Transcript Highlights:

• through a system plan, where they model their technology alongside other resource types, including nuclear
• ,</c><00:40:08.720><c> gas,</c> technology types including nuclear, gas, technology types including nuclear
• and just wrote some numbers that I had learned a number of years ago, but like $37 per megawatt for nuclear
• 51.920><c> for</c> years ago but like $37 per megawatt for years ago but like $37 per megawatt for nuclear
• $35 per megawatt to produce is nuclear $35 per megawatt to produce is kind<00:48:56.400><c> of</c><00

Bills: HF4059 , HF76

Committee: House Energy Finance and Policy

Keywords: climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, financing, sustainability, environmental policy, renewable energy, Minnesota Climate Innovation Financing Authority, earned incentive release credit, release credits, supervised release, corrections, Minnesota Department of Corrections, sentence reduction, good time, prison time, incarceration, violent offenses, murder, criminal sexual conduct, sex offenses

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the third selective invasive carp deterrent in the U.S.
• 58.960><c> It's</c><00:29:59.279><c> the</c><00:29:59.520><c> second</c><00:29:59.760><c> of</c> deterrent
• It's the second of deterrent in the US.
• </c><00:30:28.080><c> It</c><00:30:28.320><c> was,</c> deterrent uh in this committee.
• It was, deterrent uh in this committee.

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Transcript Highlights:

• It may indicate that there's a deterrent effect of the new prepayment review process, but it might also
• </c> It may indicate that there's a deterrent It may indicate that there's a deterrent effect<00:27:04.480
• There might it might be driven by a deterrent effect, knowing that this review is happening, but also
• It might be driven by a deterrent effect, knowing that this review is happening, but also there are other
• It might be driven by a deterrent effect, knowing that this review is happening, but also there are other

Transcript Highlights:

• These increased charges do not act as a deterrent.
• The a the average granite deterrent.
• And so, this would be a deterrent to those folks who are knowingly violent. >> Questions? >> Yep.
• believe that when you increase penalties, it will decrease the occurrence of it because it is a deterrent
• believe that when you increase penalties, it will decrease the occurrence of it because it is a deterrent

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• delegated agency for inspections and other local agencies throughout the state is that this is a deterrent
• And now it's just a deterrent to help raise funds for what we think is important for our small communities
• delegated agency for inspections and other local agencies throughout the state is that this is a deterrent
• delegated agency for inspections and other local agencies throughout the state is that this is a deterrent
• And now it's just a deterrent to help raise funds for what we think is important for our small communities

Bills: HF2779 , HF1645 , HF1885 , HF1289 , HF1534 , HF2707 , HF1675 , HF3046

Committee: House Health Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill will not solve that, but it may help to serve as a deterrent.
• This bill will not solve that, but it may help to serve as a deterrent.
• This bill will not solve that, but it may help to serve as a deterrent.
• This bill will not solve that, but it may help to serve as a deterrent.
• Another thing that gets in deterrent.

Committee: House Veterans and Military Affairs Division

Transcript Highlights:

• is a huge problem, but it'd be better to get ahead of it and send a message, perhaps, and have a deterrent

Bills: HB4193

Committee: House State Powers

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 4193, authored by Representative Chapman, which is intended to prevent Oklahoma taxpayer dollars from going to foreign adversaries or entities not aligned with state or U.S. interests. Chapman said the bill was still a work in progress and that he had been working with OMES and the State Purchasing Director on possible changes, including shifting more authority to the purchasing office and clarifying the bill’s scope. Members raised several concerns about the draft language. Representative West asked about the provision making a company ineligible to bid on state contracts for 60 months, and Representative Yurek questioned whether allowing a company to bid again after five years undercut the bill’s purpose. Yurek also said he was not comfortable voting on a fluid proposal without seeing the final language or amendments. Chapman and another member explained that the goal was to give the Central Purchasing Office more practical authority to stop contracts with foreign adversaries, while avoiding unintended consequences for state agencies and subdivisions, such as replacing widely used drone technology that could be costly to substitute. In response to the concerns and the fact that the bill was not yet in final form, Chapman agreed to lay the bill over for further work before it would be heard again. No vote was taken, and the committee adjourned after no further business was raised.

