Transcript Highlights:

• I AM MOLLY WELLER AND ON THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR POLICY AND REIMAGINING OF EDUCATION AND CAREER HEALTH OFFICE
• IN FLORIDA, THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IS THE STATE APPRENTICESHIP AGENCY WITH THE U.S.
• EDUCATION IN LESS THAN ONE YEAR.
• THEY ARE ENCOURAGED TO DO OUTREACH SO THEY DO OUTREACH AND AGAIN LEVERAGING THEIR LOCAL PARTNERS, SOME
• SO A SHIFT AWAY FROM LONG-TERM EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've amplified outreach efforts to support individuals applying for these services.
• We've amplified outreach efforts to support individuals applying for these services, and I'm happy to
• The by helping them achieve better employment and educational opportunities.
• Of course, our benefits that we should have our veterans and then our education that we do.
• The theme I'm hearing is about consumer education, client education, and patient navigation.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee met to organize the new term, take roll, and hear introductory presentations from the six agencies under its jurisdiction: the Agency for Health Care Administration, Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Children and Families, Department of Elder Affairs, Department of Health, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The chair outlined the committee process, including assigning members to review agencies and make budget recommendations. Each agency head gave a high-level overview of their budget, staffing, major programs, and priorities, with recurring themes including Medicaid, long-term care, disability services, child welfare, mental health, aging services, public health, and veterans’ health care. Several agency leaders highlighted recent initiatives and funding priorities. AHCA emphasized Medicaid managed care, provider regulation, Hope Florida, hospital-at-home, and cancer-related efforts; APD discussed iBudget services, Hope Florida, a managed-care pilot, online applications, and forensic care costs; DCF focused on child protection, foster care, adult protective services, food/cash/medical assistance, mental health, and opioid treatment; Elder Affairs highlighted Alzheimer’s services, community-based senior care, guardianship, ombudsman services, and disaster outreach; DOH covered cancer innovation, maternal telehealth, cybersecurity, HIV/hepatitis/syphilis screening, and school nursing; and Veterans Affairs described benefits and health care access for veterans, long-term care, and federal reimbursement. Several speakers also raised concerns about rising costs, provider rates, disaster response, and access to services. The committee heard two public comments from disability advocates about Medicaid redeterminations affecting iBudget waiver recipients and provider payment delays. In response, AHCA and APD said they were coordinating on data sharing, early outreach, escalation processes, and efforts to reduce disenrollments and make recertification smoother. Members then asked questions about provider rates, opioid settlement spending, managed care quality measures, pediatric rare disease grants, group home transparency, senior outreach, ABA services moving into managed care, annual Medicaid recertification, veterans’ service utilization, waiting lists for elder services, and prevention spending. No formal votes were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> education as well as community service. education as well as community service.
• HMSA, you're up. hours or education. And these are hours or education.
• We have an eight-point plan that I won't go through, but it's about outreach and education, being proactive
• </c><02:04:00.400><c> and</c><02:04:00.639><c> education,</c><02:04:01.119><c> being</c> it's about outreach
• and education, being it's about outreach and education, being proactive.<02:04:02.239><c> It's</c><02

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint informational briefing by the Health and Human Services and Commerce and Consumer Protection committees focused on projected impacts to Hawaii consumers from federal changes affecting Med-QUEST and the ACA marketplace, including the loss of ACA premium tax credits, OBVA/HR1-related Medicaid changes, immigrant eligibility restrictions, and new Medicaid work/community engagement requirements. Committee members noted the meeting was being streamed live and emphasized the need to explain potential coverage losses affecting a significant share of the state population. Med-QUEST administrators reported current enrollment at 390,766, about 27% of Hawaii’s population, and broke that down into major groups including roughly 128,000 ACA expansion adults and about 52,000 parent/caretaker relatives. They said the expansion adult population would be most affected by the new federal requirements, which will shorten renewal periods from 12 months to 6 months and impose community engagement rules beginning in late 2026 and 2027. They described the work requirement as 80 hours per month of work, community service, work program participation, or half-time education, with an income-based pathway tied to $580 per month at the federal minimum wage; they also noted a long list of exemptions, but said many details are still awaiting federal guidance and rulemaking. The administrators said federal changes to immigrant eligibility would eliminate Medicaid coverage for certain noncitizen categories, with an estimated 1,200 to 2,400 people affected, though about 200 may remain covered through a state-funded program for otherwise eligible individuals. They also said marketplace subsidies would no longer be available for some immigrants under 100% of the federal poverty level starting January 1, 2026, with further restrictions expected in 2027. For Hawaii overall, they estimated the new Medicaid work and renewal rules could push an additional 19,000 to 38,000 people into uninsured status, with another estimated 6,000 at risk from the six-month renewal process alone. Members asked about how exemptions would be determined, especially for medically frail and seriously mentally ill individuals, and administrators said they were still awaiting detailed federal rules and were working on data-matching and verification processes to reduce coverage losses.

