Transcript Highlights:

• Also very troubling are the administration's abrupt cancellation of the budget. population of grants,
• I've seen and knew all have seen the leaked pass back budget. Now I hope it's not real.
• Or there's another path, and that path is this path. of the leaked pass back budget.
• That budget, I hope it's wrong, but it says a 44% cut to NIH funding.
• in FY15 to NIH budget of $49.8 billion today–$49 billion today–60% increase–60%.

Transcript Highlights:

• In reference to the Department of Budget and Finance's question about the type of bonds, it would be
• In reference to the Department of Budget and Finance's question about the type of bonds, it would be
• And then we have Budget and Finance with comments.
• 00:08:45.920><c> the</c><00:08:46.040><c> Department</c><00:08:46.360><c> of</c><00:08:46.480><c> budget
• of budget and finances request<00:21:20.080><c> to</c><00:21:20.400><c> specify</c><00:21:20.960><c>

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Committee on Housing heard testimony on several housing-related measures. Senate Bill 65 would appropriate funds to the Hawaii Public Housing Authority for rehabilitation and repair of public housing units. Testifiers from the Department of Human Services, HPHA, Catholic Charities Hawaii, and Roar Cares supported the bill, emphasizing that repairing vacant units is a fast, cost-effective way to increase available housing for homeless and elderly residents. HPHA later told the committee it had 139 vacant units, with an estimated average repair cost of about $73,000 per unit. In decision-making, the committee recommended passage of SB 65 with amendments, including an appropriation of $10,147,000, and the motion passed. The committee also considered Senate Bill 40, which would allow HHFDC to secure a line of credit or other indebtedness for the bond volume cap recycling program. HHFDC supported the measure and explained that Act 35 had provided a $150 million line of credit for fiscal year 2025 only, so this bill would extend that authority; HHFDC said the bonds involved would be revenue bonds. Roar Cares supported the bill, while the chair asked whether the Legislature would need to pass such a bill annually. In decision-making, the committee recommended passage with amendments to specify revenue bonds and noted the administration should study other ways to secure the line of credit without annual legislation. For Senate Bill 35, which would create a Housing Efficiency and Innovation subaccount within the rental housing revolving fund and allow fund transfers without legislative approval, HHFDC and several others supported the measure, arguing that more flexible fund movement would improve efficiency. The committee adopted a recommendation to pass SB 35 with amendments, including language prioritizing projects on state or county land or projects by entities required to reinvest surplus into housing, and noting nonprofit developers could qualify for prioritization. Senate Bill 42, which would repeal certain 30% AMI set-aside and preference requirements for rental housing revolving fund projects, drew opposition from Catholic Charities Hawaii, which argued the bill would reduce the supply of the most vulnerable housing units, while HHFDC warned it could reduce production of 30% AMI units. The committee deferred SB 42. The final bill discussed was Senate Bill 75, which would establish a working group to revise the state’s qualified allocation plan and related rental housing revolving fund loan terms and report back to the Legislature. HHFDC and others offered comments, while Catholic Charities asked that the bill be deferred, saying HHFDC already had the capacity to work with the community without a new law. Roar Cares supported the concept but urged broader stakeholder inclusion. In decision-making, the chair said the committee report would note concerns about prior QAP revisions and the need for more transparent, ongoing stakeholder participation, and the committee recommended passage of SB 75 without amendments. All recommendations were adopted, and the hearing adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• state's affordability crisis, particularly housing and care costs, continues to strain household budgets
• Housing and care costs continue to strain household budgets.
• At the same time, child care and long-term care costs consume large shares of family budgets, making
• In this chart here, you can see that on average about one-fifth of a household budget goes to child care
• if you're a single parent, especially a single mother, you're looking at almost two-thirds of your budget

