Transcript Highlights:

• Civil Beat covered this, was that a scientist was funded by Representative Rose Martinez to take samples
• Rose Martinez funded by U Representative Rose Martinez to<00:13:21.519> take<00:13:21.680> samples
• > dust<00:13:22.880> on<00:13:23.120> the<00:13:23.279> homes to take samples
• of dust on the homes to take samples of dust on the homes near<00:13:23.839> the<00:13:24.000
• range, as well as to catch fish right in front of the beach park, where the ranges and all those samples

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection met on April 1, 2025, to hear three resolutions. The first, HR 27/HCR 28, sought to reconvene a working group on contamination remediation tied to the Pu‘uloa/Puoa Ranch Range training facility. Testimony was strongly supportive, with speakers from the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i and the community describing concerns about lead contamination, health risks to children and pregnant women, and the need for continued testing and coordination. The committee later recommended and adopted the resolution unamended by vote, with Rep. Quinnland excused. The second measure, HR 143/HCR 149, asked the Department of Land and Natural Resources to convene a working group to assess steps toward transitioning Volcano, Hawai‘i, into a biosphere area aligned with the Hawaiian Islands Biosphere Reserve. Support came from community and environmental interests, including testimony from the Sierra Club and others, and DLNR offered comments. The committee recommended passage with amendments limiting the working group participants to the district representative and the Volcano Community Association, and that recommendation was adopted. The final measure, HR 191/HCR 199, urged DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife to prioritize restoration and protection of additional wetlands and an Ankuline pools. DLNR supported the intent but suggested technical clarifications, while community testimony emphasized wetlands’ role in flood control, sediment capture, and long-term environmental protection in South Maui. The committee recommended several amendments, including removing reference to the Division of Forestry and Wildlife, revising agency references, changing “state waters” to “waters of the state,” and assigning the County of Maui as the responsible party for certain wetland protections. The amended resolution was then adopted, and the hearing adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We we the the goal is that at least 33% of the sample tax in the on the test relate to those sample tech
• excuse me of the tax passages that support passages on the test relate to the sample tax on the best
• And this is Naples based on a sample of students. So it's not all students tested.
• General, I will note, though, again, Nape is based on a sample. >> Not all. >> States teach the same

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:09:57.200> um cover but using a very small sampling um cover but using a very small sampling
• The Senate had a position related to sales and samples at cannabis events.
• This would allow, at a cannabis event, the vendors to provide samples to individuals.
• <01:38:44.000> at related to um sales and samples at related to um sales and samples at cannabis
• It establishes samples to individuals.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um last um I pulled some sample statute.
• > sample<00:15:18.079> policy<00:15:18.399> but policies or not sample policy but
• You send in a soil sample. There's sand, clay, and loam.
• And you send in your soil sample, and it'll be located somewhere in that triangle.
• You send in a soil sample. sample. sample.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These changes are to increase flexibility for retail liquor stores to offer larger sample variety and
• The sample amounts align with the sample amounts allowed for breweries, wineries, and distilleries in
• As I understand, this is going to increase the level at which you can sample alcoholic products.

Bills: SB1238, SB1277, SB1304, SB1378, SB1423, SB1484, SB1501, SR32, SB1502, SB1721, SB1735, SB1832, SB1847, SB1859, SB1876, SB2170, SB2182

Keywords: domestic abuse, domestic violence, assault and battery, strangulation, intimate partner violence, family or household member, repeat offender, felony enhancement, Class B5 felony, stalking, batterers intervention program, court-ordered treatment, protective order, presence of a child, pregnant victim, great bodily injury, animal cruelty, cockfighting, dogfighting, sex offender registration

Transcript Highlights:

• This one-page amendment will allow you to spread and to land apply and export as long as your soil samples
• and your litter samples are within guidelines with the Department of Agriculture.
• passed this law in 2024, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife was required by law to collect 1,000 samples
• move these functions for the ability to have a $500 license to help pay for the genetic testing, the samples
• move these functions for the ability to have a $500 license to help pay for the genetic testing, the samples

Bills: HB4338, HB3977, HB2100, HB2975, HB3056, HB3406, HB3720, HB4316, HB3405, HB1907, HB3142, HB3173, HB3270, HB3728, HB2440, HB2596, HB3466, HB3469, HB4338, HB3977, HB2100, HB2975, HB3056, HB3406, HB3720, HB4316, HB3405, HB1907, HB3142, HB3173, HB3270, HB3728, HB2440, HB2596, HB3466, HB3469

