Transcript Highlights:

• Because the calculations, you measure the rise in revenue versus wage growth.
• to 1.5 million people collecting unemployment on April 1, 2020, means that they were not collecting wages
• So yes, their wages were depressed, but the income did not change.
• unemployment insurance claims to be able to sustain themselves through that difficult time and whose wages
• President, I just would point out that from 2019 to 2021, wage growth was 5.7%. Wage growth, 5.7%.

Keywords: 1212, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, in that regard, then, does this bill have any implication or any connection to prevailing wage
• I did not see anything in there that would disqualify or require prevailing wage.
• So prevailing wage could be in these contracts or negotiated, I guess, into the contracts.
• The bill does not mention prevailing wage. It's separate from all that. Okay. All right.
• The Davis-Bacon Act deals with prevailing wage.

Committee: House Joint Committee on Rural Economic Development

Summary: The committee first met in executive session and voted several bills do pass. House Bill 2409 was approved 14-0, House Bill 2654 was approved 15-0, and House Bill 2747 was approved after adoption of a House committee amendment and substitute, also by a 14-0 vote. The committee then moved into public hearing on House Bill 1915, which would regulate payment practices in private construction contracts. Representative David Castile, the sponsor, said the bill was intended to ensure timely payment to contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, limit abusive contract clauses, and require written notice before withholding payment. He emphasized that it was aimed at larger private projects and not owner-occupied residential work. Testimony on HB 1915 was mixed. Supporters, including electrical, mechanical, and subcontractor associations, said delayed payment is common, especially for smaller firms, and argued the bill would improve cash flow and reduce the need for liens. Opponents, including general contractors and home builders, said the bill as filed was too restrictive, especially the seven-day downstream payment deadline and the limits on withholding and termination rights, and warned it could increase costs and burden small builders. Several witnesses said they were working with the sponsor on a committee substitute to more closely mirror Missouri’s public prompt pay law and to clarify the residential exemption. The committee then heard House Bill 2151, which would raise income eligibility limits for the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant from $40,000 to $50,000 for single filers and from $80,000 to $100,000 for joint filers. Representative Travis Wilson said the change was meant to reflect inflation and expand access for adults changing careers, apprentices, and other eligible students. Supporters from community colleges, chambers of commerce, and workforce groups said the program is working well, is budgeted, and helps fill workforce needs; one witness cited strong completion and retention rates among recipients. No opposition was presented, and the hearing concluded with adjournment of the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• we've worked with DWS to think through what the career paths would be and their high-demand and high-wage
• But I do know that the trades have been identified as a high-impact need, high-paying wage job area,
• But I do know that the trades have been identified as a high impact need, high paying wage job area,
• many technology fields that we are promoting, so it would be identified from the list of the high-wage
• What's to keep an attorney from coming in and his wages are half of what's in that pot? Mr.

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 97, which would appropriate funding to the Department of Health for updated shaken baby syndrome, now called abusive head trauma, prevention training and educational materials, including baby models used in demonstrations. Testimony from the sponsor and the New Mexico Injury and Violence Prevention Coalition supported the bill and emphasized that the materials had not been updated since 2016. Members noted the budget already included about $167,000 for this purpose, and the bill was tabled without opposition. The committee then heard House Bill 280, creating a Youth Internship Pilot Project to support paid internships for youth as a workforce development tool. Supporters from New Mexico Voices for Children said the bill would provide mentorship and relevant work-based learning, while members questioned what occupations would qualify, whether the program would focus on trades and high-demand jobs, and how schools, employers, and Workforce Solutions would participate. The bill was tabled, with Representatives Duncan and Pettigrew recorded in opposition. The main item of the meeting was House Bill 151, as substituted by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. The bill would create a compensation fund and commission for survivors of childhood sexual abuse involving public entities, while also allowing a three-year lookback window for claims and preserving private civil claims for private entities. The sponsor explained that the substitute removed a forward-looking statute-of-limitations change, set a $700,000 cap tied to the Tort Claims Act, used an administrative eligibility process with a "more likely than not" standard, and included reporting, confidentiality, and referral provisions. Supporters described the measure as a survivor-centered way to provide compensation while limiting state exposure, but members raised concerns about attorney fees, fund solvency, private versus public liability, rural impacts, and whether the state should pay for claims involving public institutions. After public testimony in support, the committee adopted the substitute but then voted on the bill itself and ended in an 8-8 tie, so the measure remained in committee and was not advanced.

