Transcript Highlights:

• So, funding sources for our special education, we have three primary sources of revenue: property tax
• revenues education, we have three primary sources of revenue: property tax revenues, state aid to special
• Cody, if you could, when you talk about excess fund balance, is that on total revenue or just the revenue
• School districts have a separate special education special revenue fund that they track all of their
• So I'm going to go back to the property tax revenues.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee met to discuss special education funding and retention, beginning with approval of the prior meeting minutes and then hearing a presentation from North Dakota United on a statewide special education survey and retention rubric. Presenters described how the rubric and survey were developed from special educator input around four domains: paperwork and due process support, workload, student and staff safety, and paraprofessional management. They reported high levels of stress and burnout, including increased workload, difficulty taking prep and lunch time, concerns about mental health, and widespread difficulty filling special education positions. Committee members questioned the survey’s lack of a general-education comparison group, the interpretation of terms like “rarely” and “sometimes,” and whether results could be broken down further by district size, unit, or disability area. The survey results showed the weakest area was workload, with respondents reporting caseloads increasing without corresponding adjustments, little additional support or compensation when workloads rise, and few negotiated-agreement protections. Paperwork and due process also scored poorly, with many teachers saying they rarely receive dedicated time during the duty day, often work outside contract hours without compensation, and take work home on evenings and weekends. Student and staff safety scored somewhat better but still showed gaps in crisis follow-up, notification about violent behavior, protective gear, and leave options after incidents. Paraprofessional management also drew concern, especially low pay, insufficient staffing, limited administrative support, and the burden placed on teachers to supervise and train paras. Several teachers then testified directly about the practical impact of these issues. One special education teacher described the job as combining instruction, legal compliance, and paraprofessional supervision, often requiring work beyond contracted hours and contributing to burnout and turnover. Another testified that special education case managers are effectively doing three full-time jobs and that the paperwork and caseload demands are a major reason people avoid or leave the field. Committee members discussed whether the problems are primarily local or state-level, whether more funding would solve them, and whether changes to the funding formula or weighting for high-cost students might be needed. No formal vote or action was taken beyond a recess and return to order for the next presentation, which continued the discussion of possible special education study objectives and potential policy directions.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I really do feel that this ADU program could build future revenue in the future. Section 6.
• And I really do feel that this ADU program could build future revenue in the future.
• And I really do feel that this ADU program could build future revenue in the future when folks do decide
• That is a revenue stream for us.
• Additionally, this can actually have the potential to increase property tax revenue because the value

Bills: AB6, AB102, AB131, AB212, AB213, AB220, AB259, AB282, AB376, AB396, AB479, AB503, AB570, AB572, AB574, AB576, AB593, SB185, SB207, SB507, AB6

Keywords: fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, FASD, prenatal alcohol exposure, children's health, developmental disability, early intervention, treatment assistance, Aging and Disability Services Division, Department of Health and Human Services, Autism Treatment Assistance Program, public health, parent education, evidence-based treatment, Nevada NRS 427A, disability services, behavioral health, emergency medical services, ambulance, licensing, health district

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair, I move approval of item on page one, item number one under Department of Revenue.
• And it'll produce revenues.
• I think it's a question of revenues.
• So that's because it's<00:40:55.520> producing<00:40:55.839> revenue.
• I thought it'd it's producing revenue.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He explained that the state budget forecast has two sides: the revenue side and the expenditure side.
• The revenue side includes inflation in the income tax model, which informs the income tax revenue projections
• c><00:22:46.720> tax will generate additional sales tax will generate additional sales tax revenue
• 22:47.320> for<00:22:47.480> the<00:22:47.559> state<00:22:47.720> of revenue
• for the state of revenue for the state of Minnesota<00:22:49.400> um<00:22:49.520> on<

Bills: HF3

Keywords: legislative auditor, reporting, accountability, state finance, executive agency oversight, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And that revenue actually goes—each state has their own individual programs, and so that revenue goes
• Uh I suspect that this revenue from it.
• where ultimately the revenue goes. where ultimately the revenue goes.
• Federal revenues are basically flat for the last 20 years.
• 59:50.880> extremely of revenue, uh, we're extremely of revenue, uh, we're extremely dependent

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So those are working and liabilities are two different revenue streams. Understood.
• But if there's increasing costs, the revenue streams are different.
• They have to generate future revenues. Right, and I said BP Oil is a perfect example.
• It's almost a full year of revenue for this state.
• Overall, revenues are down 20% from 2023, and attendance is still down 10% from 2024.

