Transcript Highlights:

• Assembly Amendment 741 updates cannabis testing requirements, revises sample sizes and lot weight categories
• Assembly Amendment 779 revises sample sizes in lot weight categories. Thank you, Mr. President.
• Assembly Amendment 779 revises sample sizes in lot weight categories and deletes most provisions added

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• treatment for the known areas of contamination for those public community drinking water systems, sampling
• If you wanted to sample just 10% of the private drinking water wells in Minnesota, that would be about
• As you can see from these images, this is just a small sample of the deferred maintenance inside Minnesota's

Bills: HF3220

Keywords: school safety, school security, emergency access, law enforcement access, master key box, secure key box, entry device, school grants, education finance, Department of Education, charter schools, school districts, cooperative units, appropriation cancellation, one-time appropriation, school safety plan, emergency preparedness, public safety, school building security

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a sampling of some recent work from each of our four policy areas.
• This is a sampling of some recent work from each of our four policy areas.
• Tableau to Excel to crunch all sorts of numbers and look at large data sets, but sometimes we just sample

Summary: The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee met to receive annual overviews of its oversight responsibilities and the work of the Auditor General and OPAGA. Committee staff reviewed the committee’s authority over state and local governments, enforcement of audit-report filing requirements, repeated audit findings, Transparency Florida reporting, and lobbying compensation audits. Auditor General Cheryl Norman described her office’s independence, audit standards, quality control, and major audit areas, including the state’s annual financial and single audits, school district and university audits, operational and performance audits, and attestation work. She also noted staffing shortages, recruitment efforts, and a request for carry-forward funds to study salaries. Members asked about whether audits can quantify recoverable dollars, how school district spending comparisons are handled, and how to raise concerns about DCF-related audits or a local city audit that has been pending for years. Norman said her office can quantify findings when possible, sometimes compares costs across districts in operational audits, and that members can bring specific concerns to the appropriate deputy auditor general or the committee. She also explained that citizen or local-government audit requests may require payment of audit costs. OPAGA Coordinator Kara Collins-Gomez outlined OPAGA’s role as a legislative research unit that conducts studies directed by law, the presiding officers, or the committee, and described its policy areas, methodologies, contract monitoring, and recurring statutory reports. Deputy Auditor General Matthew Tracy explained how to read operational audit reports, including findings, criteria, condition, cause, effect, recommendations, and management responses. Deputy Auditor General Greg Senators explained financial audit reports, including audit opinions, required supplementary information, internal control and compliance findings, federal program compliance, and management letters. The meeting concluded with thanks to the presenters and a motion to adjourn, which passed without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then with the postcards that are sent out, what I've been seeing for many, many years has been sampling
• And then with the postcards that are sent out, what I've been seeing for many, many years has been sampling
• And then with the postcards that are sent out, what I've been seeing for many, many years has been sampling
• > has<01:10:34.640> been for many many years has been for many many years has been sampling
• uh of of of those uh postcards sampling uh of of of those uh postcards so<01:10:42.000> I<01:

Bills: HF484, HF483, HF1447, HF1496, HF554

Keywords: natural gas, gas hookups, residential construction, energy policy, local control, state preemption, municipal regulation, county ordinance, electrification, climate policy, housing development, building codes, energy source, utility infrastructure, Minnesota Statutes chapter 326B, propane, utility service, building permits, local government, energy choice

Transcript Highlights:

• The vast majority of Xcel's well tests that they claim to have taken sampling the tritium and the vast
• The vast majority of Xcel's well tests that they claim to have taken sampling the tritium and the vast
• The vast majority of Xcel's well tests that they claim to have taken sampling the tritium and the vast
• The vast majority of Xcel's well tests that they claim to have taken sampling the tritium and the vast
• The vast majority of Xcel's well tests that they claim to have taken sampling the tritium and the vast

