Transcript Highlights:

• districts have essentially identical rules, and they govern the issuance of consumptive use permits except
• There's one exception, a small difference relating to the lower quality water source.
• Those are things, though, that we can do, you know, as a matter of course, but as an exception, right

Summary: The Joint Administrative Procedures Committee met on February 3, 2025, with a quorum present and took up three main items. First, the committee considered a large set of recommended objections to Agency for Health Care Administration rules, all centered on sunset provisions stating the rules would expire after five years. AHCA asked for another deferral while it reviewed the rules, arguing the sunset language was a form of self-restraint rather than an invalid exercise of rulemaking authority. Committee leadership disagreed that further delay would resolve the issue and moved to a single vote covering all objections. The motion passed by roll call, and the committee informed AHCA that an objection would be filed unless the agency amended the rules within 30 days. The committee then heard an informational briefing from the Department of Environmental Protection on its Outstanding Florida Springs rule and stormwater rule. DEP explained that it did not prepare a statement of estimated regulatory cost for the springs rule because the proposed standards largely mirror existing water management district rules and the Central Florida Water Initiative framework, so DEP said there was no new regulatory burden. Members asked about permit authority, costs, and whether the rules were functionally different from prior rules. DEP maintained the rules set minimum standards and did not add costs beyond what regulated parties were already doing. DEP also described implementation of the stormwater rule adopted under the 2020 Clean Waterways Act and later ratified by the Legislature in 2024. DEP said the rule was the product of years of workshops and technical advisory committee meetings, and that the final version included lower-cost alternatives, grandfathering, and phased implementation. DEP estimated the rule’s cost at about $2,600 per acre in the revised CERC, while industry witnesses said the real cost could be much higher, especially if land costs are included. A home builders representative argued the estimate understated impacts, while a stormwater engineer said the rule gives more flexible, performance-based tools and could become more cost-effective over time. Finally, Senator Graal presented proposed Chapter 120 changes in SB 108, aimed at tightening and modernizing rulemaking. The proposal would require five-year rule reviews, annual agency reporting, faster notice of proposed rulemaking after authorizing legislation, electronic filing, public access to incorporated materials, clearer tracking of technical changes, and limits on how long rules can remain pending ratification. Members discussed whether the Legislature should be more specific in statutes about rulemaking deadlines and whether agencies should be more accountable when rules stall. No formal action was taken on the Chapter 120 proposals, and the committee adjourned after discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• One, are we changing the form when we change this, except for the title?
• Um, because that's simply a fine that does not have the exception for the imminent risk of human health
• So, these conditions that you speak of in the rescues you just spoke of, is this the exception, or is
• I would say it's an exception.
• I would say it's an exception.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And as for the, I mean, that is why we specifically did not ask for funding this year except for two
• And we are absolutely committed to that over new construction, with the exception that where the new
• —agrees with the reporting provision of the bill, except for the clarifying amendment requested?
• clarifying amendment requested except clarifying amendment requested for<01:21:45.280> sure.
• exception.

Bills: SB2613, SB2147

Keywords: 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, Board of Land and Natural Resources, BLNR, Department of Land and Natural Resources, DLNR, Kauai, Maui, Honolulu, Kaimuki Middle School, Wilcox Elementary School, school property

Summary: The committee heard SB 2613, a cleanup bill relating to public school land transfers under Act 307 (2022), which revises tax map key references and the conveyance process for properties transferred to the Department of Education. The Hawaii State Public Library System supported the measure, saying it would complete the long-unfinished separation of the library system from DOE property control and make future building projects more efficient and cost-effective. DOE also supported the bill and requested an amendment to remove TMK 43-62 parcel 10, the Wilcox Elementary School parcel, so that it could instead be transferred to the county for use with the adjacent park and tennis courts. Members focused heavily on why land transfers and construction approvals have been slow, especially the need for right-of-entry documents and an MOA for a library construction project. Library and DOE witnesses said the delays stemmed from site-control issues and confusion over property status, and that the bill would clarify which parcels are transferred by operation of law and remove the need for additional transactional documents in many cases. Several members questioned whether the bill actually changes authority or simply clarifies existing practice, and DOE said it wanted legislative clarity so the transfers are unmistakably effective on a date certain. The committee also discussed a separate section of the bill dealing with public use of school facilities after hours, including parking fees on property under DOE jurisdiction. DOE explained that any parking charges would apply only to property it controls, not county roads, and that fees are set through existing facility-use procedures. Members raised concerns about the pace of land transfers generally and urged DOE to move more expeditiously on pending parcels. The hearing then moved on to SB 2147, which would designate the first Friday in February as Love My Library Day; the library system testified in support as the committee began that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• been removed with the narrow exception been removed with the narrow exception of<00:53:11.280>
• No loopholes, no exceptions. New Hampshire should lead with courage and clarity.
• No loopholes,<02:08:03.120> no<02:08:03.520> exceptions.
• <02:08:04.560> New<02:08:04.800> Hampshire loopholes, no exceptions.
• New Hampshire loopholes, no exceptions.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Except as provided in subsection 8 of this section, if the department finds that a dealer failed to post
• a counter, in an enclosed and locked display case, or in a locked room inaccessible to the public except
• /c><01:35:56.480> the<01:35:56.639> 22<01:35:56.960> public<01:35:57.360> except
• inaccessible to the 22 public except inaccessible to the 22 public except when<01:35:57.679>
• as provided in liability 21 except as provided in section<05:04:41.040> 13-14.511 section 13-

