Transcript Highlights:

• These cuts are only part of the administration's broader anti-science agenda.
• Trump is pushing a 55% budget reduction for the National Science Foundation at a time when the agency
• These cuts are only part of the administration's broader anti-science agenda.
• These cuts are only part of the administration's broader anti-science agenda.
• I urge my colleagues to stand up for science, for students, and for America's future. I yield back.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, June 9, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University.
• Charles Stewart, professor of political science at MIT.
• My name is Charles Stewart III, McKinn and Sajin Distinguished Professor of Political Science at MIT,
• the director of the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, and a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• data and science lab, and a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions held a hearing on Initiative Petition 25-01, H.5-001, an act relative to election day registration. The co-chairs explained the Article 48 initiative process and noted that the committee must report on the petition to the legislature. The hearing focused on how election day registration differs from same-day registration, how it is used in other states, and what implementation would require in Massachusetts. Three expert witnesses testified in support of the concept. A Northeastern University political science professor said the research shows election day registration would likely increase turnout, especially among younger voters, renters, recent movers, and other underrepresented groups, while requiring planning, training, and funding. A National Conference of State Legislatures policy analyst described how election day and same-day registration work in other states, including proof-of-residency and ID requirements, provisional ballot options in some states, and the need for updated voter systems and staffing. An MIT election administration professor said the proposal is mainstream, likely popular with Massachusetts voters, and administratively workable if the state addresses workload, wait times, and system integration. Committee members asked about costs, residency documentation, use of Real ID, provisional ballots, rural polling places, and whether election day registration could increase lines or discourage advance registration. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin and volunteer proponent Norma Shulman testified in favor of the petition. They argued that election day registration would help eligible voters who miss deadlines or move before an election, reduce reliance on provisional ballots, and improve participation. Galvin said the proposal includes a 10-day reconciliation period and would likely require additional staffing and possibly technology, but he viewed the reform as worth the cost and consistent with broader election reforms. Shulman said voters she encountered during the signature drive strongly supported the measure and viewed it as common sense. In questioning, Galvin said the measure would help voters who move within a community or arrive at the polls unregistered, and he said many provisional ballots are not counted because of eligibility or registration problems. Opponents from the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association argued that while expanding access is important, election day registration would add to already heavy workloads for local clerks, who are managing early voting, vote-by-mail processing, and election-day operations with limited staff and resources. They said any major election change should be developed through the traditional legislative process with direct input from local officials, and they urged caution until municipalities receive more administrative and financial relief. The hearing then moved into the public testimony section, beginning with a representative from Mass for Fair Elections.

Transcript Highlights:

• the Minnesota Parkinson's Disease Research Trust Fund represents a forward-looking investment in science
• Investments in science have a ripple effect, drive economic growth, advance care, and bring us closer
• represents a forwardlooking investment represents a forwardlooking investment in<00:15:48.480> science
• Investments<00:16:01.440> in<00:16:01.759> science<00:16:02.240> has<00:16:02.399
• > a<00:16:02.639> ripple Investments in science has a ripple Investments in science has

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The meeting focused on two Parkinson’s-related bills in Minnesota: one to ban paraquat and another to create a state Parkinson’s research trust fund. Rep. Christy Purcell said the research bill would create a dedicated pot of money to coordinate and fund Parkinson’s research in Minnesota, with Sen. Mann as the Senate author. Supporters said Minnesota should act because Parkinson’s is growing rapidly, there is no cure, and state institutions could serve as a research hub. Several people living with Parkinson’s testified about the personal and family impact of the disease, including early-onset diagnoses, loss of work, mobility challenges, and the burden on caregivers. Speakers from the Parkinson’s Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation supported both bills, arguing that paraquat is strongly linked to Parkinson’s, that exposure can affect farmers and nearby residents, and that prevention and research are both needed. The paraquat bill was described as especially important because alternatives exist and the chemical is reportedly used very little in Minnesota. During the discussion, Rep. Hansen said the paraquat bill would be held over and not voted on that day because a fiscal note was requested. He said the committee would hear the bill later that day and urged colleagues to keep an open mind. In response to questions, supporters said they anticipated little opposition beyond chemical-industry interests, and they emphasized that the bill was aimed specifically at paraquat rather than other chemicals. The research bill was discussed as a possible $25 million request, though no vote was taken on that proposal in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a common-sense, non-controversial, science-backed idea, and again, I direct the Senator to the
• There is actually some science and Senator Whitehouse pointed out none of us here are experts in pharmacology
• or chemistry or any appropriate science.
• modify the law once that evidence is presented to us and we're satisfied that it's based on and sound science
• Typically, substances are controlled only. after science-based testing and analysis by the DEA and HHS

