Video & Transcript Research : 'data transparency'

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MS

Mississippi 2026 Regular Session

Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency - Room 210, 3 March, 2026; 2:30 P.M.

Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

Transcript Highlights:
  • So we don't have accurate data on how many of these things happen because not all of them get reported
  • accurate data on have accurate data on how<00:03:32.840> many<00:03:33.120> of<00:03:33.200
  • You know, we often talk about transparency once somebody gets money, where they spend it.
  • >> Well, the way it was explained to me is it's not data centers, it's not things like that.
  • it's it's not the day it's not data it's it's not the day it's not data centers,<00:26:43.200>
Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 1596, which Senator Johnson explained as a companion to another crypto-kiosk bill. He said the measure was being used to open the code and remove new kiosk language temporarily while lawmakers work on a regulatory framework for crypto kiosks, which are being used in scams involving callers posing as law enforcement and directing victims to deposit cash into kiosks. Members discussed the lack of reporting and registration data, the estimated number of kiosks in the state, and whether regulation might require identification and registration of the devices. The committee adopted the motion for title sufficient, do pass as amended, and reported the bill out. The committee then considered House Bill 859, which would eliminate the in-person absentee voting envelope while keeping the 45-day in-person absentee voting period and existing excuse requirements. Senator England said voters would still complete an affidavit and cast the ballot directly into an OMR machine, and he noted that circuit clerks preferred this version. The committee asked a few clarifying questions and then passed the bill, reporting it out. Next was House Bill 925, the CLEAR Act, which Senator McMahan described as a revised PEER-related bill that had been worked on with the governor’s office after a prior veto. He outlined provisions creating a PEER review program for agency rules, Medicaid transportation evaluations, a State Board of Health Professions, changes to the corporation work initiative program, and PEER subpoena and enforcement language. An amendment was adopted to delete the subpoena-related sections that had raised constitutional concerns and to retain the reverse repealer. After questions about the advisory role of the new board, the committee passed the bill as amended. The committee also heard House Bill 1171, a strike-all that Senator Sparks said would mirror a Senate bill on grant transparency. The measure would require clearer grant objectives, objective eligibility criteria, disclosure of conflicts and board relationships, reporting by grantees and subgrantees, and signed documentation under penalty of perjury with CPA review. Members asked about enforcement, and Senator Sparks said improper reporting could lead to loss of funds, audits, and possible criminal consequences. The committee adopted the strike-all and reported the bill out. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 1393, which would create an energy development fund at the Mississippi Development Authority for long-term infrastructure planning tied to large industrial energy users. Members asked whether the fund would cover water resources as well as electricity; the sponsor said it was intended for energy infrastructure, not water, and was aimed at large industrial projects such as steel mills. The committee adopted the strike-all and moved to report the bill out.
MS

Mississippi 2026 Regular Session

Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency - Room 210; 28 January, 2026: 10:30 AM

Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency

Transcript Highlights:
  • you're doing and that is us knowing where the information is coming from, and I think that's a transparency
  • issue. >> It is a transparency issue.
  • transparency issue. transparency issue.
  • >> It<00:20:22.559> is<00:20:22.720> a<00:20:22.880> transparency<00:20:23.360
  • But let me >> It is a transparency issue.
Summary: The committee first nominated and elected Senator Lane Taylor as secretary by voice vote, with no opposition. It then took up several bills and reported each one out after brief explanations and no recorded opposition. Senate Bill 2372, from the Department of Archives and History, would allow county filing-fee revenues now used only for preservation of historic records to also support records management, historic preservation, and museum services in counties. Barry White said the money is not for capital projects, but could fund services such as building assessments and recommendations. The committee also heard Senate Bill 2378, which would raise court reporter transcript fees from $2.40 to $4.00 per page; the sponsor said most costs are paid by litigants, while county funds are mainly affected in indigent criminal appeals. Both bills were advanced. The committee next considered Senate Bill 2401, relating to Accelerate Mississippi. Senator Sparks said it would extend the repealer to 2029, update procurement and reporting provisions, change some federal terminology, move the annual report deadline from October 1 to November 1, and repeal obsolete workforce-area references. It was reported out after a brief question about the obsolete sections. The committee also advanced Senate Bill 2402, the Amy Act, which removes the five-day grace period for lobbyist registration so registration must occur before a person begins lobbying; sponsors said the goal is transparency and tracking misinformation, not changing the definition of lobbyist. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 2445 on community mental health centers. Department of Mental Health Executive Director Wendy Bailey said the bill would create a formal performance audit process, with standards developed by June 30, 2027 and audits beginning in FY28 every two years. Centers failing standards would be placed on probation, and continued failure could lead to temporary replacement of leadership by DMH-selected contractors until compliance is restored. Members asked about current probation and decertification procedures, the number of struggling centers, and whether consolidation would be preferable; Bailey said the department wants to preserve local centers and use the process only as a temporary intervention. The bill was discussed but the transcript cuts off before a final vote is shown.
ND

