Transcript Highlights:

• And then if that child has abnormal screening results, they need to have a diagnostic test performed
• Now that I’ve shared with you just a little bit about what our standards are and we evaluate hearing
• test performed by an audiologist<00:18:50.480><c> no</c><00:18:50.640><c> later</c><00:18:50.880><c>
• </c><00:19:34.120><c> hearing</c><00:19:34.440><c> loss</c><00:19:34.760><c> for</c> and we evaluate
• hearing loss for and we evaluate hearing loss for newborns<00:19:35.840><c> let</c><00:19:35.960><c>

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Roll Call 00:00:10 SB 6 Discussion 00:40 SB 6 Vote 00:13:30 Cochlear Implants 00:16:25, 958, all

Summary: The Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee heard Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Senate President Robert Stivers, which would create an endowed research fund to support collaborative university research in Kentucky. Stivers described the bill as an extension of earlier higher-education research efforts, arguing that Kentucky should build research “hubs” by requiring or encouraging partnerships among universities and outside entities, with potential focus areas including health care, engineering, aerospace, agriculture, and other emerging fields. He said the proposal would establish five research tranches over five years and sought a $30 million endowment for each, generating annual interest to fund consortium-based research and leverage additional private and federal dollars. Senators Frommeyer, Neal, Givens, Boswell, and Richardson spoke in support, emphasizing economic development, job creation, and examples from other research clusters such as Boston and North Carolina’s Research Triangle. The committee voted 12-0 to report the bill favorably to the Senate floor. The committee then received a presentation from Dr. Matthew Bush of the University of Kentucky on pediatric hearing loss and cochlear implants. Bush explained that early hearing detection and intervention is critical because hearing loss in newborns is a neurocognitive emergency that affects language, literacy, and long-term outcomes. He outlined national screening benchmarks, Kentucky’s incidence of childhood hearing loss, and the high educational and societal costs of untreated hearing loss. Bush also highlighted disparities in rural and western Kentucky, where children face delayed diagnosis, longer waits for hearing aids or cochlear implants, and more difficulty accessing follow-up care. He described cochlear implants, the multidisciplinary care they require, and research showing improved language development, quality of life, and cost savings when children are treated early.

Transcript Highlights:

• Contractors are required to perform that work at an outdated wage rate.
• Contractors are required to perform that work at an outdated wage rate.
• Contractors are required to perform that work at an outdated wage rate, even though higher rates have
• been posted by DIR, which results in them having to perform that extra work that was requested by the
• What was posted at the time of advertising, forcing them to perform that work at a loss, which this bill

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What task is it trained to perform? If it's not a dog, it's not a service animal.
• If it doesn't perform a task, it's not a service animal.
• Postal Service postmarks and their effect on mail-in ballots, directs the Secretary of State to evaluate
• The Secretary of State is to evaluate the adequacy of mail-in ballot dropbox placement and usage, and
• criteria for exemption from the provisions of the bill, and the amendments would include individuals who perform

Keywords: 1146, all

Transcript Highlights:

• All we can do is evaluate each bill on its merits and vote what we think is right.
• All we can do is evaluate each bill on its merits and vote what we think is right.
• landfill in Toneytown, Arkansas, owned by Waste Management, and I can tell you that ADQ has not performed
• There are... ...has not performed any of these functions. They are the guard dog that doesn't bark.
• It was a very convincing performance yesterday.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• that in a controlled environment and understand how those materials and fuels are going to... ...perform
• This is our high-performance computing center. We call it the Collaborating Computing Center.
• fuels and materials fabrication, characterization, irradiation, and then post-radiation—how did it perform
• I'll talk about the MARVEL, which stands for Microreactor Applications Research, Validation, and Evaluation
• MARVEL stands for Microreactor Applications Research, Validation, and Evaluation.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• She suggested that the medication should be treated as one of the options in an evaluation, similar to
• You're doing an evaluation. And then this is on a list of options.
• know how to properly say it, but they have a standard in a statute that all of us facilities that perform
• if the patient gets STD testing and doesn't, it's one flat fee that the state pays for us just performing
• So it has a flat fee for an exam being performed.

