Transcript Highlights:

• affordability affordability uh<00:48:02.079><c> being</c><00:48:02.319><c> harder</c><00:48:02.640><
• Going to because they can't afford heat.
• We are one of the highest states as far as affordability to live in.
• </c><03:53:44.960><c> You</c> as affordability to live in. You as affordability to live in.
• Or that a they couldn't afford it again.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then 0.1 0.14 contains markings that identify the law enforcement agency that owns or leased the
• </c><01:14:59.160><c> that</c><01:14:59.400><c> owns</c><01:14:59.720><c> or</c><01:14:59.800><c> leased
• </c> enforcement agency that owns or leased enforcement agency that owns or leased the<01:15:00.200><
• They're not leasing, they're not owning them. So, it can have some fallback things.
• They're not leasing, they're not owning them. So, it can have some fallback things.

Bills: HF3771 , HF3658 , HF3453 , HF3358 , HF1775

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• I could go on and tell you more about the leases at from Welcome Manor that have left us that weren't
• tell you more back I could go on and tell you more about<00:26:53.399><c> the</c><00:26:53.520><c> leases
• at</c><00:26:54.440><c> from</c><00:26:54.600><c> welcome</c><00:26:54.919><c> Manor</c> about the leases
• /c><00:27:12.600><c> about</c><00:27:12.880><c> all</c><00:27:13.039><c> the</c><00:27:13.159><c> leases
• </c> please simply think about all the leases please simply think about all the leases in in in Minnesota

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a wide variety of spending in here, everything from leases to electricity costs, supplies and
• And I know, like, when the Affordable Care Act was passed, or state-driven policy changes, like in the
• the revenue surge that states had in that period has dissipated, states are starting to struggle to afford

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative-Executive Committee on Budget Transparency and Fiscal Sustainability

Transcript Highlights:

• We can't afford, as a state, to go back.
• We can't afford as a state to go back.
• I understand that the UNM Hospital is on leased land from the pueblos. Is that correct?

Bills: SB5 , SB6 , SB8

Committee: Senate Senate Health & Public Affairs

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

Transcript Highlights:

• It had all of the rules, all of the regulations, all of the checkboxes, but it couldn't afford to employ
• now take the first $75,000 of every claim myself in order to get the insurance at a rate that I can afford
• Lease them under contracts and not receive any of the funds from the tolls, is that correct?

Bills: SB39 , SB2129 , SB2141 , SB2246 , SB2323 , SB2439 , SB2722 , SB 39

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• can work best to do the work for the people of Minnesota: stopping fraud, making Minnesota more affordable
• can work best to do the work for the people of Minnesota: stopping fraud, making Minnesota more affordable
• that were just added the last two years were still unfilled, how much space was being used, either leased

Transcript Highlights:

• the Department of Education’s Farm-to-School program, and we also started an audit about DOBOR’s leasing

Committee: Senate Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The committees considered several Senate bills and one House bill across multiple decision-making segments, with testimony focused mainly on SB 903, SB 439, SB 938, and HB 1440. For SB 903, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs supported the measure and emphasized that the Public Lands Trust Working Group should complete its scope of work before baseline settlement discussions. The committees then adopted chair-recommended technical amendments to SB 903, including blanking the appropriation and changing the effective date to June 30, 2059, and the measure was adopted with members voting aye or excused. A later agenda included many bills that were mostly advanced with technical amendments, effective-date changes, or recommittals to Ways and Means. Among them, SB 934 and SB 935 were recommitted; SB 65, SB 328, SB 465, SB 576, and several others were passed with amendments that often blanked appropriations or changed dates; SB 329, SB 448, SB 744, SB 1023, SB 1269, SB 1361, SB 1381, SB 1491, SB 1530, and SB 1547 were passed unamended; SB 828, SB 1220, and SB 1487 were deferred. The committee also adopted amendments on bills such as SB 125, SB 558, SB 789, SB 997, SB 1234, SB 1388, and SB 1543, generally to clarify definitions, narrow scope, or add effective-date or governance language. For SB 439, the Division of State Parks testified that it already performs the fee studies and park-designation work contemplated by the bill, but supported the measure overall; OHA, the Care for ʻĀina Now Coalition, and other supporters testified in favor, while two individuals opposed it. The committees adopted SB 439 with LRB technical amendments. SB 938 received only departmental comments from the Department of Taxation and was passed unamended. HB 1440, which drew support from the State Ombudsman, the Legislative Reference Bureau, the State Auditor, and the Ethics Commission, was also passed unamended. In each decision-making segment, the committees voted to adopt the chair’s recommendations and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We cannot afford to risk our ability to have students graduate with less debt by taking all the money
• The next generation of these therapies has to be affordable, accessible, safe, and sustainable.
• And I think with more funding, it goes to the communities that people can't afford to go to a larger
• hospital and afford that cost.
• bias and prejudice to end its support of public higher education at a time when its workers cannot afford

