Transcript Highlights:

• I was curious, is that 49% of the people who already had criminal charges or just a general decrease
• They receive the largest share of general revenues of any agency each year.
• So you'll see a range of funding amounts generated in local taxes as well as in miscellaneous funds,
• I don't have the specific types of expenditures, but it's typically above $15,000 that would generate
• I don't have the specific types of expenditures, but it's typically above $15,000 that would generate

Summary: The House and Senate Education Committee first approved minutes from February 2 and 3, then heard an interim study proposal on Arkansas adult education and the Excel Center model, presented by Goodwill Industries of Arkansas and the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities. Witnesses argued that about 300,000 Arkansas adults lack a high school diploma or GED and described the Excel Center as a diploma-granting public charter option for adults 19 and older, with wraparound supports such as child care, transportation, tutoring, life coaching, and career services. They said the Arkansas campuses are not state-funded, highlighted growth in enrollment and graduation outcomes, and cited research showing improved employment, earnings, and reduced criminal justice involvement for graduates. Committee members discussed the role of Goodwill’s nonprofit mission, the need for multiple adult education pathways, and the relationship between adult education challenges and broader state efforts such as LEARNS and ACCESS. The committee then debated the interim study proposal procedure, including whether questions should have been taken before the vote. The motion to adopt the ISP passed, and members noted that the study would broadly examine adult education, GED testing, high school diplomas, charter schools, in-person adult education, and funding allocation. Several members asked for follow-up information on current adult education funding, the availability of Excel Centers, and the criminal justice study results. After that, staff from the Bureau of Legislative Research gave a detailed adequacy funding overview for Arkansas K-12 education. They reviewed national funding principles and then explained Arkansas’s revenue streams and distribution system, including general revenue, the Educational Excellence Trust Fund, the Educational Adequacy Fund, local property-tax revenues, and facilities partnership funding. They also walked through the state’s foundation formula, categorical aid, supplemental aid, and additional funding, including the per-student matrix amount of $7,771 for 2025 and how funds are allocated to districts and charters. Members asked about student support staff, special education high-cost occurrences, ALE funding, teacher salary equalization, and the Excel Center’s treatment in funding totals; staff said some of those questions would be addressed in a later spending presentation. The meeting ended after the committee was told the department was present mainly to answer questions and no further business remained.

Transcript Highlights:

• Good afternoon, Deputy Attorney General Alyssa K. on behalf of the Department of the Attorney General
• Good afternoon, Deputy Attorney General Alyssa K. on behalf of the Department of the Attorney General
• As executive director of this agency, my role is to ensure the longevity of the work we do for generations
• Vice Chair, on behalf of Comptroller Keith Regan, Department of Accounting and General Services, I am
• sources of revenue generate alternative sources of revenue that<01:32:16.280><c> can</c><01:32:16.400

