Transcript Highlights:

• But right now, where we sit at the 22, and if we lifted to 27 base points, we will most likely be left
• And if we're looking to incentivize in a higher incentive base rate, then go with, you know, what the
• higher incentive base rate, then go with higher incentive base rate, then go with um<00:11:39.360
• base rate of 27% example, if we have the base rate of 27% and<00:11:59.320> we<00:11:59.440><
• And again, you don't know based on the spend, which is why that's recommended.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several measures related to Hawaii’s film tax credits, timeshare registration, and a Hawaii Technology Development Corporation matching program. For HB 1939, witnesses from the Governor’s office, DBEDT, the Department of Taxation, the Attorney General’s office, film industry groups, neighborhood boards, and others discussed changes to film tax incentives, including local hire requirements, indigenous content, and possible bonus credits. Supporters said the bill would diversify the economy and strengthen local jobs, while DBEDT and others raised operational, fiscal, and legal concerns about administering the multiple bonus options, defining indigenous content, and tracking compliance. The committee noted strong support in testimony and moved the bill forward with a Senate draft, including an amended effective date and a change to apply the bill to costs incurred rather than taxable years. HB 1941, also relating to taxation and film incentives, drew mixed testimony focused on the interaction between physical production and post-production credits. DBEDT, the Honolulu Film Office, and the Hawaii Film Alliance said the bill’s structure could discourage productions, especially because many productions complete post-production elsewhere and because the measure would be difficult to administer and verify. They urged keeping physical production and post-production separate or addressing post-production through workforce development instead. After hearing the testimony, the chair deferred HB 1941 for further work rather than advancing it. The committee also heard HB 1946 on timeshare registration, which had support from industry representatives and DCCA. The bill was advanced with a Senate draft incorporating DCCA’s requested language providing that renewal applications are deemed approved after 30 days unless a deficiency letter is issued. Finally, HB 2545 on HTDC’s matching program for federal SBIR/STTR awards was advanced with a technical amendment clarifying that the federal awards are separate and should be referenced in the alternative. All three of those measures were adopted unanimously by the members present.

Transcript Highlights:

• We get 20 to 30 years of affordable rates.
• We went from a vacancy rate of 20% when I first arrived to 14%.
• So would this bonding bill hurt our rating or would it help it?
• The estimated completion for that is March 2029 at the rate we're going.
• They're studying it, and it's based on our location studies procedures.

Transcript Highlights:

• That cash flow is your market-rate rents, subtracting out all of your expenses.
• What's really useful about this is that it's zip code-based.
• The affordable rents stay the same because those are HUD-based.
• It's just a kind of Class A market-rate developer. Yeah.
• The impact fee system must be based on the capital facility plan.

Summary: The Senate Housing Committee heard presentations on a range of housing finance, permitting, and affordability tools. Chattanooga described its affordable housing PILOT program, which uses a per-unit property tax abatement tied to the rent loss from providing affordable units, with a 15-year term and annual compliance monitoring. Committee members asked about the program’s structure, whether it had been used elsewhere, and who was participating; the presenter said the first mixed-income project would bring 278 units with 42 affordable units and that the model was attracting private market-rate developers. Shoreline then described its MFTE and inclusionary zoning approach, emphasizing that longer tax exemption periods and station-area zoning changes had helped spur development, with most current pipeline projects concentrated near light rail stations. The committee also heard from the Municipal Research Services Center and the Department of Commerce on tax increment financing, proportional impact fees, and permit timelines. Commerce explained that TIF can fund public improvements such as roads, utilities, broadband, and some affordable housing or child care facilities, while proportional impact fee guidance is intended to help jurisdictions charge fees more closely aligned with actual project impacts. On permit timelines, Commerce presented its first annual report under recent law changes, using 2024 as a baseline year and noting that reported timelines were generally longer than statutory goals; members asked about outliers, paper versus electronic processing, and whether back-and-forth between applicants and staff was driving delays. Commerce said it would follow up with more data, including on CHIP funding and permit reform practices. Several local governments then shared permitting process improvements. Auburn reported relatively short review cycles and described its move to fully electronic permitting, internal performance standards, and a stock plan program that speeds review for repeated home designs. Bellevue described an AI permitting pilot with a local startup to help with pre-application questions, document triage, and plan review, aiming to reduce incomplete applications and revision cycles. Seattle presented a pilot for accessory dwelling unit co-development in which a mission-driven partner would help homeowners split lots, finance, build, and manage ADUs, with the homeowner eventually buying out the partner and retaining ownership; committee members asked about rent setting, management fees, and default risk, and staff said they would follow up. The committee also heard brief overviews of community land trusts and limited equity cooperatives as permanent affordability models, with presenters urging continued state and local funding support and policy recognition for these approaches.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think that we've covered the base on that.
• I think that we covered the base on that.
• And investing in more community-based, research-based violence intervention efforts that center credible
• And we are a nonprofit here based in Albuquerque.
• So when we're talking about match rates... ...that has some proven impact.

