Transcript Highlights:

• in federal funds for child care<01:24:35.360> workforce<01:24:36.360> programs.
• the child care workforce incentive fund. the child care workforce incentive fund.
• fund.
• fund.
• fund.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, but that type of programming and providing for that funding, uh, law... providing for that funding
• We received 31 applications requesting $12.2 million in grant funding, supported by leveraged funds of
• , the use of those funds.
• Year one funds may not be spent, Year one funds may not be spent; federal funds may not be spent into
• With our workforce funds and, in particular, individual support, um...

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:04:10.879> very with companies who are developing very with companies who are developing
• Developers like Tract come in.
• Other considerations, of course, are workforce. Is there a skilled construction workforce?
• is there a skilled know Workforce is there a skilled construction<00:50:58.680> Workforce<00:
• 50:59.319> it<00:50:59.720> Workforce construction Workforce it Workforce construction

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ; it's an evergreen fund.
• Economic Development Act, Economic Development Closing Fund in the Economic Development Department.
• of funds.
• I ran a bill last year; the governor wouldn't message it for us to set up funds, so they developed something
• This trust fund will help improve access to care and increase the healthcare workforce.

Transcript Highlights:

• be ineligible to receive formula funding be ineligible to receive formula funding increases<00:04
• Taxpayers should no longer be forced to fund such practices, however well intended.
• <00:12:01.800> such forced to fund such forced to fund such practices<00:12:03.880> however
• Because of this bill, I work at educating and raising millions of dollars in funds.
• Because of this bill, I work at educating and raising millions of dollars in funds.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Standing Committee on Postsecondary Education met to consider House Bill 4, relating to postsecondary education. Before taking up the bill, the committee adopted a committee substitute. The substitute removed language creating a private right of action and immunity provisions, added a definition of “indoctrinate,” revised language tied to the Attorney General, and added a new section directing the Auditor of Public Accounts to review compliance every four years. If an institution is found out of compliance, it would have 180 days to cure the issue or become ineligible for formula funding increases in the following fiscal year, with an opportunity to petition the Attorney General. The substitute also added language barring licensing authorities from requiring diversity, equity, and inclusion training as a condition of initial or renewal licensure. Representative Decker presented the bill as an effort to end what she described as unconstitutional DEI practices in Kentucky’s postsecondary system and to refocus colleges on academic instruction, equal opportunity, and affordability. She argued that DEI offices and initiatives have cost taxpayers heavily and have not improved enrollment outcomes for low-income and underrepresented students. Michael Frasier, testifying in support, framed the bill as an equal-protection measure rather than simply an anti-DEI bill, saying it targets preferential treatment and discrimination while exempting traditional civil-rights compliance offices such as Title IX, disability, and other anti-discrimination functions. He also argued that the bill aligns with recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent and that Kentucky should shift toward socioeconomic-based approaches. Several members raised concerns about the bill’s assumptions and effects. Representative Willner questioned the claim that DEI initiatives caused enrollment declines and asked why the state would not make such programs more inclusive instead of eliminating them. Representative Stalker argued that the bill ignored decades of exclusion in higher education and asked what would replace DEI efforts aimed at closing achievement gaps and preventing brain drain. Supporters responded that the bill addresses unconstitutional preferences and that the state should move toward equal treatment and socioeconomic factors rather than race-based criteria. After discussion, the committee substitute was adopted, and the committee continued consideration of House Bill 4.

Transcript Highlights:

• Whereas not only will effective policies, practices, and funding investments to prevent, detect, and
• Whereas not only will effective policies, practices, and funding investments to prevent, detect, and
• Whereas not only will effective policies, practices, and funding investments to prevent, detect, and
• body has been a leader in developing body has been a leader in developing process<00:24:07.120><
• <00:25:20.960> that degree paths to train the workforce that degree paths to train the workforce

