Transcript Highlights:

• <00:15:52.120> and every other program in the budget and every other program in the budget
• Well, but they're in the budget.
• house bill one entirely so their budget house bill one entirely so their budget is<01:21:20.159>
• one that’s in process currently.
• ’s budget, as far as I understand.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Division 2 Finance Committee work session focused primarily on House Bill 115 and a proposed amendment, 114H, which would carry over language from HB 2 into HB 115 and place limits on Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs). Representative Murray described the amendment as a way to keep the 350% federal poverty eligibility cap, require students to have attended a charter public school in grades K-12 for the preceding year before entering the voucher system, and add guardrails against universal eligibility. She argued the state was facing a severe budget crisis, that expanding EFAs would divert money from other programs, and that public testimony and local votes showed widespread opposition to expansion. She also cited a letter from former Finance chair Neil Kirk opposing expansion. Other members responded that the committee should not revisit policy already decided by the House, though some said the amendment was fair to discuss because of its fiscal implications and supported it on that basis. The discussion then broadened into a debate over the fiscal impact of universal vouchers and the reliability of enrollment and cost estimates. Representative Luno argued that prior EFA projections had relied on assumptions that could badly underestimate state exposure, pointing to Arizona as a cautionary example and saying New Hampshire should not expand the program without better analysis. Representative Papovich similarly warned that universal eligibility could create a large, unexpected cost, estimating a potential exposure of about $285 million based on school-age children not currently in public, charter, or EFA programs. In contrast, Representative Weyler said EFAs can save money because public school spending is already high and parents using EFAs still pay taxes and take on more responsibility for their children’s education. After discussion, Representative Murray moved to accept the amendment, and Representative Bean seconded it. There was some procedural clarification about voting on the original bill and the amendment. The transcript ends before a final recorded vote on the amendment or on HB 115 itself, though the committee had also been told it would likely reconsider several retained bills later in the week, including HB 129, HB 133, HB 671, and HB 781.

Transcript Highlights:

• We knew during the budget negotiations.
• There is funding in the budget agreement There is funding in the budget agreement uh<00:09:24.400>
• more uh should we have uh budget more uh should we have uh budget surpluses<00:14:14.200> uh<
• So, budget reality shaped the it.
• reserve fund from the budget reserves. reserve fund from the budget reserves.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House leaders and members discussed a budget agreement centered on preserving Hennepin County Medical Center, with speakers saying the deal provides $705 million total for HCMC and related hospital support. They said $205 million would go directly and exclusively to HCMC, with a $500 million reserve fund available next summer for hospitals meeting narrow eligibility criteria tied to medical assistance and uncompensated care, plus a $30 million uncompensated care fund and increased Medicaid rates for critical access hospitals. They also said the agreement includes a task force to develop a long-term solution for HCMC and new governance provisions, including a professional hospital board, mediation requirements, and continued reporting on public dollars. The leaders also highlighted other parts of the budget deal, including $1.2 billion in bonding for infrastructure, $125 million for a homestead tax refund that would increase the homestead credit by 12% for qualifying homeowners, and $75 million for county IT modernization with additional ongoing funding and a possible future surplus allocation. They said the agreement preserves three-month Medicaid retroactive coverage for one year despite federal changes, provides $10 million for food banks and food shelves, and includes $12.5 million for school-linked mental health grants, $3.8 million for mobile crisis grants, and $5 million for anonymous threat reporting systems in public and private schools. Members also said the deal does not change existing law on the ballpark tax, which remains tied to Target Field bonds and other statutory obligations, and that NLX and Blue Line transit funding would only redirect to reserve accounts if those projects do not move forward. They said the agreement also includes memorial provisions for former Speaker Melissa Hortman, including a $200,000 appropriation to Helping Paws, renaming Highway 610 as the Hortman Memorial Highway, a memorial garden, and a work group on a Capitol complex state park proposal. In response to questions, leaders said they were frustrated that comprehensive gun violence prevention and some other issues were not included, and they said the session would end with an orderly finish after several long days of final work.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, I I would agree budget proposals.
• It is a not just a budget decision.
• The process that we're remarks.
• <01:05:01.920> I through that process a little bit? I through that process a little bit?
• Budget cycle.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The conference committee met late on Friday evening to discuss the Public Safety and Judiciary budget agreement, beginning with a brief exchange among members about concerns that the executive branch had been delaying the committee’s work by waiting to approve legislative decisions. Members emphasized that the legislature should retain its independence while still allowing normal collaboration with the governor’s office. The committee then moved through several outstanding policy items and adopted them without opposition, including the A38 amendment addressing data-sharing concerns involving disability-related information, a study of firefighting services by the state fire marshal, and an A46 amendment governing access to unredacted portable recording system data in collision investigations, with guardrails on disclosure and use. The committee next reviewed the spreadsheet and budget targets. Fiscal staff explained the judiciary side of the agreement, including funding for court operating costs, a one-time Justice Partner Access Program appropriation, forensic exam rate increases, guardian ad litem funding, public defense, human rights, the competency attainment board, the cannabis expungement board, and fee increases for civil filings and motions. On the public safety side, staff described the target as well as the discretionary items funded, including nonprofit security grants, BCA staffing changes, fire marshal initiatives, a 10-year arson statute of limitations, prosecutor training grants, legal representation for children, E911 funding for critical infrastructure, Philando Castile Training Fund support, corrections-related savings from the Stillwater phased closure and sentence-to-serve elimination, a mandatory minimums task force, a victims of crime account transfer, a decommissioning study, in-service use-of-force training, and extensions of several expiring appropriations. The committee also noted a correction to a spreadsheet label related to the Stillwater closure item. After the spreadsheet walkthrough, the committee took testimony from Chief Justice Natalie Hudson and State Court Administrator Jeff Shorban on behalf of the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Hudson thanked the committee for its work and said the agreement covers some unavoidable costs, including insurance, lease expenses, forensic examiner pay, and the new access system, but argued it does not adequately address the judiciary’s most urgent problem: staffing and judicial compensation. She said court employees are leaving for better-paying jobs, judicial salaries are frozen for two years, and applicant pools for judgeships have declined, especially in greater Minnesota. She also said the judicial branch was not meaningfully consulted on the budget target and urged lawmakers to recognize the courts as a constitutional obligation rather than a discretionary program.

Transcript Highlights:

• 43.680> consistent<00:10:44.240> processing whole the lack of consistent processing whole
• comply with application processing comply with application processing timelines<00:11:58.200>
• So right now applications are still being processed in the, uh, they're still being processed in the,
• So right now applications are still being processed in the, uh, they're still being processed in the,
• So right now applications are still being processed in the, uh, they're still being processed in the,

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If it's within the budget, then I would urge us to try to use the budget for the Department of Corrections
• We're an increase in their budget.
• I am against the process. Does that make sense? He does. These issues. I am against the process.
• I know that there's two budgets.
• There's this budget here, and then there is the local county budget.

