Transcript Highlights:

• One of the things that the mayor, the cities wanted to have all their budget data, I call it secret,
• cities wanted to have all their budget cities wanted to have all their budget data<00:38:00.040>
• the attorney general's office's budget the attorney general's office's budget the<00:47:44.599><
• <01:05:08.599> gear<01:05:09.000> so Obviously, we're in a budget year, so anything
• about people um to have secret databases about people um and<01:30:34.000> so<01:30:34.280>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, when we saw or we did see a sharp spike budget deficits, tax reform, geopolitical escalations
• statewide to also fund their down payment assistance program called the Certain states fund through state budget
• Mexico is in a role of limited oversight and is responsible for the following: authority, operational budget
• Operational budget: Each fiscal year, the Regional Housing Authorities are required to provide Section
• So at this point In those bills, those budget bills, you're seeing that they're still actively included

Transcript Highlights:

• county, and control your local budgets. county, and control your local budgets.
• The town budget cap language is exactly the same language currently in the school district budget cap
• locally adopt an optional town budget locally adopt an optional town budget cap<02:47:19.359>
• Budget caps are currently manner.
• A town to override the budget cap.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ><00:36:00.880> is<00:36:01.040> a<00:36:01.359> statewide<00:36:02.160> database
• <00:36:02.800> is ideally there is a statewide database is ideally there is a statewide database
• That always concerns me a bit, given that, you know, we sort of give them a budget to do a certain thing
• we sort of give given that, you know, we sort of give them<01:35:06.480> a<01:35:06.639> budget
• a<01:35:07.280> certain<01:35:07.440> thing<01:35:07.600> and them a budget

Bills: HF3650, HF2238

Keywords: student career pathways, education framework, experiential learning, employer engagement, career technical education, HF2238, Minnesota, workforce development, construction trades, youth skills training, youth apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, construction training, career and technical education, CTE, child labor laws, minor labor, labor exemption, workforce pipeline, skilled trades

Transcript Highlights:

• reader out of budget and tax. reader out of budget and tax.
• Budget and tax. >> I guess we're slackers. 115.
• the voting, we will also have capital budget. >> Capital after.
• Budget and tax. >> I guess we're slackers. 115.
• the voting, we will also have capital budget. >> Capital after.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 960, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened with an invocation, quorum call, and several introductions recognizing guests, including Reverend Jennifer Carsner and her daughter, President Kirk Schmoke, representatives from Maryland independent colleges and universities, students from Stevenson University, Howard and Anne Arundel counties, Washington College, a constituent, and the Greater Washington, D.C.-Maryland chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The chamber also adopted a resolution honoring Damatha Catholic High School for winning the 2025 WCAC football championship and another recognizing the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce on its 100th anniversary. Both resolutions were adopted unanimously after brief remarks and roll calls. The Senate then took up executive nominations, separating nominee 16 from the main report. The chamber voted 42 in favor on the remaining nominations and then 42 in favor on nominee 16, giving all nominees the Senate’s advice and consent. On third reading, the Senate passed several bills, including SB 46, SB 25, SB 58, SB 163, SB 170, SB 188, SB 247, SB 356, and SB 379, with recorded affirmative votes ranging from 36 to 42. These measures covered topics such as veterans cemeteries, tax credits and tax modifications, education funding, transportation revenue bonds, biotechnology incentives, a stillborn child tax credit, and recovery residence grant funding. The chamber also advanced numerous second-reading bills, generally adopting committee reports and amendments without objection. Among the measures discussed were collective bargaining for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission police officers; adoption of the 2022 Uniform Commercial Code amendments for controllable electronic records; cemetery sale and transfer oversight; an additional license for electronic smoking devices; collective bargaining for Baltimore County Public Library supervisory employees; payroll processor exemptions under the Money Transmission Act; scalp cooling coverage for chemotherapy patients; orthoses and prostheses coverage under health and Medicaid plans; an online database of elevator inspection certificates; service animal program disqualification standards; extension of the State Board of Environmental Health Specialists; disclosure of lapsed professional liability insurance for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and nurse midwives; and revisions to massage therapy licensure rules. Most reports were favorable, with several technical or substantive amendments adopted and bills ordered printed for third reading. A notable policy discussion occurred on SB 56, which would allow the Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center to share individual-level student and workforce data with a third-party data center for multi-state reporting. The sponsor explained the bill as a way to compare Maryland outcomes with other states while using data-sharing agreements and oversight to protect privacy; a minority whip raised concerns about the type of third-party data center and whether the practice was new. The sponsor said the bill was intended to formalize and safeguard data sharing, and noted a technical amendment would be offered to correct the amendment language.

