Transcript Highlights:

• I've spent so much of my time working in the university, but not on the university campus in many ways
• I've spent my life out across states, be it in Kansas, Missouri, or North Carolina, and I intend to do
• was not being as responsive as it needed to be to the epidemic of scab that was affecting the small grain
• And so I just wanted to express that for two feet, we've spent millions and millions of dollars.
• We've spent millions and millions of dollars.

Committee: Joint Agriculture and Water Management Committee

Summary: The committee met in Fargo and approved the minutes from the March 31 meeting before hearing a series of informational presentations focused on North Dakota agriculture, water, and research. NDSU President David Cook opened with remarks about NDSU’s land-grant mission, emphasizing statewide service through research, teaching, and extension, and highlighting examples such as the Lilac Agriculture startup and the university’s role in applying research to real-world problems. He said he intends to spend time listening across the state to better understand local needs. The committee then received a detailed presentation on a state irrigation and drainage study from Tom Bodine on behalf of Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. The study projected significant potential for expanded irrigation acreage, especially in counties such as McLean, Williams, Sargent, Burleigh, Mountrail, McKenzie, McIntosh, Dunn, and Bottineau, and estimated major economic gains from irrigation, including higher farm returns and support for value-added agriculture. Members discussed water permits, surface water versus aquifers, infrastructure, drought resilience, and the role of legal drains in improving productivity and generating economic activity. The presenters also noted that the full report is available online. Dr. Greg Lardy followed with NDSU’s required interim report, outlining the university’s agricultural research and extension system, including the State Board of Agricultural Research and Education, seven research-extension centers, and the economic importance of agriculture to the state. He highlighted recent research impacts such as new crop varieties, potato breeding successes, virtual fencing, AI-assisted weed control, weather-network tools, and 4-H programming. He also described NDSU’s budget priorities: restoring the governor’s proposed 10% cuts, additional operating support, and deferred maintenance funding. Committee members asked about the new agricultural field lab, storage sheds, and NDSU’s partnership with Grand Farm. The committee also heard from the North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute and a professor presenting water-related research, including data center cooling, water reuse, smart irrigation, and a feasibility study on co-locating data centers with greenhouse and aquaculture production. Members asked about water use, ownership, and whether the concepts were operational or still speculative. Finally, North Dakota AgTech presented its NSF-funded innovation engine work, describing startup commercialization, on-farm trials, workforce development, and partnerships with NDSU, UND, tribal colleges, and other land-grant institutions. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the prior meeting minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• As someone who has spent the last 30 years prior to arriving to the legislature occupying affordable
• And I know many of you have spent years working on this.
• They're not exact, so take it with a grain of salt.
• you know, in some spaces, and I always say this, you don't know which you don't know, even though I spent
• Even though I spent 30 years in affordable housing from the land-use acquisition to the finance side

Summary: The Assembly Select Committee on Housing Finance and Affordability held its first hearing of 2025 to examine how California finances affordable housing and homeownership. Co-chairs opened by describing the state’s severe housing shortage, high costs, and the need for the committee to identify practical recommendations. Panelists from the California Housing Partnership, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the Treasurer’s housing finance committees, CalHFA, and Related discussed the layered financing structure used for affordable housing, including federal low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, state subsidies, local funds, and rental assistance. Witnesses emphasized that affordable housing projects typically require multiple funding sources and that the system is often slowed by complex applications, overlapping rules, and too many layers of financing. Several speakers noted recent federal changes that expanded the 9% and 4% tax credit programs, including a lower bond-financing threshold for 4% credits, which should allow more projects to move forward. State officials also highlighted ongoing efforts to streamline the system, including the SuperNOFA, AB 519’s one-stop-shop working group, and the planned California Housing and Homeless Agency, which is intended to align housing, homelessness, and civil rights functions. CalHFA described its homeownership and multifamily programs, including My Home, Dream For All, Cal Assist Mortgage Fund, and the Mixed Income Program, and said its financing tools help first-time buyers and developers. Related and other housing providers said the state has made real progress through land-use reform, accountability enforcement, and faster tax credit allocation, but argued that funding remains far below need. They called for more state and permanent funding sources, more efficient administration, more support for ADU and modular financing, and better attention to deeper affordability, the “missing middle,” and equity impacts on renters, women, and communities of color. The hearing was informational only; no votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• imagine how anyone could feed themselves buying healthy foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains

Summary: The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities held its quarterly meeting on September 10, with roll call, approval of the June minutes as amended, and welcoming remarks for newly appointed commissioner Rachel Caprilyan and reappointed commissioners. Chair Denise Garlick outlined plans for a statewide community hearing series, beginning with a November 4 hybrid hearing at Needham Town Hall focused on the Boston/Metro West region, and described the creation of a nonvoting advisory council to broaden the commission’s expertise across health care, transportation, housing, education, employment, business, and local disability commissions. Commissioners discussed the nomination process, the need for geographic diversity, and the goal of having the council in place by the December quarterly meeting. The main presentation addressed proposed federal Medicaid and SNAP changes in H.R. 1, with Jennifer Bertrand of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council warning that the law could cut federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion over 10 years, impose work requirements, require redeterminations every six months, restrict provider taxes, and reduce SNAP benefits. She said these changes could increase uninsurance, create administrative barriers, and threaten home- and community-based services, with a Massachusetts analysis projecting 141,000 to 203,000 MassHealth members could lose coverage over six months. Commissioners and attendees responded that the changes could harm people with disabilities, caregivers, and provider organizations, increase institutionalization risk, and intensify competition for limited state resources; several emphasized the need for disability groups and broader health care stakeholders to coordinate advocacy. Subcommittee reports highlighted recent and upcoming work. The Disability Employment Subcommittee reported on a June “Strength and Support” event, an August presentation by Run the Gamut, and an upcoming MAPC/Employment First workshop in Worcester, while the Long-Term Services and Supports and Health Equity Subcommittee discussed a presentation from the Lurie Institute for Policy Research on community living dashboards and disparities in Medicaid and LTSS. Commissioners also shared announcements about upcoming events, including the Paul Spooner Generational Leisure Summit, the Disability Policy Consortium’s John Winsky Memorial Award ceremony, the Massachusetts Health Council’s annual celebration, and a September 17 hearing on insurance coverage for hearing aids. The meeting ended with congratulations to commissioner Carl Richardson for an accessibility award and a motion to adjourn, which passed.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm going to go against the grain a little bit.

Committee: House Special Committee on Property Tax Reform

Summary: The Special Committee on Property Tax Reform met for an open discussion, with no public testimony, to reset its work after the prior combined bill was separated back into two standalone measures. The chair outlined the current direction: House Bill 2780 would include Murphy’s Hancock fix, levy-by-subclass, commercial protection language, the 275-to-150 levy adjustment, and abatement provisions; House Bill 2668 would carry clear ballot language, no-tax-increase ballot measures, clarification of SB 190, and the SB 3 fix. Members also discussed whether additional ideas, such as taxpayer appeal protections and electronic filing, might be added later if they can be worked out. A major portion of the meeting focused on the Hancock-related “275 fix,” with members clarifying that the proposal would not move all districts to 275, but would prevent two known districts below that level from being forced down and losing significant revenue. Several members raised concerns about confusion in the field and the need to communicate clearly to school districts and superintendents what the proposal would and would not do. There was also discussion of new construction under Hancock, including whether certain redevelopment or replacement projects should count as new construction and how that affects school and other local taxing entities. The committee spent substantial time debating tax abatements, especially TIFs and similar economic incentives. Supporters of the language said the intent is to prevent taxing jurisdictions from treating abated revenue as if it were still available and then shifting the cost to other taxpayers; opponents questioned whether the language would improperly reduce revenue that communities had already decided to collect. Members also discussed whether the language should apply only to the entity adopting the abatement, and whether some abatements are better handled through separate legislation. Several members urged that any new ideas be referred through committee so they can receive proper vetting and fiscal analysis, and there was broad agreement to keep the main bills relatively streamlined while continuing to work on additional concepts separately.

