Transcript Highlights:

• increasing our ability to monitor and mitigate methane at the source through the use of innovative technologies
• We have the accountability metrics built into AB 617 around implementing best available technologies
• First, modernizing our technology infrastructure—that's been a key priority of ours and something that
• With new IT positions, we've been able to implement consolidated technology services across all of these
• We didn't have smartphones. technologies as they evolve.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• -2000s when Packett Digital was known for electronic design, wireless systems, and RFID-related technology
• Corvent Medical is a recent example of the fund supporting advanced medical technology in Fargo.
• Internally, we're refining By collaborating with partners and adopting new technologies.
• First is driving alignment of programs, technology, communications, and process across the workforce
• By streamlining resources and leveraging technology, North Dakota ensures transparency and efficiency

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Budget Section’s Commerce and Legal Services Division met to review the Department of Commerce base budget for the 2027-29 biennium and to receive an update on Commerce programs. Legislative Council staff first walked the committee through the “blue sheet” base budget summary, explaining the major line items, the large share of federal grant authority in Commerce’s budget, and the continuing appropriations that support several Commerce funds. Members asked how grant funding is coordinated across agencies, and staff said collaboration varies by program but is strong in areas like UAS and LIHEAP. Commerce Commissioner Chris Schilken then presented on current activities, focusing heavily on grant administration, transparency, and economic development programs. Members questioned how grant applicants are selected, whether Commerce tracks applications and return on investment, and how long grant awards take to reach recipients. The commissioner said Commerce uses scoring criteria, outside reviewers, a minimum 30-day application window, and typically completes awards within two to three months. A lengthy exchange followed over whether Commerce should open some grants only to intended recipients versus running competitive application processes; Commerce said it follows best-practice grantmaking and that its attorney in the Attorney General’s office approved that approach. Commerce also highlighted the North Dakota Development Fund, citing long-term investment and job creation results, examples such as Red Trail Energy, Packet Digital, Valiance, Corvent Medical, child care loans, and the Automate ND program. Members asked about acceptable failures, lessons learned, regional economic development coordination, and the expansion of the fund into non-primary sectors. Workforce Director Katie Ralston Howell then outlined a statewide workforce ecosystem review, a new governor’s workforce sub-cabinet, and three task forces focused on simplifying entry, warm handoffs, and data integration. She discussed the in-demand occupations list, Workforce Pell, apprenticeships, and efforts to better connect students with employers and higher education. Commerce also briefly reviewed housing programs and a new housing sub-cabinet. No votes were taken; the committee simply received testimony, asked questions, and adjourned after setting up the next meeting to hear the Attorney General budget in June.

Transcript Highlights:

• Because of the technology, we were only allowed 1,000 participants, and we exceeded that immediately.
• And again, the contingency is the technology from a configurability perspective for us to do so, given
• how we have advanced our technology for some time now.
• To your point about bots and technology and everything else, nothing...
• With all due respect, the bots and the technology, it helps, but nothing replaces that direct contact

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And she likes technology. Clint didn't. So we're better off in that.
• I don't know what Clint likes, but technology wasn't one of them.
• , you have to play with the technology, and that will reach that in a context.
• Play with the technology, and that will reach that inequality that we sometimes have with access: people
• This is a popular room, but it's one of the few, I guess, that we have the technology to do what we're

