Transcript Highlights:

• We have 18 regional interagency commissions, and that's where these stakeholder groups will be housed
• Not every region of our state needs the same thing as Boone County or Jefferson County.
• It'll be dedicated funding not only for this program but other positive youth development programs in
• Not every region of our state needs the same thing as Boone County or Jefferson County.
• Not every region of our state needs the same thing as Boone County or Jefferson County.

Keywords: 00:00 - Call to Order/Roll Call 01:10 - Discussion of 26RS HB 669 08:25 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HB 669 09:25 - Discussion of 26RS HCR 36 13:15 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HCR 36 14:05 - Discussion of 26RS HB 686 29:20 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HB 686 30:10 - Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The House Standing Committee on Families and Children met and first adopted a House committee substitute for House Bill 669, which would protect federal benefits belonging to children in out-of-home care. The sponsor explained the bill is intended to prevent the state from using a child’s Social Security survivor, disability, or death benefits to offset care costs, instead requiring those funds to be preserved in an account for the child and made available at certain milestones or when the child leaves care. Members asked about who would oversee the funds, how annual eligibility reviews would work, and when the child could access the money; the sponsor said the cabinet would set the review process by rule and that the funds would remain available for the child. The committee approved HB 669 15-0 with favorable expression. The committee then considered House Concurrent Resolution 36, as amended by committee substitute, which creates a child welfare and family court reform task force. The substitute changed the reporting structure to send the task force’s report to the interim joint committee on families and children and the judiciary committee, rather than a now-defunct Health and Human Services committee. Supporters said the task force should review child abuse and neglect, foster care, and family court processes, and gather input from experts and people with lived experience. Members discussed whether the work should be divided into separate family court and child welfare task forces, but the resolution moved forward and passed 15-0 with favorable expression. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 686, which would establish a Kentucky Positive Youth Development Commission and a dedicated trust and agency account to support community-based youth programming up to age 25. The sponsor and witnesses said the bill responds to rising youth mental health concerns, self-harm, and suicide, and would coordinate statewide efforts, support evidence-based out-of-school programming, and provide technical assistance to local partners. Testimony emphasized the importance of connectedness, trusted adults, community-based responses, and using settlement funds from social media-related harms to youth to support the trust. Members asked about how the bill compares with other states and how the “dose-response” language relates to adverse and positive childhood experiences. HB 686 also passed 15-0 with favorable expression. The committee announced its next meeting for Thursday, March 12 at 9:00 a.m. and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• > and<00:11:10.640> trade<00:11:10.880> type a regional cap and trade type a regional
• You determine a regional cap.
• Um, one of the transport region.
• Those will be handled regionally.
• regional grid operator. regional grid operator. for<04:08:26.399> clarification.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• city and region city and region that<00:03:59.080> addressed<00:03:59.720> the<00:
• 07.240> that develop and support programs that develop and support programs that embrace<00:08
• This has expanded into the Bluegrass region as well as the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
• Now, these three focus areas: arts, community development, education.
• is<00:33:56.920> designed developing programming that is designed developing programming

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Commission on Race and Access to Opportunity met and first heard a presentation from Johnny Cole III, president and CEO of the African American Forum in Lexington. Cole described the organization’s 30-plus year history, its signature events and programs, and its mission to promote African American arts, culture, education, and community development. He said the group has reached more than 60,000 people through events and more than 90,000 students through its arts partnership work, and estimated its programs have generated about $4.5 million in local economic impact. He also outlined a proposed legacy project in Lexington’s First Council District that would include a facility, culinary kitchen, food court, mobile truck, and expanded communications and internship opportunities, and said the organization was seeking a $3 million state request to help purchase a building and expand its mission. The committee then discussed a juvenile justice funding proposal presented by Senator Catoria Herring. Herring said the bill would create a juvenile justice fund for prevention, early intervention, alternatives to detention, re-entry, and wraparound services, with money coming from state appropriations, gifts, grants, and federal funds. She said the proposal was based on her experience in juvenile justice and on concerns that the state has invested heavily in detention facilities but not enough in upstream services. She cited recent facility spending and said the bill would seek $9 million. Members asked how the fund would work, who could apply, and how it would be overseen; Herring said she envisioned a grant program open to local governments, law enforcement, nonprofits, and school districts, with reporting requirements and oversight through the juvenile justice system. No vote was taken, and the discussion ended with general support and a suggestion to adjust the request amount to a round $9 million figure.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the different balancing regions are connected together.
• And each project will have their own pace of development.
• That's where most of it is developed and where the fuel is.
• development cycle.
• a five year 6650 first development cycle that we're in right now is about a five year 6651 development