Transcript Highlights:

• As far as curriculum and education, there's nothing like that.
• :25.039><c> nothing</c><00:24:25.360><c> like</c> education, there's there's nothing like education,
• </c><00:52:00.240><c> in</c> on our team was trained and educated in on our team was trained and educated
• </c> there's 23 agencies, uh, with outreach there's 23 agencies, uh, with outreach offices<01:11:40.400
• </c> do with community outreach. do with community outreach.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Disaster Prevention and Resiliency Task Force met with a quorum, adopted the minutes from the previous meeting, and heard a presentation from Western Kentucky University’s Disaster Science Operations Center. WKU described its multidisciplinary disaster science effort, including meteorology, emergency management, the Kentucky State Climate Center, the Kentucky Mesonet, and the Disaster Science Operations Center, which was created in 2021 and serves as an operational hub for forecasting, emergency planning, crisis management, training, and decision support. Speakers emphasized applied learning, student field work, partnerships with industry and event venues, and a five-year NSF/UK-led research project focused on weather hazards, disaster preparedness, and building a statewide disaster database to improve mitigation and resilience. Members asked about flooding, the relationship to EKU’s program, Tennessee’s capabilities, and the timeline and goals for the research project; WKU said the data collection is underway and that the evidence suggests tornado risk is shifting east and occurring more at night. A WKU graduate student also described the value of hands-on storm-chasing and operational forecasting experience, saying it helped prepare her for work in forecasting and emergency management. Members asked about her motivation for joining the program and about the practical realities of storm chasing. The discussion also touched on whether Kentucky’s tornado risk is shifting east; WKU said the evidence from tornado observations and other studies points in that direction, with added concern about nighttime events and communicating warnings to vulnerable communities. The task force then heard from Amy Shaquinn of the Mayfield Graves County Long-Term Recovery Group, who outlined the county-level recovery process after the 2021 tornadoes. She said Kentucky ranks among the top states for federally declared disasters, has seen a high number of tornadoes in recent years, and also faces major flood risk and earthquake concerns along the New Madrid fault. Shaquinn stressed the distinction between immediate response and long-term recovery, explaining that response covers rescue, cleanup, temporary housing, and short-term assistance, while recovery is the longer effort to restore survivors to safe, sanitary, and secure housing through local long-term recovery groups. She said community-led recovery is essential and that preparedness and mitigation follow once immediate recovery needs are addressed.

Transcript Highlights:

• of human leftovers and cleanup efforts to local communities, state agencies must take the lead in educating
• take<00:03:36.280><c> the</c><00:03:36.439><c> lead</c><00:03:36.840><c> in</c><00:03:37.040><c> educating
• </c><00:03:37.560><c> the</c><00:03:37.760><c> public</c> take the lead in educating the public take
• the lead in educating the public providing<00:03:39.000><c> resources</c><00:03:39.959><c> and</c><00
• and where I live at upper Red Outreach and where I live at upper Red Lake<00:09:39.600><c> we</c><00

