Transcript Highlights:

• corroborated by the Auditor's Office in terms of missing information, but we have moved to a new platform
• In addition, we moved to a new platform, which allows us to check in real time the fingerprint clearance

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The committee conducted sunset reviews for the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy, the State Board of Nursing, the Arizona Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners, and the Arizona Regulatory Board of Physician Assistants. The Auditor General’s reports praised each board for timely licensing in some areas but identified recurring problems with complaint investigations, public safety oversight, fee analysis, records/documentation, and internal controls. For Pharmacy, the main concerns were weak enforcement of controlled substances prescription monitoring program (CSPMP) requirements and slow complaint resolution; the board said it had implemented some recommendations, was pursuing a new database vendor, and supported legislation to strengthen CSPMP enforcement. For Nursing, the audit found a large and growing backlog of complaints and repeated delays in resolving cases; the executive director said the board was under-resourced and requested 28 additional investigative positions, while nursing stakeholders supported process reforms and cited a bill to improve timelines and fairness. For Occupational Therapy, the audit focused on missing or poorly documented fingerprint clearance card checks, delayed action on a serious criminal-charge disclosure, and other compliance issues; the board said it had accepted and was implementing all recommendations, including new procedures and rulemaking. For Physician Assistants, the audit found weak oversight by the executive director, extensive delays in complaint handling, and an incentive-pay system that did not align with key performance goals; the board said it had already made structural changes, was improving tracking and IT systems, and planned to continue implementing recommendations. After discussion and testimony from board officials, public members, and nursing stakeholders, the committee voted to continue the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy for six years until July 1, 2032, the State Board of Nursing for four years until July 1, 2031, the Arizona Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners for four years until July 1, 2030, and the Arizona Regulatory Board of Physician Assistants for a continued term with statutory changes (the transcript includes the board review and related discussion, but the final motion text for the physician assistants board is not fully captured in the excerpt). The votes on the first three continuations were approved by roll call, with members generally supporting continuation while expressing concern about complaint backlogs and the need for reforms.

Transcript Highlights:

• now you see reference on the slide here to the Educational Monitoring, Assistance, and Compliance platform
• That is a platform where grantees now, going forward, will be required to submit that information—not

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Education Committee met as a committee of reference to complete required sunset reviews and hear a performance audit. Members and staff introduced themselves at the start of the session, and the chair outlined committee procedures, including limits on public testimony and the goal of adjournment by 5 p.m. The committee then heard the sunset review of the Credit Enhancement Eligibility Board. A governor’s office representative explained that the board was created in 2016 to help qualifying schools, mostly charter schools, lower borrowing costs through a credit enhancement fund. He said the board has approved 15 projects, has no dedicated staff or budget, and is now at its statutory leverage limit, so it is mainly monitoring existing obligations. Members voiced support, and the committee voted by voice vote to recommend continuation of the board for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The committee next reviewed the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WICHE leadership described the interstate compact, its student exchange programs for undergraduate, graduate, and professional health care education, and related cost-savings and workforce benefits for Arizona. Testimony emphasized tuition savings for Arizona students, the return of many professional students to practice in Arizona, and the role of the compact in supporting higher education access and workforce needs. Commissioners from Arizona’s Board of Regents and Eastern Arizona College also spoke in support. The committee then voted by voice vote to recommend continuation of WICHE for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The committee also received the Arizona Auditor General’s performance audit of the Arizona Department of Education school safety program. The audit found that while the program has grown substantially and now funds more than 1,000 school safety positions, ADE did not ensure many sampled schools complied with requirements such as operational plans, safety teams, annual training, activity logs, and expenditure documentation. The Auditor General said the department relied too heavily on written attestations and reduced monitoring as the program expanded, and recommended stronger oversight, written procedures, and better reimbursement controls. ADE’s school safety director responded that the department accepts the findings, has already begun improving monitoring, and is moving to require uploaded documentation and more risk-based reviews; he also said the department will seek additional staffing and will meet with the Auditor General and ASU to strengthen evaluation of the program. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 2142, which would establish a school safety center within ADE, assign it responsibility for administering the school safety program and providing technical assistance, and allow up to 10% of program appropriations for administration. Members discussed whether the bill should also require monitoring of emergency operations plan compliance, better address students with disabilities, and clarify coordination with other state agencies. The sponsor said he planned to offer a floor amendment to make monitoring expectations clearer. The bill was discussed but no final committee action was recorded in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then finally, finally we have a vendor platform in development with real-time solutions, um, so I
• has been confirmed and board of finance matches, we will be uploading this database into an online platform

