Transcript Highlights:

• Um, where you can utilize this and the testing for the testing and training of, of laboratory technicians
• , and also we need, I think we need additional people that are gonna be doing those testing, that testing
• and so they have to prioritize testing as well.
• Um, all the testing that is done is, is paid for through.
• They, um, the, the, the testing, they are not, um, it's predominantly we use Body lab for that testing

Committee: House Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> to select when they're going to test to select when they're going to test their<00:28:22.960><c>
• </c> they're going to administer the test. they're going to administer the test.
• . test. test.
• And this is a way to the testing.
• Students do take a test.

Committee: House Education Policy and Administration

Summary: The committee held a hearing on House Bill 1571, which would direct the Department of Education to review and revise statewide academic standards and curriculum and make an appropriation. Representative Kristen Noble, the sponsor, said the bill is intended to update outdated standards, especially in math, and to have the department create a list of high-quality curriculum and materials aligned to the revised standards. She noted she would likely amend the bill to change a requirement that districts “shall” select from the list to “may,” and said a misplaced crossed-out section would need to be restored and moved by amendment. She also said assessments would need to be updated to match any new standards. Testimony from Marie Banfield strongly supported the bill and the move away from a mandate, arguing that current standards are outdated and that Common Core and related standards have not improved student outcomes. She criticized the math standards for emphasizing multiple strategies and written explanations over computation, and said stronger standards would better support students, including those with learning or communication challenges. She also argued that New Hampshire should follow examples such as Massachusetts, which she said used rigorous standards successfully. Nate Green of the Department of Education did not take a position on the bill but explained that the bill would affect statewide academic standards, state assessments, and potentially federal compliance. He distinguished academic standards from minimum standards in statute, said any standards revision would require work with content experts, State Board approval, and then a corresponding assessment update that could take about two years. He estimated assessment development costs could range from about $200,000 to $500,000 for minor revisions and $1 million to $2 million for a wholesale new set of standards. He also said the bill would apply to public and charter public schools, not private or homeschool students, and that the department does not currently provide a statewide list of curriculum materials because curriculum decisions have historically been local.

Transcript Highlights:

• Some of our kids just struggle with our tests.
• What we're saying is we're not getting rid of the test.
• Some of our kids just struggle with our tests.
• What we're saying is we're not getting rid of the test.
• We're not doing away with the tests for those that are concerned that we're just getting rid of all testing

Summary: The Senate convened with an opening prayer, pledge, and several recognitions, including visiting student groups, chambers of commerce, and apprenticeship participants. Senators also observed a moment of silence for a fallen Walton County deputy and later for the late John Pasadoma. The chamber then moved through a long third-reading calendar and special order calendar, with most bills passing overwhelmingly and several amendments adopted along the way. Among the major measures, SB 234 on criminal offenses against law enforcement officers passed 37-0 after debate and an amendment clarifying “good faith” in an officer’s duties; SB 7020 on open government and cybersecurity information passed 37-0; SM 1488 urging Congress to create a U.S. sovereign wealth fund was adopted by voice vote; SB 944 reducing insurance overpayment claim deadlines for psychologists passed 37-0; SB 878 expanding misdemeanor probation treatment provisions to controlled substances passed 36-1; SB 538, the state court system package, passed 37-0; SB 480 on nonprofit agricultural organization medical benefit plans passed 32-4; SB 472 on correctional-facility education credit for licensure passed 37-0; and SB 56 on geoengineering and weather modification passed 28-9 after extensive debate about enforcement, federal preemption, and the bill’s purpose. Later, the Senate passed CS/HB 421 on peer support for first responders 37-0 after substituting the House companion, and SB 164 on vessel accountability advanced with a technical amendment. SB 166 on administrative efficiency in public schools drew the most extended debate and multiple amendments; it changes testing, promotion, teacher evaluation, certification, and facilities rules, and passed 37-0. The chamber also passed SB 282 on warranty association financial requirements 36-0, SB 316 creating series LLCs 35-1, and SB 384 on annexing state-owned lands 36-0. At the end of the day, the Senate waived rules to immediately certify all passed bills to the House, received budget schedule guidance from Appropriations Chair Hooper for SB 2500 and SB 2502, and adjourned until April 9.

