Transcript Highlights:

• It is a wind farm that is being constructed by a Finnish company, to Larry energy.
• So this is in part a market construction 2942 problem.
• work, is going to take, let's say, three years to construct.
• work, is going to take, let's say, three years to construct.
• Contribution in aid of construction is another.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Business and Commerce held its first interim hearing on securing critical infrastructure and supply chain integrity, with a focus on Texas’s electric grid and the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act. The chair also highlighted Texas’s relatively low electricity prices and welcomed new committee members. ERCOT, the Public Utility Commission (PUC), and the Attorney General’s office were invited to explain how the state screens market participants and grid equipment for ties to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, and how the agencies respond to noncompliance. ERCOT testified that it has implemented the requirements of three related Senate bills by requiring attestations on corporate affiliations and on critical grid equipment and services. ERCOT said it has processed thousands of attestations, used additional requests for information and third-party verification tools such as Dun & Bradstreet, and terminated nonresponsive market participants. ERCOT also said it has not seen a case requiring direct Attorney General involvement, but it does refer matters to the PUC when needed. The PUC said it can investigate suspected violations and impose penalties of up to $1 million per violation per day, and that most investigations into late or missing attestations have been resolved through compliance, market exit, or removal by ERCOT. The Attorney General’s office said its role is currently limited to audits and court involvement, and that it lacks broad independent investigatory authority under the act. Members pressed the panel on whether the current system is too reliant on self-reporting and whether it adequately addresses indirect foreign influence, especially through supply chains for batteries, inverters, transformers, and other equipment with routable connectivity. ERCOT acknowledged that the current attestation process has gaps and said it plans to refine definitions of critical grid equipment and grid services, improve information requests, and continue stakeholder rulemaking. The panel also discussed possible legislative changes, including tying prohibitions to the Department of Defense Section 1260H list and the Texas Prohibited Technologies list, clarifying warranty and service access, and expanding the statute to cover grid services more directly. Several senators raised concerns about cost, reliability, and the extent to which foreign-sourced components remain embedded in Texas infrastructure, while others suggested incentives for domestic manufacturing and stronger verification tools, including possible work with national labs such as Sandia.

Transcript Highlights:

• We say where does it look like it's cleared for construction? We put a grid cell around it.
• So in pink, you can see where it's clear... ...construction.
• We put a grid cell around it, so in pink you can see where it's clear for construction. Next slide.
• And in so doing, we were able to construct an alternative body of data that we were able to offer the
• And we look at new houses. ...on the city parcels, and we look at new housing construction.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee held a hearing on census preparation, focusing first on testimony from U.S. Census Bureau staff James Whitehorn and Andrea Grace Johnson. They described the Bureau’s decade-long geographic and redistricting programs, including the Boundary and Annexation Survey, School District Review Program, Participant Statistical Area Program, and Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA), along with the Block Boundary Suggestion Project and voting district collection. They emphasized that Massachusetts has been a strong partner in these efforts and explained how the Bureau is using updated street data, building footprints, machine learning, and change detection to improve address lists and track new housing. Whitehorn also reviewed the 2030 redistricting data program, the legal basis for it under PL 94-171, the role of state nonpartisan liaisons, and the expected timeline for data delivery. He noted that OMB’s revised race and ethnicity standards will merge those questions into one and add a Middle Eastern/North African category. Committee members asked about the new standards, state contacts, and how boundary updates are submitted, and the witnesses said they would provide the slide deck and contact information. Wendy Underhill and Helen Brewer of NCSL then testified about why census preparation matters for states, stressing its impact on data, federal funding, and political representation. They outlined optional steps states can take before 2030, including staying in touch with Census Bureau staff, identifying state and local personnel involved in census work, supporting local participation in Bureau programs, and creating complete count committees or commissions. They cited Massachusetts’s prior complete count committee and grantmaking efforts as an example and said such efforts can improve self-response and overall accuracy. They also noted that state legislatures can act as conveners and trusted messengers, and they discussed broader issues such as privacy protections, differential privacy, budget uncertainty, and the possibility of future litigation or a citizenship question. Secretary of State William Galvin then gave extended remarks on Massachusetts’s 2020 census experience and the need to prepare early for 2030. He said the state faced major challenges in 2020 from the pandemic, litigation, and rhetoric about citizenship, and that Massachusetts relied heavily on local records, university data, and community outreach to document residents, especially students and non-native-born populations. He argued that the state should strengthen local recordkeeping now through LUCA, annual resident lists, assessors’ and zoning records, and other local data sources, and he urged support for a proposed $500,000 appropriation for census-related grants and technical assistance. Galvin said better preparation is needed because housing patterns, population shifts, and local administrative capacity have changed since 2020, and he emphasized that the goal is to improve the completeness of the records the Census Bureau will use in 2030.

