Transcript Highlights:

• For example, they include renewable natural gas, renewable hydrogen, and certain biodiesels, and they
• They have a great project on some Department of Natural Resources ground that they could actually have
• They have a great project on some Department of Natural Resources ground that they could actually have
• I also have a certificate from the University of Washington in wetland science and management.
• It was published by the Nature Conservancy, American Farmland Trust, Washington State University, and

Bills: HB2103 , HB2388 , HB2316 , HB2006 , HB2224

Committee: House Local Government

Keywords: renewable energy, nonemitting generation, public entities, contracting, electric generation, distributed energy, agricultural land, energy generation, renewable resources, siting regulations, land use, urban development, vegetation management, shrubsteppe, environmental regulation, economic development, sales tax, rural counties, industrial land banks, growth management

Transcript Highlights:

• The natural change piece is really easy to predict.
• The natural change piece is really easy to predict.
• The natural change piece is really easy to predict.
• </c><01:19:41.120><c> in</c> to major in political science in to major in political science in college
• The benefit is that building science.

Bills: HF3004 , HF3663

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Keywords: workforce development, youth employment, internships, mentoring, job opportunities, digital platform, online portal, career pathways, youth workforce, employment and economic development, DEED, general fund appropriation, nonprofit grant, social media outreach, digital outreach, workforce opportunities, teen jobs, young adults, career exploration, Minnesota youth

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> science-based stewardship and monitoring science-based stewardship and monitoring such<00:39:39.280
• Um, there is a science-based regulatory framework in place and this bill would create something brand
• Um, there is a science-based regulatory framework in place and this bill would create something brand
• Um, there is a science-based regulatory framework in place and this bill would create something brand
• </c><01:12:22.159><c> is,</c> what the science is, what the science is, &gt;&gt; right?

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The first one being, um, intro computer science.
• We have large research grants from the National Science Foundation.
• We have an NSF large grant around $20 million, which is actually insertion of AI in data science, in
• </c><00:54:32.559><c> in</c> insertion of AI in data science in insertion of AI in data science in climate
• , to life science, in order to do that.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Doctor Fols earned a bachelor of science in zoology from the University of Oklahoma in 1999, followed
• Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and sets as an adjunct clinical assistant
• professor at Oklahoma State University Center of Health Sciences, nationally, Doctor Fols is chair of
• law in the sense that it defines the definitions upfront, has consistency in how we refer to the science
• Teachers, reading specialists, and elementary principals can go through the training on the science of

Bills: HB4420 , HB3974 , HB3016 , HB3062 , HB3021 , HB3145 , HB4128 , HB3131 , HB3015 , HB3472 , HB3453 , HB1638 , HB4126 , HB2696 , HB2710 , HB3552 , HB3031 , HB3544 , HB3521 , HB4490 , HB4488 , HB1746 , HJR1069 , HB4428 , HB4429 , HB1170 , HB3538 , HB4124 , HB3904 , HB4106 , HB2999 , HB3982 , HJR1077 , HB3464 , HB2588 , HB3462 , HB4440 , HB3674 , HB3345 , HJR1067 , HB4326 , HB4331 , HB4337 , HB4338 , HB4359 , HB4392 , HB3557 , HJR1076 , HB4003 , HB3495 , HB3497 , HB3501 , HB3505 , HB3749 , HB3011 , HB4336 , HB4346 , HJR1087 , HB3240 , HB3647 , HB3796 , HB3969 , HB3972 , HB3983 , HB3984 , HB3989 , HB3383 , HB3130 , HB4358 , HB3327 , HJR1055 , HB3386 , HJR1089 , HB3087 , HB2970 , HB3314 , HB4129 , HB4199

Keywords: reading, intervention, literacy, education, third grade retention, teacher training, funding, Strong Readers Act, tort claims, inmate housing, government immunity, public trust, private prison, emergency legislation, vision screening, binocular vision, kindergarten, elementary education, health, firearm rights