Transcript Highlights:

• disclosures. ...with rigorous labeling requirements, including test disclosures.
• As we move to update that statute and ensure that the highest standards of testing remain.
• licensed testing facility. ...coming in from out of state be tested and passed by an out-of-state licensed
• testing facility.
• testing facilities.

Summary: The House opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed students from the Frederick C. Murphy School in Weymouth, along with other guests introduced by members. The chamber then suspended Joint Rule 12 to allow several petitions to be referred, including proposals on alcohol labeling for beers consumed on premises, parity in funding for regional vocational and traditional public schools, and legal protections for victims of childhood sexual abuse. The main floor business was House No. 4187, An Act Modernizing the Commonwealth’s Cannabis Laws, reported by Ways and Means as a substitute bill. Members speaking in support described it as a comprehensive overhaul of the Cannabis Control Commission and the state’s cannabis and hemp regulatory framework. The bill would reduce and restructure the CCC, expand options for cannabis businesses and social equity operators, raise license and ownership caps, remove the vertical integration requirement for medical marijuana, and create stronger rules for hemp and CBD products, including a ban on unregulated intoxicating hemp products and a new regulatory structure for allowable hemp beverages and CBD items. Several amendments were offered and adopted by roll call, including changes narrowing the hemp beverage ban from 11 ounces to 7.5 ounces, requiring out-of-state testing labs to be certified in good standing with the commission, and other technical revisions. After debate, the House passed H. 4187 to be engrossed by a roll call vote of 153-0. The chamber also passed to be engrossed two sick leave bank bills, for Andrew Satara and Dana Johnson, and ordered House No. 1590, establishing a sick leave bank for Eric J. Wenaka, to a third reading. The House then adopted an order to meet the next day at 11 a.m. and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just a quick update, testing.
• And if I could just follow it—so when you say testing, do you mean testing of the product?
• That's just to test dirt.
• Furthermore, reducing the testing, though the fellows with the testing labs want more to...
• Furthermore, reducing the testing, though the fellows with the testing labs want more testing.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy

Summary: The Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy held its first hearing of the 194th session to take public testimony on 21 cannabis-related bills. Chairs Donahue and Gómez outlined hearing procedures and noted that written testimony would also be accepted. Much of the hearing focused on the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), with Senator Mike Moore urging support for S. 90 to create an inspector general unit within the CCC. He argued the commission has suffered from dysfunction, workplace harassment allegations, delayed governance reforms, missed fee collections, and high legal costs, and said stronger legislative oversight is needed. Committee members largely agreed the CCC needs reform, though some expressed hope that new leadership would improve operations. A major theme was market structure and business viability. Representative Tyler testified for H. 183 to raise adult-use purchase limits from one ounce to two ounces, saying the change would reduce confusion and help retailers compete with neighboring states. Senator Payano supported S. 100, which would require a study of cannabis supply and demand to guide cultivation licensing, warning that oversupply is driving down prices and threatening cultivators. The Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition, represented by Ryan Dominguez, backed a package of bills aimed at increasing revenue, reducing regulatory burdens, attracting investment, and stabilizing the market, including higher purchase limits, simpler badge and testing rules, and a phased increase in the retail license cap. Attorneys Kevin Conroy and Mike Ross also supported raising the cap, arguing that the industry lacks capital and that more investment and exit opportunities are needed for provisional and distressed licensees. The most contentious issue was whether to raise the retail license cap from three to six. Supporters, including several business owners and industry advocates such as Peyton Shubrick, Tito Jackson, Armani White, Sean Burt, and others, said the current cap traps owners in declining businesses, prevents exits, and limits access to capital. They argued that many social equity and economic empowerment operators are struggling, that oversupply has pushed prices down, and that allowing more ownership could help businesses scale or sell. Opponents, including Senator Liz Miranda and several social equity operators, warned that lifting the cap now would let larger operators and multi-state companies dominate the market and harm equity-owned businesses. Miranda’s S. 88 would instead strengthen enforcement of ownership limits through audits, whistleblower protections, an anonymous tip line, and greater transparency. Another major topic was worker and consumer safety: Laura Bruno, Danny Carson, Al Vega, and others supported H. 194 after the death of Lorna McMurray, arguing for a CCC workplace and consumer safety department, better ventilation and PPE standards, stronger testing oversight, and retaliation protections for workers. The hearing ended without votes, with members thanking testifiers and indicating the committee would continue reviewing the bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• testing and implementing.
• So the test piece is really not how it's executed.
• The test is how the whatever that model platform, the test is of that tool.
• Is that what the test is?
• It's more the testing of that tool. Does it work?

