Transcript Highlights:

• such as passport to manhood and football leadership enrichment programs such as passport to manhood
• He has been an active member of the Davis-Monthan Youth Programs for more than eight years, where he
• He has been an active member of the Davis-Monthan Youth Programs for more than eight years, where he
• The Youth of the Year program is a premier leadership recognition initiative.
• She has been an active member of the Luke Air Force Base Youth Program for nine years.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:35:04.800> Department Department of Education. Department Department of Education.
• Department stands in his education.
• or potential program.
• <01:06:34.640> And program or potential program. And program or potential program.
• qualify for the program as well. qualify for the program as well.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Transportation Committee met on February 5 and heard testimony on a long agenda of transportation-related bills. Early measures included HB 2392, which would create an employer tax credit for transportation demand management benefits; HB 2462, which would bar auto manufacturers and dealers from charging post-sale fees for already-installed hardware; and HB 2423, which would require diesel sold for on-road use to contain at least 5% biodiesel. HB 2392 drew support from the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization and one individual, with the Department of Taxation and the Tax Foundation offering comments. HB 2462 drew support from DCCA and one individual, while the Alliance for Automotive Innovation opposed it. HB 2423 drew comments from the Hawaii State Energy Office and Hawaii Farm Bureau, support from Pacific Biodiesel and the Hawaii Transportation Association, and a question from the chair about whether biodiesel is exported; the witness said production stays local. The committee also heard HB 1771 on voluntary carbon offsets for air travel, HB 2081 on requiring firefighters exempt from CDL rules to follow equivalent alcohol and substance abuse policies, HB 2334 on allowing the Department of Transportation to assume NEPA responsibilities for certain projects, and HB 2336 on DOT agreements with the Department of Defense for work at military installations using federal funds. HB 1771 drew comments from Life of the Land warning that carbon offsets are often unreliable and could create liability, while Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines offered comments. HB 2081 received support from DOT, county human resources offices, fire departments, and county officials, with the Hawaii Firefighters Association in opposition. HB 2334 was supported by DOT, and the director said other states using NEPA assignment can complete projects in about half the time. HB 2336 was supported by DOT, HIEMA, DBEDT’s military relations office, and the Hawaii Military Affairs Council; the committee discussed the administrative fee as a way to recover costs under an intergovernmental agreement. The most extensive testimony centered on HB 1666, which would limit new motor vehicle markups above 5% of MSRP and require recordkeeping. Multiple dealer groups and the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association opposed it, arguing it would threaten dealership operations, especially in Hawaii’s high-cost market and for vehicles without an MSRP. The committee also heard HB 2375 on uniform towing and parking enforcement standards on state and leased lands, including notice, disability protections, payment safeguards, and public reporting; DLNR, DAGS, and several advocacy groups testified, with strong public support and concerns about towing practices and ADA compliance. HB 2415, which would appropriate funds for crosswalks near school properties, drew support from DOT, DOE, and the Hawaii Bicycling League, and the committee discussed how counties would request projects and how funding would be allocated. Finally, HB 2451, which would move Hawaii toward fare-free public transit beginning in 2027 and create a dedicated funding source through a petroleum tax increase, received broad support from DOT, the Energy Office, public health and advocacy groups, and many individuals; DOE testified that it currently uses about $2.1 million for student bus passes and that the program is tied to savings from inactive school bus routes.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the first program is limited in how much they can work, the second program is limited to how much
• Once you're in the program, you're in the program, and depending on which program you're in, you could
• That program is no longer available.
• In the return to work program, I wanted to highlight that the only program that requires return to work
• Program requirements.

