Transcript Highlights:

• If they had a hearing or they needed something to occur, they would need a trial date.
• If they had a hearing or they needed something to occur, they would need a trial date.
• It needs more. It needs a lot of magistrates. It may need some more case managers.
• At high risk and with high needs.
• Because Jennifer Grandal, any drug court judge can call her and say, I need funding, I need resources

Summary: The Judiciary Committee met with a quorum present and heard several Office of the State Courts Administrator presentations. Judge Mark Mahan discussed the impact of 2023’s HB 837 litigation reforms on court operations, explaining that the law’s changes to comparative negligence, filing deadlines, collateral source evidence, premises liability, bad faith claims, attorney’s fees, and offer-of-judgment rules triggered a major March 2023 civil filing surge. He described how filings tripled statewide, with especially large increases in auto negligence and premises liability cases, and outlined how circuits responded through active case management, added resources, and workflow changes. Members asked whether the bill’s immediate effective date contributed to the surge and whether clearance rates would normalize over time; Judge Mahan said the court system viewed its response as a success and expected rates to settle as the backlog is worked through. The committee then received a presentation on problem-solving courts from Jennifer Grandal and Judge Nina Richardson. Grandal reviewed Florida’s drug courts, mental health courts, veterans courts, dependency and early childhood courts, noting statewide best-practice standards, annual reporting requirements, funding sources, and data collection systems. Judge Richardson gave a local perspective on treatment courts, emphasizing that they address underlying mental health and substance use issues, rely on judicial supervision and sanctions as well as incentives, and help participants achieve recovery and avoid reoffending. She said the programs are accountable, transparent, and effective, and thanked the Legislature for continued support. Finally, Judge Rachel Nordby and Eric McClure outlined the judicial branch’s legislative agenda. Nordby summarized the Supreme Court workgroup’s recommendations to expand Florida’s vexatious litigant law, including broader coverage, fewer qualifying adverse cases, a longer lookback period, and a public records exemption for stricken defamatory or sham material. McClure then highlighted additional agenda items: modernizing the duty-judge statute, expanding senior management retirement eligibility, authorizing additional judgeships based on workload studies, removing the statutory cap on court-ordered nonbinding arbitration compensation, protecting appellate clerks’ personal information, allowing alternative authentication for certain judicial notarizations, and creating a hearsay exception for guardian ad litem reports and testimony. No votes were taken, and the committee adjourned after member introductions and staff introductions.

Transcript Highlights:

• So in the federal needs<00:26:54.080> analysis<00:26:54.640> it<00:26:54.880> says
• c><00:26:55.760> you<00:26:55.919> know<00:26:56.080> taking needs analysis it says
• you know taking needs analysis it says you know taking into<00:26:56.640> consideration<00:26
• With this change, it matches what the federal needs analysis is saying the family contributes.
• With this change, it matches what the federal needs analysis is saying the family contributes.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:34:18.119> that identified other contracted needs that identified other contracted needs
• and making this decision or do we need and making this decision or do we need to<01:02:11.720>
• found and here are the changes you need found and here are the changes you need to<01:34:27.639>
• a<03:52:33.319> place<03:52:33.479> to needed Medicaid they needed a place to needed
• We had prioritized needs. We did not submit any prioritized needs here.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: House Finance Division III convened a work session on the DHHS budget, with the chair noting there would be no votes and that the committee would spend the day hearing from the commissioner’s office. Nathan White, DHHS Chief Financial Officer, opened with the Division of Finance/Office of Business Operations, explaining that the unit supports the department through daily financial management, AP/AR, audit work, expense projections, transfers, and procurement functions such as contracts, amendments, RFPs/RFAs, and grants management. He also described the division’s revenue and reporting work, including federal draws, CMS-64 reporting, and the public assistance cost allocation plan, and said the department had centralized rate-setting work and a small team handling Medicaid rate analysis and nursing facility rebase work. Members asked about vacancies, turnover, and budget changes. White said the division had 18 positions unfunded in the governor’s budget, reducing personal services from about $10.8 million to $9.9 million, and estimated the division’s vacancy rate at about 11 percent, below the department average. He said turnover was relatively low, with one retirement at the manager level and higher turnover mainly at lower AP-level positions. He also explained that some budget lines reflected reallocations rather than new spending, including fringe benefits centralized elsewhere and an EBT card contract moved into this unit because the staff member overseeing it works in Finance. When asked about a rent/lease increase, he said it was due to higher copier leasing costs under a statewide DAS contract. White highlighted several management and technology improvements. He said a business intelligence tool procured in 2022, using Salesforce and Excel-based data, helped DHHS better track federal revenue and maintenance-of-effort spending, reducing FY24 General Fund lapse by about 70 percent and federal/other revenue lapse by 88 percent compared with FY23; he warned that the tool is not funded in the current budget. He also described Lean Six Sigma efforts in the contracts team, training for vendors and nonprofits on procurement and indirect cost rules, and a Finance Academy to standardize policies and procedures. On the contracts side, he said the department uses Smartsheet for project management and DocuSign for electronic signatures, which cut contract execution time dramatically, but noted DocuSign is also not funded in the governor’s budget. The session ended as the committee prepared to move on to the Employee Assistance Program presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:01:43.520> The<00:01:43.680> three need to address that purpose.
• The three need to address that purpose.
• <00:02:24.160> that were restored if you need that were restored if you need that information
• <00:03:13.120> either were several items that needed either were several items that needed
• <00:19:34.559> to four because again there was need to four because again there was need to

