Transcript Highlights:

• Replace the entire engine.
• Replace the entire engine.
• Replace the entire engine.
• Replace the entire engine.
• Replace the entire engine.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If you drop down there to 8 and 9 there, percentage of engines staffed with fully qualified crews, you
• And this is really focusing in on, you know, those that like our engine captains, for example.
• For example, on the engine captain's side, we pay a certain amount and the feds pay roughly, on average
• This is a Corps of Engineers site that is leased.
• This is a Corps of Engineers site that is that's leased.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The committee approved the February 5 and February 17 minutes, then heard House Bill 678 from Vice Chair Shepherd. The bill would allow wolf trappers to use remote cameras on traps so they can monitor them without the current 72-hour in-person check requirement, with Fish and Game left to set details by rule. Supporters included the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Wildlife Federation, and Idaho Farm Bureau, who said the bill would improve humane trap checks and predator management. The Idaho Conservation League opposed the bill, arguing it could extend the time an animal remains trapped and create enforcement and constitutional concerns. The committee voted to send HB 678 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee then received the annual update from the Idaho Department of Lands. Director Dustin Miller reviewed the agency’s management of endowment lands and mineral estate, FY25 revenue and distributions to beneficiaries, timber harvest and reforestation, fire suppression performance, recruitment challenges in the fire program, and the new shared stewardship agreement with the U.S. Forest Service. Members asked about firefighter pay, Good Neighbor Authority capacity, federal timber targets, and mineral permitting; Miller said the agency is working to expand self-funded capacity and sees increased interest in mining. Next, the committee took up pending rules from the Department of Parks and Recreation. Director Susan Buxton explained fee and administrative updates, including increases to park entry, annual passes, commercial entry, camping, group campsite reservations, boating, and moorage fees, while asking the committee to reject two sections dealing with park manager authority and basic campsite fees. The committee approved the docket with those two sections excepted. Buxton then gave the department’s annual update, highlighting deferred maintenance projects, new campsites and docks, recreation grants, a new Good Neighbor Authority agreement for trail work, staffing and retention issues, and major park improvements statewide. In response to a question, she said the Eagle Island zip line will be removed because the concessionaire could not maintain it safely.

Transcript Highlights:

• News & World Report also featured us as a top 30 engineering program without a Ph.D.
• Wendt Engineering Center. And we've also added a dormitory or a residence hall.
• Also, they featured us as a top 30 engineering program without a PhD.
• Wendt Engineering, new academic buildings.
• Went engineering center. And we've also added a dormitory or a residence hall.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education met to hear confirmations for 19 appointees and reappointees to university and state college boards, with most of the agenda focused on the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, University of Central Florida, Florida State University, Florida Polytechnic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Pensacola State College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, North Florida College, South Florida State College, and the Florida Prepaid College Board. Testimony from the nominees generally emphasized their educational backgrounds, professional experience, and priorities such as student success, workforce development, financial sustainability, research growth, housing, and maintaining or improving institutional rankings. Several UF trustees highlighted the university’s “One UF” vision, institutional neutrality, and goals of reaching top-three or top-one national status. Other nominees stressed the role of state colleges in workforce pipelines, and Florida Poly witnesses focused on STEM growth, housing, and strong graduate outcomes. One in-person public testimony came from Elijah Hooks, who spoke in opposition to the current FAMU administration and described his expulsion, arrest, and trespass from campus after protesting the appointment of President Marva Johnson. For FAMU, Jocelyn Dobson Rodriguez testified in support of her appointment, emphasizing her legal background, alumni ties, and goals of strengthening leadership, alumni engagement, and the connection between the main campus and the College of Law in Orlando. For Florida Atlantic University, Tina Vidal-Duart was questioned closely about her prior service on the Hope Florida Foundation board and about CDR Health’s involvement in state contracts; she said she was not aware of the foundation’s governance problems at the time and that CDR’s state contract was a flat daily rate. The committee then voted to report all appointees favorably except for Tina Vidal-Duart, whose confirmation was held for a separate vote at the request of Senator Bracy Davis. After discussion, the committee voted 5-1 to report her confirmation favorably as well. The meeting concluded with no further business and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• And, um, they are, are issues that the administration was supportive of, that the state engineer was
• one of my districts, this huge community of housing that we cannot sustain, and I know the state engineer
• The governor authorized the state engineer to request $500,000 last year in recurring. Um, budget.
• I don't know if anyone from the Office of the State Engineer is here.
• I'm the general counsel to the State Engineer, and I oversee our Indian water right settlement work.

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, I guess it would impact efficiency overall, so yeah, I'm not an HVAC engineer, so I don't know
• We have four solar arrays and a combined heat and power system with two engines on site.
• So we can run that through our engines, and then we have that available fuel source too.
• We can invest in a new engine, which would likely cost a million to a million and a half for another
• engine the same size as ours.

Transcript Highlights:

• My name is Paul DeNaro, senior engineering technician for the Littleton Electric Light and Water Department
• I'm here to testify on behalf of MOSES, the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists
• MOSES represents 4,000 scientists and engineers who work in 30 different agencies in the Commonwealth
• Our state scientists and engineers regularly put their own health and safety on the line in service to
• One of our highway engineers was killed on a project on Route 9 back in 2010.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Service heard testimony on a wide range of retirement classification and benefit bills affecting municipal and state employees. Much of the hearing focused on proposals to move various workers from Group 1 to Group 2 or Group 4, including municipal building officials (H. 2776), MassDOT highway workers (H. 2908/Sousa’s Law), DCF attorneys (H. 2771), probation officers, licensed electricians, drinking water operators (H. 3000/S. 1834), MWRA non-clerical workers (S. 1803), transitional parole officers (H. 2878), Plymouth BCI criminal investigator officers (H. 2975/S. 1863), Beverly fire alarm operators/public safety telecommunicators (S. 1876), Massport pipefitters and refrigeration technicians (H. 2788/S. 1829), and other public safety or hazardous-duty classifications. Witnesses generally argued that their work is physically dangerous, understaffed, or comparable to already higher-classified employees, and several said the changes would help recruitment and retention with little fiscal impact because the affected groups are small. The committee also heard testimony on H. 4508, a home rule petition to grant a disability pension to Boston principal Patricia Lampron. Supporters, including Representative Dan Hunt, Boston city councilors, and Lampron herself, described a severe 2021 assault at the Henderson Inclusion School that left her with lasting physical and psychological injuries and forced her into early retirement. They urged the committee to advance the bill quickly. One witness, Pamela McLaughlin, testified in opposition, arguing the bill would set the wrong precedent and describing alleged prior misconduct by Lampron, and asked that the bill be sent to study. Several witnesses and committee members asked brief questions, mainly about the scope of the bills, whether certain workers were already in higher groups, and the fiscal or precedent concerns. No votes were taken during the hearing. At the end, the chairs announced that testimony was complete, asked whether anyone else wished to speak, and then the committee voted to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• And at the University of Arizona, we are home to one of only 14 ABET-accredited mining engineering programs
• I'm a mining engineer; that's where I do most of my work.
• So we bring more expertise than just mining engineers and geoscientists to bear so that we can actually
• So there's opportunity in our tailings, but it's very difficult from an engineering standpoint.
• I mean, from my own perspective, mining engineering enrollment has fallen in every industrialized country

Bills: SB1046

Keywords: telecommunications, broadband, internet infrastructure, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, national security, foreign adversary, China, Chinese equipment, supply chain security, network equipment, microchips, Arizona Corporation Commission, telecommunications provider, communications infrastructure, Huawei, ZTE, state-owned enterprise, sanctions, infrastructure security

Transcript Highlights:

• Although there are primacy requirements, we're able to negotiate because the engineering standards are
• These rules provide the framework for DEQ review and approval of engineering plans and specifications
• This is not a state primacy program because the federal government does not regulate engineering standards
• In attendance were representatives of various engineering and consulting companies, two municipalities
• Professional liability insurance requirements can be challenging or costly for smaller engineering firms

