Transcript Highlights:

• They can request a specific tutor.
• They can request a specific tutor.
• They can request a specific tutor.
• They can request a specific tutor.
• They can request a tutor uh live.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <03:59:01.920> more different projects that we request more different projects that we request
• So variances are not typical.
• Um we have had instances that variance.
• This is regarding the variances. >> Are there legislative opportunities to refine HRS 342D so that variances
• is regarding the variances. is regarding the variances.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The task force held its first meeting, beginning with roll call and introductions of members and participants in the room and on Zoom. The chair emphasized Sunshine Law transparency, noted the meeting was on September 11, and opened public testimony on the orientation report. No one testified in person or on Zoom, and the chair observed a moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11 before moving into the agenda. The chair then reported on several orientation presentations given statewide between July 18 and September 5, including meetings with transit-oriented development, the Maui Chamber of Commerce, the Kona-Kohala Chamber, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce on Hawaiʻi Island, the Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce, the Hawaiʻi Island Native Hawaiian Chamber, and the Capo Chamber of Commerce. The main presentation item was a detailed overview from Kauaʻi County on its permitting process. County staff explained that zoning and building permits are handled separately on the outer islands, with zoning focused on form, character, and compatibility, and building permits focused on health and safety. They described a two-tier zoning system: ministerial permits that are automatically approved if not acted on within 30 days, and discretionary permits that go to the planning commission and can become lengthy contested cases if there is intervention. They also discussed special management area review in coastal areas, which can add time, and explained that building permits must conform to what was approved in zoning. Kauaʻi County staff also outlined the building permit process, including online and in-person submission, coordination with planning, engineering, water, wastewater, health, and fire agencies, and the county’s fully electronic review system using ProjectDox and related software. They noted that applicants are encouraged to check zoning, water, wastewater, and floodplain issues before hiring someone to prepare plans, especially for homeowners. The county shared permit and utility statistics and said the public can check permit history through Click2Gov. No votes were taken during the portion of the meeting provided; after the Kauaʻi presentation, the chair opened a question period for members.

Transcript Highlights:

• a variance to the fire code from our office, and one of the inspectors in my office physically goes
• The amendments made to codes and requested here in HB 432 help New Hampshire better align with federal
• <00:39:20.280> okay<00:39:20.560> thank variance okay thank variance okay thank you<00:
• not actually seen any of these requests not actually seen any of these requests associated<00:58
• The use changes, and typically you need to go get a variance.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The House Municipal and County Government subcommittee met on February 19, 2025 to gather additional information on House Bill 432, which concerns recovery houses. The first witness, State Fire Marshal Sean Tumi, said his office had worked with stakeholders for more than a year on the bill’s definition changes and supported the revised definition. He explained that the bill removes vague language such as “safe, healthy, family” and instead relies on fire-code requirements and certification standards, including a primarily non-transient dwelling unit and living as a single household. He distinguished recovery houses from boarding or rooming houses and from other congregate settings such as group homes or transitional housing, saying those other uses do not currently have the same exemptions. Members questioned Tumi about fire safety, inspections, smoke alarms, egress, and whether sprinklers should be required. He said recovery houses are inspected by the fire marshal’s office and local fire departments, with annual inspections under state fire code provisions, and that operators must work with a certifying body. He described the inspection process as checking alarms, extinguishers, heating systems, cooking equipment, street numbers, and no-smoking rules, and said new houses are generally given time to obtain certification. He also said he would prefer sprinklers everywhere but believed mandating them for these existing structures would likely shut down many recovery houses and significantly harm the recovery community. Bill McKenny of the New Hampshire Building Officials Association then testified in support of HB 432. He said recovery housing is an important step after treatment and that the 2024 code changes and the bill help align state law with federal disability law. He emphasized that certification through a recognized organization gives code officials confidence that standards are being monitored, and warned that if a recovery home loses certification it would lose the waiver from sprinkler requirements and could be treated more like a boarding or rooming house. No vote or final action was taken at this meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• energy business, and I built an AI tool for our company because the single biggest source of profit variance
• we always had was revenue variance, and the reason for revenue variance...
• The reason our revenue variance was so high was because our customers, even though they assured us that
• The good news, and I'm very proud of this, is that we cut our revenue variance by 90%.
• Those things, instead of putting them on delays for a couple of months to see if you get multiple requests

Keywords: artificial intelligence, waste reduction, fraud prevention, government efficiency, improper payments, data reliability, oversight

Summary: The meeting was chaired by Chairman Schweikert and involved a comprehensive discussion on how to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) for reducing waste, fraud, and improper payments within federal programs. Key witnesses, including Mr. Andrew Canarsa from the Council of the Inspectors General, provided insights on the potential of AI in enhancing government efficiency. The committee emphasized the importance of reliable data and thorough examination of AI application to avoid unintended consequences while addressing the estimated $162 billion in improper payments reported by the federal government. Concerns were raised regarding the recent firing of inspectors general and the impacts that could have on oversight and accountability processes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Corm Cawksman request in second.
• When we talk about variances by the Department of Homeland Security, we adopted it so they could have
• We put rulemaking in there so they could actually, in statute, have the ability to conduct variances
• In statute, have the ability to conduct variances and modifications to plans.
• Thank you. ...Assembly or written or oral request to the Speaker of the House are hereby referred to.

