Transcript Highlights:

• Commissioner Rollins said the federal government has put $100 million toward research and development
• He described it as the sports legislation that puts the framework around economic development monies
• in rural Kentucky in conjunction with the Economic Development Cabinet to try to attract processors,
• He said the last thing is continued support for agriculture economic development as they see results
• He noted the mention of economic development and said that sometimes gets overlooked as economic development

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:19 Department of Agriculture 00:01:29, 958, all

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government met with Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell to discuss the Department of Agriculture’s current budget priorities and the impact of recent legislative investments. Shell praised funding for the Farms to Food Bank program, saying it helps food banks serve Kentuckians, especially seniors, while also supporting farmers. He also highlighted County Fair Grant funding, noting a $250,000 increase helped finance a record nine county fair projects, and he described the Raising Hope rural mental health, suicide prevention, and farm safety program as life-saving, citing one event in Owensboro where 14 people were sent to the hospital after health screenings. Shell also addressed emergency preparedness and bird flu response, saying the department’s Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response is working effectively and that Kentucky has not had affected commercial or backyard flocks, only some wild geese cases. He discussed federal efforts to address egg prices and avian influenza, including biosecurity, farmer relief, and research funding, and said he expects those actions to affect prices in the coming months. He also urged the committee to codify Senate Bill 28 and referenced House Joint Resolution 371, which he said would allow the department to retain $5 million for rural economic development efforts aimed at attracting processors and other large-scale operations. In response to questions from Representative Hart, Shell said the department’s disaster role is mainly to coordinate response plans and identify agricultural needs for state and federal relief, rather than provide direct relief funding itself. He said recent flooding in Eastern Kentucky has mainly affected hay supplies for livestock producers, and that the department is working with the Cattlemen’s Association and UK Extension to locate affected farmers and secure hay donations. Shell closed by asking for continued support for agriculture economic development and for improved staff recruitment and retention, saying the department struggles to compete with other state agencies for employees. The meeting ended with thanks and adjournment, with the next meeting announced for the following Thursday.

Transcript Highlights:

• It removes the requirement for the councils to include members having development and large property
• It removes the requirement for the councils to include members having development and large property
• It removes the requirement for the councils to include members having development and large property
• It removes the requirement for the councils to include members having development and large property
• It removes the requirement for the councils to include members having development and large property

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Judiciary Committee held a decision-making-only agenda and voted on a series of bills, mostly following the chair’s recommendations. Measures passed unamended included SB 1202 on allowing campaign funds for child care and dependent care costs, SB 30 requiring all moped drivers to wear helmets, SB 55 requiring state administrative rules to be posted in a digitally accessible and searchable format, SB 106 on pedestrian conduct more than 200 feet from a crosswalk, SB 344 requiring helmets for skateboard users under 16, SB 849 increasing penalties for harming native species, SB 1337 clarifying Stadium Authority quorum rules, and SB 268 reducing the size of island burial councils and removing certain membership requirements. SB 1511, which prohibits vessels longer than 75 feet from entering Honay Bay, was also adopted, though the transcript includes some inconsistent wording about whether it was amended. Several bills were approved with amendments. SB 1048 on solicitation of funds from the public was amended to remove a ministerial exception and to require certain charitable organizations and fundraising platforms to file written contracts with the Department before commencing solicitations. SB 109 was amended so that, in specified circumstances, the ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi version of a law would be binding when the law was originally drafted in English, translated into Hawaiian, and later amended. SB 66 on county building permits was amended to add a bad date, April 23, 2057. SB 1312, deferred to the 10 o’clock agenda, clarified that “profits from prostitution” includes money or property received from prostitution proceeds even if characterized as reimbursement or debt repayment; it was also passed with amendments. The committee also adopted a recommendation to pass SB 55 and other measures with the noted excused absences of Senator Gabbard and, at times, other members. Throughout the meeting, no major opposition was recorded beyond one member voting no or with reservations on some bills, and the chair repeatedly announced that the recommendations had been adopted. The meeting concluded after the 10 o’clock agenda, with notice that the committee would meet upstairs for later agendas with WHAM.