Committee: House Oklahoma Education Commission

Summary: The meeting focused primarily on planning for an upcoming AI symposium and related commission work. Members reviewed nomination and registration timelines, attendance categories, site logistics, and microcredential requirements for participants. They discussed the symposium’s structure, including slots for K-12, higher education, career tech, libraries, tribal groups, and innovation grant recipients, and noted that the event would likely be held in early June with a follow-up planning meeting on April 2. The group also discussed launching a newsletter via Substack and publishing a monthly podcast to share updates and build public awareness. A major portion of the discussion centered on School AI and a proposed $45 million AI initiative. Members described School AI pilot activity at OCCC and broader plans to work with K-12, career tech, higher education, and libraries, while emphasizing privacy, data governance, and the need for local training and agency-level negotiation. The $45 million proposal, referenced as House Bill 1782, would create a revolving fund, an advisory council, and broad allowable uses including tools, professional development, curriculum, research, student programs, infrastructure, and public outreach. Representative Williams said the bill was moving through the House appropriations process and that the goal was to keep the funding intact. The group also raised concerns about other AI-related proposals and initiatives, including three bills by Representative Cody Maynard and the Oklahoma AI Roundtable, which some members viewed skeptically because of its paid membership model. A podcast episode on ethics and legal issues in AI was previewed, including a controversial example about using AI to survey students for safety risks; members agreed the example was hypothetical but potentially sensitive. The meeting ended with broader discussion of workforce needs, especially nursing and corrections education, including efforts to expand LPN/RN pathways, address certification costs, and connect training to rural health and reentry programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I want everyone to understand that it's that technology and innovation that's created that.
• <00:13:06.320><c> today</c><00:13:07.120><c> with</c><00:13:07.360><c> the</c><00:13:07.600><c> technology
• </c> Agriculture today with the technology Agriculture today with the technology and<00:13:08.240><c>
• <00:13:13.600><c> that</c><00:13:14.240><c> it's</c><00:13:14.480><c> that</c><00:13:14.720><c> technology
• </c><00:13:15.200><c> and</c> understand that it's that technology and understand that it's that technology

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The House took up the conference committee report on House File 2446, the agriculture budget bill for the Department of Agriculture. Representative Anderson explained that the conference agreement kept the core House and Senate priorities while accepting some Senate policy provisions and fee increases, including grain license fees and food handling fees. He said the overall target was reduced, but major programs were preserved, including funding for the Board of Animal Health, egg emergency and inspection programs, elk and wolf compensation, milk processing capacity, farm safety and innovation, a new bioefficiency program to reduce fertilizer use in limited areas, and increased meat inspection funding. Representative Hansen and several other members urged adoption, describing the bill as a bipartisan “hybrid” that reflects changing agriculture and includes both traditional farm support and newer priorities. Supporters highlighted food assistance and worker protections, including funding to offset federal cuts to local food purchasing and milk distribution programs, farm-to-school and early care programs, avian flu testing, urban agriculture, and a study to expand Olmsted County’s soil health and nitrate reduction work. Some members noted concerns about fees, while others emphasized support for all types of agriculture, cottage food bakers, and the role of farm workers. After debate, the House adopted the conference committee report and advanced the bill. Following further discussion, the bill was repassed as amended by conference on a roll call vote of 130 ayes and 4 nays, and its title was agreed to.

Transcript Highlights:

• convene a nuclear energy working group to study the feasibility of using advanced nuclear power technologies
• Therefore, a working group would need to have compelling evidence that nuclear power generation technologies
• convene a nuclear energy working group to study the feasibility of using advanced nuclear power technologies
• evidence that nuclear power compelling evidence that nuclear power generation<00:32:26.120><c> technologies
• technologies met technical readiness<00:32:28.760><c> criteria,</c><00:32:29.760><c> delivered</c><00

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• On line 509, House File 1166, Disability Services, Technology and Advertising.
• Section 10 establishes a disability services technology and advocacy expansion grant.
• The continued funding will provide the necessary staff and technologies for the upcoming biennium.
• The continued funding will provide the necessary staff and technologies for the upcoming biennium.
• Expanding the use of technology to conduct reassessments and permitting verbal attestations from those

Bills: HF2434

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Keywords: healthcare, personal care assistance, worker retention, disability services, state funding

Transcript Highlights:

• Greenland sits atop vast reserves of rare-earth elements, materials critical for everything from technology
• These elements are vital in the production of smartphones, military equipment, medical technologies,
• And we can think creatively about some new technological tools that could be brought to bear.
• Gray, I want to pivot to you on this, because China focuses on dual-use technologies.
• And then new technology that can help us respond effectively in jobs.