Summary: The Environment, Energy and Technology Committee met to consider a series of Department of Environmental Quality rule dockets, largely involving incorporation by reference of federal rules and zero-based regulation cleanup. DEQ staff explained the concept of program primacy, the timing of federal rule changes versus Idaho adoption, and why some rules are incorporated by reference rather than written out in full. Members asked about how federal changes are tracked, why the state does not simply reproduce the federal text, and how the agency handles timing gaps when federal rules become effective before Idaho updates its rules. The committee approved the hazardous waste docket, the air quality docket, and two drinking water dockets covering Consumer Confidence Reports and Lead and Copper Rule revisions. It also approved a narrow drinking water pressure-standard correction with an early effective date of sine die, and a water quality standards docket that made administrative updates to align Idaho rules with EPA actions. In the cyanidation docket, DEQ described changes required by Senate Bill 1170 and noted that the temporary rule and pending rule were both before the committee; the committee approved the docket to extend the temporary rule and allow the pending rule to proceed. The committee also approved solid waste rules revised under zero-based regulation, wastewater rules that modernized language and clarified that aquaculture facilities are not subject to municipal wastewater requirements, and loan-fund administration rules that reorganized affordability criteria and disadvantaged-community tiers for SRF assistance. Finally, the committee approved the groundwater quality rule with an exception: Representative Bruce moved to approve it except for sections 003 and 200(01A), arguing that unresolved federal PFAS-related standards should not be incorporated before federal finality. The committee adopted that motion, and the meeting adjourned after a brief member introduction of a wastewater treatment project in the audience.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those positions are engineering positions, a telemetry engineer, hydrogeologist, hydrologist, and a GIS
• Nick Miller was our former engineer manager in our Western region, and he is heading up...
• Nick Miller was our former engineer manager in our Western region, and he is heading up that bureau while
• The commission is supported by federal Chair Jody Williams, Engineer Manager Don Barnett, and several
• engineering, technical, and legal committees that meet regularly throughout the year.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The committee first heard Senator Tammy Nichols present RS 33154, a bill to update Idaho’s cloud seeding statute with clearer definitions, authorizations, and reporting requirements. She said the measure would not create or expand a program and would have no fiscal impact, but would improve transparency and accountability for an existing practice. The committee moved to print the RS. Matt Anders of the Idaho Department of Water Resources then presented zero-based rulemaking docket 37-03-12-2-2501 for Water District 34 in the Big Lost River Basin. He described mostly clarifying edits, including updated definitions, distinctions between rotation credit and stored water, changes to conveyance-loss language, and a longer response time for canal or lateral disputes. After a question about stock water use, the committee voted to accept the docket. Director Matt Weaver gave an extensive agency update on IDWR’s budget, the new Water Administration Bureau, groundwater administration in the Eastern Snake Plain and tributary basins, delivery call enforcement, Treasure Valley groundwater conditions, the Bear River Compact, and the planned merger of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission into IDWR. He also reviewed the department’s regulatory-reduction and transparency efforts and noted staffing challenges. Committee members asked about groundwater district participation and Bear River water rights, and Weaver explained the practical reasons users may opt out of groundwater districts and how Bear River allocations work. The Idaho Water Resource Board chair then outlined state water plan revisions, major water project funding, recharge and cloud seeding programs, aging infrastructure grants, and projects such as Bear Lake storage, the Twin Falls Canal Company efficiency project, and other statewide water initiatives. No further action was taken beyond receiving the presentations and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a lifelong resident of Washington State, a graduate of UW with an engineering degree.
• Due to BP's requirement that trucks only utilize engineered drop sites, we needed to evaluate feasibility
• For the December storms, they put a heavy load on our geotechnical engineers.
• Similarly, our hydraulics engineers are more focused on the drainage and stream channels that jump their
• And our bridge engineers, our structural engineers, if we have damage to a bridge or other type of structure

