Transcript Highlights:

• during the Great Depression relies heavily on excise and consumption taxes, with consequences for equity
• Representative Penner: Thank you, Madam Speaker, rising with energy to support this amendment.

Summary: The House debated a series of amendments to a major income tax bill, with repeated arguments over tax fairness, affordability, administrative feasibility, and the role of the Department of Revenue. Early motions to reconsider a failed child care amendment were rejected, and Amendment 2561, which would have restricted data sharing with the IRS, was also defeated after debate over privacy, federal relationships, and whether the proposal was administrable. Amendment 2579, which would have required annual reporting on the tax’s effects on filers, businesses, and charitable donations, likewise failed, with supporters emphasizing transparency and opponents arguing DOR was not the right agency and the report was too speculative. Amendment 2598, proposing to use half of new revenue for a broad sales tax cut, was rejected despite arguments that it would reduce regressivity and provide immediate relief; Amendment 2556, expanding sales tax exemptions for diapers and other child-care essentials to include adult diapers and earlier implementation, also failed after debate over scope and timing.

Transcript Highlights:

• when I have been in this Capitol this year, I have seen Harper's light everywhere and Fletcher's energy
• Fletcher's</c> Harper's light everywhere and Fletcher's Harper's light everywhere and Fletcher's energy
• </c><01:22:10.240><c> I</c><01:22:10.360><c> have</c><01:22:10.600><c> seen</c> energy as a driving force
• I have seen energy as a driving force.

Transcript Highlights:

• A couple months ago, some of our energy-related programs maybe looked like they may have softened a little
• Those are probably breathing new life into some of those energy programs.
• as the state, the region, or the nation really looks at other alternative or supportive sources of energy
• Talked about energy and so forth in that area.

Committee: Joint Higher Education Funding Review Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• A couple months ago, some of our energy-related programs maybe looked like they may have been softened
• Those are probably breathing new life into some of those energy programs.
• as the state, the region, or the nation really looks at other alternative or supportive sources of energy
• Talked about energy and so forth in that area.

Committee: Joint Higher Education Funding Review Committee

Summary: The Higher Ed Funding Committee met to review a proposed process for identifying and addressing low-producing academic programs, then moved into discussion of draft funding formulas for the university system. Lisa Johnson of the ND University System described how other states and systems define low-producing programs, emphasizing multi-year enrollment and completion thresholds, cost and workforce review, and the role of governing boards. She reported that North Dakota institutions already review programs in varying cycles, often use shared resources and stackable credentials to keep low-enrollment programs viable, and cited recent system actions over five years: 100 programs placed on inactivation, 75 terminated, and 384 new programs created. Committee members raised concerns about workforce-critical programs, duplication, exemptions, and whether the legislature or the State Board of Higher Education should drive the process. The chair said he wanted the board to bring a detailed proposal to the June meeting and suggested the legislature may use funding leverage, including a possible holdback, to encourage the review process. The committee then heard a Legislative Council presentation on a draft funding formula for UND and NDSU. The proposal used fall census FTE enrollment, with a placeholder rate of $7,000 per undergraduate FTE and $10,500 per graduate/professional FTE, plus incentives for completions in high-demand fields and research productivity. Alex from Legislative Council explained that the formula also included separate treatment for research funding, external grants, and capital building tiers, and that the MD program at UND would remain fixed funding outside the formula. Members questioned the use of the placeholder rates, the in-demand program list, the treatment of external grants, and how the proposal compared with current appropriations. The chair noted that the formula numbers were illustrative and not final budget amounts. A second draft formula for the other nine institutions was also reviewed. It used fall census FTE with no weighted economic factor, a higher undergraduate rate of $8,750 per FTE, and completion incentives for in-demand credentials and all other credentials. Members noted that the proposal would benefit some institutions, such as Bismarck State College, while reducing funding for others, such as Mayville State, and questioned whether the same structure should apply across institutions with very different missions and sizes. Committee discussion focused on fairness, hold-harmless concerns, and whether the nine institutions should be grouped differently. The committee did not take formal action, but the chair indicated the formulas would continue to be discussed later in the meeting and in future work.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Joint Resolution 81 to the Judiciary Committee; and House Bill 78 to Natural Resources and Energy
• 25:36.120><c> Natural</c><01:25:36.640><c> Resources</c><01:25:37.320><c> and</c><01:25:37.480><c> Energy
• </c> 78, and to Natural Resources and Energy 78, and to Natural Resources and Energy Committee,<01:25