Committee: House Higher Education and Workforce Development

Transcript Highlights:

• For road tests, the first two tests are at no charge if they fail and have to retake it a third time.
• For road tests, the first two tests are at no charge if they fail and have to retake it a third time.
• we actually the first uh for road tests we actually the first two<00:12:53.760><c> tests</c><00:12:54.160
• Director Jang: All of our customers require an appointment to take the road test.
• Director Jang: All of our customers require an appointment to take the road test.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• He called genetics to run one more test, a simple blood test.
• A simple blood test changed my life.
• The cost of not testing for CMV is staggering.
• So we had to attend appointment after appointment, test after test, poke after poke, repeating our story
• This bill doesn't pass the grocery store test.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Health

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health heard testimony on a wide range of bills focused on children’s health, tobacco control, newborn screening, pediatric cancer, palliative care, and professional licensure. Early testimony highlighted Senate bills to expand newborn screening for pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency, lysosomal storage disorders, and congenital CMV, with families and clinicians describing severe diagnostic delays, missed treatment windows, and the benefits of early detection. Speakers also supported a bill to improve pediatric cancer research through a dedicated trust fund, and a bill to extend pediatric palliative care services to age 22, with parents and providers emphasizing continuity of care for seriously ill young people. Several witnesses gave personal accounts in support of the newborn screening measures. Families described children who endured years of misdiagnosis before receiving diagnoses such as Gaucher disease, Fabry disease, Pompe disease, Niemann-Pick disease, and CMV, often after irreversible damage had already occurred. Medical and advocacy witnesses said Massachusetts already collects some of the relevant screening data and argued that results should be reported to families, while others urged the committee to add conditions to the state panel because effective treatments already exist. The committee also heard support for a bill to establish a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder program and training for providers. On tobacco and youth health, testimony supported bills to ban internet tobacco sales, strengthen youth protections, and reduce lung cancer deaths through point-of-sale information and quit-line access. A student testified about easily purchasing flavored nicotine products online without meaningful age verification, and public health advocates backed measures to keep tobacco out of children’s environments. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to ensure parents have access to their children’s medical records through age 16, with exceptions for sensitive services already protected by law. The committee additionally took testimony on an optometry licensure bill, where ophthalmologists opposed language they said could broaden scope of practice and allow optometrists to use the title “optometric physician,” while optometry educators and students supported the bill as a modernization measure with no scope expansion. No votes were taken during the hearing; the chair repeatedly reminded speakers of time limits and noted that written testimony could be submitted for additional comments.

Transcript Highlights:

• Lab testing is just one small piece of the puzzle.
• Lab testing is just one small piece of the puzzle.
• They are digital tests.
• They're even more sophisticated these days than the COVID tests and the pregnancy tests, where you're
• CLIA-waived tests are simple tests with a low risk of inaccurate results and use the same equipment found