Keywords: 1146, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't know how you have a business plan that can take into account a 90% drop in revenue over 3 months
• a<00:26:16.240> 90%<00:26:17.080> drop<00:26:17.920> in<00:26:18.080> revenue
• take into account a 90% drop in revenue take into account a 90% drop in revenue over<00:26:18.600
• <00:26:45.880> has<00:26:46.080> experienced<00:26:46.480> a lost 20% revenue
• has experienced a lost 20% revenue has experienced a significant<00:26:46.960> negative<00:26

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• . >> Yeah, and overall revenues of the companies who are currently in it are $221 million. >> Uh, and
• <00:07:29.759> of<00:07:29.919> the >> Yeah. and overall um revenues of the &
• >> Yeah, there is a definition that is referred to in the Internal Revenue Code.
• referred to in the Internal Revenue referred to in the Internal Revenue Code.<00:47:40.000> So
• <00:47:52.400> of Internal Revenue Code definition of Internal Revenue Code definition of

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:

• It increases the Hoola Mae multifamily revenue bond authorization ceiling amount to continue financing
• revenue, keep the 43 million? revenue, keep the 43 million?
• >> For the tax credit for the revenue bonds, right? I mean, right now I give you an example.
• What is the percent that the developer is obligated to continue to move forward to getting these revenue
• So what is the percentage that is going to be delivering on these revenue bonds going forward?

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committees heard testimony on five housing-related measures. SB 2232 would create a three-year tiny home grant pilot program within HHFDC, with annual reporting to HHFDC and the Legislature; testimony was mixed, and the bill was later recommended for passage with amendments, including a full-time housing development specialist, a residential-use-only restriction for the tiny homes, and a blanked appropriation. SB 2192 would bar county down-zoning that reduces housing capacity unless equivalent capacity is added elsewhere in the county; it drew support from housing advocates and comments from planning officials, and was also recommended for passage with amendments. SB 2378 would clarify insurance requirements for single- and multifamily projects seeking expedited county permitting; engineers and housing groups supported it, while one testifier opposed it, and it was recommended for passage with a technical amendment. SB 2524 would appropriate funds to the City and County of Honolulu for housing-related departments to comply with prior acts; the Honolulu department supported it, and members asked about prior spending and funding sources. SB 2398 would require residential housing utility availability maps; the Honolulu Board of Water Supply opposed the bill as written, citing infrastructure security, accuracy, liability, and administrative burden concerns, while supporters said it would improve transparency for developers. The chair proposed amendments to make the maps broad and geographic rather than parcel-specific, remove contested-case and reliance provisions, allow disclaimer language, and change the date; the bill was then recommended for passage with amendments, with one member noting reservations. All five measures were ultimately passed out of committee with amendments, with votes recorded and some members excused.

Transcript Highlights:

• And now we're starting to face the reality that we can't spend at a rate higher than the revenues are
• spend at a rate higher than the revenues spend at a rate higher than the revenues are<00:07:34.400
• funding for compensatory uh revenue funding for compensatory uh revenue holdless<00:47:57.680>
• <00:50:49.920> We revenue to work with next year. We revenue to work with next year.
• <01:28:47.120> raisers forecast or maybe some revenue raisers forecast or maybe some revenue

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:19:51.440> There's<00:19:51.679> the special revenue fund.
• There's the special revenue fund.
• Armor radios replacement at $18 million a year would have gone into a special revenue account, would
• Armor radios replacement at $18 million a year would have gone into a special revenue account, would
• Armor radios replacement at $18 million a year would have gone into a special revenue account, would

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The conference committee met late on Friday evening to discuss the Public Safety and Judiciary budget agreement, beginning with a brief exchange among members about concerns that the executive branch had been delaying the committee’s work by waiting to approve legislative decisions. Members emphasized that the legislature should retain its independence while still allowing normal collaboration with the governor’s office. The committee then moved through several outstanding policy items and adopted them without opposition, including the A38 amendment addressing data-sharing concerns involving disability-related information, a study of firefighting services by the state fire marshal, and an A46 amendment governing access to unredacted portable recording system data in collision investigations, with guardrails on disclosure and use. The committee next reviewed the spreadsheet and budget targets. Fiscal staff explained the judiciary side of the agreement, including funding for court operating costs, a one-time Justice Partner Access Program appropriation, forensic exam rate increases, guardian ad litem funding, public defense, human rights, the competency attainment board, the cannabis expungement board, and fee increases for civil filings and motions. On the public safety side, staff described the target as well as the discretionary items funded, including nonprofit security grants, BCA staffing changes, fire marshal initiatives, a 10-year arson statute of limitations, prosecutor training grants, legal representation for children, E911 funding for critical infrastructure, Philando Castile Training Fund support, corrections-related savings from the Stillwater phased closure and sentence-to-serve elimination, a mandatory minimums task force, a victims of crime account transfer, a decommissioning study, in-service use-of-force training, and extensions of several expiring appropriations. The committee also noted a correction to a spreadsheet label related to the Stillwater closure item. After the spreadsheet walkthrough, the committee took testimony from Chief Justice Natalie Hudson and State Court Administrator Jeff Shorban on behalf of the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Hudson thanked the committee for its work and said the agreement covers some unavoidable costs, including insurance, lease expenses, forensic examiner pay, and the new access system, but argued it does not adequately address the judiciary’s most urgent problem: staffing and judicial compensation. She said court employees are leaving for better-paying jobs, judicial salaries are frozen for two years, and applicant pools for judgeships have declined, especially in greater Minnesota. She also said the judicial branch was not meaningfully consulted on the budget target and urged lawmakers to recognize the courts as a constitutional obligation rather than a discretionary program.

Transcript Highlights:

• But if you take a look at the total revenue and the portion of that, you'll see that's a very small drop
• But if you take a look at the total revenue and the portion of that, you'll see that's a very small drop
• But if you take a look at the total revenue and the portion of that, you'll see that's a very small drop
• But if you take a look at the total revenue and the portion of that, you'll see that's a very small drop
• But if you take a look at the total revenue and the portion of that, you'll see that's a very small drop

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Both of these bills affect the revenue of the state and materially affect the revenue of one or more
• Affecting the revenue of the state, the bill is referred to the Committee on Ways and Means pursuant
• Affecting the<00:05:12.320> revenue<00:05:12.840> of<00:05:13.000> the<00:05:13.120
• > state,<00:05:13.640> the<00:05:13.720> bill<00:05:13.880> is the revenue
• of the state, the bill is the revenue of the state, the bill is referred<00:05:14.560> to<00:

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House opened with a devotional performance by four Vermont music therapists, followed by remarks recognizing music therapy as an evidence-based profession and welcoming the performers to the chamber. The body then handled several referral and procedural matters: Senate Bills 212 and 328, and Senate Bill 325 after an Environment Committee report, were referred to Ways and Means under House Rule 35A because of revenue impacts. The House also read HCR 263, congratulating the 2026 Mount Mansfield Union High School Division 1 championship girls basketball team, and members offered brief congratulations and announcements, including a birthday greeting for the Chief of Staff, notice of an art social, and a reminder about the House Adjournment Pool benefiting Good Samaritan Haven. The House voted to move Senate Bill 206, relating to licensure of early childhood educators, from Government Operations and Military Affairs to Human Services. It then took up House Bill 951, the state budget bill, suspended rules to consider it immediately, and voted not to concur with the Senate’s proposal of amendment. The House requested a committee of conference and appointed Representatives Shay, Feltes, and Lumley to serve on the House side, then suspended rules again to message its action to the Senate forthwith. In the orders of the day, the House passed House Bill 902 on amendments to the City of Barre charter, and passed Senate Bills 142, 179, 227, 230, and 298 in concurrence with proposals of amendment. Action on Senate Bill 223, relating to water quality, was postponed for two legislative days. The House then considered Senate Bill 327 on economic development, hearing detailed testimony from the Commerce and Economic Development, Ways and Means, and Appropriations committees. The bill would support small businesses, repeal the VEGI sunset, create hospitality and culinary workforce initiatives, revise the Rural Industrial Development Grant Program, authorize cash rounding when pennies are unavailable, and establish a C-PACE financing program. Ways and Means offered nine amendments, including changes to VEGI limits, grant language, rounding notice provisions, and C-PACE timing and tax clarifications; the House adopted the amendments and proposed the bill back to the Senate as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• both is due to a slightly improved national economic outlook, which drives an increase in forecast revenues
• ongoing structural imbalance<00:19:24.480> to<00:19:24.640> align<00:19:24.960> revenues
• <00:19:25.480> and imbalance to align revenues and imbalance to align revenues and spending
• 35.160> improving Another strategy for improving Minnesota's financial outlook is to raise revenue
• Now, the companies behind those qualified large-scale data centers will contribute more tax revenue to

