Transcript Highlights:

• They come from technology, from the cloud. They come from data centers.
• They come from the things that power the technology that we use each and every day.
• from the cloud they come from technology from the cloud they come from technology they<00:03:45.319
• <00:03:58.040> or well I'm going to use that technology or well I'm going to use that technology
• utilize more and more as technology utilize more and more as technology advances<00:13:25.800>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If you don't know, EAST is Education Accelerated by Service and Technology, is what it stands for.
• 235 Arkansas schools that empower students to solve real-world problems in their community using technology
• We have to upgrade our IT and our IT security.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If you don't know, EAST is Educated, Accelerated by Service and Technology, is what it stands for.
• 235 Arkansas schools that empower students to solve real-world problems in their community using technology
• We have to upgrade our IT and our IT security.

Summary: The committee first took up the Special Language Committee report, which adopted nine amendments tied to Governor’s Letter 7 and HB 1005, and then approved several items for due pass as amended, including HB 101 (Department of Corrections), HB 1017 (Department of Agriculture promotion boards), HB 1009 (Department of Public Safety), and SB 10 (Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Services). A question was raised about the $10 million unemployment insurance modernization item in SB 10, and Commerce staff said it was a continuation of a previously approved appropriation rather than a new increase. The main discussion centered on the Treasurer’s budget request, especially salary increases. Committee members questioned why the office had already received substantial raises in 2025 and whether additional funds would go to lower-paid staff or mainly to top leadership. Treasury staff said the request was intended to retain talent, that the office’s investment team manages an $11.5 billion portfolio, and that the state benefits from those returns; they also said the treasurer would be open to discussing a cap on raises. Members expressed concern that prior funds had not gone where expected and that the treasurer was not present to answer directly. Representative Lundstrum moved to hold the Treasurer’s budget until the treasurer could return and provide more information, and the motion passed. Representative Kavanaugh also asked about a $150,000 preparedness and safety appropriation, and staff said it would support IT and security upgrades related to a move from AIS to S4 HANA and a cloud-based system. The committee then batched and passed a series of supplemental and reappropriation bills, followed by individual due-pass votes on multiple House and Senate bills, all of which were approved without objection. The meeting ended with procedural guidance about filing special-language items and a request to release a hold on HB 1064, after which the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• And there are monies that are available that would be a technological upgrade that would probably be
• <01:20:52.640> a would be an an an upgrade a would be an an an upgrade a technological<01:
• 20:53.760> upgrade<01:20:54.400> that<01:20:54.719> would technological upgrade
• that would technological upgrade that would probably<01:20:55.199> be<01:20:55.440> available
• We're giving you a Wi-Fi upgrade, but we're going to use your facility?"

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• sort of how that incentive mechanism would work to help our utilities engage in sort of proactive upgrades
• making process further incentives to kind of make sure that capital equipment is lining up with technology
• In today's world there are two-way technologies.
• So we call the metering and the technology they open a foundational technology.
• Seeing none, uh, SB 539, eligible biomass technology in the renewable portfolio standards.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Some startup costs that we've been approved for, for equipment upgrades, ambulances, those types of upgrades
• that we will test the market on, is what we're calling the technology adoption challenge.
• I've seen many unsuccessful technology projects.
• myself pick and choose the technologies that everybody should have, that we should say this is what
• So, perhaps there's an enhancement to a technology or a brand new technology.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So again, that's work to be done, but we've also got multiple technology systems that need performance
• upgrades and merging as well, and ultimately improving the service to our customers and our employees
• How can we accommodate that, leveraging technology and virtual after-hour service deliveries?
• How can we accommodate that leveraging technology and virtual after-hour service deliveries?
• But that's not great for our employers that need people in data security and cyber technology.

