Transcript Highlights:

• Banking Law in relation to prohibiting state-chartered banking institutions from investing in and providing
• Senator Gennaris, an act to amend the Banking Law in relation to requiring transmitters of money to provide
• I had many questions. ...that also financial institutions were providing there.
• So I'm very focused on the balance because insurance in particular, we see that, you know, providers
• So we're providing significant, I would say, technical assistance directly to the OCC through an MOU

Committee: Senate Banks

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Banking Committee met for its first meeting of the session, with Chair James Sanders Jr. and Ranking Member George Borrello opening the hearing and noting a collaborative approach to committee work. The committee first considered and advanced several bills: S.114, which would prohibit state-chartered banks from investing in or financing private prisons; S.2040, which would require money transmitters to provide a consumer warning; S.5473, which would require disclosures in advertisements involving virtual tokens; and S.8406, Sanders’ bill to amend the community bank deposit program. Each bill was moved and approved by committee, with S.8406 passing unanimously. The committee then heard from Caitlin Azar, Acting Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), who outlined her background and DFS priorities. She emphasized affordability, consumer protection, stability, and innovation, and discussed DFS-led initiatives in the governor’s budget, including Banking Development Districts, non-bank mortgage CRA regulations, CDFI investment guidance, and consumer restitution. She also said DFS plans to issue buy-now-pay-later regulations in February, expand student lending protections and borrower education, and continue work on insurance affordability, including auto and homeowners insurance reforms, anti-fraud efforts, and discounts tied to telematics, dash cameras, and safe-driving courses. Members questioned Azar about the balance between regulation and access, especially in crypto, buy-now-pay-later, and insurance markets. She said DFS aims to preserve competition while preventing discriminatory or excessive practices, and described existing oversight of virtual currency, including coordination with federal regulators. Another member asked about AI in auto insurance underwriting and pricing; Azar said DFS requires transparency, bias review, governance controls, and consumer recourse, and that credit scores cannot be used to deny or increase rates. The chair also raised concerns about foreclosure in Southeast Queens, improving BDD paperwork and data collection, and increasing the number of state-chartered credit unions. Azar said DFS is working on process improvements, community input, and maintaining open communication with the committee, but no additional votes or formal actions were taken during the DFS hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• So in a way, we felt we were giving state providers, people following these, a little more flexibility
• I'm going to provide a short roadmap about the next three rule dockets.
• It also introduces licensing requirements for adult residential care providers.
• Each of these three provider types offers comparable services to individuals with disabilities.
• As also mentioned, providers often provide many types of services that are governed differently depending

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It basically provides veterans a different course in the criminal justice system, and so we're looking
• ... ...and provides guidance for any court that wants to adopt that at the circuit level.
• It provides schools the opportunity to apply for military-friendly status.
• This bill ensures that schools provide space for enlistment ceremony meetings.
• These are pieces from the original World War II deck that the commission kindly provided to us.

Committee: House Veterans and Military Affairs

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> local firm here advised us provided local firm here advised us provided advice<00:04:18.280><c>
• </c> and provided and provided funding<00:20:02.600><c> for</c><00:20:02.720><c> future</c><00:20:03.040
• </c><00:37:59.920><c> treats</c><00:38:00.200><c> the</c> provides actual reform and treats the provides
• So, it provides a break on inflation, it provides local control, and it's a significant change to what
• So, it provides a break on inflation, it provides local control, and it's a significant change to what