Transcript Highlights:

• solar, but maybe some are dealing with wind and solar, and some, like us, are dealing with things like Grain

Summary: The House Utilities Committee resumed and then concluded a hearing on HB 2402 and HB 2816, both dealing with utility-scale solar development. The chair asked witnesses to testify for informational purposes where they supported some provisions but opposed others, and the discussion centered on setback distances, taxation, cropland conversion caps, local control, and decommissioning/oversight. Several witnesses described concerns about large solar projects encircling farms, impacts on neighbors, glare, fire risk, wetlands, and property values, while others emphasized the need for reasonable statewide standards and the importance of preserving Chapter 100 agreements and county flexibility. Testimony from landowners and advocacy groups largely urged stronger protections: higher setbacks, more local authority, lower caps on cropland conversion, and higher tax rates than the bill’s proposed $2,500 per megawatt. Some witnesses argued solar should be taxed as commercial property rather than agricultural land, while others raised constitutional concerns about changing agricultural assessment. A county commissioner described local regulations his county adopted, including road agreements, decommissioning bonds, hydraulic studies, and buffering, and said counties need clearer rules, especially where there is no zoning. Industry and utility representatives said the bills were generally workable but wanted further discussion on setbacks and tax treatment. They argued tax comparisons should account for the full package of taxes and incentives, not just nameplate taxes, and said higher taxes can raise electricity costs for customers. Ameren Missouri said most of the bill was acceptable, but cautioned about how real property would be assessed and noted its current and planned solar buildout. The committee took no vote; after hearing the final witness, the chair closed testimony on HB 2402 and HB 2816 and adjourned the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• drillers out there, they rely on the bigger organization to be able to service their pumps and bring them grain

Committee: House House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee of Reference

Summary: The Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee heard several measures focused largely on foreign land ownership, historic preservation administration, and limits on the Attorney General’s nuisance-enforcement authority. HCM 2005, which urges Congress to study restrictions on foreign governments from communist or authoritarian countries owning property, drew debate over a proposed amendment to add fascist governments; that amendment failed, and the memorial then received a do pass recommendation. HB 2171, a related bill prohibiting sales or leases of Arizona real property to persons acting for China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea and assigning enforcement duties to state and county agencies, also passed after members debated whether it duplicated existing law and raised constitutional concerns. HB 2790, which would change reporting and administrative structure for the State Historic Preservation Office and appropriate $1 million, received testimony from Arizona State Parks and Trails and the Arizona Preservation Foundation; supporters said it would improve autonomy and efficiency, while others warned about internal inconsistencies and federal funding implications. It was approved on a 5-3 vote. The committee then considered three bills aimed at curbing the Attorney General’s public nuisance actions. HB 2168 would require county board of supervisors consent before the AG could bring a nuisance case in Superior Court; supporters said it would add local control and protect rural industries, while opponents argued it would hinder statewide enforcement and protect large foreign corporations. HB 2169 would make the AG liable for defamation per se if a nuisance action lacks a reasonable basis and is publicized; HB 2167 went further, creating damages, attorney-fee, lost-profit, and treble-damages liability payable from the AG’s operating fund. In testimony, supporters said the bills were needed to check what they described as aggressive or unfair nuisance litigation against rural businesses and water users, while opponents said the measures would chill legitimate enforcement and accountability. All three bills passed on 5-3 votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• drillers out there, they rely on the bigger organization to be able to service their pumps and bring them grain

Bills: HB2167 , HB2168 , HB2169 , HB2171 , HB2790 , HB2905 , HCM2005

Committees: House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs , House House Land, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee of Reference

Keywords: attorney general, nuisance action, consumer fraud, damages, civil penalty, public nuisance, nuisance abatement, abatement action, injunction, superior court, county attorney, city attorney, board of supervisors, obscenity, obscene materials, adult materials, pornography, schools, parks, residential district

Transcript Highlights:

• The grain goes into beer, it gets distilled into our spirits, that's agriculture.