Summary: The committee first received a report on the executive protection detail, which was filed without questions. Members were then given a long advance list of House and Senate bills ready for consideration, followed by several amendment requests from agencies. The committee adopted amendments for the Auditor of State to increase special deputy expense allowance, the Administrative Office of the Courts for court interpreters and substitute court reporters, and several other items including local sales tax refunds, county property tax redistribution, and local law enforcement funding. It also held one amendment on House Bill 1034 and moved a Northwest Arkansas Community College cash fund increase tied to tornado-related campus repairs. The committee then considered a series of member amendments and appropriation items, including increases for the Public Defender Commission and deputy prosecuting attorneys to cover higher bar license fees, and a $12 million federal appropriation-only item. A lengthy discussion followed on a proposal from Senator Wallace and Representative Tosh to fund a pilot program for prison cell-phone detection/jamming technology at two correctional facilities. Sponsors and Department of Corrections officials said the system would target illegal contraband phones, would be procured through an RFP, and would be a two-year pilot; members raised questions about legality, cost, scope, data, and whether the department should use existing budget authority. The committee ultimately advanced the item by motion. The committee also took up an amendment from Senator Caldwell for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, seeking a $4 million appropriation increase. Testimony emphasized that the division’s extension offices and research functions are underfunded, that salaries are not competitive, and that the request would help with staffing and flexibility; other members questioned why the division needed more appropriation authority when it already had room under current limits and noted that the request exceeded the higher education board’s recommendation. The amendment was adopted after extended debate. Finally, the committee began acting on governor’s letters, adopting amendments for a $150 million increase to the homestead property tax credit, a $23,000 reallocation for the Insurance Department’s conference costs, $100,000 for property appraisal review work, $1.5 million for career and technical education professional development, $300,000 for DFA regulatory federal spending, $5 million for Inspector General fraud investigations, a consolidation of appraiser/abstractor/home inspector appropriations, deletion of a completed Fort Chaffee readiness center appropriation, and a revised reappropriation for corrections capital projects that would add special language restricting use of the $73.7 million prison-expansion reappropriation. The committee also heard a summary of a supplemental appropriations package involving fund transfers for pregnancy resource centers, senior centers, assistance grants, used tires, and UAMS pregnancy/stroke programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• budget resolution labeled BUD S02. budget resolution labeled BUD S02.
• budget resolution. budget resolution.
• aside from the uh finance budget bills. aside from the uh finance budget bills.
• Bud Res 2, the House budget resolution. Bud Res 2, the House budget resolution.
• The budget resolution is Thank you. The budget resolution is passed. passed. passed.

Bills: HF601

Keywords: agriculture, depredation compensation, livestock, crop damage, elk, wolves, wildlife management, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• That is not a household budget.
• And it's not a political process.
• And it's not a political process.
• Thank you. seeing local budgets, local government budgets soar.
• We're not telling them how this whole process, the phased-in process, is going to work.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, thank you to our budget chair.
• We did not look at the, again, CARB doesn't play a role in the budget process and dedicating budget funds
• We did not look at the, again, the CARB doesn't play a role in the budget process and dedicating budget
• The revenue is invested through the annual budget process, and the utility bill rebates are sent back
• You are not in charge of the budget.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Environmental Quality Committee and Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 2 held a joint hearing on CARB’s proposed amendments to the cap-and-invest regulations. Opening remarks from senators emphasized the 2025 reauthorization of the program through AB 1207 and SB 840, and focused on whether CARB’s April revisions faithfully implement legislative intent while balancing climate ambition, affordability, leakage prevention, and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). Several senators raised concerns that the proposal could reduce GGRF revenues, weaken funding for transit, affordable housing, wildfire prevention, drinking water, and other community programs, and shift too much support toward industry. Others stressed the need to protect businesses and consumers from higher costs and to avoid leakage and refinery closures. Senator Cortese’s statement, read into the record, warned that the proposal could jeopardize transportation funding commitments. CARB Chair Lauren Sanchez said the amendments respond to legislative direction and public comment, and described four main changes: increased electric bill credits, a larger manufacturing decarbonization incentive (MDI), additional compliance support for industry, and removal of post-2030 allowance allocations from the current rulemaking. She said the proposal keeps the cap aligned with 2030 and 2045 targets, maintains affordability protections, and is intended to reduce emissions while minimizing leakage and supporting in-state jobs. CARB staff also said the MDI would have guardrails, require applications and reporting, and be tied to emissions-reducing facility upgrades. The Department of Finance explained that GGRF revenue estimates are highly uncertain and are updated periodically based on auction data. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the amendments are significant and could materially affect environmental ambition, industry support, utility credits, and GGRF revenues. LAO highlighted that the MDI could add allowances above the cap, potentially reducing certainty that 2030 targets will be met, and noted that the proposal appears to shift more allowances to industry and fewer to GGRF than current regulations. LAO also said the proposed GGRF estimate of about $8 billion through the decade could be insufficient to fully fund lower-priority tiers of programs. In questioning, senators pressed CARB on whether the proposal would raise consumer costs, whether free allowances or MDI funds would actually lower prices at the pump, how leakage is measured, and whether the Legislature’s budget assumptions would need to be revised before final action. No votes were taken during the hearing; the discussion was informational and focused on questioning CARB and fiscal staff ahead of the board’s planned May 28 consideration of the amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• In the three-year budget window, the Governor's budget shows an increase of about $7.5 billion.
• , and the repayment of the deferrals as proposed in the governor's budget for the 2024-25 budget and
• the 2025-26 budget.
• budget.
• There aren't any increases or payment deferrals proposed under the Governor's budget. budget.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• operating budget.
• process in 2022.
• MMB found the process process in 2022.
• would like to see the process continue. would like to see the process continue.
• challenge appeal process in two ways. challenge appeal process in two ways.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, within our budget rules, which this committee approved a year ago, uh budget rule G3B states that
• So, within our budget rules, which this committee approved a year ago, uh budget rule G3B states that
• So, within our budget rules, which this committee approved a year ago, uh budget rule G3B states that
• So, within our budget rules, which this committee approved a year ago, uh budget rule G3B states that
• If there is someone here from DNR. >> Yes. process. If there is someone here from process.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, today I'll walk you through the capital budget process, the governor's infrastructure plan and the
• Uh, today I'll walk you through the capital budget process, the governor's infrastructure plan and the
• Uh, first we'll talk about the capital budget process that MMB facilitates.
• budget process that MMB facilitates. budget process that MMB facilitates.
• so in uh 20 for the 2026 capital budget so in uh 20 for the 2026 capital budget in<00:04:13.519>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• or the executive budget?
• When they said that they did this within the budget, they did not do that within the budget.
• And then the budget.
• That's the process I've known for years. They pointed out that I can request it in our budget.
• I am really frustrated, I guess, through this process of how this budget has gone and appropriations

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee took up Senate Bill 2025, the Veterans Home/Veterans Affairs budget, and worked through the long sheet line by line. Members discussed base payroll, salary and health insurance increases, FTE pool adjustments, IT rate increases, operating expenses, transportation grants, the PTSD service dog program, salary equity requests, temporary help/intern funding, a Veterans Benefit Specialist FTE, accrued leave, and several one-time or carryover items including the Fisher House, document scanning, and veterans medical transportation. The committee also reviewed proposed policy language that would shift governance authority for the Veterans Home and Department of Veterans Affairs from the Administrative Committee on Veterans Affairs to the governor, and would remove board authority over salary-setting and related hiring powers. A major portion of the meeting focused on clarifying the commissioner salary equity line and how the agency had shifted operating dollars to fund the commissioner’s current salary increase. After discussion with agency staff and Lonnie, the committee voted to remove the separate commissioner salary equity increase line and instead restore operating funding, ultimately setting the operating line at $50,000 above the prior amount rather than fully funding the executive request. The committee also approved funding for the Veterans Benefit Specialist FTE, approved a carryforward/exemption for accrued leave, approved authority to accept $200,000 in federal transportation grant funds, approved the $500,000 transfers related to veterans homelessness, and approved the exemption language for certain federal/state fiscal recovery funds after discussing whether the funds were properly obligated. On the governance amendment, members expressed concern about making a major policy change in an appropriations bill, but also frustration over the board’s salary actions. After debate, the committee adopted the amendment transferring governance authority to the governor by a 7-1 vote. The committee also approved a smaller amount for veteran service officer salary equity than requested, and rejected funding for temporary salaries and an intern. The chair then directed staff to prepare the amended bill for further action, with the committee planning to revisit it once the revised version was ready.

