Transcript Highlights:

• Whether or not that was an over-calculation or an under-calculation, because there's no way to really monitor
• all been talking about with this vast amount of water they want to use, but somebody has to be monitoring
• Does everybody need to put monitoring wells on the edge of their property to figure out if there's...
• I mean, it's the groundwater district's job to monitor that groundwater.
• It's their job to monitor that and know what impacts people are feeling from their regulations, basically

Bills: HB24, HB27, HB24, HB27

Keywords: groundwater, conservation, water permits, sustainability, resource management, 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Still, uh, being remediated and, and, uh, you know, additional wells, monitoring wells and things like
• Uh, extraction and injection wells, uh, better real-time monitoring of what could be leaving the site
• I know some of these monitoring wells were millions of dollars, so, but they would say we're still trying
• to characterize it, to which a layman might go, Well, do you need more monitoring wells?
• been in and facilitating a greater pump and treat option, right, facilitating greater, greater monitoring

Transcript Highlights:

• Subgrants to local school districts for the purchase of new food equipment, including temperature monitoring
• Chair, Senator, so the on-the-ground impact is the stream gauge monitoring.
• So surface water monitoring work that is currently being carried out by that position will not get done
• The second project will construct four sets of paired wells, measuring shallow and deep, to monitor water
• During shallow and deep monitoring, the project will monitor water quality and groundwater levels in

Summary: The Emergency Board approved a series of consent federal grant applications from the Natural Resources and Public Safety subcommittees, along with several budget and position requests. The board approved grant applications for parks, transportation, judicial, emergency management, higher education, school nutrition, and other programs, including retroactive approvals where deadlines had passed. One member objected to the Natural Resources consent grants over concerns about future funding needs, but the motion still passed. The board also approved a one-time increase for Judicial Department court security, including digital privacy protections, circuit court security, and a statewide facilities assessment. A major discussion centered on Southern Oregon University’s financial stability. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission reported on SOU’s structural deficits, declining enrollment, and projected cash shortfall. The subcommittee recommended, and the board approved, allocating $7.5 million from the special appropriation for short-term stability, with a required update at the September 2026 Emergency Board meeting and a future request for the remaining funds. Members debated the broader crisis in higher education, with several saying SOU’s situation reflects systemwide enrollment and funding pressures and that long-term restructuring will be needed. The board also approved an AmeriCorps volunteer generation grant, an apprenticeship expansion grant, and a Department of Education nutrition equipment grant. In public safety, it approved funding for Oregon Military Department readiness facilities, a statewide evacuation planning tool, and a juvenile justice information system modernization report, while requiring a follow-up viability report. The Department of Justice received approval for additional antitrust positions and expenditure limitation, though several members raised concerns about the funding structure and incentives tied to settlement revenues; the motion passed despite objections. In natural resources, the board approved funding for the Water Resources Department’s well abandonment, repair and replacement grants, an assistant water master position in Washington County, groundwater data collection in the Lower Umatilla Basin, a wetlands remote sensing pilot, and parks-related grant applications for operations, maintenance, and capital improvements. Members generally supported the requests but raised concerns about geographic equity, long-term sustainability, and whether some county responsibilities were being shifted to the state. The meeting also included discussion of a Department of Emergency Management evacuation tool as an urgent wildfire preparedness measure, with members emphasizing its potential to save lives.

Transcript Highlights:

• please be aware that if a member is not sitting up here at the dais, they may be in the ante room monitoring
• Going back as far as 2020, the United States State Department concluded that CSSAs are used to monitor
• He cannot single-handedly direct the corporation to do something that he's constantly being monitored
• These agencies have their own requirements for disclosure, monitoring, and risk-based review.
• and oversight mechanisms that include certifications from researchers and institutions, ongoing monitoring

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

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

Transcript Highlights:

• If you're monitoring, if this machine software is monitoring a certain perimeter around the prison, is
• Is this software going to block it out or is it going to monitor it?
• Because my understanding was it was going to monitor it.
• Let me ask you: it is monitoring as well?
• I'm just concerned with how much we might gather or monitor information from people who are—who it's

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:

• If you're monitoring, if this machine software is monitoring a certain perimeter around the prison, is
• Is this software going to block it out, or is it going to monitor it?
• Because my understanding was it was going to monitor it.
• So, okay, let me ask you: it is monitoring as well.
• I'm just concerned with how much we might gather or monitor information from people who are... who, it's