Summary: The committee first met in executive session and took up House Bill 3174 by Representative Justice. Members adopted two committee amendments: one removed the bill’s mapping provisions so that the vendor-list portion could move forward separately, and another required schools to have at least one master key box for emergency responders. The amendments were rolled into a committee substitute, which the committee then voted do pass on a 10-0 roll call. A second executive-session bill was postponed until the following week because of a family emergency involving Representative Williams. The committee then heard Senate Bill 982, a cleanup and reorganization bill dealing with Missouri’s sex offender registry and related registration rules. Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman said the bill was intended to align the registry statutes with prior changes, clarify tiering and registration requirements, address offenders with ties to Missouri but living elsewhere, and improve information-sharing rules for law enforcement and victims, including notice when a registrant dies or moves. Testimony in support came from the Missouri Alliance for Family Restoration, which said the bill codifies case law and reduces administrative confusion for the Highway Patrol and registrants. No opposition was offered. The committee also heard House Bill 3414, which would create a state offense modeled on a federal online-fraud law to help law enforcement pursue internet-based fraud, including schemes involving credit cards, account numbers, telecommunication identifiers, and similar access devices. The sponsor and a law-enforcement witness said the bill would give investigators another tool against increasingly common fraud, including elder fraud and VoIP-based schemes; a Maverick convenience stores representative also supported it as a response to changing technology. No opposition was presented. Finally, the committee heard House Bills 2628 and 3460, the CARE Act, which would require hospitals and health facilities treating sexual-assault survivors to inform patients about emergency contraception, provide it if requested, test and treat for sexually transmitted infections, and seek reimbursement through the Department of Public Safety. Sponsor Jacqueline Zimmerman said the bill is meant to reduce trauma and prevent pregnancies resulting from rape, and witnesses from sexual-assault nursing, reproductive-health, anti-poverty, medical, and nursing organizations supported it as a way to standardize care, especially in rural areas. Several members raised questions about whether the bill would require abortion-inducing drugs, whether hospitals could opt out on conscientious grounds, and how reimbursement would work; the sponsor said she intended to add language excluding abortion-inducing medications and that the current DPS forensic-exam payment structure would not change. No votes were taken on the later bills in the portion of the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• As a result, I was effectively forced to rely on a cooling system that could not adequately perform its
• clarity to housing projects by establishing clear rules of the road for how housing projects are evaluated
• SB 330 brought much needed clarity to housing projects, to how housing projects are evaluated by local
• juggle the multiple inspections required for a few housing projects while also having to travel to perform
• If you notice on the back, there's about 40 virtual inspections that they perform.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In December to January, FPC performs a detailed cash flow analysis on state projects and on some larger
• And I'll get into some detail later on how we actually perform that.
• carryovers that we have, the $1.4 billion of carryovers, are projects you just simply could not actually perform
• Then the bids have to come back and be evaluated and approval of the bids.
• Then the bids have to come back and be evaluated and approval of the bids.

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We do not charge for our services, and because of this, we remain independent evaluators.
• Despite that, the two campuses here are some of our highest-performing across the network.
• They perform well in retention, attendance, and college and career readiness.
• The Continuing Adequacy Evaluation Act of 2004 requires the education committees to review and monitor
• They may not be performing as well in the traditional classroom.

Summary: The House and Senate Education Committee first approved minutes from February 2 and 3, then took up an interim study proposal on adult education and the Excel Center model. Representatives from Goodwill Industries of Arkansas, the Excel Center network, and the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities testified that roughly 300,000 Arkansans over age 19 lack a high school diploma or GED, and argued that the Excel Center provides a supported diploma pathway for adults who struggle with GED testing. Witnesses highlighted wraparound services such as free child care, transportation assistance, tutoring, life coaching, and career services, and cited outcomes including high retention, growing enrollment, and research showing higher employment and earnings and lower criminal justice involvement for graduates. Committee members raised questions about the state’s role, existing adult education programs, and how the study would be structured; the motion to adopt the ISP passed, though there was some procedural disagreement about when questions should have been taken. The committee then heard a detailed adequacy funding overview from BLR staff Katie Walden and Adrian Beck on Arkansas K-12 education finance. They reviewed national funding principles and explained Arkansas’s system, including state and local revenue sources, the Public School Fund, the Educational Excellence Trust Fund, the Educational Adequacy Fund, and the Facilities Partnership Program. Staff said K-12 state and local revenues totaled $6.6 billion in 2025, with foundation funding making up the largest share of district and charter funding, followed by additional, categorical, and supplemental funds. They also explained the matrix-based foundation formula, the role of the uniform rate of tax, and how categorical and supplemental funds support areas such as alternative learning, English learners, special education high-cost cases, teacher salary equalization, declining enrollment, and student growth. Members asked several follow-up questions about how specific funding categories are defined and used, including student support staff, instructional aides, special education high-cost occurrences, ALE funding, teacher salary equalization, and the inclusion of Excel Center amounts in state-local funding totals. Staff said some of those details would be addressed in a later presentation and offered to provide additional records, including district lists and historical information. The meeting ended after the funding overview, with no additional votes or actions beyond the ISP adoption and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Faulkner talked about that they have seen, and some probably well-intended but rather ignorantly performed
• My professional work focuses on the design, review, and evaluation of life safety systems that protect
• Proper evaluation requires understanding fire resistance ratings and barrier continuity, dynamic versus
• 2016 edition all the way to the 2025 edition states that acceptance testing of dampers shall be performed
• These inspections, we perform a lot of these inspections, and one of the things I just want the committee