Summary: The Senate Labor and Public Employment Committee held an oversight hearing on federal policy impacts on California’s labor market. The chair and members framed the hearing around weak job growth, inflation, affordability pressures, federal cuts to safety-net programs, tariffs, and immigration enforcement, arguing these policies are harming workers, employers, and communities. The committee heard from economists, researchers, worker representatives, and employers about labor-market conditions and the effects of federal actions on employment, wages, and business stability. UC Berkeley economist Enrique Lopez Lira described a sluggish labor market, with job growth near zero since early 2023, low-wage work affecting about 35% of California workers, and housing and child care costs outpacing wages. He said federal cuts to Medi-Cal and SNAP/CalFresh and increased immigration enforcement would worsen insecurity, especially in health care, retail, leisure, hospitality, agriculture, construction, and care work. Committee members asked about recession indicators, sector-specific layoffs, and the role of unions, and Lopez Lira said worker organizing offered some hope. A second panel focused on immigration enforcement. UC Merced’s Edward Orozco Flores said private-sector employment in targeted states fell during escalated enforcement periods and that California’s 2025 declines were unprecedented in the historical record. LAEDC’s Shannon Sedgwick said undocumented workers are deeply embedded in Los Angeles County’s economy, supporting more than a million jobs and substantial economic activity, and that intensified enforcement hurt businesses, transit ridership, and consumer activity; she also cited major losses from a temporary downtown curfew. Members asked about tax revenue, small-business impacts, recovery, and preparedness, and witnesses pointed to local resiliency funds, business toolkits, and worker resource guides. Worker testimony highlighted direct impacts in car washes, health care, higher education, and federal employment. Clean Car Wash Worker Center director Flore Melendres said more than 100 car washes had been targeted, hundreds of workers detained, and many businesses disrupted or closed. California Nurses Association president Michelle Gutierrez-Vos warned that federal health cuts and immigration enforcement were threatening hospital services, staffing, and patient safety, and urged support for CalCare and a moratorium on hospital closures. UAW 4811 president Rafael Jaime said federal research cuts were already reducing UC postdoctoral employment and threatening California’s research economy, while AFGE representatives described shutdown-related unpaid work, staffing losses, and the strain on TSA and other federal workers. The committee also heard from employers later in the hearing, but the transcript provided ends as the retailers’ representative begins her remarks.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> We also have a municipal budget We also have a municipal budget committee<00:50:48.480><c> in</c
• </c><00:50:57.440><c> for</c><00:50:57.680><c> the</c> with my budget presentations for the with my budget
• They are lifelines to our on a budget.
• I mean, when a school makes a budget, I don't know that somehow a state dollar in their budget and a
• </c><01:24:52.960><c> budget</c><01:24:53.840><c> somehow</c> local dollar in their budget somehow local

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee met to hear from the New Hampshire Association of School Principals as part of its review of a proposal involving statewide administrative consolidation and changes to school governance. Members first discussed how school board witnesses would be selected, with the chair saying the committee would seek a mix of district sizes and structures and would also accept emailed input. The principals’ association said it represents more than 550 principals and assistant principals and urged caution about any mandatory consolidation, arguing that successful consolidations are gradual and voluntary. Association leaders and principals testified that principals already handle a wide range of responsibilities, including instructional leadership, student discipline, safety, staff supervision and evaluation, family and community engagement, and day-to-day crisis response. They argued that shifting more legal, budgetary, and administrative duties onto principals would reduce time for coaching teachers and supporting students, increase burnout and turnover, and create legal and training risks, especially in areas such as special education, privacy, and labor issues. They also said the roles of superintendents, principals, and school board members are distinct and require different training and expertise. Members asked detailed questions about how responsibilities are divided between principals and SAUs, whether principals recruit and evaluate staff, and how much time principals work. One principal said she works about 60 to 70 hours a week and that additional duties would be difficult to absorb. Another principal described his school’s structure, the importance of community building, and the need to preserve district-wide alignment if consolidation moves forward. No votes were taken during this portion of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• the fiscal budget, and again in FY 27, the most recent budget debate, we continue to fund Pappas Rehabilitation
• The governor's budget fully funded continued operations of Pappas.
• But the decision going into the fiscal year 2025 budget was... Thank you.
• We had to make difficult decisions in a difficult budget year.
• Pappas is in all the budgets, including Governor Healey's.