Transcript Highlights:

• buffers that are overlapping and limiting access to large overlapping and limiting access to large developable
• <00:04:49.280> We<00:04:49.560> are with housing development.
• We are with housing development.
• <00:05:00.560> forward<00:05:01.040> because housing development forward because housing
• development forward because between<00:05:02.440> now<00:05:03.520> and<00:05:04.440><

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Summary: The committee considered Senate Bill 564 and discussed two related amendments, which were ultimately combined. The main amendment would create carve-outs for wetland buffers and conservation subdivisions, allowing certain facilities or utilities to proceed by conditional use permit or special exception while still requiring site plan review and DES permitting. Supporters said the change would open up developable land and provide a path forward for housing development without an automatic denial. Members also focused on the effective date. The amendment was revised to take effect March 1, 2027, to give municipalities time to update ordinances and, if desired, designate conservation subdivisions. To prevent towns from undermining the bill before it takes effect, a second amendment was added stating that municipalities may not impose additional building or lot-size restrictions on affected properties before the effective date. Senators said this would avoid a “poison pill” response such as increasing minimum lot sizes. After brief discussion, members agreed the amendments were consistent with the bill’s housing and conservation balance. The committee voted unanimously to adopt the combined amendments, agreed to place the bill on consent, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• They can do that, which I hope they do, but, you know, we'd like to develop our municipal folks of the
• is saying that state programs and the funding associated would not be able to be used for solar developments
• It just says that state funding can't go for solar developments on these protected areas.
• this may be something that we disagree with, I believe we need renewable energy and we need solar developments
• And so this helps, I think, push more into places where we should be developing as opposed to sensitive

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Food met to consider a short agenda of seven bills. The committee first advanced S.1742, which would increase penalties for knowingly violating dog shelter requirements, though one member noted concern that the definition could be applied too broadly and might affect unhoused people. The committee also reported S.4769, authorizing a study on vertical farming; S.5159A, adding duties to the Community Gardens Task Force; S.6573A, concerning recovery of deceased dogs or cats from public roads, with discussion about whether state employees should be included; and S.6848, expanding regional farmers markets. The committee then took up S.9478, a bill to prohibit state incentives for siting or operating commercial renewable energy systems in sensitive environmental areas. Members supporting the bill said it would help protect farmland and environmentally sensitive land from large solar and wind projects and would remove financial incentives without changing the underlying permitting process. Questions focused on how the bill would interact with ORES, local IDAs, and existing state subsidy programs; sponsors explained that it would not stop permits but would cut off state funding and incentives for projects in protected areas. The committee agreed to report the bill to the Energy Committee. All bills were approved by committee vote, with no recorded opposition noted in the discussion, and the meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• There's over 200 million for innovative economic development funding to diversify the state's economy
• So those are going to be key investments in education, economic development, workforce training types
• So New Mexico is really good at research and development.
• You'll see a lot of economic development related appropriations towards that.
• In one version, we're creating economic development. In another, we're destroying it.

Bills: HB2, SB48, SB64, SB100

Keywords: general appropriation, budget, Medicaid, education funding, public safety, State Fairgrounds District, fairgrounds bonds, public financing, bond authorization, gross receipts tax, gaming tax, tax-backed bonds, infrastructure funding, Albuquerque fairgrounds, State Fair Tid, economic development, municipal bonds, revenue pledge, capital projects, New Mexico finance

Transcript Highlights:

• strikes sections 3 and 4 of the filed bill; allows HFCs to issue bonds supporting a residential development
• only if the development is located inside the boundaries of the local government that formed the HFC
• ; defines Housing Finance Corporation user as a private-public partnership entity, developer, or other
• Defines multifamily development as a development consisting of four or more residential units.
• It also provides for denying the tax exemption to residential developments for taxes imposed by water

Summary: The Senate Committee on Local Government met with a quorum and took up a series of pending bills, voting to report several measures to the full Senate. SB 250, SB 375, HB 3093, SB 2419, SB 2605, SB 3029, HB 22, and HB 1392 were all reported favorably and recommended for the Local and Uncontested Calendar. SB 1957 was also reported out, but with one recorded no vote from Senator Paxton. The committee also adopted committee substitutes and reported them favorably for SB 1944, SB 2452, SB 2675, HB 2525, and SB 867, each with the recommendation that the original bill not pass but the substitute do pass and be printed. SB 867 received the most discussion. Chairman Bettencourt explained that the committee substitute narrowed the bill’s application to housing finance corporation projects within the creating local government’s boundaries, clarified definitions related to HFC users, multifamily development, rent, and public benefit, adjusted underwriting and deadline provisions, and addressed tax exemption and payment-in-lieu-of-taxes issues. He also noted that an attorney general opinion request had been sent regarding HFC-related concerns and urged the committee to move the bill forward. Near the end of the meeting, Senator West asked to be recorded as voting in line with his recommendations on the bills, except for SB 1957, on which he wanted to be shown voting against it. After that, the committee had no further business and recessed.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's an economic development that's very close to my heart.
• For years now, and I'm super excited to keep working with everyone to bring economic development.
• I've been in economic development for over 30 years across New Mexico. Mexico.
• In order for us to advance economic development, we need to focus, A, on the industrial base because
• If you don't have electricity and you don't have water, you don't have economic development.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, development committee in my town.
• c><01:08:14.319> a what they're developing, they can get a what they're developing, they can get
• outside of the development. outside of the development.
• intersection and then the developer intersection and then the developer would<01:10:41.280> take
• increasing the research and development increasing the research and development tax<05:07:26.798