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee heard House File 1120, the follow-up “Keep It Clean” bill from Representative Andrew Myers, which would create grant funding for local governments and organizations to improve garbage removal and related clean-water programs, especially around frozen lakes and winter recreation areas. Myers said the earlier Keep It Clean effort to enforce litter laws on frozen lakes had already reduced garbage in the water, and he framed this bill as a way to expand that success with additional resources. Testifier Robin Dwight of the Upper Red Lake Area Association and Keep It Clean Coalition described growing problems with trash and human waste on ice, said the coalition now has 60 members representing more than 10,000 lakes, and explained that local programs use dumpsters and separation systems to manage waste. Tom Johnson of the MPCA and Assistant Commissioner Bob Myers of the DNR both testified in support, saying improper disposal of human and solid waste is a real and growing problem and that the public education campaign has changed behavior on the ice. Members asked about the bill’s results and funding needs. Representative Pelz asked for more context on the coalition’s impact, and Dwight said the group has been active for about three years and recently launched a survey to gather more data on infrastructure needs for wheelhouse users. Representative Fiser asked what dollar amount would be needed, and Myers said the bill seeks general fund dollars, with a rough ideal range of one to two million dollars, though he emphasized he wanted to work with the committee on the final amount and funding mechanism. The discussion also noted a second related bill with a $10 wheelhouse fee as another possible funding option. No opposition testimony was presented. After discussion, the chair renewed the motion to lay over House File 1120 for possible inclusion in a future bill, and the bill was laid over.

Transcript Highlights:

• And we're seeing increased consumer outreach.
• And so they have taken on that outreach and education. And we're seeing success in that area.
• I want to take us to the next Slide and talk about low income education and outreach.
• They have also been subcontracting with community Outreach organizations to make sure that the low income
• As I mentioned, we have seen an uptick in community outreach, which means we're also seeing an uptick

Committee: Senate Senate Conservation

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so there are these places where we have to do education.
• And so there's a lot of education to happen in this space, and that is part of our role.
• And there's opportunities to continue to educate and grow in that space.
• CDPH also does have money in the Cannabis Tax Fund dedicated to youth prevention and education.
• These resources will allow for proactive inspections and outreach to educate employees and employers

Committee: Senate Rules

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I manage the customer service and outreach at the Public Disclosure Commission.
• That means I manage our customer inquiries and also our proactive outreach to help inform and educate
• On those training efforts that we've provided, it's long been a part of the PDC's outreach and compliance
• We strive to be proactive and educate on filing requirements before issues arise.
• We conduct outreach to local auditors, political parties, jurisdictions, and organizations on filing

Committee: House State Government & Tribal Relations

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I became acquainted with Sweet Potato Comfort Pie in 2019 when serving on an education task force with
• The majority of these soldiers came with little or no educational background.
• This has to be a legitimate outreach effort to come visit Minnesota.
• ACER is the African Career Education and Resources, Inc., and we're an issue-based organization.
• We will use the funds to host public education classes, events and forums, host community outreach and

Committee: House Legacy Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• We currently have federal funding to support a SNAP education program, SNAP outreach, SNAP employment
• Additionally, SNAP education outreach, as I mentioned, fully funding any future cost shift to the states
• Additionally, SNAP education<01:25:09.199><c> outreach</c><01:25:09.760><c> as</c><01:25:09.920><c> I
• </c><01:25:10.159><c> mentioned</c><01:25:10.880><c> fully</c> education outreach as I mentioned fully
• education outreach as I mentioned fully funding<01:25:11.600><c> any</c><01:25:11.920><c> future</c>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The meeting opened with roll call and housekeeping, including moving standing attendees to an overflow room and asking the audience to avoid interruptions. The task force then heard testimony from Allison Adams of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, who presented statewide health trend data showing Kentucky ranked 41st overall and 44th in health outcomes, with especially poor performance on premature death, chronic disease, diabetes, and vaccination rates. She emphasized that Kentucky has the highest rates of residents with multiple chronic conditions, that diabetes remains above the national average, and that childhood immunization rates have worsened. She also highlighted major provider shortages in rural areas, noting that 43 of 120 counties meet shortage criteria and that more than half of primary care providers are concentrated in Fayette and Jefferson counties. Adams urged the task force to focus on prevention, early intervention, access to care, physical activity, and healthier school and community environments, and said the foundation is prepared to share results from its demonstration projects. Task force members asked follow-up questions about the age range for chronic-condition data and whether the diabetes figure reflected type 1 or type 2 diabetes; Adams said the chronic-condition measure spans all ages and that the diabetes figure likely reflects type 2, though she offered to provide the full report. The task force then approved the minutes from the prior meeting. The committee next turned to SNAP benefits and heard from Lisa Dennis, commissioner of the Department for Community Based Services, and Roger McCann, director of the Division of Family Support. They explained that SNAP is not only a food assistance program but also a public health and family stability tool, arguing that poor diet contributes to chronic disease and that food insecurity is linked to family stress, child welfare involvement, and neglect-related CPS referrals. They cited research showing that more generous SNAP policies are associated with fewer CPS reports, fewer substantiated reports, and fewer foster care placements, and said SNAP helps reduce risk and promote stability across vulnerable populations including children, older adults, people with disabilities, and pregnant women. They also described SNAP-Ed as the nutrition education component that teaches healthy eating, cooking on a budget, and how to use fresh produce, but warned that recent federal legislation eliminates federal funding for SNAP-Ed beginning in federal fiscal year 2026. McCann outlined the remaining SNAP outreach and employment-and-training components, noting that outreach is typically run by nonprofits with a 50% match and that employment and training funds job-skills programs to help recipients move toward better jobs and self-sufficiency. The discussion emphasized that access to nutritious food, education, and job supports are all part of improving health outcomes and reducing food insecurity.