Transcript Highlights:

• of my work is the distortion of facts that are created by aggressive advertising online and other platforms
• of my work is the distortion of facts that are created by aggressive advertising online and other platforms

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• My members actually have 16% of all air permits in the state, so we're a major user of that program,

Summary: The committee first met in executive session and approved Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 913 on a roll call vote of 16 ayes and 3 noes. The committee then opened a public hearing on Senate Bill 1033, presented by Senator Jason Bean. He said the bill would exempt certain older covered farm vehicles used in local farming operations from emissions inspection requirements, and would also ease permitting requirements for cotton gins by removing the need for air dispersion modeling in obtaining construction permits. He also noted the bill incorporated language from Senate Bill 953 to create an alternative funding stream for the state air pollution control program. Witnesses in support included representatives of Missouri cotton producers, Missouri Farm Bureau, Infra, the Missouri Mining Association, the Missouri Concrete Association, the American Council of Engineering Companies, Missouri Forest Products, the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, the Missouri Soybean Association, Associated Industries of Missouri, and the Missouri Corn Growers Association. Supporters generally argued that the farm vehicle exemption would reduce costly regulatory burdens on low-use farm vehicles, and that the cotton gin permitting changes would help Missouri cotton remain competitive with neighboring states and encourage in-state gin construction and expansion. Several witnesses also backed the air pollution control funding language, saying the program is important to permit holders and could become insolvent in fiscal year 2028. Committee members asked questions about cotton gin services, the number of affected cotton farmers, and the details and fiscal impact of the proposed funding stream for the air pollution control program. A Department of Natural Resources representative confirmed the program is projected to become insolvent in FY 2028 and said she would follow up on some details. No witnesses appeared in opposition, and the hearing on Senate Bill 1033 was concluded without further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's my understanding, reading the bill, the user will be paying this fee, correct? Yes.

Bills: SB1192, SB1264, SB1284, SB1810, SB1921

Keywords: substance abuse, counseling, assessment fees, mental health, alcohol and drug programs, domestic violence, domestic abuse, assault and battery, assault, battery, strangulation, dangerous weapon, family or household member, intimate partner, pregnant woman, great bodily injury, batterers intervention program, batterers' intervention, anger management, victim safety

Transcript Highlights:

• Next up members we have House Bill 887, by representative all these now that is a medical marijuana user

Transcript Highlights:

• It focuses on the rural chronic fentanyl user with unstable housing, repeated overdoses, and lack of
• It focuses on the rural chronic fentanyl user with unstable housing, repeated overdoses, and lack of
• It focuses on the rural chronic fentanyl user with unstable housing, repeated overdoses, and lack of
• It focuses on the rural chronic fentanyl user with unstable housing, repeated overdoses, and lack of
• It focuses on the rural chronic fentanyl user with unstable housing, repeated overdoses, and lack of

Bills: HF4493, HF3133, HF4595, HF4143, HF4142, HF3756, HF4289, HF1724, HF2291, HF4568, HF4547

Keywords: opioid use disorder, OUD, medication-assisted treatment, MAT, pharmacist prescribing, pharmacy practice, controlled substances, Schedule III, Schedule IV, Schedule V, DEA registration, Board of Pharmacy, substance use disorder, addiction treatment, buprenorphine, naltrexone, harm reduction, prescription authority, pharmacist intern, Minnesota pharmacy law

Transcript Highlights:

• Line 81: there is a fee increase for groundwater for large groundwater users, and that fee, um, first
• Line 81: there is a fee increase for groundwater for large groundwater users, and that fee, um, first
• Line 81: there is a fee increase for groundwater for large groundwater users, and that fee, um, first
• 16:33.759> for<00:16:34.079> large<00:16:34.800> groundwater<00:16:35.480> users
• groundwater for large groundwater users groundwater for large groundwater users and<00:16:36.880

