Transcript Highlights:

• income mechanisms to benefit eligible limited income customers.
• Aggregation Pilot Program, favorable. favorable. favorable.
• So, this community choice aggregation is to get more people onto...
• And it's so it's bulk aggregation group.
• </c> county bond requirements, all counties. county bond requirements, all counties.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 960, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Even BlackRock now holds over $2 billion in tokenized treasury bonds and tokenized treasury securities
• At the time of the review, the aggregate value of these dormant dollars was significant.
• And at the time of the review, the aggregate value of these dormant dollars.
• But there's no limit on what kind of outreach can be done.
• They're held in Treasuries and oftentimes low-risk bonds.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And that goes into the second mechanism, the limitation.
• In calculation of some of the spending limits, particularly the consolidated general revenue limit, since
• Just to show you kind of the capacity limits and what we're.
• And so with our limited capacity.
• But there are limits to that program as well.

Keywords: infrastructure, water supply, flood mitigation, Texas Water Fund, community projects, funding allocations

Summary: During this committee meeting, the focus was on discussing critical infrastructure funding, especially related to water supply and flood mitigation projects. Chairwoman Stepney and the Water Development Board presented extensive details regarding the Texas Water Fund, which included $1 billion appropriated to assist various financial programs and tackle pressing water and wastewater issues. Additionally, funding allocations aimed at compromising the state's flood risk and improving water conservation were hotly debated, emphasizing collaboration among committee members and the necessity of addressing community needs in such projects.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have a 2-minute time limit per testifier.
• We did have a request in our admin budget to do aggregate facility, as was mentioned, the connection
• facilities as you heard the aggregate facilities as you heard the testimony<00:17:06.959><c> are</c>
• facility as was mentioned the aggregate facility as was mentioned the connection<00:17:28.360><c> to
• facility to help the Hub or aggregate facility to help the small<00:17:39.200><c> farmers</c><00:17:

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so those resources will be generated through a 2027 bond sale.
• And so through that, we limited the amount of funds that and And so, through that, we limited the amount
• And you're correct: the Article 11-Q bond resources could not function in that same way. Okay.
• , and land within UGBs but outside of the city limits is county jurisdiction.
• Land within those city limits is city jurisdiction, and those lands outside of the city limits do not

Keywords: 907, all

Summary: The committee met for a series of information sessions focused on housing stabilization, rental assistance, senior housing, and heat resilience. In the first panel, OHCS and NOAA described the state’s affordable housing preservation work, including the $35 million in 2025 stabilization funding used to reduce debt and keep distressed affordable rental projects operating, plus manufactured home park preservation efforts. OHCS said the portfolio remains under strain, with about a third of projects at debt coverage ratios of 1.0 or less and rising insurance and operating costs. NOAA urged faster closings on the stabilization awards, more funding in 2027, and broader rent assistance and process reforms. Committee members asked about the gap between current appropriations and need, and OHCS explained that the new Article 11-Q bond preservation program is structured differently and requires full refinancing rather than simple cash infusions. The committee then heard a detailed discussion of the state’s eviction prevention and rental assistance program, ORDAP. OHCS said the program is administered through community action agencies, prioritizes households at imminent risk of eviction, and is now funded at a much lower level than in the prior biennium, reducing expected service to about 8,200 households this biennium. The Oregon Law Center, a county community action agency, and Multifamily Northwest all agreed the program prevents homelessness and is effective, but they differed on whether assistance should be tied so closely to eviction court. Legal aid and community action witnesses said the current system is underfunded and that eviction filings are the clearest indicator of need, while Multifamily Northwest argued the process can push people into court unnecessarily and should be moved earlier when possible. Legislators raised questions about whether a pre-eviction model could be developed and about the costs of court involvement; one member shared a personal story about how rental assistance helped keep their family housed. Next, the governor’s office, OHCS, and OHA presented on the new senior housing initiative and healthy homes work. The governor’s housing director said Oregon is making progress on homelessness and housing production, with reductions in homelessness outside Multnomah County and an estimated 50,000 future units added to the pipeline through recent state actions. OHCS outlined the senior housing programs launched in May: a debt-financing program using elderly and disabled bond authority, an older adult housing development program funded through the senior property tax deferral revolving account, and a rehousing program for older adults that will use bridge funding and services to move at least 400 unsheltered older Oregonians into housing. OHA also described its Healthy Homes Grant Program, including $24.6 million already awarded, a new $5 million grant round for seniors and people with disabilities, and examples of home repairs and weatherization that help people remain safely housed. The final information session focused on home cooling and heat resilience. OHA presented data showing rising extreme heat days, more heat-related emergency visits, and likely undercounted heat deaths, especially among older adults, people with disabilities, low-income communities, and people without access to healthy homes. ODOE reviewed implementation of Senate Bill 1536, including a cooling needs study that found 58% of surveyed households in the studied housing types needed permanent cooling, with estimated statewide costs of $582 million to $1 billion. ODOE said its rental home heat pump and community heat pump programs have supported 4,638 installations so far, with a temporary reopening planned using remaining funds. The session ended with a remote presentation from a Community Action Partnership of Oregon representative, continuing the discussion of how community action agencies help deliver energy and anti-poverty services.