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Minnesota Senate Energy Committee heard Senate File 426, authored by Senator Icorn, which would remove the 100-megawatt cap on hydropower for purposes of qualifying as an eligible energy technology under Minnesota law. Supporters said hydropower is carbon-free, reliable, flexible baseload power that can help Minnesota meet its 100% carbon-free electricity goal by 2040. Testifiers from Missouri River Energy Services and Minnesota Power described existing hydropower resources, including allocations from federal Missouri River dams, Minnesota hydro stations, and Manitoba Hydro, and argued that the bill would preserve and expand options for clean energy development. Several members raised concerns about the bill’s purpose and potential environmental impacts. Senator McEwen questioned why the size limit should be removed without specific proposed projects or more information about the need for larger dams, citing concerns about fisheries, water resources, and land use. Senator Port and others asked about costs, environmental effects, and where new projects might be built. In response, supporters said the bill is intended to open the door to future projects and allow agencies to review proposals through existing permitting and environmental processes, rather than approving any specific dam. Committee members offered mixed reactions. Senator Frentz said he supported the concept but recommended laying the bill over for further discussion and possibly sending it to the Environment Committee, noting environmental concerns and the need for more conversation. Senator Gruenhagen strongly supported the bill, arguing that it merely lifts a cap while leaving permitting and review requirements in place. Senator Hoffman also supported the bill, saying current policy blocks consideration of new projects and that the change would allow regulators to evaluate proposals on their merits. No vote was taken during the hearing, and the bill was left open for further consideration.

Transcript Highlights:

• disclosure requirement for sample disclosure requirement for sample ballots<01:27:08.159> and
• is this requires how non-government third parties can distribute absentee ballot applications and sample
• for is that when a person or an entity who is not an employee of a unit of government sends out a sample
• I don't want to be voting these when they're actually a sample ballot.
• ballot another change in this sample ballot another change in this section<01:39:22.679> is<01

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• /c><00:02:12.959> retails<00:02:13.400> and<00:02:13.760> online Many of the samples
• a beam of high-energy X-rays and then analyzes them to identify and quantify the elements of the sample
• However, for that test to be accurate of an entire sample, the surface would need to be representative
• <00:29:39.840> the accurate uh of an entire sample the accurate uh of an entire sample the
• <00:29:44.640> uh of the entire volume of the sample uh of the entire volume of the sample

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And these are the locations that they're sampled upstream of Lake Ashtabula.
• There are also additional locations that are sampled downstream of that so that we make sure that we're
• We also have gone through and re-looked at a lot of things because we've been sampling this whole area
• And we were able to reduce a few sites for sampling because they were kind of repetitive.
• And we were able to reduce a few sites for sampling because they were kind of repetitive.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So part of our testing of the census data certainly adds some time to the audit is we select a sample
• We did select a random sample of expenditures to ensure those expenditures...
• We did select a random sample of expenditures to ensure those expenditures were for lawful and official
• We did select a sample of the 28 renewals and found that 22 did not have pocket cards issued.
• There is also a sampling of investments done when we submit our tranche request.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We select a sample of participating employers every year, and we actually get payroll files from that
• sample of employers and tie that back to supporting documentation, as well as validating the census
• We did select a random sample of expenditures to ensure those expenditures were for lawful and official
• We did select a sample of the 28 renewals and found that 22 did not have pocket cards issued.
• There is also a sampling of investments done when we submit our tranche request.

Summary: The committee met to receive a series of audit presentations, beginning with the statewide Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for fiscal year 2025. The State Auditor’s Office and OMB reported a clean, unmodified opinion for the state, with strong financial results including a $40.6 billion net position, $30.99 billion in assets, $1.81 billion in liabilities, and continued Legacy Fund growth. OMB also explained the new GASB 101 compensated-absences reporting change and discussed pension-liability fluctuations tied to discount-rate assumptions and investment performance. Members asked about how the state compares to others and about the effect of short-term commodity price swings, and OMB said the report reflects actual fiscal-year results rather than forecasts. The committee then heard the University System audit, which also received a clean opinion but included four findings: misreporting of Strategic Investment and Improvements Fund revenue, insufficient monitoring of service organizations at CTS, NDSU, and UND, improper bank reconciliations at Dakota College of Bottineau, Dickinson State, and Williston State, and investment/cash reconciliation problems at Bismarck State College related to bond proceeds. University officials agreed with the findings and said corrective actions were underway, including internal review of bank reconciliations. Members raised questions about NDSU’s use of certificates of deposit, and university staff explained that CDs are used to earn interest on funds being accumulated for future projects. Several other audits were presented, most with clean opinions and no findings, including the State Auditor’s Office, Workforce Safety and Insurance, Housing Finance Agency, Housing Incentive Fund, Job Service North Dakota, the Retirement and Investment Office, PERS, the Center for Distance Education, the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents, the Ethics Commission, and the Office of Administrative Hearings. Notable exceptions included a State Fair Association audit with an adverse opinion on the foundation component unit because its financial statements were not available for audit, and a Securities Department performance audit finding that performance-based pay increases and bonuses were issued without required evaluations. The committee also discussed the State Auditor’s future needs, including more staff capacity, data analytics, cybersecurity reviews, possible subpoena authority, independent legal counsel, and whether some audits—such as the Ethics Commission and State Fair—should be handled by independent third parties or under different statutory arrangements.