Transcript Highlights:

• Despite doing nothing wrong, they've spent thousands of dollars on lawyers defending themselves just
• They turned a derelict farm into almost 40 acres of diversified, organically grown vegetables, grains

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries

Summary: The Joint Committee on Agriculture opened its first hearing by outlining procedures, including three-minute testimony limits, written testimony options, and the plan to hear 27 bills in docket order. The committee then took testimony on H.11/S.53, a resolve promoting equity in agriculture, with advocates from the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, Southeastern Mass Agricultural Partnership, and urban farming organizations describing racial and economic disparities in farming, lack of data on BIPOC farmers, barriers to land and capital, and the need for a commission to collect information and recommend policy changes. Committee members asked questions about the importance of data collection and future policy development, and the bill was repeatedly urged to be reported favorably out of committee. Testimony also supported H.118, which would create a special commission to examine the strengths and sustainability of the Commonwealth’s emergency food network. The Amherst Survival Center described serving 1.6 million meals last year and explained that food pantries are now functioning as essential parts of the state’s food system while relying heavily on donations, volunteers, and unstable funding. Members discussed the need for a more holistic look at food security infrastructure. The committee then heard H.119/S.60 on climate change impacts on farms and fisheries, with regional planners and farm advocates describing flood damage, rising costs, canceled federal climate-smart funding, and the need for direct state support for adaptation, resilience, and infrastructure improvements. The committee also heard testimony on H.125/H.142/S.65, a healthy soils bill, from landscape professionals who said construction sites often leave poor or stripped soil and that the bill would require better post-construction soil standards to support healthier landscapes and reduce long-term maintenance and environmental problems. Finally, the committee took extensive testimony on H.127, which would prohibit aquaculture of octopus for human consumption. Supporters, including legislators, scientists, veterinarians, students, and animal welfare advocates, argued octopus are highly intelligent and sentient, cannot be farmed humanely, and that octopus aquaculture would create environmental harms such as waste runoff, pressure on wild fish stocks, and ecosystem disruption. No votes were taken during the hearing; the bills were heard and testimony was received.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so it really kind of cuts against the grain about what a gross receipt is.
• I think, to give everybody who's spent a long meeting already a chance to grab a snack before we go into

Committee: All JBC-SPECIAL LANGUAGE

Transcript Highlights:

• But if you don't have any agreements, you haven't spent the money yet, then we need to let the fire districts
• This applies only to the farmers who are growing a hemp product for the sole purpose of producing grain

Transcript Highlights:

• Your IBL committee spent many hours working on this bill and ultimately gave it a do-pass recommendation
• trial lawyers and environmental activists, or do we want to stand with North Dakota corn growers, the grain

