Transcript Highlights:

• So that But, Rendered in the form of employee hours donated to such programs.
• Economic Development, DED, they administer the funds, but DNR administers the program.
• DNR administers the program. Yeah.
• And if so, if it affects this particular program, it would clearly need to be revisited.
• I am fortunate because my school has a well-resourced program and dedicated mentors.

Committee: House Higher Education and Workforce Development

Summary: The Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development heard House Bill 3359, presented by Rep. Travis Wilson on behalf of Rep. Riggs. The bill would create a state income tax credit for donations to registered school robotics/STEAM programs, including cash, equipment, software, materials, and certain employee volunteer hours. The proposal was described as a 20% credit, capped at $10 million annually beginning in tax year 2027, with a six-year sunset. Committee members raised questions about whether the credit applies to individuals or businesses, how volunteer hours would be valued, whether the bill should be limited to qualified coaches or employees rather than parents or general volunteers, which state agency would administer reporting, and whether the 20% rate should be higher. Rep. Wilson said he was open to clarifying amendments and noted the bill sponsor would need to weigh changes. The bill’s student author and witness, Sarah Waldron, a Westminster Christian Academy senior and robotics team CEO, testified in support. She said the bill was intended to help Missouri schools, especially under-resourced ones, access funding for robotics programs and argued that the credit would leverage private donations into student opportunities and workforce development. She clarified that the volunteer-hour provision was meant for business employees, not individual volunteers, and said she had drafted an amendment to provide higher credits for schools with higher free-and-reduced-lunch percentages. Several committee members praised her work and discussed the need to target aid toward schools with fewer resources. Arne C. A.C. Dinoff, State Public Advocate, testified in opposition. He praised the student’s initiative but argued the state could not afford another tax credit given budget deficits and said volunteerism should not be tied to a fiscal reward. He also questioned the fiscal note and said robotics support should be handled locally rather than through a state tax credit. No vote was taken, and the chair concluded the hearing after testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• waste cleanup programs. $110 million for Resilient Florida programs.
• That's a program managed by DACS.
• These are not optional programs.
• to a program?
• Insurance Program.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then beginning on line 61, capital assistance program: Dakota and Scott County, $8 million; Blue
• </c><00:44:08.319><c> blue</c><00:44:08.560><c> earth</c><00:44:08.880><c> county</c> assistance program
• blue earth county assistance program blue earth county 3.45<00:44:09.920><c> 45</c><00:44:10.599><c>
• programs.
• </c> this program. this program.

Committee: Senate Capital Investment

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 962, Archuleta, blue warning lights, holding committee.
• SB 1171, Caballero, grant and loan programs, holding committee.
• SB 891, Cervantes, missing and murdered Indigenous persons justice program.
• SB 356, Jones, Elderly Parole Program, holding committee.
• SB 1075, Reyes, community air protection program, holding committee.

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we start these programs as soon as we get the referral and, um, So we start these programs as soon
• Chairman, I'm just curious if this is the same program or an evolution of the same program that LSS,
• So the demand reduction program, this is a sentencing diversion program that came through the 2015 legislative
• So just to explain a little bit more of how the program works is if someone's sentenced to this program
• And in this program, it's a day-long program... ...where it's eight to ten hours, where we go over what

Committee: Joint Protection and Victim Services Committee

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• is our challenge grant program, and I'll speak some of the benefits and impact that program is making
• So when challenge grant program.
• for our challenge grant program.
• To date, we've grant program itself.
• </c> program. Uh include facility expansions. program. Uh include facility expansions.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee met and approved the August 21, 2025 minutes. The main presentation came from Brandon Reid of the Kentucky Office of Agriculture Policy, who reported that implementation of the Kentucky Agriculture Economic Development Board created by Senate Bill 28 and House Joint Resolution 31 is ahead of schedule. He said the board has been appointed and has met several times, has adopted guidelines and an application process, and has launched its application on the KDA website. He also noted new staffing, including a project manager, and said the office is already working on projects, though some are confidential because of coordination with the Economic Development Cabinet and nondisclosure agreements. Members praised the effort and emphasized the importance of having agriculture represented in economic development work. Reid also described ongoing outreach by Commissioner Jonathan Shell, including farmer appreciation and classroom visits across the state. The committee then heard from Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton and Bluegrass Ag Tech Development Corp. executive director Jacob Ball about the Bluegrass Ag Tech Development Corp., a public-private partnership involving Lexington-Fayette, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the University of Kentucky, and Altech. They said the organization aims to make Kentucky a national and international hub for ag tech, and that it has already awarded challenge grants to startups. Ball explained that the program focuses on animal protein, nutrition, sustainability, mid-size farm solutions, and Kentucky traditions such as distilling and equine. He reported that two rounds of grants have totaled $925,000, with the first round’s seven companies leveraging that into nearly $7 million in follow-on investment, supporting 56.5 Kentucky jobs and creating more than a dozen new jobs. The presentation also highlighted statewide outreach, including applications and engagement from counties across Kentucky, and the goal of expanding participation in eastern Kentucky. Members expressed support for both initiatives and discussed the value of agriculture-specific expertise in economic development. Reid said the Department of Agriculture and the Economic Development Cabinet maintain regular communication and that the new board gives agriculture a seat at the table for future site and industry recruitment efforts. No additional votes or formal actions were taken beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Troops to Teachers program is no longer operational. That was a federal program.
• The Troops to Teachers program is no longer operational. That was a federal program.
• or adding new programs.
• or adding new programs.
• </c> current programs or adding new programs. current programs or adding new programs.

Committee: House Primary and Secondary Education

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• cards are for support, red cards for opposition, white cards are for information purposes only, and blue
• White cards are for information purposes only, and blue cards are for certified designated elected officials
• Senators and guests, we have with us today a junior senator program participant.
• significant reductions in disability across all program types.
• like to proceed, or at least have some ability if appropriations become available, to be in this program

Bills: SB83 , SB135 , SB143 , SB155 , SB157 , SB202 , SB237 , SB261 , SB276 , SB295 , SB450 , SB465 , SB506 , HB1070

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: human trafficking, trafficking prevention, school safety, public schools, elementary and secondary education, charter schools, mandatory reporting, victim identification, victim services, child trafficking, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, commercial sexual activity, DCFS, Department of Children and Family Services, Louisiana State Police, governor's office of human trafficking prevention, counselor training, mental health professional, administrator training

Transcript Highlights:

• Out of the blue. Out of the blue.
• program, that self-attestation doesn't work.
• That's in this program. That's in this bill.
• Again, Mr.... ...of the SNAP program and EBT cards. Again, Mr.
• And I can't say enough—the UCF program is spectacular.

Summary: The Senate began with opening prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognitions, including the doctor of the day and a lighthearted “Cannoli Day” introduction. The chamber then held an extended farewell celebration for Senator Joe Gruters, with numerous senators, colleagues, and family members praising his loyalty, political skill, family focus, and service in the Legislature and Republican Party. Gruters was presented with a commemorative gift recognizing his work on a 2019 public-safety and immigration bill that prohibited sanctuary cities and required local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The Senate adopted a motion to spread Gruters’s remarks upon the journal and then recessed briefly. After recess, the Senate returned to regular business and took up third-reading bills. Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 354, relating to blue ribbon projects, was temporarily postponed. The chamber then considered Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1758, relating to public assistance, with Senator Gates explaining that it contained five reforms to the public assistance system discussed earlier in session. During debate on SB 1758, Senator Berman opposed the bill, saying he could not support it in its current form because he believed the Medicaid-related provisions would create a coverage cliff after the one-year transition period and could leave people without care while increasing costs to hospitals and taxpayers. He also said SNAP error reduction should be a priority, but argued the state should focus on fixing administrative errors and fraud rather than imposing a work requirement whose costs and effects were uncertain.

Transcript Highlights:

• Out of the blue. Out of the blue.
• program, that self-attestation doesn't work.
• That's in this program. That's in this bill.
• Again, Mr.... ...of the SNAP program and EBT cards. Again, Mr.
• And I can't say enough, well, the UCF program is spectacular.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Out of the blue. Out of the blue.
• At the results that we've had of the mistakes in the SNAP program, the error rate in the SNAP program
• That's in this program. That's in this bill.
• Again, Mr.... ...of the SNAP program and EBT cards. Again, Mr.
• And I can't say enough: well, the UCF program is spectacular.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I've included a map in my written testimony, which shows the 26 red, blue, and purple states across the
• country that have already passed such laws, and the model on which... ...blue and purple states across

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Election Laws

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Committee on Election Laws held a hearing with House and Senate chairs and several members participating in person and online. The main bill discussed was House Bill 5086, the Electoral Count Reform/Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act, which would require presidential electors in Massachusetts to sign a faithfulness pledge, automatically replace any elector who casts a vote contrary to the state’s popular vote, and update state procedures to meet federal Electoral Count Act deadlines and paperwork requirements. Testimony in support came from Public Citizen, the Uniform Law Commission, and Protect Democracy United. Witnesses argued the bill would protect against coercion, threats, and “faithless electors,” and said it would help ensure Massachusetts’ electoral votes reflect voters’ choices and cannot be rejected on technical grounds. One witness noted the bill is already enacted in many states and has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and several organizations endorsed the model approach. Members asked about how the bill would interact with Massachusetts’ participation in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The witness said the bill is compatible with the compact and suggested a minor clarifying amendment to avoid any implication that the state is stepping away from it. After testimony and questions, the chair noted that testimony had also been received on the other two bills from Representative Breguire, the governor’s office, and Representative Hogan, and the committee then adjourned without taking a vote in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 18 creates the following grant programs for rural hospitals.
• This program is in addition to... to the Pediatric Teleconnectivity Resource Program for rural Texas
• of those four grant programs from the information required for all the grant programs.
• It starts out with relevant state regulations and state financial programs, right?
• There isn't funding for these programs.

Bills: HB18 , HB742 , HB754 , HB1644 , HB2187 , HB1887 , HB 1275 , HB37 , HB1503 , HB1699 , HB1700 , HB2735 , HB1741 , HB1731 , HB1675 , HB18 , HB37

Committee: House Public Health

Keywords: rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, human trafficking, first responders, health care, training, reporting, protection, trafficking prevention, medical assistant training, health care facilities, hospital compliance, clinic compliance, anti-retaliation, whistleblower protection, employee reporting, good faith report

Transcript Highlights:

• mentioned, this does not fall along partisan lines, and that's because NDAs aren't being used in just blue
• that's because NDAs aren't being used in that's because NDAs aren't being used in just<00:10:23.240><c> blue
• 23.800><c> and</c><00:10:23.920><c> townships</c><00:10:24.480><c> or</c><00:10:24.600><c> red</c> just blue
• cities and townships or red just blue cities and townships or red cities<00:10:25.160><c> and</c><00

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: Lawmakers held a bipartisan press availability on a bill to prohibit local governments and their officials from entering into non-disclosure agreements with private entities. Supporters said the measure is intended to protect transparency, public participation, and Minnesotans’ right to know about local decisions involving land use, public financing, and economic development, especially in cases involving data centers and other large projects. Representatives and senators from both parties described the bill as a response to examples in cities such as Rosemount, Farmington, Hermantown, North Mankato, Monticello, Pine Island, and others, where they said NDAs kept communities from learning about projects until decisions were effectively already made. The authors argued that the bill is not anti-development or limited to data centers, but instead prevents corporations from using private contracts to circumvent Minnesota’s open meeting and data practices laws. They said Chapter 13 already addresses trade secrets and other confidential information, and that the bill is meant to stop NDAs from creating secrecy around government decision-making. They also said they had heard little organized opposition so far, though they acknowledged questions about how the bill would affect early-stage business recruitment conversations and how local governments, especially smaller ones, would implement the change. Members also discussed the bill’s legislative path. They said it had previously received unanimous support in committee and was sent to the general register, then moved to the Judiciary Committee at the request of Chair Scott, who wanted a hearing. The authors said they did not believe the bill raised Chapter 13 issues requiring judiciary review, but agreed to the referral as a courtesy and said they were seeking a hearing. They reported that Senate consideration had previously ended in a tie vote, but said momentum was growing and expected stronger support this session. No vote was taken during the press event.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our forecast for GDP growth, just a note on how to read this chart: the blue Our forecast for GDP growth
• The blue bars are annual growth, and the green bars are quarterly growth at an annual rate.
• Just a note about how to read this chart: the light blue bars are the 20-year average annual growth rate
• The light blue bars are the 20-year average annual growth rate, just a sense of what's normal through