Transcript Highlights:

• for the program. for the program.
• to establish administer the program. to establish administer the program.
• program again? program again?
• how our programs do post. how our programs do post.
• >> education >> education same<01:13:48.159> recommendation.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 2693 relating to capital improvement projects for aerospace infrastructure. Members had no questions, and the recommendation to pass the bill with a defective date of July 1, 2050 was adopted unanimously. The committee then deferred decision making on Senate Bill 26980 relating to transportation and Senate Bill 2374 relating to the blue economy until Thursday, February 19, 2026, in Room 229, pending additional information. In the joint hearing on Senate Bill 2816 relating to state enterprise zones, agencies and organizations including DBEDT, HTDC, Taxation, the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Oceanit, the Hawaii Medical Association, and the Queen’s Health System testified in support or submitted written comments. One public testifier urged expanding enterprise zones around the Kakaako/Cancer Center area and combining them with the foreign trade zone to reduce taxes and attract business. A senator questioned whether the enterprise zone program had ever been comprehensively evaluated, noting DBEDT said it had not done a full study in recent years and cited annual report figures including about $221 million in company revenues and $460,000 in foregone state revenue in 2022. The discussion focused on whether the bill would subsidize existing activity or support new economic development, and on the broader policy question of whether enterprise zones should be used to revitalize depressed areas or to target strategic sectors like health care technology. The committee then heard Senate Bill 2900 relating to sports officials. The Department of Education supported the measure, saying the Attorney General is best positioned to represent employees in temporary restraining order matters and that elevating intentional bodily injury of a sports official to a class B felony would improve safety. The Office of the Public Defender opposed the bill, arguing it would escalate conduct already covered by existing assault statutes and go beyond other protected classes. The Department of the Attorney General recommended narrowing the bill by inserting “substantial” before bodily injury in the criminal section and deleting a section that would make the AG’s office act like plaintiff’s counsel in civil matters, suggesting instead that departments adopt policies to help employees obtain TROs without creating an open-ended civil representation role. Several sports and school-related organizations testified in support, and members discussed whether the bill should be narrowed or coordinated with other measures before further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• So that's what the program does. Mr.
• Minnesota uh so that's what the program Minnesota uh so that's what the program does<00:13:21.880
• <00:21:26.799> training two-year degree program training two-year degree program training
• programs and vocational education<01:48:45.280> to<01:48:45.440> help<01:48:45.719>
• these programs are Supervision programs these programs are proven<01:52:39.800> to<01:52:39.920

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, to participate in this program, states must first make an election to be part of the program and
• . participate in this program, states must participate in this program, states must first<00:47:53.839
• the distribution for higher education the distribution for higher education expenses<00:49:13.680
• for students across all education for students across all education settings<01:27:14.880> uh
• Instead, it education funding.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I am the program analyst for our elderly program, and I strongly urge that we do not cut our funding
• The 25-26 funds mean that individuals who were originally in an educational upskilling program went back
• The funding we maintained that we retained in the program is to continue funding the existing programs
• The program requires a 30-year covenant to continue serving ISTs for 30 years, and for some programs,
• understanding of program costs.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• education fund and transferred it over into the Healthy School Meals for All program fund to jump-start
• the program.
• education fund and transferred it over into the Healthy School Meals for All program fund to jump-start
• the program.
• fund to jump-start the for all program fund to jump-start the program. program. program.

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, approved the prior day’s journal, and then took up a large third-reading consent calendar containing many House bills, most of them dealing with appropriations, fund transfers, repeals of programs or cash funds, and related budget adjustments. The calendar included measures affecting broadband infrastructure, early childhood prevention services, school food programs, reading and assessment programs, higher education funding, human services funding models, disaster and transportation funds, public safety communications, and several other state cash funds and reserve requirements. Most of the bills passed with broad support, though several drew recorded no votes from individual senators on specific measures. Before the consent calendar vote, Senator Catlin recognized a Montrose leadership class visiting the chamber. The Senate then adopted the consent calendar, with the clerk recording numerous individual no votes on particular bills. Among the more notable measures passed were bills related to the Healthy School Meals for All program, the state education fund, the Affordable Housing Financing Fund, kinship care, judicial discipline, public defender/prosecutor behavioral health support, public safety personnel health benefits, multimodal transportation funding, unclaimed property transfers, tobacco education funds, and preschool funding. Several bills were approved unanimously or near-unanimously, while others had more divided votes. The chamber then debated Senate Bill 90, which exempts critical infrastructure from the Consumer Repair Bill of Rights Act. Senator Snyder explained that the bill had been revised after stakeholder discussions with opponents, the governor’s office, and the attorney general’s office; the amendment L006 was described as narrowing and defining the exemption, giving the Attorney General rulemaking authority, and preserving district court review. Senator Carson supported the amendment and said it clarified that the bill focused on business-to-business and business-to-government equipment rather than retail consumer products. The amendment was adopted 35-0, and the bill then passed 22-13. The Senate also passed House Bill 1351 on the Healthy School Meals for All program, with Senator Kirkmeyer saying it repays money previously transferred from the state education fund and does not reduce program funding or transparency. House Bill 1353 on state-administered social studies assessments passed 25-10, and House Bill 1359 on school land mineral revenues passed 28-7. The final portion of the transcript shows additional House bills being read and passed, including measures on housing financing, reserve reductions, cash fund transfers, child welfare subsidies, kinship care, judicial discipline, public safety benefits, multimodal transportation, unclaimed property transfers, tobacco education funds, and preschool funding, with several senators recording no votes and Senator Kirkmeyer noting concerns about transparency in cash fund balances during the debate on House Bill 1405.

