Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Fine, added a very good amendment that expands eligibility for the Florida Academic Scholars Award
• Senator Fine, added a very good amendment that expands eligibility for the Florida Academic Scholars Award
• to include the AP Capstone designation, which was one of three eligible. award to include the AP capstone
• And we wanted to make sure that it is included for award for the FAS. That's the bill.
• note, the design we completed received the American Society of Civil Engineers Project of the Year Award

Summary: The committee first heard CS/SB 270, which would extend Bright Futures eligibility by 12 months for certain students whose parent was serving overseas in public service and then retired, giving military and diplomatic families more time to return to Florida without losing scholarship eligibility. Senator Burgess also explained a late-filed amendment to set the bill’s effective implementation for the 2025-26 school year, and the committee adopted the amendment without objection. The bill received supportive testimony, including from Senator Smith, and was reported favorably by a roll call vote. The remainder of the meeting focused on confirmation hearings for appointees to state college boards of trustees, with the chair emphasizing a new process of hearing from each nominee individually rather than taking a blanket vote. Nominees from Tallahassee State College, St. Johns River State College, South Florida State College, Broward College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, and Valencia College described their backgrounds and priorities, which largely centered on workforce development, nursing and health sciences, dual enrollment, fiscal responsibility, student retention, and partnerships with local employers and communities. Several nominees highlighted their own educational or professional ties to the colleges, and some noted the importance of serving rural or military-connected communities. One nominee, John Aloko for Pasco-Hernando State College, was not present because he was attending a conference in Hawaii and was deferred to a later hearing. After hearing all other nominees, the committee voted to recommend confirmation of the remaining appointees in a block vote, covering Tabs 2 through 22 except Tab 8, and the motion passed. Two members later asked to be recorded as voting in the affirmative on earlier items.

Transcript Highlights:

• With Texas Workforce Commission, we work very closely with them, we give out, we hire. vets awards.
• This program allows us to award grants to non-profit organizations.
• over and above the above and beyond awards, and in fact, the three awardees that are in the DFW. that
• we've submitted for national awards go above and beyond, and most often it's just a lack of information
• Veterans Services and recently the Fund for Veterans Assistance, which awards grants from the proceeds

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so you can see there that that award is $114 million, and we serve roughly 21,000 children through
• last slide is our proposed number of students we're serving within the program and the slots we're awarding
• So it looks like FY26, $114 million was awarded, and then moving from '26 to '27, $107 million.
• So $114 million is the total amount of our award. It's our allocation. That's the allocation.
• And again, that's the information that we use when we're awarding slots with ABC.

Summary: The Early Childhood Committee met to receive an update from the Office of Early Childhood on Arkansas child care and early learning programs. Committee members discussed the state’s child care crisis, including reported economic losses from lack of access, the need to track access, affordability, workforce shortages, rural and infant/toddler care gaps, and the role of local leads in identifying needs across the state. The committee also approved the February 17 minutes. Office of Early Childhood staff explained their responsibilities under the LEARNS Act, including kindergarten readiness, provider quality, and access to affordable seats. They reviewed licensing, quality efforts, and the two main funding streams: School Readiness Assistance (SRA), a federally funded voucher program serving about 14,600 children with a wait list of more than 3,000, and Arkansas Better Chance (ABC), a state-funded program serving about 23,000 children, with approval to increase to 24,000 slots. Members asked about the difference between market rate surveys and cost analyses, and staff said the office is procuring both, with results expected by the end of the year. Several members raised concerns about funding levels, especially that ABC reimbursement has not kept pace with K-12 funding increases and that child care reimbursement remains below the true cost of care. Staff said ABC requires certified teachers and lower ratios than SRA, but pays less, and that some federal pre-K slots were moved into ABC to preserve continuity of care. They also explained that SRA eligibility changes, including a higher work requirement and ending a child care worker eligibility category, were made to reduce spending and serve families on the wait list. The committee discussed communication with providers and parents, technical assistance for centers, and possible future legislative action to stabilize providers and expand access, but no votes or formal actions were taken beyond approving the minutes and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill hopefully will provide relief to then 71-year-old Patricia Moni, who was awarded funds by a
• The jury awarded $750,000 in damages.
• The first trial locally when, you know, they awarded her that Representative Hartman: $750,000 and they
• cause of McKenzie's death. in an active claims bill provide the father with relief that the jury awarded
• be here to present it, but it's a fact of life and the justification for what happened should be awarded

