Transcript Highlights:

• But then when you actually interact with technology, what you see is people realize it's not what they
• It first began with a feasibility study.
• It then moved to a feasibility study and then to the Hawaii Department of Transportation applying for
• But you also noted that you keep the information for a certain amount of time, what's feasible.
• Lastly, for the odometer capture, at that point, since there's no kind of technological integration in

Summary: The Assembly Transportation Committee first took up three highway naming resolutions on its consent calendar: ACR 109, SCR 78, and SCR 90. The committee approved the consent calendar with 11 aye votes and no no votes, then adjourned the bill-hearing portion. Members also recognized committee science fellow AJ Mendeola for his service, noting his contributions to bill analysis and staff support. The committee then held an informational hearing on alternatives to the gas tax, focused on the projected decline in fuel-tax revenue and the need for a more sustainable transportation funding model. The chair and invited experts described how inflation, improved fuel efficiency, and growth in electric and other alternative-fuel vehicles are eroding gas-tax revenues. Presenters from the National Conference of State Legislatures and the University of California discussed state options such as higher or indexed gas taxes, EV registration fees, road usage charges, delivery fees, public EV charging fees, transportation network company fees, and managed lanes, emphasizing tradeoffs among revenue adequacy, fairness, administrative cost, and public acceptance. Committee members raised concerns that mileage-based fees or EV fees could function as new taxes on commuters and lower-income drivers, especially if the gas tax is not repealed. Presenters responded that road usage charges are generally intended as replacements for the gas tax, not additions, and argued that mileage-based systems better preserve the user-pays principle while being less tied to vehicle fuel efficiency. They also noted that flat EV registration fees are easy to administer but can be less equitable because they are not linked to actual road use. Officials from Hawaii, Utah, and Oregon described their state programs and policy choices. Hawaii said its new road usage charge began July 1, 2025, for EVs, offers a choice between a per-mile charge and a flat annual fee through 2028, and will transition to mandatory EV participation before expanding to all light-duty vehicles by 2033. Utah described its voluntary EV road usage charge program, quarterly reporting, privacy protections, and legislative scenarios for removing the cap or making participation mandatory. Oregon outlined its constitutional cost-responsibility framework and broader transportation funding challenges, including reliance on user fees and limited use of general-fund support.

Transcript Highlights:

• For us, bringing in the out-of-state timber graders just wasn't feasible. I have four slides.
• Would it be feasible for Mescalero to share in that bioplant, or would that be too far?
• I would like to take credit for it, but I can't; that was the head of our Information Technology.
• But there's technology and, as long as you have data, there are systems out there where you can do a
• Technology is changing.

Committee: House Economic & Rural Development & Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> technology still needs to be developed. technology still needs to be developed.
• Um, and we really technologies.
• So the technology experimental basis.
• Um through that feasibility removal.
• So the feasibility... Sorry, I don't know what happened.

Summary: The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council met on May 27, 2026, approved the January 7 minutes and the day’s agenda, and reported no conflicts of interest. The executive director gave staff updates, including introductions of new staff member Cara Castanza and DNR liaison Jason Co., both of whom were welcomed by the council. Members were also informed about three minor easement/conveyance matters in the packet, including a small Bowser easement impact with about $1,600 returned to the Outdoor Heritage Fund, a Minnesota Land Trust easement request involving a DNR trout stream easement, and an access easement revision in Itasca County. The council also noted several upcoming dedication events and a June field tour in southeast Minnesota beginning in Winona on June 16, with visits to Whitewater WMA, bluff prairie and stream sites, and a river segment if a boat is secured. A major agenda item was a legislative session recap on the Outdoor Heritage Fund portion of Senate File 2077, the omnibus Outdoor Heritage Fund, Legacy, and Lands bill. Staff reported that all council recommendations were incorporated into the bill, which passed both chambers on May 17 and was expected to be signed by the governor. The fiscal year 2027 Outdoor Heritage Fund recommendations covered 53 programs totaling about $188.9 million, with the February forecast increasing the appropriation slightly so the final total was about $191.16 million; eligible programs were proportionately increased. Staff also highlighted a few changes made during the legislative process, including adjustments to the Roso Lake rehabilitation phase three project, the conservation partners legacy grant language, and statutory provisions affecting the council. The recap also covered policy changes in the bill: a public member term limit of eight years, with a short vacancy exception and transition rules for current members; a revised executive director hiring process allowing the Legislative Coordinating Commission to provide support while preserving the council’s final hiring authority and permitting closed meetings for candidate discussions; and an extension of the Upper Mississippi River invasive carp deterrent design deadline to June 30, 2027. Members discussed the Roso Lake amendment at length, with Senator Lang and Representative Burkel explaining that the added delay and injunction-related language were intended to address local concerns and preserve the council’s process while litigation proceeds. The meeting ended without any additional formal action beyond receiving the updates and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• It can also mean that the project needs to deploy renewable energy technologies.
• Technology reforms are the lowest hanging fruit for bipartisan action.
• One of our priority technologies is electricity transmission.
• And then if a site is feasible, it's still going to have to move under an environment.
• and economically feasible.