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, approved the journal as corrected, and then proceeded out of order to memorials. House Memorial 1002, honoring former Representative Carl Eugene Miller of Leadville, was read and adopted unanimously, 63-0 with two excused. Speakers highlighted Miller’s service as a miner, Army veteran, Lake County commissioner, state representative, Public Utilities Commission commissioner, and his role in establishing the National Mining Hall of Fame and the Leadville Trail 100. His family was recognized in the chamber. During announcements, members welcomed several visiting groups, including Prowers County commissioners, the Rocky Mountain Cradle to Career Civic Influencers, the Colorado Springs School, and Advocates for Recovery Colorado, which was noted as advocating for recovery support and related policy issues. Members also mentioned upcoming committee meetings, including Finance and Appropriations, and a reminder that the business affairs and labor committee was not meeting that day. The House then set special orders for March 19, 2026, and adopted motions limiting debate time on House Bill 1126 to three hours and on Senate Bills 4 and 43 to two hours each. The chamber then resolved into committee of the whole and began consideration of House Bill 1126, which concerns requirements for dealing firearms. The bill was read at length at the request of the minority leader, who argued that the measure could hurt small, family-owned gun businesses. The bill summary described expanded permit requirements for firearm dealers, additional requirements for responsible persons and employees, recordkeeping and security mandates, reporting of theft or loss, and increased penalties for violations, including fines, suspension, or revocation of dealer permits.

Transcript Highlights:

• Now, we make exceptions for this. I mean, it frequently happens.
• So there are exceptions to this, but we are watching for contemporaneous reclamation to the extent it's
• Now, we make exceptions for these. I mean, it frequently happens.
• So there are exceptions to this. it. There's no sense digging that all back up again.
• And there are exceptions to that. Like, most of the power plants have a landfill for waste ash.

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

Transcript Highlights:

• There are no exceptions for historical recipients.
• More importantly, a one-time exception is corrosive in the regulatory program because every owner who
• What is new information is, I'm just going to skip all this, except for what was the original intent
• along since this says 2019, and they would say in legislative hearings, violent offenders do 85%, except
• Except depending on their LSIR score, we just found out that they have a presumption that that offender