Transcript Highlights:

• his friendship, Senator Betancourt, with me. with Archbishop Fiorenza, those two had such a strong bond

Bills: SJR3, SB5, SJR36, SJR3, SB616, SB565, SB384, SB5, SB21, SB72, SB140, SB262, SB370, SB372, SB495, SB627, SB703, SB764, SB842, SB971, SB790, SB767, SB480, SB1066

Keywords: dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, research funding, state budget, prevention, healthcare, medical research, Dementia Prevention and Research Institute, research institute, funding, grants, state health initiatives, aquifer, water management, Edwards Aquifer, sustainability, regulatory framework, SB 565, Texas Water Code

Transcript Highlights:

• Moving to the other part of the bill, the increase in the aggregate valuation not being counted as new
• So I'm trying to understand, sort of again, the aggregate value of personal property.
• It sort of again, the aggregate value of personal property.
• The aggregate value of the property within that taxing jurisdiction, it could just be times are good,
• And it doesn't appear that your sentence that you're adding is limited to motor vehicles.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c><00:08:48.560><c> and</c> includes appropriations, bonding, and includes appropriations, bonding
• infrastructure to respond when limited infrastructure to respond when people<00:13:39.720><c> lose</
• And I think that when we look at it in aggregate, the solution is not just tax more people to buy more
• And this also is something that can be funded through housing infrastructure bonds.
• So, as we're looking at how we bonds.

Bills: HF3279, HF1879, HF1417, HF2462

Keywords: housing, sales tax, homeownership, rent assistance, community stability, education, counseling, financial assistance, housing development, culturally appropriate services, HF1417, manufactured home parks, manufactured housing, mobile home parks, housing development fund, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, MHFA, infrastructure grants, infrastructure loans, affordable housing

Transcript Highlights:

• I also focus on mining and aggregate taxes, local special taxes, tax increment financing, fiscal disparities
• I also focus on mining and aggregate taxes, local special taxes, tax increment financing, fiscal disparities
• I also focus on mining and aggregate taxes, local special taxes, tax increment financing, fiscal disparities
• State taxes includes, but it's not limited to, income tax, sales tax, corporate tax, and so on.
• to like income tax sales tax limited to like income tax sales tax corporate<00:12:10.720><c> tax</c>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Here's a plain truth: crime doesn't stop at city limits or county lines.
• We are proud professionals, but we operate with limited staff, limited specialized units, and limited
• I think we have more bills coming that are going to take money out of this bond. Okay.
• Counties have constitutional expenditure limits and revenue limits.
• And that aggregate cost is around $460 million, just shy of half a billion dollars.

Bills: SB1046, SB1317, SB1376, SB1416, SB1448, SB1471, SB1493, SB1498, SB1502, SB1504, SB1538, SB1544, SB1550, SB1579, SB1581, SB1584, SB1624, SB1673

Keywords: telecommunications, broadband, internet infrastructure, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, national security, foreign adversary, China, Chinese equipment, supply chain security, network equipment, microchips, Arizona Corporation Commission, telecommunications provider, communications infrastructure, Huawei, ZTE, state-owned enterprise, sanctions, infrastructure security

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> be limited to that 120. be limited to that 120.
• There's limited very hard to get into.
• </c> million and we are seeking state bonding million and we are seeking state bonding assistance<00:
• Many of those are not bond eligible, but demonstrate the scale of need.
• for greater Minnesota provide bonding for greater Minnesota Transit.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I think that in many ways that was already a news aggregator.
• If you're talking about, you aggregator.
• Um so I think that you news aggregator.
• </c> structure the impacts of the state bond structure the impacts of the state bond rating<00:48:01.599
• I appreciate giving us some insight on the state's bond rating with regard to fraud.

