Transcript Highlights:

• In one case, not on this program, but also a similar program, like I said, the CCE program, the letters
• Once the funding reaches the region, it becomes a competitive grant program.
• grant applicants.
• At least 70% of the total grant funds for that program must be used by LEAs and county offices of education
• Whether it's this program, last hearing's program, or a program from two hearings ago, we keep hearing

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• grant.
• So grant and now it's a one-year grant.
• So, um, the two current program specialist positions were created under the Preschool Development Grant
• So, um, the two current program specialist positions were created under the Preschool Development Grant
• So, um, the two current program specialist positions were created under the Preschool Development Grant

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To our knowledge, we don't have any grant programs for them through our office.
• To our knowledge, we don't have any grant programs for them through our office.
• to them or grant programs that would be available to them, but I can, I'm going to turn to my staff
• To our knowledge, we don't have any grant programs for them through our office.
• To our knowledge, we don't have any grant programs for them through our office.

Summary: The committee met as the Commerce and Legal Services Division and first approved the minutes, then received a Legislative Council overview of the Attorney General’s current budget status and a blue-sheet summary of the AG’s base budget for the next biennium. Staff highlighted compliance with legislative intent items, including FTE changes, one-time funding updates, litigation pool spending, opioid settlement receipts, and continuing appropriations. Members asked about specific funds such as the Missing Indigenous People Grant Fund and the Internet Crimes Investigation Fund, and staff explained the statutory basis and status of those items. The Attorney General’s office then presented an extensive overview of its divisions and budget pressures. Chief Deputy Attorney General Clare Ness described the office’s 14 divisions, the role of the office in defending the state and recouping funds, and concerns about attorney pay, recruitment, and retention. Members discussed whether attorney salaries should be benchmarked across state government and whether more legal work could be centralized in the AG’s office. The office also described challenges with the new-and-vacant FTE pool, operating expense cuts, leased office space, and the criminal justice information systems used to connect law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts. The Crime Laboratory director gave a detailed update on space and infrastructure problems, saying the current lab is overcrowded and outdated, with safety, workflow, air-handling, glycol leak, alarm, and maintenance issues that can delay casework and risk evidence integrity. She said a 2024 study projected a need for a much larger facility and that the preferred option would be a new building on the current health department site, at an estimated cost of roughly $40 million to $45 million. She also reported that backlogs have improved significantly in DNA, firearms, fingerprint, and drug cases, though toxicology had recently developed a small backlog after an air compressor failure. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, gaming division, and BCI also provided updates. MFCU’s new director said the unit is federally funded 75/25, focuses on fraud, abuse, and neglect, and is seeking two attorney hires while continuing to work with federal partners on cases and recertification. Gaming staff reported continued growth in charitable gaming and electronic pull-tab activity, with concerns about site competition, large trust balances, possible ineligible expenditures, and the need for more scrutiny as revenues have grown. BCI outlined its staffing, drug task forces, ICAC work, and the Missing Indigenous Person Task Force, which is using its $250,000 appropriation to help tribal nations develop emergency response plans and purchase alerting tools such as IPAWS. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• My question an online academic program.
• >> Yes. online program. The goal was to have online program.
• For example, when we first started the MBA program, to be honest with you, MBA programs are a dime a
• </c> he is successful with these grant he is successful with these grant applications<00:31:37.480><c
• </c> continue to run the Medicaid program continue to run the Medicaid program without<00:45:12.520><