Keywords: 964, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I did want to mention that we did not do any agency spending increase requests.
• First, I would like to request a roll call. Requested. Do I see 15 hands? There are 15 hands.
• There is a significant variance and waiver process that is set out in law.
• No entity has requested a variance or waiver.
• I'd like to request a roll call, please. Roll call having been requested.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um across the state these variances.
• There are no committee variances.
• c><00:39:26.720> area requested by the critical area requested by the critical area commission
• It was at the request of the judiciary.
• It was at the request of the judiciary. It was at the request of the judiciary.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 960, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened, established a quorum, and handled several ceremonial and introductory matters before moving into committee reports. The chamber welcomed the doctor of the day, recognized an intern and a guest in the gallery, extended birthday wishes to Senator Chris West, and received remarks from the Romanian Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Andre Moraru, who emphasized Romania’s strategic partnership with the United States, NATO cooperation, investment ties, energy projects, and support for Ukraine. Senators also briefly noted Maryland’s military and diplomatic ties to Romania. The ambassador’s remarks were journalized, and members were given time to meet with him off the floor. The Senate then took up a series of second-reading bills, mostly from the Finance Committee, adopting committee amendments and favorable reports without objection. Among the measures advanced were Senate Bill 39 on behavioral health reimbursement rate methodology and a work group for certified community behavioral health clinics and outpatient mental health centers; Senate Bill 605 directing the Public Service Commission to study broadband and VoIP oversight; Senate Bill 721, Ralph’s Act, providing expedited DDA/Medicaid eligibility for certain recently relocated individuals; and Senate Bill 891 on perinatal mental health screening, coverage, training, and reporting. Each was amended in committee and ordered printed for third reading. The Senate also advanced several House bills, including House Bill 427 extending the task force on responsible use of natural psychedelic substances and adding an HBCU representative; House Bill 480 requiring transportation network companies to maintain written deactivation policies; House Bill 532 requiring overtime pay for firefighters employed by governmental units after 168 hours in a 28-day period; House Bill 816 reducing the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund assessment cap from 3% to 1% and authorizing an affordability program; House Bill 829 requiring human trafficking awareness training for certain for-hire and rideshare drivers; House Bill 862 requiring a two-person crew for certain freight rail operations in shared corridors, contingent on similar action in neighboring states; and House Bill 999 revising Class 9 limited distillery license rules and production limits. Most of these bills were reported favorably, with no objections, and were ordered to third reading or passed for third reading as applicable.

Transcript Highlights:

• The commissioner is required to grant variances for licensed capacity in child care programs if a few
• Additionally, the state fire marshal must approve the variance.
• If reconsideration is requested, the commissioner must make a decision on reconsideration before the
• I'm also happy to see that you've included the DCYF budget operating adjustment request for the first
• If a licensee obtains the recordings, are they subject to public records requests?

Bills: HF2436

Keywords: child welfare, economic assistance, child care, grant program, video security cameras

Transcript Highlights:

• um the federal request. um the federal request.
• include the governor's requested include the governor's requested administrative<00:29:14.040>
• <00:37:09.320> to<00:37:09.480> the authority to consider variances to the authority
• to consider variances to the regulatory<00:37:10.240> requirements<00:37:10.960> for<00
• could rely on decisions about variances could rely on third-party<00:43:10.440> reviews<00:43

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• is just over $3 general fund request is just over $3 million<00:01:44.320> with million with
• We're also seeking a variance for our testing facility licenses.
• <00:10:21.880> for bium we're also seeking a variance for bium we're also seeking a variance
• So that is the request, relatively small.
• That is the request, relatively small. Thank you, Director Tabell.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The New Mexico Environment Department must review leak detection and response plans and request updates
• We actually think the amendments continue to go too far at this juncture, and again we would request
• It's requested around wells that are in Children's Health Protection Zones.
• Would be able to seek a variance or an exception. Okay, thank you.
• We're working on placing this request into the bill. Okay, so, Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• They submitted a Freedom of Information Act request regarding police calls to the property, and there
• a Freedom of Information Act request a Freedom of Information Act request regarding<00:12:29.320
• if a variance should have been needed in the zoning district where the sober home operates.
• um and there's an allow for a variance um and there's an interest<00:38:03.040> though<00:38:
• though when a variance is interest though when a variance is applied<00:38:04.520> for<00:38:

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• At this time, FDEM does not request and is not requesting any additional personnel from the fiscal year
• We are requesting a third phase of motorist modernization.
• Our request is for $16.5 million.
• There are two issues related to the I-Connect request.
• There are two issues related to the IConnect request.