Bills: HF3676, HF3683, HF3395

Keywords: Safe at Home, address confidentiality, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, victim privacy, survivor protection, confidential address, protected address, secret address, identity protection, residential confidentiality, program participant, nondiscrimination, court disclosure, protective order, service of process, driver's license, state ID

Transcript Highlights:

• So it would be 10 years of the minimum aggregate, at least 10 years of a minimum aggregate sentence.
• So it would be 10 years of the minimum aggregate, at least 10 years of a minimum aggregate sentence.
• So it would be 10 years of the minimum aggregate, at least 10 years of a minimum aggregate sentence.
• At least 10 years of a minimum aggregate sentence.
• His aggregate sentence right now is 265 years to life.

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Just a reminder to those testifying today, there's a two-minute limit on your testimony. testimony, we
• That's why those limitations are on there.
• There are three sources of funding for facilities and bonded debt funding.
• They could tell you aggregate expenses. Need is going to be, you know, much higher.
• Frisco is now phasing out their heart program and limiting the number of students.

Bills: HB2, HB2

Keywords: public education, teacher compensation, certification, funding, school finance, educator rights, education funding, charter schools, staff compensation, state aid, retention allotment, disaster preparedness, emergency management, flooding, mass fatality, mass casualty, fatality tracking, body recovery, autopsy, justice of the peace

Transcript Highlights:

• We do have a two-minute time limit for both testifiers on Zoom and in person.
• And with regard to the two-minute time limit, often members have questions, so if you can stay around
• and increasing the percentage of the expenditure limit that is the maximum amount payable.
• </c><00:13:52.480><c> and</c> increasing the expenditure limit and increasing the expenditure limit and
• Yes, however, the system's limitations are that we cannot do it.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard several election-related bills first. SB 51, a comprehensive public financing bill for candidates, drew strong support in testimony but also concerns from the Campaign Spending Commission that the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund has only about $2.2 million, far short of what would be needed, and that the program could not realistically start in 2026 because of staffing and system changes; the commission asked for a start date no earlier than 2028. SB 118, which would create a full-time investigator position at the Campaign Spending Commission, was supported by the commission, which said it has lacked staff growth since 1995 and that an investigator is needed to handle investigations instead of having the commission’s attorney do that work. SB 255, a housekeeping bill on excess cash campaign contributions, was supported by the commission and several county officials and would require excess cash contributions over the limit to be returned within 30 days or turned over to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund. SB 345, which would expand the current partial public financing program, was supported by the commission but drew questions because it would still allow private fundraising; the commission said that under its assumptions the bill would provide more total public funds than SB 51, with a maximum of a little over $20 million versus a little over $15 million for SB 51. Testimony counts were reported as 125 support/48 oppose for SB 51, 26 support/0 oppose for SB 118, 30 support/49 oppose for SB 255, and 30 support/49 oppose for SB 345. The committee then discussed SB 176 on recount thresholds. The Office of Elections said it would stand on written testimony, and the East Hawaii Republican Party was listed but not present. The Office of Elections explained in response to questions that the bill’s recount trigger would be based on the final election-day count, not the early 6 a.m. tabulation, because the initial count is not complete until later in the day and cured ballots are counted later; the office said it does not want to begin recounts before all election-day ballots are counted. The reported testimony count was 4 support, 50 oppose, and 2 comments. Finally, the committee heard SB 260, the Judiciary’s biennial budget bill. Judiciary staff requested about $6.17 million in FY 2026 and $6.25 million in FY 2027 for operations, 17 permanent positions and one temporary position, plus $11.9 million for capital improvements. The Judiciary said the request would support specialty courts such as Women’s Court, Truancy Court, and DWI Court, a new Wahiawa District Court unit, an additional district court judge in Kona, cybersecurity, the Criminal Justice Research Institute, and facility projects including South Kohala design work and a Kauai chiller replacement. Civil legal services providers, including Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, the Legal Clinic, Kuikahi Mediation Center, the Domestic Violence Action Center, the Hawaii State Bar Association, and the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission, all supported the bill but asked for an additional $1 million for the civil legal services line item, saying demand is high and the funding is spread across more providers than before. The Judiciary clarified that some of its requested positions would support Wahiawa and Women’s Court, and that the civil legal services funding goes to organizations serving low-income residents on issues such as immigration, domestic violence, evictions, and foreclosures. The committee also briefly took up SB 279 on fentanyl possession thresholds, where the prosecuting attorney’s office supported the bill and said fentanyl is already driving overdose deaths and that the proposed thresholds target distribution-level quantities rather than personal use.

