Transcript Highlights:

• And you have to build trust with your constituents, including your base.
• 00:14:29.199><c> uh,</c><00:14:29.360><c> including</c><00:14:29.760><c> your</c><00:14:30.000><c> base
• </c> constituents, uh, including your base. constituents, uh, including your base.
• Tonight we're going to the homecoming football game at Centennial, and it's going to be Senator Kunesh
• You're talking a big game. >> Rock, paper, scissors. >> I'll take that one.

Transcript Highlights:

• She said the experiences teach practical business and leadership skills that prepare students for future
• teach practical business<00:52:41.360><c> and</c><00:52:41.560><c> leadership</c><00:52:42.000><c> skills
• </c><00:52:42.320><c> that</c> business and leadership skills that business and leadership skills that
• Um, this helps with interviewing skills, opportunities to plan and participate in community service.
• Um, this helps with interviewing skills, opportunities to plan and participate in community service.

Summary: The Joint Agriculture Committee met in October with a quorum present and approved the September minutes. The main presentation focused on condemnation of agricultural land and eminent domain, featuring testimony from Stephanie Barnett of a family-run livestock and farming business in Todd County, with support from Kentucky Farm Bureau. Barnett described a state road project that would take about 29 feet of frontage and affect entrances, fencing, a sign, drainage, a water well, and parking, saying the process involved poor communication, correspondence sent to the wrong address, and limited opportunity to negotiate changes such as a turning lane or relocated entrances. She said the business was not opposed to progress, but wanted the property restored and fairly compensated for the full impact on the operation, not just the land value. Committee members broadly agreed that eminent domain is sometimes necessary but should be handled with more transparency, communication, and fairness. Several members said the issue affects both rural and urban property owners and raised concerns about fair market value, compensation for agricultural infrastructure improvements, long-term impacts on farm operations, and the cost and delay of litigation. One member asked about the firm involved and suggested hearing from the people responsible for the correspondence problems; Barnett said she would share names after negotiations conclude. Another member noted that the maps had already been drawn before the landowner was brought in and said local meetings and clearer public input could reduce conflict. Chairman Dossett said he was interested in pursuing legislation for the upcoming session focused on property owner protection, fair treatment, and fair compensation, not just for agricultural land but for all Kentucky property owners. Members discussed possible ideas such as requiring better notice, more public transparency, and accounting for related costs like wells, fencing, drainage, and access changes. No votes or formal actions were taken beyond the approval of minutes and the discussion of potential future legislation.

Transcript Highlights:

• ownership, $2 million into the greater Minnesota infrastructure grants, $2 million into community-based
• ownership, $2 million into the greater Minnesota infrastructure grants, $2 million into community-based
• </c><00:40:29.359><c> first-time</c> million into community-based first-time million into community-based
• /c><00:59:05.040><c> I'm</c><00:59:05.280><c> learning</c><00:59:05.520><c> it</c> I'm new at this game
• and I'm learning it I'm new at this game and I'm learning it and<00:59:06.160><c> I'm</c><00:59:06.480

Transcript Highlights:

• Game. Amendment has not been adopted.
• Game. Game. Game.
• </c> competency-based CTE kids as well. competency-based CTE kids as well.
• </c> taking a competency-based taking a competency-based CTE<03:01:11.960><c> program</c><03:01:12.560
• </c> looking at only distributing this based looking at only distributing this based on on on the<03:

Transcript Highlights:

• c> immediate</c><00:53:45.359><c> action,</c> This committee to take immediate action, fund school-based
• </c><01:24:18.639><c> on</c><01:24:18.960><c> real</c><01:24:19.360><c> or</c> denial of education based
• on real or denial of education based on real or perceived<01:24:20.400><c> status</c><01:24:20.800><
• <01:24:44.880><c> on</c><01:24:45.040><c> the</c><01:24:45.280><c> requirements</c> school grounds based
• , to learn history develop math skills, to learn history and<01:46:21.920><c> create</c><01:46:22.320

Committee: Senate Education Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Some of these condominium owners travel great distances from their home bases to join us in the White
• Um, based on the language, I would say no.
• Um based on the &gt;&gt; I am familiar with them.
• . game. game.
• </c> because they still have the base because they still have the base property<04:42:00.638><c> tax<

