Transcript Highlights:

• FCO maintenance and repair needs at juvenile justice facilities and to begin architectural and engineering

Summary: The Justice Budget Subcommittee met to consider the fiscal year 2025-26 budget recommendations, a proposed committee bill on judicial positions, and one member bill. The chair framed the budget as part of a broader effort to slow spending growth and reduce recurring expenditures, noting the subcommittee’s proposed $7.3 billion budget is $366 million below the prior year. Major budget items included funding for the Department of Corrections to address staffing, maintenance, health services, security equipment, and facility needs; the Department of Juvenile Justice for residential beds, maintenance, the Broward detention facility replacement design, medical services, and Florida Scholars Academy costs; FDLE for the Fort Myers regional operations center and sexual offender/predator registration workload; and the state courts and justice administration entities for judges, due process resources, security, and staffing. The budget also reduced 1,280 vacant positions and $139.2 million in excess funding and authority. The committee then heard PCB-JUB-25-01, which implements part of the Florida Supreme Court’s certification of judicial need. The bill establishes 17 additional circuit court judges and 12 additional county court judges, with about $13.9 million in general revenue and 72 associated positions. In response to a question about why the two certified 6th District Court of Appeal judges were not included, the chair said the committee did not think it was the right time to add judges to a brand-new court still operating from leased space. The PCB was reported favorably on a 14-0 vote. Finally, the committee heard HB 1351 by Representative Baker, which revises sex offender and predator registration rules by clarifying resident categories, creating an in-state travel residence definition, allowing online or in-person reporting for certain temporary residence changes, removing duplicative reporting requirements, clarifying vehicle and employment reporting, and requiring local law enforcement to verify addresses more frequently for registrants not on supervision. FDLE and Smart Justice indicated support, and the bill passed unanimously, 14-0. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Next is section 37, State Engineer. Senator Larson. >> Mr.
• Chairman, I bring you section 37, State Engineer.
• </c><01:48:37.679><c> Questions</c><01:48:38.000><c> or</c> on the state engineer?
• Questions or on the state engineer? Questions or discussion?
• Let's call the School of Energy Resources, the high bay facility, tier one engineering.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• /c> doing this and have hubs that are doing this and have hubs that are economic<01:18:04.080><c> engines
• </c><01:18:05.360><c> uh</c><01:18:05.440><c> their</c><01:18:05.760><c> economic</c> economic engines
• . uh their economic economic engines. uh their economic engines<01:18:06.800><c> for</c><01:18:07.040
• ><c> intellectual</c><01:18:07.760><c> capital,</c><01:18:08.560><c> for</c> engines for intellectual
• capital, for engines for intellectual capital, for research,<01:18:09.520><c> for</c><01:18:09.840><

Bills: HF4438, HF4467, HF4379, SF3402, HF4349, HF4064, HF84, HF85, HF3804

Keywords: healthcare, WIC, community health, licensing, speech-language pathology, audiology, contract term limits, healthcare services, provider enrollment, disenrollment, premium payments, medical assistance, substance use disorders, mental health, children's mental health, early childhood, early intervention, consultation grants, Head Start, child care

Transcript Highlights:

• give that typically, you know, we do we give discretion<00:19:22.120><c> to</c><00:19:22.600><c> engineering
• </c><00:19:23.040><c> groups</c><00:19:23.520><c> to</c> discretion to engineering groups to discretion
• to engineering groups to decide<00:19:24.040><c> on</c><00:19:24.200><c> life</c><00:19:24.440><c> safety
• general, thank you for answering those questions, that um I'm opposed to legislators meddling in engineering
• So, thank you. engineering affairs. engineering affairs.

Keywords: House streaming session for Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 957, house, all

Summary: The House convened with 124 members present, offered a prayer, and recognized foster youth visiting the chamber. Members then adopted two House resolutions honoring Dr. Sonja Santelises for 10 years as CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools and recognizing Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, for 104 years of service, scholarship, and sisterhood. The House also received Senate bills and began taking up committee reports. Several bills were reported favorably and advanced to third reading, including measures on higher education grants, public safety pay restrictions, retirement and pension system work group extensions and cost-of-living adjustments, synthetic turf and aquaculture studies, rail crew requirements, Howard County speed limits, election address confidentiality, IT investment fund uses, ethics financial disclosures, Public Information Act divorce records, aging-in-place grants, judicial assignments, clerk and register salaries, and firearm literature distribution. House Bill 428, concerning temporary assignment of former judges, was special ordered until the next day after the minority whip requested time for an amendment. The chamber also considered and adopted amendments on several bills. House Bill 437, the Transportation and Climate Alignment Act of 2026, was amended to exempt the Chesapeake Bay Bridge project and then special ordered after questions about greenhouse gas impacts on major highway expansion projects. House Bill 457 on menstrual hygiene products at higher education institutions, House Bill 538 on student enrollment disclosures, House Bill 561 on child care credential funding, House Bill 720 on a veterans scholarship, and House Bill 212 on out-of-state vehicle registration all received amendments and favorable reports as amended. HB 212 drew extended debate about Maryland residents using out-of-state tags, with supporters saying it would help enforce registration laws and opponents raising concerns about legislative вмешательство in vehicle regulation and enforcement discretion.