Committee: Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

Keywords: environmental review, permitting process, infrastructure, bipartisan legislation, economic growth, Nucor, West Virginia

Summary: The meeting focused on critical discussions surrounding the need for modernizing the federal environmental review and permitting processes. Witnesses from various sectors, including Nucor, provided testimony on the delays and costs associated with current regulations, emphasizing the impact on infrastructure and economic growth. Major projects in West Virginia, such as the Corridor H and Coalfield Expressways, were highlighted as examples of initiatives stalled by excessive permitting hurdles, prompting calls for bipartisan legislation to streamline these processes while maintaining environmental protections. The committee expressed a commitment to address these issues immediately, highlighting the urgency to enhance efficiency in permitting to facilitate economic development.

Transcript Highlights:

• Maybe move that up because that is prepared and doesn't take too much technology.
• </c><00:04:51.520><c> that's</c> doesn't take too much technology that's doesn't take too much technology
• It takes several hours, and, you know, it's amazing with the technology we have today how fast we can
• But that technology was not here then, and we had the parlor technology, and we're still using the same
• </c> then and we had the Parlor technology then and we had the Parlor technology and<00:27:23.440><c>

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, but anyway, another question is, is it technologically possible where, like on pumps like this
• Representative Busick, I think there is technology there.
• So to expect them to put in one of those pumps is really not feasible. Thank you.
• Representative Busek, I think there is technology there.
• So to expect them to put in one of those pumps is really not feasible. Thank you.

Committees: House Agriculture , House Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> geothermal exploration feasibility geothermal exploration feasibility extraction<00:19:45.360><c
• Bowan's opinion concerning where we are with the technology for clean things up. Sure.
• </c> and the reason is because the technology and the reason is because the technology is<00:43:18.720
• for clean things with the technology for clean things up<00:43:59.240><c> sure</c><00:43:59.920><c>
• The technology was poor when we built the third boiler.

Committee: Senate Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The committees first heard Senate Bill 151 relating to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and geothermal development on Hawaiian homelands. DHHL and Ulupono Initiative testified in strong support, saying the measure would help advance clean energy goals, create economic opportunities, and support DHHL’s mission. Fine Electric also supported the bill. Several members of the public testified in opposition, raising concerns about consultation with beneficiaries, water impacts, land issues, and the scale of the proposed spending. In response to questions, DHHL staff explained slimhole drilling, the permitting distinctions between water exploration and geothermal exploration, and said prior studies and geophysical testing had been done. The chair then recommended passage with amendments, including SMA technical amendments, a directive to establish a permitted interaction group to study geothermal options, removal of the appropriation language, and a new effective date. The committees adopted the recommendation and passed SB 151 with amendments, with one senator voting no and several excused. The joint committees then took up Senate Bill 371 on property damage to critical infrastructure facilities. The Department of the Attorney General supported the bill with amendments, recommending broader critical infrastructure language to cover systems such as transportation, gas, power, water, and oil, and suggesting additional changes to improve prosecution. Utility and other supporters also testified in favor. The chairs proposed adopting the AG’s amendments except one, and further expanding the bill to make manslaughter explicit when a death results from disruption of critical infrastructure, and to add water as a covered infrastructure category. The committees adopted the amended recommendation and passed SB 371 with amendments. Finally, the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs committee heard Senate Bill 585 on special purpose revenue bonds for Bana Pacific. The Attorney General noted a possible issue with the company’s entity status and the bill title, but Bana Pacific stated it was in the process of converting from an LLC to a corporation and was satisfied with the title. The State Energy Office supported the concept, and Bana Pacific described the project as an integrated biogas and green hydrogen facility that would support energy security, create jobs, and reduce emissions. The committee then moved on to Senate Bill 964 on waste-to-energy, where the State Energy Office offered supportive comments but many testifiers opposed the measure, arguing incineration is costly, polluting, and inferior to recycling. Written testimony showed more opposition than support, and public testimony focused on environmental and cost concerns.