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee met on January 20, 2006, for two work sessions focused first on aircraft fuel pipeline resiliency and then on flooding impacts to the state highway system. On the fuel topic, BP and Olympic Pipeline described the pipeline system serving Washington and Oregon, its regulatory oversight, inspection and leak-detection programs, and the November 11 Mile Post 78 release near Everett. Witnesses said the leak was initially too small for the system to detect, was found by a farm worker, and led to shutdowns, excavation, soil removal, and repairs while the site later faced flooding that complicated access but did not stop both lines from remaining operational. Committee members questioned why the leak was not detected sooner, how much fuel was released, and what safeguards exist for future environmental protection. BP also described emergency response and recovery efforts, including trucked fuel deliveries to Sea-Tac and coordination with refineries and Canadian partners. The Port of Seattle and Alaska Airlines explained the airport response, including expanded truck offloading capacity, fire and police support, communication with airlines and other airports, reduced fuel use, and the impact on flights. Tim Zenk of Earth Finance argued that Washington’s fuel system lacks redundancy and that regional renewable fuels production and storage, including sustainable aviation fuel, could improve resilience; he suggested a regional goal of producing at least 33% of fuels locally. The committee then heard from WSDOT on the December flooding and storm damage. Emergency manager John Hemel and Olympic Regional Administrator Steve Rourke described statewide emergency operations, use of WebEOC tracking, and efforts to secure FEMA and FHWA funding. They said the state EOC was activated for 10 days, four regional EOCs were activated, and more than 100 sites were impacted. WSDOT reported roughly 50 emergency work sites, about 16 emergency contracts, and a preliminary damage estimate of $40 million to $50 million. They reviewed major repairs on US 2, I-90, SR 12, SR 410, SR 542, and US 101, noting that some roads reopened quickly with temporary fixes while others would require later permanent work and environmental permitting. Members asked about the 30-working-day emergency contracting authority, federal reimbursement, and whether emergency response contracting methods could be used to speed ordinary projects. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• But I’m a licensed professional engineer and a licensed land surveyor in the state of Florida.
• My background—engineer, math, science, et cetera—enjoys helping the school.
• And as a licensed engineer, we understand the campus and the planning.
• So that’s how we started our consulting engineering business.
• From nursing, engineering, education, welding, cosmetology, and law enforcement.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education received a presentation from the Governor’s Office on the proposed higher education budget, which emphasized no tuition or fee increases for Florida residents, continued affordability, and increased funding across workforce, colleges, and universities. The presentation highlighted major investments in Bright Futures, other scholarships, workforce development, the Florida College System, and the State University System, including funding for performance, student success, campus safety, and faculty recruitment and retention. Committee members asked questions about the Ocoee Scholarship, the proposed Guardian program on campuses, and how university recruitment and retention funds would be used; officials said the Ocoee Scholarship remains funded at current levels, Guardian options could vary by campus, and university funds would be distributed to institutions for faculty recruitment and retention without additional directives. The committee then heard testimony from a series of appointees and reappointees to boards of trustees for state colleges and universities. Witnesses from Eastern Florida State College, Lake-Sumter State College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, and St. Johns River State College described their backgrounds and stressed workforce development, affordability, dual enrollment, nursing, cybersecurity, adult learners, and local economic needs. Several highlighted strong nursing outcomes and job placement, and some discussed campus expansion, business incubators, and programs tailored to regional industries. One appointee from Miami Dade College emphasized helping adult students return and complete degrees by better using prior credits. After hearing from the appointees, the committee took up the confirmation package as a block. A motion was made and seconded, the roll was called, and the confirmations were reported favorably by the committee. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• students for seamless transfer to four-year institutions while serving as a primary school. primary engine
• Paul College is a critical engine of economic mobility and workforce development for Minnesota.
• I'm also a civil engineer, so I have a very familiar background with this type of work.
• Greg Anderson, the consulting engineer for the city.
• I'm the city engineer for the city of New Auburn.

Bills: HF2418, HF1666, HF232, HF344, HF402, HF431, HF468, HF547, HF583, HF1476, HF1711, HF2787, HF2788, HF3207

Keywords: capital investment, political subdivisions, state assistance, funding, project grants, child care, Slayton, state bonds, economic development, extended time revenue, school funding, state aid, career and technical education, CTE, STEM, secondary credit, after-school programs, summer school, learning year program, extended day

Transcript Highlights:

• ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEER. THEY WERE FLEXIBLE.
• NUMBER ONE, IF I HAVE A PROFESSIONAL WHERE THERE IS A ARCHITECT OR ENGINEER DOING A PHASE 1 INSPECTION
• HE GOES INTO FIND SOMETHING UNSAFE HE IS REQUIRED BY LICENSING WHETHER HE IS AN ARCHITECT OR AN ENGINEER
• AND SO THAT STRUCTURAL ENGINEER PRESUMABLY HONORED WHAT WAS ON HIS LETTER BY HAND DELIVERING IT TO THE
• DO YOU WANT NAIL SALON TECHNICIANS AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS?