Transcript Highlights:

• is referred to as an event settlement, and the authority's policies require its staff to review a sample
• is referred to as an event settlement, and the authority's policies require its staff to review a sample
• They will go down to those offices and pick out sample event settlements.
• They will go down to those office and pick out sample event settlements. files in their office, they
• will go down to those office and pick out sample event settlements and walk through those settlements

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The committee first heard the Arizona Auditor General’s sunset review of the Arizona Barbering and Cosmetology Board. The audit found some strengths, including timely licensing and complaint resolution in the sample reviewed and rules that matched statutory curriculum requirements, but it also identified a major finding that the board had imposed inconsistent discipline for similar violations and lacked documentation for deviations from its disciplinary guidelines. Other issues included missing reciprocity education requirements, weak application quality control, incomplete school and establishment oversight, and compliance concerns involving open meeting law, public records, and conflicts of interest. The report made 25 recommendations total, including two tied to the disciplinary finding and three suggested statutory changes on esthetics scope of practice, cease-and-desist authority, and eyelash technician training. The board’s executive director said the board agreed with the findings, had already implemented several recommendations, updated disciplinary policies and conflict-of-interest procedures, and was working on legislation and rule changes. After questions about enforcement consistency, licensing verification, cash handling, complaint volume, and conflict disclosures, the committee voted 7-0 to recommend the board be continued for six years, until July 1, 2032. The committee then took up the Arizona Department of Gaming, the Arizona Racing Commission, and the Arizona Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission together. The Auditor General reported that the department correctly distributed more than $158 million in tribal contributions in fiscal year 2024 and issued event wagering licenses to reviewed applicants, but found several problems: the department did not consistently obtain and review independent audit reports for event wagering and fantasy sports operators, did not fully comply with conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements, and lacked comprehensive complaint-handling processes. The review also found delays in distributing Compact Trust Fund payments to some tribes, gaps in IT security and horse-racing license checks, and incomplete fee-setting and public-records practices. The report made 36 recommendations to the department, six to the Racing Commission, and 13 to the Boxing and MMA Commission, and all three entities said they agreed and would implement them. In response, the Department of Gaming director said the agency was already making changes, including a historical look-back on operator audits, updated guidance to operators, a new constituent services unit and complaint-tracking process, and improved conflict-of-interest training and forms. She also explained the Compact Trust Fund dispute, saying the department administers the fund but the beneficiary tribes must agree on the revenue baseline formula, which has been complicated by COVID-era closures; no Category Three distributions had yet been made. Committee members asked about possible revenue losses, penalties, and the status of 2024-2025 audits, as well as prediction markets and whether they are legal under Arizona’s event wagering framework. The director said the department had issued cease-and-desist letters to unlicensed prediction-market operators, would review licensed operators for suitability if needed, and would continue to enforce Arizona law. The transcript ends while questioning on prediction markets is still underway, before any vote on the gaming-related reviews is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Arguably the best part is sampling the products.
• Arguably the best part is sampling the products.
• LIVE TREE TAPPING DEMONSTRATIONS AND ARGUABLY THE BEST PART IS SAMPLING THE PRODUCTS.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened, approved the prior day’s journal, and then took up a series of previously adopted resolutions recognizing individuals, communities, and state traditions. The chamber honored Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis posthumously after his Medal of Honor recognition, with remarks from Senator Scarcella-Spanton and others praising his sacrifice and welcoming his parents. Senators also celebrated New York maple producers and Maple Weekends, Bangladesh Independence Day and the contributions of Bangladeshi New Yorkers, York Middle/High School girls varsity volleyball for winning a state championship, Pavilion/York Air Rifle for winning the state invitational championship, and Tartan Day. These resolutions were adopted, and the sponsors opened them for co-sponsorship. The Senate then moved through the regular calendar and passed multiple bills, including measures on environmental conservation, personal property, agriculture and markets, insurance, state law, executive law, workers’ compensation, election law, correction law, public health, and parks/historic preservation. Most passed with broad support, though some drew a handful of negative votes. One bill on election law, allowing certain 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they will be 18 by the general election, prompted supportive floor debate from several senators and passed 43-17. Another bill on correction law also passed after debate. A notable controversy arose over Calendar 227, a Public Authorities Law bill related to school energy planning and electric buses. Senator Borrello challenged an amendment as nongermane, the Chair ruled against it, and the Senate voted 22-0 to sustain the ruling. The underlying bill then passed, despite criticism from senators who argued the state should repeal the electric bus mandate and instead study safer, more practical alternatives for school districts. The Senate then completed its business and adjourned until March 24 at 3:00 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• And when you do those kinds of tests, the cost of the fee for the water sampling is very, very expensive
• I can tell you right now what you do is you take a water sample and you send it to Santa Fe.
• money on, they will go out to a community and everybody can go to that community and take their water sample