Transcript Highlights:

• So there's a difference between the amount we award and the amount we disperse.
• So we make an award up to $250,000 and then schools need to meet certain benchmarks.
• In order to receive up to 250,000 so I don't want to you know it's semantic so we awarded eight loans
• and of that amount I have to I don't want to have the disperse versus the award amount but it would
• be a fraction of two million dollars so eight loans awarded for with a total value of two million dollars

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're the non-profit of the year for Lee County, and they're going to be receiving an award tomorrow
• This is not an award just to Bailey Trujillo, folks.
• This is an award to the state of New Mexico for what this young lady has done.
• flight engineer and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor and the prestigious Red Irwin Award
• veteran entrepreneurship earned him multiple honors, including the SBA Veteran Service Acceptance Award

Transcript Highlights:

• rise in support of Senate Resolution 326, urging the President of the United States to posthumously award
• rise in support of Senate Resolution 326, urging the President of the United States to posthumously award
• President, the Medal of Honor is awarded for gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, for courage
• The Medal of Honor is awarded for gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, for courage that changes

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then received communications recalling it for voting session and referring gubernatorial nominations and a series of Senate and House bills and resolutions to standing committees. Leaves of absence were granted, and the chamber recessed briefly for committee meetings and party caucuses before reconvening. On the floor, the Senate unanimously agreed to House Bill 1102 and later passed Senate Bill 1133 and Senate Bill 1303 by 50-0 votes. Several measures were set aside to their proper place in the calendar or re-referred, including Senate Bill 1182 and House Bill 928 to Appropriations. The Senate also adopted multiple amendments to Senate Bill 1372, including a technical amendment from Senator Brooks, an amendment offered on behalf of Senator Loughlin, and Senator Fontana’s amendment requiring carbon monoxide detectors in child care facilities; after amendment, Senate Bill 1372 was held over. The chamber adopted Senate Resolution 326 urging a posthumous Medal of Honor for Major Richard Winters. During petitions and remonstrances, Senator Tartaglione urged action to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, noting it has been 20 years since the last increase. Senator Dush honored Colonel James C. Harding on his birthday, highlighting his military service and decorations. Senator Street introduced a discharge resolution to force consideration of adult-use cannabis legalization, arguing the issue has bipartisan support and should receive a vote. Senator Dush also delivered extended remarks on the Founders, John Adams, religion, and the Constitution. Committee reports followed, including Appropriations reporting Senate Bills 1061, 1182, and 1303 as committed and House Bill 2400 as amended, and Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure reporting House Bill 2426 as committed. The Senate then considered supplemental calendars, adopting an amendment to Senate Bill 1182 and passing Senate Bill 1303 on final passage, both by 50-0 votes. The chamber was also notified of upcoming committee meetings, and it recessed until June 30, 2026, at 11 a.m., unless recalled sooner.

Transcript Highlights:

• relates to paddle wheel prizes and establishes the maximum value of a merchandise prize that may be awarded
• prize<00:10:30.120> that<00:10:30.280> may<00:10:30.440> be<00:10:30.560> awarded
• merchandise prize that may be awarded merchandise prize that may be awarded for<00:10:31.400>

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The committee took up a series of conference amendments to House File 4188. The A24 amendment, described by nonpartisan staff as a technical change to data-sharing language, was modified on the floor to delete everything after the reference to section 295.52, then adopted. The A17 amendment, which adjusted effective dates in a previously enacted liquor bill so several provisions would take effect July 1 instead of August 1, was also adopted after staff noted it affected the happy hour provision and two other liquor-related sections involving coolers/nonalcoholic beverages and resorts. The A20 amendment, which changed notification language and directed penalties into a victim’s crime account, and the A22 amendment, a set of technical corrections requested by the Department of Commerce on reinsurance administration, were both adopted. The A23 amendment, adding residential mortgage originators and servicers into chapter 58, was likewise adopted. The committee then considered several Senate provisions. A motion to adopt Senate Article 4, sections 8 through 12, which would prohibit the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores with a grandfather for existing businesses, was debated and failed on a roll call because it did not receive enough House-side votes. A separate motion to adopt Senate Article 4, section 35, dealing with paddle wheel prizes and the maximum value of merchandise prizes for paddle tickets, also failed for lack of sufficient House-side support. Another Senate motion to adopt Article 4, sections 13 through 14, which would restrict minors’ access to chat bots and create Attorney General enforcement and a transition period, was discussed at length. Supporters framed it as a consumer protection measure, while Chair O'Driscoll raised concerns about enforceability and broader AI-related policy needs; the motion failed on a roll call. After the failed motions, the committee recessed to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• says agency must either create a plan to satisfy the remaining concerns with a grantee or must not award
• with a grantee or remaining concerns with a grantee or must<00:08:07.040> not<00:08:07.360> award
• <00:08:08.680> I<00:08:08.760> think<00:08:09.000> that's must not award the
• I think that's must not award the grant.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And the court awarded custody of my daughter to my abuser, a college graduate in his 30s, and ordered
• Indiana.<00:05:16.080> And<00:05:16.320> the<00:05:16.560> court<00:05:17.280> awarded
• And the court awarded custody Indiana.
• And the court awarded custody of<00:05:18.960> my<00:05:19.360> daughter<00:05:20.160><