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll need to keep working with them and monitor how those new contractors are providing granular data
• One area where we would like to see growth is in monitoring outcomes.
• This is just a yellow flag—something to monitor in the future.
• We'll also want to monitor how their programs are working, and to do this, we'll need to be looking at
• We have been looking at how many we're monitoring.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then finally, with respect to the suggestion about BSCC monitoring, while it is true Judicial Council
• So you believe that the BSCC has a better approach on monitoring evidence-based programs?
• So you believe that the BSCC has a better approach on monitoring evidence-based programs?
• So do you believe that there's enough monitoring going on, Francine, for evidence-based information to
• OES monitors and coordinates aspects of the response, tasks agencies, and facilitates the state’s mutual

Summary: The committee heard a broad public safety budget hearing focused on youth justice funding, probation incentive grants, and disaster response and recovery. On the youth justice item, the Office of Youth and Community Restoration described a proposed change to the JJRBG funding formula that would shift resources away from a DJJ-based measure and toward county youth population, serious offenses, and step-down placements in less restrictive programs. Members asked about data on Native American youth; OYCR said statewide data are limited, but its SYTF data show about 1% of youth in secure youth treatment facilities were Native in 2024. The Department of Finance had no objections, and the item was discussed as a way to support alternatives to long-term incarceration. The committee then reviewed the community corrections performance incentive program for county probation departments. The Department of Finance proposed stabilizing the program with a maintenance payment, updating the performance baseline, and adding a growth factor; the LAO agreed the formula needed changes but recommended using 2022-23 data instead of 2021-23, using marginal rather than average cost assumptions, rejecting the growth payment and minimum guarantee, and adding stronger oversight through the BSCC. Finance said it was open to some technical changes but opposed a new BSCC audit framework, noting Judicial Council already surveys probation departments and that evidence-based practice use has increased over time. Members and staff indicated the proposal still needed further work. A major portion of the hearing focused on the January 2025 Southern California wildfires and state disaster response. A resident of Altadena gave emotional testimony about evacuation failures, loss of home, and the need for accountability. LAO and Cal OES outlined the disaster response and recovery system, including mutual aid, alert and warning, debris removal, FEMA and state funding streams, and the long timeline for reimbursement. Cal OES said it had pre-positioned resources, temporarily took over the county’s wireless emergency alert function for about three weeks, coordinated debris removal and recovery operations, and had already allocated more than $286 million in state funds. Officials also discussed the 100% federal cost share for emergency work for 180 days and the uncertainty created by changing federal processes and the cancellation of the BRIC resilience program. The committee also heard two smaller Cal OES items: a request to reappropriate about $22 million for the law enforcement mutual aid reimbursement program, which the LAO said should be placed in statute with clearer goals and reporting, and an update on Victims of Crime Act funding, where Cal OES said federal VOCA allocations have fallen sharply and that roughly $224 million would be needed to maintain current service levels if federal funding does not improve. Public comment included a request for funding to expand datacasting and emergency alert receivers for wildfire and earthquake warning.

Transcript Highlights:

• The injection storage permits unit is currently staffed to issue permits and to perform monitoring and
• The agency has a critical need for experienced staff with specialized skill sets to monitor complex cleanups
• OK, so then, when you plug a well, do you have to monitor it afterwards, or is it just you plug it and
• But what I'm saying is, do you have to monitor it after you plug?
• operations along the border, or there's a permanent quarantine zone down along the border where we, um, monitor