Summary: The Senate Committee on Business and Commerce held its first interim hearing on securing critical infrastructure and supply chain integrity, with a focus on Texas’s electric grid and the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act. The chair also highlighted Texas’s relatively low electricity prices and welcomed new committee members. ERCOT, the Public Utility Commission (PUC), and the Attorney General’s office were invited to explain how the state screens market participants and grid equipment for ties to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, and how the agencies respond to noncompliance. ERCOT testified that it has implemented the requirements of three related Senate bills by requiring attestations on corporate affiliations and on critical grid equipment and services. ERCOT said it has processed thousands of attestations, used additional requests for information and third-party verification tools such as Dun & Bradstreet, and terminated nonresponsive market participants. ERCOT also said it has not seen a case requiring direct Attorney General involvement, but it does refer matters to the PUC when needed. The PUC said it can investigate suspected violations and impose penalties of up to $1 million per violation per day, and that most investigations into late or missing attestations have been resolved through compliance, market exit, or removal by ERCOT. The Attorney General’s office said its role is currently limited to audits and court involvement, and that it lacks broad independent investigatory authority under the act. Members pressed the panel on whether the current system is too reliant on self-reporting and whether it adequately addresses indirect foreign influence, especially through supply chains for batteries, inverters, transformers, and other equipment with routable connectivity. ERCOT acknowledged that the current attestation process has gaps and said it plans to refine definitions of critical grid equipment and grid services, improve information requests, and continue stakeholder rulemaking. The panel also discussed possible legislative changes, including tying prohibitions to the Department of Defense Section 1260H list and the Texas Prohibited Technologies list, clarifying warranty and service access, and expanding the statute to cover grid services more directly. Several senators raised concerns about cost, reliability, and the extent to which foreign-sourced components remain embedded in Texas infrastructure, while others suggested incentives for domestic manufacturing and stronger verification tools, including possible work with national labs such as Sandia.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, Glenn Cordelli, I'm representing Tuftonboro, Wolfeboro, and Ossipee in the beautiful Lakes Region
• I am the senator for the Lakes Region as well, covering everywhere, or using my New Jersey phrase, from
• I I believe it's regional institutions.
• I'm just concerned about these regional I'm just concerned about these regional universities<00:
• <00:51:17.280> that participant in in developing that participant in in developing that screening

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard updates from the chancellors of the state university system and the community college system on ongoing restructuring, collaboration, and enrollment trends. The university system said its office move to the NHTI campus is ahead of schedule and should save students about $250,000 a year while creating revenue for the community college system. Both systems described continued work on transfer pathways, direct-admit outreach, shared advising, and broader efforts to shrink footprints, reduce costs, and improve operational efficiency in response to declining enrollment and demographic pressure. A major topic was a possible federal change to Pell Grant eligibility that would require students to enroll in at least 7.5 credits. The chancellors said most community college students are part-time because of work and family responsibilities, and that the change could affect roughly 2,000 current Pell recipients and make it harder for students to afford or sustain enrollment. Members also discussed how the state’s governor’s scholarship statute largely benefits full-time students, suggesting possible future statutory changes. The chancellors explained how credits typically work, noting most courses are three or four credits and that students would likely need to add an entire course to meet the proposed threshold. The committee also discussed the broader higher education landscape, including declining high school cohorts, competition among New England institutions, and the need to right-size capacity. One member raised concerns about the health of regional campuses such as Plymouth and Keene; the chancellors said incoming enrollment is down at UNH and Plymouth and holding at Keene, attributing the trend to demographics rather than one campus drawing students away from another. They emphasized the importance of community colleges, adult learners, and short-term workforce programs as part of the state’s future education mix. Finally, the committee touched on the value of the university system’s research enterprise. The chancellor said about $250 million a year flows into the university system in federal research grants, with about $9.5 million currently under stop-work orders from federal agencies. She said the immediate concern is not DEI-related but federal cuts and possible caps on indirect cost recovery. Members noted that the R1 research designation supports business partnerships, student opportunities, and economic development projects such as West Edge in Durham.

