Transcript Highlights:

• RSA 659 is election procedures, and it contains various things such as electioneering by public employees
• The laws that I'm referring to came from an electioneering complaint against public employees, where
• , where the AG in the court case... ...where the public employees' attorney actually admitted to the
• </c><00:38:22.720><c> executing</c> believe that public employees executing believe that public employees
• It's cited in the bill and you can look it up. 15-year employee with the United States 15-year employee

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I do want to emphasize that exempt employees do not have civil service protections; particularly, they
• Furthermore, um, we believe the state just needs to look at decreasing... considered at will employees
• What makes it easier to get an exempt employee in?
• </c><01:16:20.960><c> is</c> because your employe your employee is because your employe your employee
• in um so I would get an exempt employee in um so I would imagine<01:16:40.400><c> it's</c><01:16:40.679

Committee: House Public Safety

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee held its first hearing of the 2025 session and began with housekeeping on testimony deadlines, hybrid participation rules, time management, and expectations for civility. The chair said testimony posted at least 24 hours in advance would be available to members and the public at the same time, late testimony would still be processed, and decision-making would generally be deferred to later in the day so morning hearings could adjourn before the noon floor session. The first bill heard was HB 673 on emergency management. Hawaii Emergency Management Agency administrator James Barros testified in opposition, saying the bill could undermine the executive’s unity of command during emergencies and objecting to provisions allowing the legislature to terminate a state of emergency by a two-thirds vote. Members asked about the difference between an emergency order and a state of emergency, whether other states use legislative checks and balances, and whether long-running emergencies such as COVID-19 or homelessness should have clearer end conditions. Barros said the agency, along with the Attorney General’s office and the governor’s office, would review the language and that the issue is setting conditions for when an emergency ends. The committee then heard HB 596, also on emergency management, which would clarify types of events that count as dangers and emergencies. Barros opposed the bill, saying the current list covers known hazards but should remain open-ended for future threats; he cited COVID-19 as an example of an unforeseen event and said the bill could limit flexibility. Members asked whether the list could be expanded, and Barros said the agency would look at that possibility. Testimony included support from the Grassroots Institute of Hawaii and concerns from the Tax Foundation of Hawaii about the bill’s special fund provisions; the committee also corrected testimony that had been submitted for the wrong bill. The final measure discussed was HB 1060 on emergency preparedness and the Community Readiness Center Program. Barros explained the proposal as part of HEMA’s effort to build local readiness centers and community hubs, with an initial target of 10 communities through a federal grant and a longer-term concept of roughly 100 statewide. The Climate Advisory Team supported the bill’s intent but urged that centers be developed with strong community and nonprofit involvement through the HARRP program. The Department of Taxation offered comments on the special fund, and members raised questions about cost, size, use of existing school facilities, public messaging, and equity across communities. Barros said the centers would provide backup communications, power, water, and food for a community group, would not function as general shelters, and would be designed to help communities hunker down and recover after a disaster.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have 16,000 hours of overtime, and our average rate of pay to employees to provide these services
• That means that we don't have a lot to use to compete for those employees who work very hard and who
• And then any of that extra money that we go out in the community and raise could go to our employees.
• And then any of that extra money that we go out in the community and raise could go to our employees.
• The coach, a school employee, then led the room in a declaration of who they are in Christ, a closing