Summary: The House convened with prayer, roll call, and a quorum present, then took up several procedural motions, including suspending House rules for three legislative days and replacing conference committee members on Senate Bill 2282 and SCR 4007. The chamber also recognized visiting student groups from Grafton/Pleasant Valley and Shiloh School. Later, the House agreed to several conference committee reports and moved a number of measures through final passage or final disposition. House Bill 1428, which would have created a sales tax exemption for clothing sold by thrift stores or nonprofit corporations, drew extensive debate over tax policy, revenue loss, and possible conflicts with streamlined sales tax rules. Supporters argued it would help lower-income shoppers and nonprofit thrift stores, while opponents said it created an unfair advantage and could reduce state and local revenue. The conference report was adopted, but the bill ultimately failed on final vote, 37-54. House Bill 1440, relating to cigar lounges, was amended in conference and then passed 75-17. House Bill 1460, concerning adult foster care for private-pay adults, electronic monitoring, and a legislative study, was also adopted and passed overwhelmingly, 91-1. The House then passed Senate Bill 2224, which revises gaming commission structure and gaming stamp requirements, adds Attorney General enforcement provisions, and includes a $25,000 general fund appropriation, by a vote of 88-0. Senate Bill 2327, which expands uses of the agriculture diversification and development fund and appropriates $15 million to it, passed 74-17 after a member was excused from voting due to a personal interest. Senate Bill 2267, creating a regulatory framework for on-site wastewater treatment systems and shifting licensing authority to the Department of Environmental Quality, passed 82-10, and Senate Bill 2276, addressing joint water resource boards for cross-county projects, passed 90-1. The most contentious debate centered on Senate Bill 2160, which would move the state employee health plan from grandfathered status to a non-grandfathered ACA-compliant plan and appropriate about $6.6 million for the transition. Supporters said it would give the PERS board more flexibility, expand preventive and other benefits, and potentially slow premium growth without charging employees premiums. Opponents warned it could raise out-of-pocket costs, add mandated benefits, and shift costs to employees, while also arguing the bill had not been adequately studied. After extended debate, the House passed SB 2160 by a vote of 55-37. The chamber also concurred in Senate amendments to House Bill 1318, a pesticide labeling bill, and placed it on final passage, but the transcript ends before the final vote on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, there are two different types of producers. at our grain store um that we have where at our grain
• This, I spent the day with my own committee fishing game, and so this is about the seventh or eighth
• ; Right.<05:43:12.000><c> This</c><05:43:12.320><c> it</c><05:43:13.040><c> I</c><05:43:13.360><c> spent
• This it I spent the day with my &gt;&gt; Right.
• This it I spent the day with my own<05:43:14.798><c> committee</c><05:43:15.120><c> fishing</c><05:43

Committee: House Environment and Agriculture

Transcript Highlights:

• Residents have spent months raising concerns about noise and traffic. light pollution and environmental
• Bill 3336 establishes an excise tax credit program for craft brewers and distillers who donate their spent
• grain directly to agricultural producers for animal feed.
• Bill 3336 establishes an excise tax credit program for craft brewers and distillers who donate their spent
• grain directly to agricultural producers for animal feed.