Transcript Highlights:

• Economic development, affordable housing, access to quality education, and equitable digital literacy
• Students actually say, like, we should not be working at all, and education should be free.
• We primarily focus on education and entrepreneurship, and the question is why?
• And actually uplift healthcare as an education.
• Second, we want to require community-informed outreach.

Committee: House Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We are also grateful for your support of the CalFresh Outreach Network and the funding of the county
• eligibility workforce to keep as many people... ...for your support of the CalFresh Outreach Network
• We're grateful for the investments in CalFresh outreach.
• Senator Padilla, our Senate champion for CalFresh outreach, we just want to extend our appreciation.
• In San Diego, for 211 San Diego, we spend about $6 million in outreach and get $54 million in direct

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We plan to coordinate our outreach with Ecology, who is already engaged in this type of outreach, so
• Our education and outreach efforts have included news releases, social media content, mailers, and presentations
• Our goal is to educate and promote sustainability.
• and outreach efforts to increase awareness about plastic bag... ...education and outreach efforts to
• Our bottom line for education outreach is to, first of all, I think we can agree with all the speakers

Summary: The committee held a work session on state environmental policy act (SEPA) implementation and carryout bags. Ecology staff Diane Buterak described the Clean Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (PEISs) completed for utility-scale solar, onshore wind, and green hydrogen, plus a new PEIS underway for sustainable aviation fuel. She explained that PEISs provide broad planning-level analysis to help developers and agencies avoid or mitigate impacts, but do not replace project-level review. Members asked about permitting timelines, greenhouse gas emissions from different hydrogen production methods, water use, agricultural land conversion, battery fire risk, and tribal consultation. Buterak said the PEISs identify potentially significant impacts and mitigation measures, including fire response planning, early tribal outreach, and agrovoltaics as an option for solar projects. EFSEC’s Amy Hofkimer then presented the transmission-facility programmatic EIS required by SB 5165 for 230 kV and higher transmission projects. She said the statewide review covers new lines and certain upgrades/modifications, analyzes impacts to water, cultural and tribal resources, habitat, and other areas, and uses general measures, design considerations, avoidance criteria, and sensitivity maps to guide siting and corridor planning. She said the final document would be issued in early October. Questions focused on reconductoring, tribal lands, scenic areas, and whether the review could affect existing lines crossing tribal lands. A Grant County planning director, Jim Anderson Cook, said Ecology’s PEIS would help with cumulative impacts for clustered solar projects, but noted tight local review timelines and the need for strong pre-application coordination, especially on cultural resource studies and decommissioning plans. Yakama Nation attorney Shona Leverett argued SEPA is only an assessment tool and said tribes face barriers from short comment periods, limited confidential tribal input, weak cumulative impact analysis, and challenges in the FSEC process; she urged better upfront developer diligence and more effective tribal coordination. Puget Sound Energy’s Sarah Leverett said the utility needs efficient and predictable permitting to meet clean energy mandates while maintaining reliable service and aging infrastructure. She described the scale of needed clean energy and transmission buildout, including a 10-year process for the Energize Eastside transmission rebuild, and said more consistent SEPA and PEIS processes could help. Members asked about future generation sources, reliability, and hydropower as a firming resource; she said PSE is pursuing an “all of the above” approach and would welcome more firm, dispatchable clean energy options. The committee then shifted to carryout bags. Staff Jacob Lipson and Tracy Taylor reviewed Washington’s bag law, its preemption of local ordinances, the current 8-cent charge, the scheduled increase to 12 cents, and the 2025 change delaying the 4-mil thickness requirement until 2028 while adding a temporary 4-cent penalty for thicker bags. Ecology’s Peter Lyon said the agency emphasizes education and complaint-based enforcement, has received 872 reports, and has not yet imposed any fines. Commerce’s Kirk Esmond summarized a WSU study finding fewer plastic bags distributed but more plastic by weight, and said Commerce and Ecology support keeping the 2.25-mil standard and not allowing thinner single-use bags again. Retail industry testimony from Brandon Housekeeper said grocers comply with the law but oppose the added 4-cent penalty and thicker-bag requirement, citing higher costs and confusion in the policy changes.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> likely to see succeed in education likely to see succeed in education careers<00:30:26.600><c> and
• </c> budget or is that an education budget or is that an education budget<01:11:18.600><c> Senator</c
• It was in Education Finance last year, and I think it's difficult sometimes.
• </c><01:25:37.520><c> our</c> they were doing youth Outreach our they were doing youth Outreach our office
• </c><01:27:49.360><c> Fosters</c> the importance of educating Fosters the importance of educating Fosters