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 2433, which would require insurers offering Medicare supplement policies to people 65 and older to also offer them to Medicare beneficiaries under 65 with ALS or end-stage renal disease, with enrollment periods and premium protections tied to 65-year-old rates. Supporters, including dialysis and ALS advocates, said the bill would help a small population facing high out-of-pocket costs and could improve access to transplants and care; opponents argued it would shift costs onto older seniors and raise Medigap premiums. The committee recommended the bill do pass on a 12-0 vote. The committee also heard House Bill 2593, appropriating $1.5 million to the University of Arizona for the Arizona Perinatal Psychiatry Access Line. The sponsor and physicians testified that the line helps obstetric and pediatric providers quickly consult on perinatal depression, postpartum psychosis, suicidality, and other mental health crises, improving outcomes for mothers, children, and families and reducing costly emergency and crisis care. The bill received a do pass recommendation on a 10-1 vote. House Concurrent Resolution 2013, proclaiming June 2026 as Celebrate Life Month, drew emotional testimony from a young woman with spina bifida and another speaker supporting the sanctity of life. Some members objected that the state should focus on practical supports such as paid leave, child care, and health care access, while others supported the resolution as a statement of human dignity. The resolution passed the committee 7-5. The committee then approved House Bill 4010, creating a Board of Genetic Counselors and licensure standards, after testimony from genetic counselors and a patient advocate about the need for qualified counseling and better access; it passed 11-1. Later, the committee approved House Bill 2196, which would require pharmacy benefit managers to reimburse non-affiliated pharmacies at least their acquisition cost and pay a dispensing fee, and establish an appeals process. Independent pharmacists and their coalition said PBM practices are driving closures and unfairly favor affiliated pharmacies, while PBM and employer representatives warned of major cost increases and said the bill would interfere with private contracts; the bill passed 11-1. The committee also adopted a strike-everything amendment to House Bill 2182 requiring insurers and health plans to report claims denial and prior authorization data to DIFI, and then gave the amended bill a 12-0 do pass recommendation. Finally, the committee approved House Bill 2189, directing the Board of Nursing to update rules for licensed health aides and collect annual data, with the sponsor and board staff saying it would help implement routine ventilator care in the home; it passed 12-0. The committee then began hearing House Bill 2404, a strike-everything amendment on inter-facility transports for behavioral health patients, but the transcript cuts off before action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um so the testing side &gt;&gt; Hey, it's Jeremy.
• It's my some of the CDL testing sites?
• question on the testing side of things. things. things.
• ,</c><00:32:24.720><c> you</c> that we do and then for testing, you that we do and then for testing,
• </c> open additional testing sites. open additional testing sites.

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation met without a quorum at first, then later approved the minutes once quorum was established. The committee heard presentations from Transportation Cabinet officials Mike Hancock, Jeremy Slinker, and Sean McCarnieran on maintenance, vehicle regulation, general administration, highways, and related capital projects. Hancock emphasized that maintenance is the cabinet’s most visible public service, especially for snow and ice removal and routine roadway upkeep, and said rising costs have outpaced funding. He cited a 61% increase in highway construction costs since 2020 and said maintenance spending was $488 million in FY 2024 and $511 million in FY 2025, while the FY 2026 baseline request was $483.3 million. The cabinet’s additional maintenance request would add $23.6 million in FY 2027 and $38.6 million in FY 2028, with expected impacts on litter pickup, mowing, vegetation management, and pothole repair if not funded. The cabinet also outlined five maintenance-related capital projects: additional funding for Ballard County maintenance/salt storage, Hopkins County maintenance/salt storage, Whitley County maintenance/salt structure, and the District 2 office and materials lab, plus reauthorization of the Breckinridge County maintenance and salt facility. Hancock also asked for budget language allowing the cabinet to use unexpected restricted and federal funds more quickly, similar to existing authority for federal earmarks. McCarnieran described the governor’s inclusion of funding for the ASHTOWare system, employee health exams, priority IT projects, and a District 7 office renovation request, noting that some items were not funded because they ranked low among competing projects. He also said the governor’s budget included a $7.5 million annual maintenance pool for the cabinet’s 1,200 facilities and requested additional restricted fund authority for Trimark and the Cumberland Gap Tunnel. Slinker focused on the Department of Vehicle Regulation, saying recent investments in staffing and equipment had reduced wait times and improved customer service in driver licensing offices. He requested $535,600 to keep temporary contract workers in place for the rest of the year, warning that without it regional office operations would have to be reduced. He said the surge in demand was driven by new 15-year-old licensing requirements, vision testing, and Real ID implementation, but believed the volume was beginning to level out. He also outlined FY 2027 and FY 2028 plans totaling $20.38 million and $19.85 million, including six new regional offices and a shift away from temporary workers toward state positions. Additional requests included $106,000 for debt service on the new driver’s license modernization system and operating costs of $5 million in FY 2027 and $2.5 million in FY 2028 to support the transition from the old system. Members asked about the cabinet’s funding sources, and officials said the road fund is the primary source, supported by motor fuels tax, usage tax, driver-related receipts, and some restricted funds; they stressed that the requests were not for additional general fund dollars. Questions also covered employee health exam reimbursements, the annual Trimark/Cumberland Gap contract, and the District 7 renovation request. No votes were taken on the budget items during the meeting, beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• APHIS does the testing on them.
• has</c> CWD like DNA testing testing for CWD has CWD like DNA testing testing for CWD has got<04:25:09.239
• versus some newer tests.
• versus some newer tests.
• Without question, there are tests, nonhuman tests, that confirm CWD can cross species.