Summary: The joint committees first heard House Bill 229, which would establish a statewide speed restriction for motor vehicles under certain circumstances. Testimony on the bill was limited and came in support from the City and County of Honolulu’s transportation services, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization. No one testified in opposition, and there were no questions. The committees then took up House Bill 860, which would grant immunity from liability to the state or counties when they repair or maintain a street whose ownership or jurisdiction is disputed between them. The Department of Transportation and the Department of Land and Natural Resources submitted written testimony, and the Hawaii State Association of Counties, Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee, Hawaii County Council member Heather Kimble, and the Iolani Homestead Community Association for Justice testified in support. The Ho Association for Justice opposed the bill, arguing the immunity was too broad and that the issue had already been addressed by prior legislation. In discussion, members raised concerns about liability and asked whether a different approach, such as extending the 2017 law transferring Oahu roads in limbo to the counties, would be acceptable; county representatives said that path could be considered if immunity were removed. House Bill 1161, which would authorize counties to use a road usage charge mechanism similar to the state’s, drew support from the Department of Transportation, the Energy Office, the Hawaii State Association of Counties, several county and city offices, and the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization. Rental car companies and industry groups supported the concept but asked for amendments, including a flat fee instead of a per-mile charge, relief for plug-in hybrid vehicles, and a delayed implementation date. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii also supported relief for hybrids. Members questioned the rental car representatives about the flat-fee proposal, and they said a per-mile charge would be difficult to calculate and pass on to customers. At the end of the joint agenda, the committees deferred decision-making on HB 1161 to Tuesday, March 18 at 3:00 p.m., and the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs committee also deferred the three measures to that date and time. The Transportation and Culture and the Arts committee then began hearing House Bill 925, which would create a Performing Arts Special Fund, and House Bill 1378, which would establish a Performing Arts Grants Program and Special Fund and revise the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts’ responsibilities and funding sources. HB 925 received support from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and written support or comments from DBEDT, the Hawaii Arts Alliance, and others. HB 1378 drew extensive testimony and discussion focused on preserving arts funding while addressing concerns about the use of Works of Art Special Fund dollars for positions and programming. The Governor’s office said it supported the intent but had concerns; the Attorney General warned that the bill’s cap and transfer provisions were unclear and could affect the tax-exempt status of bond-funded dollars; and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts opposed the measure, urging an audit, tracking of deposits, and a shift of positions and programs to general funds instead of changing the law. The chair explained that the bill was intended to protect arts funding while tightening the legal guardrails around bond-financed dollars and preserving federal support, and asked testimony to focus on new points as the hearing continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• They give you some general feel-good, very flowery language of where.
• The AUF also consists of surface income generated from PUF lands.
• whose salaries are paid out of general revenue.
• Item one on page four is a general overview of funding for GAIs.
• Item four provides an overview of all non-formula general revenue funding.

Bills: SB1 , SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• result in a loss of savings on the General Fund side.
• Generally speaking, those targets were somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of the vacant positions at
• Fund savings and also prevent misuse of it. ...in the General Fund savings, and then also misuse of
• its eligible vacancies and 80% of its general fund vacancies.
• one percent of the general fund in our state budget.

Transcript Highlights:

• That provides $300,000 in General Fund-State to the Secretary of State for the Humanities Washington
• It has an impact to the General Fund of $750,000 in the 2025-27 biennium and a four-year impact of $1.5
• The four-year impact is a savings of $1.282 million, General Fund-State.
• The fiscal impact of this amendment is an increase of $300,000 in General Fund expenditures in the 2025
• The fiscal impact of this amendment is an increase of $300,000 in general fund expenditures in the 2527

Bills: SB5998

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: fiscal appropriations, budget, state funding, financial management, operating expenses

Transcript Highlights:

• That provides $300,000 in general fund state to the Secretary of State for the Humanities Washington
• It has an impact to the general fund of $750,000 in the 2025-2027 biennium and a four-year impact of
• The four-year impact is a savings of $1.282 million, General Fund State.
• The fiscal impact of this amendment is an increase of $300,000 in general fund expenditures in the 2025
• The fiscal impact of this amendment is an increase of $300,000 in general fund expenditures in the 2527

Summary: The Senate Ways and Means Committee met in executive session on Senate Bill 5998, the proposed operating budget, and received a staff briefing on 39 proposed amendments. The amendments covered a wide range of issues, including technical corrections; truancy intervention funding; public defense and Blake-related vacatur work; family reading, shellfish program review, cultural resource protection, agritourism, transmission planning, paid leave, developmental disabilities services, nursing home rates, TANF workforce services, food bank language, oral health access, behavioral health partnership access, sexual assault nurse examiner training, Department of Corrections security measures, child welfare staffing, pediatric interim care centers, Working Connections Child Care, range rider funding, Chinese American history month materials, Running Start, retiree health subsidies, school bus contractor costs, local effort assistance, transition to kindergarten, charter school enrichment, arts grants, and a tribal liaison position. Several amendments were withdrawn before action, including the truancy increase, Blake funding, one DD-related amendment, and others. The committee adopted a number of amendments, including the technical corrections packet, reductions or savings-related corrections, the family reading program, shellfish review funding, the transmission-system implementation funding, the oral health foundation, the partnership access line, health technology assessment funding, the governor errata correction, the sexual assault nurse examiner training contract, the DOC canine scheduling language, the child welfare staffing correction, the people transportation language, the TTK-related amendment, and the tribal liaison funding. It rejected several others, including agritourism, paid leave study language, DD waiver expansion, nursing home add-ons, the PIC program, range rider funding, Chinese American history month materials, Running Start restoration, the LEA restoration amendment, and the arts grant restoration. Some amendments were withdrawn after discussion, including the DD waiver and LEA-related proposals. During debate, supporters of various amendments emphasized service needs for vulnerable populations, including people with developmental disabilities, survivors of sexual assault, Medicaid dental access, behavioral health callers, and students in Running Start and TTK. Opponents repeatedly cited budget constraints, the need for a sustainable operating budget, and the view that some issues were better addressed through collective bargaining or future negotiations. The committee then rolled the adopted amendments into a new substitute Senate Bill 5998 and voted to send it to the Rules Committee with a do-pass recommendation, subject to signatures. Several members stated they would vote no on the budget overall, while others supported it as a difficult but necessary compromise. The meeting adjourned after the final vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Minnesota is one of five states that rely on general funds to pay for the state share of the program.
• Two of those three, the premium tax and the surcharge, both go into the general fund, and the general
• </c><01:16:24.679><c> of</c> general consumption of general consumption of Pharmaceuticals<01:16:27.600
• of the general fund now to pay for this.
• > take $500 million of it out of the take $500 million of it out of the general<01:43:49.599><c> fund