Keywords: 916, all

Summary: The Joint Revenue committee met with a quorum and heard a series of interim topic proposals focused on tax policy. Representative Brown raised two ideas: reinstating an exemption reporting requirement for corporations and entities receiving tax exemptions, with loss of the exemption for the current and prior year if they fail to report, and revising property tax treatment for wind turbines and related infrastructure by shifting the taxed footprint from agricultural to industrial classification. Senator Case and others then discussed energy taxation more broadly, including a possible generation tax for electricity, how to handle large data-center electricity loads, and whether sales tax revenue from very large electrical loads should be shared statewide rather than concentrated locally. The committee referenced prior bills and studies, including House Bill 300 and Senate File 76, and discussed using a mechanism that would keep local electricity bills net neutral while redirecting revenue distribution. The committee also took up problematic gaming and program funding. Senator Case described personal experiences with gambling addiction and the lack of available resources, while the presenter said the topic had been requested in multiple committees and that the biggest concern from House Bill 171 was protecting county and municipal funding. Members discussed whether the issue belonged in Revenue, Health, Labor, or Transportation, and several suggested it should stay with the standing committee handling gaming. Ideas raised included using gaming-related revenue for prevention and treatment, fully funding the 988 lifeline, and creating a broader trust fund for addiction-related services and law enforcement. The committee appeared to agree to continue the topic for educational purposes and to examine taxation of HHR and other gambling activity. Senator Case then proposed a severance tax on wind energy, arguing that wind development creates permanent landscape impacts and that the state should be compensated similarly to coal, oil, and gas extraction. Curt Meier, the state treasurer, supported reviewing lease agreements and said Wyoming should get more from wind resources, noting the state’s unique wind potential and the loss of viewshed. Finally, the committee heard a proposal to reform property tax relief by extending it to motor vehicle registration. Former Revenue director Dan Noble argued that vehicle taxes should be treated like other property taxes, using fair market value, depreciation, the residential assessment ratio, and local mill levies, which he said could provide broad relief but would be expensive, with an estimated fiscal impact of about $120 million. Representative Chestek followed with a related reform proposal based on Pennsylvania’s base-year assessment model, arguing that Wyoming’s current statewide relief measures treat symptoms rather than the underlying problem of rapidly rising local valuations.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill will direct ACHA to seek a federal waiver to provide home and community-based services for
• who provide or administer ivermectin according to their applicable standard of care.
• They want to provide for their families. They want to keep food on their tables.
• They want to provide for their families. They want to keep food on their tables.
• You were always there providing advice. And I appreciate that so much.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opening prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, and several introductions and recognitions, including a resolution honoring Bob Graham and a moment of silence for firefighter Roger Timmy Miley. The chamber then moved through a special-order calendar with multiple bills, many of them paired with House companions and amended before final passage. Early action included adoption of a tax conformity bill tied to federal changes in the Internal Revenue Code, with a 34-0 vote. The most extensive debate centered on CS/CS/SB 1758, a Medicaid and SNAP reform bill. The sponsor described provisions to strengthen fraud enforcement, impose work requirements for able-bodied adults, expand behavioral health services through a waiver, modernize Medicaid drug purchasing, and require a SNAP fraud-reduction plan and photo ID on EBT cards. Democrats offered amendments to delay work requirements until Medicaid expansion and to add protections for SNAP users such as caregivers, seniors, disabled individuals, and domestic violence survivors; both amendments failed. Senators also questioned implementation details, exemptions, and potential effects on vulnerable populations. After debate, the bill was placed on the calendar for third reading. The Senate also passed bills on technology education and AI instruction, a public records exemption and related Parkinson’s Disease Registry measures, designation of the SS American Victory as the state flagship, electronic payments for local governments, repeal of the sunset on legal tender recognition for gold and silver, public records protections for financial and digital-asset custodians, a Florida stablecoin pilot program, local government budget transparency, digital voyeurism, insurance customer representative licensing, and a medical freedom bill with amendments on vaccine-related materials and anti-kickback provisions. Most of these measures passed with little or no opposition, though the public records bill for gold/silver custodians and the legal tender repeal drew a few dissenting votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our 2025 NRAP report was provided to the committee. So you have that.
• Our 2025 NRAP report was provided to the committee. So you have that.
• </c><00:28:18.000><c> Um,</c> provide for flood risk reduction.
• Um, provide for flood risk reduction.
• </c><01:02:17.200><c> some</c> credit ratings, always provide some credit ratings, always provide some

Committee: Senate Capital Investment

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so part of the initiative was taking these people and providing them with job skills, providing them
• And so part of the initiative was taking these people and providing them with job skills, providing them
• So they've now got a hardship and not able to provide it.
• So they've now got a hardship and not able to provide it.
• The bill provides no procedural protections.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today in support of Senate File 473.
• </c> state constitution would provide state constitution would provide sturdier<00:21:30.480><c> protection
• We are allowing for the healthcare providers and the parents.
• :17.640><c> the</c><01:41:17.760><c> judiciary</c> uh provides guidance for the judiciary uh provides
• ><01:49:44.720><c> and</c> provide the certainty, stability, and provide the certainty, stability, and

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill provides funding so that they can get the answers they need.
• So providing this to... ...occur, bars, clubs, and other high-risk settings.
• I'm not all throughout Texas in terms of providing reserve peace officers.
• We don't have enough full-time officers to provide the service.
• He was a sole provider.