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then established a quorum with 34 members present. The chamber approved the journal from January 28, received notice that the House had passed House Bills 56, 320, 366, and 389 and requested concurrence, and heard a report that second-reading bills were sent to the Rules Committee. Committee reports advanced several measures, including Senate Bills 1, 3, 48, 84, 102, and 122, which were ordered to first reading and placed on the calendar. The Senate also received new bills and resolutions, including measures on SNAP benefits, unemployment insurance, medical licensing, proxy advisory services, child protection, disabled veterans, public school construction, and a concurrent resolution encouraging nuclear workforce training at Kentucky universities. The Rules Committee posted Senate Bills 20, 34, and 68 for the next regular orders, and the Committee on Committees referred Senate Resolutions 60, 61, 63, 64, and 65 to the floor. Senate Floor Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 3 was introduced. Several honorary and memorial resolutions were adopted, including Senate Resolution 63 honoring Reverend George Clifton Currington, Sr., Senate Resolution 49 honoring Dr. Jacqueline Sugarman, and Senate Resolution 31 designating Suits and Sneakers Day to recognize cancer patients, survivors, and advocates. Senators spoke at length about cancer awareness, personal family experiences, and Kentucky’s efforts to improve screening and treatment access. Announcements were made about an oversight committee meeting after adjournment and a Kentucky State Police Professional Association breakfast the next morning. The Senate adjourned until 9:00 a.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• And this is why the 36% of the reclamation program that is funded by the general fund, I think, is one
• And this is why the 36% of the reclamation program that is funded by the general fund, I think, is one
• And then $1.85 million goes back into the Lignite Research Fund, where we fund a whole bunch of projects
• Operator training, workforce development—we think it's a real asset that we want to have available to
• , and communities regarding infrastructure improvements, workforce development, economic benefits, and

Summary: The committee met at the Coteau Freedom Mine in Mercer County, approved the June 2 minutes, and heard an overview of the mine from Coteau Properties president Andrew Hawbaker. He described the Freedom Mine as the largest lignite mine in the United States, supplying coal to Dakota Gasification, Antelope Valley Station, and Leland Olds Station. He emphasized the mine’s scale, safety record, reclamation work, workforce needs, community involvement, and economic impact, including payroll, taxes, royalties, scholarships, and local hiring. Members asked about how long land stays in production, how quickly it returns to agriculture after reclamation, labor shortages, and how mining affects groundwater and water wells. Hawbaker said most tracts are mined for about three to five years, reclamation is coordinated with landowners, and the company continues to struggle to find electricians, welders, mechanics, operators, and engineers. The committee then heard from Public Service Commission Chairman Randy Christman on coal mining reclamation and permitting. He reviewed North Dakota’s coal mining history, the state’s reclamation laws, federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act primacy, bonding, permit renewals and revisions, prohibited mining areas, inspection and enforcement, and contemporaneous reclamation requirements. Christman stressed that North Dakota’s program is professional and thorough, with frequent inspections, financial assurance, and a 10-year revegetation monitoring period before bond release. He also discussed federal coal ownership issues that can delay mine plans, the treatment of prime farmland, and how reclamation differs for wind and pipelines. In response to questions, he said one challenge is sometimes releasing land too soon before long-term compaction issues are fully understood, and he noted that data centers do not currently have a comparable reclamation model because they typically own the land. In the afternoon, the committee received an update from Lignite Energy Council president Jonathan Fortner on the lignite industry. He said North Dakota’s lignite sector supports five commercial power plants, four mines, about 12,000 direct and indirect jobs, and more than $5.5 billion in economic activity, while helping keep the state’s electricity rates among the lowest in the nation. Fortner reviewed coal severance and conversion tax revenues, the lignite research fund, federal regulatory rollbacks, carbon capture policy, and the industry’s legal costs fighting federal rules. He also highlighted a study on large-load development, saying new data centers and critical mineral processing facilities could create major local tax revenue and help justify new baseload generation. Members asked whether new gas pipelines would crowd out coal plant development and whether the economic study included jobs and broader local impacts; Fortner said the industry sees room for both and that the study did include construction, operations, jobs, and tax effects.

Transcript Highlights:

• But the great part about the brain development in youth is that because their brains are still developing
• One funds, as well as our at-risk funds, in order to fund basically the positions here at our school:
• We did receive a little bit of funding this year, but it was one-time funding that will end at the end
• We recommend a multi-year approach to this funding that allows Boys and Girls Clubs to develop impactful
• We always are, yeah, let's fund it. Let's fund it.

