Video & Transcript : 'Legislative Appropriations Request' :
Page 421 of 500
TX
Texas 89th 2nd C.S.
Trade, Workforce & Economic Development May 21st, 2025
Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
Transcript Highlights:
- I respectfully request the right to close. Any questions, members? Yes, please.
- This piece of legislation passed the Senate unanimously with bipartisan support.
- Every one of our counties is impacted or can be impacted by, by this piece of legislation.
- I humbly request and ask permission to close, and at that I'm subject to any questions.
- In Texas, we are processing these cases appropriately. We are doing it right.
TX
Texas 89th Regular
Trade, Workforce & Economic Development May 21st, 2025
Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
Transcript Highlights:
- I respectfully request the right to close. Any questions, members? Yes, please.
- We request the opportunity to close. Any questions?
- I believe this represents a good piece of legislation, and I respectfully request a favorable vote from
- This can also happen to legislators, and that is real serious.
- In Texas, we're processing these cases appropriately. We are doing it right.
Keywords:
SB 1361, Texas disaster recovery loan, small business loan, micro-business loan, community development financial institution, CDFI, economic disaster assistance, post-disaster financing, business recovery fund, Texas Economic Development Bank, zero-interest loan, working capital, payroll support, health benefits, job retention, declared disaster, small business relief, microenterprise, franchise exclusion, private equity-backed business
WA
Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session
House Civil Rights & Judiciary Feb 4th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- The substitute removes the legislative intent section. All right, any questions? One.
- And the substitute removes the legislative intent section. All right, any questions? One.
- In my mind, the existing state of the law strikes an appropriate balance between the time sensitivity
- In my mind, the existing state of the law strikes an appropriate balance between the time sensitivity
- I have significant concerns and request a no vote. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Summary:
The Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee met on February 4th and took executive action on five bills. Staff summarized House Bill 2255 on litigation finance, House Bill 2354 on Waukiawa and small common interest communities, House Bill 2595 on extending the time to bring post-conviction collateral attacks, House Bill 2320 on restricting certain 3D-printed and CNC-manufactured firearms and related code, and House Bill 2597 on civil remedies for constitutional violations during immigration enforcement. Members discussed each bill’s purpose and, in several cases, the committee heard support for transparency, reduced regulation for smaller communities, expanded access to justice, public safety concerns about untraceable firearms, and the need for remedies when constitutional rights are violated.
The committee adopted an amendment to the proposed substitute for House Bill 2320, removing rebuttable presumption language related to intent to unlawfully distribute digital firearm manufacturing code or manufacture a firearm. Members also discussed the substitute versions of House Bills 2354 and 2597, which narrowed or clarified the original bills in various ways, including changes to audit thresholds, immunity language, attorney fee provisions, and the statute of limitations. No amendments were offered to House Bills 2255, 2354, or 2595.
All four bills that reached final action were reported out of committee with a due pass recommendation: House Bill 2255 passed 12-1, House Bill 2354 passed 13-0, House Bill 2595 passed 8-5, House Bill 2320 passed 8-5 after the amendment was adopted, and House Bill 2597 passed 8-5. The chair then adjourned the meeting and thanked staff for their work.
LA
Louisiana 2026 Regular Session
Labor and Industrial Relations May 14th, 2026
Labor & Industrial Relations
Transcript Highlights:
- And I respectfully request that you decline its passage from this committee.
- And I respectfully request that you decline its passage from this committee.
- The state was facing litigation over this exact type of legislation.
- What if we don't feel the benefits are appropriate?
- That would be the appropriate time.
Committee:
Senate Labor & Industrial Relations
HI
Hawaii 2025 Regular Session
PSM-HHS, PSM DEFER Public Hearings 02-07-2025
Public Safety and Military Affairs
Transcript Highlights:
- So has the ACLU looked at other states that have passed similar legislations?
- So has the ACLU looked at other states that have passed similar legislations?
- So has the ACLU looked at other states that have passed similar legislations?
- So has the ACLU looked at other states that have passed similar legislations?
- So has the ACLU looked at other states that have passed similar legislations?
Committee:
Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs
Summary:
On the deferred agenda, the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs took up SB 1364, which makes emergency appropriations for law enforcement personnel costs, and SB 1452, which relates to the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. The chair recommended both measures pass with amendments, including technical corrections and a committee-report effective date of July 1, 2077. For SB 1364, the amendments included specified general fund and transfer fund amounts for DAGS, the Judiciary, and the Department of Law. For SB 1452, the chair said the bill was being corrected to fix a drug-name error that had been replicated from a federal mistake. Both recommendations were adopted by vote, with Senator Dort excused.
