Transcript Highlights:

• <00:40:32.320> the So, far from actually contracting the So, far from actually contracting
• identify parallels where, like, these online travel agency or meta search sites like Kayak would contract
• 00:41:47.520> like<00:41:47.720> Kayak<00:41:48.400> would<00:41:48.880> contract
• <00:41:49.480> with<00:41:50.160> a sites like Kayak would contract with a sites like
• Kayak would contract with a third<00:41:50.640> party third party third party um um um the<00

Bills: SB2607, SB2031, SB2043, SB2623, SB2876, SB2396, SB2964, SB2089

Keywords: landscape architecture, licensure, educational requirements, examination, professional standards, consumer protection, junk fees, live-event tickets, short-term lodging, transparency, pricing disclosure, deceptive practices, insurance, captives, regulations, policyholders, SB2623, Hawaii pharmacy law, Board of Pharmacy, registered pharmacy technician

Summary: The committee first heard HCR 168 and HR 158, which would create a temporary working group to study utility capacity, coastline infrastructure lifespan, and the costs of needed expansions. Public Utilities Commission staff said the commission was not the right entity to direct all of the work because it lacks authority over many affected agencies. Members discussed whether the study should be limited to a coastal area or broadened to the whole island, and in decision-making the committee amended the measure to focus on the County of Honolulu, correct references to the Public Utilities Commission, and revise the working group membership to include the PUC chair, legislative designees, and directors or designees from DLNR, DOT, HIEMA, and DCCA Consumer Advocacy. The committee then passed both resolutions with amendments; the vote was adopted unanimously, with some members excused. The committee next considered HCR 145 and HR 137, which would convene a working group on climate change impacts on insurance availability and affordability. The Insurance Division stood on its written comments, the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission supported the intent, and the Attorney General opposed the measure, warning that a working group could create discoverable materials that might complicate the state’s climate litigation and noting a technical ambiguity in the reference to the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund administrator. After questions about discovery and the lawsuit, the committee amended the resolutions to replace the administrator reference with the chair of the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund Board of Directors, remove the Attorney General as convener while keeping the office as a member, and have the working group share findings and recommendations with the House CPC and Senate CPN committees instead of issuing a report. The committee passed the measures with amendments, with Rep. Martin voting with reservations. In the later agenda, the committee heard SB 2607, SD 1 on landscape architect licensure. The Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Landscape Architects supported the bill, explaining it modernizes licensure requirements to align with national standards and clarifies the profession’s design-focused role. The bill was discussed as distinguishing landscape architecture from groundskeeping and from civil engineering drainage work. No opposition was heard. The committee also heard SB 2031, SD 2 on consumer protection and price transparency for live ticket events and short-term lodging. The Office of Consumer Protection supported the bill, saying it largely mirrors an FTC rule requiring all-in pricing and would give the state enforcement authority and remedies. The Hawaii Financial Services Association opposed the bill as drafted and sought a limited exemption for credit card issuers relying on third-party hotel information, while the Hawaii Hotel Alliance supported the measure but asked for language deeming compliance with the federal rule sufficient for short-term lodging. Committee members questioned whether those proposed exemptions would conflict with federal law or weaken state enforcement, and the discussion focused on preemption, liability, and the value of state remedies such as restitution.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have contracts with helicopter patrols.
• We have contracts with drone operators to shorten that outage as much as we can.
• We've contracted with Firescape to do the modeling for wildfires and alerts.
• So then you go back to our main contract with Guzman. That's fixed to 2040.
• One of their actions was the contracting. for a master plan.

Transcript Highlights:

• For over 20 years, California has required certain contracts, including leases, to be translated into
• these five languages if the contract was negotiated in one of them.
• Assembly Bill 381 by Assembly Member Stephanie and others, relating to public contracts.
• Assembly Bill 458 by Assembly Member Stephanie and the public contracts committee.
• Vitally, AB 1156 does not propose that a Williamson Act contract be rescinded.

Summary: The Assembly met after a quorum call and first dealt with a procedural dispute over four amendments to AB 1240. The Speaker ruled the amendments out of order as not germane, and the Assembly sustained that ruling on a 49-16 vote. Members then added co-authors to several consent-calendar resolutions, including measures on the National Conference of State Legislators, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, ALS Awareness Month, and Men’s Mental Health Month, before adopting the consent calendar. The chamber also heard guest introductions, including a welcome for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, and took up a motion to bring AB 41 up out of file, which failed 19-48. The bulk of the meeting was floor action on a long series of bills and resolutions, many of which passed with broad bipartisan support. Measures approved included ACR 40 supporting immigrant students and FAFSA privacy; AB 917 on permanent status for certain school employees; AB 985 on anesthesia access; AB 7 and AB 42 on higher education and student services; AB 245 providing property tax relief for wildfire victims; AB 255 allowing funding for drug-free recovery housing; AB 279 updating K-12 library standards; AB 289 creating a pilot for automated speed enforcement in highway construction zones; AB 291 on an educator apprentice program; AB 327 addressing swatting; AB 340 on confidential union communications; AB 341 creating an oral health technical assistance center for people with disabilities; AB 356 on San Diego health care infrastructure; AB 410 on bot disclosure; AB 476 on copper theft enforcement; AB 477 on educator pay targets; AB 485 on stolen wages and business licensing; AB 487, the insurance committee’s technical omnibus bill; AB 573 on tobacco retail license fees; AB 598 on school mapping technology; AB 635 on mobile home law enforcement referrals; AB 651 on remote participation for incarcerated parents in dependency hearings; AB 654 on homelessness hotline assistance in Los Angeles County; AB 662 creating a South County higher education task force; AB 667 on language access in professional licensing; AB 669 limiting early denial of addiction treatment; AB 670 on naturally occurring affordable housing; AB 695 on online continuation of community college for deported students; AB 723 on disclosure for digitally altered real estate images; AB 727 placing Trevor Project information on student IDs; and AB 736, a $10 billion affordable housing bond for the June 2026 ballot, which passed on a 61-11 urgency vote after extensive debate. Debate on AB 736 was the most extensive of the day, with supporters arguing the bond would help address California’s housing crisis and give voters a chance to weigh in, while opponents criticized the state’s bond debt and past spending results. The Assembly then recessed for caucus meetings and later returned to continue the daily file, where additional measures were taken up, including AB 798 adding diapers and wipes to the emergency food bank reserve program, which passed 56-0, and AB 821 on career technical education, which was presented as bipartisan-supported as the transcript continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• expenditure about $3,494 worth of MINDRIVE programming and that can be absorbed in the existing contract
• expenditure about $3,494 worth of MINDRIVE programming and that can be absorbed in the existing contract
• expenditure about $3,494 worth of MINDRIVE programming and that can be absorbed in the existing contract
• And those costs can be absorbed under the existing vendor contract. That's almost $9,000 as well.
• contract. That's almost $9,000 as well. contract. That's almost $9,000 as well.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Today we're going to hear from two of the tribal contract schools in the state, and then we're going
• to hear five bills that are related to Indian education and our tribal contract schools.
• Today we're going to hear from two of the tribal contract schools in the state, and then we're going
• to hear five bills that are related to Indian education and our tribal contract schools.
• to hear five bills that are related to Indian education and our tribal contract schools.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• mentioned, the forecast assumptions do not incorporate any effect of federal worker terminations, contract
• The spillover effects of federal spending pauses and contract terminations are also not accounted for
• <00:25:14.960> which<00:25:15.120> is<00:25:15.640> um Managed Care contracts
• which is um Managed Care contracts which is um expected<00:25:16.720> to<00:25:16.960> increase
• From the federal government, reneging on or stepping back from contracts, whether it's our domestic abuse

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• next measure, which is HB 1382, which appropriates funds for the Department of Human Services to contract
• next measure, which is HB 1382, which appropriates funds for the Department of Human Services to contract
• next measure, which is HB 1382, which appropriates funds for the Department of Human Services to contract
• We have a budget for existing contracts, um, but for any new types of contracts, I don't have a budget
• and having that be part of their contract, so that part of the budget we can...

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard several Human Services measures focused on Medicaid access, long-term care benefits, home health reimbursement, SNAP administration, trauma-informed child welfare, and child abuse reporting. HP 702 would increase funding for Medicaid in-home services if federal matching funds are secured, and testimony from disability advocates supported the measure as needed to help people with disabilities cover medical expenses. HB 1477, described as a correction to a prior session’s mistake, would clarify that the monthly needs allowance for certain long-term care residents does not replace state supplemental payments and would raise the ceiling by $25 to fix the prior issue and by an additional $20 as a new benefit; DHS supported it with amendments, and the committee indicated it would amend accordingly. HB 713 would fund a DHS rate study for home health services, with the Healthcare Association of Hawaii strongly supporting it and describing rising labor costs, losses on Medicaid patients, and access concerns if agencies cannot keep serving Medicaid clients. HB 1099 would appropriate emergency funds to DHS after a USDA penalty tied to SNAP response times, with supporters including Catholic Charities Hawaii, Hawaii Public Health Institute, and others arguing the money should be reinvested in staffing and systems to improve access and avoid further penalties. HB 1079 would direct the Office of Wellness and Resilience and DHS to create trauma-informed assessments and training for Child Welfare Services staff; testimony from state offices and advocacy groups supported it, citing the Mālama ʻOhana Working Group, staff burnout, and the need for a sustainable train-the-trainer model. Finally, HB 239 would narrow when failure to provide a child’s needs constitutes abuse or neglect, but DHS raised concerns that the current wording could broaden abuse findings and leave families in poverty without a clear safety net, while the Honolulu prosecutor’s office opposed it, warning it could weaken mandatory reporting and hinder investigations of child abuse. No formal votes were taken in the portion provided, though the chair said HB 1477 would be amended and several measures were left open for further questions and testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• The parties can always contract between themselves regardless of what the law is.
• I don't think it's a question of, you know, negotiating contracts in a way that allows them to, you know
• Appreciate it. know where a seller could uh construct a know where a seller could uh construct a contract
• to classify more payments as contract to classify more payments as upgrades<01:04:18.920> rather<
• in a way that negotiating contracts in a way that allows<01:04:31.319> them<01:04:31.599>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So housing corrections and Department of Corrections for state and like vendor contracts or just?
• But doesn't DESE do contract services in most jurisdictions to provide those services?
• Yeah, DESE has one contract statewide that covers the Department of Youth Services.
• DYS contracts with nonprofit providers, including Boston Children's and UMass Medical.
• DOC has a contract with a for-profit agency. It's not necessarily... well, I'll just say that.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission on correctional consolidation and collaboration heard testimony focused on how Massachusetts uses custody levels, staffing, programming, and medical release tools, with Prisoners’ Legal Services arguing that the system is overusing expensive high-security settings and underusing step-down options. Dave Rainey said the incarcerated population has dropped substantially over the last several years, but spending and staffing have not fallen in proportion. He argued that DOC overclassifies people into medium and maximum security, relies too heavily on behavioral assessment units that function like segregation, and keeps people in restrictive settings such as Souza-Baranowski and Shattuck Hospital longer than necessary. He also said medical parole is underused and that many people with serious chronic illness or advanced age pose little public-safety risk and should be released through existing legal pathways. Sheriffs and other commission members pushed back on some of those points, emphasizing that staffing needs are driven by the acuity of the current population, that corrections is not overstaffed, and that classification decisions involve serious public-safety judgments. They also stressed that some high-cost medical placements are necessary because people remain under sentence and require care, and that furloughs and other release tools can create security risks if contraband or substance use is involved. The discussion also covered the role of county sheriffs versus DOC in reentry, with several members saying county systems tend to do more day-to-day step-down and release planning, while DOC has more difficulty moving people through lower-security settings before release. Ben Foreman of MassINC offered a more systemwide, data-focused perspective, praising the state’s transparency and arguing that Massachusetts has made major progress in reducing incarceration and increasing public safety. He said the state still has an opportunity to improve by right-sizing facilities, investing in community-based mental health treatment, and using the commission to better understand the capital and operating costs of the current system. In response to questions, he said he was aware of DOC studies on programs like furlough but had not reviewed recent ones, and he noted that total-control facilities like Souza-Baranowski have long been criticized in the research literature for poor outcomes. Nora Wassel of the Women and Incarceration Project then testified that the commission should issue an interim report and scrutinize the planned new women’s prison, which she said is not justified by current population trends or available data. She argued that women are overclassified under DOC’s own tools, that reentry beds and minimum-security placements are underused, and that the system may be failing to account for women’s distinct medical and reentry needs. The meeting ended with continued discussion of reentry, furloughs, day reporting, and whether consolidation should mean fewer facilities, better step-down pathways, or both.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then you will see a government grants contract checklist.
• :16.280> um<00:25:16.760> and<00:25:16.960> a<00:25:17.000> timeline contract
• So um and a timeline contract checklist.
• that misclassification, when it involves underpaying folks after the point of having secured the contract
• is of course having secured the contract is of course a<01:14:52.160> crime<01:14:52.400>

Bills: HF3643, HF4470, HF4462, HF4366, HF4172, HF3629, HF4356, HF3093

Keywords: Melissa Hortman, Mark Hortman, memorial park, state park, working group, Minnesota Historical Society, Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board, Saint Paul, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Administration, Legislative Coordinating Commission, general fund appropriation, park planning, interpretive services, public engagement, state memorial, land use, natural resources, commemorative legislation, HF4470

Transcript Highlights:

• Charter school students, students who attend nonpublic schools, and tribal contract schools are left
• Tribal contract schools should not be left out either.
• Our charters, our nonpublic, our tribal contract schools deserve to have this funding to help make their
• In reference tonight, many times they're left out a safe school aid, tribal contract schools left out
• They should have a safe place to study, to educate, to learn air travel contract schools should be left

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• A lot of power is provided through contracts with independent power producers. >> That's correct. >>
• A lot of power is provided through contracts with independent power producers. >> That's correct. >>
• c> provided<00:22:15.960> through power is provided through power is provided through contracts
• <00:22:17.760> with<00:22:17.880> independent<00:22:18.360> power contracts with
• independent power contracts with independent power producers. producers. producers.

Bills: SB3326

Keywords: renewable energy, energy storage, cost reduction, public utilities commission, Hawaii energy policies, 910, house, all

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:

• coincidental with when the contract coincidental with when the contract documents<01:20:27.800><
• think it is feasible to hit the January 1st date as Senator Johnson Stewart just referenced, the contracts
• Stewart just as Senator Johnson Stewart just referenced<01:21:07.480> the<01:21:07.920> contracts
• <01:21:08.800> and<01:21:09.240> the referenced the contracts and the referenced the
• contracts and the agreements<01:21:10.080> with<01:21:10.200> local<01:21:10.400> units

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 133, sponsored by Representative Davis: Conservation Districts Contracting and Supervisors
• , Districts contracting and supervisors, Districts contracting and supervisors, an<00:10:07.839><
• <00:10:18.880> districts bill 133 conservation districts bill 133 conservation districts contracting
• and<00:10:21.120> supervisors<00:10:21.760> respect<00:10:22.079> the contracting
• and supervisors respect the contracting and supervisors respect the report<00:10:22.640> saying

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Row 82 is the guardianship contracted services, about $275,000 a year of general funds of support.
• Row 82 is the guardianship<00:56:49.040> contracted<00:56:49.839> services<00:56:50.559
• > about guardianship contracted services about guardianship contracted services about $275,000
• million provided for the public defender program, based on what they were getting back relative to contract
• costs. judicial council uh contract council judicial council uh contract council received<01:15:48.880

Keywords: LBA Briefing on Budget, 928, house, all

Summary: The presentation was an LBA overview of Senate changes to the House-passed state budget, with Michael Kane explaining how Senate Finance updated revenue and spending estimates after April revenue figures and agency discussions. He said the Senate’s revenue outlook was higher than the House’s in some areas, but lower in others, especially video lottery terminal revenue, and that the biggest differences also came from changes to revenue splits between the general fund and education trust fund, lapse estimates, and several policy changes in House Bill 1 and House Bill 2. Kane highlighted several major revenue and policy differences: the Senate changed the business tax, tobacco tax, and real estate transfer tax splits; adjusted liquor revenue dedication; removed the House’s meals-and-rooms distribution cap; delayed the Lakes Region facility proceeds plan; altered the PECARD fund treatment; added a granite patron of the arts tax credit; and changed the treatment of unique funds and video lottery terminal revenue. On spending, he noted Senate changes to judicial, corrections, HHS, human rights commission, and other budgets, including additional settlement costs, higher lapse assumptions, and a different approach to Medicaid premium revenue and retirement savings. He also described Senate additions such as a nursing home bed fee, Hampstead Hospital transition funding, and changes to the YDC claims settlement fund. The presentation focused on comparing House and Senate surplus statements across fiscal years 2025 through 2027, including projected ending balances and rainy day fund transfers. Kane repeatedly emphasized that the numbers were still dependent on final revenues and lapse amounts, and that some balances would be carried forward and trued up later in the biennium. No committee vote or final action was described in the excerpt; it was an informational budget briefing and comparison of the two chambers’ proposals.

Transcript Highlights:

• Row 82 is guardianship contracted services, about $275,000 a year of general funds of support.
• Um judicial<01:08:37.839> council<01:08:38.880> uh<01:08:39.120> contract<01:08:
• 39.600> council judicial council uh contract council judicial council uh contract council received
• what they were getting back<01:08:54.080> relative<01:08:54.400> to<01:08:54.719> contract
• back relative to contract costs. back relative to contract costs.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Summary: The Legislative Budget Assistant staff presented an overview of the Senate changes to the House-passed budget, focusing on revenue estimates, appropriations, and ending balances across the general fund and education trust fund. The presentation emphasized that the Senate’s budget reflected higher revenue assumptions than the House, driven in part by updated April revenue figures, changes to business, tobacco, and real estate transfer tax splits, and different assumptions about video lottery terminal revenue. The Senate also adjusted lapse estimates upward, especially for HHS, after receiving updated information that lapses could be much larger than originally assumed. The presenter walked through the major differences in the surplus statements for fiscal years 2025 through 2027. Compared with the House, the Senate budget generally showed higher revenues, lower or different appropriations in some areas, and larger balances carried forward, including a larger education trust fund balance and a different rainy day fund transfer. The Senate’s approach also changed several policy assumptions, such as maintaining liquor revenue dedication, removing the House’s meals-and-rooms distribution cap, changing the treatment of unique revenue, and altering the process for meeting a targeted revenue amount by giving the governor more flexibility. On the appropriations side, the Senate removed or modified several House reductions and added funding or adjustments in areas including the judicial branch, corrections, HHS, the Human Rights Commission, and certain settlement costs. The presenter also highlighted Senate changes in House Bill 2 and related budget provisions, including a new arts tax credit, a nursing home bed fee, changes to Medicaid premium assumptions, and differences in how motor vehicle inspection repeal and BLT-related revenue are handled. No votes were taken in the portion shown; the discussion was informational and comparative, aimed at explaining the Senate budget changes before conference committee negotiations.

Transcript Highlights:

• For over 20 years, California has required certain contracts, including leases, to be translated into
• these five languages if the contract was negotiated in one of them.
• If a landlord is trying to repossess their property. enforce their contract rights, this bill is not
• Assembly Bill 381. one by Assemblymember Stephanie and others, an act relating to public contracts.
• Assembly Bill 458 by Assemblymember Stephanie, an act relating to public contracts.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• millions of the pockets of the shady former NFL star behind the company, with de facto sole source contracts
• suspend your license—22 pages of about seven rows a page—but only the failure-to-pay database is contracted
• The committee sub authorizes DBS to contract with private vendors to assist in processing verification
• And for example, we have a contract with CPS Energy.
• We had 40 positions; I had 20 contract and I had 20 grant.

Bills: HB1455, HB1777, HB2101, HB2136, HB2609, HB3142, HB3552, HB3846, HB4155, HB4514, HB4879, HB4995, HB5014, HB5139, HB5228, HB5436, HCR40

Keywords: mental health, jail diversion, law enforcement, reporting requirements, criminal justice, data collection, criminal justice reform, intellectual disability, mental illness, data reporting, public safety, reporting, substance abuse, sex offender, driver's license, identification, gunshot detection, unreported gunshots, municipal police, crime investigation

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and heard several bills, generally leaving them pending after testimony. HB 4995 would create a training/certification program allowing licensed physicians and certain EMS personnel assigned to tactical units to carry firearms during high-risk deployments, with supporters saying it would protect tactical medical staff and improve emergency care; the committee substitute was withdrawn and the bill left pending. HB 2609 would repeal the OmniBase/failure-to-appear-or-pay license hold program; the author and supporters argued it unfairly compounds debt and traps drivers in noncompliance, while judges and municipal court representatives said it is an effective, voluntary tool that prompts court appearances and reduces warrants. HB 4879 would create a grant program to help local law enforcement pay for lab testing of suspected hemp/THC substances, and HB 5436 would allow licensed auto recyclers to purchase certain untitled vehicles for scrap or parts to curb illegal sales, VIN cloning, and chop shop activity; both bills drew supportive testimony and were left pending. The committee also heard HB 1777, which would place a discrete sex-offender designation on driver’s licenses and state IDs for registrants under Chapter 62. The author said the marker would help law enforcement and businesses quickly identify potentially dangerous offenders and cited other states and research in support, while opponents argued it would function as a scarlet letter, increase harassment, and punish people who are already complying with the law. HB 4155 would create a Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force in the Governor’s Office to study risk factors, coordinate agencies, and recommend policy changes; the author, HHSC, TCFV, and a survivor testified in support, emphasizing the number of family violence homicides and the need for coordinated, data-driven prevention, and the bill was left pending. Finally, HB 4514 would authorize DPS to use facial image verification, with consent and confidentiality protections, to help businesses verify identities and combat fraud. Supporters from the lumber and identity-verification industries said it would reduce losses from fake IDs and organized theft, while the author stressed privacy safeguards and limited, consent-based use. The committee substitute was withdrawn and the bill was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• 48.720> I<00:40:48.960> I<00:40:49.280> also<00:40:49.599> agree you to contract
• because I I also agree you to contract because I I also agree with<00:40:50.079> department<00
• act and allow SHIPA to implement this act and allow SHIPA<00:56:20.960> to<00:56:21.280> contract
• > the<00:56:22.079> services<00:56:22.799> to<00:56:23.040> an SHIPA to contract
• the services to an SHIPA to contract the services to an appropriate<00:56:23.760> entity<00:56