Bills: SB331

Keywords: fentanyl, controlled substances, drug trafficking, public health, research regulations, law enforcement, S-331, Halt All Lethal Trafficking and Fentanyl Act, fentanyl crisis, public testimony, drug legislation, bipartisan support

Summary: In this committee meeting, the focus was primarily on S-331, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking and Fentanyl Act, aimed at addressing the fentanyl crisis. The bill's key components include making permanent the class scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, confirming existing sentencing penalties, and easing registration requirements for scientific research on Schedule I substances. Numerous parents shared heartbreaking testimonies about their losses due to fentanyl, which fueled an urgent call to pass the legislation without alterations. The committee members engaged in passionate discussions highlighting the urgency of the situation as overdoses continue to claim American lives.

Transcript Highlights:

• online and all that, but if you don't have a facility that's able to contain and offer the proper sciences
• 00:51:46.640> offer<00:51:47.119> the<00:51:47.440> proper<00:51:47.839> sciences
• and offer the proper sciences and offer the proper sciences uh<00:51:49.760> chem<00:51:50.160
• <01:04:26.559> So, uh truths that science has revealed.
• So, uh truths that science has revealed.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Education Funding Committee met to consider eight bills, beginning with HB 443 on the terms of appointment for members of the Higher Education Commission. Department of Education Director Steve Applebee explained that the commission supported a language change to address a holdover issue, but members raised concerns that the bill did not solve the problem of inactive members and might not address the broader question of whether the commission should continue to exist. The committee agreed to retain HB 443 for further work and voted 18-0 to do so. The committee then voted on HB 137, which would allocate excess statewide education property tax funds for local school and municipal purposes. Supporters of ITL argued that using the statewide property tax to reduce the state’s school funding obligation could create a slippery slope and shift more burden to property taxpayers. The committee voted 15-3 to ITL the bill, with a minority report to be written. HB 237, which would prohibit the use of special education and differentiated aid funds on students not receiving special education services, was also ITL’d after members said federal law already governs how IDEA-related funds may be used and that the bill was unnecessary. That motion passed 16-0, with some members not voting because they were out for medical reasons. The committee next advanced HB 354, creating alternative certification pathways for career and technical education instructors. Members said the bill could help recruit qualified tradespeople and retirees to teach in CTE programs, and it was approved 18-0 and placed on the consent calendar. HB 491, establishing a committee to study alternative public education funding methods and reduce reliance on local property taxes, was retained for further study after members said the committee or a subcommittee could continue the work over the year; it passed 18-0. HB 656, concerning local school districts’ authority to accept federal grants, was also retained after discussion focused on transparency, grant conditions, and the need to avoid delays in services; it passed 18-0. The committee then moved on to HB 729, an appropriation for an attorney to recodify education laws, but the transcript cuts off before that bill was acted on.

