Transcript Highlights:

• </c> for lowincome community solar for lowincome community solar subscribers<01:20:03.679><c> and</c>
• through solar credits.
• solar, and gas plants.
• </c><01:23:51.040><c> The</c><01:23:51.280><c> solar</c> through solar credits.
• The solar through solar credits.

Transcript Highlights:

• They've gone above and beyond what California wanted with our solar field, brand-new, top-of-the-line
• Jackie Anas, on behalf of the California Fuels & Convenience Alliance, representing fuel retailers and
• But it depends on what the manufacturer suggested retail price is.

Transcript Highlights:

• that part of it because we are going to continue to work to make sure that we use the, as I said, solar
• energy wind we have we add said um solar energy wind we have we add to<00:14:31.759><c> the</c><00:14
• Uh, uh, Patty O'Keefe, Regional Director of Vote Solar, if you could please come to the table.
• Uh, uh, Patty O'Keefe, Regional Director of Vote Solar, if you could please come to the table.
• I'm the Midwest Regional Director at Vote Solar, an organization advocating for equitable solar as part

Bills: HF1277 , HF1006

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• Specifically, does this include industrial-scale energy infrastructure such as solar arrays or transmission
• Or when you say climate change mitigation, could it include solar arrays or large-scale energy infrastructure
• If I might, there may not be a definition of supply solar legacy; the values of the land that is proposed
• earlier question of mitigation definition, you stated that this will not include land for such uses as solar

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight

Summary: The Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight held an oversight hearing on draft regulations implementing Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution under Chapter 274 of the Acts of 2022, the Open Space Act. Chairs Cabral and Collins framed the hearing as a review of how the new process for dispositions or changes in use of Article 97 land would work, including public notice, environmental justice protections, replacement land, appraisals, and the role of the legislature. Under Secretary Stephanie Cooper and Commissioner Adam Bakke testified for EEA/DCAM, followed later by Deputy Inspector General O’Neill and Deputy Inspector General Giles on appraisal review. Much of the discussion focused on how the draft regulations would operate in practice. EEA said the regulations would require advance public notice, define “comparable location” for replacement land, and allow the Secretary to make findings on whether an action would adversely affect environmental justice communities. Members pressed for longer public comment periods, clearer notice to local officials, more frequent updates to the site evaluation tool, and a clearer definition of terms such as “limited duration” for permits and licenses. EEA said the regulations are intended to standardize a process that has been handled through policy and case-by-case review, and that the legislature still retains the final authority to approve any Article 97 disposition. Committee members also questioned whether the draft rules shift too much discretion to the Secretary and whether the proposed “proponent” process could allow private entities to drive Article 97 actions. EEA responded that non-public proponents would still need municipal support and legislative sponsorship, and that the regulations do not create a new avenue to bypass the existing home rule and legislative process. Members raised concerns about the current policy’s unanimous-vote requirements for municipal commissions, the proposed waiver provisions, whether MEPA applies, and the lack of explicit enforcement or penalty language in the act or regulations. EEA and DCAM said the act does not provide an enforcement mechanism and that disputes would generally be handled through the courts or the Attorney General. The Inspector General’s office explained its role in reviewing appraisals for special legislation, including Article 97 matters, to ensure compliance with USPAP standards and to forward its review to DCAM. The hearing did not include any votes or formal committee action; members indicated that the committee may later issue recommendations to the executive agencies based on the testimony and questions raised.

