Transcript Highlights:

• One person testified that it's an educational opportunity. Isn't it also a selling opportunity?"
• "An annual selling opportunity?
• Uh, whether they want to have a..." "...opportunity. Isn't it also a selling opportunity?
• An annual selling opportunity?"
• Uh but the um the opportunity is a bay.

Committee: Senate Commerce

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair's vice chair, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak from you folks.
• </c><00:57:30.119><c> to</c> you for giving me this opportunity to you for giving me this opportunity
• We understand that there remains an opportunity for the state.
• </c><01:18:39.080><c> truly</c> funds um to pursue an opportunity truly funds um to pursue an opportunity
• </c><02:30:57.960><c> to</c> level to give States the opportunity to level to give States the opportunity

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint Ways and Means and Health and Human Services committees heard Hawaii Health Systems Corporation’s biennium budget request, with testimony from HHSC leadership on the Hilo/Big Island region (HTH 212) and the Oahu region (HTH 215), plus discussion of capital improvement projects and systemwide partnerships. HHSC described its role as the rural healthcare safety net, serving a high share of Medicare, Medicaid/Quest, and uninsured patients, and said its costs are elevated by state employee fringe benefits, which it said are about 64% compared with roughly 30% in the private sector. HHSC also said pandemic-era federal aid, including relief funds and PPP loans totaling about $100 million, reduced the need for general fund support in prior years. For HTH 212, HHSC said its general fund request for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 was higher than the governor’s recommendation because of rising insurance, pharmaceutical, and contractor labor costs, and because it includes $13.2 million in FY 2026 and $2.3 million in FY 2027 for Epic electronic medical record implementation in East Hawaii. For HTH 215, HHSC said the requested general funds were aligned with the governor’s recommendation, in part because of increased Medicaid reimbursement rates for long-term care facilities under prior legislation. HHSC also said it was restoring a special fund ceiling so the region could spend its cash collections on operations. Members asked about the 64% fringe rate, and HHSC explained the difference was mainly due to defined-benefit pension and retiree health insurance costs, which private hospitals generally do not bear at the same level. Members also asked about the Daniel K. Akaka State Veterans Home, and HHSC said operations would be funded through the general fund corporation for the home when it opens, with management by Ohana Pacific, but no additional legislative operating funds were being requested at that time. Other questions focused on staffing and vacancies, including an abolished procurement position and an ongoing IT help desk recruitment need. HHSC highlighted several capital and partnership projects, including a $25 million state CIP request matched by $25 million from the Benioff family for the Benioff Health Center, an ER expansion and reconfiguration at Corner Community Hospital, and $7.5 million in each fiscal year for Kauai EMR capital funds to join the Epic platform. Testimony also described collaborations with Queen’s, the University of California San Francisco, Hawaii Pacific Health, the Hawaii Cancer Consortium, the Department of Health, and the state hospital to improve specialty access, clinical trials, behavioral health, and patient placement across the system.

Transcript Highlights:

• Take this opportunity to build a fund. Don't cheap out on this thing.
• Take this opportunity to build a fund. Don't cheap out on this thing.
• Take this opportunity to build a fund. Don't cheap out on this thing.
• So with that, thank you for the opportunity to comment.
• So with that, thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Committee: House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the academic standards say in fourth grade students should be able to manipulate single- and double-digit
• Um, and so, you know, is this an opportunity, as we're trying to make things a little more clear, to
• know<00:39:37.520><c> is</c><00:39:37.760><c> this</c><00:39:38.000><c> an</c><00:39:38.320><c> opportunity
• </c><00:39:39.119><c> as</c><00:39:39.440><c> we're</c> know is this an opportunity as we're know is
• this an opportunity as we're trying<00:39:40.079><c> to</c><00:39:40.320><c> make</c><00:39:40.560><c

