Transcript Highlights:

• Lift Funds is in Texas, but we are funding loans that they do in New Mexico.
• The prices of their supplies and the cost of labor have been going up, but they're really reluctant to
• And then there's some significant investments being made on the Texas side too.
• And that's from the crane operators, because they're all coming from Oklahoma and Texas, whether it's
• They're getting their checks and they're going back to Oklahoma and Texas.

Transcript Highlights:

• Labor is about another 50% of the total, and I believe it's been represented in most of these, of the
• It's just the labor is not as much as most people think in these projects.
• Its labor cost is 23% of an overall project on average.
• Because they have to comply with zoning, building codes. They just want to know the rules.
• It's called the procurement code.

Transcript Highlights:

• The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Texas, Mr.
• recognizes the gentleman from Texas, Mr. recognizes the gentleman from Texas, Mr.
• <02:20:34.560> to of title 5 United States Code to of title 5 United States Code to authorize
• Army and Navy during World War II to serve as code readers.
• Army and Navy during World War II to serve as code readers.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Thursday, May 21, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This has been three years in the making, and to finally start to see the fruits of that labor, really
• You can see a lot of our customers come from southern New Mexico and western Texas.
• Under New Mexico code, we show that it's a violation. It is online gaming.
• Which we're in District 6, which is in Denton, Texas, and we know what's going on in Texas.
• Madam Chair, Representative, and as what happened in Texas as well, I was managing Sonom Park and then

Transcript Highlights:

• This would Align our election dates to be similar to how Texas is structured.
• I will say this morning while we were in session, we had an agreement between labor and the industry.
• So, I will be updating that to the agreement between labor and industry at this time.
• With the CIB board and Larry Broke, I don't know the organized labor.
• of Oklahoma is putting out are actual, factual, and in complete alignment with our administrative code

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ,<02:14:52.639> and officers from New Bronals, Texas, and officers from New Bronals, Texas
• I was Texas town called Sweetwater.
• wonder has my colleague from Texas wonder has my colleague from Texas condemned<02:23:04.319>
• Gentleman from Texas is recognized.
• <07:49:42.478> The Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back. The Texas. Mr.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This report is issued under authority of Arkansas Code Annotated 10-3-2.
• And is it in code that can only be that one entity? No, it's in a special language.
• That's the ACES code for public school fund. Thank you. What is that? What does that stand for?
• That's the ACES code for public school fund, so it's an accounting code. No, thank you, Mr. Chair.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics. This slide shows district salaries.

Summary: The committee first approved the May 18 meeting minutes and then received a Legislative Audit presentation summarizing Arkansas Department of Education grant distributions for fiscal year 2025. Auditors said the department distributed about $4.6 billion in grants overall, including $3.2 billion from the Public School Fund, $1.1 billion in federal funds, and $268 million from other state and miscellaneous sources, across 56 Public School Fund programs, 14 other state programs, and 29 federal programs. Members asked about specific recipients and programs, including ClassWallet, master principal bonuses, Economics Arkansas, and CDC surveillance funding; audit staff and Department of Education representatives explained that the report was only a distribution summary and not a recipient-level audit. Members also questioned why many districts showed lower funding, and staff said the decline was largely due to reduced federal and one-time COVID-related funds. Senators and representatives also discussed whether some incentive programs, such as master principal and national board bonuses, were tied to student outcomes, and whether Economics Arkansas was the sole entity named in special language for financial literacy funding; department staff said they would follow up on several details. The committee then heard a Bureau of Legislative Research presentation on consumer price index projections from Moody’s Analytics and S&P Global, with discussion of CPI-U and core CPI estimates for future fiscal years. Dr. Carlos Silva explained that the forecasts generally trend toward about 2 percent over time and that recent projections may have understated actual inflation because of recent shocks. Members asked about the accuracy of past projections, and he said he would provide more detail later if needed. The bulk of the meeting focused on the final adequacy report on teacher recruitment, retention, and salaries. BLR staff reported that Arkansas had about 32,800 teachers and 473,000 students in 2025, with a statewide student-to-teacher ratio of about 14 to 1, average teaching experience of 11.9 years, and a slight increase in National Board Certified teachers. The report found that districts with higher poverty and minority concentrations generally had less experienced teachers, and that teacher shortages remained widespread, especially in special education, math, science, and foreign language. Members asked about licensure exceptions, alternative preparation pathways, incentives for ESL and special education endorsements, and the cost and return on investment of traditional versus alternative routes. Staff said some licensure exceptions are being phased out under Act 304 of 2025 and that they would follow up on several requested details. The report also found that teacher retention averaged 87 percent statewide in 2025, with districts retaining teachers at higher rates than charters, and that 30 percent of surveyed teachers were considering leaving the profession. Principals and teachers identified school leadership as the strongest positive factor in recruitment and retention, while workload and salary were the strongest negative factors. On salaries, BLR reported a statewide average teacher salary of $60,254 in 2025, with districts averaging $60,458 and charters $55,724. Arkansas ranked 45th nationally on average teacher salary in 2025, though its cost-adjusted ranking improved to 36th; among SREB states it ranked 12th, and among neighboring states it ranked fourth. Members asked about starting salaries, salary compression, district step increases, and whether the report should be shared more broadly with educators and school leaders. Staff said they would provide follow-up information on several questions, and the committee took no formal action beyond receiving the presentations and asking for additional data.