Committee: House Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several public safety, criminal justice, and regulatory bills. HB 4995 would create a training and certification program allowing licensed physicians and certain EMS personnel assigned to tactical units to carry firearms during high-risk deployments, with supporters saying it would let tactical medical staff protect themselves while providing immediate care; the bill was left pending. HB 2609 would repeal the failure-to-appear-or-pay/OmniBase license-hold program, with the author and advocates arguing it creates compounding debt and unnecessary barriers to driving, while judges and municipal court representatives said the program is a voluntary, cost-effective tool that improves court appearances and reduces warrants; the bill was also left pending. HB 4879 would create a grant program to help local law enforcement pay for lab testing of suspected hemp/Delta-9 THC substances, and HB 5436 would let licensed auto recyclers buy certain untitled vehicles for scrap or parts to curb illegal sales, VIN cloning, and chop shops; both measures were left pending after brief testimony in support. The committee also heard HB 1777, which would require a discrete designation on driver’s licenses and state IDs for people required to register as sex offenders. The author and supporters argued the marker would help law enforcement and businesses quickly identify potentially dangerous offenders and prevent harm, while opponents called it a stigmatizing “scarlet letter” that would increase harassment, family harm, and reintegration barriers. The bill was left pending. HB 4155 would create a two-year Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force in the Governor’s Office to study family violence homicides, gather stakeholders, and recommend policy changes; the author, HHSC, the Texas Council on Family Violence, and a survivor testified in support, and the bill was left pending. The committee also heard HB 4514, which would authorize DPS to use facial image verification, with consent and privacy safeguards, to help businesses confirm identities and combat fraud; supporters from the lumber and identity-verification industries said it would reduce theft and fraud, and the bill was left pending. Finally, HB 5139 would clarify that peace officers and jailers are justified in using less lethal force weapons when acting within training and official duties; law enforcement groups supported the measure as a way to encourage use of less lethal tools without fear of prosecution, and testimony was underway when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for this opportunity to come brief or provide this informational briefing and provide the Department's
• </c> lead agency and the Air Force provides lead agency and the Air Force provides just<00:25:10.159>
• </c><00:25:33.039><c> Pilots</c> associate unit that provides Pilots associate unit that provides Pilots
• </c><00:25:56.960><c> that</c> the medical capability to provide that the medical capability to provide
• </c> out on a tour and see what that provides out on a tour and see what that provides for<00:34:20.040

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Finance held informational briefings first with the Department of Defense on its FY 2026 budget request, then with the Hawaii School Facilities Authority. Major General Steve Logan outlined the Department of Defense request for $40.5 million in state funds, which he said would leverage about $74 million in federal matching funds and support 411 open projects that could attract up to $2.3 billion in additional federal grant money. He said the budget focuses on sustainment, safety, and reorganization in light of lessons from the Maui wildfires. Key requests included $1.3 million to sustain IT systems, $2.7 million for 32 HEMA emergency management positions, three new Hawaii Army National Guard positions plus four upgrades, and $1.9 million for the Youth Challenge Program to cover state-mandated fringe costs and staffing needs. He also reviewed capital improvement projects, including Youth Challenge facility upgrades, siren modernization, ADA improvements, building retrofits for disaster resilience, Army facility upgrades, a third state veterans home on Maui, HEMA EOC improvements, and a maintenance/fuel building at Diamond Head. Members asked about the siren modernization timeline, and HEMA said roughly 26 to 31 sirens would be modernized this year, with 15 on Maui, eight on Oahu, and eight on the Big Island. Questions also focused on Youth Challenge and Job Challenge enrollment and vacancies, with the department saying the Hilo Job Challenge Academy is growing and that combining Youth Challenge recruiting statewide into one Kilauea program has helped enrollment. Logan also answered questions about the New Year’s Eve medical transport mission, explaining the Hawaii Air National Guard’s relationship with active-duty Air Force assets and saying the flight cost is about $20,000 per flight hour, though the final bill had not yet been determined. On the Maui veterans home, staff said the University of Hawaii site was no longer viable after faculty senate opposition, so the department is now focused on a 10-acre Puna District site; the project remains tied to a certified $35 million state match and August 2025 and August 2026 federal suspense dates. Logan said the veterans home remains one of the department’s highest priorities, but it could not be moved higher in the submitted CIP ranking. The department also discussed a Governor’s add-on for a fire marshal/Office of Recovery and Resiliency proposal. Logan said the fire marshal position was reestablished last session but has not yet been filled, and that if the function is transferred to the Department of Defense, the department wants funding ready to move quickly. Staff later said the request would include about $1.1 million for seven positions and about $2.2 million for operating costs, though details were still preliminary. The committee then reconvened for the School Facilities Authority briefing, where Executive Director Ricky Fujitani described the agency as a startup created in 2020 to improve school and workforce housing development through standardized designs, prefabrication, best-value procurement, and public-private partnerships. He said Hawaii’s single school district still functions like 15 different districts because of its 264 schools across 15 complex areas, and that the authority’s goal is to create more efficient, maintainable, and cost-effective facilities.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> and recognize those costs, provide and recognize those costs, provide targeted<00:19:13.520><c>
• ><c> for</c><00:20:02.200><c> some</c> Uh subdivision one provides for some Uh subdivision one provides
• ><c> for</c> Uh subdivision two provides for Uh subdivision two provides for certification<00:20:24.080
• </c> um provides for proportional um provides for proportional distribution distribution distribution
• SF 5038 would provide the City of Minneapolis with the necessary resources to continue providing our