Transcript Highlights:

• simple integration that will cost about $35,000, that will be funded out of the state government budget
• Various discussions between chairs have been taking place over whose budget this money would come out
• So the funding would not come out of our budget.
• We're going to be hearing our budget bill next week, so stay tuned.
• You know, I think as far as the budget, I mean, I think we all...

Bills: HF1367, HF2732, HF1897, HF1424, HF1383, HF2728, HF2863, HF1685, HF2929

Keywords: child maltreatment, child abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, human trafficking, child protection, local welfare agency, county social services, Minnesota Department of Human Services, judicial review, district court appeal, venue, out-of-state abuse, cross-border investigation, Minnesota child welfare, family assessment, maltreatment determination

Transcript Highlights:

• The Higher Education Budget Subcommittee will come to order. Connor, please call the roll.
• And then finally, I will say, in a tough budget year or a tightened budget year, we're not asking for
• We did that calculation with that total amount; it's about 2% of the higher education budget.
• We're a budget committee. We like numbers here. Numbers, numbers.
• Just briefly, again, as the Chair has mentioned, we're a budget committee, so numbers matter.

Summary: The Higher Education Budget Subcommittee heard and advanced House Bill 1145, which clarifies that public charter schools may participate in the CAP Grant Fund. The bill’s amendment expanded a separate “money-back guarantee” concept for state colleges, requiring participating institutions to offer six eligible programs and refund tuition if graduates do not find qualifying employment within six months under standardized job-search requirements. Members asked about refund rates, student notification, fiscal impact, and whether the proposal accounted for disability or out-of-state job searches. Public testimony on the amendment and bill was in support from Nathan Hoffman of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, and the committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute by a 16-1 vote, with Representative Aristide voting no over the charter school issue. The committee then received presentations on the William L. Boyd IV Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Grant and the private nonprofit college sector. Department of Education staff explained that EASE, created in 1979, provides tuition assistance to eligible full-time undergraduates at participating private institutions, with a 2024-25 maximum award of $3,500 and an additional EASE Plus incentive of up to $850 for students in high-demand fields. The department reviewed the program’s funding history, disbursement process, and accountability metrics, including access, affordability, graduation, retention, and postgraduate employment/continuing education. Members asked about award proration, eligibility for other aid, religious-program restrictions, and why some institutions had low or unavailable graduation-rate data. ICUF President Robert Boyd argued that EASE is a strong return on investment and described ICUF institutions as not-for-profit, four-year schools serving many Pell-eligible, adult, military, and minority students. He said the sector produces a significant share of Florida’s bachelor’s, graduate, nursing, and education degrees, and highlighted ICUF’s dashboard with additional transparency metrics, program earnings data, and net price calculators. Boyd and members discussed graduation and completion rates, NCLEX passage rates, affordability, institutional flexibility, and whether schools with lower graduation rates should be compared differently because of their student populations. The presentations ended with no further business, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:49:01.359> for<00:49:01.599> the<00:49:01.680> UI<00:49:02.079> database<
• /c><00:49:02.559> for<00:49:02.800> their database for the UI database for their database
• spend more than 3% of the gross budget spend more than 3% of the gross budget or<01:18:19.520>
• <01:18:54.480> So,<01:18:55.280> if what's in my budget.
• So, if what's in my budget.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:48:06.120> Favor database, and local commissions.
• Favor database, and local commissions.
• of<01:13:15.960> the<01:13:16.560> the<01:13:16.680> state<01:13:17.200> budget
• <01:13:17.880> So<01:13:18.000> move<01:13:18.120> the of the the state budget
• So move the of the the state budget.