Committee: Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection

Transcript Highlights:

• We've had the last two budgets have had the record numbers of general fund bonds.
• We've done things out of this General Assembly to improve that, and so he wants to add another piece
• We've done things out of this General Assembly to improve that, and so he wants to add another piece
• And in the last budget, you all added $10 million out of the general fund.
• </c><00:41:03.440><c> the</c><00:41:03.599><c> general</c> added $10 million out of the general added

Summary: The committee met to hear a presentation from Dr. Hicks on the governor’s recommended budget for the next biennium. He reviewed the revenue outlook, noting modest general fund growth, a large rainy day fund balance, and the impact of recent income tax reductions. He said the budget was built around recurring reductions, lower debt service and retirement contribution rates, and the use of excess restricted funds, while protecting K-12 education, Medicaid, postsecondary education, public safety, and pension obligations. Dr. Hicks outlined several major spending and reserve proposals, including $350 million from the Department of Insurance’s excess restricted funds to support Medicaid in the first year, $150 million for the affordable housing trust fund, $125 million for rural hospitals, $100 million to offset lost federal ACA premium tax credits, $75 million for utility assistance, and $50 million for food assistance. In education, the proposal included a phased pre-K for all plan funded by sports wagering tax revenue, a 3% annual salary increase for full-time school personnel, continued full funding of teacher pensions, a 2.5% annual increase in SEEK base funding, and additional support for career and technical education and school facilities. He also discussed Medicaid cost pressures, including higher managed care, pharmacy, behavioral health, and nursing facility costs, and explained the expected effects of federal HR1 changes on Kentucky’s Medicaid program. Those changes include work and community engagement requirements and more frequent eligibility redeterminations for expansion members, which the administration estimated would reduce enrollment by about 4,300 in the first year and 28,000 in the second year. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the meeting, which was limited to the budget presentation and member questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• "And the town of Denning is also being referred to the prosecuting attorney and attorney general.
• The general fund owed the solid waste fund over $168,000 and $157,000 as of December 31 of the same years
• And, of course, it's been referred to the prosecutor and the Attorney General.
• With the same type of findings? The other was County General. Okay. And that's been taken care of.
• We've shared money, sales tax with County General out of road for several times, several years.

Committee: All LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING-COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES

Transcript Highlights:

• That's equivalent to the entire city of Minneapolis generation. And that's just one data center.
• I am also a member of the Minnesota Generation and Transmission Cooperative.
• So utilities are already familiar with generating a REC per megawatt hour of generation that is occurring
• Now, with increasing amounts of distributed energy generation and storage, and increasing amounts of
• by making use of new and existing distributed generation and storage. and demand response.

Bills: HF2928 , HF2912 , HF2297

Committee: House Energy Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Expenditures are going up primarily as a result of state. general fund.
• So, you know, even in times of inflation and press, of the fees and self-generated.
• There was a total increase to state general fund of $86.5 million.
• You know, as a rule of thumb, 25% of our state general funds should be what's in our savings account.
• And that funding is a mix of both general obligation bonds and general fund.

