Transcript Highlights:

• the proper place, and in my opinion the higher ed board is the proper place for that, even if we attach
• generated by higher education data, and it was utilized 15 years ago or so to come up with weights attached
• What's the weight attached to that? How much is that?
• It incentivizes us along the way with more weights attached as they get further through school, but there's
• programs where they're doing research work, Ph.D. programs, there's going to be a higher weight attached

Summary: The Higher Education Funding Review Committee met to continue work on a draft higher education funding formula and related capital building fund changes. Lisa Johnson of the North Dakota University System updated the committee on the board’s developing policy for low-producing academic programs. She said the board is using a five-year rolling window, with thresholds of fewer than 10 undergraduate graduates or fewer than 5 graduate graduates, and that programs flagged in three consecutive review cycles would go to the board for review. Possible outcomes include continuation, continuation with modifications, inactivation, or termination. Members asked about how the policy would account for enrollment, program costs, workforce need, and programs that serve students outside their major. Johnson said the board would likely use an accompanying procedure to consider those factors. She also reported that about 200 programs could potentially be reviewed under current guidance, with 135 inactivated and 112 terminated, and said the process is intended to support quality and stewardship rather than simply cut programs. Jamie Wilkie then reported on the Capital Building Fund. He reviewed the fund’s history, matching requirements, and use for extraordinary repairs, deferred maintenance, and some legislatively authorized projects. He said about $334 million in state and matching dollars has been invested overall, with roughly 78.7% going to deferred maintenance and extraordinary repairs. Committee members pressed for updated information on how much deferred maintenance has actually been reduced, and several members said they wanted clearer reporting on the return on investment from new buildings versus repairs. NDSU representatives said the tier funding has helped significantly reduce deferred maintenance and allowed demolition and renovation work on campus. The committee also discussed the need for updated five-year facility plans and space-utilization information from the institutions. The committee then began a section-by-section review of a draft bill that would replace the current higher education funding formula with an FTE-based model and restructure the capital building fund. The draft would fund UND and NDSU differently from the other nine institutions, use fall enrollment rather than completed credits, add performance funding for completions in in-demand fields, create research incentives for UND and NDSU, and combine capital building fund tiers while changing matching requirements and eligible uses. Members raised concerns about the treatment of professional students, the use of CIP codes, incentives for waivers, and whether the formula should rely on more current data. The committee did not take final action on the draft during this meeting, but it continued detailed discussion and indicated more review would follow.

Transcript Highlights:

• You each have a pinwheel on your desk, and attached is more information about how you can get involved
• :40:21.800> your<00:40:21.920> desk on your desk on your desk and<00:40:23.360> attached
• is<00:40:24.000> more<00:40:24.200> information<00:40:24.800> about and attached
• is more information about and attached is more information about how<00:40:25.160> you<00:40:
• It's really an important topic that we don't deal with often enough because there is stigma attached,

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, approved the journal, and received a series of committee reports and appointments. Reports included favorable action on several bills from Finance, State Veterans and Military Affairs, and Business, Labor, and Technology, along with a recommendation to place some measures on the consent calendar. The chamber also moved through a long set of personal-privilege tributes and April Fools’ Day remarks recognizing Senate President James Coleman, the House, and various guests and organizations, with a few lighthearted fines announced for members participating in the joke tributes. On third reading, the Senate considered three consent-calendar House bills. House Bill 1024, concerning voluntary relinquishment of a child and extending the age from 72 hours to 30 days, passed 35-0. House Bill 1002, dealing with access to behavioral health providers and related licensing and network participation changes, passed 30-5 after several senators recorded no votes. House Bill 1023, clarifying a political party’s liability for certain accessibility requirements related to ballot access for persons with disabilities, passed 35-0. The Senate then took up House Bill 1259, an early childhood services measure affecting licensing exemptions, reimbursement, universal preschool funding, eligibility, reporting, and advisory bodies. A substantive third-reading amendment was adopted 35-0 after discussion about the bill’s treatment of 3-year-olds, and the bill then passed 32-3. House Bill 1058, providing protections for minors featured in digital content, passed 33-2. The chamber also granted, then withdrew, leave for the Joint Budget Committee to meet while the Senate was in session, and later moved into Committee of the Whole for second reading of House Bill 1120, a mobile-home taxation and delinquent property tax measure, where the Finance Committee report was adopted and an amendment was discussed to align legal-disability language and redemption-period provisions.

