Transcript Highlights:

• Is that a resource? It's a resource. Do we have resource witnesses?
• I show five registered and two resources.
• Members, we do have a resource witness. I'm not sure that we need a resource witness.
• One of the biggest things is just providing them resources.
• And if needed, members, we have a resource witness.

Bills: HB35, HB138, HB754, HB1314, HB1612, HB2254, HB2510, HB2789, HB3560, HB3597, HB4224, HB4273, HB4643, HB4783, HB138

Keywords: peer support, first responders, mental health, confidentiality, emergency services, health impact analysis, cost analysis, coverage mandates, health insurance, legislative analysis, health care data, human trafficking, trafficking prevention, medical assistant training, health care facilities, hospital compliance, clinic compliance, anti-retaliation, whistleblower protection, employee reporting

Transcript Highlights:

• our state and of our country and those of the other countries around this world, to be able to be guided
• ultralight vehicles; SB 1602, kinship foster care; SB 1649, digital assets; SB 1711, age appropriate resources

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Guide direct their thoughts, actions, and let them show mercy where mercy is due.
• make an announcement, please. >> Yes, sir. >> I'd like to announce to the members of the Natural Resources

Keywords: Convene 00:00 Motions, Petitions, and Communications 05:54 Introduction of New Bills and Resolutions 12:03 Recess for ConC and Rules Meeting 16:14 CoC and Rules Report 18:21 Adjournment 18:57, 958, all

Summary: The House convened with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, then established a quorum with 95 members present. The journal from Friday, January 9, 2026 was approved, absent members were excused, and House Resolution 21 was taken from the Committee on Committees and brought to the floor without objection. Several committee and meeting announcements were made, including cancellations for various standing committees and notices that the Government Contract Review Committee and Oversight Investigation Committee would meet upon adjournment. The House also adopted House Citation 4, a citation of adjournment honoring Bill Nickel, with remarks describing him as a respected community member and friend. After the citation, members continued making committee announcements, including that the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Personnel, Public Retirement, and Finance would meet at noon the next day. The clerk then reported the introduction of numerous new bills and resolutions, covering topics such as grand jury service, criminal trespass, postsecondary admission and funding, sex crimes, cultured meat products, railroad crossings, firearms and concealed weapons, property tax exemptions, name/image/likeness rights, landlords and tenants, child care, child welfare investigations, government social media accounts, peace officer training, economic development incentives, residential safety, pre-trial release, and several resolutions on highways, property taxation, Medicaid waiver withdrawal, and food-as-medicine initiatives. The Committee on Committees and Rules met and referred House Bills 164, 176, 184, and 265 to Banking and Insurance, and the House adjourned without objection until 2 p.m. Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Fueled by the hope of a miracle, every resource available was committed.
• His son was lost years ago, but the C4 Foundation and Charlie were people I was guided towards for inspiration

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have uh Chief Ismael Torres from the Legislative Finance Committee that will help guide us in this
• Uh, but we're trying to be as, as thoughtful as we can with the resources that we have, and just to remind

Transcript Highlights:

• that we see a lot more larger municipalities and counties applying for that; they just have more resources
• You click on that and it'll guide you on how to download the app to make those real-time pin drop reports

Transcript Highlights:

• Let truth guide our words and let love of our neighbor guide our decisions.
• And she decided on her own that she would, with her own local resources, try and resurrect the speech
• the Florida Senate on behalf of all the poor communities, the schools where there's not a lot of resources
• Our natural resources and supporting local businesses.
• We also have on... 267, when you get down farther into historical resources and all.

Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, introductions, and a moment of silence honoring service members killed in the conflict in Iran, including Florida native Captain Cody Cork. The chamber then moved through a special order calendar, taking up several bills on education, public safety, insurance, health, and local government policy. Many measures were accompanied by sponsor explanations and supportive remarks from members, often emphasizing constituent impacts, public safety, and administrative efficiency. The first major bill, SB 1062 on speech and debate education, was expanded through a delete-all amendment and passed 37-0 after extensive floor debate praising debate programs as a civic and educational tool. SB 1072 created an anti-Semitism task force in the Attorney General’s Office; an amendment clarified that criticism of Israel is not prohibited, and the bill passed 37-0. SB 1230/HB 1019 addressed PFAS “forever chemicals,” especially in firefighting foam, with phase-outs, testing, enforcement, and exceptions for certain federal, military, and emergency uses; it also passed 37-0 and was dedicated in memory of former firefighter Joe Casello. SB 1706 expanded the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program with tighter eligibility rules, and SB 186 required broader seizure-response training and seizure action plans in schools; both passed unanimously. The Senate also approved SB 598 updating funeral and cemetery regulation, SB 990 authorizing protected cell captive insurance companies, SB 554 modernizing nonprofit corporation law, SB 560 streamlining foster care medication and oversight procedures, SB 684 easing electronic signature requirements for total-loss vehicle and vessel titles, and SB 778 revising forensic client services for certain defendants with intellectual disabilities or autism. Several bills were temporarily postponed, including SB 432, SB 928, and SB 620. Most of these measures passed by votes of 36-0 or 37-0 after brief debate or no debate. The most contentious item was SB 1134 on official actions of local governments related to DEI. The sponsor argued the bill would stop taxpayer funding and promotion of discriminatory or indoctrinating DEI practices, citing examples from several counties and cities. Multiple amendments sought to narrow penalties, protect good-faith officials, and preserve local proclamations and observances, including LGBTQ Pride Month and other cultural events, but those amendments were rejected. Debate centered on vagueness, local discretion, and whether the bill would chill legitimate government activity. The transcript cuts off during questioning on the underlying bill, before final disposition is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• functions of the office of the Senate President and coordinated the full breadth of Senate processes, guiding
• When the Senate adjourns this day, it does so in honor of Becky Haralson. guiding the Senate Republican
• Caucus guiding the Senate Republican Caucus through<01:36:16.080> a<01:36:16.200> period
• And one of the scriptures that has guided me through all this is when a man's ways please the Lord, even
• , State Government, Constituent Services, Education, Public Information, Agriculture and Natural Resources

Keywords: In an effort to stave off issues that may occur with long format live streams, we have split this stream into two parts., 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• She was a guiding light in this chamber.
• She was a guiding<00:39:22.079> light<00:39:22.240> in<00:39:22.480> this<00:39:
• <00:39:23.200> Her<00:39:23.599> study guiding light in this chamber.
• Her study guiding light in this chamber.
• The keeper of some of the best tea, and I would also say one of the most resourceful people I've ever

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• decisions regarding resource decisions regarding resource allocation<00:16:32.880> particularly
• Parents would also benefit from the ACT resources to help plan their students' futures.
• <00:28:45.960> to also benefit from the ACT resources to also benefit from the ACT resources
• <00:31:48.159> that act offers several free resources that act offers several free resources
• and paper practice tests study guides and paper practice tests study guides test<00:32:00.120>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

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• them in their pathway and and to guide them in their pathway and make<00:14:28.199> sure<00:14
• supports and interventions as resources supports and interventions as we<01:36:13.440> shared
• <01:36:21.920> and file 133 would dilute the resources and file 133 would dilute the resources
• <01:39:33.960> to tempting to expand limited resources to tempting to expand limited resources
• Together, we can ensure these resources make the greatest impact. Thank you, Chair Kunesh.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Education Finance Committee met on January 28, 2025, to receive updates on chronic absenteeism work funded in the 2024 education finance bill. The chair introduced presentations from districts in the student attendance pilot program—Minneapolis, Columbia Heights, Chisago, and Rochester—and noted that the committee would also hear the student attendance and truancy legislative study group report and later a bill from Senator Weber. The chair also thanked educational assistants and paraprofessionals for their work in schools. Minneapolis Public Schools described common attendance challenges across pilot districts, including inconsistent attendance coding, weak family communication, difficulty identifying interventions, and uneven responses to absences. The district said pilot districts want statewide definitions for absences, tardies, and exempt codes, as well as better internal dashboards and clearer procedures. Minneapolis also highlighted strategies such as attendance teams at each school, quarterly postcards to families after five or more absences, Promise Fellows, home visits, multilingual communication through TalkingPoints, and a morning nurse line to help parents decide whether a child should stay home. The district said its main attendance goal is to raise consistent attendance from 68 percent to 80 percent by 2026. In response to committee questions, Minneapolis said its main post-COVID absenteeism reason has been illness or medical issues, followed by transportation problems, and that it does not penalize students for transportation-related absences. The district said it counts secondary absences when students miss more than three periods in a day, with truancy beginning after seven such absences, while elementary students are counted absent for the full day. Members also asked about whether reduced truancy referrals reflected more attendance or diversionary supports; the district said its approach is to focus on understanding root causes and providing support rather than quickly referring students to truancy processes. The district reported improved communication, greater parent awareness, and fewer truancy referrals so far, and said the attendance team model should be sustainable because it uses existing staff with clearer direction.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think that might help sort of guide the conversation about the legislation and make a more productive
• burdensome on a tenant, whereas the landlord's got, you know, not universally across the board, but other resources
• I think that would be super helpful to guide future discussions, and that was my own comment.