Summary: The meeting focused on Arkansas’s workforce development reorganization and a set of federal waiver requests intended to consolidate and streamline the state’s WIOA system. Commerce officials said the department has already centralized shared services, split the old workforce agency into reemployment and Arkansas Workforce Connections, and submitted a combined WIOA/Perkins state plan. They described nine waiver requests, including replacing local workforce boards with a single statewide board, creating one planning and accountability structure, allowing more flexible movement of funds across regions, easing the “last-dollar” requirement for training and supportive services, reducing required youth program elements, and allowing affiliate sites instead of mandatory comprehensive centers. Officials said the goal is to reduce administrative costs and redirect more money to training, supportive services, and employer-driven programs. Legislators raised concerns about rural representation, local employer relationships, and whether local offices would close. Commerce officials said local offices would remain open, some current staff could be rehired, and regional business councils would preserve local employer input. They said the current system is fragmented and expensive, with roughly $14 million in federal workforce funds flowing through local boards but only about $1.9 million spent on training and supportive services last year; they argued the reorganization could raise training spending to about $6 million to $7 million annually. Questions also addressed board composition, performance accountability, and how funds could be shifted between regions when needs change. The State Board of Workforce Development had approved the waiver package 11-3 before it was submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor. Members also discussed workforce access for people with disabilities, child care and transportation supports, and the role of Arkansas Launch, apprenticeships, and career and technical education. Officials said vocational rehabilitation now has better access to the state job board and that referrals and data-sharing with DHS and other partners still need improvement. Several legislators emphasized the need for training to align more closely with employer demand, especially in manufacturing, technology, health care, and rural areas. The committee also heard a brief overview of Workforce Pell, with staff explaining that the new federal short-term Pell option has narrow eligibility rules and may not fit many existing programs, including some CDL and CNA programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• Information technology is another key driver of cost and use of these funds.
• to smart courtroom technology, smart machine technology, and mirror the professional environments where
• While campus-wide mechanical, electric, and plumbing MEP systems, upgrades and critical electric system
• replacement will ensure a safe and technologically equipped learning environment.
• We are preparing students for a future where adaptability and technological fluency are prerequisites

Transcript Highlights:

• to ensure that we and with technology to ensure that we can<00:21:34.559> maximize<00:21:35.520
• We want to make sure we take advantage of all the technologies that are available.
• I mean, that's the technology that's available. That's the market. Sorry.
• The reason why we upgraded the future.
• > that's mean, that's the technology that's mean, that's the technology that's available.<01:36

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committees received an informational briefing from Hawaii DOT and related partners on the Navahine settlement and the department’s plan to meet its climate and transportation commitments. Speakers described the settlement as a first-of-its-kind agreement rooted in the state constitution, the public trust doctrine, and prior legislative findings and laws, including Act 131. They said the settlement is intended to formalize DOT’s work, establish milestones, and keep climate and transportation policy less dependent on changes in administration. The presentation emphasized that transportation is Hawaii’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and that the plan is aimed at meeting 2030 and 2045 clean energy goals. DOT outlined several major implementation pieces: creation of a new Office of Energy Security and Community Outreach, formation of a youth council, and development of an emissions reduction plan that will be updated over time. The youth council reported on its membership, statewide representation, meetings, and work on charter, bylaws, and committees focused on policy and legislation, events and advocacy, and ground transportation. Youth members said they provided feedback on the energy security plan and discussed walk audits and safe routes to school. The department also described a new project-scoring tool to measure greenhouse gas impacts of every DOT project, which it said is intended to make Hawaii a national leader in evaluating transportation emissions. A major topic was the settlement’s transportation network requirement, which speakers said compresses roughly 15 years of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit network work into five years and will require about $40 million to $50 million per year over the next five years. They said a GIS map is being developed to identify gaps and that the work will involve counties and other partners, with benefits for safety, connectivity, and emissions reduction. Other topics included clean fuel standards, electrification of ground transportation, sustainable aviation fuel, marine fuel transitions, cold ironing at ports, and the costs and availability challenges associated with those transitions. DOT also reported progress on EV charging infrastructure, including two completed sites and more planned, and said it is using a sustainability partner contract to maintain chargers and recover only electricity costs. The briefing also highlighted carbon sequestration and fire mitigation work, including native tree planting. DOT said it has exceeded its minimum annual tree-planting commitment, with 3,000 trees planted in 2024 and 4,200 by mid-2025, and noted that the Legislature provided $15 million for fire mitigation that is being used for this work. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the informational briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• A lot of that’s for transmission lines; it’s like basic infrastructure upgrades.
• A lot of that’s for transmission lines; it’s like basic infrastructure upgrades.
• A lot of that’s for transmission lines; it’s like basic infrastructure upgrades.
• <01:01:40.599> improvements progress in the technology improvements progress in the technology
• That technology is probably a little bit more mastered and fine-tuned than the technology that we're

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a it's an upgrade and the software.
• upgrade it, it goes to a subscription. upgrade it, it goes to a subscription.
• and digital innovation technology.
• technology and digital innovation<02:55:14.800> technology.
• We should work on innovation technology.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Rio Rancho, Lincoln Middle School ranked number 88; they're in a planning study for a system upgrade.
• They're in a planning study, and they plan to do system upgrades, including a special education classroom
• We may not be able to move the entire fleet, but if we can move slowly as technology improves, that's
• You know, start slowly as technology improves.
• Some technology and landscaping are being sacrificed as well.

Transcript Highlights:

• grown to more than 60 locations and seven districts across Texas that emphasize rigorous science, technology
• The two-thirds number is a great suggestion that it might be a time to upgrade the amendment you know
• The supermajority may need to be upgraded higher and the president mentioned one county happens to be
• behavior support. and associated evaluation services through telecommunications or information technology
• to engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty to state affairs. relating to the use of technology

Bills: SJR2, SB4, SJR36, SJR2, SB4, SJR1, SJR5, SB9, SB40, SJR2, SB4, SR98, SJR40, SJR41, SJR42, SJR43, SJR44, SJR45, SJR46, SJR47, SCR13, SB6, SB13, SB21, SB826, SB827, SB828, SB829, SB830, SB831, SB832, SB833, SB834, SB835, SB836, SB837, SB838, SB839, SB840, SB841, SB842, SB843, SB844, SB845, SB846, SB847, SB848, SB849, SB850, SB851, SB853, SB854, SB855, SB856, SB857, SB858, SB859, SB860, SB861, SB862, SB863, SB864, SB865, SB866, SB867, SB868, SB869, SB870, SB871, SB872, SB873, SB874, SB875, SB876, SB877, SB878, SB879, SB880, SB881, SB882, SB883, SB884, SB885, SB886, SB887, SB888, SB889, SB890, SB891, SB892, SB893, SB894, SB895, SB896, SB897, SB898, SB899, SB900, SB901, SB902, SB903, SB904, SB905, SB906, SB907, SB908, SB909, SB910, SB911, SB912, SB913, SB914, SB915, SB916, SB917, SB918, SB919, SB920, SB921, SB922, SB923, SB924, SB925, SB926, SB927, SB928, SB929, SB930, SB931, SB932, SB933, SB934, SB935, SB936, SB937, SB938, SB939, SB940, SB941, SB942, SB943, SB944, SB945, SB946, SB947, SB948, SB949, SB950, SB951, SB952, SB953, SB954, SB955, SB956, SB957, SB958, SB959, SB960, SB961, SB962, SB963, SB964, SB965, SB966, SB967, SB968, SB969, SB970, SB971, SB972, SB973, SB974, SB975, SB976, SB977, SB978, SB979, SB980, SB981, SB982, SB983, SB984, SB985, SB986, SB987, SB988, SB989, SB990, SB991, SB992, SB993, SB994, SB995, SB996, SB997, SB998, SB999, SB1000, SJR40, SJR41, SJR42, SJR43, SJR44, SJR45, SJR46, SJR47, SCR13, SB6, SB13, SB21, SB826, SB827, SB828, SB829, SB830, SB831, SB832, SB833, SB834, SB835, SB836, SB837, SB838, SB839, SB840, SB841, SB842, SB843, SB844, SB845, SB846, SB847, SB848, SB849, SB850, SB851, SB853, SB854, SB855, SB856, SB857, SB858, SB859, SB860, SB861, SB862, SB863, SB864, SB865, SB866, SB867, SB868, SB869, SB870, SB871, SB872, SB873, SB874, SB875, SB876, SB877, SB878, SB879, SB880, SB881, SB882, SB883, SB884, SB885, SB886, SB887, SB888, SB889, SB890, SB891, SB892, SB893, SB894, SB895, SB896, SB897, SB898, SB899, SB900, SB901, SB902, SB903, SB904, SB905, SB906, SB907, SB908, SB909, SB910, SB911, SB912, SB913, SB914, SB915, SB916, SB917, SB918, SB919, SB920, SB921, SB922, SB923, SB924, SB925, SB926, SB927, SB928, SB929, SB930, SB931, SB932, SB933, SB934, SB935, SB936, SB937, SB938, SB939, SB940, SB941, SB942, SB943, SB944, SB945, SB946, SB947, SB948, SB949, SB950, SB951, SB952, SB953, SB954, SB955, SB956, SB957, SB958, SB959, SB960, SB961, SB962, SB963, SB964, SB965, SB966, SB967, SB968, SB969, SB970, SB971, SB972, SB973, SB974, SB975, SB976, SB977, SB978, SB979, SB980, SB981, SB982, SB983, SB984, SB985, SB986, SB987, SB988, SB989, SB990, SB991, SB992, SB993, SB994, SB995, SB996, SB997, SB998, SB999, SB1000

