Video & Transcript Research : 'micro units'

Page 29 of 500
CA
Transcript Highlights:
  • I'm a veteran, a Gulf War veteran of the United States Air Force, and I'm also the incoming president
  • intentional work to expand access, retain new students, and support continuing students, returning to higher unit
  • my last question is, do you see any additional work or any changes coming to your program if the United
  • I want to give you an example of a more micro of how these cuts to the CSU will affect us.
  • And finally, we ask that you support existing bargaining units appropriately with their existing contract
Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance met to review CSU and State Library budget issues, enrollment trends, the Capital Fellows program, and a Title IX update. Chair David Alvarez opened by stressing that CSU faces serious financial pressure, including a systemwide deficit and proposed cuts that he and several members said were too large and likely to harm access, course offerings, and student services. Public comment focused heavily on the Braille Institute Library, with patrons, staff, veterans, and advocates urging restoration of funding and warning that the proposed cut would severely affect blind and visually impaired Californians across Southern California. Several CSU faculty, staff, and union representatives also opposed the proposed reductions and warned of larger class sizes, fewer sections, and layoffs. On the CSU core operations item, the Department of Finance explained the Governor’s proposal to reduce ongoing General Fund support by about $375 million and defer a 5% base increase, while the LAO said CSU core funding would be roughly flat once tuition and targeted augmentations were considered, but warned that rising costs and prior shortfalls would still force campuses to cut spending. CSU’s Chancellor’s Office said the proposed cut would deepen existing problems, citing prior-year budget gaps, job losses, reduced course sections, and student-service reductions. Members pressed Finance and the LAO on whether cuts could be made more surgically, especially at the Chancellor’s Office or in institutional support rather than in instruction, and the LAO said the Legislature has flexibility to target cuts more specifically. CSU also described ongoing consolidation efforts, including shared services among campuses and the planned Cal Maritime/Cal Poly San Luis Obispo integration, while cautioning that savings are not yet fully known. The committee then discussed CSU enrollment. The LAO recommended holding enrollment targets flat because the budget does not add new funding, while CSU reported strong recent growth, including more California residents, record first-year enrollment, and expanded direct admissions and transfer pathways. Members questioned why some campuses with high demand turn away many applicants while others continue to lose enrollment, and CSU said it is shifting resources from campuses with sustained declines to those with demand, using a 10% below-target threshold. The committee also discussed whether enrollment declines mirror local population trends, how to improve marketing and program alignment, and whether lessons from Cal Poly Humboldt’s conversion could inform other campuses such as Sonoma State. The Capital Fellows item drew a Finance proposal for a salary increase and an LAO counterproposal for a smaller raise plus future COLA language; the committee kept the item open. Finally, CSU reported progress on Title IX compliance, saying it has completed most State Auditor recommendations, expanded civil rights staffing, and increased training, prevention, and case-management efforts, though members asked how proposed budget cuts might affect those services.
OK

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

Oklahoma Education Commission Feb 26th, 2026 at 01:00 pm

Oklahoma Education Commission

Transcript Highlights:
  • we're doing here and especially in House Bill 1782 and the $4.5 million investment, the investment in micro-credentials
Keywords: 914, all
NM

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

IC - New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Sep 10th, 2025

New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee

Transcript Highlights:
  • We are going to make, however, some significant micro differences.
FL
Transcript Highlights:
  • from swales, engineered filtration systems, there are opportunities to provide what you might call micro
Summary: The Joint Administrative Procedures Committee met on February 3, 2025, with a quorum present and took up three main items. First, the committee considered a large set of recommended objections to Agency for Health Care Administration rules, all centered on sunset provisions stating the rules would expire after five years. AHCA asked for another deferral while it reviewed the rules, arguing the sunset language was a form of self-restraint rather than an invalid exercise of rulemaking authority. Committee leadership disagreed that further delay would resolve the issue and moved to a single vote covering all objections. The motion passed by roll call, and the committee informed AHCA that an objection would be filed unless the agency amended the rules within 30 days. The committee then heard an informational briefing from the Department of Environmental Protection on its Outstanding Florida Springs rule and stormwater rule. DEP explained that it did not prepare a statement of estimated regulatory cost for the springs rule because the proposed standards largely mirror existing water management district rules and the Central Florida Water Initiative framework, so DEP said there was no new regulatory burden. Members asked about permit authority, costs, and whether the rules were functionally different from prior rules. DEP maintained the rules set minimum standards and did not add costs beyond what regulated parties were already doing. DEP also described implementation of the stormwater rule adopted under the 2020 Clean Waterways Act and later ratified by the Legislature in 2024. DEP said the rule was the product of years of workshops and technical advisory committee meetings, and that the final version included lower-cost alternatives, grandfathering, and phased implementation. DEP estimated the rule’s cost at about $2,600 per acre in the revised CERC, while industry witnesses said the real cost could be much higher, especially if land costs are included. A home builders representative argued the estimate understated impacts, while a stormwater engineer said the rule gives more flexible, performance-based tools and could become more cost-effective over time. Finally, Senator Graal presented proposed Chapter 120 changes in SB 108, aimed at tightening and modernizing rulemaking. The proposal would require five-year rule reviews, annual agency reporting, faster notice of proposed rulemaking after authorizing legislation, electronic filing, public access to incorporated materials, clearer tracking of technical changes, and limits on how long rules can remain pending ratification. Members discussed whether the Legislature should be more specific in statutes about rulemaking deadlines and whether agencies should be more accountable when rules stall. No formal action was taken on the Chapter 120 proposals, and the committee adjourned after discussion.
NM