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, Director Gary, I had a question—a nuclear question, I mean, a question about nuclear energy.
• The Energy Committee was up at the nuclear plant last week, and they showed us their safety protocols
• everything we can With the funding that we have, I've already, along with my senior staff, met with A&O energy
• I've already, along with my senior staff, have met with A&O energy officials and just kind of talk through

Committee: All JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

Summary: The committee heard budget presentations and took executive recommendations on several Department of Human Services divisions, including Aging, Adult and Behavioral Health Services; Children and Family Services; County Operations; Developmental Disability Services; and Medical Services, with most divisions showing little or no significant change in total appropriations. Staff and agency witnesses repeatedly explained that many large appropriations are maintained for flexibility, federal matching requirements, or contingency needs, even when actual spending is much lower than the authorized amount. Members also raised concerns about staffing vacancies, long-vacant budgeted positions, and the use of excess appropriation authority across DHS. In Aging, Adult and Behavioral Health, members questioned federal funding levels for mental health and substance abuse grants, the status of senior centers and Meals on Wheels, the Medicaid tobacco settlement program, community alcohol safety grants, and the veterans mental health grant. Agency officials said federal block grants are largely committed, that senior center funding had been delayed by shutdown timing but was now back on track, that the tobacco settlement program had been moved internally within DHS, and that the veterans mental health appropriation remains unfunded. Senators also criticized the adequacy of support for seniors and asked for more detail on how transportation, meal services, and local contributions are funded. In Children and Family Services, members asked about rising appropriation levels, foster care and adoption subsidies, professional fees, the number of children in foster care, and the Children’s Trust Fund. DHS said increases reflect added flexibility for residential treatment, adoption subsidies, and prevention services, while the foster care population has remained fairly steady at about 3,400 children. The Children’s Trust Fund was described as supporting primary prevention programs such as Baby and Me and community schools, and members asked whether it could be administratively combined with other efforts. Questions also covered TANF subgrants, with DHS explaining that it had reduced outside subgrants after discovering over-obligation and was rebuilding reserves. In County Operations, members focused on the summer EBT program, SNAP employment and training, the farmer’s market program, and the state’s TANF reserve position. DHS said summer EBT is still being funded through temporary appropriations because it is a newer program, SNAP employment and training is largely federally funded and may expand under a pending policy change, and TANF reserves were drawn down after prior over-obligation but are now being stabilized. In Developmental Disability Services, members asked about vacancies, human development center staffing, facility construction funds, and the Booneville work program, and DHS said the program has reopened and staffing recruitment continues. In Medical Services, members asked about FMAP, the Our Kids B CHIP program, school-based Medicaid reimbursements, nursing home distress funds, and several large appropriation lines that far exceed actual spending; DHS said these are maintained for claims payment, nursing home receivership contingencies, and other flexibility needs. Each division reviewed was adopted by executive recommendation after questions concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• certify that all local regulations are met before tax incentives are given, while protecting our energy
• certify that all local regulations are met before tax incentives are given, while protecting our energy
• I'd like to announce to the members of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee that we will meet tomorrow
• House Bill 925, Representative Miles, an act relating to wind energy.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so we're able to actually seal the concrete, insulate it, increase the energy efficiency of the buildings
• ,<00:13:18.000><c> increase</c><00:13:18.240><c> the</c><00:13:18.639><c> uh</c><00:13:18.800><c> energy
• </c><00:13:19.120><c> efficiency</c><00:13:19.600><c> of</c> it, increase the uh energy efficiency of
• it, increase the uh energy efficiency of the<00:13:20.000><c> buildings,</c><00:13:20.320><c> and</c