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:26:22.640> It develop templates for these notices.
• It develop templates for these notices.
• we instruct the commissioner to develop we instruct the commissioner to develop templates<00:44:
• workforce development fund. workforce development fund.
• Um, also workforce development fund.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 75 million in GEO bonds for development 75 million in GEO bonds for development of<00:10:00.560>
• <00:10:08.800> including transit corridor development including transit corridor development
• contributing to economic development. contributing to economic development.
• We developed council recommendations on how Minnesota should develop AV policy to address our state's
• :19:28.320> on We developed council recommendations on We developed council recommendations on

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• all the time not just when they develop all the time not just when they develop a<00:03:47.640><
• priority chemical list if a developing priority chemical list if a developing fetus<00:04:43.280
• to the Office of Broadband Development and Digital Equity.
• renamed to office of development renamed to office of broadband<00:57:54.160> development<00:
• <01:01:13.559> areas large pockets of more developed areas large pockets of more developed

Bills: HF44, HF2102, HF2279, HF2280, HF2281

Keywords: HF44, Casey Jones State Trail, Pipestone Trailhead, Currie Loop, Minnesota bonding bill, capital investment, state bonds, bond proceeds fund, Department of Natural Resources, DNR, trail rehabilitation, trail reconstruction, recreational trail, bike trail, hiking trail, infrastructure, state trail, Pipestone, Currie, bonding authorization

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:56.360> and<00:03:56.519> natural Economic Development and natural Economic
• the the legislative charge on developing the the legislative charge on developing the<00:10:47.720
• <00:15:40.759> and uh next year to fully develop and uh next year to fully develop and redevelop
• of a National Guard base and development of a National Guard base and development or<01:30:35.199
• c><01:30:36.719> was or high density development nearby was or high density development nearby

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• yeah so specifically peace Development yeah so specifically peace Development Authority<00:34:31.679
• <00:35:17.040> the the state was allowed to develop the the state was allowed to develop the
• transferred to the peace Development transferred to the peace Development Authority<00:52:09.760
• agreement U my staff peace Development agreement U my staff peace Development Authority<00:57:20.799
• something that was more um developed something that was more um developed towards<01:35:26.360><

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The meeting began with testimony from Charlotte Harding of the Conservation Land Stewardship Program, who explained that the office protects the state’s interests in conservation lands by monitoring conservation easements and related stewardship obligations. She described the program’s funding sources: a land conservation endowment held at the State Treasury and administered by the Council on Resources and Development, plus transfers from Fish and Game for easements not covered by the endowment. Members discussed how the endowment is funded when new easements are created, the program’s staffing, the loss of a state vehicle, and the need to increase in-state travel so staff can use personal vehicles for field monitoring. Harding said the office has two full-time positions and a seasonal employee, that the work is mostly monitoring rather than hands-on land management, and that enforcement issues are referred to the grantee agencies or, if needed, to the Council on Resources and Development. She also noted that the office works directly with landowners to resolve smaller issues and that stewardship has become a greater focus in the conservation community because ongoing oversight requires funding. Members asked about examples of properties under the program, including LCIP lands such as Musquash Headwaters, Hidden Valley Boy Scout Camp, and Nash Stream, and the committee did not take a motion before moving on. The committee then heard from Paul Breen and Susie Anzelone of the Pease Development Authority regarding the Division of Ports and Harbors operating budget. They explained that the authority provides finance, legal, environmental, and engineering support to the division, which operates New Hampshire’s only deep-water berth at Market Street, as well as facilities in Hampton, Rye, the Portsmouth Fish Pier, and navigational waters in the Piscataqua and Great Bay. They described the authority’s history after the closure of Pease Air Force Base, the transfer of roughly 2,400 acres, and the creation of a self-sustaining enterprise fund tied to airport and port operations. They emphasized that the division does not draw on the general fund because revenues from wharfage, dockage, parking, registration, and mooring fees cover operating costs, with any surplus retained for capital improvements and replacement. Members questioned several budget lines, including a sharp increase in overtime and workers’ compensation. Breen said overtime is driven largely by security needs at the deep-water port and fluctuates with vessel traffic, such as salt shipments, while workers’ comp is a DAS-set cost and not something the division controls. He said the budget is conservative and that if revenues fall short, capital projects would be the first items scaled back. The discussion also covered fee-setting, with Breen saying rates are reviewed against the local market and infrastructure constraints, and that some smaller facility fees had recently been increased after being stagnant for years.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:33:26.200> for resource management and development for resource management and development
• trust getting um that developing trust getting um developing<02:50:56.200> trust<02:50:56.479>
• development for interview, practicing that sort of thing.
• The last one is Workforce Development and Wellness.
• The last one is Workforce Development and Wellness.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh ADC,<00:22:35.600> Agra<00:22:36.000> Business<00:22:36.640> Development ADC,
• Agra Business Development ADC, Agra Business Development Corporation,<00:22:38.159> are<00:22
• is a couple of program IDs, a UO881, which is Aquaria, and um, UH220, which is a small business development
• is a couple of program IDs, a UO881, which is Aquaria, and um, UH220, which is a small business development
• is a couple of program IDs, a UO881, which is Aquaria, and um, UH220, which is a small business development