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies

Summary: The committee on Economic Development held a hearing on the DRIVE Act, a proposal to invest $400 million in Massachusetts research and innovation without new taxes. Governor Healey and administration officials said the bill would direct $200 million to public higher education research and regional partnerships and $200 million to a research funding pool for hospitals, universities, and other institutions, with the goal of retaining talent, leveraging private and philanthropic dollars, and offsetting major federal R&D cuts. They argued that research is a core economic engine for the state, supporting jobs across labs, construction, services, and surrounding businesses, and said the bill would help protect the Commonwealth’s tax base and competitiveness during a period of federal uncertainty and cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs. Committee members raised concerns about whether Fair Share surtax dollars should instead be used for K-12 and other community needs, whether the proposal is enough given the scale of lost federal grants, and how the money would be allocated. The governor responded that the funds are one-time surplus dollars, that most surtax revenue already supports education, and that the bill is meant as a bridge to stabilize public higher education and research. She also said the legislation includes a review board and could support a revolving or matched-fund approach in some cases. Several members pressed for more detail on selection criteria, future funding, and whether private companies and large endowments should contribute more. University of Massachusetts leaders and researchers testified that federal grant cancellations and delays are already causing layoffs, furloughs, rescinded admissions, and lost research capacity. UMass officials said the bill would help preserve faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and research programs in medicine, climate science, marine science, Braille instruction, and AI decision-making. They emphasized that the funding should be merit-based and that the state needs to act quickly to prevent talent from leaving Massachusetts. Business, labor, and industry groups, including MassBio, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, AIM, the AFL-CIO, and Building Trades, supported the bill, saying it would protect jobs, sustain the innovation ecosystem, and reinforce Massachusetts’ national leadership in research and life sciences. No vote was taken in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Fort Drum is now among a small number of installations being considered for an enhanced use lease with
• FORT DRUM IS NOW AMONG A SMALL NUMBER OF INSTALLATIONS BEING CONSIDERED FOR AN ENHANCED USE LEASE WITH

Summary: The Senate convened with ceremonial opening proceedings, approved the prior journal, and then moved through a series of calendar actions, including discharging and substituting identical companion bills from committee and restoring several bills to the Third Reading Calendar after reconsideration. The chamber also took up a supplemental budget calendar and a controversial supplemental budget extender, with Senator O’Mara questioning the delay in final budget negotiations, the size of the extender, table targets, and unresolved policy issues such as auto insurance reforms, SEQRA, New York for All, and CLCPA changes. Senator Serrano responded that negotiations were ongoing and that the extender was a clean measure to keep state government functioning. The budget extender bills were then passed, with Senator Weik voting in the negative on one of them. The Senate also adopted a resolution memorializing May 4, 2026, as 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum Day, and hosted Major General Scott Naumann and other Fort Drum leaders and soldiers for remarks on the division’s deployments, readiness, economic impact, and requests for continued state support on items such as microreactors, health care, DMV services, dining facilities, airports, and mineral-related development. The Fort Drum resolution drew extensive bipartisan praise from Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, Minority Leader Ortt, Senator Scarcella-Spanton, Senator Ashby, Senator Walczyk, and others, who emphasized the division’s military history, its role as a major employer and economic driver in Northern New York, and the sacrifices of service members and their families. Several senators highlighted individual soldiers in attendance and their service records, while the resolution was opened for co-sponsorship and adopted. The Senate also recognized a visiting child author, Thomas Ortiz, who was introduced for publishing a book encouraging kindness and friendship. After the ceremonial segment, the Senate returned to regular business and passed a series of bills on the calendar, including measures affecting environmental conservation, executive law, public service, education, public authorities, real property tax, criminal procedure, election law, and civil rights. Some bills drew negative votes from a bloc of senators, particularly on the environmental, criminal procedure, election, and civil rights measures, but all listed bills were ultimately passed. The Senate then adjourned until the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• private investment and capital investment flowed into the project, and the facility is now fully leased
• different model in that it rotates various companies through the data center, or there's an ongoing lease

