committee met in interim session and approved the November 6 minutes. Chair Novak outlined the committee’s study agenda, including large energy users such as data centers, geothermal, landowner relations, wind and solar, and other energy topics across the state. The meeting was framed as informational only, with no bills or formal legislative action taken beyond the minutes approval. Testimony focused first on landowner relations. Oliver County Commissioner Dave Berger described the county’s energy history and local support for coal and related development. North Dakota Farmers Union President Matt Perdue emphasized proactive, face-to-face communication with landowners, respect for property rights, and the need for developers to be transparent about tradeoffs; he also discussed insurance and liability concerns tied to easements. Committee members asked about eminent domain, local versus state authority, and how communities can better understand the revenue and infrastructure implications of energy development. Department of Agriculture Deputy Commissioner Tom Bodine then described the department’s ombudsman programs for pipeline restoration and reclamation, wind restoration, and royalty oversight. He said the programs provide confidential, third-party assistance on reclamation and royalty disputes, but do not provide legal advice. Senators raised concerns about post-production deductions in royalty leases and whether the ombudsman can explain them; Bodine said the program can clarify statements and deductions but cannot resolve legal disputes. He also said the department has not received requests related to fiber lines. Representatives from Grid United and One Oak described their project development and landowner engagement practices. Grid United’s Brent Johnson discussed the North Plains Connector transmission project, its route selection process, voluntary acquisition approach, and efforts to avoid eminent domain by working closely with regulators, counties, townships, and landowners. One Oak’s Danette Welsh and Tom Giltner described the company’s midstream operations, extensive North Dakota footprint, and emphasis on direct landowner communication, consistent local regulation, careful construction practices, and post-construction reclamation. Members asked about setbacks, zoning consistency, invasive species prevention, outside advocacy groups, and eminent domain use; One Oak said it has not used eminent domain on its North Dakota projects, largely because most gathering lines are negotiated easements.

Transcript Highlights:

• This has to do with when a subject of government data questions the accuracy of data that a government
• This has to do with when a subject of government data questions the accuracy of data that a government
• This has to do with when a subject of government data questions the accuracy of data that a government
• This has to do with when a subject of government data questions the accuracy of data that a government
• This has to do with when a subject of government data questions the accuracy of data that a government

Transcript Highlights:

• > the data to determine the data to determine &gt;&gt; how<00:58:01.839><c> much</c><00:58:02.000><c>
• </c> &gt;&gt; Um, and we don't seem to have the data &gt;&gt; Um, and we don't seem to have the data
• I don't need data to there's an issue. I don't need data to prove<01:23:44.800><c> it.
• Um, we don't have any data on that.
• </c> this upcoming fall data. this upcoming fall data.

Bills: SB2024 , SB896 , SB2613 , SB494 , SB2391 , SB2125 , SB2614 , SB2615 , SB3262 , SB3325 , SB3118

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: charter schools, public-private partnership, school facilities, education funding, community need, education, capital improvement, reporting, transparency, technical expertise, public school land transfer, Department of Education, DOE, land conveyance, fee simple title, tax map key, TMK, Act 307, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, Act 139

Transcript Highlights:

• It's up-to-date data.
• your</c> always up to date. your your data, your always up to date. your your data, your tools,<00:09
• It's up-to-date data. All standardized. It's up-to-date data.
• </c> the US territories have to put in data the US territories have to put in data into<00:10:23.839>
• And I've have to collect the data.

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes and then approved an agency amendment to a health and family services regulation. The amendment reversed a prior change so that neonatal ICU beds would remain subject to regular review rather than nonsubstantive review. The remaining administrative regulations were then reviewed without objection. The main presentation was from State Auditor Allison Ball on a report finding $836 million in concurrent Medicaid capitation payments from 2019 through 2022, involving individuals enrolled in Kentucky and at least one other state. Ball said Kentucky relied on the PARIS system, which has limitations because it is updated quarterly and depends on voluntary state participation, while a better federal data source, T-MSIS, was not fully available to the state. She said the audit found weak internal controls, siloed processes, outdated guidance, and a low-priority attitude toward residency checks, all of which contributed to missed alerts and improper payments. She also said the report identified additional problems, including payments made after beneficiaries died and cases involving multiple states paying for the same person. Ball recommended better access to federal data, stronger MCO contract provisions, and more active oversight by the Department for Medicaid Services and managed care organizations. She said the contracts reviewed did not provide a clear way to recoup the improper payments, though she and her counsel suggested possible equitable legal theories might be explored. Members expressed concern about the scale of the waste and the lack of contract enforcement, and asked whether any money could be recovered. Ball said the audit did not identify a clear contractual path to recoup the funds.