Summary: The subcommittee heard updates on several state technology modernization efforts, beginning with the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Enterprise Business Solution (DEMS). FDEM said DEMS is about 50% complete, with some grants and finance functions already live, and is intended to replace manual disaster and grants processing with a cloud-based system. Officials described faster reimbursement timelines after recent storms, major return-on-investment claims, and a planned final phase focused on design, testing, communications, data governance, and additional functionality. Members asked about the total cost, the role of Florida Digital Service, deliverables-based contracting, and how much of the system is live; FDEM said the project is expected to cost about $16 million to $16.8 million and finish by June 2027, with some follow-up information to be provided. The Department of Legal Affairs presented its Office of Attorney General Modernization Program, a follow-up to an earlier effort that failed after spending about $26 million. Acting Attorney General John Gard said the department has now moved to an off-the-shelf case management product, LawBase, and is in development and testing, with the Office of Statewide Prosecution already live and full implementation expected by the end of the fiscal year. The request includes funding for staff augmentation, cloud storage, the LawBase license, redundancy through a backup site in Orlando, and OnBase support. Members questioned the prior failure, the use of Florida Digital Service standards, data location and cloud migration, and the redundancy plan; Gard said lessons learned included better scoping and that the current effort is on track. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles then updated the committee on Motorist Modernization, including the Orion system and the MyDMV portal. Officials said Phase 1 and Phase 2 have modernized driver license and motor vehicle services, with Phase 2 statewide rollout scheduled to begin in April 2025 and Phase 3 proposed at $16.5 million for dealer services, data warehouse improvements, and call center modernization. Members asked about payment options, organ donor questions, staffing, cybersecurity, cloud strategy, and the digital driver license program. The agency said the portal already allows some sanctions to be cleared online, an ACH option is being developed, the digital driver license vendor has changed with a fall go-live anticipated, and the department is using security testing and a managed security service provider. Officials also said the system is currently on an on-prem private cloud, with future workloads expected to move to public cloud where appropriate. Finally, Florida Commerce presented on the Reemployment Assistance modernization system, Reconnect, and the FLWINS workforce system. Commerce said Reconnect is hosted in the Azure Government Cloud, has reduced claim filing time, improved fraud detection, and increased appeals capacity, and now needs $4.9 million in recurring funding to cover ongoing operations, cloud hosting, licenses, and staff augmentation. Members asked about adjudication issues, wait times, fraud prevention, and whether the system stores caller identifiers; Commerce said the average wait to speak to a representative is about 18 minutes and claims are generally processed in four to six weeks. The committee then began hearing about FLWINS, which is intended to create a “no wrong door” workforce portal under the REACH Act, but the transcript cuts off before that presentation concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• Although well intended, I have to request that we inexpedient to legislate and do I need a second to
• that we in expedient to uh request that we in expedient to legislate<00:09:45.480> and<00:09:
• from the towns um this is a request from the towns um after<00:24:17.080> we<00:24:17.240>
• <01:09:10.920> um changes that the town has requested um changes that the town has requested
• <01:17:53.440> uh towns by allowing a a variance uh towns by allowing a a variance uh through

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I have a question or I have a request.
• I have a question or I have a request. I have a question or I have a request.
• <04:13:16.399> of which is brought forth at the request of which is brought forth at the request
• 04.958> please respectfully request that you please respectfully request that you please pass<
• . when you go to get the variance. when you go to get the variance,<05:05:52.160> the<05:05:52.560

