Transcript Highlights:

• THE HOUSE IS MAKING ITS FIRST OFFERS ON THE BUDGET PROVISO AND BACK OF THE BILL, FOR BUDGET PROVISO IN
• HOUSE OFFER, ROW 59 WE WILL OFFER AN ADDITIONAL 900,000 TO BRING IT TO 1 MILLION ON ROW 110 OF THE BUDGET

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, the House accepts all items where the Senate made offers to match the House and their budget
• The House accepts the following rows and the Senate budget offer Number 2, Line 9, 30a, 35, 36, 105,
• Just to let everybody know, all outstanding budget project, proviso, back of the bill, implementing and

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES WE HAVE INCLUDED THE CONFERENCE STARTING POINTS FOR THE BUDGET SPREADSHEET PROJECTS
• MEMBERS, THE BLUE ROWS ON THE BUDGET SPREADSHEET REPRESENT WHERE WE ALREADY AGREE ON FUNDING ISSUES.
• EFFORT TO MOVE CLOSER TO THE HOUSE POSITION AS WE MOVE TOWARD RESOLVING AND CLOSING OUT SEVERAL OF OUR BUDGET

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Whole budget, everyone is in the system. Thank you.
• You know, was it driven by budget with other considerations?
• You know, was it driven by budget with other considerations?
• And in terms of how it affects the overall operating budgets, the potential is there will be more budget
• I don't like drugs, but I'm a budget.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission on correctional consolidation and collaboration heard testimony focused on how Massachusetts uses custody levels, staffing, programming, and medical release tools, with Prisoners’ Legal Services arguing that the system is overusing expensive high-security settings and underusing step-down options. Dave Rainey said the incarcerated population has dropped substantially over the last several years, but spending and staffing have not fallen in proportion. He argued that DOC overclassifies people into medium and maximum security, relies too heavily on behavioral assessment units that function like segregation, and keeps people in restrictive settings such as Souza-Baranowski and Shattuck Hospital longer than necessary. He also said medical parole is underused and that many people with serious chronic illness or advanced age pose little public-safety risk and should be released through existing legal pathways. Sheriffs and other commission members pushed back on some of those points, emphasizing that staffing needs are driven by the acuity of the current population, that corrections is not overstaffed, and that classification decisions involve serious public-safety judgments. They also stressed that some high-cost medical placements are necessary because people remain under sentence and require care, and that furloughs and other release tools can create security risks if contraband or substance use is involved. The discussion also covered the role of county sheriffs versus DOC in reentry, with several members saying county systems tend to do more day-to-day step-down and release planning, while DOC has more difficulty moving people through lower-security settings before release. Ben Foreman of MassINC offered a more systemwide, data-focused perspective, praising the state’s transparency and arguing that Massachusetts has made major progress in reducing incarceration and increasing public safety. He said the state still has an opportunity to improve by right-sizing facilities, investing in community-based mental health treatment, and using the commission to better understand the capital and operating costs of the current system. In response to questions, he said he was aware of DOC studies on programs like furlough but had not reviewed recent ones, and he noted that total-control facilities like Souza-Baranowski have long been criticized in the research literature for poor outcomes. Nora Wassel of the Women and Incarceration Project then testified that the commission should issue an interim report and scrutinize the planned new women’s prison, which she said is not justified by current population trends or available data. She argued that women are overclassified under DOC’s own tools, that reentry beds and minimum-security placements are underused, and that the system may be failing to account for women’s distinct medical and reentry needs. The meeting ended with continued discussion of reentry, furloughs, day reporting, and whether consolidation should mean fewer facilities, better step-down pathways, or both.

Transcript Highlights:

• . ...toll on the business and in the construction industry for them and their budgets.
• agreements upon collective bargaining agreements in the biennial proposed executive budget.
• It was not included in the governor's budget at all.
• So the bargaining is done before the budget is presented to the legislative body.
• So when it's presented to us, it's already baked into the budget, and we know what those are.