Transcript Highlights:

• that a lot of these reactor technology companies are still...
• of the technology.
• The advanced nuclear technologies being discussed... ...in mind.
• We've talked about the different technologies that are underway.
• These technologies...

Committee: Joint Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• for a certificate of need and the time it takes for the certificate-of-need process limits the feasibility
• </c><00:05:16.720><c> of</c><00:05:16.919><c> this</c> process limits the feasibility of this process
• limits the feasibility of this option<00:05:18.400><c> finally</c><00:05:18.880><c> I</c><00:05:18.960
• </c><00:12:25.199><c> is</c> um nation is going where technology is um nation is going where technology
• Much of those investments are in the U.S. and outside of traditional technology hubs.

Committee: Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate

Transcript Highlights:

• We don't know what all the various new technologies that might come online or new processes are, so that
• that might come online or technologies that might come online or new<00:26:49.399><c> processes</c><
• I understand that the undoing of the program is not politically feasible, so this bill narrows the number
• I understand that the undoing of the program is not politically feasible, so this bill narrows the number
• The program is not politically feasible, so this bill narrows the number of projects that would trigger

Committee: House Transportation Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> um look at technologies um look at technologies for<01:11:20.960><c> those</c><01:11:21.320><c>
• I mean, it seems if we're talking about new technologies or novel technologies, I mean, it's sort of
• or we're talking about new technologies or novel<01:12:01.760><c> technologies,</c><01:12:02.480><c>
• , newer technologies are hard to know, newer technologies are hard to scale<01:12:21.040><c> in</c><01
• </c> uh feasible. uh feasible. &gt;&gt; All<01:13:20.200><c> right,</c><01:13:20.400><c> thanks.

Bills: SB3326

Committee: House Energy & Environmental Protection

Summary: The joint committees on Energy and Environmental Protection and Labor heard SB 3326, a bill concerning a study of separating transmission from generation in Hawaii’s electric system. Testimony was largely opposed. Life of the Land argued that true separation on an isolated island grid has not been shown to work anywhere and said the bill would waste taxpayer money. Hawaiian Electric and the Public Utilities Commission also opposed the measure, saying Hawaii already uses competitive bidding for new generation, that the bill would add cost, complexity, and reliability risks, and that a new study would duplicate prior work. In response to questions, the PUC explained its existing competitive bidding framework and said it had not seen an island system fully restructure in this way. The chair then amended the bill’s intent to require the PUC to open a proceeding for an independent, comprehensive analysis of the state’s energy pathways, including cost reduction, financial risk, state energy goals, and reliability, rather than narrowly focusing on separation. Both committees voted to pass SB 3326 SD2 with amendments, with the Energy committee adopting the recommendation unanimously and the Labor committee adopting it with one reservation and two no votes. The Energy and Environmental Protection Committee then took up SB 2497 SD2, which would require electric utilities other than cooperatives to provide transparent, publicly accessible customer bill impact analyses and annual reports to the PUC. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the PUC offered comments, with the PUC supporting the intent. Life of the Land said the proposed disclosure requirements would be too complex for most ratepayers to use meaningfully, while Hawaiian Electric said the bill could raise costs and slow projects, though it acknowledged some of the language changes and said much of the information is already available through existing planning and regulatory processes. Hawaii Clean Power Alliance and one individual testified in support. No vote was taken on SB 2497 SD2 during the excerpt. The committee also heard SB 3183 SD2, which would bar higher-income taxpayers from claiming the renewable energy technologies income tax credit for certain residential solar systems and would change refundability rules. The Department of Taxation, the Hawaii State Energy Office, and the Tax Foundation offered comments, while the Hawaii Solar Energy Association and numerous companies and individuals opposed the bill. Opponents raised concerns about impacts on financing models and the solar market. Members asked the Department of Taxation for data on how credits are claimed by homeowners versus third-party owners and on the refundability of the credit; the department said it did not have the information immediately available but would follow up. The chair indicated decision-making would likely be deferred to allow further review, and no vote was taken in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• staff presenters, and all who are watching live on TVW, to the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology
• We obviously, Chair, members of the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee, I'm here on
• I haven't put a lot of effort into, you know, deciding or researching if there's feasibility in them.
• I'm the Director of Government Affairs for the Washington Technology Industry Association.
• They're dealing with definitions, and they are dealing with technical feasibility.

