Transcript Highlights:

• Berg on House Fiscal staff, and I'll have...
• <00:50:36.359> year federal funds in state fiscal year federal funds in state fiscal year
• ssis um and in 20 let me find my notes ssis um and in 20 let me find my notes Here<00:58:22.000>
• are your first notes.
• are your first notes.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I just want to look at my notes real quick. The last thing I'll say is it is a business thing.
• I just want to look at my notes real quick. The last thing I'll say is it is a business thing.
• I just want to look at my notes real quick. The last thing I'll say is it is a business thing.
• it's going to have a bud7 million fiscal it's going to have a bud7 million fiscal what<01:24:09.560
• fiscal note because we're $3.75 million fiscal note because we're going<01:24:15.440> to<01:24

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Second thing he he notes is the Okay.
• I will note that we now do have a quorum.
• I will note that we now do All right.
• I do want to note that the region.
• Thank you, Senator Muhammad, have you requested a fiscal note?

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair, the agency was unable to complete a fiscal note in time for the committee hearing today, which
• Chair, the agency was unable to complete a fiscal note in time for the committee hearing today, which
• I'll note Article 2. I understand what was spoken by the testifier regarding long-term changes.
• I'll note there's a lot in here.
• I do have fiscal getting us that number.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House File 3030 was taken up for discussion and amended with the A1 author’s amendment before moving forward. The bill was presented as an Iron Range package with three parts: a 26-week unemployment insurance extension for workers laid off by Cleveland-Cliffs, and two mining-related provisions dealing with safe storage of reactive mine waste and a site-specific sulfite standard. The authors said the bill was intended both to help laid-off workers immediately and to support the long-term future of mining jobs in the region. Testimony was overwhelmingly supportive of the unemployment extension and the broader goal of preserving Iron Range jobs and communities. Representatives of affected workers, union leaders, a county commissioner, a tribal elder, and RAMS all described the layoffs as potentially long-term and warned of broader economic harm to families, local businesses, schools, and the region if mining jobs continue to decline. Several testifiers emphasized that mining is central to the Iron Range economy and argued that the bill would give workers time and hope while also helping keep people in the region. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency testified that it generally supported the bill’s intent but raised concerns about the environmental rulemaking language in Article 2, Section 2. MPCA said the provision would amount to a new major rulemaking, would require significant time and resources, and should be reviewed by the Environment, Natural Resources, Finance and Policy Committee. During member questions, one legislator said there was strong support for the UI extension in Article 1 but expressed concern about the environmental issues in Article 2 and asked why those provisions were not being reviewed by the environment committee. The meeting ended with public testimony closed and member questions beginning; no final vote was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't understand why it has a fiscal note attached to it, because when I served on the city council
• I've been a realtor for 35 years, so I don't understand why this has a fiscal note attached to it.
• The one note is on Section Five.
• So, after reading Senate Bill 55, I'm concerned that there's no fiscal note attached, and as a former
• 55 I'm concerned that there's no fiscal 55 I'm concerned that there's no fiscal note<02:04:16.559

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, Assembly Concurrent Resolution 151 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 135 approve the fiscal
• New Jersey's own fiscal note for the identical bill in the Senate, S-2260, makes something unmistakably
• This is the state's own fiscal note describing This is not interpretation.
• This is the state's own fiscal note describing how the law will function.
• This is not fiscal responsibility.

Keywords: 1146, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I note that all the members of the subcommittee are present here in Room 112, so we can establish a quorum
• The consultant notes that a quorum has been established. Let's begin with any public comment.
• One of the other ones that I had in my notes, I believe, was the freedoms construction.
• So I have made a note. Thank you, Senator Seyarto.
• I've made a note as well as our consultant, Nora, of the things that you said.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Two comments were received, generally noting requests for changes that required a law change or notes
• Two comments were received generally noting requesting changes that required a law change or notes that
• My notes are, I'm not on that page where my notes are at.
• So we have that 25% fiscal limit. That's a great thing.
• So I'd have to look back at my notes to be specific.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Just writing a note in my world.
• Because we're using, for this here, fiscal year 24 and fiscal year 25 credit production.
• Because we're using fiscal year 24 and fiscal year 25 credit production.
• And they'll be paid for that in fiscal year 28 and 29. Credit production.
• And they'll be paid for that in fiscal year 28 and 29.

Summary: The Higher Education Funding Review Committee met to continue work on a draft higher education funding formula and related capital building fund changes. Lisa Johnson of the North Dakota University System updated the committee on the board’s developing policy for low-producing academic programs. She said the board is using a five-year rolling window, with thresholds of fewer than 10 undergraduate graduates or fewer than 5 graduate graduates, and that programs flagged in three consecutive review cycles would go to the board for review. Possible outcomes include continuation, continuation with modifications, inactivation, or termination. Members asked about how the policy would account for enrollment, program costs, workforce need, and programs that serve students outside their major. Johnson said the board would likely use an accompanying procedure to consider those factors. She also reported that about 200 programs could potentially be reviewed under current guidance, with 135 inactivated and 112 terminated, and said the process is intended to support quality and stewardship rather than simply cut programs. Jamie Wilkie then reported on the Capital Building Fund. He reviewed the fund’s history, matching requirements, and use for extraordinary repairs, deferred maintenance, and some legislatively authorized projects. He said about $334 million in state and matching dollars has been invested overall, with roughly 78.7% going to deferred maintenance and extraordinary repairs. Committee members pressed for updated information on how much deferred maintenance has actually been reduced, and several members said they wanted clearer reporting on the return on investment from new buildings versus repairs. NDSU representatives said the tier funding has helped significantly reduce deferred maintenance and allowed demolition and renovation work on campus. The committee also discussed the need for updated five-year facility plans and space-utilization information from the institutions. The committee then began a section-by-section review of a draft bill that would replace the current higher education funding formula with an FTE-based model and restructure the capital building fund. The draft would fund UND and NDSU differently from the other nine institutions, use fall enrollment rather than completed credits, add performance funding for completions in in-demand fields, create research incentives for UND and NDSU, and combine capital building fund tiers while changing matching requirements and eligible uses. Members raised concerns about the treatment of professional students, the use of CIP codes, incentives for waivers, and whether the formula should rely on more current data. The committee did not take final action on the draft during this meeting, but it continued detailed discussion and indicated more review would follow.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Kupec, I... we did submit a request for a fiscal note.
• /c> request for a fiscal note we don't I request for a fiscal note we don't I don't<01:43:58.920>
• The chair noted that the fiscal note would be received and considered in light of the budget this year
• <01:55:02.199> um<01:55:02.480> I will get a fiscal note back on this um I will get
• a fiscal note back on this um I do<01:55:02.760> think<01:55:02.960> it<01:55:03.119><