Transcript Highlights:

• The response was that the proposal calls for an attached agency for administrative purposes, borrowing
• The response continued that the office would be attached to the department for administrative purposes
• The speaker clarified that the proposal calls for an attached agency for administrative purposes, attached
• The speaker said the proposal calls for an attached agency for administrative purposes, attached to the

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs met on March 19, 2025, and heard testimony on several firearms-related bills. HB 125 would require firearm sellers or transferors to provide buyers notice about secure storage laws, expand secure-storage requirements, and clarify criminally negligent storage. The Department of Law Enforcement and the Department of Education supported the bill. The Office of the Public Defender raised constitutional concerns under District of Columbia v. Heller and suggested narrowing the bill so a firearm need not be made inoperable when the lawful owner is home. Supporters, including Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, veterans, and other advocates, said secure storage would reduce accidental shootings, youth access, theft, suicides, and school shootings. Opponents argued the bill was redundant, could criminalize victims of theft, and imposed strict liability. The committee noted 24 individuals in support and 103 in opposition. The committee also heard HB 137, which would impose a mandatory prison term for violent felons who violate firearm or ammunition possession prohibitions. DLE, the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office, and the Hawaii County Prosecutor supported the measure, arguing it targets repeat offenders and strengthens public safety. The Office of the Public Defender opposed mandatory sentencing, saying judges already have discretion to impose lengthy sentences and that mandatory terms can be inappropriate in some cases. The committee then heard HB 392, which would prohibit ghost guns and establish mandatory minimum sentencing for use of a ghost gun in a felony. DLE and the Honolulu Prosecutor supported it, while the Public Defender and several opponents said parts of the bill were redundant or could create definitional problems; the committee recorded five supporters and 70 opponents. HB 995 would amend deadlines for annual firearms carry reporting by the Attorney General and county police chiefs. The Attorney General’s office and HPD supported the bill, with the Attorney General asking for more time for police departments to submit complete data and for the April 1 deadline to be removed. The committee also heard HB 664, which would create an Office of Gun Violence Prevention, a grant program, a resource bank, and a special fund. The Department of the Attorney General supported the concept but recommended consolidating the new office’s duties with the existing Gun Violence and Violent Crimes Commission to avoid duplication and possibly repealing the existing commission statute. DLE supported HB 664, while the Tax Foundation objected to the special fund. No votes or final committee actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• I received an email this morning at 7:56 a.m., and all I got was this email with no attachments.
• asked that this information be given, and I received an email this morning at 7:56 a.m. with no attachments
• All I got was this email with no attachments.
• 54.840> what<00:01:55.000> was<00:01:55.240> said<00:01:55.719> was attachments
• and um what was said was attachments and um what was said was that<00:01:57.240> they<00:01:57.520

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Committee on Higher Education met on February 6 and began with decision-making items. SB 663, concerning additional positions for the University of Hawaiʻi College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, was deferred again after the chair said the university’s response did not include the requested details on vacant positions, recruitment status, and fill dates. The chair said the committee needed the full information before considering new positions, and the university apologized for treating the request as informal rather than a formal committee inquiry. The committee then discussed SB 672, relating to capital improvement projects for the Y. Manalo Research Station. University representatives said the project had been identified late because of timing and that they were still developing a broader plan for SEAR research facilities. The chair questioned how the project fit within the university’s existing Board of Regents-approved CIP priorities and whether any current priorities should be displaced. The university said it could not unilaterally reprioritize the budget, and the measure was deferred pending better direction on how it fits into the overall plan. For SB 557, which would require the John A. Burns School of Medicine to direct a study on physician and dentist recruitment and retention for Maui, the committee heard strong testimony in support from Maui health care providers and community representatives. Supporters described severe shortages of physicians and dentists, long waits for care, and the need for housing, loan repayment, scholarships, transportation, and telehealth support to retain providers. The university said it was willing to help and suggested the work could be done through existing rural health and AHEC efforts. The bill was kept alive for further work, with the chair encouraging the parties to develop a plan. The committee also heard SB 1107, establishing a medical education position at JABSOM to support ECHO-style mentorship and guidance programs. The university opposed the bill, saying it did not believe the measure addressed a problem that needed fixing and that Hawaiʻi already has five ECHO clinics administered through the Hawaiʻi State Rural Health Association, not JABSOM. The committee then took up SB 1204, concerning integration of the Kakaʻako medical school and cancer center. University leadership asked for time to develop a plan and timeline, possibly with an external consultant, and requested the bill be withdrawn. The chair expressed skepticism, citing long-standing concerns about the cancer center’s finances and planning. Testimony included support from the American Cancer Society and a patient who warned that integration could jeopardize the cancer center’s NCI designation and clinical trials, while a university vice president said the NIH P30 grant does not require the cancer center and medical school to remain separate and that many NCI centers are integrated. No final votes were taken on the measures discussed in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• types of permit that are most relevant to the work that this task force is doing and the processes attached
• to... ...the processes attached to those permits.
• And under state law, there are a generic set of conditions that will automatically attach to any automatic
• Automatically attach to any automatic approval.
• They're attached to us, but they do their own thing. >> And the rest of them are the state residential

