Video & Transcript Research : 'Chapter 45'

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MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House State Government Finance and Policy Committee 2/24/26

State Government Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:
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Bills: SF856, HF3168, HF3528, HF389
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • Plano, located in Collin County, is actually the largest Texas city not currently qualifying for Chapter
  • Specifically, we're seeing Chapter 380 rebate agreements used not to incentivize new investment, but
  • It doesn't eliminate the use of Chapter 380 rebate agreements.
  • This is not how Chapter 380 agreements were meant to operate.
  • Chapter 207 specifies a suitable job that someone should be applying for.
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • We stock about 4.5 million fish statewide, 221,000 acres of water, 45 different fisheries across the
  • :13:05.199> uh uh Statewide 221,000 Acres of water uh uh Statewide 221,000 Acres of water uh 45
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  • different Fisheries across the state 45 different Fisheries across the state 86<00:13:09.800> different
  • authority to appoint new commissioners creates an unavoidable conflict of interest because under KRS Chapter
Summary: The Natural Resources Committee first approved the minutes from the prior meeting and then took up Senate Bill 245, which would give the legislature more authority to review appointments to the Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission and clarify language about commissioners serving before confirmation. The sponsor said the bill was meant to allow a deeper background review and prevent unconfirmed appointees from voting on budget matters. The bill was adopted with a sub and title amendment, and Senator Boswell explained his yes vote as a way to ensure timely and proper confirmation votes in the future. The committee then discussed Senate Bill 112, concerning fishing on privately owned lakes and ponds. Senator Boswell argued that landowners should be able to fish on their own property without a license and should control fish harvest on private waters, while still requiring permission for others to fish. Commissioner Rich Storm opposed the proposal, saying landowners already may fish on their property, warning that the bill could reduce fishing-license revenue and federal grant support, and noting the department’s work stocking fish, maintaining access, and funding conservation programs. Senator Webb said he was exploring possible compromise language, and other members raised concerns about pay lakes, youth access, and potential abuse of exemptions. Boswell ultimately withdrew the bill voluntarily, and the committee agreed not to vote on it that day. Finally, the committee heard a discussion-only presentation on Senate Bill 8, focused on long-term energy policy and the role of the Public Service Commission. The sponsor said Kentucky needs a broader energy strategy to address growing demand from new industries such as large data centers, grid capacity limits, and the need for expertise and possibly different pay scales to recruit qualified staff. Members responded positively to the discussion, noting the importance of the PSC and the need for continued work on the issue, but no vote was taken.
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • You have to go to another section of KRS chapter 381 to find the retroactive provision; that's KRS 381.286
  • The floor is yours, House Bill 45. All right, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  • House Bill 45 is simply to create some consistency in our law that bans foreign participation in our
  • House Bill 45 is simply to create some consistency in our law that bans foreign participation in our
  • The law that I have expressed in House Bill 45 mirrors the model legislation that some national groups
Summary: The committee first handled House Bill 27, which would remove the prohibition on political yard signs in planned communities statewide while still allowing communities to regulate size, placement, and duration. The sponsor said the 2023 Planned Communities Act created an unintended consequence by treating similar homeowners differently based on grandfathering dates, and a legal explanation was offered that the bill would clarify the law and avoid constitutional problems. After discussion, the committee voted 15-0 to pass the bill with favorable expression. The next item was an update from the Secretary of State on the 2024 election and implementation of House Bill 53, which created prompt post-election audits. He said the audits were carried out smoothly, most found no discrepancies, and no election winners changed, though he recommended adding a specific timeline to the law. He also discussed voter-roll maintenance, saying Kentucky has removed more than 440,000 ineligible voters since 2020, and argued that federal law and limited access to federal databases remain the main obstacles to faster cleanup. Members asked about the possibility of improper removals, double voting across states, and how provisional voting works. The Secretary said anyone improperly removed can reregister, that any double-voting abuse is likely marginal but still unacceptable, and that provisional ballots are available when eligibility is in doubt and can be reviewed by the county board of elections. He also urged Congress to modernize the 1993 federal voter-registration law, improve access to death and citizenship data, and create a central interstate information-sharing system for election officials.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • Beyond that, my other point is, I don't like that your bill takes away Chapter 2110 of the government
  • It's just saying to provide the same protections in both chapters 302 and 304 of the Business and Commerce
  • However, only Chapter 304 defines a telephone call to include mobile phone numbers and text messaging
  • SB 140 simply extends the definition of a telephone call found in Chapter 304 to Chapter 302, acting
  • However, Chapter 36 includes a provision that grants increased departmental authority, stating that the
KY
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Summary: The Public Safety and Judiciary Committee met without a quorum, so approval of the January 3, January 20, and February 3 minutes was postponed. The committee then heard an update from the Department of Corrections on halfway house and Recovery Kentucky funding and operations. Deputy Commissioner Hillary Daily said DOC contracts for up to 1,752 halfway house beds and 780 Recovery Kentucky beds, with 16 halfway houses and 13 Recovery Kentucky centers statewide. She reported 6,329 admissions in fiscal year 2025, average daily populations of 1,041 in halfway houses and 494 in Recovery Kentucky, and explained that Recovery Kentucky placements are more restrictive, generally excluding violent and sex offenders, while halfway houses serve probationers, parolees, and sex offenders who need treatment. She also described programming such as MRT, parenting, adult basic education, and trauma-focused services, and said some facilities offer supervised visitation. Daily said no new funding request was included in the current budget, though DOC has sought rate increases in prior cycles. Community Transitional Services director Barbara Stum also testified in support of halfway houses as re-entry and substance abuse treatment centers. She said CTS primarily serves men coming out of prison or returning to prison who need treatment, and that halfway houses provide security, accountability, treatment, employment support, and help with home placement. Stum said the state moved substance abuse treatment into the community in 2010 to avoid sending people back to prison for treatment, and argued halfway houses are the least expensive form of incarceration. She cited daily rates of $33.61 for CTS beds and DOC figures of $37.33 to $44.33 per day, compared with higher prison and jail costs, and said reimbursement has not kept pace with inflation since the last increase in 2019. She said staffing and supplies are the main pressure points, with counselor pay below market rates, and noted two counselor vacancies. A former resident, Michael Bird, testified that CTS helped him recover and re-enter the community successfully. The committee also received an update from the Administrative Office of the Courts on implementation of the video arraignment/video conferencing system. AOC officials Zach Ramsey and Charles Buyers said the system is now fully implemented in all courtrooms and is used for video arraignments and other Zoom-based court proceedings. Buyers described the pandemic-era transition from older, inconsistent equipment to improvised laptop/webcam setups, then to a more integrated vendor-supported system with touchscreen controls and a judicial support specialist position for training and operation. He said 324 courtrooms are already up to the current standard, with 128 remaining on an older bundle, and that there are no technical barriers to continued use. AOC said it is seeking $3.8 million in recurring annual funding to keep the systems upgraded and current, and plans to upgrade 46 systems in fiscal year 2026 across 15 counties.