Bills: SB5, SB6, SB8

Keywords: physician residency, healthcare, rural communities, medical education, appropriation, education, medical school, New Mexico, construction, behavioral health, funding, mental health services, general fund transfer, 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , the rate is capped at what is already an unreasonable rate of 2.5 percent.
• Now, the rates that I gave you were based on a conversation with a municipal dealer, and they were based
• > on<02:39:45.560> a rates that I gave you um were based on a rates that I gave you um
• <03:00:53.800> They a burn rate um not a burn rate. They a burn rate um not a burn rate.
• Uh WYDOT has a 7% poor rating. rating. rating.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• um as graduation rate or transfer rate um as graduation rate or transfer rate um those<01:03:49.880
• And we set those leases based on appraisals, based on the federal requirements.
• And we set those leases based on appraisals, based on the federal requirements.
• And we set our rate for our road charge based on that, so it's 8 cents of system.
• and we set our rate for our road<02:26:03.040> charge<02:26:03.359> based<02:26:03.560

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Finance Committee held an informational briefing with the University of Hawaiʻi, led by new President Wendy Hensel and Vice President for Budget and Finance Calbert Young. Hensel outlined the university system’s scope, student demographics, research activity, and campus missions, emphasizing four strategic priorities: serving Native Hawaiians and Hawaiʻi, student success, workforce development, and economic diversification through innovation and research. She highlighted the system’s enrollment, research funding, and the roles of Mānoa, Hilo, West Oʻahu, the community colleges, and specialized institutions such as JABSOM and the Cancer Center. Young then reviewed the budget request, focusing largely on making prior one-time appropriations permanent and supporting recurring needs. Items included funding for Mānoa athletics, the Hawaiʻi Institute for Marine Biology, K-12 teacher education, Pamantasan Council support, Hilo programs, Windward’s mental health technician certificate, Maui’s practical nursing bridge program, and student support positions such as financial aid and admissions counselors. He also described workforce-related requests tied to nursing expansion at Mānoa and West Oʻahu, as well as facilities support at West Oʻahu. A major portion of the testimony addressed the university’s two Kakaʻako medical facilities. Young explained that declining tobacco settlement and cigarette tax revenues are no longer sufficient to cover debt service for JABSOM and the Cancer Center, so the governor’s budget includes general fund support to supplement those obligations. He also described a regents-approved request not included in the governor’s proposal: expanding the Hawaiʻi Promise financial aid program to the four-year campuses, estimated at about $11–12 million. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• rate is defined by the state treasur. rate is defined by the state treasur.
• And the interest rate on this RAN is— >> What's the interest rate?
• <01:07:56.160> on could exercise some oversight based on could exercise some oversight based
• tax rate.
• 36:43.520> people<01:36:43.679> of property tax base, the people of property tax base,