Transcript Highlights:

• With each move, the state loses skilled living wage jobs, vendors lose sales, and the state loses tax
• ... ...loses skilled living wage jobs, vendors lose sales, and the state loses tax revenue.
• These aircraft employ 12 pilots and four mechanics and other employees, all making living wages.
• Seattle in pain, and with B&O tax increase, with the millionaire tax, and the increase in the minimum wage
• Seattle in pain, and with B&O tax increase, with the millionaire tax, and the increase in the minimum wage

Bills: HB2347 , HB2410

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: luxury aircraft tax, tax reduction, economic impact, business aviation, state revenue, HB2410, commercial truck safety, commercial vehicle safety, trucking industry, truck driver training, driver education, highway safety, traffic safety commission, Washington State, commercial motor vehicles, vehicle registration fee, IRP fee, state patrol highway account, safety enforcement fee, public-private partnership

Transcript Highlights:

• With each move, the state loses skilled living-wage jobs, vendors lose sales, and the state loses tax
• With each move, the state loses skilled living-wage jobs, vendors lose sales, and the state loses tax
• These aircraft employ 12 pilots, four mechanics, and other employees, all making living wages.
• Seattle in pain, and with B&O tax increase, with the millionaire tax, and the increase in the minimum wage
• Seattle in pain, and with B&O tax increase, with the millionaire tax, and the increase in the minimum wage

Summary: The committee first held a public hearing on House Bill 2410, which would establish a commercial truck safety and education council, increase the commercial vehicle safety enforcement fee from $16 to $32, and direct the new revenue to a dedicated account for truck safety and training programs. Committee staff outlined the bill’s CDL and training requirements, council structure, confidentiality provisions, and fiscal impacts. The prime sponsor said the bill was intended to improve truck safety through industry-led education and noted that a substitute was expected because details still needed work. Testimony from the Washington Trucking Associations, insurers, the Association of Washington Business, and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission was generally supportive of the safety goals, though the commission said operational details and agency roles still needed clarification. No vote was taken on the bill during the hearing. The committee then heard House Bill 2347, which would repeal the recently enacted luxury aircraft tax on non-commercial aircraft valued above $500,000. Staff explained that the tax is scheduled to take effect April 1 and that repeal would reduce revenue to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel account. Representative Dent, the sponsor, argued the tax is harming business aviation, emergency services, wildfire response, agricultural operations, and rural access, and said aircraft and related jobs were already leaving the state. Most public testimony came from aviation businesses, airport operators, industry associations, and related employers, all urging repeal and warning of aircraft departures, lost hangar tenants, reduced fuel sales, and job losses. One witness from the Port of Seattle supported addressing the tax’s impact but urged working toward a narrower fix rather than full repeal so sustainable aviation fuel funding would remain stable. After closing the hearing on HB 2347, the committee received a work session on tolling technology. Transportation Commission staff presented the results of a pilot using a smartphone app to support toll collection, explaining that the current tolling system remains accurate but that new technologies could reduce costs and improve flexibility over time. The pilot found high accuracy when the app was paired to a vehicle by Bluetooth, lower accuracy without pairing, strong customer satisfaction, and some privacy concerns. The commission recommended keeping the current system in place for now, conducting a more fully operational smartphone-based pilot in the near term, and eventually developing a broader technology marketplace for future tolling systems. Members asked about the role of tags versus apps, video tolling accuracy, and the timeline for replacing existing tolling methods. The meeting ended with adjournment for caucus.

