Transcript Highlights:

• SB 978 ensures that new data centers are built and operated responsibly by protecting energy ratepayers
• SB 978 ensures that new data centers are built and operated responsibly by protecting energy ratepayers
• Data centers are facilities that house and operate large-scale computer systems for data storage, as
• Because data centers require relatively few ongoing jobs once operational, ensuring strong construction
• , and our members are leading data center owners and operators and companies that lease large amounts

Committee: Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For the record, my name is Hannah Burnhard, and I run a diversified direct-market livestock operation
• made me feel really secure that we would figure it all out in the years since then.
• </c> my operation made me feel really secure my operation made me feel really secure that<00:04:43.240
• Olander said that larger farms might have several owners who take risk within that operation and then
• </c> faculty basis and then our job as Center faculty basis and then our job as Center leaders<00:15:

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:03:48.959><c> and</c><00:03:49.200><c> the</c> from uh the arena operation and the from uh the
• arena operation and the second<00:03:49.680><c> part</c><00:03:50.000><c> is</c><00:03:51.360><c> the
• </c><00:04:45.840><c> of</c><00:04:46.000><c> the</c> manages the day-to-day operations of the manages
• park to the regional electricity utility providers.
• </c> other systems have cheap operational other systems have cheap operational but<00:37:08.400><c> their

Keywords: 0:00:02 Call to Order and Roll Call 0:00:30 Approval of Minutes 0:00:49 Information Items 0:01:54 Louisville Arena Authority 0:24:50 Project Rpt from Postsecondary Institutions - MSU 0:26:35 Project Rpt from Finance and Admin. Cabinet 0:37:52 Lease Rpt from Finance and Admin. Cabinet 0:40:13 Rpt from OFM – KIA 0:56:00 Rpt from OFM – EDF Grants 0:58:45 Rpt from OFM – OFM 1:01:46 Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The committee first handled routine business, including a roll call, approval of the prior meeting minutes, and a set of informational reports. Those reports covered University of Louisville research equipment purchases, a Kent County school district debt issue for elementary school renovations, the University of Kentucky’s planned use of construction management risk for a new engineering building, APA certification reports for underwriter and bond counsel selection committees, and a KCNA status report on infrastructure upgrades and purchases. The main presentation was an informational update from the Louisville Arena Authority. Board representatives said the arena was created to drive economic development and reported about $1.4 billion in economic impact from 2010 to 2013. They explained the authority’s financial structure, including arena operating revenues, TIF revenues, debt service, and a long-term capital plan for major repairs and replacements. Members questioned the low net revenue figures, the long timeline before TIF revenues are projected to exceed debt service, the size of capital expenditure spikes, and the University of Louisville revenue-sharing arrangement. The authority said the $2.42 million annual UL payment is fixed under a 2017 refinancing agreement, while other amounts vary with ticket sales and related revenues. They also said the COVID-era state and Metro funds, combined with authority cash, were used to prepay debt and reduce interest, lowering the debt service schedule. The committee then considered and approved a new capital project for a new HVAC system for the student wellness center pool area. The project, presented by university staff, was approved by the board and required committee action. The committee took a roll call vote, and the project passed unanimously. Finally, Janice Thomas of the state budget office presented two tourism, arts, and heritage cabinet grid resilience projects at Kincaid Lake State Resort Park and Kentucky Down Village State Resort Park. Each project costs $7,834,600 and is funded mostly by a federal grid resilience grant, with the remainder from state utility infrastructure replacement funds and energy policy funds. Staff explained that the projects will move park electrical service ownership and maintenance to regional utilities, allowing the state to exit the infrastructure-management role while continuing to pay utility bills through normal metering. The committee approved the action item by voice vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> carts we have seven Convenience Centers carts we have seven Convenience Centers which<00:05:48.120
• </c> really critical part of our operation really critical part of our operation ations<00:06:30.880>
• </c><00:36:22.200><c> water</c><00:36:22.560><c> security</c> are essential to a secure water security
• are essential to a secure water security for<00:36:23.760><c> our</c><00:36:24.079><c> future</c><00
• In other words, they have restricted operations, classified operations, top-secret operations, training

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The informational briefing focused on the City and County of Honolulu’s effort to site a replacement landfill for Oahu before the Waimanalo Gulch landfill closes in 2028. Chair Nicole Lowen and other legislators opened the meeting by framing the issue as important statewide and encouraging recycling, composting, and proper use of the curbside bins. The city’s Department of Environmental Services, led by Director Roger Babcock and Deputy Director Mike O’Keefe, then presented the background and siting process. ENV explained the legal and technical constraints that shaped the search, including the 2019 Land Use Commission decision requiring closure of Waimanalo Gulch by March 2, 2028, and the 2020 Act 73 restrictions on landfill siting near residences, schools, hospitals, conservation districts, airports, and tsunami inundation areas. They said a landfill advisory committee reviewed six candidate sites in 2021-2022 and rejected them because they fell within the Board of Water Supply’s no-pass zone. After further evaluation and an extension of the naming deadline, the city selected a site in central Oahu near Wahiawa, on agricultural land currently used as a Dole pineapple field. City officials said the selected site was chosen as the best of the evaluated options and, in their view, could be permitted under state and federal law. They described planned environmental protections, including a modern sanitary landfill design with double liners, leachate collection systems, monitoring wells, and post-closure monitoring, and said the existing Waimanalo Gulch landfill has operated for 35 years without leachate leaks. They also emphasized that the site would still require a special use permit, Department of Health approvals, an environmental impact statement, and other public permitting processes, and that public engagement would continue over the next several years.

Transcript Highlights:

• , architects, homelessness service providers, street outreach workers, local government leaders, regional
• YHSI should operate like immediately, be like snapping your fingers. You apply.
• They look across Bernalillo and they see some of these awards to the Gateway Center.
• Well, I didn't go to the Gateway Center, but LLC did, right?
• And there's so much city and county money in that Gateway Center.

Committee: Senate Senate Finance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Today, security vacancies exceed 14%, non-security vacancies exceed 22%, leaving more than 1,100 positions
• Including QT Security, which is at $35 an hour. QT Security starts at $35 an hour.
• CoreCivic encounters the same operational challenges...
• Center.
• In Arizona, the La Palma facility in Eloy and the Red Rock Correctional Center in Eloy.

Bills: SB1010 , SB1035 , SB1058 , SB1077 , SB1093

Committee: Senate Public Safety

Keywords: Charlie Kirk, Loop 202, Arizona highways, transportation, renaming, Arizona Department of Corrections, ADC, corrections, prison, jail, correctional officers, prison guards, staffing, retention, salary increase, pay raise, wage increase, general fund, appropriation, state budget

Transcript Highlights:

• The House Permanent Standing Subcommittee on County and Regional Government will come to order.
• uh, everyone for being here today as we convene the permanent standing subcommittee on County and Regional
• This legislation ensures that the country, uh, hospital district can operate in compliance with current
• This bill seeks to authorize the continued operation of the Northeast, Northeast Healthcare Provider
• I have seen it operate very well. We have this opportunity to allow them.

Committee: House S/C on County & Regional Government

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 978 ensures that new data centers are built and operated responsibly by protecting energy ratepayers
• Data centers are facilities that house and operate large-scale computer systems for data storage, as
• Because data centers require relatively few ongoing jobs once operational, ensuring strong construction
• , and our members are leading data center owners and operators and companies that lease large amounts
• of data center capacity.

Summary: The committee heard several bills focused on workplace technology, labor protections, and data center oversight. SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act of 2026, would require human review before automated systems are used in discipline, termination, or deactivation decisions and would ban predictive behavior analysis in the workplace. Labor groups, worker advocates, and privacy organizations supported the bill, arguing AI can be biased and should not make life-changing employment decisions without human judgment. Business groups opposed it, saying it was broader than prior versions, could interfere with workplace safety tools, and should not include a private right of action or cover independent contractors. After discussion about due process and accountability, the bill passed the committee 3-1 and was sent to the Senate Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection. SB 978, the Data Center Community Accountability Act, would require data centers to pay upfront for new transmission or distribution infrastructure, create a separate rate structure so costs are not shifted to other ratepayers, and include skilled-and-trained labor standards for construction. Supporters said the bill would protect ratepayers, create good construction jobs, and encourage zero-carbon energy development. Opponents, including the Data Center Coalition and Silicon Valley Leadership Group, argued the CPUC already has ongoing proceedings on these issues and warned the bill could single out one industry and discourage investment. The committee members emphasized labor standards and community concerns, and the bill passed 3-0 to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. SB 951, the California Worker Technological Displacement Act, would expand WARN-style notice requirements for layoffs caused by AI or automation, require reporting to workers, local government, and EDD, and give displaced workers first consideration for other openings. Supporters said the bill responds to rapid AI-driven layoffs and would provide needed transparency and data. Opponents said the definitions were too broad, the notice requirements too burdensome, and the bill conflicted with existing WARN law; they also objected to the private right of action and inclusion of independent contractors. The committee discussed amendments clarifying that an employee may still be discharged for reasonable and substantiated cause during the notice period. The bill passed 3-1 to the Senate Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection. The committee also approved SB 1032, which would create a licensing and regulatory framework for temporary staffing agencies, and SB 1046, which would direct Cal/OSHA to develop standards to protect lifeguards and park rangers from transboundary pollution in the Tijuana River Valley. SB 1032 drew support from labor and enforcement advocates who said it would help stop staffing fraud, while staffing firms argued the bill was vague and could burden legitimate small businesses; it passed 3-1 to the Senate Committee on Judiciary. SB 1046 was supported by park workers and community groups describing health impacts from pollution and passed 4-0 to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The committee also took up a consent item, which passed 4-0, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><00:17:06.720><c> General</c><00:17:06.959><c> Court</c> operating officer for the General Court operating
• The rest of Health Instructional Center.
• So in fact support the sign operation.
• </c><01:52:36.000><c> to</c> people traveling through our region to people traveling through our region
• And so um this model that to operate.

Committee: House Public Works and Highways

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I guess I'm just, you know, we're hearing about there may be changes to Social Security or there may
• When it says total operating cost, what exactly does that mean?
• I think the way I'm reading this is it's the total operating cost of the hospital. Okay.
• </c> following when it says total operating following when it says total operating cost is<00:09:18.000
• <00:09:42.959><c> cost</c><00:09:43.320><c> of</c><00:09:43.519><c> the</c> operating cost of the operating

Keywords: 00:25 Call to Order/Roll Call 01:36 Discussion of 25RS SB 153 23:11 Roll Call Vote on 25RS SB 153 30:56 Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The House Standing Committee on Health Services met on March 14, 2025, and took up a committee substitute for Senate Bill 153. The substitute deleted the original bill language and replaced it with provisions from Senate Bill 14, aimed at prohibiting pharmaceutical manufacturers from discriminating against 340B covered entities and adding reporting requirements for those entities. The sponsor explained that the protections would sunset after one year, allowing lawmakers to review data by July 1, 2026, and that Kentucky would continue to follow any future federal changes to the 340B program. Members asked several questions about the scope of the reporting, including what “total operating cost” means, how duplicate discounts are prevented, whether the reporting applies only to hospitals and not federally qualified health centers, and who would receive the data. The sponsor said the reporting is intended to help the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Office of Health Data Analytics at LRC assess how the program is working, including charity care and community benefits, while preserving protections for rural hospitals and allowing them to continue using contract pharmacies. A representative from LRC confirmed the data would come to the General Assembly through the Office of Health Data Analytics. The committee expressed mixed views about the balance between transparency and potential burdens on hospitals, especially rural facilities. Several members said they were supportive but had reservations about the reporting requirements and the sunset structure, while others noted concerns about unintended consequences and the possibility of changes on the House floor. The committee ultimately adopted the committee substitute, approved a title amendment, and reported Senate Bill 153 with House Committee Substitute 2 favorably. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• to deputize their Homeland Security to deputize their school<00:20:23.360><c> security</c><00:20:24.200
• </c> school security as ICE agents. school security as ICE agents.
• Armed agents operating anonymous.
• </c> operating expenses. operating expenses.
• </c><01:15:38.920><c> and</c> can be functional and operational and can be functional and operational

