Transcript Highlights:

• </c> your name for the record and proceed. your name for the record and proceed.
• Thank you for listening to them. >> Thank you for your testimony.
• Thank you for listening to them. >> Thank you for your testimony.
• Go<00:47:14.800><c> for</c><00:47:14.880><c> it.</c> Go for it. Go for it.
• Thank you for Sheriff, for coming.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:21:51.440><c> eligible</c> for for uh property taxpayers eligible for for uh property taxpayers
• </c> uh roughly $500 million to the state for uh roughly $500 million to the state for for for for E12
• /c> um um propensity for for dis for for um um propensity for for dis for for families<00:48:06.400><
• So I appreciate all the questions and, uh, members, this is kind of exactly what I was hoping for, um
• for um that we would uh get a was hoping for um that we would uh get a lot<00:59:33.599><c> of</c><00

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I move for public school support in the Student Support Division for FY 2027 from the High Needs Student
• So we're meeting tomorrow with the hope that that could be the end of the game for JFAC.
• The House is hoping to get out of here Saturday. That's what you're hoping for.
• I mean, I'm hoping we'd get out tomorrow. Saturday. That's what you're hoping for.
• I see a big smile for Mr. Bybee. I think it's a hopeful smile.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee met with a quorum and first considered a trailer appropriation for House Bill 730, which changes how SNAP eligibility is determined. The committee heard that the bill would require $351,000 one-time from the General Fund for system changes in the Division of Welfare. One member argued the change was unnecessary because Idaho already has a low SNAP error rate and uses existing verification systems, but the motion passed in both chambers and received a do-pass recommendation. The committee then took up trailer actions for House Bill 898, moving the State Historic Preservation Office from the Idaho State Historical Society to the new Office of Species, Minerals, and Energy Coordination. Members discussed whether the move was requested by the governor and whether it would improve coordination and permitting efficiency; supporters said it would streamline federal review and the historical society director supported the move. The committee approved reducing the Historical Society budget by 12 FTP and $1,699,700, then approved adding the same staffing and funding to SMEC, and also adopted language exempting SMEC from certain transfer restrictions. Next, the committee considered Senate Bill 128, creating the Idaho High Need Students Fund for extraordinary special education costs. The analyst explained that the recommended one-time $5 million dedicated fund appropriation would also require a $5 million cash transfer, and that increasing special education spending could raise the state’s federal maintenance-of-effort obligation. The committee approved the $5 million appropriation and two transfers: $1 million from the Idaho Career Ready Students Program Fund and $4 million from the driver training account, all with do-pass recommendations. Finally, the committee revisited the Department of Fish and Game budget. After discussion of habitat projects, Good Neighbor Authority work, fisheries inflation, wolf depredation, communications, OITS replacements, and replacement items, a substitute motion that would have funded a larger package failed in the House, and the original motion passed instead. The committee approved a reduced Fish and Game budget package and adopted language directing the $200,000 wolf depredation enhancement specifically to wolf trapping. The meeting ended with brief discussion of the next day’s agenda and timing, including pending items such as rural health transformation and state police-related legislation.

Transcript Highlights:

• I worked for 10 years in a high school in Marin County.
• You know, they passed a K-12 ban in 2024, but they did delayed implementation for high school.
• You know, they passed a K-12 ban in 2024, but they did delayed implementation for high school.
• So they did K through 8 the first year, and in year two, they ...for high school.
• For some high schools in the early season, For some high schools in the early season, as many as half