Transcript Highlights:

• What was supposed to be a deterrent did not work. I grew up as a commercial fisherman.
• When I was a child, as a deterrent, I was made to go into commercial fishing.
• What was supposed to be a deterrent did not work. I grew up as a commercial fisherman.
• The reason of doing this was we were trying to do it as a deterrent against poaching.
• </c> make it fair and use it as a deterrent make it fair and use it as a deterrent towards towards towards

Committee: House Fish and Game and Marine Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• Minot, near our energy resources, and also protected, because these things will be the equivalent of nuclear
• and I worked at a coal facility—I am a coal proponent—all I hear about is natural gas, potentially nuclear
• I'm a former nuclear engineer, cyber professor, but my area is human adaptation: how do organizations
• region, but out east, where you have some deregulated markets, there were suggestions that existing nuclear
• region, but out east, where you have some deregulated markets, there were suggestions that existing nuclear

Committee: Joint Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• long, unreliable energy sources have been propped up while reliable options like coal, natural gas, nuclear
• Democrats have spent years forcing premature retirements of coal, nuclear, and natural gas through excessive
• Democrats have spent years forcing premature retirements of coal, nuclear, and natural gas through excessive
• Democrats have spent years forcing premature retirements of coal, nuclear, and natural gas through excessive
• DEMOCRATS HAVE SPENT YEARS FORCING PREMATURE RETIREMENTS OF COAL, NUCLEAR AND NATURAL GAS THROUGH EXCESSIVE

Bills: HB1670 , HR493 , HR492 , HR491 , HB5140 , HB4922 , HR713 , HR721 , HB2721 , HR707

Keywords: fertility, health benefits, family planning, assisted reproductive technology, employees, fertility treatment, ART, in vitro fertilization, IVF, infertility, family building, reproductive health, oocyte preservation, sperm preservation, embryo preservation, artificial insemination, gamete donation, embryo genetic testing, federal employee health benefits, FEHB

Transcript Highlights:

• have not been implemented: the pandemic incident plan and the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Emergency Management met with a quorum and first took up its consent calendar, advancing AB 1749, AB 1866, AB 1873, and committee bill AB 2471 on a 5-0 vote, with the roll held open for an absent member. The committee then heard AB 1934 by Assembly Member Bennett, which would create a voluntary State Fire Marshal home hardening certification program tied to wildfire mitigation and defensible space. Bennett described the bill as a response to increasing wildfire destruction and said the California Professional Firefighters Association supported it; the committee accepted amendments, and the bill passed as amended to the Committee on Natural Resources on a 5-0 vote. The committee also heard AB 2472, authored by Assembly Member Ransom, which would require Cal OES to develop additional catastrophic incident plans for pandemics, CBRNE incidents, and wildland-urban interface wildfires. Ransom said the bill would fill gaps in existing catastrophic planning and improve preparedness for future disasters. A committee member raised concerns about duplicative planning and suggested the bill could be amended to rely on existing plans where possible; Ransom responded that the bill was intended to supplement, not duplicate, current efforts. AB 2472 passed to the Committee on Appropriations on a 6-0 vote. After returning to the consent calendar, the committee completed the remaining roll call and confirmed the earlier consent items were out. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Martindale is a US Navy retiree who served as a machinist in a submariner within the Navy's nuclear propulsion

Bills: SB1423 , SB1426 , SB1502 , SB1377 , SB1983 , SB1466 , SB1645 , SB1647 , SB1847 , SB1565 , SB1562 , SB1329 , SB1383 , SB1833 , SB1555 , SB1344 , SB1839 , SB1280 , SB1832 , SB2001 , SB1405 , SB2143 , SB1989 , SB1393 , SB1392 , SB1395 , SB1400 , SB1220 , SB1516 , SB1239 , SB1531 , SB1349 , SB1221 , SB1538 , SB1309 , SB1434 , SB2108 , SB2121 , SB2171 , SB2061 , SB2112 , SB2138