Summary: The committee opened with a moment of silence honoring a deceased member, then approved the April minutes. The first major presentation was from Chelsea Florey of Child and Family Services on the Diversion Task Force and related grant programs created with one-time funding from HB 1012. She reported that five of six proposals were funded, with youth diversion services operating in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, and a Red River Children’s Advocacy Center program focused on problematic sexualized behavior. Members discussed barriers such as staffing shortages, voluntary family engagement, service fatigue, and the need for better coordination, broader outreach, and possible changes to diversion eligibility rules so low-level cases can remain in diversion longer. Several legislators pressed for more practical system changes and clearer service navigation, while Florey said the task force is trying to build a service array or hub and is leaning on the Children’s Cabinet for broader recommendations. The committee then heard from North Dakota Lottery Director Thomas Lawler, who gave an operational overview and biennium report. He described the lottery’s history, games, retailer commissions, Pick and Click subscriptions, Players Club membership, and revenue distribution. For the 2023-25 biennium, about $67 million in tickets were purchased, with roughly $16.2 million transferred overall, including money for the general fund, drug task force grants, and compulsive gambling prevention and treatment. Members asked about the compulsive gambling allocation and whether the amount is set by statute. A lengthy presentation followed from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on criminal justice data connectivity and reentry. Adam Anderson explained that North Dakota’s jail, court, HHS, and correctional systems use multiple separate databases that do not communicate in real time, requiring manual cross-checks and staff communication. He said the department is exploring a centralized hub or other integration approach, but noted challenges with identifiers, vendor contracts, confidentiality, and cost. Robin Schmolenberger then updated the committee on a Medicaid data-sharing project with HHS, saying monthly application assistance is now occurring in correctional facilities and that automated bi-directional data exchange is expected in late 2026 to help suspend and reactivate Medicaid coverage and identify former foster care youth. Members also discussed parole, probation, transitional housing, and the need for better real-time notifications and clearer data definitions. The committee also received an update from county representatives on the 24/7 sobriety program, including a recent attorney general opinion that if a court waives 24/7 fees, sheriffs may use the cheaper twice-daily breath test or urine testing instead of SCRAM bracelets or drug patches. Finally, Bruce Johnson of the Racing Commission presented on an audit report, acknowledging serious findings involving overspending from the promotion fund, grant documentation failures, a breeders fund eligibility reversal, and repeated procurement violations. He said the commission has already changed its procedures by tracking fund limits monthly, requiring grant applications and itemized reports, enforcing breeders fund rules as written, and routing purchases through procurement with written contracts. The committee asked follow-up questions throughout but took no formal votes on these presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• Except maybe one or two.
• McKinney, and I go, I want to know what you cover, want to know what your coverage is, what the exceptions
• Island, too, I wanted to... ...talk about are the exceptions to the Texas Tort Claims Act, some of which
• Island, too, I wanted to talk about are the exceptions to the Texas Tort Claims Act, some of which are
• as we wrestle with this stuff and try to fix the statute, it seems that we ought to have fewer exceptions

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Everybody's here except for Representative Wheeler and Representative Palmer.
• So, everybody's here except let's see.
• So, everybody's here except for<00:09:28.440> uh, for uh, for uh, Representative<00:09:30.880>
• try and accommodate those<01:06:41.840> uh<01:06:42.160> hopeful<01:06:42.800> exceptions
• to the rule, those uh hopeful exceptions to the rule, but<01:06:44.960> if<01:06:45.320> if

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The Special Committee on COVID Response Efficacy for New Hampshire held its first organizational meeting. The chair read the committee’s updated mission statement, which says the bipartisan committee will fact-find on the state’s COVID-19 response and its impact on the healthcare system, with focus areas including federal guidance, federal funds, emergency use authorization vaccination efforts, long COVID, the Patient Bill of Rights, and vaccination policies. The chair also announced committee staffing changes: Linda McGrath stepped down as vice chair and Representative Gerard was named vice chair; Representative DeRoy was named clerk. The chair emphasized the committee’s work is intended to be science-based and fact-finding, not anti-vaccine, and noted that the committee may issue follow-up reports and recommendations. Members discussed a broad list of topics for future hearings, including long COVID treatment, ongoing vaccination policies, reporting of COVID deaths, standards of care and provider discretion, COVID-related funding such as ESSER/CARES Act money, and communication of treatment developments during the pandemic. Representative Pollina argued the committee should examine specific treatments and outcomes, including remdesivir, oxygen/intubation practices, and ivermectin, and raised concerns about whether some treatments were harmful or suppressed. He also focused on pediatric vaccination policy, saying the committee should review New Hampshire’s recommendations for children and medical students, and questioned the state’s reliance on federal guidance versus independent review. The chair responded that shifting federal positions may justify an independent New Hampshire evaluation and asked him to gather more information and potential witnesses. In open discussion, members suggested additional witnesses and topics, including local funeral directors, nursing homes, and emergency medical services, as well as how nursing homes were affected by positive tests and admission restrictions. Another member suggested the committee consider what products it should produce, such as a final report, possible bill recommendations, and better documentation or footnotes tying findings to testimony and scientific sources. The chair said the committee’s deliverables could include reports, letters to department heads or legislative leaders, and other actions, and noted that the committee’s 2024 report and supporting documents are available on the House committee page. No votes or formal actions beyond the organizational appointments were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• I would like to say that everybody, for the most part, with a few very minor exceptions, has been completely
• Everybody, for the most part, with a few very minor exceptions, has been completely cooperative.
• Pretty much everybody else, for the most part, except for Glenn Yankee, the night watchman, went to bed
• Now, you mentioned, with slight exception, who didn't talk to you?
• credit to that actually, at the end of the day, we figured out that none of those guys, with the exception