Summary: The committee heard several education-related bills, with the most extensive discussion focused on AB 2189, AB 2615, AB 2496, AB 1750, and AB 1644. AB 2189 would create an $800,000 grant program through the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to support a statewide parent network for special education advocacy and training. Supporters said families need stronger coordination and information to navigate special education, while an opponent argued the bill could duplicate existing family-led organizations. The bill passed 6-0 and was sent to Appropriations, held on call for add-on votes. AB 2615, a cleanup bill to AB 715 on antisemitism and instructional materials, drew the most controversy. The authors said it was intended to clarify prior commitments by removing references to professional responsibility standards, refining the “factually accurate” language, and clarifying how discriminatory materials are handled. Supporters said it would help protect students from discrimination, while many educators, civil rights groups, and other organizations opposed it unless amended, warning that the factual-accuracy language could chill teaching and be applied too broadly. The committee chair and members raised concerns about implementation but ultimately supported moving the bill forward; it passed 5-0 and was held on call. AB 2496 would streamline school accountability reporting by making the California School Dashboard the primary transparency tool, phasing out the School Accountability Report Card over time, and making mid-year LCAP reporting optional. Supporters said this would reduce duplication and administrative burden while preserving access to key data; opponents worried families could lose the simplicity and accessibility of the current SARC and that the mid-year update still serves an important purpose. The bill was approved 3-0 and held on call. AB 1750, which would extend full salary for an additional five months for school employees who exhaust sick leave due to illness or injury, was supported as a dignity and retention measure but opposed by administrators over staffing and cost concerns; it passed 4-0 and was held on call. AB 1644 would require a bell-to-bell smartphone ban in TK-8 and recommend it for high school, with exceptions for instructional and safety needs; supporters said phones are harming attention and learning, while opponents argued districts had just adopted local policies and needed more flexibility. The transcript ends during discussion of that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• And look, at the same time, you make the number so high that you make it unprofitable for industry, And
• look, at the same time, you make the number so high that you make it unprofitable for the industry to
• And look, at the same time, you make the number so high that you make it unprofitable for industry, And
• look, at the same time, you make the number so high that you make it unprofitable for the industry to
• You know, the BTOs aren't as high and moisture count is, but here for rare earths, I think we've got

Bills: SB2339

Keywords: wildfire mitigation, utility liability, strict liability, electric utility, public service commission, PSC, rural electric cooperative, municipal utility, transmission provider, vegetation management, power lines, reclosers, electrical safety, wildfire prevention, grid reliability, public safety, first responders, ANSI A300, National Electrical Safety Code, community outreach

Summary: The Energy and Natural Resources Committee continued work on House Bill 1459, which concerns rare earth and critical mineral recovery from North Dakota lignite coal. Testimony from UND researcher Dan Ludo and industry representative David Straely focused on the urgency of developing the process quickly, the technical differences between extracting minerals from coal versus ash, and the potential value of elements such as terbium, dysprosium, gallium, germanium, and synthetic graphite. Straely argued the bill is constitutional, limited to minerals within the coal seam, and needed to avoid years of quiet title litigation and provide certainty for development and compensation to royalty owners. Committee members raised questions about landowner rights, compensation levels, possible amendments from the Department of Trust Lands, and whether the bill should be modified to address constitutional concerns or sunset provisions. No final action was taken on HB 1459; the chair said parties could work on language until Monday before the committee revisits it. The committee then returned to House Bill 1579, a high-load study bill with a possible energy infrastructure investment amendment. Jody Smith of the Retirement and Investment Office presented updated language adding guardrails for in-state infrastructure investing, including requiring approved projects to be underwritten and managed by a qualified investment manager or financial institution and to follow the Legacy Fund investment policy. Members discussed whether the amendment had been shared with the House sponsor and noted that the related bill 1330 was still pending, so HB 1579 was being held for the time being. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 1566, which had an amendment from the Agriculture Commissioner’s office. The committee adopted the amendment 7-0, then passed a due-pass motion on the amended bill and referred it to Appropriations, also by a 7-0 vote. Members discussed the bill’s fiscal impact, including an estimated $580,000 for two FTEs over two years, and clarified that the study component remains in the bill. Senator Gerhardt was assigned to carry the measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• Whereas for UC and CSU it is for the entire system.
• For our enrollment growth, we are letting students in now, and we are hoping that the money shows up
• I do hope that you allow this project to move forward so that the students For that.
• I thank you for your support and for the members as well, for your support for the UC students.
• For your support for the UC students.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance held an extended hearing focused primarily on University of California budget issues, enrollment, housing, and Title IX. Chair David Alvarez opened by noting the governor’s proposed 8% ongoing General Fund reduction to UC, the deferral of compact funding, and the College of the Law budget item, while emphasizing that no votes would be taken that day. Public commenters, including UC Davis employees and lecturers, urged restoration of UC funding and opposed the hiring freeze, saying cuts would worsen staffing shortages, reduce research capacity, and harm students and patients. On UC core operations, the Department of Finance said the governor’s budget maintains the compact but defers $240.8 million in ongoing support and continues a planned 7.95% reduction, while the LAO recommended rejecting the deferrals and instead making any changes in the budget year. UC San Diego’s chancellor and UC Office of the President argued the cuts and deferrals would create major campus shortfalls, force hiring freezes, larger class sizes, fewer course offerings, delayed projects, and possible layoffs. Committee members questioned whether cuts could be shifted away from students and toward administration, discussed UCOP reserves and bond debt, and noted that UC’s budget structure makes the campus-level impact larger than the headline reduction. The committee also reviewed enrollment trends and nonresident replacement. The LAO said UC resident enrollment has grown and recommended revisiting 2026-27 targets and pausing the nonresident replacement plan if state funding does not improve. UC said it has exceeded California undergraduate enrollment and nonresident replacement goals, but warned that continued growth without funding would force enrollment reductions and harm quality. Members discussed the role of nonresident and international students, tuition rates, and the value of UC as a pathway for California students and a source of talent for the state. A separate housing item covered the state’s Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program. UC reported that recent bond savings could support additional affordable beds at UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara, but the LAO and Finance noted the Legislature would need to decide how to use the $6.2 million in savings from the original projects. The committee also heard a Title IX update from UC’s systemwide civil rights office, which described campus Title IX structures, training, and policy enforcement, and said the system has been working to improve confidentiality guidance and streamline complaint processes after survey feedback showed confusion and lengthy procedures.

Transcript Highlights:

• And we hope to give you a summary of the current resources for housing in Kentucky, both on the state
• <c> for</c><00:08:09.599><c> income</c><00:08:10.000><c> aligned</c> for income options for income aligned
• for income options for income aligned options<00:08:10.639><c> for</c><00:08:10.800><c> home</c><00:
• apartments and high-end to do high-end apartments and high-end custom<00:13:39.279><c> homes</c><00:
• So, uh, we hope you can come and thank you again for the opportunity to speak. Well, very good.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:15 Roll Call 00:00:45 Discussion of Pro-Growth Housing Policies 00:02:33 Adjournment 01:17:15, 958, all

Summary: The Housing Task Force 2.0 reconvened with several new members and heard a presentation from Kentucky Housing Corporation Executive Director Winston Miller and Deputy Executive Director Wendy Smith. They framed the task force’s work as a practical effort to address Kentucky’s housing shortage, update members on the current housing landscape, summarize existing state and federal resources, and suggest areas for the task force to focus on over the coming year. KHC said its 2024 housing supply gap analysis found Kentucky is short about 206,000 housing units, split roughly evenly between rental and homeownership, and projected the gap could grow to 287,000 units by 2029 if current trends continue. They emphasized that every county in Kentucky needs more housing, that the 2008 housing crisis and loss of construction capacity remain major causes of the shortage, and that current pressures include high interest rates, rising insurance and tax costs, construction cost inflation, and housing prices and rents growing faster than incomes. KHC also said homelessness has risen in Kentucky, with point-in-time counts showing double-digit increases in recent years. The presenters reviewed existing resources, including federal programs, the Kentucky Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the rural housing trust fund, KHC mortgage and down payment assistance programs, and the state mortgage interest deduction. They said these resources are important but insufficient to close the gap, and noted that a proposed federal FY2026 budget would cut HUD programs by 44%, potentially removing about $286 million from Kentucky housing resources, though no action has been taken yet. They urged the task force to consider stronger, more flexible tools such as a revolving loan fund, a state affordable housing tax credit, and economic development and employer-assisted housing incentives, and pointed to Indiana’s housing infrastructure and regional development funds as examples. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• One Health is another high priority for us.
• I know there's a desk over there, but I'm hoping for a halo effect with the Chancellor.
• Gone to high schools to recruit like we would do for football players and the like.
• our students. and continue to develop innovative programming for high-skill, high-wage jobs within the
• We think overall this begins to provide hope for and solid cures, potentially, for how to prevent. and