Summary: The committee met with a quorum present to hear Article VI Natural Resources agency budget recommendations, beginning with the Railroad Commission. LBB staff summarized the commission’s 2026-27 base recommendation at $458.7 million, down from the prior biennium, with an increased FTE cap. The presentation highlighted reduced federal IIJA funding, volatility in oil and gas regulation account 5155, continued support for IT modernization, and rider changes. The commission’s major exceptional items were then presented, including requests for produced water and injection data reporting, an authorized pit registration system, regulatory filing/permitting upgrades, an underground injection well investigation team, site remediation support, and especially $100 million for orphan well plugging. Members asked about biennium-to-biennium comparisons, salary biennialization, the scale of orphan well risks, federal funding delays, bonding, and whether the state should rely more on industry or general revenue for plugging costs. Commission leadership explained that orphan wells can threaten water and public safety, that plugging costs have risen sharply, and that current funding is insufficient to keep up with emergency wells and the backlog; they also said the agency is moving to cloud-based systems with cybersecurity protections and that the proposed performance measure may need adjustment if funding does not increase. The Railroad Commission testimony was followed by LBB and agency testimony for the Texas Animal Health Commission. LBB described a $42 million recommendation for 2026-27, an increase overall, but with a reduced FTE cap due to turnover and salary reallocation. The recommendation maintained funding for cattle fever tick work, chronic wasting disease, lab testing through an MOU with Texas A&M’s veterinary diagnostic lab, and a new $5 million spay-and-neuter pilot program, while deleting a capital budget rider and adjusting riders tied to entry point inspection stations and clinical trials. Agency leadership then outlined the commission’s mission to protect livestock health and the state’s $22 billion animal industry, and described major disease threats including highly pathogenic avian influenza, cattle fever ticks, New World screwworm, and chronic wasting disease. Their exceptional items focused on recruiting and retaining veterinarians, replacing fleet vehicles, creating an ectoparasite identification lab, adding field staff and IT support, improving records and epidemiology reporting, strengthening central administration, supporting secure food supply planning, expanding chronic wasting disease work, and staffing the new spay-and-neuter program. Members asked about field identification of ticks, the use of disinfectants and PPE, fleet management, the scale of cattle fever tick risk, and chronic wasting disease; the agency explained its current inspection and lab-confirmation process, its reliance on field disinfecting and biosecurity, and the need for more staff and better data systems to keep pace with growing workloads and disease threats.

Transcript Highlights:

• On page 10, the Public Education Department has failed to monitor and ensure spending on at-risk students
• What we do know is that the department is monitoring how much is being spent.
• I think that, as to your point, we don't have a single unified entity that is overseeing that, monitoring
• when I look at section 22-2C-6 for mediation programs, I'm just wondering: is there someone who's monitoring
• Is there someone that's monitoring to make sure that these things are happening?

Transcript Highlights:

• We are continuing to monitor activity, hearing firsthand certainly from employers.
• The DOI monitors financial solvency.
• We've now actively used our monitoring capabilities to manage and monitor what is happening across the
• We've now actively used our monitoring capabilities to manage and monitor what is happening across the
• Real-time compliance monitoring will become more difficult.

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:

• ,<00:56:19.839> safety Follow-up and monitoring, safety monitoring, is very sparse.
• This is something that we will need to monitor, and I think we have to put in even in the October 2026
• We as a state and as representatives will need to be aware of that and monitor that, and make sure that
• <02:11:28.159> and monitor and monitor and I<02:11:30.000> think<02:11:30.079> we
• that and make sure that our monitor that and make sure that our um<02:12:23.599> state<02:12:

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee met as a special House committee on COVID response efficacy, noted absences, and restated its mission to review New Hampshire’s pandemic response, including federal guidance, federal funds, emergency use authorization vaccination efforts, long COVID treatment, patient bill of rights implementation, and vaccination policies. The main business was discussion of a proposed letter or report language concerning current COVID vaccine recommendations for young children, especially those under age two, and how to support any conclusions with cited scientific and state sources. Representative Polozov argued that the committee should ask the governor or agencies to reconsider current recommendations, saying the committee should focus on whether vaccination is needed for that age group, whether it is effective, and whether the risks outweigh the benefits. He said he had distributed articles and wanted the committee to pair its conclusions with scientific and statistical data. Other members asked him to identify the specific New Hampshire DHHS and American Academy of Pediatrics sources for the recommendation, clarify the age range being discussed, and separate any evidence about adverse effects in other age groups from the infant/toddler demographic so the letter would be transparent and not misleading. Members generally agreed the letter should be carefully sourced and refined, with citations for each claim. The chair said the committee would treat the request as urgent and try to finalize a version by the next meeting, noting that some members would be traveling. The committee also discussed scheduling additional testimony in September and October, possibly with extra meetings, to continue gathering evidence and to hear from witnesses. The chair then began reviewing supporting articles, including studies he said were new since the 2024 report, and introduced a 2025 South Korea cohort study and another 2025 Italian cohort study as examples of the evidence he wanted to incorporate into an updated 2026 report.

