Transcript Highlights:

• especially from communities of color, seek support from doulas and/or midwives specifically to help bridge

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, please identify yourself for the record and give us your sort of bridge to today. Thank you.

Committee: House Elections Finance and Government Operations

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a special education PA professional at Poplar Bridge Elementary in Bloomington.

Committee: House Education Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It's just like almost like a bridge that's three-quarters of the way built.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education K-16 convened with a quorum, adopted its committee rules, and heard opening remarks from members introducing staff and outlining priorities for the session. Several senators emphasized support for public education, teacher pay and safety, parental choice, and the combined K-16 jurisdiction of the committee. The chair also reviewed hearing procedures, including public testimony registration and time limits. The main item was Senate Bill 2, the Texas Education Freedom Act, laid out by Chairman Creighton. He described the bill as an education savings account program intended to expand school choice, with a $200 million universal eligibility pool and an additional $800 million targeted to students with disabilities and lower-income families. He said the bill includes anti-fraud safeguards, criminal background checks for vendors, reporting requirements, data protections, and annual testing for participating students, while not imposing STAAR on private schools or homeschoolers. He also said the bill removes a prior hold-harmless provision for public schools and is separate from public school funding and teacher pay legislation. Members questioned the bill’s income threshold, lottery and priority structure, treatment of homeschoolers, microschools, charter schools, religious freedom protections, citizenship/lawful presence language, cybersecurity, open records, and disability-related issues, including whether 504 students and foster children should be included. Creighton said the bill is designed to prioritize former public school students with disabilities or lower incomes, while also allowing universal eligibility within the program’s first funding tier, and that the Comptroller would oversee vendor screening and cybersecurity rules. He said the bill does not direct curriculum or interfere with religious beliefs and that amendments may be offered later on citizenship and other issues. After member questions, the committee began invited testimony, starting with EdChoice representative Robert Inlow, who testified in support of SB 2 and cited national growth in school choice programs and studies he said show positive effects for students and public schools.

Transcript Highlights:

• If you think about our main kind of driving county operations, of course, your county roads, bridges,

Committee: House Elections Finance and Government Operations

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, we're looking at we're starting<01:53:50.080><c> to</c><01:53:50.239><c> bridge</c><01:53:50.800>
• gap</c><01:53:51.440><c> with</c><01:53:52.000><c> uh</c><01:53:52.159><c> on</c> We're starting to bridge

Committee: Joint Education

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, you'd be talking possibly about a walking bridge or maybe a safe passage tunnel near a busy roadway
• I admire Representative Tierney's optimism, but I think that may be a bridge too far. >> How much time

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's something we're currently working on in order to bridge funding gaps in the current study from institutional
• working on in something we're currently working on in order<01:42:58.599><c> to</c><01:42:58.920><c> bridge

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For children with special needs, OT often serves as the bridge that enables them to succeed in school

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of</c><00:39:16.079><c> gender</c><00:39:16.480><c> makes</c> I became a teacher so I might build bridges

Committee: Senate Executive Departments and Administration

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill actually helps pharmacists bridge that gap in chronic illnesses or basically CLIA-waived tests

Committee: House House Appropriations Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee opened by announcing a heavy agenda and noting that Senate Bill 1176 would be held. It then took up several Senate bills, beginning with SB 1272, which appropriates $5 million for the City of Douglas as a state match for the Douglas Port of Entry project. The bill was amended to draw the money from the Water Supply Development Revolving Fund instead of the General Fund. Senator Gowen, the Douglas mayor, and city staff described the project as a $678 million federal investment opportunity that would support water, wastewater, and broadband infrastructure, create jobs, and improve border security. The committee approved SB 1272 as amended on a 15-0 vote with three present and one not voting. The committee next approved SB 1503, as amended, which expands the state death benefit to include civilian pilots employed by law enforcement agencies and applies the change retroactively to January 1, 2026. Senator Gowen and DPS leadership testified that the change was needed so the family of a pilot killed in a February helicopter crash would qualify for the benefit. The bill passed 18-0 with one not voting. SB 1274, as amended, created a separate timeshare salesperson license and training path; supporters said it would streamline licensing for people who only sell timeshares, while one member objected to the added rulemaking discretion. It passed 17-1 with one not voting. The committee also approved SB 1286, which expands veterinary telemedicine by allowing longer prescription periods for certain medications after an electronic exam, with shorter limits for antimicrobials. Supporters said it would help rural and disabled pet owners and had been negotiated to the satisfaction of veterinarians and telemedicine advocates. The bill passed 18-0 with one not voting. SB 1519, as amended, raised the off-highway vehicle weight threshold from 2,500 to 3,500 pounds and revised related registration and funding provisions; supporters argued it would reflect newer enclosed-cab vehicles and better align Arizona with neighboring states, while opponents warned of trail damage and said the study process was not complete. It passed 10-7 with one present and one not voting. Finally, the committee approved SB 1618, which restructures the Military Affairs Commission, adds members with defense and aerospace expertise, requires more frequent meetings and reporting, and updates the Military Installation Fund and related duties to better attract and retain defense missions. Supporters said the changes would help Arizona compete for military and defense investment, while some members questioned whether the commission’s mission was being broadened too far and whether the existing structure should instead be handled through other agencies. The bill passed 10-6 with one present and one not voting. The committee then considered SCR 1020, which would index legislative salaries to inflation or deflation starting with future officeholders if approved by voters. Supporters argued the current $24,000 salary had eroded significantly since 1998 and limited who could serve, while opponents objected to legislators voting on their own pay or preferred reducing session time instead. The resolution was approved and sent forward for voter consideration.