Transcript Highlights:

• The first of these I'll talk about is the Urban Data Center's tax preference.
• To qualify, data centers must be located in counties with populations over 800,000.
• That preference is applicable to data centers located in rural counties.
• To qualify, data centers must be located in counties with populations over 800,000.
• That preference is applicable to data centers located in rural counties.

Committee: Joint Citizen Commission for Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences

Summary: The Citizen Commission for Performance Measurement of Tax Preferences met on May 7, 2025, with quorum present. The commission approved the October 22, 2024 meeting minutes and then received its annual open government refresher from the Attorney General’s office, which reviewed key requirements under the Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act, including record retention, response deadlines, exemptions, and meeting notice rules. Staff then provided a 2025 legislative session update, noting that the legislature passed 23 tax-preference-related bills, with several signed by the governor and others pending. Highlights included bills that extended or repealed certain preferences, added reporting requirements for newspaper and digital content exemptions, authorized JLARC to adjust its work plan when data is unavailable, and created a new exemption for zero-emission buses. The commission approved updates to the 2026 tax preference review schedule, which includes eight preferences in seven reviews, and approved unchanged testimony questions for 2025. The commission also received the 2025 expedited preference review report covering 52 tax preferences, presented as an interactive table drawing on prior JLARC reviews and Department of Revenue studies. Staff then outlined the process for developing the next 10-year review schedule for 2027-2036, including surveying the legislature, incorporating new and repealed preferences, and considering a possible rolling 10-year schedule. No public comment was registered. The meeting ended with acknowledgments of Ron Buing’s long service on the commission and an announcement that the next meeting would be held August 6, 2025.

Transcript Highlights:

• That data is from 2022.
• That data is from 2022.
• centers, they don't just hold data; they process data and they provide a product back.
• Uh due to data lease royalties.
• get to data centers?

Committee: Joint Revenue

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> direct access uh to that Medicaid data. direct access uh to that Medicaid data.
• </c> swaths of data that are being requested. swaths of data that are being requested.
• So, the Medicaid—there are two cases, the Medicaid data sharing and the SNAP data demand.
• sharing and the SNAP the Medicaid data sharing and the SNAP data<01:59:09.920><c> demand.
• </c><01:59:10.560><c> Um,</c> data demand. Um, data demand.

Summary: The Judiciary Committee held an informational briefing on the State of Hawaii’s affirmative litigation against the federal administration, with no public testimony. Attorney General Lopez and deputies said the office’s goal is to enforce the rule of law, not make partisan points, and noted that Hawaii is involved in 27 ongoing cases. They grouped the cases into four broad areas: immigration, funding freezes and grant terminations, federal agency dismantling/reductions in force, and protecting elections, health, and safety. Several immigration-related cases were discussed in detail. These included a challenge to the federal sharing of Medicaid data with DHS for immigration enforcement, a similar challenge to USDA’s demand for SNAP applicant and recipient data, and litigation over immigration-enforcement conditions attached to federal grants. The office also described the birthright citizenship executive order, saying it conflicts with the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court precedent; lower courts granted preliminary relief, and the U.S. Supreme Court later addressed only the scope of nationwide injunctions, not the merits. In the Department of Transportation case, the court granted a preliminary injunction against the “Duffy directive,” finding the immigration conditions lacked statutory authority, were arbitrary and capricious, and violated the Spending Clause and APA. The briefing also covered multiple funding disputes. In the education funding freeze case, the Department of Education and OMB withheld about $6 billion in formula funds, including roughly $33 million for Hawaii; after suit was filed, the funds were released. Other cases included the termination of over $11 billion in public health grants, which affected Hawaii Department of Health grants, the NIH indirect cost cap case, and NIH grant terminations tied to DEI, transgender issues, and vaccine hesitancy. The speakers said some cases have already resulted in preliminary or permanent injunctions, while others remain on appeal or are still being litigated.

Transcript Highlights:

• little data for that.
• and that's what the data shows.
• Um, the data that we do have, which unfortunately is not much data at all, but the data that we do have
• They think there's no data.
• They think there's no data. it's unfair. They think there's no data.

