Transcript Highlights:

• Those have to do with the Secretary of State's grant program.
• One of the things that it says in the grant program that we're concerned about is any other project or
• As in the grant program that we're concerned about, it includes any other project or program expenses
• of money for another new program, this one called the Voter Access Grant Program.
• Voter Access Grant Program.

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The BRIC grant program has a very large pot of money for shovel-ready projects and a very small pot of
• program that The state local cybersecurity grant program is working its way through Congress, I think
• to schools for career and tech education programs. ...grants to schools for career and tech education
• programs.
• Grants management, again, so our existing grants management program was developed in 2008 with ARRA money

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The hearing reconvened with testimony from several agencies on their capital budget requests. The Department of Environmental Services requested a little over $38 million, with major emphasis on dam repairs and design work for aging state-owned dams, including a $5.25 million match for possible FEMA BRIC funding at Pawtuckaway/Tuckaway and other projects such as Milton Three Ponds, Murphy Dam, and Lakeport Gates. DES also requested funding for state revolving loan fund matches, a Superfund match for the Savage Well site, IT and air-monitoring upgrades, and a new $750,000 cybersecurity request for water and wastewater systems. Committee members asked about FEMA eligibility, the distinction between design and construction money, and the timing and risk of banking funds if federal grants do not materialize. The University System of New Hampshire requested $20 million in state support, primarily $15 million for a major Diamond Library renovation at UNH to create a student support hub and reduce/repurpose collection space, plus $2.5 million each for deferred maintenance at Plymouth State and Keene State. The Community College System requested about $16.6 million across seven projects, led by critical maintenance, campus safety/security upgrades, IT infrastructure, parking and site improvements, HVAC replacement at White Mountains Community College in Littleton, a building management/energy system, and modernization of NHTI’s dental clinic and radiology spaces. The Department of Education requested $29.5 million, including a $4.9 million internal management platform to replace paper-based and siloed systems, plus career and technical education capital projects; Milford’s CTE project was described as being revised after repeated failed bond votes, while ConVal said its revised project would focus on modernizing existing CTE space and adding a security vestibule. Fish and Game requested $1.075 million for three facilities: Sewall Falls in Concord, the Lancaster Armory, and the Bunker Lane Barn in Durham, focusing on structural repairs, security, reconfiguration, and in one case replacement of a failing barn with a new 40-by-60 building. The department also said hatchery work is ongoing but that it is taking a cautious approach because of the planned New Hampton Hatchery and future capital needs. The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources requested $9.26 million for eight projects, including campground electrical upgrades at Ellacoya and Lake Francis, White Lake water system replacement, Mount Washington fuel tank and safety work, Odiorne Point visitor center work funded through parks revenue, roofing and parking lot repairs, Fox Forest office safety upgrades, and historic site repairs at White Island and Fort Constitution. Members asked about revenue-based capital, the stability of the parks fund, and flexibility in choosing projects as bids come in. The Department of Transportation began its presentation at the end of the transcript, but its detailed requests were not yet discussed.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think you said there was a $1.5 million federal grant and a $10 million grant.
• I imagine that all the other grants within this program are being treated the same way.
• I imagine that all the other grants within this program are being treated the same way.
• </c> of this program but also the pro program of this program but also the pro program of<01:26:17.639
• </c><01:42:56.760><c> through</c> grants lots of Grants especially through grants lots of Grants especially

