Transcript Highlights:

• creating a path for projects otherwise not able.
• Typically, prevailing wage rates apply to projects that are receiving public subsidy, and if a project
• We bring to our projects, our construction building projects, and our communities.
• I believe these projects are dramatically flawed.
• This is how we build trust in projects.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, relating to reporting requirements for natural gas pipeline projects
• , relating to approval of contracts by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, and in... ...projects, relating
• The AVT tax I'm speaking of: the House version charged a separate rate for each piece of the project—the
• If a final investment decision by the developer is not reached by January 1, 2028, the project loses
• Further amendments were made impacting foreign entity participation, cost overruns, effects of project

Keywords: 905, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It seems that the project is moving forward, and there should be some consideration.
• So 10 percent of every single deliverable is held to the project end, and once the project is in good
• going to be on the team, and that might be one, like a project kickoff.
• So with child welfare, Project that we have. It could be a specific part of a system.
• It's just a different way to fund the project. Okay. Let's do that then. Mr.

Bills: SB2015

Keywords: corrections, rehabilitation, prison budget, department of corrections, adult services, youth services, correctional facilities, Heart River correctional center, Missouri River correctional center, James River correctional center, minimum security facility, county jails, regional jails, deferred maintenance, capital construction, strategic investment and improvements fund, Bank of North Dakota, line of credit, tasers, body cameras

Summary: The Senate Appropriations Human Resources Division met to finalize changes to the human services budget bill and related amendments. Members discussed several items, including a proposed $5 million appropriation for the Altru Hospital project to address inflationary costs, with the rest of the funding question left for conference committee. They also agreed to keep the 10-year operating requirement language for the project and remove a matching-funds provision that was no longer needed. The committee spent considerable time on the OASIS child welfare IT system. Donna Auckland explained that the project is still in the RFP stage, with vendor selection and contract negotiation likely taking months, and that the system will require 50-50 federal matching authority. Based on that testimony, the committee agreed to reduce the general fund amount from $14 million to $6 million and use a line of credit for the remaining authority, while preserving the federal match authority so the contract can be signed and the project can proceed. Members also approved a technical fix to add governor’s designee language for the Children’s Cabinet, which had been missed in another bill already on the governor’s desk. Keith reviewed updated long sheets showing additional budget adjustments, including provider inflation changes, a $50,000 Family Voices grant, reductions to CARES Act COVID funds, and moving the $5-per-day basic care rate increase from ongoing to one-time funding. No formal votes were recorded in the transcript, and the committee adjourned with plans to reconvene Monday if the final bill version was ready.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the Assistant CARS Project Director.
• this project is successful.
• For the roofing projects at the theater and the chapel and the independent living projects, where do
• we're on track with both of those projects.
• We'll start right into another project.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• A project for the state will require the bidder to have a labor agreement in order to bid for the project
• The experience of many large-scale projects, including the Boston Harbor project, the Port of Oakland
• bid and work on projects covered by project labor agreements.
• on projects contractors bid and work on projects covered<00:09:53.079> by<00:09:53.240> project
• Maybe four, five, six projects serving between 10 and 30 people, or homes per project.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And the project manager's costs are 1.5% of the actual costs of the project.
• And the project manager's costs are 1.5% of the actual costs of the project.
• And the project manager's costs are 1.5% of the actual costs of the project.
• And the project manager's costs are 1.5% of the actual costs of the project.
• <00:19:47.919> This project. This was a big project. This project.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up SB 209, which would require schools seeking building aid for construction or reconstruction projects to use an owner’s project manager. The chair explained an amendment that would remove the bill’s requirement that the manager be engaged before application and instead revert to current law, while updating the project threshold from the older $1 million figure to a more current amount and clarifying that the manager’s role is to protect the project owner’s interests. Members asked about the cost of hiring a project manager over several years before a project is funded, the 1.5% fee in rule, and whether the rules already define the manager’s duties. The chair said the amendment addressed those concerns by leaving the timing to current law and relying on existing administrative rules for qualifications and responsibilities. The committee then voted 18-0 to adopt the amendment and 18-0 to recommend SB 209 OTPA, placing it on the consent calendar. The committee then moved to SB 99, which concerns allowing students enrolled in career and technical education programs at receiving comprehensive high schools to take additional academic courses there. The chair said the bill was intended to make it easier for students to access CTE without being blocked by scheduling conflicts in their sending schools, and to clarify how agreements between sending and receiving districts would work. He described concerns about the bill’s cost formula, transportation, part-time versus full-time status, and whether the proposal could unintentionally create open-enrollment or athletic-transfer issues. He said the amendment would mirror existing treatment for homeschool and charter school students, use a familiar funding model, and limit participation to students already enrolled in one or more CTE classes at the receiving school. The chair also emphasized that comprehensive high schools already have a statutory definition and that the bill would help more students participate in CTE, which he said currently reaches only a relatively small share of students statewide. He noted that transportation would be covered only when a CTE bus is available, otherwise students would be responsible for arranging travel as under current practice. After brief discussion, the committee voted 18-0 to adopt the amendment and 18-0 to recommend SB 99 OTPA, also placing it on the consent calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now we have a project.
• And we've even, uh, secured state funds for this art project.
• And so, uh, we're going to finance the project over 53 to 5 years. We were going to use tax notes.
• to finance this project.
• We can't do a CEO on that, uh, project for 3 years. It should stay at 3 years.