Transcript Highlights:

• We also specified the IOUs would be prohibited from earning a profit on aggregate $6 billion of wildfire
• So the cost of capital is divided between capital raised through debt, usually by selling bonds, and
• This reflects how some wildfire cost recovery is time-limited.
• Secondly, we propose limiting the use and review of balancing accounts and memorandum accounts.
• The Legislature looks for bonds. We set up our trusts and wildfire funds.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications held an oversight hearing focused on electric rates, utility regulation, affordability, reliability, and wildfire-related costs. The chair framed the discussion around the challenge of transitioning to a cleaner grid while keeping bills affordable and the system reliable, and noted the hearing also served as the annual update from the CPUC and Public Advocates Office. Professor Severin Borenstein gave a primer on utility regulation, explaining the split between deregulated generation and regulated transmission/distribution, the basics of cost-of-service regulation, and the role of return on equity. He argued that high allowed returns can encourage capital-intensive spending and that many public policy costs now embedded in rates would be better funded through the state budget, while warning that price caps or performance-based regulation are not silver bullets. CPUC President-designate Alice Reynolds described the commission’s role as economic regulator of investor-owned utilities and said affordability is being addressed through rate case scrutiny, reasonableness reviews, and legislative direction. She said wildfire mitigation and insurance costs have been major drivers of rate increases, but some wildfire-related costs are time-limited and will roll off rates over time. She also highlighted progress on clean energy procurement, battery storage growth, and integrated resource planning to meet climate goals while maintaining reliability. Reynolds said the CPUC is reviewing utility spending, disallowing imprudent costs where appropriate, and litigating at FERC to challenge transmission costs. Members pressed both witnesses on several issues, including whether rates are being inflated by legislative mandates and balancing accounts, whether utility returns are too high, and whether the state should shift more public-policy costs off electric bills and into the General Fund. Senators also raised concerns about load growth from data centers and ports, gas-system stranded assets as electrification advances, and whether the CPUC is over-regulating or discouraging innovation. Reynolds said the CPUC is working with the Energy Commission, CAISO, and the Air Resources Board on a holistic planning process, and pointed to tools such as interconnection reforms and demand flexibility. No votes were taken; the hearing was informational, with several follow-up requests for reports and data.

Transcript Highlights:

• H. 757, an act relating to manufactured homes and limited equity cooperatives.
• equity cooperatives, homes and limited equity cooperatives, introduced<00:13:40.120><c> by</c><00:13
• </c> homes and limited equity cooperatives. homes and limited equity cooperatives.
• education payment and the aggregate education payment and the total<00:48:18.680><c> uses</c><00:48:
• </c> They recently passed a large bond They recently passed a large bond and<01:21:41.840><c> I</c><01

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're going to limit it to five people, one minute each. Thank you.
• I'm going to limit it to up to five people, one minute per person, please.
• Some prosecutors aggregate them, some prosecutors don't, and we want a policy of aggregation.
• Given our large coffers, the DOC is willing to absorb that limited parole cost.
• That limited parole cost also affects the caseload.

Transcript Highlights:

• Now with all these commercial trucks and the limited number of regular vehicles that also cross from
• About 40% of that budget is based on aggregate and materials.
• This bill addresses the maximum weight limits for vehicles traveling on public highways near the Farr
• Where does the aggregate come from? So the aggregate is going to be coming in from Mexico.
• And what this bill would allow us to do is to cross the aggregate right where the projects are being

Bills: HB 767, HB 1242, HB 1373, HB 1404, HB 1708, HB 1936, HB 2041, HB 2198, HB 2270, HB 2315, HB 2415, HB 2427, HB 2455, HB 2457, HB 2522, HB 2523, HB 2686, HB 2763, HB 2775, HB 2944, HB 3034, HB 1683, HB 1695

Keywords: highway designation, memorial, Montgomery County, Paul P. Mendes, transportation, HB 1242, Texas Transportation Code, U.S. Highway 281, Brooks County, Ernesto Soliz Cantu, memorial highway, road naming, TxDOT, road signage, commemorative resolution, memorial markers, county road 304, Huppergate Road, Los Robles Trail, Farm-to-Market Road

Transcript Highlights:

• The commission has its own statutory debt limit that is separate from the state’s.
• Third, the bill extends the length of time that the commission’s bond counsel may serve from two years
• The housing finance plan includes an estimate of bonds they plan to issue and how those bond proceeds
• Next up in your EBB is House Bill 2420, an increase in small works roster contract limits.
• This is attempting to change the limits that Public Works contracts can be, limits that public works

Bills: HB2273, SB5188, HB2353, HB2420, HB2470

Keywords: embodied carbon, building materials, sustainability, construction, environment, broadband, infrastructure, loan assistance, economic development, technology access, HB 2353, predesign thresholds, capital construction, capital budget, major capital projects, Office of Financial Management, OFM, Washington state, state agencies, infrastructure planning