Transcript Highlights:

• may increase by no more than the average annual percentage growth rate in Washington’s median hourly wage
• Time-limited tuition relief and future growth tied to wages prevent sudden spikes that make long-term
• Time limited tuition, relief, and future growth tied to wages prevent sudden spikes that make long-term
• Future growth tied to wages prevents sudden spikes that make long-term planning impossible for students
• address rising tuition costs by reducing resident undergraduate tuition and tying future increases to wage

Summary: The committee held its first meeting and heard four bills. HB 2286 would create an alternative route to social worker licensure by removing the exam requirement for advanced social workers and allowing enhanced supervision with supervisor attestation in place of the exam for independent clinical social workers. The sponsor and several social workers testified that the exam is a poor measure of clinical competence and can be a barrier to licensure, while opponents warned that removing the exam could affect public protection and Washington’s participation in the social work compact. Members asked follow-up questions about the compact, the exam format, and accreditation requirements, but no action was taken. HB 2363 would allow music therapy license applicants to practice under supervision for up to six months while waiting for exam verification. The sponsor described it as a technical fix to the new licensure system, and testimony from music therapists, educators, and a patient supported the bill as a way to avoid delays in hiring newly trained therapists while maintaining supervision and patient safety. The bill drew strong support in written testimony and no opposition in the hearing. HB 2324 would change tuition waiver rules for children of eligible veterans and National Guard members by giving eligible children eight years from the date of a parent’s disability determination to use the waiver when that determination occurs after the child turns 18. The sponsor said the bill is meant to align state law with federal dependency education benefits and prevent families from losing access because disability determinations can take years. The committee asked for clarification on how the new timing would work, and the hearing closed without a vote. HB 2098 would eliminate the cap on the advanced computing surcharge, expand Washington College Grant eligibility up to 100% of state median family income, and reduce resident undergraduate tuition by 10% for three years starting in 2027-28. Supporters, including students, labor, and advocacy groups, said the bill would improve affordability and access to higher education by asking large tech companies to pay more. Opponents from business and university groups argued the surcharge would be economically harmful, that the state already has substantial WEA funding, and that the bill would reduce tuition revenue without adequately backfilling institutional budgets. The committee heard extensive testimony and members raised questions about the surcharge cap, WEA spending, and the compacted funding structure, but no final action was taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• state has rightly raised expectations for new construction with respect to energy performance, living wages
• layered on top of existing laws that already are there for apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage
• layered on top of existing laws that already are there for apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage
• layered on top of existing laws that already are there for apprenticeship utilization and prevailing wage
• We have living wage jobs and trades and industries that don't require a college degree.

Bills: SB5884 , SB5885 , SB5937 , SB5938

Committee: Senate Housing

Keywords: sales tax, redevelopment, economic incentive, underutilized property, infrastructure, affordable housing, religious organizations, zoning laws, land use, community development, smart access system, smart lock, residential landlord-tenant act, tenant privacy, biometric data, fingerprint, face scan, iris scan, key fob, key card

Transcript Highlights:

• Up next, we have Senate Bill 1454, Senate Draft 1, House Draft 2, relating to the wage and our law.
• So, I believe we're ready to vote if that's okay. 2, relating to the wage and our law. 2, relating to
• the wage and our law.
• This bill requires the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to issue an order of wage payment
• violation to employers found to be in violation of the state's wage and hour law.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to provide direct ongoing support to rural providers, helping us to stabilize, pay our staff a fair wage
• care for families, and no family paying more than 7% of their income, and a. live more than a livable wage
• These instituted direct payments to providers who are actively caring for children to boost their wages
• It has raised wages for providers and helped keep more providers in work and more centers open.
• Would you stay at a job if your employer lowered your wages?

