Transcript Highlights:

• Some of your employees might enjoy driving that as well then.
• Some of your employees might enjoy driving that as well then.
• We have absolutely no say, and those are employees of a dealership.
• The technicians are the employees of the dealerships, not the manufacturers.
• I have six employees on payroll.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• obligating about $2.5 million for salaries. obligating about $2.5 million for salaries just for the employees
• team members that I just spoke about versus who we've hired, I would say that if we hired them as employees
• Mobile mammography—everyone knows about these, but sustaining them, you know, there might not be very
• level, which is either the human service zone... ...level, which is either the human service zone employee
• , because some of our decisions are made by zone employees, or it will go to the department staff.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee was called to order, the roll was taken, and the March 18 minutes were approved. Members then received several project and program updates, beginning with CHI St. Alexius’s behavioral health buildouts in Bismarck, Williston, and Grand Forks. St. Alexius reported that the Bismarck project remains on track for June 2027 completion, with demolition underway and final design work nearing completion. Williston reported construction is progressing, staffing recruitment is underway for psychiatrists and other staff, and an air handler replacement is creating a roughly $750,000 unbudgeted barrier that will slightly delay the timeline. Grand Forks reported its expansion is about 30% complete, with no major barriers beyond weather, and leaders said the project should be substantially complete in the first quarter of 2027. The Department of Health and Human Services then presented a series of budget and program updates. Donna Ockland explained several recent line-item transfers as technical corrections that net to zero and do not require new spending, then reviewed salaries, wages, and FTE counts, noting the department remains within its authorized staffing levels. Pat Rainer followed with an update on the Rural Health Transformation Program, saying 12 opportunities have been posted, 422 applications received, and $8.4 million obligated so far, with a goal of obligating the full $199 million by September. He described grants for workforce retention, rural rotations and housing, community gardens, school wellness, behavioral health promotion, safety net services, equipment, technology, EMS, and other initiatives, emphasizing that the program is intended to be transformational and tied to metrics. Members asked extensive questions about how rural eligibility is defined, how grants will support both rural facilities and hub hospitals, and how future years of funding will build on current awards. The committee also heard an update on certified community behavioral health clinics from Elena Zeller, who said North Dakota has been accepted as a demonstration state, implementation is underway in Williston, North Central/Minot, Fargo, and Dickinson, and care coordination and service counts are increasing. Rebecca Askins then reviewed SNAP payment error rates, saying the 2025 rate was finalized at 9.89%, with the state aiming to get below 6% through policy updates, training, data tools, and a quality assurance team. Members pressed her on the causes of the error rate, the role of the SPACES software system, and the need for accountability and improvements. Finally, Dirk Wilkie reported the state laboratory project reached substantial completion on June 12 and is on budget at about $69.95 million, though a service elevator had to be redesigned because it was too small for equipment.

Transcript Highlights:

• obligating about $2.5 million for salaries... ...obligating about $2.5 million for salaries just for the employees
• team members that I just spoke about versus who we've hired, I would say that if we hired them as employees
• Mobile mammography.
• next level, which is either the human service zone, The next level is either the human service zone employee
• , because some of our decisions are made by zone employees, or it will go to the department staff.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the March 18 minutes, and then received a series of updates on major health-related projects and programs. CHI St. Alexius representatives reported progress on behavioral health buildouts in Bismarck, Williston, and Grand Forks, including demolition and construction milestones, staffing plans, and timelines. The Bismarck project remains on track for completion in June 2027 with about $346,500 spent to date. Williston reported construction underway, a $750,000 unbudgeted air handler replacement, active recruitment for psychiatrists and other staff, and a projected substantial completion in early 2027. Grand Forks reported about 30% completion, weather-tight status expected in August, and continued staffing ramp-up as the facility expands from its current 24-bed operation. The Department of Health and Human Services then reviewed a set of technical line-item transfers, emphasizing that they were administrative corrections with no net change in funding. The department also walked through the Salaries and Wages Block Grant and FTE counts, noting overall staffing remained within appropriated limits and that behavioral health staffing had increased. Members asked about vacancies, consultant use, and the mix of in-state versus out-of-state expertise for the Rural Health Transformation Program. HHS said it had posted 12 funding opportunities, received 422 applications, obligated $8.4 million so far, hired 26 people, and was preparing additional grant rounds and a CMS budget submission. The department said the program is structured around workforce, prevention/healthy living, care closer to home, and technology/data, with ongoing stakeholder engagement and community forums. The committee also heard on the certified community behavioral health clinic implementation plan, SNAP payment error rates, and the state laboratory project. HHS said CCBHC certification is being implemented in four regions—Williston, Minot/North Central, Fargo/Southeast, and Dickinson/Badlands—with care coordination expanding and baseline data still being collected. On SNAP, the department reported a 2025 payment error rate of 9.89%, acknowledged cost impacts under HR1, and said it is using training, system changes, and pre-authorization quality checks to reduce errors toward a 6% target over the next 6 to 12 months. Finally, Public Health reported the state laboratory reached substantial completion on June 12, with total costs at $69.95 million of the $70 million budget, though a service elevator issue will require a new lift to be added using contingency funds.