Keywords: SJR 2, Senate Joint Resolution 2, constitutional amendment, homestead exemption, property tax relief, school property tax, ad valorem tax, residence homestead, school district taxes, Texas Constitution Article VIII, public school finance, homeowner exemption, elderly exemption, senior tax relief, disabled exemption, tax year 2025, voter approval, November 2025 ballot, local government, Ways & Means

Transcript Highlights:

• It's really intended to encourage new technology, things like purple pipes, you know.
• There is also technology to capture your...
• We develop new technologies and new drugs, which are expensive.
• Have as well in Flower Mound, with being so close, is the things like technology.
• That's right, and even more routine technology. Expenses, for instance, our vendors for software.

Bills: HB26, HB73, SB 14, HB46

Keywords: HB26, law enforcement contracts, sheriff, constable, county commissioners court, commissioners court, private security, special law enforcement district, property owners association, POA, municipal utility district, school district, junior college district, local government, contract policing, supplemental police services, large counties, population over 3.3 million, Texas Local Government Code, Harris County

Transcript Highlights:

• As technology increases, farms are more connected than ever to technology.
• <00:52:48.480> Um connected than ever to technology.
• Um connected than ever to technology.
• So or upgrades to public infrastructure.
• 09.440> storage Other technologies like battery storage Other technologies like battery storage

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee met to adopt the minutes of the second meeting by voice vote, then heard an update focused on disaster preparedness, resiliency, response, and coordination among state agencies and partners. The chair emphasized avoiding duplication of resources and highlighted the importance of agriculture-related response issues, including animal evacuation, feed distribution, and the role of extension services during disasters. The Department for Public Health was invited to explain its role in emergency planning and response. Public Health described its Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch as the lead coordinating agency for Emergency Support Function 8, covering health and medical services under Kentucky’s emergency operations framework. Testimony outlined its broad responsibilities, including support for hospitals, morgues, local health departments, behavioral health, crisis counseling, suspicious package testing, disease outbreaks, and coordination with emergency management, EMS, transportation, and nonprofit and private partners. Officials also described the agency’s risk-assessment process, training and exercise programs, and deployed assets such as PPE caches, deployable communications, a federal medical station, a mobile treatment center, and alternate care support used in events like the eastern Kentucky floods and COVID-19. The agency also discussed funding through federal cooperative agreements for public health emergency preparedness and hospital preparedness, noting that these programs have evolved since 9/11 and have been shaped by major disasters and emerging threats. Officials said Kentucky’s funding has declined over time and that current awards are partially funded for the first time in the program’s history. They expressed support for efficiency if federal programs are consolidated, but cautioned that combining programs could risk further funding losses.

Transcript Highlights:

• town meeting, but it's... ...software has to be upgraded from the software that's available now for
• It would allow us to use new technology, which is more efficient and also frees up our staff.
• It’s so nice when technology works. Thank you. Thank you for your indulgence.
• But there’s a lot of work that goes in there, not just technological, but also from a human perspective
• It doesn't ban solar; it ensures reasonably locally guided siting consistent with today's technology