Summary: The Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee held public hearings on two bills. On SB 5609, concerning cultural resource reviews under SEPA, staff explained that the proposed substitute would require cultural resource review for certain categorical exemptions, including infill housing and some GMA-related projects, unless a local government has an approved data-sharing agreement, ordinance, or cultural resources management plan with tribal consultation. Senator Kauffman said the bill is intended to protect tribal cultural sites without stopping development. Supporters, including tribal representatives and some local officials, said early review and consultation can prevent irreversible damage and provide clarity; opponents from business, builders, and county planning groups argued it would add costs, delay housing and permitting, and shift too much authority to state-level review without clear timelines or standards. The committee took public testimony only and then closed the hearing on SB 5609. The committee then heard SB 6284 on high-risk artificial intelligence. Staff described requirements for deployers of high-risk AI systems to maintain risk management policies, conduct impact assessments, notify consumers when AI is used in consequential decisions, and report algorithmic discrimination to the Attorney General, along with disclosures for government agencies and an extension of the AI task force with a workplace subgroup. Senator Elias said the bill is intended to focus regulation on high-risk uses while preserving innovation. Testimony was mixed: consumer and student advocates supported the bill’s transparency and accountability measures, while industry, banking, insurance, hospital, and technology groups raised concerns about definitions, implementation, overlap with existing regulation, and possible effects on innovation or regulated sectors. The committee heard public testimony and then adjourned after closing the hearing on SB 6284.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> ATC's</c><00:01:48.560><c> as</c><00:01:48.720><c> they</c><00:01:48.880><c> are</c> technology
• ,<00:02:27.040><c> construction,</c><00:02:28.000><c> computer</c> technology, construction, computer
• technology, construction, computer science,<00:02:28.959><c> and</c><00:02:29.200><c> more.
• While House Bill 499 included the state-operated area technology centers in the funding formula, it's
• /c><00:10:18.800><c> were</c> earlier, area technology centers were earlier, area technology centers