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Standing Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection met with a quorum and heard one agenda item, Senate Bill 156, which would close remaining loopholes in Kentucky’s child marriage law and require marriage at 18. Senator Julie Rocky Adams presented the bill, joined by Donna Simmons of the Revive Collective, who gave extensive testimony about her own experience with child marriage, abuse, and the legal and institutional failures she said allowed exploitation to continue. Adams said the 2018 law setting 18 as the marriage age had been undermined by the 17-year-old exception and that the bill would simply eliminate that exception. Committee members responded sympathetically. Senator Boswell said he supported the bill but raised questions about how it would affect some 17- and 18-year-old couples, suggesting the issue might need further tightening. Senator Smith praised Simmons for sharing her story and said the committee should examine broader institutional failures that left her without protection. Adams reiterated that the bill was intended to close a loophole that had been exploited and not followed as intended. A motion and second were made, and the committee voted unanimously in favor of SB 156. The chair announced that the bill passed with a favorable expression. No other business was taken up before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Her law degree is from the University of San Diego School of Law, and she was awarded the university's
• Community Defenders Award, which recognizes commitment to constitutional protections for indigent criminal
• Her law degree is from the University of San Diego School of Law, and she was awarded the university's
• Community Defenders Award, which recognizes commitment to constitutional protections for indigent criminal

Bills: HB9, SB2069, SB2342, SB2861, SB3123, SB2623, SB585, SB2211, SB2446, SB2919, SB2125, SB2116, SB2999, SB2656, SB2001, SB3169

Keywords: HB9, Hawaii Purple Heart state, Purple Heart, Purple Heart recipients, veterans, military, armed forces, service members, combat wounded, war veterans, military honors, state designation, symbolic legislation, honorary designation, Chapter 5 HRS, Hawaii Revised Statutes, military appreciation, veteran recognition, SB2069, Hawaii housing

Transcript Highlights:

• As seen in the table on the slide, the number of schools awarded program grant monies has grown substantially
• In fiscal year 2025, the department awarded more than $128 million in program monies to place 1,086 school
• However, our review of 16 schools awarded a grant for a school safety position found that the department
• This section provides information related to the school safety program, such as how the department awarded

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• are being spent evenly between greater Minnesota and the metro area and that nonprofits receiving awards
• metro area and that<00:03:27.040> nonprofits<00:03:27.840> receiving<00:03:28.319> awards
• <00:03:29.040> must that nonprofits receiving awards must that nonprofits receiving awards

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• On slide seven, we have Title III A, and this has a preliminary FY26 award of $4.7 million to support
• In general, on slide nine, we have IDEA B, and this has a preliminary award for FY26 of $84.1 million
• Lost nonprofit funding, but there may be statutory barriers to backfilling grants that were awarded to

Transcript Highlights:

• We've won awards two years in a row. And our mission is to help those kids.
• We've won awards two years in a country.
• We've won awards two years in a row.<00:56:53.040> And<00:56:53.280> our<00:56:53.520><
• Would it be better used to offset some of the costs or to award more scholarships in the following year
• what they can receive in an award? what they can receive in an award?