Transcript Highlights:

• and Chairman Devere, for year one, we are obligating about $2.5 million for salaries just for the employees
• I would say that if we hired them as employees, it would, and they were, you know, here today, it would
• Mobile mammography—everyone knows about these, but sustaining them, you know, there might not be very
• level, which is either the human service zone... ...level, which is either the human service zone employee
• , because some of our decisions are made by zone employees, or it will go to the department staff.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the March 18 minutes, and then received a series of updates on health-related projects and Department of Health and Human Services budget matters. Representatives from CHI St. Alexius in Bismarck and Williston, and Altru in Grand Forks, reported progress on behavioral health expansion projects, including demolition and construction milestones, updated timelines, funding status, staffing plans, and barriers such as an unbudgeted air handler replacement in Williston. Members asked about original completion dates, use of telehealth, recruitment of psychiatrists and other staff, and whether the new beds might reduce the need for patients to travel to Jamestown State Hospital. The projects were described as on track overall, with completion expected in 2027 for the larger builds and earlier openings for some phases in Williston. The committee then heard from HHS leadership on technical line-item transfers and the Salaries and Wages Block Grant. Donna Ockland explained that recent transfers were administrative corrections to place spending in the proper budget lines and did not involve new spending, and she reviewed FTE counts and vacancies across the department. Questions focused on behavioral health staffing changes and the use of consultants in the Rural Health Transformation Program. Pat Rainer outlined the rural health program’s first-year grants and priorities, including workforce retention, rural rotations and housing, community wellness initiatives, behavioral health promotion, safety net services, hospital equipment, suicide prevention training, technology, and EMS support. He said North Dakota’s plan was drawing positive national attention, but the department still needed to obligate roughly $199 million by September and was working with CMS on timing and compliance. The committee also received an update on certified community behavioral health clinics from Elena Zeller. She said North Dakota had been accepted as a demonstration state, with certification efforts underway in Williston, North Central, Fargo, and Dickinson. Members asked about care coordination, service growth, staffing, and whether certification would expand to all clinics; the department said it was still collecting baseline data and evaluating impacts before making future recommendations. Finally, Rebecca Askins reviewed SNAP payment error rates, explaining that the 2025 rate was finalized at 9.89 percent and that the department is working on training, system changes, and quality assurance steps to get below 6 percent. Members pressed on the causes of monthly variability, the performance of the SPACES system, and accountability for ongoing errors, and the department said it expects improvement over the next 6 to 12 months.

Transcript Highlights:

• In addition, there are challenges for all mobility users across the river right now, and challenges presented
• And so my employees will get what, if they’re out paving a driveway or a new parking lot or something
• And so do our employees, and so do the economies.
• And what do you expect to happen to your companies and to employees if this current funding for preservation
• Eighty to 90% of the staff working on the Interstate Bridge project are not ODOT and WSDOT employees;

Keywords: 907, all

Summary: The committee first received an informational update on the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project from Carly Francis and Travis Brower. They described the project’s purpose as improving seismic resilience, safety, freight movement, transit, and bicycle/pedestrian access across the Columbia River, and said the updated cost estimate is $13.2 billion to $14.4 billion for the full corridor. They explained the increase from the 2022 estimate as driven by construction inflation, a more conservative inflation curve, schedule delays, more detailed engineering, and risk modeling. They also outlined the funding plan, including $2.1 billion in federal funds, $1 billion each from Oregon and Washington, and $1.5 billion in projected toll revenue, and said they are working to obligate federal funds by the end of September. The panel described a first funded phase that would include the bridge, highway connections, tolling infrastructure, bridge removal, and transit design, with light rail to Vancouver still intended but dependent on additional funding. Members questioned the risk of losing federal transit funds, whether bridge design decisions were being made with legislative input, and whether the space reserved for light rail could be used for buses if transit funding does not materialize. The committee then heard testimony on maintaining Oregon’s existing roads and bridges from representatives of Knife River, the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon, and CRH. Witnesses said pavement and bridge preservation is severely underfunded, with ODOT needing about $400 million per year for pavement preservation but receiving roughly $100 million annually. They showed examples of deteriorating highways such as U.S. 97 and I-84 and argued that delaying maintenance leads to much higher reconstruction costs, more safety risks, and higher user costs. Knife River described layoffs and reduced work in Oregon because of limited preservation funding, while witnesses also said rising wages, equipment costs, fuel, and permitting delays are increasing project costs. Committee members asked about the role of prevailing wage, diesel equipment, hauling distances, and whether preservation work could be prioritized more effectively. Finally, economist Joe Cortright presented on recent ODOT megaproject cost overruns. He said Oregon has experienced persistent overruns driven by overly optimistic revenue forecasts, heavy reliance on debt, consultant costs, inflation above forecast, and projects that have become much larger in scope than originally presented. He cited major increases in the Interstate Bridge, Rose Quarter, and Abernathy Bridge projects and argued that some designs are far wider and more expensive than necessary. Cortright said better accountability, clearer priorities, and more disciplined project sizing are needed, and committee members pressed him on why agencies proceed with larger designs even when consultants recommend narrower, less expensive alternatives.

