Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:34:26.399><c> of</c> revised uh by the State Board of revised uh by the State Board of Education
• by the State Board of Education.
• </c><04:47:31.360><c> SAU</c> School Board of a single District SAU School Board of a single District
• They have a meeting of the collective boards, meaning the school boards of all the SAUs.
• They have a meeting of the collective boards, meaning the school boards of all the SAUs.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 662, which would require public schools to include discussion of abortion procedures and show specified videos in health education classes. The prime sponsor argued the bill would ensure students receive medically accurate, age-appropriate, and nonpolitical information about abortion, saying the topic is important for informed decision-making and should be taught consistently statewide. He said the videos were intended for grades 9-12, that parents could opt out, and that the requirement was meant to supplement, not sway, students’ views. He also acknowledged the bill could be seen as limiting local control over curriculum and said the intent was to prevent the topic from being missed due to scheduling disruptions. Committee members questioned the sponsor about local control, the need for a video mandate, the source of his statistics, whether the bill could be biased or inflammatory, and whether the requirement should apply every year in high school. The sponsor said the videos were only a starting point, could be replaced by others, and were meant to be informational. He also said the bill was not intended to influence students’ decisions about abortion. Several supporters testified in favor, including representatives of New Hampshire Right to Life and others who said students should be told the “truth” about abortion and its consequences. They emphasized graphic or emotionally difficult aspects of abortion and argued that young people need this information to make informed choices. Opponents and skeptical witnesses raised concerns about prescribing curriculum, eroding local control, and the appropriateness of the material for younger high school students. The New Hampshire School Administrators Association said the bill was overly prescriptive, that health education standards are already set by the State Board of Education, and that the topics in the bill are not part of the current standards. That witness recommended the committee consider retaining the bill for further work or making it less prescriptive. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:34.560><c> of</c> standard that our state board of standard that our state board of education
• Education, the State Board of Education.
• Education, the State Board of Education.
• Education, the State Board of Education.
• Board of Education whether to the State Board of Education whether they<02:06:56.760><c> have</c><02

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 362, which would give the Department of Education rulemaking authority over educator licensing and testing requirements, including professional education assessments. Representative Ladd argued the bill is meant to preserve New Hampshire’s higher standards for teacher preparation and to avoid lowering requirements for licensed educators, while also allowing flexibility for career and technical education (CTE) instructors who may have strong industry experience but not traditional classroom credentials. Members discussed whether the bill should preserve industry-recognized credentials and basic academic skills testing while exempting CTE teachers from content exams; DOE Director Steven Appy said an amendment would clarify that the bill applies to initial licenses, exempt CTE teachers from the content-testing requirement, and keep current administrative practice on basic skills and industry credentials in statute. The committee also noted that an executive session would be scheduled later, likely the following week, to act on the bills and amendment. The committee then took up House Bill 90, dealing with the definition of part-time teachers. Representative Ladd explained that the bill is intended to let university and community college faculty teach limited hours in high school concurrent enrollment settings, especially in subjects like math and STEM where some schools cannot find locally certified teachers with a master’s degree. He said the measure is designed to expand student access to college-level courses, not to replace fully certified teachers or reduce standards, and emphasized that the bill is limited to faculty employed or contracted by the University System of New Hampshire or the Community College System of New Hampshire, with criminal background checks and ethics/conduct rules still applying. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the discussion ended with the understanding that further action would come in executive session.

Transcript Highlights:

• board of trustees of Southern Evangelical Seminary.
• He also served as chairman of the board of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1991.
• </c><00:31:59.080><c> of</c> solid member of the Cook County Board of solid member of the Cook County
• </c><02:10:41.679><c> of</c> chairman of the Green County Board of chairman of the Green County Board
• </c><02:11:25.480><c> of</c> serves on the County Board of serves on the County Board of Commissioners

Transcript Highlights:

• of Revenue would be required to submit an approved list of scholarship organizations each year to the
• </c><00:04:25.919><c> all</c> which again you'll have a list of all which again you'll have a list of
• </c> So the beneficiaries of these scholarships are students whose families earn below 300% of their
• The Department of Revenue may establish rules for the implementation and administration of this act.
• </c> kind of where it stands still right now. kind of where it stands still right now.

