Transcript Highlights:

• The federal government produces the servers and computers it uses, not to go off on a tangent, companies
• And I don't see Senator Cloud or Senator Andrews. And I don't see Senator Cloud or Senator Andrews.
• He said that experience led them to work with Senator Cloud to create this legislation.
• Borne said she had them on her computer and would offer them.
• I'll just have them on my computer. Oh, I'll offer those amendments out. Sure.

Bills: HR171 , HCR49 , HB632 , HB1084 , SB310 , SB351 , SB399

Committee: House Education

Keywords: HR171, House Resolution 171, M.J. Foster Promise Program, TOPS-Tech, TOPS Tech Award, Board of Regents, Louisiana Works, Louisiana Community and Technical College System, LCATCS, financial aid, scholarship, workforce development, career training, technical education, vocational education, postsecondary credential, associate degree, industry-based credential, high-demand jobs, high-wage occupations

Transcript Highlights:

• Natural language processing and computer vision are tools used by AI.
• It really is a whole different way of viewing how computing works.
• You would tell the computer how to follow these steps, and that's how computing was done.
• How does that really affect how things are done computably?
• We're seeing a lot of scams and fraud that are computer-generated.

Committee: Joint Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• or terrestrial compute.
• And of course, to power AI compute.
• or terrestrial compute. could use that, whether it's for space-based compute or terrestrial compute.
• We saw from 2010 to 2018, which is the migration over to the cloud, that computing output rose 550% and
• computer systems, including the design of IBM's cloud computing solution.

Committee: House Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• Cloud.
• Cloud.
• Cloud.
• Cloud.
• Cloud.

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Got the computers working again.
• cloud seeding, and he's never been a fan of cloud seeding, especially aerial, which is gone now.
• </c> we've seen an evolution of this cloud we've seen an evolution of this cloud seating<00:53:57.280
• :58.640><c> seating,</c> seating story from aerial cloud seating, seating story from aerial cloud seating
• :01.200><c> and</c><00:54:01.599><c> uh</c> the groundbased cloud seating, and uh the groundbased cloud

Transcript Highlights:

• That means scanning private computers, private downloads, and private cloud storage.
• That means scanning private computers, private downloads, private storage cloud.
• File ownership on a computer can be easily changed. ...owns the file on the computer.
• File ownership on a computer can be easily changed.
• They seize a suspect's computer so it can be examined.

Committee: Senate Law & Justice

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> also been experiments with marine cloud also been experiments with marine cloud brightening<00:03
• </c><00:04:32.080><c> seating</c> attempted to do hurricane cloud seating attempted to do hurricane cloud
• But these cloud seating out west now.
• </c> think so uh the practitioners of cloud think so uh the practitioners of cloud seed<00:26:49.120>
• </c> me sitting on the computer, whatever. me sitting on the computer, whatever.

Bills: HB60

Committee: Joint Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• And that's an cloud migration. And that's an explanation. explanation. explanation.
• The agreement was $3,311 for some vacancy funding and $5,546 for public cloud migration system.
• </c><01:06:57.119><c> migration</c> for public cl the cloud migration for public cl the cloud migration
• And that's an for the cloud migration. And that's an explanation.
• Agreed changes were $2,500 for some technology updates and $5,500 for the IT cloud funding.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:37.519><c> on</c><00:14:37.680><c> the</c> Quantum Computing on the Quantum Computing on the
• </c> think we should limit to Computing think we should limit to Computing because<00:31:35.399><c> Computing
• will be the appropriate I Computing will be the appropriate I believe<00:31:46.159><c> to</c><00:31:
• Cloud, Willmar, Anoka, and Minneapolis.
• Cloud and throughout the state.

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• world, all while doing that standing on the precipice of an aging society revolution with quantum computing
• Cloud State, I know, is very involved in higher education leadership, as well as Mankato, obviously Moorhead
• I think we should limit it to computing because computing will cover everything under technology.
• Cloud, Willmar, Anoka, and Minneapolis.
• Cloud and throughout the state. Is there any member... Discussion on House File 2908.