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, there was a clear sign of declining enrollments everywhere in the system except for Manoa
• <00:17:46.880> for<00:17:47.200> Monoa<00:17:48.080> which in the system except
• for Monoa which in the system except for Monoa which itself<00:17:48.880> even<00:17:49.200><
• :13.919> the<00:30:14.399> community<00:30:14.960> colleges<00:30:15.520> except
• make the community colleges except make the community colleges except geographic<00:30:16.559>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then um the language we're striking there except when to do so would knowingly impede or otherwise
• So, the bill adds an exception for spouses in situations like ours, allowing them to continue purchasing
• /c><00:27:06.480> bill<00:27:06.799> adds<00:27:07.120> an<00:27:07.480> exception
• So, the bill adds an exception Medicaid.
• So, the bill adds an exception for<00:27:09.000> spouses<00:27:10.000> in<00:27:10.320>

Bills: HF1151, HF1239, HF1240, HF2020, HF2514, HF2515, HF2451

Keywords: Compensation Council, salaries, state officials, judicial compensation, legislative process, public funds, misuse, law enforcement, accountability, state government, legislative auditor, compliance, transparency, retirement benefits, health insurance, dependents, state employees, Medicare, legislative studies, government oversight

Transcript Highlights:

• What this bill does is create an additional exception, and that is if your child is kidnapped by ICE.
• The exception is for conduct already permitted under California Senate Bill 54, the law that protects
• It hurts everyone except the companies who rig the system.
• Now, I think there are exceptions to this rule, but I think that it's overly broad.
• There are exceptions to this rule, but I think that it's overly broad.

Summary: The Assembly met in session, established a quorum, approved dispensing with the previous day’s journal, and then took up a long third-reading file. Early procedural actions included moving AB 1589 to the inactive file and continuing reconsideration items. The chamber then considered a series of bills largely focused on immigration enforcement, detention, worker protections, child care, voting access, and related public services. Several immigration-related measures passed, including AB 2393 on damages for false imprisonment/arrest, AB 1994 on an immigrant victims’ rights and resources card, AB 1929 on health plan investment disclosures, AB 1633 imposing a tax on for-profit detention facilities, AB 1650 requiring decals on rental vehicles used for enforcement, AB 1655 protecting CalWORKs benefits when a child is detained, and AB 1896 disqualifying people who participated in immigration enforcement from certain public employment. AB 2230, which would bar immigration enforcement near polling places and child care facilities, also passed after extensive debate. Supporters framed these bills as accountability and protection for vulnerable communities; opponents argued they targeted federal law enforcement, were unnecessary, or raised constitutional concerns. AB 1851 on statewide school mental-health guidance also passed unanimously. After the midday recess, the Assembly returned and continued with more bills tied to immigration impacts and child welfare. AB 2379 passed with urgency, requiring child care providers to be informed of constitutional rights and trained on protections when confronted by immigration enforcement. AB 2460 passed to update school behavioral-health referral protocols for students affected by immigration enforcement trauma. AB 2495 passed to expand prohibitions on employer immigration-related threats, and AB 2662 was presented as a way for California to monitor and document federal enforcement actions and report on their community impacts. Throughout the day, the floor featured repeated exchanges over whether the bills addressed real problems or were political messaging, but the measures that came to a vote generally advanced with majority support.

Transcript Highlights:

• They have a whole series of pumps and stuff that don't run except during testing or in the event of an
• We're done really for the year except for our tour, which Representative Mattson is going to talk about
• We're done really for<01:51:49.280> the<01:51:49.440> year<01:51:49.679> except<
• for our tour which for the year except for our tour which Representative<01:51:52.320> Matson
• commend you for being an exceptional commend you for being an exceptional chairman<01:57:14.560>

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• my own digging and, like, why I don't know, I didn't know anything about this before I came, but except
• It just says in the A6, except the employee's name.
• <01:02:48.000> the It just says in the A6, except the It just says in the A6, except the employee's
• I still don't think there's a business case for that except for the scenario which I just described,
• for the scenario case for that except for the scenario which<01:10:06.600> I<01:10:06.680>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:53:22.480> I,<00:53:23.119> as except for those under parents.
• I, as except for those under parents.
• It would also reestablish an exception process for mental health professionals who seek to affiliate
• It would also reestablish an<01:26:37.920> exception<01:26:38.400> process<01:26:38.800
• This is simply cleanup, removing expired and obsolete exceptions that are in that statute.