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The program covered three main topics: Minnesota’s February economic forecast, gun violence prevention efforts, and the growing debate over data centers. Minnesota Management and Budget reported a stronger-than-expected outlook, replacing a projected deficit with a $3.7 billion surplus for FY 2026-27 and a projected positive balance for FY 2028-29, though officials warned the state still faces a structural imbalance and possible federal funding losses tied to Medicaid reimbursements and fraud-related federal actions. Lawmakers also discussed affordability concerns, with Senate Republicans promoting a tax-relief package focused on property taxes, vehicle tab fees, and ending taxes on tips and overtime. A lengthy segment focused on gun violence prevention, including a Capitol rally by Annunciation Catholic Church families, students, and advocates. Senator Ron Latz said an interim working group he co-led with Senator Zeinab Mohamed gathered public and expert input and helped shape ideas for the session. He said there is no single solution, but cited measures such as red flag laws, universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, high-capacity magazine limits, safe-storage requirements, ghost gun and binary trigger bans, and more school counseling and wraparound mental health supports. Latz emphasized that he sees these as compatible with the Second Amendment and said he hopes to build bipartisan support, especially around school counseling and other “common-sense” measures. Latz said the short session and narrow margins mean compromise will be necessary, and that if a package does not pass this year, lawmakers will return to the issue next session while voters should hold legislators accountable in future elections. The final segment introduced the data center discussion, with Senator Bill Liske describing how data centers have grown from small server rooms into large industrial facilities and noting that some communities are considering moratoriums or restrictions because of neighborhood impacts.

Transcript Highlights:

• 21st century, you can ensure that your constituents are positioned to benefit from increased tax revenue
• /c><00:39:52.640> uh<00:39:52.720> and<00:39:52.960> bringing figures in tax revenue
• uh and bringing figures in tax revenue uh and bringing new<00:39:53.520> jobs.
• positioned to benefit from<00:40:19.520> increased<00:40:19.920> tax<00:40:20.240> revenue
• ,<00:40:21.200> investment, from increased tax revenue, investment, from increased tax revenue

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

Keywords: loitering, mask policies, school safety, crime prevention, public health, board appointments, governor authority, multi-member boards, state governance, legislative authority, Alabama Business and Nonprofit Entities Code, Title 10A, corporate governance, nonprofit governance, business corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLC, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership

Transcript Highlights:

• is required to have 25% of its gross is required to have 25% of its gross annual<00:17:16.000> revenue
• derived from the sale of annual revenue derived from the sale of cigars,<00:17:17.919> pipe<00
• is change the requirement threshold of sales from 15 to 25%, requiring 25% of the business's gross revenue
• 09.040> 489,<00:41:10.319> 500,<00:41:11.040> 501,<00:41:11.839> 503, Revenue
• , House Bills 489, 500, 501, 503, Revenue, House Bills 489, 500, 501, 503, and<00:41:12.720> 504.