Transcript Highlights:

• We took every ZIP code in Zillow and coded it by income, and we looked at the rent changes in those ZIP
• codes in the lowest-income quarter of ZIP codes in the U.S.
• We took every ZIP code in Zillow and coded it by income, and we looked at the rent changes in those ZIP
• codes in the lowest-income quarter of ZIP codes in the U.S.
• codes in the lowest-income quarter of ZIP codes in the U.S.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee on Housing and Homelessness Prevention heard informational presentations from Housing First Minnesota and the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities on the state of housing in Minnesota. Mark Foster of Housing First Minnesota said the state has a severe housing shortage, with demand outpacing supply since the 2007-09 housing crash, and argued that Minnesota is nearly 100,000 units short of a healthy market. He said new homes are increasingly unaffordable, citing a median new single-family price above $530,000 and declining affordability in the Twin Cities metro, and he urged lawmakers to remove exclusionary zoning and other regulatory barriers that he said make starter homes and smaller-lot housing difficult or illegal to build in many growing cities. He also highlighted the group’s Housing for Heroes projects, including transitional housing for veterans and other crisis housing projects around the state. Members asked Foster about starter-home examples and his view that the committee’s top priority should be reforming residential development approvals. He said most new housing is negotiated through planned unit developments rather than built under base zoning, which he argued adds cost and reduces supply. The committee then heard from Elizabeth Wael of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, who said housing challenges outside the metro are different but equally serious. She said many Greater Minnesota cities face a lack of developers, inadequate infrastructure such as roads and utilities, and gaps in the housing continuum, especially starter workforce housing and senior housing. She thanked the committee for 2023 housing funding and said cities are contributing their own resources, updating zoning, reducing parking requirements, allowing ADUs, and partnering with developers and nonprofits. Wael also urged faster rollout of the Greater Minnesota infrastructure grant program and said the state should consider changes to the housing tax credit and housing TIF rules to make them easier to use. In response, senators said they shared frustration with the slow implementation of the infrastructure program and emphasized the need for state investment and locally tailored zoning reforms. No bills were heard and no votes were taken; the meeting was informational and focused on stakeholder testimony and committee discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• To say, labor agency, Department of Education: I know my colleagues here work with them closely; very
• rate structures, see how efforts in different departments can be coordinated, and reach out to the labor
• And to clean up the use of service codes, which was another goal of rate reform, so that both profit
• and non-profit providers of those services can be in the same service code.
• Seventeen states filed Texas v.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , so it is technical to make sure they cited the correct code.
• Code is published?
• It's a bill that amends the Louisiana Military Code.
• I'm from the state of Texas.
• The Civil Code states the legislative intent that a custody hearing may be The code states the legislative