Bills: HF3935, HF2216, HF4354, HF4210, HF4212

Keywords: assisted living, healthcare, training, unlicensed personnel, resident rights, safety regulations, nursing home, long-term care, guardian, conservator, arbitration, mandatory arbitration, consumer protection, fee increase, rate increase, price hike, private pay, public funds, Medicaid, waiver services

Transcript Highlights:

• and continue to be a great to exception and continue to be a great partner,<00:07:55.160> and
• Yeah, and before I turn it over, I'll just say that there are exceptions that begin on line 1.16 and
• I do believe that minors might be an exception that also should be included because I agree with you
• With the exception of that minors, I do believe that the bill represents those concerns.
• With the exception of that minors, I do believe that the bill represents those concerns.

Bills: HF3771, HF3658, HF3453, HF3358, HF1775

Keywords: disaster assistance, contingency account, Minnesota emergency management, public safety, state disaster aid, FEMA, federal cost-share, emergency relief, natural disaster, budget report, appropriations report, management and budget, local governments, utility cooperatives, public works, infrastructure repair, chapter 12B, chapter 12A, emergency management, disaster recovery

Transcript Highlights:

• have to demonstrate that they meet work or community engagement requirements or meet one of the exceptions
• meet an um one of the exceptions meet an um one of the exceptions available.<00:09:18.000> I'm
• Um, line 4.1 is the exception for our native populations. basically the expedited de um elig basically
• ...exception for our Native populations.
• Um, then you get into the middle of the page starting at 2.16, you get into the exceptions.

Bills: HF3439, HF3763

Keywords: Medical Assistance, Medicaid, MNsure, MinnesotaCare, disability determination, expedited eligibility, state medical review team, compassionate allowance, rare disease, home and community-based services, long-term care, managed care, county-based purchasing, eligibility redetermination, periodic data matching, death master file, Social Security Administration, program integrity, income eligibility, asset test

Summary: The House Health Finance and Policy Committee met on March 4, 2026, approved the minutes from its February 25 and March 2 meetings, and then heard a presentation from Katherine Castanza of the National Conference of State Legislatures on Medicaid eligibility changes in the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR1/OB3). The presentation focused on provisions affecting Medicaid expansion adults ages 19 to 64, including new work and community engagement requirements, changes to retroactive eligibility, quarterly death master file checks, address verification requirements, six-month redeterminations for expansion enrollees, and new limits on some lawful permanent residents and other immigrant groups. Castanza also discussed state implementation issues, including the need for new data-sharing systems, system modernization, outreach, and options for helping people transition to other coverage if they lose eligibility. She said the work and community engagement rules take effect January 1, 2027, with states given flexibility on look-back periods, consecutive versus nonconsecutive months, and optional hardship exemptions, and noted that CMS guidance is not expected until June 2026. She also described federal support for implementation, including $200 million in grants and a 90% federal match for eligibility system work, while warning that the fast timeline could lead to coverage losses, churn, and challenges for special populations such as caregivers, people with behavioral health conditions, incarcerated individuals, and rural residents. She further explained that an erroneous payment provision could expose states to federal recoupment later if eligibility errors increase. During member questions, Representative Beerman asked about the overall size of the Medicaid cuts and the cumulative national impact; Castanza said estimates vary by state and cited KFF analysis suggesting states could lose 4% to 19% of federal Medicaid revenue, with a newer RAND analysis recently released. Beerman also asked about the history and effectiveness of state work requirements, but that discussion was not completed in the excerpt. Representative Elkins noted the presentation was not initially posted on the committee website, and the chair said it had since been posted.

Transcript Highlights:

• There should be exceptions to a license freeze where there is need, whether the adult day is already
• process and if there's going to be a moratorium exception process, how that looks, because that seems
• process and if there's going to be a moratorium exception process, how that looks, because that seems
• Metro has done an exceptional job at doing this.
• Um Metro has done a exceptional to live.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He said, except that you can't take out your favorite cocktail.
• There is no exception written into that law for an agent of a licensee.
• There is no exception written party.
• There is no exception written into<00:44:38.400> that<00:44:38.640> law<00:44:38.880>
• <01:17:11.440> to will be given to for that exception to will be given to for that exception

Keywords: 1191, senate, all