Transcript Highlights:

• We are working to secure additional state-to-state agreements.
• <00:29:12.960> additional<00:29:13.399> state-to-state secure additional state-to-state
• secure additional state-to-state agreements<00:29:15.799> we'll<00:29:16.000> be<00:29
• Lakes and bodies of water that border eight states and two countries are a great example of where the
• They sent a formal letter to the governor's office requesting that they help secure a meeting with the

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They border either other states or countries.
• They border either other states or countries.
• <01:25:09.520> They<01:25:09.760> border<01:25:10.080> either border counties
• They border either border counties.
• some supplemental nonprofit security some supplemental nonprofit security financing<04:02:00.199

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, the next one I wanted was, and I like that you guys had number 5 for uh federal and military border
• I think where I'll leave it is um the proposed borderplex digital um campus down on the southern border
• bring to those communities, especially because they're in an unincorporated area on the southern border
• Being down in the southern part of the state, Madam Chair, I looked at the border, uh, industrial complex

Transcript Highlights:

• requested an environmental health and safety officer staff position due to some challenges with the border
• some challenges staff position due to some challenges with<00:08:08.720> the<00:08:08.879> border
• with the border water contract for that. with the border water contract for that.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is largely births and deaths and information that the Bureau can get from Social Security and from
• unit apartment complex housing up to 320 residents was built in Sunderland in 2019 near the town's border
• To reiterate, Sunderland is a small transient community directly bordering Amherst, Mass.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census met on December 8 at 9:32 a.m. to examine the dynamics that drive census undercounts and overcounts, with testimony first from Joseph Salvo and then from Susan Strait of the UMass Donahue Institute. Salvo explained the Census Bureau’s two main evaluation tools: demographic analysis, which uses vital records, migration estimates, and Medicare data to produce a national benchmark, and the post-enumeration survey (PES), which compares a separate sample-based count to the census. He said the 2020 census showed a small national net undercount, but larger age- and race-based disparities, including the highest undercount among children ages 0 to 4, higher undercounts for men, substantial undercounts for Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native populations, and overcounts among some older and college-age groups. He also described how self-response, non-response follow-up, administrative records, proxy responses, and imputation affected data quality, arguing that proxies and imputation were especially weak and that outreach remains critical for 2030. Committee members asked Salvo to clarify the methods and error bands, the role of international migration estimates, and how the PES differs from the census address list and LUCA. He explained that PES is based on a separate sample of blocks and can add units within sampled blocks, but it does not measure units missed entirely from the original address list; LUCA matters because it improves that list before enumeration. He also discussed age heaping, duplicate responses among older adults, and why group quarters and COVID-related disruptions complicated the 2020 count. Senator Driscoll briefly interrupted to describe Randolph’s successful appeal of its 2020 count after an undercount in disability care homes, and Salvo noted that the post-census group quarters review helped correct some missed facilities. Susan Strait then focused on Massachusetts-specific results. She said Massachusetts’ 2020 count was strong overall, with population growth above the national average and a PES-based finding that the state was overcounted by 2.24 percent, though she emphasized that this did not mean all areas were accurately counted. Using demographic analysis, she said Massachusetts had an estimated 4.15 percent undercount of children ages 0 to 4, with the largest county-level undercounts in Hampden, Suffolk, and Essex, and she linked higher child undercounts to lower educational attainment and female-headed households. Strait also reviewed operational metrics showing that Massachusetts had relatively strong internet self-response, but that non-response follow-up relied heavily on household interviews, administrative records, proxies, and imputation in different counties. She highlighted higher proxy use in college-heavy counties such as Hampshire and Suffolk, and said counties with more minority residents were more likely to have population-count-only cases and other indicators of harder-to-count populations. The hearing ended with discussion of how these findings could inform outreach and census planning for 2030.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have people here that, whether they're from this side of the border or the other, they're still Hispanic
• to expose personal information, leaving women vulnerable to harassment, legal threats, and cross-border
• It recognizes that water security is not optional.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Protect us from all evil and strengthen those who have been called to preserve our safety and security
• <00:42:11.960> with preserve our Safety and Security with preserve our Safety and Security
• We're happy to show you why it's better here, and to our friends over our northern border in Canada,
• We need to be proactive in securing new victories that will make our community safer, our families more
• <01:31:57.639> new we need to be proactive in securing new we need to be proactive in securing