Keywords: Oklahoma Hospital Advisory Council, hospital licensure, public health, State Department of Health, State Board of Health, hospital regulations, healthcare regulation, hospital standards, hospital construction, hospital operations, stroke care, stroke system, emergency medical services, EMS transport, psychiatric treatment, chemical dependency treatment, substance use disorder, drug storage, pharmacy, quality indicators

Transcript Highlights:

• Three decades ago, if you turned the light switch on, it was powered because of coal and nuclear.
• Two decades ago, it was a little less coal, natural gas, and nuclear.
• Natural gas and nuclear. In another 10 years, the next decade, it's going to change again.
• nuclear energy in a bill without authorized...
• How to deregulate nuclear energy in a bill without authorizing rulemaking.

Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, journal approval, guest introductions, and a proclamation recognizing March as International Women’s Celebration Month. Members also welcomed guests from several school districts and the Arizona FFA. The chamber then moved through first readings of numerous Senate bills and took up several motions, including reconsideration of HB 2169 and referral of HB 210 and HB 2103 to an additional Committee of the Whole for further amendment. In Committee of the Whole, the House advanced HB 2100 and HB 2103 with technical amendments and due-pass recommendations. It then considered a series of bills on Calendar 2, including HB 2048, HB 2364, HB 2415, HB 2775, HB 2833, HB 2862, HB 2870, HB 2995, and HB 4067. Debate centered on election administration, sovereignty and international organizations, private school regulation, law enforcement face coverings, domestic violence and coercive control, and voter roll categories. HB 2862 drew the most procedural attention, with a division vote on a substitute amendment; the House rejected a motion to replace the adopted amendment, and the report was later adopted. On Calendar 3, the House considered education bills. HB 2093, which repeals the requirement for K-12 health education to include mental health instruction, prompted extensive debate over student suicide prevention, school counseling, parental responsibility, and whether schools should provide mental health support; it received a due-pass recommendation by a 27-22 division vote. The House also advanced HB 2313, which was described as responding to a Tucson Unified School District work stoppage tied to a political protest, and HB 2423, HB 2478, and other education measures after amendments and, in one case, withdrawal of an appropriations amendment. The session continued into HB 2830 as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• Rules, Senate Joint Resolution 88, expressing support for the United States Department of Energy's nuclear
• Department support for the United States Department of<00:23:39.280><c> Energy's</c><00:23:39.760><c> nuclear
• </c><00:23:40.159><c> life</c><00:23:40.400><c> cycle</c> of Energy's nuclear life cycle of Energy's
• nuclear life cycle innovation<00:23:41.200><c> endeavor,</c><00:23:41.679><c> receives</c><00:23:42.000