Bills: SF0032, SF0010, SF0001, HB0001

Keywords: 911 services, emergency response, grant funding, next generation technology, government accountability, public safety, mental health, detention, competency evaluation, treatment, contractual agreements, Wyoming, budget, funding, education, wildfire prevention, healthcare, community colleges, grants, economic development

Transcript Highlights:

• WHAT YOU MEAN THEY NEED A HOME CURRENTLY FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE?
• SO, YOU DON'T NEED TO CREATE EXCHANGE. YOU JUST NEED TO EDUCATE PEOPLE THAT THESE THINGS EXIST.
• THE GUARDIANS OF HEALTH CARE NOW NEED SAFEGUARDING.
• WE NEED YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. I WANT TO BE TAKEN CARE OF.
• THE DAY THAT WE QUIT TRYING TO IMPROVE IS THE DAY WE NEED TO QUIT.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this fraud impact analysis and report would require money to do the report and the study.
• <00:24:41.760> and Uh so this uh fraud impact analysis and Uh so this uh fraud impact analysis
• So, we don't need a new—I'm sorry, Senator Champion. I'm sorry, Mr. Chair.
• I don't think we need to take it off. All right. Thank you, Senator. Any further thoughts?
• I don't think we need to take it off. All right. Thank you, Senator. Any further thoughts?

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:02:32.000> Chair, analysis, please. Sure. Uh Mr. Chair, analysis, please. Sure.
• > DNR's<00:08:12.639> permitting needed to improve DNR's permitting needed to improve DNR's
• but the work of this state still needs but the work of this state still needs to<00:22:44.960>
• This planning is a real need.
• This planning is a real need. climate. This planning is a real need.

Bills: HF2439

Keywords: environmental protection, pollution reduction, waste management, climate change, funding allocations, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• communities need.
• So there does need to be guardrails that are developed, and they need to be So there does need to be
• We need to make sure that we see.
• I don't need to belabor the point.
• We do need to listen to our districts, and we do need to do all that we can do to ensure that we are

Summary: The Assembly met in session, established a quorum, approved dispensing with the previous day’s journal, and then took up a long third-reading file. Early procedural actions included moving AB 1589 to the inactive file and continuing reconsideration items. The chamber then considered a series of bills largely focused on immigration enforcement, detention, worker protections, child care, voting access, and related public services. Several immigration-related measures passed, including AB 2393 on damages for false imprisonment/arrest, AB 1994 on an immigrant victims’ rights and resources card, AB 1929 on health plan investment disclosures, AB 1633 imposing a tax on for-profit detention facilities, AB 1650 requiring decals on rental vehicles used for enforcement, AB 1655 protecting CalWORKs benefits when a child is detained, and AB 1896 disqualifying people who participated in immigration enforcement from certain public employment. AB 2230, which would bar immigration enforcement near polling places and child care facilities, also passed after extensive debate. Supporters framed these bills as accountability and protection for vulnerable communities; opponents argued they targeted federal law enforcement, were unnecessary, or raised constitutional concerns. AB 1851 on statewide school mental-health guidance also passed unanimously. After the midday recess, the Assembly returned and continued with more bills tied to immigration impacts and child welfare. AB 2379 passed with urgency, requiring child care providers to be informed of constitutional rights and trained on protections when confronted by immigration enforcement. AB 2460 passed to update school behavioral-health referral protocols for students affected by immigration enforcement trauma. AB 2495 passed to expand prohibitions on employer immigration-related threats, and AB 2662 was presented as a way for California to monitor and document federal enforcement actions and report on their community impacts. Throughout the day, the floor featured repeated exchanges over whether the bills addressed real problems or were political messaging, but the measures that came to a vote generally advanced with majority support.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is something that I think we need to find a solution for.
• probably needs to be done on the statute.
• We still need more money. I hope we can get some flood money from somewhere, but we need this.
• But you know, there is a lot of need for capital outlay.
• I've got parts that need to be fixed up.