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• program, with a larger grant for larger acreage.
• This is a powerful program both for those who are selected to receive a grant and for those communities
• </c> program.
• Uh, this is a powerful program program.
• the program.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• December 29th, the awards were granted.
• At public input on the grant consideration.
• So those are the allocations in the first year of the grant.
• But the grant application we submitted is flexible enough so that if we see program areas that are making
• And then there's grow-your-own programs. So we'll be able to start grow-your-own programs.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: Legislative Management met with a quorum, approved the July 11, 2025 minutes, and then considered recommendations from the Legislative Procedures and Arrangements Committee. Beth Dittes explained proposed special session rule changes, which largely mirror prior special session rules and are intended to speed floor action. The changes would allow faster second readings and transmission between chambers, replace regular standing committees with two joint committees for the special session—Joint Appropriations and Joint Policy—and limit bill introduction methods. The package also included delayed-effective-date changes for the next regular session, such as moving the agency and Supreme Court prefile deadline earlier and advancing several resolution deadlines. Liz Fordall then reviewed revisions to the legislative workplace harassment policy, including clarified definitions, longer intake and review deadlines, an option for informal resolution before a review panel, and clearer disclosure rules. The committee adopted the report and forwarded the rules and policy changes. The committee also approved tentative first-day special session agendas for both chambers, with a Speaker-requested revision to allow time to swear in new House members. Megan Gordon outlined the schedule: early Rules Committee meetings, morning floor sessions, a joint session for the governor’s State of the State, then meetings of the joint appropriations and policy committees, with optional later floor and committee time. Members discussed how the joint committees would handle bills and confirmed the process would mirror the prior special session. The agendas were adopted. Chairman Bekkedahl then reported for the Rural Health Transformation Committee, which had completed its work and recommended five bill drafts for the special session: a Presidential Physical Fitness Test requirement for schools, a nutrition component for physician continuing education, joining a physician assistant licensure compact, expanding pharmacist scope for lab testing and prescribing, and a two-year appropriations bill to cover the program through the next regular session. He explained the federal rural health transformation grant, the state’s application, funding restrictions, and the need to keep the bills aligned with CMS requirements to avoid funding reductions or clawbacks. DHS officials said the department would measure outcomes through required metrics, use templates for awards, and set up an Office of Health Transformation to track long-term impacts. The committee adopted the rural health report and forwarded the bills. Finally, members discussed special-session logistics. Legislative staff said employment committees would approve a limited number of staff, Legislative Management would serve as the delayed-bills committee, and a letter would be sent to legislators explaining the process and a suggested Friday noon drafting deadline for bills to be considered at the January 20 meeting. The committee also discussed how many bills might be introduced and how to assign the rural health bills to the House or Senate for origin. No formal vote was taken on those logistics, and the meeting adjourned with plans to reconvene on January 20.

Transcript Highlights:

• The New Hampshire Veterans Home utilizes the VA grant program enabled under C 38 CRF5141, which allows
• > C</c><00:08:16.800><c> uh</c><00:08:16.960><c> 38</c> grant program enabled under C uh 38 grant program
• c> leading</c> programs, credit based programs leading programs, credit based programs leading to<01:
• for early childhood number of programs for early childhood education<01:25:02.400><c> grants,</c><01
• programs, our to nursing programs programs, our programs<01:34:29.120><c> and</c><01:34:29.360><c> most

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> the ambulance operating deficit grant the ambulance operating deficit grant program<00:13:39.760
• </c> the ambulance operating deficit grant the ambulance operating deficit grant program<00:53:16.960
• provided through the deficit grant program.
• </c><00:54:20.559><c> grant</c><00:54:20.880><c> program.
• This through the deficit grant program.