Keywords: Convene 00:00 Senate Message 04:18 Report of Committees 05:09 Orders of the Day 06:40 HB 169 06:50 HB 393 13:08 HB 194 15:43 Motions, Petitions, and Communications 24:38 Introduction of New Bills and Resolutions 35:23 Recess for ConC/Rules Meeting 38:09 ConC/Rules Report 40:57 Floor Amendments 42:04 Adjournment 42:20, 958, all

Summary: The House convened, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, recorded 95 members present, approved the prior journal, and received notice from the Senate that Senate Bills 1 and 3 had passed and were sent over for concurrence. Committee reports advanced a number of bills on housing, local purchasing, health care credentials, postsecondary education, school bus safety, special license plates, milk transportation, veteran PTSD treatment, and the Kentucky Fire Commission, with several reported with committee substitutes. The chamber then considered House Bill 169 on coverage for feeding or eating disorders. The sponsor explained that the bill addresses insurance coverage decisions tied to body mass index by requiring BMI to be considered alongside another factor, such as depression, anxiety, or family circumstances, and said the committee substitute clarified that one factor alone could not control the decision. The substitute was adopted, and the bill passed 95-0. House Bill 393, which updates the Alzheimer’s and related dementias council, adds a caregiver seat, and requires an annual action project including an early detection toolkit, also passed unanimously, 95-0. House Bill 194, relating to cigar bars, drew the most discussion. The sponsor said the bill does not repeal existing smoke-free ordinances, but creates a narrow exemption for tightly defined cigar bars, with a 25% gross revenue threshold from cigar-related sales, age restrictions, local permitting options, smoke containment requirements, and signage. Members asked about local authority, other tobacco products, and whether the bill could affect smoking bans; supporters emphasized the narrow scope and personal choice, while opponents said their districts’ smoking bans and constituent concerns led them to vote no. The bill passed 69-24. The House then applied the clincher and moved to announcements, including committee schedule notices, a Small Business Day event, receptions, and citations recognizing National School Counseling Week, the KBLC Black History Celebration, and memorializing Brandy Engles.

Transcript Highlights:

• to develop what constitutes an adequate education and conduct the adequacy study and to know how revenues
• So I think another important aspect of this is that equality of revenues is going to be the floor.
• So this means also that the legislature's provisions of equal revenues to districts is not necessarily
• The court found that the General Assembly has a duty to know how state revenues are being spent.
• Auden and Picus did not recommend specific ways to raise revenue for education, but the General Assembly

Summary: The meeting began with approval of the previous minutes and then focused on an update from the Department of Education on early childhood programs, especially the state-funded Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program. Secretary Jacob Oliva and Deputy Commissioner Stacey Smith said Arkansas had received a federal Preschool Development Grant and described ongoing work to review ABC slots, which have been flat for years at about 23,800 slots and roughly $114 million. They said about 1,000 slots statewide are currently unfilled despite a waiting list of more than 2,000 families, and the department is shifting toward paying based on enrollment rather than guaranteed slots. Members asked about school choice, income eligibility, year-round access, curriculum flexibility, transportation, and whether funding should be increased or rebalanced; the department said it is collecting data, may survey providers more formally, and is considering whether to modernize income thresholds, daily rates, and other program rules. The committee agreed to form an early childhood subcommittee and asked the Bureau of Legislative Research to help gather historical information on income limits and other program details. The second major portion of the meeting was a legal presentation on the framework for Arkansas school adequacy by BLR education attorney Taylor Lloyd. She reviewed the constitutional basis for a “general, suitable, and efficient” public school system, the Dupree and Lake View cases, and the principle that adequacy and equity are different but related: adequacy asks what resources are needed, while equity asks whether those resources are distributed fairly. She explained that the General Assembly must define adequacy, study it, and react to evidence over time, and that the current adequacy definition includes curriculum and career/technical frameworks, the 38 mandatory Carnegie units, state testing standards, and sufficient funding. She also described the matrix as a funding tool, not a spending mandate, and noted that categorical funds are separate from the matrix. BLR’s Elizabeth Bynum then gave the historical framework, tracing legislative responses from Dupree through Lake View and into the present. She highlighted major changes such as the creation of equalization funding, fiscal distress and academic distress laws, the adequacy study process, the Educational Adequacy Fund, facilities and transportation changes, declining enrollment and student growth funding, and later adjustments to teacher salaries, isolated funding, and categorical programs. She explained that the adequacy study has evolved through committee hearings, surveys, site visits, and outside consultants, and that recent changes include updates to accountability references and the addition or removal of certain funding categories. Members asked follow-up questions about how the matrix is used, whether homeschool or private-school funding raises comparable issues, whether stakeholders include private and homeschool participants, whether school board members should be surveyed, and whether the state should revisit average daily membership versus attendance-based funding. No votes were taken on the adequacy presentations, but the committee did agree to continue the early childhood discussion in a future subcommittee meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're actually generating $49,000 worth of revenue. So they're making out about $24,000 a year.
• They have to show that there's a source of revenue to pay that loan back.
• So you're probably talking, off the top of my head, a couple hundred K in revenue is what they'd have
• Level, we've got to make sure that that money is going to come back and that there's a revenue source
• And again, it's one of those things: as long as we see that there's some sort of revenue coming in, we