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The Legislative Oversight Committee met to review statewide education improvement and assessment issues under RSA 193-C:8-a, with the chair focusing on curriculum frameworks, academic standards, and resource elements tied to the state’s adequate education statutes. The chair walked through the statutory relationship between minimum standards for public school approval, academic standards, and local control of curriculum, noting that New Hampshire law requires curriculum frameworks to guide what students should know and be able to do while leaving districts flexibility in instruction. He also raised concerns that some subject areas appear to have current frameworks or standards while others do not, and suggested the committee may need to consider an amendment creating a curriculum frameworks and academic standards coordinator at the Department of Education. Nate Green, director of the Division of Education Analytics and Resources, explained that the terms “academic standards” and “curriculum frameworks” have evolved over time and are often used interchangeably, but can mean different things depending on the subject area. He said the state’s more prescriptive standards largely developed after No Child Left Behind, especially in math, ELA, and science, while older or less-tested subjects such as arts, physical education, and health often retained looser framework-style documents. Green outlined one possible approach of standardizing terminology, but also said New Hampshire could instead define curriculum frameworks separately as a combination of standards, curriculum, and instructional approaches. He emphasized that state standards must support statewide consistency and assessment, while local districts retain control over how they teach. Committee members discussed how these distinctions affect different grade levels and subjects, using examples from math and science to show that minimum standards are broad while academic standards are more specific and grade-level based. Green described how science standards are organized by physical science, life science, and earth/space science across grade bands, while math standards are more directly tied to individual grades. No votes were taken and no formal action was reported during this portion of the meeting; the discussion remained informational and exploratory as members considered whether statutory language or departmental organization should be updated.

Transcript Highlights:

• But then with the advent of cell phones and digital media, most of the kids would take that break to

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• safety communications revolving fund to the public safety communications trust fund to support the digital
• In an assessor world and county clerk world, I actually had the opportunity and called up my county clerk
• Well, that's okay because it says here that this policy creates other opportunities for revenue they
• </c> other opportunities other opportunities for<02:15:50.280><c> revenue</c><02:15:51.040><c> they</
• It does feel like a reference to we've sprinkled opportunities to solve this problem across the world

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><02:10:10.000><c> for</c> necessary uh need and opportunity for necessary uh need and opportunity
• They also recognized the opportunity for it to come up.
• of a more traditional nine-digit number background check.
• He had never gotten that opportunity again to do that.
• that opportunity again to do<05:01:44.958><c> that.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• She has spent thousands of hours reaching out to businesses, making sure that they had opportunities
• She has spent thousands of hours reaching out to businesses, making sure that they had opportunities
• to the youth of Washington opportunities to the youth of Washington County.<00:15:06.120><c> The</c>
• to take more of a look at opportunity to take more of a look at for<00:26:29.560><c> purposes</c><00
• </c> give them an opportunity give them an opportunity to<02:19:19.040><c> to</c><02:19:19.280><c> go

Keywords: House streaming session for Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 957, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:26:42.400><c> for</c> way, a real structured opportunity for way, a real structured opportunity
• Uh, we have the opportunity for hospice. We have the opportunity for all these other remediations.
• </c> there's already opportunities there's already opportunities and<00:53:34.480><c> without</c><00:
• </c><02:12:34.079><c> to</c> at legal risks for the opportunity to at legal risks for the opportunity
• Likewise. allowing us this opportunity. allowing us this opportunity.

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And for the opportunity to speak.
• This is the opportunity for us to unpack those.
• Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
• Thank you all for the opportunity to speak today.
• I was told this may give us a better opportunity to predict with some more specificity... ...opportunity

Summary: The joint Senate and House disaster preparedness and flooding hearing opened with quorum calls, prayer, testimony time limits, and remarks from legislative leaders emphasizing decorum, respect, and the goal of learning from the July 4 flood to prevent future loss of life. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker Dustin Burrows said the special session and hearings were intended to hear directly from local officials and residents, and that the state would pursue immediate and longer-term legislation and continue working beyond the current session. The committee then heard invited testimony from Kerr County, Kerrville, Kendall County, Real County, and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, followed by member questions. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha, and emergency management coordinator William B. Thomas described the flood as a sudden, unprecedented event that overwhelmed local systems before many officials or residents understood the danger. They said the county received multiple National Weather Service and IPAWS alerts, but the rain fell in remote upstream areas with limited gauges, and the flood rose too quickly for normal response. They detailed the emergency response, including dispatchers handling heavy call volumes, deputies and volunteer firefighters conducting rescues, and state and federal partners assisting. County officials said 108 people died, including 37 children, and two remained missing. They called for better real-time flood detection, stronger rural emergency management resources, improved broadband and cell coverage, and more funding for swift-water rescue and warning systems. Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring and City Manager Dalton Rice said the city had floodplain rules, emergency plans, and prior preparedness efforts, but the event exposed gaps in communications and regional warning capacity. They urged the Legislature to fund a flood warning system, whether sirens, automated alerts, or a hybrid, and asked for support for predictive weather modeling, broadband expansion, a hazard mitigation fund, and disaster recovery resources. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority said it had long funded gauges and pursued flood-warning and mitigation projects, including a new software-based flood prediction system and possible retention dams, and planned to dedicate reserve funds to feasibility studies and infrastructure improvements. Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk said his county’s emergency action plan and early alerts helped prevent deaths there, and he recommended easier access to alerting tools, a river-wide warning system, simpler grant applications, and regional coordination. Real County Judge Bella Rubio said rural counties face major challenges because of limited cell service, broadband, staffing, and funding, especially for camps and visitors along the Frio and Nueces rivers, and argued that reliable alert systems should be treated as a necessity, not a luxury. Members asked about the timeline of the flood, low-water crossings, communications failures, sirens, bridges, and funding, and several witnesses said the key lessons were better communications, better warning systems, and more investment in rural flood mitigation and emergency response.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the opportunity for us to unpack those.
• I thank you for this opportunity to testify today.
• But I just wish I had the opportunity to find him.
• Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
• Thank you all for the opportunity to speak today.

Summary: The joint Senate and House disaster preparedness hearing convened in Kerrville with quorum, public testimony limited to three minutes and invited testimony to 10 minutes. Leaders from both chambers, along with the lieutenant governor and speaker, framed the hearing as an unprecedented joint effort focused on learning from the July 4 flood, honoring victims, and identifying actions to reduce future loss of life. The committee also heard opening remarks about decorum, logistics, and the intent to continue work in future sessions. The first panel included Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha, Emergency Management Coordinator William B. Thomas IV, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr., Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice, Upper Guadalupe River Authority representative William Rector, Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk, and Real County Judge Bella Rubio. They described the flood as sudden and catastrophic, with Kerr County reporting 108 deaths and two missing. Local officials emphasized that they received no timely warning of the scale of the event, that responders and volunteers acted heroically under extreme conditions, and that communications, cell coverage, and rural emergency resources were strained. Several witnesses said the county’s existing alert systems were limited by geography, sparse broadband, and the speed of the flood. Testimony focused on possible improvements, including real-time flood gauges and predictive monitoring, stronger rural emergency management staffing and training, better interoperability and alerting tools such as IPAWS, CodeRED, WENS, and sirens, and expanded broadband and radio coverage. Kerrville asked for a flood warning system before next summer and state help for stormwater, floodplain, and disaster recovery funding. UGRA described its past and current flood-warning and mitigation efforts, including gauge funding, a new software-based flood prediction project, and consideration of additional retention dams. Kendall and Real counties highlighted successful or needed alerting and evacuation practices, while also stressing the difficulty of funding and maintaining such systems in small rural counties. Members asked detailed questions about the timeline of the flood response, low-water crossings, communications failures, sirens, bridges, and whether regional consolidation or additional infrastructure could improve future preparedness.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:10:29.839><c> to</c><00:10:30.160><c> speak</c> Thank you for this opportunity to speak Thank
• Thank you once again for an opportunity to testify on this very important matter.
• Thank you once again for<00:19:19.760><c> an</c><00:19:20.080><c> opportunity</c><00:19:20.559><c> to
• Eighty-six percent of Minnesota adults read their local print or digital newspapers each month.
• opportunity to come down here and opportunity to come down here and provide<02:25:16.160><c> input</c