Committee: Senate Taxes

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:07.520><c> bad</c> competition they would provide bad competition they would provide bad service
• </c><00:13:53.120><c> adequate</c> obligation is to provide adequate obligation is to provide adequate
• </c> and a cheaper way of providing and a cheaper way of providing electricity<00:15:24.240><c> to</c
• <00:34:22.080><c> critical</c> provide critical provide critical Sorry,<00:34:23.720><c> to</c><00:34
• :23.840><c> provide</c><00:34:24.320><c> credible</c><00:34:24.800><c> purposes</c> Sorry, to provide

Committee: Senate Natural Resources & Energy

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:38 SB 213 Discussion 00:01:23 SB 213 Roll Call Vote 00:20:45 SB 8 Discussion 00:26:23 SB 8 Roll Call Vote 00:58:16, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Now, this isn't grant funding for individual home providers.
• The bill would provide... ...in support of HB 2620.
• And then we provided Provided all of the tools for them. They checked them out and they went in.
• And then we provided the teachers, or our electricians.
• We provided five of them three times a week that was there.

Committee: House House Government Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee heard a series of bills and resolutions, many of them on property, local government, and memorial topics. HB 2079, authorizing a memorial for journalist Don Bolles at Wesley Bolin Plaza, passed unanimously after sponsor testimony about the 50th anniversary of his assassination and the memorial’s no-cost nature. HB 2080, as amended, advanced 7-0 on deed and title fraud prevention measures, including photo ID requirements, notarization and deed-filing safeguards, an assessor alert program, and a felony penalty for knowingly submitting false or forged real-property claims. HB 464, which moves the petition process for municipal improvement districts earlier in the process, passed 5-2 after testimony from Camp Verde, the Yavapai Apache Nation, developers, and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns; opponents argued it could force property owners into infrastructure they do not want, while supporters said it improves transparency and financing certainty. HB 2048, a proposed constitutional referral to withhold pay from state elected officials if the budget is not enacted by April 30, passed 4-3, with supporters saying it would create accountability and opponents saying broader process reforms are needed first. The committee also heard HB 2324, which would allow municipalities with their own fire codes to petition for county-owned buildings inside city limits to be exempt from separate state fire code inspections when conditions are met. County and state fire officials supported the concept, saying it would resolve conflicting statutes and formalize intergovernmental agreements, and the bill passed 7-0. HB 4087, authorizing a memorial plaque for former legislator Barbara Leff, also passed unanimously, with the sponsor noting her service in both chambers and her work on veterans and health care issues. HB 2239, creating a child care grant program and infrastructure fund for underserved and low-income communities, drew extensive testimony from rural parents, child care advocates, and early childhood experts describing child care deserts, workforce losses, and safety concerns with unregulated care. Supporters said the bill would fund the facilities and infrastructure needed to expand regulated child care, especially in rural Arizona; the committee approved it 5-1 with one member present and one not voting. Members also discussed HB 2375, a historic-preservation-related middle housing bill, but the transcript cuts off before final action is shown; testimony reflected a sharp divide between preservation advocates supporting exemptions for historic districts and housing advocates warning the bill could worsen exclusion and housing shortages.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chief Judge Patricia Millan: Well, Madam Chair, I am here today and thrilled to be here to provide a
• a history overview and here to provide a history overview and if<00:01:34.119><c> asked</c> if asked
• We are also providing, within the form required by them, for appeals under an e-Track system.
• </c> cases our training the agencies provided cases our training the agencies provided in<00:36:59.280
• </c><00:47:27.240><c> the</c> private sector and pel provides the private sector and pel provides the

