Transcript Highlights:

• They just indicated that to get a replacement backhoe, the John Deere 810 or whatever it was, it would
• 810 or whatever it was, it John Deere 810 or whatever it was, it would<00:49:47.760><c> be</c><00:49
• Well, I would say you should look up a John Deere 410 backhoe because that's the one they requested.
• look</c><00:50:24.400><c> up</c><00:50:24.559><c> a</c><00:50:24.720><c> John</c><00:50:24.960><c> Deere
• </c><00:50:25.359><c> 410</c> say you should look up a John Deere 410 say you should look up a John Deere

Summary: The committee heard testimony on proposed improvements to the State Police gun range and related Public Works estimates. Department of Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn and Major Brendan Davy explained that the range is used for realistic, scenario-based training that includes vehicle work, movement, cover, elevation, and stress inoculation, and that it also supports requalification and special unit training for state, local, and federal partners. They said the current facility lacks running water, continuous power, and permanent restrooms, and that the PSTC range cannot accommodate rifles because its backstop is handgun-caliber only. Public Works Director Theodore Copper said the project estimate is $2.3 million, including $1.5 million for the building and site work plus soft costs, inflation, and design fees; he described the proposed building as basic, with office space, classrooms, restrooms, and HVAC. Committee members asked about the cost and scope, and Copper provided a breakdown of the estimate. The committee also heard from Commissioner Edelblute and Milford School District Superintendent Christy Misho regarding career and technical education capital funding. Edelblute urged the committee to include $10 million for the Milford CTE project, saying the district had reduced the scope after a prior bond vote and that the project would support high-demand workforce programs. Misho said Milford’s initial bond vote received 42 percent and the revised proposal received 56 percent, short of the 60 percent needed, but that the community still supports the project; she said the district plans to move forward with a CTE-only ballot and a smaller local bond. Committee members expressed concern about holding state funds for a project that has not yet won local approval, but said the request would be taken under advisement. In work session action, the committee corrected a prior vote on the Market Street Marine Terminal warehouse removal and office replacement project, increasing the appropriation by $353,300 to $1,973,300 and raising the agency subtotal to $4,155,300. The committee also accepted a motion to add $1.8 million for the community college system, including $1.3 million for critical maintenance and $500,000 for an energy management system. The committee then discussed a Fish and Game request for a $350,000 backhoe, with members debating whether it should be funded with general funds or other funds and whether the cost was excessive; no final objection was recorded in the portion provided. Later discussion also referenced the new parking garage project, with staff saying it is expected to be operational in March 2026 and fully completed by May or June 2026, with 409 spaces and a mix of assigned and open parking.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the sound that comes from it, I've heard, is the deer breathing.
• Then when the deer gets faster, We really respect what nature provides to us, what the wilderness world
• Within our wilderness world, our Saile Maso, our little brother deer, lives within that world, and a

Summary: The committee began with a series of presentations highlighting tribal communities as part of rural economic development. Representative Mae Peshlakai described Legislative District 6, emphasizing its large geographic size, the eight tribal nations within it, and the cultural and scenic importance of the Navajo Nation and other tribes. Governor Stephen Roe Lewis then presented on the Gila River Indian Community, focusing on its history, Hohokam heritage, water rights, the MAR-5 aquifer recharge project, cultural traditions, and the importance of collaboration with state lawmakers. Members praised the presentations and noted the need for greater attention to tribal issues in the legislature. The committee then took up SB 1016, with a strike-everything amendment that moved the property-owner petition requirement earlier in the process for municipal improvement districts and allowed certain notice and protest requirements to be waived. Supporters, including the mayors of Camp Verde and Clarkdale, said the change would improve transparency, reduce financial risk for small towns, and help rural communities build needed infrastructure such as wastewater systems, water lines, and housing-related improvements. The committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and passed SB 1016 on a 5-0 vote, with one member present and one absent. Next, the committee considered SB 1401, the Workforce Housing Accelerator Act, using a strike-everything amendment that would allow municipalities to create expedited plan review and permitting for qualified workforce housing projects and exempt project proceeds from the state portion of the prime contracting sales tax. Habitat for Humanity representatives said the measure would lower carrying costs and help build more affordable homes, while one member noted the tax exemption would reduce general fund revenue but supported the bill as a targeted tradeoff to address housing shortages. The committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1401 by a 5-1 vote. The meeting concluded with Representative Myron Sosec’s presentation on barriers to economic development on the Navajo Nation and other tribal lands. He discussed lower workforce participation, higher unemployment and poverty, limited access to capital, trust-land financing barriers, dual taxation, infrastructure deficits, and delays caused by federal and tribal review processes. He also highlighted Navajo economic strategies such as loan guarantees, renewable energy development, and tourism investments, and urged state action on tax reform, matching funds, and annual tribal field hearings. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• 38.640><c> from</c> receive a memo yesterday afternoon from receive a memo yesterday afternoon from deer
• 40.640><c> Uh</c><00:10:40.959><c> they</c><00:10:41.279><c> have</c><00:10:41.519><c> certain</c> deer
• Uh they have certain deer.