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from its January 13 meeting and then moved through a large agenda of contracts and agreements, with members repeatedly voting to review items without objection. The chair noted the agenda included 227 contracts totaling about $89.5 million, all with vendors registered with the Secretary of State. Most items were approved after brief discussion and roll-call votes. Several contracts drew questions. Kentucky State University explained two four-month contracts tied to its online academic program: one for continued implementation support and one for marketing. University officials said the program is in a transition year under a management improvement plan, that the university owns the intellectual property, and that the marketing effort is aimed at growing enrollment in targeted programs such as business and social work. They reported online enrollment had grown from 74 students to 612, with an overall university enrollment of 2,872, and said the goal is to reach about 1,000 online students by fall. The committee approved both items, though Senator Douglas said he would keep watching university spending. The Department of Education presented a contract cancellation for administrative reviews of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. Officials said USDA changed the review requirement from every three years to every five years, making the outside contract unnecessary because internal staff can now handle the work. The committee approved the cancellation. The Transportation Cabinet also explained an increase to a professional services contract for engineering work on a section of KY 54 in Owensboro, describing it as preliminary design and commissioning work for a multi-section roadway project; the committee approved that item as well. The Kentucky Lottery Corporation sought approval for an amendment tied to its iLottery platform. Officials said the increase reflected higher sales volume, since the contract structure causes prize and platform-related expenses to rise as sales grow. The committee approved the amendment. The Department of Public Health also discussed a perinatal psychiatry consultation program funded by a five-year federal HRSA grant; members raised concerns about what would happen if federal support changes, but no action beyond discussion was noted in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• As it relates to all these grant programs here, or this grant program, I should say, there are no issues
• Also worth noting there, the bottom three grant programs.
• That is part of the grant program.
• So the no BEAD grant program, no BEAD locations, that was 128.
• both grant programs.

Summary: The committee received several informational reports from NDIT and DPI. Justin Data reviewed the quarterly major IT project portfolio, noting the portfolio was slightly under budget and behind schedule overall, with three red schedule items: Bed Management System and Vital Records were essentially complete and being closed out, and the Roadway Capital Planning Project was delayed by vendor bug fixes after testing. He also summarized recent project startups and closeouts, including the Victim Notification System, Medicaid data exchange, Highway Patrol’s motor carrier permit system, and several completed HHS and RIMS projects. Members asked for follow-up on ADA compliance work, the public-facing RIO website, and the state’s mainframe retirement timeline, and staff agreed to provide updates later. Craig Falkley reported on coordination of services with political subdivisions and higher education, including StageNet, cybersecurity, radio/911 services, and PeopleSoft coordination. He also explained distributed ledger technology as a tool for transparency and fraud prevention, but said it is not widely used in state government and suggested the report be modernized to focus more broadly on emerging technologies such as AI and cybersecurity. The committee generally agreed that the topic should be updated. Chris Gurgan presented the mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting program created by HB 1314, explaining how agencies and political subdivisions report incidents through NDIT’s website or service desk. He said 77 incidents had been reported since 2021, 47 met the statutory definition, and most were phishing-related; most reported incidents were resolved, with one recent ransomware matter still open. He also reviewed notable incidents since the last report, including the PowerSchool compromise, a SimpleHelp intrusion at a school district, a court intrusion, a WSUS vulnerability, a business email compromise, and a recent ransomware incident involving a non-state critical infrastructure entity. Members asked about recovery of stolen funds, early warning signs, smishing, training, MFA, conditional access, and cybersecurity maturity assessments; Gurgan said the state uses MFA and conditional access, provides awareness training to state employees, and would return with more information on maturity assessments. Tony Ambrose then updated the committee on the K-12 student information system bridge project. He said district implementation of Infinite Campus had begun statewide, but the data migration vendor originally selected was terminated for poor performance and replaced by Aurora Educational Technology, which had experience with similar statewide migrations. He also said DPI is migrating special education data from Tynet into Infinite Campus, and that some SLDS-based tools such as e-transcripts and Choice Ready may not function exactly as they do now at July 1, requiring interim or alternative solutions. Members raised concerns about summer school disruptions, the timing of the cutover, and whether the new system would support existing reporting and transcript functions; DPI said it was working on identity, authentication, data-sharing agreements, and post-go-live integrations, and would continue to refine the plan beyond June 30.

Transcript Highlights:

• Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grants Program receives a $20 million in fiscal 26.
• </c><00:09:48.880><c> million</c> grants program receives a $2 million grants program receives a $2 million
• </c><00:10:00.000><c> Program</c> Housing Infrastructure Grants Program Housing Infrastructure Grants
• Minnesota workforce development grant Minnesota workforce development grant program.<00:28:52.000><c>
• </c> Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grant Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grant Program.<00:40:30.480

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• infrastructure grant program.
• grant program.
• across programs.
• Child care program to maintain parity across programs.
• Maximum aid payments in the program—the maximum amount of grants that we provide—are determined by family

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You also work with estuary local programs.
• Item number five. recovery programs.
• Our GoTexan program, our marketing program, again, is very successful. Thank to you.
• Our food and nutrition, we operate 12 of the federal nutrition programs plus the state programs. including
• Also, we have a Young Farmer Startup Program that the state funds, and we have the STAR Program, which

Bills: SB1, SB 1

Keywords: appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And our Community Challenge grant program funds exactly those types of quick-action projects.
• program.
• We have programs—virtually all of our federally funded programs have fraud, waste, and abuse program
• , program.
• program.