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Higher Education met on February 18, 2026, and heard four bills. HB 2519 would shift University of Hawaii funding toward block appropriations, a stabilization fund, limited procurement and fiscal exemptions, performance-based metrics, and annual reporting. UH supported the bill, saying line-item budgeting hampers systemwide efficiency across its 10 campuses; the State Procurement Office commented on the procurement exemption. The chair proposed amendments to address concerns from Budget and Finance and procurement, including capping UH’s retained funds at 10%, requiring lapse after three fiscal years, removing CIP-to-operating transfers, narrowing procurement exemptions while keeping Chapter 103B principles, shifting performance metric-setting to the Board of Regents, and requiring annual reporting. The committee then voted to pass HB 2519 with amendments. HB 2409 would establish the Hawaii Geological Survey in Hilo and designate its director as the state geologist. UH Hilo supported the concept but said it would need sufficient general-fund support, estimating roughly $200,000 to start. DLNR and the Attorney General offered comments, with the AG calling it a matter of statewide concern. The chair said the DNR testimony raised public safety concerns and that UH Hilo had not identified a firm funding amount, so the committee voted to defer the bill. HB 2141 HD1 concerned state enterprise zones and would expand eligible business activities and allow DBED to designate up to two areas as enterprise zones with gubernatorial approval. DBED, the Tax Foundation, and other organizations submitted support or comments. After discussion, the chair said the current version no longer fit the higher education committee’s focus and recommended reverting to the original bill, which would limit the zone to Kakaʻako Makai for a biomedical health innovation hub near JABSOM and the Queen’s Cancer Center, with a defective date. The committee voted to pass HB 2141 HD1 with amendments. HB 2233 HD1 would appropriate funds to continue the SNAP-Ed program through UH and the Department of Health. DOH supported the bill and said it had been working on nutrition education and environmental changes; it estimated about $600,000 each for DOH and SEAR, or $1.2 million total. Testimony in support also came from several organizations and individuals, including a senior advocate who described the program’s practical benefits. The chair said the committee would reflect the $600,000-per-entity estimate in its report, and the committee voted to pass HB 2233 HD1 as is before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• It strengthens requirements around professional development services and coordination for children at
• I think it's exciting because it also will enhance child care quality and improve the development of
• And then number four is professional development.
• And then number four is professional development.
• . because of lost research, lost entrepreneurship, and lost economic development.

Bills: SB204, SB241, HB34

Keywords: higher education, research funding, federal funding, New Mexico, appropriation, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, child care, child care assistance, child care subsidy, early childhood education, early childhood care, daycare, preschool, pre-K, Head Start, Early Head Start, Children's Code, early childhood education and care department

Transcript Highlights:

• Item number 50 is for the Economic Development Department.
• Item number 50 is for the Economic Development Department.
• and workforce development—and earmarks them for economic development in the counties of Torrance, Cibola
• and workforce development—and earmarks them for economic development in the counties of Torrance, Cibola
• Yeah, their legislation, I think, is always under development.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But I'm seeing that the bill requires development of future cohorts in Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough,
• Development process.
• Requirement five: development of the per child per month, or PCPM, which drives the fiscal outcome.
• Requirement five: development of the per child per month, or PCPM, which drives the fiscal outcome.
• A PCPM is an accumulation of expenditures, actuarial adjustments, and child-month trends that develop

Bills: S0042, S0578, S0624, S7018

Keywords: child protection, medical records, investigation, abuse, neglect, healthcare, Child Protection Team, diagnosis, Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimers, dementia, related dementias, brain health, early detection, caregiver support, elderly affairs, Department of Elderly Affairs, Department of Health, public health outreach, memory loss