Summary: House Finance met in work session on January 13, 2026, beginning with the introduction of new member Rep. Janice Zahn and a reminder about short-session amendment deadlines. The committee then heard JLARC’s 2025 tax preference performance reviews, covering nine preferences. JLARC recommended continuing several preferences, including natural gas transportation fuel exemptions, reduced B&O rates for travel agents and tour operators, a property tax exemption for nonprofit low-income housing developers, a property tax exemption for multipurpose senior centers, a sales and use tax remittance for disabled veteran adapted housing, a trade convention attendance nexus exemption, a B&O exemption for agricultural fertilizer and seed sales, and a hazardous substance tax exemption for certain pesticides. JLARC also recommended allowing unused silicon smelter-related preferences to expire. Members asked about legislative intent, data limitations, and how performance metrics should be tied more clearly to policy objectives; committee leaders and JLARC staff discussed a new standardized rubric for future tax preference performance statements and fiscal note review. The committee also noted that bills related to some of the reviewed preferences were already introduced. For the low-income housing exemption, JLARC said nonprofit developers were building homes as intended but that the current spending-based metric did not fully reflect the policy goal, and it recommended the legislature decide whether to continue or modify the preference. For multipurpose senior centers, JLARC said the exemption met its inferred objective and recommended continuation, with possible consideration of making it permanent. For the disabled veteran adapted housing remittance, JLARC said few eligible veterans were claiming the benefit and recommended continuation with changes to improve access and consultation with the Department of Veterans Affairs. On the trade convention attendance exemption, JLARC said use was unknown but the preference likely helped keep Washington competitive with other states and recommended continuation, though members questioned the lack of direct evidence and the administrative-burden rationale. The committee then received an update from the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. The forecast showed the U.S. economy slowing but still growing, with Washington expected to have modest growth, weak employment gains, continued personal income growth, and slow construction. ERFC said tariffs and trade policy remained the biggest risks, inflation was expected to stay elevated in the near term, and the Federal Reserve had cut rates three times in 2025 with two more cuts projected in 2026. State revenues were up $105 million in the current biennium compared with the November forecast, but down $185 million in the next biennium, with growth driven in part by recent legislative changes and improved estate tax collections. Members asked about sector-specific employment trends, the impact of high-income households on retail sales, and how state revenues compare with personal income over time. The meeting adjourned after the forecast presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, I'm joined at the table by Madeline Keara, who's our state program administrative coordinator, who
• So, I'm joined at the table by Madeline Keara, who's our state program administrative coordinator, who
• So, I'm joined at the table by Madeline Keara, who's our state program administrative coordinator, who
• She was a speech pathologist, he's a blue-collar laborer. They don't have a lot of money.
• </c> speech pathologist, he's a blue-collar speech pathologist, he's a blue-collar laborer.<00:30:15.720