Committee: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

Keywords: Greenland, acquisition, national security, Arctic, geopolitical, China, Russia, icebreakers, trade routes

Summary: The meeting convened by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation focused on the potential acquisition of Greenland by the United States. This issue, first raised by President Trump in 2019, has gained renewed significance amidst shifting global dynamics and the strategic importance of Greenland in relation to transatlantic trade routes and national security. The members discussed the geopolitical implications of Greenland's position, especially given the increasing influence of China and Russia in the Arctic region. Notably, the urgency to address military presence and icebreaker capabilities in the Arctic was a major point of contention, with a call for a new fleet to counter foreign dominance in the area.

Transcript Highlights:

• If the Commonwealth wants every infrastructure and technology challenge to be solved before acting, we
• This amendment creates a practical, inclusive, and technology-neutral forum for identifying strategies
• The cold-weather heat pump technology works well, and in new construction, so far as we know, it's cheaper
• So the cold weather heat pump technology works well and in new construction so far as we know it's cheaper
• Slowly but surely, the building community is catching on to the fact that today's cold-weather technology

Summary: The Senate continued debate on House 5175, An Act Relative to Energy Affordability, Clean Power, and Economic Competitiveness, taking up a series of amendments focused on clean energy procurement, oversight, gas infrastructure, housing impacts, and ratepayer costs. Amendment 22, offered by Senator Rogers, was rejected 5-34 after he argued the underlying bill already improves clean energy procurement and reduces utility middlemen. Senator Tarr then offered Amendment 34 to expand reporting, oversight boards, and consumer representation, and to strike provisions on consumer choice, gas program frameworks, and municipal procurement authority; it was also rejected 5-34 after supporters of the bill said the legislation already strengthens oversight through the EEAC, a new review board, and DPU audits. The chamber also considered Amendment 77 by Senator Eldridge to end ratepayer-funded gas line extension subsidies for new construction. Supporters said the subsidy unfairly shifts costs to all ratepayers, favors gas over cleaner alternatives, and could save about $1.6 billion over ten years; opponents argued it could raise housing construction costs, especially for gateway cities and large projects. After extended debate, the amendment failed 19-20. Senator Moore withdrew Amendment 65, which would have created a commission on reducing emissions from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles while preserving long-term zero-emissions goals. Several other amendments were adopted, including measures on low-income discount charges, environmental justice protections, data and tax printing, and increased access to plug-in solar. The Senate also adopted the Ways and Means amendment, ordered the bill to a third reading, and then passed it to be engrossed by a roll call vote of 32-8. Separately, the Senate adopted a Judiciary extension order after removing two bills from it, and agreed to adjourn in memory of Robert G. Najarian.

Transcript Highlights:

• And viticulture technology, I'll talk a little bit about that later.
• And this is some more of our technologies.
• The presidents, we talked about AI and technology as it relates to soil, soil moisture, growing crops
• And it's not just the Ag Center, but a lot of this deals with infrastructure and technology, but also
• And of course, you guys used to STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Committee: House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development

Summary: The House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development met with a quorum, adopted the minutes from its October 3, 2024 meeting, and Chairwoman Butler noted that HCR 82 would be voluntarily deferred in favor of continuing work on HCR 77 related to a pilot program for landscaping and crawfishing. The committee then considered HCR 205, which urges the USDA to use its Commodity Procurement Program to purchase domestic Louisiana shrimp. Representative Kerner and Commissioner Mike Strain described the shrimp industry’s low prices, full cold storage, and the need for urgent federal action to support shrimpers and move product into schools, nursing homes, and food banks. Members discussed domestic sourcing rules, enforcement against imported seafood, and marketing challenges; HCR 205 was reported favorably without objection. The committee also took up HCR 188, which memorializes Congress to oppose any federal farm bill provision that could negatively affect the use of hunting dogs. Chairwoman Butler and Commissioner Strain explained that the concern centered on vague language in a farm bill section that could be interpreted to restrict hunting dogs used for tracking or field trials. Members agreed the language should be removed if it remained in the bill, and HCR 188 was reported favorably without objection. The committee then heard a presentation from Orlando McMeans of the Southern University Ag Center and College of Agriculture, along with Dr. Calvin Walker. They outlined the center’s research, extension, and academic programs, including enrollment growth, dual-enrollment efforts, 1890 scholars, JAG Stars scholarships, beef cattle and aquaculture research, viticulture, precision nutrition, and food access initiatives. They also described major facility projects, including a high-tech meat processing facility, research labs, a vineyard, and a proposed disaster-safe shelter. Members asked about butcher training, cattle genetics, and the shelter’s potential uses, and the committee adjourned after the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, you're always updating your technology and all.
• The ILWU supports the advancement of technology that improves safety and efficiency, but always with
• Local 52 has been a witness on the forefront of technological advancement at our ports.
• tax dollars and it ensures that we keep those tax dollars tight and don't promote the jobs or the technology
• And I have to admit that, with the rapid advancement of technology and AI, I have a very real fear that

Bills: SB5820 , SB5467 , SB5995

Committee: House Local Government

Keywords: freight rail, rail corridor, short-line railroad, rail-dependent uses, industrial land use, growth management act, GMA, comprehensive plan, transportation element, land use planning, local government, county planning, city planning, critical areas, agricultural lands, forest lands, mineral resource lands, urban growth area, development regulations, notice on permits

Transcript Highlights:

• an employer has to be making a significant capital investment, or they've got to be investing in technology
• So there are very real examples of a company investing in technology that their current workforce would
• the agency received $28,900 one time for IT hardware, recommended by the Office of Information Technology
• you see a request for $36,300 for IT hardware that is recommended by the Office of Information Technology
• Services. $36,300 for IT hardware that is recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The committee heard budget presentations first for the Idaho Workforce Development Council. Analyst Brooke Dupree reviewed the agency’s statutory role, funding sources, staffing, and FY27 requests, including an ongoing transfer within the In Demand Careers Fund to increase trustee and benefit payments for Idaho Launch grants, a proposal to consolidate the STEM Action Center into the council, and requests for reappropriation authority for several grant funds. Director Wendy Sechrist said Launch, workforce training, semiconductor, and child care grants have produced strong participation and wage gains, and she explained that the proposed STEM merger would transfer remaining dedicated-fund balances to the Workforce Development Training Fund. Members asked about the effect of a $10 million cash transfer on Launch awards, repayment of grants by students who do not meet requirements, and the use of employer training funds; Sechrist said wording such as “up to $10 million” would avoid reducing awards and that the agency is still exploring debt collection options. The committee then reviewed the Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Dupree outlined the agency’s vocational rehabilitation and independent living services, its dedicated funds, and FY27 requests for additional appropriation to spend Social Security reimbursement revenue and for replacement vehicles from the adaptive aids fund. Administrator Beth Cunningham said the agency uses those funds to support clients’ employment and independence, and that the requested increases would help cover needed vehicles and offset other costs. She also said holdbacks would have a modest effect on services, including reduced site restoration funding and some cuts to client services and travel. Finally, the Idaho State Historical Society presented its budget. Dupree described the agency’s preservation mission, staffing, dedicated funds, and FY27 requests, including $450,000 for the second year of moving state records and collections into a new archives addition, plus IT hardware and reappropriation authority. Director Janet Gallimore emphasized stewardship of state records and artifacts, the importance of the collections move, and the agency’s role in America 250 activities. Members asked about archaeological review travel, the agency’s long tenure, and the use of miscellaneous revenue; Gallimore agreed to provide travel records and thanked the committee for its support. The meeting ended with a presentation of historical artifacts and adjournment until the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• This technology can augment so many processes, and we're finding more and more use cases and opportunities
• This technology can augment so many processes and we're finding more and more use cases and opportunities
• most impact because they're the overseers of everything that the agencies do with this type of technology
• It's a newish world, newish technology, newest policy area, and it's something we need to be very careful
• Smolden, am I correct in understanding that some of the SMR technologies being designed right now don't

Bills: HB2452 , HB2592

Committee: House Artificial Intelligence & Innovation

Keywords: comprehensive plans, county governance, data centers, zoning, state regulations, land use, energy production, infrastructure, environmental impact, artificial intelligence, government regulation, innovation, procurement, administrative burdens, 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This funding was reappropriated over the next few years as the court completed several technological
• The main enhancement to highlight for you is on the third line for court technology support.
• At that time, the court had been experiencing a drop in civil case filings such that the court technology
• Bicharat mentioned they received a $6 million increase to stabilize the court technology fund.
• The technology upgrades, did we switch systems?

Summary: The Senate Finance and House Appropriations committee reviewed the Judicial Branch budget, beginning with the Court Operations division. Legislative staff outlined the branch’s structure, recent spending trends, technology upgrades funded with ARPA dollars, and FY26/FY27 budget changes, including judicial compensation increases, added judges in several districts, and a late request for $800,700 from a dedicated fund to cover senior magistrate retirement and purchase-of-service costs. Court officials explained that the retirement request was driven by an unusual number of magistrate retirements announced too late to include in the original budget, and they also described the impact of declining federal support and the need to shift some treatment-court and technology costs to other funding sources. Members asked about the holdback, the court’s cloud and network modernization, the purpose of senior judge purchase-of-service payments, and the effect of treatment courts on public safety and incarceration; no vote was taken. The committee then heard the Second Judicial District CASA/Guardian ad Litem request for $77,900 in general funds. The program said the money would support a trainer/recruiter/data supervisor position, required office and record space, annual financial review, and liability insurance, citing rural service needs, declining VOCA and grant funding, and the need to recruit and support volunteers across a large district. The executive director described the program’s statutory role in child protection cases and said fundraising now covers about 30% of the budget, taking time away from direct services. Members asked about the decline in VOCA funds, the number of children served, and examples of the program’s impact; the director gave a detailed success story about helping a family reunify. The hearing ended with no recorded appropriation action, and the chair adjourned the meeting until the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• Given the changes in technologies and fire hazards, many of the emerging threats such as lithium-ion
• to be able to be contained and suppressed with upwards of 500 to maybe 1,000 gallons, the new technologies
• With those new technologies, you carry that forward now into residential homes that are installing energy
• used to be able to contain and suppressed with upwards of 500 to maybe a thousand gallons the new technologies
• That technology, that infrastructure, does not exist, correct?

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Financial Services

Summary: The Senate Committee on Financial Services held a public hearing on late-filed matters, chaired by Senator Paul Feeney and Representative Jamie Murphy. The committee heard testimony on several bills, including S. 2738 on rising insurance costs for manufactured home residents, S. 2739 on creating a fire cistern program, and S. 2732 on direct primary care. Members were reminded to keep testimony brief, and several legislators and local officials testified out of turn as they arrived. The hearing ended with a motion to adjourn, which passed unanimously. On S. 2738, Senator Kelly Dooner, Representative Lisa Field, Taunton Mayor Sean O’Connell, Taunton City Council President Barry Sanders, and several residents and local officials described sharp premium increases, limited carrier options, and confusion over coverage for manufactured home communities. Testifiers said many residents are seniors, veterans, or low-income households on fixed incomes, and urged creation of a special commission to study the market and recommend solutions. Some asked that residents themselves be included on the commission and suggested more immediate relief if possible. On S. 2739, fire chiefs from Hopkinton and East Hampton supported a state fund for fire cisterns, saying many communities lack municipal water or hydrants and need reliable year-round water sources for structure fires, wildfires, and newer hazards such as lithium-ion battery fires. They said cisterns improve response and can affect insurance ratings, but maintenance and installation costs are difficult for local departments to cover. The Massachusetts Insurance Federation opposed the funding mechanism, arguing that insurance assessments are being used as revenue generators and warning that the proposal would add to policy costs and trigger retaliatory taxes. The committee also heard strong support for S. 2732 from physicians and specialty groups, including Dr. Jenny Labonte, Dr. Wendy Cohen, Dr. Rica Nair, and the Massachusetts GI Association. They said the bill would allow direct primary care physicians to make referrals for HMO patients and permit in-office dispensing of medications, which they argued would improve access, continuity of care, medication adherence, and affordability. No votes were taken on the bills during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Given the changes in technologies and fire hazards, many of the emerging threats such as lithium-ion
• to be able to be contained and suppressed with upwards of 500 to maybe 1,000 gallons, the new technologies
• With those new technologies, you carry that forward now into residential homes that are installing energy
• used to be able to contain and suppressed with upwards of 500 to maybe a thousand gallons the new technologies
• That technology, that infrastructure, does not exist, correct?

Bills: S2732 , S2738 , S2739

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Financial Services

Keywords: healthcare, direct primary care, insurance, referrals, network providers, payment denial, insurance costs, manufactured homes, homeowners insurance, affordability, state regulations, insurance market, consumer protection, mobile homes, firefighting, water supply, cistern program, rural areas, urban interface, state funding

Transcript Highlights:

• ASR technology is not widely available at this time and was not considered when the rules were written
• And what we know now from technology, I think we didn't know then, enables these sorts of developments
• Not as many technologies and different equipment kind of overrode the labor cost.
• There are, but again, technology is... is decreasing the demand for migrant labor.
• They have different types of technology for these batch plants, but they're not as good as a municipal

Bills: SB243 , SB1586 , SB1891 , SB1959 , SB2159 , SB2568

Committee: Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Keywords: migrant labor housing, migrant housing, farmworker housing, migrant agricultural worker, agricultural labor, farm labor contractor, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, TDHCA, civil penalty, housing code enforcement, sanitation, occupancy standards, retaliation, worker complaint, language access, Spanish-language outreach, H-2A visa, temporary agricultural workers, unlicensed housing, rural housing

Transcript Highlights:

• Career certificates and applied technology diplomas are those non-college credit offerings at the district
• Career certificates and applied technology diplomas are those non-college credit offerings at the district
• The Applied Technology Diploma is a non-college credit certificate that really has embedded articulation
• So again, about 39 districts offer career certificates, I think 15 districts offer applied technology
• Higher cost programs like welding technology, aviation airframe, and mechanic, we actually split high

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Appropriations Committee for Higher Education met to review Florida’s workforce and Florida College System funding models as part of budget planning. Chair Harrell opened by emphasizing the state’s growing focus on technical education and workforce pathways, and the committee first heard from Tara Goodman of the Department of Education on district workforce education. Goodman explained the programs funded through district workforce dollars, including career certificates, applied technology diplomas, registered apprenticeship, and adult general education, and described the model’s reliance on lagged enrollment, program cost weights, local tuition offsets, and supplemental factors such as disability services, GED testing, and minimum funding for small rural districts. She also noted federal support through Perkins and WIOA and said the model is used to determine unmet need and guide appropriations. In response to questions, she said health care programs are generally among the higher-cost offerings and may be supplemented by pipeline funds. The committee then heard from Kathy Hebda, Chancellor of the Florida College System, on the college system’s funding model. Hebda described the main funding sources, including the program fund, student success incentive funds, pipeline funds, tuition and fees, and performance-based incentives, and explained that the current model was developed by the 28 college presidents under legislative direction. She said the model uses a three-year average FTE, weights workforce enrollment more heavily than non-workforce enrollment, gives significant weight to completions, includes a small-college factor and regional cost differentials, and also provides targeted funding to bring colleges up to a floor based on per-FTE funding. Senators asked about colleges below the target, cost differences among programs, faculty salaries, and health insurance costs; Hebda said the model is meant to provide flexible operating dollars that colleges can use for those expenses, but specific salary and benefit decisions are left to the institutions. Seminole State College President Georgia Lorenz also testified in support of the college funding model, saying it holds institutions accountable for enrollment and completions, can be adjusted to reflect state priorities like workforce, and addresses differences in size and regional costs. No bills were voted on, and the committee adjourned after brief closing remarks thanking Seminole State College and the presenters.

Transcript Highlights:

• They strive to provide equal access to information and resources, bridging gaps in education and technology
• </c><00:02:14.920><c> And</c><00:02:15.040><c> they</c> in education and technology.
• And they in education and technology.
• When it comes to the DNA technology, they can move about the same number of cases.
• ,</c> When it comes to the DNA technology, When it comes to the DNA technology, they<01:30:04.680><c>

Committee: Senate Capital Investment

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Laban Technology Committee is waiting for quorum. Not yet. Almost. Might have it.
• Laban Technology Committee is waiting for quorum. Not yet. Almost. Might have it.
• committee is waiting Laban technology committee is waiting for Quorum not yet.
• Okay, Labor and Technology Committee same recommendations, SD yes, SD1, okay.
• ><01:17:08.199><c> technology</c><01:17:08.920><c> AI</c> Materials space technology AI Materials space

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The hearing covered Senate Bill 426, which would create an early learning apprenticeship grant program. Testimony was overwhelmingly supportive from the City and County of Honolulu, the Department of Human Services, the Executive Office on Early Learning, the University of Hawaiʻi College of Education, the Attorney General’s office, the Early Childhood Action Strategy, Hawaii Children’s Action Network, the University of Hawaiʻi’s early childhood educator project, and a Zoom testifier who described the importance of investing in high-quality early childhood education. Committee discussion focused on the program’s estimated cost, with figures of about $14.5 million in 2025-26 and $15 million in 2026-27, and on whether the program would require ongoing base-budget funding. The committee recommended technical, non-substantive amendments, including a statewide-concern amendment and a deferred effective date, and both committees adopted the recommendation by vote. The committees then heard Senate Bill 1622, which would appropriate funds to establish the Aloha Intelligence Institute within the University of Hawaiʻi to support statewide artificial intelligence initiatives. University representatives described the proposal as the product of campus-wide input and outlined five pillars: governance and policy, outreach and engagement, research and development, workforce development, and AI tools for key sectors such as health care, creative industries, manufacturing, data science, astronomy, and climate change. Members questioned staffing distribution, tuition, enrollment timing, housing, campus placement, and whether positions would be permanent or temporary; the university said it planned about 10 positions across campuses, would start with internal resources, and would house the effort under the Vice President for Research and Innovation initially. The committees recommended an SD1 with the appropriation amounts blanked out, a July 31, 2050 effective date, and committee-report language on housing and West Oʻahu, and the higher education and labor/technology committees adopted the amended recommendation. Finally, the Higher Education Committee took up Senate Bill 1488, a housekeeping measure to consolidate existing University of Hawaiʻi conference center statutes into a single revolving fund structure, and Senate Bill 636, which would fund retention and internship coordinator positions and broader enrollment management efforts at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. SB 1488 drew university support and no opposition. SB 636 prompted substantial questioning about Hilo’s declining enrollment, current retention rate of 72.8 percent, and the scope of the request, which includes not only two named positions but also about $432,000 for enrollment management initiatives such as data analysis, IT support, and other student services. Hilo said it is targeting 3 to 5 percent annual enrollment growth and that the positions would support recruitment, retention, internships, and data-driven enrollment strategy. The committee pressed for a clearer broader plan, but the discussion in the transcript ended before a final vote on SB 636 was shown.