Bills: HB342 , HB342 , HB168 , HB220 , SB187 , SB270 , SB265 , SB220 , SB242 , SB277

Committee: House Fiscal Responsibility

Keywords: religious instruction, elective credit, released time, public education, school policy, tax credit, scholarship, education funding, financial aid, federal participation, HB168, Alabama, emergency management, local emergency management organization, mutual aid, mutual aid agreement, disaster response, public safety, public health, state emergency management plan

Transcript Highlights:

• Do any of the other members of the committee have any questions for our judge? No.
• I was elected in November of 2022 and took office in January of 2023.
• Do any of the members of the committee have any questions for Kate? Okay.
• Commission in the seat of a survivor of lived experience.
• There's a lot of competing interests. There's a lot of emotions.

Bills: SB5906 , SJM8014 , SB6087 , SB5520 , SB6017 , SB5890 , SB6239 , SB5886 , SB6190 , SGA9255 , SGA9256 , SGA9271 , SGA9272

Committee: Senate Law & Justice

Keywords: data protection, personal safety, public accommodation, Washington residents, privacy, crime investigation, violent death, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, state inquiry, public safety, children's items, donations, charitable donations, nonprofit, religious organization, public health agency, liability shield, gross negligence, intentional misconduct, car seats

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> subdivisions of the state of Minnesota subdivisions of the state of Minnesota but<00:11:04.839><
• </c> lot of old school buildings that some of lot of old school buildings that some of them<00:19:55.039
• </c><00:26:20.039><c> uh</c> throughout all of the units of 30% uh throughout all of the units of 30%
• </c> outdated assumptions of the true cost of outdated assumptions of the true cost of serving<00:39:
• I was a walk-on on the board because of a lot of other things that are happening in the park that aren't

Bills: HF1143 , HF1548 , HF1340 , HF2549 , HF2559 , HF1673 , HF2740 , HF2507 , HF2461 , HF2381 , HF2695

Committee: House Housing Finance and Policy

Keywords: education funding, unemployment aid, special education, Minnesota statutes, appropriations, housing, redevelopment, local government, trust funds, community development, HF1340, housing infrastructure bonds, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, MHFA, affordable housing, supportive housing, permanent housing, adaptive reuse, area median income, AMI

Transcript Highlights:

• So, um uh signs of all of you as well.
• Do you want me to do all of<00:10:26.560><c> them?</c> of them? of them?
• When you think of our district, think of 40% of our students are Black, 25% of our students are Hispanic
• I would like to echo many of the people who spoke before me, my superintendent as well as the board chair
• Cloud school district, and I'm a trustee on the executive board of SEIU 284.

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, with all of every piece of it.
• </c> component of that that's outside of component of that that's outside of administrative<00:40:16.320
• </c><00:50:22.079><c> of</c> at you referrals comparison of of at you referrals comparison of of procedures
• </c> cost of special ed that might be more of cost of special ed that might be more of a<00:52:35.520
• of trustees, at community mental health, to come in and have an office in my school and I also had a

Summary: The commission met to review and amend the minutes from its previous meeting, correcting the date, several spelling and wording errors, and clarifying references to a scholarship fund and a member’s title. The minutes were then approved as amended, with some members abstaining because they were not present at the prior meeting. The chair then turned to the commission’s work plan under SB 57, emphasizing the need to prioritize the statutory topics and identify which issues require additional research, documentation, and possible spreadsheets. Members discussed a broad range of special education cost drivers and policy questions, including student referral rates, why students are classified as other health impaired, whether referrals increased after COVID school closures, intervention processes before referral, the cost of services required under IEPs and 504 plans, differences between federal law, state law, and DOE rules, reporting of special education costs, out-of-district and residential placements, district sharing of resources, dispute resolution, graduation rates, and adult learning outcomes. Several members raised concerns that school environments, mental health, bullying, and possible overidentification may be contributing to rising special education numbers and costs, while others cautioned that some reported district percentages may be inflated or unclear because of how the data are counted. A major portion of the meeting focused on HB 742, which would eliminate prorated special education aid when state appropriations are insufficient and require the governor to draw a warrant to cover shortfalls. Representative Ames explained that the bill had been recommended for interim study because the commission is already examining special education costing, and he highlighted the gap between FY24 special education costs of about $977.1 million and state aid of $33.9 million for catastrophic aid, $67.4 million for differentiated aid, and $50.8 million in federal IDEA funds, leaving local districts to cover about $825.1 million. He argued the commission should ultimately make clear that both the federal government and the state should contribute more. The Department of Education, through Melissa White, answered questions about data and oversight. She said special education counts come from IEPs entered into the state system using SASIDs, that DOE monitors districts through both desk audits and on-site visits, and that billing is checked against the services listed in each student’s IEP. She also said DOE’s special education work is largely federally funded, with roughly $56.7 million received through IDEA this year and about $49.1 million flowing through to LEAs, while the department retains a small amount for administration and statewide support activities. Members also discussed how adequacy calculations use special education counts from the state system and how those figures are reported.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, with all of every piece of it.
• </c> component of that that's outside of component of that that's outside of administrative<00:40:16.320
• </c> cost of special ed that might be more of cost of special ed that might be more of a<00:52:35.520
• They're leaving our state, and those types of things, um, with the cost increase across the board and
• of trustees, to come in and have an office in my school.

Summary: The commission met to approve the November 21, 2025 minutes, making several clerical corrections before adopting them as amended. The edits included adding the date, correcting a misspelled name, clarifying references to a scholarship fund representative’s title, removing an incorrect “DOE” reference, and fixing a few wording errors. The minutes were approved with one abstention from members who were absent. The bulk of the meeting focused on organizing the commission’s work under SB 57 and identifying which special education cost issues should be prioritized for research and reporting. Members discussed a long list of topics, including student referral rates, why students are classified as other health impaired, increases in referrals since school closures, interventions before referral, costs of non-medically necessary services in IEPs and 504 plans, differences between federal and state requirements, reporting of special education costs, out-of-district and residential placements, dispute resolution, Medicaid and insurance use, graduation rates, and adult learning participation. Several members emphasized the need to combine or narrow topics and to gather better data before the report due July 1, 2026. Representative Ames highlighted HB 742, which would eliminate prorated special education aid payments when state appropriations fall short, and explained that the Education Funding Committee recommended interim study. He argued that local districts are bearing too much of the cost and that the state and federal governments should provide more support. Other members raised concerns about rising special education identification rates, possible overidentification, school climate and mental health factors, bullying, staffing, speech therapy access, and residential placements. One member cautioned that DOE website numbers may be inflated or at least difficult to interpret because of how students are counted. Department of Education staff then explained how special education data and costs are monitored. They said student counts are tied to IEPs and SASIDs in the state system, districts are checked through both desk audits and on-site monitoring, and billed services are compared against IEP requirements. They also described IDEA funding, noting that most DOE special education staffing is federally funded, with a large share of federal money flowing through to local education agencies and the remainder supporting administration, monitoring, and training initiatives. Members discussed whether more staff and more robust oversight would improve accuracy and accountability.

Transcript Highlights:

• the State Board of Conservation, which covers the 10 counties.
• ><c> covers</c> State Board of conservation which covers State Board of conservation which covers the
• They said this bill is a way of helping out, that costs have increased across the board, that staff expect
• You go before the Adult Parole Board, and you can then be granted the privilege of parole, which is supervision
• Another example of a public protection, non-prosecutorial function is civil enforcement action if a board

Summary: The committee heard an overview from the Agriculture Commissioner on the department’s major divisions and staffing. He described the Office of the Commissioner, Agricultural Development, Pesticides, Regulatory Services, Weights and Measures, Animal Industry, Plant Industry, and Soil Conservation, noting that many programs are federally funded or supported by dedicated fees and fines. He said the department has 44 full-time positions plus one DoIT employee shared with other agencies, and that HR services are now contracted through Administrative Services. He also explained that Soil Conservation is administratively attached to the department and funded through Moose Plate grants and county contributions, not direct state funding. Members asked about specific program functions and issues, including weights and measures inspections, animal health, bird flu response, internships, invasive species, and the Big E/New Hampshire building. The commissioner said weights and measures covers nearly all commercial measuring devices and products sold by weight, and that inspectors are currently part-time police officers, though the department is discussing removing that requirement. He said the department is actively involved in bird flu monitoring, including regular calls with USDA and the state veterinarian and collecting milk samples from dairy farms. On invasive species, he focused on Japanese knotweed and bittersweet, saying the department has only one staff person working on the issue, mainly as a coordinator with DOT and towns, and that eradication is extremely difficult. He also said the department does not run student internships and refers inquiries to UNH Cooperative Extension. The committee discussed budget and revenue issues, including three new general fund positions, one of which is the assistant commissioner and another a biological scientist for invasive species. The commissioner said the department had been in “triage mode,” that an assistant commissioner was needed because of workload, and that the department is a net positive to the General Fund each year. He said some fees and fines have not been updated in decades and would require legislation to change, including a proposed $5 fee for each animal database certificate to help fund a system that costs about $250,000 annually to maintain. In response to questions about budget reductions, he said the department protected personnel, reduced the cost-of-care fund, fair grants, and land preservation funding to about $25,000 each, and did not plan to buy new vehicles or computers. He also said he could not support including the $50,000 Conservation District resilience grant program in his budget under the current reduction targets, though he remained hopeful it might be funded another way.