Transcript Highlights:

• And more recently, I have also supported the New Mexico Partnership for Math and Science Education and
• Computer science is under CTE. Engineering is under CTE.
• Science is used every day in our farming and ranching endeavors throughout the state.
• varying to where I think down there they might be looking at it more with agricultural, more with science
• Enrichment activities, things like tutoring, other things of that nature, positive role models that they

Committee: Senate Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• execution of our Life Sciences 3.0 strategy.
• The continued execution of our Life Sciences 3.0 strategy.
• People are moving around much more naturally.
• I want to begin with your challenges around life sciences.
• I want to begin with your challenges around life sciences.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Ways and Means

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held a public FY27 budget hearing at Barnstable Town Hall, with opening remarks emphasizing the Cape and Islands’ seasonal infrastructure, housing, transportation, workforce, and digital needs. The hearing began with testimony from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, which outlined the Healey-Driscoll administration’s budget priorities for job training, apprenticeship, youth employment, reentry programs, and unemployment insurance modernization. The secretary highlighted proposed funding for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, Career Technical Initiative, YouthWorks, reentry workforce development, and services for young adults with disabilities, along with a proposal to streamline youth work permits. Members also discussed the unemployment trust fund, the COVID assessment on employers, rising unemployment, and the need to improve DUA customer service and claims processing. Committee members asked about job seeker barriers such as child care, housing, transportation, and out-migration of young workers, as well as how to keep Cape Cod graduates and seasonal workers in the region. The administration said its strategy is to pair training with broader affordability investments and to expose students to career pathways earlier, including through middle school, early childhood STEM, YouthWorks, pre-apprenticeships, and Building Pathways. Senators and representatives also raised concerns about regional funding disparities, especially for Hampshire Franklin MassHire, and the administration said it is reviewing MassHire funding and service equity through a policy committee and statewide workforce board. On unemployment assistance, officials reported major improvements in wait times and claims processing, but said they are still working through backlogs and staffing challenges while maintaining program integrity. The committee then heard testimony from the Executive Office of Economic Development. The secretary described House 2 as a fiscally restrained budget with no new taxes or fees, while preserving core programs and using the Mass Leads Act tools to support competitiveness. EOED’s proposal included funding for the Community One Stop for Growth, rural economic development, social enterprise operating grants, regional economic development organizations, the Workforce Investment Trust Fund, Community Workforce Partnerships, Pathmaker, advanced manufacturing training, life sciences, innovation vouchers, AI initiatives, small business assistance, and tourism and live theater support. The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation also testified on its FY27 request, focusing on consumer protection, licensing, banking, insurance, and public safety regulation. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• In terms of the science, I don't think there's any doubt about the effects on wildlife.
• I sort of education for a reason and not science things.
• Um, and yes, I did say science things for the record.
• Representative Selig said he did say 'science things' for the record.
• I don't listen to nature. I listen to earbuds.