Transcript Highlights:

• confronted with the specter of AI meeting quantum mechanics, which will probably happen, quantum computing
• mechanics, which will probably happen, mechanics, which will probably happen, quantum<00:20:27.120> computing
• ,<00:20:28.080> which<00:20:28.200> will<00:20:28.280> probably quantum computing
• , which will probably quantum computing, which will probably happen<00:20:28.960> in<00:20:29.040

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Call to Order and Roll Call: 00:01:36 Homeland Security: 00:03:46 Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership: 00:36:29, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• program a three-dimensional printer to manufacture a ghost gun or to manufacture a firearm using a computer
• <00:13:56.000> firearm<00:13:56.720> using<00:13:57.040> a<00:13:57.839> computer
• manufacture a firearm using a computer manufacture a firearm using a computer numerical<00:13:59.120

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I do have information on my computer—I didn't bring it up here—where we looked at that last legislative
• If not, we also have it online on our own computers. Okay.
• Curry, if you don't get it working, we have it on our own computer screens. So it's okay.
• We have it on our own computer screens downloaded, so it's okay. I apologize for that.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• One of the ongoing frustrations that I have are the computers that sit on our desks, and we wind up paying
• One of the ongoing frustrations that I have are the computers that sit on our desks, and we wind up paying
• I have are the computers that sit on our desks, and we wind up paying thousands upon thousands of dollars
• In addition, the state is responsible for furniture, computers, and office equipment for judicial chambers

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I that just does not compute for me.
• So I that just doesn't compute<00:54:34.400> for<00:54:34.559> me.
• 34.720> I'm<00:54:34.960> sorry<00:54:35.200> and<00:54:35.599> probably compute
• I'm sorry and probably compute for me.

Bills: HF3676, HF2959, HF3233

Keywords: Safe at Home, address confidentiality, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, victim privacy, survivor protection, confidential address, protected address, secret address, identity protection, residential confidentiality, program participant, nondiscrimination, court disclosure, protective order, service of process, driver's license, state ID

Transcript Highlights:

• hopefully to help them with travel and expenses and such for their meetings, and if they needed computers
• He said, no computation.
• hopefully to help them with travel and expenses and such for their meetings, and if they needed computers
• He said, no computation.

Bills: HB0122, SF0004, SF0012, SF0013, SF0067, SF0070, SF0124

Keywords: healthcare, rural health, transformation program, funding, incentives, training, access, perpetuity fund, Medicaid, emergency medical services, ground ambulance, healthcare funding, reimbursement rates, military, national guard, reenlistment, extension bonus, Wyoming, Wyoming National Guard, recruitment

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, you know, and they've also interpreted interstate commerce very broadly, uh, using computer, credit
• commerce uh you know very broadly<01:00:56.480> uh<01:00:56.640> using<01:00:57.040> computer
• broadly uh using computer broadly uh using computer uh<01:00:58.640> credit<01:00:58.960>

Bills: SB2198, SB2140, SB3055, SB3090, SB3091, SB3092, SB2761

Keywords: workforce development, craftspersons, skilled trades, artisan, craftsmanship, trade recognition, award program, DLIR, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, vocational education, career pathways, cultural preservation, workforce excellence, apprenticeship, Hawaii trades, economic diversification, public nominations, governor awards, historically significant venue

Transcript Highlights:

• then asked whomever wanted to answer to speak, noting that he was not seeing hands raised on his computer
• see<00:21:03.919> them<00:21:04.159> on<00:21:04.320> my<00:21:05.200> computer
• <00:21:06.000> So, don't see them on my computer here.
• So, don't see them on my computer here.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Legislative Audit Commission Evaluation Subcommittee met on October 6, 2025, to choose additional program evaluation topics for the Office of the Legislative Auditor. Deputy Legislative Auditor Jody Mson Rodriguez explained that the commission had previously selected seven topics from an initial list of 11, with background papers already prepared on five of those items, and that the subcommittee was now being asked to select five more topics for background papers before narrowing the full set to four recommendations later in the fall or early spring. Members discussed several possible topics, especially emergency medical services, non-emergency medical transportation, MinnesotaCare eligibility, child care assistance, medical assistance fraud prevention, and U.S. Bank Stadium. David Kersner of OLA said emergency medical services and non-emergency medical transportation are distinct programs, and noted the EMS topic was evaluated in 2022 while non-emergency medical transportation had not been reviewed since 2011. Auditor Judy Randall said MinnesotaCare eligibility, child care assistance, and medical assistance fraud prevention are better suited to OLA’s financial audit division or special review unit rather than program evaluation, and that financial audits and special reviews do not require Legislative Audit Commission nomination. On process, Mson Rodriguez said the subcommittee had already met its minimum required selections under the commission’s policy and was free to choose additional topics. The discussion also covered whether to broaden the stadium topic beyond U.S. Bank Stadium; staff said the U.S. Bank financing structure alone would be a major undertaking, but they could help craft a future topic focused on maintenance across multiple facilities. No final vote or motion was taken in the portion of the meeting provided, and the chair indicated the committee would continue nominations and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, you wouldn't want a computer doing an assessment on you and determining what your care is
• 00:56:02.400> a so, for example, you wouldn't want a so, for example, you wouldn't want a computer
• 03.599> assessment<00:56:04.000> on<00:56:04.319> you<00:56:04.720> and computer
• doing an assessment on you and computer doing an assessment on you and determining,<00:56:05.760>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm sorry, the settings in the computer. Real quick, you can do whatever you want to do. PDF.
• <00:04:37.800> settings<00:04:38.039> in<00:04:38.120> the<00:04:38.199> computer
• I'm sorry the settings in the computer I'm sorry the settings in the computer real<00:04:38.639>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's all done on the computer now, which is new as of just about two years ago.