Summary: The Alabama Senate convened with prayer and the pledge, confirmed a quorum, excused absent senators, and adopted the previous day’s journal. The chamber then received House messages referring House Bill 614 on supplemental appropriations and House Bill 224 on the distribution and use of tax funds to the Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee. Committee reports followed on several bills, including favorable reports for House Bills 169, 542, 593, and 13, with HB 542 amended in committee. The Senate also referred Senator Orr’s proposed rules change to the Rules Committee. A series of resolutions were taken up and adopted, including Senate Resolution 109 creating the Alabama Boating Safety Task Force, Senate Joint Resolutions 102 and 103, House Joint Resolutions 237, 215, 216, 218, and 235, Senate Joint Resolution 88 supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear life cycle innovation effort, Senate Joint Resolution 93 creating a rural EMS and volunteer fire department study commission, Senate Joint Resolution 94 commending Exchange Club of Tuscaloosa Officer of the Year honorees, and Senate Joint Resolution 110 commending William Riley Hawkins Jr. on his retirement from AARP Alabama. The Senate also recognized several guests in the gallery, including local school superintendents and a student visitor. The chamber then moved through local legislation, adopting BRs and passing numerous local bills and constitutional amendments, including measures for Mobile, Prichard, Class 2 municipalities, Mingo County, Talladega County, Perry County, Wilcox County, Clay County, Washington County, and Madison County. Senate Bill 376 on Mobile County and Senate Bill 379 on Madison County were both passed and transmitted. Most local bills passed on unanimous or near-unanimous votes using the previous roll. The Senate also adopted Special Order Calendar Resolution 111, setting a special order calendar for the 27th legislative day that prioritized a long list of appropriations, education, retirement, dam safety, and higher education bills. On that calendar, House Bills 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 565, and Senate Bill 380 were taken up. HB 235’s committee substitute was tabled, a floor substitute was adopted restoring funding to the McQuain Center and removing some arts grants, and the bill passed. HB 236 passed after a language amendment. HB 237 passed as the Education Opportunities Reserve Fund bill. HB 238 passed after a floor substitute that shifted arts grants, added Voices for Alabama’s Children, adjusted RAISE Act weights, and increased funding for poverty, special education, and gifted students, along with a small amendment. HB 239 passed as the public education employee pay raise bill, with a substitute adding a retiree bonus and members discussing that the bonus would also be carried through SB 380. HB 240, HB 241, HB 242, and HB 565 all passed. SB 380 on the teachers retirement system received committee amendments and was being advanced as the vehicle for the retiree bonus, with Senator Orr explaining the bonus would be about $33 million and based on $1 per month of service for eligible retirees with at least 10 years of service.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm on the Energy Council, and I've learned an awful lot about where we are with nuclear energy, and
• China is building nuclear facilities at lightning speed that I don't even hear discussed.
• note, and this is from kind of my prior life: I used to work for the Department of Energy and in the nuclear
• And I remember them talking about how very few of the scientists who are coming into the nuclear security

Committee: Senate Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• We are using the platform of this office to champion Kentucky coal, natural gas, and our nuclear energy
• natural<00:47:21.760><c> gas,</c><00:47:22.480><c> and</c><00:47:22.800><c> our</c><00:47:23.680><c> nuclear
• </c><00:47:24.400><c> energy</c> natural gas, and our nuclear energy natural gas, and our nuclear energy

Summary: The committee first heard from Personnel Cabinet officials on House Bill 6, which required the Kentucky Employees Health Plan to offer a qualified high-deductible health plan by the 2026 plan year. Officials said the plan was already added for 2025, described it as the lowest-premium option with higher deductibles, and explained that federal rules prevent first-dollar coverage except for limited preventive services. They said 264 members had selected the plan out of about 142,000, and noted it also allows health savings accounts. Members asked about the plan’s benefits, what “catastrophic” meant, the deductible amounts, and whether employees were aware of the option; the cabinet said it would continue to highlight the plan in communications and that the deductible is above $8,000 for individuals and above $16,000 for families. The committee then received an update from the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs on the Bowling Green veterans center. Officials said the current target is to move into the building on October 28, with first admissions about two months later, pending final fixes and certification steps for Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA. They explained that about $7 million in FY25 appropriations lapsed because of construction delays, staffing ramp-up was postponed to avoid unnecessary spending, and the unspent funds should be considered in the next budget request. Members praised the project and asked about annual operating costs; officials said the current operating budget is about $15 million, though they do not expect to spend all of it this year. The commissioner also announced the fifth annual state commanders conference in Lexington, focused on veterans issues and featuring state, federal, and advocacy leaders. State Auditor Allison Ball then outlined her office’s budget priorities. She said the office is primarily a billing agency that charges audited entities for its work, and warned that some agencies are now signaling they may refuse to pay for audits related to kinship care and the medical cannabis application process. She said the office plans to continue requesting outlier credits for unusually burdensome county audit fees, funding for the ombudsman office’s transition and expanded in-office operations, and revenue replacement for local government audits and possibly state audits and special examinations. Ball also said the office conducts about 500 audits, reviews, and examinations a year and wants to restore performance audits with seed funding, as well as add investigators to the ombudsman office to focus more on child abuse and neglect cases. Members discussed the value of performance audits, the possibility of raising certain board thresholds to account for inflation, and the need for additional capacity to handle more audits.