Transcript Highlights:

• made in the process.
• In our budget, 41% of our total budget in the general fund is payroll for police and firefighters.
• their budget from going from 3.5 to 10. 2.5.
• to 50% of our budget, that's 2.5%.
• Our numbers, as we're looking at this year's budget versus what's being proposed for next year's budget

Bills: HB17, HB23, SB 10

Keywords: property tax, school funding, enrollment changes, inflation adjustment, tax rate notice, property tax exemption, ad valorem tax, Texas Tax Code, nonprofit corporation, charitable organization, educational nonprofit, scientific nonprofit, agriculture support, youth programs, community education, county population threshold, large county, local government revenue, leasehold interest, possessory interest

Transcript Highlights:

• that the two positions would continue on through the normal budget process for each fiscal biennium,
• <00:53:24.319> process<00:53:24.640> for<00:53:24.880> each the normal budget
• process for each the normal budget process for each fiscal<00:53:25.440> bienium<00:53:26.480
• tourism office from our budgeting tourism office from our budgeting process?
• So, as was just mentioned, uh, we are in the process of revising our budget to submit to the federal

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Through the budget process, they invited the committee to come in and talk with them about what they
• They said that through the budget process, the committee could come in and talk with them about what
• > process<00:14:48.720> if<00:14:48.959> you and through the budget process if you
• and through the budget process if you want<00:14:49.199> to<00:14:49.360> come<00:14:49.440
• <00:18:10.320> is you do when your your state budget is you do when your your state budget

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first approved the March 21 minutes and then took up a consent calendar, withdrawing several items before adopting the remainder. It also moved item FIS 25103 to the table by a 6-4 vote after Senator Gray argued the Executive Council had not yet acted on a prior $5 million approval and that the committee should avoid adding to the rainy day fund draw. The committee then approved item 25106 for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources/State Library after hearing that the department expected about a $400,000 lapse to return to the state. A major discussion centered on New Hampshire Police Standards and Training (item 2577). Senator Gray questioned whether a proposed equipment purchase could be delayed to the next biennium in light of the state’s deficit and rainy day fund use. The agency said the equipment was needed now for scenario training, vendors had already been identified, and delaying would likely increase costs and force continued reliance on unpaid volunteer help. The committee ultimately approved the item. The committee also approved Department of Energy item 2587 after hearing that federal weatherization funds are drawn down on a reimbursement basis, and item 2588 after similar testimony that weatherization work must be completed and inspected before reimbursement, limiting how quickly funds can be expended. Item 250094 had been withdrawn. Later, the committee discussed Senator Carson’s request for an LBA review of the YDC claims settlement fund, with members expressing concern about administrative costs, attorney fees, settlement-loan payoffs, and the need for more detailed reporting. The committee voted to direct LBA to conduct the audit described in Senator Carson’s memo, with the additional request that the review include the term over which attorney fees are paid. The meeting then moved on to an HHS staff item, where members began questioning the timing of dashboard data and reporting delays.

Transcript Highlights:

• Districts have nothing to do with the appraisal process.
• They're not involved in that process. That's correct.
• But if they protest, what is the process after that?
• Is that the process?
• I imagine your role as bills move through this process.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We were able to do that last year, or 2 years ago, through the budgeting process, as we have continued
• since 2018, billions of the taxpayers' ... the budgeting process. the budgeting process.
• budgets and our business budgets. budgets and our business budgets.
• <00:43:21.280> process, budgeting process, budgeting process, pouring, pouring, pouring, as<00
• the process here. the process here.

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For new members to this committee that have not been through this process with DHHS's budget, there's
• <01:12:50.760> into we start to dig in the budget into we start to dig in the budget into
• Yes, through the Medicaid budget. Yes, yes, yes, through the Medicaid budget.
• Yes, through the Medicaid budget. Yes, yes, yes, through the Medicaid budget.
• <01:35:09.800> I budget and the Glen Cliff home budget I budget and the Glen Cliff home budget