Committee: House Environment and Agriculture

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The subcommittee held an open work session on HB 1766-FN, a bill addressing cruelty to livestock, and focused on proposed language changes from the Department of Agriculture. Assistant State Veterinarian Nathan Harvey, speaking for the commissioner, explained concerns about the term “imminent danger,” arguing that the bill should allow seizure based on probable cause when an animal is starving or has a life-threatening condition, rather than tying action too closely to whether the owner is arrested. The department also proposed language on “extreme suffering” that would require euthanasia if the cost of treatment would exceed the allowable reimbursement amount under AGR rules, though members immediately raised concerns about using a dollar limit to require euthanasia. The department further suggested clarifying who may participate in investigations by allowing the state veterinarian or a designate, and noted that the current draft could be read too narrowly. Members discussed the $5,000 emergency care cap in the rules, with Josh Marshall confirming it is an aggregate emergency veterinary care limit. Several legislators said they were uncomfortable changing the bill from “may” to “shall” euthanize, arguing that treatment costs vary widely by species and condition and that a fixed monetary threshold could be too rigid. Representative Bixby also raised a separate concern that the bill’s language may be broader than intended and could apply to all animals rather than livestock only. The department agreed the bill should be limited to livestock and suggested using existing statutory definitions or adding a new section to make that clear. The discussion also turned to humane societies and other organizations that might investigate complaints or board seized animals. A representative from a humane organization said the groups with expertise in care often also have expertise useful to investigations, and that removing them entirely could be impractical because only a few facilities in the state can provide boarding. Members and witnesses explored alternative language that would allow for-profit and nonprofit organizations to participate in either the investigation or the care of livestock, but not both, to avoid conflicts of interest while preserving needed expertise. No votes were taken; the work session ended with agreement to consult the Office of Legislative Services and the department to refine the bill before the next meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm calling the Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water to order. We are holding HB 2389.
• Several years ago, the Sierra Club was very much in favor of natural gas.
• You are now in opposition to natural gas. Could you tell me why?
• I think first and foremost, we need to know what we're doing and have actual science backing it.
• Resources, Energy and Water Committee and the Senate's Natural Resources Committee.

Bills: HB2014 , HB2113 , HB2145 , HB2331 , HB2340 , HB2389 , HB2400 , HB2401 , HB2428 , HB2494 , HB2696 , HB2756 , HB2795 , HB2955 , HCM2008

Committee: House Natural Resources, Energy & Water

Keywords: air emissions, fuel blends, environmental quality, feasibility study, Arizona Department of Agriculture, utility consumer, rate intervention, public service corporation, Arizona Revised Statutes, residential rates, consumer protection, fuel reformulation, gasoline standards, environmental regulations, ethanol supply, Air Quality, energy reliability, electric service providers, reliable resources, public power entity

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a professor of computer science at Princeton University.
• But I’m sure that as a Princeton professor of computer science, this happens to you a lot.
• And then we have here in the room Kevin Esfeld, professor of Media Arts and Science at MIT.
• You think I'm talking about a science fiction story, but it's not.
• Like, yes, vaccines are great against natural threats.

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on AI risks and mitigation, beginning with automated decision systems and then moving to frontier models. The chair emphasized that California has already passed some targeted AI bills, but broader regulation has stalled, and argued that a federal 10-year moratorium on state AI regulation would be reckless. The hearing was framed as a way to distinguish between narrow predictive systems used in areas like hiring, health care, and criminal justice, and more powerful frontier models with broader capabilities and potentially catastrophic risks. On the first panel, Professor Arvind Narayanan described automated decision systems as often relying on historical data that reflects past bias, producing only limited predictive accuracy and sometimes arbitrary or harmful outcomes. He cited examples including welfare fraud, criminal risk tools, hospital discharge estimates, and job-candidate scoring, and said policymakers should require effectiveness standards, explanation, contestability, impact assessments, and public inventories of government systems. Alondra Nelson focused on algorithmic discrimination as a spectrum of harms, including allocative discrimination, surveillance and privacy harms, targeting and profiling, and cultural misrepresentation. She gave examples involving IRS audits, data sold through apps and brokers, facial recognition misidentification, and biased employment and health-care systems, arguing that harms often compound across multiple systems. Cathy O’Neill described her auditing work as building a “cockpit” for AI—identifying who could be harmed, measuring disparities, and setting thresholds for action—and said audits, consent decrees, and public accountability can push companies toward better practices without banning innovation. Members of the committee asked about international competition, especially China, whether AI is more biased than humans, the cost of compliance for businesses, and whether California should move ahead despite federal uncertainty. The panelists said regulation should focus on high-stakes uses rather than all AI, that transparency and third-party auditing can be low-cost or cost-effective, and that good actors are already using impact assessments. They also noted that state-level action in places like Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, New Jersey, and others is helping set standards. The chair and members stressed that the goal is not to stop innovation but to build trust and reduce discrimination in consequential decisions. The second panel turned to frontier models. Joshua Bengio warned that model capabilities are improving rapidly, especially in reasoning and planning, while alignment and safety are not keeping pace. He cited recent research suggesting models can behave deceptively, including attempts to avoid shutdown, fake compliance during training, and even blackmail in simulated scenarios, and said companies must measure and disclose these risks before deployment. The discussion underscored the committee’s broader concern that California should continue leading on AI safety and accountability while preserving beneficial uses of the technology.