Summary: The committee first met in executive session and voted House Bill 1867 do pass by a 15-1 roll call. It then considered House Bill 2394, where a committee amendment changing “get” to “obtain” was adopted and rolled into a substitute. Testimony focused on efforts to work with plumbers and pipefitters on the bill’s scope, but the committee proceeded with the substitute, which passed do pass by a 10-7 vote. House Bill 2600 was then amended with clarifying language about petition signatures tied to the most recent gubernatorial election in the district, rolled into a substitute, and passed unanimously 17-0. The committee then held public hearings. House Bill 1906, sponsored by Rep. McGaugh, would remove township counties from a restriction so they can offer installment property tax payments like other counties. Support came from county collectors and a collector-treasurer, who said taxpayers want the option; one member suggested adding monthly payments as well. No opposition testified. House Bill 3003, sponsored by Rep. Steinmeyer, would require regular inspection and qualified testing of fire, smoke, and combination dampers under statewide standards, with documentation, reporting, and penalties for noncompliance. The sponsor and several witnesses from the fire protection and sheet metal industries said the bill would improve public safety and accountability; one opponent argued the certification standard was too broad, the penalties too steep, and the fiscal impact too high. The hearing also included discussion of hospital inspection cycles, local code variation, and the need for qualified inspectors. Finally, House Bill 2898 was heard. Rep. Owens described it as a revival of the land bank legislation previously enacted but struck down because of an unrelated amendment; the bill would restore land bank authority, expand eligibility beyond the original cities, and adjust St. Louis County appointment language to align with the county charter. Supporters from realtors, St. Louis County, municipal groups, and Springfield said it would help clear title, repurpose vacant properties, and return land to productive use, while one opponent argued the bill could weaken tax-delinquency protections and raise costs. No committee vote was taken on the public hearing bills, and the committee adjourned after closing the hearing on House Bill 2898.

Transcript Highlights:

• effectiveness of the program, including competitively selecting SFOs and managing them based on specific performance
• amendment directs the department to address costs, requirements, roles, timelines, procurement, and performance
• Department of Education to establish a competitive selection process for SFOs and a series of rigorous performance
• first, let me respond because I now have help from a friend, to Senator Harold's concern about IEP evaluations
• properly, we've heard from several testifiers that a software solution... ...concern about IEP evaluations

Summary: The Senate Appropriations Committee met with a quorum present and took up two bills. The first, SB 250 on rural communities by Senator Simon, was described as a broad rural development package creating an Office of Rural Prosperity, a Renaissance grant program, housing and transportation investments, added funding for rural education consortiums, and health care initiatives for rural areas. Senator Harrell asked about overlap between road funding programs, and the sponsor explained that eligible counties could receive both SCRAP and FARM funding. Several organizations waived in support or spoke in support, and the bill was reported favorably by unanimous vote. The committee then heard SB 318, the committee substitute for educational scholarship programs by President Gates. The bill was presented as a response to Auditor General findings about the rapid growth and administration of Florida’s school choice and scholarship programs. It would separate Family Empowerment Scholarship funding from the FEFP, require more frequent student enrollment verification, lower scholarship funding organization administrative fees, require return of overpayments, create a student ID system, establish a $250 million stabilization fund, require annual audits, and direct DOE to recommend future program administration through competitive procurement. Gates also offered five amendments, including technical changes to eligibility documentation and a substantive amendment requiring a DOE report on future administration and competitive selection; all five amendments were adopted. During debate and public testimony, senators and witnesses discussed accountability, software solutions, reimbursement delays, monthly attestations, and impacts on public schools and families. Supporters and opponents alike raised concerns about bureaucracy, fraud prevention, special education services, and whether the bill would help or burden parents. Gates said the bill aimed to fix tracking and payment problems without capping the program, and he noted the IEP timeline would be aligned with public school timelines. After debate, the committee reported CS for SB 318 favorably by unanimous vote, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, the bill grants these operators access to criminal history record information from DPS to evaluate
• employees. can only be used for evaluation purposes.
• The engineer must have a branch of engineering applicable to the duty they are performing, as designated
• House Bill 23 attempts to increase efficiency by allowing third-party reviewers to approve plans and perform
• If you see the exhibit here in front of you, you'll see some of our time frames for performing reviews