Transcript Highlights:

• And in fact, what it's going to do is weaken deterrence against insurers acting in bad faith.
• And I think we're just weakening the deterrence that the guardrails, as the gentleman to my right called

Committee: House Insurance

Summary: The House Committee on Insurance met on March 25 and took up House Bill 577 by Representative Glorioso, which would change Louisiana’s bad-faith insurance penalty language from a flat 50% to “up to 50%,” giving judges discretion to award a lower penalty in cases involving minor or technical delays. Glorioso argued the bill would correct an omission from the 2024 consolidation of the bad-faith statutes, reduce unnecessary litigation over nominal delays, and potentially help lower reinsurance and homeowners’ insurance costs. Committee members questioned whether the change would weaken consumer protections or reward insurer misconduct, especially in catastrophe claims after storms, and whether any real rate relief would follow. Opposition testimony came from the Louisiana Association of Justice and Real Reform Louisiana. They argued the current penalty provisions are important guardrails that help force timely payment and fair handling of claims, especially after hurricanes, and that the bill would reduce deterrence without producing meaningful premium reductions. They also said insurers already have substantial time and procedural protections under the law, and that penalties are rarely awarded but serve as leverage in settlement negotiations. Supporters and the Department of Insurance said Louisiana’s penalty structure is an outlier compared with other states and that the bill could make the market more competitive, though the department said it did not have court data on bad-faith judgments and could not quantify the bill’s effect on rates. After debate, Representative Glorioso closed by saying he was open to further language changes but asked the committee to advance the bill. The committee then voted 10 yeas and 6 nays to report House Bill 577 favorably. Afterward, the committee moved on to the next item, House Bill 955.

Transcript Highlights:

• In fact, what it's going to do is weaken deterrence against insurers acting in bad faith.
• And I think we're just weakening the deterrence that the guardrails, as the gentleman on my right called

Committee: House Insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• first round of licensure, we took what we believed to be very strong action that should have been a deterrent
• Unfortunately, that was not the deterrent we expected.

Committee: House Joint Committee on Administrative Rules

Transcript Highlights:

• first round of licensure, we took what we believed to be very strong action that should have been a deterrent
• Unfortunately, that was not the deterrent we expected.

Committee: House Joint Committee on Administrative Rules

Summary: The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules met to review Missouri marijuana microbusiness rule amendments, especially 19 CSR 100-1.060 and 19 CSR 100-1.190. The Department of Cannabis Regulation explained that the changes were intended to clarify what it means for a microbusiness to be “owned and operated” by eligible individuals, move compliance review earlier in the application process, and address repeated instances where licenses were later found to be controlled by ineligible or noncompliant parties. The department said it had used stakeholder outreach, town halls, listening sessions, and public comments in drafting the rules, and noted that 25 standalone comments were received during formal rulemaking. Committee members focused heavily on whether the rules were too broad, whether they effectively punished applicants for past agency revocations, and whether the department had clear authority to impose a lifetime ban on people denied or revoked under the ownership-and-operation provisions. Several members argued the language should be narrowed to intentional or egregious violations and better tied to specific conduct rather than prior agency action. Witnesses from the public, including applicants and attorneys, testified that the department’s guidance on “predatory practices” and acceptable ownership structures had been unclear, that some applicants relied on consultant arrangements later deemed problematic, and that similar agreements were treated inconsistently. Others supported stronger enforcement, saying the rules were needed to prevent manipulation of social equity applicants and preserve the constitutional requirements of the program. The committee also discussed training and technical assistance requirements, the five-day document deadline, and whether the department should provide more concrete guidance or model forms. Members raised concerns that the proposed definitions could burden small or first-time business owners and that some applicants might be unfairly penalized despite acting in good faith. No substantive vote on the rule package was taken; instead, the committee voted to adjourn and return on Thursday after working with the department on possible corrections, clarifications, or amendments.