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• testing requirements so special that they call it the Wild West because they have been providing samples
• Among the 41 samples tested for potency of Delta 9 THC. 35 of those contained higher than the legal limit
• In fact, in my area habit sauce, lava cake boasted 76.1 total THC and many of the samples also contained

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• from a current capital asset listing dated April 16, 2025, we noted five of the 50 equipment items sampled
• physically located, and none of these had been documented as lost, stolen, or obsolete prior to our sample

Summary: The committee first approved prior meeting minutes by motion and voice vote. It then took up audit reports, with several reports without findings filed without objection. The main discussion centered on the FY24 Department of Human Services audit, which contained three findings: alleged fraud involving disaster SNAP and Medicaid benefits, a delayed notification of a nearly $610,000 altered state warrant, and asset-control issues including missing or misidentified equipment and improper sales tax paid on vehicle purchases. DHS representatives said some fraud cases had been resolved with restitution, others were pending or dismissed, and they described corrective steps such as updating internal notification procedures and asset controls. Committee members questioned the missing assets, the notification delay, and the sales tax issue, and the report was deferred to the next meeting so DHS could return with written policy changes. The committee also reviewed the FY24 Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism audit, which had two findings: loss of nearly $3,500 in museum receipts and cash-control exceptions involving $100 missing from a park camping drawer and an $80 overage at War Memorial Stadium. Agency officials said the museum loss was believed to be theft, that controls had since been strengthened with a point-of-sale and reservation system, and that the stadium issue reflected the unique mix of cash and bank balances used for events. Members asked about the investigation, reimbursement through the bond board, and whether the employee’s final paycheck could be withheld. The chair later relayed that the prosecutor’s office said the Parks and Tourism investigation remained open and that additional information had been requested from the agency, so the report was also deferred to the next meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• from a current capital asset listing dated April 16, 2025, we noted five of the 50 equipment items sampled
• physically located, and none of these had been documented as lost, stolen, or obsolete prior to our sample

Summary: The committee first approved the prior meeting minutes and then heard audit reports from Mr. Bullington. Four reports without findings were filed without objection. The Department of Human Services FY24 report contained three findings: suspected fraud involving disaster food assistance and Medicaid benefits by employees, a delayed notification of a forged and cashed state warrant for nearly $610,000, and several fixed-asset and sales-tax errors. DHS officials said they had referred the benefit fraud cases to prosecutors, recovered some restitution, and would change internal procedures so accounts payable staff report such incidents directly to the chief fiscal officer. Committee members questioned the missing assets, the warrant delay, and the tax issue, and the report was deferred to the next meeting so DHS could return with written policy changes. The Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism FY24 report had two findings: the loss of nearly $3,500 in museum receipts, believed to be theft at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, and issues with change funds at Daisy State Park and War Memorial Stadium. Agency officials said they had implemented new controls, including a point-of-sale and reservation system for museum rentals and more frequent reconciliation of change funds. Members asked about the criminal case, the statute of limitations, bond board reimbursement, and whether the employee’s final paycheck could be withheld. Mr. Bullington later reported that the prosecutor’s office said the Parks and Tourism investigation remained open and that additional information had been requested from the agency. The committee then deferred that report as well, and adjourned after setting the next meeting for February 12, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'd like to give you just a brief sample of some of their work.
• you<00:04:58.639> just<00:04:58.960> a<00:04:59.199> brief<00:04:59.440> sample
• /c><00:04:59.919> some<00:05:00.080> of<00:05:00.240> their you just a brief sample
• of some of their you just a brief sample of some of their work.<00:05:01.520> In<00:05:01.759