Summary: The subcommittee met without a quorum and first heard from Kentucky Department of Education officials on career and technical education funding. KDE explained that House Bill 499 created a CTE funding formula using 60% weighted full-time equivalent enrollment and 40% incentives, but House Bill 6’s budget language excluded area technology centers (ATCs) from that supplemental funding. KDE requested approval of an additional budget request of $14,789,352 in each fiscal year 2027 and 2028 to include ATCs in the formula and hold local districts harmless. Officials said ATCs serve students from 117 of Kentucky’s 171 districts and argued the change would reduce funding disparities and better reflect the return on investment from CTE programs, citing growth in dual credit and work-based learning participation. Members asked whether the issue would need to be revisited each budget cycle. KDE responded that the problem could be fixed by removing the notwithstanding language from the budget bill, which they said would allow ATCs to be included under the existing statute. Representative Klein supported the request, saying the current clause could lead to stagnation and that the committee should help the program continue to grow. No vote was taken on the CTE item during the portion of the meeting provided. The committee then heard a presentation from PreK for All on expanding preschool access in Kentucky. Advocates said the state’s preschool program has been funded since 1990 and currently serves about 14,200 children at roughly $84 million per year, but that many working families still fall into a coverage gap. They proposed expanding eligibility to 250% of the federal poverty line, which they said would add about 9,600 children at a cost of $40 million in year two, after a planning year. The proposal also included regulatory flexibility for classrooms and partnerships with private child care providers and nonprofits, with speakers emphasizing child care deserts in some counties and citing research that early learning improves kindergarten readiness and later outcomes. No action or vote was taken on the preschool proposal in the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then this market technology, investments in smart grid technology, both on our laterals, on our feeders
• And then the smart technology, again, over 100,000 outages avoided with all the smart grid technology
• And we stress our technology. We stress our processes.
• So our self-healing technology is one piece of our portfolio of the storm protection plan.
• Now to the use of this technology, it's only impacting around 400 customers on average.

Transcript Highlights:

• These amendments have been proposed to make the timelines for verifying petitions more feasible for counties
• introduced provisions related to electronic voting and jails, which raise concerns about administrative feasibility
• By relying on modern technology, reliable data, and common sense, we can strike the right balance between
• By relying on modern technology, reliable data, and common sense, we can strike the right balance between

Committee: Senate Legislative Operations and Elections

Transcript Highlights:

• to cooperate with our state in an effort to move forward fast-tracking research and planning and feasibility
• And we're kind of at the cutting edge of technology right now, with INL supporting a lot of new technologies
• listened to me and worked really hard in order to take a look at the health of the aquifer, the feasibility
• and encourage developers who are concerned. ...to take a look at the health of the aquifer, the feasibility

Committee: House Resources and Conservation

Transcript Highlights:

• Is it feasible, like what is the feasibility of one that would be stood up and um if that is not already
• Is it feasible like what that process.
• Is it feasible like what is<00:28:40.800><c> the</c><00:28:40.880><c> feasibility</c><00:28:41.440><c
• And this doable and feasible and viable.
• </c><01:53:40.480><c> fund</c> cost, which we do have a technology fund cost, which we do have a technology

Bills: HF4277 , HF3819 , HF3489 , HF4408 , HF3901 , HF4316

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Keywords: child care, child care center, day care, licensed child care, video security cameras, surveillance, security cameras, maltreatment, child abuse, child safety, public and shared areas, camera mandate, child care assistance program, CCAP, Great Start Compensation Support, early learning scholarships, licensed provider, Minnesota Statutes 142B.68, Harvey's Law, privacy

Transcript Highlights:

• And the type of facility: what is its cooling technology?
• I want to switch gears entirely now to technology development and talk about the technology development
• It's the beginning of the technology development pathway.
• So that's representing our polar bear technology.
• That's that polar bear technology that I mentioned.

Committee: Joint Energy Development and Transmission Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to switch gears entirely now to technology development and talk about the technology development
• So this is the technology development pathway.
• So that's representing our polar bear technology.
• That's that polar bear technology that I mentioned.
• That's that polar bear technology that I mentioned.

