Transcript Highlights:

• We also give folks the opportunity to replace many ancillary systems that they may be paying for at the
• Programs, websites, and software programs have to be coded and written in a manner that supports these
• . of these types of screen reading software that the visually impaired will use.

Transcript Highlights:

• SD-WAN stands for Software Defined Wide Area Network. And...
• One of the vendors, a large vendor that provides software, is calling an older version of the software
• That's the analytics software paying for all that.
• DERMS is a type of software that can be used by utilities.
• The network is done through software.

Transcript Highlights:

• This project will replace current outdated paper-heavy processes with a modern case management system
• As you know, Senator Durazo's SB 951 changed the program substantially, increased worker wage replacement
• So this document management system project is replacing a legacy technology implemented 25 years ago.
• projects for whistleblower complaint receipt and investigation systems and the audit and review software
• project. $1 million one time to provide the construction phase of the Delano Field Office replacement

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on the Governor’s May Revision proposals for labor, public safety/judiciary, and transportation, and no votes were taken. In Part A on labor, the Employment Development Department reviewed proposals for EDD Next document management system funding, updated UI loan interest costs, disability insurance and paid family leave benefit and administration adjustments, WIOA funding changes, UI administrative and benefit changes, school employee benefit adjustments, an EMT training reappropriation, and a technical correction tied to EDD Next. PERB discussed funding tied to AB 28 and AB 1, including litigation-related workload and new jurisdiction over legislative employees. DIR presented proposals for legal unit reclassifications, two major IT modernization projects, a new Cal/OSHA emerging technologies unit, a COIA reappropriation, and trailer bill language on electronic assessment payments and the DWC director salary cap. CalHR proposed additional funding for a consolidated employee assistance program contract, and CalPERS and CalSTRS presented budget adjustments tied to investment costs and state contribution changes. Members focused heavily on UI debt and interest payments, asking the administration for a plan to reduce the outstanding loan and relieve employers. Finance said no specific repayment plan was included in the May Revision, while LAO said the state’s UI tax structure is structurally insufficient and that any debt payoff should be paired with tax-system reform. Senators also questioned EDD Next costs and timelines, PERB’s caseload and staffing needs, and DIR’s emerging technologies unit, with LAO noting that the unit would appear focused on physical workplace safety rather than broader AI labor issues. CalHR said the new EAP contract would consolidate services, improve access to clinicians, and lower costs relative to the current model. CalPERS defended higher external management fees as part of a strategy to pursue higher net returns, while some members pressed for more transparency about private investments; CalSTRS said it was not prepared to address investment-strategy questions at this hearing. Public comment in Part A was dominated by advocates urging support for an immigration enforcement emergency relief fund, along with comments supporting the Jails to Jobs proposal, the Apprenticeship Innovation Fund, and additional PERB funding. The chair noted that many of the immigration-related requests might fall under other committees and said staff would follow up. In Part B, Finance and LAO outlined judicial branch and DOJ May Revision items, including funding for court interpreter services, appellate court security, lactation room implementation delays, courthouse construction reappropriations, and DOJ budget increases. LAO recommended approving the language-access proposal with a report on reducing interpreter cost growth and reducing the General Fund backfill for state court facilities by $10 million on an ongoing basis.

Transcript Highlights:

• This, of course, would include things such as software, hardware, tools, supplies, materials, or curriculum
• So for individuals to donate software, hardware, tools, supplies, materials.
• If companies wanted to donate those particular tools, software, hardware, let's say that they were donating
• 3359 creates a 20% state income tax credit for Missouri businesses that donate cash, equipment, software
• 3359 creates a 20% state income tax credit for Missouri businesses that donate cash, equipment, software

Keywords: 959, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development heard House Bill 3359, presented by Rep. Travis Wilson on behalf of Rep. Riggs. The bill would create a state income tax credit for donations to school robotics/STEAM programs, including cash, equipment, software, materials, curriculum, and employee volunteer hours, beginning with the 2027 tax year. The credit would be 20% of the donation value, capped at $10 million annually, with a six-year sunset. Committee members raised questions about whether the credit applies to individuals or businesses, how volunteer hours would be valued and limited, whether the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or the Department of Economic Development would administer reporting, and whether the 20% rate should be higher. Several members also questioned the fiscal note and the impact on a tight state budget. The main witness in support was Sarah Waldron, an 18-year-old Westminster Christian Academy senior and robotics team leader who said she wrote the bill. She argued that robotics programs are expensive, that private investment is needed to improve workforce readiness, and that the bill would help schools in both urban and rural areas. She clarified that the volunteer-hours provision was intended for business employees, not general individual volunteerism, and said the bill could be amended to add guardrails and better target under-resourced schools, including a possible tiered credit based on free-and-reduced-lunch percentages. Committee members praised her initiative and testimony. One witness testified in opposition, State Public Advocate Arne C. Dinoff, who said robotics is worthwhile but the state cannot afford another tax credit given the budget deficit and the cumulative cost of tax credit programs. He objected particularly to subsidizing volunteerism and said schools should support robotics locally rather than through a state tax credit. No vote was taken; the hearing was closed and the committee adjourned after testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• be fair to our error rate, I want to not make errors, and so there's the potential of purchasing software
• be fair to our error rate, I want to not make errors, and so there's the potential of purchasing software
• purchasing there's uh the potential of purchasing there's uh the potential of purchasing software
• companies<00:10:01.600> like<00:10:01.920> Equifax<00:10:02.560> or software
• using companies like Equifax or software using companies like Equifax or things<00:10:02.959> of<

Keywords: Medicaid - Room 216, 29 January, 2026; 2:00 PM, 925, all

Summary: The committee considered five bills. SB 2567, the Mississippi Pediatric Access to Critical Health Care Protection Act, would allow a border hospital to accept Medicaid patients and payments; it was moved as title sufficient and reported, with one member opposing. SB 2571, the Foster Youth Earn Benefit Protection for Success Act, would require Social Security survivor or disability benefits for foster youth to be used for the child rather than reimbursing the state for foster care costs; the sponsor said the bill follows federal guidance and other states’ practices, and it was reported after a title-sufficient motion, with one opposition. SB 2708 would require insurers to cover postpartum depression screenings. Senator Boyd said most insurers already do this, and he offered an amendment to strike lines 364-368 because of concerns about step-therapy language; the committee adopted the amendment and then reported the bill. SB 2765 would open code sections related to DHS and Medicaid income verification so Mississippi can respond to federal error-rate penalties tied to SNAP and related programs; Senator Sparks said the state’s 10.69% error rate could trigger about $128 million in annual penalties, and members discussed whether the state’s change-reporting rules may be inflating that rate. The bill was reported. The final bill, SB 2746, the Older Mississippians Act, was described by DHS as a cleanup measure that updates aging-services statutes, formally designates Mississippi as the state unit on aging, and removes obsolete program references. After brief discussion, it was reported on a title-sufficient motion. At the end of the meeting, Senator McMahan publicly thanked the chair for his work, and the committee then moved to rise and report.

Transcript Highlights:

• different from any period in the past, especially considering our reliance on information technology and software-based
• The Department has found a number of challenges, including integration of software and information technology
• McKenzie, we are much more reliant upon information technology and software-based systems today than
• Luckily, software systems have been, I would say, more adaptable than some of the hardware systems as
• So I think software is absolutely key to any mobilization effort, because that's what's controlling all

Transcript Highlights:

• costing $4.4 million the replacement costing $4.4 million the most<01:46:39.639> egregious<01
• And what are you going to replace it with?
• You can't take a window out and not replace it. Same thing with insulation.
• can't take a window out and not replace can't take a window out and not replace it<02:07:25.040>
• <02:19:33.200> and<02:19:33.359> lighting plant Replacements and lighting plant Replacements

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• for new programs, but a lot are more established, and especially the two universities, it's been replacing
• We have better computers, better software, better record keeping, I hope.
• But we also are spending hundreds of millions in software.
• donations—not easy, but it's easier to get the big, shiny things—but boilers is something that's hard to get replaced

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• for new programs, but a lot are more established, and especially the two universities, it's been replacing
• We have better computers, better software, better record keeping, I hope.
• But we also are spending hundreds of millions in software.
• donations—not easy, but it's easier to get the big, shiny things—but boilers is something that's hard to get replaced

Summary: The committee met to discuss higher education funding and capital building policy. Members first heard an update from NDUS Deputy Commissioner Lisa Johnson on low-producing academic programs. She described a proposed board policy using a five-year rolling window and thresholds of fewer than 10 undergraduate graduates or fewer than 5 graduate graduates, with programs flagged for three consecutive review periods going to the board. Possible outcomes would include continuation, continuation with modifications, inactivation, or termination. Members asked about how the review would account for program costs, service to other students, workforce demand, and the difference between inactivation and termination. Johnson said the board would consider broader factors and that campuses already do detailed program analysis. Several members also asked about cost savings and staffing impacts from program terminations, and Johnson said the board would try to provide more information later. The committee then received a report on the Capital Building Fund from Jamie Wilkie. He reviewed the program’s history, matching requirements, and recent uses, noting that about $334 million in state and matching dollars has been invested overall, with most going to deferred maintenance and extraordinary repairs. Members discussed whether the program is reducing deferred maintenance and requested updated systemwide data on deferred maintenance and campus space utilization. Wilkie said the board is considering a new study to update deferred maintenance figures, which are based on information more than 12 years old. He also reported that several institutions have used current biennium funds for projects such as residence hall renovations, health sciences housing, generators, and building repairs. Later, the committee began a detailed walkthrough of a draft bill that would replace the current higher education funding formula with an FTE-based model and also revise the capital building fund structure. The draft would use fall enrollment FTEs, add completion incentives for degrees in in-demand fields, and create a separate research funding component for UND and NDSU tied to doctoral completions and external research expenditures. Members raised concerns about the use of older data in the formula, the treatment of waivers, the weighting of professional and health sciences programs, and the use of CIP codes to define CTE and education incentives. The bill draft would also combine capital building fund tiers, broaden eligible uses for deferred maintenance and legislatively authorized projects, change matching requirements, repeal the old formula chapter and the capital pool, and transfer funds from the Strategic Investment and Improvements Fund into the capital building fund. No final votes were taken during the portion provided; the meeting was primarily discussion and review.

Transcript Highlights:

• and the wastewater operator certification, that one-time funding was to allow us to purchase some software
• That one-time funding was to allow us to purchase some software and some supplies to allow testing at
• We're looking at option two, which is actually replacing, because it's, again, that's a 1907 building
• We have the same PCL community as the same folks that built our hospital, our replacement hospital there

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee first approved the December 10 minutes and then received a DEQ base budget summary and agency overview. DEQ staff explained that the agency is largely federally and special funded, with major ongoing costs in salaries, operating expenses, grants, and continuing appropriations. Director Dave Glatt and accounting director Beth Jacobson highlighted core programs, the move to a new chemistry laboratory, the new state fuel inspection program, wastewater-related funding from HB 1577, and implementation of SB 2267 for on-site wastewater rules. They also noted the agency’s spending patterns, possible federal EPA cuts, and the likelihood of some fee adjustments or program changes if federal support declines. Members asked about DEQ’s travel, field offices, future staffing, and how the agency would respond to reduced federal regulation. DEQ said most staff are based in Bismarck, with field offices in Fargo, Sawyer, and Gwinner, and that travel is driven by inspections and spill response. Glatt said the agency would continue to rely on science and law, and that any future federal retrenchment could mean more state responsibility but likely not a wholesale increase in FTEs. The committee also discussed a feedlot enforcement case in the Minot area, with DEQ explaining its role in ensuring compliance, permitting, and animal-waste management standards. The Department of Health and Human Services then presented on FTE block grant reporting, TANF balances, child care transfers, and the Rural Health Transformation Program. Donna Ockland explained that no line-item transfers had occurred yet for the new rural health work, but about 33 positions were planned and some current staff time could be reimbursed through approved cost allocation. HHS also reviewed TANF’s frozen eligibility and block grant structure, the transfer of up to 30% of TANF funds to child care, and recent program changes that increased benefits and raised the income limit. Staff said the department is using TANF more strategically to support child care and other allowable uses, while still carrying over unused funds as many states do. Finally, Pat and HHS staff gave an update on the Rural Health Transformation Program, saying the first funding opportunity was being posted and that the state is on track to obligate the federal funds within the required timeline. They described priorities such as workforce retention, preceptor development, technical assistance for critical access hospitals, community wellness projects, and ambulance upgrades. Members asked about rural versus urban eligibility, immigrant recruitment, evaluation of year-two funding, and how the program would address varied local workforce needs. The meeting then shifted to an Office of Management and Budget update on the new State Hospital project, where Lindsay Ashley reported continued construction progress, updated cost information, and selected alternates, with photos and details showing work underway in multiple building sections.

Transcript Highlights:

• The importance of this system is that it replaces CYFD's 25-year-old legacy system FACTS, which may not
• Are these indicators going to be loaded into this $90 million software system?
• I just hope that this $90 million software system is going to capture some of this stuff in a systematic
• another element, things that take maybe 15 or 20 minutes a day but do not in any way take away from or replace

Transcript Highlights:

• My understanding is that your bill is looking at the feasibility of using the campaign finance software
• My understanding is that your bill is looking at the feasibility of using the campaign finance software
• , a pruned down version of our software, to be able to facilitate those actions.
• utilize the software, a pruned down<00:47:24.000> version<00:47:24.320> of<00:47:24.400
• > able down version of our software to be able down version of our software to be able to<00:47

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now, we're ready to roll with the Rio Bravo Bridge replacement, a good partnership with Bernalillo
• going to help us in the traffic safety area; it's gonna It's going to enhance the data collection software
• We would then be able to go to Federal Highway, request the full amount for the bridge's replacement
• It's harder and harder as far as we go to replace and to be able to operate.
• We haven't replaced it, plus six years of, 30 years of not receiving that funding.

Transcript Highlights:

• . $1,290,000 of that is vehicle Replacement.
• We need to replace 20 vehicles in our fleet of 139 vehicles.
• Our current replacement policy for vehicles is 200,000 miles or 10 years, and many of those 20 vehicles
• number 5, IT infrastructure improvements, a request of $367,400 and 1 FTE. $134,300 of this is to replace
• Additionally, this position will help perform post-implementation support of software systems.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present to hear Article VI Natural Resources agency budget recommendations, beginning with the Railroad Commission. LBB staff summarized the commission’s 2026-27 base recommendation at $458.7 million, down from the prior biennium, with an increased FTE cap. The presentation highlighted reduced federal IIJA funding, volatility in oil and gas regulation account 5155, continued support for IT modernization, and rider changes. The commission’s major exceptional items were then presented, including requests for produced water and injection data reporting, an authorized pit registration system, regulatory filing/permitting upgrades, an underground injection well investigation team, site remediation support, and especially $100 million for orphan well plugging. Members asked about biennium-to-biennium comparisons, salary biennialization, the scale of orphan well risks, federal funding delays, bonding, and whether the state should rely more on industry or general revenue for plugging costs. Commission leadership explained that orphan wells can threaten water and public safety, that plugging costs have risen sharply, and that current funding is insufficient to keep up with emergency wells and the backlog; they also said the agency is moving to cloud-based systems with cybersecurity protections and that the proposed performance measure may need adjustment if funding does not increase. The Railroad Commission testimony was followed by LBB and agency testimony for the Texas Animal Health Commission. LBB described a $42 million recommendation for 2026-27, an increase overall, but with a reduced FTE cap due to turnover and salary reallocation. The recommendation maintained funding for cattle fever tick work, chronic wasting disease, lab testing through an MOU with Texas A&M’s veterinary diagnostic lab, and a new $5 million spay-and-neuter pilot program, while deleting a capital budget rider and adjusting riders tied to entry point inspection stations and clinical trials. Agency leadership then outlined the commission’s mission to protect livestock health and the state’s $22 billion animal industry, and described major disease threats including highly pathogenic avian influenza, cattle fever ticks, New World screwworm, and chronic wasting disease. Their exceptional items focused on recruiting and retaining veterinarians, replacing fleet vehicles, creating an ectoparasite identification lab, adding field staff and IT support, improving records and epidemiology reporting, strengthening central administration, supporting secure food supply planning, expanding chronic wasting disease work, and staffing the new spay-and-neuter program. Members asked about field identification of ticks, the use of disinfectants and PPE, fleet management, the scale of cattle fever tick risk, and chronic wasting disease; the agency explained its current inspection and lab-confirmation process, its reliance on field disinfecting and biosecurity, and the need for more staff and better data systems to keep pace with growing workloads and disease threats.

Transcript Highlights:

• Is it practical, and what are you going to replace it with?
• In the case of a boiler, you can't take the boiler out and not replace it.
• You can't take a window out and not replace it. Same thing with insulation.
• <02:19:33.200> and<02:19:33.359> lighting plant Replacements and lighting plant Replacements
• So one of the projects that we did in Summersworth was to replace old unit ventilators.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Municipal and County Government Committee held public hearings on House Bill 471 and House Bill 373. HB 471 would create a temporary commission to study growth, traffic, planning, and land use issues in a group of southern New Hampshire towns, with possible recommendations on regional planning commission boundaries or coordination. Representative Perez said the bill was requested by Londonderry residents and local officials, and Eric Power of Brookline testified in support, saying the towns share corridor and development issues that cross regional planning commission lines. Several members questioned whether existing law already allows towns to form regional planning commissions under RSA 364:6, whether the bill should be broader, and whether the town list should include additional communities. The hearing closed with testimony counts reported as two in support and three opposed on remote sign-in, plus one opposed and one in support on the blue sheet. HB 373, sponsored by Representative Diane Powers, would revise RSA 41:11-a on town property leases. Powers said current law is too restrictive because leases over five years require repeated town votes, which she argued is impractical for long-term arrangements. She cited examples from Hampton and Brookline, including long-term road and property leases, and said she had found multiple similar cases. The bill would keep select board authority for leases under one year, allow a legislative body to authorize a specific longer lease by a three-fifths ballot vote, and preserve the existing five-year blanket leasing authority with a three-fifths vote, while keeping existing leases valid if authority is later rescinded. Eric Power testified in support, describing recurring lease renewals in Brookline and saying longer terms are needed for projects such as housing, cell towers, and solar arrays. Members asked about the change from a simple town vote to a three-fifths threshold and whether the bill duplicates existing mechanisms; Powers said the higher threshold was intended because the leases involve long-term commitments. No votes were taken during the hearing portion described.

Transcript Highlights:

• There are a lot of reasons that regulation of AI conversational software, such as chatbots that talk
• Chairman, this replaces the three-year exemption from on-site ag property inspections with an exemption
• Chairman, this replaces the three-year exemption from on-side ag property inspections with an exemption
• disorderly conduct, modifies the criteria of interfering to be classified as a class six felony, replaces

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The federal government has replaced those benefits historically, so New Mexicans didn't have to go without
• We are procuring software that will give us better analytics so we can see, we can drive down to see
• Some of that money will go to support hospitals, but it's not a replacement for lost Medicaid revenue
• there's an additional $2 million that the LFC did not recommend, which includes $1.2 million for replacement

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• $800,000 and all of these machines are approaching their their end of life and we have to think about replacing
• transition took place, and there There were many technical issues with the initial release of the software
• That there's two TRU headquarters that are currently being built, one in Tulsa and one in Clinton to replace
• I'm replaced easily, but COs aren't.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• one particular biennium, which threw their budget out of balance, and we got them on a staggered replacement
• change will reduce the ongoing maintenance cost and improve scalability as the state looks into new software
• efficiencies, succession planning to ensure stores stay open when ownership changes, and assistance in replacing
• efficiencies, succession planning to ensure stores stay open when ownership changes and assist in replacing

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The House convened with prayer, pledge, and roll call, establishing a quorum. It then took up a series of appropriations and policy bills, with the most extensive debate centered on Senate Bill 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs budget. The House approved amendments that shifted governance of the department and veterans’ home from ACOVA to the governor, citing concerns about ACOVA’s salary-setting actions and broader appropriation oversight. Members opposed to the change argued ACOVA had studied compensation and acted within its role. The amended bill passed 57-34, and the final bill passed 69-22 with the emergency clause carrying. The House also passed Senate Bill 2001, the legislative branch budget, which funds the 2027 session, legislative staff, chamber upgrades, IT improvements, and salary adjustments for legislative leaders; the bill passed 62-29, but the emergency clause failed. Senate Bill 2019, the Career and Technical Education budget, passed 82-10 with emergency clause. Senate Bill 2021, the Information Technology Department budget, passed 75-17 after discussion of data center migration, service automation, mainframe transition, ERP study, and DPI’s move from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus. Other measures passed included Senate Bill 2228 for rural grocery store sustainability grants, Senate Bill 2390 creating a rural catalyst community grant program, Senate Bill 2188 adjusting the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority, and Senate Bill 2265 authorizing a veterans national cemetery grant and line of credit with added reporting safeguards. Several House bills returned from the Senate were concurred in and then passed, including House Bill 1361 on mandatory minimum sentences for human trafficking offenders, House Bill 1017 for the Game and Fish Department, House Bill 1588 on firearms and dangerous weapons provisions, House Bill 1429 on harassment and stalking involving robots, House Bill 1591 on county fair resiliency grants, House Bill 1537 on service agreement protection for water projects, House Bill 1203 on edible medical marijuana products, and House Bill 1027 transferring administration of the State Fire and Tornado Fund from the Insurance Commissioner to OMB. The House also rejected a motion to reconsider Senate Bill 2307, which dealt with library materials and obscenity-related restrictions, by a vote of 48-51. In addition, the chamber appointed conference committees on several House and Senate measures where concurrence had failed, and laid over Senate Bill 2340 for two legislative days.

Transcript Highlights:

• year, 180,000 new commercial driver's licenses, CDLs, are required due to fleet growth and driver replacement
• They can pass it on to the younger trainees to replace them so that they don’t have to recreate the wheel
• They can pass it on to the younger trainees to replace them so that they don’t have to recreate the wheel
• students learn electrical and basic electricity skills, robotic programming skills, and how to use software

Summary: The Careers and Workforce Subcommittee met for its first meeting of the year, took roll, and heard member introductions centered on the importance of workforce pathways beyond the traditional four-year college route. Members repeatedly emphasized manufacturing, trades, rural workforce needs, apprenticeships, and helping students and adults find multiple paths to good jobs. The chair outlined the subcommittee’s focus on policies that build a skilled workforce and announced the day’s theme would be manufacturing, with presentations from the Florida Department of Commerce, the Florida Semiconductor Institute, and Fleet Force CDL training. Secretary Alex Kelly presented Florida’s manufacturing report, saying manufacturing is a major economic driver and that Florida has become the 10th largest state in manufacturing employment. He highlighted strong job multipliers, rapid growth in manufacturing GDP and establishments, the importance of logistics and ports, and the state’s small-business-heavy manufacturing base. He also stressed the aging manufacturing workforce, the need for modern skills such as robotics, cybersecurity, and data analytics, and the role of public-private partnerships, apprenticeships, and workforce education investments in supporting reshoring and industry growth. Dr. David Arnold described Florida’s semiconductor sector and the Florida Semiconductor Institute’s mission to grow research, workforce, and ecosystem development. He said semiconductors are strategically important, Florida ranks fifth nationally in semiconductor workforce, and the main bottleneck is mid-level technician talent rather than engineers or entry-level workers. He pointed to NeoCity, Valencia College, and other regional partnerships as models, and said the state needs more proactive planning, better instructor capacity, and stronger pathways from K-12 through postsecondary. Evan Agiloff of Fleet Force discussed Florida’s CDL shortage, saying trucking is essential to the supply chain, Florida has about 18,000 open CDL positions, and Fleet Force’s college-based model can quickly move students into middle-class jobs. Members asked about apprenticeships, CTE pathways, semiconductor training, infrastructure needs, and how to expand and better fund workforce programs; no votes were taken.