Transcript Highlights:

• It authorized certain projects... For that biennium.
• For some named projects, for example, Lake Region had a wind turbine gearbox; the Mayville Old Main project
• They just have to make that transfer over to it being a capital project.
• And the ones to the new capital projects were mainly to cover their match.
• And my other question is, how many projects are we looking at in the future?

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:

• , making sure we can expedite climate resiliency projects.
• Make it easier to implement these projects.
• In Oakland, we saw how excessive project delays can lead to loss of life.
• And then once there's a housing project that's in compliance with that zoning code, that housing project
• It makes projects better, and that's an important part of the process.

Summary: The committee heard several transportation and public safety bills, largely focused on traffic violence, e-bike regulation, and DUI enforcement. AB 1588 on sideshows and street takeovers drew support from the author, San Francisco officials, law enforcement, and the League of California Cities, who said the bill would close loopholes, add motorcycles and dirt bikes to the sideshow framework, and align penalties with speed contests. ACLU California Action opposed it, but members generally supported the bill, noting the need for stronger tools against dangerous takeovers. The committee also heard AB 1654 on commercial driver’s licenses and federal verification rules, with the author arguing California must comply with federal law to avoid losing CDL authority; the chair and others objected that the bill could wrongly affect U.S. citizens and codify changing federal rules. The bill was discussed but not advanced in the portion provided. AB 1976 sought to speed delivery of bicycle and pedestrian safety projects by limiting some public meetings, restricting cancellation of contracts without findings, lowering petition thresholds for traffic calming, and updating the Pedestrian Mall Act. Supporters said current procedures delay life-saving projects and give too much power to opponents, while counties and cities opposed the limits on local public input and budget authority. After discussion, the committee voted to send AB 1976 to Local Government, with several members expressing support but also concerns about preserving community participation. The committee also heard AB 2015, which would direct Caltrans to study the effects of navigation apps on local roads and safety. Supporters said apps can divert traffic onto residential streets and undermine local traffic calming, while members suggested the bill should also consider built-in vehicle navigation systems. AB 2168, on the Active Transportation Program, would update the definition of safe routes to transit, prioritize transit-rich and underserved areas, and add stronger spending accountability; it drew support from bicycle and transit advocates and some local agencies, with a few technical concerns left to resolve. Finally, AB 1942 on e-bike registration and license plates for Class 2 and 3 e-bikes drew strong support from law enforcement and medical witnesses citing rising injuries, but broad opposition from bicycle groups, micromobility advocates, and some local governments who said it would burden lawful riders, create DMV problems, and not address illegal e-motos. The committee also heard AB 1685 and AB 1687, both DUI-related bills from the same author: AB 1685 would increase DMV points for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and AB 1687 would extend license revocation for a third DUI conviction to eight years with an interlock option after four years. Both bills received strong support from law enforcement and victims’ advocates, with ACLU California Action opposing them as duplicative or overly punitive; both bills were advanced by committee vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• of top 50 projects nationwide with regard to a Veterans Administration priority CIP project.
• <00:53:48.119> at help shovel ready products projects at help shovel ready products projects
• Thank you for the questions, members. projects along our our intent is once we projects along our our
• this request is for a permanent project this request is for a permanent project team<01:35:58.080
• project project team<01:36:06.080> would<01:36:06.360> also<01:36:06.639> build