Bills: HCR11, HB153, HB278, HB424, HB454, HB455, HB687, HB816, HB833, HB942, HB1053, HB1097, HB1147, HB1148, HB1190, SB75, SB85, SB197, SB200, SB217

Keywords: Camp Beauregard, Louisiana National Guard, Youth Challenge Program, military affairs, Pineville, National Guard training, emergency response, youth development, alternative education, high school equivalency, GED, at-risk youth, leadership training, job skills, citizenship, veterans, state military operations, mobilization, logistics staging area, public service

Summary: The committee first adopted a three-minute rule for the rest of the meeting by a 9-3 vote. It then took up SB 217, which would reorganize Orleans Parish courts by reducing judgeships in criminal, juvenile, traffic, and municipal courts and, through an adopted amendment, creating one civil district court with 13 judges and allowing hearing officers. Senator Morris argued the changes were based on caseload comparisons and population data; opponents from the Urban League and ACLU said the bill was driven by power rather than efficiency, relied on incomplete or inconsistent data, would strain the courts, and would reduce minority representation on the bench. The committee reported the bill favorably as amended by an 11-4 vote. The committee next considered SB 197, which would reduce the number of judges on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal by two. Senator Morris again cited filings and caseload comparisons, while opponents argued the bill ignored the intensity and complexity of appellate work, could increase backlog and costs, and would disproportionately affect Black women judges. The bill was reported favorably by an 11-4 vote. The committee also adopted HCR 11, expressing support for the Louisiana National Guard at Camp Beauregard and the Youth Challenge Program, and reported favorably SB 85, creating an insurance fund for retired St. Charles Parish sheriff’s employees. Several other measures were advanced with little or no opposition. HB 833 created the Sexual Assault Survivor Empowerment Task Force and was amended to add representatives from the coroners’ association, a survivor appointed by STAR, and a licensed clinical social worker; it was reported favorably. HB 816, with a technical correction, prohibited foreign adversaries from acquiring property near military installations and was reported favorably. HB 1053, dealing with definitions for dealers and retail dealers and allowing certain businesses to serve complimentary alcoholic beverages under agreed-upon floor amendments, was reported favorably. HB 153, as amended, removed the Office of Debt Recovery from the bill and limited it to prohibiting reporting certain criminal fines and fees to credit bureaus; it was reported favorably. SB 75, on cybersecurity reimbursement and baseline standards for local governments after cyber incidents, was reported favorably after testimony from GOSEP and others. SB 200, allowing expropriation of land near military bases owned by foreign adversaries when a court finds a threat to public health and safety, was also reported favorably after extensive testimony and discussion. Finally, HB 454, the Gracie Claire Rushing Act on chain of custody for human remains and internal organs, was converted into a substitute bill, adopted, and then introduced for further discussion, with the sponsor describing it as a transparency and accountability measure for grieving families.