Summary: The Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved the January 21 and January 22, 2026 minutes, then heard a presentation from AARP Idaho on aging issues. AARP described Idaho’s growing 50-plus population, emphasizing concerns about Social Security, affordable health insurance, caregiving, housing, transportation, and fraud/scams. The presenter highlighted AARP’s age-friendly community work and grant program, and said older Idahoans are a major voting bloc whose needs should be considered across policy areas. In response to questions, AARP discussed education efforts on scams, including scam jams and outreach with law enforcement, and noted support for measures such as a bill targeting fraud through crypto kiosks. The committee then received a detailed Department of Health and Welfare update from Director Juliet Sharon on program integrity, fraud, waste, and abuse prevention. She said the department had recently created a department-wide fraud policy, an anonymous reporting line, a compliance committee, and mandatory staff training, and launched “impact reviews” to evaluate whether programs are still solving the intended problems. She also described ongoing fraud work in Medicaid, self-reliance programs, and the Idaho Child Care Program, including a 360-degree review of 775 child care providers that had already led to nine terminations and further investigations. Sharon said the department has limited staff and backlogs, and asked for additional resources, including five new child care staff and a contractor to assist with Medicaid provider reviews. Members raised concerns about child care providers receiving public funds while not registered with the Secretary of State, recovery of overpayments, and the visibility of recovery data. Sharon said the department is working with the Tax Commission and plans to codify child care program requirements and create a broader Title 56 program integrity chapter. She said recovered funds are returned to the appropriate program bucket, with federal shares returned as required, and that the department is working to improve public reporting. The committee also discussed single audit findings, the use of technology and possible AI tools to improve oversight, and the department’s efforts to reduce compliance problems before they become public issues. No votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes, and the meeting adjourned after questions concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• for a community cleanup and employment pathways grant program.
• But then also improving our grant programs to be more accessible, easier to apply for, particularly for
• program.
• reaching over 49% of our school children in four years of grant programs.
• Grant program. 2023, the administration proposed a cut, right?

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 38.960><c> empower</c> program will financially empower program will financially empower families,<00
• </c> foundation is granting the funds. foundation is granting the funds.
• This is not a voucher program.
• This is not a voucher program.
• </c> cap and what this program looks like. cap and what this program looks like.

Bills: HF3490, HF4040

Keywords: education finance, scholarship-granting organizations, charitable purposes, student scholarships, nonpublic schools, K-12 education, tax credit, advance payment, Minnesota tax law, child education expenses, taxpayer assistance, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• These dollars are all related to federal grants and the programs inherent to FDEM's operations.
• Through public assistance grant programs, FEMA provides supplemental disaster grant assistance for debris
• Security grants, some of the EMPG, MPAA grants, those are live in DEMS today, but not all grants forward
• General modernization program.
• The program roadmap has not had any substantial changes since the FL WINS program launched.