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The commission to study the cost of special education met, confirmed a quorum, introduced members and guests, and approved the minutes from the October 29 meeting. Members noted the commission’s mandate under Senate Bill 57 and emphasized the need to focus on recommendations and findings by July 1, 2026. The chair also distributed additional handouts, including materials related to the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program and administrative rules tied to differentiated aid and disability determinations. The main discussion centered on how students qualify for differentiated aid under the EFA program. Matt Sutherton of the Children’s Scholarship Fund explained that the organization, which contracts with the state to administer EFAs, accepts either school-district/IEP documentation or a medical certification of disability (MCD) from a licensed medical professional. Members questioned how this process relates to the state’s special education rules and whether the school-district examiner standards in ED 107/1107.04 apply to EFAs. Sutherton said the MCD form, created with the department, requires the medical professional to sign that they are qualified to make the determination and to identify the disability. Several members expressed concern that the EFA process is less rigorous than the school-district IEP process and may be inflating disability counts. One member argued that the administrative rules cited are primarily for school districts, not EFAs, and said the Department of Education may not know how many of the roughly 890 EFA students receiving differentiated aid came through school-district documentation versus the MCD pathway. Another member said the EFA system appears more generous than the school system and raised concerns about oversight, auditing, and whether the program’s data are accurate. Sutherton said the organization reviews signed documentation, credentials, and diagnosis information, and may request additional records to help adjudicate expenses. No votes or formal actions were taken beyond approving the prior minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• >> The ask was over $1 billion, and we awarded over $300 million last year.
• That's because in 2024 we did not award projects; they were not ready to be awarded. >> So basically
• We expect them to have all the discretionary approval before we award them financing.
• <00:32:57.600> financing, projects that are awarded financing, projects that are awarded financing
• We wouldn't want award them financed.

Bills: HB1719, HB1742, HB1737, HB2049, HB1725, HB1726, HB1738, HB1799, HB1700

Keywords: housing crisis, manufactured homes, factory-built housing, zoning, relocatable housing units, farm employee housing, agriculture, Hawaii Revised Statutes, agricultural districts, land use, regulation, renewable energy, community development, housing, affordable housing, real estate, state regulation, building codes, construction, permitting

Summary: The joint public hearing covered several housing-related bills and one building-code measure. HB 1719 would make manufactured homes a permitted use by right on residentially zoned lots in the urban district, HB 1742 would authorize self-contained relocatable housing units with restrictions, and HB 1737 would clarify that a farm dwelling in an agricultural district may include an accessory employee housing structure. Testimony on these bills was overwhelmingly supportive from groups including Hawaii Realtors, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Housing Hawaii’s Future, the Modular Building Institute, the Hawaii Farmers Union, and others, with a few agencies offering comments. No one testified in opposition on HB 1719 or HB 1742, while HB 1737 drew one opposition and one comment in addition to broad support. No votes were taken during the hearing segment provided. A major portion of the hearing focused on HB 2049, which restructures the conveyance tax into a marginal-rate system and changes how the revenue is allocated, including funding for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the rental housing revolving fund, while also affecting the legacy land conservation fund. Supporters, including DHHL, Hawaii Appleseed, Aahu Youth Action Board, Hawaii YIMBY, and others, argued the bill would help Native Hawaiian housing and, for most transactions, function as a tax cut. Opponents, including NAP Hawaii, Hawaii Realtors, Hawaii Land Trust, Mhai Land Trust, and the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, objected to using conveyance tax as a revenue-generating tool and raised concerns about higher upfront costs and reduced funding for other housing uses. Committee members and staff discussed the bill’s revenue estimates, the reduced percentage but higher cap for the land conservation fund, the effect on rental housing funding, and the bill’s cost-of-living adjustment language; staff said a line-by-line comparison of the current and proposed tax structure would be provided before decision-making. The hearing also took up HB 1725, which would extend the state building code adoption cycle from two years to six years, apply the IRC to triplexes and fourplexes, allow counties to adopt more or less stringent amendments, and appropriate funds for code adoption work. Most testimony supported the bill, with advocates saying the current process is unmanageable, too resource-intensive, and creates confusion because state and county codes can diverge; supporters said a longer cycle would improve clarity and allow more focused review. The International Code Council and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers opposed the measure, warning that delaying adoption could have negative consequences and urging the committee to let an existing statewide code-adoption strategy proceed first. Members asked about sequencing, county implementation, and whether the longer cycle would create catch-up problems, but no action was taken in the excerpt provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• term of years columns type total award term of years and<00:32:08.480> uh<00:32:08.720> I<
• Out of the award, their fee came first.
• Out of the award, their fee came first.
• I was told that when these claims are awarded, usually the attorneys were paid upfront.
• Out of the award, their fee came first.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first approved the March 21 minutes and then took up a consent calendar, withdrawing several items before adopting the remainder. It also moved item FIS 25103 to the table by a 6-4 vote after Senator Gray argued the Executive Council had not yet acted on a prior $5 million approval and that the committee should avoid adding to the rainy day fund draw. The committee then approved item 25106 for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources/State Library after hearing that the department expected about a $400,000 lapse to return to the state. A major discussion centered on New Hampshire Police Standards and Training (item 2577). Senator Gray questioned whether a proposed equipment purchase could be delayed to the next biennium in light of the state’s deficit and rainy day fund use. The agency said the equipment was needed now for scenario training, vendors had already been identified, and delaying would likely increase costs and force continued reliance on unpaid volunteer help. The committee ultimately approved the item. The committee also approved Department of Energy item 2587 after hearing that federal weatherization funds are drawn down on a reimbursement basis, and item 2588 after similar testimony that weatherization work must be completed and inspected before reimbursement, limiting how quickly funds can be expended. Item 250094 had been withdrawn. Later, the committee discussed Senator Carson’s request for an LBA review of the YDC claims settlement fund, with members expressing concern about administrative costs, attorney fees, settlement-loan payoffs, and the need for more detailed reporting. The committee voted to direct LBA to conduct the audit described in Senator Carson’s memo, with the additional request that the review include the term over which attorney fees are paid. The meeting then moved on to an HHS staff item, where members began questioning the timing of dashboard data and reporting delays.