Committee: Senate Finance

Summary: The committee met for public testimony on the Finance budget, with the main discussion focused first on funding for disability services and then on the LA GATOR scholarship program. Several individuals testified in support of fully funding Families Helping Families and Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS), describing how advocacy, transition services, and direct support workers help people with disabilities access education, employment, and independent living. Witnesses urged the committee to preserve or increase state general funds to draw down federal matching dollars, and provider groups said current reimbursement rates and staffing shortages are leaving agencies in deficit, creating waitlists, overtime costs, and difficulty retaining workers. Committee members thanked the speakers and noted that the testimony would be used to compare the governor’s, House, and remaining budget requests. The committee then heard extensive testimony in support of increasing funding for the LA GATOR scholarship program. Supporters included policy groups, school leaders, parents, and students who argued that the program expands educational choice, helps low-income and special-needs students find schools that fit their needs, and should be fully funded at the level of demonstrated demand. Speakers from Catholic and Christian schools said GATOR funding had helped students thrive academically and spiritually, but that shortfalls left many eligible students without awards, hurt kindergarten enrollment, and forced schools to raise private donations to cover gaps. Several witnesses emphasized that the program is not a zero-sum attack on public schools, but a way to let education dollars follow students. A few committee questions focused on the fiscal impact and on whether choice programs improve outcomes without harming public schools. Testimony cited enrollment growth, parent demand, and data from other states to argue that school choice can improve student and parent outcomes and may also strengthen traditional public schools through competition. No votes or formal actions were taken during the public testimony portion of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Pardon, Vindial, on behalf of the Coalition of California Utility Employees and the California State
• Pardon, Vindial, on behalf of the Coalition of California Utility Employees and the California State
• I think you heard the concerns around the employee negotiations.
• So this goes directly back to how much you pay your employees.
• Thank you. ...coalition of utility employees in support. Thank you.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy heard several bills focused on clean energy, electrification, and grid planning. AB 1813 (Ward) would revise California’s community renewable energy program to better support community solar and storage, especially for renters and low-income customers, by tying credits to avoided costs and requiring at least 51% low-income participation. Supporters said the current CPUC program is unworkable and has stalled development; utilities raised concerns about cost shifts, CCA impacts, and the bill’s late substantive amendments. The bill was discussed but no vote was recorded in the excerpt. AB 2313 (Berman) would create a gas service line replacement alternative program allowing customers facing planned gas line replacement to instead choose electrification and receive an incentive. Supporters argued it would reduce long-term gas infrastructure costs and give customers more choice, while opponents warned it could divert money from safety-related gas replacement work, create affordability issues, and conflict with the recently approved SB 1221 pilot. Committee members pressed the author on safety, funding sources, and renter impacts; the author said the bill includes emergency replacement exemptions and is intended to lower costs for remaining ratepayers. AB 1975 (Schultz) would require the CPUC to develop a grid utilization metric and consider expanded grid management programs to better use existing distribution infrastructure and reduce the need for costly upgrades. Supporters said better utilization could save ratepayers billions and help integrate batteries and flexible load; utilities generally opposed rigid utilization targets but were open to further discussion. The committee passed AB 1975 on a 7-0 vote to Appropriations. AB 2612, on plug-in photovoltaic systems, passed 9-0 to Appropriations after supporters said it would expand access to low-cost solar and utilities requested clarification that they would participate in the standards process. AB 1849 (Pappin) would direct CARB to study the need for decarbonized gaseous fuels in hard-to-electrify sectors and for grid reliability. Supporters framed it as a technology-neutral assessment for sectors like industrial heat and backup power; opponents argued it was biased toward a preferred fuel pathway and duplicated existing state studies. After a lengthy exchange over the lack of a statutory definition for “decarbonized gaseous fuels,” the bill passed 10-0 to Appropriations. AB 2088 (Pappin) would authorize investor-owned utilities to own and operate thermal energy networks, with safeguards for safety, workforce, and ratepayers. Supporters described TENs as efficient, low-emission heating and cooling systems that can use geothermal energy or waste heat; the bill passed 9-0 to Appropriations.

Transcript Highlights:

• Pardon, Vindial, on behalf of the Coalition of California Utility Employees and the California State
• Scott, on behalf of the California Coalition of Utility Employees, we have a great admiration for what
• I think you heard the concerns around the employee negotiations.
• So this goes directly back to how much you pay your employees.
• Thank you. ...coalition of utility employees in support. Thank you.

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for taking the amendment as far as having a valid employee employment payub.
• the amendment as far as having a taking the amendment as far as having a valid<00:26:15.520><c> employee
• </c> valid employee uh employment uh payub. valid employee uh employment uh payub.
• We don’t want our families to move to Texas. >> We’d like to compete with Texas for those employees.
• </c> those employees. Representative Scott. those employees. Representative Scott.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So, consequently, their employees were commuting over 1 and 1/2 hours each day to secure these jobs.
• that could not find housing<00:37:31.720><c> for</c><00:37:31.880><c> their</c><00:37:32.080><c> employees
• </c><00:37:33.080><c> So,</c> housing for their employees. So, housing for their employees.
• So, consequently,<00:37:33.960><c> their</c><00:37:34.160><c> employees</c><00:37:34.600><c> were</c>
• consequently, their employees were consequently, their employees were commuting<00:37:35.240><c> over

Committee: Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These requirements also do not prohibit a school district from providing employees time off to vote on
• You heard my scenario about employees in a store knowing that there's somebody in the back who maybe
• employee sneaks back and says, 'The cops are here; you better get out of here.'
• The employee walks in the back and says, 'The cops are here.'
• Another employee hearing that goes back and says, 'The cops are here, get out of here.'