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I just really feel I wish all members of the legislature to be on this committee because you get attached
• I just really feel I wish all members of the legislature to be on this committee because you get attached
• I just really feel I wish all members of the legislature to be on this committee because you get attached
• I just really feel I wish all members of the legislature to be on this committee because you get attached
• I just really feel I wish all members of the legislature to be on this committee because you get attached

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The committee took up a large bonding bill and reviewed the final spreadsheet of capital investments. Chairs and members repeatedly thanked staff, House and Senate negotiators, and the Governor’s team for a collaborative process. The bill was described as a statewide package rather than a partisan one, with major funding for higher education asset preservation, DNR projects, public safety, transportation, the Met Council, veterans facilities, corrections, DEED/local projects, and a large water infrastructure section. House Fiscal staff and Senate fiscal staff walked through the bill line by line. Highlights included University of Minnesota and Minnesota State asset preservation, education and language immersion school funding, DNR trail and flood mitigation projects, public safety facilities, local road and bridge grants, Met Council parks and I/I grants, veterans home and armory funding, corrections projects including the Faribault vocational expansion, and many local economic development and public facility projects across Greater Minnesota and the metro. The bill also included Public Facilities Authority water and wastewater grants, housing rehabilitation funding, historical society grants, a Minnesota Zoo operating transfer, airport appropriations, and several cancellations of prior appropriations to help finance the package. Members generally praised the bill and the bipartisan work behind it. Some Republicans emphasized the one-time license fee reduction and affordability, while also saying DEED’s business development infrastructure funding was too low. Senator Nelson highlighted long-awaited transportation projects such as Highway 14 and township roads. Senator Dibble supported the transportation investments but criticized the bill for having no transit funding, calling that a major omission. No vote was recorded in the excerpt, but the discussion centered on final review and support for moving the bonding bill forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• They've requested, they're a director, they're just attached to me.
• If my recollection is correct, you know it's administratively attached.
• At one time, it was administratively attached to DFA. At some point in time, it moved to RLD.
• We are the only state in the country that has it attached to a regulation and licensing entity.
• No, we don't even administer; they're just attached to us.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then we had a conversation before the meeting about, well, what if we just attached some of those
• And then we had a conversation before the meeting about, well, what if we just attached some of those
• And then we had a conversation before the meeting about, well, what if we just attached some of those
• program evaluators, we had some discussions off the record just before the meeting about whether we attach

Summary: The task force first approved the March 25, 2026 minutes as amended, including a correction removing language that suggested the auditor’s office would contract with a security vendor. Members then moved to a bill draft on concessions (LC 27.0161.00000), which would raise the competitive solicitation threshold from $25,000 to $50,000, allow requests for proposals in addition to bids, clarify that proceeds go to the entity’s operating fund or general fund, and make other technical updates. OMB explained the draft and answered questions about scope, fragmentation, vendor restrictions, school districts, and whether concession proceeds could be directed to nonprofits; OMB said the draft could be refined further, including clarifying covered entities and contract length. No vote was taken on the draft during the discussion. OMB also reported on other survey items. It said a proposal to broadly allow agencies to create pre-qualified architect/engineering/land surveying vendor pools would not move forward, because the existing authority is working well for the agencies that already have it. On legal notices, OMB said it has been working with the North Dakota Newspaper Association on modernization, including an ADA-compliant online notice system and possible statutory updates to reflect changing technology and notice definitions. On click-through agreements for routine IT purchases, OMB and the Attorney General’s office said policy clarification—not statutory change—was enough, and the $20,000 threshold was intended to distinguish low-dollar adhesive contracts from purchases where terms can be negotiated. The committee also heard that OMB and the Center for Distance Education had resolved questions about alternate procurements and food/beverage expenditures through existing policy, so no statutory changes were needed there. North Dakota University System representatives gave a brief update on ongoing collaboration with OMB on statutory efficiency ideas, including concessions and surplus property. Finally, the task force discussed a draft on requirements for new or expanded spending programs, which would require agencies to identify purpose, expected benefits, alternatives, success measures, and full implementation costs, and would require reporting on outcomes over time. Members debated whether OMB or Legislative Council should collect and report the information, how to use the new program evaluators, whether real-time dashboards should be used, and how to choose which programs to evaluate; staff from Legislative Council said they would work with OMB and the auditor’s office to revise the draft and process.