Bills: HB0111 , HB0112 , HB0122

Committee: House Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• This is from the Natural Resources and Energy Committee, an act relating to geoengineering.
• 08:18.000><c> natural</c><00:08:18.400><c> resources</c><00:08:18.879><c> and</c><00:08:19.120><c> energy
• </c> the natural resources and energy the natural resources and energy committee<00:08:20.240><c> an<

Transcript Highlights:

• This is about the only meeting that I go to when I leave with more energy than when I got there, because
• </c><00:42:11.920><c> I</c><00:42:12.240><c> have</c><00:42:12.400><c> more</c><00:42:12.640><c> energy
• I have more energy than when I I leave.
• I have more energy than when I got<00:42:13.920><c> there,</c><00:42:14.480><c> this</c><00:42:14.800

Transcript Highlights:

• To me, that just gives it bad energy.
• just<00:23:11.039><c> gives</c><00:23:11.280><c> it</c><00:23:11.520><c> bad</c><00:23:11.840><c> energy
• c><00:23:12.320><c> It</c><00:23:12.480><c> just</c><00:23:12.640><c> gives</c> just gives it bad energy
• It just gives just gives it bad energy.

Bills: HB245 , SB16 , SB59 , SB62 , SB79 , SB88 , HB245 , SB16 , SB59 , SB62 , SB79 , SB88

Committee: Senate Finance and Taxation Education

Keywords: inhalants, controlled substances, butyl nitrite, nitrous oxide, amyl nitrite, health, public safety, SB16, four-point restraint, hog-tie, hog tie, prone restraint, law enforcement, police, sheriff, use of force, restraint techniques, positional asphyxia, arrest procedures, detention

Transcript Highlights:

• it's like to have a young attorney in your office and you and it's the time you put in, it's the energy
• you and it's the time you put in, it's you and it's the time you put in, it's the<00:57:44.880><c> energy
• 45.760><c> the</c><00:57:46.000><c> CLE</c><00:57:46.559><c> and</c><00:57:46.720><c> then</c> the energy
• , it's it's the CLE and then the energy, it's it's the CLE and then they<00:57:47.119><c> leave.

Summary: The subcommittee heard capital project requests from the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet for fiscal years 2026-28. The cabinet described its large statewide footprint and said its facilities face significant deferred maintenance, with the governor’s budget proposing full funding for maintenance pool requests, including an additional $60 million for the Department of Corrections’ maintenance pool and cash funding through investment income. Officials said the projects were based on facility assessments and were presented as necessary public safety investments rather than wish-list items. For the Department of Juvenile Justice, the main requests were $35 million for a high-acuity mental health treatment facility and $45 million each for two new female detention facilities. Officials said the mental health facility would fill a gap for youth needing psychiatric care, while the female facilities were needed to support a regional detention model and address overcrowding; they noted the current female population has grown by 50% since July 2024. Members asked about locations, and staff said they were considering western Kentucky abandoned mine land and available land in Fayette and Jefferson counties, with current female placements in Boyd County and Warren County. For the Department of Corrections, officials requested funding for critical mechanical, electrical, plumbing, roof, and structural repairs, including $15.78 million for Kentucky State Penitentiary utilities infrastructure and additional funding for North Point Training Center projects. They also highlighted two re-entry initiatives: a KCTCS partnership for a re-entry campus at North Point and the East Kentucky Applied Manufacturing Institute at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex, both aimed at reducing recidivism through intensive training and job preparation. Members asked about the KCTCS re-entry model, and DOC explained it would be a more immersive, campus-style program than current prison-based vocational classes. The Department of Criminal Justice Training discussed projects at its Richmond campus and the planned Western Kentucky Training Center, including a replacement flat track and campus access road at Richmond and added training features in Madisonville. Officials said the Richmond changes were needed because EKU construction had removed the existing flat track and would affect access, while the Western Kentucky project would expand training capacity and reduce travel for law enforcement agencies. The Kentucky State Police then outlined the final phase of the statewide emergency radio system replacement, estimated at about $17.5 million, and said the system is being built in geographic phases; members asked how long completion would take, and staff estimated roughly four years after funding, assuming no major inflation spikes. No votes were taken, and the meeting remained informational with member questions and staff responses.