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee opened its Health and Human Services calendar, noted quorum, and first took up HB 194. The chair explained amendments to add an exemption for a person invited by a patient to attend a birth outside an accredited birth facility when no compensation is involved, remove a date reference in section 9, and accept Department of Health amendments. Members raised no objections, and the committee voted to pass HB 194 with amendments. The committee then heard HB 139 on insurance, with the Attorney General flagging possible unlawful delegation issues and suggesting clarifying language, while the Insurance Division stood on written testimony. A number of health organizations and advocates, including HMSA, Hawaii Association of Health Plans, oncology and fertility groups, testified in support. HB 613 on homeless youth drew broad support from state agencies, counties, youth advocates, and community groups; testimony emphasized the need for permanent safe spaces and more attention to unaccompanied minors, with one witness asking for clarity on funding and shelter capacity. HB 71 on a tax credit for family caregivers drew support from AARP, Alzheimer’s and children’s advocates, and several individuals, while the Tax Foundation raised concerns about blank provisions and the cost-effectiveness of administering a small credit. The Department of Taxation said a prior version with a $5,000 nonrefundable credit would have cost the general fund about $397.4 million. HB 716 on health care technology support received strong support from SHPDA, OHIN, and many provider groups, who described it as a one-time investment of roughly $20–25 million to connect rural and neighbor island providers to electronic health records; members questioned how the grant program would be allocated. HB 799 on physician hospital privileges also drew mixed testimony: supporters said it would align Hawaii with updated CMS rules and improve access, especially on Maui, while Maui Health and some members worried it could reduce on-call coverage and hospital safety, leading to discussion of a possible report and sunset date.

Transcript Highlights:

• So those will move to the next phase, which is contract documents.
• consulting service division out of Minneapolis, ranked the highest through the selection process and is contracted
• All of the savings are returned to the state per contract.
• All of the savings are returned to the state per contract. Any further questions? Please continue.

Summary: The Budget Section Leadership Division met with a quorum and approved the March 18 minutes before hearing a series of informational updates. The Petroleum Council reported that North Dakota oil production is expected to remain relatively flat at just under 1.2 million barrels per day, with activity shifting northward in the Bakken as technology improves and three- and four-mile laterals boost well performance. The presentation also discussed oil and gas prices, gas taxation, flaring concerns, the importance of pipelines and other linear infrastructure, and enhanced oil recovery pilot projects supported by state and federal funding. Members asked questions about gas production taxes, natural gas liquids, and the outlook for drilling rigs and future production. The Office of State Tax Commissioner then reviewed the federal “big beautiful bill” and its estimated effect on North Dakota individual and business income tax collections. Staff explained that most of the individual income tax impact comes from the permanent increase in the standard deduction, while temporary provisions such as senior deductions, tip and overtime exclusions, and auto loan interest deductions have smaller or limited-term effects. They also noted that business tax changes, especially depreciation and expensing provisions, create a larger near-term cash impact, and that some FY25 collections likely reflected one-time oil field transactions that may have inflated the baseline used in earlier estimates. OMB provided updates on major capital projects and facility funding. For Capitol grounds improvements, officials described plans for 18th-floor renovations, wayfinding upgrades, public seating, lighting, tree management, and possible restroom and lobby reconfiguration, while also noting the governor’s residence security project and the discovery of human remains on the Capitol grounds. OMB and its consultants also reported on the state facility maintenance fund, including window replacement, boiler work, roof and foundation repairs, and a new facility conditions assessment covering more state buildings. Updates were also given on the new state hospital in Jamestown, the Minot state office building, and the use of federal state fiscal recovery funds, including possible future reallocations to the Department of Corrections. Finally, Legislative Council staff summarized the interim compliance report on legislative intent and trust fund activity, highlighting the status of lines of credit, Bank of North Dakota profit transfers, the statewide litigation pool, the new Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship, corrections planning, HHS program updates, and a likely future general fund request for the unemployment insurance modernization project. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes; the meeting was primarily informational, with members asking clarifying questions throughout.