Bills: HF1367 , HF2732 , HF1897 , HF1424 , HF1383 , HF2728 , HF2863 , HF1685 , HF2929

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Keywords: child maltreatment, child abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, human trafficking, child protection, local welfare agency, county social services, Minnesota Department of Human Services, judicial review, district court appeal, venue, out-of-state abuse, cross-border investigation, Minnesota child welfare, family assessment, maltreatment determination

Transcript Highlights:

• But if they raise the minimum wage anyway, up subject the reason why I bring... this is like business
• <00:05:35.479><c> raise</c><00:05:35.720><c> the</c><00:05:35.880><c> minimum</c><00:05:36.240><c> wage
• </c><00:05:36.960><c> anyway</c><00:05:37.479><c> up</c> they raise the minimum wage anyway up they raise
• the minimum wage anyway up subject<00:05:38.520><c> the</c><00:05:38.639><c> reason</c><00:05:39.440
• portion of the bill to be overseen by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, specifically the Wage

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Committee on Labor and Technology met on March 12 in Room 224 at the Hawaii State Capitol and heard testimony on several labor, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, collective bargaining, and related measures. On House Bill 202, which would revise the definition of the adequate reserve fund for calendar year 2026 and beyond, the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations strongly supported the bill, saying it would protect the solvency of the Unemployment Insurance trust fund. The department explained that the reserve standard had been lowered from 1.5% to 1% in 2010 and argued that restoring it would better prepare the fund for future shocks. Questions focused on whether the change would affect employers’ costs and whether the trust fund had recovered fraud losses from the pandemic; the department said some fraud had been recovered and additional fraud tools were now in place. The committee recommended passage with amendments, including technical changes and a defective date, and adopted the recommendation. The committee also heard House Bill 477 on the Hawaii Employment Security Law, which the department supported as a modernization of the UI system but asked to amend for clarity, especially on registration-for-work language. The committee accepted those requested amendments and recommended passage with amendments. It then took up House Bill 1026 and House Bills 1027 through 1039, covering emergency appropriations for public employment cost items and collective bargaining for units 1 through 14. Testimony from the Budget and Finance director, United Public Workers, the University of Hawaiʻi, HGEA, UHSC, and others was generally in strong support, with one opposition noted on HB 1038. The committee moved all of those measures together and recommended passage with amendments. In its later decision-making agenda, the committee approved several previously heard bills with technical amendments and defective dates, including House Bill 423 on workers’ compensation, House Bill 480 on workers’ compensation, House Bill 162 on collective bargaining arbitration procedures, House Bill 164 on indebtedness to the state, and House Bill 1152 on tax administration. House Bill 214, relating to government and school resource officers, drew discussion about labor shortages and whether the bill should help train existing school resource officers into law enforcement roles; the committee still passed it with amendments. House Bill 874 on child performers was amended to require trust accounts for certain minors’ earnings and place oversight with DLIR’s Wage Standards Division, and House Bill 159 on qualified community rehabilitation programs was passed with amendments after the committee blanked the $850,000 cap for further discussion. All recommendations were adopted without recorded opposition, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• while take a training program um to wage while take a training program um to better<01:13:46.280><c>
• </c><01:25:55.480><c> in</c><01:25:55.639><c> that</c> Grant in part because the wages in that Grant
• in part because the wages in that work<01:25:56.199><c> don't</c><01:25:56.520><c> necessarily</c><01
• Is it a livable wage, and do they stay here?
• and do they stay here we a livable wage and do they stay here we we'll<01:34:23.520><c> have</c><01:

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee received an orientation from University System of New Hampshire Chancellor Katherine Preventure and Senior Director of Government Relations Lauren Banker on the system’s enrollment, finances, workforce role, and academic programs. They described the system as consisting of UNH, Keene State, and Plymouth State, with about 23,000 students, $928 million in FY24 operating expenses, a $3.7 billion economic impact, and UNH’s R1 research status. They emphasized the system’s role in graduating students into the New Hampshire workforce, its statewide Cooperative Extension and regional campus presence, and its alignment of degree offerings with top occupations identified by New Hampshire Employment Security. The presentation also highlighted partnerships with businesses, internships, and collaboration with the community college system, including 100 transfer pathways and a direct-admit program. A substantial portion of the discussion focused on tuition, state support, and student costs. The chancellor said the state invested $95 million in FY25, with about $81 million used to reduce resident tuition and about $14 million for statutory programs such as Cooperative Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Station. She said the state subsidy is about $7,300 per New Hampshire student, and that resident net tuition averages about $7,000, while nonresident net tuition averages about $16,600. She provided published tuition figures for UNH, Plymouth State, and Keene State, and explained that resident tuition has been held flat for five years while financial aid has increased, reducing average net tuition and fees for New Hampshire students from about $10,500 in 2020 to $9,800. Members asked for clarification on how residency and workforce-retention percentages were calculated, and the chancellor said she would follow up. Members also asked about comparisons with peer institutions, housing and meal costs, research funding, and the reasons for declining enrollment and staffing reductions. The chancellor said peer comparisons were based on flagship universities for UNH and smaller regional publics for Plymouth and Keene, and noted that out-of-state tuition has risen about 2.5% annually. She said housing for a UNH double room is $8,536 and a meal plan is $5,100, and offered to provide a consolidated cost document. On research, she said the system’s direct research spending includes federal funding and that indirect costs were about $34 million last year, with a follow-up promised on the federal/state and direct/indirect split. She attributed enrollment declines largely to demographics and said the system is responding by reducing costs, selling buildings, exiting leases, moving the system office to NHTI, and implementing Workday. She also noted that Plymouth received approval for five three-year bachelor’s degree programs and that members praised the shorter, workforce-focused pathways, especially for manufacturing and other in-demand fields.

Transcript Highlights:

• And of course, in Minnesota, we have the prevailing wage law.
• </c><00:20:04.160><c> According</c> have the prevailing wage law.
• According have the prevailing wage law.
• We've increased our starting wages by a dollar an hour for all product distribution center positions.
• </c> prevailing wage. prevailing wage.

Committee: Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In any way, even covering cases of health care, I know we calculate out people's wages and they're going
• And then you're like, okay, this person may... ...calculate out people's wages and they're going to work
• wanted to ask you about is something that I've done some work in, which is just narrowing the gender wage
• And so I'm wondering if you can speak, you know, the numbers still show that there is a significant wage
• You know, the numbers still show that there is a significant wage gap for state employment.

Committee: Senate Rules

Summary: The Senate Rules Committee met to consider several routine items and two governor’s appointments requiring appearance. The committee first approved, by unanimous 5-0 votes, the appointments of Armin Meyer to the Division of Consumer Financial Protection and Uca Danka to the California State Lottery Commission, along with bill referrals, a rules waiver request to suspend Senate Rule 55 for guests on the floor, and floor acknowledgments. The committee then heard from Arania Ortega, appointed to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). Members asked about her background, PERB’s handling of AB 288 while litigation remains pending, recusal rules, case backlogs, ride-share enforcement, and legislative employee unionization. Ortega said PERB has no current backlog, is prepared to implement AB 288 if litigation changes, and has recusal procedures that would automatically exclude her from certain state employee and child care cases for one year. Public testimony supported the appointment, and the committee voted 5-0 to send Ortega’s nomination to the full Senate. The committee also heard from Monica Erickson, nominated to continue as Director of the Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Questions focused on bargaining and fiscal responsibility, CalPERS oversight, recruitment and retention, telework, discipline and accountability, DEIA efforts, degree requirements, veteran hiring, return-to-office implementation, and the gender pay gap. Erickson said CalHR is working to reduce vacancies, expand recruitment pipelines, remove unnecessary degree requirements, support departments with guidance and training, and address pay equity; she also noted the gender pay gap has declined over the past decade. Supportive public testimony followed, and her nomination was approved 5-0 to advance to the Senate floor. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those damages, if appropriate, may include incurred medical expenses, lost wages and future earnings,
• one-gigawatt facility can generate 45,000 temporary construction jobs, thousands of permanent high-wage
• few targeted refinements, it can strike the proper balance, encouraging investment, creating high-wage
• few targeted refinements, it can strike the proper balance, encouraging investment, creating high wage
• Florida can either welcome billions in capital investment, high-wage jobs, and substantial tax revenue