Transcript Highlights:

• I know the regions are sharing information. SE is sharing information.
• And moving back into those, I believe, is key for workforce development.
• So, what I would also like to know from the regions if you all contract.
• We developed an online dynamic charter school report.
• I think those are critical for our state to develop and have ready for kids.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is an exciting development for our community.
• All of this—economic development, housing, well-being—depends on infrastructure.
• Right now, we are looking at our economic development incentives.
• But it also includes things such as the economic development and impact.
• those regions.

Transcript Highlights:

• The workforce development education fund category is what I'll be talking about in the funding model
• In terms of recent history and district... the workforce development fund category.
• To have a real basic understanding as they're developed.
• And then finally, regional cost differentials. So we use the DCD in the model.
• And then finally, regional cost differentials. So we use the DCD in the model.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee for Higher Education met to review Florida’s workforce and Florida College System funding models as part of budget planning. Chair Harrell opened by emphasizing the state’s growing focus on technical education and workforce pathways, and the committee first heard from Tara Goodman of the Department of Education on district workforce education. Goodman explained the programs funded through district workforce dollars, including career certificates, applied technology diplomas, registered apprenticeship, and adult general education, and described the model’s reliance on lagged enrollment, program cost weights, local tuition offsets, and supplemental factors such as disability services, GED testing, and minimum funding for small rural districts. She also noted federal support through Perkins and WIOA and said the model is used to determine unmet need and guide appropriations. In response to questions, she said health care programs are generally among the higher-cost offerings and may be supplemented by pipeline funds. The committee then heard from Kathy Hebda, Chancellor of the Florida College System, on the college system’s funding model. Hebda described the main funding sources, including the program fund, student success incentive funds, pipeline funds, tuition and fees, and performance-based incentives, and explained that the current model was developed by the 28 college presidents under legislative direction. She said the model uses a three-year average FTE, weights workforce enrollment more heavily than non-workforce enrollment, gives significant weight to completions, includes a small-college factor and regional cost differentials, and also provides targeted funding to bring colleges up to a floor based on per-FTE funding. Senators asked about colleges below the target, cost differences among programs, faculty salaries, and health insurance costs; Hebda said the model is meant to provide flexible operating dollars that colleges can use for those expenses, but specific salary and benefit decisions are left to the institutions. Seminole State College President Georgia Lorenz also testified in support of the college funding model, saying it holds institutions accountable for enrollment and completions, can be adjusted to reflect state priorities like workforce, and addresses differences in size and regional costs. No bills were voted on, and the committee adjourned after brief closing remarks thanking Seminole State College and the presenters.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:09:16.399> air central air hubs, five regional air central air hubs, five regional air
• uh passengers presence in the region. uh passengers presence in the region.
• <00:16:03.839> fund agriculture economic development fund agriculture economic development
• cabinet for economic development cabinet for economic development secretary. secretary. secretary
• development at CPE. development at CPE.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The task force met on November 4, 2025, approved the prior minutes without objection, and then heard a presentation from Amazon on its Kentucky aviation and logistics operations. Amazon described its statewide footprint, including its Boone County air hub at KCVG, its investment of more than $60 billion in Kentucky since 2010, about 20,000 jobs in the state, and its use of Amazon Air as a middle-mile network supported by third-party carriers. The company also highlighted small-business support, community relief efforts, and workforce development through Career Choice, including partnerships with Kentucky schools and aviation maintenance training. Members asked about Amazon’s most in-demand workforce needs, future operational challenges, and whether autonomous vehicles are used on the KCVG ramp. Amazon said it would follow up on workforce-demand details, identified customer-driven innovation and culture as ongoing challenges, and said autonomous vehicles are in testing but are not part of regular KCVG operations. Amazon also emphasized sustainability efforts, including alternative aviation fuel, and said it wants to work with the legislature to expand AAF production and supply in Kentucky. The task force then heard from Secretary Jeff Noel of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Matt Wingate on the state’s aviation economic development strategy. They said aviation and aerospace are central to Kentucky’s logistics and economic-development goals, with aerospace identified as the state’s top export and air cargo as a major strength. They discussed outreach to general aviation airports, support for local grant matching, airport funding projects, workforce and education partnerships, and efforts to market Kentucky at aviation trade shows such as Paris Air Show and MRO America. No formal votes or other actions were taken beyond approving the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• These were MMA Lpc specialty in dental plans that operated within the regions formally one through 11
• These are measures that are developed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance or Ncqa.
• This is also a standardized tool that was developed by the agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• But over time, the dental Quality alliance has developed and tested additional them.
• And there are 3 specialty products available offered by different plans and different regions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those are the districts that that undertake the project development and delivery and maintenance of our
• Not including our routine maintenance or our project development costs.
• It distributes funds across the state to all the regions, including the rural, urban. and metro areas
• We've developed this new inventory management system so that it interfaces with our other systems at
• And then we have the ability to store plates at our 16 regional service centers.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the<00:42:44.480> other<00:42:44.880> big Um regional issues is the other big Um regional
• So depending within the regional grid.
• They make us be developed in the state.
• proposed development. proposed development.
• offshore import development commission. offshore import development commission. of<01:38:33.920>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And this is a big deal in our region.
• Many of you have heard about our region.
• our region from west to east range. our region from west to east range.
• of ours have in our region. of ours have in our region.
• > 12-month also develop developed the 12-month also develop developed the 12-month statewide<01