The committee then discussed SB 1612, a joint measure on fitness to proceed that would require and appropriate funds for a five-year pilot program involving the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Health, with interim and final reports to the Legislature. Testimony was mixed: the Judiciary and Department of Health were supportive, while the Office of the Public Defender and the Disability Rights Center opposed it, arguing it conflicted with best practices and the Clark consent order, and that people found not fit to proceed must be sent to the state hospital. DCR said its main concern was that the bill would still require patients to be housed in its facilities, which it said are not rehabilitative and are already strained by staffing shortages and limited access. The bill’s author argued the proposal was meant to create joint custody and reduce the high cost of state-hospital placement, but the committee did not take final action in the portion provided.
In the joint hearing with Health and Human Services, the committees heard SB 1322, a broad rewrite of the state mental health code. The Attorney General supported the measure as a comprehensive cleanup and modernization effort, but many testifiers raised concerns. Queen’s Health System and Hawaii Health Systems Corporation supported the concept but warned about emergency-room impacts and asked for amendments; IHS supported the bill with a caveat about assisted community treatment procedures; and the Public Defender, Disability Rights Center, and others opposed parts of it, citing due process, privacy, HIPAA, counsel rights, liability immunity, and the reduction of an involuntary-treatment panel from three clinicians to one psychiatrist. The hearing also covered SB 951 on child protection, where the Department of Defense supported the bill and proposed technical amendments and MOUs with military components to clarify reporting and coordination procedures; DHS and the Attorney General said they were still working through possible changes. Finally, SB 228 on excited delirium was heard, with the Public Defender and Disability Rights Center supporting the bill and arguing the term has been misused and that better police de-escalation training is the real solution.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Ways and Means (03/04/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- We passed legislation.
- This was a component of that legislation we heard at the time we passed the legislation, and this is
- We passed legislation.
- We passed legislation.
- I move that this legislation is inexpedient to legislate. Do I have a second? I'll second.
Summary:
The committee first held a public hearing on HB 660, which would require historic horse racing facilities to pay 10% of HHR winnings to host communities as mitigation. Representative Om said the amendment was intended to leave charities and the state whole while funding local costs tied to large gaming facilities. Supporters argued the measure would address future municipal expenses, while opponents said host towns have not reported current problems and that the bill would single out one industry. Members questioned the 10% rate, whether the proposal was retroactive, and whether it would apply to existing facilities; the sponsor said it would apply to facilities already in place or later added. The hearing was then closed without any vote recorded in the transcript.
The committee then opened a hearing on HB 658-FN, which raises reimbursement caps and adjusts fees for the Oil Discharge and Disposal Cleanup Fund and the Oil Pollution Control Fund. Representative Malloy introduced the bill, and Representative Aly explained the funds as a state-backed insurance mechanism for oil spill cleanup and prevention, including replacement of leaking home heating oil tanks for low-income homeowners. Bob Scully of the Energy Marketers Association supported the bill, saying the fee structure helps fund remediation and tank replacement, though costs are ultimately passed on to consumers. Department of Environmental Services officials Robert Bishop and Jennifer Marts described the bill as extending the fee collection for 10 years, changing reporting dates, increasing the cap for low-income tank replacement, and rebalancing fees based on an actuarial review.
DES testified that the actuarial study found the fund needed to remain solvent and that home heating oil releases are the largest category of new releases, with the fuel oil fee otherwise needing to rise by more than 200% to cover projected costs. The board instead proposed a smaller increase and adjusted other fees accordingly, while maintaining a reserve to cover the first days of a major coastal spill before federal funds become available. Members asked about the basis for the fee changes, the role of the actuarial review, and the statutory language governing who pays the fees. The transcript ends during this hearing, with no final committee action or vote shown.
AZ
Arizona 2026 Regular Session
01/28/2026 - House Ways & Means
House Ways & Means Committee of Reference
Transcript Highlights:
- Vice Chair requests to speak. Chair: We have some of our favorite assessors.
- Seeing none, there are no requests to speak, only one if necessary.
- Vice Chair, any request to speak? We have Catherine Warren... no.
- And there are no additional requests to speak. Seeing none, Mr.