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, we'll give you this computer; the telephone rings.
• This request was migrating and changing to everything almost cloud.
• As far as the cloud, there's a lot of third-party agencies that are getting attacked.
• NICE, our cloud-based storage for our body-worn camera and videos.
• We now have that, and we're uploading into the cloud for that.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Summary: The committee first heard an Aging and Long-Term Services Department budget presentation comparing the LFC and executive recommendations. The main differences were in the Aging Network, Adult Protective Services, Program Support, and Long-Term Care Division, especially the executive’s proposed $10 million infusion into the Kiki Savadra Senior Dignity Fund and $6.2 million for expanding New Mexico Care. LFC staff explained that the committee recommendation was lower in general fund and fund-balance use, while the executive emphasized rising senior population needs, meal and transportation costs, and the cost savings of keeping older adults at home. The secretary also reviewed the department’s special requests, including the conference on aging, outreach, emergency preparedness, and the Kiki fund, and described New Mexico Care’s growth, its evaluation results, and the department’s plan to separate Kiki into its own accounting fund. Members largely focused on senior services, rural meal delivery, transportation, caregiver support, and the Kiki fund. Several members urged stronger support for non-metro aging providers and for New Mexico Care, citing its role in keeping seniors out of nursing homes and the program’s reported savings and outcomes. Questions also covered eligibility, background checks for caregivers, respite care, dementia and Alzheimer’s screening, and whether Kiki funds can support home modifications such as ramps. The committee then voted to adopt the LFC recommendation with one executive language change: adding the executive’s page 14 language allowing an additional 12.5% distribution for initial payments to aging network providers at the start of FY27. Representative Dow opposed the motion. The committee then moved to the Attorney General’s budget. LFC staff explained that the office’s budget relies heavily on the Consumer Settlement Fund, with both recommendations reducing general fund revenue while increasing settlement-fund use, and that performance measures were in consensus. The Attorney General said the office was not seeking more general fund, but wanted greater ability to use funds it recovers. He highlighted major consumer and public safety work, including litigation against major social media and AI platforms, a case involving Snapchat and child exploitation/extortion, the statewide crime gun intelligence center, efforts to address oilfield theft, work on missing and murdered Indigenous persons, and efforts to protect federal funds coming into New Mexico.

Transcript Highlights:

• That means scanning private computers, private downloads, private storage cloud.
• That means scanning private computers, private downloads, private storage cloud.
• My second point is: how does the state determine who owns the file on the computer?
• File ownership on a computer can be easily changed.
• They seize a suspect's computer so it can be examined.

Summary: The committee first waived the five-day notice rule for five House bills, then held public hearings on several measures. On Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2548, the committee heard staff and sponsor testimony on expanding health care merger notice requirements to the Attorney General, adding transactions involving majority ownership/control and asset sales, requiring public posting of notices, pausing closings until information requests are substantially complied with, and adding filing fees. Supporters, including the sponsor, the Attorney General’s Office, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, nurses, and patient advocates, said the bill would improve transparency and oversight of consolidation and private equity in health care; the Washington State Medical Association and Washington State Hospital Association were neutral after compromise language, though the hospital association raised concern about the added fees. The hearing closed with many people signed in pro and con but not testifying. The committee then heard Second Substitute House Bill 2333, which would allow candidates and elected officials to use campaign or surplus funds to reimburse personal security expenses related to threats tied to their public roles. The sponsor and several prosecutors described personal threats and argued the bill is needed to protect public servants, while public disclosure officials said current PDC processes and the state Address Confidentiality Program already provide some protections and cautioned against over-codifying agency discretion. Some testimony urged restoring earlier address-protection provisions, while county auditors said the revised bill removed operationally unworkable redaction language and was acceptable as amended. The bill had broad signed-in support and opposition, but no vote was taken. For Engrossed House Bill 1574, staff explained the bill would expand Good Samaritan-style protections for people seeking overdose help, bar arrest or conviction for possession in those circumstances, limit related penalties and forfeiture, and allow hospitals and other health facilities to distribute public health supplies without committing paraphernalia infractions. Supporters said it would save lives and improve access to drug checking and harm reduction services, while prosecutors and law enforcement groups said the bill was too broad, especially regarding arrest limits, protection-order violations, probation/parole, warrants, and civil forfeiture. The sponsor said the bill was intended to keep people alive and encourage calls for help. The committee also heard Engrossed House Bill 2156, which would let Attorney General investigators be designated limited authority peace officers to electronically serve search warrants in economic and financial crime cases; the AGO and retailers supported it as a tool against organized retail theft and wage theft, while sheriffs and police chiefs opposed it and urged added guardrails and deconfliction with local law enforcement. Finally, on Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2320, the committee heard a bill to regulate 3D-printed and digitally manufactured firearms and digital firearm manufacturing code. The sponsor and supporters, including students, pediatricians, and a gun-violence survivor’s family member, said it was needed to address untraceable ghost guns and keep pace with technology, while opponents argued the bill was overbroad, raised constitutional concerns, and targeted files and speech rather than criminal conduct. No votes were taken in the hearing excerpts provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't is that a group of people is that an is that at a computer that this regulated the blockchain
• Is it up in the cloud? We hear a lot about the cloud. Is it up in the cloud?
• we're supposed to believe some crypto bros maybe I all I've heard is it's blockchain and it's a computer
• , it's an algorithm something, we're supposed to allow that algorithm... them that computer and a few
• you familiar that in October they lost one and a half billion dollars went poof out of the algorithm cloud