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House File 5055, the governor’s supplemental tax budget. Commissioner of Revenue Paul Marquart outlined the proposal as a balanced budget package that would leave a positive bottom line in the current biennium and beyond. He emphasized family-focused tax relief, especially a new refundable young child credit for children ages 0 to 4, which would provide up to $3,000 for one child or $6,000 for two or more, benefit about 104,000 families, and phase out at higher incomes. He also described federal conformity changes, including updates to business interest deductions, dependent care credits, and Section 179 expensing, along with omitted federal items such as research expensing and opportunity zones due to cost and policy concerns. Marquart also defended broader tax modernization proposals, including expanding the sales tax to selected consumer services such as accounting, banking, brokerage, and legal services while lowering the statewide sales tax rate, and creating a social media tax on consumer data collection that would fund an AI readiness special revenue fund rather than the general fund. He said these changes would make the sales tax less regressive and better aligned with the modern economy. Additional provisions mentioned included a gun-related gross receipts tax on firearms and ammunition, cannabis tax technical changes, historic structure rehabilitation conformity, and added auditors for tax compliance. Testimony from outside groups was mixed. Nan Madden of the Minnesota Budget Project supported the governor’s approach as a response to federal tax and spending changes, praised the decision not to conform to opportunity zones or federal no-tax-on-tips/overtime provisions, and urged even stronger revenue measures. Brian Lake of the Minnesota State Bar Association strongly opposed the proposed sales tax on consumer legal services, arguing it would burden low- and middle-income people in sensitive cases and create unfairness when individuals litigate against the state. Tanner Fritsinger of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees supported the sales tax base expansion and the social media tax as ways to broaden revenue without raising the base rate. The committee chair thanked the commissioner and then began hearing public testimony, with additional testifiers queued up.

Transcript Highlights:

• AFTER THE HURRICANES LAST YEAR, THE LEGISLATURE PUT IN PLACE A LOAN PROGRAM, AND EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM
• WE ARE THE THIRD STATE IN THE UNION IN THE FFA PROGRAM.
• WE ALSO HAVE A CRAFT PROGRAM BEING FULLY FUNDED TO HELP PLANT TREES.
• THIS YEAR WE LOOK FOR SOME EFFICIENCIES THROUGH THE CITRUS PROGRAM.
• DARKER BLUE, DEEPER THE FLOOD MAY HAVE BEEN.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> building a robust Safe Harbor program. building a robust Safe Harbor program.
• </c><00:30:14.760><c> for</c> She stayed in our SoulHouse program for She stayed in our SoulHouse program
• . program. program.
• </c> housing program. housing program.
• </c> funding for these programs out of DHS? funding for these programs out of DHS?

Bills: HF4234 , HF3697 , HF1183 , HF4738

Committee: House Taxes

Keywords: HF4234, Minnesota private activity bonds, tax-exempt bonds, bond cap, aggregate bond limitation, residential rental projects, multifamily housing, affordable housing finance, housing bonds, public finance, bond allocation, private activity bond cap, Minnesota Statutes 474A.02, tax committee, tax refund, Minnesota Statutes, time limit, claims, tax overpayment, taxation

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, so House Bill 47, School Employee Insurance Programs. Mr.
• A full-time distance learning program through a district, and as always, a charter school that's gone
• It doesn't have them register, but it certifies that the programs are complying with the requirements
• So it is a hit to their budget, whether or not they will still receive basic program funding.
• Chair, Senators, again that information is not reported to us for virtual programs.

Committee: Senate Senate Education

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Out of the blue. Out of the blue.
• This bill takes a program meant to fight hunger and turns it into a maze.
• program, that self-attestation doesn't work.
• That's in this program. That's in this bill.
• And I can’t say enough—well, the UCF program is spectacular.

Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several introductions, then devoted most of the first part of the meeting to a farewell-style recognition of Senator Joe Gruters. Senators from both parties offered extended remarks praising his loyalty, political instincts, family involvement, and work as a legislator and as incoming Republican National Committee chair. Gruters responded with remarks about his background, including overcoming a childhood speech impediment, his service in the Legislature, and major policy efforts he highlighted such as alimony reform and the undergrounding of utilities. A ceremonial gift was presented to him recognizing his work on a 2019 public-safety/immigration bill, and the Senate adopted a motion to spread his remarks upon the journal before recessing briefly. After the recess, the Senate returned to regular business. No committee reports, governor’s messages, House messages, or reconsideration matters were reported. The chamber then moved to third reading and temporarily postponed CS/CS/CS/SB 354, relating to blue ribbon projects. The next bill, CS/CS/SB 1758, relating to public assistance, was taken up, and Senator Gaetz explained that it contained five reforms to the public assistance system previously discussed by the Senate. Debate was about to continue when the transcript ended.