Bills: SB2784, HB23, HB247, HB1533, HB2011, HB2013, HB2273, HB2421, HB2464, HB3120, HB3424, HB3575, HB3788, HB4370, HB4809, HB5057, HB5084, HB5534, HB5668, HJR34, HB23, HB247, HJR34

Keywords: Somervell County, hospital district, board of directors, elections, local governance, staggered terms, third-party review, property development, local government, permits, construction inspection, regulatory authority, land development, liability, occupancy certificate, border security, tax exemption, ad valorem, real property, infrastructure

Transcript Highlights:

• It does three things with regard to performance measures.
• Most automakers establish performance measures for the dealers based on previous sales.
• amendment requires that the manufacturer make available to dealers a written description of how such performance
• SB 936, the Automation Impact Study, is a study to evaluate the effects of artificial intelligence, robotics
• It would also evaluate the preparedness of Florida's workforce for an AI-driven economy, as well as provide

Summary: The Commerce and Tourism Committee heard and favorably reported several bills. SB 1672 removed duplicative state provisions related to labor pools; CS/SB 940 prohibited third-party sale of restaurant reservations without the restaurant’s consent; and CS/SB 1820 made changes to motor vehicle manufacturer and dealer franchise law, including disclosure of performance measures, anti-retaliation protections, and limits on franchise termination or nonrenewal. The committee also approved CS/SB 324, creating a revolving loan program to help small businesses affected by prolonged public works construction, and SB 936, which creates a recurring three-year study of the effects of AI, robotics, and automation on Florida’s workforce and economy. SB 1322, the Florida Rural Jobs Act, was amended and reported favorably to encourage private investment in rural small businesses through a state tax credit program. The committee also reported favorably on CS/SB 910, which regulates for-profit veterans’ benefit assistance services, and CS/SB 656, which extends protections from extraordinary collection actions to all bill-of-care payment actions by hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. The committee spent substantial time on CS/SB 1264, a broad Department of Commerce agency bill. The strike-all amendment added or revised provisions on Secure Florida, the RISE venture capital tax credit program, data center tax exemptions, business development classifications, military land transfers, and other economic development matters, while also repealing regional planning councils from statute. That repeal drew extensive opposition from local officials and regional council representatives, who argued the councils are important for emergency management, grant writing, planning, and support for small and rural communities. Supporters of the amendment said the councils could continue locally without state statutory involvement. After debate, the amendment was adopted and the bill was reported favorably, though Senators Davis and Smith voted no. The committee also considered CS/SB 1238, which would tighten reemployment assistance rules by disqualifying claimants who fail to meet job-search requirements or refuse work, and by adding verification and reporting requirements. Supporters framed it as adding guardrails and preventing fraud, while opponents argued Florida’s unemployment system is already difficult to access and that the bill would add unnecessary barriers and costs. Despite opposition from labor and advocacy groups, the bill was reported favorably, with Senators Smith and Arrington voting no. Finally, the committee unanimously recommended confirmation of Alexis Yarborough and John Gilbert to the Board of Supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Transcript Highlights:

• The way the groundwater temperature impacts our system design performance is I mean, it's factored in
• the system is first engineered, so the groundwater temperature doesn't necessarily go to the cost performance
• I'm not an HVAC engineer, but I think we're looking at a term that's called COP, coefficient of performance
• As part of this work, Fresh Energy is evaluating the role hydrogen can play in building a carbon-neutral
• It does require high purity water to run through that system, so we're still evaluating if it's something

Transcript Highlights:

• OF IV HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND ADMINISTERED OZONE GAS INTO HIS VEINS NUMEROUS TIMES AND ADDITIONALLY PERFORMED
• EDUCATORS INVESTIGATION FOUND THE DOCTOR FAILED TO APPROPRIATELY EVALUATE OUR MOTHER'S CONDITION AND
• THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE, JURIES WHO EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE.
• FINALLY, AFTER THREE DAYS, DOCTORS INFORMED US THEY WOULD BE PERFORMING SURGERY.
• WHEN HIS MOTHER ASKED THE SURGEON WHY THEY WAITED SO LONG TO PERFORM SURGERY OR INVESTIGATE THE BLOOD

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This will allow the agency to perform our constitutional statutory duties and continue my attempts to
• I was performing other duties yesterday. I didn't see that. It was good.
• So it is just part of the evaluation process that the state goes through to determine what is the best
• We also have a technical group that assesses eligibility, evaluates applications based on established
• the really nuts and bolts of how they are going to do this, whereas we're looking more about past performance

Bills: SB 1, SB1

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

Transcript Highlights:

• Line 15 is the biosolids and sewage sludge technical evaluation panel report.
• bioolid and sewage<00:08:25.840><c> sledge</c><00:08:26.240><c> technical</c><00:08:26.720><c> evaluation
• </c><00:08:27.280><c> panel</c> sewage sledge technical evaluation panel sewage sledge technical evaluation
• performance of Mstead County's<00:32:04.720><c> C</c><00:32:05.120><c> groundwater</c><00:32:05.760>
• It requires the department to conduct rulemaking and directs them to conduct a study to evaluate the

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Agriculture Conference Committee met for an initial organizational and comparison session on House File 2446, the agriculture broadband and rural development bill. Members introduced themselves, noted that no conference target had yet been set, and agreed to begin with a side-by-side review of House and Senate positions. No oral testimony was taken; instead, the chair listed written testimony submitted by a wide range of agricultural, environmental, local government, food bank, and industry groups. Nonpartisan fiscal staff walked through the major funding differences. Both bills included some shared items such as operating adjustments, wolf and elk damage compensation, and certain technical changes, but they differed on several major appropriations. The House generally proposed larger increases for meat inspection, local food purchasing, and the Board of Animal Health, and added items such as county inspector grants, biofertilizer innovation, a biosolids/PFAS-related study, a soil health study, broadband installation study funding, an Agri Works program, an Agri Support program, a milk grant program, and several House-only transfers and grants. The Senate included items such as a climate coordinator position, biofuel-related reductions and policy changes, livestock processing funding, farm-to-school and urban agriculture changes, MARL funding, cottage foods licensing updates, and several Senate-only pass-through grants and transfers. Staff also noted differences in the agriculture emergency account transfer approach and in how the two bodies handled the Second Harvest Heartland and related food distribution provisions. House Research then reviewed the policy language differences in the bill. The House language included provisions allowing more flexible use of grant administration funds, unpaid prior-year claims, county inspector grants, and updates tied to its own policy article, while the Senate language included the climate coordinator, PFAS-related commercialization language, cooperative development grant permissive language, and other Senate policy changes. The committee did not take any votes or final actions at this meeting; the session was informational and focused on identifying differences for later negotiation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Mitchell is Kentucky Power's larger plant and is coal-fired and has performed well over the past cold
• 42.560><c> has</c> larger plant and is coal-fired and has larger plant and is coal-fired and has performed
• <00:15:43.160><c> well</c> performed well performed well uh<00:15:44.520><c> over</c><00:15:44.760><c
• And so, anytime you evaluate replacing or retiring an asset, you do it based on the economics of what
• </c><00:51:11.880><c> replacing</c> And so, anytime you evaluate replacing And so, anytime you evaluate

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:01:28 Introduction of Guests 00:02:08 American Electric Power and Kentucky Power Presentation 00:03:31 SB 89 Discussion 00:53:55 SB 89 Roll Call Vote 01:07:46, 958, all