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Islands will give Hawaii Educators Islands will give Hawaii Educators firsthand<00:26:35.360><c>
• Thank you so much. and homelessness Outreach uh ambassadors and homelessness Outreach uh ambassadors
• Our funding request is for needed outreach education and services for the immigrant and limited English-speaking
• :49:20.080><c> needed</c><03:49:20.760><c> Outreach</c><03:49:21.760><c> education</c><03:49:22.680><
• c> and</c> is for needed Outreach education and is for needed Outreach education and services<03:49:24.000

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint Ways and Means and Finance informational briefing on grants and aids was held February 14 and was organized as a high-volume public testimony session with strict procedures: no Q&A, one representative per applicant, one minute per testimony, in-person testimony first, and then Zoom participants. The chairs also announced a recess at 11:00 a.m. for floor sessions and a reconvening at 1:00 p.m. Testimony was heard first from neighbor island applicants, then Oʻahu applicants, with members repeatedly directing speakers to line up and keep remarks brief. Neighbor island testimony focused on a wide range of capital and operating requests. Health and community projects included Hawaii Island Community Health Center’s workforce housing in Kau, Wuli Hawaiian Homestead Association’s learning center and predevelopment work, Rescue Tube Foundation’s beach rescue tube expansion, Puna Community Medical Center’s planned hospital/ER campus, Maui Humane Society’s free veterinary care after the wildfires, Hawaiʻi Care Choices’ palliative care readiness, and the Lyman Museum’s HVAC replacement. Other requests included the Maui Advanced Manufacturing Alliance’s Pāʻia Mill redevelopment, Laua 2020’s preschool and learning lab, Mālama Aina’s USDA-compliant meat processing facility, the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association’s water safety programs, Kaha P Organization’s agriculture education support, Ohana Arts’ youth performance project, Friends of the Children’s Justice Center’s emergency closet, EOA Pacific’s Marshall Islands teacher training, and the Central Pacific Youth Athletic Club’s new facility. Oʻahu testimony included the YWCA Oʻahu/Pythink Center’s renovation of Juliet M. Atherton Hall and its community kitchen, West Oʻahu Community Health Center’s wildfire protection and security needs, the Early School’s playground improvements, Surfing the Nations’ food distribution center expansion, and Sounding Joy Music Therapy’s weekly services for people with disabilities. Speakers generally emphasized community benefit, workforce development, health access, food security, disaster recovery, and support for children, seniors, and underserved populations. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• The interim rule does also include some direction to states around work requirement outreach and notices
• We do have a comprehensive communication and outreach plan, including using several modalities of outreach
• As you know, I've been really interested in the rural nursing education piece of that, and I saw that
• Also joining her today is Emily Noodleman, who's the Director of Implementation and Outreach for the
• These areas include education and communication, integrated behavioral health...