Transcript Highlights:

• just pause that program until we get a report back from the bank and then be able to have some constructive
• just pause that program until we get a report back from the bank and then be able to have some constructive
• we were looking very specifically for anything that had been flagged in the IPS as it had been constructed
• One doesn't have to construct... Dakota, there are ways to get it done.
• One doesn't have to construct this program to accommodate the possibility of that.

Summary: The committee met to approve prior minutes and receive updates on the Legacy Fund transparency website and fund performance. Staff reported the website procurement was in contract negotiations, with a planned go-live around November 1, and that the site would provide downloadable, more transparent information on fund holdings, allocations, history, and legislative appropriations while protecting confidential data. The investment office then reviewed performance through January 2026, describing strong returns relative to benchmarks, noting real estate and fixed income as weaker areas, and explaining that the fund’s diversification and internal management had helped offset market volatility, including recent geopolitical impacts. Members also discussed the in-state investment program, especially the Bank of North Dakota’s CD-match allocation. Several members questioned whether the program had been static for years and whether the uncommitted balance should remain parked there if it was not being used. The committee voted to pause further transfers into the program until the Bank provides a report and the committee can consider possible statutory changes; the motion also requested a cost-benefit analysis from RVK, and it passed by roll call vote. In the afternoon, RVK presented its review of the investment policy statement as it relates to the in-state investment program. The consultant said it found no major policy impediments, and that implementers and stakeholders generally felt the program was proceeding as intended. RVK emphasized best practices such as third-party due diligence, competitive risk-adjusted returns, diversification, pacing, and exit strategies, while cautioning that required lower-return investments or spending commitments can create pressure on the fund’s long-term real value. The consultant also raised ancillary concerns about state-level concentration risk, the need to distinguish between public and commercial infrastructure, and the lack of a central repository for all state funding commitments to the same projects.

Transcript Highlights:

• We looked at construction.
• They looked at construction, out-of-state visitor spending, and our spaceport revenues.
• the Construction Projects Leader, both of which are closely related to our customers.
• For example, the company currently building a facility at the vertical launch area is constructing a
• What we are finding is that even though this is not our construction project, we must monitor it and

Transcript Highlights:

• We can't construction and operation.
• for actual institute soil or constructed for actual institute soil or constructed liner<02:29:20.200
• to construction.
• So if I constructed to construction.
• > or<02:30:46.160> beyond construct something in 2025 or beyond construct something in

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Two, approved waiver requests from school districts for cooperative purchasing and construction services
• rules, and two, approved waiver requests from school districts for cooperative purchasing and construction
• The subcommittee heard testimony from the Arkansas State Crime Lab regarding the construction and the
• timeline for the new crime lab that is under construction.

Summary: The Arkansas Legislative Council met and first adopted the previous meeting minutes, then honored Lori McDonald of the Department of Human Services for nearly 28 years of state service. Members read a resolution recognizing her legislative, constituent, and leadership work at DHS, and the council adopted it unanimously. McDonald thanked members for their support, and the Senate also presented her with a citation, a flag flown over the Capitol, and a commemorative coin. The council then received the May 2026 revenue report, which showed gross adjusted collections of $7.76 billion year-to-date, up 4.4% from the prior year, and net available for distribution of $6.36 billion. The Bureau of Legislative Research noted collections were running above last year and that the updated forecast reflected a surplus. The Executive Subcommittee report was adopted after members were told it had approved captive insurance premiums and deductibles, a claims administration contract, emergency DHS rules, waiver requests, committee fund allocations, and the cancellation of the regular July ALC meeting in favor of only meeting for urgent matters. Several subcommittee reports were then adopted, including Administrative Rules, Game and Fish and State Police, Hospital/Medicaid/Developmental Disabilities, Lottery Oversight, Occupational Licensing Review, Peer Review, Review, State Insurance Programs Oversight, and Personnel. During the Administrative Rules discussion, members questioned the Department of Education about delays and vendor performance under the ClassWallet contract; department officials said they were meeting regularly with the vendor, keeping expense review in-house, and would consider other options if needed. In Personnel, the Department of Commerce clarified that a reallocation request was part of a broader departmental realignment and shared services move, not the Arkansas Workforce Connection waiver. The council also reviewed and took action on several communications, including filing retirement system investment summaries as reviewed, approving rural community grant funding, giving favorable advice for state park acquisitions/expansion, approving special maintenance funding for state parks, and filing proposed Office of State Technology service rates as reviewed before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• rules; and two, approved waiver requests from school districts for cooperative purchasing and construction
• rules, and two, approved waiver requests from school districts for cooperative purchasing and construction
• The subcommittee heard testimony from the Arkansas State Crime Lab regarding the construction and the
• timeline for the new crime lab that is under construction.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . >> The majority of it's uh construction funding.
• program implementation costs that would be environmental inspection, historical preservation, construction
• management, home inspections, those sorts of Preservation, construction management, home inspections
• , those sorts of services that go along with the construction. >> Thank you.

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Mike West on behalf of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California in support.
• municipal stormwater, but those permits do require municipalities to do site inspections and do post-construction
• county offices of education to utilize design-build and progressive design-build procedures for construction
• county offices of education to utilize design-build and progressive design-build procedures for construction

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• DCT will then request additional construction and operating funds during the following session.
• DCT will then request<00:04:06.920> additional<00:04:07.400> construction<00:04:08.000>
• and request additional construction and request additional construction and operating<00:04:08.760

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• various revisions through the formation requirements, including classifying public infrastructure construction
• contracts as a private construction contract for the purposes of prompt pay, setting the maximum authorized
• restriction, or relation of the use, occupation, or improvements of land for the operation or construction
• House, House Bill 2482 limits the amount of an individual job order for job order contracting for construction

Summary: The Republican caucus reviewed a long list of House bills with Senate amendments, mostly hearing brief staff summaries and sponsor comments on whether they concurred. Topics included tax filing penalties, water and court procedures, vaccination and mask rules, bullion investment, nursing care complaint timelines, privacy protections for property and voter records, medical-record access, professional licensing procedures, school and family law changes, public records access for legislators, AI procurement, fingerprint clearance for traffic survival school instructors, development fees, infrastructure districts, distracted driving penalties, health aide scope of practice, eviction record sealing, backyard structure rules in planned communities, inmate transition services, nuclear-ready community designation, DCS parent-rights notices, domestic-violence evidence standards, inmate mental health study committee, legislative subpoena enforcement, trade office oversight, public power reporting, Native American language proficiency, mental health judicial review timelines, mobile food vendor licensing, medical-intervention requirements in schools, and school board training and meeting transparency. In most cases, the sponsor or a representative indicated concurrence with the Senate amendments, and the caucus generally moved through the bills without extended debate. A few bills drew brief explanation from sponsors about the policy purpose, such as aligning nursing-facility oversight with federal requirements, improving access to medical records, clarifying rules for licensed health aides, and adjusting school-related provisions. Some bills were noted as being sent back to the Senate or otherwise set aside, including HB 2035 and HB 2249. No formal votes were taken in the transcript; the meeting functioned as a caucus review of Senate amendments and sponsor concurrence before floor action. The caucus concluded after HB 2380, with members thanked for attending.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, this amendment would not delay construction on a new clinic in Northport.
• Chairman, I yield two minutes to the chair of the Military Construction VA Subcommittee, Judge Carter
• <00:39:48.800> VA chair of the Military Construction VA chair of the Military Construction
• A bill making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related
• , the Department of military construction, the Department of Veterans<01:16:17.679> Affairs,<01

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Friday, May 15, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to this meeting of the New York State Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community
• Adjourned to this committee meeting of Housing, Construction and Community Development.
• Thank you all. adjourned to this committee of this meeting of housing construction community on committee