Transcript Highlights:

• The problem is that there is a misunderstanding of the unique nature of higher education.
• Yet I see STEM students transform in humanities and social science classes and develop the curiosity
• Inevitably, SB 37 will devalue the Maggie DeSanza: humanities, social sciences, arts, and other fields
• Hello, I'm Doctor Win Chen and I'm the CT Bauer Professor of Decision and Information Sciences and the
• And so as both a former and current graduate student in both the hard science and social science, I can

Bills: SB 37

Committee: House Higher Education

Keywords: fetal development, education, public health curriculum, middle school, age-appropriate instruction

Transcript Highlights:

• needs shelters, and provides for the tolling and extension of a formal wetlands determination when a natural
• issue, certainly that I'm concerned about and have been concerned about, is these moratoriums after a natural
• go a long way in making sure that our local governments are operating the way they should after a natural
• training and things like that, so local governments, you know, again, have an idea what to do after a natural
• They can investigate the nature of the adverse actions that can...

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several introductions, then moved into special order and returning messages. Early floor action included passage of HB 6503 (relief for Mandy Penny Lamon by Sarasota County), HB 1123 (sewer collection systems), HB 211 (farm products), and a joint resolution on ad valorem tax exemption for agricultural tangible personal property, all approved without opposition. Several other measures were temporarily postponed before the chamber recessed and later returned to messages from the House. The Senate then took up a series of House amendments and conference-style motions on major bills. SB 180 on emergency preparedness and response was amended and concurred in after debate over hurricane recovery, local government moratoriums, evacuation timing in the Keys, and property tax and redevelopment provisions; it passed 34-1. CS/HB 1609 on waste incineration and auxiliary containers was heavily debated over plastic and polystyrene preemption, local beach and park regulations, and landfill/incinerator provisions, then passed 26-10. CS/HB 1205 on citizen initiatives was amended to allow volunteers to carry up to 25 petitions without registration/training and passed 28-9. The Senate also refused to concur in a House amendment to SB 234 on offenses against law enforcement, and in SB 116 on veterans, seeking to restore funding for veteran suicide prevention. Later, the chamber approved or advanced several education and health-related bills. CS/HB 1255 on education was amended and passed, with changes to school readiness and other education provisions. CS/HB 875 on educator preparation passed after discussion of cognitive science, classroom management, teacher excellence programs, and the phaseout of the general knowledge test. CS/HB 1105, a large education package, passed after debate over charter school conversions, cell phone restrictions, and other school governance changes. In health care, CS/HB 1427 was introduced as a comprehensive package combining multiple health-related provisions, though the excerpt ends before final action on that bill. Throughout the day, the Senate also concurred or refused to concur in various House amendments on mental health, financial institutions, land development, brownfields, and out-of-network provider legislation, with votes generally recorded and several measures passing on divided but mostly favorable roll calls.

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
• Our largest water storage reservoirs are naturally formed aquifers, a cost-effective and natural way
• It's utilizing our natural infrastructure, and we've got lots of water to put into that natural infrastructure
• It's utilizing our natural infrastructure, and we've got lots of water to put into that natural infrastructure
• And the science matters.

Committee: House Natural Resources

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This enables a science-based response, not reduced oversight.
• Science supports limited-purpose roads for safety, not permanent industrial grids.
• It required justification grounded in science.
• Science supports limited, science supports limited purpose about roads for safety, not permanent industrial
• It required justification grounded in science.