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Finance held informational briefings first with the Department of Defense on its FY 2026 budget request, then with the Hawaii School Facilities Authority. Major General Steve Logan outlined the Department of Defense request for $40.5 million in state funds, which he said would leverage about $74 million in federal matching funds and support 411 open projects that could attract up to $2.3 billion in additional federal grant money. He said the budget focuses on sustainment, safety, and reorganization in light of lessons from the Maui wildfires. Key requests included $1.3 million to sustain IT systems, $2.7 million for 32 HEMA emergency management positions, three new Hawaii Army National Guard positions plus four upgrades, and $1.9 million for the Youth Challenge Program to cover state-mandated fringe costs and staffing needs. He also reviewed capital improvement projects, including Youth Challenge facility upgrades, siren modernization, ADA improvements, building retrofits for disaster resilience, Army facility upgrades, a third state veterans home on Maui, HEMA EOC improvements, and a maintenance/fuel building at Diamond Head. Members asked about the siren modernization timeline, and HEMA said roughly 26 to 31 sirens would be modernized this year, with 15 on Maui, eight on Oahu, and eight on the Big Island. Questions also focused on Youth Challenge and Job Challenge enrollment and vacancies, with the department saying the Hilo Job Challenge Academy is growing and that combining Youth Challenge recruiting statewide into one Kilauea program has helped enrollment. Logan also answered questions about the New Year’s Eve medical transport mission, explaining the Hawaii Air National Guard’s relationship with active-duty Air Force assets and saying the flight cost is about $20,000 per flight hour, though the final bill had not yet been determined. On the Maui veterans home, staff said the University of Hawaii site was no longer viable after faculty senate opposition, so the department is now focused on a 10-acre Puna District site; the project remains tied to a certified $35 million state match and August 2025 and August 2026 federal suspense dates. Logan said the veterans home remains one of the department’s highest priorities, but it could not be moved higher in the submitted CIP ranking. The department also discussed a Governor’s add-on for a fire marshal/Office of Recovery and Resiliency proposal. Logan said the fire marshal position was reestablished last session but has not yet been filled, and that if the function is transferred to the Department of Defense, the department wants funding ready to move quickly. Staff later said the request would include about $1.1 million for seven positions and about $2.2 million for operating costs, though details were still preliminary. The committee then reconvened for the School Facilities Authority briefing, where Executive Director Ricky Fujitani described the agency as a startup created in 2020 to improve school and workforce housing development through standardized designs, prefabrication, best-value procurement, and public-private partnerships. He said Hawaii’s single school district still functions like 15 different districts because of its 264 schools across 15 complex areas, and that the authority’s goal is to create more efficient, maintainable, and cost-effective facilities.

Transcript Highlights:

• We would like the NAYID project to be delivered at Halawa under the NAYID project.
• uh and we are hopeful that the project uh and we are hopeful that the nayid<00:02:06.640> project
• we want to make sure that the N project we want to make sure that the N project is<00:02:30.280>
• say this is an unusual sort of a project say this is an unusual sort of a project for<00:09:01.200
• In my experience working on two projects at the University since I've been there, the P3 projects, I

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism and Higher Education heard HB 1494, relating to sports facilities. Testimony was largely in opposition to the bill as drafted from the Stadium Authority, the Department of Accounting and General Services, and the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, with several other written comments also opposing; each asked that if the measure advances, Senate language from related stadium bills be incorporated instead. The University of Hawaiʻi testified in support of the Nāʻid project and said it wants the project delivered at Halawa so the university can have a football facility, though members pressed the university on whether it was effectively supporting both the project and the bill’s current approach. A substantial portion of the hearing focused on the stadium project’s financing, schedule, and oversight. DAGS and Public Works discussed a consultant contract that had grown to about $28 million and an audit that recovered $441,000 after improper travel and expense reimbursements, including first-class airfare and other personal expenses; officials said the audit exposed weak internal controls and led to revised reimbursement policies. Members questioned whether the problems would have been found without media reporting and whether stronger oversight should have been in place earlier. The committee also discussed the current Ching Field setup for UH football, with witnesses describing it as less than ideal and temporary until the new stadium is built. Stadium Authority representatives said the current preferred offeror is Aloha Halawa Development Partners, negotiations have recently accelerated, and the goal remains a contract this summer and a fall 2028 opening. They said the state is committed to $350 million in general obligation bonds, with the overall project expected to cost more, and that the developer is exploring other financing sources such as TIF or CFD while the state and city work to expedite permits and demolition. No vote or final action on the bill was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, you'll see the final projects.
• most of the projects. most of the projects.
• <00:17:13.079> in the individual individual projects in the individual individual projects
• There's another project here today.
• And sometimes those two projects, projects, projects, um, um, um, end<00:20:23.600> up end up