Committee: House Fish and Game and Marine Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• We have one agenda item for a bill today, and that is House Bill 662 on milk testing.
• I don't know what the Senate rule is; in the House it's Rule 80 because my son does have a milk testing
• It's in the House it's Rule 80 because my son does have a milk testing lab, and so I don't know how,
• And so anyhow, this bill currently right now you can test for butterfat, protein, solid non-fat, somatic
• their test to the processor was.

Committee: Senate Agricultural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• that particular college and they need that test...
• would go take the test.
• The kids would go take that test.
• Chairman, I, John, I've heard that the test scores are really important to know the test scores are really
• Ward, so we discussed standardized testing.

Committee: House House Appropriations Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee first heard HB 2584, which would prohibit public monies from being used for genetic sequencing procedures involving devices made by companies owned or substantially controlled by entities domiciled in a foreign adversary. The sponsor said the bill is intended to protect genetic data from being sold or used against the United States. There was no public testimony, and the committee approved the bill on a 13-5 vote for a do pass recommendation. The committee then took up HB 2804, which creates a rural development and housing tax credit capped at $2 million per year and tied to federal low-income housing tax credit projects in counties under 800,000 population. Supporters, including the sponsor, the Flagstaff mayor, and housing investors/developers, argued it would leverage private capital to address rural affordable housing shortages, especially for seniors, veterans, and low-income residents. Opponents, including the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, argued state LIHTC programs are inefficient, costly, hard to oversee, and can add complexity and higher per-unit costs. The bill passed 13-4 with one not voting. HB 2388, as amended, appropriates $100,000 for the Arizona Commerce Authority to study the economic benefits of small modular reactors and data centers, with a report due June 30, 2027. Supporters said the study would help Arizona plan for energy demand and data center growth, while opponents argued the agency should use existing funds instead of a new appropriation. The committee adopted the amendment and then approved the bill 10-7 with one not voting. The committee also received a presentation from the Auditor General on county treasurer procedural reviews, including the response to the Santa Cruz County treasurer embezzlement case and the office’s ramp-up plan for reviews and staffing. Later, the committee approved HB 2352, which appropriates $2,385,900 in FY2029 to make the Auditor General’s county treasurer review funding ongoing. Members supporting the bill said the office needs certainty to plan audits and retain staff, while opponents objected to funding it so far in advance during budget uncertainty. The bill passed 11-7. The committee also approved HB 2418, as amended, which directs $600,000 to be evenly distributed among five county sheriff task forces in Cochise, Coconino, Navajo, Pinal, and Yuma counties; supporters said it codifies the long-standing distribution practice, and it passed 17-1. Finally, the committee heard HB 2499, which would provide $2.6 million and 12 FTEs to the Department of Education for ESA administration; supporters argued the program’s rapid growth requires more staff for enrollment, reviews, and accountability, while members questioned the lack of standardized testing data and how to measure student outcomes. The transcript ends during that discussion, before a final vote on HB 2499.