Committee: House Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• representation to the Board of Natural Resources, timber efficiencies, ecosystem services, trust asset leasing
• representation to the Board of Natural Resources, timber efficiencies, ecosystem services, trust asset leasing

Committee: House Agriculture & Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• representation to the Board of Natural Resources, timber efficiencies, ecosystem services, trust asset leasing
• representation to the Board of Natural Resources, timber efficiencies, ecosystem services, trust asset leasing

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held a work session on HEAL Act implementation, beginning with an orientation from Environmental Justice Council member David Mendoza. He described the law’s purpose as integrating environmental justice into agency decision-making, community engagement, tribal consultation, strategic planning, and environmental justice assessments, with the goal of reducing environmental health disparities and improving accountability to communities and tribes. He also discussed the council’s role, the interagency work group, challenges with limited volunteer and agency capacity, and concerns about inconsistent assessment formats and future funding pressures. Committee members asked about council composition, including the balance of tribal, community, business, and other representation, whether the HEAL Act increases permitting time or costs, how “overburdened” and “vulnerable” populations are defined, and whether the council should be refreshed or audited. Mendoza said the statute is not limited to racial categories and can include rural and low-income communities, that the council has not quantified permitting delays, and that there is no formal audit requirement, though the council is discussing how to improve its work. Members also raised questions about the relationship between the Environmental Justice Council and the Office of Equity, with Mendoza saying the bodies are complementary but should coordinate more closely. The Department of Agriculture then reported on its HEAL Act work. Director of Equity and Environmental Justice Nicole Johnson said WSDA conducts environmental justice assessments for significant actions, applies an equity lens to licensing, funding, rulemaking, and strategic planning, and has completed 11 EJ assessments to date. She highlighted pesticide regulation, animal health, and weights-and-measures work as examples of environmental and economic justice, and said the department recently hired a full-time tribal consultant and has only 1.5 FTE supporting HEAL implementation. Members asked whether WSDA’s assessments apply to its role on boards such as the Forest Practices Board; Johnson said the department’s current understanding is that assessments are conducted on agency work. The Department of Natural Resources then presented on its HEAL Act implementation, focusing on strategic planning, community engagement, tribal consultation, environmental justice assessments, and equitable funding. DNR officials said environmental justice is being embedded in the agency’s 2025-2029 strategic plan, in its Community Access and Impact Plan, and in its advisory committee and board representation efforts. They reported conducting EJ assessments for sustainable harvest calculations, agency request legislation, and a prescribed burn manager certificate program, and said DNR has invested about $130 million in overburdened communities and vulnerable populations in fiscal year 2025 through wildfire resilience, youth education, and urban forestry programs. Committee members pressed DNR on how it identifies impacted communities, why landowners were not more visible in the process, how agency-request legislation is being assessed, and whether assessments are required for actions taken through other boards and commissions. DNR said its current interpretation is that assessments apply to internal agency actions, that some notices may appear on OFM’s notices page rather than the completed-assessments dashboard, and that it would follow up on specific questions about its posted assessments and process.

Transcript Highlights:

• In addition, kind of one of the big pieces of this is the council's lease space at the Oklahoma Bar Association
• We've just had leases with them that have been basically reactivated at some point.

Transcript Highlights:

• To be able to contract through the C-PACE program with a financier and just add it on to their leases
• important clarification to ensure that commercial properties operating under an industrial revenue bond lease

Bills: HB99 , HB38 , HB165 , HB127 , HB72 , HB151 , SB40 , SB104 , SB136 , SB164

Committee: House House Judiciary

Keywords: medical malpractice, malpractice reform, patient's compensation fund, PCF, health care liability, tort reform, damage caps, punitive damages, hospital liability, physician liability, nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, outpatient facility, ambulatory surgical center, urgent care, free-standing emergency room, insurance surcharge, superintendent of insurance, New Mexico hospitals, medical review process

Transcript Highlights:

• To be able to contract through the C-PACE program with a financier and just add it on to their leases
• important clarification to ensure that commercial properties operating under an industrial revenue bond lease