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• not only does it improve access for the local community, local businesses, but also for the highway users
• So, um, improving access for both the highway users as well as the local users.
• not only does it improve access for the local community, local businesses, but also for the highway users
• So, um, improving access for both the highway users as well as the local users.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a certified Minnesota DNR youth ATV safety instructor and also a trail ambassador as an Outdoor User
• Banning youth ATVs will push novices and first-time users onto high-powered, heavy adult ATVs, creating
• youth ATVs will push novices<00:15:35.399> and<00:15:35.600> firsttime<00:15:36.120> users
• <00:15:36.639> onto novices and firsttime users onto novices and firsttime users onto high-powered
• on behalf of our client SPAN, the Sustainable PFAS Action Network, which is the coalition of PFAS users

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• All transportation users will see safety improvements, and as noted in the letter that we provided to
• that the metro area is an economic driver, and we need to find a reasonable share of that Highway User
• Metro counties received approximately 21.5% of the Highway User Trust Fund due to the past inadequacies
• that the metro area is an economic driver, and we need to find a reasonable share of that Highway User
• Metro counties received approximately 21.5% of the Highway User Trust Fund due to the past inadequacies

Bills: HF5

Keywords: tax modification, transportation funding, electric vehicle tax, Social Security subtraction, retail delivery fee, motor vehicle registration, state budget, transportation policy, 1183, house

Summary: The Transportation Committee resumed consideration of House File 5, which would reduce transportation-related revenues while also providing tax relief, including a subtraction for Social Security income, elimination of the delivery fee, and a cap on automatic gas tax indexing. The committee adopted the A1 author’s amendment, which added the phrase “using existing resources,” and then proceeded to public testimony. Representative Joy described the bill as making Minnesota more affordable, while several members and testifiers raised concerns about the impact on transportation funding and road maintenance. MnDOT Commissioner Nancy Doppenberg testified that reductions in planned transportation investments would worsen pavement, bridge, and roadway conditions, reduce construction projects and jobs, and add to an already large funding gap. Committee discussion focused on the estimated revenue losses from the bill, including about $45 million in fiscal year 2026 and $55 million annually from repealing the delivery fee, plus additional losses from capping gas tax indexing, for a combined transportation revenue reduction of about $131 million in the 2026-27 biennium. Members also asked about bridge aesthetics, paint, transit impacts, and whether other mandates and cost increases should be considered alongside revenue reductions. Supporters of the delivery fee repeal, including the Minnesota Grocers Association and Minnesota Retailers Association, argued the fee is costly to administer, confusing to consumers, and disproportionately burdens small businesses and lower-income or disabled consumers who rely on delivery. The Minnesota Association of Townships and the Minnesota Transportation Alliance emphasized that rural and local governments face major road and bridge funding needs and warned that reducing revenue would shift costs to property taxpayers or leave projects unfunded. No final vote on the bill was taken in the portion of the meeting provided; the committee continued with testimony and member questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• and putting it is building the question and putting it in<00:19:29.440> the<00:19:29.520> user
• friendly<00:19:30.080> format<00:19:30.559> right<00:19:31.039> so in the user
• friendly format right so in the user friendly format right so taxes<00:19:31.559> are<00:19:31.720
• They are a heavy user of our data. because it's public for everybody to because it's public for everybody
• heavily they they use our data very uh heavily they are<01:09:04.600> heavy<01:09:04.920> user

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• what we think is really an essential reduction of a span of application, but to the most needy of users
• what we think is really an essential reduction of a span of application, but to the most needy of users
• what we think is really an essential reduction of a span of application, but to the most needy of users
• <01:13:24.560> of application but to the most needy of application but to the most needy of users
• and with less marketing coming users and with less marketing coming from<01:13:29.159> the<01

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• cooperatively talk between yourselves in the Department of Health and Human Services on that singular platform
• cooperatively talk between yourselves in the Department of Health and Human Services on that singular platform
• cooperatively talk between yourselves in the Department of Health and Human Services on that singular platform
• 01:37:07.600> on<01:37:07.920> that<01:37:08.159> singular<01:37:08.719> platform
• <01:37:09.760> so Services on that singular platform so Services on that singular platform