Keywords: 1212, all

Summary: The hearing focused on the future of Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children, with commissioners, agency officials, workers, and families describing the hospital as a unique integrated setting combining medical care, rehabilitation, education, residential services, and adaptive engineering. Opening remarks from legislators emphasized continued budget funding, the legal requirement that Pappas not close before the commission reports, and a request to extend the commission’s deadline. Several commissioners and witnesses argued that admissions have effectively been curtailed while discharges continue, creating what they described as a de facto closure. Union leaders from AFSCME, SEIU, and the Massachusetts Nurses Association said staff are experiencing uncertainty, morale problems, and loss of confidence because referrals are being discouraged and the census is shrinking. They urged immediate action to stop admission denials and unnecessary discharges, and some proposed temporary modular units or other short-term investments to restore admissions while longer-term plans are developed. Parents and former patients testified that Pappas provided life-changing opportunities and supports that they could not find elsewhere, and that alternative programs or proposed Western Massachusetts options would not meet the same needs. Department of Public Health Commissioner Robert Goldstein said the administration supports keeping Pappas open and stable during the commission’s work, but argued that admissions must comply with hospital-level-of-care rules and that the campus’s deteriorating infrastructure limits who can be safely served. He said DPH is continuing admissions where appropriate, backfilling staff, and exploring ways to expand services, including outpatient therapies and adaptive engineering, while also acknowledging that Pappas is a one-of-a-kind system with no true in-state duplicate. Commissioners requested de-identified admissions and denial data and continued to press the department on whether the current operational changes amount to a silent closure.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> reader out of budget and tax. reader out of budget and tax.
• Budget and tax. >> I guess we're slackers. 115.
• the voting, we will also have capital budget. >> Capital after.
• Budget and tax. >> I guess we're slackers. 115.
• the voting, we will also have capital budget. >> Capital after.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 960, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The intention of this is to be budget neutral.
• The intention of this is to be budget neutral.
• The intention of this is to be budget neutral.
• Uh we are have requested budget neutral.
• ,</c> agree to do as part of your budget, agree to do as part of your budget, which<00:58:43.280><c>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> state government establishing a budget state government establishing a budget for<00:08:44.480><
• In the Senate, we had a responsible approach to budgeting, and our budget was negative $313,000.
• </c> budgeting cycle. budgeting cycle.
• </c><01:33:44.239><c> to</c> proportion of their state budget to proportion of their state budget to
• We did not meet to talk the budget.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• uh passes assuming uh that the budget uh passes assuming uh that the budget uh passes that'll be in
• chairman is a request uh to the budget chairman is a request uh to the budget chairman for $5 million
• that's in the budget why don't we when that's in the budget why don't we when that's in the budget why
• we get to that point with the budget we get to that point with the budget because that that may be a
• then I could thank you will you budget then I could thank you will you budget then I could thank you

Bills: SB 2

Keywords: 920, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Back in March of 2024, the Office of Management and Budget, which sets policy regarding the collection
• As for the second question about the budget, Congress, of course, will decide, but the administration
• As for the second question about the budget, Congress, of course, will decide, but the administration
• does propose a budget, for the Bureau to be able to do its expected three end-to-end tests later on
• Fiscal 2020 budget that was signed into law in July of 2019, right?