Transcript Highlights:

• New Hampshire Board of chair of the New Hampshire Board of Education,<01:16:05.760><c> Over</c><01:16
• ><c> board</c><01:16:44.800><c> was</c> first chair of the board was first chair of the board was representing
• I am chair of my local school board, but I also sit on the board of trustees for a charter school.
• I am chair of my local school board, but I also sit on the board of trustees for a charter school.
• > of</c><03:34:50.560><c> set</c><03:34:50.960><c> a</c> board of commissioners sort of set a board of

Committee: House Education Policy and Administration

Transcript Highlights:

• for mayor of the County of Kauai and County of Maui by 125%, for the office of Hawaiian Affairs from
• of the county of kawaii and County of<00:53:21.000><c> Maui</c><00:53:21.520><c> by</c> of Maui by of
• of the amounts of downward adjustment of the amounts of qualifying<00:53:51.079><c> contributions</c
• ><c> Hawaii</c> County of Honolulu County of Hawaii County of Honolulu County of Hawaii County<00:53:
• Trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, which was $1,500 for the entire election, both the primary

Committee: House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs held its first hearing of the 33rd Legislature and heard several measures, beginning with HB 131, which would allow agencies to disclose government records to researchers for certain purposes and direct the Office of Information Practices to adopt uniform rules. OIP supported the bill, saying it would help researchers access government records, while DLNR questioned whether the bill was necessary, raised concerns about costs and exemptions, and suggested a definition change regarding media. The Public First Law Center and other supporters said the bill would not remove existing exemptions or create new disclosure requirements, but would simply authorize rulemaking to create a clearer process for research access. Common Cause Hawaiʻi raised concern about including news media in the measure. The chair emphasized that the rulemaking process would allow agencies and the public to work through details, and the committee moved on without a recorded vote in the transcript. The committee then heard HB 411, which would create uniform administrative penalty procedures under the state ethics code and lobbyist law, and HB 412, which would expand lobbying definitions to cover certain communications with high-level executive officials about procurement and make some contracts voidable if awarded through unethical lobbying. The Ethics Commission supported HB 411 as an efficiency measure that would streamline the charge process without changing substantive rights, while HB 412 was described as a narrow transparency measure modeled on other states. The State Procurement Office warned that voiding contracts could cause delays, warranty issues, third-party complications, and higher reprocurement costs. The Ethics Commission responded that any contract revocation would be at the Attorney General’s discretion and likely reserved for egregious cases, and that the threat of voiding a contract would help deter noncompliance. The committee also heard HB 413, which clarifies that lobbyist campaign contribution prohibitions apply during periods when both houses of the Legislature are in session; the Ethics Commission and Campaign Spending Commission both supported the bill and the Ethics Commission requested amendments to clarify jurisdiction between state and county lobbyist enforcement. Finally, the committee took up HB 149, which would require domestic and foreign corporations to report independent expenditures and political contributions to shareholders. The only testimony noted in the transcript was written comments from Matson, which said the requirement would be expensive and cumbersome and that the information is already publicly available through existing campaign finance reporting websites. No votes or final committee actions on the bills were recorded in the provided transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Board of Directors did not institute that cap until
• It's the low-income families of the state of Texas, and I've done an analysis on that.
• I'm speaking on behalf of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers, of which I'm a past
• And some of the smaller cities and counties, some of them meet like once a month.
• . in support of the bill.