Committee: House Housing

Transcript Highlights:

• It is evidence-based and linked to each community through partnerships developed by the sheriffs.
• They did a shed-building program that was more hands-on than the computer-based one.
• It's concerning that we can't provide services like these over fear of financial constraints based on
• This is an evidence-based approach from a leading country in recidivism: the Norwegian model.
• I would say, too, just based on relative to kicking this out, I think, you know, whenever we make that

Summary: The special commission on consolidation and cooperation among public safety agencies held a hearing focused on correctional labor perspectives, with testimony from union representatives and correctional officers from state and county facilities. Chair Dan Hunt and Senator Brownsberger opened by noting the commission’s extensive site visits and prior testimony, and they recognized Correctional Officers Week. Witnesses emphasized that officers are central to any reform discussion and described the daily realities of staffing shortages, violence, mental health crises, substance use, and the need for better wellness support. Kevin Flanagan of the correctional officers’ union said officers face serious safety risks, citing weapons recovered, assaults, suicides, and the spread of synthetic drugs like K2 that are often introduced through paper soaked with chemicals. He urged stronger contraband controls, including paperless systems and technology to detect synthetic drugs, and criticized policies he said can be manipulated in gender-identity housing and search situations. He also argued that staffing shortages, forced overtime, and low morale are worsening retention, and that officers need more support after traumatic incidents, including fuller use of the OnSide Academy program. Other union representatives, including NCU and county officers, opposed consolidating sheriffs’ offices or merging them with the Department of Correction, warning it could weaken collective bargaining, reduce local accountability, and harm programming and reentry work. They argued that county facilities are distinct and should be funded and staffed based on local needs, not a one-size-fits-all model, and several speakers supported expanding vocational and reentry programming. Commissioners responded with support for officer wellness and asked for more information on EMS transports, medical interventions, and possible models from other jurisdictions, including Norway and Germany. At the end of the hearing, the commission discussed extending its reporting deadline beyond September 30, with members agreeing to seek an extension to November 30. The commission also agreed to continue site visits, including the upcoming Barnstable visit, and adjourned after adopting the motion to request the extension.

Transcript Highlights:

• As background, the Department of Ecology administers a cap-and-invest program, which is a market-based
• This allocation is based on both a historical and current measurement of their emissions, production
• to apply a carbon intensity for electricity used by an alternative jet fuel manufacturing facility based
• But they've already started to plan for capital and operating expenses based on the EITE trajectory.
• An exemption based purely on leakage was considered one of the justifications for free allocation and

Summary: The Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee heard three bills. SB 6246 would direct Ecology to develop recommendations for how no-cost allowances for emissions-intensive trade-exposed facilities (EITEs) should work from 2035 to 2050, and would require EITEs to submit facility-specific emissions data and periodic decarbonization plans as a condition of receiving allowances. Supporters said the bill preserves the Climate Commitment Act’s goals while giving the Legislature and Ecology better information to prevent emissions and job leakage and to plan for industrial decarbonization. Opponents argued the bill adds costly reporting and planning burdens, could threaten competitiveness, and in some cases could lead to allowance withholding; Ecology said it generally supports the approach but wants some streamlining and noted implementation costs are not in the governor’s budget. SB 5932 would provide certainty for sustainable aviation fuel development by changing how Ecology applies electricity carbon intensity in the Clean Fuels Program and by setting an earlier trigger for aviation fuel tax incentives. The sponsor and 12, a Moses Lake SAF developer, said the bill would give investors and producers needed certainty for expansion and help Washington remain competitive. Ecology and Climate Solutions opposed parts of the bill, saying it would weaken incentives for new renewable electricity generation, limit Ecology’s technical discretion, and reduce the Clean Fuels Program’s effectiveness, though Ecology said it supports decarbonizing aviation and is willing to work on the issue through rulemaking. Some testimony also supported the tax certainty portion while objecting to the Clean Fuels Program changes, and one witness asked for clarification on local participation in the incentive. SB 6172 would end remaining state tax and regulatory exemptions for the coal-fired TransAlta plant after its scheduled closure date. The sponsor said Washington should remove special treatment now that the state has phased out coal, while supporters said the bill reinforces the state’s clean energy transition and protects public health and climate goals. A few witnesses raised concerns about possible costs to utilities and ratepayers if the plant were ever required to run in an emergency, and asked for language to protect against that. The hearing concluded with the committee closing public testimony on all three bills; no votes were taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• I could decide that whichever one beats the other one at a game of cribbage is the one that's going to
• I don't need to have it based on anything, right?
• They don't have to base it on some other principle.
• We can privately agree to base it on whatever we want to.
• It saves the state money.” “...should have it based on making them out.