Committee: Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint hearing covered HB 1976, relating to dementia training for law enforcement, and HB 2443, relating to disaster services for people with disabilities and access or functional needs. For HB 1976, the Hawaii Law Enforcement Standards Board opposed the bill’s process and cost, arguing there was no documented training gap because existing CALEA accreditation already includes mental illness response training that covers dementia. Supporters, including the Alzheimer’s Association, AARP, disability advocates, caregivers, and several individuals, said dementia-specific training would help first responders better handle real-world encounters and avoid harmful misunderstandings. The committee later recommended passage with amendments, including changing mandatory language to permissive language in several places and removing a deadline for the first annual training cycle; the recommendation was adopted unanimously. For HB 2443, testimony was strongly supportive. The Disability Communication Access Board, the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Wellness and Resilience, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, and individual testifiers said the bill would strengthen emergency planning and response by adding a Disability Integration Specialist and better integrating people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs into disaster preparedness, sheltering, and FEMA coordination. Several speakers emphasized recent storms and rescues as evidence of the need. The committee recommended passage with amendments, including changes based on Attorney General comments and adding specialized communications and comprehensive communications planning provisions previously contained in another bill; that recommendation was also adopted unanimously. The transcript then moved to a separate mini hearing on HB 1768, relating to immigration enforcement. Supporters, including the ACLU of Hawaii, the Legal Clinic, the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, argued the bill would prevent local law enforcement from entering 287(g)-type agreements or otherwise participating in federal immigration enforcement, citing civil rights concerns, community trust, and the need for police to focus on local public safety. One testifier raised concerns that local cooperation could help avoid mistakes in enforcement, while supporters responded that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and that local agencies should not be deputized for civil immigration arrests. The excerpt ends amid extended member questions and discussion, without showing a final vote on HB 1768.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> have Homeland Security have Homeland Security investigations<01:44:30.920><c> and</c><01:44:31.320
• </c> department has a Diplomatic Security department has a Diplomatic Security office<01:44:42.920><c
• </c><01:47:57.560><c> under</c> treble damages whoever operating under treble damages whoever operating
• </c> somehow different than a secured somehow different than a secured premises<03:52:47.120><c> I</c
• , who's operating them.

Committee: House Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> rental housing operations. rental housing operations.
• </c> the cost of operating the housing. the cost of operating the housing.
• The conversation in commerce kind of centered around operational capital cost increase being a valid
• The conversation in commerce kind of centered around operational capital cost increase being a valid
• </c> operation of the uh of the the park. operation of the uh of the the park.

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Yuma, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and the United States Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center
• Yuma, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and the United States Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center
• ; HB 2813, pharmacy benefits; HB 2820, data centers; HB 2821, pregnant employees reasonable; HB 2822,
• We have all watched in horror as enforcement operations in our country have escalated beyond borders
• So when people are trying to leave the country, ...and they're putting them in detention centers.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, approval of the prior journal, and recognition of Dr. Pamela Murphy as Doctor of the Day. Members also introduced a number of guests, including Deacon Ernie Gonzalez, local Prescott officials, Arizona Game and Fish commissioners, and advocates from the Alzheimer’s Association. A proclamation was read designating January 26, 2026, as Arizona Aviation Day, with remarks highlighting the aviation industry’s economic impact and the presence of airport and aviation representatives in the gallery. The clerk then read a long list of bills that had been first read or referred for printing, and a second-reading calendar covering measures on water and energy, education, elections, taxes, housing, veterans, public safety, and other topics. No floor votes on those bills were taken during this segment. Representative Gress also read a resolution recognizing National School Choice Week and praising Arizona’s school choice programs, including charters and ESAs. Much of the remainder of the session consisted of members’ personal privilege remarks responding to violence and immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota and elsewhere. Speakers from both parties and several senators and representatives condemned ICE tactics, described constituent fear and family separations, and called for constitutional rights, due process, and accountability. Representative Sandoval requested and the House observed a moment of respectful silence in memory of Alex Pretty and Renee Good. The House then received committee and caucus announcements and adjourned until 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um we operate the moose plate currently.
• But this fund doesn't go to operations. Any questions for members of the committee?
• Those center around the placards on.
• </c><01:11:49.760><c> So,</c> in the Lakes region. Same thing. So, in the Lakes region. Same thing.
• </c> certain that we'll be able to operate certain that we'll be able to operate our<01:32:26.639><c>

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill also requires ALPR operators to require data security training and data privacy training for
• all of our cryptographic security systems.
• Apple forces app developers to pay exorbitant fees to operate...
• I'm a professor of computer science at Harvard, where I teach operating systems and computer security
• is enforced by the operating system.

Committee: Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Operating requests are in three general categories: critical security resources, critical services to
• Does it affect your operations, where you have to, like, delay things because you don't have proper security
• It's operation. end ofear balances. It's operation.
• </c><00:40:57.200><c> your</c><00:40:57.599><c> operations</c> security.
• Does it affect your operations security.