Bills: HF2435

Keywords: healthcare, dementia services, public health funding, opioid prevention, women's health, community health boards, mental health, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• That's why you have a land grant.
• We also have a great soil health testing program.
• What was the community program? Community IPM, integrated pest management.
• So there's a question on the veterans program.
• We have so many programs. It's great.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Agriculture Committee met and first took up five bills. It reported S.593 (land used in agricultural production), S.879A (the Garden Protection Act), S.3277 (transfer-on-death beneficiaries for farming implements), and S.4754 (creating an Office of Urban Agriculture). S.1529A, the Carbon Farming Act, was moved to the Finance Committee. The committee briefly discussed S.4754, with Senator Borrello asking about its status and members noting strong support for urban agriculture and food-system resilience; the bill was then reported to Finance by voice vote. The committee then heard from Julie Suarez, Associate Dean for Land Grant Affairs at Cornell CALS, who described Cornell’s role in research, extension, and public service across New York agriculture. She highlighted Cornell’s economic impact, growth in FFA participation including new urban chapters, dairy investment, and the potential of the maple industry, while emphasizing the need for continued agricultural science funding to address climate change, invasive species, and market challenges. She also pointed members to Cornell programs supporting food entrepreneurs, soil health, small farms, veterans entering agriculture, and community integrated pest management. Members asked questions about tick increases, with Suarez attributing them to deer, rodents, climate change, and invasive species, and said Cornell’s community IPM program offers landscaping and prevention guidance. She also explained Cornell’s land-grant and contract-college structure, including its statutory mission and state support. The meeting ended after members expressed interest in further outreach and informational sessions, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• You could send money to any scholarship-granting organization and get up to $1,700.
• You could send money to any scholarship-granting organization and get up to $1,700.
• Chairman, Senator Grow, so the way the program works is you donate to a scholarship-granting organization
• It goes to those scholarship-granting organizations.
• The scholarship-granting organization chooses how to give out those scholarships.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee met with a quorum and heard three House bills. House Bill 620, sponsored by Senator Harris, would give county commissioners a formal role and “special expertise” status in federal land-use and environmental planning, allowing counties to coordinate with federal agencies using local comprehensive plans and including an emergency clause. The Idaho Farm Bureau and the Idaho Association of Counties supported the bill, and the committee voted unanimously to send it to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee then considered House Bill 610, which would allow people away from their primary residence for religious service to retain the homeowners exemption, similar to military service members, so long as they intend to return. Representative Pickett said the bill was intended to prevent unintended tax increases for those serving others, and members discussed whether the bill was too narrow and whether it should also cover other charitable or caregiving situations. Despite those concerns, the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a due pass recommendation. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 731, which would set up Idaho’s participation in the federal education tax credit scholarship program created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. Testimony from the Idaho Family Policy Center and others supported the measure as a school-choice tool that benefits students in public, private, and homeschool settings, while questions focused on how the federal dollar-for-dollar credit works and how scholarship-granting organizations would operate. The committee approved the bill for the floor with a due pass recommendation. The meeting ended with a brief introduction of page Grace Louder, who shared her interests and was given a voter registration form as she approached her 18th birthday.

Transcript Highlights:

• Grant Program to support educators and credentialing, and $50 million in the mathematics, science, and
• These program recipients would be entitled to receive renewal grants for up to four years.
• It puts programs at risk when grants expire.
• An inability to offer these programs will jeopardize access to some grant funds, such as K-12 Strong
• , credentials that grant recipients the ability to teach in two credential programs.