Committee: House Government Efficiency

Transcript Highlights:

• We don't have the ability to share our digital content based on our contracts.
• gap for reading for folks versus the audio, where you're engaging people in more of the lifelong skills
• more of the you're engaging people in more of the the<00:52:41.119><c> lifelong</c><00:52:41.680><c> skills
• </c><00:52:42.240><c> lifelong</c><00:52:43.040><c> um</c><00:52:43.280><c> need</c> the lifelong skills
• and lifelong um need the lifelong skills and lifelong um need because<00:52:44.160><c> you</c><00:52

Transcript Highlights:

• we also are related to Kikinawki, our Earth Mother, on which everything that Delaware has built is based
• sure to include mention of things like streaming... ...streaming, podcasts, animation, VR, and video games
• the improvements to the properties are actually captured, and that the assessments therefore can be based
• the improvements to those properties are actually captured and that the assessments therefore can be based

Bills: HB89 , HB328 , HB344 , HB365 , HB283 , HB89 , HB328 , HB344 , HB365 , HB283

Committee: Senate Elections & Government Affairs

Summary: The Senate Elections and Government Affairs Committee met in hybrid format, approved the June 10 draft minutes, and then heard a long agenda of bills. HB 89 (home improvement fraud dispute resolution) was presented as a consumer protection measure developed with DOJ to address contractor fraud, especially against vulnerable homeowners; members voiced support and asked to be added as sponsors. HB 283 updated realty transfer tax exemptions to use gender-neutral “spouses” language and add a direct grandparent-to-grandchild transfer exemption; it drew supportive public comment. HS1 for HB 390 would let DelDOT choose electronic-only bidding for projects, remove newspaper bid-opening notices, and clarify bidding records, with no opposition raised. HB 328/H.A. 2 modernizes the Register of Regulations statute, keeps newspaper distribution requirements, and delays some effective dates to 2027; it was described as a technical update. HB 365 would create the Delaware Indigenous Affairs Commission, prompting supportive testimony from Indigenous community members and some discussion about representation and internal tribal اختلافs, but no formal opposition. HB 423 would automatically enroll new state employees in the 457B deferred compensation plan unless they opt out, with exclusions for collective bargaining units and implementation tied to payroll readiness; it was presented as a retirement-savings measure. SS1 for SB 342 would modernize the Delaware Motion Picture and Television Development Commission to support a broader film/media incentive package, with support from the Delaware Arts Alliance and a request to help attract productions to Delaware. The committee also heard SB 331, a cleanup bill on garagekeeper liens for manufactured housing and related assets. The sponsor and an attorney explained it as clarifying who can recover funds and attorney’s fees in lien sales, but the Chief Magistrate and the manufactured housing association said the issue should be addressed more carefully and possibly in another section of code; they were open to further work. HB 436 would update the Smyrna charter, including school impact fees, election challenge procedures, vacancy rules, domicile standards, Board of Elections terms, and meeting schedules. HS1 for HB 376 made technical and organizational changes to the Millville charter, including a tiebreaker for municipal elections and a property tax cap, with the town solicitor saying there was little substantive change. HB 460 would require New Castle County municipalities to submit permit data monthly rather than on a much slower schedule, limited to closed permits with certificates of occupancy, to improve property assessment data; it was presented as part of broader reassessment/data-quality efforts. Public comment was heard on several items, especially HB 365 and SS1 for SB 342. Indigenous speakers supported the commission as a way to preserve heritage, improve representation, and create a formal seat at the table. The Delaware Arts Alliance supported the film commission modernization bill as part of a broader creative-economy plan. No recorded votes were taken on the individual bills in the transcript, and the meeting ended with a unanimous motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill would increase annual salary schedules in the code for the base pay for state police troopers
• that limits the market pay enhancement to 20% of the average teacher's basic or state policeman's base
• It's 1% that will come from the calculation of the market pay enhancement, which is based on salaries
• Anything we can do, especially this late in the game, to bring more careers to town, I can see it firsthand