Transcript Highlights:

• committees around here and we're deciding on funding, we forget that Minneapolis is the economic engine
• </c> that Minneapolis is the economic engine that Minneapolis is the economic engine for<00:20:11.440
• I'm a civil engineer.
• I'm a civil engineer.
• One thing that is true is that the economic engines of our state, which are small businesses, are in

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As engines were about to roar to life in the Freedom 7 rocket and shoot into space, Shepard spoke into
• As engines were about to roar to life in the Freedom 7 rocket and shoot into space, Shepard spoke into
• He said engineers heard that they would have to use a lower structural integrity value for SPFs versus
• :06.800><c> uh</c> Um we heard from the um uh from the uh Um we heard from the um uh from the uh engineers
• </c> prevent a licensed architecture engineer prevent a licensed architecture engineer from<03:57:20.239

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so, also from an engineering point of view, just understand that when we put the internet access
• He's a professional engineer. He's a professional engineer. We have He's a professional engineer.
• We have how<00:53:10.720><c> many</c><00:53:10.880><c> other</c><00:53:11.119><c> engineers,</c><00:53
• </c> how many other engineers, Greg? how many other engineers, Greg?

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Roll Call 00:00:15 Kentucky Department of Education 00:01:20 Kentucky Communications Network Authority 00:36:45 Accelecom 01:01:22 Auditor of Public Accounts 01:29:50, 958, all

Summary: The Information Technology Oversight Committee met to hear a presentation from Kentucky Department of Education officials David Couch and Mike Lingham on the history and current status of Kentucky’s K-12 internet network, including its relationship to KentuckyWired. They described the original KETS design from 1995, when KDE established district internet hubs and left local districts to connect to them, and said that model helped Kentucky become a national leader in school connectivity and cloud-based services. They also emphasized the importance of E-rate eligibility, saying it has saved the state substantial money and remains central to KDE’s network contracting. Couch and Lingham said the current “next generation Kentucky K-12 internet” contract with Education Networks of America is more reliable, offers more functionality, and costs less than the prior system, including lower bandwidth and firewall costs. They explained that the transition was complicated by build-out and provisioning issues, especially the need for more “type two” connections through local providers, which pushed some implementation past the June 30, 2024 E-rate deadline. As a result, 39 sites remain on type two connections, and KDE absorbed the loss of federal discount dollars for the portion of the transition that extended into July. The witnesses also discussed home internet access for students. They said KDE has tracked home access for about 20 years and estimates about 4.5% of students still lack adequate internet at home, with roughly 3% able to reach access nearby and 1.5% having no access. They said the biggest barrier is usually cost rather than lack of available lines, and noted that temporary hotspot support during COVID helped students continue schoolwork. Senator Williams asked about the costs of the transition, the current type two sites, and the potential cost of any future transition, but the transcript cuts off before a full answer was given.

Transcript Highlights:

• My father was a very proud engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota, and I was the financial
• My father was a very proud engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota, and I was the financial
• My father was a very proud engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota, and I was the financial
• My father was a very proud engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota, and I was the financial
• My father was a very proud engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota, and I was the financial