Transcript Highlights:

• pulling into the program to make really the operation of DOTD more efficient, make it easier on our employees
• Currently, through Mobile to New Orleans, we would have to get, I think, additional dollars to take care
• I know there's been reports and testimony of employees writing their own contracts and all that.
• And I'm assuming you're aware of that in regards to the chief of police writing his own employee employment
• However, no matter how good a government employee is doing their job, we still have to have oversight

Summary: The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee met on May 20, 2026, with a quorum present and no minutes available for approval. The committee first heard HB 181, which would let the legislative auditor review income tax data to verify eligibility for Medicaid and, at LDH’s request, SNAP. The auditor said the work would be limited to internal data testing under sharing agreements and not disclosed to third parties. After questions about privacy and duplication, the bill was reported favorably to the floor without objection. The committee then took up HB 906 on presidential preference primaries and party nominating petitions. The Secretary of State and bill author said the measure would let major parties decide whether unaffiliated voters may participate in their primaries, with 180 days’ notice to the state, and would keep party rules consistent within presidential years so elections can be programmed properly. Several senators raised concerns that the bill would disenfranchise no-party voters and give parties too much control, but supporters said both major parties had approved the approach. The committee voted 4-3 to report the bill favorably. Members also advanced HB 398, which would require the judiciary to use the federal GSA meal per diem rate instead of the current higher state judicial rate; HB 1052, which strengthens confidentiality protections for child abuse investigations handled by child advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams; HB 1245, which protects witness criminal history records from unintended public release in clerk of court records; HB 202, which requires state civil service or hiring agencies to notify applicants when a vacancy is filled or they are rejected; HB 540, which requires disclosure of paid digital election advertising; HB 9, designating stuffed shrimp as a Louisiana specialty; HB 1057, extending the validity of absentee-by-mail applications for military voters from one year to two; HB 225, proposing a constitutional amendment to limit governors to two lifetime terms; HB 177, allowing retired court reporters to contract with former public employers; and HB 459, requiring disclosure when campaign materials use AI, with amendments adopted after discussion of First Amendment and campaign finance concerns. The committee also rejected an amendment to HB 1057 that would have expanded Sunday early voting in certain parishes. After the bills, the committee held confirmation hearings for James Kelly and Charles Wilkinson to the Board of Supervisors of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, both of whom described education and workforce development backgrounds and were favorably received.

Transcript Highlights:

• Bill 2353 is a common-sense modernization effort that supports workforce development, professional mobility
• We still have to have all of our employees fingerprinted with the state, submit our fire and health code
• That means that my employee that started in February a couple weeks ago got fingerprinted in January.
• to have a rap-back program that the FBI reviews every two years, and I make sure that all of my employees
• need to have a rap-bat program that the FBI reviews every two years and I make sure that all of my employees