Transcript Highlights:

• I grew up in a rural community in Iowa, so I've got some experience with agriculture.
• , so there's a battle, as you know, between Iowa and the University of Minnesota.
• , so there's a battle, as you know, between Iowa and the University of Minnesota.
• , so there's a battle, as you know, between Iowa and the University of Minnesota.
• , so there's a battle, as you know, between Iowa and the University of Minnesota.

Transcript Highlights:

• There was a hearing in Washington called by Senator Harkin of Iowa, and they had the Surgeon General
• Senator har uh in Washington called by Senator har uh Harkin<00:32:39.519><c> of</c><00:32:40.000><c> Iowa
• they</c><00:32:41.000><c> had</c><00:32:41.159><c> the</c><00:32:41.279><c> Surgeon</c> Harkin of Iowa
• and they had the Surgeon Harkin of Iowa and they had the Surgeon General<00:32:42.360><c> of</c><00:
• Can you tell me, because I believe Hillsboro-Deering is in the alternative program, and I believe they

Summary: The work session focused on special education, especially the differentiated aid component and special education aid, which members noted is still often called “catastrophic aid.” The chair said the committee was trying to better understand how special education costs are growing, how districts are delivering services through SAUs or internally, and how reimbursement formulas affect local costs. Members also discussed the need for better data before making decisions on several education funding bills, and Representative Brown was tasked with capturing questions for follow-up information from the department or elsewhere. Testimony from the state special education director, Becky Fad, centered on why student counts in various disability categories have shifted over time. She said the categories themselves have not changed much, but autism has increased because of greater understanding and identification, developmental delay has grown because it applies to children under age 10 who may not yet have a clear diagnosis, and some students previously classified under speech/language or other health impairment are now identified in more specific categories such as autism. She emphasized that the IEP is based on a child’s individual needs, so a change in category would not necessarily change services, though it may help educators support the student differently. Members asked about whether the shifts reflect better diagnostic capability, whether the department should gather more data on the reasons for the changes, and whether autism-spectrum data could be broken down further. Fad said the department does not currently have data on the causes of the shifts or on where students fall within the autism spectrum, but that collecting and analyzing such data is on its list of priorities and a new data manager had recently been hired. She also explained that each child is counted only once on the chart by primary disability, that the IEP or eligibility team determines the primary category based on evaluations, and that any child can be referred for special education by a parent, teacher, or doctor, after which the district must meet within 15 days to decide whether to evaluate. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the one that borders Iowa and borders Illinois up in the very northeast corner.
• The Iowa program was tax credits, and this is a revolving fund.
• They're in Lancaster, north of, you know, 10 miles from Iowa or somewhere up there.
• I want to thank you for coming down from Memphis, what, 10 minutes from Iowa, this morning.
• So we've seen population loss in significant numbers up on the Iowa line and also southeast Missouri

Committees: House Economic Development , House Joint Committee on Rural Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• We were in an ICPC, so we were doing interstate compact from Iowa. It took a long, long time.
• You said she was in Iowa and came here. Yes. How did She was in Iowa and came here. Yes.
• I had to get a place in Iowa to get her. So, yes.
• I got an apartment in Iowa in the town that they were in until we could move back to Missouri.
• And just for clarification, my home in Missouri is 20 minutes from the Iowa border. Okay.