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The commission to study the cost of special education met, confirmed a quorum, introduced members and guests, and approved the minutes from the October 29 meeting. Members noted the commission’s mandate under Senate Bill 57 and emphasized the need to focus on recommendations and findings by July 1, 2026. The chair also distributed additional handouts, including materials related to the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program and administrative rules tied to differentiated aid and disability determinations. The main discussion centered on how students qualify for differentiated aid under the EFA program. Matt Sutherton of the Children’s Scholarship Fund explained that the organization, which contracts with the state to administer EFAs, accepts either school-district/IEP documentation or a medical certification of disability (MCD) from a licensed medical professional. Members questioned how this process relates to the state’s special education rules and whether the school-district examiner standards in ED 107/1107.04 apply to EFAs. Sutherton said the MCD form, created with the department, requires the medical professional to sign that they are qualified to make the determination and to identify the disability. Several members expressed concern that the EFA process is less rigorous than the school-district IEP process and may be inflating disability counts. One member argued that the administrative rules cited are primarily for school districts, not EFAs, and said the Department of Education may not know how many of the roughly 890 EFA students receiving differentiated aid came through school-district documentation versus the MCD pathway. Another member said the EFA system appears more generous than the school system and raised concerns about oversight, auditing, and whether the program’s data are accurate. Sutherton said the organization reviews signed documentation, credentials, and diagnosis information, and may request additional records to help adjudicate expenses. No votes or formal actions were taken beyond approving the prior minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• hopefully it is not too much of a pivot to have some of these other things rolled into those training platforms
• hopefully it is not too much of a pivot to have some of these other things rolled into those training platforms
• into some of these other things rolled into those<02:11:21.800> training<02:11:22.880> platforms
• c><02:11:23.880> um<02:11:24.360> I<02:11:24.520> appreciate those training platforms
• um I appreciate those training platforms um I appreciate the<02:11:25.639> questions<02:11:26.159

Bills: HF1082, HF1042, HF1295, HF1686, HF1998, HF1775, HF1163

Keywords: public safety, law enforcement, mental health, domestic violence, appropriations, criminal justice, Minnesota corrections, victim services, task force, personal safety, Independent Use of Force Investigations Unit, criminal sexual conduct, sexual assault, peace officers, law enforcement oversight, Minnesota National Guard, U.S. armed forces, military installation, armory, air base

Transcript Highlights:

• 48:40.840> safe,<00:48:41.320> vulnerable<00:48:41.760> road<00:48:41.960> users
• <00:48:42.280> are less safe, vulnerable road users are less safe, vulnerable road users are
• Bike Alliance of Minnesota doesn't support them or their users.
• 13.920> their Minnesota doesn't support them or their Minnesota doesn't support them or their users
• . users. users.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're trying to make it as user-friendly, senators, as we possibly can.
• We're trying to make it as user-friendly, senators, as we possibly can.
• We're trying to make it as user-friendly, senators, as we possibly can.
• We're trying to make it as user-friendly, senators, as we possibly can.
• Honestly, we're trying everything we can to make it user-friendly.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Commission include our work together to coordinate toward that seamless system, the development of a user-friendly
• The development of a user-friendly website, coordinated research projects, and a new pilot program around
• natural resource-based parks, our trail system that can be for motorized as well as non-motorized users
• natural resource-based parks, our trail system that can be for motorized as well as non-motorized users
• natural resource-based parks, our trail system that can be for motorized as well as non-motorized users

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• cyclist and disabilities, conflicts with cyclist and other<01:20:34.520> road<01:20:34.800> users
• other road users. other road users.
• When the bus can't deploy its ramp, wheelchair users are required to move into the moving traffic lane
• When the bus can't deploy its ramp,<01:31:01.280> wheelchair<01:31:01.680> users<01:31:
• to ramp, wheelchair users are required to move<01:31:03.120> into<01:31:03.760> uh move

Keywords: 1187, senate, all