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• would take him from White Bear Lake all the way to Stillwater and I, where the interstate and the border
• Um, and um it uh removes a reference to the Piney Pine Creek Border Airport, which does not exist any
• /c><00:36:42.400> Airport,<00:36:43.040> which<00:36:43.359> does Pine Creek Border
• Airport, which does Pine Creek Border Airport, which does not<00:36:43.760> exist<00:36:44.079
• Um, everybody had their half the border.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Viruses do not need a passport to cross borders.
• to thank the committee for allowing this bill to be heard early so that projects like Element can secure
• So that projects like Element can secure millions in federal tax credits before they expire, which will

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Massachusetts, ranging from the Cape Cod Canal to Wachusett Mountain, Salisbury on the New Hampshire border
• people are looking to get to where they need to go, they need to be able to get there in a safe and secure
• people are looking to get to where they need to go, they need to be able to get there in a safe and secure

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Transportation held its first hearing of the session on H. 53, Governor Healey’s Chapter 90 proposal to increase state funding for municipal roads, bridges, sidewalks, and culverts. Committee chairs outlined the hybrid hearing process and invited testimony from municipal officials, labor groups, regional planning organizations, contractors, and administration officials. Across the hearing, speakers consistently supported the bill, emphasizing long-deferred maintenance, inflation in construction costs, climate-related flooding, and the need for more predictable, multi-year funding so cities and towns can plan projects and take advantage of the construction season. The administration described H. 53 as part of a broader $8 billion transportation package, proposing to raise annual Chapter 90 funding from $200 million to $300 million for five years, with the additional $100 million distributed by road mileage to better support rural and small communities. They also highlighted $200 million for culverts and small bridges, plus other transportation investments, and said the five-year authorization would provide certainty for municipal capital planning. Municipal witnesses from places including Carlisle, Beverly, Granby, Hatfield, Newton, Nahant, Gardner, Beckett, and Yarmouth described local road and culvert backlogs, rising asphalt costs, and the difficulty of maintaining infrastructure on limited local budgets. Labor and industry witnesses from the AFL-CIO and MAPA said the bill would support good-paying jobs and provide stability for contractors and producers. The MBTA Advisory Board and regional planning representatives also backed the proposal, noting the connection between local roads and the broader transportation system. Committee members asked questions about the road-mile formula, culvert needs, asphalt costs, and the rationale for a five-year authorization. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the committee adjourned after testimony concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• -Mexico border with a core focus on. water. Two-thirds of our work has focused on water.
• the past several months, this committee has discussed many times how water has affordably... been secured
• Paired with once-in-a-generation funding, this will help secure San Antonio's water future, and we appreciate

Bills: SB1169, SB1285, SB1583, SB1611, SB1898, SB1976, SB2160, SB2161, SB2658, SB2661, SB2662, SB2692, SB1055, SB1359, SB2660

Keywords: water service, sewer service, public utility, joint operation, infrastructure, municipality, compliance, SB 1285, bats, bat protection, wildlife protection, Texas Parks and Wildlife Code, Parks and Wildlife Code Section 63.101, hunting bats, bat possession, bat sales, bat trade, pest control, licensed pest control professional, animal control officer

Transcript Highlights:

• Food and Ag, they do have posts presented at the borders as you go in or out of the state, the food check
• Today's request would help secure a large portion of this funding goal, providing vital and sustainable
• , highlighted in its October 2024 report that the majority of this funding gap likely needs to be secured