Keywords: 959, house, all

Summary: The committee continued a public hearing on House Bill 2897, which would expand optometrists’ scope of practice. Supporters, including Dr. Kelly Deering, said optometrists are trained to perform the listed office-based procedures, that rural Missouri lacks access to ophthalmologists, and that the bill would reduce wait times, travel burdens, and costs while helping retain students and practitioners in the state. Opponents, including representatives of the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, argued the bill does not guarantee rural access and said the procedures should remain within the medical/surgical training of physicians. Members also questioned training on live human eyes and how suspicious lesions would be handled. No vote was taken, and the hearing on HB 2897 was closed. The committee then heard House Bill 2353, which would create a licensing and sign-and-seal framework for interior designers and move oversight to the board that includes architects, engineers, land surveyors, and landscape architects. Sponsor Rep. Sherri Gallick and supporters said the bill modernizes regulation, recognizes accredited education and NCIDQ testing, and would let licensed interior designers take responsibility for non-structural interior design work without hiring an architect to stamp plans. Opponents from the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers and others said they were still negotiating but remained concerned about scope-of-practice language, especially phrases like “all interior design of buildings” and “publicly occupied buildings,” which they said could create overlap with architecture and engineering or unintended obligations for public entities. Testimony also focused on whether unlicensed interior designers would still be allowed to work under carve-outs. No final action was taken. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2241, which would create a separate framework for certain faith-based residential child care facilities to operate without a state license while registering with the state and meeting background-check, reporting, and oversight requirements. Sponsor Rep. Jamie Gregg and MACA representatives said the bill is intended to expand foster placement capacity for children in need while preserving the religious mission of Christian homes, and they cited federal and state initiatives encouraging partnerships with faith-based providers. Opponents argued the bill would create a two-tier system, weaken state licensing protections, and risk placing vulnerable children in facilities without the same direct oversight, inspections, and reunification safeguards as licensed foster homes. Members raised concerns about abuse history at some faith-based homes, the role of the proposed board, and whether religious practices or other mission-based rules would conflict with child welfare standards. The hearing continued with additional testimony; no vote was reported.

Transcript Highlights:

• issues with companies facing higher cost to operate or not being able to get insurance, well, they're mobile
• throughout the process of discovery once they identify that that person, whether they be a sub or an employee
• Do you guys have a large number of employees? I don't know. I don't kind of large.
• some of our campgrounds, and then, like, five years later, is just a long time for a lot of our employees
• when you're trying to insure your business, when you're trying to sell your business, hamstrings employees

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 1645, which would reduce Missouri’s general personal injury statute of limitations from five years to two years for claims after August 28, 2026, while also extending the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims from 10 years to 20 years after the victim turns 21. Representative Overcast and supporters from the insurance and business communities argued the change would improve Missouri’s business climate, lower insurance costs, and align the state with most others; opponents, including trial lawyers and victim advocates, warned that shortening the filing window would harm injured adults and sexual abuse survivors who need more time to come forward. Representative Sites supported the child sexual abuse expansion but said broader retroactivity work was still ongoing. No vote was taken in the hearing itself, but the bill drew both support and opposition testimony. The committee then heard House Bill 1610 and House Bill 2182, both of which were described as similar proposals to shorten the general civil statute of limitations, with HB 1610 moving from five years to three years and HB 2182 moving from five years to two years. Supporters repeated the same business-climate and insurance-rate arguments, while opponents repeated concerns about access to justice and the time needed to investigate complex injuries. Several witnesses from the insurance, chamber, farm bureau, railroad, and business groups testified in support, and some said they preferred two years over three. The chair noted the testimony was largely repetitive across the bills, and the hearings concluded without recorded votes in the transcript. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2714, which would change Missouri from a pure comparative fault system to a modified comparative fault system, barring recovery if a plaintiff is found more than 50% at fault. The sponsor and supporters said the bill would make Missouri more business-friendly and more consistent with neighboring states, while opponents from the trial bar argued it would unfairly cut off recovery for injured people and that juries already apportion fault under current law. Testimony focused on how fault percentages are determined, the effect on settlements and trials, and examples such as car crashes and product liability cases. The hearing ended with continued opposition testimony and no final committee action reported in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• expansive increase to our reporting requirements, down to the number of hours every single CAL FIRE employee
• I talked about that out of our 12,555.5 employees, they're all doing some level of prevention, but when
• expansion to get down to the granular detail, to give you hour by hour of all 12,000 of those plus employees
• It's mobile. How's that? Better? Okay.
• We believe this may attract former, previously trained employees back to the department who left for

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• local fire departments around the state to call for air assets before a wildfire goes to state mobilization
• to try to increase our percentage of suppressed fires and limit fires that go to state mobilization.
• local fire departments around the state to call for air assets before we, a wildfire goes to state mobilization
• A wildfire goes to state mobilization to try to increase our percentage of suppressed fires and limit
• fires that go to state mobilization.