Committee: House Children and Families

Summary: The Committee on Children and Families met with a quorum and first took up several bills in executive session. House Bill 1818, dealing with protections for children involved in content creation and related financial arrangements, was amended and converted into a House Committee substitute. Members discussed that the bill is aimed at children creating content for financial gain and clarifies that platforms must comply with federal law without being drawn into disputes between children and parents. The substitute was then voted do pass by a 17-0 roll call. House Bill 1948 was also amended and substituted; the amendment changed references from the Family Support Division to the Department of Social Services, and members briefly joked about the wording of “fatherhood” versus “fathership.” The committee then voted the substitute do pass 17-0. The committee next debated House Bill 2688, which drew sharp disagreement. Opponents argued the bill’s due process language for unborn children was too vague, could create legal uncertainty, and might have consequences for IVF, miscarriage investigations, and criminal liability for women and medical providers. Supporters said the bill was about protecting pre-born life and that due process should apply. The bill was voted do pass by a 12-5 roll call. The committee then moved into public hearings. In public hearing, House Bill 1772 was presented as an adoption-fee bill intended to raise state-paid attorney fees for adoptions, increase fees for contested adoptions, and separate guardian fees so more children could be adopted from foster care. The sponsor said the goal was to reduce costs and speed adoptions; Foster Adopt Connect testified in support, while members raised questions about contested adoptions, subsidy timing, and whether the bill would affect access to attorneys. House Bill 1696 proposed clarifying who has the right of sepulcher for minors with court-appointed guardians, giving the guardian priority unless the guardian is under criminal investigation for the child’s death, and adding religious-belief protections regarding cremation. Testimony from family members described painful experiences where legal authority reverted to abusive parents after a child’s death, and committee members generally supported clarifying the law. Finally, House Bill 2505 was heard, a grandparent custody bill giving grandparents priority when both parents are found unfit, unsuitable, or unable to serve as custodians and the child’s welfare requires placement. Supporters, including Foster Adopt Connect and a grandmother who testified emotionally, said grandparents often provide the most stable care and should be recognized in statute. An opponent argued the current law already allows courts to place children with grandparents when appropriate and warned that statutory priority could override the child’s best interests in some cases. The committee adjourned after concluding public testimony on HB 2505.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:42:16.640><c> approval</c><00:42:16.960><c> pin</c> um the deer interconnection approval pin
• um the deer interconnection approval pin was<00:42:17.359><c> another</c><00:42:18.000><c> uh</c><00:
• </c><00:42:22.240><c> systems</c> or a delay and uh getting deer systems or a delay and uh getting deer
• And when I say deer, I interconnected.
• Shouldn't there be a deer connection?

Summary: The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational briefing on the Public Utilities Commission’s performance-based regulation (PBR) framework and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ whistleblower complaint process. Chair Jared Kohole opened the meeting, noted it was informational only with no public testimony, and explained that members would hear presentations and then have an opportunity for questions. The committee heard first from Ulupono Initiative, which provided background on why utilities are regulated, how Hawaii’s cost-of-service model and rate cases work, and why PBR was adopted to shift utility incentives away from a capital-investment bias and toward performance, efficiency, cost control, and policy goals such as renewable energy and reliability. Ulupono described Hawaii’s PBR structure as a five-year multi-year rate plan with annual revenue adjustments, a customer dividend, a Z factor for extraordinary exogenous events, and an exceptional project recovery mechanism for large projects. It also outlined performance incentive mechanisms tied to renewable portfolio standard progress, interconnection speed, reliability, and shared savings. The presentation said the current docket is evaluating a possible hybrid approach that would combine forward-looking forecasting with historical results, and Ulupono advocated for stronger incentives, arguing the current rewards are too small relative to utility revenues and should be more meaningful to better align utility behavior with legislative intent. The PUC then presented its own overview, emphasizing that the PBR docket is open and active and that the briefing was limited to the record to avoid ex parte concerns. The commission described the development of PBR in Hawaii through multiple phases beginning in 2018: an initial collaborative phase to set goals, a formal contested-case phase that produced the initial framework, later phases adding scorecards, reported metrics, and additional performance incentive mechanisms, and subsequent refinements including sunset of some mechanisms and adjustments after the August 2023 Maui wildfires. The PUC said the framework is intended to be customer-centric, administratively efficient, and protective of utility financial integrity, and that current work includes evaluating how to balance forward-looking and historical test-year approaches within the rebasing process. No votes or formal actions were taken at the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• I've heard from small business owners all over Iowa who use that extra money to provide their workers
• Jerry Akers is the president of Sharpness Inc. and Mocha Inc. and is from Palo, Iowa. Mr.
• He holds a bachelor's degree from Upper Iowa University. The Peacocks, right? That's right.
• That is real in small town Iowa or small town Minnesota. People in this town don't understand that.
• Just like farmers come from Iowa, we have the same issue there.