Summary: The Assembly Education Committee heard several education bills, with AB 887 by Assemblymember Berman proposing that every school district and charter school adopt a plan so all high schools offer at least one computer science course by 2029-30. Supporters, including a teacher and student, argued California is falling behind other states and that computer science is essential for student opportunity and workforce readiness. ACSA opposed the bill, citing the shortage of qualified computer science teachers and administrative burden. The bill passed the committee on a 6-0 vote and was sent to Appropriations. The committee also heard AB 1390 by Assemblymember Solache, which would allow local and county school boards to raise trustee compensation above long-standing statutory minimums that have not changed in decades. Supporters said the current stipends are too low to make board service accessible to working families and younger community members. There was no opposition testimony, and the bill passed with five votes, with the roll left open for additional members. AB 865 by Assemblymember Gonzalez would create a $5 million, three-year grant program for dual-language immersion instructional materials, split between high-demand languages and other languages. Supporters said districts often lack standards-aligned materials in languages beyond Spanish, forcing teachers to create their own. The bill passed 7-0 to Appropriations. AB 857 by Assemblymember Gibson, requiring annual cultural competency training for K-12 staff, also passed 5-1 after supporters linked it to the state reparations task force report and argued it would improve trust and student outcomes. The committee additionally approved AB 677 by Assemblymember Bryan, which would make it easier for unhoused students to access school-based vision and dental screenings by allowing directory information to be used for that purpose with an opt-out process; it passed 8-0. AB 903 by Assemblymember Avila Farias, directing the Department of Education to develop best practices on education technology and digital equity, passed after amendments and with some opponents indicating they would remove opposition once the amendments were in print. Finally, AB 917 by Assemblymember Avila Farias, extending permanent-status protections to certain educators in small districts and county programs, drew significant opposition from small districts and regional occupational programs over flexibility and funding concerns; the bill still passed 5-2 with the roll held open for additional votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• These programs that we funded programs.
• We do many programs, and WOS is part of four programs that we do.
• </c><00:46:08.160><c> programs</c><00:46:09.119><c> to</c><00:46:09.440><c> help</c> capital grants programs
• to help capital grants programs to help Minnesota's<00:46:10.480><c> vital</c><00:46:10.960><c> child
• </c> improve their programming. improve their programming.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , such as registered apprenticeship programs, pre-apprenticeship programs, or Be Pro Be Proud program
• or youth programs, or is this the program now?
• not the DWS program, but the PED program, is that it's grant money; it's soft-funded.
• How does this program differ from other existing programs?
• program.

Keywords: 996, all

Summary: The House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee met with a quorum and first addressed a point of order over whether HB 270 could be heard after being taken up earlier in the Transportation Committee. The chair ruled the bill could proceed because it was assigned to this committee and had been properly noticed. The committee then heard HB 280, which would create a three-year pilot program to support paid student internships through grants administered by the Department of Workforce Solutions. Supporters said the bill would help fund internships, mentoring, and transportation, and could improve workforce development, graduation outcomes, and pathways into apprenticeships or higher education. Members asked about administrative costs, student selection, rural and tribal access, payment mechanisms, and whether public entities, land grants, and dual credit could be included. The bill sponsor and witnesses said the program would likely serve about 100 students, use a sliding-scale matching model, and allow local flexibility in program design. The committee voted due pass on HB 280. The committee then heard House Memorial 46, honoring the Hurley family and especially Major General Patrick Hurley and his son Wilson Hurley for military service and artistic contributions in New Mexico. The memorial was presented as a tribute to a family of heroes, and members expressed support. The committee voted due pass on the memorial. Finally, the committee heard HB 270, which would amend the Public Works Apprentice and Training Act to require contributions to apprenticeship and training programs on most public works projects, including road and utility work, while exempting trades without approved programs. Sponsors said the bill would close loopholes, broaden participation, and strengthen the workforce pipeline. Opposition came from asphalt, contractor, and utility groups, which argued the bill would raise costs, duplicate existing training programs, and create access problems for nonunion and geographically distant contractors. Supporters from mechanical contractors, building trades, and labor groups said the bill would improve workforce development and keep training dollars in New Mexico. After debate over the earlier Transportation Committee action and the bill’s cost impacts, the committee voted due pass on HB 270 by a 5-3 roll call.

Transcript Highlights:

• THIS AMENDMENT REMOVES THE PORTION OF THE BILL THAT OVERLAPS WITH THE GRANT PROGRAM.
• PARTS OF THE GRANT REQUIRE FUNDS NOT SUPPLANT EXISTING STATE PROGRAMS AND IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CODIFY
• IN THE GRANT PROGRAMS AT THIS TIME OR CAUSE ANY CONFLICT.
• Simon: THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, AHCA WILL SET UP THE GRANT PROGRAM FOR THOSE INDIVIDUAL COUNTIES TO
• GRANT PROGRAM.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So one has grants up to $125,000 and the other one grants up to $25,000.
• program.
• intent of the program.
• intent of the program.
• compare to similar programs?