Bills: SB1, SB 1

Keywords: appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Figure out what test you want to use, and if, you know, for at the high school level is it this, and
• This whole process is working for us and so we're hoping to be able to roll this out and come back to
• English learners, and changing the factor for secondary students, your middle and high school students
• It's not for everybody, but you just have to decide what, what are your expectations and have high expectations
• , for them.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for being here.
• As you know, the hub that we're all hoping for because of Arches didn't happen because of the federal
• As you know, the hub that we're all hoping for because of Arches didn't happen because of the federal
• As you know, the hub that we're all hoping for because of Arches didn't happen because of the federal
• We weren't getting compensated for that. It was just going back for free to the grid.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Grehe gave San Antonio not only Haven for Hope, but the gift of time. Mr.
• I want to focus on Haven for Hope for a minute, and I'm going to qualify a few things.
• On Haven for Hope for a minute, I'm going to qualify a few things.
• More like Haven for Hope, 90-day stays. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
• Thank you so much for Herman or Hope.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's not enough money for high-quality, sustainable public transportation, and for so many good things
• This is due to those programs being very high on the list for being ...to those programs being very high
• It was a lockdown facility, and we hoped it would be a good fit for Billy.
• It is their last hope in a long line of disappointments for their child and family.
• Just for context, I struggled with mental health throughout high school.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Ways and Means Committee held its final public hearing on the FY26 state budget, with chairs and members emphasizing that public testimony would help shape the budget and asking speakers to keep remarks brief. Committee leaders introduced members, explained the hearing process, and repeatedly thanked residents, students, and advocates for participating. No votes were taken during the hearing. Testimony focused heavily on education funding and the Chapter 70 formula. Students from Amherst, Northampton, Gateway Regional, Chester Elementary, and other districts described budget-driven cuts to electives, special education supports, paraprofessionals, counselors, transportation, and building maintenance. They urged higher Chapter 70 aid, increased minimum aid, rural school aid, and a reopening or restructuring of the funding formula, arguing that current formulas leave many districts unable to meet student needs and force local layoffs and overrides. Other speakers urged funding or protection for a range of programs and facilities, including the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute for homicide survivor services, the Museum of African American History, the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and CART/interpreter services, the Access to Counsel housing legal aid program, the Department of Mental Health and Pocasset Mental Health Center, and Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children. One speaker opposed offshore wind-related spending and urged a reset of the state’s energy approach, while another advocated ending the aircraft sales tax exemption. Committee members responded sympathetically to many speakers, asked a few follow-up questions, and several expressed support for maintaining or expanding the programs discussed.

Transcript Highlights:

• She asked who will manage this for high schools and what the requirements will be.
• Who's going to be managing this for high schools? And what are their requirements going to be?
• Yes, for high school.
• For high school, that's what I'm specifically talking about, because that's the new part. Okay.
• That's what I'm specifically talking about for high school, because that's the new part.

Summary: The committee first took up HB 987, which would move the Louisiana Geological Survey under the LSU Energy Institute to streamline energy-related programs. The author and members described it as an efficiency measure, and the committee reported the bill favorably without objection. Members then heard HB 513 on name, image, and likeness rules for intercollegiate and interscholastic athletes. The bill was presented as a product of a task force and was supported by the Attorney General’s office, coaches, and a student athlete, who emphasized the need for guardrails, education, and protections against exploitation by agents or third parties. Questions focused on high school enforcement, parental consent, and what students may legally do; the committee ultimately reported the bill favorably. The committee also considered HCR 26, which asks BESE to incorporate the science of human growth and development, including prenatal development, into science or health standards and to provide instructional materials. Supporters said it would improve science education and show fetal development more clearly, while opponents raised concerns about medical accuracy, political influence, and lack of safeguards. An amendment requiring parental consent for instruction was offered but failed on a roll call vote, and the resolution was then reported favorably. Later, the committee reported HB 608 favorably as amended to protect confidentiality of documents tied to intercollegiate athletics revenue-sharing, while preserving public disclosure of overall institutional spending. It also advanced HB 380, creating a pilot program to expand CDL workforce training through a community college and school partnership, and HB 392, which would require suicide hotline information on school websites, student ID cards, and, through amendment, visible signs in schools. The committee then reported HB 476 as amended, requiring Safe Haven law flyers in school restrooms, and began discussion of HB 682 to authorize veterans as school resource officers, with amendments addressing qualifications and training.