Committee: Senate Labor

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> use and small-scale housing providers. use and small-scale housing providers.
• ,</c> restaurants, shops, service providers, restaurants, shops, service providers, and<01:36:01.760>
• </c> bulk salt providers in the in the state. bulk salt providers in the in the state.
• I would provide don't have those.
• </c><04:54:58.878><c> con</c><04:54:59.280><c> a</c> providers that are providing a con a providers that

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 1596, which would raise New Hampshire’s cigarette excise tax from $1.78 per pack to about $2.80, using an inflation-based adjustment since the rate was last set in 2008. Representative Jerry Stringham, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure would keep New Hampshire competitive with neighboring states, generate revenue, and help offset other budget pressures. He also described the bill as repealing an income-based premium charge in Medicaid/CHIP-related programs and restoring cuts to the University System of New Hampshire, arguing that the combined package would still leave the state in a positive fiscal position. He said the tobacco tax increase would likely have some cessation effect but would remain low relative to other New England states, and he cited prior testimony from health groups supporting a larger increase. Members questioned the sponsor about how the new rate was calculated, the prior tobacco tax reduction and restoration, whether tobacco companies would absorb or pass on the tax, and the fiscal note’s estimates for Medicaid premium revenue and UNH funding. Stringham said he used Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation data, that the earlier 10-cent reduction did not produce the expected sales increase, and that the current bill would eliminate the premium charges now in the budget. He later clarified that the Department of Medicaid Services had updated the revenue estimate, but said the bill still showed a surplus overall. He also said the federal government already imposes a $1-per-pack tax and that New Hampshire would remain below neighboring states even after the increase. Two public witnesses testified in opposition to the tax increase. Anna Bettincourt, a tobacco category manager, argued that higher tobacco taxes would unfairly target smokers, reduce New Hampshire’s tax advantage, and likely shift purchases to other states or illicit markets rather than reduce use. She said tobacco companies generally do not lower prices and that Massachusetts’ flavor restrictions had not eliminated sales. In response to questions, she maintained that a smaller increase would still be harmful and that enforcement problems make bans ineffective. The sponsor and some members countered that smokers impose higher health costs and that tobacco taxes are a policy tool for both revenue and public health. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• may be provided by applicable executive and legislative agencies.
• That creates a mandatory level of rate that the state has to provide for.
• to provide some perspective.
• I think we can debrief what we might be able to provide.
• I think we can debrief what we might be able to provide.

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative-Executive Committee on Budget Transparency and Fiscal Sustainability

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions is charged with providing a report to the legislature
• Thank you for having me today to provide some remarks. Good afternoon.
• Thank you for having me today to provide some remarks. I apologize for the lack of green.
• Policies like this disproportionately affect those smaller housing providers.
• Policies like this disproportionately affect those smaller housing providers.

Bills: H5008

Committee: Joint Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions

Keywords: rent control, housing stability, tenants rights, affordability crisis, consumer protection, 1212, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The department only has one budget unit with five programs, so the right portion of the slide provides
• This next slide provides every line item in the total of the charges category for $24.8 million.
• And so I think that, you know, by helping, providing— By helping, providing training and support and
• Are most of these against providers or recipients? The cases?
• They are prohibited from being a Medicaid provider.

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um just testimony providing comments.
• </c> on our written testimony providing on our written testimony providing comments.<00:06:50.639><c>
• </c><00:19:22.880><c> even</c> success and we can provide even success and we can provide even additional
• </c><00:26:32.880><c> comments</c> our written testimony providing comments our written testimony providing
• Uh we do testimony providing comments.