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Higher Education Conference Committee reviewed differences among the Governor’s, House, and Senate proposals for state grant parameter changes and their effects on state grant spending, North Star Promise spending, and average student awards. Nonpartisan staff explained that the proposals use different combinations of parameter changes, with the Governor’s and Senate plans modeled to avoid or minimize rationing, while the House plan would require rationing to balance the program. Staff reported projected biennium balances of a positive $29.836 million for the Governor’s proposal, a negative $60.758 million for the House proposal without rationing, a positive $994,000 for the House proposal with rationing, and a positive $3.623 million for the Senate proposal; North Star Promise balances also varied, with the Senate showing a positive balance and the Governor and House with rationing showing negative balances. Staff also said the Senate proposal would extend availability of the state grant appropriation and suspend surplus procedures through fiscal year 2029, allowing the balance to carry forward. The committee then focused on the House-only tuition and fee cap provision, which would limit the tuition recognized for state grant purposes for four-year programs to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities level, with 1% annual increases in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. House members said the cap was intended to address rising tuition, especially at the University of Minnesota, and to produce savings in the state grant program. The governor’s office confirmed the provision was not included in the Governor’s bill. Representatives from the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Private College Council opposed the cap, arguing it would reduce awards for low-income students and shift costs to students rather than address underlying tuition pressures; they also said it could discourage enrollment at higher-cost institutions. Supporters from Minnesota State argued the cap would improve fairness because students at lower-tuition institutions are effectively capped lower, while students at more expensive institutions receive larger awards, and they said the legislature should intervene in a variable that has grown substantially over time. Committee members questioned how the cap would work and whether it was tied to the Twin Cities campus rate. Testifiers clarified that the state grant formula is tied to the University of Minnesota level, but because Minnesota State institutions are below that level, the cap effectively limits their students to their own lower tuition while allowing higher awards at the University of Minnesota and private colleges. No formal vote or final action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided; the chair indicated the committee would continue with item-by-item review of the remaining parameter changes and hear additional testimony from agencies and institutions.

Transcript Highlights:

• to the site of real-world conditions and makes use of professional perspectives other than just engineers
• professional perspectives other than of professional perspectives other than just<00:53:12.160><c> engineers
• </c><00:53:12.720><c> and</c><00:53:13.040><c> incorporates</c><00:53:13.520><c> all</c> just engineers
• and incorporates all just engineers and incorporates all users<00:53:14.079><c> like</c><00:53:14.240
• etc work can is an eligible engineering etc work can is an eligible use<01:20:55.760><c> of</c><01:20

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our rates would not compete with that, and we would not be in position to ensure well-engineered, highly
• engineered, recent-construction high-rise condos.
• lines rates, but certainly higher than excess and surplus line rates for very well-designed, well-engineered
• lines rates, but certainly higher than excess and surplus line rates for very well-designed, well-engineered
• lines rates, but certainly higher than excess and surplus line rates for very well-designed, well-engineered

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• whether that is preserving our stories or taking our nation up a notch in science, technology, engineering
• whether that is preserving our stories or taking our nation up a notch in science, technology, engineering
• whether that is preserving our stories or taking our nation up a notch in science, technology, engineering
• whether that is preserving our stories or taking our nation up a notch in science, technology, engineering
• whether that is preserving our stories or taking our nation up a notch in science, technology, engineering

Bills: HF29, HF921, HF922, HF1048, HF1049

Keywords: railroad, infrastructure, transportation funding, environmental remediation, capital investment, HF921, tax increment financing, TIF, excess tax increment, school district aid, levy adjustment, property tax levy, education finance, Minnesota education aid, decertification, local government finance, school funding formula, state aid reduction, referendum equalization aid, debt service equalization

Transcript Highlights:

• It works with our engines, and it works at MSP Airport and other airports, and all the infrastructure
• We also expect, as we continue to work with manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing, engine manufacturers
• We also expect, as we continue to work with manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing, engine manufacturers
• As you've already heard, SAF is a fully certified jet fuel that can be used in today's aircraft engines
• </c><00:39:12.800><c> and</c> used in today's aircraft engines and used in today's aircraft engines and

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• teachers and our parents, we give future generations the greatest chance at keeping this Texas economic engine
• teachers and our parents, we give future generations the greatest chance at keeping this Texas economic engine
• I am a successful software engineer. I'm the senior engineer at Omega Airline Software.
• In my work as senior engineer and project manager for a mega airline software, I work with cybersecurity
• more than two decades ago, I thought graduating from Texas A&M Commerce, marrying a cowboy with an engineering