Summary: The Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee met on July 30, 2026, to hear two main briefings. The first, from the Health Care Authority, focused on implementation of federal H.R. 1 Medicaid changes and Washington’s rural health transformation funding. HCA said the state is preparing for major eligibility changes, including the October 1 loss of Medicaid coverage for about 14,000 lawfully present non-citizens and January 1, 2027 work requirements, six-month renewals, and reduced retroactive coverage for roughly 600,000 Medicaid expansion adults. Officials described outreach efforts, new automated verification systems, a verification hub, and plans to use available data sources to reduce manual paperwork, while noting that about one-third of the affected population may still need manual processing. They also said H.R. 1 will limit state-directed payments over time, with an estimated long-term impact of up to $1.5 billion in hospital reimbursements. On rural health transformation, HCA said it is moving quickly to obligate its $181 million federal award through contracts and competitive grants for rural hospitals, workforce, behavioral health, technology, and tribal and community partners. Committee members asked about the impact on rural providers, community service as a work-requirement pathway, emergency Medicaid, tribal and federal reimbursement issues, and whether the state would submit comments on the federal work-requirement rule. HCA said it would file comments, that emergency Medicaid coverage for certain services remains available, and that it is working with tribes and other agencies to avoid erroneous terminations and to move eligible people into other coverage where possible. Members also raised concerns about the administrative burden on families and providers and the need for congressional attention on issues such as TRICARE reimbursement. The second briefing addressed maternal health and the Department of Health’s Maternal Mortality Review Panel report. DOH said maternal mortality in Washington increased for the first time in the report series, but most pregnancy-related deaths remain preventable. Nearly half were linked to behavioral health conditions, especially overdose deaths, with suicide, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19 also significant causes; most deaths occurred postpartum rather than during delivery. The report found higher mortality rates among American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, multiracial, rural, and Medicaid-covered populations, and identified lack of access to care, financial hardship, housing instability, discrimination, bias, and systemic inequities as major contributors. DOH highlighted existing state actions such as one-year postpartum coverage, doula reimbursement, inpatient substance use treatment coverage for birthing people, and vaccine coverage requirements, and offered 12 legislative recommendations focused on affordable and high-quality care, basic needs and community supports, and equitable, culturally responsive services. Presenters from the Suquamish Tribe and Kitsap OBGYN described how the tribe acquired and stabilized a threatened OB-GYN practice to preserve regional access amid provider shortages and hospital service losses. They said rural obstetric care is difficult to sustain because of thin margins, workforce shortages, long travel distances, and higher-risk patients, and emphasized that tribal health systems can offer stronger reimbursement and integrated family-centered care. The Foundation for Healthcare Quality and the Bree Collaborative then outlined statewide maternity-care quality efforts, including work on perinatal behavioral health, care coordination, postpartum screening, doula support, and better-aligned payment models. They said Washington has strengths in innovation but still needs more OB-GYN capacity, better transitions of care, and more culturally responsive, trauma-informed maternal and Native health services.

Transcript Highlights:

• We meet with our VSOs for outreach, as well as our other state benefits and outreach events that we push
• So our education push has been very valuable in getting people identified as seconds to the veterans
• I think what we've been doing with outreach has been certainly helpful.
• Our women veterans program has been very successful over the last year in outreach and gaining visibility
• I'm just asking because I try to educate myself on that.

Transcript Highlights:

• Also, at the discretion of the Industrial Commission, 10% of that is used for education and outreach
• Okay, the third thing here is education and outreach. So, this is education and outreach.
• And that really is where that education outreach... ...question. It's a great question.
• And that really is where that education outreach component of the State Energy Research Center can come
• And so trying to get at some of that general education and outreach and helping people see how some of