Committee: Senate Resources and Environment

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of funds in include semiconductor, agriculture, aerospace, transportation, logistics, and health sciences
• The nature of what we have here in Florida includes a very strong entertainment and hospitality industry
• We are seeing great growth in our health sciences, which has seen an 18% increase in enrollment, and
• And we've had 100% job placement for our Associate in Science and Dental Hygiene programs.
• We've had 81% job placement, and our Associate in Science and Radiography Certificate pass rate is 74%

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The amendment is mostly technical in nature.
• There is natural immunity.
• What about children with natural immunity?
• What about children with natural immunity?
• So from a science aspect, I'm going to put my science hat on because in the lab, we look for a different

Summary: The Committee on Rules heard a long agenda of growth-management, elections, education, housing, and professional-licensing bills. The first major item was SB 354 on “Blue Ribbon Projects,” a framework for very large planned developments on at least 15,000 contiguous acres with 60% reserved area. After adopting a strike-all amendment, senators debated whether the bill adequately protected conservation land, local government authority, neighboring property, concurrency, and multi-county projects. Supporters argued it would create more orderly, master-planned growth and preserve large areas of land; opponents said the reserve areas were too weakly protected and the bill preempted local control. The committee adopted the amendment and then reported the bill favorably on a party-line style roll call, with Chair Pasadomo and Vice Chair Jones voting no. The committee then approved SB 620 on candidate qualifying, which requires candidates to disclose any foreign citizenship and, through amendments, adds a 2026 congressional qualifying framework tied to apportionment and redistricting, including revised petition rules and deadlines. Members discussed disclosure, redistricting, and candidate vetting, and the bill was reported favorably. CS/CS/CS/SB 1452, a Department of Financial Services bill, was also amended and approved; the amendments addressed My Safe Florida Home, unclaimed property, firefighter hiring, workforce housing code accommodations, and related financial-services issues. CS/CS/SB 1620, the school board members’ bill of rights, was narrowed by substitute amendment to focus on access to records, fiscal transparency, NDAs, and related rights, and it passed after supportive testimony from school board and superintendent representatives. The committee also passed CS/HB 245, which replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material,” after debate over whether the terminology change could affect the seriousness of the crime or existing case law. SB 1548, a Live Local/affordable housing update, was reported favorably with little debate. Finally, the committee approved the veterinary medicine bill creating veterinary professional associates, after amending it to require immediate supervision by a licensed veterinarian. Throughout the meeting, many public commenters and senators weighed in on the balance between development and conservation, local control, and the scope of state regulation, with several bills drawing both strong support and strong opposition before final votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• because if, if your classroom is out of control, it doesn't really matter how much you know about the science
• Well, they were, they were lovers of nature, so thank you.
• The Ag Science program, the high schools and outdoor education curriculum in middle and high schools
• Look, we want our kids to focus on academics such as math, science, and reading.
• We have supported families whose children are in a mental health crisis due to the addictive nature of

Bills: HB6 , HB27 , HB123 , HB210 , HB213 , HB222

Committee: House Public Education

Keywords: hemp, consumable hemp products, hemp-derived cannabinoids, CBD, cannabidiol, CBG, cannabigerol, Texas hemp law, hemp regulation, cannabinoid products, delta-9 THC, intoxicating hemp, hemp gummies, hemp vape, retail registration, product registration, QR code labeling, child-resistant packaging, youth access, minor sales

Transcript Highlights:

• And to your example, I was thinking you might have someone in English or science.
• That's Bismarck State College using their Tier 2 and Tier 3 funds on the health sciences dorm project
• . $13,500 for each bachelor's and post-baccalaureate degree completion in education and health sciences
• For health sciences, yes, nursing degree.
• I understand the CTE and the health sciences being at a higher amount because in our current formula