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard public testimony on House Bill 2598, which would create a Salmon Advisory Commission made up of tribal leaders, state agencies, legislators, and local governments to develop recommendations on salmon and steelhead recovery. Prime sponsor Rep. Lekanoff described the bill as a way to bring executive, legislative, and tribal leaders together on salmon recovery and treaty obligations. Staff noted a fiscal note of roughly $35,000 in out years. Supporters emphasized salmon’s cultural and treaty importance and the need for coordinated leadership, while the lone public testifier, Todd Myers of Washington Policy Center, opposed the bill as another statewide layer of bureaucracy and argued that recovery efforts should focus more on local, watershed-level action. The committee noted 10 signed in pro, 886 con, and one other, but no vote was taken on the bill in the hearing. The committee then heard House Bill 2620, which would repeal the recently adopted Forest Practices Board rule expanding riparian buffers on non-fish-bearing streams and impose new standards for future riparian buffer rulemaking, including an economic viability standard for the timber industry and additional consensus and alternative-analysis requirements. Rep. Dent said the bill was intended to restore communication and collaboration in the forest practices process. Testimony was sharply divided. Tribal representatives and environmental advocates said the rule was the product of a long, science-based adaptive management process under the Forest and Fish framework and was needed to protect water quality, salmon habitat, and treaty rights; they argued the bill would undermine that process and conflict with Clean Water Act compliance. Forest industry and small forest landowner witnesses supported the bill, saying the process had lost trust, ignored alternatives, and imposed significant economic harm on rural communities and family tree farms. DNR and Ecology testified in opposition, saying the rule was based on science and that the bill would weaken water-quality protections and jeopardize HCP compliance. The committee recorded 592 signed in pro, 489 con, and one other, with no vote taken during the hearing. After the public hearings, the committee moved into executive session on five bills. Staff briefly described House Bill 2104, which would make permanent the Aviation Assurance Funding Program for wildfire response; House Bill 2348, a DNR request bill on land and material sales advertising; House Bill 2544, which would require an adjudication process for the Upper Columbia River with a proposed substitute; House Bill 2554, which would repeal Initiative 456 concerning state declarations on tribal natural resource management; and House Joint Memorial 4009, urging federal action on wildland firefighting consolidation. The committee then recessed briefly for caucus and began executive action, starting with a motion to report House Bill 2104 out of committee with a do pass recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• She moved into a mobile home, set up a generator, and her focus for her family was to be living on the
• When we talk about affordability and therein, our heirs, myself included, we're looking at mobile homes
• In 1976, there was a mobilization on the land grant by the Chilili Land Grant Association and heirs,
• Mobilized heavily.
• But they may have already been there and sitting on the land since 2020, and as a mobile home, which

Transcript Highlights:

• including subscription alert services that generally are opt-in and wireless alerts that are sent through mobile
• Management Assistance Grant program, otherwise known as FMAG, which reimburses states for eligible mobilization
• In January, when severe fire weather and wind conditions were projected, Cal OES mobilized resources
• They're mobilized.
• They're mobilized. Whatever organization structure, the local governments assume there are several.

Summary: The committee heard a broad public safety budget hearing focused on youth justice funding, probation incentive grants, and disaster response and recovery. On the youth justice item, the Office of Youth and Community Restoration described a proposed change to the JJRBG funding formula that would shift resources away from a DJJ-based measure and toward county youth population, serious offenses, and step-down placements in less restrictive programs. Members asked about data on Native American youth; OYCR said statewide data are limited, but its SYTF data show about 1% of youth in secure youth treatment facilities were Native in 2024. The Department of Finance had no objections, and the item was discussed as a way to support alternatives to long-term incarceration. The committee then reviewed the community corrections performance incentive program for county probation departments. The Department of Finance proposed stabilizing the program with a maintenance payment, updating the performance baseline, and adding a growth factor; the LAO agreed the formula needed changes but recommended using 2022-23 data instead of 2021-23, using marginal rather than average cost assumptions, rejecting the growth payment and minimum guarantee, and adding stronger oversight through the BSCC. Finance said it was open to some technical changes but opposed a new BSCC audit framework, noting Judicial Council already surveys probation departments and that evidence-based practice use has increased over time. Members and staff indicated the proposal still needed further work. A major portion of the hearing focused on the January 2025 Southern California wildfires and state disaster response. A resident of Altadena gave emotional testimony about evacuation failures, loss of home, and the need for accountability. LAO and Cal OES outlined the disaster response and recovery system, including mutual aid, alert and warning, debris removal, FEMA and state funding streams, and the long timeline for reimbursement. Cal OES said it had pre-positioned resources, temporarily took over the county’s wireless emergency alert function for about three weeks, coordinated debris removal and recovery operations, and had already allocated more than $286 million in state funds. Officials also discussed the 100% federal cost share for emergency work for 180 days and the uncertainty created by changing federal processes and the cancellation of the BRIC resilience program. The committee also heard two smaller Cal OES items: a request to reappropriate about $22 million for the law enforcement mutual aid reimbursement program, which the LAO said should be placed in statute with clearer goals and reporting, and an update on Victims of Crime Act funding, where Cal OES said federal VOCA allocations have fallen sharply and that roughly $224 million would be needed to maintain current service levels if federal funding does not improve. Public comment included a request for funding to expand datacasting and emergency alert receivers for wildfire and earthquake warning.