Committee: Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

Keywords: joint hearing, small business, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, economic recovery, tax relief, job creation

Summary: In this joint hearing of the House Committee on Small Business and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the primary focus was on the importance of making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) permanent. The chair emphasized that small businesses are crucial for the nation's economic recovery, especially in the wake of current federal policies perceived as detrimental. Witnesses shared their experiences and highlighted how the tax cuts facilitated job creation and business expansion, stressing the need for continued support through ongoing tax relief measures. The meeting included discussions about the economic implications of the TCJA's potential expiration, with members voicing their concerns regarding how this could impact small businesses and the broader economy.

Transcript Highlights:

• &gt;&gt; THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE GENTLEMAN FROM IOWA, MS. MILLER-MEEKS, FOR FIVE MINUTES.
• I came to Congress to deliver for Iowa, and I'll continue fighting to make sure our communities get the
• Iowa seniors are finally seeing meaningful relief that reflects a lifetime of hard work thanks to the
• Iowa seniors are finally seeing meaningful relief that reflects a lifetime of hard work thanks to the
• Iowa seniors are finally seeing meaningful relief that reflects a lifetime of hard work thanks to the

Bills: HCR74 , HJR72 , HR1042 , HR1048

Keywords: joint session, Congress, communication, President, HCR74, national emergency, government authority, Executive Order, legislative action, rule, special rule, House resolution, floor procedure, procedural resolution, firearms, gun laws, less-than-lethal weapons, weapons technology, National Marine Sanctuaries Act, undersea fiber optic cables

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, if we're going to start banning things, are we going to pay to ship ours to Iowa? Yeah.
• Mine have transitioned into making sure turkeys and deer stay away from the crop.
• We have predators, we have deer, we have all kinds of animals that come after the berries.
• Um, as is the deer population, at least on my property.
• Um, as is the deer you, is thriving.

Committee: House Environment and Agriculture

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now, if you were a psychologist in Iowa, you could come to CDCR and serve as a clinician for one
• Right now, if you were a psychologist in Iowa, you could come to CDCR and serve as a clinician for one
• Kasha Hunt here with Political Solutions.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are going to vote to approve a cross-deputization agreement between the town of Wellston and the Iowa
• Before we do, I would like to welcome the assistant chief Dinker from the Iowa Tribe, as well as the.
• .. ...from the Iowa Tribe, as well as the chief steward from the city of Wellston.

Summary: The committee met briefly with a short agenda focused on approving a cross-deputization agreement between the town of Wellston and the Iowa Tribe. Assistant Chief Dinker and a Wellston law enforcement representative testified that the agreement reflects a longstanding cooperative relationship, is intended to help address staffing shortages and improve public safety, and is consistent with other cross-deputization arrangements the tribe has maintained since 1991. Members asked about how long the agreement had been in development and how it compared with prior tribal law enforcement agreements. The witnesses said both sides have worked together for years and that similar agreements are common for the tribe. A member also noted similar tribal law enforcement cooperation in other parts of the state and thanked the parties for their work. After discussion, a motion was made and the committee voted unanimously in favor of the agreement, with four ayes recorded. The chair thanked the participants and adjourned the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, but the reality is this $5 that I'm holding isn't going to stop any elk or any deer flying through
• stop any elk or holding isn't going to stop any elk or any<00:51:16.280><c> uh</c><00:51:16.400><c> deer
• flying</c><00:51:17.760><c> through</c><00:51:18.040><c> anybody's</c><00:51:18.680><c> um</c> any uh deer
• flying through anybody's um any uh deer flying through anybody's um window<00:51:19.960><c> as</c><00
• We all know people who have hit deer or other animals, elk, where it's caused not only property damage

Transcript Highlights:

• Is that, does it include Deer Park, Texas. Looking at a website, I don't know.
• Uh, what do you think the overall crime grade is for Deer Park, Texas on an A through F scale?
• Rather than a minus for Deer Park.
• Should we use the Mississippi example and Do that to provide a special district to Deer Park.
• Um, the city of Deer Park is, is not the, the capital, capital seat. Um, it.