Transcript Highlights:

• eliminating two bathrooms, and also reducing area in the shared training room and garage space and the attached
• garage, creating... ...and garage space, and the attached garage, creating a total of 12,636 square
• Highway Patrol, 5,572 square feet for BCI, 2,382 square feet of shared space, and 2,129 square feet of attached
• This attached garage is intended to be used for HP vehicles when needed, for searching vehicles in an

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Budget Section Leadership Division met with a quorum and approved the March 18 minutes. The committee first heard an update from the Petroleum Council on oil and gas activity in North Dakota. Ron Ness said production is expected to remain relatively flat at just under 1.2 million barrels per day, with efficiency gains and longer laterals helping offset lower rig counts. He discussed oil and gas prices, gas taxation, flaring concerns, northward movement of drilling activity, and the importance of new infrastructure and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) pilots. Members asked about gas taxation, natural gas liquids, pipeline impacts, and the outlook for Continental and other operators. Ness said the industry is likely to remain steady rather than see a major ramp-up or decline. Matt Pearl of the State Tax Department then explained the federal “big beautiful bill” and its effect on North Dakota income tax collections. He said the law extends or makes permanent several federal provisions and creates temporary deductions for seniors, tips, overtime, and auto loan interest, with the biggest state impact coming from the standard deduction increase and business tax changes. He revised earlier estimates downward, saying the net cash impact on state collections is likely in the $30 million to $35 million range after accounting for business prepayments and one-time FY25 oilfield transaction effects. Committee members asked which provisions apply to standard versus itemized returns. OMB staff gave a detailed update on major capital projects and facility funding. Topics included Capitol grounds improvements such as 18th-floor renovations, wayfinding, seating, lighting, tree management, and restroom and lobby upgrades; security work at the governor’s residence, which has been delayed by the discovery of human remains; and space reconfiguration efforts in Bismarck-Mandan to reduce leases and create shared offices and conference rooms. They also reported on the State Facility Maintenance Fund, including roof, window, boiler, and kitchen projects at state facilities, and on the state hospital project in Jamestown, which remains on budget and on schedule for substantial completion in winter 2027 and opening in spring 2028. OMB also updated the committee on the Minot North Central State Office Building, the use of federal State Fiscal Recovery Funds, and the status of legislative intent and trust fund reports, including school aid turnback, the school construction loan program, the Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund, the Legacy Fund, and the Strategic Investment and Improvements Fund. The committee ended by discussing future agenda items, including government efficiency, cash management, Bank of North Dakota lines of credit, and the rural health transformation program, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it was mentioned on the House floor here tonight that there were some other things attached to that
• tonight that there were some other here tonight that there were some other things<00:25:42.080> attached
• things attached to that bill. things attached to that bill. Right?

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• That fiscal note will eventually be attached to this as well. Okay.
• Bill 5246 seeks to revise the statute which established the Space Commission and the Consortium by attaching
• the Consortium. to the commission while maintaining that the commission remains attached to the Office
• The original intent was to attach the debit card. The technology exists today to make it happen.

Bills: SB524, SB782, HB42, HB1056, HB2894, HB3033, HB3474, HB3594, HB4738, HB5246, HB42

Keywords: SB 524, Texas franchise tax, veteran-owned business, new veteran-owned business, business tax exemption, filing fee exemption, Tax Code Chapter 171, Business Organizations Code, Comptroller, small business, veterans, entrepreneurship, tax repeal, privilege tax, beginning date, franchise tax exemption, severance tax, oil, gas, restimulation wells

Transcript Highlights:

• Stable funding could mean the program goes away and there's no liabilities with funding attached to it
• and there's no liabilities<00:24:29.919> with<00:24:30.080> funding<00:24:30.480> attached
• <00:24:30.799> to<00:24:30.919> it liabilities with funding attached to it liabilities
• with funding attached to it um<00:24:32.000> so<00:24:32.320> we<00:24:32.480> have