Transcript Highlights:

• appropriate but I think that any program appropriate but I think that any program that<00:23:12.799
• purview of the Department of Education purview of the Department of Education to<01:14:48.600>
• to call the school voucher program.
• school voucher program and call the school voucher program and those<02:36:52.560> those<02:36
• hearing on uh from the Senate education hearing on uh from the Senate education committee<02:42:

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We do have programs in healthcare. We do have programs in cybersecurity.
• We have a whole variety of other programs. We have banking programs.
• We have a whole variety of other programs. We have banking programs.
• We just recently approved an early childhood education program just this year for her to establish with
• Somebody comes out of a training program or they come out of a college education, but their skills don't

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Workforce Support Subcommittee met to discuss using registered apprenticeships to help address workforce shortages in disability services, human services, and other high-need fields. Co-chairs and staff introduced the session as a follow-up to earlier discussions with state labor officials and representatives from developmental disability and behavioral health provider associations. The panel focused on how apprenticeships can create paid, structured pathways into jobs while also supporting credentialing and retention. Amara Ramon of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards explained how Massachusetts apprenticeship programs are registered and supported, including the roles of apprenticeship liaison staff, operations, quality assurance, and grant support. She described the core features of apprenticeships—paid on-the-job training, related technical instruction, wage progression, and industry credentials—and contrasted them with internships or co-ops. Melissa Chabelli of the MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board described the intermediary role her board plays in designing programs, registering apprentices, coordinating employers, and handling compliance. She emphasized flexibility, employer investment, tax credits, retention benefits, and the importance of mentors and local workforce partnerships. Lisa Morris of UMass Chan/For Health Consulting described a developing apprenticeship for medical interpreters, built from an existing training foundation and designed to address the gap between classroom preparation and work experience. She said the model would combine pre-apprenticeship training, employer interviews, 2,000 hours of apprenticeship, and related technical instruction tied to national certification. Speakers also discussed examples for nursing, early childhood education, CNC machining, and programs serving neurodivergent learners, including Bridgewater State’s Excel program. In response to audience questions, panelists said state agencies can serve as intermediaries, recruitment can come through career centers, youth programs, community colleges, ESL centers, and incumbent workers, and accommodations or modified curricula can support apprentices with disabilities. No votes were taken; the session ended with encouragement for attendees to contact the presenters and Division of Apprenticeship Standards for help developing programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• So therefore if an program.
• to attribute to the SNAP program.
• <00:14:47.640> uh program uh program uh well<00:14:49.959> so<00:14:50.240> that
• to be able to run the program to be able to run the program efficiently.<00:15:37.120> So,
• <00:16:12.400> and of recipients on the SNAP program and of recipients on the SNAP program

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I contacted um the in of this program.
• special education special education process<00:32:57.519> is<00:32:57.760> working
• the education entity that administers the education freedom<00:34:19.760> accounts.
• We need some insight into how special education coding is happening.
• the department is managing the program the department is managing the program and<00:50:05.280><