Transcript Highlights:

• The petro fund has not seen a meaningful increase in funding over 20 years and needs this investment
• that matching funds can mean any non-federal funds, and another to extend the term over which grants
• The petro fund has not seen a meaningful increase in funding over 20 years and needs this investment
• that matching funds can mean any non-federal funds, and another to extend the term over which grants
• <00:51:39.839> which fund tank release cleanup fund, which fund tank release cleanup fund,

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Develop that framework that I talked about, with curriculum, certified nursing educators.
• How are compacts developed?
• Well, in general, they are developed at the national level with state input.
• While compact development may vary across compacts, there are some common steps.
• Licensing revenue is a major source of funds to support...

Summary: The committee heard and approved several health care bills. Senate Bill 68, by Senator Harrell, would require all hospital emergency departments to be prepared to treat children by maintaining pediatric equipment, staff training, written policies, a pediatric care coordinator, and completion/public posting of the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment. Senator Harrell said the bill is intended to improve pediatric emergency care in general hospitals, and the bill was supported by the Florida College of Emergency Physicians and the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It passed favorably. The committee also approved Senate Bill 154, which corrects the Mobile Act for dentists and dental hygienists by requiring graduates of out-of-state dental schools seeking licensure by endorsement to have attended a CODA-accredited school. The bill drew support from dental and dental hygienist groups and passed favorably. Senate Bill 40, by Senator Sharif, would require Medicaid managed care networks to ensure at least half of primary care providers offer appointments outside regular business hours, including evenings and weekends, to improve access and reduce emergency room use; it also passed favorably. A lengthy discussion centered on Senate Bill 254, also by Senator Harrell, which would tighten oversight of nursing education programs, create a temporary provisional license and preceptorship for new graduates awaiting NCLEX results, require remediation for low-performing programs, add standardized admission and exit-exam requirements, and allow the Department of Health to inspect programs unannounced. Supporters said the bill would improve quality and help students gain experience, while opponents warned it could reduce the number of nursing programs and worsen shortages, especially among private schools. After debate and testimony from nursing and school representatives, the bill passed favorably, with Senator Davis voting no. The committee then received an OPPAGA presentation on interstate health care licensure compacts. OPPAGA reviewed how Florida uses licensure by endorsement, telehealth registration, and compacts for nurses, psychologists, and physicians, and explained the potential benefits and drawbacks of joining additional compacts, including portability, data sharing, and emergency staffing versus costs, administrative burdens, and possible conflicts with Florida scope-of-practice laws. No action was taken on the presentation, and the meeting adjourned after Senator Davis requested to be recorded in support of SB 68 and SB 154.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:02:30.480> or traditionally through State funding or traditionally through State funding
• through the leaf program uh this funding through the leaf program uh this funding has<00:02:33.080
• <00:06:51.440> and to our farm to food shelf funds and to our farm to food shelf funds and
• shelf program started in 2015 funded shelf program started in 2015 funded through<00:07:31.479><
• <00:09:38.040> were a pound so obviously those funds were a pound so obviously those funds

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 24:20.000> exclusively about fund federal funding exclusively about fund federal funding exclusively
• The support we provide through this program includes workforce development, English language classes,
• <04:54:16.080> development,<04:54:16.878> English<04:54:17.200> language workforce
• development, English language workforce development, English language classes,<04:54:18.160> job<
• a a workforce shortage. a a workforce shortage.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We are working very hard this session to pursue the funding needed to turn this project into a reality
• We are working very hard this session to pursue the funding needed to turn this project into a reality
• We need revised rules and criteria to allow for Texas Water Development Board investment in innovative
• Hopefully this session, by May, we'll have an avenue to address funding for some of your projects.
• We need to recognize that from the funding standpoint.

Bills: SCR13, SB1248

Keywords: water rights, treaty compliance, Rio Grande, agriculture, drought, international water, Texas water supply, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, TPWD, harvest reports, wildlife harvest data, public information act, open records, confidentiality, hunter privacy, angler data, game animals, game birds, fur-bearing animals, nongame animals