Keywords: HB4338, Oklahoma Brine Development Act, brine unitization, produced water, produced water unit, oil and gas wastewater, produced water recycling, reclaimed water, constituent elements, brine rights, solution gas, Corporation Commission, unitization, royalty interests, surface owner, oil and gas produced water, recycling and reuse, wastewater disposal, mineral extraction, lithium extraction

Transcript Highlights:

• Quality control reviews sample cases, and the payment error rate is determined by re-verifying all aspects
• of the sampled case.
• In March, the household did not report the change to the department, and then in May their case is sampled
• So when we reviewed the month of May cases, our error rate for that sample was 8%. Okay.
• periods where the recertification dates were extended, but during that extended period, they were still sampled

Summary: The Human Services Subcommittee met to receive implementation briefings on House Bill 1267, which was enacted to address benefit cliffs and help public assistance recipients move toward economic self-sufficiency. The Department of Children and Families reviewed SNAP, Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), and Medicaid-related eligibility and work requirements, including who must participate in work activities, the role of Florida Commerce and CareerSource Florida, and the new standardized intake and exit surveys required by the law. Members also discussed the TCA program’s household-based structure, the 48-month adult limit, and how work requirements differ for SNAP and TCA participants. Florida Commerce and CareerSource Florida then reported on implementation of HB 1267, including the CLIFF financial forecasting tool, case management changes, and survey data collected from welfare transition participants. They said intake surveys showed common barriers such as child care, transportation, and flexible work schedules, while exit surveys showed many participants were employed or had gained credentials, though response rates were low because the surveys are voluntary. A local workforce board, CareerSource Tampa Bay, described using CLIFF in case management and shared a success story about a participant who completed training, earned certifications, and moved into employment. The committee also heard a separate DCF briefing on the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its impact on SNAP. DCF said the law expands able-bodied adult without dependents requirements, changes non-citizen eligibility, ends future SNAP-Ed funding, increases state administrative cost sharing, and may require states to share in benefit costs if payment error rates remain above federal thresholds. Members focused heavily on Florida’s SNAP payment error rate, which DCF said was 15.13% for federal fiscal year 2024 and 12.60% for 2023, with the state currently on a corrective action plan. DCF described steps to reduce errors, including more verification of rent and utility expenses, improved income matching, staff training, and system modernization. No votes were taken, and the meeting adjourned after questions concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• There was a consultant through the university that was hired to conduct an air sampling study back in
• There was a consultant through the university that was hired to conduct an air sampling study back in
• They have thus far set up the protocols to do the sampling.
• The samples showed that there was no pesticidal drift there.
• The samples showed that there was no pesticidal drift there.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint AEN-PSM hearing on February 7, 2025 focused primarily on three agriculture-related measures and one animal welfare bill, with additional discussion of pesticide drift monitoring, coffee labeling, and a gas-pump labeling bill. SB 762 would create an Agricultural Crimes Council and authorize agricultural crime investigators; testimony from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Attorney General’s office, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Hawaii Farmers Union, and several members of the public was generally supportive, with repeated calls for stronger enforcement, community involvement, and in some cases allowing investigators to be armed. Some testifiers also urged changes to the appointment process for council members, preferring neighborhood boards or local officials over gubernatorial appointments. The committee discussed combining related agricultural crime bills and noted concerns about investigator safety in remote areas. SB 763 would establish an agriculture enforcement program within the Department of Law Enforcement and a special fund. Testimony was strongly supportive from state agencies and farm groups, with speakers emphasizing the need for more effective response to agricultural theft, poaching, and related crimes. Several public testifiers linked the bill to broader community safety and asked for clearer funding, training, coordination, performance metrics, and technology use. The committee also heard SB 1022, which would prohibit leaving pets in dangerous conditions in vehicles and allow officers, firefighters, animal control, and in some