Transcript Highlights:

• Continues unstable spending levels, provides insufficient funding for Prop 36, provides no additional
• funding for Prop 36.
• And not only are you not really funding it, we even reduced what the funding was to begin with.
• Some of this funding.
• Not because of what's not funded, when we're looking at Prop 36, but because what is funded.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As you know, the PERA fund, which is our largest fund, gives you a breakdown of our funding ratio over
• With the money coming in, that fund will never be fully funded.
• But until we're fully funding that benefit, we're going to continue to be underfunded, continuing to
• They both have a title: funded ratio for the PERA fund.
• So, we're making improvement, but that funded liability will continue to grow.

Transcript Highlights:

• WE SHARED OUR COMMITMENT TO CONTINUING TO USE THOSE NON-DEPLOYMENT ACTIVITIES WITH THE FUNDING WE WILL
• IT IS FUNDED THROUGH THE LOCAL COMMUNICATION SERVICE TAX.
• THE TOTALS I HAVE FOR THE TWO BROADBAND OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM FUNDS, THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND AND AGAIN
• YOU FUNDED IT WITH $400 MILLION.
• WE WILL HAVE AVAILABLE TO CONTINUE THOSE EFFORTS .

Transcript Highlights:

• to fund election administration.
• On page 17, The funding for the statewide election fund is provided as a reimbursement, so the fund may
• We did receive a minimal amount of additional federal funding and the continuing resolution that passed
• You know, let's continue with the election fund, and I'm fine to have the bill rewritten.
• So I just want to point out that you have to be fully funded. We have to fully fund.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so these funds are used to a drastic motion. and VOCA funds appropriated.
• VOCA funding.
• We have funding history.
• We have funding history.
• Continue. Thank you.

Summary: The committee met to hear an overview of the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice budget area and then received performance-measure presentations from the Department of Corrections, the Commission on Offender Review, and the Department of Juvenile Justice. Staff reviewed the roughly $7.4 billion criminal justice and judiciary budget, noting major funding areas such as corrections, law enforcement, victim services, courts, and due process, along with recent investments in prison health care, security equipment, fentanyl enforcement, court staffing, and juvenile justice salaries and education programs. Secretary Dixon of the Department of Corrections described staffing and population pressures, including growth in inmate population, overtime-driven deficits, and the opening of additional housing units. He emphasized the department’s use of performance measures and highlighted reforms such as incentivized prisons, administrative management units, reentry planning, faith-based programs, and expanded education and vocational training. Members asked about teacher hiring, public defender pay parity, fentanyl funding, staffing capacity, and the role of the National Guard; Dixon said teacher vacancies had improved, public defenders had received comparable pay increases, fentanyl funding would be addressed further by FDLE, and the Guard had helped stabilize staffing. The Commission on Offender Review reported on parole, conditional release, addiction recovery supervision, and revocations, saying its recidivism/success rates had improved over a three-year measurement period. Senator Rouson pressed the commission on clemency and pardons, saying that work was omitted from the presentation and asking for backlog and case data; the commission said it did not have those figures on hand and would follow up. The committee also discussed a conditional medical release pilot study, and members questioned the report’s conclusion that no suitable elderly inmate population could be identified, asking what criteria were used and whether stakeholders were consulted. Secretary Hall of the Department of Juvenile Justice outlined the agency’s prevention-to-residential continuum and its emphasis on education, data-driven decision-making, and evidence-based programming. He said salary increases had reduced vacancies, juvenile arrests and residential commitments had fallen sharply over time, and tools such as civil citations, risk assessments, and quality-improvement reviews were being used to guide placements and services. Hall also described the department’s use of dashboards, monthly data check-ins, and the dispositional matrix to improve outcomes and reduce recidivism.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're going to continue that effort by learning more about workforce education funding.
• Now, of course, none of this would be possible without robust funding, the largest category of funding
• In addition to this based funding districts receive performance generated generated funds including a
• model was fully funded.
• These incentive funds encourage continuous improvement and help ensure that our institutions focus on

Transcript Highlights:

• GENERAL REVENUE AND STATE TRUST FUND.
• END OF THE NEXT CHART BREAKS DOWN HISTORICAL FUNDING BY AGENCY.
• , REVENUE SOURCES, FUNDING ACTIVITIES, AND BASE APPROPRIATION TOTALS BY TRUST FUND.
• >> THE FUNDING MECHANISM, THE FUNDING WE SHOW HERE IS RELATED TO THE PACE PROGRAM WHICH IS SEPARATE.
• WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL AT APD FOR THE FUNDS ALLOCATED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND ALSO FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Infrastructure Fund.
• Actual grant funding...
• Continuing...
• And that the federal funds in there and we have state funds. Yes, sir.
• Those are federal funds, but they are matched with some of the state funds.

Bills: SB 1, SB1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• know, continued pressure.
• We need funding to hire people.
• Replacement Fund.
• So, that’s going to be funded by a tribal fund; everything that we're doing...
• Pretty much all of our housing authority is funded by tribal funds. and cost.

Transcript Highlights:

• About two thirds of that was ESSER three funds about one third of that was ESSER two funds ESSER one
• During this specific time window, those 20% of funds had as much effect as the 80% of other funding that
• formulas and raise funding, or they're sometimes the result of a court order that says a state's funding
• funding.
• So overall, you conclude that the ESSER funds, despite all those critics, the ESSER funds did make a

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• continue to answer? I apologize. continue to answer? I apologize.
• So, the project can continue.
• The way you fund HCMC funding is sort of hanging over us at this state right now.
• reserve fund from the budget reserves. reserve fund from the budget reserves.
• > of >> The way you fund HCMC funding is sort of >> The way you fund HCMC funding

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:

• Of course, Proposition 4 funding, looking forward in the future, that's going to be huge to continue
• We receive a lot of the funding from the federal government; the PacSurf fund goes to fund CMP projects
• , especially continuous funding beyond Prop. 4 for priorities in the Dungeness crab fishery.
• , especially continuous funding beyond Prop. 4 for priorities in the Dungeness crab fishery.
• And thank God we have voters who passed Prop. 4 that's going to continue to help fund these climate initiatives

Summary: The Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture held its annual State of the Fishery forum, focusing on salmon, Dungeness crab, kelp, ocean conditions, and related aquaculture and committee reports. Opening remarks from committee leadership emphasized climate impacts, reduced federal NOAA support, state investments through Proposition 4, coastal resilience funding, and the importance of fisheries to rural economies and tribal communities. Secretary of Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot described a decade of drought and climate stress, highlighted progress such as Klamath River dam removal, wetland restoration, and the state’s salmon strategy, and warned that federal funding uncertainty and staffing cuts could undermine restoration and fishery recovery efforts. Senator Cortese raised concerns about illegal cannabis cultivation damaging riparian habitat and water flows, and both Crowfoot and Fish and Wildlife Director Bonham said enforcement against illicit grows remains a major environmental priority but is constrained by resources. Director Bonham provided a broad update on California fisheries, reporting encouraging signs for salmon after several difficult years, including improved ocean conditions, stronger returns in some runs, and successful short recreational openings in 2025. He also noted major challenges, including reduced federal hatchery production at Nimbus, ongoing uncertainty around winter-run and spring-run recovery, and the need for continued habitat restoration, monitoring, and hatchery investment. On Dungeness crab, Bonham said the fishery remained valuable but constrained by whale entanglement risk, warming ocean conditions, and domoic acid concerns; he described new marked-line distribution, ropeless and alternative gear trials, and ongoing aerial and vessel monitoring. He also said the department’s unified cannabis enforcement task force had served numerous warrants and seized large amounts of illegal cannabis, but more funding is needed for sustained operations. In the salmon panel, Yurok Tribe fisheries director McCovey said the Klamath still faces low run sizes, climate-driven warming, wildfire impacts, and federal uncertainty, but he pointed to dam removal, restoration work, and AB 263’s river-flow protections as major advances. PCFFA president Bradshaw stressed that the three consecutive salmon closures have devastated coastal communities and argued for major reinvestment in aging Central Valley hatchery infrastructure and better broodstock management at Fall Creek. CalTrout’s Schneider said salmon remain at risk statewide, but cited Prop 4, habitat reconnection, floodplain restoration, improved water management, and monitoring as the main tools for recovery. In the crab panel, CDFW’s Schumann reported that the 2024–25 season produced record prices per pound and about $55 million in value despite delays and trap reductions, but he warned that three confirmed whale entanglements and elevated whale presence could force a conservative opener for 2025–26. PCFFA’s Domrash supported marked line, alternative gear, and a new gear-recovery network, while also criticizing the current ramp system as a response to a problem not fully grounded in science.

Transcript Highlights:

• All right, continuing with, is Courtney on? No. Continuing to Brandon Irvine. Oh, Courtney is on.
• All right, we’ll continue.
• All right, continuing with Aaron Riley. Is Aaron Riley with us virtually? All right, continuing.
• All right, continuing.
• There was some pilot funding for this in the housing bond bill last year, but more dedicated funding

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Housing opened a hybrid hearing focused on housing production bills, with Chairs Julian Cyr and Rich Haggerty emphasizing Massachusetts’ housing shortage and the need to produce more than 200,000 units over the next decade. The committee then heard testimony on a wide range of proposals, including social housing, starter homes and the “missing middle,” accessory dwelling units (ADUs), single-stair residential buildings, permanent affordability homeownership, and housing for people with disabilities. Several witnesses framed the bills as tools to expand supply, lower costs, and address racial and generational wealth gaps. Representative Connolly testified for H. 1478 on the Massachusetts Social Housing Program, describing publicly owned, mixed-income housing financed through a revolving loan fund. Senator Feeney testified for S. 989 on missing middle starter homes, arguing for zoning changes, incentives, and affordability tools to support smaller starter homes and duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. Multiple witnesses, including housing advocates, real estate representatives, and local officials, supported the ADU trust fund bill and the single-stair study bill, saying they would reduce barriers, support homeowners, and enable more family-sized and infill housing. Some witnesses opposed bills they said would weaken ADU reforms or add new restrictions, while others urged broader deregulation to speed production. A major portion of the hearing focused on H. 1576/S. 1010, the Homes for Lasting Affordability bill, which would create a permanent affordability homeownership program for low- and moderate-income buyers and support small developments with long-term affordability restrictions. Testimony from community land trust leaders, legislators, and housing advocates emphasized that permanent affordability can preserve public investment, stabilize neighborhoods, and help families build wealth over generations. Senator Miranda and Representative Worrell tied the bill to closing the racial wealth gap and expanding access to homeownership for Black and Latino residents. The committee also heard testimony on S. 971, which would reform the Housing Development and Incentive Program to require more affordability in Gateway City projects. The committee additionally heard from Senator Kennedy and disability advocates on S. 1004, which would strengthen the Alternative Housing Voucher Program for people with disabilities by codifying project-based vouchers and aligning the program more closely with other voucher systems. Witnesses described long waitlists and the lack of accessible, affordable units as major barriers that can lead to homelessness or unnecessary institutionalization. No votes were taken during the hearing; the session was devoted to testimony and questions from committee members.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we're no longer hemorrhaging funds.
• If you can continue to keep us updated, just continue to make sure that we understand the rapid changes
• I think you said that we were able to shift to other grants in order to continue the funding.
• We had worked out a deal with our federal partners to use some of that pandemic era funding to fund a
• Funding to cover it.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• AB 65 doesn’t identify a funding source.
• AB 65 doesn’t identify a funding source.
• qualified to receive some of this funding.
• that they are being assisted with funding itself.
• Sometimes it's also what you can do with the funds that are equally as important as funds being available