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we take it out of the cancer center budget? It's got to come somewhere, right?
• Do we take it out of the cancer center<00:32:21.679><c> budget?
• I think historically student housing has been a budget option for students.
• </c> has been a budget option for students. has been a budget option for students.
• Um we are maintenance budget.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard three University of Hawaiʻi-related measures. HB 718 HD1 would appropriate funds for faculty and staff positions at the John A. Burns School of Medicine in cardiovascular, law, biology, tropical medicine, quantitative health/biostatistics, and environmental health and safety. Testimony was in support, including from university representatives and others who submitted written testimony. Members asked whether the positions were additional and how they would affect enrollment; the university said the hires would teach medical students and conduct biomedical research, helping increase the class size to about 77 and eventually 80, and noted a workforce paper requested by the committee would be provided soon. The committee then discussed SB 1170 HD1, which would grant resident tuition at any UH campus to certain graduates of Hawaiʻi high schools enrolling in undergraduate programs. UH supported the bill and said it had adjusted its testimony in response to prior committee concerns. Members focused on the proposed four-year window, asking why that timeframe was chosen and whether the change was needed at all. UH explained that four years would allow students who left the state to return and still complete an undergraduate degree or prepare for graduate school, and said the bill would help students who come back after one or two years but otherwise would have to wait a year to reestablish residency under current rules. UH also said it was discussing possible administrative rule changes as an alternative if the bill did not pass. Finally, the committee heard HB 1300 HD1, which would fund a University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center pilot study on cancer disparities among Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos, and people living near landfills in Nanakuli, focusing on social determinants of health, lifestyle, environmental exposures, and resilience factors. Testimony from researchers and advocates strongly supported the measure, saying the study could help explain cancer disparities and support future research funding. Members questioned the cost, the reliance on future federal or foundation funding, and the practical outcome of the study. The Cancer Center said the pilot would cost about $500,000 per year for two years, with later funding sought from federal, nonprofit, or private sources; it said the study would produce longitudinal data that could help identify at-risk groups and provide evidence for policy decisions, though members expressed concern that the project needed a clearer end goal and stronger case for public investment.

Transcript Highlights:

• It’s budgeted in our HTA budget for 2025 at $300,000.
• What’s the hit to the budget?
• From additional SI right now, we are asking in the fiscal year 26 budget for additional funds.
• </c><00:46:17.200><c> also</c> million uh then the HTA budget also million uh then the HTA budget also
• </c><00:46:48.000><c> for</c> asking in the fiscal year 26 budget for asking in the fiscal year 26 budget

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint Senate hearing covered Senate Bill 1536 and Senate Bill 1571. SB 1536 concerned the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s CEO position and whether the exemption from retirement benefits should be changed. Testimony and committee discussion focused on the estimated cost, the current budgeted amount, whether the change would make the position more competitive, and whether alternatives such as a portable retirement plan had been considered. The witness said the proposal came from HTA’s legislative committee and that the position’s salary and benefits would still likely fit within the budgeted amount. No vote was taken on SB 1536 during the excerpted discussion. The hearing then moved to SB 1571, relating to tourism. Debed and HTA representatives said they supported the bill in written testimony, but HTA’s witness said the measure had not been discussed or voted on by the full board and recommended deferring action until the board could clarify its position. Several members of the public testified both in support and opposition. Opponents raised concerns about changing “Hawaiian sense of place” to “Hawaii sense of place,” warning it could weaken protections for Hawaiian culture and invite broader interpretations that might affect places like the Hawaii Convention Center. Others opposed a provision removing a two-year waiting period for HBCB board members before serving on the HTA board, citing conflict-of-interest concerns. Committee discussion centered on the meaning and practical effect of the bill’s language, especially the distinction between “Hawaiian” and “Hawaii,” the scope of HTA’s tourism and destination-management role, and whether translation and language policy were being applied too broadly or too narrowly. Some members argued the bill could help preserve Hawaiian culture and place, while others worried about exclusionary interpretations, costs, and whether resources would be better spent on programs rather than expanded translation. The hearing ended with the chair announcing a short break and moving toward decision-making, but no final action on the bill was shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has to duplicate budgeting. It has to create an additional budget for the SAU.
• The superintendent and the budget manager, the business manager, put together one budget.
• The superintendent and the budget manager, the business manager, put together one budget.
• The superintendent and the budget manager, the business manager, put together one budget.
• The superintendent and the budget manager, the business manager, put together one budget.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 1331, which would allow the town of Derry to incorporate the Derry Cooperative School District as a department of the town through a charter amendment. The prime sponsor and several supporters argued the change would increase local control, streamline overlapping town and school functions, and potentially help align school spending with Derry’s tax cap. Supporters also said Derry is large enough to warrant a structure more like Manchester or Nashua, and one witness cited a 2018 nonbinding Derry ballot question that passed 597 to 547 in favor of seeking authorization for this change. Opposition came from NEA New Hampshire President Megan Tuttle, who said the association and the Derry Education Association opposed the bill because schools are not simply another municipal department and because Derry voters had already rejected merging the district into town government. She argued the state should respect local control and the community’s prior decision. Committee members asked about the scope of the proposed charter change, the role of the school board, and the reported prior vote, and the sponsor clarified that the amendment would be limited to this specific purpose rather than opening the entire charter. The hearing then moved to House Bill 1374, which would change the procedures for withdrawing from a cooperative school district. Representative Mary Murphy said current law gives other cooperative towns too much control over a withdrawing town’s decision, and her bill would remove the requirement for approval by the other towns while raising the withdrawing town’s approval threshold to a supermajority. She pointed to Francis Town’s 2024 withdrawal vote and said the bill was intended to protect students and local decision-making. The sponsor asked for an ought to pass recommendation, and committee members asked follow-up questions about the prior withdrawal vote and the number of voters involved.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair: I want to welcome everyone to the Conference Committee on House State Administration Budget.
• to nominate Representative Maggard to chair the Conference Committee on House State Administration Budget
• Representative Maggard: On the right side of the budget spreadsheet represents where we have made movement