- Vice Chair, there's no request to speak. We have Joan Murphy. No, all right.
Summary:
The House Ways and Means Committee heard several tax-related bills. House Bill 2261, sponsored by Representative Griffin, would rename and clarify the agricultural real property classification statute and codify the income-based valuation approach for agricultural lands, especially permanent crops such as orchards and vineyards. Griffin and farm/ranch supporters said the bill simply reflects recent court rulings and would avoid further litigation costs, while county assessors and the Arizona Association of Counties opposed it, urging the committee to wait for the pending Arizona Supreme Court case. After discussion about the tax court and appellate rulings, the committee voted 5-3 with one absent to return HB 2261 with a do pass recommendation.
House Bill 2173, sponsored by Representative Livingston, would allow tax officers to accept and send certain notices electronically unless certified mail is required. County assessors supported the measure as a modernization that would reduce delays, postage, and paper use, and there was discussion about how to handle outdated email addresses. The committee voted 7-0 with one absent to return HB 2173 with a do pass recommendation. House Bill 2120 would add the Social Security Administration to the definition of competent medical authority for property tax disability determinations; it was described as reducing the need for duplicate documentation. The committee approved HB 2120 on a 6-1 vote with one present and one absent.
House Bill 2786 would extend a tax deduction for bookstore textbook rentals to include textbooks required by state universities or community colleges, including digital rentals as clarified in testimony from the University of Arizona. Members said it would provide relief to students, and the committee returned the bill with a do pass recommendation on an 8-0 vote with one absent. House Bill 2792, a cleanup bill related to the 100% property tax exemption for veterans with service-connected disabilities, was supported by assessors as necessary to resolve conflicting language and implement the exemption correctly. The committee voted 8-0 with one absent to return HB 2792 with a do pass recommendation, and the meeting then adjourned.
KY
Kentucky 2026 Regular Session
Budget Review Subcommittee on Economic Development, Tourism, and Environment Protection (6-3-26)
Transcript Highlights:
- I think that's exactly how a legislative process should work.
- I think that's exactly how a legislative process should work.
- I think that's exactly how a legislative process should work.
- Uh we're probably appropriate level.
- </c><00:48:29.680><c> changes</c> asking for some legislative changes asking for some legislative changes
Keywords:
The first few minutes of this meeting was missed on the live stream. This upload restores those few minutes, 958, all
Summary:
The subcommittee met with Secretary Jeff Null and General Counsel Matt Wing of the Cabinet for Economic Development for an overview of the cabinet’s main economic development tools, strategy, and compliance practices. Null said the cabinet uses a data-driven approach focused on competitiveness, site readiness, wages, workforce training, and long-term assets such as roads, rail spurs, water, and sewer improvements. He emphasized that the cabinet tries to balance attracting new employers with supporting existing businesses, and said compliance is a core value of the agency.
Null walked members through several programs, including the closing fund, Kentucky Business Incentive (KBI), Bluegrass State Skills Corporation training support, and the KIA sales-tax refund tool for construction materials and equipment. He said the closing fund has received $80 million over two years for projects generally involving at least $10 million in investment, though some flexibility exists. He also explained that Bluegrass State Skills funding is typically about $2,000 to $3,000 per job and can be used flexibly for training, including sending Kentucky workers to be trained elsewhere or paying trainers to come to Kentucky. He described KBI as a pay-as-you-go, incremental tax credit tied to actual jobs and investment, and said the legislature’s tiered refundable credit structure allows more targeted use of incentives in heritage and non-heritage counties.
A substantial portion of the presentation focused on compliance and monitoring. Null said incentive agreements are written with commercial terms and spell out jobs, investment, wages, and training commitments. The cabinet requires regular reporting, invoices, and sampling, and can use clawbacks or suspend benefits if companies fail to meet obligations or lose required environmental permits. He said the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority reviews incentive applications in public meetings and often requires company representatives to answer questions before preliminary approval is granted. No votes or formal actions were taken during the meeting.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
January 14, 2025 - 01:00 PM
Transcript Highlights:
- Chair: Well, members, welcome to our Civil Justice Subcommittee meeting for the 2025 Legislative Session
- Since it is our first committee meeting of this legislative term, I'm going to ask each member to introduce
- My client is also requesting the court order sole parental responsibility of the children rather than
- Wyatt requests that the court award him with 50/50 time sharing and shared parental responsibility.