Transcript Highlights:

• So I'm hoping to keep some room for them in meeting four.
• So I'm hoping to keep some room for them in meeting four.
• So I'm hoping to keep some room for them in meeting four.
• So I'm hoping to keep some room for them in meeting four.
• So I'm hoping to keep some room for them in meeting four.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and we are creating really a pipeline hopefully starting in high school for our, um, educators so
• for this interim.
• Chair, I am done, and I hope that wasn't too long. I don't even know how long did I speak for.
• For years and that the work has continued for years.
• Chair Representative Robo Caballero, thank you for your question and for being so thoughtful and for

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, thank you for that question. We're not responsible for...
• We know that for us to expand and have a greater impact for our youth.
• The determination for that would be schools that have either had a gun brought on campus or a high incidence
• So thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for your presentation.
• And then moving on to page 17, 40% for indirect cost rate is really high for an IDC.

Transcript Highlights:

• And we are hoping that the money shows up a year from now to help pay for the classes and increase faculty
• When we look at university housing, we know there's such a high demand for university housing for four
• A high demand for university housing for four years.
• But CalBridge is the most successful program I know for changing that, and I hope you'll fund it.
• I thank you for your support. members as well for your support for the UC students.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Spanish for for in across the culture or across the curriculum or Spanish for teachers, not a Spanish
• Do we provide the infrastructure and support for people to actually offer high quality dual language
• clear for me.
• Ongoing PD for teachers.
• amount for Navajo?

Transcript Highlights:

• But I hope to very soon have finalized resiliency plans for a number of the utilities in this state.
• I hope so.
• Just to not be excessive, you don't want to produce a long-term profit that is unreasonably high for
• And for Mr.
• I haven't really said much about the high-voltage issue, and I've watched it and listened to it for a

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's just a hope for in the audit to better understand all of the factors that go into that and are we
• We always are hoping to present our audits in a way that is palatable for the public to navigate and
• It's just it's just<00:20:32.000><c> a</c><00:20:32.559><c> hope</c><00:20:33.120><c> for</c><00:20:33.520
• for in the audit to better just a hope for in the audit to better understand<00:20:35.919><c> all</c
• Is there a projected date that y'all are kind of looking toward or hoping for?

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:07 Attendance Roll Call: 00:13 Approval of Minutes: 02:28 2025 RS SB 9: TRS Leave Audit Requirements & Process: 03:05 2025 RS SB 10: Overview of Enacted Legislation & Discussion: 28:38 Adjournment: 42:13, 958, all

Summary: The meeting opened with roll call, a quorum was confirmed, and the minutes were approved. The committee then heard testimony on Senate Bill 9, which concerns TRS sick leave audit requirements and process. Auditor Allison Ball’s staff said the audit is an information-gathering review of how teacher sick leave is accumulated, current balances, how many employers use the sick leave function, and the policies and procedures governing sick leave. Members discussed how unused sick leave affects retirement calculations, the distinction between the state’s financial responsibility and school districts’ responsibility, and whether the audit would also examine related leave categories such as personal leave, annual leave, and leave of absence. Committee members emphasized that Senate Bill 9 was intended to add accountability and standardize reporting, including preventing annual leave from being rolled into sick leave. Several members asked for clarification on how sick leave is factored into retirement benefits. Witnesses and members explained that, under the system described, accumulated sick leave can be converted into retirement credit based on a teacher’s daily rate and then multiplied by a percentage, with the school district often bearing the cost. Members also noted nuances in the law, including different accumulation limits by hire date and tier, and that the audit may help the public better understand why some educators retire relatively young. The auditor’s office said it is still early in the process, has met with TRS leadership, and will report back once the audit progresses. The committee also asked whether maternity leave would be included; the auditor’s office said it was not specifically mandated but could be examined if the body requests it. The committee then received an overview of Senate Bill 10 from KPA representatives Ryan Barrow and Rebecca Atkins. They explained that the bill enhances retiree health insurance benefits for certain CRS members who are non-Medicare participants and meet specified career thresholds, with different rules for hazardous and non-hazardous service. They described the benefit as $40 per month per year of service for non-hazardous service and $50 per month per year for hazardous service, both inflated annually, and clarified that these amounts are not cumulative with prior benefit formulas. Members asked about the interaction between the new amounts and existing benefits, and the presenters explained that the bill also changes current employee health insurance contribution rates effective July 1, 2026, with different impacts by tier and hazardous status. The committee discussed the need for clear communication to affected employees and reviewed example calculations showing how the new contribution structure would work.