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• in the thousands of emails that Project in the thousands of emails that Project Baltimore<00:26:
• Projects like the Marriott far.
• we're not going to grant the project." we're not going to grant the project."
• as a proxy by project opponents to delay<00:46:01.680> projects,<00:46:02.680> especially<
• <01:31:10.920> And highway projects. That's what it is. And highway projects.

Keywords: House streaming session for Thursday, March 12, 2026, 957, house, all

Summary: The House met in Annapolis on February 27, 2026, with 128 members present. After a prayer, the chamber adopted the previous day’s journal and recognized a resolution honoring Brunswick High School’s first Tech Challenge team, Minerva’s Mechanics, for winning the FTC Regional Championships and qualifying for the World Championship in Houston. The resolution was read and adopted with applause. The main legislative item was House Bill 355, concerning the Education, Sexual Abuse and Assault Awareness and Prevention Program and human and sex trafficking; the House adopted the favorable committee report and ordered the bill printed for third reading. The next bill, House Bill 534 on nonpublic school transcripts and prohibiting punitive measures related to student debt, also received a favorable report. Debate then centered on an amendment offered to HB 534 that would have tied school funding to student choice for students in repeatedly one-star-rated schools and allowed parents of habitually violent or disruptive students to consider military boarding school options. The sponsor argued Maryland’s public schools, especially in Baltimore City, were failing students despite heavy spending, citing low literacy, violence, and the book Failure Factory; several members echoed concerns about school performance, bureaucracy, and the need for educational freedom. Opponents and procedural speakers said the amendment was not germane to HB 534, which they described as a narrow bill about transcript access for students leaving nonpublic schools with unpaid fees, often students with disabilities. The floor leader urged the body to resist the amendment and stick to the bill’s actual subject. Despite multiple members explaining their votes in support of school choice and criticizing the Blueprint and school outcomes, the House ultimately took a roll call on the amendment after a voice vote was challenged. The transcript cuts off during the roll call and does not show the final recorded result on the amendment.

Transcript Highlights:

• minutes this slide shows the projected minutes this slide shows the projected FY<00:02:54.120>
• we now project the ending because we now project the ending balance<00:03:13.200> for<00:03:13.400
• had projected in November.
• 2026 in November they had projected 2026 in November they had projected multiple<00:13:36.399>
• , inflation is projected to go up, mortgage rates are projected to go up.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . project. project.
• this project?
• people in place to help move projects. people in place to help move projects.
• Projects take time. There's, you well. Projects take time.
• but projects are not being completed. but projects are not being completed.