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard public testimony on HB 1065, a housing bill that would clarify when multifamily and mixed-use housing may be allowed on commercially zoned land, define infrastructure standards, and preserve municipal discretion over where such development can occur. Prime sponsor Representative David Priest said the bill is intended to help address the housing shortage by using already developed commercial areas without overriding local planning. The New Hampshire Municipal Association, through Brody Dees, said it supports the bill and views it as a priority, but noted it is still discussing related language with stakeholders and wants clearer definitions for multifamily development, infrastructure, and adaptive reuse while preserving local control over commercial land use. Testimony was mixed. Ivy Van, a certified planner, opposed the bill because she said the infrastructure language is too restrictive and could exclude properties served by private utilities or septic systems. Chris Freeman, a housing provider, was generally supportive but recommended technical changes, arguing the infrastructure definition may be too broad and that the adaptive reuse language could unintentionally block useful building modifications. He said the bill should be clarified so it does not discourage reuse projects. The committee then moved to discussion of an accessory dwelling unit bill, with Representative Turkot describing changes that would shift some ADU approvals from a matter of right to conditional use or special exception, allow municipalities more control over attached versus detached units, set parking standards tied to single-family dwellings, and adjust size limits. He argued the bill would restore local discretion and prevent ADUs from becoming primarily rental units. Representative Reed pushed back, saying detached ADUs can help meet housing needs and provide opportunities for small landlords, while other members questioned how the bill would affect existing detached structures and breezeways. No votes were taken in the excerpt, and the chair also noted a recess and time limits for later testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• At first, I would like to request a roll call. Roll call having been requested. Do I see 15 hands?
• to request a roll call. to request a roll call.
• No entity has requested a variance or waiver. of grandma and grandpa. of grandma and grandpa.
• No entity has requested<01:12:20.480> a<01:12:20.719> variance<01:12:21.199> or<
• The clerk will close the roll. request. So if there could be a future request.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• That is why I stand before you today to request, to request your support in granting our tribal police
• I urge you to support our request.
• There's so much variance statewide. We have about 2800 law enforcement agencies in Texas.
• There's so much variancy if you were to compare them to a municipality, some have 6 or 700 citizens to
• So I, you know, I just to speak to kind of the variance of sizes of communities.

Bills: HB176, HB180

Keywords: tax, ad valorem, voter-approval, local government finance, property tax, repeal, tax rates, school finance, tax reduction, compressed tax rate, education, funding

Transcript Highlights:

• So tracking very close, and the variance is on the positive side.
• It smooths out some of those variances.
• That's about as close of a variance as I've ever seen.
• That's about as close of a variance as I've ever seen.
• SMP did also provide, as we request in their forecasting, a pessimistic and an optimistic scenario.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There is an ability to get a variance when it warrants it, because of economic reasons or because the
• There are a lot of variances that are getting out there with heat pumps as an option, so I just want
• when it when ability to get a variance when it when it<00:15:59.600> warrants<00:16:00.000>
• to use a he heat pump if they variance to use a he heat pump if they want<00:16:10.600> and<00
• that are getting are a lot of variances that are getting out<00:16:15.720> there<00:16:16.000

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint committees heard testimony on several energy- and environment-related measures. HB 242 HD1 on electric vehicle batteries drew support from the Department of Health, the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office, SERFCO, and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation; the Energy Office suggested a broader working group covering all lithium-ion batteries, and members later adopted amendments including a date change and revised timing language. HB 751 HD2 on statewide organic waste reduction and diversion received mixed testimony, with the Department of Health opposing it over concerns about compostable food packaging and incomplete testing data; the committee nonetheless moved the bill forward with amendments removing compostable food packaging from the definition of organic waste and changing the effective date to July 1, 2050. The committees also considered HB 1020 HD1 on a statewide program to characterize carbon sequestration potential and underground water resources. The Hawaiʻi State Energy Office and Ulupono supported the measure as part of a broader geothermal and energy security effort, while members raised concerns about overlapping roles between agencies and the need for a single coordinated voice. The committee ultimately amended the bill to place DBEDT in charge, with technical changes, and passed it. In a separate portion of the hearing, HB 350 HD2 on energy was heard with support from the State Energy Office, industry, and advocacy groups; opponents argued the existing solar water heater law is working and that variances already allow flexibility. The committee passed HB 350 unamended. Later, the committee heard HB 977 HD1 on energy financing, HB 1017 HD1 on the greenhouse gas sequestration task force, HB 1051 HD1 on energy efficiency portfolio standards, and HB 1406 HD1 on government procedures. HB 977 received support from the Public Utilities Commission, DCCA, and others and was advanced with technical, non-substantive amendments. HB 1017, which would repeal the greenhouse gas sequestration task force, and HB 1051, which sets energy efficiency benchmarks, were both passed unamended. HB 1406, a task force bill aimed at improving permitting and regulatory processes, was amended to add a Senate representative, include the State Energy Office, make the bill effective on approval, and note prior funding requests in the committee report; it was then adopted. Votes were recorded on each measure, with some members excused and HB 751 drawing one no vote from Senator Rhoads.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the second is a request of New Hampshire Housing to, um, uh, change the cap of 100,000 to 100,000
• couldn't be uh unending and the second<00:02:48.080> is<00:02:48.680> a<00:02:48.840> request
• <00:02:49.239> of<00:02:49.400> New<00:02:49.640> Hampshire second is a request
• of New Hampshire second is a request of New Hampshire housing<00:02:50.680> to<00:02:51.239><
• Lots of them have professional property management, but I brought this bill at the request of the New

Keywords: 1191, senate, all