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education K-16 convened with a quorum, adopted its committee rules, and heard opening remarks from members introducing staff and outlining priorities for the session. Several senators emphasized support for public education, teacher pay and safety, parental choice, and the combined K-16 jurisdiction of the committee. The chair also reviewed hearing procedures, including public testimony registration and time limits. The main item was Senate Bill 2, the Texas Education Freedom Act, laid out by Chairman Creighton. He described the bill as an education savings account program intended to expand school choice, with a $200 million universal eligibility pool and an additional $800 million targeted to students with disabilities and lower-income families. He said the bill includes anti-fraud safeguards, criminal background checks for vendors, reporting requirements, data protections, and annual testing for participating students, while not imposing STAAR on private schools or homeschoolers. He also said the bill removes a prior hold-harmless provision for public schools and is separate from public school funding and teacher pay legislation. Members questioned the bill’s income threshold, lottery and priority structure, treatment of homeschoolers, microschools, charter schools, religious freedom protections, citizenship/lawful presence language, cybersecurity, open records, and disability-related issues, including whether 504 students and foster children should be included. Creighton said the bill is designed to prioritize former public school students with disabilities or lower incomes, while also allowing universal eligibility within the program’s first funding tier, and that the Comptroller would oversee vendor screening and cybersecurity rules. He said the bill does not direct curriculum or interfere with religious beliefs and that amendments may be offered later on citizenship and other issues. After member questions, the committee began invited testimony, starting with EdChoice representative Robert Inlow, who testified in support of SB 2 and cited national growth in school choice programs and studies he said show positive effects for students and public schools.

Transcript Highlights:

• This person has to have protections in this bill that the licensed engineer or inspector cannot be part
• So if it was an engineer that helped build your plans, they cannot be the ones that do the inspections
• c> protections in this bill that the protections in this bill that the licensed<02:38:20.560><c> engineer
• So if it was an engineer<02:38:26.160><c> that</c><02:38:26.319><c> helped</c><02:38:26.479><c> build
• </c><02:38:26.640><c> your</c><02:38:26.880><c> plans,</c> engineer that helped build your plans, engineer

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The proposal would allow not just a qualified attorney, but also a professional engineer or an economist
• a</c> qualified attorney but also a qualified attorney but also a professional<02:09:10.320><c> engineer
• or an economist to professional engineer or an economist to hold<02:09:12.960><c> the</c><02:09:13.360
• ,</c> attorney, and a professional engineer, attorney, and a professional engineer, or<02:10:21.840><
• Currently on our staff, we have an engineer and a PhD economist.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The subcommittee first took up House Bill 525, which would have transferred administration of the program for the deaf and hard of hearing and the related board to OPLC. The chair said the sponsor was no longer interested in moving forward, and Representative Schmidt moved ITL. The motion passed 14-0 with two members absent, and the bill was placed on the consent calendar. The committee then considered Senate Bill 182 on the maternal mortality review committee. The chair described a narrower amendment that would keep the name change, clarify operations so recommendations are returned to the appropriate entities, and expand contact with family members and close contacts, while dropping a proposed addition of a Department of Corrections member. The amendment was adopted unanimously, and the bill was then moved ITL and placed on the consent calendar. Senate Bill 185, dealing with OPLC investigations and backlog reduction, received an update from OPLC General Counsel Nicholas Fry. He described efforts to improve public communication, clear the complaint backlog, standardize intake and expert review, add automated responses and website updates, use weekly legal-viability reviews, create preliminary investigation protocols, and establish a process for law-enforcement referrals. Members asked about board involvement and criminal-conviction cases; Fry said boards are kept informed and that such matters can proceed either through complaints or application/background-check processes. Representative Groa requested a follow-up update in January, and the committee agreed to an oral report then if needed. The bill was then voted ITL unanimously and placed on the consent calendar. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 349 on optometrists performing ophthalmologic laser procedures. Dr. Angelique Sawyer testified in support, saying the amendment adds more specific proctoring and qualification requirements, based on language requested after earlier hearings, and that similar systems exist in other states. Representative Sers confirmed that the new sections were the key additions, while Representative Schmidt said he remained open to the concept but wanted a thorough review and asked about a subcommittee. The discussion was still ongoing when the transcript ended, with no vote recorded on HB 349.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chairman, Mark Rhodes, here on behalf of the American Council of Engineering Companies.

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 913 in executive session and voted it “do pass” by a roll call of 16 ayes and 3 noes. After that, the committee opened a public hearing on Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 1033, sponsored by Senator Jason Bean. The bill would exempt certain older farm vehicles used in local farming operations from emissions inspection requirements, and it would also ease permitting requirements for cotton gins by removing the need for air dispersion modeling in certain construction permit applications. The bill also incorporated language from Senate Bill 953 related to funding the air pollution control program. Supporters included the Missouri Cotton Producers, Missouri Farm Bureau, Infra, the Missouri Mining Association, the Missouri Concrete Association, the American Council of Engineering Companies, Missouri Forest Products, the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, the Missouri Soybean Association, Associated Industries of Missouri, and the Missouri Corn Growers Association. Testimony emphasized reduced regulatory burdens, lower retrofit and permitting costs, improved competitiveness for Missouri cotton gins, and the need for a stable funding source for the air pollution control program. Several witnesses said the program was expected to become insolvent in fiscal year 2028 and that the bill’s funding mechanism would help sustain it. Committee questions focused on the scope of the cotton gin provisions, the number of farmers affected, and how the new funding stream would work. Department of Natural Resources staff testified informationally that the air program would become insolvent in FY 2028 and said they would follow up on details. No one testified in opposition, and the hearing on Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 1033 was concluded without further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• The agreement is also an economic engine for the state of Texas, creating tens of thousands of jobs and