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, yes, um, we would... the opportunity would be there.
• </c> shipment um could be an opportunity shipment um could be an opportunity there<01:42:54.000><c> uh
• </c><01:47:02.320><c> kind</c><01:47:02.560><c> of</c> economic opportunity kind of economic opportunity
• </c><03:25:49.040><c> and</c> more jobs and more opportunities and more jobs and more opportunities and
• </c><03:34:51.279><c> for</c> we can provide those opportunities for we can provide those opportunities

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We should work very hard to ensure that Dreamers are given that opportunity.
• </c><00:15:58.560><c> in</c> dreamers are given that opportunity in dreamers are given that opportunity
• </c><02:03:24.480><c> to</c> owners have the same opportunities to owners have the same opportunities
• </c><05:00:31.600><c> to</c> hometowns have the opportunity to hometowns have the opportunity to prosper
• He also gave me the four-digit code to his safe.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, February 10, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, as we draw Education Week, another amazing week to a close, I wanted to take another opportunity
• please join me in showing our appreciation and thanks for a great week this week. take another opportunity
• to extend our take another opportunity to extend our mahalo<00:31:25.080><c> on</c><00:31:25.200><c>

Bills: HR204 , SB2925 , SB2798 , SB2320 , SB2800 , SB1230 , SB2706 , SB3233 , SB2405 , SB3320 , SB2543 , SB3097 , SB3096 , SB3140 , SB2593 , SB2567 , SB2466 , SB2140 , SB2088 , SB3090 , SB608 , SB2795 , SB3294 , SB3263 , SB3001 , SB2907 , SB3251 , SB2074 , SB2360 , SB2354 , SB2908 , SB2353 , SB3045 , SB2047 , SB3254 , SB3246 , SB3133 , SB2425 , SB2671 , SB3229 , SB2969 , SB1166 , SB896 , SB2391 , SB2125 , SB3118 , SB3325 , SB2613 , SB2614 , SB494 , SB2376 , SB3326 , SB2001 , SB2599 , SB3048 , SB3169 , SB2002 , SB3247 , SB3253 , SB2155 , SB2192 , SB3187 , SB2190 , SB2398 , SB2424 , SB3028 , SB2338 , SB3219 , SB2981 , HCR14

Keywords: H.R. 204, House Resolution, Hawaii LifeSmarts, LifeSmarts State Competition, student competition, academic recognition, congratulatory resolution, Iolani School, Kalani High School, Waipahu High School, personal finance, consumer rights, health and safety, technology education, environmental education, National Consumers League, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Credit Union League, youth achievement, high school teams

Transcript Highlights:

• I appreciate the opportunity to welcome our incredible principal from Volcano School of the Arts and
• </c> opportunity for success. opportunity for success.
• After 20 years, TFA Hawaii has become a network of extraordinary leaders who work to expand opportunities
• Uh, what the representative uh from Kapolei seems to forget is that there are opportunities and to make
• </c> forget is that there are opportunities forget is that there are opportunities and<00:59:57.160><

Bills: HR204 , SB2925 , SB2798 , SB2320 , SB2800 , SB1230 , SB2706 , SB3233 , SB2405 , SB3320 , SB2543 , SB3097 , SB3096 , SB3140 , SB2593 , SB2567 , SB2466 , SB2140 , SB2088 , SB3090 , SB608 , SB2795 , SB3294 , SB3263 , SB3001 , SB2907 , SB3251 , SB2074 , SB2360 , SB2354 , SB2908 , SB2353 , SB3045 , SB2047 , SB3254 , SB3246 , SB3133 , SB2425 , SB2671 , SB3229 , SB2969 , SB1166 , SB896 , SB2391 , SB2125 , SB3118 , SB3325 , SB2613 , SB2614 , SB494 , SB2376 , SB3326 , SB2001 , SB2599 , SB3048 , SB3169 , SB2002 , SB3247 , SB3253 , SB2155 , SB2192 , SB3187 , SB2190 , SB2398 , SB2424 , SB3028 , SB2338 , SB3219 , SB2981 , HCR14