Summary: The committee first took up the fiscal status statement, certification of the state surplus, and the five-year baseline budget. Officials from the Office of Planning and Budget and the Division of Administration said the January fiscal status statement had no changes, and the commissioner certified a surplus of $577,073,871. They also reviewed the baseline outlook, noting projected imbalances in later years driven by declining revenue, including the redirection of motor vehicle sales tax, and rising costs such as inflation and Medicaid-related expenses. The fiscal status statement was approved without objection. The governor’s executive budget was then presented as a third consecutive standstill budget, with administration officials emphasizing efficiency savings, no reduction in services, and no reduction in state workforce. They said the budget relies on prior savings efforts and incorporates agency-level cuts and reorganization, while also addressing higher costs in corrections, DCFS, and health care. Major items highlighted included funding for LA GATOR, the high-impact jobs program, DCFS modernization, corrections population and overtime needs, nursing home and managed care adjustments at LDH, and additional support for the MJ Foster Scholarship Program. Members asked about the impact of inflation, the use of federal versus state funds, the future of voucher and GATOR funding, and whether more support should go to DCFS and the Hero Fund. The committee also received the calculation of the FY27 expenditure limit, set at $20.1 billion, and the annual comprehensive financial report for FY2025, which received a clean audit opinion. Members approved a BA-7 increasing federal funds for an executive office transportation grant, approved additions to the Act 751 higher education deferred maintenance project list and a Baton Rouge Community College project combination, and approved contract amendments for CPRA with Coastal Estuary Services and Access Sciences. The committee also corrected a legislative intent item naming the New Orleans Recreational Development Foundation. Finally, the judiciary presented a weighted caseload study for district and appellate courts, explaining it as an updated tool to assess judicial workload and potential judgeship needs; members discussed its limits, the role of specialty courts and commissioners, and the need for further legislative-judicial collaboration before any changes are made.

Transcript Highlights:

• The proposed budget includes $3 billion, $483.9 million of that is General Fund, and 1,914 positions
• And then, of course, during the... ...on to the Next Generation system.
• You can think of a Next Generation 911 system as a dedicated emergency highway system.
• It's a mischaracterization to think of deployment of the Next Generation 911 system as having an end
• With regard to the proposal to shift $8 million of costs from the Bureau of Firearms onto the General

Transcript Highlights:

• So they added $776,700 in general fund for a total general fund of $11,503,300, and kind of spread it
• I mean, we're going to do our best to make it work. the primary of the general this year.
• Welcome, Attorney General. Go ahead. Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the committee.
• It's a comprehensive overview of all of the...
• state, commissioner of public lands, attorney general, state auditor, and state treasurer, is there

Committee: Senate House Appropriations & Finance

Summary: The committee heard budget presentations from the Secretary of State, the State Land Office, the Attorney General, and the State Auditor. The Secretary of State said its requested general fund budget of $15.88 million was intended to maintain baseline operations, replace lost federal cyber and election support, and address a 12% vacancy rate. Officials warned that the House recommendation still left major gaps for election security, tabulator replacement, campaign finance system upgrades, overseas and military ballot services, ballot tracking, and a new tax lien filing system. Senators pressed about the election fund, county burdens, and the risk of underfunding election administration; the office said the House had provided $15 million for the election fund for the primary and another $15 million for the general election, but not enough for operations or all capital needs. The State Land Office said it was satisfied with the House budget action and had no additional request. Staff described the office’s record revenues, low vacancy rate, clean audits, and proposed new positions tied to forestry, economic development, petroleum, geothermal, and royalty compliance work. Senators asked about long-term revenue trends, forest thinning and biomass opportunities, and bookkeeping around the land maintenance fund; the office said the new positions were intended to generate revenue and support land management, including fire mitigation. The Attorney General’s office presented a budget built around a 0% general fund increase, greater use of the Consumer Settlement Fund, and $4.5 million in special/extraordinary litigation funding. The AG emphasized active litigation and investigations involving consumer fraud, Medicaid fraud, federal funding cuts, Meta and other technology platforms, AI and child safety, gaming compacts, tobacco, and possible litigation over abandoned uranium mine cleanup. Senators asked about scam enforcement, the structure of settlement funds, and whether the office could take on uranium-related litigation; the AG said the office could prepare a litigation budget but warned such efforts would require sustained funding. The State Auditor said the House budget added only modest increases while the office faced about a 40% vacancy rate, difficulty recruiting auditors, and a shrinking pool of public accounting firms, creating risks for constitutional audit responsibilities.