Transcript Highlights:

• Shea Specter with Stone Advocacy on behalf of the California Solar and Storage Association, in support
• Shira Specter with Stone Advocacy on behalf of the California Solar and Storage Association, in support
• Justice Campaign, in support, and also with the proxy me-too support of Recult Energy, Gopalh Shankar, Solar
• Justice Campaign, in support, and also with the proxy me-too support of Recult Energy, Gopalh Shankar, Solar

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy heard several bills focused on utility rates, wildfire safety, carbon capture, methane reduction, large energy users, low-income energy programs, and clean energy supply chains. Early items included SB 613, which would direct state agencies to prioritize reducing methane emissions from imported fossil fuels, and SB 614, which would allow California to move forward with carbon dioxide pipeline safety rules and potentially lift the state’s moratorium on new CO2 pipelines. Both bills drew support from advocates and industry-related witnesses, with no opposition registered at the time they were presented, and the committee indicated it would vote once quorum was established. After quorum was called, the committee took up SB 57, which would require the Public Utilities Commission to establish tariffs for large energy users such as data centers to prevent cost shifts to other ratepayers and address stranded infrastructure costs. Supporters argued the bill would protect affordability and encourage clean energy use, while opponents, including utilities and business groups, warned it could create uncertainty and interfere with existing regulatory processes. The committee also heard SB 256 on wildfire mitigation and emergency response, including undergrounding, PSPS communication, and removal of abandoned lines; supporters emphasized the need for stronger action after recent fires, while utilities raised concerns about duplicative requirements and public disclosure of sensitive infrastructure information. Both SB 57 and SB 256 were approved on roll calls. The committee then heard SB 647, which would expand and standardize oversight of low-income energy savings programs and performance metrics, with strong support from community advocates and some neutral or “tweener” positions from utilities that sought further work on data collection and implementation. SB 787 followed, proposing a state strategy to coordinate supply chains and workforce development for clean energy industries including EVs, building decarbonization, and offshore wind; it received broad support and no opposition. The committee also considered SB 332, a study bill on utility ownership models and affordability reforms, which drew strong support from consumer and climate advocates but opposition from utilities and business groups concerned about bias, investor signals, and executive compensation provisions. The consent calendar was later approved, and several bills were reported out with votes or held open for absent members to add on.

Transcript Highlights:

• This would complement the solar and other renewable energy resources for our state.
• :03:24.720><c> would</c><00:03:24.959><c> complement</c><00:03:25.360><c> the</c><00:03:25.599><c> solar
• </c><00:03:26.000><c> and</c> This would complement the solar and This would complement the solar and

Summary: The committee heard testimony and then took up House Bill 1369, which would repeal several tax credits and exemptions, including the renewable fuels production tax credit. Testimony was overwhelmingly opposed: Hawaii Gas, the Hawaii Renewable Fuels Coalition, and the Tax Foundation all raised concerns, with opponents arguing the renewable fuels credit has supported major local investment, cleaner fuel production, and energy resilience, while Hawaii Gas warned repeal would raise costs for customers. The Department of Taxation said it did not take a position but provided revenue estimates, saying the bill would increase revenues by about $33.8 million in FY 2026 and $121.7 million in FY 2027; DBEDT said it would follow up on broader economic impacts. The chair proposed a series of amendments that removed some repeals, added five-year sunsets to certain exemptions, narrowed or conditioned others, and tied the renewable fuels exemption to a dollar-for-dollar match for renewable fuel production certified by the state energy officer. The committee recommended passage with amendments, and the motion was adopted with multiple members voting with reservations. The committee then moved through a series of other measures. HB 159, HB 244, HB 280, HB 316, HB 716, HB 1298, and HB 1295 were recommended for passage, with HB 1295 amended to change a date to 2050. HB 455 was amended to remove the Hawaii Startup Business Loan Program language and instead fund DBEDT contracting for startup financing and support, excluding businesses already eligible for the community-based economic development loan program. HB 504 was amended to add non-recurring appropriations for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, conditioned on formal commitments to purchase local products under the HRS 27-8 timeline; members discussed the cruise passenger tax and where the revenue would go, and the bill was passed with amendments. HB 606 was amended to recognize DHHL authority over mercantile projects licenses, remove some reporting requirements, and replace the appropriation with $25 million for mercantile projects and $25 million for repair and maintenance. HB 1378 was amended to allow the foundation to enter public-private partnerships, adjust appropriation language, and cap a proposed limit at $15 million, with the committee noting the changes addressed concerns raised in testimony from BNF and the attorney general. HB 974 was deferred indefinitely because the House had already passed SB 1501. Finally, HB 1007 was amended to rename the transit-oriented development infrastructure district program as the transit-oriented community improvement program, consolidate the boards into one, expand board membership, add conflict-of-interest provisions, and allow legislative designation of areas; after discussion about HCDA’s role and the stadium district, the measure was adopted with one reservation.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is saying no foreign-owned company could use eminent domain regarding wind and solar.
• This negates the purpose of this bill in the first place, which is to keep wind and solar projects from