Bills: HB1500 , HJR7 , HJR112 , HB34 , HB133 , HB 112 , HB 119 , HB 128 , HB 130 , HB132 , HB2756 , HB166 , HB406 , HB186 , HB271 , HB331 , HB380 , HB1583 , HB1584 , HB1819 , HB621 , HB303 , HB552 , HB366 , HB463 , HB 1211 , HB1327 , HB1461 , HB923 , HB1760 , HB2043 , HB2467 , HB5333 , HB5265 , HB1592 , HB1576 , HB1552 , HB2018 , HB3511 , HB1781 , HB2013 , HB2340 , HB2349 , HB2508 , HB2970 , HB2520 , HB865 , HB2851 , HB3385 , HB3336 , HB3529 , HB3309 , HB 1127 , HB 1232 , HB1397 , HB4236 , HB1804 , HB1926 , HB4041 , HB1965 , HB1964 , HB2679 , HB2730 , HB3698 , HB3699 , HCR77 , HB3354 , HB163 , HB201 , HB272 , HB333 , HB405 , HB519 , HB569 , HB654 , HB694 , HB791 , HB 1006 , HB 1136 , HB 1240 , HB 1266 , HB 1275 , HB1437 , HB1532 , HB1675 , HB1842 , HB1868 , HB1888 , HB1894 , HB1943 , HB1990 , HB2029 , HB2061 , HB2286 , HB2523 , HB2622 , HB2626 , HB2652 , HB2692 , HB2842 , HB2885 , HB2914 , HB3016 , HB3096 , HB3129 , HB3248 , HB3251 , HB3255 , HB3479 , HB3611 , HB3623 , HB3701 , HB3724 , HB3803 , HB3804 , HB3805 , HB3806 , HB3810 , HB3816 , HB3832 , HB3887 , HB4127 , HB4129 , HB4130 , HB4131 , HB4163 , HB4187 , HB4229 , HB4238 , HB4454 , HB4588 , HB4643 , HB4736 , HB4738 , HB4739 , HB4945 , HB5015 , HB5616 , SB767 , SB1619 , SB1738 , HJR5 , HJR2 , HB1399 , HB388 , HB 114 , HB205 , HB2789 , HB2791 , HB499 , HB2960 , HB3163 , HB3135 , HB2427 , HB1672 , HB1722 , HB2618 , HB879 , HB 1126 , HB4134 , HB3513 , HB1445 , HB1893 , HB1734 , HB3229 , HB3306 , HB 1276 , HB3516 , HB4145 , HB1585 , HB4810 , HB2558 , HB2742 , HB1695 , HB33 , HB144 , HB 109 , HB 103 , HB148 , HB3809 , HB2217 , HB220 , HB2421 , HB2363 , HB421 , HB2455 , HB3711 , HB2559 , HB2775 , HB3126 , HB3666 , HB3595 , HB3260 , HB3376 , HB3826 , HB3770 , HB1831 , HB2614 , HB3113 , HB322 , HB431 , HB869 , HB 1203 , HB 1244 , HB1875 , HB1950 , HB2152 , HB2341 , HB2809 , HB2856 , HB3012 , SB1415 , SB1058 , SB487 , SB1499 , SB513 , SB1697 , SB1197 , SB1437 , SB1809 , SB836 , SB1879 , SB1145 , SB963 , SB1038 , SB1147 , SB914 , SB711 , SB1409 , HB3707 , HB589 , HB1360 , HB2337 , HB2391 , HB718 , HB23 , HB2436 , HB1500 , HJR7 , HJR112 , HB34 , HB133 , HB 112 , HB 119 , HB 128 , HB 130 , HB132 , HB2756 , HB166 , HB406 , HB186 , HB271 , HB331 , HB380 , HB1583 , HB1584 , HB1819 , HB621 , HB303 , HB552 , HB366 , HB463 , HB 1211 , HB1327 , HB1461 , HB923 , HB1760 , HB2043 , HB2467 , HB5333 , HB5265 , HB1592 , HB1576 , HB1552 , HB2018 , HB3511 , HB1781 , HB2013 , HB2340 , HB2349 , HB2508 , HB2970 , HB2520 , HB865 , HB2851 , HB3385 , HB3336 , HB3529 , HB3309 , HB 1127 , HB 1232 , HB1397 , HB4236 , HB1804 , HB1926 , HB4041 , HB1965 , HB1964 , HB2679 , HB2730 , HB3698 , HB3699 , HB3354 , HB163 , HB201 , HB272 , HB333 , HB405 , HB519 , HB569 , HB654 , HB694 , HB791 , HB 1006 , HB 1136 , HB 1240 , HB 1266 , HB 1275 , HB1437 , HB1532 , HB1675 , HB1842 , HB1868 , HB1888 , HB1894 , HB1943 , HB1990 , HB2029 , HB2061 , HB2286 , HB2523 , HB2622 , HB2626 , HB2652 , HB2692 , HB2842 , HB2885 , HB2914 , HB3016 , HB3096 , HB3129 , HB3248 , HB3251 , HB3255 , HB3479 , HB3611 , HB3623 , HB3701 , HB3724 , HB3803 , HB3804 , HB3805 , HB3806 , HB3810 , HB3816 , HB3832 , HB3887 , HB4127 , HB4129 , HB4130 , HB4131 , HB4163 , HB4187 , HB4229 , HB4238 , HB4454 , HB4588 , HB4643 , HB4736 , HB4738 , HB4739 , HB4945 , HB5015 , HB5616 , SB767 , SB1619 , SB1738 , HCR77

Transcript Highlights:

• We have spent hours with family after family talking about this and how it's affected families day to
• I've spent I've spent my entire interim since last year meeting with these families and these farmers
• This is a bill that came through the education committee, and we spent Yes, Mr. Speaker.
• Speaker, I spent over 20 years as a police officer in a highly active area in this state.
• I walked with my military brothers and sisters as I spent 28 months in a war-torn Iraq.