Summary: The meeting began with JLARC’s biennial executive committee elections. After confirming a quorum, members unanimously elected Representative Pollet as chair, Senator Wagoner as vice chair, Representative Orcutt as secretary, and Senator Solomon as assistant secretary for the 2025-27 biennium. The committee also approved the May 14 meeting minutes unanimously. Chair Pollet then outlined a commitment to more member input on audit scope and coordination with the State Auditor’s Office. Staff presented a preliminary report on Washington State recreation boating programs. They reported that six agencies administer boating-related activities, that the state collected about $108 million in boating-related revenue in 2021-23, and that $86 million was spent, mostly on infrastructure and water access, environmental protection, boater safety, and marine law enforcement. Staff said Washington’s boating laws and programs are broadly similar to other states and noted that the final report is expected in September. JLARC then reviewed several tax preferences. For natural gas used as a transportation fuel, staff said the preferences reduce fuel costs but did not meet emissions-reduction targets because fewer vessels and vehicles converted to natural gas than expected; staff recommended continuing some exemptions and modifying reporting requirements. For travel agents and tour operators, staff said the preference continues to provide tax relief, but large beneficiaries’ savings are rising while small beneficiaries’ use is declining, leading to recommendations to continue the small-business rate and add or revise performance metrics. Staff also reviewed a nonprofit low-income housing property tax exemption, concluding it helps developers build homes as intended but that the performance metric should better reflect housing outcomes; they recommended the legislature decide whether to continue or modify it. Other reviews covered multipurpose senior citizen centers, disabled veteran adapted housing, trade convention attendance, agricultural fertilizer and seed wholesaling, hazardous substance tax treatment for pesticides, and silicon smelter energy preferences, with recommendations ranging from continuation to expiration depending on whether the stated objectives were met. The committee then adopted the final cannabis market study for distribution. Staff reported that Washington businesses produced two to three times more cannabis than retailers sold in 2023, and that inaccurate and incomplete reporting limits the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s ability to regulate the market. The board said it concurs with the recommendations, including developing a plan for a new data system and considering broader social equity options. Finally, staff presented the proposed final report on Department of Health oversight of hospital data reporting, inspections, and complaints. Staff said DOH was late on most acute-care hospital inspections, had not fully verified third-party inspection standards, and did not adequately review adverse event correction plans or assess language access barriers in its complaint system. DOH said it concurs with all six recommendations and has already made some transparency improvements, including a public dashboard for adverse event reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Both programs are under federal receivership due to the lack of compliance with the court programs are
• I'm not sure exactly when these, the programs began and when funding began for these programs.
• And the Wright Grant has been very beneficial in helping us to be able to continue offering programs
• So I ask that you consider the Wright Grant and continue that program because it has an immense effect
• So I asked that you guys consider the right grant and continue in that program because it has an immense

