Transcript Highlights:

• crisis in Texas is deeply concerning members skipping years as the Texas MMMRC did post-ops creates blind

Bills: HB46

Keywords: local government spending cap, expenditure limit, political subdivision, property tax, ad valorem tax, budget cap, taxpayer protection, spending restraint, inflation adjustment, population growth, voter approval, supermajority vote, county budget, municipal budget, school district finance, junior college district, hospital district, special district, attorney general enforcement, local fiscal limits

Transcript Highlights:

• Skipping years as the Texas MMRC did post-operations creates blind spots in understaffing.

Bills: HB514, HB1652, HB2117, HB2298, HB3269, HB46, HB46

Keywords: maternal health, maternal care, pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum, doula, birth worker, midwife, obstetric care, women's health, rural health, health workforce, workforce development, trauma-informed care, public outreach campaign, health equity, minority health, underserved communities, Texas Department of State Health Services, HHSC

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• We often speak of justice as as blind, but the reality is that judges, like all of us, are shaped by

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• Obscuring its role in accelerating the spread of COVID-19 beyond Wuhan, turning a blind eye to Chinese

Keywords: national security, cyber threats, civil liberties, transnational crime, FISA Section 702, public-private partnership, intelligence community, Annual Threats Hearing

Summary: The Senate Intelligence Committee convened for a significant meeting focused on the Annual Worldwide Threats Hearing. Prominent officials from various intelligence agencies presented their insights on emerging national security threats, including concerns over increasing cyber threats, particularly from China and non-state actors. A major discussion point included the balance between national security and civil liberties, as evidenced by conversations surrounding Section 702 of FISA and its implications for privacy protection. The challenges posed by cartels and transnational criminal organizations, especially related to narcotics trafficking, were emphasized as pressing issues necessitating coordinated responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. This meeting underscored the necessity of public-private partnerships to tackle these multifaceted threats effectively.

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• JUSTICE IS BLIND. DOESN’T ASK IF YOU'VE GROWN CHILDREN OR IF YOU ARE MARRIED.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

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• reporters in my life that tried very hard, and some that were the most important in my life turned a blind

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• But we are also looking at those who are participating in services from blind services or vocational

Summary: The subcommittee met to receive an informational presentation from CareerSource Florida President and CEO Adrian Johnson, joined by Anthony Gagliano of CareerSource Suncoast, on the structure, funding, and services of Florida’s workforce development system. Johnson explained that CareerSource serves job seekers and businesses through 21 local workforce development boards and nearly 100 career centers, using federal and state funding streams such as WIOA, Wagner-Peyser, SNAP Employment and Training, and TANF. She described services including case management, training, wraparound supports, job matching, rapid response for layoffs and disasters, and business services such as recruitment, customized training, and on-the-job training. She also highlighted the REACH Act’s role in consolidating local boards from 24 to 21, creating the Master Credential List and Credential Review Committee, and implementing performance-based letter grades for local boards. Members asked detailed questions about funding formulas, letter grade metrics, apprenticeships, youth services, small business access, and the demand occupation list. Johnson said federal allocations are driven largely by unemployment and poverty formulas, which has reduced Florida’s WIOA funding by about $27 million over four years because of the state’s low unemployment rate. She explained the letter grades measure outcomes such as increased earnings, reduced public assistance, employment and training outcomes, work-based learning, business engagement, and service to individuals in certain programs, and said the system is being reviewed for possible changes, including removing extra credit and adjusting weights. On youth services, she said Florida has a waiver allowing a 50/50 split between in-school and out-of-school youth funding, and that local partnerships drive outreach. On the demand occupation list, she said it is based on state labor market data and projections, but local boards can submit evidence of local demand when data does not reflect conditions in their area. A substantial portion of the discussion focused on apprenticeships and workforce training grants. Johnson and Gagliano described apprenticeship navigators funded by the $7.75 million apprenticeship expansion allocation, which help employers navigate registration and expand apprenticeships into nontraditional fields such as IT, health care, education, and hospitality. Gagliano gave examples from CareerSource Suncoast and said navigators helped employers move faster through registration and develop programs with local education providers. Johnson also discussed Incumbent Worker Training Grants and Quick Response Training Grants, noting recent awards of nearly $3 million to 69 businesses and $6.5 million to 24 businesses, respectively, and said these programs are targeted toward high-skill, high-wage occupations and priority industries. The meeting ended with no votes or formal action; the chair thanked the presenters, invited follow-up questions, and adjourned the meeting without objection.