- And that's how we make sure that the court is exercising their discretion appropriately.
KY
Kentucky 2025 Regular Session
House Standing Committee on Primary and Secondary Education (3-12-25)
Transcript Highlights:
- </c> protocols will be would be appropriately protocols will be would be appropriately done<00:12:30.760
- What specifically can we do or not do with this legislation? Sure.
- The local board of education has to make the request. It's just not going to happen.
- Representative Tipton: The local board of education has to make the request.
- A motion and second were then requested, and questions were opened.
Summary:
The Primary and Secondary Education Committee met and first considered Senate Concurrent Resolution 43, a proposal tied to the Southern Regional Education Board’s crisis recovery network. Senator West and Dr. Puit explained that, for an additional $10,000 in dues, Kentucky would help create a network of 40 trained counselors in each of the 16 Southern states to provide post-crisis stabilization and psychological first aid after events such as the Marshall County shooting. They emphasized that the effort would be complementary to local and state response, would run through the school district, would not replace therapeutic services, and would allow districts to coordinate parent notifications and other protocols as usual. Members asked about parent involvement and whether pastoral counselors could participate; the presenters said local districts would remain in charge and that pastors could be included if properly credentialed. The committee then voted, and SCR 43 passed with the expression of opinion that it should pass.
The committee next took up Senate Bill 207, the School of Innovation Act, with a committee substitute. Senator West described the bill as creating an optional path for districts to contract with an outside education service provider for a three-year school-of-innovation model, aimed at turning around low-performing schools or supporting other schools that want to innovate. He said the model would preserve core district functions such as transportation, facilities, and SEEK funding, while allowing waivers from certain statutes and regulations inside the school building. The committee substitute also added a high-quality instructional materials component, creating a vendor-supported repository of vetted instructional materials that KDE would still control, with testing data used to evaluate whether the materials were improving outcomes.
Members questioned how the proposal differed from existing district-of-innovation law and what safeguards would exist for students. Senator West said the bill would repeal the unused district-of-innovation framework and replace it with a clearer process and guardrails, including KDE oversight, attendance rules, and authority to shut down a school arrangement for financial malfeasance. He also said the model could work with local partners, including superintendents’ associations, and could be used by magnet or other schools, not only low-performing ones. The discussion also touched on whether the bill would allow more flexibility in choosing third-party providers and whether it could support longer-term recovery and even philanthropy in schools. The transcript ends during the discussion of SB 207, with no final vote shown in the excerpt.
FL
Florida 2026 5th Special Session
Health Policy Jan 26th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- So this legislation for me is about prevention.
- This ensures patient access while maintaining appropriate safeguards.
- As Governor Jasanta says, parents with appropriate knowledge will make appropriate decisions.
- Please do not pass this legislation.
- I'm currently in Tallahassee attending the PTA legislative conference.
Summary:
The committee heard several health-related bills. SB 1082 would let providers or insurers in state-regulated commercial plans opt into the federal independent dispute resolution process for emergency out-of-network claims, with a late-filed amendment clarifying access to the state program in certain circumstances. The bill sponsor and emergency physicians said the measure would reduce litigation and improve payment resolution; the committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute.
SB 1168 would centralize background screening work for the care provider clearinghouse at the Agency for Health Care Administration and update related screening rules, including sealed and expunged records for qualified entities. The sponsor said the change would speed turnaround and reduce duplication; an amendment was adopted, and the bill was reported favorably as a committee substitute. SB 1156 would move ambulatory surgical center regulation out of Chapter 395 into a standalone section of law, and it was reported favorably without amendment.
SB 1480, as amended by a strike-all, would grandfather certain temporary certificate holders practicing in areas of critical need if federal designations change, allowing them to continue seeing current patients and potentially new patients in their existing area subject to board oversight. The committee heard support from health system representatives and reported the bill favorably. The final and most debated measure, SB 1756 on medical freedom, would require vaccine education materials and alternative schedules, expand school immunization exemptions to conscience-based objections, clarify limits on emergency vaccination orders, and allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin behind the counter with written information. The sponsor and supporters framed it as parental choice and access, while physicians, public health advocates, cancer advocates, and parents of immunocompromised children warned it would lower vaccination rates and increase disease risk. The committee adopted a liability-related amendment, rejected a substitute amendment that would have required consultation for exemptions, and continued hearing public testimony opposing the bill; the transcript ends before final action on SB 1756.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
House workforce committee hears HF110 2/18/25
Transcript Highlights:
- okay, and it looks to me like they are changing language for easy understanding and also they are requesting
- Representative Hussein, your bill is now adopted or amended to your request, so please present your bill
- Since our first direct appropriations, HAP has served nearly 3,000 Hmong in workforce programs.