Bills: SJR34 , SB10 , SB18 , SB19 , SB21 , SB72 , SB140 , SB262 , SB370 , SB480 , SB495 , SB627 , SB703 , SB767 , SB790

Transcript Highlights:

• Or is this just if we move to cloud, we're saving $363,000, but the cloud might cost us $2.4 million?
• Or is this just if we move to cloud, we're saving $363,000, but the cloud might cost us $2.4 million?
• Cloud hosting would curb some of the customizations.
• Probably rightfully so when you go to a cloud solution.
• And then is there more value in a new cloud system? Yes.

Committee: Joint Information Technology Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• just think it's kind of important to let us all remember the next time we back up our phone to the cloud
• , it's not going to the cloud.
• It's not going to the cloud. It's going to a data center.
• engineers, I don't know if you're part of this, but obviously because it's not going to be going to the cloud
• Obviously, because it's not going to be going to the cloud, it's going to be going to these centers,

Committee: House Utilities

Summary: The Missouri House Committee on Utilities held an informational hearing on data centers, with the chair saying the goal was to hear different perspectives and better understand the issue before future legislation. No public testimony was taken, but three invited speakers presented: a labor representative, an Ameren Missouri executive, and a consumer advocate. The discussion focused on the economic benefits of data centers, including construction jobs, local hiring, apprenticeship opportunities, tax revenue for schools and local governments, and related spending by Missouri businesses. The labor witness described current Montgomery County projects, said hundreds of Missourians were already working there, and argued that closed-loop cooling and generator noise were manageable. Committee members also raised questions about water use, noise, cybersecurity, local hiring, and how much tax revenue a project could generate annually. Ameren’s Rob Dixon said Senate Bill 4 and the PSC’s large-load tariff provide key protections for ratepayers by requiring large customers to pay their own interconnection costs, sign long-term contracts, post collateral, and pay for most of their requested load even if they use less. He said those rules help prevent costs from shifting to other customers and that large loads can put downward pressure on rates by contributing to fixed system costs. Dixon also said Ameren is planning for significant new generation, including gas, nuclear, hydro, coal, and renewables, and that data centers are subject to the same load-shedding and emergency restoration rules as other customers. He noted that the protections apply to investor-owned utilities, not co-ops or municipal utilities. John Kaufman of the Consumers Council of Missouri argued the PSC protections are still too weak and warned that data centers could raise rates through construction work in progress, stranded generation costs, and other risks if projects are delayed, shrink, or fail. He urged stronger consumer protections, more upfront financial commitments from data centers, and greater transparency for ratepayers, while also suggesting community benefit agreements and cautioning against over-reliance on utility projections. Several members pushed back on his characterization of Senate Bill 4 and QIP/CWIP provisions, and the hearing ended with the chair thanking the witnesses and adjourned the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> us into how that relates to AI and cloud us into how that relates to AI and cloud uh<00:03:11.519
• So, it's about a $10 million investment for every megawatt of computing power.
• I think all of us are going to continue to use cloud computing and things like that.
• I think all of us are going to continue to use cloud computing and things like that.
• I think all of us are going to continue to use cloud computing and things like that.

Summary: The Artificial Intelligence Task Force held its third meeting and adopted the prior minutes after a motion and second. The main presentation came from John Bevington of LG&E and KU, who described the utility’s Kentucky service territory, its vertically integrated operations, and its role in economic development. He said the company supported 76 projects in 2024, representing about $3 billion in announced investment and roughly 3,000 jobs, and noted that about 45% of statewide investment announcements were in its service area. He also outlined a large project pipeline of about 8.5 gigawatts, with data centers making up roughly two-thirds of that interest. Bevington explained that data center siting differs from traditional manufacturing site selection because it is driven primarily by transmission access and grid capacity rather than a process of eliminating locations. He said large data centers must locate near transmission lines, that utilities must conduct formal studies to ensure existing customers are not harmed, and that the buildout timeline for utility infrastructure is much longer than for data centers. He cited a Deloitte study and other industry data to argue that power constraints and timeline mismatches are the biggest challenges, while also emphasizing that data centers can generate significant construction activity, indirect jobs, and tax revenue. He said Kentucky’s sales tax exemption for data centers was a key enabler that increased interest in the state. Members asked about the number and size of potential data center projects, how Kentucky compares with other states, and whether regulatory reform is needed. Bevington said the 20 projects in Kentucky reflect current interest, that other states such as Ohio have had similar incentives for years, and that Kentucky is still early in the market. He also said data centers can vary in size, from 200 to 600 megawatts or more, and that they can be located anywhere with sufficient transmission capacity and, in some cases, access to workforce and roads. In response to concerns about energy supply, he said LG&E and KU are pursuing an “all of the above” strategy, including solar, batteries, and new natural gas combined-cycle units, and noted ongoing and proposed projects totaling additional capacity if approved by the Public Service Commission.