Transcript Highlights:

• of funding can be found in fees and self-generated revenues.
• Means of finance is utilized, and the majority of funding can be found in fees and self-generated revenues
• Of the $459.7 million recommended, the majority of funding comes from fees and self-generated revenues
• the amount of you guys' self-generating funding source.
• We don't use general fund money. We collect a general fund. We get a percentage of it.

Committee: House Appropriations

Summary: The committee heard FY27 budget presentations for the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, beginning with Public Safety Services. House Fiscal Division staff reviewed the department’s recommended budget of $645.9 million, including supplemental pay, State Police, Motor Vehicles, and the State Fire Marshal. Officials explained that the overall budget reflects a net decrease from FY26, driven largely by shifts in funding sources, removal of one-time statutory dedications, and adjustments tied to undercollections in fees and self-generated revenues. State Police was recommended at $459.7 million, OMV at $86.7 million, and the Fire Marshal at $41.1 million. Department leaders also described ongoing modernization efforts, staffing vacancies, and the use of efficiencies identified internally. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Burns and agency heads testified about State Police operations, including increased cadet graduations, improved Mardi Gras security, progress on APHIS and OMV modernization, and the new crime lab under construction. Members asked about undercollections, vacancies, the role of public tag agents, and whether the agency could expand counter-drone capabilities. Burns said the department has identified about $11 million in efficiencies, but warned that counter-drone work would require additional funding, citing a $4.5 million fiscal note for HB 940 and roughly $9 million more for a robust unit. OMV officials said staffing and retention remain difficult, but modernization should improve service and reduce lines; they also said the agency continues to rely on public tag agents and is working through reinstatement fee collection issues. The committee then reviewed the Department of Corrections FY27 budget, recommended at $902.3 million, with most funding from State General Fund and a large increase tied to higher incarceration costs, medical needs, overtime, and added capacity at Louisiana State Penitentiary. DOC officials said the department remains under pressure from vacancies, turnover, contraband, and medical costs, and that the budget includes funding to add 150 correctional officers at Angola and to house ICE detainees at Camp J. They also discussed criminal justice reinvestment savings, prison enterprises, and reentry programs funded through the Second Chance Act. Members asked about staffing, inmate deaths at Elaine Hunt, work-release pay, and whether the department is tracking the true long-term cost of incarceration. Officials said they are pursuing pay increases, recruitment, expanded training and reentry programs, and more data-driven workforce alignment, while acknowledging that many budget pressures remain unresolved.

Transcript Highlights:

• generation within the borders<00:14:45.080><c> of</c><00:14:45.200><c> Kentucky.
• , the estimated cost of the new generation asset, and added in capacity and energy sales.
• Securitization savings offset about a third of the cost of the new generation facility.
• If at some point you do feel like after the acquisition of construction of additional generation, if
• in the examination and study of the adequacy of the Commonwealth's existing and future electric generation