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee heard presentations from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS), the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) program, and the Coleman mental health receivership. The hearing focused on correctional health care, reentry, aging incarcerated populations, and the state’s progress toward compliance in the Plata and Coleman receiverships. Members also discussed the OIG’s intake complaint workload and medical inspection findings, as well as broader questions about staffing, vacancies, and the cost of court oversight. The OIG requested $275,000 General Fund for two permanent positions in its intake processing unit, citing a sharp rise in complaints from 3,200 in 2022 to 7,860 in 2025. OIG officials said complaints are categorized by issue and prison, prioritized by urgency, and generally responded to within 30 days, but they do not track complaint “validity” rates. The medical inspection unit reported that in cycle seven, case review performance was generally adequate while policy compliance was often inadequate; the lowest-scoring areas included emergency services, medication management, and health care environment. Members asked for more detailed reporting on complaint types, priority levels, and systemic issues. CCHCS described rising health care costs driven by an aging prison population, staffing vacancies, and contract medical expenses. Officials said more than 80% of the budget is personal services, and they are using hiring events, social media outreach, and expanded classifications to reduce vacancies. CalAIM officials reported early implementation success in pre-release and reentry services, including 89% Medi-Cal activation at release, 87% assigned managed care plans, 88% reentry care plans, and 59% warm handoffs, with about 169,000 claims submitted and $14.7 million reimbursed. The LAO noted that the Plata medical receivership has increased per-person costs and that the state should continue oversight while seeking ways to reduce vacancies and expand federal reimbursement opportunities. For the Coleman mental health receivership, the receiver’s office requested $33.9 million from the Mental Health Special Deposit Fund, including $8.2 million for receiver office staffing and $25.3 million to make court-ordered bonus payments permanent. The LAO supported continued oversight but recommended additional steps to address vacancies, including greater out-of-state recruitment, expanded telemental health, and possible consolidation of mental health services. The LAO also recommended reducing the telemental health staffing request and monitoring its effects. Members questioned the long-term cost of receiverships, the pace of compliance, and whether more detailed benchmarks and staffing data should be provided. No formal votes were taken during the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is funding that is granted out to outside entities to run the Veterans Service Officer Program.
• Legion halls and those folks, would expanding that grant program help with that three- to four-month
• We get more bang for our buck on the grant program, do you believe?
• The problem with the grant program is a lot of times those are not full-time employees and part-time.
• Page 407 is the Service Officer Grant Program.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Any questions for Grant?
• Any questions for grant?
• We tested eight programs based on risk factors such as enrollment caps, program admissions, and program
• Assistance Program.
• That's the smaller program.

Summary: The committee convened, approved the prior meeting minutes, and received a memo summarizing major audit items. The State Auditor’s office and outside auditors then presented a series of audits, many of which were clean with unmodified opinions and no findings, including the Bank of North Dakota, the Guaranteed Student Loan Program, the Office of the Governor, the State Treasurer, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Quality, Lake Region State College, and the Office of the Governor. The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association audit was also clean overall, but it repeated findings about limited segregation of duties and auditor assistance in preparing financial statements, which the auditor said were expected to continue because of the organization’s small size. Committee members asked about out-of-state board addresses, and the association explained those members were North Dakota residents using South Dakota mailing addresses. Several audits did include findings. The Council on the Arts audit identified two issues: payroll charged to federal awards without supporting time records, and $12,825 in Cultural Endowment Fund spending that was not allowable under state law, including staff training, retreats, and executive director candidate travel. The Department of Public Instruction audit found unsupported scholarship applications in the paraprofessional-to-teacher program, but additional testing confirmed the funds were credited properly and students completed required school district work, so no improper payments were identified. The University of North Dakota audit found a lack of documentation and transparency in School of Law admissions decisions; the auditor said the law school used a holistic process but did not keep notes or evaluation tools to show why applicants were admitted, waitlisted, or denied. UND leadership said the school is in good standing with the American Bar Association and agreed better documentation is needed, and the auditor said the issue was the missing documentation, not ABA accreditation itself. The most extensive discussion centered on the North Dakota Racing Commission audit, which found four findings: overspending the promotion fund’s 25% operating cap, grant conditions not being met, improper breeder fund awards, and improper procurement. The auditor said promotion fund spending exceeded the cap by $327,447 and the fund balance dropped sharply over the audit period. Racing Commission director Bruce Johnson said the agency had become complacent, that grant requests were treated as routine, and that controls and documentation need to be tightened. He also explained that the breeder fund overpayments involved two horses whose ownership transfers were not properly documented before racing, and that the procurement issue stemmed from an advertising contract that proceeded without proper written procurement procedures after a misunderstanding with the State Procurement Office. The auditor said the Racing Commission will now be audited every two years because of the findings. The committee also received updates on Dakota College at Bottineau’s bank reconciliations, which Minot State University said had been brought current after an 18-month backlog, with only one account still needing cleanup; members asked for a written report on the corrective actions. The North Dakota Fair Foundation was reported to have dissolved, with remaining funds transferred to another nonprofit account for continued support of the state fair. Finally, the Department of Public Instruction provided an update on school meal debt, revising the earlier estimate to about $1.1 million based on incomplete district survey responses, and said the Anti-Lunch Shaming law likely increased meal debt because schools must feed students regardless of account balance. Members discussed the need for a more accurate year-end debt figure and possible future reporting at a later committee meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• One of the most successful grant programs we have at DPS is the ICPOET grant program in the Office of
• One of the most successful grant programs we have at DPS is the ICPOET grant program in the Office of
• One of the most successful grant programs we have at DPS is the ICPOET grant program in the Office of
• One of the most successful grant programs we have at DPS is the ICPOET grant program in the Office of
• One of the most successful grant programs we have at DPS is the ICPOET grant program in the Office of