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development met on February 10 and reviewed a largely recurring housing agenda, with the chair noting the meeting had been moved to Tuesday because of train delays and that a housing budget hearing was scheduled for February 25. Several bills were taken up that had passed the Senate in prior sessions or had been reported before, including measures on manufactured home park rent increases, first-home savings and grant programs, a mobile/manufactured home replacement program, closing-cost assistance for low-income tenants, protections against eviction for certified medical marijuana use, senior and disabled persons protections, fire code and housing standard penalties, a Manufactured Home Community Preservation Act, a public housing painters apprenticeship program, veterans with service-related disabilities receiving preferences in affordable homeownership programs, and a senior housing task force. One bill on an affordable independent senior housing assistance program was held at the sponsor’s request. Testimony and discussion were limited, with most bills moving on sponsor motions and seconded by other senators. There was brief clarification on the closing-cost assistance bill that it was intended for renters in public or subsidized housing, not people living with parents. Senators generally supported the measures, though some members voted in the negative or to advance without recommendation on several bills. Actions taken included reporting multiple bills either to the floor or to the Finance Committee. Among those reported to the floor were the manufactured home park rent bill, the medical marijuana eviction protection bill, the senior/disabled persons bill, the fire code and housing standards penalties bill, the veterans homeownership preference bill, and the senior housing task force bill. Bills on first-home savings, manufactured home replacement, closing-cost assistance, the first-home grant program, the Manufactured Home Community Preservation Act, and the public housing painters apprenticeship program were reported to the Finance Committee. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the new construction policies are going to lead to this being one of the most fire-safe communities
• So the new construction policies are going to lead to this being one of the most fire safe communities
• With us today, we have Keith Dunn with the State Building and Construction Trades Council.
• Members, Keith Dunn, State Building and Construction Trades Council.
• We talk a lot about the housing crisis, and I think so much focuses on new construction and being able

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The impact of 12,500 dairy is around $140 million in construction costs, 603 jobs, and $2.5 million in
• A $42 million crush facility, the construction of it is $457 million.
• And so we ended up reducing the square footage of the building that we were able to construct.
• We have construction underway at the remaining three this summer.
• Maybe we should look at 10 years given just the cost increases that we’ve seen for construction.

Summary: The committee met in Fargo and approved the minutes from the March 31 meeting before hearing a series of informational presentations focused on North Dakota agriculture, water, and research. NDSU President David Cook opened with remarks about NDSU’s land-grant mission, emphasizing statewide service through research, teaching, and extension, and highlighting examples such as the Lilac Agriculture startup and the university’s role in applying research to real-world problems. He said he intends to spend time listening across the state to better understand local needs. The committee then received a detailed presentation on a state irrigation and drainage study from Tom Bodine on behalf of Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. The study projected significant potential for expanded irrigation acreage, especially in counties such as McLean, Williams, Sargent, Burleigh, Mountrail, McKenzie, McIntosh, Dunn, and Bottineau, and estimated major economic gains from irrigation, including higher farm returns and support for value-added agriculture. Members discussed water permits, surface water versus aquifers, infrastructure, drought resilience, and the role of legal drains in improving productivity and generating economic activity. The presenters also noted that the full report is available online. Dr. Greg Lardy followed with NDSU’s required interim report, outlining the university’s agricultural research and extension system, including the State Board of Agricultural Research and Education, seven research-extension centers, and the economic importance of agriculture to the state. He highlighted recent research impacts such as new crop varieties, potato breeding successes, virtual fencing, AI-assisted weed control, weather-network tools, and 4-H programming. He also described NDSU’s budget priorities: restoring the governor’s proposed 10% cuts, additional operating support, and deferred maintenance funding. Committee members asked about the new agricultural field lab, storage sheds, and NDSU’s partnership with Grand Farm. The committee also heard from the North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute and a professor presenting water-related research, including data center cooling, water reuse, smart irrigation, and a feasibility study on co-locating data centers with greenhouse and aquaculture production. Members asked about water use, ownership, and whether the concepts were operational or still speculative. Finally, North Dakota AgTech presented its NSF-funded innovation engine work, describing startup commercialization, on-farm trials, workforce development, and partnerships with NDSU, UND, tribal colleges, and other land-grant institutions. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the prior meeting minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have no particular opinion as to whether the construction of that district, as proposed by the governor
• compelling record of egregious racial discrimination that immediately precedes and causes the construction
• The construction of that district.
• I believe that that's a topic for later construction by this legislature.
• I believe that that's a topic for later construction by this legislature.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This includes nursing, like we discussed, EMTs, truck drivers, retail workers, construction workers.
• like we discussed, EMTs, truck drivers, retail<00:04:54.160> workers,<00:04:54.560> construction
• <00:04:56.080> It retail workers, construction workers.
• It retail workers, construction workers.
• You know, I think coming out of the construction world and very similar to the manufacturing world, I