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee held a hearing on census preparation, focusing first on testimony from U.S. Census Bureau staff James Whitehorn and Andrea Grace Johnson. They described the Bureau’s decade-long geographic and redistricting programs, including the Boundary and Annexation Survey, School District Review Program, Participant Statistical Area Program, and Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA), along with the Block Boundary Suggestion Project and voting district collection. They emphasized that Massachusetts has been a strong partner in these efforts and explained how the Bureau is using updated street data, building footprints, machine learning, and change detection to improve address lists and track new housing. Whitehorn also reviewed the 2030 redistricting data program, the legal basis for it under PL 94-171, the role of state nonpartisan liaisons, and the expected timeline for data delivery. He noted that OMB’s revised race and ethnicity standards will merge those questions into one and add a Middle Eastern/North African category. Committee members asked about the new standards, state contacts, and how boundary updates are submitted, and the witnesses said they would provide the slide deck and contact information. Wendy Underhill and Helen Brewer of NCSL then testified about why census preparation matters for states, stressing its impact on data, federal funding, and political representation. They outlined optional steps states can take before 2030, including staying in touch with Census Bureau staff, identifying state and local personnel involved in census work, supporting local participation in Bureau programs, and creating complete count committees or commissions. They cited Massachusetts’s prior complete count committee and grantmaking efforts as an example and said such efforts can improve self-response and overall accuracy. They also noted that state legislatures can act as conveners and trusted messengers, and they discussed broader issues such as privacy protections, differential privacy, budget uncertainty, and the possibility of future litigation or a citizenship question. Secretary of State William Galvin then gave extended remarks on Massachusetts’s 2020 census experience and the need to prepare early for 2030. He said the state faced major challenges in 2020 from the pandemic, litigation, and rhetoric about citizenship, and that Massachusetts relied heavily on local records, university data, and community outreach to document residents, especially students and non-native-born populations. He argued that the state should strengthen local recordkeeping now through LUCA, annual resident lists, assessors’ and zoning records, and other local data sources, and he urged support for a proposed $500,000 appropriation for census-related grants and technical assistance. Galvin said better preparation is needed because housing patterns, population shifts, and local administrative capacity have changed since 2020, and he emphasized that the goal is to improve the completeness of the records the Census Bureau will use in 2030.

Transcript Highlights:

• I've been studying a lot of the budget and different bills.
• I even passed the budget, the judicial budget, two years ago, unanimous. ...the budget, the judicial
• I'm not sitting on any one of y'all's personal budgets of how you make it work.
• I think if you look at it maybe as a total budget, it could be anonymized.
• Senate Bill 315 increases budget cost minimums for professional services contract exemptions.

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 513 by Representative Young, which would regulate name, image, and likeness activity for intercollegiate and interscholastic athletes, especially high school athletes. Young said the bill reflects recommendations from a task force and sets guardrails such as parental consent and prohibited NIL categories. The committee adopted a technical amendment and then reported the bill favorably as amended. Members then heard several Senate bills from Senator Mizell and Senator Cloud. Senate Bill 233 would create a statewide data exchange compact to allow state agencies to share information more efficiently; it was reported favorably. Senate Bill 300 would make various changes to the Procurement Code, including auction techniques, sole sourcing for consulting services in limited cases, and procurement process clarifications; it was reported favorably. Senate Bill 303 would allow executive branch agencies to buy or share technology solutions with other states and use the federal GSA schedule, and it was reported favorably as amended. Senate Bill 411, removing a 20-year lease limitation for certain Orleans Parish state property, was also reported favorably. The committee spent substantial time on House Bill 660 and House Bill 719, both dealing with district attorney funding and staffing. HB 660 would raise the state warrant amount for assistant district attorney salaries from $50,000 to $60,000, with supporters arguing it is needed to recruit and retain prosecutors; an opposition witness argued the state should fund both prosecutors and public defenders more equitably. The committee adopted an amendment making the bill effective only upon appropriation and reported it favorably as amended. HB 719 would increase the number of assistant district attorney warrants statewide, with most of the new warrants directed to Baton Rouge, St. Tammany, and Caddo; it too was amended to be subject to appropriation and reported favorably as amended. House Bill 596, which would have created an inactive well-feet assessment credit for oil and gas operators, was voluntarily deferred after concerns that it could reduce funding for the oil field site restoration fund. Later, the committee reported favorably as amended House Bill 802, which redirects existing revenue to watershed and flood restoration work in the Amite River Basin, and House Bill 940, which creates a task force and rules framework for law enforcement responses to unlawful drone activity. It also reported favorably House Bill 76 on coverage for orally administered anti-cancer medications, House Bill 950 on consumer protection materials for seniors, and began discussion of House Bill 1028, which would require higher Medicaid reimbursement rates for non-emergency medical transportation providers.