Summary: The committee met in Grand Forks, approved the February 26 minutes by voice vote, and recessed for a tour of Minnkota Power Cooperative before hearing presentations on large energy consumers and related infrastructure issues. The first presentation, from the North Dakota Transmission Authority, focused on the need for better local decision-making tools for counties, townships, and planning and zoning boards facing major projects such as transmission lines, pipelines, data centers, wind, solar, and large-scale agriculture. The speaker urged more objective, data-driven analysis, noted that local officials often have limited time and resources, and said the state should support training and tools through groups like the League of Cities and the Association of Counties. Members asked about proactive outreach, data center ordinances, and how to avoid subsidizing large loads or causing reliability problems. The Division of Air Quality then discussed environmental oversight of data centers, emphasizing that North Dakota’s air remains among the cleanest in the country and that the agency’s role is limited to air, water discharge, stormwater, and waste—not zoning or water use. The presentation explained that data centers generally have low direct emissions but may rely on diesel backup generators when the grid is unavailable, which creates air-quality concerns; the department said it is requiring air monitors at some projects to collect real-world data and guide future decisions. Members asked about generator emissions, misinformation, monitoring costs, and staffing succession, and the agency said permit applicants pay for the monitors while the state handles some QA work. The Department of Water Resources followed with an overview of North Dakota water law and data center water use. The director explained the state’s prior-appropriation system, the public-interest review for permits, and the large overall water supply available from groundwater and the Missouri River. He said most proposed data centers use closed-loop cooling systems and generally request relatively small amounts of water compared with other uses such as power plants, irrigation, and oilfield operations, and that even a worst-case data center scenario would use only a tiny fraction of Missouri River flow. Questions focused on downstream impacts and comparisons to fracking water use, and the director said the state’s use is too small to materially affect downstream users. Later, McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd-Erickson testified online about data center zoning and permitting. He asked the committee to have Legislative Council gather information on how other states handle data center permitting and to keep the topic on the interim agenda. He argued that local zoning should remain local, but said counties lack the technical and legal resources to manage complex reclamation or bonding requirements and that state-level enabling legislation may be more appropriate. He also recommended eliminating tax incentives for data centers. The committee chair said staff would prepare a document on other states’ zoning and permitting approaches. After a lunch recess, the committee reconvened at the EERC, where CEO Charles Gorecki gave an overview of the center’s 75 years of work and its role in oil and gas, carbon management, and other energy technologies, highlighting enhanced oil recovery and carbon dioxide utilization as major opportunities for future production and tax revenue.

Transcript Highlights:

• to ensure that we and with technology to ensure that we can<00:21:34.559><c> maximize</c><00:21:35.520
• studies to see how our feasibility studies to see how our initiatives<00:43:22.160><c> are</c><00:43
• We want to make sure we take advantage of all the technologies that are available.
• I mean, that's the technology that's available. That's the market. Sorry.
• ><c> that's</c> mean, that's the technology that's mean, that's the technology that's available.<01:36

Summary: The committees received an informational briefing from Hawaii DOT and related partners on the Navahine settlement and the department’s plan to meet its climate and transportation commitments. Speakers described the settlement as a first-of-its-kind agreement rooted in the state constitution, the public trust doctrine, and prior legislative findings and laws, including Act 131. They said the settlement is intended to formalize DOT’s work, establish milestones, and keep climate and transportation policy less dependent on changes in administration. The presentation emphasized that transportation is Hawaii’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and that the plan is aimed at meeting 2030 and 2045 clean energy goals. DOT outlined several major implementation pieces: creation of a new Office of Energy Security and Community Outreach, formation of a youth council, and development of an emissions reduction plan that will be updated over time. The youth council reported on its membership, statewide representation, meetings, and work on charter, bylaws, and committees focused on policy and legislation, events and advocacy, and ground transportation. Youth members said they provided feedback on the energy security plan and discussed walk audits and safe routes to school. The department also described a new project-scoring tool to measure greenhouse gas impacts of every DOT project, which it said is intended to make Hawaii a national leader in evaluating transportation emissions. A major topic was the settlement’s transportation network requirement, which speakers said compresses roughly 15 years of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit network work into five years and will require about $40 million to $50 million per year over the next five years. They said a GIS map is being developed to identify gaps and that the work will involve counties and other partners, with benefits for safety, connectivity, and emissions reduction. Other topics included clean fuel standards, electrification of ground transportation, sustainable aviation fuel, marine fuel transitions, cold ironing at ports, and the costs and availability challenges associated with those transitions. DOT also reported progress on EV charging infrastructure, including two completed sites and more planned, and said it is using a sustainability partner contract to maintain chargers and recover only electricity costs. The briefing also highlighted carbon sequestration and fire mitigation work, including native tree planting. DOT said it has exceeded its minimum annual tree-planting commitment, with 3,000 trees planted in 2024 and 4,200 by mid-2025, and noted that the Legislature provided $15 million for fire mitigation that is being used for this work. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the informational briefing.