Summary: The Education Funding Committee met in executive session on a bill concerning school meal access and reimbursement. The bill would address local school districts’ responsibility to provide meals during school hours, reimburse schools for meals served at no cost, and make an appropriation. The committee first moved to retain the bill, with supporters saying it was complex, had uncertain fiscal impacts, and should be considered alongside other related meals bills. Opponents argued the committee already had enough information, that the bill served a small number of students at relatively low cost, and that delaying action would harm children who need food to learn. The committee also heard from Tim Roar, a Keene school business administrator and co-designer of the bill, who explained that the proposal was intended to be an opt-in program for districts, with rulemaking to set participation requirements. He said the bill was meant to target aid to students between 175% and 200% of poverty, reduce bad meal debt, and avoid spending taxpayer money on families who could afford to pay. He estimated the state cost at about $250,000 in year one, with local taxpayer costs around $8,500 for Keene, and said some districts already have systems for online applications while others do not. Committee members questioned him about meal debt, online application software costs, and how districts handle students who reach debt limits. Roar said districts still feed students who are hungry, but use other resources and family outreach when meal debt is capped, and he argued that parents should be responsible for providing lunch when they can afford it. Other members pushed back, saying they had seen students go hungry and that teachers sometimes pay for lunches themselves. One member noted the bill would increase eligibility, make it easier to apply, strengthen personal responsibility, and was not a mandate. The discussion ended without a recorded final vote in the excerpt, though the retain motion remained the central action under debate.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just like we know that hyper-scale data centers are a different beast than the data centers that we have
• That's not my data; that is state agency data.
• </c> science and the data. science and the data.
• , that is state agency That's not my data, that is state agency data. data. data.
• </c> day and the data. day and the data.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, so there was data released just last week, and it shows the COLA.
• Yeah, we definitely have data and I'd be happy to share that with you.
• So the data through 2024-25 is actual data.
• So the data through 2024-25 is actual data.
• versus the previous spring's data, is not unusual.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's part of the continuation of the DCS data that is going on.
• That's part of the continuation of the DCS data that is going on.
• The only way to actually clean up that backlog is to actually go and process the data.
• We just cannot build a budget if this data is not there.
• Reports about China harvesting data.

Committee: House House Government Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from Intel Expert/Expert Works on software intended to help investigators process large volumes of audio, video, and text data more quickly. The presenters said the tool could be adapted for Department of Child Safety work involving neglected, abused, missing, and exploited children by flagging keywords, building link charts, translating transcripts, and aggregating files for faster review. Members discussed possible use with DCS, county sheriffs, DOC, procurement and RFP issues, and whether the software could help triage hotline calls, clear backlogs, and identify trafficking or abuse networks. The presenters said the system is already used in Iowa and elsewhere, and committee members expressed interest in pursuing legislation, appropriations, or a pilot program. The committee then considered HB 2460, which would preempt local ordinances that penalize businesses for theft of movable property, especially shopping carts. The sponsor argued cities were shifting cleanup costs onto victims of theft, while cities and towns opposed the bill, saying local ordinances address blight and public-right-of-way hazards and that businesses should take proactive steps. After testimony from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and the City of Phoenix, the committee passed HB 2460 on a 4-3 vote. Members also heard HB 2060, which would prohibit public educational institutions and ABOR schools from encouraging or facilitating abortions. The sponsor said taxpayer-funded institutions should remain neutral and not use public resources to promote abortion, while opponents argued the bill would restrict students’ access to constitutionally protected reproductive health care and referrals. Supporters said campuses should provide alternatives such as pregnancy resources and adoption information. The committee passed HB 2060 on a 4-3 vote. Finally, the committee considered HB 2210, as amended, to prohibit the state, local governments, and private entities from using ADS-B aircraft surveillance data to calculate or collect fees from aircraft owners or operators. Supporters said the technology was intended for safety and should not be repurposed for fee collection, warning that pilots might turn it off if used that way; opponents, including the City of Phoenix, said they wanted flexibility to use the system if needed. The committee adopted the amendment and then passed HB 2210 as amended on a 4-3 vote. The transcript then began discussion of HB 2533, which would create an Office of Homeless Services, board, compensation fund, and ombudsman, but the excerpt ends before that bill is fully taken up.

Transcript Highlights:

• The next is data centers. This is a pretty big variability right now.
• So I think I'll just kind of place it into data collection and then incorporation of the data into the
• So basically where we are right now is when we collect the data, first we feel like we have good data
• My second question is data centers.
• Maybe you want a baseload resource for a baseload data center.