Bills: S0408 , S0986 , S0678 , S0800 , S1050 , S0484 , S1118

Committee: Senate Regulated Industries

Keywords: vaccine advertisement, manufacturer liability, harmful vaccine, healthcare, court action, smoking regulation, public health, vaping, marijuana, public places, Florida Statutes, alcohol distribution, tax deductions, extraordinary losses, warehouse breakage, regulatory compliance, veterinary, prescription, pharmacy, client rights

Transcript Highlights:

• homicide, criminal sexual assault, child pornography, drug overdose cases involving deaths, and even wage
• busy in this area to protect competition in the marketplace, benefit consumers, and maintain fair wage
• We also created a wage theft unit, which has been able to return about $2 million back to workers whose
• wages have been stolen from them.
• An example of the work has to do with Evergreen Acres, a dairy farm that stole over $3 million in wages

Bills: HF627 , HF474 , HF361 , HF1837

Committee: House State Government Finance and Policy

Keywords: HF627, fiscal note, fiscal notes, Minnesota Legislature, state government, committee procedure, ranking minority member, minority party, standing committee, Ways and Means, Finance Committee, legislative process, budget analysis, fiscal impact, Minnesota Statutes 3.98, committee chair, legislative transparency, HF474, Hubert H. Humphrey, Henry Mower Rice

Transcript Highlights:

• We rely on strict safety standards, wage and hour standards, and we appreciate strong environmental standards
• We rely on strict safety standards, wage and hour standards, and we appreciate strong environmental standards
• has we rely on strict<00:13:02.680><c> safety</c><00:13:03.040><c> standards</c><00:13:03.760><c> wage
• </c><00:13:04.000><c> and</c><00:13:04.160><c> hour</c> strict safety standards wage and hour strict
• safety standards wage and hour standards<00:13:04.920><c> and</c><00:13:05.040><c> we</c><00:13:05.160

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• transportation, legal services, and support for the people most harmed, directly harmed. ...food, wage
• When wages and working conditions are taken out of bargaining and set in statute, it weakens workers'
• I worked with long-term care workers who were working poverty wages.
• example, I worked with nursing home workers in Southern California that were getting paid minimum wage
• It covers assistant wages, food costs, licensing requirements, supplies, and rent.

Bills: SB5808 , HB2254 , HB2385 , SB6006 , SB6351 , SB6198 , SB6260 , SB6353 , SB5949 , SB6129 , SB6228 , SB6231 , SB6229 , SB6173

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: health insurance, premium assistance, funding, healthcare access, state budget, HB 2254, Washington, Health Care Authority, partnership access line, psychiatric consultation line, first approach skills training, behavioral health, mental health, assessment, administrative costs, health carriers, self-funded plans, multiple employer welfare arrangement, MEWA, employers

Transcript Highlights:

• When wages and working conditions are taken out of bargaining and set in statute, it weakens workers'
• I worked with long-term care workers who were working poverty wages.
• example, I worked with nursing home workers in Southern California that were getting paid minimum wage
• example, I worked with nursing home workers in Southern California that were getting paid minimum wage
• It covers assistant wages, food costs, licensing requirements, supplies, and rent.