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Patterson about the regional representation.
• Out the area where there could be development, and would that stop any development if they find an endangered
• We have one coming up on economic development. We're doing table.
• So like I've been saying, one of our next workshops is on economic development.
• A lot of these community-level financial organizations are economic development organizations, regional

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:52:25.520> and<00:52:25.599> it concern, regional concern. and it concern, regional
• Um, there was some these regions.
• We do this by the state of Minnesota and the region. the state of Minnesota and the region.
• partnership with the MDA on the regional partnership with the MDA on the regional food<01:28:12.000
• across the region for us to leverage. across the region for us to leverage.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll continue development on the equity dashboard, calling it Equity Dashboard 2.0.
• I have one young man who has been in and out of detention and regions, who’s now finding success.
• In our report, we recommended community-based, similar to regions, community-based...
• Has the SAG been developed?
• Those are the ones whose brains still haven't even developed.

Keywords: 962, all

Summary: The Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee (JJPOC) met for administrative updates, approved the April meeting minutes, and discussed a proposed shift from monthly full committee meetings to a quarterly schedule beginning later this year. Members generally supported the change, saying it would reduce strain on agency and committee resources and allow more time for work groups to complete implementation tasks. Several members also asked for more flexible agendas and a clearer way to add issues between meetings, with staff suggesting a standardized form for submitting topics in advance. Work group updates covered cross-agency data sharing, diversion, education, incarceration, and community expertise. The data-sharing group reported continued work on the Equity Dashboard 2.0, a statewide expulsions analysis, municipal-level data collaboration with UConn’s IMRP, and a cross-system analysis of crossover youth. The diversion group described work on POST curriculum revisions for juvenile law, a youth-focused law enforcement interaction training, a community-police relationship toolkit, expansion of youth diversion teams, and pre-arrest diversion policy. The education group is reviewing implementation of the law creating educational oversight in juvenile facilities, along with a free public transportation pilot for high school students and truancy cleanup legislation. The incarceration group is tracking conditions of confinement, DOC restraint and chemical agent reports, the DOJ settlement monitoring process, the reentry success plan, and gender-responsive programming. The community expertise group emphasized elevating lived experience, youth voice, prevention, and conditions of confinement, with members urging the committee to focus on stability, infrastructure, and meaningful use of lived-experience perspectives. A major presentation from OPM outlined Connecticut’s effort to re-enter the federal Title II juvenile justice formula grant program. OPM explained the program’s core compliance requirements, including deinstitutionalization of status offenders, adult jail and lockup removal, sight-and-sound separation, and addressing racial and ethnic disparities. Staff said Connecticut is currently not fully compliant because of issues including youth being held in adult facilities and the state’s six-hour detention rule, and that Title II funding is on hold while OPM works toward compliance. OPM is developing a monitoring manual, identifying facilities to be monitored, and forming a state advisory group (SAG) to support the application and compliance process. Members questioned why a separate SAG is needed, whether JJPOC or the community expertise group could serve that role, and how lived-experience members would be selected; OPM said federal rules require the SAG to include youth or parents with lived experience and that the group cannot be composed of state or government employees in the key leadership roles. The committee agreed to circulate the federal parameters and ask members to suggest candidates for the SAG and to help move compliance work forward over the summer.