Bills: SB2003

Keywords: Mauna Kea, land management, University of Hawaii, astronomical observatories, leasable lands, natural resource management, stewardship authority, 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint committees on Water, Land, Culture, and the Arts and Education heard testimony and discussed SB 20003, which would require the auditor’s report under Act 255 to include a recommendation on whether the Monarch Stewardship and Oversight Authority is fit to continue managing Monaca lands. Testimony focused on the bill’s reversion language, the role of the auditor, and whether the measure gave the auditor too much discretion without clear criteria. The Office of the Auditor’s position, read into the record, was that it had strong reservations because the bill did not provide standards for assessing fitness and asked that the requirement be held or amended. Other testimony suggested a work group with relevant agencies and Hawaiian practitioners to manage the transition and reduce conflict. Committee members debated whether the bill should simply restore the original reversion language or also require an audit-based fitness determination. Several members questioned the need for a 2031 audit when Act 255 already provides for a performance and financial audit in 2031 and noted that the bill could shift authority away from the legislature. In response, the committee chair explained that the measure was intended to restore language removed during conference and to address the transition back to the University of Hawaii if the authority was not meeting the act’s purpose. The committees ultimately recommended SB 20003 be passed with amendments. The amendments would strike the auditor/audit section, add language addressing timelines by providing a 10-year lease extension and sublease extension, and make technical changes including a defective date. The committees voted to adopt the amended measure and send it forward as an SD1. The transcript also included a separate Education Committee hearing on SB 3286, which would require the University of Hawaii to develop a facilities and student housing master plan and report to the legislature. University of Hawaii testimony said the system supports the intent but that the bill’s requirements are a heavy lift across 10 campuses and should follow development of a broader academic strategy. Members raised concerns about deferred maintenance, shifting priorities, and the lack of a systemwide plan, while the university said it already has a six-year capital improvement plan but acknowledged it does not fully incorporate the broader academic and housing strategy the bill contemplates.

Transcript Highlights:

• we funded $100 million worth of projects we funded $100 million worth of projects He<00:29:52.840
• <00:40:07.480> we there's lots and lots of projects we there's lots and lots of projects we
• fund them do fuel reduction uh projects fund them do fuel reduction uh projects on<00:57:10.680>
• L project?
• L project?

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• help us organize uh those projects. help us organize uh those projects.
• They'll supervise those projects. They'll supervise those projects.
• <00:59:29.599> And project. Well, I appreciate that. And project.
• Again, the project, as many of these projects was originally boarded.
• complete this project. complete this project.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Government Contracts Committee met with a quorum and approved the July 8 minutes. It then deferred several items from the July agenda, including a Kentucky Education Television contract because the vendor was not yet registered with the Secretary of State, and a University of Louisville contract at the university’s request. The committee also deferred a behavioral health memorandum of agreement and later a Department of Community Based Services contract after questions were raised about the scope of services and the need for additional information. The most extensive discussion involved the Seven Counties Services contract with the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental, and Intellectual Disabilities. Committee members questioned why the state continues to contract with Seven Counties despite its bankruptcy and pension-related liabilities, how the funding split was determined, whether the services are statutorily required, and whether the state or another provider could deliver the services more efficiently. Agency representatives said Seven Counties is the sole provider of core community mental health services in its region, serves about 24,500 people, and that service needs and acuity remain high even as the number served has declined. A cabinet attorney said the bankruptcy dispute is ongoing and involves roughly $20 million in contested retirement contributions, though members suggested the amount may be higher. Members also raised broader concerns about whether local governments, especially Metro Louisville, should contribute more toward services tied to social determinants of health, and whether the contract includes services beyond what statute requires. The committee requested additional information on the contract scope and possible offsets or recovery of unfunded liabilities, and then voted to defer the Seven Counties contract to the next meeting. The committee also heard a separate DCBS presentation on the Youth Villages Intercept program, where staff explained it was selected because it is an approved evidence-based Family First prevention service, provides intensive in-home and foster care stabilization services, and is headquartered in Tennessee but operates across Kentucky; members asked for clarification on Medicaid billing and additional funding needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:13:58.800> The Highway 371 overpass project. The Highway 371 overpass project.
• > be<01:13:59.960> constructed project is scheduled to be constructed project is scheduled
• <01:15:13.280> area, the project area, the project area, financing<01:15:15.240> would<
• other important infrastructure projects other important infrastructure projects within<01:15:30.600
• regionally significant highway projects regionally significant highway projects that<01:15:57.480

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:04:57.160> owner project owner project owner that<00:04:59.200> they<00:04:59.360><
• > the<00:32:00.320> contracting on each project and the contracting on each project and
• So it'd be just the road projects.
• road projects. road projects.
• the road projects. the road projects.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And 57% of the projects through 2025 were for homeownership projects, and 43% were for rental projects
• "And 57% of the projects through 2025 were for homeownership projects, and 43% were for rental projects
• You mentioned the 60% projects in Greater Minnesota, 40% projects in the metro.
• You mentioned the 60% projects in Greater Minnesota, 40% projects in the metro.
• projects and the number of dollars. projects and the number of dollars.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all