Summary: The conference committee on the House State Administration Budget and Senate Agriculture, Environment, and General Government met briefly to organize its work and exchange budget offers. Senator Brodeur moved to nominate Representative Maggard to chair the conference committee, and Representative Maggard outlined that the House had made movement on the budget spreadsheet to narrow differences on several issues. Senator Brodeur said the Senate would review the House offer and likely would not respond that evening. Representative Maggard then noted the Senate had also made an offer on SB 2508E, the conforming bill for the State Agency Law Enforcement Radio System, and said the House would review it and follow up. No public comment was offered. Members were told to watch for notice of the next meeting, likely the following day, and the committee adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• responsibilities and we should be funding it, and we should be actually having them funded in the base budget
• responsibilities and we should be funding it, and we should be actually having them funded in the base budget
• That training will cover fiduciary duties, accreditation and academic quality, budgeting and finance,

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Hooper, it's that time in which we're here today to finally have a conversation publicly about the budget
• you for your consideration, and we have provided offers on the following items: higher education budget
• HB 5601E, public education capital outlay projects and proviso, as well as the administered funds budget

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, the House accepts all items where the Senate made offers to match the House in their budget
• The House accepts the following rows in the Senate budget Offer Number Two: Line 9, 30A, 35, 36, 105,
• Just to let everybody know, all outstanding budget, project, proviso, back of the bill, implementing,

Summary: The Appropriations Conference Committee on Health and Human Services met to finalize a House offer on the budget, project, proviso, back-of-the-bill, implementing, and conforming items. Representative Drodha presented the House’s final offer, stating that the House accepted a long list of Senate Offer Number Two budget rows and Senate Project Offer Number Two rows, with the remaining items effectively resolved. After the offer was presented, the chair noted that all outstanding budget, project, proviso, back-of-the-bill, implementing, and conforming items were officially bumped. Members exchanged brief thanks for the collaboration and progress made during negotiations. No testimony or debate followed, and no further business was raised. Representative D'Roddy moved to adjourn, and the committee adjourned without objection. The chair also reminded members that the big chairs were still operating under the one-hour notice requirement.

Transcript Highlights:

• As our duty as members of the House of Representatives, we have to have a balanced budget.
• As our duty as members of the House of Representatives, we have to have a balanced budget.
• As our duty as members of the House of Representatives, we have to have a balanced budget.
• </c> challenges as well as state budget challenges as well as state budget challenges<02:34:17.840><c
• </c><04:15:01.800><c> Assistance</c> when the legislative budget Assistance when the legislative budget