Transcript Highlights:

• that are in our footprint who have an opportunity to learn from those that have more resources to monitor
• <00:36:16.079> So compliance monitoring enforcement.
• So compliance monitoring enforcement.
• <00:37:26.400> and that have more resources to monitor and that have more resources to monitor
• this and and and share as we monitor this and and and share as we learn<01:20:11.280> to.

Bills: HF3296, HF3802

Keywords: energy conservation, data centers, electric sales, energy optimization, utility regulations, energy regulation, certificate of need, renewable energy, power production, energy efficiency, Minnesota statutes, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• to parents and professionals to monitor to parents and professionals to monitor progress<01:07:43.839
• the har we needless expose monitoring the har we needless expose their<01:20:33.000> kids<01:
• It might require monitoring to determine what contaminants are there and then, once those are found,
• It might require monitoring to determine what contaminants are there and then, once those are found,
• It might require monitoring to determine what contaminants are there and then, once those are found,

Bills: HF1124, HF1457, HF1803

Keywords: school calendar, education, school year, Labor Day, state law, school construction, landfill, dump site, closed landfill, contaminated site, pollution control agency, school siting, public school, charter school, environmental health, student safety, brownfield, solid waste, waste disposal site, site contamination

Transcript Highlights:

• uh these effects and how how we monitor uh these effects and how we<00:54:38.240> make<00:54:
• How is that being monitored or measured? Is that being shared with students?
• How is that being monitored or measured? Is that being shared with students?
• or measured is that that being monitored or measured is that being<01:20:37.080> shared<01:20
• going to change how you mon monitor going to change how you mon monitor research<01:47:07.960>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then if you can pay attention to this monitor on stage right, that’ll have the slide deck in box.
• We’re passing out the hard copies for you right now, but also will be available on your monitor to follow
• CHIA also collects and monitors provider financials to support market stability, and, as an example you
• provide a more complete financial picture of providers, which will improve the state's ability to monitor
• Seeing it recently has become possible through what's called automated adverse event monitoring.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard budget testimony from Department of Mental Health Commissioner Brooke Doyle, who said DMH serves about 29,000 people and is facing rising demand, higher operating costs, and uncertainty about federal funding. She explained that the FY26 budget prioritizes fully funding the state-operated inpatient system, which is at 100% occupancy and often serves people transferred from Bridgewater State Hospital, while making reductions in other areas to balance the budget. Those reductions include a 50% cut to case managers, a pause on closing the Pocasset unit pending a working group on Cape access, and changes to youth and contracted services such as right-sizing IRTP and CIRT, reducing Youth PACT from seven teams to three, scaling back flex and jail diversion grants as ARPA funds wind down, and preserving the behavioral health helpline and community-based crisis services. Members from Western Massachusetts and the Cape raised concerns about access, staffing, and the impact of cuts, and Doyle said the department would continue operating IRTP services, improve the referral process, and work with stakeholders on the Pocasset review and other access issues. The committee also discussed school-based mental health, 988, loan forgiveness for workforce recruitment, and the role of co-response programs for law enforcement. Secretary Robin Lipson then testified for the Executive Office of Aging and Independence, describing a proposed FY26 budget increase of about 21% to support councils on aging, home care, elder abuse investigations, caregiver support, care transitions, and nutrition programs. She said the agency is managing rising demand, especially from the growing 80-plus population, and noted uncertainty around federal Older Americans Act funding after the federal disbursement agency was disbanded. To control costs, the office will manage intake and caseload growth in a fully state-funded home care program, but current clients will not lose services. Lipson also highlighted a new $1 million line item for local mini-grants to support age-friendly initiatives. In questions, members focused on elder scams, and Lipson said scams are increasing and the agency is working with banks, district attorneys, and public awareness campaigns. The Health Policy Commission’s Executive Director David Seltz presented the agency’s FY26 request and said the biggest challenge is health care affordability, with family premiums near $29,000 annually and many residents delaying care because of cost. He emphasized that recent legislation significantly expands HPC’s role through a new Office of Pharmaceutical Policy and Analysis, which will examine the drug supply chain and pricing, and a new Office of Health Resource Planning, which will support statewide planning around closures and access gaps. The new law also creates task forces on maternal health access and primary care, and adds transparency and oversight for private equity in health care. Members asked about pharmaceutical costs, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, 340B, and maternal health closures; Seltz said the data show rapid growth in GLP-1 spending and that the new offices will help the state better understand cost drivers and access problems. The Center for Health Information and Analysis then began its testimony, describing its role as the state’s data hub for health care spending, utilization, quality, and affordability analysis.