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government held a hybrid hearing on bills related to land use, zoning, permitting, municipal governance, and homelessness. Early testimony focused on a home rule petition for Ipswich to remove a residency requirement for a town manager, with supporters saying it would broaden the applicant pool and help fill a vacant permanent manager position. Another panel backed legislation to change the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission’s governance so ratepayers in surrounding communities would have representation, arguing the current board structure leaves many users without a voice in rate-setting and capital decisions. Several housing and zoning bills drew testimony. Senator Keenan and the Home Builders and Remodelers Association supported a bill to toll the one-year period for acting on a variance while an appeal is pending, saying appeals should not consume the time needed to implement approved projects. Representative Murray and the Real Estate Bar Association also testified on broader zoning reforms, including changes to undersized lots, merger rules, hearing deadlines, appeals, and variance standards; they argued the proposals would reduce delay and uncertainty and help housing production. Committee members questioned whether shifting zoning appeals from de novo to closed-record review would limit new evidence, and the witnesses said the change would speed cases while preserving limited opportunities to supplement the record. The committee also heard testimony on bills to end the criminalization of homelessness. Representatives, advocates, and shelter organizations said local camping bans and fines are counterproductive, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision, and urged a statewide response centered on housing and public health rather than punishment. Other municipal bills included remote participation in open town meetings for Wayland and a statewide local option, Fairhaven and Mattapoisett charter changes, and Cambridge’s request to use automated parking enforcement and mail parking tickets. The hearing also included testimony supporting fairground zoning flexibility, a Shrewsbury solar siting bill, and an Inspector General bill clarifying county land disposition procedures by requiring written notice to DCAM and a defined response period. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• be um advanced transmission technologies be um advanced transmission technologies and<00:04:44.639
• And then, going on page four, we're going to look at what potential upgrades may be necessary.
• And then, going on page four, we're going to look at what potential upgrades may be necessary.
• The bill does not address who pays for the transmission upgrades. That may sound familiar.
• The bill does not address who pays for the transmission upgrades. That may sound familiar.

Bills: SF0102, SF0113

Keywords: energy transmission, load growth, Wyoming energy authority, transmission planning study, public utilities, regional cooperation, hand count audit, ballots, election integrity, transparency, voting system, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• One is improving the technologies and no bill associated with that yet, but improving technologies around
• All those technologies are available, and our government has failed.
• <00:19:46.080> that a couple months built a technology that a couple months built a technology
• I think it changed it. >> Um, can someone speak broadly to some of the technological upgrades?
• We should be able to utilize technology.

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: Senate Republican leaders held a press event to roll out a package of anti-fraud proposals focused on state welfare and human services programs. Mark Johnson opened by citing recent fraud scandals, including a shuttered housing program and reports of vulnerable adults being left without care while providers billed for full services, and said Republicans want top-down reform, stronger accountability, new technology, and tighter oversight of taxpayer dollars. Michael Kreun said Republicans support an independent Office of Inspector General and argued the Senate-passed bill should not be weakened in the House; he also said the Senate should restore its role in confirming agency commissioners, especially at DHS, which he described as central to the fraud problem. Jordan Rasmusson outlined a plan to stop “blank checks” for DHS and DCYF services by requiring legislative audit review when a program exceeds budget by 5 percent and legislative approval for additional spending at 10 percent over budget. He also said DHS should adopt basic integrity tools such as electronic visit verification and client sign-off. Steve Drazkowski described two bills: a statewide “do-not-pay” list to block payments to ineligible people or entities, and an “I’m Not a Robot” proposal for Medicaid managed care that would require enrollee verification forms, with a 2 percent payment withhold used to encourage compliance and potentially fund county system upgrades. Mark Krueger said the state should improve technology and data use for eligibility determinations, citing other states’ rapid fraud-fighting systems, and proposed penalties for false reporting to the Legislative Auditor after a DHS audit found falsified site-visit records. Steve Gruenhagen said his bill would require DHS and DCYF to resume annual fraud-prevention and oversight reports to the legislature, which he said had stopped after 2017 despite rising fraud cases. Michael Holmstrom proposed unannounced site visits for all DHS and DCYF providers before enrollment, reenrollment, and revalidation, funded through provider service fees, and cited a recent case involving a woman with autism who was billed for far more care than she received. In the Q&A, Kreun said House Democrats’ delete-everything amendment to the inspector general bill removed the law enforcement division and stripped the bill of its “teeth,” and he suggested the governor’s office may have been involved in efforts to replace the bill with a weaker coordination council model. No votes were taken in the press conference.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's a $1 million, and that's actually for State Parks to upgrade all their equipment.
• Well, one last question: I know there was a concern over needing funding for your technology system.
• needing funding for your your technology needing funding for your your technology system<01:54:21.119
• So this grant allows the landowner to apply for it and then hopefully upgrade the dam so that we can
• But I think we’ll be ready to recruit by that date. upgrading them into Specialists and upgrading them

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• constantly um maintained and upgraded. constantly um maintained and upgraded. um<04:32:40.960>
• Massachusetts has a technology requirement.
• Massachusetts has a technology requirement.
• Massachusetts has a technology requirement.
• Massachusetts has a technology requirement.

Keywords: 1189, house, all