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and in your packets, I direct you to the revenue note that shows increasing the household income
• The revenue note also tells us this is probably not a bill we can pay for in the current year.
• estimate for the policy change to move the renters' credit onto the income tax form, Department of Revenue
• estimate for the policy change to move the renters' credit onto the income tax form, Department of Revenue
• estimate for the policy change to move the renters' credit onto the income tax form, Department of Revenue

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee heard House File 2499, authored by Representative Lee, which would expand Minnesota’s renters’ credit to more closely match the homestead credit for homeowners. Lee explained that the bill would raise the income cutoff from about $75,389 to $143,140 and increase the maximum credit to $3,500, with the goal of addressing what she described as an inequity between renters and homeowners who both pay property taxes. She cited revenue estimates showing the change could make about 80,000 additional renters eligible, while acknowledging the bill would be costly to enact this year. Nan Madden of the Minnesota Budget Project testified in support, describing how the renters’ credit works, including the assumption that 17% of rent goes toward property taxes. She highlighted 2022 data showing most recipients had low incomes, many were seniors or people with disabilities, and participation was higher in greater Minnesota in some respects. Michael Dah of Homeline also supported the bill, saying renters face rising housing costs and use the credit for basic needs such as groceries, school supplies, medical care, and car repairs. Members discussed whether expanding the credit would simply benefit landlords or encourage rent increases. Representative Anderson opposed the bill on the grounds that policy should incentivize homeownership, while Representative Huitt argued the credit could help renters build savings and move toward homeownership if they choose. Representative Lee responded that the housing market is broken and that the credit is one tool to help renters in a broader housing continuum. The discussion also covered outreach and administration of the credit, including the recent move to file it with income taxes, electronic certificates of rent paid, and funding for tax-preparation assistance and outreach through VITA sites and community organizations. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus tax bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:10:54.320> are<00:10:54.519> short economic pinch and revenues are short economic
• pinch and revenues are short should<00:10:55.680> suddenly<00:10:56.200> decide<00:10:
• so thank you very much I'd be Revenue so thank you very much I'd be happy<00:57:26.960> to<00
• well uh the trails are a true uh Revenue well uh the trails are a true uh Revenue driver<02:09:02.599
• I first met Chuck while we both worked for the Department of Revenue Administration, and we commuted

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 561, sponsored by Representative Nancy Murphy, which would limit the state’s ability to discontinue, reclassify, or revert state-owned highway property to municipalities without local approval. Murphy and other supporters argued the bill would protect towns from unfunded mandates and prevent property tax increases caused by taking on costly road maintenance. Representative Wendy Thomas, Rosemarie Rung, Merrimack Town Council Chairman Finley Rothhouse, and Town Manager Paul McAuliffe all testified in support, describing the financial burden of the planned transfer of Continental Boulevard in Merrimack and warning it would set a harmful precedent for other communities. The Department of Transportation’s Steve Leon explained the department’s current authority and processes for discontinuance and reclassification, said active highways are not surplus property, and noted that the Supreme Court’s Town of Nelson decision held such reclassifications were not an unfunded mandate. The committee then closed the public hearing on HB 561. The committee next took up House Bill 578, presented by Representative Mooney on behalf of Representative Bill Boyd, to require sound barriers along the F. Everett Turnpike in Merrimack. Supporters said widening the turnpike would increase noise in nearby neighborhoods and that a 2019 NHDOT study identified 17 neighborhoods with noise levels above federal standards, though only four were included for mitigation under the current project. They argued the remaining neighborhoods should also receive relief and cited quality-of-life and property-value concerns. Senator Tim McGuire also testified in support, saying residents were experiencing unexpected and severe noise impacts and urging the committee to act outside the usual criteria to approve the barriers. The transcript provided does not show a final committee vote or action on HB 578.