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Rates, end of life, you know, dementia.
• Insurance companies have submitted rate increases to DIFI for review, some rates on the low end look
• We take that seriously, and we have our financial people look at those rates.
• For example, for a health insurer, it's risk-based capital.
• For example, for a health insurer, it's, you know, risk-based capital.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The home loan program helps veterans purchase market-rate homes and is over a hundred years old.
• We were able to maintain four- and five-star ratings all throughout COVID.
• You know, Civil War veterans, of course, at the time, you know, rates of literacy in the nation were
• We estimate the total amount of consumption in the state based on survey data.
• But you are right, the combined tax rate can be extremely high.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on State Administration held an informational hearing on budget issues for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Cannabis Control, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and the California Arts Council. The chair noted there would be no votes. CalVet gave an overview of its programs serving veterans and families, including transition assistance, county veterans service officers, education approvals, housing and homelessness programs, home loans, long-term care homes, and state veterans cemeteries. Members asked about future long-term care needs for aging veterans, staffing and recruitment challenges at veterans homes, and the Yountville steam infrastructure replacement project, for which CalVet sought a $38.8 million reappropriation and said federal reimbursement was expected. CalVet also discussed the role of county veterans service officers in helping veterans file claims and avoid predatory unaccredited representatives. The Department of Cannabis Control described its regulatory role from seed to sale and requested one position to implement SB 1064’s combined activities license. Members and public witnesses focused heavily on the illicit cannabis market, enforcement staffing, and the impact of taxes and fees on the legal market. DCC said it had roughly 87 enforcement positions with about a 15% vacancy rate and more than 200 compliance staff. Its economist presented the 2024 cannabis market report, which found licensed production and retail quantity were up, but retail value and prices were down, with an estimated 11.4 million pounds of illicit production and about 60% of California consumption still coming from the illicit market. Industry witnesses argued the legal market is in crisis, urged repeal of the scheduled excise tax increase, stronger enforcement against illicit cannabis and hemp-derived intoxicants, and expanded retail access. The Department of Consumer Affairs briefly presented nine budget proposals, including a $2.6 million ongoing request to maintain a business modernization system for several boards and bureaus. The Commission on the Status of Women and Girls described its work on economic and educational equity, health care, violence prevention, student rights, and archival and outreach projects, and said its budget request would convert limited-term positions to permanent. A member urged the commission to narrow its priorities toward current issues such as affordability, child care, and women’s health. The California Arts Council outlined its role as the state’s only statewide arts funder and requested restoration of $5 million in local assistance; supporters testified that the funding would leverage additional local investment and help sustain arts access, especially in rural communities. The hearing ended after the non-presentation items were noted and no further public comment was offered.

Transcript Highlights:

• is also based on firthand experience. is also based on firthand experience.
• , the indirect cost rate, it's this is<03:18:55.439> a<03:18:55.600> rate<03:18:55.760>
• It's um it faster rate than it has.
• It’s looking at holding New Hampshire rates as they are now and only changing the discount rate to keep
• New Hampshire rates as they are now and only effect, you know, changing the discount rate to keep New

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That’s thanks to science-based oversight by the FDA.
• And we trust the FDA and its science-based approach.
• Evidence-based training for every faculty member is crucial.
• That is half the national average of 10% survival rate.
• The school-based mental health program, and specifically H-545, The school-based mental health program

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held a public hearing on a large slate of bills, with the chairs emphasizing time limits, written testimony, and grouping similar measures together. Early testimony focused on opioid use disorder education in schools (S.382), with Senator Keenan arguing that students should be taught about the risks of substance use disorder and naloxone use as part of health curricula. Representative DeCost also briefly introduced H.551, a narrow bill concerning parent rights for children in third grade and younger. Several bills were then closed without testimony, including measures on type 1 diabetes informational materials and other diabetes-related proposals. A major portion of the hearing centered on school health and emergency response bills. Supporters of H.652/S.342 on diabetes management in schools described inconsistent district practices and urged clearer standards so students can receive care in classrooms rather than being sent out of instruction. Bills on epinephrine access and seizure disorders drew extensive testimony: advocates for stock epinephrine in schools argued that unassigned epinephrine can save lives and should be funded in a cost-neutral way, while a pediatrician opposed one version as an unfunded mandate. For seizure-safe schools (S.422/H.635), students, parents, educators, and advocates described missed or delayed responses to seizures, stigma, and the need for staff training, seizure action plans, and emergency medication protocols. A separate bill, H.645, allowing anti-seizure medication on school buses, was supported by a parent and student who said current law forces costly and restrictive transportation arrangements. The committee also heard testimony on youth skin health bills (S.334/H.600/H.619), which would let students carry and apply sunscreen at school and camp without a physician’s note. Supporters from melanoma prevention, dermatology, and industry groups said the bills would remove unnecessary barriers and promote sun-safe habits, while one witness cautioned about drafting details and unintended consequences. The hearing then moved to CPR/AED education for graduation (S.456), where Senator Tarr, a student advocate, and the Red Cross all supported requiring hands-on CPR certification for high school students. Finally, the committee took testimony on healthy school lunches (H.539/S.401): supporters from the Healthy School Lunch Coalition and school food directors backed stronger nutrition standards and a standing advisory council, while Consumer Brands Association witnesses opposed the bill as too vague and potentially disruptive. A nutrition scientist also warned about unintended restrictions on medically necessary or innovative foods. The chairs closed the hearing on the healthy lunch bills and then opened testimony on universal school meals for virtual schools (H.700), with Superintendent Patrick Latuka supporting access for students in Commonwealth virtual schools who currently receive no meal support.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the first line is the base payroll changes.
• Next item is adjust-based funding for the highly rural transportation grant program.
• That new rate.
• It's basically just to sustain the rate. He would be getting another raise.
• I mean, do you have one every year, or based upon availability from OMB?