Bills: HB14 , HB 106 , HB146 , HB267 , HB274 , HB 1127 , HB1359 , HB1393 , HB1584 , HB1640 , HB1710 , HB2152 , HCR101 , HJR8 , HR51 , HB106 , HB146 , HB267 , HB274 , HJR8 , HR51

Committee: House State Affairs

Keywords: nuclear energy, advanced reactors, energy security, grant programs, Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office, HB 106, oil and gas, Railroad Commission of Texas, overhead electrical lines, electrical distribution system, power line maintenance, administrative penalty, Natural Resources Code, oil and gas lease, well operator, energy safety, utility infrastructure, regulatory compliance, cleanup fund, oil and gas regulation and cleanup fund

Transcript Highlights:

• But uh as of uh today, we've taken over 6,200 samples this season and we've had 117 deer test positive
• </c><00:04:19.519><c> test</c> this season and we've had 117 deer test this season and we've had 117
• deer test positive.<00:04:20.479><c> So</c><00:04:20.639><c> it's</c><00:04:20.799><c> it's</c><00:04
• they take out of the deer and turn it<00:19:28.880><c> into</c><00:19:29.200><c> us.
• John Hunt does. Every two weeks they do it. And we have a contract for that.

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• The peer states for dairy that we selected were Iowa and New Mexico.
• New Mexico would have grown a bit more, Iowa a bit less, and the competitive effect is what we really
• The good news is we were doing better than New Mexico, but we weren't doing as well as Iowa.
• When you were talking about milk and you were talking about our comparable states being Iowa and New
• The reason we've looked at Iowa and New Mexico is because they had similar levels of production to ours

Committee: House Agriculture & Natural Resources

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held an interim work session focused on Washington agriculture’s viability, competitiveness, and the effects of federal policy and trade. Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sanderson outlined the agency’s role in inspections, food assistance, pesticide and fertilizer oversight, disease control, and marketing, and described Washington agriculture as a diverse, export-oriented sector facing declining farm numbers, high labor and input costs, low commodity prices, trade barriers, drought, regulatory burdens, and pest and disease pressures. WSU CAHNRS Dean Raj Kosla emphasized the land-grant mission, extension network, education programs, and research capacity, highlighting precision agriculture, broadband needs in rural areas, and the importance of research and outreach to support growers and rural communities. Members asked about farm loss, workforce challenges, precision agriculture, and the cost of technology. Kosla said precision agriculture can help address labor shortages but is often cost-prohibitive and dependent on rural broadband; he described it as applying the right input, in the right amount, place, time, and manner. He also noted that WSU’s research and extension system supports crop development, soil health, forestry, youth programs, and agricultural training, and that the college is eager to partner with the legislature on priorities. Sanderson said the department is working on local food systems, farm-to-school grants, infrastructure, market development, pest and disease response, climate resilience, and access to land for new and underrepresented farmers. The committee then heard from WSU economist Randy Fortenberry on an agricultural competitiveness study and trade impacts. He said the study used producer surveys, case studies, and shift-share analysis for dairy, grapes, hops, potatoes, apples/tree fruit, wheat, and small/diversified farms, comparing Washington to national trends and peer states. His findings indicated that Washington’s competitiveness is declining in most sectors, with potatoes as the main exception; labor and regulatory compliance costs were especially significant in dairy, grapes, potatoes, and tree fruit, while small farms were more constrained by land access, capital, and profitability. On trade, he said Washington is highly export-dependent and vulnerable to retaliation, citing past losses in wheat, apples, pulses, and cherries when tariffs disrupted access to China and India, while noting current uncertainty around Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, and India. No votes were taken. The committee discussed next steps, including a December interim report on food security and agricultural viability and a final report expected by June 2026. Sanderson said the department had already held a stakeholder workshop and is continuing internal and external review, while the chair asked WSU to connect the committee with policy experts who could help identify practical solutions.