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Government and Veterans Affairs Apr 16th, 2025 at 02:30 pm

Government and Veterans Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • You know, and part of that's transparency, part of it's government, part of it's law, but this is a changeover
Bills: SB2156
Summary: The committee met to reconsider and further amend Senate Bill 2156, a campaign finance/reporting bill tied to Secretary of State filing requirements and new software implementation. Members and legislative counsel explained that the bill would keep current law in place for 2025, then take effect January 1, 2026, when the new system is expected to be ready. Discussion focused on hard reporting dates, how year-end and quarterly reports would be handled, which entities must disclose balances, and clarifying that some provisions apply to statewide political parties and certain political committees but not to candidates or candidate committees in the same way. Representative Steiner walked through the amendment, describing it as mostly technical and intended to align reporting deadlines with fixed calendar dates, simplify compliance, and preserve existing treatment for some balance disclosures. Members asked about public availability of certain filed information, the meaning of references to beginning and ending balances, and whether the new fines and other provisions would also be delayed until 2026. Legislative counsel said the bill’s effective date would cover the entire act and noted some disclosure questions were not clearly answered in current law. The committee adopted the amendment and then approved Senate Bill 2156 as amended on a do-pass motion. The roll call was unanimous, and the chair adjourned the meeting, noting the changes were intended to help the Secretary of State’s office and candidates transition to the new reporting system.
ND

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Government and Veterans Affairs Apr 14th, 2025 at 03:30 pm

Government and Veterans Affairs

Bills: SB2156
Summary: The subcommittee met to review amendments to a campaign finance bill, focusing on reporting requirements for ending balances and annual statements. Members and staff worked through whether the language should apply to all multi-candidate committees or only statewide multi-candidate committees, and whether the addition of non-statewide political parties created any unintended change from current law. Dustin Richard from the Secretary of State’s office explained that the draft needed to be tightened to mirror existing law by inserting “statewide” where appropriate, while keeping the new non-statewide political party provisions as intended. The committee also discussed an effective date and application clause. Staff explained that an effective date of January 1, 2026 would align with the new reporting requirements, and that 2025 transactions would still be reported under the old law while 2026 transactions would follow the new rules. Members asked for plain-language clarification about how the application clause would work and whether any statutory cleanup would be needed afterward. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to adopt the amendments, with the motion then rephrased to refer to the “Dustin amendments.” The meeting concluded with scheduling discussion about reconvening later in the week to keep the bill moving before the deadline, followed by adjournment.
ND

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Government and Veterans Affairs Apr 9th, 2025 at 11:01 am