Transcript Highlights:

• He seems to have endless energy.
• He he seems to have endless<00:26:48.400><c> energy.
• I</c><00:26:48.960><c> think</c><00:26:49.120><c> he's</c><00:26:49.360><c> actually</c> endless energy
• I think he's actually endless energy.

Transcript Highlights:

• If you all are investing the time, the energy, the money into creating this organization, it needs to
• investing<00:57:12.720><c> the</c><00:57:13.599><c> time,</c><00:57:14.240><c> the</c><00:57:14.480><c> energy
• ,</c><00:57:15.920><c> the</c> investing the time, the energy, the investing the time, the energy, the

Summary: The interim task force on disaster prevention and resiliency met for its fourth meeting and focused heavily on insurance markets, affordability, and mitigation. Cochairs noted they are working toward recommendations for a later fall meeting. The main presentation came from David Snyder of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, who said the insurance industry sees itself as part of the problem and part of the solution because it ultimately pays for losses created by natural conditions, development choices, and construction practices. Snyder described rising losses from natural catastrophes, inflation-driven increases in rebuilding and repair costs, more development in disaster-prone areas, wildfire exposure, severe convective storms, hail, and roof damage. He argued that Kentucky should avoid the mistakes he attributed to California, where regulatory responses contributed to a strained insurance market and greater reliance on the FAIR Plan. He said Kentucky’s private market appears to be functioning better, with relatively few FAIR Plan policies, and urged lawmakers to preserve that market through risk-based rates and policies that do not worsen availability. He recommended a broad mitigation strategy involving stronger building codes, land-use decisions, stormwater infrastructure, public access to risk data, and incentives for resilient construction. He highlighted programs such as the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, fortified-home standards, wildfire-prepared community practices, and examples from Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida showing that mitigation can produce quick returns and insurance discounts. He also suggested catastrophe savings accounts, flexible coverage options, and a whole-of-government approach that includes the insurance department, building-code agencies, first responders, FEMA, NFIP, and NOAA. In questions, a legislator asked about the prognosis if carriers continue exiting markets and if nothing is done to address affordability and accessibility. Snyder said he could not predict market exits but stressed that regulators should monitor the market closely, use available data, and focus on loss prevention and mitigation. He said insurers want to do business in Kentucky and that the long-term solution is coordinated action among public and private stakeholders to reduce risk and keep coverage available.

Transcript Highlights:

• I just have no energy to do it.
• I just have no energy<00:48:21.920><c> to</c><00:48:22.160><c> do</c><00:48:22.240><c> it.
• 23.040><c> just</c><00:48:23.280><c> trying</c><00:48:23.440><c> to</c><00:48:23.599><c> figure</c> energy
• I just trying to figure energy to do it.

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• brief, but first I want to thank Senators Coupe and Senator Dornink for their leadership, time, and energy
• Dornick for their leadership,<00:05:02.160><c> time,</c><00:05:02.479><c> and</c><00:05:02.720><c> energy
• </c><00:05:03.759><c> uh</c><00:05:03.840><c> that</c> leadership, time, and energy uh that leadership
• , time, and energy uh that they<00:05:04.160><c> have</c><00:05:04.320><c> put</c><00:05:04.479><c> into

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Transcript Highlights:

• Eversource, I would imagine, hires lobbyists and might come here to lobby against bills that would lower energy
• here to lobby against bills that would here to lobby against bills that would lower<00:57:22.400><c> energy
• 23.720><c> So</c><00:57:24.720><c> there</c><00:57:25.680><c> are</c><00:57:26.000><c> other</c> lower energy
• So there are other lower energy costs.