Transcript Highlights:

• They are digital tests.
• They're even more sophisticated these days than the COVID tests and the pregnancy tests, where you're
• They are digital tests.
• They're even more sophisticated these days than the COVID tests and the pregnancy tests where you're
• CLIA-waived tests are simple tests with a low risk of inaccurate results and use the same equipment found

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 2433, which would require insurers offering Medicare supplement policies to also offer them to people under 65 who qualify for Medicare because of ALS or end-stage renal disease, with enrollment periods and premium protections. Supporters, including patient advocates and an ALS patient, said the bill would improve access to needed coverage and transplant-related care and could have only a small premium impact. Opponents, including Blue Cross Blue Shield/AHIP, argued it would shift significant costs onto older seniors and shrink the Medigap risk pool. The bill was ultimately given a do-pass recommendation on a 12-0 vote. House Bill 2593 would appropriate $1.5 million to the University of Arizona for the Arizona Perinatal Psychiatry Access Line. The sponsor and physicians testified that the line helps providers quickly treat pregnant and postpartum patients with depression, psychosis, OCD, and suicide risk, and also supports pediatric mental health care. Supporters said it improves outcomes and reduces emergency and referral costs. The committee approved the bill with a do-pass recommendation by a 10-1 vote, with one member present. The committee also passed House Concurrent Resolution 2013, proclaiming June 2026 as Celebrate Life Month, after emotional testimony from a woman born with spina bifida and another supporter. Several members objected that the state should focus on concrete supports such as health care and family leave, but the resolution still received a 7-5 do-pass recommendation. House Bill 4010, creating a licensing and regulatory board for genetic counselors, also advanced 11-1 after testimony from genetic counselors and a cancer survivor who said licensure would protect patients and improve access. House Bill 2196, addressing pharmacy benefit manager reimbursement and dispensing fees, passed 11-1 despite opposition from PBMs and employers who warned of higher costs; independent pharmacies argued the bill would help them cover costs and stay open. The committee then adopted a strike-everything amendment to House Bill 2182 requiring insurers and health plans to report claims denial and prior authorization data to DIFI, which would publish aggregated information and hold a later stakeholder review. Supporters said Arizona needs state-specific transparency data, while opponents called it redundant to federal CMS reporting; the amended bill passed 12-0. House Bill 2189, directing the Board of Nursing to update rules for licensed health aides and collect annual data, also passed unanimously after the board said it was already working on curriculum and implementation. The committee held House Bill 2813 and 2725, and began discussion of House Bill 2404, as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• We now have blood tests that are being used in specialty clinics as a triage to qualify patients for
• Those blood-based biomarker tests have now been deployed in the primary care setting as well.
• Those blood-based biomarker tests have now been deployed in the primary care setting as well.
• How do they know that these tests and diagnostics are available? And again, it's great.
• POINTER tested for us is we tested two cohorts of people. One was in a guided group.

Committee: All ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA ADVISORY COUNCIL

Summary: The Arkansas Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Advisory Council met to introduce members, adopt its rules and procedures, approve prior minutes, and authorize the co-chairs to approve special expenses. The main discussion focused on updating the Arkansas State Plan for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, with David Cook of the Alzheimer’s Association outlining major changes in prevalence, caregiving burden, diagnostics, and treatment since the prior plan. He noted rising disease and caregiver numbers in Arkansas, the expansion of amyloid PET access, the growing use of blood-based biomarkers, and the availability of FDA-approved treatments such as Leqembi and Kisunla, while emphasizing that access, insurance coverage, and provider education remain major barriers. Members and presenters also discussed the need to better reach rural primary care providers, who may not be aware of new diagnostics and therapies, and the bottlenecks caused by limited specialists and infusion capacity. There was concern about overreliance on blood tests without confirmatory evaluation, and several members stressed the importance of collaboration, public education, and promoting brain health through exercise and diet. The council also heard about existing programs such as the dementia services coordinator, the BOLD grant, caregiver respite grants, workforce training, and a pilot dementia resource center with UAMS Centers on Aging. The council approved a new four-part outline for the next state plan: advancing risk reduction and brain health/early detection, strengthening family caregiver support, improving access to diagnostics and treatment, and supporting access and quality of care, including workforce and crisis response. Members also agreed to consider future agenda items on new treatments, brain health and lifestyle prevention, workforce training, and possible legislative changes to the enabling statute. The meeting ended with discussion of scheduling the next meeting, tentatively set for August 12 in Hot Springs, and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• We also do a lot of tuberculosis testing in our lab. We do rabies testing on about...
• We can also test for radiation. we do some HID and STD testing. We also do mosquito-borne testing.
• So are we testing every one of ours and the rest of the country is only testing half, therefore?
• Is that because we're doing more testing? Do you understand the spike? Are we testing more?
• Okay, so when we test them, has the test changed? over the years, the way we test for it?