Summary: The committee met in Grand Forks, approved the February 26 minutes by voice vote, and recessed for a tour of Minnkota Power Cooperative before hearing presentations on large energy consumers and related infrastructure issues. The first presentation, from the North Dakota Transmission Authority, focused on the need for better local decision-making tools for counties, townships, and planning and zoning boards facing major projects such as transmission lines, pipelines, data centers, wind, solar, and large-scale agriculture. The speaker urged more objective, data-driven analysis, noted that local officials often have limited time and resources, and said the state should support training and tools through groups like the League of Cities and the Association of Counties. Members asked about proactive outreach, data center ordinances, and how to avoid subsidizing large loads or causing reliability problems. The Division of Air Quality then discussed environmental oversight of data centers, emphasizing that North Dakota’s air remains among the cleanest in the country and that the agency’s role is limited to air, water discharge, stormwater, and waste—not zoning or water use. The presentation explained that data centers generally have low direct emissions but may rely on diesel backup generators when the grid is unavailable, which creates air-quality concerns; the department said it is requiring air monitors at some projects to collect real-world data and guide future decisions. Members asked about generator emissions, misinformation, monitoring costs, and staffing succession, and the agency said permit applicants pay for the monitors while the state handles some QA work. The Department of Water Resources followed with an overview of North Dakota water law and data center water use. The director explained the state’s prior-appropriation system, the public-interest review for permits, and the large overall water supply available from groundwater and the Missouri River. He said most proposed data centers use closed-loop cooling systems and generally request relatively small amounts of water compared with other uses such as power plants, irrigation, and oilfield operations, and that even a worst-case data center scenario would use only a tiny fraction of Missouri River flow. Questions focused on downstream impacts and comparisons to fracking water use, and the director said the state’s use is too small to materially affect downstream users. Later, McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd-Erickson testified online about data center zoning and permitting. He asked the committee to have Legislative Council gather information on how other states handle data center permitting and to keep the topic on the interim agenda. He argued that local zoning should remain local, but said counties lack the technical and legal resources to manage complex reclamation or bonding requirements and that state-level enabling legislation may be more appropriate. He also recommended eliminating tax incentives for data centers. The committee chair said staff would prepare a document on other states’ zoning and permitting approaches. After a lunch recess, the committee reconvened at the EERC, where CEO Charles Gorecki gave an overview of the center’s 75 years of work and its role in oil and gas, carbon management, and other energy technologies, highlighting enhanced oil recovery and carbon dioxide utilization as major opportunities for future production and tax revenue.

Transcript Highlights:

• AB 1411 requires counties that did not adopt the Voter Choice Act to create a voter education outreach
• outreach plans.
• and outreach plans.
• outreach plans, has grown until fully half of all counties are VCA members.
• I think voter education and outreach is critical to ensuring our elections are representative of all

Summary: The committee heard a long agenda of elections-related bills. It first approved three consent items: AB 808, AB 1029, and AB 1072. The committee then took up AB 1249, which would require non-Voter’s Choice Act counties to offer at least one Saturday early-voting location before statewide elections and allow in-person return of vote-by-mail ballots at designated county offices or satellite locations. Supporters said it would expand access for working voters and those with transportation barriers; some members raised concerns about ballot verification and added workload for rural counties. The bill passed the committee on a divided vote and was placed on call for absent members. The committee next considered AB 25, a voter ID and election integrity measure that would require citizenship verification, government ID for voting, tighter voter-roll audits, and a 72-hour ballot-counting deadline. The author and supporters argued it would restore public trust and improve election integrity, while opponents from the League of Women Voters, ACLU California Action, labor groups, disability advocates, and others said it would restrict access, burden vulnerable voters, and amount to voter suppression. After extensive debate, the committee voted the bill out on a narrow split and kept it on call. Members also approved AB 1164, which clarifies when voters are entitled to a replacement ballot and updates the Voter Bill of Rights language; AB 1441, which would create an independent citizens redistricting commission in Merced County despite opposition from the county board over cost and local control; and AB 16, which would clarify county election officials’ authority to begin processing vote-by-mail ballots earlier and clean up outdated code. The committee also heard AB 1411, which would require non-VCA counties to prepare voter education and outreach plans and use a Secretary of State template, with the sponsor saying it would improve voter information statewide.

Transcript Highlights:

• in K-12 and higher education on AI usage.
• Now moving on to K-12 and higher education, how does this connect back to K-12 and higher education?
• In terms of education in the future, we need to go back to agency, character, ethics, and moral education
• And the best way to do that would be to follow, again, going back to character education, to ethics education
• Pencil stands for education. PIN stands for penitentiary. Pencil stands for education.

Committee: All ALC-HIGHER EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE

Keywords: 1204, all