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, identity monitoring that Norton LifeLock charges, I think, $40 a month for, and one of our
• members charges $9 a month for a suite of services that includes both EWA and identity monitoring. monitoring
• We have a number of other services that are free, including free credit monitoring and free account monitoring
• We offer free credit monitoring. We offer free account monitoring. So if you...

Bills: HB1453, HB1718, HB2043, HB2207, HB2798

Keywords: local governments, anticipation notes, certificates of obligation, public works, flood control, financial management, local government, municipal financing, private activity bonds, closing definition, real estate finance, bond issuance, government regulation, bond election, general obligation bonds, GO bonds, political subdivision, city bonds, county bonds, school district bonds

Transcript Highlights:

• an integrated, highly effective, and well-researched approach to performing early screening and monitoring
• an integrated, highly effective, and well-researched approach to performing early screening and monitoring
• It does this with the assistance of a registry tool that monitors and tracks the patients' progress.
• <00:10:43.800> that assistance of a registry tool that assistance of a registry tool that monitors
• and tracks the patients monitors and tracks the patients progress<00:10:46.959> the<00:10:47.079

Bills: HF958, HF688, HF702

Keywords: mental health, behavioral health, psychiatric care, collaborative care model, healthcare funding, service dog, service animal, service dog in training, assistance dog, guide dog, disability rights, housing accommodations, fair housing, landlord, rental housing, homeowners association, HOA, Minnesota human services, accessible housing, reasonable accommodation

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:39:33.359> for groundwater and rainfall monitoring for groundwater and rainfall monitoring
• <00:39:45.040> six joint funding agreement to monitor six joint funding agreement to monitor
• <00:40:53.480> well 26 and 27 for deep monitoring well 26 and 27 for deep monitoring well
• <04:28:44.720> Wells uh represent where new monitoring Wells uh represent where new monitoring
• <04:28:53.960> the monitor the monitor the situation<04:28:56.960> uh<04:28:57.080>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We do a lot of monitoring trying to check on those numbers.
• do<00:24:38.360> a<00:24:38.440> lot<00:24:38.520> of<00:24:38.600> monitoring
• talking about we do a lot of monitoring talking about we do a lot of monitoring through<00:24:39.360
• <00:24:45.360> trying<00:24:45.600> to we do a lot of monitoring trying to we do a
• lot of monitoring trying to check<00:24:45.919> on<00:24:46.080> those<00:24:46.399>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education and Workforce Development received a presentation from Kentucky Department of Education officials on the final SEEK estimate for fiscal year 2025. Commissioner Robbie Fletcher, Matt Ross, and Chay Ritter explained that SEEK is developed through a consensus process with the Office of the State Budget Director using multiple models and district-level inputs, and that the estimate is a projection made well before actual data are available. They emphasized that the discussion was separate from the pending education-funding lawsuit and described SEEK as one part of a much larger K-12 budget picture. The presenters said the current SEEK estimate shows a statutory shortfall of about $14.7 million, or roughly 0.53% of the appropriation, with additional optional items that could bring the total to about $40.5 million if funds are available. They noted that prior years have sometimes produced excess funds, which are redirected according to budget language rather than automatically flowing back through SEEK. They also reviewed the main drivers of the estimate, including property assessments, average daily attendance, free lunch counts, exceptional child counts, home hospital, and limited English proficiency, and said property assessments have been especially volatile while exceptional child counts and ELL populations are difficult to predict. Members asked about why the estimate missed on some categories, especially special education and ELL, and whether district-level changes were being monitored closely enough. The presenters said KDE does monitor special education counts and will review larger districts and districts with unusual growth, and they acknowledged that exceptional child growth has been hard to forecast. Representative Bojanowski asked about the Cloverport virtual school, and staff said its growth was much larger than projected and accounted for a significant portion of the shortfall. Members also discussed the impact of property value growth, population shifts, illness, and legislative changes on SEEK projections. No vote or formal action was taken, and the meeting ended after questions and discussion.