Bills: HB8, HB26, HB192

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Transcript Highlights:

• It's all done on the computer now. That's new as of just about two years ago.

Bills: HB8, HB26, HB192

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Transcript Highlights:

• Cars are rolling computers these days. They're very complex, so appraisal can help.

Transcript Highlights:

• We recently had UMass come in, Gina Vincent and her group, and give us an opportunity of the science
• Given the amount of contact, our parolee rates, I think the science is working with supervision efforts
• We’re applying the science and we’re applying best practices to what we do in terms of maintaining public
• There's a science to some of this, and it matters in terms of how we make our decisions.
• So when you start looking at those combinations in science, it's very likely to be successful on their

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Commission on Criminal Justice Reform 3.0 heard a presentation from the Massachusetts Parole Board focused on consolidation, cooperation, and evidence-based supervision across the correctional system. Parole Board Chair Angela Gomez-June described the board’s mission, its coordination with the Department of Correction, houses of correction, courts, probation, law enforcement, victim services, and UMass partners, and outlined 2024 activity including 2,810 institutional release hearings, 18,238 victim notifications, 53 pardon petitions, 70 commutation petitions, 41 early termination applications, and supervision of 2,993 parolees. She emphasized the board’s shift toward individualized, data-driven decision-making, including revised GPS use, graduated sanctions, and more service-oriented community supervision. Members and sheriffs pressed for clearer breakdowns of the board’s data, including the difference between releases, hearings, and active supervision; average length of supervision; the share of lifers in the caseload; and how many people are placed in housing, employment, and treatment. The board said its active supervised population fluctuates around 1,600 to 1,800, with more than 400 lifers, and that about 30 to 36 percent of its population is housed through programs such as MASH, community justice resource centers, and sheriff-run residential programs like Rocky Hill and HOPE. Members also discussed parole refusals, noting that some individuals decline parole to avoid supervision or to serve time inside instead, and asked for a more detailed breakdown of those cases. The board and commission also discussed collaboration with DOC and UMass on risk assessment, reentry planning, and community pathways, including a tablet video explaining the parole process and pharmacist support for medication-related drug test issues. The board reported that after the SJC’s Matus decision, 210 individuals were identified as affected, 144 were immediately eligible for hearings, 100 hearings had been completed, and 10 more were scheduled; it also said clemency and commutation work had been slowed by staffing and Matus-related demands. The meeting ended with a request for follow-up data on outcomes, supervision lengths, housing and employment placements, and other consolidated statistics, and the commission announced its next public hearing for March 9 at 10 a.m. before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• have to come back so that we remind people why we are doing what we're doing and how we're using science
• And I also want to say that the science has changed, and that's why we have to go back and look...
• The science has changed, and that's why we have to go back and look at what the outcomes were when we
• to make sure that each one of the things that we're going through are embedded, again, in fact and science
• I want to... ...not just data and science, but also lived experience.

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.