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Will Watts, the assistant secretary for engineering and operations.
• Or you're recognized. >> Again, we'll watch the assistant secretary of engineering and operations with
• We can engineer a way to protect it. In one, this is one example of many.
• And so we need to evaluate an engineer, storm water and during systems to allow for uncertain rainfall
• We are split up into a planning team with 8 members of of professional engineers and planners were very

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The historic inequity with Massport fire personnel, electricians, utility technicians, steam engineers
• And next, Joe Durant from the Mass Organization of State Engineers and Scientists.
• I'm testifying on behalf of MOSES, the Mass Organization of State Engineers and Scientists.
• MOSES represents 4,000 scientists and engineers that work in 30 different agencies in the Commonwealth
• Moses represents 4,000 scientists and engineers that work in 30 different agencies in the Commonwealth

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Service held a hearing on a wide range of credible service and retirement-related bills, with testimony largely focused on allowing public employees to buy back prior service time or receive more appropriate retirement classifications. Bills discussed included retirement buyback for Joint Base Cape Cod firefighters (H. 4317), clarification of call firefighter buyback rights (H. 2883/S. 1915), veterans’ buyback (H. 2957), a Bridgewater State University police death-benefit/heart-law issue (filed by Rep. Gallagher), unpaid parental leave buyback for municipal employees (H. 2946), school nurse creditable service (H. 2887/S. 1787), former private/parochial school teacher buyback (S. 1900/H. 2873), Massport police retirement classification (S. 1888), contract employee buyback (H. 2795), Retirement Plus late entry (H. 2792), CVTE/teacher-related buyback issues (H. 2762), Peace Corps/AmeriCorps creditable service (H. 2927), and institutional school teacher retirement fairness (H. 2757). Several speakers also referenced related bills for teachers and nurses that had been heard previously or were filed in parallel in the other branch. Testimony was overwhelmingly in support of the bills. Speakers argued that the measures would correct inequities, recognize prior public service, and help recruit and retain workers in hard-to-fill public jobs. Firefighters described the unique federal-to-state transition at Joint Base Cape Cod and said some members were left out of earlier buyback opportunities. Veterans, teachers, school nurses, correctional educators, and Massport police all described service requirements, administrative gaps, or outdated statutory language that they said unfairly limited retirement credit or placed them in the wrong retirement group. Several witnesses emphasized that the proposals were fiscally responsible because employees would pay the cost of the buybacks, and some noted that similar bills had been filed repeatedly in prior sessions. Committee members asked a few clarifying questions, mostly about why certain employees had been excluded under current law or how the retirement provisions would work. No opposition testimony was presented. The hearing concluded after all scheduled witnesses testified, with the chairs thanking participants for their service and the committee voting to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• advancing equity, confronting climate impacts, promoting economic prosperity, and investing in the engine
• The Cal Mentor in particular is geared towards engineering and architectural contracts.
• Derek Barnes, Director, Operating Engineers, in support. Thank you.
• Crystal Moreno on behalf of the California Conference of Operating Engineers in strong support.
• Good afternoon, Gabby Cervantes, here on behalf of the American Council of Engineering Companies, in