Summary: The committee first returned to House Bill 157, which had been left pending from an earlier session. After correcting the procedural posture, the committee voted on a motion of ought to pass and it failed on a roll call. A reconsideration motion then passed unanimously, restoring the bill to the floor. Representative Turcot then moved ITL, explaining the committee believed there was a better path, likely through an ad hoc study and a future bill; that motion passed 9-2, and the chair said a minority report would be required and not to place the bill on consent. The committee next took up House Bill 331, which would require the Secretary of State to publish the current location of bills on the website until gubernatorial action. Supporters said the bill would reduce confusion and legislative limbo after bills leave the House and Senate. Online testimony was reported as 116 in support and 4 opposed. The committee voted 11-0 to pass the bill and placed it on consent. House Bill 347 followed, dealing with protections for legislators’ employment when serving in office. Supporters argued it would protect elected officials from employer retaliation and clarify existing law; opponents said it was an unnecessary mandate on employers and raised enforcement concerns, especially for out-of-state employers. The committee voted 8-3 to pass the bill, and a minority report was anticipated; it was not placed on consent. The committee then considered House Bill 605, which included student loan forgiveness provisions tied to legislative service. Members opposing the bill argued legislators are not state employees and should not receive that benefit, while others noted the bill’s employment-related provisions and the difficulty of meeting the hours requirement. The committee voted 11-0 to ITL House Bill 605 and placed it on consent.

Transcript Highlights:

• today, and we've heard from Appleseed that there's all this paperwork involved, how much time and energy
• involved how much all this paperwork involved how much time<00:53:05.480><c> and</c><00:53:05.640><c> energy
• <c> put</c><00:53:06.119><c> into</c><00:53:06.280><c> all</c><00:53:06.400><c> that</c> time and energy
• put into all that time and energy put into all that paperwork<00:53:06.880><c> if</c><00:53:06.960><

Summary: The committee heard several education-related bills, with testimony largely in support. SB 1388 and SB 1393, both concerning the School Facilities Authority and Department of Education representation and land conveyances, received support from DOE and the School Facilities Authority, with no questions or action taken. SB 423, which would add Head Start representation to the Early Learning Board, was supported by the Early Learning Board and the Executive Office on Early Learning, which explained the bill would realign the board with federal Head Start Act requirements after the board was restructured in Act 170; EEL also requested an effective-date amendment. SB 422, allowing DOE to award diplomas to students whose education was disrupted by war, drew support from DOE, the Chamber of Commerce, the Military Council, and the Special Education Advisory Council, but also significant opposition from the Hawaii Patriot Republicans and many individuals; members asked questions about the bill, and DOE explained the measure’s purpose, but no vote was taken. The committee also took testimony on SB 532, which would expand who may administer certain medications in schools. DOE, the Department of Health, and the University of Hawaii supported the bill. Members asked detailed questions about oral, nasal, and topical medications and the process for prescription review and administration; DOE explained that parents request the medication, a school form is completed, a nurse reviews it, and either a trained school health assistant or a contracted nurse administers the medication. DOE said the measure could improve attendance and learning, especially for students with ADHD, asthma, and other chronic conditions. The committee then heard SB 659 on locally sourced food products and school meals, where DOE’s procurement office opposed the higher small-purchase threshold and DOE exemption from procurement rules, while Ulupono Initiative, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Hawaii Public Health Institute, and others supported the bill as a way to advance farm-to-school goals and the 30% local food target by 2030. Testimony and questioning focused on the proposed threshold increase, transparency, and whether an online bidding system would be preferable. Finally, the committee heard SB 1300 on subsidies for ALICE families’ school meals. DOE supported the bill but requested amendments: defining eligibility at 250% of the federal poverty level, delaying implementation until the 2026-2027 school year, and covering reduced-price lunch students in full for 2025-2026. HSTA, Hawaii Appleseed, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Pride at Work Hawaii, Hawaii Youth Services Network, and others supported the measure, emphasizing food insecurity, the burden of meal paperwork, and the educational importance of free meals. Hawaii Appleseed suggested replacing ALICE with a federal poverty level standard and removing a rulemaking requirement that could delay implementation. No votes or final committee actions were reported in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• He said he had a constituent who was driving to Florida, thought he was buying an energy drink because
• into</c><00:40:01.599><c> buy</c><00:40:02.160><c> a</c><00:40:02.560><c> um</c><00:40:02.720><c> energy
• ><00:40:03.119><c> drink</c><00:40:03.560><c> cuz</c><00:40:03.680><c> it</c> going into buy a um energy
• drink cuz it going into buy a um energy drink cuz it said<00:40:04.119><c> non-alcoholic</c><00:40:05.119