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee took up Senate Bill 2025, the Veterans Home/Veterans Affairs budget, and worked through the long sheet line by line. Members discussed base payroll, salary and health insurance increases, FTE pool adjustments, IT rate increases, operating expenses, transportation grants, the PTSD service dog program, salary equity requests, temporary help/intern funding, a Veterans Benefit Specialist FTE, accrued leave, and several one-time or carryover items including the Fisher House, document scanning, and veterans medical transportation. The committee also reviewed proposed policy language that would shift governance authority for the Veterans Home and Department of Veterans Affairs from the Administrative Committee on Veterans Affairs to the governor, and would remove board authority over salary-setting and related hiring powers. A major portion of the meeting focused on clarifying the commissioner salary equity line and how the agency had shifted operating dollars to fund the commissioner’s current salary increase. After discussion with agency staff and Lonnie, the committee voted to remove the separate commissioner salary equity increase line and instead restore operating funding, ultimately setting the operating line at $50,000 above the prior amount rather than fully funding the executive request. The committee also approved funding for the Veterans Benefit Specialist FTE, approved a carryforward/exemption for accrued leave, approved authority to accept $200,000 in federal transportation grant funds, approved the $500,000 transfers related to veterans homelessness, and approved the exemption language for certain federal/state fiscal recovery funds after discussing whether the funds were properly obligated. On the governance amendment, members expressed concern about making a major policy change in an appropriations bill, but also frustration over the board’s salary actions. After debate, the committee adopted the amendment transferring governance authority to the governor by a 7-1 vote. The committee also approved a smaller amount for veteran service officer salary equity than requested, and rejected funding for temporary salaries and an intern. The chair then directed staff to prepare the amended bill for further action, with the committee planning to revisit it once the revised version was ready.

Transcript Highlights:

• But I mean the biggest thing I hear is our electric rates are high and we can't afford it.
• But I mean the biggest thing I hear is our electric rates are high and we can't afford it.
• But I mean the biggest thing I hear is our electric rates are high and we can't afford it.
• <00:28:42.399> Um, a base and then working from there.
• Um, a base and then working from there.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Section four ensures public agencies are charged fair and reasonable rates for legally required notices
• Section four ensures public agencies are charged fair and reasonable rates for legally required notices
• Section four ensures public agencies are charged fair and reasonable rates for legally required notices
• Section four ensures public agencies are charged fair and reasonable rates for legally required notices
• Kentucky is short 206,000 housing units, and if we continue the current developing rate in the next 5

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:04 Attendance Roll Call: 00:08 SB 141 Discussion 00:58 SB 141 Vote 07:03 SB 9 Discussion 09:10 SB 9 Vote 19:47 Adjournment: 21:20, 958, all

Summary: The Senate State and Local Government Committee first took up Senate Bill 141, sponsored by Senator Given, which revises Kentucky’s public notice laws. Senator Given said the bill was the product of negotiations among the Kentucky Press Association, the Kentucky League of Cities, and the Kentucky Association of Counties, aiming to balance transparency with the cost of publication. Testimony described changes to clarify which newspapers may publish legal notices, address publication errors, ensure fair and reasonable rates, update ad size requirements, and provide more practical hearing timelines. Committee members praised the compromise and the bill’s modernization, including expanded online access to public notices. SB 141 passed 10-0 with favorable expression. The committee then considered Senate Bill 9, sponsored by Senator Mills, and first adopted a substitute that addressed concerns from Farm Bureau and the Kentucky Bankers Association. Senator Mills said Kentucky faces a significant housing shortage and that the bill would give local governments two tools to encourage development without direct state cost: a residential infrastructure development district and a housing development district. He explained that the first tool would help finance infrastructure within a district through bonds repaid by special assessments, while the second would allow local governments to negotiate incentives and streamlined review for larger housing projects. Members asked about public participation, local control, infrastructure financing, and whether the bill required affordable housing set-asides; Mills said the bill leaves those decisions to local governments. SB 9 passed 9-0 with one pass and favorable expression.

Transcript Highlights:

• We host work sessions with outcome-based agendas and annual advisements.
• You can see that the belonging rate is higher for both elementary and secondary students.
• That ought to be in base budget type of things. They've been around a while.
• The monthly rate is picking up to about where it was in 2023.
• What is the probability that these are based on as far as the...