Transcript Highlights:

• The peer states for dairy that we selected were Iowa and New Mexico.
• And the closest states to us, in terms of total dairy production, were Iowa and New Mexico.
• New Mexico would have grown a bit more, Iowa a bit less, and the competitive effect is what we really
• The good news is we were doing better than New Mexico, but we weren't doing as well as Iowa.
• When you were talking about milk, and you were talking about our comparable states being Iowa and New

Summary: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee held an interim work session focused on Washington agriculture’s viability, workforce, and competitiveness. Director Derek Sanderson of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and WSU Dean Raj Kosla described the size and diversity of the state’s farm sector, declining farm numbers, major export markets, and pressures from labor costs, low commodity prices, trade barriers, drought, regulatory burdens, and pests and disease. Kosla emphasized WSU’s land-grant role in education, research, and extension, including precision agriculture, broadband needs in rural areas, and the need for state support to help producers adopt new technologies and train the next generation of agricultural workers. Members asked about retaining farmland, increasing workforce capacity, and the role of precision agriculture. Kosla said precision agriculture can help address labor shortages and water scarcity, but adoption is limited by cost and rural broadband gaps. He explained precision agriculture as tailoring inputs to the right place, time, amount, and manner, and said WSU is working on low-cost sensor technologies and other innovations. Members also asked about how widely precision agriculture is used and whether it improves farm bottom lines; Kosla said adoption varies by tool and that he would follow up with more data. The committee then heard from Dr. Randy Fortenberry of WSU’s Impact Center on an agricultural competitiveness study and the effects of tariffs and trade. He reported that Washington’s competitiveness has generally declined relative to peer states in dairy, grapes, hops, apples, and wheat, with potatoes as the main bright spot. Surveyed producers said a substantial share of revenue is tied to regulatory compliance, with labor-related costs a major driver, and small diversified farms reported land access, capital, and profitability as bigger barriers than regulation. On trade, Fortenberry said Washington agriculture is highly export-dependent and vulnerable to retaliation, citing past losses in wheat, apples, pulses, and cherries when tariffs disrupted markets, while noting current uncertainty around China and India. The committee asked follow-up questions about compliance time, peer-state comparisons, and regulatory burdens; no votes were taken, and the department said it plans an interim report by the end of the year and a final report by June 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• I grew up in a firefighter family, both my dad and my grandfather in Iowa, so God bless you.
• hours per year, which I think is the equivalent of five work weeks, whatever five times 40 is, just hunting

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations from the Department of Financial Services and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, then returned to its ongoing budget workshop with the Department of Management Services. DFS’s Division of Risk Management described its role as the state self-insurance fund, covering about 200,000 employees and 27,000 vehicles, paying roughly $150 million in claims last year, and managing a pilot ETS treatment program for veterans and first responders that had 49 patients and 804 treatments as of the latest report. The Division of State Fire Marshal outlined its fire prevention, training, emergency response, and grant programs, including hurricane deployments, the Florida State Fire College, and several capital and grant requests for roof, courtyard, memorial, and equipment needs. The Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation explained how it handles insolvent insurers under Chapter 631, currently administering 14 estates with $1.2 billion in assets and $3.7 billion in liabilities, and said no new receiverships had been opened since February 2023. Members asked about grant backlogs, fire truck procurement delays, memorial repairs, and whether affiliate transfers were occurring in insurer liquidations. Secretary Griffin then updated the committee on DBPR’s implementation of House Bill 1021 on community associations. He said the department had used the new authority to expand education, complaint handling, and ombudsman services, including 10 free standardized courses, a new condo website, and a four-hour board certification course that had already drawn more than 12,000 attendees. He reported that outreach to condominium communities had increased by more than 60%, that complaint filings were up 39% while jurisdictional dismissals dropped to 11%, and that about 81% to 82% of the 65 new positions had been filled. Members pressed him on whether the department had enough authority and funding, how condominium counts are determined, how self-reported structural integrity reserve study data is verified, and whether more public-facing complaint tracking and better reporting from local governments or developers would improve the system. The committee then resumed questioning Secretary Allende of DMS about outstanding budget and operations issues. Members focused on the delayed People First contract extension required by statute, with the secretary saying the delay involved technical and contractual complexity in moving a legacy hard-coded system to the cloud. They also revisited the state data team and data catalog project, asking why a statutory 2022 deadline had not been met, how the four-person team and broader data staff were organized, how many applicants were considered for key positions, and what each role was doing. The secretary said the catalog work was being simplified into six metadata fields and supported by a broader community of practice, but no firm completion date was given during the exchange.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> A 2024 investigation by the by the Iowa A 2024 investigation by the by the Iowa Attorney<00:22:45.360
• I'm joining you all the way from Des Moines, Iowa, this morning.
• So, thank you for Iowa this morning.
• One of the points I would like to address is the Iowa lawsuit, as you heard me say.
• I'm actually from Iowa. No hometown love for me there, but that lawsuit is still ongoing.

Committee: House Banking & Insurance