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee held a hearing on HB 366, which would increase school building aid for eligible projects. Representative Cahill, the prime sponsor, said the bill would raise the annual minimum from $50 million to $60 million and help address a long backlog of school construction and renovation needs after years of a moratorium on applications. He argued that districts forced to build during the moratorium were left to shoulder costs through local property taxes, and he cited examples such as Londonderry, Claremont, and other communities with aging or inadequate facilities. He also said the current aid structure, including paying 80% upfront and 20% at completion, concentrates too much spending at once and limits how many projects can be funded. Several committee members asked about the fairness and structure of the program. Representative Maguire questioned whether aid should be distributed more broadly to all districts rather than only a few selected projects, and Representative Luneau noted that the committee would also be considering related bills on catastrophic aid, special education aid, and the school foundation formula. Cahill responded that building aid has historically been targeted to property-poor communities and that the state should be a reliable partner in school construction. He also said the bill includes a small retroactive component for communities that built during the moratorium, which he described as a compromise. Testimony in support came from Representative Cluder, who described Claremont’s Stevens High School project as a case where a bond issue narrowly failed and the city later had to fund renovations without state aid, contributing to high property taxes. He said the bill would help property-poor communities and urged passage. Tony Weinstein of New Market also supported the bill, saying his community had serious facility and safety needs, had moved forward with scaled-back renovations during the moratorium, and still faced debt-service burdens without state participation. Robert Thompson, superintendent in Hampstead, testified that his district needs an addition for overcrowding, safety, and special education space, and said building aid would help reduce out-of-district placements and transportation costs. No vote was taken in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Show us how you're going to budget this.
• They have a $0 budget.
• Under the current obligations, they have to have a sustainable budget.
• Um, worth 11% of your budget?
• So this is more about budget things and money.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now, it represents our full budget, which we don't have right now.
• Let me be clear, we don't have a full budget right now.
• </c> don't have a full budget right now. don't have a full budget right now.
• that budget.
• </c><00:30:50.600><c> as</c> volunteered money from the ag budget as volunteered money from the ag budget

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Minnesota state budget has skyrocketed in<00:27:08.720><c> size.
• </c> program from the proposed state budget. program from the proposed state budget.
• </c> understand I think you know the budget understand I think you know the budget and<01:02:45.119><
• </c><01:13:14.239><c> or</c> makes up only 10% of our budget or makes up only 10% of our budget or resources
• We're likely going to have, I mean, if we manage to agree to budget targets, I expect a zero.

Bills: HF45, HF1148, HF3624, HF3586, HF777

Keywords: HF45, Lake Benton, capital investment, bonding bill, state bonds, bond proceeds fund, Public Facilities Authority, public infrastructure, sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer, utility replacement, U.S. Highway 75, road reconstruction, municipal infrastructure, local government grant, Minnesota bonding, capital appropriation, food insecurity, prepared meals

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> all right everybody today in budgeting all right everybody today in budgeting and<00:26:07.039><
• I tried to peel back the curtain so you could get a really close look at the budget.
• I tried to peel back the curtain so you could get a really close look at the budget.
• I tried to peel back the curtain so you could get a really close look at the budget.
• </c><01:49:08.400><c> spreadsheet</c> spreadsheet in your budget spreadsheet spreadsheet in your budget

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It inflates the budget without a clear offsetting revenue.
• It inflates the budget without a clear offsetting revenue. budget for additional traffic detail by budget
• </c> are diverted it inflates the budget are diverted it inflates the budget without<03:17:17.399><c>
• Budget transfers and resolutions would be reconciled each year.
• </c> resolved through proper budgeting resolved through proper budgeting without<03:21:12.600><c> imposing