Transcript Highlights:

• In our cloud and AI-based world of public information, modernized government should mean modernized transparency
• One is, because so much of, I mean virtually all agency records are now on the cloud, using AI as a tool
• number of agencies is that use outside consultants or contractors for the purpose of managing their cloud
• these assertions, non-assertion assertions, from anybody who can type executive privilege into their computer
• Treasury and how we pay the bills, the government's bills, the fact that we're dealing with archaic computer

Committee: Senate Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• Or is this just if we move to cloud, we're saving $363,000, but the cloud might cost us $2.4 million?
• So because this is now cloud hosted, what is your support?
• Cloud hosting would curb some of the customizations.
• Probably rightfully so when you go to a cloud solution.
• Is there more value in a new cloud system? Yes.

Committee: Joint Information Technology Committee

Summary: The committee received a series of informational reports from NDIT and DPI on major IT projects, cybersecurity, and the K-12 student information system transition. Justin Data reviewed the quarterly major project portfolio, noting 111 projects totaling about $542.8 million, generally under budget and slightly behind schedule overall. He highlighted three schedule-red projects: Bed Management System and Vital Records, both now complete and being closed out, and the Roadway Capital Planning Project, which is delayed due to vendor bug fixes after user testing. He also summarized new project startups, including the Attorney General’s Victim Notification System, HHS Medicaid correctional facilities data exchange, Highway Patrol’s motor carrier e-permit system, and additional RIMS work, and answered questions about project timing, funding, and whether work had begun on legislatively funded IT projects. Chris Gurgan, NDIT’s chief information security officer, reported on mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting under HB 1314. He said 77 incidents have been reported since August 2021, with 47 meeting the statutory definition of a cybersecurity incident; phishing remains the most common type, followed by email quarantine alerts, XDR detections, and malware. He emphasized that most incidents are resolved, but that timely reporting is critical for any chance of recovering funds in business email compromise or ransomware cases. He also described several notable incidents since the last report, including the PowerSchool breach, a SimpleHelp intrusion at a school district, a court intrusion, a WSUS vulnerability, a business email compromise at a K-12 district, and a recent ransomware report involving a non-state critical infrastructure entity. Members asked about smishing, MFA, conditional access, security awareness training, and recovery of lost funds; Gurgan said state systems use phishing-resistant MFA and conditional access, training is provided to state employees and offered to political subdivisions on an opt-in basis, and broader cybersecurity maturity assessments are underway. Craig Falkley gave brief reports on coordination with political subdivisions and higher education, including shared networking, cybersecurity, radio/911, PeopleSoft, and co-location services. He also explained distributed ledger technology as a tool for decentralized, secure data sharing, but said the state has limited use for it and would likely frame future reporting more broadly around emerging technologies. The committee then heard from Tony Ambrose of DPI on the statewide Infinite Campus implementation. He said district implementations are underway, but the project had to terminate its original data migration vendor for poor performance and replace it with Aurora Educational Technology, which had experience with a similar North Carolina migration. He also said DPI is moving special education data from Tynet into Infinite Campus, is still working through how to preserve e-transcripts and Choice Ready-type functionality after the PowerSchool transition, and is developing identity, authentication, and data-sharing arrangements for the summer cutover. Members raised concerns about procurement timing, summer school disruption, and whether some functions would be ready by July 1.

Transcript Highlights:

• Or is this just if we move to cloud, we're saving $363,000, but the cloud might cost us $2.4 million?
• So because this is now cloud-hosted, what is your support?
• Cloud hosting would curb some of the customizations.
• Probably rightfully so when you go to a cloud solution.
• And then is there more value in a new cloud system? Yes.