Transcript Highlights:

• And they cannot issue those contract awards without approval from the division.
• The main projects that we have in there is our Economic Development Awards Program.
• And within the Economic Development Awards Program is... Development Awards Program.
• And within the Economic Development Awards Program, it's also our Economic Development Site Readiness
• So just a little bit about the Economic Development Awards Program, what we know is EDAP, is this is

Keywords: 965, house, all

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee held an informational hearing on the state capital outlay process, with Roger Husser and Matt Baker of the Division of Administration’s Office of Facilities Planning and Control (FPNC) presenting a detailed review of House Bill 2 and proposed improvements. They said FPNC administers about 54% of the bill, while other agencies administer the rest, and emphasized that the capital outlay program has improved significantly over the last few years, with project expenditures more than doubling due to better cash-flow management, staffing changes, and more efficient project administration. They also explained how the bill is structured by priorities, how the priority-one cash line of credit is capped and adjusted for construction inflation, and how the bill has grown into a much larger, longer-range plan than a true five-year program, especially on the non-state side. A major theme was that the bill contains too many dormant, legacy, and low-priority projects, which creates false expectations and ties up funding. Committee members pressed the presenters on culture change, third-party project management, staffing shortages, and the use of technology and statutory interpretation to speed projects without sacrificing compliance. Husser and Baker said they had reduced internal bureaucracy, used staff augmentation because of hiring difficulties, delegated smaller projects to agencies when appropriate, and improved cash-flow analysis so projects can move forward with less money up front. They also discussed overappropriations, dormant projects, and the need to reappropriate unused funds to projects that can actually spend them. The presenters offered several recommendations and considerations: limit the number and size of new projects, reduce scope creep, require more regular endorsement of long-running projects, consider caps on priority-five funding, impose time limits and reporting requirements on non-state grant projects, and possibly require non-state entities to escrow or otherwise demonstrate their match earlier. They also suggested bundling related projects together, expanding that approach beyond the current pilot, and improving transparency by showing full project funding history and the first year each project appeared in the bill. No votes were taken, and the meeting remained informational, with members generally supportive of the efficiency reforms while also raising concerns about false hope, dormant projects, and the need for clearer expectations and accountability.

Transcript Highlights:

• Expanding administrative discretion, particularly in awarding earned time or accelerating parole, can
• I feel like the word damage award is a little bit too encompassing in this space.
• Um, and so what we want to do is provide more tightly defined damage award and not bring in all those
• defines them as damage awards. defines them as damage awards.
• more more tightly defined damage award more more tightly defined damage award and<02:54:47.279><

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Twelve percent of awards went toward advanced manufacturing, supporting Minnesota's role as a leader
• 12% of awards went toward Advanced<00:53:23.200> manufacturing<00:53:24.040> supporting
• Each of them was awarded a Workforce Development scholarship to help them pursue their education and
• Each of them was awarded a Workforce Development scholarship to help them pursue their education and
• Forty-two percent of scholarships were awarded to students entering health care services, addressing

Keywords: 1183, house