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The Office of Public Defender is an attached agency to the Department of Budget and Finance. division
• for the office of public defender<00:06:28.800> is<00:06:28.960> an<00:06:29.120> attached
• table where we had address, uh, total amount of lots specific to our, uh, budget request is that attachment
• table where we had address, uh, total amount of lots specific to our, uh, budget request is that attachment
• Hawaii is in a good place in the sense that all my divisions attached work very well with our federal

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:02:05.760> to<01:02:06.000> the attached to the it's attached to the attached to
• It took a year for my house to get attached to it and they saying no more.
• It took a year for my house to get attached to it and they saying no more.
• It took a year for my house to get attached to it and they saying no more.
• attached to it and they saying no more. attached to it and they saying no more.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And if I believe that attaching this to that bill is going to doom it on the other side of the body and
• if<01:35:52.000> I<01:35:52.239> believe<01:35:52.800> that<01:35:53.280> attaching
• c><01:35:53.920> this<01:35:54.239> to<01:35:54.400> that if I believe that attaching
• this to that if I believe that attaching this to that bill<01:35:55.199> is<01:35:55.520>

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This slide deck is attached in the testimony for Senate Bill 2401 since it's the first one this morning
• So this really is the preventative effort that's attached to this grant and is core of the principle
• of a lot of times we're focused on some... ...attached to this grant and is core of the principle of

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Joint Policy Committee met to hear an overview of North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program before taking up the related policy bills. Department of Health and Human Services staff explained that the state received a $198.9 million CMS award, with funding focused on four pillars: strengthening rural workforce, bringing care closer to home, connecting technology and data, and improving population health through prevention. They emphasized that the program is intended to benefit rural and frontier residents statewide, including areas near urban centers when the project serves rural patients, and that CMS approval, provider readiness, and sustainability will drive what can be funded. Committee members asked about how the program would treat border communities, frontier counties, urban providers serving rural patients, multilingual outreach, tribal consultation, and whether there would be information sessions for applicants. HHS said the website will include sign-up and translation features, more listening sessions and training will be offered, and a rural health tribal liaison will work alongside the existing Medicaid tribal liaison. Members also raised concerns about reimbursement timing, cash flow for providers, and whether projects in urban areas could qualify; HHS responded that urban projects may be eligible if they clearly benefit rural residents. The department then outlined the four policy bills tied to the grant scoring: nutrition continuing medical education for physicians, the presidential fitness test, the physician assistant compact, and pharmacist scope of practice. HHS said these policy actions were incentivized in the federal funding opportunity and that failure to pass them could reduce future funding. The committee did not take final action on the bills in this portion of the transcript and recessed for lunch before moving on.

Transcript Highlights:

• Can you imagine that many of these assets are attached to bonds.
• now propose forcing a public vote on a highly technical and complex process of school district attachment
• Well, while our district's existing debt makes attachment impractical for us, other communities across

Bills: HB4, HB54, SB 10, SB 24

Keywords: district composition, congressional election, Texas, legislature, voting districts, citizenship, U.S. citizen, non-citizen, public office, advisory board, task force, state government, local government, political subdivision, commission board, appointment eligibility, officeholder qualifications, public service, naturalization, Texas Government Code

Transcript Highlights:

• Testimony attached to it. Those bills will be taken up after we come back from the floor.
• behind the wheel of that truck, the uniformity of a standard, especially when you have units of power attached
• initial bill was laid out, or when the initial legislation was passed, crops, even though they're attached

Bills: HB246, HB796, HB 1056, HB1544, HB1846, HB2001, HB2618, HB2625, HB2869, HB2898, HB3069, HB3114, HB3157, HB3228, HJR98, HB246

Keywords: federal directives, state authority, Tenth Amendment, government enforcement, local governance, gold standard, legal tender, currency, transactional currency, financial transactions, electronic payment systems, state finance, regulatory compliance, electric trucks, charging infrastructure, advisory council, transportation, sustainability, criminal penalties, official information

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:59:48.080> here voluminous part in the attachments here voluminous part in the attachments
• to elaborations on this point, as well as three attachments.
• Attached to that, which is Attachment B here, is an explanation.
• Attached to that, which is Attachment B here, is an explanation.
• Attached to that, which is Attachment B here, is an explanation.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > public<00:57:12.559> housing attached agencies, Hawaii public housing attached agencies
• have the leads of our attached agencies. have the leads of our attached agencies.
• We also have our administratively attached agencies.
• Uh administratively attached agencies.
• to our other administratively attached to our other administratively attached agencies<05:33:40.638

Keywords: 910, house, all