Summary: The committee opened with a public hearing on Senate Bill 5808, a proposal to require nonprofit health carriers with “excess surplus” to pay 10% of that surplus into the state health care affordability account for Cascade Care Savings. Committee staff said the bill could generate about $330 million one time in 2027, while the Office of Insurance Commissioner would have implementation costs. Supporters argued the bill would redirect consumer premium dollars to help people afford coverage, while opponents from health plans said reserves are needed for solvency, claims, and capital needs and warned the bill would destabilize nonprofit insurers. The committee also heard testimony on House Bill 2254, which would let the Partnership Access Line assessment cover administrative costs; HCA and Seattle Children’s supported it as a technical fix that saves general fund dollars, and a child psychiatrist asked that savings be reinvested in behavioral health services. House Bill 2385, which extends deadlines for the Medicaid Access Program because of federal restrictions on new provider taxes, also drew support from provider groups seeking future Medicaid rate increases. The committee then heard Substitute Senate Bill 6286, which would increase fines on private detention facilities that deny Department of Health inspections and dedicate the fines to an account for community repair and assistance to harmed individuals and families. Supporters, including Tacoma’s mayor and family members affected by detention, framed the bill as an accountability measure; fiscal staff estimated Department of Health costs of about $395,000 in the 2025-27 biennium. Senate Bill 6006 would exempt food banks from sales tax on certain services enacted last session, with food bank and tribal representatives saying the savings would go directly to food and operations. Senate Bill 6351 would create exemptions from the new sales tax on live presentations for before- and after-school care, arts and cultural nonprofit classes, and K-12 school purchases; school districts, arts groups, and PTA representatives supported it, while asking for clarifying language and broader nonprofit exemptions. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1717 would let cities and counties create local sales tax remittance programs for affordable housing projects, and housing builders, Habitat affiliates, counties, and city officials supported it as a local tool to lower development costs. In executive session, the committee received briefings on several tax and spending bills and then voted to advance multiple measures. It adopted a substitute and passed Senate Bill 5949, which narrows a B&O tax exemption related to insurance premiums; a proposed retroactivity-removing amendment failed. It adopted a substitute and passed Senate Bill 6129 on cigarette, tobacco, and nicotine taxes after rejecting several amendments, including proposals to study the tax policy or replace the bill with illicit-market enforcement language. The committee also passed Senate Bill 6228 repealing a preferential B&O rate for prescription drug resellers, Senate Bill 6231 repealing data center sales tax exemptions, and Second Substitute Senate Bill 5965, which retained a bag-fee approach rather than a full ban after adopting an amendment. The committee then returned to public hearing and began testimony on Senate Bill 6353, a major Working Connections Child Care bill that would keep income eligibility at 60% of state median income, lower the provider rate target from the 85th to the 75th percentile, and make other program changes; the briefing was underway when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those abstentions on worker benefits and the current lawsuit that the industry has waged against this
• Increasing wages for nursing home employees has been my focus for my entire career, for 30 years.
• The wages are happening; I'm supporting it.
• Workers that could be recruited and retained with living wages.
• Cut the staff wages that we just put in place to fund this for the counties?

Transcript Highlights:

• She writes, "Can you please explain to me how a 100% S corporation owner paying him or herself wages
• corporation owner paying him<00:01:54.480><c> or</c><00:01:54.560><c> herself</c><00:01:54.960><c> wages
• </c><00:01:55.320><c> is</c><00:01:55.520><c> not</c> him or herself wages is not him or herself wages
• I think the question is the actual wages that are paid and what that impact would be.
• I think the question is the actual<00:10:37.720><c> wages</c><00:10:38.080><c> that</c><00:10:38.200>

Bills: HF3843 , HF3597 , HF4003 , HF3167 , HF4193

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Keywords: workforce development, appropriations, nonprofit organizations, employment services, state funding, paid leave, S corporations, employment law, exemptions, Minnesota Statutes, cancer, healthcare, appropriation, Rural Cancer Institute, Minnesota clinicians, pilot program, nursing, education, University of Minnesota, equity