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee first accepted the minutes from the April 4 meeting, then moved to a discussion of potential audit topics and follow-up on prior performance audits. Christine Young, Director of Audits, and Jay Henry, performance audit supervisor, walked members through a spreadsheet showing the status of roughly 30 performance audit reports from the past 10 years, including the number of observations, whether agencies concurred, how many observations were fully addressed, and when each report was last updated. They explained that “fully addressed” only means the agency addressed the observations it agreed with, and that some reports include rejoinders when the audit office disagrees with an agency’s response. Members also discussed how some audits have been updated and others have not, including an example from the prescription drug monitoring program, which moved from the Board of Pharmacy/OPLC to HHS and was recently updated after staff contacted HHS. A major focus was the mental health workforce licensing audit, which was described as having little or no follow-up in the spreadsheet. Several members said this was especially concerning given the ongoing mental health crisis and argued that the committee should require a response. The committee agreed to start by sending letters to the chairs of the boards listed under that audit, asking the chair or designee to appear at the next meeting or respond in writing about what has been done and what remains unresolved. Members noted that the current process is voluntary and self-reported, which can lead to long delays or no response, especially for boards that meet only monthly and may have changed membership or leadership since the audit was issued. The committee also discussed other audit follow-up issues, including the liquor commission division of enforcement and licensing, which staff said was farther along than its percentage suggested, and a recently released human rights report that was not yet due for update. Members raised the possibility of using future budget reviews to ask agencies what they have done about old audit findings. In addition, the committee briefly discussed future audit topics, including a possible audit of local school districts related to special education, and staff explained that the statute allows the LBA to audit a limited number of non-state entities over a five-year period. The motion to authorize the chair and LBA to draft and send letters to the mental health workforce licensing boards passed by show of hands with one abstention. The next meeting was tentatively set for June 6 in State House 100, with staff to confirm the room and schedule.

Transcript Highlights:

• A policy of the National Teacher Education and Compensation Helps, or TEACH, Early Childhood Program,
• Minnesota should fully invest in extended foster care, housing assistance, education programs, and workforce
• Minnesota should fully invest in extended foster care, housing assistance, education programs, and workforce
• Minnesota should fully invest in extended foster care, housing assistance, education programs, and workforce
• Programs for youth aged 18 to 21, ensuring they receive housing, education, and employment assistance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Health and Human Services committee heard a presentation from Department of Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Tiki Brown on the department’s 2025 budget and transition plans. Brown said the governor’s budget pairs targeted reductions with modest investments, resulting in net general fund savings, while preserving core safety-net programs. Major proposals included funding for program integrity, modernization of the child welfare SSIS system, compliance changes for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), operating adjustments, and a transition account reallocation as the new department continues moving programs from other agencies through July 1, 2025. A large portion of the discussion focused on CCAP fraud prevention and oversight. Brown and Assistant Commissioner Diane Hy explained that the proposed statewide electronic attendance recordkeeping system would replace retroactive paper-based attendance reporting with more timely data, making it harder to falsify attendance and claim payments improperly. Brown also said the department is working with the Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General and other partners on compliance and fraud controls. Senators pressed for more detail on current enforcement, whether payments can be withheld for violations, and whether recent media reports showed gaps in oversight; Brown said payments can be stopped for false attendance records, suspended or revoked licenses, or fraud allegations, but not for health and safety violations alone. The committee also reviewed other budget-neutral policy changes, including expanding permanency support services for relative foster care and tribal equivalents, strengthening tribal child welfare grants, updating TEACH scholarship rules for early childhood educators, and adjusting the Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program to create a special revenue fund and extend a 10% payment increase to tribally licensed programs and programs on tribal reservation land. Brown also described a $1.5 million annual reduction to restorative practices grants, leaving a smaller ongoing base. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Continuing education, I mean, we've all probably had to take continuing education...
• Continuing education, I mean, we've all probably had to take continuing education at some point, and
• We're talking about commercial enhancement programs, business incentive programs.
• The program and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will manage the program. That is the bill.
• And then it also retains exemptions for minors in home education or virtual programs, as well as those