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and first heard SB 624, which would codify DCF’s current practice of allowing batterers intervention programs to offer supplemental faith-based activities so long as participation is voluntary. The bill drew support from faith-based and family organizations, which argued it would restore access to effective rehabilitation options and remove discriminatory barriers. SB 624 was reported favorably after a roll call vote. The committee then heard SB 42, which would require child protective investigators and child protection teams to rely on qualified medical professionals when a child has a documented pre-existing diagnosis or when a parent requests an exam, and would require clearer notice to parents and custodians at the start of an investigation. Testimony overwhelmingly came from parents, advocates, and disability rights representatives describing cases in which medically complex children were allegedly misdiagnosed as abuse victims and families were separated unnecessarily. Members expressed sympathy and support, and SB 42 was reported favorably. Next, the committee considered CS/SB 578, creating an Alzheimer’s disease awareness initiative within the Department of Elder Affairs to promote early detection, brain health education, research updates, and clinical trial awareness, with outreach focused on older adults and at-risk populations. An amendment was adopted to place the campaign within the Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative. A caregiver testified about the need for public education and early diagnosis, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee also took up SPB 7018, a committee bill on child welfare that would extend the definition of “visitor” for foster homes to reduce repeated background checks, make the Step Into Success foster youth workforce pilot permanent and statewide, and create a program through the Florida Institute for Child Welfare to catalog best practices among community-based care lead agencies. The bill was approved as a committee bill and reported favorably. Finally, the Department of Children and Families presented its 2025-26 final funding methodology and rates report for community-based care. Members questioned the proposed tiered model, including insurance costs, risk corridors, prevention funding, performance measures, and regional funding disparities. No vote was taken on the presentation, but members discussed the possible need for follow-up legislation and additional stakeholder input.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have developed and submitted a multi-year corrective action plan beginning in fiscal year 2021-2022
• So at this time, ... ...development and excellence in Daytona Beach. So at this time, Mr.
• The homeowner will never see the permit expense; the developers will.
• It will be the developers. Mr.
• That's what they put in, in terms of they being builders and developers.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee first heard a long-running audit finding involving Daytona Beach’s unexpended building permit funds, which have exceeded the statutory limit for several years and were reported at $10.8 million in the most recent audit. Mayor Derek Henry and city staff said the city has analyzed the fund, adopted a corrective action plan, waived more than $5.5 million in permit and inspection fees over several periods, and used some excess funds for a training facility rehabilitation and a proposed City Hall expansion. Committee members repeatedly questioned whether the city was simply trying to spend down the money, raised concerns about the legality and necessity of proposed expenditures, and asked about interest earnings, truck purchases, and the lack of detailed tracking for training-facility use. The city said an Attorney General opinion allows construction of a new building for building-code functions but not purchase of an existing building, and that if the city cannot comply through permissible construction it would have to return the funds. No vote was taken, but members expressed strong frustration and urged the city to resolve the issue quickly and lawfully. The committee then received the Auditor General’s presentation on the Town of Greenville, which found 31 findings and described pervasive control failures, possible fraud, waste, and abuse. The findings covered elections and quorum issues, conflicts of interest, late or missing financial disclosure forms, related-party transactions, poor meeting notices and minutes, council involvement in day-to-day operations, missing ethics training, budget and accounting deficiencies, weak bank reconciliations, improper utility billing and rates, grant compliance problems tied to a grocery store project, personnel and compensation issues involving the town manager, late vendor payments, weak procurement and P-card controls, vehicle-use and property-control problems, public records issues, and IT/fraud-policy weaknesses. The auditor said the review focused mainly on October 2022 through February 2024 but went back further for some grant-related matters. Greenville’s mayor and staff said the audit reflected actions of a previous administration and that the current council and staff have already adopted seven new policies to improve procurement, financial controls, inventory management, grant oversight, and ethics. They said the town has a new manager and clerk, that the former manager was terminated, and that the town referred matters to FDLE, which is investigating. Committee members asked about the manager’s salary increase, severance, P-card use, and whether the town should consider consolidation or dissolution. The mayor said the town is on a better path, that most of the prior leadership has been voted out, and that the town is working with auditors and an outside accounting firm to correct the problems.

Transcript Highlights:

• We can have additional workforce development across the state.
• We have been a hub of research and development. We have an educated workforce.
• They mean new companies don't get the bright minds to develop.
• It cheats the Workforce Development Fund.
• You do economic development if you're on the Transportation Committee.