Transcript Highlights:

• As a fiscal steward, the board sets fee rates to ensure financial stability for the department while
• In the near term, the board sets the annual fee rates for each fiscal year.
• The board will vote at its meeting next week on the fee rates for fiscal year 2025 and 2026.
• For the generation and handling fee, the board is considering either leaving the rate unchanged or a
• Like, they are improving their compliance rates over the last several years.

Summary: The joint oversight hearing focused on DTSC’s implementation of SB 158 reforms, including enforcement, community engagement, fee stability, the hazardous waste management plan, permitting backlogs, and the Safer Consumer Products program. Senators and Assembly members emphasized protecting overburdened communities and asked how DTSC and the Board of Environmental Safety are using their authority to improve accountability, reduce delays, and address hazardous waste facilities and consumer product chemicals. The hearing also included discussion of extended producer responsibility programs and whether DTSC can support them more efficiently, including through coordination with CalRecycle. DTSC Director Katie Butler said the department is now more transparent, accountable, and fiscally stable, citing stronger enforcement actions, an interactive inspections map, expanded community outreach, and emergency response work on the Los Angeles wildfire cleanup. She said DTSC has made progress on fee reform, the hazardous waste management plan, cleanup grants, permit renewals, and safer consumer products rulemaking, including adding microplastics to the candidate chemical list. Board Chair Andrew Rakestraw said the board has held multiple public meetings and hearings, is working on fee rates and performance metrics, and is revising the hazardous waste management plan after public comment, including removing a proposal to send certain contaminated soil to municipal landfills. He also noted remaining concerns about fee structure, permit delays, and the pace of the safer consumer products program. Public witnesses offered sharply different views. A representative of the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance said SB 158 reforms have improved permitting and transparency, but urged more attention to risk-based decision-making, reduced duplication, and possible General Fund support for plan implementation rather than relying only on fees. Earthjustice argued DTSC remains too slow and that communities continue to suffer from long-delayed permits and weak protections, urging the Legislature to take a more active role and to prioritize eliminating hazardous substances rather than minimizing costs. Committee members pressed the witnesses on permit renewals, community impacts, and the pace of the safer consumer products program, while DTSC defended its progress and said further legislative collaboration may be needed on hazardous waste management and emerging waste streams.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's the rate that you can't exceed without voter approval.
• However, this school district decided then to adopt a higher rate.
• a failed tax TRE, or a tax ratification election, ...the school may only adopt the voter-approved rate
• that exceeds the district's voter-approval tax rate.
• that exceeds the district's voter-approval tax rate.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, received the House message that HB 35 had passed, and heard a gubernatorial message submitting Trinity River Authority board appointments for Senate confirmation. The chamber also adopted a slate of Senate resolutions by voice vote and later postponed reading and referral of bills and resolutions until the end of the calendar. Several members introduced bills with brief explanations before the Senate took them up under suspension of the regular order. The body then considered and passed a series of measures, often by wide margins, including SB 2846 on wildlife disease control and quarantine authority; CS SB 1224 requiring school superintendents or directors to report certain employee misconduct to local law enforcement; CS SB 2310 on transparency for degree and transfer requirements at public colleges; SB 1502 limiting school districts’ ability to exceed voter-approval tax rates after a failed TRE; CS SB 1141 on notice requirements before full adversary hearings in child-protection cases; CS SB 2568 exempting certain flood-control reservoirs from TCEQ permitting; SB 1524 on confidentiality of information about weapons in foster homes; CS SB 2925 creating a task force on modernizing manufacturing; CS SB 2269 on dispute resolution and enforcement for long-term care facilities; CS SB 1266 on Medicaid provider enrollment and disenrollment notices; SB 243 on migrant labor housing standards; SB 2200 on overweight vehicles transporting hazardous materials; CS SB 2480 on the Texas Physician Health Program; CS SB 1585 restricting government contracts with companies tied to foreign adversaries; CS SB 2357 establishing maternal health training; and SB 1551 requiring accessible AED placement in public schools. The Senate also debated more contested bills. CS SB 2019, which would extend vaccine exemption rules to medical and veterinary students, advanced only partway after a divided vote. CS SB 1442, directing a study on veterinary telemedicine relationships, and CS SB 1241, which would allow the Higher Education Coordinating Board to study alternative college entrance exams, prompted extended questioning about agency authority and whether changes should return to the legislature before taking effect. CS SB 2753, which would integrate early voting and election day voting into a single in-person voting period, was amended and passed to engrossment despite opposition. CS SB 2201, dealing with gang and foreign terrorist organization intelligence databases, and CS SB 2514, creating a DPS hostile foreign adversaries unit, drew detailed debate over civil liberties and national security. CS SB 2422, aimed at limiting Texas Medical Board discipline related to COVID-19 treatments and practices, also advanced after lengthy discussion and a close vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• which would be considered fair market rate.
• <00:10:39.519> which agencies be released to the rate which agencies be released to the rate
• No, you want that long-term lease, and it could be slightly below market rate to get the term.
• <00:12:02.880> I'm<00:12:03.120> just rate to get the term. Yeah.
• I'm just rate to get the term. Yeah.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• claims against polluters knowingly responsible for worsening climate impacts affecting Hawaii insurance rates
• claims against polluters knowingly responsible for worsening climate impacts affecting Hawaii insurance rates
• :03.440> commissioner<00:55:03.920> approved<00:55:04.240> a<00:55:04.400> rate
• insurance commissioner approved a rate insurance commissioner approved a rate increase<00:55:05.119
• commissioner, specifically their rate commissioner, specifically their rate and<00:55:18.160>