Government and Veterans Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • expenditure categories reported under subsection 3, must be made publicly available on the website for transparency
  • expenditure categories reported under subsection 3, must be made publicly available on the website for transparency
Bills: SB2156
Summary: The subcommittee met to review HB 2156, which reorganizes North Dakota campaign finance disclosure law by repealing Chapter 16.1 and moving the provisions into a new Chapter 16.2 with mostly technical cross-reference updates. Legislative Council and the Secretary of State’s office walked through the bill section by section, explaining that most language is carried over from current law, with some cleanup to definitions, reporting requirements, public access rules, and filing procedures. The committee discussed how the new chapter would apply to candidates, candidate committees, political committees, political parties, ballot measure groups, and conduits. Several substantive issues were raised and adjusted during the discussion. Members questioned the open-records language for expenditures and contributions over $250, the use of “deposit” versus “receipt” as the reporting trigger, and whether the 48-hour supplemental reporting deadline should be changed to three calendar days; the group ultimately favored keeping 48 hours and using “deposit” consistently. They also clarified reporting dates, including changing one special-election deadline from 40 days to 39 days, and confirmed that balances of campaign funds would be reported but not made publicly available. The Secretary of State’s office also explained that the bill would make late fees public and that the chapter-wide penalty for willful violations remains a Class A misdemeanor. The main policy change debated at length was the late-filing fee schedule. Members expressed concern that the existing penalties were too low to deter intentional non-filers, and after discussion the committee agreed to increase the final late fee from $100 to $500 while keeping the new public posting of delinquent filers. The committee also reviewed an inflation-adjustment provision for reporting thresholds and the “ultimate true source of funds” language, which was described as existing law being carried into the new chapter. The meeting ended with the understanding that additional drafting changes would be made and that the bill would be ready for further committee action later in the week.
US
Transcript Highlights:
  • The VA must be forthcoming and transparent with Congress, VSOs, and the public about how it's implementing
  • No transparency, no accountability, no consultation in the process.
  • We fully support transparency from VA and making sure that our taxpayer dollars are being accounted for
  • saying is that if we use AI and we couple it with our massive... amount of electronic health record data
  • Sir, just wanted to make one point relative to the data. In particular, VA's enrollment manager.
Summary: During this committee meeting, various bills were discussed with a specific focus on veteran services and healthcare provisions. Notably, the cancellation of critical contracts under Secretary Collins sparked significant debate, with representatives emphasizing the adverse impact on veteran care. The meeting featured testimonies from veterans and stakeholders who expressed their concerns regarding the potential fallout of these cancellations, demonstrating the urgency of transparency and accountability in management decisions. Discussions also delved into various legislative proposals aimed at improving services for veterans amidst these challenges.
US
Transcript Highlights:
  • we need to do. better job of analyzing the data.
  • We need to be transparent. The industry needs to be transparent. Thank you for that.
  • The in-service, the in-service data analytics.
  • Relatedly, AI automation in data analytics.
  • I know we're doing data analytics as well, using AI algorithms.
Summary: The meeting primarily focused on significant safety concerns surrounding Boeing and its compliance with federal aviation standards. Lawmakers expressed frustration over the Army's failure to provide requested operational transparency regarding helicopter operations near Washington, D.C., amid recent incidents indicating a strained air traffic control situation. Several members called for reform in Boeing's oversight, emphasizing the need for a robust safety culture and mandatory safety management systems to prevent future disasters like the 737 MAX crashes. The discussions were passionate, with survivors and families impacted by past accidents present, highlighting the urgency and seriousness of the issues at hand.
MN

Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session

House State Government Finance and Policy Committee 3/25/25

State Government Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:
  • course are bound by the government data course are bound by the government data practices<00:09:
  • see a great deal of the detailed data see a great deal of the detailed data because<00:22:01.840
  • Boundary adjustments and data practices.
  • Boundary adjustments and data practices.
  • Boundary adjustments and data practices. Boundary adjustments and data practices.
US
Transcript Highlights:
  • And I will work to ensure that CBP strategies are driven by intelligence and data, and that the policies
  • I wanted total transparency. People could see what I saw.
  • I think it's a critical part of our government, pushes the transparency.
  • If confirmed, currently as a senior advisor, I don't have access or view into personnel data and into
  • Scott, you said you care about transparency.
Summary: The meeting centered on the nomination of Rodney Scott to serve as the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Throughout the session, various senators expressed concerns regarding CBP's recent practices, including issues related to border security and the treatment of migrants. Questions were raised about Scott's involvement in previous incidents, particularly surrounding the controversial death of Mr. Hernandez Rojas while in custody, which sparked a heated discussion about accountability and transparency in current border policies. Senators emphasized the importance of balancing efficient border security with humane treatment of individuals seeking asylum.