Summary: The committee met for an initial natural resources hearing with a quorum present and introductory housekeeping, including prayer, roll call, and recognition of guests. Chair Smith outlined ground rules for questions and then invited Kentucky Power and American Electric Power representatives to the table to discuss a proposed plan involving the Mitchell Power Plant and future generation needs in Eastern Kentucky. Witnesses Cindy Wiseman, Alex Vaughn, and AEP CEO Bill Fehrman said the company’s goals are to stabilize and lower rates, reduce rate volatility, and expand generation in the Commonwealth. They explained that Kentucky Power seeks legislative authority to securitize its 50% interest in the Mitchell coal plant, describing securitization as a refinancing mechanism that would lower annual plant costs by about $34 million and help offset roughly one-third of the expected cost of adding new generation in Kentucky. They emphasized that the proposal is not intended to close Mitchell, and said Kentucky Power currently has no plan to divest its interest; the company still needs the plant to serve customers while it pursues additional dispatchable generation in Kentucky. Members pressed the witnesses on the plant’s book value versus fair market value, whether the Mitchell interest had ever been assigned a nominal value, how any divestiture proceeds would be handled, whether Kentucky Power owns Wheeling Power, and how long Mitchell can continue operating. The company said it values Mitchell at net book value for accounting purposes, not fair market value, and explained that Wheeling Power is a separate AEP affiliate and that West Virginia affiliates have already proposed securitization of their share. Witnesses said Kentucky Power’s interest cannot technically operate past 2028 without additional environmental control investment, while the West Virginia side is depreciating through 2040. They also described the financing timeline, saying securitization would require enactment of legislation, a PSC financing order, bond issuance, and then parallel work to acquire or build new generation, with any reinvestment terms to be addressed through the regulatory process.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> also</c> benefit of future generations while also benefit of future generations while also serving
• </c> benefit of future generations. benefit of future generations.
• Minnesotans lost hundreds of millions of dollars meant for children's meals while the Attorney General
• Minnesotans lost hundreds of millions of dollars meant for children's meals while the Attorney General
• an entire generation of kids.

Bills: HF3900 , HF1849

Committee: House Rules and Legislative Administration

Transcript Highlights:

• Then 18% of the budget is from state general fund.
• Then 8% of the funding is state general funds.
• So the net effect of the means of finance and swaps is a decrease in state general fund of $24.2 million
• We don’t use state general revenue for any of that.”
• “We don’t use state general revenue for any of that.

Committee: House Appropriations

Summary: The committee first heard a budget presentation on LSU Health Care Services Division and Lallie Kemp Medical Center. Staff reviewed HCSD’s roughly $74.7 million budget, much of it tied to legacy obligations for former LSU hospital systems and support for Lallie Kemp. Committee members asked about prisoner care, risk management costs, declining admissions and emergency visits, and the hospital’s 340B drug program. Lallie Kemp officials explained that prisoner care serves multiple state and local facilities, that lower admissions largely reflect more patients being placed in observation status, and that the in-house 340B program provides major savings to patients and the prison system. Members also asked about care for unhoused patients and the hospital’s discharge practices, and the hospital said social services works to find placement when possible. The committee then moved to the Louisiana Department of Health budget, which was presented as just under $23.5 billion, with Medicaid making up more than 90 percent of the total. The presentation covered the Office of the Secretary, Office of Public Health, Office of Behavioral Health, Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, and Medicaid. Major items included the new Rural Health Transformation Program, the transfer of several functions from DCFS to LDH under the One Door initiative, changes to SNAP administration, and large Medicaid adjustments driven by enrollment, utilization, and federal policy changes. Testimony also highlighted the statewide crisis hub and 988, the commodity food program for seniors, women’s health and maternal outcomes, and the department’s efforts to modernize technology and reorganize services. Members questioned LDH officials on a wide range of budget and policy issues, including the rural health grant, crisis services, Medicaid redeterminations, provider taxes, physician and hospital supplemental payments, nursing home rates, HCBS funding, and the impact of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act. LDH said the rural health grant would support workforce, technology, and care-delivery improvements; that the crisis hub and mobile crisis units are being expanded to improve access and reduce emergency room use; and that the department is working to keep the SNAP error rate below 6 percent to avoid a projected state cost increase. Officials also said they expect to return next year with additional funding requests for HCBS and other programs, while emphasizing that current budget changes are largely meant to realign funding with actual expenditures and new federal requirements. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's also on page 100 of... yeah, so it's like half the General Fund, half of our 50% of our budget,
• It's also on page 100 of... yeah, so it's like half the General Fund, half of our 50% of our budget,
• It's also on page 100 of... yeah, so it's like half the General Fund, half of our 50% of our budget,
• <c> uh</c><03:36:36.399><c> General</c> of uh General of uh General funds funds funds the<03:36:40.960
• </c> general fund appropriation correct of general fund appropriation correct of several<03:42:38.880