Transcript Highlights:

• Our overall retention from last academic year, we've had an 85.6% retention rate, which is good.
• Currently, we are at a 92.31% pass rate for all of our students.
• We'll continue to enhance our student support services for high retention and graduation rates.
• That is one of the things that added to our retention rate as well.
• Similarly, Functional Family Therapy is another evidence-based program that's based on the family system

Transcript Highlights:

• Tumblr is largely considered to be an anonymous and text-based social media platform.
• That said, high rates of harm do not make these spaces feel disposable for those on them.
• In a more recent California-based randomized controlled trial, we enrolled 900 Los Angeles-based Black
• LGBTQ+ young people continue to experience high rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
• This highlights the need for a balanced, evidence-based approach.

Summary: The Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational hearing on the impact of social media on LGBTQ+ youth, focusing on benefits, risks, and possible safeguards. Chair members framed the discussion around the tension between protecting young people from addictive design, harassment, hate speech, exploitation, and mental health harms while preserving access to affirming resources, community, and crisis support that many LGBTQ+ youth rely on online. Members emphasized that the hearing was meant to inform future policy rather than relitigate prior bills, and several members of the LGBTQ+ Caucus attended or participated. The first panel featured lived experience and advocacy testimony from Madi Roby of Alliance for Trans Youth Rights, Shea Gardner of LGBT Tech, and Casey Pick of the Trevor Project. Roby described social media as essential to exploring identity, finding trans language and safety information, and connecting to Trevor Project resources during a family crisis, while also acknowledging online hate and bullying. Gardner argued that lawmakers should regulate harms more precisely rather than impose broad age-based exclusions, warning that account bans and age-gating could cut off access to community, privacy-protective pseudonymity, and crisis resources. Pick testified that LGBTQ+ youth are more likely than peers to attempt suicide, that social media can be both a lifeline and a risk, and that Trevor Space and other moderated online spaces can improve mental health and reduce isolation; she also cautioned against policies that would push youth into less visible, less moderated spaces. Committee members questioned the witnesses about algorithmic feeds, addictive design, age verification, and whether platforms should be required to do more to protect youth. Several lawmakers distinguished between personalized feeds and addictive features such as infinite scroll and autoplay, and asked for more targeted prescriptions. Witnesses generally supported stronger privacy protections, limits on data collection and use, better reporting and moderation tools, digital literacy, and design changes that reduce harmful engagement patterns without eliminating access to community. The discussion also touched on the loss of LGBTQ-specific 988 services at the national level and the importance of maintaining alternative support pathways. The second panel presented research from Common Sense Media, UC Irvine, Hope Lab, and LGBTQ+ Health Australia. Researchers reported that LGBTQ+ youth often arrive online with higher depressive symptoms and limited in-person support, encounter homophobic and transphobic content at high rates, and may self-censor because of fear of harassment. At the same time, many said social media helps them feel less alone and find affirmation. Dr. Sean Young emphasized a harm-reduction approach, noting that online environments can be designed to support health and that policymakers should measure whether restrictions actually reduce harm or simply displace it. Dr. Amy Green echoed that social media is both harmful and supportive for LGBTQ+ youth, underscoring that the policy goal should be to make youth safer rather than less visible online.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well known are the high rates of retail theft and property crime.
• Release rates for this program have remained conservative, and recidivism rates are among...
• Release rates for this program have remained conservative, and recidivism rates are among the lowest
• Even so, elderly parole grant rates are extremely low at just 11%.
• California has one of the lowest parole grant rates in the country.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• THEN THE MAJOR CHANGE IN MORTGAGE RATES PROCEED THAT.
• THE INTEREST RATES WERE INCREDIBLY LOW.
• MORTGAGE RATES STARTED TO RISE. THAT ROSE THE SALES DOWN A BIT.
• THE NATION HAS GONE UP AT A SLIGHTLY HIGHER RATE. SLIGHTLY FASTER RATE.
• EVEN IF THE RATE IS NOT MOVING, YOU ARE STILL LOOKING AT A 30% INCREASE.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• rate by August 1st, 2028. rate by August 1st, 2028.
• > we Based on these conversations, we Based on these conversations, we supported<00:36:41.680>
• <00:46:12.240> on to this outdated law and paid based on to this outdated law and paid based
• 13.960> rather<00:46:14.240> than based on their disabilities rather than based on their
• <00:46:44.200> on have unique, valuable skills based on have unique, valuable skills based

Keywords: 1187, senate, all