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee met with a quorum present and first approved the minutes from the prior meeting. It then reconsidered Committee Substitute for House Bill 5212, noting that an Education Committee amendment had been inadvertently omitted the day before; the vice chairman withdrew the prior motion to report the bill, and the committee returned to the bill with the technical Education Committee amendments pending. The transcript then moved through a long agenda of bills and supplemental appropriations, with the committee generally hearing brief explanations from counsel, occasional member questions, and then voting to adopt amendments and report measures to the full Senate. Among the substantive policy bills, the committee advanced House Bill 4007 on the Industrial Access Road Fund, allowing an additional possible $3 million transfer in a fiscal year, expanding eligible uses, and increasing county/municipal spending limits; House Bill 4765, which raises salaries for state police, teachers, and school service personnel and, via a strike-and-insert amendment, creates a market pay enhancement tied to county and regional income data; House Bill 5162, recodifying tax lien sale procedures and clarifying ownership and government-property tax treatment; House Bill 5382, extending the Neighborhood Investment Tax Credit Program to July 1, 2031; House Bill 5685, authorizing up to $150 million in revenue bonds backed by excess lottery funds for State Culture Center improvements; House Joint Resolution 42, placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot to raise the homestead exemption from $20,000 to $40,000; House Bill 4010, creating an airport hangar grant program and fund; House Bill 4404, increasing from $500 to $5,000 the amount volunteer fire departments may spend on training and fire prevention materials; House Bill 4592, requiring standardized campus safety mapping data for higher education institutions; House Bill 4784, extending and making retroactive a qualified opportunity zone business tax modification; and House Bill 5088, increasing retirement benefits for Division of Natural Resources police officers, with a one-time $4.25 million cash injection. The committee also reported several supplemental appropriations and originating bills, including Senate Bill 842 for the Spay Neuter Assistance Fund, Senate Bill 846 for Culture and History capital repairs, Senate Bill 872 for Natural Resources capital repairs (reduced to $10 million in committee substitute), Senate Bill 876 for Department of Health facilities, Senate Originating Bills 1 through 5 covering Culture and History, road funds, corrections IT and services, tobacco education, and the Adjutant General’s armory board transfer, respectively. Most items were adopted by voice vote; House Bill 4765’s strike-and-insert amendment was adopted after a division vote of 10-6. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill would increase annual salary schedules in the code for the base pay for state police troopers
• or state policeman's salary for that. ...to 20% of the average teacher's basic or state policeman's base
• Chair: It's 1% that would come from the calculation of the market pay enhancement, which is based on
• Anything we can do, especially this late in the game, to bring more careers to town.

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• So we're just extrapolating that out into the future and saying that based on history, this is kind of
• know, House Bill 40, House Bill 93, and a few of the other ones were, so we reduced those numbers based
• And so uncertainty is the name of the game that we're dealing with here.
• Based on the trend we've had on expenses, we are not able to... ...where we've had on expenses, we are

Committee: Senate Local Government and Taxation

Transcript Highlights:

• They have no assets in this game.
• And we were on second base on time. And we were on second base on getting this done.
• It looks like we ought to have eight out of nine based on these figures.

Bills: SB330

Committee: Senate County and Municipal Government

Keywords: water management, regional boards, municipal governance, ethics compliance, public utility

Transcript Highlights:

• WE MET WITH EVERY SINGLE COUNTY IN THE FOLLOWING DAYS AFTER THIS DISASTER AND GAVE THEM A GAME CHART
• YOU HAVE INVESTED IN US THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE MONEY FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE IN OUR DIVISION BASED
• THEN WE EVALUATE IT AND WE ASSIGN A RISK SCORE AND THEN WE OBLIGATE FUNDS TO THE CITY AND COUNTY BASED
• IT IS A THREE YEAR COST REIMBURSEMENT AND VARIES BASED ON THE PROJECT TYPE.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're now looking at the base increase rates because, again, the one thing that we're not trying to do
• It's a baseball game, it's a football game.
• In August of 2025, this month, a survey showed that she assumed, based on her gender expression, that
• acknowledges... ...is that there are some extremely violent and heinous crimes that require a force-based
• Peer-review committees for incident-based dispute resolution.