Transcript Highlights:

• last year, and it spending in our budget last year, and it had<00:14:11.720><c> a</c><00:14:11.800><
• They're um some of the elements from the governor's proposed budget that we're taking into this bill.
• </c><00:20:20.280><c> proposed</c><00:20:20.640><c> budget</c><00:20:21.040><c> that</c> governor's budget
• proposed budget that governor's budget proposed budget that that<00:20:21.880><c> we're</c><00:20:22.000
• bill a couple project in a our budget bill a couple years<00:21:21.520><c> ago</c><00:21:22.240><c>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Majority Leader, would you like to grant leave for Joint Budget Committee? We don't need it.
• And so, I guess my comment is, you know, we're talking about we need to cut our budget.
• </c> budget. We need to tighten our belts. budget. We need to tighten our belts.
• and I ask for a nay reduce our budget and I ask for a nay vote<01:17:04.040><c> a</c><01:17:04.120><
• </c> though, because today the Joint Budget though, because today the Joint Budget Committee<01:37:28.160

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, approved the journal, and received several committee reports and appointment recommendations. Committees reported favorably on a number of bills and appointments, including local government, health and human services, transportation and energy, business/labor/technology, and judiciary items. The chamber also announced a change on the Senate Finance Committee, with Senator Adrian Benavidez appointed to replace Senator Julie Gonzales for the remainder of the session. A major floor item was House Bill 1136, creating the Pathways to Public Service Program in the Department of Personnel and Administration to identify coursework that could qualify students for entry-level state government jobs. Supporters said it would help attract young people to public service and fill state vacancies using existing resources; opponents argued it promoted government employment over private-sector careers and could expand government unnecessarily. After debate, the Senate adopted the bill on second reading, and the Committee of the Whole report later reflected that HB 1136 passed second reading and was ordered revised and placed on the calendar for third reading and final passage. The Senate also adopted House Joint Resolution 1023 recognizing Latino/Latina Advocacy Day after reading it at length and hearing remarks in support of civic engagement and Latino participation in policymaking. In addition, the chamber concurred with House amendments to Senate Bill 74, which clarifies penalties and procedures related to excessive claims in public construction performance bond disputes; the bill then passed again on re-passage. Several other bills, including Senate Bill 63 and remaining calendar items, were laid over to later dates, and the Senate also considered and began processing consent-calendar gubernatorial appointments.

Transcript Highlights:

• President, can you go through, you just said that everything will go through the legislative budgeting
• consultation process, including the requirement that a legislative budget commission approve certain
• budget amendments.
• the requirement that the LBC approve certain budget amendments.
• If approved through the budget consultation process. Peter Berman: Thank you, Mr.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our real-time portal and budget book are available online for full public access, and our budget process
• We are still supplementing, out of our own budget, close to $3 million out of our operational budget
• Having the budget is crucial.
• So really, we actually saw a reduction in our budget.
• Part of our budget as well.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, I'd like to be able to go to the governor and say, Governor, we need 25% more budget.
• And this is a tough budget year, so he's going to say, yeah, why would I?
• Percent of our operating budget.
• I think is useful context for thinking about increasing the budget.
• My budget for advertising in Placer County is $250 a year.