Transcript Highlights:

• I know it's not under a thousand, because we've sailed that, you know, we're across that bridge now.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• identify ways we could better partner with and support young adults and community stakeholders in bridging

Bills: HF3650 , HF1791 , HF3489 , HF4231 , HF4232 , HF4269 , HF4270 , HF3490

Committee: House Education Finance

Keywords: student career pathways, education framework, experiential learning, employer engagement, career technical education, career and technical education, CTE, postsecondary scholarship, postsecondary grant, school district funding, cooperative unit, Minnesota high school, apprenticeship, certificate program, tuition assistance, workforce training, military transition, education finance, student aid, career pathways

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and stop the cycle of debt and ensure that when a Minnesotan needs a bridge, they don't find about

Bills: HF2400 , HF1724 , HF3437 , HF4333 , HF2874 , HF4052

Committee: House Commerce Finance and Policy

Keywords: real estate, appraisers, disciplinary actions, sanction matrix, Minnesota Statutes, direct primary care, healthcare agreements, medical services, patient care, health insurance, mortgage fees, residential loans, commercial loans, finance regulations, investment properties, insurance, supplemental health insurance, short-term care, home health care, nursing care

Transcript Highlights:

• I mostly stayed outside sleeping under bridges, parks, abandoned homes, and buildings, and occasionally

Bills: HF3665 , HF3002 , HF4217 , HF4125 , HF4174

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Keywords: foster care, early childhood education, child care programs, placement plan, social services, extended foster care, kinship care, relative custody, permanent legal and physical custody, Northstar kinship assistance, independent living plan, transition services, youth aging out of care, medical assistance, Medicaid, child welfare, children youth and families, out-of-home placement, case plan, relative placement

Transcript Highlights:

• I mostly stayed outside, sleeping under bridges and parks and occasionally with friends.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1 by Senators Roberts and Bridges, also Representatives Bacon and Richardson, concerning

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• may be true, but that visibility changes dramatically when these platooning trucks enter Breenage Bridge

Bills: HF3553 , HF3513 , HF3576

Committee: House Transportation Finance and Policy

Keywords: vehicle platooning, transportation, public safety, pilot project, Wilkin County, Grant County, autonomous vehicles, transportation regulations, driverless cars, safety standards, first responder interaction, school bus, third-party testing, driver certification, transportation regulation, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Base sliding fee grants help bridge that gap for families who can't afford child care based on their

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Rules and Administration Select Subcommittee on Federal Impacts on Minnesotans and Economic Stability met on February 20, 2026, to hear from Minnesota Management and Budget State Budget Director Anna Mingi about federal funding changes affecting the state budget. Before testimony began, Senator Rasmusson objected to a draft committee report that had been prepared in advance of the hearing, arguing it was inappropriate to summarize testimony before it occurred. The chair responded that nonpartisan staff had prepared the draft from Mingi’s submitted presentation and could revise it after the hearing if needed. Director Mingi explained that federal dollars make up more than one-third of state spending and support about 650 federal awards totaling over $23 billion this year, with more than $15 billion supporting state entitlement programs. She said the federal funding environment had changed significantly since January 2025 through executive orders, pauses, terminations, new grant conditions, delayed awards, and the July 2025 passage of H.R. 1, the federal reconciliation bill. Her main focus was H.R. 1’s effects on health care and food assistance, including work requirements for some adults, changes to eligibility for legal non-citizens, limits on retroactive Medicaid coverage and directed payments, new limits on provider taxes, and SNAP changes that shift some benefit and administrative costs to the state and counties. She estimated H.R. 1 would reduce federal funds to state-administered programs by about $327 million in the current biennium and $1.6 billion in the next, with additional costs to hospitals, counties, and other partners beyond the budget horizon. Members asked follow-up questions about whether the estimates were relative to the forecast and whether federal Medicaid funding would still rise over time. Mingi said the estimates were based on the November forecast baseline and that Medicaid federal dollars would likely continue growing overall, though the law still creates significant losses relative to prior projections. Senator Rasmusson emphasized that point in remarks to the committee. The discussion then shifted to federal grant pauses and cancellations: MMB’s tracker showed about six awards on hold totaling roughly $491 million, 13 confirmed cancellations across areas including clean energy, education, food assistance, and public health, and additional threatened or litigated cuts not included in those totals. Mingi identified two canceled violence-prevention-related grants, including a FEMA public safety grant and a justice reinvestment grant, and noted that CDC had recently moved to cancel or seek cancellation of several Minnesota public health grants, including a $65 million public health infrastructure award.

Transcript Highlights:

• don't have any federally qualified centers currently is because it would take state funds to help bridge

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Keywords: 916, all