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, these are manufactured home parks that were constructed in the late '70s, early '80s, very tight
• in the late 70s, early 80s, constructed in the late 70s, early 80s, very<00:24:38.720> tight<
• Uh, for most new construction, they use what are called the book values, and those have not changed.
• So that's one of the bigger costs, you know, for construction.
• And so that was already construction.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee began with routine business, including the Pledge of Allegiance, approval of the minutes, seating of an alternate member, and approval of the consent agenda. It then took up Department of Health and Human Services Rule 25188 on New Hampshire Early Childhood and Out-of-School Time Credentials. Staff explained that the rule adopts two new parts to implement RSA 170E:50, which had long required rules. The main issue was an unclear comment created by changes in the department’s amended conditional approval request: language defining out-of-school-time basics and a requirement tied to the New Hampshire Professional Registry training transcript had been removed, creating a mismatch between the form and the rule text. The department said it revised the language so the form and rule now match. A member also asked about the fee schedule, and the department said the fees are sufficient and supported in part by federal funds. The committee then approved Rule 25188 as amended, with oral edits, on a voice vote. The committee next considered Department of Environmental Services Rule 25206, dealing with subsurface wastewater rules and an administrative fine schedule. Staff said most comments had been addressed, but one remaining issue concerned the fine schedule because the prior interim rule had expired years ago. Staff also noted public concerns about septic tank replacement sizes, but pointed to waiver provisions and replacement-in-kind language that would still allow smaller existing systems to be replaced under certain conditions. DES officials explained that the rule package adds the fine schedule into the program rules and that no fines have been brought under these expired provisions for many years. They also described the waiver and grandfathering provisions as intended to protect existing systems and seasonal campgrounds from unnecessary upgrades. A public witness, Christopher Albert, testified that two sections of the rule would harm manufactured home parks and cooperatives. He argued that the new “two people per bedroom” assumption and the minimum bedroom threshold for using water-meter data would inflate design flows, make water-meter data unusable, and increase costs for low-income residents. Committee members questioned both the witness and the agency about the assumptions. DES staff responded that the two-person-per-bedroom standard is meant for individual on-site system design, not citywide planning, and that water-meter data is only useful in larger or unusual facilities. They said the rule still allows flexibility through waivers and grandfathering for existing uses, and that the drinking-water rule cited by the witness was not the correct comparison. No final vote on Rule 25206 was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• for the construction code fund of of of 21,329,000<00:30:02.559> in<00:30:02.799> the<
• Uh, there's an increase to the construction code and licensing division of $1 million in 2026-27
• for construction industry mental health initiatives.
• And then there's the fee adjustment on line 47 from the construction code fund of $4,164,000 in 2026-
• The fee adjustment on line 47 from the construction code fund is $4,164,000 in 2026-27 and $4,292,000

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, most of these are still under construction.
• <03:52:41.840> of presently due to the construction of presently due to the construction of
• you're looking for the construction you're looking for the construction materials<04:17:58.640><
• She said it was basic construction with a steel door, and that was it.
• So it's a lot of construction work to ensure that it's done properly.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Department of Administrative Services presented its capital budget process and priorities, explaining how agencies assess facility needs, rank projects, and submit requests to the governor’s office. DAS described its Plant and Property division, which maintains 96 state buildings, and Public Works, which develops detailed cost estimates for selected projects. Officials said the governor’s office has traditionally narrowed requests into priority tiers, but this year all projects were estimated, creating more work and less detail. They also emphasized that the capital budget book functions as legislative intent and can be binding on how approved funds are used. On the substance of the request, DAS highlighted several priorities: continued funding for the state ERP system upgrade to the cloud, with about $5 million requested for sustainability and related Treasury functions; emergency fund and annex renovation work; a sprinkler replacement at DMV; and elevator repairs at the main building. Karen Rocky also identified maintenance projects that rose in priority after a facility condition assessment, including HVAC work for Portsmouth Circuit Court and Coos County Courthouse, boilers and controls for Carroll County and Lebanon Circuit Court, brick repointing at the main building and annex, window replacement at Spalding, and Brown building elevator replacement. Officials noted that the governor’s proposed capital budget included fewer DAS projects than in past years and no projects for the Bureau of Court Facilities. The committee also discussed lapses and reprogramming of prior appropriations. DAS said the first eight projects approved in 2023 remain under construction and should be extended, while many 2021 projects are delayed because of ARPA-related workload and broader construction backlogs. Members reviewed a 2019 project list and agreed to lapse project number 49, the Spalding roof project, with about $81,000 remaining. DAS also said some small 2019 balances, including courthouse generators, a boiler, cooling and controls, roof and exterior repairs, and the State House Annex elevator, could be redirected through Capital Budget Overview toward the Hillsboro County South Cell Block project. The hearing ended with questions about project schedules, ARPA deadlines, and the division of authority between DoIT and DAS for the ERP system.