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• Erasing eviction records after just five years would essentially blind landlords to prospective tenants

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• Is it actively pursued by the government as a strategy, or does the government simply turn a blind eye

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• But there's no reason why the legislature ought to be flying blind on this. ...as much as if you had
• But there's no reason why the legislature ought to be flying blind on this.
• We should not be flying blind, blindly... ...those doctors end up. Somebody's got to be able to...
• We should not be flying blind, blindly throwing around dollars year after year after year and not knowing

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• become more and more distressed, they need real therapy that gets to the root of their problems and not blind
• gets to the root of their problems and gets to the root of their problems and not<01:04:40.680> blind
• not blind affirmations. Thank you. not blind affirmations. Thank you.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

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• within the county, that they now have a basis to operate off of and they're not kind of operating blind
• operate off of and they're not kind of operate off of and they're not kind of operating<02:11:33.320> blind
• as<02:11:33.920> a<02:11:34.079> small<02:11:34.360> County operating blind
• and as a small County operating blind and as a small County they<02:11:34.840> didn't<02:11:35.159

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• constitutionally enumerated natural right to enjoy and defend life and liberty should not be a license to turn a blind
• license<01:48:03.080> to<01:48:03.280> turn<01:48:03.560> a<01:48:03.800> blind
• <01:48:04.320> eye<01:48:04.639> to a license to turn a blind eye to a license to turn
• a blind eye to preventable<01:48:05.760> danger<01:48:06.760> there<01:48:06.880> is

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Or will we look away, turn a blind eye to the horrors of gun violence and deaf to the voices of survivors
• <00:27:14.159> eye Or will we look away, turn a blind eye Or will we look away, turn a blind
• <03:03:38.319> not<03:03:38.640> turning<03:03:38.960> a<03:03:39.200> blind
• <03:03:39.520> eye, them out early, not turning a blind eye, them out early, not turning a
• blind eye, probation,<03:03:40.800> everything<03:03:41.279> else.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The House first adopted a conference committee report on House File 3426, a natural resources bill. Representative Jordan said the report largely reflected the House position, with changes including removal of the word “random” regarding DNR checks, clarification of minimum grant amount limits for trail maintenance and other projects, a two-year sunset on those caps, and repeal of obsolete language requiring DNR approval of ENRTF-funded acquisitions. Representative Heintzeman said the changes were technical and supported the bill. The motion prevailed, and the bill was given third reading. The House then concurred in Senate amendments to House File 4239, the campaign finance bill, and House File 4240, the elections bill. Representative Fryberg said HF 4239 addressed campaign disclaimers and privacy of addresses on campaign documents, with a compromise $10,000 security spending limit, authority for the Campaign Finance Board to dismiss frivolous complaints, and limits on sharing addresses with caucus leaders. HF 4240, the Secretary of State’s administrative bill, added an immediate effective date for a Three Rivers Park Commissioner disclosure requirement, removed an appropriation and related policy language, included amendments on special school district elections and betting on elections, and corrected a discrepancy with public safety language. Both bills were passed as amended by the Senate, with 118-15 and 127-6 votes respectively. The House also passed Senate File 3720, the workers’ compensation advisory council recommendations. Representatives Baker and Berg described bipartisan, unanimous council recommendations updating the workers’ compensation reinsurance process, allowing appellate judges to be assigned when needed, adding psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners as PTSD diagnosticians, updating attorney fee notice rules, increasing compensation for permanent partial disability, clarifying witness rules at employer medical exams, extending the time for employers to deny liability from 60 to 90 days, and correcting a prior error affecting DLI commissioner authority. The bill passed 132-1. Finally, Representative Long moved to suspend the rules to recall House File 5140, the comprehensive gun violence prevention package, from committee and bring it directly to passage. Long and Representative Greenman argued the Senate had already passed the bill and urged immediate action, citing the Annunciation shooting and other gun violence incidents. Representative Heintzeman raised concerns about the bill’s language, arguing a provision on protruding grips could make all handguns illegal and questioning other penalty provisions. Debate on the motion and bill continued, but no final vote on HF 5140 is shown in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, I'm blind, so I can't work or whatever. Therefore, I'm done.
• you know, I'm<05:03:44.320> blind,<05:03:44.958> so<05:03:45.200> I<05:03:45.440
• I'm blind, so I can't work or whatever. I'm blind, so I can't work or whatever.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the county as a whole, our cities and schools are going into their budget preparation a little bit blind
• the county as a whole, our cities and schools are going into their budget preparation a little bit blind