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas Republicans recently reversed a longstanding SDR law in their state in the same session as they
• comfortable with the mail, but they may be that particular election day, especially the day after Labor
• The primary sometimes falls the day after Labor Day, which is always, even without the move-in churn,
• are impacted by social problems that require civic solutions, especially given that a person's zip code
• is understood to be a stronger predictor of health than their genetic code.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Election Laws held a hearing on a wide range of voting-access and election-administration bills. The largest portion of testimony focused on same-day voter registration (H. 834/S. 505), with support from Rep. Gentile, Boston and Chelsea officials, civic groups, and election administrators from Maine and Vermont. Supporters argued that same-day registration would help eligible voters who move frequently, miss deadlines, or face administrative errors, and would reduce rejected provisional ballots. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Vermont elections director Sean Sheehan testified that same-day registration has worked in their states without major administrative problems and has helped increase turnout. A Boston-based panel also described high rejection rates for provisional ballots and the burden of registration cutoffs on renters, students, immigrants, and low-income voters. A second major topic was restoration of voting rights for incarcerated people, including S. 524 and related House bills. The committee heard extensive virtual testimony from incarcerated individuals at MCI Norfolk and MCI Shirley, who said voting should be restored as part of rehabilitation, civic engagement, and reintegration. They described disenfranchisement as dehumanizing and argued that voting would help maintain family and community ties, reduce recidivism, and give incarcerated people a voice on laws affecting prisons and reentry. Rep. Erica Uyterhoeven also testified in support, saying the bill would restore municipal voting rights for incarcerated residents and align with broader efforts to expand political participation. The committee also heard testimony on bills affecting election administration and access, including a proposal to reduce or eliminate mandated early in-person voting in primaries and shorten the general-election early voting period, with supporters from the town clerks’ community arguing that low usage, staffing burdens, and costs justify the change. Opponents warned that reducing in-person early voting could hurt voters who do not use mail ballots and could disproportionately affect communities of color. Other bills discussed included decoupling the municipal census from voter registration, requiring periodic accessibility inspections of polling places, and a Somerville home-rule petition on non-citizen municipal voting and another on lowering the voting age in municipal elections. No votes or final committee actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• came reforms, dismantling the labor came reforms, dismantling the labor system.<00:24:24.320>
• movement<00:31:57.760> that building a labor movement that building a labor movement that
• That's why<04:36:47.119> Texas<04:36:47.680> Texas<04:36:47.680> Texas<04:36:48.719
• > added<04:36:49.119> more<04:36:49.359> solar why Texas Texas Texas added more
• solar why Texas Texas Texas added more solar and<04:36:49.920> wind<04:36:50.160> energy

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Thursday, September 18, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas Future, the Texas Higher Ed data website.
• Texas.
• West Texas.
• They don't have to be from the West Texas area or from rural Texas.
• see in West Texas.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I wanted to ask about, I guess, in recent years, we have seen brownouts and blackouts in Texas and in
• of electric safety engineers that are inspecting new construction to meet national electric safety codes
• Utilities are required to meet all safety codes and local ordinances. Thank you.
• of electric safety engineers that are inspecting new construction to meet national electric safety codes
• So when we deploy for an emergency, we take our skilled labor, our employees from all over the state.

Summary: The committee heard introductory remarks from Chair LaMarca and members, then received presentations on electric utility planning, transportation infrastructure, and broadband deployment. Public Service Commission staff explained how Florida’s utilities plan for reliability and cost through 10-year site plans, demand forecasting, and economic dispatch. The presentation emphasized Florida’s residential-heavy load, growing EV demand, expanding solar and battery storage, continued reliance on natural gas combined-cycle plants, and the role of nuclear power. Members asked about energy efficiency, rates, renewable options beyond solar, cybersecurity, grid resilience, data centers, and small modular nuclear reactors; the witness said efficiency programs are reviewed every five years, utilities must balance reliability and affordability, and large new loads like data centers generally must pay for their own infrastructure needs. Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue described FDOT’s five-year work program, decentralized district structure, and funding mix, noting that the agency is predominantly state-funded and prioritizes maintenance and preservation before expansion. He highlighted record investment levels, major congestion-relief projects, toll-road revenues, seaport and airport partnerships, spaceport investments, workforce and equipment needs, and emerging technology such as advanced air mobility. Members asked about project timing, MPO planning, rail and ferry funding, airport governance, winter storm preparedness, and flooding/sea-level rise; Perdue said faster delivery depends on resources, local governments lead transit operations with FDOT as a capital partner, and coastal and drainage projects are designed around storm surge and resiliency. The Office of Broadband reported on six grant programs supporting infrastructure, community facilities, digital connectivity, and future digital capacity and broadband expansion. Director Leo Garcia said the office has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars across most counties, leveraged significant private investment, and focused heavily on rural areas. He noted that broadband efforts are intended to support telehealth, education, workforce development, and economic growth, and said the state has reduced the number of unserved locations from more than 400,000 to a projected 170,000 after current awards are completed. He also said the office needs additional budget authority for the upcoming digital capacity program and that the larger federal/state broadband deployment program will be used to reach remaining unserved and underserved areas.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those that labor, labor in vain. Let not the work of this house be in vain.
• Since 2015, she has also served on the Texas Judicial Council. since 2017 and the Texas Access to Justice
• South Texas Foundation and the DNJ Alexander Foundation named a distinguished alumna from the Texas from
• Welcome to your Texas capital. Welcome to Texas. 457 The chair recognizes Mr.
• to the Texas Capitol.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm calling to order this meeting of the House Workforce, Labor and Economic Development Finance and
• infrastructure to grow our labor force. infrastructure to grow our labor force.
• And we need to ensure that we're having our state policy match up with the labor laws on the federal
• I'm making the QR codes. I hand these out to businesses.
• I'm making the QR codes. I for Canva. I'm making the QR codes.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• . the hope of the child, and the dignity of the laborer.
• I will have to say that we will maintain the same dress code for tomorrow.
• For Sunday, jeans will be permitted for a relaxed dress code.
• But for tomorrow, the dress code still remains as usual.
• Dress code, but for tomorrow, the dress code still remains as usual.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• National Library of Economic Research, and Brian Uhler, Deputy Legislative Analyst, Economy, Taxes, and Labor
• And I know that Vice President Bone is a labor market expert, so I'm going to just turn it over.
• All of the major transformations that caused in our labor market.
• California's unique in that we're split up into regions everywhere, but Texas happens to be split up
• Department of Labor, $410,000 grant. where we can provide what's really what we call industry 4.0.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• this date in 1937, one of the biggest tragedies in the natural gas industry took place in New London, Texas
• <00:03:28.400> safety<00:03:28.760> and federal code-required safety and federal code-required
• But, there are code requirements that require updating existing facilities for safety.
• So, you might end up with higher... 14,000 construction laborers and their 14,000 construction laborers
• required code. required code.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• A lot of it is moving to the Department of Labor.
• A lot of it is moving to Department of Labor.
• They have more dollars than Century Code is supposed to allow.
• With the current code that we have now?
• We're always evaluating our Century Code, our Chapter 54-10.