Summary: The committee first heard AB 1026 by Assembly Member Wilson, which would require investor-owned utilities to provide clearer front-end information and follow more consistent timelines for post-entitlement energization applications tied to housing projects. The author and supporters from the Housing Action Coalition and Mission Housing said utility delays can hold up approved housing, add costs, and create uncertainty, and they argued the bill would align utility processes with recent state efforts to streamline local permitting. PG&E and Southern California Edison opposed the bill, saying existing CPUC timelines and the ongoing energization rulemaking already address the issue, that the bill could be duplicative or premature, and that some proposed timelines were too short. The committee discussed the bill’s relationship to the CPUC’s September 2024 decision, and AB 1026 was ultimately approved on a 15-0 vote, with the consent calendar also passing. The second half of the hearing was the committee’s annual oversight hearing on electric reliability. Representatives from the CPUC, CEC, CAISO, and DWR reviewed lessons from the 2020 and 2022 heat emergencies, emphasizing that California has since added significant resources, improved planning, and created backstop programs such as the strategic reliability reserve. They said the summer 2025 outlook is cautiously optimistic, with no expected shortfalls under traditional planning conditions and a projected surplus, though wildfire and extreme heat remain risks. The agencies also described major changes in planning and operations, including more battery storage, updated resource adequacy rules, expanded transmission planning, and reforms to the interconnection queue. Members asked about data center load, Diablo Canyon’s future, the strategic reliability reserve, demand response, wildfire mitigation costs, affordability, and regional market expansion. Witnesses said data center demand is a major variable but can be managed through better forecasting, flexible service arrangements, and siting in areas with existing capacity; they also said firm clean resources remain valuable while planning continues around Diablo Canyon’s scheduled retirement. On affordability, they said the agencies try to balance reliability with least-cost procurement, and that new resources can lower market prices even as they require upfront investment. CAISO also highlighted the value of the Western Energy Imbalance Market and the planned day-ahead market, saying regional coordination improves both reliability and cost savings.

Transcript Highlights:

• That looks at building permit data and construction data for every jurisdiction, including the RLD that
• My data intake is terrible.
• of those data centers.
• The data I have shows differently.
• I always start with some data for you. This is the latest November 2024 unemployment data.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't know if Kim Prunzel has anything additional on the data that you asked for.
• And just in terms of data, we do expect for you guys to have more shortly.
• So you will have more data shortly.
• We also appreciate the committee's conversation around data and reporting.
• We also appreciate the committee's conversation around data and reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• You need people who are going to do data.
• I think we can certainly gather that data.
• I think we can certainly gather that data.
• But we will definitely have data on that.
• And we do gather these data, about... ...centers, and we do gather these data, but I see macro-level

Summary: The Assembly Select Committee on Biotechnology and Medical Technology met on August 19, 2025 to examine the effects of federal grant cuts, tariff uncertainty, and related policy changes on California’s biotech, medtech, and academic research ecosystem. The chair and panelists emphasized California’s outsized role in the industry, describing major clusters in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and explaining how research, startup formation, manufacturing, and clinical trials are interconnected across the state. Speakers from Biocom California, California Life Sciences, Farma, UC, Stanford, CSU Biotech, and UCLA all argued that NIH and NSF funding are foundational to discovery, workforce training, and commercialization, and that disruptions are already chilling venture capital, startup formation, and hiring. Witnesses described several concrete impacts: suspended or terminated grants, reduced doctoral admissions, fewer training opportunities, canceled retreats and internships, and anxiety among graduate students and early-career researchers. UC reported hundreds of millions of dollars in suspended or terminated NIH and NSF funding, while Stanford said more than a thousand training and career-development grants nationwide have been frozen or ended, affecting multiple trainees per grant. CSU Biotech said 133 federal grants had been terminated, scaled back, or canceled, totaling about $140 million, including nearly $30 million from NIH and NSF. Industry representatives also warned that proposed antitrust limits on mergers and acquisitions could undermine the standard biotech exit path and further deter investment. Committee members asked about the duration of the disruption, the possibility of state action to offset federal losses, and whether California could better support workforce development, manufacturing, and R&D tax credits. Panelists urged the Legislature to preserve and expand state support for STEM education, internships, apprenticeship pathways, manufacturing incentives, and the R&D tax credit, and to consider infrastructure and housing as part of competitiveness. They also noted that tariffs are already raising costs for medtech components and building materials, and that China is increasingly competing for R&D, talent, and licensing deals. No formal votes or bill actions were taken at the hearing; the meeting was informational and focused on testimony and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• One of the other things we recognize is data is also foundational... ...so we have the One Seattle data
• , which is our traditional data administration, our data analytics, as well as our data science group
• Think of it as a spectrum. ...as well as our data science group.
• I liked that on the second slide, he said, AI and data science.
• There's definitely a data privacy risk with AI.