Summary: The committee held a work session on the Department of Business and Economic Affairs budget, with testimony from Chase Hegman and Kathy Frederickson. Early discussion focused on staffing and vacancies, including a senior planner position tied to FEMA requirements, a program assistant funded by federal ORID dollars, a program specialist being considered for reclassification, two Housing Champions positions to be funded in the next biennium, and temporary welcome center positions. Members also reviewed the commissioner’s office, indirect cost recoveries tied to federal program administration, and the structure and staffing of rest areas and welcome centers, including the Turnpike-funded locations and seasonal staffing patterns. Members then moved through economic development and federal grant-related accounts. Hegman explained that a large share of the agency’s funding is federal, with some programs requiring state match, including the Apex Accelerator, which supports government contracting assistance for businesses. He described Apex as a small team that helps businesses with DOD and other contracting opportunities through webinars, matchmaking, and one-on-one support. The Office of Workforce Opportunity was described as largely federally funded through Commerce-related workforce programs and subrecipients, with some general fund support for agency-wide needs. The Northern Borders Regional Commission dues and capacity grant were also discussed, with officials explaining the state’s required contribution and the federal funds used to administer the program. A major point of discussion was the proposed reduction to the Small Business Development Center, which officials said provides one-on-one technical assistance to new and small businesses and has a strong return on investment. Members questioned the cut, the federal funding sources, and whether there was a waiting list for services; officials said they would provide more detail on matching requirements and funding. The committee also reviewed travel and tourism accounts, including the joint promotional grant program and tourism advertising funds, both of which are proposed to increase. Officials said the tourism marketing formula is based on a percentage of meals and rooms tax revenue and argued that the spending generates significant visitor spending and tax revenue, citing an outside ROI study and examples of advertising in test markets. No votes were taken during the work session.

Transcript Highlights:

• It calls for 5.3 gigawatts of new generation by 2030.
• One of the things is the power generation.
• So as our construction of the generation resources progresses over that period of time, the data center
• You know, what are some of the forms of energy generation that the data centers use? Good morning.
• You know, what are some of the forms of energy generation that the data centers use?

Committee: House Utilities

Summary: The Missouri House Committee on Utilities held an informational hearing on data centers, with the chair saying the goal was to hear different perspectives and better understand the issue before future legislation. No public testimony was taken, but three invited speakers presented: a labor representative, an Ameren Missouri executive, and a consumer advocate. The discussion focused on the economic benefits of data centers, including construction jobs, local hiring, apprenticeship opportunities, tax revenue for schools and local governments, and related spending by Missouri businesses. The labor witness described current Montgomery County projects, said hundreds of Missourians were already working there, and argued that closed-loop cooling and generator noise were manageable. Committee members also raised questions about water use, noise, cybersecurity, local hiring, and how much tax revenue a project could generate annually. Ameren’s Rob Dixon said Senate Bill 4 and the PSC’s large-load tariff provide key protections for ratepayers by requiring large customers to pay their own interconnection costs, sign long-term contracts, post collateral, and pay for most of their requested load even if they use less. He said those rules help prevent costs from shifting to other customers and that large loads can put downward pressure on rates by contributing to fixed system costs. Dixon also said Ameren is planning for significant new generation, including gas, nuclear, hydro, coal, and renewables, and that data centers are subject to the same load-shedding and emergency restoration rules as other customers. He noted that the protections apply to investor-owned utilities, not co-ops or municipal utilities. John Kaufman of the Consumers Council of Missouri argued the PSC protections are still too weak and warned that data centers could raise rates through construction work in progress, stranded generation costs, and other risks if projects are delayed, shrink, or fail. He urged stronger consumer protections, more upfront financial commitments from data centers, and greater transparency for ratepayers, while also suggesting community benefit agreements and cautioning against over-reliance on utility projections. Several members pushed back on his characterization of Senate Bill 4 and QIP/CWIP provisions, and the hearing ended with the chair thanking the witnesses and adjourned the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• Generally, of what kind of permitting is required in a rural area where there is no zoning and where
• It calls for 5.3 gigawatts of new generation by 2030.
• One of the things is the power generation.
• So as our construction of the generation resources progresses over that period of time, the data center
• You know, what are some of the forms of energy generation?

Committee: House Utilities