Keywords: House streaming session for Saturday, March 21, 2026, 957, house, all

Summary: The House convened with 126 members present, heard the prayer, approved the previous day’s journal, and then took up a series of Senate messages and committee reports. Senate bills on consent calendars 21 and 22 were read the first time and referred to committees. The House then adopted favorable reports, often without amendment, on a wide range of bills including workers’ compensation evaluation procedures (HB 1325), a state shark designation (HB 97), several local alcoholic beverages measures, commemorative months for Muslim American Heritage and Jewish American Heritage (HB 661), and local license commissioner changes in Anne Arundel, Worcester, Harford, Baltimore City, and Prince George’s counties. Several bills were amended before being ordered printed for third reading. HB 121 (Baltimore County alcohol sales) was amended to change the sponsor to the Baltimore County delegation. HB 1335 on Department of Information Technology workforce recruitment and retention was amended to convert the measure into a study and recommendations report. HB 1037 on PSC oversight of broadband and VoIP was similarly amended from direct oversight to a study and report. HB 1164 on water and sewage rate consolidation and limited-income mechanisms was amended to remove rate-consolidation provisions, require a PSC study, and delay implementation. HB 1381 on stopping or parking in bike lanes added exceptions for emergency, transit, disability pickup/drop-off, disabled vehicles, loading/unloading, and construction or maintenance; HB 1504 prioritized sidewalk and bicycle pathway projects near highways with complete streets or Vision Zero policies; HB 912 adjusted community cat trap-neuter-return rules; and HB 969 clarified electric vehicle charging billing and service fees. The most extended debate centered on HB 639, the Transportation Aviation Passenger Health and Safety Act. After amendments turned it into a reporting measure for fixed-base operators and aviation service companies regarding flights carrying detained individuals, warrants, refueling, and emergency-response documentation, members questioned its practical operation, safety implications, and possible federal preemption issues. The floor leader explained the bill as amended was intended to gather information for Maryland safety and emergency planning. On motion of the committee chair, the House agreed to special order HB 639 until the end of the session for further clarification. The House also amended and advanced HB 1063 on hunting management, including deer damage permits and Sunday hunting rules, and heard a brief statement from an Eastern Shore delegate about the Rural Caucus’s approach to offering amendments rather than opposing bills outright. The session ended with HB 972, creating the Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund, amended to rename the bill in honor of the late Delegate Charles Otto and to replace lottery funding with an annual appropriation; the House adopted the amendments and the favorable report.

Transcript Highlights:

• So districts are now, you know, as they plan their budgets, have to be prepared to have a 5% increase
• <00:30:22.799> have<00:30:23.039> to<00:30:23.520> be as they plan their budgets
• have to be as they plan their budgets have to be prepared<00:30:24.159> to<00:30:24.399> have
• of any kind saying this was database of any kind saying this was done<01:32:30.560> on<01:32:
• Now, is specially designed instruction a database, or is that just pencil on a piece of paper?

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The commission held an organizational meeting under SB 57 to study the cost of special education, with the meeting streamed publicly at the chair’s request. Members introduced themselves, and the chair explained that the bill creates two separate pieces, one dealing with SAU structure and the other with a commission on special education costing. He outlined his background in education and special education and said the commission’s work would focus on understanding and controlling special education costs. The commission reviewed its membership requirements and noted several vacancies or unfilled appointments, including the special education advocate, two governor-appointed parent advocates, and a Department of Health and Human Services representative. The members then elected Representative Rick Ladd as chair, Representative Dick Ames as vice chair, and Representative Megan Murray as clerk. Representative Ames briefly described his legal and policy background in disability and special education work in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The chair then walked through the commission’s study topics, including referral rates by IDEA category, reasons for increases in categories such as autism and other health impairment, post-COVID referral trends, pre-referral interventions, Medicaid and 504-related costs, out-of-district placements, dispute resolution, billing practices, privacy, reimbursement, legal services, graduation rates, attendance, and adult learning. Members discussed how special education costs are distributed, noting that the state spends about $977 million annually on special education, with only part covered by state aid and the remainder largely borne by local districts. Testimony also noted that out-of-district placement costs have risen sharply since rate-setting changes around 2018, and that some categories may reflect changes in identification practices, medical factors, or broader population shifts. The commission agreed to continue reviewing the data and formulas in future meetings.

Transcript Highlights:

• year, and it needed to be brought in during the budget because it has some implications.
• And so it ended up dying on the table, and we're bringing it back so that now we're in a budget year,
• much revenue we receive to the state, so that's going to come into play when we're dealing with the budget
• Statewide where we establish a Statewide responsible<01:46:47.599> gaming<01:46:47.920> database
• gaming database so people can<01:46:49.560> exclude<01:46:49.960> out<01:46:50.520>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• that oversees the budget for education.
• on schools in terms of staff time, and we know staff are already stretched thin, and in terms of budgets
• , as we've been hearing lately, school budgets are stretched thin.
• And as a member of budget sub three I'm looking forward to hearing more about the budget conversation
• She explained that due to budget cuts, their district lacked a comprehensive health education. program

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We've heard that that is already affecting an already slashed budget. to cut my testimony.
• I will finally already slashed budget.
• , which is the New Hampshire database for criminal records. >> Thank you.
• c> the New Hampshire database for criminal the New Hampshire database for criminal records.<03:39:59.920
• that specifically states that the Department of Justice's budget allowance for the year.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:08:38.320> less a tiny part of our state budget less a tiny part of our state budget less
• to access a database and also just<00:14:09.279> a<00:14:09.440> couple<00:14:09.600><
• <00:21:19.640> SF183 supplemental agriculture budget.
• SF183 supplemental agriculture budget.
• the board in the governor's budget the board in the governor's budget recommendations,<00:59:43.599