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• care access fund.
• care access fund.
• care access fund.
• care access fund.
• general fund.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met for a Health and Finance Policy hearing, began with member and staff introductions, and noted that Representative Keeler was participating as a non-voting member. The chair outlined committee rules on decorum and then introduced the day’s first agency presentation from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), with Commissioner Cunningham appearing to present the department’s budget priorities. Commissioner Cunningham described MDH’s broad public health role and emphasized that public health is underfunded relative to health care, with significant reliance on federal dollars. The department’s main budget request was for infectious disease prevention and response to offset anticipated federal funding losses. MDH also outlined several fee increases tied to public water systems, wells, licensing and certification, assisted living and health care facilities, HMO regulation, food/pools/lodging inspections, radioactive materials, X-ray equipment, and asbestos abatement. The commissioner said these changes were needed because costs, workload, and regulatory complexity have increased, while many fees have not been updated in years. MDH also presented budget-neutral proposals, including continuing the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Committee, converting the Maternal and Child Health Advisory Task Force into a standing advisory committee, restoring some local and tribal public health cannabis and substance misuse prevention grants, creating direct American Indian Health Special Emphasis Grants, reauthorizing the State Trauma Advisory Council, and extending firefighter PFAS biomonitoring work. The department also requested an operations adjustment for rising employee, insurance, fuel, utility, and legal costs, and referenced additional Clean Water Legacy Fund proposals. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided. Representative Bierman then offered supportive comments, praising MDH’s work and backing the funding and fee proposals, especially the restoration of local public health prevention grants.

Transcript Highlights:

• should ensure that it is 100 percent of them — not the funding from this bill, funding that's already
• And unlike vague state-level funding, these bills direct funds to PEG centers where they belong.
• And unlike vague state-level funding, these bills direct funds to PEG centers where they belong.
• We kept the lights on this year, but without structural funding reform we might not be able to continue
• The engagement continues today.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee held its second hearing on a large docket of technology, internet, cybersecurity, broadband, and media bills. Early testimony focused on community media funding legislation, with lawmakers and local access advocates arguing that as cable subscriptions decline and streaming grows, revenue tied to cable franchises no longer supports community television and PEG programming. Supporters said community media remains a key source of local news, government meeting coverage, and civic transparency as newspapers disappear or consolidate. A related bill on cable contract oversight also drew support, with testimony that the Department of Telecommunications and Cable is backlogged and should more actively review municipal-provider agreements and report its workload to the committee. Another major topic was a proposal to create a Massachusetts Innovation Fund for state IT modernization. The Alliance for Digital Innovation backed the bill, saying agencies need flexible upfront capital to replace outdated systems and improve cybersecurity, and pointing to the federal Technology Modernization Fund as a model. The witness noted that funding for the state program still needs to be identified. The committee also heard strong support for a bill requiring free broadband in public housing, with Rep. Emmela Goodwin and MAPC describing internet access as essential for jobs, school, telehealth, and civic participation. They said the digital divide in Massachusetts is driven largely by affordability rather than infrastructure, though questions were raised about costs, wiring, and whether all housing sites already have broadband access available at the curb. A substantial portion of the hearing centered on bills to limit addictive social media feeds for minors. Supporters, including lawmakers, parents, teens, and advocacy groups, argued that algorithmic feeds contribute to addiction, anxiety, body image problems, and other harms, and said the bills would restrict surveillance-based curation and overnight notifications while leaving search and followed accounts available. Opponents, including FIRE, CCIA, and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, argued the bills would require invasive age verification, threaten privacy and cybersecurity, burden adults’ anonymity, and likely face First Amendment challenges. They also warned the measures could disadvantage smaller businesses and may be unconstitutional based on recent court rulings in other states. The committee also heard support for blockchain-related bills creating a commission, a pilot program, and consumer education efforts, with testimony that Massachusetts has the talent but needs a coordinated state strategy. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our kids deserve full funding, and Governor Abbott promised us full funding.
• If HB2 passes in this form, we will be grateful for the new funding, but we will continue to experience
• Additionally, a continued lack of discretionary funds will further strain the percent of school districts
• funding that.
• what I fund.

Bills: HB2

Keywords: public education, teacher compensation, certification, funding, school finance, educator rights, education funding, charter schools, staff compensation, state aid, retention allotment, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the housing trust fund that are not STB funds to help.
• We do leverage these funds with some Department of Energy energy funds, some LIHEAP funds that we get
• fund, but more activity under this with other funding.
• And fund balance as licensed royalty revenues continue to decline and a corresponding increase to other
• Request maintained FY 26 funding levels and continued the increased contractual funding allocated in

Transcript Highlights:

• Is continuous funding being requested or is...
• Is continuous funding being requested or is A couple more questions.
• Is continuous funding being requested, or is this just a one-time deal?
• I've seen programs come and go, and I've seen what works, what fails when funding doesn't continue as
• Funding doesn't continue as well.

Keywords: 996, all