Summary: The Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs met without a quorum at first, then later established quorum and proceeded with testimony and votes. Senate Bill 1248, by Chair Perry, was explained as a narrow Open Records Act exception to protect harvest report location data collected through Texas Parks and Wildlife’s digital tagging system. Support testimony came from Matt Wagner of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society, who said the bill would protect private land and sensitive biological information while preserving useful wildlife data. No one testified against the bill, and it was left pending until later in the meeting. The committee then heard Senate Concurrent Resolution 13, which urges the State Department and the International Boundary and Water Commission to press Mexico to comply with the 1944 Water Treaty and deliver its share of Rio Grande water. Senator Hinojosa, farmers, municipal officials, and other witnesses described severe water shortages in South Texas, low reservoir levels, crop losses, the closure of the Valley sugar industry, and the need for alternative supplies such as desalination, reuse, and drainage-runoff projects. Members also discussed treaty enforcement, regional drought, and the role of cartels and Mexican water storage, while emphasizing that Texas must also invest in its own water infrastructure. The committee also considered Senate Bill 740, which the committee substitute amended to require the Public Utility Commission to adopt a standardized application form for system improvement charges and complete related rulemaking by September 1, 2026, applying only to applications filed on or after that date. Members discussed concerns about water wholesalers using the process to delay cases and drive up costs, and the need for more transparency and PUC resources. The committee voted to adopt the substitute and report SB 740 favorably. After returning to the earlier items, the committee voted SB 1248 out favorably and recommended it for the local and uncontested calendar, and voted SCR 13 out favorably as well. The committee then recessed subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• across New Mexico, including awarding grant funds for early stage companies, commercializing innovation
• Uh, the following year in FY 25, uh, we, uh, added the Quantum Technologies Award as well as funding
• And in FY 26 we are continuing these programs with the likelihood of adding at least one more funding
• They would not be here were it not for these programs that the legislature has funded and that EDD is
• so that we have our, our workforce in our state.

Transcript Highlights:

• and affordable home ownership development program report.
• and affordable home annual workforce and affordable home ownership<00:21:10.159> development<
• ownership development program report. ownership development program report.
• And these neighboring states, we have substantially similar workforce.
• We have substantially similar workforce.

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The program opened the 2026 Senate session with tributes to Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and others lost or injured during the interim, including Senator John Hoffman, who returned to the floor after surviving an attack. Senators repeatedly framed the session around courage, grief, civil discourse, and a commitment to govern despite heightened fear and political violence. The Capitol itself has changed in response, with locked doors, new security systems, more law enforcement presence, and new visitor guidelines. A major segment focused on Capitol security. Senator Bonnie Westlin said the Axtell report, commissioned by the Department of Public Safety, was the basis for new screening measures and identified weapon screening as the top priority. She said the goal is to create a safer perimeter for members, staff, and the thousands of annual visitors, while keeping access workable through single entry points and Evolv screening machines. She also discussed Senate restrictions on guns in the gallery, possible future legislation to ban guns on the Capitol complex, encrypted badges, internal access controls, and behavioral threat assessments. She noted some recommendations will require funding, with the Department of Administration seeking about $41 million. The program also highlighted the Senate fiscal review, described as a nonpartisan summary of the enacted budget that is being moved toward a more interactive web format. Another segment featured Senator Eric Lucero on affordable housing and home ownership. He said the Minnesota Housing workforce and affordable home ownership program is intended to increase owner-occupied housing supply, but argued that 123 homes built statewide is not enough to address the shortage. Lucero blamed regulation and permitting delays for higher costs, said Minnesota homes can cost $50,000 to $150,000 more than comparable homes in neighboring states, and said he will continue pushing for regulatory rollbacks to make home ownership more attainable.

Transcript Highlights:

• The funding is the innovative part.
• We fund our three farm worker centers with a combination of lodger rents, public funds, and private capital
• Instead, it preserves developers' choice by allowing developers to partner with qualified non-proliferation
• And the Constitution's developed.
• That is the overarching HOA for the 6,100-unit development that has been, frankly, in development since

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• almost exclusively in Texas by SACS has not supported the state priority to align education and workforce
• Non-compliance triggers state funding cuts enforced by the comptroller. So why is this bill needed?
• Could you go over the part that you wanted to see that the schools worked on workforce outcomes?
• And I think something else is Part that you wanted to see that the schools worked on workforce outcomes
• And we're going to evaluate them based on our criteria of the state workforce needs and that kind of

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education K-16 heard several bills and took no final votes, leaving each measure pending. The first major item, SB 1322 by Senator Hagenbuch, would create a Texas Higher Education Accrediting Commission to evaluate and approve accrediting agencies for public colleges and universities using outcome-based metrics such as retention, graduation, employment, debt, and repayment. Supporters, including Kate Byerley of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, argued the bill would add competition and align accreditation with Texas workforce needs; Senator Menendez questioned the need for a new bureaucracy and noted the $3.6 million fiscal note, suggesting existing reporting and oversight structures could serve the same purpose. The committee then heard SB 1998, which would establish a pediatric subspecialty preceptorship program to encourage medical students to enter pediatric subspecialties. Dr. Lauren Gamble testified in strong support, saying the program would help address shortages and improve access for children, especially in rural and underserved areas. SB 2788, authored by Senator Menendez, would add the PSAT as an accepted assessment for dual credit and Texas Success Initiative purposes; Priscilla Camacho of Alamo Colleges supported the bill, citing strong student outcomes and widespread use of the PSAT as a readiness indicator. Senator Creighton laid out SB 2076, which would remove or modify certain Capitol view corridor restrictions affecting the UT Austin Academic Medical Center project, including the planned specialty hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center expansion. He said the existing corridors are outdated and limit development. The committee also heard SB 1418, a cleanup bill replacing outdated references to ACT Plan with Pre-ACT and removing obsolete SAT subject test language. After brief testimony and no opposition on the later bills, the committee closed public testimony and left SB 1322, SB 1998, SB 2788, SB 2076, and SB 1418 pending before recessing for the floor session.

Transcript Highlights:

• One of the things likely being built with these funds is single-family home ownership opportunities,
• would likely receive more funding, while communities that do not probably wouldn't.
• and be likely to receive funding, and who might be left out.
• When a developer submits an application for funding, the developer strives to get as many points as possible
• We know there's more requests than are being funded for infrastructure and similar needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• care and development program funding comes from federal government money, **CalWORKs Stage 1**, which
• to continue funding.
• However, we do not think that the current funding scheme is sufficient to truly develop a foundation
• Billion of federal funding.
• funding streams.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Simply remove all the taxpayer funding for the state employees.
• Well, again, it's about retaining and attracting workforce.
• <03:59:05.120> a period And if these enrollers develop a period And if these enrollers develop
• <04:04:50.199> certain you have for developing certain you have for developing certain conditions
• <04:05:43.239> major underinsured when they develop major underinsured when they develop major

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first heard testimony on House Bill 437, which would change New Hampshire law on undischarged mortgages by creating a shorter period after which certain old mortgages would be treated as unenforceable. Prime sponsor Representative Bill Boyd said the bill was developed with input from bankers, lawyers, realtors, the Attorney General’s office, and the Banking Department, and he noted a drafting correction needed on line 18. He explained that the proposal would replace current law with a new framework modeled partly on Massachusetts, including a five-year expiration after a stated maturity date and a 35-year period for mortgages without an expiration date. Supporters said the bill would help clear obsolete title defects, reduce costly quiet-title litigation, and make real estate transactions easier for consumers, attorneys, and conveyancers. Representative Mary Hakken-Phillips, Susan Cole of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, and Michelle Coffin all testified in support, describing the bill as a consumer protection measure. They said undischarged or improperly discharged mortgages often surface during title searches, causing delays, legal expenses, and failed or delayed closings. Coffin and Hakken-Phillips emphasized that many of these cases involve old, effectively obsolete mortgages and that the current process often requires expensive court action even when no one contests the title. Cole described a recent transaction in which a title defect caused a buyer to walk away and later restart the financing process, creating costs for both buyer and seller. A committee member asked about notice to mortgage holders; the response was that the lender bears responsibility for recording and extending the mortgage, and that due process rights would remain if a lender later contested the discharge. Ryan Hill of the New Hampshire Bankers Association said the banking industry had reviewed the bill and was generally comfortable with it, while requesting a delayed effective date so members would have time to adjust their recording practices. He said the bill’s January 1, 2028 effective date reflected that request. After closing the hearing on HB 437, the committee opened a hearing on House Bill 721, the Gold and Silver Legal Tender Act. Representative Juliet Harvey-Bolia introduced it as a bipartisan economic justice bill intended to recognize gold and silver as legal tender, protect against inflation, and address concerns about trust, taxes, and government taking. She argued that gold is a stable store of value and discussed tax treatment in neighboring states, federal history, and digital gold platforms. The hearing on HB 721 was still in progress when the transcript ended, with the chair limiting questions because of time.