Transcript Highlights:

• State Director; Michelle Gray, Northern California State Director; and Sonia Jackson, Pacific Regional
• Northern California State Director Sonia Jackson, Pacific Regional South Action Coordinator Denise Green
• Our notable guest today includes Nicole Starr Jordan, Far Western Regional Director, Carol...
• Nicole Starr Jarton, Far Western Regional Director; Carol R.
• And I saw during my childhood how uncontrolled development on the beachfront and coastline destroyed

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Agency for International Development or USAID. to develop deep lasting relationships that can outlast
• AID officer within the command, who served as the senior development advisor and reported directly to
• And they've evolved and developed very, very quickly.
• I do have to note that the Ukrainians have developed alternative sources.
• The Is Russia helping China develop military capabilities that could impact the United States?

Keywords: committee meeting, legislation, public testimony, SB4, HB2214, bipartisan support

Summary: The committee convened to discuss various bills and hear testimonies related to legislative matters, including public concerns and implications surrounding the proposed legislation. Notably, the members engaged in a vigorous debate over SB4, where several representatives shared differing viewpoints on its impact on local communities and the environment. Public testimonies were heard, with advocates arguing for the bill's potential benefits, while opponents raised significant concerns regarding the fiscal implications and land use. Following these discussions, the committee moved to vote on HB2214, which passed without issue, illustrating the bipartisan support for certain initiatives tied to public welfare.

Transcript Highlights:

• closest to the reservation to develop closest to the reservation to develop those<00:41:01.920><
• I'm the regional fisheries supervisor in the Lander region, and I'm here to share some of my local experience
• I'm the regional fisheries supervisor in the Lander region, and I'm here to share some of my local experience
• , you know, being in the Lander region.
• <01:47:23.360> on because we want economic development on because we want economic development

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Insurance is not well designed when an entire region can have a damaging event that affects everybody
• So schools, housing developments, et cetera.
• You're talking specifically about commercial property, so private sector property development.
• They go by CREW, Cascade Rising, or region earthquake work group.
• So something like regionality is being accounted for, populations being accounted for.

Summary: The committee heard a work session on earthquake insurance, beginning with background from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. OIC staff explained that earthquake and earth movement are generally excluded from standard property policies, that earthquake coverage is usually purchased through endorsements or standalone policies with high deductibles and relatively high premiums, and that surplus lines are a limited backstop market not covered by the state guarantee fund. They also described parametric insurance and captive insurance as more specialized products generally suited to commercial or governmental buyers rather than ordinary consumers. A second panel of insurance and banking experts focused on commercial earthquake exposure, especially for older buildings, collateralized loans, and potential knock-on effects to banks and consumers if a major quake caused widespread damage. Members asked about consumer impacts, mitigation incentives, inventories of vulnerable buildings, and whether legislation such as prior work on unreinforced masonry could help reduce risk. The Washington Bankers Association said earthquake insurance is expensive and that affordability is a major concern, while also noting banks participate in disaster-recovery planning and would be affected by major regional losses. No votes or formal actions were taken. The committee then received a presentation from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy on its cannabis and Initiative 502 research. WSIPP staff described the agency as a nonpartisan research institute that conducts legislative-directed studies and explained that its long-term I-502 assignment includes periodic reports leading to a final benefit-cost evaluation in 2032. Staff summarized findings from a 2023 report showing that cannabis possession convictions fell sharply after legalization, though some racial disproportionalities persisted, and that closer retail access was associated with higher reported adult cannabis use, more fatal traffic crashes involving drivers from nearby areas, and higher rates of cannabis use disorder diagnoses among Medicaid enrollees. A 2023 youth-focused report found that students attending schools near retailers were more likely to report cannabis use, had more unexcused absences, and were less likely to graduate on time. In the newest 2025 Medicaid study, staff said retail access was associated with higher probabilities of cannabis use disorder diagnoses, related hospitalizations, inpatient treatment, and co-occurring mental health diagnoses, with event-study analysis suggesting the increases appeared after retailers opened rather than before. Members asked about racial disproportionality, the meaning of cannabis use disorder diagnoses, THC and impairment, whether the findings reflected medical versus recreational use, and how the results should be interpreted in light of broader trends and data limitations. No formal committee action was taken.