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on transportation agency budget proposals and did not take any votes. The first major discussion focused on the Motor Vehicle Account shortfall and a proposed one-time $166 million transfer from the Air Pollution Control Fund and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to offset California Air Resources Board mobile source costs. Department of Finance and the LAO described the account’s long-running structural deficit, driven largely by employee compensation growth and REAL ID-related workload, while members criticized the use of Proposition 4, GGRF, and other one-time or redirected funds as backfills and urged a longer-term solution that addresses both revenues and expenditures. The committee then heard Caltrans’ request for $25 million in General Fund support to create a Clean California Community Cleanup and Employment Pathway Grant Program. Caltrans said the program would build on the prior Clean California effort by funding local litter and graffiti cleanup, community engagement, and workforce pathways for vulnerable populations. The LAO recommended rejecting the proposal, arguing that local litter abatement is not a core state responsibility and that one-time funding is unlikely to solve persistent local cleanup needs. Several members echoed those concerns, while public commenters split between support for the cleanup/employment model and calls to instead restore funding to the Active Transportation Program and transit operations. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency requested that California administratively recognize Tahoe’s federally designated population figure for state formula-based transportation funding, which would raise the population count used in formulas from 40,000 to 145,000. The agency said the change would not request new money but would better align state formulas with federal law and support a shared regional funding framework; members appeared generally supportive, though they noted the need to phase in the change to reduce impacts on other regions. The final presentation was on High-Speed Rail. The LAO reviewed the authority’s project update report, noting that it did not fully meet statutory requirements and that key details are still pending in a supplemental report expected later in the summer. The LAO said the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment still shows an estimated roughly $7 billion funding gap, with no specific plan to close it, and highlighted risks from federal review, inflation, and uncertain GGRF revenues. High-Speed Rail Authority staff said they are conducting a bottom-up review of scope, schedule, ridership, and costs, expect to provide updated information by late summer, and are exploring public-private partnerships and other financing strategies. Members stressed that no further funding commitments should be made until the updated analysis is available.

Transcript Highlights:

• Go up to the border and see the rail cars that come over, get inspected; you'll see the poor pallets
• about having all the equipment you need on the site to receive the material, scale it into the site, security
• Her small social security check was her only income, but she had no partner benefits because they never

Transcript Highlights:

• But I feel fairly secure in telling some of my constituents that work for state government that the chances
• So if we're talking about cutting services like Medicaid or Social Security or whatever else, if that's
• Because bordering Leon County, we have Gadsden, Liberty, Wakulla, and Jefferson.

Summary: The Government Operations Subcommittee heard several measures focused on government structure, oversight, and public policy designations. The most debated bill was HJR 1325, which proposed a constitutional amendment to create a statewide Commissioner of Government Efficiency, abolish the lieutenant governor office and the Government Efficiency Task Force, and eliminate the constitutional requirement for an Auditor General appointment. Sponsors said the new commissioner would be a watchdog over waste, fraud, and abuse across state and local government, while opponents raised concerns about cost, single-subject issues, lack of implementation details, and whether existing oversight structures were sufficient. After extensive debate, the resolution was reported favorably by a recorded vote. The committee also approved HB 575, which redesignates the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in Florida statute, and HB 1445, which requires certain state officials and agency heads to have stronger ties to Florida and, for some positions, to live in the county where their agency headquarters is located. HB 1445 drew questions about practicality and whether a proximity standard would be better than a strict county requirement, but the sponsor said he would continue working on that issue. Both bills were reported favorably, with HB 1445 passing unanimously. In addition, the committee unanimously approved HB 259, designating August 21 as Fentanyl Awareness and Education Day, with supporters emphasizing the need for public education about fentanyl overdoses. The committee also passed CS/HB 29, the public records and meetings bill linked to the social work licensure compact, which creates confidentiality and meeting exemptions needed for the compact to operate. Public testimony on that measure was supportive, and it too was reported favorably without opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• So it's a historic survey that will go literally from a call day all the way to the border.
• The second thing was obviously security cameras; we had that.
• The statewide security operations center is working to proactively identify and remediate security threats
• And second, are you already adhering to the state's minimum standards for cyber security? Mr.
• Thank you, because we are very concerned about cyber security and very concerned about hacks.