Summary: The committee received several informational reports from NDIT and DPI. Justin Data reviewed the quarterly major IT project portfolio, noting the portfolio was slightly under budget and behind schedule overall, with three red schedule items: Bed Management System and Vital Records were essentially complete and being closed out, and the Roadway Capital Planning Project was delayed by vendor bug fixes after testing. He also summarized recent project startups and closeouts, including the Victim Notification System, Medicaid data exchange, Highway Patrol’s motor carrier permit system, and several completed HHS and RIMS projects. Members asked for follow-up on ADA compliance work, the public-facing RIO website, and the state’s mainframe retirement timeline, and staff agreed to provide updates later. Craig Falkley reported on coordination of services with political subdivisions and higher education, including StageNet, cybersecurity, radio/911 services, and PeopleSoft coordination. He also explained distributed ledger technology as a tool for transparency and fraud prevention, but said it is not widely used in state government and suggested the report be modernized to focus more broadly on emerging technologies such as AI and cybersecurity. The committee generally agreed that the topic should be updated. Chris Gurgan presented the mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting program created by HB 1314, explaining how agencies and political subdivisions report incidents through NDIT’s website or service desk. He said 77 incidents had been reported since 2021, 47 met the statutory definition, and most were phishing-related; most reported incidents were resolved, with one recent ransomware matter still open. He also reviewed notable incidents since the last report, including the PowerSchool compromise, a SimpleHelp intrusion at a school district, a court intrusion, a WSUS vulnerability, a business email compromise, and a recent ransomware incident involving a non-state critical infrastructure entity. Members asked about recovery of stolen funds, early warning signs, smishing, training, MFA, conditional access, and cybersecurity maturity assessments; Gurgan said the state uses MFA and conditional access, provides awareness training to state employees, and would return with more information on maturity assessments. Tony Ambrose then updated the committee on the K-12 student information system bridge project. He said district implementation of Infinite Campus had begun statewide, but the data migration vendor originally selected was terminated for poor performance and replaced by Aurora Educational Technology, which had experience with similar statewide migrations. He also said DPI is migrating special education data from Tynet into Infinite Campus, and that some SLDS-based tools such as e-transcripts and Choice Ready may not function exactly as they do now at July 1, requiring interim or alternative solutions. Members raised concerns about summer school disruptions, the timing of the cutover, and whether the new system would support existing reporting and transcript functions; DPI said it was working on identity, authentication, data-sharing agreements, and post-go-live integrations, and would continue to refine the plan beyond June 30.

Transcript Highlights:

• Simply because it requires a lot of compute, or it requires, in addition to compute, also laboratories
• There are lots of advanced methods in sort of distributed computing.
• , because the cost of that compute can be quite high.
• , because the cost of those compute can be quite high.
• Taken together, the impact isn't a measure in computing power alone.

Summary: The hearing focused on how artificial intelligence is being used across California’s life sciences sector, from research and drug discovery to digital health, medical devices, and patient care. Chair Ward and Chair Bauer-Kahan opened by emphasizing California’s leadership in biotech, the need to preserve that ecosystem, and the importance of balancing innovation with privacy, consumer protection, and equitable access. They also highlighted the potential role of public compute and public-private partnerships, including CalCompute, in keeping California competitive. The first panel featured representatives from UCSF, the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Ida Sim described AI-enabled digital health tools, including sensor-based blood pressure monitoring and efforts to connect wearable data with electronic health records through open infrastructure. Dr. Karen Knudson focused on cancer, saying AI can accelerate drug discovery, improve learning from every patient, and expand clinical trial access. Dr. Shankar Sundaram discussed AI for public health and biosecurity, including outbreak prediction, antibody redesign, and the need to unlock data, expand compute access, and support public health agencies. Panelists also discussed privacy, HIPAA/CMIA protections, open-source versus closed models, validation, and the need for faster, more modern FDA pathways. The second panel included speakers from Pangea Data, Dexcom, Eli Lilly Ventures, and Twist Bioscience. Dr. Vibhur Gupta described AI systems that identify care gaps in electronic health records and argued for reimbursement frameworks that would let such tools scale beyond large health systems into rural care. Dexcom’s Ginny Hu explained how the company uses AI in its continuous glucose monitoring products, with strong FDA-aligned verification, validation, cybersecurity, human oversight, and post-market monitoring. Eli Lilly’s Danjima Corliss emphasized AI as a scientific collaborator in drug discovery and highlighted Lilly’s high-performance computing investments in California. The discussion continued to return to data access, model transparency, regulatory modernization, and how California can support innovation while protecting patients.