Transcript Highlights:

• TO RECEIVE A SUBSIDY YOU WOULD NEED TO PURCHASE A PLAN ON THE EXCHANGE.
• MORE PLACES FOR THEM TO SHOP FOR THEIR HEALTHCARE NEEDS.
• THEN HAVE YOU DONE ANY ANALYSIS.
• IT WILL BE LARGELY DEPENDENT ON WHAT RULES THERE ARE AND WHAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW.
• , MY HEALTHCARE NEEDS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN SOMEONE ELSE'S HEALTH CARE NEEDS.

Transcript Highlights:

• to allow I do I do think that we need to allow I do think<00:08:17.680> we<00:08:17.919> need
• needs of both motans and of businesses. needs of both motans and of businesses.
• needed is kind of where we're thinking. needed is kind of where we're thinking.
• to look at. um the analysis that is needed in order um the analysis that is needed in order to<01:12
• need a deeper dive into. need a deeper dive into.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• May our efforts here today and every day be blessed with the power and victory needed. to finally usher
• President: We have one more introduction and an important one we need to get back to quickly.
• to be seen, patients need to be seen by their physician.
• This coincides with an increase in the needs of the children removed from their homes.
• a family who can address those needs.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We need to stop the financial bleeding.
• You don't need to close. Thank you very much. Thank you.
• You don't need to close. Thank you very much. Thank you.
• This is such a specific niche that I can understand the need for it.
• I think people, you know, need to be held accountable.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and heard five bills. HB 1097 would rename the Florida Catastrophic Storm Center at FSU as the Florida Center for Excellence in Insurance and Risk Management, transfer the public hurricane loss projection model from FIU to FSU, and provide recurring and nonrecurring appropriations to support independent insurance research and collaboration with OIR and other universities. Members discussed university roles, model oversight, independence from industry funding, and student/workforce benefits. The bill passed favorably on a roll call vote. HB 319 would create a regulatory framework for virtual currency kiosk businesses, requiring registration with the Office of Financial Regulation, consumer disclosures, and penalties for violations. Much of the discussion focused on fraud prevention, especially for seniors, and whether the bill should include transaction caps or stronger recovery tools; AARP supported the bill but urged additional protections. The bill passed favorably. CS/HB 385 made technical changes to the Florida Trust Code and Community Property Trust Act, including decanting, trustee claims, redemption by satisfaction, and homestead transfer treatment; an amendment conforming to the Senate version was adopted, and the bill passed favorably. CS/HB 97 would allow service of process for exploitation injunctions against unascertainable scammers through the same communication method used to contact the victim, such as text or social media, and would let courts freeze funds temporarily while the matter is heard. Testimony from elder law practitioners and AARP supported the bill as a tool against scams, while some members raised due process and overreach concerns; the bill passed favorably. HB 839 would shorten the overpayment recovery window for claims submitted to psychologists and HMOs to match other health providers, with the goal of improving parity and access to mental health care; an amendment was adopted, and the bill passed favorably. The meeting concluded with adjournment after the final roll call votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• YOU CAN SEE THE PLAN REQUIRES THE HOSPITALS TO ASSIST PATIENTS WITH A NONEMERGENT HEALTHCARE NEEDS.
• WE NEED TO UPDATE OUR DATABASE WHICH HAS BEEN DONE.
• AND ARE WE RELOCATING DENTISTS TO THE AREAS OF NEED?
• CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS. THOSE ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM VARIOUSLY. AND AT ENFORCEMENT AREAS.
• THEY ONLY NEED TO DO JUST NEED TO DO ONE COURSE IT'S TWO HOURS.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• them, and then everybody came back and the planes were needed, needed repairs and things like that.
• them, and then everybody came back and the planes were needed, needed repairs and things like that.
• <00:42:20.960> like needed needed repairs and things like needed needed repairs and things
• Is that an accurate analysis?
• You need a full acre.”