Committee: House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans

Summary: The committee held a work session focused on technology use in government, AI policy and oversight, and federal broadband funding. The first panel featured Seattle CTO Rob Lloyd, who described the city’s AI approach as centered on public trust, responsible use, privacy, security, and community partnership. He said Seattle is using small pilots and a data strategy to test AI for tasks such as public records processing, infrastructure inspection, and housing/permitting improvements, while keeping human decision-makers responsible. Members asked about permit review, training on best practices, labor engagement, and public records risks; Lloyd emphasized that AI should assist rather than replace human judgment and that the city is still testing solutions for records redaction and search. Washington Technology Solutions CTO Nick Stow and Deputy Director Mark Quimby then outlined the state’s AI policy work, noting that the state’s guidance now covers more than generative AI and is built into existing privacy and security review processes. They described a statewide AI community of practice, a sandbox used by more than 15 agencies, and use cases including a resident portal with opt-in consent features, cybersecurity screening, and wildfire detection. Committee members raised questions about labor, data privacy, and the status and effectiveness of wildfire detection tools. The AI Task Force update from the Attorney General’s office reported progress through eight subcommittees on topics including governance, consumer protection, labor, health care, public safety, education, government efficiency, and climate/energy, with an interim report due December 1 and a final report due July 1, 2026. The presenter also warned that a pending federal budget reconciliation provision could bar state AI regulation for 10 years, and a member noted ongoing work on prior AI bills for the 2026 session. The broadband portion of the meeting began with Commerce’s Dave Pringle, who said the BEAD broadband program is being reshaped by new NTIA guidance issued June 6. He explained that Washington’s original multi-round application process has been compressed into an expedited roughly 30-day application window, with a September 4 state submission deadline, and that earlier rounds are effectively being replaced under the new federal rules. He noted that no projects have been built yet, that four counties did not receive round-two applications, and that the state is working with applicants, the Governor’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office while also managing a leadership transition in the broadband office. The Office of Equity then reported on the Digital Equity Forum’s growth, membership expansion, outreach, and draft recommendations, including better interagency coordination, improved data for underserved communities, and elevating digital equity as a statewide priority; members discussed the loss of federal digital equity operating funds and the forum’s transition back to Commerce. The final presenter, Lumen’s Rob Thoms, discussed private-sector broadband deployment, saying the company continues investing in fiber overbuilds and working with local governments, but faces permitting, regulatory, and geography challenges. He said Washington has strong backbone fiber and is well positioned for enterprise and AI-related demand, but that rural and legacy telecom transitions remain difficult and that satellite and wireless options may play a larger role over time.

Transcript Highlights:

• These are largely covered, but not exclusively, in Chapter 13 of the Minnesota Data Practices Act.
• currently only one through private data currently only one through four<00:08:04.319><c> are</c><00:
• You had suggested that we had some issues around private data. Can you elaborate on that? Mr.
• Will the spill be traveling to Judiciary if we're talking about data and data privacy as well?
• </c> Judiciary if we're talking about data Judiciary if we're talking about data and<00:15:15.880><c>

Summary: House File 23, authored by Representative Robbins, was heard on a motion to advance it to the next committee. The bill, as amended by the A1 author’s amendment, would clarify the statutory definition of abuse, fraud, and waste and expand whistleblower protections for state employees who report those issues to legislators, the legislative auditor, or constitutional officers. Robbins said the measure is intended to protect state workers and align whistleblower language with existing Inspector General definitions; he also cited recent fraud investigations as the backdrop for the bill and noted a Senate companion, SF 475, with bipartisan support. Devon Bruce of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees testified in support of the bill’s protective intent but raised concerns that it only covers classified state employees, creating uneven treatment between classified and unclassified workers and between state and local public employees. Bruce also warned that the bill does not fully address data practices issues, including the handling of nonpublic, private, or proprietary information, and suggested broader privacy protections for whistleblowers’ identities. In response to questions, Robbins said the bill was not meant to change data practices law and that those issues should be addressed separately. Members debated whether the bill was ready for further consideration and whether it should also go to the fraud oversight committee or Judiciary. Motions to lay the bill over and to re-refer it to the fraud prevention and state oversight committee both failed. After a roll call vote, the committee approved the bill 7-6 and sent House File 23 to Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development.