Summary: The subcommittee heard updates on several state technology modernization efforts, beginning with the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Enterprise Business Solution (DEMS). FDEM said DEMS is about 50% complete, with some grants and finance functions already live, and is intended to replace manual disaster and grants processing with a cloud-based system. Officials described faster reimbursement timelines after recent storms, major return-on-investment claims, and a planned final phase focused on design, testing, communications, data governance, and additional functionality. Members asked about the total cost, the role of Florida Digital Service, deliverables-based contracting, and how much of the system is live; FDEM said the project is expected to cost about $16 million to $16.8 million and finish by June 2027, with some follow-up information to be provided. The Department of Legal Affairs presented its Office of Attorney General Modernization Program, a follow-up to an earlier effort that failed after spending about $26 million. Acting Attorney General John Gard said the department has now moved to an off-the-shelf case management product, LawBase, and is in development and testing, with the Office of Statewide Prosecution already live and full implementation expected by the end of the fiscal year. The request includes funding for staff augmentation, cloud storage, the LawBase license, redundancy through a backup site in Orlando, and OnBase support. Members questioned the prior failure, the use of Florida Digital Service standards, data location and cloud migration, and the redundancy plan; Gard said lessons learned included better scoping and that the current effort is on track. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles then updated the committee on Motorist Modernization, including the Orion system and the MyDMV portal. Officials said Phase 1 and Phase 2 have modernized driver license and motor vehicle services, with Phase 2 statewide rollout scheduled to begin in April 2025 and Phase 3 proposed at $16.5 million for dealer services, data warehouse improvements, and call center modernization. Members asked about payment options, organ donor questions, staffing, cybersecurity, cloud strategy, and the digital driver license program. The agency said the portal already allows some sanctions to be cleared online, an ACH option is being developed, the digital driver license vendor has changed with a fall go-live anticipated, and the department is using security testing and a managed security service provider. Officials also said the system is currently on an on-prem private cloud, with future workloads expected to move to public cloud where appropriate. Finally, Florida Commerce presented on the Reemployment Assistance modernization system, Reconnect, and the FLWINS workforce system. Commerce said Reconnect is hosted in the Azure Government Cloud, has reduced claim filing time, improved fraud detection, and increased appeals capacity, and now needs $4.9 million in recurring funding to cover ongoing operations, cloud hosting, licenses, and staff augmentation. Members asked about adjudication issues, wait times, fraud prevention, and whether the system stores caller identifiers; Commerce said the average wait to speak to a representative is about 18 minutes and claims are generally processed in four to six weeks. The committee then began hearing about FLWINS, which is intended to create a “no wrong door” workforce portal under the REACH Act, but the transcript cuts off before that presentation concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• For one program, the sub-grant agreements did not specify the required matching amounts.
• So this program doesn't. There's two different programs.
• The CCDF block grant is 100% federal program.
• So this program doesn't. There's two different programs.
• The CCDF block grant is 100% federal program. Now, on the state program, if you could, program.

Summary: The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee met on June 5 and first adopted prior minutes and several committee reports. The executive committee report noted adoption of its minutes, staff updates on scheduled audits, approval of an annual financial audit for the City of Horseshoe Bend, and an update on the intern program. The Counties and Municipalities report covered delinquent private water and sewer audits, compliance follow-up with towns including Denning, Gum Springs, Omer, Fargo, Jericho, and Haynes, and review of current and deferred reports; the committee filed most current reports but deferred several and referred some matters to prosecutors and the Attorney General. The Educational Institutions report said 103 education audits were reviewed, most with no findings, while several school districts had findings and one Booneville School District finding was referred to law enforcement. The State Agencies report included findings at the Department of Finance and Administration and a deferred Department of Health report, and the committee filed 13 reports. The committee then received lengthy presentations on the State of Arkansas annual comprehensive financial report and the state single audit for fiscal year ended June 30, 2025. Legislative Audit issued unmodified opinions on the state financial statements, but identified two material weaknesses: insufficient internal controls at the Office of State Technology to monitor threats and unauthorized access, and improper methodology changes and documentation issues at the Division of Workforce Services affecting year-end estimates for unemployment-related accounts. The single audit covered $12.4 billion in federal awards across 469 programs, with 16 major programs reviewed. Auditors reported 33 findings overall, including 31 federal findings, $12.9 million in outstanding questioned costs, and qualified opinions for the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, and the Child Care Development Fund cluster. Committee members questioned DHS, the broadband office, OST, DFA, Education, and Workforce Services about the findings, corrective actions, cyber protections, federal drawdowns, child care reporting, and accounting methodology changes. Several agencies described corrective steps. DHS said it had changed how it draws Summer EBT funds, addressed provider revalidation and incarceration-related Medicaid issues, and updated internal processes and staffing. The broadband office said the questioned costs reflected invoice documentation disputes rather than missing payments and expected Treasury review to resolve the issue. OST said it was expanding logging, endpoint detection, and enterprise monitoring, and described broader cybersecurity investments, training, and a roadmap. DFA and Workforce Services addressed the workers’ compensation and unemployment accounting issues, with Workforce Services saying it had updated its policy and submitted the methodology to DFA. After discussion, the committee voted to hold the two statewide audit reports over until the August meeting, with members asked to submit specific questions in advance so only needed agencies would return. The final item was a special report on the Hot Spring County Solid Waste Authority for January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025. The audit reviewed compliance with laws, board procedures, bidding, payroll, permits, inspections, and cash handling. It noted prior private audit findings on segregation of duties, that recent private audit reports had not been obtained for 2023 through 2025, and that the current administrator said prior office staff and bookkeeping contractors resigned when he was hired. The authority’s operations and revenue sources were described, and the report was presented for committee review.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, but nothing about the program.
• program program oh<00:26:13.240><c> Senator</c> oh Senator oh Senator long<00:26:16.480><c> so</c><00
• CPP is a separate program.
• </c><00:29:59.399><c> that</c> specifically to that CPP program that specifically to that CPP program
• </c> grants if we can't get enough grants grants if we can't get enough grants within<00:42:12.240><c