Summary: The committee approved the minutes and then heard a long series of bills, mostly from Senators Hoffman, Fernandez, and Bolick. Early action included SB 1436 on school bond/override ballot language, which passed 4-3 after brief debate over ballot length and transparency. SB 1568, requiring election systems to keep clocks within 60 seconds of official time and making violations a misdemeanor, was amended and passed 4-3 despite concerns about machine failures and the breadth of the penalty. SB 1569, limiting special election board members from collecting voter registrations while assisting confined voters, also passed 4-3 after testimony from county officials and a deputy registrar describing alleged misuse of SEBs. SB 1746, requiring schools to serve as polling places and closing schools on regular primary/general election days for staff training, passed 4-3 over objections about school autonomy and safety. SB 1295, allowing certain incarcerated people needing long-term care or treatment to be transferred to contracted medical institutions, passed unanimously after an amendment narrowing the medical eligibility language. The committee then took up SB 1067, a county blight/abatement bill allowing property tax bills to include assessments for removing rubbish, debris, and dilapidated structures; county officials from Gila and Pima Counties strongly supported it, and it passed 7-0. SB 1285, which would have repealed kratom protections and added kratom and its alkaloids to the narcotic-drug list, drew strong opposition from industry and a pharmacist and failed 3-4 after debate over safety, regulation, and criminal penalties. SB 1413, removing the $100,000 restitution cap for serious injury or death caused by a moving violation, passed after a short explanation that it was intended to conform statutes to a prior Arizona Supreme Court ruling. SB 1476, making prenatal exposure to dangerous or narcotic drugs and fetal alcohol syndrome a class six felony child neglect offense with an affirmative defense for mothers who completed treatment, drew emotional testimony from a foster/adoptive parent and opposition from reproductive justice and criminal defense advocates; it passed 4-2. Later, SB 1585, creating standards and funding mechanisms for sex offender-specific evaluations, treatment, and polygraphs, passed 4-2 after supporters argued it would improve oversight and opponents questioned the added surcharge and appropriation. SB 1662, requiring probation conditions to be the least restrictive necessary and tailored to risk and needs, passed 5-0 with support from justice reform advocates and defense attorneys. SB 1664, adjusting constable nomination signature requirements in Maricopa and Pima Counties, passed unanimously after county association support. The committee then began SB 1666 on in-state custodial interference, with the sponsor and a supporter describing repeated violations of custody orders and arguing for a tiered civil-penalty-to-felony structure; the transcript ends during questioning on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it asked businesses... ...and it asked businesses, required businesses of 20 or more employees to
• hear that, I'm sure, later today. ...and it asked businesses, required businesses of 20 or more employees
• These are small business owners and employees, gig workers, early retirees like Mr.
• water's edge, and stop subsidizing profitable corporations that pay poverty wages and force their employees
• water's edge, and stop subsidizing profitable corporations that pay poverty wages and force their employees

Committee: House Health

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . 22nd century as far as on the technology that's available to them and train those employees so they
• On small manufacturers and the number of employees as one of the driving metrics. Thank you.
• I think you mentioned that this manufacturer would have 25 employees or less.
• What's the statute of limitations as it relates to a civil matter if you're an employee of the Senate
• As it relates to a civil matter if you're an employee of the Senate? Senator Martin. It depends.

Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several recognitions, including remarks from the new Democratic caucus leader, Senator Berman, who emphasized affordability, education, health care, public safety, and opposition to measures he said would roll back child labor protections, book access, and gun safety laws. The chamber also recognized military leaders from U.S. Army Special Operations Command and an intern from Senator Polsky’s office. No committee reports or executive messages were on the desk at the start. The Senate then took up and passed several bills, often after substituting House companions and adopting technical amendments. Among the measures approved were the dangerous dogs bill (the Pam Rock Act), local government land regulation, vessel-related voter freedom/boating provisions, blood clot screening and treatment, fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, concealed carry licensing for certain officers and service members, timeshare management firms, disability history and awareness instruction, manufacturing and manufacturing fees, public education on background screening requirements, utility service restrictions, educational opportunities for military children, Medicaid oversight, health facilities authorities, and veterans’ nursing home beds. Several bills were temporarily postponed, including measures on human trafficking, waste management, Bright Futures, Medicaid oversight earlier in the day, mammogram coverage, and others. Debate on the disability history bill was especially extensive, with senators discussing the use of the word “disability,” the role of bias, and whether the bill fit with broader DEI-related policy debates. The bill’s sponsor and supporters framed it as a first step toward helping students understand and respect people with disabilities, and the chamber opened co-sponsorship before substituting the House version. Other bills drew focused questions about local government costs, impact fees, staffing burdens, grant criteria for small manufacturers, and the scope of utility preemption. Most measures passed on strong votes, including several unanimous votes, with the concealed carry/firearms bill passing 33-3 and the local government land regulation bill passing 26-8.