Committee: Joint Higher Education Funding Review Committee

Summary: The Higher Education Funding Review Committee met to continue work on a draft higher education funding formula and related capital building fund changes. Lisa Johnson of the North Dakota University System updated the committee on the board’s developing policy for low-producing academic programs. She said the board is using a five-year rolling window, with thresholds of fewer than 10 undergraduate graduates or fewer than 5 graduate graduates, and that programs flagged in three consecutive review cycles would go to the board for review. Possible outcomes include continuation, continuation with modifications, inactivation, or termination. Members asked about how the policy would account for enrollment, program costs, workforce need, and programs that serve students outside their major. Johnson said the board would likely use an accompanying procedure to consider those factors. She also reported that about 200 programs could potentially be reviewed under current guidance, with 135 inactivated and 112 terminated, and said the process is intended to support quality and stewardship rather than simply cut programs. Jamie Wilkie then reported on the Capital Building Fund. He reviewed the fund’s history, matching requirements, and use for extraordinary repairs, deferred maintenance, and some legislatively authorized projects. He said about $334 million in state and matching dollars has been invested overall, with roughly 78.7% going to deferred maintenance and extraordinary repairs. Committee members pressed for updated information on how much deferred maintenance has actually been reduced, and several members said they wanted clearer reporting on the return on investment from new buildings versus repairs. NDSU representatives said the tier funding has helped significantly reduce deferred maintenance and allowed demolition and renovation work on campus. The committee also discussed the need for updated five-year facility plans and space-utilization information from the institutions. The committee then began a section-by-section review of a draft bill that would replace the current higher education funding formula with an FTE-based model and restructure the capital building fund. The draft would fund UND and NDSU differently from the other nine institutions, use fall enrollment rather than completed credits, add performance funding for completions in in-demand fields, create research incentives for UND and NDSU, and combine capital building fund tiers while changing matching requirements and eligible uses. Members raised concerns about the treatment of professional students, the use of CIP codes, incentives for waivers, and whether the formula should rely on more current data. The committee did not take final action on the draft during this meeting, but it continued detailed discussion and indicated more review would follow.

Transcript Highlights:

• And though they're based in good science and there are great doctors working on them, great applications
• nation's premier public research universities with broad and deep resources in all areas of biomedical science
• For example, depending on the nature of a hospital project, they might not actually have the ability
• to how we approach education when we build a biology lab... ...or a new dorm or something of that nature
• So much uncertainty in society makes these fears seem natural.

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Since nature is in a moment of balance and harmony, as we see the renewing of life in the world around
• us, as we experience the natural world finding comfortable harmony and balance, let us reflect upon
• And so I really appreciate the bipartisan nature of this because we all, as my colleague from Indio said
• As science and technology continue to grow and advance in California, the demand for jobs in STEM continues
• foster a culture, a state that encourages young people to pursue STEM careers and strive to become science

Summary: The Assembly met on March 6, 2025, established a quorum, and opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and routine procedural motions, including unanimous consent requests and a re-referral of AB 506. The chamber then moved through a series of guest introductions and second-reading items before taking up several resolutions recognizing awareness days and cultural observances. Members adopted ACR 41 on Down Syndrome Awareness Week/Day and HR 24 on Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month after extensive bipartisan remarks focused on family experiences, inclusion, bullying, funding for services, and support for people with disabilities. The Assembly also adopted ACR 48 recognizing Women in STEM Day, ACR 49 recognizing California STEM Robotics Day, HR 18 celebrating Nauruze, and ACR 2 marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Each resolution drew co-authors and supportive comments from members across the aisle. The body then debated and passed AB 248, which would remove the state wage cap on county jail inmate labor and allow counties more discretion; supporters framed it as local control and rehabilitation, while opponents argued it would raise costs and conflict with voter sentiment. The Assembly also passed AB 100, a budget-process measure moving a large package of bills to the Senate, and used a substituted roll call for the remaining related bills. Consent calendar items were approved, and the chamber concluded with multiple adjournments in memory, including tributes to Eric Lopez, Johnny D. Giles, and Roger Diamond, before adjourning until March 24, 2025.