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , and how you're going to start that, and what the budget that you're faced with is going to force you
• That was a lot of questions, but talk about that budget impact on your work. Do it. Thank you, Mr.
• How are you going to manage that without staff and without a budget? Yes. Mr.
• We have the budget here now. Yeah. money you need. We cannot do that.
• We have the budget here now. Yeah. Then it’s the fault is on ours. We have the budget here now.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• sunset reviews, and all of our work is directed by you, the legislature, through policy bills or budget
• show a picture of my daughter, and it can immediately pull up all the pictures that are in that database
• can show a picture of my daughter and it can immediately pull up all the pictures that are in that database

Summary: The committee began with a work session on the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee’s cannabis market study, presented by JLARC staff member Susanna Pratt. The report found Washington’s cannabis production in 2023 was likely two to three times higher than retail sales, with production estimated at 292,000 to 443,000 pounds of THC versus 139,000 pounds sold. Pratt explained that canopy data are inconsistent and that the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s traceability system is incomplete and unreliable, limiting data-driven regulation, tax verification, recall tracking, and diversion enforcement. JLARC recommended that LCB submit a plan by the end of 2025 for obtaining accurate licensee data by the end of 2026; LCB partially concurred and said a 2027 timeline may be more realistic. JLARC also concluded that the social equity producer licenses would likely have only a minimal effect on statewide production capacity, and suggested the legislature consider broader ways to increase equity in the industry. Members asked about the slow issuance of social equity licenses and about comparable traceability systems in other states. The committee then heard a series of presentations on fraud and scam prevention. Paul Benda of the American Bankers Association described the scale of fraud losses, the role of telecom spoofing, social media scam ads, SIM farms, and crypto ATMs, and argued for a shared-responsibility approach involving banks, telecoms, and platforms. Katie Clark of IQ Credit Union described member-to-member fraud, romance scams, and the operational and financial impacts on credit unions, and recommended better information sharing, safe harbors for returning scam-related funds, and stronger fraud education. Kyle Innes of SIFMA highlighted investor fraud and Washington’s 2009 report-and-hold law, which he said helped shape similar protections in most states, and emphasized the need for better communication among financial firms, APS, and law enforcement. Brian Gerard and Ali Higgs from the Department of Financial Institutions discussed “pig butchering” and other investment scams, focusing on how scammers build trust through social media, dating apps, fake websites, and crypto schemes before extracting funds. Across the fraud presentations, witnesses repeatedly stressed consumer education, interagency information sharing, and stronger controls on telecom, social media, and crypto ATM activity. Members asked about model laws from other states, the role of financial education in schools, and whether crypto ATMs should be regulated or banned. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• I know there's a lot of stuff that's not ...included in databases.
• I know there's a lot of stuff that's not included in databases.

Bills: SB237

Keywords: child welfare, Department of Children and Family Services, mandatory reporting, abuse prevention, investigative teams, child ombudsman, forensic interviews, confidentiality, 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• When it comes to the budget here, so it's just that it's an ongoing challenge that their budget remains
• come from voluntary reports and from other government reporting spaces, like the All Payer Claims Databases
• Madam Chair, Senator, the state All Payer Claims Database will show you Medicaid reimbursements for abortion

Bills: SB41, SB33, SB32, SB30

Keywords: sexual crimes, statute of limitations, criminal justice, victim rights, child abuse, individualized treatment, investigational treatment, health care, life-threatening illness, patient rights, physician recommendation, informed consent, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child protection, prosecution, crime amendments, SB30, induced abortion, abortion reporting

Transcript Highlights:

• , or would you prefer to get into the budget?
• We can move on to the budget. Let's dive in.
• <00:20:59.200> upgrades<00:21:00.000> and like uh database upgrades and like uh database
• these are the governor's budget these are the governor's budget recommendations<00:31:23.720>
• So those are the four budget proposals we have.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, this is a bill we heard previously that is relating to the denial of access to the database of dealer-issued
• But when you have aging, uh, deteriorating infrastructure, uh, at the cost that is beyond a county budget
• Commissioner Bailey, of course, has to be concerned about his taxes, his budget, representing his citizens
• , have to survive and they have to produce and they have to run their business with their private budgets

Bills: HCR 114, HB 137, HB 283, HB 1398, HB 1960, HB 2153, HB 2431, HB 2638, HB 2699, HB 2999, HB 3208, HB 3389, HB 3413, HB 3510, HB 3642, HB 3859, HB 3974, HB 3986, HB 4142, HB 4173, HB 4174, HB 4542, HB 4605, HB 4663, HB 4731, HB 5064, HB 5216, HB 5218, HB 5332, HB 5453, HB 5577

Keywords: memorial, pedestrian bridge, Houston, Sergio Ivan Rodriguez, city council, oversize vehicles, transportation permits, Hidalgo County, port authority, highway routes, healthcare, insurance, mental health, treatment access, state funding, transportation, axle weight, aggregates, regulations, Texas law