Summary: The joint informational hearing focused on the role of County Veterans Service Officers (CVSOs), CalVet’s support for them, and the growing problem of for-profit, unaccredited claims companies. Committee leaders and witnesses emphasized that CVSOs are often the first point of contact for veterans and their families, helping with disability claims, education benefits, survivor benefits, housing, health care, and other wraparound services. Testimony highlighted the return on investment from CVSO work, with witnesses citing hundreds of millions in new federal benefits secured for California veterans and arguing that current state funding is too low relative to the workload and need. County representatives from Nevada, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo described local models of service. Los Angeles County highlighted a “no wrong door” approach, peer navigators, suicide review work, justice-involved veteran services, and homelessness coordination, while San Luis Obispo described rural outreach, mental health partnerships, and high suicide rates in its county. Nevada County stressed that smaller counties can be disadvantaged by workload-based formulas and that additional funding would expand access, especially in rural areas. Several witnesses said veterans often need more than claims help and should be connected to mental health, employment, food, and family supports. Much of the discussion centered on predatory claims consultants, which witnesses said charge veterans for services that accredited CVSOs provide free. Members and witnesses described cases involving requests for VA and banking logins, misleading advertising, and contracts that can take a percentage of veterans’ benefits. Committee members expressed support for legislation to curb these practices and for increased funding for CVSOs, including the Legislature’s intent to fund 50% of county veterans’ services operations. A CalVet deputy secretary also testified that California’s accreditation and training system improves claim quality and appeal outcomes, and that CalVet works with CVSOs through training, district offices, and appeals representation.

Transcript Highlights:

• The governor approved a budget of, I think, a million dollars, and that's what we're looking for.
• Okay, thank you, Director, Budget and Finance Department. Thank you very much.
• Okay, thank you, Director, Budget and Finance Department. Thank you very much.
• </c> system okay thank you director budget system okay thank you director budget and<00:32:51.639><c>
• Okay, we have a budget and finance as well as the Hawaii Firefighters Association.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Committee on Labor and Technology heard several labor and personnel measures. Senate Bill 1567 would require the Department of Human Resources Development to conduct a comprehensive review of the executive branch classification and compensation system and allow it to contract with a third party outside normal procurement rules. Director Brana Hashimoto testified in support, saying the state has more than 1,400 classes of work and limited staff to keep the system current; she said outside vendor help and market data are needed to update class specifications, minimum qualifications, and pay structures. She noted the project scope and timeline would depend on funding, and said the governor had approved about $1 million for the effort. Members asked about vendor scope, comparisons to the private sector and other public employers, consolidation of obsolete classes, and whether the exemption from procurement rules would speed the work. The committee also heard Senate Bill 326 on defense of state employees, with testimony in support from HGEA, the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and the Hawaii State Teachers Association. Senate Bill 337 would expand the pool of interest arbitrators used in collective bargaining disputes by allowing the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to request a list from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and to use arbitrators from both FMCS and the American Arbitration Association; HGEA supported the bill, saying the broader pool would improve selection and address communication issues. Senate Bill 1233 would create a State Internship and Workforce Development Program within DeHerd. The University of Hawaiʻi, HGEA, the Hawaii Primary Care Association, and the Chamber of Commerce supported it. DeHerd said the program could help place interns into vacancies and convert them to civil service jobs, but said it would need about five FTE and roughly $330,000 in salaries to administer a program serving about 50 to 75 interns at a time; members questioned whether the positions could be filled and whether the program could proceed without added resources. The committee then heard Senate Bill 1359, which would increase the employer-based composite monthly contribution to the Hawaii EUTF Benefits Trust Fund beginning in January 2026 and then tie future increases to Medicare Part B premium changes with a lag. The EUTF administrator testified, and a member noted the measure resembled a bill that had died in conference the prior year. Senate Bill 1454 would give the Labor and Industrial Relations director authority to issue wage payment violation orders, establish penalties and appeals, and broaden the definition of wage; the department supported it, explaining it would align procedures under chapter 387 with existing chapter 388 enforcement and make investigations easier. Finally, the committee moved through a series of collective bargaining cost-item bills for various bargaining units and related entities, with testimony generally in support from Budget and Finance, HGEA, UH, HHSC, UPW, and other unions and associations. One amendment request was to include bargaining units 1 and 10 in the temporary hazard pay funding bill, and the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association noted its airport firefighters unit was still in arbitration and would provide final numbers later.