Summary: The subcommittee of the Tax Reform and Relief Advisory Committee met to begin its study of whether the content of the real estate tax statement should be revised to improve transparency. Legislative Council staff reviewed the study directive from HB 1176 and the statutory requirements for tax statements, including required line items such as true and full value, mill levy, legislative tax relief, primary residence credit, legacy fund share, discounts for early payment, and special assessments. The Tax Department then explained how the current uniform statewide statement is prescribed and approved, and noted that changes are typically driven by statute and implemented collaboratively with counties and vendors. County officials from NDACO, including auditors from McKenzie and Richland counties, described the full annual property tax timeline from budgeting through mailing final statements. They explained how counties gather budgets, calculate levies, verify taxable values, handle centrally assessed property, and prepare required notices and statements. They also said public attendance at budget hearings is generally very low, though the notices and statements generate some calls, mostly about whether attendance is required or why taxes are changing. Several members questioned the usefulness of the legislative tax relief line and the complexity of the 5% discount calculation, and county officials said the current process can be confusing and depends on manual data entry and coordination among counties, vendors, and taxing districts. The committee also discussed assessment frequency, valuation equalization, the 3% cap, and whether more frequent reassessment would reduce large jumps in taxable value. County officials said they try to use rotating reassessments and sales-ratio reviews to keep values within statutory tolerance, but staffing, training, and local market changes make the work difficult. NDACO staff estimated, based on a small county survey, that tax statement preparation and mailing costs average about 74 cents per statement, with outsourcing generally cheaper than in-house printing, and said HB 1176 added some mailing and administrative costs even if the tax statement itself did not change dramatically. Software vendors from CPT and Tyler then began presentations showing how their systems handle budgeting, valuation notices, tax statement generation, primary residence credit processing, and levy worksheets, emphasizing that many of the required calculations and reports are still manually entered or verified by county staff.

Transcript Highlights:

• the county as a whole, our cities and schools are going into their budget preparation a little bit blind
• the county as a whole, our cities and schools are going into their budget preparation a little bit blind

Summary: The subcommittee of the Tax Reform and Relief Committee met to begin its study of the feasibility and desirability of revising the content of the real estate tax statement to improve property tax transparency. Legislative Council staff reviewed the study directive under House Bill 1176 and the statutory requirements for tax statements, including required line items such as true and full value, mill levy, legislative tax relief, primary residence credit, and the Legacy Fund portion of that credit. The Tax Department then explained how the current uniform statement is prescribed and approved, and noted that changes are typically driven by statute and implemented collaboratively with counties and vendors. County officials from the North Dakota Association of Counties described the full annual tax cycle, from county budgeting and valuation notices to budget hearing notices, levy certification, cap calculations, and final tax statement mailing. They emphasized that counties and auditors do extensive coordination with taxing districts and neighboring counties, and that the process is labor-intensive and often manual. Members discussed the limited public response to budget notices and tax statements, the difficulty of explaining the legislative tax relief line, the 3% cap and valuation issues, and whether more frequent assessments or different timing would improve understanding. Several members and witnesses noted that many taxpayers only engage when they receive their final bill, and that clarity may be more important than adding more detail. NDACO also presented a rough cost survey from eight counties, estimating an average tax statement cost of about 74 cents and a statewide total near $600,000 for printing and mailing tax statements alone, with outsourcing generally cheaper than in-house printing. Witnesses noted that House Bill 1176 added other mailings and notices, increasing county workload and cost beyond the statement itself. The committee then heard from software vendors, who explained how their systems handle tax billing, budget notices, valuation notices, primary residence credit processing, and tax levy calculations, and they identified the 1600/1685 primary residence credit and discount interaction as a current programming challenge. No votes were taken; the meeting was informational and focused on gathering testimony and identifying issues for possible future recommendations or bill drafts.

Transcript Highlights:

• They provide a form of combustion accompanied by a blinding light and a loud bang.
• The visual burst from a flash bang is bright enough to cause flash blindness, and the auditory blast

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Now it is very common to have assaults on staff that are just blind and efficient.
• So what we did after that DOJ report was take a look and say, hey, we can't just be blind to issues within

Keywords: 1185, senate, all