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 100, which would place cigarettes, vapes, and related nicotine products under the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) system, add enforcement tools against bad actors, and regulate nitrous oxide/laughing gas sales to those under 21. Supporters, including youth advocates Mallerie Jones and Griffin Kian Neth, argued the bill would reduce youth access to nicotine products through retail licensing, compliance checks, and escalating penalties. Higdon said the bill targets illegal sales rather than most retailers, and noted the measure also updates House Bill 11 from the prior year and raises the retail license fee from $250 to $500. The committee adopted the committee substitute and then passed the bill on a roll call vote, with members voting yes and no opposition recorded in the transcript. The committee then considered Senate Bill 202, focused on cannabis-infused beverages. Senator Julie Raque Adams said the bill was intended to create common-sense public health guardrails for a rapidly growing product category sold in gas stations, liquor stores, and vape shops, and to address enforcement gaps. She explained the committee substitute would define cannabis-infused beverages at a 5-milligram limit per 12-ounce can, place enforcement under ABC while keeping CHFS manufacturing and testing rules in place, require a University of Kentucky report back to the General Assembly, allow existing higher-dose inventory to be sold through June 1, exempt festivals and fairs until January 1, 2026, and allow stores to obtain licenses to continue selling the product. The committee adopted the substitute and then heard testimony from hemp-industry representatives and a consumer. Opponents of SB 202/SB 22, including Dee Taylor of the Kentucky Hemp Association, Cornbread Hemp co-founder Jim Higdon, Annie Rouse of Cannabuzz Barn, and consumer Nancy Roberts, argued the bill would hurt a legal Kentucky hemp industry, reduce consumer access, and force sales into liquor stores. They said the 100-milligram beverage referenced in debate is actually 10 servings with a resealable top, that hemp retailers educate customers, and that the industry already operates under 2024 regulations and needs better enforcement rather than new restrictions. Higdon and Rouse objected to the 5-milligram cap, the on-premise sales ban, the move to ABC enforcement, and the taxation approach, warning the bill could wipe out a large share of business and jobs. No final vote on SB 202 was taken in the portion of the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• > to</c><00:37:22.079><c> build</c><00:37:22.400><c> businesses</c><00:37:22.880><c> that</c> and energy
• to build businesses that and energy to build businesses that support<00:37:23.440><c> their</c><00:37
• Senate File 3977 is a bill that will bring a lot of energy into Minnesota's economy.
• Senate File 3977 is a bill that will bring a lot of energy into Minnesota's economy.
• </c><02:14:14.000><c> into</c> uh bring a lot of energy into uh bring a lot of energy into Minnesota's

Committee: Senate Jobs and Economic Development