Transcript Highlights:

• the bilingual component with a cost differential of 0.15 for English learners, and removing the mobility
• And then finally, student mobility, and that's essentially students moving in and out of schools because
• research has shown that mobility negatively impacts student performance.
• This would eliminate the mobility component and would actually establish a new foundation.
• just as a reminder for folks, are English learners, economically disadvantaged students, and highly mobile

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for your work to protect our sidewalk vendors, mobile food operators, and our immigrant communities
• you gave, which I can see why they'd want to, I've been involved in a lot of employment surveys of employees
• you gave, which I can see why they'd want to, I've been involved in a lot of employment surveys of employees
• It's a way that it actually turns it back into an at-will employee under the guise of, you know, having
• You're having an issue, you're an at-will employee and go.

Summary: The committee heard multiple bills, with extensive discussion focused on short-term rental regulation, street vending, park/public safety financing, transit-oriented housing fees, and demographic data collection. SB 346 would require short-term rental platforms to provide local governments with listing addresses and related information to help collect transient occupancy taxes and enforce local ordinances; supporters argued cities and counties need the data to identify unlicensed operators and recover taxes, while opposition from platforms raised privacy and due process concerns and said administrative subpoenas already exist. The bill was amended and passed 7-0 to the Judiciary Committee. SB 635, the Street Vendor Business Protection Act, sought to protect street vendors’ personal information from being shared in ways that could expose them to federal immigration enforcement; supporters described raids and fear in vendor communities, and the bill passed 6-1 to Public Safety. SB 499 would clarify that certain park and recreation facilities designated in local safety or hazard mitigation plans can qualify for fee deferral exemptions when they serve emergency or public safety functions; supporters said parks can serve as fire buffers, evacuation sites, and recovery hubs, while some housing advocates sought a clearer nexus to development impacts. The bill passed as amended 6-0 to Appropriations. SB 358, which would modernize traffic impact fee rules to better reflect lower automobile trip generation for walkable, transit-oriented housing, drew support from housing and transportation advocates and passed 8-0 to Appropriations. SB 515, aimed at improving demographic data collection and reporting by local governments and state entities, passed to Appropriations on a 4-0 vote. The committee also took up SB 276, presented by Assembly Member Stefani on behalf of Senator Wiener, which would allow San Francisco to create a permit-and-enforcement system for the sale of commonly stolen goods on sidewalks. Supporters said the measure is needed to address fencing operations and protect legitimate vendors, while emphasizing it is narrowly targeted and not aimed at food vendors or permitted sellers. The transcript ends during testimony on SB 276, with supporters from the Mission street vendor community and San Francisco Public Works describing enforcement problems and the need for clearer rules and city resources.

Transcript Highlights:

• Every breakthrough from personal computing to the internet to mobile technology has built upon that,
• systems, which streamline government efficiencies and operations and improve efficiencies for state employees
• which offers a lot of options as of now, but it does not offer the option of an individual state employee
• option of an does not offer the option of an individual<00:05:20.759><c> state</c><00:05:21.160><c> employee
• </c><00:05:22.360><c> designating</c> individual state employee designating individual state employee

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:12 SB 4 (Sen. Mays Bledsoe): 01:34 SB 58 (Sen. Webb): 04:53 SB 117 (Sen. Madon): 07:40 SB 121 (Sen. Wheeler): 10:52 SB 237 (Sen. Howell): 13:09 SB 71 (Sen. Boswell): 18:54 SB 174 (Sen. Nunn): 38:18 SB 176 (Sen. Nunn): 40:54 SB 183 (Sen. Nunn): 42:31 Adjournment: 49:51, 958, all

Summary: The Senate State and Local Government Committee met and first considered Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Sen. Bledsoe, which would create a risk-based AI governance framework for state government and address AI-generated misinformation in campaigns and elections. The sponsor said the bill came from the AI task force and is intended to promote transparency, accountability, and responsible use of AI while distinguishing between internal and external systems. The committee took a roll call vote and reported the bill out 7-0. The committee then heard Senate Bill 58, sponsored by Sen. Webb, which would allow Kentucky Retirement System benefits to be designated to a Special Needs Trust for a beneficiary. Webb said the bill would help families of special-needs children preserve benefits for supplemental needs such as adaptive equipment, technology, and medical or dental care not covered by government programs. He said retirement systems had provided no-impact letters, and the bill passed 7-0. Members also approved Senate Bill 117, which would let cities adjust incentive payments for training by appointed and elected city officials and remove the statutory minimum from ordinance requirements, and Senate Bill 121, which would authorize county judges to contract with rescue groups to deal with wild horse herds in rural areas. SB 117 passed 10-0 and SB 121 passed 10-0. The committee then took up Senate Bill 71, as amended by a committee substitute, dealing with local library board appointments. Sen. Boswell said the bill was a compromise but that he preferred removing KDLA from the process entirely; library representatives opposed the committee substitute and said they wanted KDLA out of the selection process. Several senators expressed conditional support but said they wanted further changes, and the committee adopted the substitute and reported the bill out after a roll call vote with 10 yeas and 1 pass, with members noting they expected further floor amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• that direction, there's going to be a need to do a lot more infrastructure, a lot more transit and mobility
• that direction, there's going to be a need to do a lot more infrastructure, a lot more transit and mobility
• that direction, there's going to be a need to do a lot more infrastructure, a lot more transit and mobility
• that direction, there's going to be a need to do a lot more infrastructure, a lot more transit and mobility
• There's going to be a need to do a lot more infrastructure, a lot more transit and mobility, certainly

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard several transportation and arts-related measures. HB 307 on special member plates drew written support from Protect Ohana, and HB 531 on a University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center specialty plate received strong support from the Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society, both emphasizing cancer research, patient care, outreach, and public awareness. HB 706 would require skateboard users under 16 to wear helmets, and HB 1231 would expand red light photo enforcement; both drew support from transportation and safety advocates, while the Judiciary raised concerns about citation volume, staffing, manual processing, and the need for consultation and a phased rollout. The committee also discussed HB 54, which increases penalties for repeated excessive speeding offenses; the Attorney General’s office supported the enforcement rationale and fingerprinting language, while the Public Defender opposed the bill, arguing it adds harsh penalties and jail time despite broader efforts to reduce excessive punishment. For the camera-enforcement bills, the Department of Transportation said the red-light and speed-camera programs would be expanded gradually, with existing intersections converted first and additional locations added over time, and noted that the system would require about $2 million and significant automation for the Judiciary. The Judiciary repeatedly asked for more time, public input on camera locations, and effective dates that would allow staffing and system changes. On HB 1166, which funds the automated speed enforcement program, DOT proposed technical amendments to make the citations non-moving violations and to align the statute with the red-light program; the Judiciary again said it had no position on the policy but needed time and consultation to absorb the workload. HB 235, a North Shore red-light imaging bill, drew similar Judiciary concerns and support from a testifier who said enforcement would improve compliance and reduce crashes. The committee also heard HB 1159 on commercial harbor evacuations, with Hawaii Emergency Management Agency supporting the bill as a way to give harbor masters enforceable authority to order vessels out during emergencies. The discussion focused on whether the measure would affect all commercial harbor users, including smaller fishing vessels, and whether it would conflict with Coast Guard authority; the bill’s proponents said it would let the state enforce orders already issued by the captain of the port and protect cargo lanes during crises. Finally, HB 17 on the Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority was described by HCDA as a housekeeping and structural bill that would update its purposes, allow it to assist other agencies, and replace multiple county boards with a single program reporting to the 17-member board. DHHL supported the bill because of potential transit and infrastructure benefits for Kapolei and nearby homestead developments, and committee members discussed future financing tools such as improvement districts, TIF, and other mechanisms to fund infrastructure early in the development process.

Transcript Highlights:

• We hired an organizing team, so we had salaried staff employees, also volunteers, working to gather signatures
• You know, we are the folks who have been doing the work on the ground, mobilizing and talking with people
• who have... ...work on the ground about mobilizing and talking with people who haven't been involved