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: At a joint Senate hearing on SCR 198 and SR 178, the committees considered resolutions urging Hawaii insurers and the Hawaii Property Insurance Association to seek subrogation claims against polluters linked to worsening climate impacts and higher insurance costs. Testimony was overwhelmingly supportive, with 47 written testimonies in support and additional oral support from former Honolulu chief resilience officer Josh Tamro. The committees recommended passage with amendments, narrowing the language to refer specifically to polluters who knowingly engaged in misleading and deceptive practices about the connection between their products and climate change, along with technical non-substantive edits. Both committees adopted the amended resolutions by vote. At a separate joint hearing on STR 226 and SR 201, which urged changes to Medicaid 1915 home and community-based services waiver eligibility criteria, supporters argued the current rules and administrative guidance were inconsistent and left some people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including those with mental health dual diagnoses, without proper access. The Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities and Hawaii Disability Rights Center supported the intent but noted factual issues and said a memo from the department addressed only part of the problem, not the mental health-related concerns. After discussion, the chair concluded the resolution was not the best vehicle and deferred it, suggesting a more comprehensive bill would be needed. The Commerce and Consumer Protection committee also took up HB 799 HD2 SD1 on healthcare and recommended passage with amendments, including striking a written transfer-agreement requirement, shortening the sunset to June 30, 2028, removing a related timeline, and making technical corrections. In another joint hearing, SCR 222 and SR 197, which would have urged towing companies to have on-site ATMs for vehicle owners, drew opposition from the Office of Consumer Protection, which said Act 60 already requires credit and debit card acceptance and that ATMs could let companies evade the law. Members noted ongoing complaints and weak enforcement, and the chair recommended turning the issue into a task force for further study, with decision-making deferred because of quorum issues. The committee also heard several other resolutions: STR 57 and SR 41, urging Congress to create a national reinsurance program, received only supportive testimony; STR 70 and SR 54, calling for a pharmacy reimbursement working group, also drew support; and STR 123, proposing an attorney general-led landlord-tenant working group, received comments from the Attorney General’s Office suggesting a more appropriate lead agency and noting the Legislative Reference Bureau may be better suited to assist. No final adverse action was taken on those measures during the hearing segment described.

Transcript Highlights:

• to push his views and pour fuel on the fire of a measles outbreak that began due to low vaccination rates
• Autism rates have gone from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,500, depending on which studies you look at.
• I arrived a year later when vaccination rates were already below any previous level. I went there.
• In Japan, the obesity rate is still 3%.
• The nurses get charged with manslaughter, but vaccination rates go down.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, that's why we have to get the error rate down.
• If we get the error rate down, the state match goes down.
• So we're pushing DHS very hard to get that error rate.
• You're recognized and The error rate is about 11%. What is it currently?
• And they're rated as one... of the tops in the nation.

Bills: HB4030, HB4031, HB4032, HB4033, HB4034, HB4035, HB4036, HB4037, HB4038, HB4039, HB4040, HB4041, HB4042, HB4043, HB4044, HB4045, HB4046, HB4047, HB4048, HB4049, HB4050, HB4051, HB4052, HB4053, HB4054, HB4056, HB4057, HB4065, HB4067, HB4071, HB4072, SB1144, SB1145, SB1146, SB1147, SB1148, SB1149, SB1156, SB1157, SB1158, SB1159, SB1161, SB1162, SB1163, SB1164, SB1165, SB1166, SB1167, SB1174, SB1175, SB1176

Keywords: education funding, budget appropriations, public schools, teachers' retirement, early childhood education, aeronautics, infrastructure, funding, sustainability, Oklahoma, mining, operator fees, coal production, noncoal mining, department of mines, revenue, state budget, budgetary reform, financial legislation, fiscal accountability

Transcript Highlights:

• It is one of the highest crash-rate locations in the metropolitan area, historically more than double
• My recommendation would be to identify a critical crash rate threshold, and if a project exceeded that
• I was just looking at the MCIT rates, and in 2024 the rate the Minnesota County Intergovernmental Trust
• I was just looking at the the MC it rates and in 2024, the rate the mic Minnesota county ever intergovernmental
• We're going to reduce insurance rates on our own as a state of 5 and a half million people.

Bills: HF4807

Keywords: overweight vehicles, aggregate mining, local ordinance restrictions, legislative audit, transportation, resource inventory

Transcript Highlights:

• or<00:24:13.400> the The final provisions of this bill relate to the tax structure and rates
• The average homeowner's property tax rate inside the Urban Services District will decrease with this
• <00:24:32.960> only flexibility to modify those rates only flexibility to modify those rates
• The average homeowner's<00:24:39.760> property<00:24:40.120> tax<00:24:40.400> rate<
• property tax rate inside the Urban<00:24:41.360> Services<00:24:41.800> District<00:24

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:10 Attendance Roll Call: 00:19 HB 10 Discussion: 02:19 HB 10 Vote: 06:24 HB 139 Discussion: 08:23 HB 139 Vote: 19:50 HB 607 Discussion: 21:29 HB 607 Vote: 25:55 HB 642 Discussion: 28:15 HB 642 Vote: 32:06 Adjournment: 33:25, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• August, September, and October reporting at a preliminary rate within 7% and below.
• October reporting at a preliminary rate within 7% and below, which more closely aligns with the federal
• You talked about reducing the error rate Thank you, Mr. Chair.
• You talked about reducing the error rate.
• So I think you're saying that the federal error rate is about 6%, but the states is around 12 right now

Summary: The committee first considered the confirmation of Dr. John Lattell to the Board of Medicine. In questioning, senators focused heavily on his views about abortion, vaccines, ivermectin, and the role of CDC/FDA guidance in board discipline cases. Dr. Lattell said the board applies Florida statutes and works through probable cause panels and legal counsel, but he also expressed strong pro-life views, skepticism of federal health guidance, and criticism of vaccines and some medical practices. Supporters praised his long medical career, military service, and family medicine background, while opponents argued his views could prevent him from being objective in disciplinary matters. The committee voted to recommend him for confirmation to the full Senate, with Senators Polsky and Ruson voting no. The committee then took up the confirmation of Taylor Hatch as Secretary of the Department of Children and Families. Hatch described her background in state human services and outlined priorities centered on accountability, data, lived experience, and improving service delivery. Senators asked about SNAP error rates, Hope Florida, legislative analyses, staffing, and the department’s handling of child welfare and medically complex cases. Hatch said the department was reducing SNAP error rates, that Hope Florida uses navigators to connect people with community resources and self-sufficiency supports, and that DCF is working with the Department of Health and other partners to improve investigations and accountability in child welfare. She also said the agency is reviewing medically complex cases and strengthening oversight of community-based care providers through contracts, audits, and proposed funding-model changes. A substantial portion of the Hatch discussion centered on whether the department had been responsive to legislative requests and whether it had provided timely bill analyses. Senators also pressed her on Hope Florida staffing, the number of participants served, and the Hope Florida Foundation’s compliance and legal oversight. Hatch said the foundation is undergoing a financial audit and that the department is relying on required reports and ongoing investigations. The transcript ends amid continued questioning about a community-based care contractor’s finances, related-party transactions, and whether further forensic audits or repayments are needed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Allowing guns could raise their insurance rates and security costs, and there are more than, and there
• know that you're the person that I should be asking this of, but isn't I mean, would the insurance rates
• Typically, does your insurance rate go up or down? You know, I am not the person, I'm a gun lawyer.
• or dropping rates for the, for the property, I mean, for the property owner?
• It's in the highest crime rate area of Dallas.

Bills: HB259

Keywords: redistricting, Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission, Texas Legislature, elections, district boundaries, voter representation

Transcript Highlights:

• We haven't even started to ask ourselves why the rate of suicide among children has gone up, yet we ask
• We haven't even started to ask ourselves why the rate of suicide among children has gone up, yet we ask
• According to a rain, that is the rate in which CPS finds evidence for child sexual abuse.
• Not only will it lead to increased STI rates, but also teen pregnancy rates.
• Not only will it lead to increase STI rates, but also teen pregnancy rates.

Summary: The committee on Pre-K through 12 Education took up SB 1288, a parental rights bill by Sen. Grall, which would expand the Parents Bill of Rights to require written parental consent for minors’ medical care and prescriptions, give parents access to medical records, require parental review/consent for surveys and questionnaires, and restrict use of biofeedback devices without parental permission. The sponsor said the bill is intended to restore parents’ role in major medical decisions and to address concerns about schools or providers collecting sensitive information from children without parents’ knowledge. She said she was open to clarifying language, especially around exceptions and definitions, but maintained that parents should generally be the decision-makers. Committee members pressed the sponsor on how the bill would affect minors who are abused, homeless, estranged from parents, or otherwise without a safe guardian, as well as access to STI treatment, mental health care, contraception, and care after sexual assault. The sponsor repeatedly said children in unsafe situations should come into the child welfare or law enforcement system and that she was open to changes for truly unsafe or unavailable parents, but she rejected the idea that the bill was merely about notification rather than consent. She also defended the survey provisions as a way to stop routine questioning of children about suicide and other sensitive topics without parental awareness, and said the biofeedback language was aimed at school settings where data about children’s anxiety or stress is allegedly being shared with classmates. Public testimony was heavily divided, with many speakers opposing the bill and describing personal experiences with abuse, rape, mental health crises, lack of supportive parents, and the need for confidential access to birth control, STI testing, and counseling. Opponents argued the bill would delay care, endanger vulnerable minors, and reduce access to medically necessary services and surveys that can identify risk. Supporters said the bill would restore parental authority, improve transparency, and protect children from inappropriate surveys and biometric monitoring. During debate, Sen. Berman and Sen. Davis opposed the bill, saying it conflicts with existing law and could harm vulnerable youth, while Sen. Yarborough supported it, arguing that not all parents are bad actors and that the state should not treat all families as if they were. The transcript ends with debate underway and no final vote or action recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• that this committee has done for a long period of time is to suggest to agencies what the commission rate
• One is the Department of Defense is exempt from FAA fair market value rates at airports.
• at uh airports fair market value rates at uh airports right<00:14:10.279> so<00:14:10.399>
• Contributing factors are current inflation and increased interest rates.
• rates rates the<00:24:59.399> Realtors<00:24:59.960> received<00:25:00.279> limited

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Long Range Capital Planning and Utilization Committee met in organizational session and first elected Representative John Cluder as clerk. A nomination of Senator Mark Makoni as vice chair was made but not voted on because he was absent; it was carried over to the next meeting. The committee also reviewed its guidelines and procedures, including how it handles property-disposal requests, late items, and informational materials, and then approved the November 12, 2024 minutes with one abstention from a member who had been absent. The committee then considered several state property and lease requests. It approved a 50-year, $1-per-year ground lease for about 5.66 acres at Berlin Regional Airport in Milan for a New Hampshire Army National Guard hangar/support facility, after hearing that the project is federally funded, intended for training and search-and-rescue support, and would have no permanent full-time staffing. The committee also approved a 30-year lease for the Department of Justice to move the chief medical examiner’s offices, morgue, and autopsy suite to 279 Pleasant Street in Concord, with testimony that the current Concord Hospital space is inadequate and that the new site would double body-storage capacity. Several Department of Safety and Department of Transportation property items were approved as well. Safety received approval for a 10-year lease, with renewal options, for the State Police aircraft hangar at 91 Airport Road in Concord. Transportation was authorized to continue disposal efforts for remnant parcels in Concord, Conway, Lisbon, Effingham, and Mount Vernon, with testimony explaining market conditions, appraisals, access limits, and easements; members asked questions about access and buildability, but each item was approved. During the Berlin lease item, the committee was told the FAA objects to any lease longer than 50 years at that airport, so the request was revised from 55 years to 50 years on the record before approval.

Transcript Highlights:

• The state growth rates were in the range of 6.9% to 9.6%, which are historically high state growth rates
• the Graduation Initiative 2025 comes to an end, I am pleased to report that our four-year graduation rate
• Compared to our peer institutions, CSU graduation rates rank in the top 10% in the nation.
• the UC specifically: if there was a way for our federal government to cut the overhead reimbursement rates
• That was left from the facilities administration rates that we had, that we put in extra money to support

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• transplant, an invasive... quarter of a million dollar surgery that had a 5 to 10 percent mortality rate
• During COVID, we had the highest death rate of any country in the world.
• American Blacks were dying from COVID at a greater rate than almost any population in the world—over
• The only groups worse are Indian reservations, which haven't even... ...rate, and the only group that
• Why don't we know the answer after 30 years of steady rises in autism rates?

Transcript Highlights:

• Is that 83% success rate on your lawsuits?
• I will point to rate design and the role of the utilities in this space.
• With increasing electricity rates, it is getting increasingly challenging to make the case for lower
• So we've been watching the work of the interagency rates working group really closely.
• So I think rate design is one piece.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee held a hearing on the impact of the Trump administration’s federal climate policy changes on Massachusetts, with a focus on threatened grants, regulatory rollbacks, and state options to continue climate work. Chair Creem and other senators emphasized that Massachusetts still has a 2050 net-zero mandate and needs contingency plans for clean energy, transportation electrification, offshore wind, resilience, and financing if federal support is reduced or withdrawn. Executive branch witnesses said Massachusetts has already experienced disruptions to more than $1 billion in climate-related federal funds, though many suspended grants were restored after litigation by the Attorney General’s office. EEA reported continued uncertainty around a $389 million Grid Innovation Program award and a FEMA dam-safety reimbursement, while MassDOT said its NEVI fast-charging program remains on track with about $50 million obligated, but a $14.4 million competitive charging grant is on hold and future unobligated NEVI funds remain uncertain. Senators also discussed EV rebates, charging infrastructure, the role of the Community Climate Bank, and whether the state can expand independent financing and support for municipalities, higher education, and nonprofits. The Attorney General’s office described successful multi-state litigation that won a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the federal funding freeze, restoring access to many EPA, DOE, USDA, and Interior funds, while noting continued enforcement actions over FEMA manual reviews and other barriers. The office said it is also preparing to defend the endangerment finding, California vehicle-emissions waivers, offshore wind permits, and other federal climate protections. Outside advocates warned that federal tax-credit rollbacks, tariffs, and possible repeal of IRA and infrastructure funding could slow EV adoption and raise costs, while offshore wind testimony said federal permitting pauses and legal challenges are delaying projects and could leave Massachusetts far short of its 2030 offshore wind goals. Nonprofit witnesses also described canceled or delayed grants for wetland restoration and urban heat mitigation, and urged the Legislature to increase state funding, including for the environmental bond bill and municipal vulnerability preparedness work.

Transcript Highlights:

• They raise rates. Got plenty of capacity and we're not going to raise people rates on crypto mines.
• They raise rates.
• We've got to raise rates and we got to make people pay more for new generation. Two years ago.
• Because, like I said, energy already said, we're not going to, these are not going to cause rates to
• Energy already said, we're not going to, these are not going to cause rates to be raised.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And in fact, in 2010 when this limited low-fat or skim milk policy went into place, the obesity rate
• 03.760> obesity policy went into place uh the obesity policy went into place uh the obesity rate
• in United States for children was rate in United States for children was at<00:21:07.039> 17%.
• > York had testified to Congress that York had testified to Congress that obesity<00:21:33.360> rates
• seem to actually be lower obesity rates seem to actually be lower in<00:21:35.919> students<00

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• most impacted, given they may receive loan terms that are less favorable, such as higher interest rates
• We are, as a system, working with some lenders to try to get the best percentage interest rates for our
• We'd also note that over the past three years, Cal Grant spending has been increasing at a higher rate
• In particular, I'll provide a couple of numbers on our FAFSA and CADAA submission rates as of the end
• And to say cavalierly that students can just work more, we know that that will impact graduation rates

Summary: The subcommittee on Education Finance heard an overview of the governor’s budget proposals and higher education financial aid trends, with a major focus on the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS), Cal Grant spending, and the effects of recent federal student aid changes. The Department of Finance said the budget would fully fund Cal Grant at projected levels and reduce MCS coverage from 35% to 17.5% of unmet need in 2026-27, while the Legislative Analyst’s Office supported considering the reduction as a cost-saving measure given out-year deficits. UC and CSU representatives opposed the cut, saying MCS is important to affordability and debt-free degree goals; they estimated average awards would fall substantially and that campuses do not have funds to backfill the loss. The Student Aid Commission said the proposal would reduce aid but simplify administration, and members questioned how lower awards would affect students, borrowing, and work-study options. No vote was taken, and the issue was held open for possible future action. The committee then discussed federal changes to student loans and Pell Grant policy under H.R. 1, including caps on Parent PLUS loans, elimination of Grad PLUS loans, and new proration rules for federal direct loans based on enrollment intensity. The LAO said these changes would likely push some borrowers into the private market, especially graduate and professional students and some parents of students at private institutions. CSU said the changes would affect thousands of graduate and part-time students and could reduce access by about $97 million in loan availability for part-time borrowers, while UC said the new definitions of professional degrees were too restrictive and would reduce access for nursing, teaching, law, dentistry, and other programs. Community colleges said they use relatively little federal loan aid but are monitoring Workforce Pell. Members raised concerns about workforce impacts, social mobility, and whether the state should consider alternative loan programs or other ways to reduce student costs. This issue was also held open. In the segment financial aid update, the LAO reported Cal Grant spending is projected to rise to about $3.2 billion in 2026-27, driven by more recipients and higher awards tied to UC and CSU tuition increases, while CSAC said FAFSA and CADAA applications are up significantly year over year. CSU, community colleges, and UC described their aid packaging and rising aid totals, with CSU reporting over $5.5 billion in aid to 381,000 students, community colleges reporting over $4.3 billion to more than 920,000 students, and UC reporting $3.17 billion in grant aid to undergraduates. Members asked about Cal Grant reform, application trends, and long-term outcomes; UC and community colleges pointed to alumni and wage dashboards, and the LAO noted the state’s Cradle to Career data effort. The committee then took public comment, including testimony on library funding and other education-related priorities, and concluded by holding the issues open without formal action.

Transcript Highlights:

• Minnesota continues to be among the states with the lowest imprisonment rates in the nation.
• We currently imprison 143 per 100,000 people, a rate less than half the national average.
• The lowest mitigated departure rate was 31%. Representative Mohler: All right. Right.
• had the lowest mitigated departure rate had the lowest mitigated departure rate of<00:20:23.039>
• The lowest mitigated departure rate<00:20:26.160> was<00:20:26.320> 31%.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 3380, a bill by Representative Hudson aimed at repeat violent felony offenders who use firearms. Hudson said the bill would require aggravated sentencing, up to the statutory maximum, for people convicted of three or more violent felonies involving firearms, with no probation, parole, early release, or work release. He argued the measure was needed because repeat offenders cycle through the system and because downward departures are too common, especially in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Dave Zimmer, a former law enforcement officer and public safety policy fellow, testified in support, saying the bill would tighten loopholes, restore consequences for repeat violent offenders, and help victims of violent crime. Representative Pinto questioned the bill’s need and structure, asking for specific examples of the problem and raising concerns about separation of powers, the breadth of the lookback into prior convictions, and whether the bill actually required a full maximum sentence or could be satisfied by only a small upward departure. He also noted that sentencing departures are public and can be challenged. Representative Mohler similarly pressed for clarification on the statistics Hudson cited, referenced sentencing guidelines data showing different departure rates across counties, and said departures can sometimes reflect victim preferences or evidentiary difficulties. Hudson responded that the bill was simple, that any ambiguity about firearm involvement would likely not count, and that the point was to ensure sentences could not go down for repeat armed violent offenders. After discussion, the chair announced that an amendment, DE2, was out of order. The committee then laid House File 3380 over, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• :32.079> We<00:41:32.319> have<00:41:32.400> time<00:41:32.640> to any rate
• We have time to any rate is premature.
• I mentioned that when we are asked to evaluate a project that is necessitated by a high accident rate
• 27.920> great<00:45:28.079> if<00:45:28.319> we<00:45:28.480> actually rate
• It would be great if we actually rate.

Keywords: 1189, house, all