Summary: The Senate Committee on Rules met to consider several governor’s appointments, bill referrals, a rule waiver, and floor acknowledgments. The committee approved multiple appointments not required to appear, including members of the Board of Behavioral Science, the Contractors’ State License Board, and the Medical Board of California, with most votes either 3-2 or 5-0. It also approved a reference of bills to committees, a waiver of SR 55 to allow guests on the Senate floor for an adjourn-in-memory of former President Pro Tempore John Burton, and floor acknowledgments, all by 5-0 votes. The committee then heard testimony on the appointment of Dina El-Tawansy as Director of Caltrans. In her opening remarks, she emphasized her 28 years at the department, and said her priorities would be safety, equity, climate resilience, economic prosperity, workforce development, and a multimodal transportation system. Senators questioned her on a range of transportation issues, including impacts from federal and state disputes over immigrant truck drivers, the Highway 58 truck climbing lane, DBE certification changes, asphalt recycling and waste disposal, climate adaptation on coastal infrastructure, and the future of road funding as electric vehicles reduce gas tax revenue. El-Tawansy said Caltrans is pursuing project prioritization, climate vulnerability assessments, partnerships with local governments, DBE reevaluation guidance, recycling efforts, and research into road user charges. Members also asked about toll lane agreements, homelessness encampments and litter on Caltrans property, and the Los Angeles-San Diego rail corridor and broader transit integration. El-Tawansy said Caltrans is moving toward more consistent statewide toll agreements, has signed or is negotiating delegated maintenance MOUs with local agencies to address encampments and litter, and is expanding rail and transit planning. Public testimony was overwhelmingly supportive, with representatives from transportation agencies, contractors, local governments, labor, and technology firms backing the nomination. The committee voted 5-0 to move El-Tawansy’s appointment to the full Senate for confirmation, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• This would include architecture, engineering, and land surveying services.
• We engineers and architects don’t want to be held to a flat fee, of course.”
• We do not have the ability to set up standing contracts for architecture and engineering.
• That’s the American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri. We like this bill.
• It not only is good for our profession, the engineering profession, it’s good for the state.

Summary: The Special Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs held public hearings on three measures. House Bill 2289, sponsored by Rep. Owen, would create a real estate fund to let the state more quickly sell and buy property, with proceeds from sales and other monies deposited for future real property acquisitions. Rep. Owen and Office of Administration witness Hanna-Swan said the current process is too slow and cumbersome, especially when the state needs to consolidate or relocate offices; Rep. Walshmore raised concerns about siloing funds during tight budget years, while supporters said the fund would improve flexibility and efficiency. No vote was taken. The committee then heard House Joint Resolution 189, sponsored by Rep. Wellenkamp, proposing a Missouri sovereign wealth fund, or “Show Me Prosperity Fund.” Wellenkamp argued the state needs a long-term investment vehicle to address infrastructure and fiscal pressures, with the Treasurer investing in private markets under strict controls and the fund eventually replacing tax revenue once it matures. Members questioned the source of initial funding, the investment rules, the audit provisions, and whether the fund could be used for broader state spending; no witnesses testified in opposition or support, and no action was taken. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2906, sponsored by Rep. Mayhew, which would raise dollar limits for certain Office of Administration construction, renovation, maintenance, and repair contracts and authorize master agreements for architecture, engineering, and land surveying services. Mayhew and OA said the changes would account for inflation and reduce delays by prequalifying vendors for two-year periods instead of repeating the RFQ process for small projects. An engineering industry witness supported the bill as an efficiency measure, and committee members asked about the contract limits, the master agreement structure, and how the numbers were chosen. The hearing concluded without a vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Today he's an engineer with SpaceX, and so it completely changed his life and it completely changed us
• Today he's an engineer with SpaceX, and so it completely changed his life and it completely changed us
• Today he's an engineer with SpaceX, and so it completely changed his life and it completely changed us
• Today he's an engineer with SpaceX, and so it completely changed his life and it completely changed us
• Today he's an engineer with SpaceX, and so it completely changed his life and it completely changed us