Committee: House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs heard House Bill 2095, which would provide supplemental appropriations for the Judiciary for the 2025-2027 biennium. Judiciary Administrative Director Brandon Kimura testified in strong support and outlined a request for about $6.4 million in supplemental operating funds, plus four permanent full-time position conversions. He grouped the request into security, services to court users, and staffing needs, including $3.25 million for supplemental armed private security at judiciary facilities statewide, nearly $200,000 for cybersecurity staffing and support, restoration of funding for substance use treatment purchase-of-service contracts, restoration of funding for the Office of Public Guardian on Kauaʻi, salary commission funding, a Kona court operations position, and two Court-Appointed Special Advocates positions converted from temporary to permanent. He also described five capital improvement requests totaling $55.4 million, led by $30 million for construction of a new South Kohala courthouse, $1.2 million each for air conditioning upgrades in Hilo and Kauaʻi, $15 million for elevator upgrades at Kahumanu Hale, and $8 million in lump-sum bond funds for emerging projects. Several organizations testified in support, including Parents and Children Together and the True Cost Coalition. Supporters emphasized the importance of the purchase-of-service funding for domestic violence and substance use treatment services and said the restoration would return funding to pre-COVID levels and help providers maintain capacity. Kimura explained that the Judiciary often shifts funds among contracts during the year to avoid service interruptions, but that the reduced funding has caused delays and operational problems for providers and probationers. Members asked detailed questions about the capital projects and operating requests. Representative Shimizu asked for more information on the lump-sum bond funds and the elevator project, and Kimura explained that the Kahumanu Hale request covers four remaining elevator shafts after earlier funding addressed the first five elevators. Representative Cochran asked about the absence of Maui County projects, and Kimura said the Judiciary is still planning for its older Maui facilities with DAGS. Chair Tarnas questioned the need for armed private guards and discussed whether court security should be prioritized within the Department of Law Enforcement; Kimura said the Judiciary needs additional personnel now and has not asked DLE to deprioritize other missions, though the chair suggested further coordination between the agencies. No vote or final action on the bill was taken in the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Truman State in two years to be somewhat operating it the same way.
• And it would be hubristic of me to presume this is how they ought to operate.
• And then just to clarify, these are not treatment centers.
• We also did it with HAB centers.
• And then a cut there to the Cape Girardeau Pregnancy Resource Center.

Committee: House Budget

Summary: The committee heard extended discussion of the chair’s House budget substitute, especially House Bill 2 for elementary and secondary education and House Bill 3 for higher education. The chair said the operating budget leaves roughly $300 million in reserve, explained several cuts and restorations, and described proposed changes to child care, including cutting enhancement payments and keeping attendance-based rather than enrollment-based subsidy payments. Representative Fogle objected to the child care cuts and the proposed language limiting the department’s move to prospective payment and enrollment-based reimbursement; State Budget Director Dan Hogg testified that the governor’s office still intended to move to payment on enrollment in May if the budget language did not block it, while prospective payment remained under review because of federal funding concerns. The chair also explained a restriction on Parents as Teachers services for children already in public pre-K, and members debated whether that would reduce duplication or improperly limit services. The chair further proposed a new competitive Title I innovation grant program funded by a reallocation of some Title I dollars, with questions raised about what services would be reduced to offset it. The bulk of the meeting focused on a major higher education funding overhaul in House Bill 3. The chair and vice chair proposed replacing the current base-plus model with an FTE-based formula that would distribute the same overall state funding according to student credit hours, with community colleges funded on a 12-hour FTE, four-year undergraduate students on a 15-hour FTE, and graduate enrollment discussed as a separate issue. They said the goal was to make funding follow students rather than institutions and to reduce long-standing disparities between schools. Several members supported the idea as overdue and more transparent, while others warned it was being done too quickly and could harm institutions with high-cost programs, research missions, or smaller enrollments. Concerns were raised about possible closures, accreditation problems, and unintended effects on workforce programs such as nursing, engineering, and technical training. The chair and vice chair said there was no intent to force consolidation, but acknowledged that some institutions would gain and others would lose under the new model. Members also questioned how the formula would treat research and doctoral funding, especially at the University of Missouri, and whether graduate programs were properly counted. The chair said some special-purpose lines were retained, but a large portion of MU’s research and doctoral funding was folded into the broader pool and redistributed through the FTE model. Several members asked for clarification on whether graduate hours were counted at nine credits, and the chair said he was not certain and would seek follow-up from staff or the department. Community college representatives were discussed as having unanimously opposed the recommendation, and the chair noted that the institutions were briefed only shortly before the hearing. No votes were taken during the exchange, and the committee appeared to be gathering testimony and concerns ahead of markup and future action on the budget bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• So a lot of schools, instead of what we were doing before, were having community mental health centers
• Certification and oversight can assist in identifying illicit operations and take swift action.
• I've also owned a chain of massage centers since 1979.
• This legislature is aware that a CAMTC certificate operates as a de facto license.
• First, this is not the time to grow the state's operational or financial burdens.