cases private citizens to rescue animals; the Attorney General said existing cruelty statutes may already cover the conduct and suggested amendments, while HPD opposed the bill. Members asked about liability for rescuers and whether the proposal might affect property-crime enforcement. The committee also heard SB 1304 on pesticide drift monitoring funding, with the Department of Agriculture supporting the measure and explaining it was needed to complete a required project under an EPA-related agreement. A Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action representative raised concerns about the methodology of prior studies, and a public testifier described a recent odor incident near a roadway and school. SB 1015, requiring labels on gas dispensing equipment warning about fossil fuel impacts, drew support from the Department of Agriculture and the Public Utilities Commission but opposition from the Hawaii Energy Marketers Association. SB 500 on coffee labeling and regional origin was also heard, with the Department of Agriculture in support. In decision-making, the committees adopted recommendations to pass SB 762 with amendments, SB 763 with amendments, SB 1022 with technical amendments, SB 1304 with technical amendments, and SB 1015 as is; SB 500 was not acted on in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• So that’s a small sample size, but our experience is that things are going well.
• So that’s a small sample size, but our experience is that things are going well.
• So that’s a small sample size, but our experience is that things are going well.
• So that’s a small sample size, but our experience is that things are going well.
• That’s a small sample size, but our experience is that things are going well.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's just that we need a more robust sample of students.
• It's just that we need a more robust sample of students.
• It's just that we need a more robust sample of students.
• It's just that we need a more robust sample of students.
• It's just that we need a more robust sample of students.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first heard from the Personnel Appeals Board, which explained that it became an independent state agency after Senate Bill 487 and was presenting its first standalone operating budget. The board described its quasi-judicial role in hearing appeals from classified state employees over disciplinary actions such as warnings, suspensions, and terminations, and said it handles about 25 to 35 cases a year, with some cases lasting longer because of their complexity. Members also outlined the need for a chair and vice chair who are attorneys, the board’s current staffing and space needs, and its plan to move away from reliance on Administrative Services for office support and website functions. The board requested about $353,500 for fiscal year 2026, including startup costs, routine operating expenses, and two new part-time positions: a program director and a paralegal. Members said the budget reflects the new independent status, includes funding for only four board members rather than the authorized five, and is designed to avoid full-time staffing costs and benefits. Legislators asked about the cost per case, the board’s relationship to DAS, whether appeals must go through the board before court, and how often cases are appealed further. The board said appeals must first go through it, that court appeals are infrequent but have increased recently, and that the board’s process is intended to resolve disputes more quickly and less expensively than court litigation. Committee members also asked about the board’s caseload, outcomes, and staffing. The board said that in the prior year there were 22 cases, with four decisions overturned in favor of employees, nine dismissals, and nine settlements, and that many disputes are resolved before reaching the board through a multi-step internal process. A member noted the governor and council had recently approved a new board member and were expected to approve a fifth soon. The discussion ended with questions about the board’s website and records access, which members said would need to be moved from Administrative Services as part of the agency’s transition. The committee then moved to the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities. The executive director explained that the council is 100 percent federally funded under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act and develops a five-year plan to address the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She said the council works with state agencies and advocacy organizations on quality-of-life issues, accessibility, voter rights training, and plain-language or easy-to-read materials, and that 60 percent of its membership must be individuals with disabilities or family members/guardians. She also described the council’s funding structure, including reimbursement to the state for operating costs, and noted that it currently has three full-time and three part-time positions, with no new positions requested but one full-time position being eliminated and replaced after a pandemic-era staffing change did not work out as planned.