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:30 Office of the Attorney General 00:01:50 Kentucky River Authority 00:12:50, 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government met without a quorum at first, then heard an update on child exploitation enforcement efforts from the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Criminal Investigations. The presenters described the specialized investigation and prosecution unit funded in House Bill 6, saying the added resources allowed them to hire four staff members and expand work on cyber tips, search warrants, arrests, forensic processing, victim advocacy, and training for local law enforcement. They highlighted a recent rescue of a 5-year-old victim from a Discord-related case and said the office had also filed a civil lawsuit against Roblox, alleging the platform lacked adequate age verification and allowed predators access to children. Senators asked about the lawsuit, and the presenters said Kentucky was one of only two states to sue Roblox and that the complaint was based on evidence collected by the office. The committee then received an update from the Kentucky River Authority on lock and dam repairs funded in the 2024-2026 budget. The authority reported progress on three capital projects: upper guide repairs at Locks 2 and 3, design and repair work at Dam 7, and design work to reopen Lock 5 for navigation. Officials explained that river construction is limited by flooding and fish-spawn restrictions, and they described the engineering and safety issues involved in replacing guide walls and repairing Dam 7’s spillway. They also said the authority had demolished three obsolete lockmaster houses and filled a fifth lockmaster position, while continuing to work on pay retention for those employees. Members asked about the transfer of the lock and dam properties from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the permitting process through the Division of Water, and the timeline for reopening navigation. The authority said the Corps had transferred the properties to Kentucky, that permits for river work are handled through the Division of Water and the Army Corps, and that Locks 1 through 4 are open seasonally from Memorial Day weekend through the end of October. Officials said Lock 5 would add 14 miles of navigation if reopened, but that it would still take a few more years before that project is complete.

Transcript Highlights:

• So there is a lot of surveillance, and I don't have those actual numbers of samples that are being run
• State Health Services, who administers the public milk ordinance, to start doing some surveillance sampling
• So that means Taking samples at the processor, and those silos are made up of sometimes one, but sometimes
• And if we have any of those samples that the DSHS takes come back as non-negative, we'll start drilling

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present to hear Article VI Natural Resources agency budget recommendations, beginning with the Railroad Commission. LBB staff summarized the commission’s 2026-27 base recommendation at $458.7 million, down from the prior biennium, with an increased FTE cap. The presentation highlighted reduced federal IIJA funding, volatility in oil and gas regulation account 5155, continued support for IT modernization, and rider changes. The commission’s major exceptional items were then presented, including requests for produced water and injection data reporting, an authorized pit registration system, regulatory filing/permitting upgrades, an underground injection well investigation team, site remediation support, and especially $100 million for orphan well plugging. Members asked about biennium-to-biennium comparisons, salary biennialization, the scale of orphan well risks, federal funding delays, bonding, and whether the state should rely more on industry or general revenue for plugging costs. Commission leadership explained that orphan wells can threaten water and public safety, that plugging costs have risen sharply, and that current funding is insufficient to keep up with emergency wells and the backlog; they also said the agency is moving to cloud-based systems with cybersecurity protections and that the proposed performance measure may need adjustment if funding does not increase. The Railroad Commission testimony was followed by LBB and agency testimony for the Texas Animal Health Commission. LBB described a $42 million recommendation for 2026-27, an increase overall, but with a reduced FTE cap due to turnover and salary reallocation. The recommendation maintained funding for cattle fever tick work, chronic wasting disease, lab testing through an MOU with Texas A&M’s veterinary diagnostic lab, and a new $5 million spay-and-neuter pilot program, while deleting a capital budget rider and adjusting riders tied to entry point inspection stations and clinical trials. Agency leadership then outlined the commission’s mission to protect livestock health and the state’s $22 billion animal industry, and described major disease threats including highly pathogenic avian influenza, cattle fever ticks, New World screwworm, and chronic wasting disease. Their exceptional items focused on recruiting and retaining veterinarians, replacing fleet vehicles, creating an ectoparasite identification lab, adding field staff and IT support, improving records and epidemiology reporting, strengthening central administration, supporting secure food supply planning, expanding chronic wasting disease work, and staffing the new spay-and-neuter program. Members asked about field identification of ticks, the use of disinfectants and PPE, fleet management, the scale of cattle fever tick risk, and chronic wasting disease; the agency explained its current inspection and lab-confirmation process, its reliance on field disinfecting and biosecurity, and the need for more staff and better data systems to keep pace with growing workloads and disease threats.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and when it's necessary, it would be for statistical reasons of sampling and variance, and we often
• So if one of the sampled properties that comes up in our study, if that property had gone through a protest
• the ARB level, then we do make a corresponding adjustment in our study to that, to the value of the sampled
• Um, I believe that if a property that is sampled is pending under an appeal to district court, I, we

Transcript Highlights:

• go above that when it's necessary And when it's necessary, it would be for statistical reasons of sampling
• a one of the sampled properties that comes up in our study if that property had gone through. a protest
• the ARB level, then we do make a corresponding adjustment. in our study to that to the value of the sampled
• property I believe that If a property that is sampled is pending under an appeal to district court,

Keywords: 1184, house, all