Bills: SB2 , SB3 , SB5 , SB9 , SB10 , SB14 , SB16 , SB18 , SB34 , SB6 , SB7 , SB8 , SB11 , SB12 , SB13 , SB15 , SB 2 , SB 3 , SB 5 , SB 9 , SB 10 , SB 14 , SB 16 , SB 18 , SB 34 , SB 6 , SB 7 , SB 8 , SB 11 , SB 12 , SB 13 , SB 15 , SB 17 , SB 4 , SB1 , SB2 , SB3 , SB5 , SB9 , SB10 , SB14 , SB16 , SB18 , SB34 , SB6 , SB7 , SB8 , SB11 , SB12 , SB13 , SB15 , SB17 , SB4

Transcript Highlights:

• I have a financial education game company, so it has nothing to do with the environment.
• The implementation would be based upon the respective regulatory agencies, whether it's the PUC or the
• You said they didn't, based on the bill that was passed.
• It appears, based on the invited testimony, that it is EMP focused. Am I wrong about that?
• War games, tabletop exercises, or simulations.

Bills: SB75 , SB715 , SB776 , SB1299 , SB1405 , SB1968 , SB2021 , SB2077 , SB2148 , SB2321 , SB2330 , SB2411

Committee: Senate Business & Commerce

Transcript Highlights:

• I think that based on the &gt;&gt; Okay.
• </c> our investigation, it it it it um based our investigation, it it it it um based on<02:15:33.920>
• I that bill based on what I've heard.
• Watching Olivia play game at her school.
• After her te-ball game, we went to her.

Committee: House Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• Funds were also case-based learning.
• </c><00:20:20.240><c> on</c> subsequent funding period and based on subsequent funding period and based
• </c> center, building rural obstetric skills center, building rural obstetric skills through<00:24:25.520
• And we were cognizant that in some cases we'd have to measure based on process, as outcome-based data
• </c> leaves another 30 or so urban-based leaves another 30 or so urban-based community<01:09:44.400><

Summary: The Select Subcommittee first took up adoption of three previously prepared nonpartisan committee summary reports dated October 15, November 13, and November 21. Senator Rasmusson objected to the lack of advance notice about the day’s testifiers and criticized the practice of having nonpartisan staff summarize what he described as a partisan agenda. The chair responded that the committee’s purpose is to gather information, not hear bills, and that the summaries were intended as neutral resources for the Senate. Senator Coopek moved adoption, the motion was opposed by Rasmusson and another member, and the motion passed. The committee then turned to the day’s hearing on federal impacts on Minnesota, with the chair focusing on federal funding threats and the effect of congressional budget actions on health care, especially in greater Minnesota. The first presentation came from the Minnesota Department of Health on the state’s rural health transformation work. Assistant Commissioner Carol Broom introduced the team and described the rural hospital transformation program as a major opportunity to invest in rural health, while acknowledging longstanding challenges such as demographics, transportation barriers, and the financing of care. Nitha Moibi outlined the state’s rural health chart book and data showing an aging population, workforce shortages, and many health professional shortage areas, and described proposed strategies including workforce pipelines, bridge payments for low-volume birth hospitals, telehealth access points, mental health urgent care, and chronic disease prevention. Acting Assistant Commissioner Anna Ashby of the Minnesota Management and Budget office explained the state’s application to CMS for the Rural Health Transformation Program, which was created in federal law and awarded Minnesota just over $193 million for federal fiscal year 2026. She said the application was shaped by public comments, stakeholder meetings, and legislative outreach, and included initiatives on preventive care, workforce, care access, behavioral health, and provider financial stability. She also reviewed implementation constraints, including a January 30 revised budget deadline, limits on administrative spending, restrictions on using funds to offset Medicaid losses, and the need to show measurable progress to remain eligible for future funding. The presentation noted that most year-one funding would go to rural hospitals, with additional support for federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, tribal partners, and technical assistance.