Summary: The joint sunset oversight hearing reviewed five regulatory entities: the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Board of Psychology, the Physician Assistant Board, the Podiatric Medical Board, and the California Massage Therapy Council. Across the hearing, each entity described recent accomplishments, licensing and enforcement workload, workforce shortages, and efforts to modernize processes. Common themes included streamlining licensure, expanding access to care, addressing telehealth or emerging technology, and balancing consumer protection with workforce needs. For the Board of Behavioral Sciences, members discussed workforce shortages in mental health, supervision barriers, telehealth confidentiality, AI in therapy, interstate compacts, school-based services, and military spouse licensure. The board said it has expanded outreach, improved licensing processes, and created temporary practice authority tracking, while also expressing concern about counseling compacts and emphasizing California-specific law, ethics, and cultural competency. Public commenters supported the board’s work and the possible move to a national MFT exam, while also urging more resources. The Board of Psychology highlighted fee adjustments, streamlined licensure pathways, enforcement process improvements, new CPD requirements, and proposed changes including a psychotherapist-client privilege exception for investigations. Committee members and public witnesses focused heavily on that privilege proposal, with some members opposing it as too broad and privacy-invasive, while the board argued it is needed to obtain records in bias and sexual misconduct cases. The board also discussed workforce shortages, processing improvements, and the use of inactive status for psychological associates. The Physician Assistant Board reported growth in the PA workforce and education programs, SB 697 implementation, and financial pressure from rising enforcement costs. The main policy debate centered on physician-to-PA ratios and practice agreements, with board representatives and many public commenters arguing that current restrictions limit access to care, especially in rural areas, while the California Medical Association defended the need for explicit ratios and agreements. The board also discussed AI, fee increases, and tracking temporary practice authority. The Podiatric Medical Board described licensing and renewal reforms, residency expansion, enforcement support, and budget constraints, while public testimony raised concerns about a proposed fee increase and about reimbursement parity and practice recognition for podiatrists. Finally, the California Massage Therapy Council defended the certification model over licensure, citing lower costs, local government collaboration, anti-trafficking work, and its role in vetting applications and disciplining bad actors; no formal votes or final actions were taken during this portion of the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> of Operation Metro Surge. of Operation Metro Surge.
• </c> are centers of anxiety and fear. are centers of anxiety and fear.
• </c><00:16:07.520><c> Metro</c> We must recognize that Operation Metro We must recognize that Operation
• We don't have to campus security.
• . security. security.

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee adopted the minutes from its February 24, 2026 meeting after a motion by Vice Chair Coulter. The hearing then focused on the impact of federal immigration enforcement, referred to throughout as Operation Metro Surge, on Minnesota college campuses. The chair said the purpose was to document alleged abuses, campus fear, and racial discrimination, and to hear from testifiers about effects on students, faculty, and staff. Representative Novotny briefly objected to the framing, saying the committee should be finding facts rather than making a predetermined presentation, and the chair responded that members should remain respectful and that questions would be held until after all presenters testified. Augsburg University President Paul Pribbenow described what he called relentless and unprecedented disruption, including student stops and interrogations, family separations, and an ICE operation on campus in which armed masked agents allegedly detained a student without a warrant and pointed weapons at students and staff. He said the campus received bomb threats afterward, increased virtual learning options, and saw spikes in student support needs, housing assistance, and leaves of absence. Jenna Chernega of the Inter Faculty Organization said faculty across Minnesota State universities reported widespread student and colleague stress, increased workload, disappearing students, and a need for clearer sensitive-location protections and academic freedom guidance. Mark Grant of Minnesota State College Faculty said community conditions inevitably affect classrooms, that campuses have not yet had an ICE incident but are bracing for one, and that faculty want to support students and may need financial help if enrollment declines. Jennifer Irwin of AFSCME said fear from ICE activity extends beyond campus boundaries and is affecting attendance, work, and daily life for staff and students; she cited a member detained in St. Paul while trying to prove legal status. Student testifiers Brendan Frazier of Concordia University, St. Paul, Jonathan Fitzgerald of Minnesota State Mankato, Sudi Adow of Lead MN, and Will Luther of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities described panic, reduced attendance, food insecurity, disrupted classes, and fear of leaving home or commuting to campus. They urged stronger student privacy protections, support for international and immigrant students, emergency aid, and policies to keep campuses safe. No further committee action or votes were taken after the minutes approval.