Bills: HB99 , HB38 , HB165 , HB127 , HB72 , HB151 , SB40 , SB104 , SB136 , SB164

Committee: House House Judiciary

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 38, which would require insurance coverage for specialized wheelchairs, activity chairs, and related mobility devices for people with limb loss or other disabilities, with guardrails limiting the number of covered devices over time. The sponsor and supporters, including the Office of Superintendent of Insurance, Disability Rights New Mexico, the Disability Coalition, physical therapists, and disability advocates, said the bill would improve access, inclusion, and physical activity without significant premium impact. Questions focused on the substitute language, the device limits, and how Medicaid would handle coverage separately. The committee ultimately passed the House Health and Human Services Committee substitute for HB 38 on a 10-0 vote. The committee then approved House Bill 165, which expands the C-PACE financing program to businesses using industrial revenue bonds and clarifies that counties and municipalities are not liable for payments. Support came from economic development and business groups, who said the bill would remove a barrier to energy- and water-efficiency upgrades and encourage investment. The bill passed on a 10-0 vote. House Bill 127 also passed unanimously after discussion of its three parts: a provisional licensure pathway for internationally trained physicians, a telehealth registry for out-of-state providers, and changes to expedited licensure. Supporters said it would help address provider shortages, especially in rural and underserved areas, while the sponsor explained that the amended version includes safeguards such as exam requirements, supervised practice, and a provisional-to-restricted-to-full licensure path. The committee voted 11-0 to advance the bill. House Bill 72, which would increase penalties for distributing certain controlled substances, including methamphetamine, to minors, drew strong support from law enforcement and the chamber of commerce but significant concern from the Public Defender and several members over strict liability, mandatory sentencing, and the breadth of the penalty. After debate over whether the bill could reach low-level or peer-to-peer conduct and whether the penalty was proportionate, the committee voted to table the bill by a 6-4 vote. The committee then took up House Bill 151, a revised childhood sexual abuse statute of limitations bill. The sponsor presented a committee substitute that changed commission appointments, added reporting and solvency-related provisions, and adjusted procedures for compensation and appeals. Members raised concerns about parity, definitions, administrative costs, and how awards would be determined, but the committee approved the committee substitute on a 7-0 vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we're looking for every nook and cranny of storage we can find extra that we can lease from a canal
• structure of the bank provided within the 1990 Fort Hall Water Rights Settlement Agreement for the leases

Committee: Senate Resources and Environment

Transcript Highlights:

• So they can't, you know, I don't think they can lease it out to Lamar and... ...can't, you know, I don't
• think they can lease it out to Lamar and they do it.

Committees: House Transportation , House Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight

Transcript Highlights:

• About a decade ago, the former oil and gas operator filed for bankruptcy and deserted their leases, leaving
• Responsible for issuing any new lease that authorizes a use for the island and the onshore facilities

Transcript Highlights:

• So that actually gave us a 15-year lease with Pulama Lānaʻi.
• So that actually gave us a 15-year lease with Pulama Lānaʻi.

Summary: The Committee on Water and Land heard two gubernatorial nominations and one resolution. Governor’s Message 585 nominated Stanley Ruidas to the Game Management Advisory Commission for a term ending June 30, 2028. DLNR supported the nomination, citing his prior service as GMAC chair from 2020 to 2022 and his work on hunting and wildlife management issues. Ruidas said he hoped to continue as chair and focus on bringing meetings to hunters across the islands and advancing island-specific wildlife management plans. The committee later recommended advice and consent on GM585, and the motion passed unanimously. Governor’s Message 550 nominated Alexandra Kelly Polo to the Legacy Land Conservation Commission for a term ending June 30, 2028. DLNR and several supporters, including the County of Hawaii and community advocates, praised her experience with land acquisition, conservation easements, and county open-space efforts. Kelly Polo said her work has helped protect thousands of acres on Hawaii Island and emphasized the importance of preserving natural resources and working with community groups. The committee recommended advice and consent on GM550, and the motion passed unanimously. The committee also considered SCR 19/SR 100, which requested DLNR to convene a Kīua Bay advisory working group. DLNR and the Hawaii Tourism Authority offered written support, and members said the working group could help address long-standing issues in the area. The committee recommended passage with technical and nonsubstantive amendments, and the motion was adopted unanimously. In a separate joint portion of the meeting, the committees also advanced SCR 75/SR 58, supporting historic preservation staffing for Lahaina rebuild efforts, with both technical and substantive amendments, and later advanced STR 24 with an amendment to include the 100th Infantry Battalion alongside the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.