Bills: SB2699

Committee: Senate Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs

Keywords: fare-free transit, youth transportation, environmental tax, transit equity, public transit, Hawaii, 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee reconvened and first addressed SB 2699 on public transit/free transportation for young people. Members noted that the Committee on Transportation had already deferred the measure, and this committee said it would defer it as well before adjourning that brief reconvened session. The hearing then moved to SB 2373, which would establish a state goal to strengthen nature-based carbon emissions reduction solutions and authorize the Hawaii State Energy Office to develop methods to quantify carbon reductions from marine ecosystem restoration. The Energy Office said marine carbon sequestration was outside its expertise and asked to be removed from that portion of the bill, while DLNR and OPSD offered comments and said the work fit better with their areas, with DLNR saying it could take it on if properly resourced. Testimony included support from environmental groups, and committee discussion focused on which agency should lead and whether existing methodologies could be used. Next was SB 21001 on organic waste reduction and diversion. The Department of Health supported the intent but raised implementation concerns. Hawaii Farmers Union strongly supported the bill, arguing it would help build compost supply, improve soil health, and give counties time to develop infrastructure; they cited Vermont as a model and said the bill could extend landfill life and reduce methane. Members asked about the Vermont approach and the need for infrastructure before household-level diversion. The committee also heard SB 2905, which would increase the environmental response, energy, and food security tax and direct more revenue to the electric vehicle charging system subaccount. The Energy Office, PUC, and Tax Department offered comments; youth and clean transportation advocates strongly supported the bill as a way to expand charging access and meet EV adoption goals. A member questioned whether the proposed increase would outpace the state’s ability to deploy chargers, and PUC staff said the current annual appropriation is about $750,000 and that they could provide more data on an appropriate funding level. Additional measures were briefly taken up: SB 3231 on condominium maps and county zoning certification in A districts drew support from the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity and the Hawaii Farm Bureau; SB 2486 on climate change drew comments from the Energy Office, Climate Commission, and OPSD, who said it duplicated existing climate planning and should include adaptation language; and SB 2376 on the renewable fuels production tax credit drew support from industry and agricultural groups, while the Energy Office and Tax Department raised concerns about the rollover provision and the scale of the credit. No final votes were recorded in the excerpt beyond the earlier deferral of SB 2699.

Transcript Highlights:

• Up first, we have the Department of the Attorney General providing comments.
• Up first, we have the Attorney General's office providing comments.
• </c> Attorney General's office um providing Attorney General's office um providing comments.
• Sometimes we that our state provides.
• </c><00:40:09.920><c> for</c> state and our libraries provide for state and our libraries provide for

Bills: HB2437 , HB2461 , HB2604 , HB2605 , HB1860 , HB2001

Committee: House Culture & Arts

Keywords: arts education, student engagement, cultural literacy, public schools, funding, public art, cultural preservation, community identity, art management, performing arts, ticket surcharge, arts funding, education, community support, therapeutic arts, neurodiverse, autism, attention-deficit disorder, underserved communities, mental health

Summary: The Committee on Culture and the Arts heard several measures focused on arts funding, public art, performing arts, and libraries. HB 2437 would appropriate funds for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts’ Artists in the Schools program; the Foundation testified in strong support, explaining that demand has increased and that additional funding would allow more schools to be served. HB 2461 would raise the ceiling for the works of art special fund and provide money for maintenance and a collections manager position; the Foundation supported it and described major conservation needs, including large-scale repairs to public artworks such as the Tadashi Sato work in Hilo and the King Kamehameha statue, as well as ongoing bronze maintenance and new commissions affected by rising materials costs. HB 2604 would create a performing arts ticket surcharge; the Attorney General and Department of Taxation raised drafting and administration concerns, while the State Foundation supported the concept. HB 2605 would create a position to coordinate specialized arts programs and therapeutic arts interventions for underserved neurodivergent populations, and the Foundation supported that measure as well. HB 1860 would designate the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra as the state symphony orchestra and require annual reports; the Attorney General suggested clarifying the public purpose, and the Symphony, youth symphony, and many community supporters testified in favor, emphasizing educational, cultural, and civic benefits. HB 20001 would designate the first Friday in February as Love My Library Day; the State Public Library System, Friends of the Library, and individual testifiers strongly supported it, describing libraries as essential community and educational resources. After hearing testimony, the committee took action on several bills. HB 2437 was recommended for passage with amendments in HD1, with the appropriation blanked out and the additional needed funding to be noted for Finance consideration; the vote was unanimous among members present. HB 2604 was also recommended for passage with HD1 and technical amendments, including deleting the term “Hawaii-based,” clarifying that student performances at public charter schools are exempt, aligning recordkeeping provisions with tax law, and setting an effective date of January 1, 2027. HB 2461 was deferred to decision-making on Friday, February 13. The transcript also indicates the committee moved through the remaining measures after testimony, but the excerpt ends before final votes are shown for HB 2605, HB 1860, and HB 20001.