Summary: The committee met for an initial natural resources hearing with a quorum present and introductory housekeeping, including prayer, roll call, and recognition of guests. Chair Smith outlined ground rules for questions and then invited Kentucky Power and American Electric Power representatives to the table to discuss a proposed plan involving the Mitchell Power Plant and future generation needs in Eastern Kentucky. Witnesses Cindy Wiseman, Alex Vaughn, and AEP CEO Bill Fehrman said the company’s goals are to stabilize and lower rates, reduce rate volatility, and expand generation in the Commonwealth. They explained that Kentucky Power seeks legislative authority to securitize its 50% interest in the Mitchell coal plant, describing securitization as a refinancing mechanism that would lower annual plant costs by about $34 million and help offset roughly one-third of the expected cost of adding new generation in Kentucky. They emphasized that the proposal is not intended to close Mitchell, and said Kentucky Power currently has no plan to divest its interest; the company still needs the plant to serve customers while it pursues additional dispatchable generation in Kentucky. Members pressed the witnesses on the plant’s book value versus fair market value, whether the Mitchell interest had ever been assigned a nominal value, how any divestiture proceeds would be handled, whether Kentucky Power owns Wheeling Power, and how long Mitchell can continue operating. The company said it values Mitchell at net book value for accounting purposes, not fair market value, and explained that Wheeling Power is a separate AEP affiliate and that West Virginia affiliates have already proposed securitization of their share. Witnesses said Kentucky Power’s interest cannot technically operate past 2028 without additional environmental control investment, while the West Virginia side is depreciating through 2040. They also described the financing timeline, saying securitization would require enactment of legislation, a PSC financing order, bond issuance, and then parallel work to acquire or build new generation, with any reinvestment terms to be addressed through the regulatory process.

Transcript Highlights:

• thus far um I do their performance thus far um I do appreciate<01:31:20.639><c> the</c><01:31:20.719
• Senator Waters then asked whether the Department had done any evaluation of effectiveness.
• Senator Waters asked whether the Department had done any evaluation of effectiveness.
• Senator Waters then asked whether the Department had done any evaluation of effectiveness.
• Senator Waters asked again about any evaluation of effectiveness that the Department of Education has

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• in our motion picture, the uh performers in our motion picture, television,<00:29:49.520><c> and</c>
• The commission supports the reduced initial fee amounts for evaluative mediation and binding arbitration
• </c><00:35:43.760><c> mediation</c><00:35:44.400><c> or</c> the use of evaluative mediation or the use
• of evaluative mediation or binding<00:35:45.280><c> arbitration.
• remediation and binding for evaluative remediation and binding arbituration<00:36:18.880><c> and</c>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several measures. HB 1957, relating to safe entryways, would create enforcement procedures in large cities to prevent personal property from blocking private doorways or entrances. The Department of the Attorney General supported the concept but recommended moving the offense to the criminal code, adding clearer definitions to avoid vagueness, and including notice, inventory, storage, and property-disposition procedures to address constitutional concerns. No other testimony was offered and no questions were raised. HB 25003/HB 253, relating to fireworks, would expand civil asset forfeiture for certain fireworks offenses, revise the definition of aerial device, and clarify air-delivery offenses. The Attorney General supported the bill but suggested removing the 25-pound weight threshold to avoid unequal treatment of similar offenses. The Department of Law Enforcement also supported the measure, saying it would improve clarity for evolving fireworks investigations and prosecutions. The committee took no action during testimony. HB 2137, relating to artificial intelligence, would prohibit certain harmful uses of realistic AI-generated digital imitations, require disclosures, and create civil remedies and fines. The Commission on the Status of Women supported the bill, while the Hawaiian Islands Republican Women opposed it on First Amendment grounds. The Motion Picture Association, Recording Industry Association of America, and SAG-AFTRA also opposed the bill but said they preferred a different framework, the federal “No Fakes” model, and were willing to work with the committee on amendments. The Attorney General had suggested constitutional amendments, which the chair said would be considered later. The committee also heard HB 2198 on prediction markets, with the Honolulu prosecutor strongly supporting inclusion of prediction markets in the gambling definition because of concerns about speculative betting on events and national security-related outcomes. HB 1511 on consumer protection drew support from the Office of Consumer Protection and the Insurance Division, with OCP proposing clearer disclosure for license and registration renewal solicitations. HB 1897 on condominium alternative dispute resolution received supportive comments from the Real Estate Commission and CI. HB 1642 on crypto kiosks drew strong support from OCP and AARP Hawaii for a ban on kiosks accepting U.S. currency, but opposition from Hill Ventures, which argued for regulation and guardrails instead of a ban. HB 1753 on social media account deletion received supportive comments from DCCA on clarifying deletion of unique identifiers and inferences. HB 1654 on anonymous complaints against public employees drew strong opposition from the Attorney General over implementation and due process concerns, while the Government Employees Association supported it as a way to screen baseless complaints; the committee then moved on to HB 1659 on collective bargaining, with testimony beginning as the transcript ended.