Bills: HB164 , HB411 , HB627 , HB 1226 , HB1677 , HB1865 , HB1997 , HB2985 , HB3462 , HB4188 , HB4685 , HB4840 , HB5370 , HB5424 , HB5466 , HB5509 , HB5660 , HB5673 , HB164

Committee: House Intergovernmental Affairs

Keywords: migrant labor, housing regulations, civil penalties, complaints, occupants' rights, remediation, education, retaliation, housing, rental regulation, municipal authority, local government, leasing, housing regulation, local control, rental properties, leasing laws, landlord, tenant rights, municipal regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• As a way of background, we've literally invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into a professional
• We are missing all of the continuum of care in between.
• of kids in the state of Texas.
• It is one of the most... cost-effective, evidence-based programs, almost out of all of those services
• So that law was passed and required notification of the patient of the density of their breast.

Bills: HB231 , HB231 , HB475 , HB488 , HB632 , HB821 , HB1786 , HB1955 , HB2036 , HB2060 , HB2659 , HB2677

Committee: House S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health

Keywords: HB 231, Texas Water Code, TCEQ, permit exemption, dam, reservoir, erosion control, flood control, floodwater control, sediment control, watershed protection, Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, local sponsor, water appropriation, small dam, water diversion, maintenance, rehabilitation

Transcript Highlights:

• Wage disparity, inflation, and the cost of living and healthcare, as well as the lack of transportation
• I know many members of this body are part of the Make Texas Healthy Again caucus, and I feel like all
• of you should be in support of this bill.
• Thank you very much, and don't take the lack of questions as a lack of interest.
• of June.

Bills: HB231 , HB475 , HB488 , HB632 , HB821 , HB1786 , HB1955 , HB2036 , HB2060 , HB2659 , HB2677 , HB231

Committee: House S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health

Keywords: food access, food deserts, communities of color, health disparities, socioeconomic impact, nutritious food, health effects, socioeconomic disparities, legislative recommendations, nutrition, access to food, Medicaid, multisystemic therapy, healthcare, reimbursement, mental health services, education, funding, local control, school system

Transcript Highlights:

• version of one of Minnesota a modified version of one of Minnesota State's<00:15:26.480><c> bienial<
• of the college of previously a part of the college of science<00:25:32.720><c> and</c><00:25:33.039><
• I'm wondering, on page 49, line 49.16, it says the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota and
• One hundred percent of our fellows have become board certified in addiction medicine, which is a testament
• </c><01:36:09.199><c> of</c> there's there's quite a bit of of there's there's quite a bit of of financial

Committee: Senate Higher Education

Transcript Highlights:

• c> that</c> knew all of the thousands of folks that knew all of the thousands of folks that I<00:48:51.280
• ><01:10:11.760><c> our</c> know, a lot of our go uh some of our know, a lot of our go uh some of our
• </c><01:33:29.920><c> of</c> active shooters and other types of of active shooters and other types of
• of of criteria that more stringent types of of criteria that qualifies<01:34:56.639><c> that</c><01:
• of umbrella of protection some level of umbrella of protection that<01:39:28.159><c> these</c><01:39

Transcript Highlights:

• Bronx Community Board 12 and the Wakefield Taxpayers Alliance, the legacy of Dr.
• He serves on the boards of the Dale K.
• Biggs: And they even demanded the removal of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik from the board for defending
• to the board of trustees of the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress for a term of six
• of January 3, 2025, of the following individuals to the board of trustees of the American Folklife Center

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the director of governmental relations for the New Hampshire School Boards Association.
• But your question is... and one of our school boards has been very involved because they see the bills
• been</c> we've one of our school boards has been we've one of our school boards has been very<01:18:
• So there's a lot of pieces of that.
• So there's a lot of pieces of that.

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:

• of Trustees meeting and training requirements. >> Senate Bill 534 is on third reading, final passage
• Clerk read the next bill. >> Senate Bill 705, Caroline County Senators, Caroline County Board of Education
• director of the governor's workforce<01:59:52.320><c> development</c><01:59:52.719><c> board,</c><01
• Senator Bol, State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors, Board Operations and Regulation of Crematories
• Senate Bill 928, Senator Harris County, Board of Education student electronic communication device use