Bills: HCR108, HCR127

Keywords: Tomato Suspension Agreement, trade, Mexico, Texas economy, agriculture, import tariffs, job preservation, Taiwan, U.S. relations, economic cooperation, sister-state, 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I am a retired digital design engineer and technical instructor.
• </c><00:14:33.800><c> from</c> degree in electrical engineering from degree in electrical engineering
• I was a plastics process engineer before I retired.
• I am a retired engineering supervisor from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.
• </c> years I'm a retired uh engineering years I'm a retired uh engineering supervisor<00:28:30.080><c

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Bills: HB3057, HB3130, HB4113, HB3310, HB3314, HB3985, HB4486, HB3040, HB3407, HB4343, HB2981, HB3764, HB3765, HB3767, HB3982, HB3321, HB3322, HB3323, HB4126, HB4130, HB4170, HB3345, HB2941, HB3062, HB3244, HB3298, HB2977, HB3304, HB3299, HB3297, HB4260, HB3906, HB3648, HB3319, HB2933, HB3544, HB1322, HB4104, HB4105, HB4106, HB4107, HB4108, HB3974, HB3134, HB3055, HB3115, HB3471, HB3497, HB3500, HB3505, HB3755, HB4202, HB4226, HB4236, HB4139, HB4144, HB4422, HB4423, HB4317, HB4321, HB4322, HB3176, HB3239, HB3263, HB3673, HB3794, HB3796, HB4265, HB4266, HB2123, HB3048, HB2445

Keywords: government reporting, information technology, child welfare, environmental policy, state agency compliance, gender transition, minors, health services, punitive damages, parental rights, health care providers, voter registration, voter eligibility, felony disenfranchisement, restoration of voting rights, formerly incarcerated, reentry, parole, probation, supervision

Bills: HB3057, HB3130, HB4113, HB3310, HB3314, HB3985, HB4486, HB3040, HB3407, HB4343, HB2981, HB3764, HB3765, HB3767, HB3982, HB3321, HB3322, HB3323, HB4126, HB4130, HB4170, HB3345, HB2941, HB3062, HB3244, HB3298, HB2977, HB3304, HB3299, HB3297, HB4260, HB3906, HB3648, HB3319, HB2933, HB3544, HB1322, HB4104, HB4105, HB4106, HB4107, HB4108, HB3974, HB3134, HB3055, HB3115, HB3471, HB3497, HB3500, HB3505, HB3755, HB4202, HB4226, HB4236, HB4139, HB4144, HB4422, HB4423, HB4317, HB4321, HB4322, HB3176, HB3239, HB3263, HB3673, HB3794, HB3796, HB4265, HB4266, HB2123, HB3048, HB2445

Keywords: government reporting, information technology, child welfare, environmental policy, state agency compliance, gender transition, minors, health services, punitive damages, parental rights, health care providers, voter registration, voter eligibility, felony disenfranchisement, restoration of voting rights, formerly incarcerated, reentry, parole, probation, supervision

Summary: The House convened with a prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, and several recognitions, including the Duncan Girls Golf Team, the Doctor of the Day, and the Nurse of the Day. Members also made personal announcements and committee meeting reminders before moving to legislation. The main floor action centered on House Bill 4422, which would require applicants for SNAP and TANF to be U.S. citizens and use the SAVE system to verify immigration status. Supporters argued it would protect taxpayer dollars, enforce the law, and reduce improper benefits use; opponents said it would deter eligible families, especially children in mixed-status households, from seeking aid and would not address DHS error rates or budget problems. After extended debate, the House passed HB 4422 by roll call vote, 18-0. The House then considered House Bill 4423, a similar measure applying the same citizenship-verification concept to Medicaid through the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. Debate repeated many of the same arguments about fiscal responsibility, eligibility, children’s access to benefits, and immigration enforcement. HB 4423 also passed by roll call vote, 18-0. The chamber then moved to announcements and adjourned until Monday, March 2, 2026.