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• a specific federal grant.
• So the HER and HEAR grants, and they're jointly called the Home Energy Rebates program.
• Again, that's predominantly funded through the state energy grant program, through the Department of
• Again, that's predominantly funded through the state energy grant program, through the Department of
• And Texas is administering basically a grant program with state dollars to provide opportunities to nuclear

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The committee first reviewed the Department of Juvenile Corrections budget. Legislative Services analyst Noah Peterson outlined the agency’s funding sources, staffing, recent expenditure patterns, and several FY 2026 and FY 2027 budget requests, including substance use disorder treatment, youth assessment center funding, replacement items, IT upgrades, and a clinician services transfer from the Department of Health and Welfare. Members asked about the governor’s holdback, public works projects, vehicle replacements, and staffing. Director Ashley Dowell said the department’s census has declined due to strong county partnerships, prevention and diversion efforts, and youth assessment centers, and she explained that a staffing analysis found the agency understaffed by 12 positions, with six vacancies converted to direct care roles. She also described the holdback impacts as coming from contract reductions, internal efficiencies, travel and training cuts, and substance use disorder funding adjustments. The committee adjourned after the department discussion. The committee then reviewed the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources budget. Peterson described the office’s mostly federal funding, small staff, dedicated funds, prior energy resilience appropriations, and FY 2027 requests for personnel realignment, Idaho Orchestrating Nuclear (ION) support, and home energy rebates. Administrator Callie Younger said the office is focused on energy resilience, permitting coordination, hydropower relicensing, geothermal and mining projects, and a growing nuclear policy portfolio. She highlighted the new nuclear task force, the office’s request for information to industry, and work on a federal request related to a nuclear lifecycle campus. Members asked about nuclear development, spent fuel, modular reactors, permitting efficiency, and whether the office might merge with the Office of Species Conservation. Younger said the office is exploring a merger because of overlapping permitting functions and could reduce positions and save some general funds, while also improving its ability to handle nuclear and mining work. The chair closed by noting the committee’s alignment with several governor’s office recommendations and adjourned the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Shakopee using the waste heat, $25,000 to administer that grant program.
• Shakopee using the waste heat, $25,000 to administer that grant program.
• Shakopee using the waste heat, $25,000 to administer that grant program.
• And finally, we do support the $2 million investment in the geothermal planning grant program and the
• </c><00:43:29.520><c> million</c> grant program and the $2.2 million grant program and the $2.2 million

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This will establish a community festival grant program to support cultural events across Minnesota, celebrating
• This will establish a community festival grant program to support cultural events across Minnesota, celebrating
• in the program can only engage the program through their cities.
• in the program can only engage the program through their cities.
• in the program can only engage the program through their cities.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the second transfer for the program.
• with the used tire program.
• It's not possible with any program.
• This is to make grant payments related to the All Kids Bike program.
• Program.