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• These include grants to restore historic county courthouse. houses, the Texas Heritage Trails Program
• We administer a grant program, the Education and Community Program Grant, which we refer to simply as
• And it provides grants to benefit music related educational and community programs sponsored by.
• the $30 fee for each custom plate goes to directly to our grant program.
• Otherwise, they won't qualify for the program and receive a grant.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This grant program is created in the Department of Commerce for artificial intelligence technology that
• It allows Commerce to consult with WOTEC in developing the grant program.
• Second substitute House Bill 1833 creates the Spark Act AI grant program.
• This grant program is created in the Department of Commerce for Artificial Intelligence Technology that
• It allows commerce to consult with WOTEC in developing the grant program.

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met in executive session on March 2, 2026, and worked through two large groups of bills, hearing staff briefings, caucusing, and then voting each measure out to the Rules Committee. In the first group, the committee advanced bills on state accounts (HB 2675, with an amendment creating an adult day service facilities account), immigrant worker protections (2SHB 2105, after adopting a striker and Amendment 8 while rejecting amendments that would have changed enforcement and private rights of action), voting rights compliance (E3SHB 1710, with all proposed amendments rejected), AI content provenance and notices (E2SHB 1170, with Amendment 19 adopted to exempt state/local/tribal governments and certain video-game and technical uses), public official protections (2SHB 233, with a technical amendment adopted), WOTEC civil service coverage (HB 2249), JLARC work plan changes (HB 2120), LEOFF Plan 1 termination/restatement (E2SHB 2034, with several amendments adopted including creation of a pension surplus holding account and study directives, while proposals to redirect funds to the Climate Commitment Act or provide a lump-sum payment were rejected or withdrawn), supplemental retirement bargaining (HB 1069, with a striker adopted), port employee retirement exclusions (EHB 2179, with a striker adopted), local government revenue flexibility (ESHB 2442, with Amendment 72 adopted to remove a county public utility tax and other amendments rejected), wildfire mitigation funding (SHB 2089), and timberland REET changes (HB 1983). The committee also noted that it would not take action on some items in the packet, including SHB 1833. In the second group, the committee advanced bills on local housing tax remittance programs (ESHB 1717), renewable energy tax incentives and grants (E3SHB 1960, with a striking amendment adopted that adjusted rates, timing, and related provisions), nonprofit fundraising hall property tax relief (HB 2431), food bank sales tax relief (SB 6006), local tax increment financing (E2SHB 2451), temporary staffing services for nonprofit behavioral health entities (SB 6297), school and child care-related sales tax exemptions (SSB 6351, with a substitute adopted and the competing amendment made out of order), behavioral health work group extension and leadership council creation (2SHB 2429), Working Connections Child Care changes (SB 6353, with Amendment 43 adopted), language access guidelines for state agencies (SHB 2475), unpaid wage recovery (2SHB 2479), firearms background check fee authority (HB 2521, briefed but not acted on in the portion provided), public employee information sharing (HB 2091, briefed but not acted on in the portion provided), and Office of Independent Investigations jurisdiction changes (ESHB 2508, briefed but not acted on in the portion provided). Throughout the meeting, members and staff discussed fiscal notes, implementation costs, and whether amendments would increase or reduce state impacts, with several amendments aimed at narrowing scope, delaying implementation, or shifting enforcement and funding responsibilities.