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee heard House File 1501, which would fund the Minnesota Rare Disease Advisory Council and make the current fiscal year 2025 budget its permanent base. Representative Murphy said the bill would provide about $342,000 in general fund money for the 2026-27 cycle and argued that the council helps shorten diagnosis times, support research, and keep Minnesota a leader in rare disease work. Erica Barnes, the council’s executive director, testified in support and explained that the council was established in 2022 to improve care for the estimated one in 10 Minnesotans living with a rare disease. She said the council needs the full $668,000 level it operated with this year to maintain its statutory duties, noting that the current ongoing base is about $326,000 and that the extra funding was previously one-time money. Barnes described the barriers faced by rare disease patients, including long diagnostic delays, limited provider knowledge, and the fact that only a small share of rare diseases have FDA-approved treatments. She said rare disease care is costly to the health system and that the council has used prior funding to convene the community more regularly and carry out its work. Representative Leing questioned why the budget should be doubled and asked what additional work the council would do with the higher amount; Barnes responded that without the larger ongoing appropriation the council would fall back to 1.8 FTE and would have to stop some programs. Representative Hingson Jger spoke in support, saying the council’s collaboration has been valuable for policy work in the genetic and rare disease space. In closing, Murphy emphasized Minnesota’s leadership in rare disease and shared a personal story about how diagnosis and treatment changed his family’s life. No public testimony was offered. The chair then laid House File 1501 over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• You have your engineers or your designer take all of your plans and get them approved at the state.
• expense.<04:34:22.959><c> You</c><04:34:23.199><c> have</c><04:34:23.359><c> your</c><04:34:23.680><c> engineers
• You have your engineers or your expense.
• You have your engineers or your designer<04:34:26.799><c> take</c><04:34:27.119><c> all</c><04:34:27.279
• I'm retired from aerospace defense.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They've checked the box for design and engineering, and they've checked the box for the match.
• And so you don't have to go in and value engineer.
• Lastly, our Agency 276 engineering and operations, we had about $9.5 million in P5 to P1 request.
• Those dollars are appropriated by Congress to the Corps of Engineers.
• We then have to to the Corps of Engineers. They are the ones leading the project.

Summary: The committee met for an informational hearing focused largely on the state capital outlay process and House Bill 2. Roger Husser and Matt Baker of the Division of Administration/Facility Planning and Control described how the office prepares and administers the capital outlay bill, said the bill has grown substantially over five years, and argued that recent changes in culture, staffing, project management, cash-flow analysis, and use of third-party support have more than doubled project expenditures and improved delivery. Members asked about the use and cost of third-party project managers, delegation of smaller projects to agencies, hiring difficulties, and whether the changes represented better interpretation of existing law versus statutory changes. Husser said some statutes were amended, some internal customs were removed, and the office would provide a list of those changes. He also explained that the office is trying to move away from overly rigid practices and toward faster project completion while still following public-bid and oversight rules. A major portion of the discussion centered on the size and structure of the capital outlay bill, especially the gap between Priority 1 cash capacity and the much larger Priority 5 backlog. Husser said the current annual Priority 1 limit is tied to construction inflation and is about $574 million, with additional surplus funds also available, but that the bill contains far more Priority 5 funding than can realistically move in a five-year plan. He and members discussed dormant projects, scope creep, legacy projects that have sat in the bill for years, and the problem of false expectations for non-state entities. Proposed solutions included limiting Priority 5 to five times Priority 1, requiring annual re-endorsement by members, setting district or project caps for non-state projects, requiring time limits and reporting for grant-like non-state projects, placing matches in escrow, requiring design readiness before submission, and consolidating the many existing reporting requirements into one clearer report. Members also discussed bundling multiple projects under one agency project, which the House had begun piloting for LSU, UL Lafayette, Southern, and DOTD, and which Husser said could improve flexibility, reduce overappropriation, and better reflect actual spending. Baker then explained cash-flow management and the commitment process, saying FPC now analyzes projects annually to estimate what can actually be spent in the next fiscal year and uses commitments to allow projects to proceed when future-year funding is expected. He said overappropriations can result from poor cash-flow estimates, delays, dormant projects, or projects coming in under budget, and that the office is already reworking cash-flow assumptions and reappropriating savings where possible. Members also raised concerns about change orders and low bids; staff said project managers review change orders closely, require concurrence on non-state projects, and sometimes reduce scope to keep projects within budget. After FPC’s presentation, the committee heard the beginning of Louisiana Economic Development’s capital outlay discussion, where LED explained that its projects generally fall into three categories, including the Economic Development Awards Program and Site Readiness Program, both used to support targeted economic development and job creation.