Committee: House Special Committee on Rural Issues

Transcript Highlights:

• The first one is a summer camp that we put on every summer called Solar, which stands for Summer Outdoor
• The first one is a summer camp that we put on every summer called Solar, which stands for Summer Outdoor

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Airport and Mesa del Sol, as I mentioned during my introduction yesterday, Maxion Solar, Yvonne Solar

Committee: Senate Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Whether it's at a fulfillment center, delivery station, air hub, or retail store, every job we create
• ,</c><00:05:32.880><c> air</c><00:05:33.120><c> hub,</c><00:05:33.440><c> or</c><00:05:33.759><c> retail
• </c> delivery station, air hub, or retail delivery station, air hub, or retail store,<00:05:34.800><c
• $7 million investment in new manufacturing facilities and a 30,000-foot warehouse with an attached retail
• And the building also features a solar rooftop panel, the only installation in our network that feeds

Summary: The task force met on November 4, 2025, approved the prior minutes without objection, and then heard a presentation from Amazon on its Kentucky aviation and logistics operations. Amazon described its statewide footprint, including its Boone County air hub at KCVG, its investment of more than $60 billion in Kentucky since 2010, about 20,000 jobs in the state, and its use of Amazon Air as a middle-mile network supported by third-party carriers. The company also highlighted small-business support, community relief efforts, and workforce development through Career Choice, including partnerships with Kentucky schools and aviation maintenance training. Members asked about Amazon’s most in-demand workforce needs, future operational challenges, and whether autonomous vehicles are used on the KCVG ramp. Amazon said it would follow up on workforce-demand details, identified customer-driven innovation and culture as ongoing challenges, and said autonomous vehicles are in testing but are not part of regular KCVG operations. Amazon also emphasized sustainability efforts, including alternative aviation fuel, and said it wants to work with the legislature to expand AAF production and supply in Kentucky. The task force then heard from Secretary Jeff Noel of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Matt Wingate on the state’s aviation economic development strategy. They said aviation and aerospace are central to Kentucky’s logistics and economic-development goals, with aerospace identified as the state’s top export and air cargo as a major strength. They discussed outreach to general aviation airports, support for local grant matching, airport funding projects, workforce and education partnerships, and efforts to market Kentucky at aviation trade shows such as Paris Air Show and MRO America. No formal votes or other actions were taken beyond approving the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• We can shutter every other power plant that is proven baseline power and the windmills and the solar
• We can shutter every other power plant that is proven baseline power and the windmills and the solar
• We can shutter every other power plant that is proven baseline power and the windmills and the solar
• Everyone knows that solar power with storage, wind power with storage is the cleanest, cheapest energy
• :39:35.840><c> storage,</c><05:39:36.400><c> wind</c> that solar power with storage, wind that solar

Transcript Highlights:

• LIWIP provides energy efficiency and solar renewable upgrades to low-income households and disadvantaged
• While we anticipate the general scope of the energy efficiency and solar PV services for farmworker housing
• LIWIP provides energy efficiency and solar renewable upgrades to low-income households and disadvantaged
• LIWIP provides energy efficiency and solar renewable upgrades to low-income households and disadvantaged
• While we anticipate the general scope of the energy efficiency and solar PV services for farmworker housing

Transcript Highlights:

• If you can afford solar and storage, you install it. Most people can't.
• market, and it's actually helped position India to overtake the U.S. as the world's second-largest solar
• market, and it's actually helped position India to overtake the U.S. as the world's second-largest solar
• Most Californians do not own solar...
• Most Californians do not own solar panels or electric vehicles, but they understand what it means to

Transcript Highlights:

• resources and, by the way, 98% of new energy generated in the first quarter of this year was from solar
• resources and, by the way, 98% of new energy generated in the first quarter of this year was from solar
• resources and, by the way, 98% of new energy generated in the first quarter of this year was from solar
• resources and, by the way, 98% of new energy generated in the first quarter of this year was from solar
• or wind right this year was from solar or wind right so<01:59:11.840><c> diversity</c><01:59:12.400>

Transcript Highlights:

• it's not, why do we want to eliminate provisions for Arizona's greatest homegrown resource, the sun, solar
• This is another anti-solar bill.
• Solar is our competitive advantage, and it just is nonsensical to me that we'd want to pass this bill

Transcript Highlights:

• Wind and solar are intermittent.
• We had to, you know, in some cases the federal government had to kickstart the solar environment.
• And before we adjourn, I want to remind the committee, Representative Banderman, we heard his solar bill

Committee: House Utilities

Transcript Highlights:

• So eliminating class 2 will have no impact financially on the ability of solar owners to obtain renewable
• So eliminating class 2 will have no impact financially on the ability of solar owners to obtain renewable
• So eliminating class 2 will have no impact financially on the ability of solar owners to obtain renewable
• So eliminating class 2 will have no impact financially on the ability of solar owners to obtain renewable
• So Class I is primarily wind, large hydro, and some solar.

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 219, which would revise the renewable portfolio standard. Representative Bose explained that the bill would modify class one definitions, eliminate class two, reduce the utility obligation for class one thermal renewable energy certificates from 2.2% to 1.7%, and adjust alternative compliance payments for classes one, three, and four. He said the changes were intended to save ratepayers an estimated $5.7 million annually, would not materially harm the renewable portfolio standard, and would have little effect on class two because that market is already saturated. Members questioned the impact on consumers, the state budget, and the renewable energy fund; Bose said the fund had already been redirected in the state budget, and another member noted an amended fiscal note showing a $1.2 million reduction in general fund revenue. The committee also discussed the bill’s history, including that it had been added to HB 2 and later removed by the Senate, and Bose said the Senate’s eventual action was hard to predict. The committee then heard House Bill 164 on local records retention from Secretary of State David Scanlan. He said the long-standing local records manager position had never been funded, but that the need for it had grown as towns increasingly digitize records and must ensure accessibility, including ADA compliance. He described the bill as a way to provide state support and expertise to municipalities, especially smaller towns with limited resources, and said the fiscal note for hiring the position remained accurate, though broader website and storage costs could rise over time. Members asked about retrieving lost records, the cost of a public website, and whether records should remain local or be stored at the state level; Scanlan said the state would serve as a resource rather than take control of local records. Finally, the committee began work on House Bill 365, also with Secretary Scanlan, concerning proof of U.S. citizenship for indigent voters. He said the bill would help voters who may lack required documents under the new voter registration law by allowing the state to verify qualifications through federal, private, or other state databases and by providing vouchers to cover the cost of obtaining documents such as birth certificates. He compared the proposal to earlier voter ID accommodations and said the goal was to help qualified voters meet the new requirements without weakening them. Members raised questions about defining “indigent,” how out-of-state birth records would be handled, and the practicality of the verification process; Scanlan said the term would likely need further discussion and that the state would try to assist voters before election day whenever possible.