Transcript Highlights:

• they get into the 22nd century as far as the technology that's available to them and train those employees
• I think you mentioned that this manufacturer would have 25 employees or less.
• expended for food, beverage, large and entertainment, travel expenses, gifts for the department employees
• What's the statute of limitations as it relates to a civil matter if you're an employee of the Senate
• As it relates to a civil matter if you're an employee of the Senate? Senator Martin. It depends.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, prayer, pledge, and several recognitions, including remarks from Senator Berman on Democratic priorities and introductions of military leaders and an intern. The chamber then moved through a long special-order calendar, with many bills substituted to House companions, amended, and passed, while several others were temporarily postponed. Major measures approved included the dangerous dogs/Pam Rock Act (SB 572/HB 593), which tightened penalties and procedures for dog attacks and passed 36-0; local government land regulation (SB 1080), which was amended to remove agricultural enclave language and passed 26-8; vessel/freedom-related legislation (SB 1388/HB 1137), which passed 35-0; blood clot screening and treatment (SB 890/HB 1421), which added registry and training provisions and passed 36-0; fleeing or eluding law enforcement (SB 468/HB 113), which increased offense levels and passed 36-0; concealed carry/licensing for certain officers and service members (SB 490/HB 383), which passed 33-3; timeshare management (SB 496/HB 897), which clarified governance and annual meeting requirements and passed 36-0; background screening education (SB 614/HB 531), which created a public webpage and passed 36-0; utility service restrictions (SB 1002/HB 1137), which preempted local energy-source restrictions and passed 36-0; Medicaid oversight (SB 1060), which created a joint oversight committee and passed 35-0; health facilities authorities (SB 68), amended to make fentanyl urine screening more discretionary, and passed 36-0; and veterans’ nursing home beds (SB 78/HB 797), which authorized veteran- and spouse-designated beds and passed 36-0. The chamber also passed disability history and awareness instruction (SB 540/HB 447), a highly personal bill honoring Evan Hartzell that drew extended debate about disability language, inclusion, and education; it passed 35-0 after 35 co-sponsors were added. Manufacturing policy bills SB 600 and SB 602 were approved after amendments to add reporting, ranking metrics, and fee-use restrictions, both passing 35-0. Educational opportunities for military children (SB 1528) passed 36-0 after testimony from student sponsors and senators praising the bill’s origin. Several other bills, including Medicaid oversight, mammograms, Parkinson’s disease, condominium/cooperative associations, waste management, human trafficking, and Bright Futures, were postponed or not taken up during this segment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Lauterbach: So you can relate to being an employee in a facility like this.
• And the reality is that if I had language like "an employee, contractor, volunteer, intern, or service
• We, in my opinion, we can't send a message like that or else we're going to lose employees.
• And in the real world outside of government, in order to keep and retain employees, you have to pay them
• Representative Wu: ...employees have been disciplined since the DOJ report came out?

Committee: House S/C on Juvenile Justice

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:17:11.520><c> Uh,</c><00:17:12.079><c> right</c> uh, the SEC has one employee.
• Uh, right uh, the SEC has one employee.
• The SEC administrator is a PUC employee, and that employee does and will have, because the position is
• The SEC administrator is a PUC employee, and that employee does and will have, because the position is
• The third thing I wanted to point out is that... and uh the and that employee and uh the and that employee

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The return to work of injured employees and reduction and force efforts to place employees who may be
• The return to work of injured employees and reduction and force efforts to place employees who may be
• The return to work of injured employees and reduction and force efforts to place employees who may be
• The return to work of injured employees and reduction and force efforts to place employees who may be
• The return to work of injured employees and reduction and force efforts to place employees who may be