New Mexico 2026 Regular Session

House - Appropriations and Finance Jan 16th, 2026 at 09:09 am

House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:
  • Everything that I see when I'm traveling across the United States that's inviting people to come to our
  • You don't really have any kind of opportunities for online bookability. we can support you with a micro
  • Number three in a percentage of job growth in the United States today.
  • QNECT, which is the first full stack quantum communication network in the United States being built here
  • We are the only state in the United States doing this.
Keywords: 996, all
AZ

Arizona 2026 Regular Session

01/14/2026 - Senate Judiciary and Elections

Judiciary and Elections

Transcript Highlights:
  • but that the Arizona Bar took issue with his position in a case he filed as a petition before the United
  • Senator Wendy Rogers and Senator Mark Fincham and the National Action Network have called for the United
  • So less than five of those would be assumed sale, and yet the initial prescription is for six units and
  • The United States is a heavily armed nation, and there are many who should not own guns or have easy
  • The United States is a heavily armed nation, and there are many who should not own guns or have easy
Summary: The Judiciary and Elections Committee opened with roll call, member introductions, and a lengthy agenda item on alleged anomalies involving the State Bar of Arizona. The committee heard live testimony from a former attorney who described his disciplinary experience as retaliatory and unfair, and staff read excerpts from affidavits criticizing bar discipline procedures, notice, and due process. Members debated the State Bar’s authority, attorney discipline rules, and whether attorneys can practice while under investigation, with some arguing the bar is unaccountable and others emphasizing the Supreme Court’s oversight and existing disciplinary procedures. The committee then considered several election-related bills. SB 1037, requiring stricter security measures for vote-recording and tabulating equipment, passed 4-2-1 after members debated claims of election-system vulnerabilities and the cost of added safeguards. SB 1038, which would make cast vote records publicly available quickly after polls close, was amended to require transmission to the Secretary of State within 48 hours after canvass and then passed 4-2-1. SB 1040, expanding public online access to voter registration rolls in read-only form, also passed 4-2-1 after privacy concerns were raised and the sponsor argued for transparency. The committee next approved SB 1039, allowing attorneys who prevail in discipline matters to seek damages for reputational harm and lost earnings, despite objections that it raised separation-of-powers concerns and testimony about bar discipline procedures. SB 1053, capping Arizona resident concealed-carry permit fees at 10% of the nonresident fee, passed 4-2-1 after supporters framed it as a constitutional-rights and affordability measure and opponents raised public-safety and revenue concerns. SB 1057, requiring ballot paper fraud-countermeasure features, passed 4-2-1 after debate over cost and vendor capability. SB 1060, removing a voting exemption for U.S. citizens who have never resided in the United States, passed 3-2-2 amid concerns about unintended effects on military families. Finally, SB 1061, lowering the fentanyl threshold for enhanced sentencing from 200 grams to 9 grams, drew strong opposition from defense and civil-liberties witnesses who warned it would sweep in users and prescribed medications; the transcript ends during that testimony, before a final action is shown.
CA