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The meeting was a Ways and Means briefing opened by the vice chair, who introduced Jason Wong of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston to discuss the national and regional economy. Wong focused on inflation, asking why it had fallen from about 9% in 2022 to the 2%–3% range, and what that meant for monetary policy and the risk of an economic downturn. He said the Fed’s target is 2%, noted that recent PCE inflation was about 2.4% and core PCE about 2.7%, and described the ongoing debate over whether interest rates should stay tight or be lowered further to protect the labor market. Wong explained that the improvement in inflation has been driven largely by goods prices, especially durable goods such as cars, appliances, and furniture, as well as non-durable goods like food. He said supply-chain disruptions during the pandemic caused major price spikes in 2022, but those pressures have eased and many goods prices are now at or below the Fed’s target. He also referenced the New York Fed’s Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, saying it showed extreme pandemic-era disruptions that have since receded. The main remaining inflation problem, he said, is in services, especially housing. Wong broke services into rent of shelter and all other services, explaining that shelter is a large share of household budgets and that housing inflation has a lag because rent measures often reflect older lease terms rather than current market rents. He said monthly Zillow data suggest market rents have cooled and may eventually feed through to official inflation measures. Members asked several questions about the chart’s time scale, the treatment of real estate, property taxes, and utilities, and Wong clarified that housing costs are counted in services and that the slides would be shared digitally. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:19:03.200> to sure you all know this, but I need to sure you all know this, but I need
• around, we meet domestic needs first. around, we meet domestic needs first.
• <00:25:28.559> So analysis up in the Pineland Sand. So analysis up in the Pineland Sand.
• Identify the best sources of water for the need, like reuse. Analyze infrastructure needs.
• <01:08:23.520> Uh water for the need like reuse. Uh water for the need like reuse.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• /c> areas needing investigation include areas needing investigation include longcoid<00:41:55.680>
• if it's actually needed. if it's actually needed.
• <00:53:46.240> for that that necessitates the need for that that necessitates the need for
• Um, we probably need...
• in need of COVID-19 vaccination.

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:

• SOME PLANS I PERSONALLY REVIEWED INCLUDE EXAMPLES OF MEDICAL NEEDS THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED THAT YOU
• HENCE THE NEED FOR THIS LEGISLATION IN THIS ROLE.
• IS THE DEMAND SO LARGE THAT WE FEEL ONE VENDOR CANNOT MEET THE DEMAND SO WE NEED MULTIPLE VENDORS?
• AND UP WITH EMERGENT CARE NEEDS BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO PREVENTATIVE SERVICES?
• I DO APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE BUT IF WE NEED TO INVITE YOU BACK WE HOPE YOU'LL COME BACK TO SEAT US.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We don't need to hear that.
• folks in the trades, we need folks with certificates, we need folks with bachelor's degrees, we need
• folks in the trades, we need folks with certificates, we need folks with bachelor's degrees, we need
• folks in the trades, we need folks with certificates, we need folks with bachelor's degrees, we need
• folks in the trades, we need folks with certificates, we need folks with bachelor's degrees, we need

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The meeting was the first session of a newly created House Education Funding Committee, which also handles career technical education and higher education legislation. The chair explained that the committee was split off from the larger education committee because of the high volume of bills in the prior biennium, and said its focus would be on education funding policy and related fiscal issues. He noted that the committee had already reviewed major topics with the Department of Education, including the foundation formula, building aid, career technical education, special education aid, catastrophic aid, and higher education funding, and that chancellors from the university and community college systems were scheduled to appear later that morning. The bulk of the meeting was an orientation on committee procedures and decorum. The chair reviewed attendance and replacement rules, hearing procedures, time limits for testimony, and how the committee would handle crowded hearings, early bills, and fiscal notes. He emphasized that hearings are not debates, that sponsors and co-sponsors may present but should not use their position to dominate questioning, and that the chair controls whether additional technical questions are asked of witnesses. He also stressed neutrality, saying members should not display buttons or placards or engage in running debates with testifiers, and that the committee should treat all testimony respectfully regardless of party or viewpoint. Additional housekeeping guidance covered security procedures, use of cell phones and computers during hearings, breaks and hydration in the dry hearing rooms, and courtesy toward the clerk and other staff. The chair also asked members to notify leadership in advance of absences and explained that some bills may require larger rooms or overflow arrangements. No votes were taken and no bills were acted on during this portion of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• education that our kids need. education that our kids need.
• Um why does it need to be that generous? Um why does it need to be that generous?
• Yet, the need is great.
• Yet, the need is great.
• Yet, the need is great.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all