Keywords: H.R. 204, House Resolution, Hawaii LifeSmarts, LifeSmarts State Competition, student competition, academic recognition, congratulatory resolution, Iolani School, Kalani High School, Waipahu High School, personal finance, consumer rights, health and safety, technology education, environmental education, National Consumers League, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Credit Union League, youth achievement, high school teams

Transcript Highlights:

• been in touch with New Hampshire Hospital, and this shelter has provided that back door and that opportunity
• ><00:07:00.479><c> door</c><00:07:00.800><c> and</c><00:07:01.000><c> that</c><00:07:01.280><c> opportunity
• </c><00:07:02.199><c> for</c> that back door and that opportunity for that back door and that opportunity
• this afternoon to talk to um opportunity this afternoon to talk to um our<00:48:40.520><c> director<
• The functionality of that new system may provide us with additional opportunities and may also provide

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: Finance Division 3 met for a work session on House Bill 519, which concerns funding for Waypoint. The chair noted general support for the organization but said the bill would likely need to be suspended and folded into the budget process because the committee did not yet know available revenues or what amount, if any, could be committed. Kya Fox, director of the Division for Behavioral Health, testified that the department supports the bill and the program, explaining that it had been funded with other available funds, including $100,000 for 2024 and $400,000 for 2025, under a contract running through June 30 of this year. She said the shelter serves a unique population of young adults and is part of the department’s children’s system of care and Mission Zero efforts to reduce barriers to psychiatric discharge and emergency department use. Members questioned Fox and Waypoint representatives about the budget placement of the request, the difference between the efficiency budget and prioritized needs, and whether state budget documents would show any internal Waypoint revenues. Fox said the request appears as a general fund item and that the state would not see Waypoint’s internal financial operations in the budget. A legislative member explained that prioritized needs are critical services already in place but not necessarily included in the efficiency budget, and another member said the distinction is not strictly applied. The committee also raised a separate question about how DHHS would handle any future state or federal restrictions on DEI practices; Fox said that was a question for department leadership and legal staff, but that the department follows state law and contract requirements. Waypoint CEO Bor Alvare and Director Mandy Lancaster then described the shelter and related services. They said the shelter serves ages 18 to 24, is a 14-bed open-room facility with half walls, and is staffed overnight by two full-time workers. They said admission is first come, first served, with some vulnerability factors considered, and that they do not discriminate by race, gender, or sexual orientation. They reported no known incidents of sexual violence, though some youth are turned away each night because the shelter is full. They also explained that Waypoint provides broader services beyond the shelter, including outreach, drop-in centers, housing support, rental assistance, and family mediation, and said they serve about 400 youth and young adults in Manchester alone. The discussion ended with questions about whether lowering the upper age limit would affect the program; Waypoint said most residents are already in the 18-to-23 range, but that housing shortages make the current age span important for helping young adults avoid chronic homelessness.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for the opportunity to be here. I'm Zachary Taylor.
• Thank you for the opportunity to be here. I'm Zachary Taylor.
• opportunity for a rebuttal or an opportunity for a rebuttal or an opportunity<01:00:14.400><c> to</c>
• They sign a listing agreement digitally.
• </c><04:14:43.600><c> to</c> Thank you for this opportunity to Thank you for this opportunity to address

Committee: House Judiciary

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, that there has been third-party companies attempting to sort of preemptively create opportunities
• So, that there has been third-party companies attempting to sort of preemptively create opportunities
• So, that there has been third-party companies attempting to sort of preemptively create opportunities
• So, that there has been third-party companies attempting to sort of preemptively create opportunities
• </c> opportunity to voluntarily disclose. opportunity to voluntarily disclose.

Keywords: House streaming session for Saturday, April 11, 2026, 957, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, this is this is yet<00:37:08.560><c> another</c><00:37:09.040><c> opportunity</c><00:37:09.599><c
• </c><00:37:10.640><c> Uh,</c><00:37:11.200><c> what</c> yet another opportunity for us.
• Uh, what yet another opportunity for us.
• At every turn, at every opportunity, we are squelching the voices of our community.
• Online and digital environments should meet the same level of clear, enforceable expectations, not reasonable

Keywords: 981, all