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The meeting began as a Division 3 work session on HB 71, but much of the early discussion focused on whether a previously discussed non-germane amendment could be considered or voted on that day. Members and the chair debated process and notice requirements, and the clerk’s guidance was that the amendment needed a separate public hearing before the full Finance Committee. The amendment was described as requiring DHHS contracts and addenda to include compliance with the Patient Bill of Rights, with a repeal date so the requirement would expire on November 30, 2026. The motion to move OTP on HB 71 with the amendment was withdrawn, and the committee agreed the amendment would be scheduled for a future full Finance hearing instead. The committee then turned to HB 71 itself and heard testimony from DHHS representatives John Williams and Jenny O’Higgins on the fiscal note and policy implications. Members questioned the estimate that the bill could put $12 million to $18 million per year in federal funding at risk, including HUD and Office of Refugee Resettlement funds. DHHS explained that the estimate was based on a broad reading of the bill’s term “specified alien,” which they said was not clearly defined in the bill, so they analyzed it using the federal definition of “alien” and assumed the bill could affect lawfully present non-citizens as well as undocumented individuals. They said the figure represented a worst-case scenario and that they were not claiming the loss was certain. Members also pressed DHHS on whether the bill could affect emergency sheltering in schools, public academies, or institutions of higher learning during disasters. DHHS said the language could create conflicts with federal funding conditions because emergency shelter programs generally cannot impose barriers on who may be sheltered, and they warned that excluding certain people could affect refugee-related and HUD funding. Questions were raised about whether the bill’s language would apply to private institutions as well as public ones, and whether the state could still use schools in short-term emergencies. DHHS said the language was broad, that they could not answer every legal question definitively, and that they would need input from public health and legal staff. No final vote on HB 71 was taken in the portion provided; the committee remained in discussion/work session mode after the amendment motion was withdrawn.

Transcript Highlights:

• I know that this budget reflects a decrease in funding to the soldiers' homes and the House 1 budget.
• We have to balance a budget.
• We're in the process right now.
• Specific budget items that speak to our budget. thousand four hundred individuals specific budget items
• Governor Healey’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposes a budget of $93.7 million, a $6.8 million increase

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing opened with remarks from Senate Chair Robyn Kennedy and House Chair Chynah Tyler, who emphasized that the fiscal year 2026 hearing was focused on the Health and Human Services budget, asked members to keep questions budget-related, and noted that no public testimony would be taken. They also highlighted the choice of Doherty Memorial High School as the venue to showcase Worcester’s investment in career and technical education. Committee members then introduced themselves before the first panel, the Executive Office of Veterans Services and the state veterans homes, began testimony. Secretary John Santiago said the governor’s FY26 proposal would support implementation of the HERO Act, which he said is now about 95% implemented, including higher disabled veteran annuities, expanded behavioral health benefits, and other service expansions. He described efforts to reduce veteran homelessness, including nearly $20 million in ARPA-funded housing and outreach initiatives, and said the agency has delivered more than 100,000 supportive services to nearly 8,500 veterans. Leaders from the Chelsea and Holyoke veterans homes reported on staffing, quality measures, electronic medical records, and major construction projects at both facilities, including a new Chelsea campus and the new Holyoke home. Members asked about funding transfers, geographic equity in access to the homes, outreach to women veterans and veterans of color, suicide prevention, Gold Star family support, and the impact of federal uncertainty; Santiago said the homes are now licensed and certified, that the current budget is sufficient, and that the agency is expanding engagement and data collection. The second panel, the Office of the Veteran Advocate, testified that its FY26 request is about $3.3 million, up from the current $2 million, to cover staffing, a larger office, and higher technology costs. Veteran Advocate Bob Notch said the office is a new independent oversight agency created in 2022 to examine systems, coordinate with local veteran service officers, and investigate fatalities or serious harm involving veterans in state care. He said the office’s work depends on research, data, and collaboration with other agencies, and that current funding is only enough for minimum operations. In response to questions, Notch and Deputy Commissioner David O’Callaghan discussed the difficulty of tracking veteran suicides, the need for better data across agencies, and the office’s role as an oversight body rather than a direct service provider. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.