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, actually, these two positions and additional funding was part of our original budget request, and
• And they reflect local values within the state's budget.
• And they reflect local values within the state's budget.
• It was not included in the governor's budget request. Okay, thank you. Thank you.
• We have the Department of Budget and Finance providing testimony with comments.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 627, which concerns Department of Education school safety funding and staffing. DOE said the bill would restore two positions and related funding that had been removed from the governor’s budget: a targeted violence prevention and threat assessment program manager and a security technology manager. DOE described ongoing work on school vulnerability assessments, fire suppression measures, security camera research, panic buttons, and active shooter prevention training. Testifiers from DOE, the Department of Law Enforcement, fire services, HSTA, and an individual witness all supported the bill, with the individual citing a past school shooting experience as a reason to increase school resource officers and safety measures. Members asked about the positions’ duties, how the request differed from existing security funding, and the status of active shooter training; DOE said it would provide more information on training statistics. The committee then took up HB 249, relating to Executive Office on Early Learning family child interaction learning programs. The Early Learning Board, EOEL, Commit to Kids, Early Childhood Action Strategies, Partners in Development Foundation, and others testified in support. EOEL said it currently spends about $800,000 annually on FCI program contracts and supports expanding state funding for FCIL programs, including infant and early childhood mental health, if the appropriation covers the broader scope. Testifiers emphasized that FCIL programs are trauma-informed, evidence-based, and help families and children, with one provider sharing a long-term example of a parent and child benefiting from the program. Members asked how many programs are supported, whether FCIL exists on all islands, and whether the request was in the governor’s budget; EOEL said the expansion was requested by the office but not included in the governor’s budget. HB 429, concerning pre-K expansion, drew broad support from the Lieutenant Governor, EOEL, HSTA, and community groups. Supporters said the Ready Keiki initiative has already opened more than 50 classrooms and would add another 50 over the next two years, including Hawaiian immersion classrooms. EOEL said it currently administers 72 public pre-K classrooms across 74 campuses and that the bill’s funding was included in the governor’s budget request. Testimony stressed kindergarten readiness, affordability for working families, equity across islands, and inclusion classrooms. Members asked about national quality benchmarks, with EOEL stating Hawaii meets 10 of 10 benchmarks and that only five states had done so at the time referenced. The Lieutenant Governor also described construction and delivery efforts, including refurbishing existing classrooms, modular options, possible use of state buildings, and even collaboration with libraries to expand child care access. Finally, the committee heard HB 439 on J-1 teacher licensure. DOE supported the bill, while the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board opposed it, arguing licensure standards are not place-based and should remain rigorous and uniform for all educators. The Attorney General’s office offered technical comments, including replacing “educators” with “teacher” and clarifying the bill’s language on issuance and renewal conditions. Several organizations and individuals testified in support, including school, cultural, business, and educator groups. One witness, a teacher from the Philippines, said J-1 educators are highly qualified and described the rigor of teacher preparation in the Philippines. No votes were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• You'll see higher numbers in that available slot because we just got slots in the budget.
• So, um, House Bill 6, the 2024 budget bill, gave us an additional 500 slots, uh, beginning July 1 of
• ><c> gave</c><00:25:08.400><c> us</c><00:25:08.640><c> an</c><00:25:08.960><c> additional</c> budget
• ,</c> over the size of the Medicaid budget, over the size of the Medicaid budget, now<00:50:44.480><c
• I know this is a budget and infections.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee opened by adopting its mission and priorities for reviewing Kentucky’s 1915(c) home- and community-based services waiver wait lists, including evaluating current capacity and bottlenecks, comparing other states’ practices, and considering a tiered priority system based on urgency of need. The chair also announced that, although public comment was not on the agenda, the committee would allow 30 minutes for comments and asked speakers to keep remarks brief. He noted that public comment would not continue in the smaller subcommittees after this meeting, but could still be made at the larger MOAB meetings or by email. Department for Medicaid Services officials Leslie Hoffman and Carmen Hancock then gave a detailed overview of Kentucky’s waiver programs: the acquired brain injury waiver, ABI long-term care waiver, home and community-based waiver, Model 2, Michelle P. waiver, Supports for Community Living waiver, and the newly approved child waiver. They explained each program’s eligibility and level-of-care requirements, described funded, filled, allocated, reserved, and available slots, and said the state had already added new slots from House Bill 500. They emphasized that available slots can coexist with a wait list because of reserved slots for money-follows-the-person transitions, emergency slots, annual slot churn, and waiver-year reconciliation. They also reported that the unduplicated wait list total was 18,948, and gave current wait-time figures by waiver, noting that the numbers change constantly. Members asked about how level-of-care determinations are made, whether all people on the wait list have been assessed, and whether undocumented individuals appear in the counts. The department said full level-of-care assessments are done only when a person is moving off the wait list into a reserved slot, and that only Medicaid-eligible individuals can reach the wait list. Senators and representatives also pressed on the meaning of “churn,” why slots cannot be reissued immediately when someone leaves, and whether people who receive even a small amount of service keep their slot for the rest of the waiver year under CMS rules. Officials said that once a participant receives service during the waiver year, the slot generally cannot be reassigned until the next waiver year, even if the person later disengages. The department also presented county distribution, annual member growth, average total cost per member, and total annual waiver expenditures, saying fiscal year 2025 closed at about $1.8 billion in waiver services. In response to questions, officials said they would provide additional churn data for other waivers, including Michelle P., and would look into the average wait-time calculations requested by members. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the meeting.