- I think it's so difficult for us as legislators to really evaluate the impact of the funds that we're
- Is that a question, Representative Pinto, or just more of a request? I guess it's a request, Mr.
MS
Mississippi 2026 Regular Session
Public Health and Welfare - Room 216, 3 March, 2026; 3:00 PM
Public Health and Welfare
Transcript Highlights:
- ><c> because</c> The extension was requested because The extension was requested because they've<00:22
- ><00:26:12.800><c> trying</c> from or it's not the legislator trying from or it's not the legislator
- </c> of legislation. of legislation. >> Thank<00:43:36.280><c> you.</c> >> Thank you.
- A division has been requested.
- </c> A division has been requested. A division has been requested.
Committee:
Joint Public Health and Welfare
LA
Transcript Highlights:
- Privilege reported the Legislative Bureau.
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 63 by Senator Bass is a concurrent resolution to urge and request the legislative
- So this resolution requests the legislative auditor to examine and evaluate the process of developing
- request.
- I do have an amendment from requested by Representative Villio.
Bills:
SCR63 , SCR12 , HB89 , HB451 , HB595 , HB617 , HB621 , HB730 , HB1064 , HB1125 , HB221 , HCR58 , SB106 , SB206 , SB248 , SB441 , SB104 , SB122 , SB180 , SB260 , SB424 , SB476 , SCR9 , SCR30 , SB57 , SB414 , SB525 , SB35 , SB65 , SB135 , SB215 , SB246 , SB249 , SB269 , SB276 , SB282 , SB296 , SB323 , SB363 , SB369 , SB474 , SB484 , SB490 , SB492 , SB500 , SB501 , SB513 , HCR31 , HB462 , HB547 , HB613 , HB691 , HB712 , HB720 , HB723 , HB728 , HB735 , HB747 , HB759 , HB825 , HB845 , HB846 , HB903 , HB904 , HB907 , HB923 , HB929 , HB941 , HB962 , HB965 , HB1036 , HB287 , HB370 , HB515 , HB521 , HB570 , HB1200 , HB29 , HB39 , HB58 , HB67 , HB73 , HB76 , HB77 , HB82 , HB112 , HB121 , HB125 , HB132 , HB134 , HB151 , HB154 , HB155 , HB161 , HB166 , HB187 , HB191 , HB207 , HB211 , HB224 , HB238 , HB241 , HB242 , HB250 , HB260 , HB265 , HB275 , HB300 , HB320 , HB338 , HB339 , HB349 , HB379 , HB399 , HB427 , HB463 , HB464 , HB468 , HB545 , HB550 , HB551 , HB565 , HB588 , HB639 , HB725 , HB782 , HB805 , HB808 , HB834 , HB847 , HB853 , HB858 , HB861 , HB883 , HB916 , HB937 , HB977 , HB1012 , HB1027 , HB1044 , HB1054 , HB1091 , HB1117 , HB90 , HB127 , HB138 , HB150 , HB201 , HB268 , HB273 , HB285 , HB315 , HB354 , HB355 , HB360 , HB376 , HB445 , HB506 , HB606 , HB649 , HB665 , HB681 , HB721 , HB746 , HB757 , HB781 , HB835 , HB844 , HB857 , HB872 , HB886 , HB889 , HB892 , HB982 , HB987 , HB1037 , HB1068 , HB1072 , HB1078 , HB1085 , HB1132 , HB1137 , HB1167 , HB1174 , HB1232 , HB1238 , HB23 , HB136 , HB17 , HB21 , HB51 , HB55 , HB74 , HB106 , HB108 , HB133 , HB140 , HB159 , HB168 , HB215 , HB226 , HB263 , HB296 , HB299 , HB322 , HB364 , HB519 , HB535 , HB538 , HB568 , HB571 , HB622 , HB635 , HB676 , HB772 , HB784 , HB1006 , HB1018 , HB1033 , HB1034 , HB1043 , HB1070 , HB1134 , HB1237 , HB1239 , HB36 , HB119 , HB126 , HB129 , HB245 , HB271 , HB280 , HB337 , HB351 , HB677 , HB726 , HB789 , HB850 , HB956 , HB966 , SB149 , SB382
Keywords:
fiscal notes, legislation, legislative auditor, state policy, conflict of interest, logging, recognition, John Keith, environment, safety, HB89, Act 615, district attorney, assistant district attorney, retiree health insurance, group health insurance, retirement benefits, public employee benefits, Third Judicial District, Thirtieth Judicial District
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
House - Chamber Meeting Jan 22nd, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- Happy Day 2, Legislative Day negative 7.