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

Assembly Public Safety Committee Jul 15th, 2025

Transcript Highlights:
  • And the Highway Patrol unit pulled him over. He did not belong in the area.
  • Their sidewalk sales unite residents, and these micro-entrepreneurs reinvest their earnings into the
  • Reggie Torres, SEIU 721, bargaining unit 702 president, SCPO, Latino, ... ...bargaining unit 702 president
  • None of them are part of a collective bargaining unit, per se.
  • It doesn't talk about maintaining the position in the bargaining unit.
Summary: The committee heard several public safety measures, with extensive testimony on firearms regulation, disability and sexual assault, mental health diversion, emergency response, and law enforcement masking. SB 704 by Senator Arreguín would require firearm barrels to be purchased through licensed dealers with a background check, as a response to the rise in ghost guns and 3D-printed firearms; supporters said barrels are a key component of untraceable guns, while opponents argued the bill burdens lawful gun owners and does little to stop criminals. SB 258 by Senator Wahab would eliminate the remaining spousal rape exception for victims unable to consent because of disability; supporters called it a needed closure of an archaic loophole, while disability-rights advocates opposed it unless amended, warning it could worsen misunderstandings about capacity to consent and harm disabled people’s autonomy. After debate, SB 258 passed the committee on a due-pass motion to Appropriations, with several members voting aye and the bill held on call. Senator Umberg presented SB 398, which closes a loophole in the law prohibiting paying or offering money or other value to induce someone to vote or register to vote; there was little opposition, and the bill passed on a due-pass motion to Appropriations and was held on call. He also presented SB 27, a CARE Court cleanup measure that would allow certain misdemeanor defendants found incompetent to stand trial to be routed into CARE Court and would expand eligibility to some people with mood disorders with psychotic features. Supporters said it would improve access to treatment and reduce unnecessary incarceration, while county behavioral health directors and disability advocates warned it could blur the line between voluntary civil treatment and coercive criminal proceedings and expand CARE Court beyond its intended scope. SB 27 passed on a due-pass motion as amended to Appropriations. The committee also heard SB 36 from Senator Umberg, a price-gouging measure tied to wildfire-related emergency conditions that also expands search-warrant authority for certain misdemeanor investigations. Public defenders opposed the search-warrant expansion as unnecessary, while a late supporter from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spoke in favor; the bill was moved on a due-pass motion as amended to Appropriations and held on call. SB 571 by Senator Arreguín would increase penalties for impersonating emergency personnel and related conduct during disasters; supporters cited post-fire looting and impersonation, while opponents argued longer sentences do not deter crime and that existing law is sufficient. The bill passed on a due-pass motion as amended to Appropriations and was held on call. Finally, Senator Wiener presented SB 627, which would prohibit law enforcement from wearing extreme masks except in limited circumstances, aimed largely at masked federal immigration enforcement operations. Supporters said masked, unidentified officers create fear and undermine trust, while law enforcement groups argued the bill wrongly sweeps in local officers, is too broad, and should instead target federal agents or impersonators. Testimony was still underway when the transcript ended, and no final committee action on SB 627 is shown here.
NM

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

IC - Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Sep 30th, 2025

Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:
  • forecast, in which the consensus group relies on the macroeconomic indicators for New Mexico, the United
  • On slide five, we'll turn to the forecast for real GDP growth in the United States.
  • Here, New Mexico and the United States are both equal right now at about 4.2% unemployment and expected
  • What you really want to do is focus on our unit, our program evaluation unit at the LFC, which does great
  • I've pointed this out many times now, was 21 sentences, then 21 pages. and now 1,200 plus pages of micro
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Committee on Taxes - 04/16/26

Taxes

Transcript Highlights:
  • The city council and the staff have described this community center as a wedding venue or micro-wedding
  • They also store or keep a mobile health care unit.
  • Their mobile cancer screening unit is also stored at this site.
  • Um, it also, uh, they also store or keep a mobile health care unit.
  • Their mobile cancer screening unit is also stored on this site.
Keywords: 1187, senate, all
CA
Transcript Highlights:
  • And the parties, the stakeholders that we normally have at each other's throat here in the United States
  • California and into Canada, that smoke has health effects that are impacting all of the residents of the United
  • there is a fuels reduction project within one quarter mile, it will ping a representative of the local unit
  • I will say the proposition for language includes activities that range from. micro-grids and backup power
Keywords: 988, house, all
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Apr 7th, 2025

Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • That's a different price per unit for each rate payer.
  • So the question I have for you, and it's the macro version, not the micro, but the macro: what I hear
  • It's either going to be a municipal or it's going to be a self-contained unit, you know.
  • It's either going to be a municipal or it's going to be a self-contained unit, you know.
Summary: The Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs heard several water-related bills, with testimony focused on drinking water quality, groundwater contamination notice, flood infrastructure funding, water rights conservation, and utility service areas. SB 1662 would limit TCEQ’s advance notice to public water systems to no more than 24 hours before testing after a consumer complaint, to reduce the chance of temporary treatment affecting results. SB 1663 would allow TCEQ to notify private well owners, groundwater conservation districts, and nearby residents by direct means about known groundwater contamination, rather than relying mainly on first-class mail and annual reporting. SB 2124 would move the deadline for publishing the Texas Groundwater Protection Committee’s annual report from April 1 to June 1. Witnesses on the first two bills described long-running water quality problems and delayed notice in their communities and supported the measures. No opposition was recorded, and each bill was left pending for a later vote. The committee also heard SB 1967, which would expand eligibility for Flood Infrastructure Fund financing to multipurpose projects that both reduce flooding and create water supply. Senator Hinojosa and Hidalgo County representatives described the Delta Reclamation Project as a shovel-ready example that would capture flood and drainage water, treat it, and produce new potable supply while also providing detention and flood mitigation. A Sierra Club witness also supported the bill, saying such projects could help manage floodwaters and reduce polluted discharges to bays and estuaries. The bill was left pending. A lengthy and divided discussion followed on SB 1413, which would expand the streamlined expedited release process for landowners seeking removal from a water or sewer CCN in additional counties. Senator Nichols said the bill was a property-rights measure aimed at legacy monopolies and bad actors who use CCNs to hold landowners hostage, while supporters described cases where developers could not get timely service, including fire flow, or were asked to fund infrastructure without reasonable recoupment. Opponents from rural water corporations and utility associations argued the bill would undermine investment in water infrastructure, strand debt, and weaken the return on planned expansion. PUC and TCEQ resource witnesses explained that compensation is handled case by case through appraisal and can include stranded costs, planning, design, construction, and some legal fees, but members noted the statute is unclear and discussed possible committee substitute language. Public testimony was closed with the bill left pending. Later, SB 1624 would allow the Texas Water Trust within the Texas Water Bank to hold donated water rights for conservation purposes and protect them from use-it-or-lose-it cancellation, and SB 863 would address Edwards Aquifer utilities that straddle the aquifer boundary by allowing them to continue using Edwards water within their certificated areas under specified conditions. Both bills were laid out, received no public opposition in the hearing, and were left pending.
CA

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

Assembly Budget Committee Jun 11th, 2025

Transcript Highlights:
  • And timely, given this presentation, but yesterday the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of the United
  • year, inclusive of the supplemental payments that have been negotiated by the Child Care Providers United
  • Beth Malnowski, with SGA California, on behalf of CCPU, Child Care Providers United.
  • Finally, we urge the Legislature to ensure that the Governor works with Child Care Providers United to
  • We're a micro-transit company that works with school districts, local governments, and transit agencies
Summary: The Assembly Budget Committee heard opening remarks on the 2025 Budget Act, which will be amended into AB 101 and SB 101 for floor consideration. Committee leaders described the budget as a difficult compromise shaped by a $12 billion deficit, federal funding uncertainty, wildfire impacts, and rising out-year costs, while emphasizing a balance between compassion and fiscal responsibility. Each budget subcommittee chair then summarized major actions in their areas, including health care, human services, education, climate and transportation, housing and state administration, public safety, and oversight/transparency. Key policy items included delaying or narrowing some of the Governor’s proposed cuts, especially in Medi-Cal and other safety-net programs; preserving funding for dental care, women’s health, family planning, hospice, long-term care, IHSS, and services for undocumented Californians; and maintaining or expanding child care, foster care, food banks, and CalWORKs-related supports. Education actions included additional Proposition 98 settle-up, reduced deferrals, support for TK-12, teacher recruitment, literacy, mental health, preschool slots, and restored funding for UC and CSU. Other major items included housing and homelessness investments, wildfire and disaster response funding, transit loans and greenhouse gas reduction fund support, Proposition 36 and VOCA-related public safety funding, and oversight measures on federal impacts and state efficiency. Department of Finance and Legislative Analyst staff said the package makes some of the same savings moves as the May Revision but relies more on internal borrowing and fewer reductions, leaving a smaller reserve than the administration’s plan but still maintaining roughly $11 billion in the rainy day fund. Members from both parties largely supported the package while raising concerns about long-term sustainability, Medi-Cal costs, reserve use, and the need for future revenue and program review. The committee adopted the subcommittee actions by roll call, 18-6, with the roll held open for absent members and additional comments continuing after the vote.
MN

Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session

House Ways and Means Committee 2/17/25

Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:
  • 22.199> labor 2024 legislative session uh used a labor 2024 legislative session uh used a labor micro
  • simulation<00:04:23.280> model<00:04:24.120> uh<00:04:24.280> predicting micro
  • simulation model uh predicting micro simulation model uh predicting worker<00:04:25.000> leave
  • similar comment at freshman orientation this year, that I think this should be something we can all unite
  • similar comment at freshman orientation this year, that I think this should be something we can all unite
Bills: HF3
VA

Virginia 2026 Regular Session

March 14, 2026 - Regular Session Part 2

Virginia House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • And then the conference report removes provisions that would have limited micro...
NM

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

IC - Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Jun 6th, 2025

Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:
  • and so I do appreciate because you're, as you're talking about data centers and we are talking about micro
FL

Florida 2026 Regular Session

Governmental Oversight and Accountability Apr 1st, 2025

Governmental Oversight and Accountability

Transcript Highlights:
  • It's micro or individual level for Hope Florida and trying to get an individual to the services that
Summary: The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability met with a quorum present and took up a full agenda of bills, many involving public records exemptions and government operations. Several measures were reported favorably, including SB 342 on an Agency for Health Care Administration public records exemption for employees facing threats; SB 7018 preserving a public records exemption tied to parental consent/judicial bypass records for minors seeking abortions; SB 626 lowering quorum requirements and allowing remote participation for the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys; SB 710 protecting personal information of Crime Stoppers employees, board members, volunteers, and their families; SB 300 extending clerk personal-information protections to appellate court clerks; and SB 302 creating a similar exemption for Judicial Qualifications Commission employees. The committee also approved SB 7010 and SB 7008, which preserve and narrow public records exemptions related to the Department of Financial Services as receiver for insolvent insurers and the financial technology sandbox, respectively. The committee also heard and advanced several policy bills. SB 820 codifies the Office of Faith and Community in the Executive Office of the Governor; Senator Polsky questioned whether the office was duplicative of existing services and raised concerns about religion in state governance, while supporters argued it complements existing networks and helps connect Floridians to services. SB 1144 codifies the Hope Florida program, with supporters describing it as a connector to community resources and critics again raising concerns about overlap, private donations, and accountability; both SB 820 and SB 1144 passed on largely party-line votes with Senator Polsky voting no. SB 804 would redesignate the SS American Victory as the state flagship, but Senator Rodriguez opposed giving up the current flagship designation for the Key West schooner, though the bill still passed favorably. SB 214 designates August 21 as Fentanyl Awareness and Education Day and passed without opposition. SB 1088 requires certain state customer-service phone lines to offer callback features, and SB 576 makes technical fixes to service-of-process law; both were reported favorably. Additional bills included SB 1524, a broad Department of State measure with a strike-all amendment that revises grant-review procedures, adds an America 250 funding focus, and changes commission-fee and oath requirements; Senator Arrington and Senator Polsky expressed concerns about reviewer qualifications, grant criteria, and the impact on arts and cultural programs, and both voted no while the bill still passed. SB 1640, on confidentiality of lethality assessment forms in domestic violence cases, was amended to allow disclosure to domestic violence centers while barring disclosure to state attorneys, and it passed favorably. SB 1160 expands health insurance premium benefits for certain officers catastrophically injured or killed in the line of duty; supporters from the Fraternal Order of Police appeared in support, and the bill passed unanimously. The committee also confirmed eight appointments to the Florida Commission on Community Service, the Investment Advisory Council, the Public Employees Relations Commission, and the State Retirement Commission. At the end of the meeting, senators requested to be recorded on specific bills, and the committee adjourned.
FL

Florida 2025 Regular Session

March 25, 2025 - 09:00 AM

Transcript Highlights:
  • minimum age requirements and ID requirements for operating electric bicycles, motorized scooters, and micro-mobility
Summary: The Economic Infrastructure Subcommittee heard several transportation and infrastructure bills. HB 1239, Energy Infrastructure Investment, would let the Public Service Commission create a mechanism for utilities to recover costs for renewable natural gas infrastructure; supporters said it could diversify energy supply and help agriculture, while members raised concerns about consumer rates and asked whether savings from RIN credits should be passed to customers. The bill drew supportive public testimony and was reported favorably after debate, with members noting the PSC would set costs and that the sponsor was open to further discussion on consumer protections. The committee then took up HB 313, which exempts Purple Heart recipients from paying Florida tolls. With no questions or opposition, it passed unanimously. The committee also considered HB 567, a broad transportation omnibus/strike-all bill covering EV tax revenue for roads, airport and MPO changes, workforce funding, traffic signal modernization, speed limits, and a pilot to streamline airport permitting. A major amendment added utility right-of-way notice, response, and incentive/penalty provisions, and another amendment authorized local governments to set age and ID rules for e-bikes, scooters, and other micromobility devices after testimony about a fatal crash. The bill was reported favorably after extensive debate and public testimony from transportation and utility stakeholders. HB 112, dealing with municipal sewer collection systems, would allow cities to use sewer revenues to expand wastewater infrastructure. Sponsors said it was aimed at helping cities like Hollywood reduce septic use and improve water quality; testimony supported the measure as a way to unlock funding for sewer expansion, and the bill passed unanimously. The committee also approved HB 7009, preserving public records and meeting exemptions for 911 and public safety radio communications systems and expanding them to next-generation 911. Finally, PCS for HB 1397, a large transportation package addressing airport, seaport, spaceport, and workforce issues, was amended and passed 14-1 after questions about federal testing notifications, removal of certain business preference language, and a provision redirecting some transit funds to highway projects if not timely used.
AL

Alabama 2026 1st Special Session

Alabama House Apr 7th, 2026

Alabama House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • And whereas the framers of the United States Constitution, recognizing free exercise of religion as an
  • And whereas the framers of the United And whereas the framers of the United States<00:04:38.720>
  • You don't learn micro locks. You don't learn extensions. You don't learn none of these things.
  • You don't learn micro locks. interlocks. You don't learn micro locks.
  • And when the United States plays Paraguay, we want that to be known the whole world.
Keywords: 1136, house, all
ND

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee Apr 22nd, 2026

Transcript Highlights:
  • Right now in the United, you know, so how it's made, you know, So right now in the United, you know,
  • Right now in the United, you know, so how it's made, you know, So right now in the United, you know,
  • That we have a lot of here in the United States.
  • Right now, the United States would at least...
  • Well, yeah, that's strange units.
Summary: The meeting opened with remarks about the value of public engagement and the quality of questions from the group, followed by a series of technical presentations from Idaho National Laboratory staff. Joe Renovitz described recent nuclear regulatory changes tied to presidential executive orders, including NRC Part 53 for advanced reactors, the forthcoming Part 57 for very small reactors, and DOE updates to reactor authorization standards. He emphasized efforts to align DOE and NRC processes, use risk-informed and performance-based licensing, support reactor deployment for AI/data centers and national security, and use AI to speed communications and crosswalks between DOE and NRC requirements. In response to questions, he said there was no plan to merge agencies, but rather to improve coordination and public outreach through groups like GAIN and NEI. David Tolman then discussed the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, spent fuel storage, transportation, disposal, and reprocessing. He explained high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), why it is needed for advanced reactors, and DOE’s HALEU Availability Program and related investments in enrichment, transportation, deconversion, and supply chain development. He also covered spent fuel management, the possibility of centralized storage or a fuel-cycle campus, the Center for Used Fuel Research, and ongoing work on high-burnup cask testing and reprocessing technologies. Tolman described aqueous, pyrochemical, and fluoride-volatility reprocessing approaches, noting the advantages and waste characteristics of each, and said several companies are working with INL on these technologies. Ashley Shields presented INL’s AI and nuclear work, focusing on the Genesis initiative and the Prometheus effort to use AI to design, license, build, and operate reactors with far less human intervention. She described INL’s broad use of generative AI tools, the need to manage large volumes of legacy technical data, and applications in reactor design, materials discovery, autonomous laboratories, and digital twins. Shields said AI is being used to reduce the enormous documentation burden in nuclear licensing and to support autonomous or remotely operated reactor demonstrations, while stressing that humans remain in supervisory roles. In discussion, she addressed data security, model access, and the continued need for software engineers. The session then recessed briefly and resumed with Mitch Kerman beginning a presentation on critical minerals and materials.
ND

North Dakota 2026 1st Special Session

Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee Apr 22nd, 2026 at 09:30 am

Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee

Transcript Highlights:
  • Right now in the United, you know, so how it's made, you know, So right now in the United, you know,
  • Right now, the United States would at least... Right now, the United States would at least...
  • Well, yeah, that's strange units. We engineers don't—we need to sometimes speak in different units.
  • And so that's probably still a combustion unit operation.
  • We've got the electrolysis units on the bottom center.
Keywords: 908, all