Committee: House Health

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up SB 1494 on hearing aids. Testimony was generally supportive of expanding hearing-aid coverage, with the Insurance Division raising concern about possible federal defrayment issues, SHPDA supporting the goal of hearing augmentation, DCAB strongly supporting the bill as an important access issue, and health plans and insurers asking for amendments. Kaiser Permanente and the Hawaii Association of Health Plans requested changes to add a medical-necessity standard and clarify annual notice language, while HMSA suggested the proposal should be studied by the auditor. The chair noted concerns about federal preemption and the lack of an audit, and deferred the bill in favor of a related resolution calling for a study. The committee then heard SB 1448, an emergency appropriation for the Hawaii State Hospital. DAGS and the Department of Health supported the measure, with the hospital administrator saying the funding would improve the environment of care, support cleaning, and allow a third-party review of the building. Committee members questioned the size of the request and the status of litigation against the design-builder. Administration witnesses said they were pursuing a comprehensive study involving destructive testing, had made a demand on the design-builder to fund the study, and were using different processes than before. They also said the roof work would be handled through a separate CIP request. No final action was taken in the portion provided. The committee next heard SB 1432, relating to the future responsibilities of the Department of Health and land issues at Kalaupapa after the last patient dies. DOH supported the bill in part but said its long-term role would be limited mainly to environmental cleanup, with operations expected to continue under the National Park Service and land-use decisions left to DHHL and beneficiary consultation. DHHL asked that the measure reflect that any land-use or zoning changes on homeland lands require commission approval and beneficiary consultation. Testifiers from Kalaupapa and Maui County, including Degra Vanderbilt-Papa and Council Member Keani Rollins-Fernandez, supported deferring the bill, saying there had been no meaningful community discussion about provisions affecting Kalaupapa’s future management and possible transfer of responsibilities to Maui County. The committee also read into the record written testimony from Gloria Marks emphasizing that Kalaupapa stakeholders must be included in future discussions. Finally, the committee heard SB 955 on fitness-to-proceed examinations. The Judiciary and the Public Defender’s Office both supported raising pay and standardizing expectations for private examiners, but opposed reducing felony fitness evaluations from three examiners to one and opposed expanding use of expedited reports. They argued that a single examiner would reduce reliability, create a more adversarial process, and likely increase costs and contested hearings, while expedited reports do not contain enough information for a proper fitness determination. The Department of Health also supported the bill’s intent but asked to preserve a three-examiner framework and said the goal was to reduce the number of people sent to the State Hospital, where admissions have reportedly risen about 20% year over year since Act 26. The bill remained under discussion in the excerpt, with no final vote shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just remind the committee, you did award employee compensation increases to the state employees.
• uh, employer premium amount, uh, for state employees.
• ,</c><00:20:57.920><c> uh,</c> plans up to the, uh, state employee, uh, plans up to the, uh, state employee
• And so, uh, for for state employees.
• premium amount for state employees.

Committee: Joint Select Committee on School Facilities

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• leading off is HB 1025, relative to the designation of the chief financial officer as a civilian employee
• for the state of New civilian employee for the state of New Hampshire.<00:06:16.960><c> So,</c><00:06
• </c><00:06:20.800><c> of</c><00:06:21.039><c> Military</c> employee in the Department of Military employee
• There's about 10 state employees who would meet with you to discuss your veteran service compensation
• </c> with Maine in regards to the employees with Maine in regards to the employees at<04:50:14.080><c

Committee: House State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Employees benefit from better wages and more job opportunities.
• Eighty percent of our members have fewer than 20 employees, so when I say small, I mean very small —
• </c> range from 100 to 1500 employees range from 100 to 1500 employees depending<01:14:34.440><c> on<
• He said that for 10- or 15-employee businesses, whether this saves them a few hundred bucks or a few
• He said that for 10- or 15-employee businesses, whether this saves them a few hundred bucks or a few