- For the new members, you'll find out real quick what Legislative Day is.
- I move we go to the next order of business: introduction of legislation.
- And then the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
- A memorial requesting the Legislative Education Study Committee to assemble an Education Data Governance
NH
Transcript Highlights:
- The subpoena power that's inherent in the legislative authority to gather information to help you legislate
- Thank you. that's inherent in the legislative that's inherent in the legislative authority<00:20:24.160
- </c><01:53:37.360><c> But</c> next request. But next request. But thank<01:53:39.199><c> you.
- And I to legislate on this bill.
- This applies to good legislation.
Committee:
Senate Judiciary
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
Legislative Finance Sub Committee Nov 18th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- We also have some balances from previous state appropriations. appropriations, and I'll get more to that
- funding in both special appropriations and a capital appropriation to support efforts in the Lower Rio
- And so, I mean, as a legislator in St. Louis, we're going to put $150 million.
- A settlement that has a legislative. Great, thank you very much, Senator Woods.
- Senator, was there any request? To be recurring? Vice Chair Terrell: Recurring, yes.
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion
Transcript Highlights:
- is legislation that is pending.
- SABLE's request for a partnership in legislative support.
- SABLE's request for a partnership and legislative support today: I'm not asking for sympathy.
- Legislative request. And stronger support. Legislative request: Endorse our task force.
- First, my final suggestion, as I'm not a legislator, is to create smart DEI legislation.
Summary:
The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion held an informational hearing on “Protecting Equity in Higher Education” and emphasized that no bills were being heard. Members and witnesses focused on the effects of recent federal actions on DEI, admissions, financial aid, student loans, international students, and campus equity efforts in Massachusetts. Opening remarks from the co-chairs and the chair of Higher Education highlighted Massachusetts’ investments in free community college, expanded financial aid, and early college programs, while warning that federal policy changes could undermine those gains.
Testimony from BU law professor Jonathan Feingold argued that many DEI practices remain legally defensible after Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, and that the decision did not end all race-conscious or equity-oriented efforts. He said the Trump administration’s anti-DEI actions and funding threats were legally suspect and had created confusion and a chilling effect. Bahar Akman-in-Boden of the Hildreth Institute testified that proposed federal cuts to TRIO, Gear Up, Pell Grants, SEOG, work-study, and student loan programs would disproportionately harm low-income, first-generation, Black, Latino, and other underserved students, and urged the state to prepare hold-harmless and advising supports using Fair Share revenue.
Commissioner Noe Ortega described Massachusetts’ long history of equity in higher education and said the state has expanded aid, success programs, and early college, but still has work to do on attainment and completion. He said the state responded to SFFA by creating ACARE and continuing to defend equity practices, while also warning that federal disruptions and “dear colleague” letters have created uncertainty. In the second panel, state university leaders and campus officials said federal threats to Pell, DEI grants, Medicaid, and international student policies could affect access, campus operations, and the economy; they stressed that most state university graduates stay in Massachusetts and that institutions are continuing their equity practices despite federal pressure. Roxbury Community College’s president said RCC remains committed to open access and inclusion, noted enrollment growth, and said executive orders do not change existing law or the college’s obligations.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Vets Committee Meeting - 2025-04-02
Veterans and Military Affairs Division
Transcript Highlights:
- , please know that this appropriation will go to those veterans who need it.
- Today, I stand before you to request your support and approval of H.F. 1845.
- This is more than just legislation; this is an act of justice.
- But anyway, I just wanted to say thank you so much for this important legislation.
- via this grant or legislative appropriation.
Committee:
House Veterans and Military Affairs Division
MS
Transcript Highlights:
- Little later in session, we hope to be back before you with some of the PERS-requested legislation.
- legislation.
- We we have three requested legislation.
- It's about current legislation, House Bill 2, other potential legislation.
- </c> know some of your requests and others. know some of your requests and others.
Committee:
Joint Finance