Summary: The House first established a quorum after introductions of the Freedom of the Road Riders and Warsaw High School students. Members then took up House Bill 1855, a reporting bill on alpha-gal syndrome. The sponsor described the bill as a public health surveillance measure to add alpha-gal to Missouri’s reportable conditions, require lab reporting to the Department of Health and Senior Services, and send aggregated data to the CDC. Supporters said the bill would help identify hotspots, guide education and funding, and address a serious tick-borne condition affecting rural and urban Missourians alike. Opponents raised concerns about cost, false positives/negatives, and privacy, but the sponsor and others said the system would be HIPAA-compliant and de-identified at the federal level. Two amendments to HB 1855 were debated. An amendment changing the department’s follow-up authority from “may” to “shall” was adopted, with supporters arguing that if the legislature funds follow-up, the department should be required to do it. A second amendment creating an opt-in/opt-out consent process for reporting was rejected 41-10 after extensive debate over privacy, data collection, and whether consent would undermine disease surveillance. The House then adopted the House committee substitute for HB 1855 as amended and ordered it perfected and printed. The chamber next considered House Bills 2230 and 2978, a revised education measure aimed at reducing screen time in K-5 classrooms and encouraging handwriting and cursive instruction. The sponsor said the bill was based on research linking heavy screen use to poorer educational and behavioral outcomes, and supporters emphasized local control, parent access to screen-time policies, and the need to bring experts together through a state-level focus group. An amendment to exclude virtual school programs was adopted. The House then adopted the committee substitute for HB 2230 and 2978 as amended and ordered it perfected and printed. Finally, the House began debate on House Bill 2355, the Food Is Medicine Initiative. The sponsor said the bill would let Missouri use federal funds through 1115 waivers to pilot medically tailored meals, produce prescriptions, nutrition counseling, and related interventions to improve health and lower Medicaid costs. Members generally supported the concept, citing food deserts and the benefits of better nutrition, but an amendment adding vitamin therapies and cleanup language prompted concern from one member about supplement quality and regulation; the transcript ends during that amendment discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• not trying to be overly cynical here, but what if we do this, even with 50 individuals, and we've spent
• So you've got to take all this with a grain of salt.
• But it should be spent before we get to GR. Are we in agreement philosophically? Good.
• this line down to, or at least in the one year we have data for, we spent the line down to zero?
• This is GR money that effectively didn't get spent. Is my analysis correct? Yes. Thank you.

Summary: The Budget Committee heard the Department of Mental Health’s FY 2027 budget presentation, with Director Valerie Hoon outlining a $4.4 billion department budget, including $1.7 billion in general revenue, and describing the department’s roles in substance use, behavioral health, and developmental disabilities services. Early questioning focused on marijuana-related mental health impacts, but the main discussion centered on the department’s new decision items, funding sources, and expected wait lists. The director explained several increases tied to Medicaid growth, mental health youth services, outpatient competency restoration, crisis residential services, developmental disability waivers, and provider tax adjustments, along with offsets such as reduced wraparound funding at the Kansas City Assessment and Triage Center and cuts to some youth and self-directed DD services. A major portion of the hearing focused on competency restoration for people found unfit to stand trial and currently held in county jails. Members pressed the department on the cost, effectiveness, and legal implications of keeping people in jail while awaiting services, noting a reported wait list of roughly 524 to 538 individuals and average holds of about 14 months. The department said it currently has eight outpatient competency restoration beds in the community, is seeking funding for 50 additional outpatient slots, and also operates jail-based restoration for about 40 people at a time. Members repeatedly asked for breakdowns of violent versus nonviolent cases, success rates, cost per person, and the split between state and federal funding, while the department explained that Medicaid can cover only the treatment portion, not residential housing or other non-billable costs. The committee also discussed broader capacity constraints in state hospitals and developmental disability services. Hoon said Fulton, Center for Behavioral Medicine, and FTC North are full, with 183 vacancies across the department, and that the department is working on a new Kansas City hospital that would add 150 beds, though completion is now expected closer to 2029 or 2030. In the developmental disabilities section, the department warned that the governor’s recommendation would create wait lists for in-home waiver services and crisis residential services, and members questioned proposed reductions to self-directed services rates and other provider payments. No votes were taken, and the committee recessed before finishing the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• We run a diversified grain operation where we raise corn, soybeans, wheat, and winter camelina.
• As a mid-scale grain farm, my family is always looking for ways to be creative and to stay competitive
• To add to this conversation, I want to talk about why, as a grain farmer, I'm excited about SAF and what