Transcript Highlights:

• When this happens, our samples become subject to spoilage and can undermine the integrity of the drug
• Last session, the decision was made that the state has a, a vested interest in those blood samples.
• If our, if our chief investigator says we need to get that sample, we should draw that sample, and the
• , to process samples, to handle samples.
• Aspect of the sample drawing at our test farm facilities by use of those funds and as a direct result

Transcript Highlights:

• The programs that we operate do sampling, they do analysis.
• So, anybody was able to take, you know, these samples or pull samples from a project.
• Okay, do the air sample. Pass the air sample. Okay, you can tear down.
• > you air sample pass the air sample okay you air sample pass the air sample okay you can<03:20
• So they'll negate that and say, "No, we want sampling to be done.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you have any other samples? >> I do have other samples.
• I have multiple samples of each.
• I think it was 70, 30, square sample.
• Do you have any other samples? samples? samples?
• guys and you can have all these samples. guys and you can have all these samples.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and I can actually have Ally talk to you about numbers of sample sizes and stuff that we do.
• "And I can actually have Ally talk to you about numbers of sample sizes and stuff that we do." Yes.
• "And I can actually have Ally talk to you about numbers of sample sizes and stuff that we do." Yes.
• So, you sampled 40.
• Due to the increased risk, we increased our testing sample sizes in the last quarter of the year.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first approved the March 21 minutes and then took up a consent calendar, withdrawing several items before adopting the remainder. It also moved item FIS 25103 to the table by a 6-4 vote after Senator Gray argued the Executive Council had not yet acted on a prior $5 million approval and that the committee should avoid adding to the rainy day fund draw. The committee then approved item 25106 for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources/State Library after hearing that the department expected about a $400,000 lapse to return to the state. A major discussion centered on New Hampshire Police Standards and Training (item 2577). Senator Gray questioned whether a proposed equipment purchase could be delayed to the next biennium in light of the state’s deficit and rainy day fund use. The agency said the equipment was needed now for scenario training, vendors had already been identified, and delaying would likely increase costs and force continued reliance on unpaid volunteer help. The committee ultimately approved the item. The committee also approved Department of Energy item 2587 after hearing that federal weatherization funds are drawn down on a reimbursement basis, and item 2588 after similar testimony that weatherization work must be completed and inspected before reimbursement, limiting how quickly funds can be expended. Item 250094 had been withdrawn. Later, the committee discussed Senator Carson’s request for an LBA review of the YDC claims settlement fund, with members expressing concern about administrative costs, attorney fees, settlement-loan payoffs, and the need for more detailed reporting. The committee voted to direct LBA to conduct the audit described in Senator Carson’s memo, with the additional request that the review include the term over which attorney fees are paid. The meeting then moved on to an HHS staff item, where members began questioning the timing of dashboard data and reporting delays.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the way that the state and the feds sort of look at endangered species uses different sample sizes
• So sort of what I started with: how the bird population sample sizes are sort of taken into account.
• Just last night I worked on a human health risk assessment which included pesticide sampling in soils
• Just last night I worked on a human health risk assessment which included pesticide sampling in soils

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held a hearing on several late-file bills and home rule petitions, with testimony focused mainly on coastal access and wildlife management, rodenticide restrictions, and a local land-use request. Rep. Scarsdale testified for H.5113, which would name an accessible trail in Groton’s J. Harry Rich State Forest the Marion Stoddard River Walk in honor of the activist who helped restore the Nashua River. Groton Trails Committee chair Paul Fung also supported the bill, describing the trail, educational signs, and DCR’s involvement. Rep. Sweezey presented a package of Duxbury Beach bills—H.5141, H.5140, and H.5139—intended to align state shorebird protections more closely with federal standards, create parity in beach management tools, and require periodic review of outdated recreational-use guidelines; he said the bills were developed with local and agency input and aimed to balance conservation with beach access. A large portion of the hearing concerned local petitions to restrict second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides and other pesticides. Supporters from Mass Audubon, Sierra Club, Animal Defenders International, wildlife rehabilitation groups, and residents from towns including Grafton, Billerica, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Eastham, and Truro argued that these poisons harm raptors and other non-target wildlife through secondary poisoning, persist in the environment, and are increasingly ineffective. Several speakers said local town meetings had approved the restrictions and urged favorable reports on the petitions. Opponents, including a representative of the New England Pest Management Association, argued that regulation should remain at the state level under MDAR to avoid a patchwork of local rules and noted that the agency was already reviewing rodenticide regulations. Committee members asked questions about agency consultation, the relationship between state and federal bird listings, and how local beach rules would work in practice. The committee also heard testimony on H.4700 and related local pesticide-reduction petitions for Eastham and Truro, with witnesses describing groundwater concerns, pesticide drift, and wildlife impacts. Finally, the committee took testimony on S.2961, a Dighton bill authorizing the use of a small portion of conservation land for public way purposes to replace the Pleasant Street Bridge and add pedestrian and bicycle accommodations; the witness said the affected area was limited and necessary for safety improvements. The hearing ended after testimony concluded, with the chair turning the gavel over and the committee adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Hines, you are recognized to present the nomination of Rista Samples to the Oklahoma Arts Council
• It's my distinct honor to present the nomination of Rista Samples.
• Miss Samples, you are recognized to address the committee.
• Having received nine ayes and zero nays, I declare the nomination of Rista Samples to have passed this

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There'll be farmers and food producers from all over the state attending, and I think they'll have samples
• and I think the state uh, attending and I think they'll<00:19:06.240> have<00:19:06.400> samples
• <00:19:06.880> So,<00:19:07.120> please<00:19:07.360> join they'll have samples
• So, please join they'll have samples. So, please join us. us. us.