Transcript Highlights:

• all applications, giving consideration to all of an agency's revenue sources and how much of its budget
• is for salary and benefits. to all of an agency's revenue sources and how much of its budget is for
• So it didn't affect last year's budget. No. All right. Thank you. Other questions? Other questions?
• And I believe this was initially requested in the governor's recommended budget, but when there were
• Also want to acknowledge our partners from the Office of Management and Budget.

Keywords: 1064, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a study that was funded equally by the Lakes Commission under our budget and the University of
• And I know the question that you've all had with everybody is, what about the budget cuts?
• The budget cuts will have some issues with us with regard to the general fund itself.
• We have some line-item requests in the budget, and all of our budget line-item requests are dedicated
• None of them are general fund budget requests because of our dedicated funds, and all of these funds

Summary: The committee began by recognizing page Marley Johnson, who said she plans to finish school, attend flight school, and possibly pursue an aviation degree. Members asked about her experience in the Senate, and she said it changed her perspective by showing that state politics can be collaborative and focused on doing what is best for Idaho. The committee presented her with a letter of recommendation for flight school and an American 250 flag flown over the Capitol. The committee then considered several gubernatorial appointments and Idaho Department of Lands rules. It voted to send David Bobbitt’s reappointment to the floor with a due pass recommendation, and heard testimony from James Keating for reappointment to the Idaho Parks and Recreation Board; no vote was taken on his appointment at that time. The committee also heard a presentation from the Lake Pend Oreille Basin Commission on a study claiming the Corps of Engineers’ lake-level management costs the North Idaho economy about $40 million annually, with testimony focused on extending the full recreational season. Members asked about effects on recreation, fish habitat, and the geographic reach of the economic impact. Three pending rules from the Department of Lands were reviewed and approved. One rule on mine land reclamation was described as a zero-based regulation update that mainly reduced word count and reorganized application requirements, with no major substantive changes. A fee rule for navigable waterways and encroachments under the Lake Protection Act was also approved; it reduced word count, added definitions, and clarified encroachment-related provisions, with no fee increases. A third rule on easements on state-owned lands was approved as well; it deleted nominal application and assignment fees, adjusted compensation language, expanded emergency work definitions, and extended temporary permits from 10 to 20 years. Committee votes on all three rules were unanimous. Finally, Idaho Parks and Recreation Director Susan Buxton gave an agency update on parks operations, deferred maintenance, new campgrounds and docks, trail management, reservation pricing, and budget impacts. She said outdoor recreation remains a major economic driver, that the department has used appropriated funds to add capacity and improve facilities statewide, and that some service reductions may occur because of budget cuts. In response to a question, she said snowmobile registration revenue is down because of limited snow, which could affect county-run snowmobile programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• are rolling House Bill 202, and we're gonna hear briefly several bills that have components in the budget
• Just this is from the budget director: I believe we have $165,000 for this in the budget.
• Chair, I just have one clarification with respect to the $167,000 in the budget.
• We're glad this is in the budget.
• The implementation timeline will allow for the FY28 budget to sort of govern what is in this.

Bills: HB97, HB280, HB183, HB151, HB202

Keywords: Shaken Baby Syndrome, abusive head trauma, child safety, training and education, healthcare funding, youth internships, workforce development, education, grant funding, employment, drinking water, water quality, environment, public health, water filtration, private well testing, federal funding, childhood sexual abuse, time limitations, civil actions