Summary: The House opened with prayer, a moment of silence for fallen Oviedo Officer Jimmy Serrano-Torres, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of Chief Joseph Tuminelli as law enforcement officer of the day. The chamber approved the journal and adopted the special order report, and the Speaker announced a schedule change canceling the floor on Monday and starting Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The main business was CS for HB 7033, the House tax package, presented by Rep. Duggan. He described a broad set of tax changes, including the previously passed sales tax rate reduction from 6% to 5.25%, exemptions for certain bullion sales, changes to tourist development tax (TDT) use, property tax administration updates, affordable housing-related exemptions, repeal of the aviation fuel tax, delayed natural gas fuel tax implementation, corporate income tax changes, and other provisions. Debate focused heavily on the TDT section and the bill’s property tax relief structure. Amendments to preserve local flexibility or remove the TDT restrictions were offered and debated; one Duggan amendment was adopted to allow local governments to keep 25% of TDT revenues for general use while directing 75% to property tax relief, and another amendment requiring audit certification of compliance was also adopted. A combined reporting amendment offered by Rep. Eskamani to close corporate tax loopholes was debated at length but failed. On final passage, supporters argued the bill provides immediate, permanent tax relief and affordability help, while opponents said it diverts tourism dollars away from local needs and could harm tourism-dependent counties and services. CS for HB 7033 passed the House 78-29. The chamber then took up CS for CS for HB 1221 on local option taxes, which would give local governments more control over certain local taxes and, as presented, redirect TDT revenues toward property tax relief with some local flexibility. After questions and amendments, including a Miller amendment allowing 25% of TDT revenue for general purposes and another accountability amendment, the bill moved to final debate. Members split sharply: supporters framed it as immediate tax relief and local accountability, while opponents warned it would undermine tourism marketing, infrastructure, and county budgets. The transcript ends during closing debate on HB 1221, before final passage is recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• So Good Reason Houston is an organization that focuses exclusively on public education. education and
• This proposal limits parent and educator input.
• technical education, and provision of full-day pre-K.
• We're talking about students, parents, and educators.
• HB 8 helps educators and families.

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Transcript Highlights:

• to provide for the establishment of a pilot program.
• It is referred to Education.
• the entrepreneurial education curriculum relative to the re-entry preparation program.
• the entrepreneurial education curriculum relative to the re-entry preparation program.
• Title 17, relative to education, to create and provide for the Louisiana Commission on Foundational Education

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I am speaking on behalf of myself today as a retired educator of 35 years in special education with deaf
• the American Sign Language program funded under current law, so..." ...program funded under current
• And it was because of programs like the Arizona Early Intervention Program that helped give my daughter
• and spoken language programs at... ...through the early intervention program, my understanding is they
• that program.

Bills: HB2180, HB2184, HB2188, HB2194, HB2206, HB2321, HB2322, HB2438, HB2442, HB2448, HB2727, HB2797

Keywords: appropriation, funding, University of Arizona, education, state budget, fetal death, funeral homes, informed consent, abortion, women's rights, medical assistance, emotional support, language acquisition, early intervention, hearing impairment, grant program, deaf education, health care, insurance claims, prior authorization

Transcript Highlights:

• So it's a very diverse, broad impact program.
• It's very nice that the program has grown.
• Virtually every state has a pooled bond program.
• for job training. incentive program.
• And so we've got two internship programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• all three of those buyer education all three of those programs<00:29:41.480> are<00:29:41.640
• This program and this education program is a game changer for manufactured homeowners in Minnesota and
• <00:47:58.960> is<00:47:59.079> a program and this education program is a program and
• this education program is a game<00:47:59.520> Cher<00:47:59.920> for<00:48:00.079>
• And then the homeownership education counseling and training program.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Placement Services Program, which is a very helpful program for people that get jobs when they might
• This program we needed to...
• Which is the IPS program.
• They do support this shift in funding from the EE program to the IPS program because of a surplus in
• We have an educated workforce.