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House opened with a devotional by Representative Ken Wells, who reflected on his father’s approach to news and argued that reducing time spent watching it could improve people’s well-being. After the Pledge of Allegiance, the chamber took up five new bills: H.891 on the definition of harassment in Title 16, H.892 on school attendance requirements, H.893 creating a municipal emergency shelter program and reimbursing municipalities for emergency housing costs, H.894 prohibiting snowmobiles on the BB Spur Rail Trail, and H.895 on secondary enforcement of certain motor vehicle violations. Each was read for the first time and referred to the appropriate committee; H.566, concerning sealing postcharge court diversion records, was referred to Ways and Means under House Rule 35A. The House also read H.C.R. 166, a congratulatory resolution honoring the Pick and Shovel in Newport City on its 50th anniversary. A member from Newport City spoke in support, describing the store’s history and the Hamlet family’s long service to the community, and invited the family to the chamber. Additional announcements recognized Vermont Law and Graduate School’s 50th anniversary and congratulated Vermont athletes, including Ben Ogden and Paula Moltzan, with one member correcting the record on Moltzan’s event. The House also voted to move H.403, relating to fair labor and housing standards for agricultural workers, from General and Housing to Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry. In the day’s only floor action on legislation, H.611, miscellaneous provisions affecting the Department of Vermont Health Access, was taken up on third reading and passed. The House then announced caucus meetings and other events, including a producer night hosted by the Agency of Agriculture, and adjourned by motion until Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• already kind of answered some of my follow-up question, because it seems like this bill is mostly a sampling
• If you're going to incinerate this race, you have to sample it.
• You have to sample it, and then so I think you may be looking at the old version.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It includes the PSR definitions page, exhibit A, your books, executive summary, and a sample set of the
• rolled up into the customized project status report which we are presenting this morning, of which a sample
• We're providing a sample set to you, the council, on this new platform with definitions and expectations

Transcript Highlights:

• They have shared with us a new sampling model that I'm told will simplify what we do, a process called
• SNAP quality control, where we basically pull a sample of 200 cases every month and check our homework
• Uh, FNS has told us we're using the most complicated algorithm to pull our sample, and they have a much
• model that I'm with us a new sampling model that I'm told<01:26:45.440> will<01:26:46.560>
• of 200 cases basically pull a sample of 200 cases every<01:26:53.840> month<01:26:54.000>

Keywords: Appropriations - Room 216, 28 January, 2026; 8:15 AM, 925, all

Summary: The committee heard a budget presentation from the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), including its consolidated tourism and agency request. MDA said it has had strong recent results, citing about $65 billion in capital investment since 2020, roughly 25,000 jobs, record tourism, clean audits, and oversubscribed incentive programs. For FY27, the agency requested $26.4 million in general funds, level special-fund operating support, restoration of eight pins reduced in the LBR process, and several general-fund increases for a career ladder, a new HR system, training, and operating costs. MDA also discussed a $1.25 million request for America 250 activities, including a Mississippi event and participation in the National Mall “Great America State Fair,” plus an energy accelerator program tied to the governor’s energy initiative and a broader three-tier energy preparedness strategy. MDA also explained its incentive refill requests, saying it was not seeking additional funding for the ACE grant program this year and had shifted that support toward the governor’s port/rail/road investment fund and energy-ready sites. The agency highlighted a renewed request to restart funding for the small municipal and limited population counties grant program, which it said had previously helped smaller communities with water, sewer, downtown, and other projects. On tourism, MDA presented a breakout showing what the budget would look like if tourism were separated into its own department; officials said the current tourism budget within MDA is about $5.7 million in general funds and $7.9 million total, and estimated about $1.3 million in additional cost would be needed to stand up a separate tourism agency. A significant portion of the discussion focused on criticism from Senator Wiggins that MDA has not delivered enough economic development for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He argued that constituents believe MDA does little for the coast and objected to the agency’s role in the GCRF and coastal projects, saying the coast has not seen meaningful results in years. MDA officials responded that complaints about uneven distribution are common across the state, that MDA works with local economic development partners rather than dictating project locations, and that it has helped support major coastal projects such as Relativity Space, Lockheed Martin expansions, PCC Gulf Chem, BWC Terminals, and AWS. The exchange also touched on the Port of Pascagoula and local leadership disputes, with both sides disagreeing over whether the port and the coast have been adequately supported. No votes or formal actions were taken in the excerpt.