Transcript Highlights:

• now present in at least 36 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces, this has effectively closed the border
• :55.560> effectively<00:01:56.160> closed<00:01:56.600> the<00:01:56.680> border
• <00:01:57.160> to has effectively closed the border to has effectively closed the border to

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: Representative Heintzeman presented House File 4508, which would allow the importation of elk from other states into Minnesota to help address challenges facing the state’s elk breeding industry and improve herd genetics. The Minnesota Elk Breeders Association supported the bill, arguing that recent CWD-related import restrictions have effectively cut off access to outside breeding stock, hurt breeder numbers, and limited options for maintaining healthy, profitable herds. The group said elk are relatively resistant to CWD and that importation could be allowed under Board of Animal Health oversight. The Minnesota DNR opposed the bill, saying there is no validated live test for CWD that can ensure incoming animals are disease-free and pointing to recent cases in other states where imported elk later tested positive. The DNR also said federal herd certification programs have not prevented spread of the disease and warned that responding to a new captive cervid detection can cost more than $500,000. Members then discussed broader issues around CWD testing, including frustration that a live test developed at the University of Minnesota has not been federally validated and whether Minnesota should pursue state or third-party validation. Representative Heintzeman said the bill was intended to start a broader conversation and noted that the current proposal does not address the testing issue directly. After testimony and discussion, no vote was taken and House File 4508 was laid over.

Transcript Highlights:

• Into the country from along the I-35 corridor as well as along the I-37 corridor from the border of Corpus
• And Chair, as you know, the border communities face so many challenges.
• Improving wait times at the border has such an economic impact.
• So anything we can do, whether it's at the border or even up the road, can help with that.

Transcript Highlights:

• Security so we're not duplicating efforts?
• thank you uh whereas Employment Security thank you uh whereas Employment Security does<01:18:29.880
• <01:18:38.040> so<01:18:38.199> we're<01:18:38.360> not Employment Security
• so we're not Employment Security so we're not duplicating<01:18:39.520> efforts<01:18:40.520><
• <01:44:43.400> or<01:44:43.639> veterans Security or veterans Security or veterans benefits

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee held a Division 3 budget work session focused on the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Economic Stability. Karen Hebert, the division director, and Nathan White, DHHS chief financial officer, walked members through the governor’s operating budget pages and a briefing book, explaining that the division was consolidated in 2018 and serves programs aimed at financial stability, poverty reduction, child care access, and related supports. Members repeatedly asked for clearer breakdowns of general fund spending, historical growth since consolidation, and how the division’s broad mission areas map onto specific budget lines. A major portion of the discussion centered on the Bureau of Child Development and Head Start collaboration and the child care subsidy program. Hebert said the child care scholarship/subsidy helps low- and moderate-income families access daycare so parents can work, attend school, or receive treatment, and that eligibility is based on state median income up to 85%. She reported a 45% increase in utilization, 4,032 children receiving daycare support as of the end of January, and about 15% of eligible children being served. She also described the quality improvement system “Granite Steps for Quality,” with 160 providers enrolled out of 717 licensed programs, and noted that 1,200 child care professionals added credentials in the last year. Members pressed for cost-benefit information, asking for data on how much the state pays, how many providers and children are served, and whether the department could quantify unmet need. The witnesses said some projects were funded with short-term ARPA child care dollars and that detailed cost data for specific examples, such as the Gorm Community Learning Center expansion, would need to be looked up. They also explained that the child care fund is a federal block grant with required spending set-asides of 9% for quality, 3% for infants and toddlers, and up to 5% for administration, and that unused funds remain available. The committee also reviewed slide 10’s accounting units, including that the Child Care Workforce Fund is 100% general funds and was created as a priority item under HB 2 from the 2024 session, while some other child care-related units are 100% federal funds.

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, the state of Iowa—you can go to the state of Iowa, and as soon as you cross the border,
• or some people tell me get close to the border, you can place a bet on your mobile device and then you
• I know folks that literally drive to the border, place their bets, and then come home.
• For example, the state of Iowa—you can go to the state of Iowa, and as soon as you cross the border,
• I know folks that literally drive to the border, place their bets, and then come home.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Canadian border, but in so doing have actually sat in on classes and their treatment.
• <01:27:12.080> uh expression um the assigned security uh expression um the assigned security
• What about security threat groups or gangs?
• What about security threat groups or gangs?
• What about security threat groups or gangs?

Keywords: 1183, house