Keywords: Virginia Housing Commission - Fees in Residential Rental Agreements Workgroup, 976, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And that belief continues to guide me today.
• My goal is these my legal training and business experience to help guide the board's decision-making
• One is to align our mission, our priorities and our resources to focus on student success.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• DFL Senator Lindsey Port says her bill, Senate File 1567, would remedy this by creating a new resource
• of insurance coverage, support patients contesting denials, and collect data for the legislature to guide
• of insurance coverage, support patients contesting denials, and collect data for the legislature to guide

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So it helps guide the test, or the treatment, of what it would be.
• So it helps guide the test uh or them.
• <02:13:14.719> who scientific evidence that guide who scientific evidence that guide who should
• So they're not losing time and we're not wasting resources.
• So they're not losing time and we're not wasting resources.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, again, I think it's important that I kind of guide myself with being grounded in what is the right
• Well, again, I think it's important that I kind of guide myself with being grounded in what is the right
• Well, again, I think it's important that I kind of guide myself with being grounded in what is the right
• Um, I kind of guide myself with being grounded in what is the right thing to do.
• the responsibilities in helping to guide the responsibilities in helping to guide the<00:27:10.240

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education heard several advice-and-consent nominations to the School Facilities Authority. For GM779, Shelley Pa was introduced as a nominee for a term ending June 30, 2029. The Department of Education supported her nomination, citing her large-scale operations and stakeholder-engagement experience. In her testimony, Pa said she retired from community policing, wanted to give back to teachers and students, and believed her strengths were collaboration, listening to community input, and helping balance differing priorities. Committee members questioned her about the construction and infrastructure focus of the board, her lack of direct construction experience, and how she would handle disagreements and budget limits; she responded that she would rely on collaboration, ask questions, and keep decisions centered on students, teachers, and the community while staying within budget. The committee then heard GM777 and GM778 for Robert Davis, with terms ending June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2029. Davis described more than 30 years with the Department of Education, including roles as teacher, coach, counselor, vice principal, principal, and complex area superintendent, and said he had worked on major facilities projects and managed pandemic-era funding. He emphasized communication, transparency, and trust, and explained that his experience on the Early Learning Board helped him understand how to set policy, identify schools for pre-K, and use data and community factors in decision-making. Members asked how he would handle SFA’s growing pains, the need to balance DOE wishes with practical and budgetary limits, and the board’s role when the legislature controls funding; Davis said the board must keep communication open, include the right people, and make sensible decisions that move projects forward without stalling. For GM780, nominee Michael Unbasami was introduced for a term ending June 30, 2029. The Department of Education supported him, highlighting over five decades of public service and experience in facilities management, finance, and legislative affairs. Unbasami said he had recently retired after 31 years as associate vice president for administrative affairs for the community colleges and had extensive experience with facilities planning, construction, renovation, repairs, and working within budgets. He stated that the DOE should be treated as the SFA’s client because it knows student, teacher, and facility needs best, while SFA’s role is to implement construction work and collaborate on priorities. Committee members pressed him on how to balance DOE requests with practical project delivery, especially for teacher housing and other non-classroom needs, and he said the legislature funds the work, SFA must keep projects moving, and the workflow should involve collaboration but also realistic decisions that fit the budget and avoid delays.

Transcript Highlights:

• I've also worked in communities where families have an abundance of resources.
• in underfunded and under-resourced classrooms.
• , and districts unable to continue providing key resources.
• , and districts unable to continue providing key resources.
• Finally, AB 1851 diverts time and resources away from academics.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I believe the code just said water resource districts, which ones?
• We would want to use, you know, again, our own resources.
• or putting some resources towards the effort.
• or putting some resources towards the effort.
• ...how do we find that balance and how do we align resources, and in my opinion, aligning resources at