Summary: The committee met to consider a series of appropriation, reserve transfer, and grant requests. Early items included temporary appropriations for the Department of Education’s Educational Freedom Account program ($32 million), the State Crime Lab ($476,000), and DFA Assessment Coordination ($90,000), along with a $1 ARPA return from the Department of Health. The committee approved these items after brief questions, including a discussion about contract cost increases at Assessment Coordination and a clarification that the $1 ARPA item was simply an unused-funds return. The most extensive discussion centered on the Department of Education’s EFA funding. Members questioned the growth in participation, the use of one-time funds and restricted reserves, and safeguards against fraud or improper purchases. Agency officials said about 44,000 students were being funded, that purchases are reviewed and flagged for unusual activity, and that homeschool students are not required to buy a curriculum so long as purchases are eligible and approved. The committee approved the EFA appropriation and related reserve transfer, and officials said the governor’s proposed budget would include the program in the RSA going forward. The committee also approved a DHS reallocation request and reviewed a building authority loan for a data center power supply replacement. In the federal grant section, members discussed a Department of Agriculture request for Central Arkansas Water to acquire land in the Maumelle watershed. Debate focused on the environmental benefits versus local property-tax and development concerns in Perry County, with testimony from the agency, Central Arkansas Water, and Potlatch about watershed protection, public access, and potential development impacts. After extended discussion, the committee adopted a motion to defer the item to the full Legislative Council and asked the department to remove the Perry County portion from the request, limiting the grant-funded purchase to Pulaski County property. The committee then reviewed remaining items, including a Veterans Affairs pay-plan appropriation, and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Line Fund, which is linking industry to nursing education, is a competitive grant program that encourages
• Another signature initiative is the Pathways to career Opportunities, Grant program or P cog, which is
• programs.
• The Open Door Grant Program is a financial aid program operated by the Office of Student Financial Assistance
• program and also the Florida student Assistance Grant.

Transcript Highlights:

• It looks like it needs another accounting position to handle a lot of different grant programs.
• It looks like it needs another accounting position to handle a lot of different grant programs.
• Same with the single-family program and the homeless programs.
• And as part of my role is to be the director of the grant programs under the purview of the Industrial
• And then, of course, all these grants, all of the grant programs, require a match, and so minimum 50-

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee met as the Regulatory Division of the budget section and received updates on several Industrial Commission-related agencies and programs. Legislative Council first reviewed base budget materials, then the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency reported on its current appropriation and staffing, noting that its new FTEs were being filled gradually and that it remained largely funded through special and federal funds. Agency leaders described homeownership lending, loan servicing, and housing incentive fund activity, including below-market mortgage rates, down payment assistance, and a growing servicing portfolio that has increased workload but not yet required additional FTEs. Housing Finance also detailed use of the Housing Incentive Fund and homeless grant dollars. Officials said the multifamily HIF round drew more than $73 million in requests and awarded $25 million, while the single-family program supported rural development and community land trusts. Homeless grant funding was split between emergency shelter, prevention, and rapid rehousing, with performance-based scoring used to renew or reallocate awards. Members discussed housing affordability, aging households, rental assistance, and the need to coordinate housing and site-preparation messaging with Commerce. The agency asked that HIF, single-family, and homeless funding be maintained or increased in the next session. The Department of Mineral Resources then presented its budget and operations update. Staff said the agency was on track financially, had filled most of its new reclamation FTEs, and was not expecting major litigation costs beyond normal late-biennium invoices. The director reviewed agency initiatives including Project North Star IT modernization, organizational restructuring, succession planning, rulemaking, and implementation of the development incentive well tax program and critical minerals rules. He also discussed oil and gas activity, explaining that longer laterals, especially three- and four-mile wells and the first five-mile spacing case, are helping keep production relatively flat even as rig counts ease. Members asked about gas capture, hedging, break-even prices, and the effects of Iran and Venezuela on oil markets. The committee also heard about enhanced oil recovery grants and the Pipeline Authority. The EOR program’s $25 million appropriation was fully allocated to six projects, with total awards reaching about $45.1 million when other fund balances were included, subject to a possible 5% reduction if federal DOE money does not materialize. Officials said the projects are public, reimbursement-based, and will produce results over the next several years. Finally, the Pipeline Authority outlined natural gas transmission projects, including the imminent Bakken Express line and the proposed Bakken East project, which WBI was selected to advance after an Industrial Commission RFI process. The project is moving through open season, survey permission, and regulatory work, with in-service dates projected for 2029 and 2030.