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee held a public hearing on HB 135, introduced by Representative Michael Harrington. He said the bill would codify a portion of the New Hampshire Constitution to bar New Hampshire businesses from being required to collect sales or use taxes for other states unless Congress mandates it, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision created an onerous compliance burden for businesses. He described the patchwork of state and local sales tax rules, thresholds, and product exemptions as extremely complex and said the bill was intended to push the issue back toward Congress and the courts. Members questioned whether the bill’s reference to a “foreign government” would apply to other U.S. states, whether the proposal would conflict with the Supremacy Clause, and whether it would create standing for businesses to challenge Wayfair. Harrington responded that “foreign government” meant any government other than New Hampshire, that he believed the state could challenge the decision in court by passing a law contrary to Wayfair, and that businesses were already being harmed by compliance costs. Some members raised concerns about whether the bill was an unfunded mandate or simply a private compliance burden, and Harrington argued that the state itself would not be collecting the taxes, but businesses would still face recordkeeping and administrative costs. Sam Garland of the Department of Justice then testified. He said the department was not taking a formal position on the bill, but offered technical comments. Garland acknowledged that Wayfair created significant compliance burdens and noted that states have become somewhat more uniform, with all states now having a $100,000 economic nexus threshold, though not all use the 200-transaction threshold and local tax variation remains substantial. He said the department’s concerns were legal, describing the issue as uncharted constitutional territory involving both vertical and horizontal federalism. No vote or final action was taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Basically, what this does is create a competitive awards program for employers to get training for their employees
• And this piece is providing grants to employers to upskill existing employees.
• they... that they are trying to contend with as they scale up, as they need to expand, as they have employees
• successful. that they are trying to contend with as they scale up, as they need to expand, as they have employees

Bills: HB316 , HB549 , HB646 , HB752 , HB824 , HB873 , HB1129 , HB1157 , HB1170

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: literacy, adolescent, teacher education, high-dosage tutoring, reading intervention, workforce development, training programs, Bayou Growth Opportunity, funding, employment, skills gap, qualified employer, credential recognition, government growth limit, recurring revenue, state finance, Louisiana Income Tax Elimination Fund, fiscal responsibility, legislative sessions, regular sessions

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee met on April 22 and first considered Chairman Beaulieu’s House Bill 646, a constitutional amendment limiting the amount of State General Fund money that may be appropriated in a fiscal year. After adopting a set of amendments creating the Louisiana Income Tax Elimination Fund and making conforming changes, the committee reported the bill favorably as amended. The companion bill, House Bill 824, which establishes the growth limit formula based on CPI, medical CPI, and population change, was also amended and reported favorably as amended. Supporters framed both measures as a way to keep spending within recurring revenues and create a path toward reducing or eliminating the state income tax. The committee then reported favorably as amended House Bill 1157, creating the Louisiana State Infrastructure Fund to help finance infrastructure-related projects, with testimony that it would leverage private and federal dollars and initially focus on rail, port, road, and bridge projects. House Bill 316, which provides a framework for student literacy reforms for grades four through eight, was presented as having no new cost because the Department of Education said the work was already covered by existing resources; it was reported favorably. House Bill 549, creating the Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Program to provide employer-based training grants, also received support from business groups and was reported favorably as amended. House Bill 1129, dealing with the sale of state-owned surplus movable property, drew support from Louisiana auctioneers who argued local firms should be allowed to bid on the state’s auction contract instead of relying on an out-of-state vendor; it was reported favorably. House Bill 873, which would fund pursuit intervention technology through a $2 driver’s license fee, generated significant concern about adding fees and whether the money should instead come from existing budgets. After discussion of the proposed technologies and training, the committee deferred the bill voluntarily to work on alternatives, including a possible sunset and other funding options. Finally, House Bill 752, which would change the timing and duration of regular legislative sessions by joint rule, was reported without action after members noted the revised fiscal note showed a decrease in state general fund expenditures. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Basically, what this does is create a competitive awards program for employers to get training for their employees
• And this piece is providing grants to employers to upskill existing employees.
• challenges that they are trying to contend with as they scale up, as they need to expand, as they have employees
• The that they are trying to contend with as they scale up, as they need to expand, as they have employees

Bills: HB316 , HB549 , HB646 , HB752 , HB824 , HB873 , HB1129 , HB1157 , HB1170

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: literacy, adolescent, teacher education, high-dosage tutoring, reading intervention, workforce development, training programs, Bayou Growth Opportunity, funding, employment, skills gap, qualified employer, credential recognition, government growth limit, recurring revenue, state finance, Louisiana Income Tax Elimination Fund, fiscal responsibility, legislative sessions, regular sessions

Transcript Highlights:

• And so those 32 employees, whenever someone's put to death, really struggle with those cases.
• And so those 32 employees, whenever someone's put to death, really struggle with those cases.
• I mean, yeah, we have the employee assistance program.
• we're in a peculiar position where it's all licensees for the casinos and everyone related to that, employees

Committee: House Corrections and Public Institutions

Keywords: 959, house, all