Committee: House Public Health

Transcript Highlights:

• You still have the tests. The testing led to the ongoing evolution.
• It was uneconomic for a lot of the tests that Continental and others did those first few years.
• We are not testing. We are not testing. ...line of really no wildcat activity.
• We are not testing.
• How do we incentivize companies to go back and test more of that? That's the resource.

Committee: House Finance and Taxation

Summary: The Finance and Tax Committee met to consider Senate Bill 2397 and a proposed amendment creating a development incentive well program for North Dakota oil and gas production. Representative Dockter explained the amendment as a way to encourage exploratory and innovative drilling in light of the state’s financial outlook and the growing share of stripper wells. Department of Mineral Resources Director Nathan Anderson and DMR geologist Timothy Nashim presented background on the Bakken and Three Forks formations, with Nashim describing research showing that Middle Three Forks second-bench development can add reserves in some areas but not others, and that roughly 600 additional wells in the strongest area could yield about 250 million barrels of oil. Continental Resources representatives William Houser and John Argo supported the amendment. They said the bill would give a temporary oil extraction tax exemption for certified development incentive wells, limited to 36 months or 300,000 barrels, and would also update tax treatment for gas used in enhanced oil recovery and on-site electric generation. They argued the measure would encourage new technology and testing in existing spacing units, complementing House Bill 1483, which they said focused on geographic expansion into non-Bakken and non-Three Forks areas. Argo said Continental still invests heavily in North Dakota but is shifting rigs elsewhere because of economics, and he urged incentives to spur exploration and preserve the basin’s long-term future. North Dakota Petroleum Council executive director Ron Ness also supported the concept, calling it a targeted, low-risk way to encourage innovation and future barrels. Committee members asked about royalty treatment, the difference from House Bill 1483, pressure maintenance, and how the program would be administered. DMR said the amendment should clarify that the operator bears the burden of proving a well qualifies and that only one incentive well per stratigraphic interval should be certified. No vote was taken; the committee paused to work on revised language and indicated the bill would likely need further adjustment, possibly in conference committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• What we have found in testing these products in the state lab is that they do, in fact, test positive
• The officers field-tested that, which is just a presumptive positive test in the field.
• It tested positive for THC.
• So we sent that off for further testing.
• leave its premise, has to test before it can do so.

Committee: House Agricultural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Live testing, they call it. This paper was published in 2011.
• So, you have no way to know without testing.
• that requires testing before they're released.
• Correct, do we have those tests? Say that again. Do we have those tests?
• So, there was a test of 539 and.

Bills: HB3270 , HB3145 , HB3056

Committee: Senate Agriculture and Wildlife

Keywords: farmed cervidae, chronic wasting disease, genetic resistance, wildlife management, agriculture, wildlife tagging, hunting regulations, Cervidae family, feral swine, exotic wildlife, conservation, commercial hunting, raw milk, unpasteurized, farm sales, Oklahoma Milk and Milk Products Act, local producers, advertising

Transcript Highlights:

• . testing. testing.
• ; The test animal testing products on animals,<04:00:23.560><c> yes.
• we're okay with testing as long as that testing is benign.
• </c> tested on them. tested on them.
• </c> test, it's like a diploma. test, it's like a diploma.

Committee: House Commerce and Consumer Affairs