Summary: The committee was called to order, the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer were offered, and the minutes from the previous meeting were approved. Members then received a memo summarizing major audit items and began hearing audit presentations from the State Auditor’s Office and private auditors on a range of state agencies and organizations. Several audits were reported as clean, including the Bank of North Dakota, the North Dakota Guaranteed Student Loan Program, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the State Treasurer, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation’s flexible transportation fund, Lake Region State College, and the Department of Environmental Quality. The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association also received an unmodified opinion, though repeat findings were noted for limited segregation of duties and financial statement preparation due to its small staff. The Council on the Arts audit found two findings: payroll charged to federal awards without adequate timekeeping records, and unallowable expenditures from a restricted cultural endowment fund. The Department of Public Instruction audit identified unsupported scholarship applications in the paraprofessional-to-teacher program, though additional testing showed the funds were used for their intended purpose. The most extensive discussion centered on the North Dakota Racing Commission audit, which identified four findings: overspending the promotion fund’s 25% operating limit, grant conditions not being met, improper Breeders Fund awards, and improper procurement for advertising services. Racing Commission director Bruce Johnson acknowledged complacency and weak controls, said the agency would tighten procedures, and explained that the commission had since worked with procurement and would follow the rules more closely. Auditors also explained that the commission would now be audited every two years because of the findings. Another major discussion involved the University of North Dakota School of Law, where auditors found a lack of documentation supporting admissions decisions for post-baccalaureate programs. UND officials said they remain in good standing with the American Bar Association but agreed better documentation and tools are needed; the committee pressed for more transparency and follow-up on admissions criteria. The committee also received an update on Dakota College at Bottineau, where Minot State University reported that bank reconciliations had been brought current after a significant backlog and would now be maintained through shared services. Members requested a written follow-up report on the issues and corrective actions. Finally, the North Dakota Fair Association explained that its foundation has been dissolved and remaining funds were transferred to another nonprofit for continued support of the state fair, and the Department of Public Instruction provided an update on school meal debt, saying the reported amount was about $1.1 million from a partial district survey and that debt remains a local issue, though it could be revisited if school meal funding changes.