Transcript Highlights:

• lower-carbon industrial processes and lower-carbon energy inputs like renewable natural gas and wind and solar
• lower-carbon industrial processes and lower-carbon energy inputs like renewable natural gas and wind and solar
• lower-carbon industrial processes and lower-carbon energy inputs like renewable natural gas and wind and solar
• lower-carbon industrial processes and lower-carbon energy inputs like renewable natural gas and wind and solar
• lower-carbon industrial processes and lower-carbon energy inputs like renewable natural gas and wind and solar

Summary: The committee heard testimony on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and Minnesota’s efforts to build a SAF industry. Andrea Veble of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture said the Walz administration strongly supports SAF because it could benefit agriculture, forestry, clean energy, and rural economies. She highlighted the 2023 state SAF tax credit and sales tax exemption for facility construction, describing the credit as a nation-leading incentive designed to stack with federal IRA credits and attract producers and blenders to Minnesota. Jeff Davidman of Delta Airlines said aviation is difficult to decarbonize and that SAF is the airline industry’s best available tool to reach net-zero goals by 2050. He explained that SAF is a certified drop-in fuel that can be blended with conventional jet fuel and used in existing aircraft and infrastructure, and he cited growing global demand and limited supply. He said Minnesota has many potential feedstocks, including used cooking oil, corn, soybeans, and camelina, and praised the state’s SAF tax credit and the Minnesota SAF Hub as important steps toward making Minnesota a leader in the sector. Peter Fros of Greater MSP described the Minnesota SAF Hub as a public-private partnership aimed at building an industrial-scale SAF value chain in Minnesota. He said the state has key advantages, including airport demand, corporate partners, research institutions, and agricultural inputs, and estimated that three SAF biorefineries could create tens of thousands of jobs and significant emissions reductions. He also said the Hub is working on blending infrastructure, private demand commitments, a winter camelina expansion study, and efforts to secure additional refineries before 2030. Members raised questions about how sustainability is measured, and Fros said the Hub relies on the federal GREET model but wants a clearer, transparent, and standardized national method that also accounts for issues like water quality and biodiversity. Amanda Bellik of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association said corn-based ethanol is a strong fit for SAF production through the alcohol-to-jet pathway because it is abundant, affordable, and supported by existing infrastructure. She said SAF development could create a new value-added market for corn without requiring new acres, but emphasized the need for significant capital investment, stable tax policy, and efficient permitting. She also said the group has worked with a consultant on third-party sustainability assessments of corn production practices to help fill data gaps and support the carbon-intensity requirements tied to SAF incentives.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is saying no foreign-owned company could use eminent domain regarding wind and solar.
• This negates the purpose of this bill in the first place, which is to keep wind and solar projects from

Committee: House Special Committee on Rural Issues

Summary: The Special Committee on Rural Issues met with a quorum and considered several bills and resolutions. The most contentious item was Senate Bill 1383, which had been loaded with multiple House amendments and a House Committee Substitute that combined a wide range of education-related provisions, including driver education, school finance transparency, property rules for charter schools, school accountability report cards, anti-bullying policy, educator preparation and literacy requirements, career and technical student organization staffing support, media literacy, and gifted testing. Members raised concerns that the substitute was overly broad, included provisions not heard in committee, and could impose unfunded mandates on school districts. After debate, the committee rejected the House Committee Substitute by a 5-7 vote and then voted 12-0 to do pass the underlying Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1383. The committee then took up House Bill 2169. An amendment to bar foreign-owned companies from using eminent domain for wind and solar projects was debated, with members questioning how foreign ownership would be defined and whether the language would affect companies with mixed ownership or U.S.-based subsidiaries. The amendment failed, and the bill was then approved by a 9-3 vote. House Bill 1699, dealing with county health officer appointment procedures, received a clarifying amendment stating that if a health officer is not reappointed, the officer must leave office and the county commission must appoint an interim; that amendment and the substitute were adopted, and the bill passed 11-0. Finally, the committee considered House Concurrent Resolution 38. A substitute correcting a typo was adopted, and the resolution then passed unanimously, 11-0. The meeting concluded with no further business and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaking of energy and electricity, even the solar panels in our county have to be soil tested according
• You're worried about solar panels? Data centers, they're going to suck it dry. Your water.

Committees: House Agriculture , House Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources