Transcript Highlights:

• This helps people understand the implications of disabilities in the workplace, as well as changing their

Summary: The Committee on Health and Human Services held an informational briefing on the Developmental Disabilities Council and related agencies. The Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities outlined its 2025 legislative priorities, including a pilot project for guardian ad litem and capacity evaluations in guardianship/conservatorship cases, a supported decision-making bill, a health disparities study for people with disabilities, an ABLE savings outreach/staffing measure, a Medicaid buy-in proposal, an adult changing tables equity bill, and a resolution on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Council representatives emphasized that supported decision-making would complement tools like powers of attorney and medical releases, and that the health disparities study would help identify unmet needs by ZIP code and improve state data on the intellectual and developmental disability population. The Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii described its role as the research and training arm within the DD system, working with the DD Council and the Hawaii Disability Rights Center. It reported activities such as interdisciplinary training, community education, technical assistance, research collaborations, the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, publications, telehealth, ECHO Autism, and counseling for Maui fire survivors. The center said it leveraged about $16 million in outside funding last year and highlighted goals focused on workforce development, community capacity, research with direct participation from people with disabilities, and accessible dissemination of information. The Hawaii Disability Rights Center, the state’s protection and advocacy agency, supported the Council’s priorities, especially supported decision-making, which it said could help some people avoid guardianship while preserving liberty and reducing state resource use. The center also raised concerns about the DD system budget and urged legislators to review whether the Developmental Disabilities Division is requesting enough funding, noting possible backsliding in services and eligibility. The Developmental Disabilities Division of the Department of Health then outlined its statewide waiver program serving just over 3,500 people, its service array, and its budget request for increased waiver funding, a federal initiatives coordinator, and IT upgrades to comply with the new HCBS access rule; no votes or formal actions were taken during the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has some benefits to schools as well.
• </c> benefits, mileage, and pdium. benefits, mileage, and pdium.
• I hope for the benefit of Montgomery.
• Notice benefits to the public entity.
• Its benefits to the public entity.

Summary: The meeting included a Senate recognition ceremony honoring the Winona High School boys basketball team for winning the 2026 Alabama High School Athletic Association 5A state championship. A resolution was read commending the team for its 101-40 victory over Silicag, noting the team’s record-setting performance, Brendan Davis’s MVP honor, the contributions of other players, and Coach Cedric Lane’s leadership. Senators and the lieutenant governor praised the players’ sportsmanship, the school community, and the team’s historic season, and copies of the resolution were presented to the team, coaches, and administrators. Several guests and school representatives also spoke briefly, including the coach and principal, who thanked the Senate and noted the team’s success and the principal’s retirement after 35 years. After the recognition, the Senate returned to session and adopted the Committee on Rules report setting the special order calendar. The calendar included Senate Bill 99 on the Ten Commandments, Senate Bill 298 on Class 3 municipalities, House Bill 381 on camp safety, Senate Bill 370 on tax increment districts, Senate Bill 363 on the Department of Economic and Community Affairs, House Bill 466 on firefighters, House Bill 95 on elections, House Bill 259 on stablecoin, and Senate Bill 342 on education. The chamber then took up SB 99, sponsored by Senators Kelly and Sessions. Senator Kelly described the bill as requiring local school boards to display the Ten Commandments, together with founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Alabama Constitution preamble, in certain history classrooms and common areas for grades five through 12, using donated displays and funds when available. He said the bill was intended as a historical and educational measure, not religious instruction, and emphasized the inclusion of a disclaimer stating Alabama is not establishing a religion. After extended debate and a petition to close debate from the Rules Committee, the Senate voted on the bill by long roll and passed SB 99, with the recorded vote announced as 30 yeas and 4 nays.

Transcript Highlights:

• No benefits can be frozen without a court order, and civil and enforcement functions have a firewall
• No benefits<00:12:52.000><c> can</c><00:12:52.240><c> be</c><00:12:52.399><c> frozen</c><00:12:52.800
• benefits can be frozen without a court order<00:12:54.399><c> and</c><00:12:54.720><c> civil</c><00:
• Um, which does not benefit anybody, Mr. President.
• They're going to get all uh benefited.

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, this is a little bit of a benefit to the districts.
• I know that was also for the public benefit to do that. So, Mr.
• Put simply, students who struggle do not benefit most from more school later.
• They benefit most from better school instruction now.
• benefits.

Committee: Joint Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration

Transcript Highlights:

• But this week, the USDA benefits.
• ><00:47:28.880><c> is</c> benefiting producers and consumers is benefiting producers and consumers is
• US A did so again in benefits.
• </c> benefits in Minnesota. benefits in Minnesota.
• 02:29:05.840><c> for</c> lapse in benefits, especially for lapse in benefits, especially for families

Transcript Highlights:

• So we'll soon begin to see the the benefit of this policy in education outcomes in the coming months
• , but for me, I look at the data and the statistical likelihood and looking at the risks and the benefits
• But good phone. phone away policies would absolutely benefit student learning and make teaching fun and
• Thank you for your time and consideration. and I urge you to support HB123 for the benefit of Texas'
• I think one of the benefits contemplated in the bill is that for these literacy screeners pay through

Bills: HB6 , HB27 , HB 123 , HB210 , HB213 , HB222 , HB610 , HB 1085 , HB1481 , HB6 , HB27 , HB123 , HB210 , HB213 , HB222

Committee: House Public Education

Transcript Highlights:

• roles and long-standing cultural bias has detrimentally affected the trajectory of women in the workplace
• roles and long-standing cultural bias has detrimentally affected the trajectory of women in the workplace
• 22:43.279><c> the</c><03:22:43.359><c> bill</c><03:22:43.600><c> is</c> "But I'm the person that benefits
• after</c><04:07:20.000><c> 12</c><04:07:20.239><c> months</c><04:07:20.399><c> of</c> performance benefit
• after 12 months of performance benefit after 12 months of testosterone<04:07:21.720><c> suppression.

Summary: The House Judiciary Committee opened a hearing on Senate Bill 141, which would create a narrow exception to New Hampshire’s three-year deadline for motions for a new trial when a petitioner has newly discovered evidence, new forensic testing, or new scientific understanding. The prime sponsor’s representative and advocates from the Innocence Project and New England Innocence Project argued the bill is needed to help wrongfully convicted people access the courts, noting that exonerations often take many years and that outdated forensic science has contributed to wrongful convictions. The chair also said he had drafted a proposed amendment for committee review, but it had not yet been formally submitted. Witnesses supporting the bill emphasized that the measure would not guarantee relief, only allow a petition to be filed and reviewed under existing standards. They discussed examples such as arson science, explaining that some convictions were based on forensic methods later shown to be unreliable. Committee members asked about the scope of habeas corpus, whether the bill would create a new cause of action, and whether additional screening or pleading requirements should be added. The supporters said they would be open to requiring a petitioner to plead innocence, but opposed adding more burdensome preliminary procedures or counsel requirements at the filing stage. Thomas Farardi, from the Attorney General’s Office, testified in opposition or with caution, saying the bill was a “solution looking for a problem” because existing habeas corpus and coram nobis procedures already provide avenues for relief, and prosecutors can act when credible new evidence arises. He argued the current draft could invite additional litigation and create a new cause of action, and said he favored more screening before cases proceed. The discussion also touched on whether the statute applies in criminal cases, the current three-year limitation in RSA 526:4, and questions about posthumous petitions and petitions by deported individuals. No vote or executive action was taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• A union member detained by ICE in the parking lot of their workplace and taken to a facility in Texas
• And what's even worse is we had an opportunity as a group to vote to remove access to these benefits
• to these benefits from predator predatory<02:03:07.880><c> offenders.
• There's not a lot of requirements to prove that you benefit or should get this money.
• </c> When you create large public benefit When you create large public benefit programs<02:07:24.120>

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> efficiency is paid to pay and benefits efficiency is paid to pay and benefits and<01:51:47.159><
• </c> our budget currently is paying benefits our budget currently is paying benefits that<01:52:17.119
• </c> of our budget being salary and benefits of our budget being salary and benefits and<03:21:55.920
• </c> adjustments made to employee benefits adjustments made to employee benefits usually<05:22:29.000
• benefits benefits the<05:45:38.120><c> the</c><05:45:38.680><c> last</c><05:45:39.840><c> recipient<

Summary: The meeting began with testimony from Charlotte Harding of the Conservation Land Stewardship Program, who explained that the office protects the state’s interests in conservation lands by monitoring conservation easements and related stewardship obligations. She described the program’s funding sources: a land conservation endowment held at the State Treasury and administered by the Council on Resources and Development, plus transfers from Fish and Game for easements not covered by the endowment. Members discussed how the endowment is funded when new easements are created, the program’s staffing, the loss of a state vehicle, and the need to increase in-state travel so staff can use personal vehicles for field monitoring. Harding said the office has two full-time positions and a seasonal employee, that the work is mostly monitoring rather than hands-on land management, and that enforcement issues are referred to the grantee agencies or, if needed, to the Council on Resources and Development. She also noted that the office works directly with landowners to resolve smaller issues and that stewardship has become a greater focus in the conservation community because ongoing oversight requires funding. Members asked about examples of properties under the program, including LCIP lands such as Musquash Headwaters, Hidden Valley Boy Scout Camp, and Nash Stream, and the committee did not take a motion before moving on. The committee then heard from Paul Breen and Susie Anzelone of the Pease Development Authority regarding the Division of Ports and Harbors operating budget. They explained that the authority provides finance, legal, environmental, and engineering support to the division, which operates New Hampshire’s only deep-water berth at Market Street, as well as facilities in Hampton, Rye, the Portsmouth Fish Pier, and navigational waters in the Piscataqua and Great Bay. They described the authority’s history after the closure of Pease Air Force Base, the transfer of roughly 2,400 acres, and the creation of a self-sustaining enterprise fund tied to airport and port operations. They emphasized that the division does not draw on the general fund because revenues from wharfage, dockage, parking, registration, and mooring fees cover operating costs, with any surplus retained for capital improvements and replacement. Members questioned several budget lines, including a sharp increase in overtime and workers’ compensation. Breen said overtime is driven largely by security needs at the deep-water port and fluctuates with vessel traffic, such as salt shipments, while workers’ comp is a DAS-set cost and not something the division controls. He said the budget is conservative and that if revenues fall short, capital projects would be the first items scaled back. The discussion also covered fee-setting, with Breen saying rates are reviewed against the local market and infrastructure constraints, and that some smaller facility fees had recently been increased after being stagnant for years.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Our Town signed on as a recovery-friendly workplace, and we alone, as the town of Alexandria, became

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• House Enrolled Act Number 3, being original House Bill 34, an act relating to compensation and benefits
• One of the things I have on my team at my workplace is I have a very experienced Marine chief in charge

Transcript Highlights:

• against the bill, but here he said we have our community designed to have houses over here and our workplaces
• Rosenwald, and it has to do with information that's provided to employees receiving workers' comp benefits

Committee: Senate Commerce

Transcript Highlights:

• She was tied up and moved to a house behind her workplace and was eventually found by her husband and
• retirement is only for violent-action disability retirement, and we changed a little bit of the benefits
• bit</c><02:34:44.479><c> of</c><02:34:44.640><c> the</c><02:34:45.760><c> um</c><02:34:46.319><c> benefits
• </c><02:34:47.120><c> for</c><02:34:47.520><c> them</c> little bit of the um benefits for them little
• bit of the um benefits for them who<02:34:48.640><c> were</c><02:34:48.880><c> on</c><02:34:49.120><

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> mutual benefit. mutual benefit.
• No vote. without clear measure measurable without clear measure measurable benefits benefits benefits
• health benefits to the essential health benefits defined<01:32:17.920><c> in</c><01:32:18.040><c> the
• That is the benefit to our and that is a benefit to the state of Hawaii.
• That is the benefit to our and that is a benefit to the state of Hawaii.

Transcript Highlights:

• I strongly oppose this bill because it serves no legitimate public benefit and only serves to harass
• It is not fair to anyone, and I'm happy to answer any questions. benefit and only serves to harass trans
• benefit and only serves to harass trans people<00:19:22.280><c> for</c><00:19:22.880><c> existing</c
• sports in fact<01:59:38.400><c> inclusive</c><01:59:38.840><c> environments</c><01:59:39.440><c> benefit
• </c> fact inclusive environments benefit fact inclusive environments benefit Everyone<01:59:40.320><c

Summary: The House Judiciary Committee opened a hearing on House Bill 148, which Rep. Jim Kofalt said is the same language as last year’s HB 396, vetoed by the governor. He described the bill as allowing, but not requiring, separation by biological sex in three areas: bathrooms and locker rooms, houses of correction, and certain athletic competitions. Kofalt argued the bill would give local school boards and other policymakers discretion to set practical rules, citing concerns about safety, privacy, and a Milford incident involving a biological male in girls’ locker rooms. Committee members pressed him on the lack of a definition of “biological sex,” and he said he did not think one was necessary because males and females are commonly understood. He also said the bill was meant to address situations where outside groups threaten lawsuits and leave local boards with no latitude. Testimony then split sharply. Supporters, including Executive Counselor Karen Hill and several others, said HB 148 would roll back anti-discrimination protections, contradict New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” values, and harm transgender and non-binary people. Opponents described the bill as discriminatory and unnecessary, arguing that existing bathroom and sports policies already work and that the bill would invite harassment, invasive enforcement, and legal conflict. Several speakers, including trans residents and parents of trans children, said they had used public restrooms without incident and warned that enforcement would be impractical or abusive. One supporter argued the bill was needed to protect girls’ privacy and safety and cited school sports disputes and a concern about a sex offender at a game as examples of why sex-segregated rules should be restored. Committee members asked questions about how biological sex would be defined, whether the bill was responding to real incidents in New Hampshire, and how any restrictions would be enforced. Kofalt said he was aware of issues in several school districts and at the State House, but did not have detailed documentation for every case. No vote or final action was taken in the portion of the hearing provided; the chair instead moved through public testimony under a strict two-minute limit and noted that follow-up questions would be limited so the committee could hear multiple bills that day.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> them apply for public benefits. them apply for public benefits. $7.5<01:28:58.239><c> million</c
• retirement benefits therefore loom retirement benefits therefore loom fairly<04:58:27.920><c> large</
• Further, these tax credits are a net benefit to the state.
• Further, these tax credits are a net benefit to the state.
• They still see a benefit in having clear title.

Transcript Highlights:

• :28.560><c> one</c><00:09:28.720><c> of</c> One of my roles is to oversee visitor management and workplace
• It's about fostering a partnership that benefits the child.
• It's about fostering a partnership that benefits the child.

Committee: House Education Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• >> A positive benefits.
• </c> promotes positive benefit. promotes positive benefit. &gt;&gt; Yes. &gt;&gt; Yes.
• And then those positive benefits &gt;&gt; Okay.
• </c> definition of positive benefits there. definition of positive benefits there.
• That would be the &gt;&gt; A positive benefits.

Transcript Highlights:

• But if either of the other two were killed in their workplaces, the statutes do not call for the death
• actors with knowledge of the law, the legal system, and who carefully weigh the relative costs and benefits
• :23:13.440><c> relative</c><01:23:13.920><c> costs</c><01:23:14.480><c> and</c><01:23:14.719><c> benefits
• </c><01:23:15.280><c> of</c> weigh the relative costs and benefits of weigh the relative costs and benefits

Committee: House Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• the broad population of think benefit the broad population of our<00:35:02.000><c> citizens.
• Health care workers are the most assaulted people in the workplace in our country.
• I strongly believe that legislation similar to this amendment will be of great benefit to the people
• to the people of the state great benefit to the people of the state of<02:27:48.720><c> Vermont.
• </c> public employee health benefit public employee health benefit authority,<04:14:20.399><c> and</c