Committee: Senate Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• I've spent so much of my time working in the university, but not on the university campus in many ways
• I've spent my life out across states, be it in Kansas, Missouri, or North Carolina, and I intend to do
• was not being as responsive as it needed to be to the epidemic of scab that was affecting the small grain
• been growing by such a large amount in previous biennia that looking at the efficiency of what we spent
• We've spent millions and millions of dollars.

Committee: Joint Agriculture and Water Management Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• As someone who has spent the last 30 years prior to arriving to the legislature occupying affordable
• And I know many of you have spent years working on this.
• They're not exact, so take it with a grain of salt.
• California's history, and I would like to call it California's history, you know, in the past, where we spent
• And in some spaces, and I always say this, you don't know what you don't know, even though I spent 30

Summary: The Assembly Select Committee on Housing Finance and Affordability held its first hearing of 2025 to examine California’s housing finance system, with opening remarks emphasizing the state’s severe housing shortage, high costs, and the need for practical recommendations to the Legislature and Governor. Co-chairs described the committee as an educational and problem-solving forum focused on financing housing production, first-time homeownership, mixed-income developments, and affordability across the income spectrum. Witnesses from state agencies and the development sector were invited to explain how housing is financed and where the system is breaking down. Panelists from the California Housing Partnership, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the Tax Credit Allocation Committee/State Treasurer’s Office, CalHFA, and Related outlined the “capital stack” used to finance affordable housing, stressing that projects typically rely on multiple public and private sources, including federal and state low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, state subsidies, local funds, and rental income. Speakers noted that affordable housing rents generally cannot support full project costs without public subsidy, and that recent federal changes—especially the expansion of the 4% and 9% tax credit programs and the reduction of the bond financing threshold for 4% credits—should allow California to finance substantially more units. CalHFA also described its homeownership programs, including My Home, Dream For All, and disaster-related mortgage assistance, as well as its multifamily lending and bond issuance programs. Several witnesses and committee members emphasized that the system remains too complex, too slow, and underfunded. They pointed to the need for more state funding, a housing bond, a permanent funding source, and better coordination among agencies, while also citing recent streamlining efforts such as AB 434’s SuperNOFA, AB 519’s one-stop-shop working group, and the planned California Housing and Homeless Agency reorganization. Members raised concerns about equity, access, missing-middle housing, gender and racial disparities, and whether current programs adequately serve extremely low-income households and those at risk of homelessness. No formal votes or actions were taken during the hearing; the discussion ended with committee members and witnesses agreeing that both funding and administrative reform are needed to increase production and improve affordability.

Transcript Highlights:

• I spent many hours volunteering for her campaign, so I understand. the time, the cost, and the commitment
• this country and I want each of you to lean in to what it means to say I'm going to go against the grain
• As someone who has spent decades advising businesses and serving on boards and researching corporate
• We've spent tens of millions of dollars on litigation as a result of it.
• Michigan has spent years reforming and changing again, for example, establishes criminal penalties for

Bills: SB29 , SB406 , SB447 , SB875 , SB893 , SB1033 , SB1346 , SB1362 , SB1539 , SCR22 , SB 29

Committee: Senate State Affairs