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions held a public hearing on Initiative Petition 25-12, H.503, a proposal to implement all-party state primaries for Massachusetts state and federal elections. The committee opened with procedural remarks explaining Article 48 requirements and then heard first from two subject-matter experts. Professor Costas Panagopoulos of Northeastern University testified that top-two primary systems in other states have produced mixed results: they may modestly increase primary turnout in some cases, but the research does not show a reliable reduction in polarization, and such systems can weaken party gatekeeping, increase strategic behavior, raise campaign spending, and reduce general-election choice for voters whose preferred party is not on the ballot. Katie King of the National Conference of State Legislatures outlined the different primary models used nationwide, explained that Massachusetts currently uses an open-to-unaffiliated primary, and reviewed legal distinctions between blanket primaries and top-two systems; she noted that blanket primaries were struck down by the Supreme Court, while Washington’s top-two system was upheld because it narrows the field rather than nominating party candidates. She also said voter education and administrative preparation would be important if the system changed. The proponents’ panel, led by Danielle Allen of the Coalition for Healthy Democracy, argued that Massachusetts has chronically uncompetitive elections, low turnout, and too many uncontested races, and that all-party primaries would give every voter a meaningful choice in the first round and force candidates to appeal to a broader electorate. Allen said the proposal is designed specifically for Massachusetts and differs from other states by allowing party endorsements to appear on the ballot, which supporters said would preserve useful information while shifting control of the preliminary election from party insiders to voters. Jim Henderson, the coalition’s counsel, said the bill is narrowly tailored to state-level primaries and would amend Chapter 53 to put all voters on equal footing. Other supporters, including Kevin Johnson, Kate Kavanaugh, and Spencer Reynolds, emphasized that the reform could increase competition, reduce polarization, improve participation by independents and underrepresented voters, and create more accountability to the full electorate. Committee members pressed the witnesses on turnout, the practical effect of endorsements, whether the proposal would simply shift party influence to an earlier stage, and whether it could disadvantage minority-party or independent candidates. Senator Fattman repeatedly asked about evidence that turnout would materially increase, while Representative Peisch and others questioned whether requiring or seeking endorsements would create new barriers or pressure candidates to clear the field. Supporters responded that the system would modestly increase primary participation, that the general election would remain the decisive contest, and that endorsements would be optional and handled through party rules. No vote was taken at the hearing; the committee heard testimony and questions only.

Transcript Highlights:

• individual or individuals presenting the governor's maps today, as well as any other state officer, employee
• I did want to talk about population mobility—moving from one place to the other.
• So do we have any model that would be able to account for population mobility? You recognize Mr.

Summary: The Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting met to consider HB 1D, which would establish Florida’s congressional districts using the governor’s proposed map, EOG PCRP 26. Representative Persons-Mulicka briefly introduced the bill, and Jason Jazeel and Jason Pareda of the governor’s office presented the legal rationale and map details. Jazeel argued that mid-cycle congressional redistricting is not prohibited, that the governor’s position is to draw districts without considering race, and that federal equal-protection principles should control over state race-based redistricting provisions. Pareda said he drew the map alone using 2020 census data and census blocks, while also considering population growth estimates, traditional redistricting criteria, and county/city boundaries where feasible. Pareda described the map as race-neutral and said it keeps 48 counties whole, 382 cities whole, and has a boundary-analysis score of about 85.7%. He walked through regional changes, including major revisions in South Florida, adjustments in Central Florida, and changes in the Tampa Bay area, explaining that population shifts and the need for exact congressional population equality drove many of the district configurations. Members questioned the timing of the special session, the use of 2020 census data versus newer population estimates, the role of the legislature versus the governor, the legal basis for mid-decade redistricting, and whether the map complies with the Voting Rights Act and Fair Districts amendments. Motions to place witnesses under oath and to extend the committee meeting by 30 minutes both failed. During public testimony, every speaker who was heard opposed the map. Commenters argued that the proposal was a partisan power grab, would reduce Democratic and minority representation, and violated the Florida Constitution and voting rights protections. Several speakers criticized the short notice and lack of public input, while others said the map would confuse voters or split communities. The chair repeatedly reminded attendees to maintain decorum and limited each speaker to about one minute.

Transcript Highlights:

• The specific issue there was about mobile ultrasound units and people going to them just wanting to get
• Now, that's inside the confines of a direct supervision by a physician delegating to an employee, which
• sleep centers, urgent care clinics, cancer centers, outpatient imaging centers, infusion centers, mobile

Bills: HB611, HB897, HB902, HB931, HB1030, HB1092, HB1100, HB1118, HB1138, HB1143, HB1160, HB1185, HB1216

Keywords: pregnancy help centers, healthcare services, licensure, Department of Health, medical services, counseling, regulatory compliance, public health, healthcare data, privacy, pregnancy services, confidentiality, client rights, Louisiana Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative, trauma-informed, child education, mental health, training program, adverse childhood events, religious instruction

Transcript Highlights:

• He was a fighter for the employees at Walter Reed and nurses and support staff that...
• impossible to utilize billions of dollars of resources without oil rigs, pipelines, LNG, mines, saw mills, mobile
• impossible to utilize billions of dollars of resources without oil rigs, pipelines, LNG, mines, saw mills, mobile
• impossible to utilize billions of dollars of resources without oil rigs, pipelines, LNG, mines, saw mills, mobile
• impossible to utilize billions of dollars of resources without oil rigs, pipelines, LNG, mines, saw mills, mobile

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 1012, house, all