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• However, we need a stable enterprise system with our fiscal agent, with our MMIS, so that we're not,
• The homeowners association has left you a note in your mailbox that says, "Hey, you need to pull your
• And when it takes with the fiscal agent.
• <01:09:08.239> agent, enterprise system with our fiscal agent, enterprise system with our
• And as been noted the old way we did it.

Keywords: Appropriations - Room 216, 24 February, 2026; 1:30 PM, 925, all

Summary: Legislative leaders opened the hearing by focusing on statewide technology issues affecting agencies, including rising IT costs, cloud migration, cybersecurity risks, procurement delays, and the need for better coordination across government systems. They said the meeting was intended to hear from agency directors about current challenges and possible legislative solutions. The ITS director described the state’s IT structure as decentralized but increasingly moving toward shared services. He highlighted recent legislative and executive actions on cloud computing, artificial intelligence, procurement modernization, and data sharing, including House Bill 1491, Senate Bill 2426, Senate Bill 2267, House Bill 958, and an executive order on AI. He said ITS has worked with large agencies on a cloud center of excellence, a procurement modernization advisory council, and a state data exchange, and noted plans for a master contract, potentially with OpenAI, that could be available to all public entities. He also emphasized cybersecurity, saying the state is seeking a secure operations center and a broader “cyber maturity” approach after recent incidents. On procurement, he said the goal is to speed up purchasing while keeping it safe, and on optimization he pointed to potential savings from consolidating duplicate agreements, such as multiple Microsoft enterprise contracts. In response to questions, he said exceptions to centralization would be based on business and technical architecture and regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, CISA, or FERPA, rather than ad hoc decisions.

Transcript Highlights:

• The fiscal note for this bill is 7.1 million.
• And Senator Eckhart, I really appreciate your comments too, because we have to also always be fiscally
• Also helping consolidate effort in in trying to to to find that fiscal responsibility within what we're
• to work with you on what that kind of, um, uh, scale up, scale down looks like and how we can be fiscally
• I mean, I'm looking at a note from Senator Senator Eckhart. That's um.

Bills: SB 36, SB 2202

Keywords: homeland security, border security, critical infrastructure, Department of Public Safety, intelligence operations, public-private partnerships, SB 2202, firearm trafficking, gun trafficking, terrorism, foreign terrorist organization, Texas-Mexico border, United Mexican States, Mexico, DPS, second-degree felony, weapons transfer, illegal firearms transfer, arms smuggling, cross-border crime

Transcript Highlights:

• So we have, as noted, our Administration.
• So we have, as noted, our Administration.
• So we have, as noted, our Administration.
• was a onetime situation that the fiscal was a onetime situation that the fiscal committee<00:52:
• shows a higher amount in state fiscal shows a higher amount in state fiscal year<00:54:07.640>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Finance Division III work session focused on the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health Services budget. Department staff said Public Health has a relatively small budget compared with other DHHS divisions, is supported mostly by federal and other non-General funds, and contains nearly 100 accounting units and more than 50 federal grants. They emphasized that the governor’s budget did not include significant cuts, but that federal funding uncertainty and the winding down of pandemic-era resources were major factors affecting the division. The division also explained that some apparent budget growth reflects reorganizations, including moving the Bureau of Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and some programs from other DHHS divisions into Public Health. The presentation described Public Health’s mission as serving the entire state through food and water safety, disease surveillance, emergency response, maternal and child health, chronic disease prevention, WIC, community health center support, and public health data collection. Members asked about bird flu, and staff explained that human-health response would involve Public Health’s lab, infectious disease, and emergency preparedness units, while animal-health issues are handled with the Department of Agriculture; they also noted ongoing milk testing requested by FDA and USDA. The division said its organizational structure includes bureaus for Family Health and Nutrition, Infectious Disease Control, Public Health Protection, Emergency Preparedness, Prevention and Wellness, Statistics and Informatics, and Public Health Laboratories, with about a 15% vacancy rate. Committee members questioned whether the division’s budget and staffing had really grown since pre-COVID, and staff responded that full-time authorized staffing is about the same as in 2018, with the increase largely due to federal pandemic funding that has since receded and to program transfers between divisions. They said Public Health’s General Fund share is about $24 million out of roughly $1.1 billion in DHHS General Fund spending, or about 2.2% of the department total. Members also asked about the 3,000-position cap and unfunded positions; staff explained that the cap remains in chapter law through June 30, 2025, that 394 positions were unfunded in the governor’s budget, and that the division expects flexibility to move money from personnel lines and fill unfunded positions to manage changing needs. No votes or formal actions were taken in this portion of the work session.

Transcript Highlights:

• information showing hears from fiscal year.
• Fiscal year.
• information showing hears from fiscal year.
• Fiscal year.
• Fiscal year.