Summary: The task force reviewed survey results from state agencies on potential statutory revisions, with Levi reporting 70 proposals from 20 agencies and noting that about 33 might become agency pre-file bills. Members discussed the need to share the survey more broadly within higher education and to better coordinate issues involving IT and other cross-agency functions. The task force then heard from the Office of Management and Budget on three topics: concessions, architect/engineering pre-qualification, and legal notices. OMB said the concessions law is outdated and inconsistent with current practice, and suggested a collaborative rewrite to allow best-value evaluation, raise the threshold, and standardize solicitation templates. On architect/engineering pre-qualification, OMB proposed expanding authority beyond current state-agency limits and creating uniform templates. On legal notices, OMB proposed modernizing publication requirements, exploring online and abbreviated notices, and working with newspapers and other stakeholders on technology and accessibility improvements. Members asked about where concession revenues go, whether political subdivisions must follow the same rules, and how to move from discussion to action. The task force agreed to have OMB work with Legislative Council and affected stakeholders to develop bill drafts, and the motion passed unanimously. The University of North Dakota then presented a series of proposed revisions focused on public buildings and procurement. UND asked to rework the definition of construction so routine maintenance and one-for-one replacements over $250,000 would not automatically trigger public-improvement requirements, suggested raising the threshold to $500,000, and asked for more flexibility based on project complexity and risk. UND also proposed changes to public bid advertisements to reflect electronic bidding, revisions to construction manager-at-risk selection criteria, changes to architect/engineer procurement rules, an increase in the direct-hire design threshold, and a higher legislative-consent threshold for privately funded projects. The task force supported having UND work with counsel and OMB to develop bill drafts, and that motion also passed. The Department of Public Instruction concluded with proposed cleanup to credentialing and education statutes. DPI recommended reviewing its credential categories for relevance, possibly transferring credentialing authority to the Education Standards and Practices Board, removing outdated school safety patrol language, clarifying waiver provisions, and updating dyslexia screening reporting requirements so the statute reflects current practice. Members focused mainly on whether the dyslexia reporting requirement should remain, and DPI said the screening itself would continue even if reporting language were revised. No votes were taken on DPI’s suggestions, and the task force recessed after the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative from the DIR and the State Auditor's Office are available as resources.
• I'm a resource witness. Mr. Chairman, Mr.
• I don't think that we, I think that by utilizing the resources that we have. and resources such as yourself
• HHSC works hard to ensure that we are responsible stewards of state resources.
• away from those priorities to work on procurement, procurement resources. They do.

Bills: HB150, HB869, HB876, HB 1043, HB1494, HB1522, HB150

Keywords: cybersecurity, state command, information resources, data protection, incident response, information technology, classification officer, job descriptions, state positions, competency-based, information sharing, government efficiency, public sector, private sector, distributed ledger, title registry, real estate, property liens, pilot program, healthcare

Transcript Highlights:

• They provide consumer-facing navigational resources and services, so that means sort of for students
• for members um if you have resource for members um if you have questions<00:43:49.240> uh<00:
• <00:43:59.400> and facing navigational resource and facing navigational resource and services
• It helps with food and agriculture, lawn and garden, public health, natural resources, and community
• It helps with food and agriculture, lawn and garden, public health, natural resources, and community

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The Higher Ed Finance and Policy Committee met to begin a budget overview for higher education. The chair noted quorum, committee member introductions, and that Democratic members were absent. The chair also said the Office of Higher Education would not be appearing for the planned budget deep dive, so nonpartisan fiscal staff would present instead. Ken Savory, the committee’s nonpartisan fiscal analyst, introduced a presentation on the higher education finance structure and timeline. Savory explained the state budget cycle, the difference between direct appropriations, statutory appropriations, open appropriations, base funding, tails, and one-time appropriations, and how those concepts apply to higher education. He described the committee’s usual budget areas: the Office of Higher Education, Minnesota State, the University of Minnesota, and the Mayo Foundation. He also reviewed historical spending charts showing higher education’s share of the general fund over time, the 2/3-1/3 funding policy in statute, and how tuition and general fund support have shifted. He noted that the FY 26-27 base for the Office of Higher Education area is about $725 million, including roughly $450 million for the State Grant program and about $99 million for North Star Promise. Members asked about comparing the current budget to earlier biennia, and staff responded that they would need to calculate the percentage difference. The chair then summarized prior budget growth, saying the previous budget was about $650 million over base and the current budget/tail was about $450 million over base. Staff also reviewed the 2024 omnibus higher education bill, including a roughly $5 million reduction to North Star Promise that was redirected to the Fostering Independence Grant program and a $500,000 appropriation for Minnesota State’s Kids on Campus program. The committee did not take any formal votes or actions during this portion of the meeting.