Transcript Highlights:

• there's a $3,000 fiscal statement. there's a $3,000 fiscal statement.
• the toxicology was noted.
• >> Speak to the fiscal note. >> Uh, Mr.
• > note.
• >> Speak to the fiscal note. >> Speak to the fiscal note.

Bills: SF0071, SF0088, SF0056

Keywords: homeland security, search and rescue, grants, emergency response, Wyoming, sex offender, child care facility, residency restrictions, public safety, criminal law, sex offenders, child care facilities, legislation, kratom, regulation, healthcare, age restrictions, manufacturing standards, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We were not asked to do a fiscal note on this, but if insurance remains subject to this bill, we do think
• Uh we were not asked to do a fiscal<01:33:28.000> note<01:33:28.239> on<01:33:28.400>
• note on this, but if um insurance fiscal note on this, but if um insurance remains<01:33:31.360>
• But actually, you look at the fiscal note, it's under $10,000 per year, which, for the state, that's
• <02:14:35.040> note, actually, you look at the fiscal note, actually, you look at the fiscal

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:18:44.160> the<00:18:44.320> word fiscal note, it it uses the word fiscal note, it
• the fiscal note.
• That's the kind of fiscal note per year.
• Um, and yet there's no fiscal note. Can you speak to that?
• Um, and I don't to us for a fiscal note.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Any idea of what the fiscal is, if at all? Representative Rizzo, you're recognized for a response.
• Going back to your other question about fiscal, this is something new.
• They have to collect at least $10 million in TDT, or they are a fiscally constrained county.
• Bay, Walton, and Okaloosa counties, and also the additional fiscally constrained counties.
• She also noted there are other things in the bill, including the card room and the horses.

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on April 16, 2025, with one agenda item: PCB WMC-2502, the committee’s tax package. Chair Duggan presented the bill as a broad tax measure covering sales tax, tourist development taxes, ad valorem/VAB procedures, affordable housing property tax changes, tangible personal property, special assessments, fuel taxes, communication services taxes, corporate income tax updates, pari-mutuel/card room taxes, local incentives, and a redistribution of horse industry trust fund money. He also noted emergency rulemaking authority for the Department of Revenue and estimated a recurring state impact of $34.6 million in FY 2025-26. Members questioned several provisions, including the aviation fuel tax repeal, the delay of the natural gas fuel tax, the extension of the local communication services tax freeze, the charitable trust corporate income tax clarification, the reduction in card room taxes, and the affordable housing changes tied to the Live Local Act. Public testimony included support from airlines, UPS, child care management, and others, while the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association opposed the lifeguard/TDT change, the Florida Association of Counties and Florida League of Cities opposed the missing-middle exemption changes, and local government representatives raised concerns about revenue impacts and the loss of local opt-out authority. The committee also adopted Amendment 1 by Representative Rizzo, which limits certain special assessments on RV parks when based on square footage. During debate, members split on some provisions but generally supported the package, with comments focused on aviation competitiveness, preschool assessment relief, lifeguard funding, affordable housing, and the horse industry funding shift. Representative Duggan closed by emphasizing that the bill was only the beginning of the process and would continue through conference and floor consideration. The committee then voted 16-1 to report PCB WMC-2502 favorably, with Representative Alvarez voting no.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a fiscal note on it. You'll notice we'll lose about $15,000 in revenue.
• SB 379 doesn't even have a fiscal note.
• At the very least, we believe SB 379 needs a fiscal note so that the legislature can better understand
• note. ...consideration by the legislature, and that's why I'd ask for a fiscal note.
• There’s a fiscal note that I assume is going to have to be considered as well.”

Summary: The committee first considered several local property-transfer and wildlife/fisheries bills, including SB 229 (Bojeur Parish property transfer), SB 71 (Lafayette Parish property transfer), and a series of Department of Wildlife and Fisheries measures. SB 203 simplified possession rules for fish on multi-day trips and remote camps; SB 429 created an administrative path to register “orphan” boats with lapsed registrations; SB 204 removed a residency-based restriction on certain commercial fishing gear licenses; SB 205 reduced duplicate registration requirements for federally documented boats; SB 213 clarified titling rules for vessels and outboard motors; and SB 257 removed Social Security number requirements from certain commercial fishing tags. Each of these bills was reported favorable, generally without objection, after brief explanations from sponsors and department counsel about reducing red tape, improving enforcement, or modernizing records. The committee also heard SB 214, which would allow the Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District to stop pumping during an imminent flood threat identified by the National Weather Service or GOSEP, addressing liability concerns and giving local officials more flexibility in emergencies. SB 274, as amended, required lead hazard risk assessments for certain child care, early learning, and pre-kindergarten facilities and required hazards found in assessments to be addressed before licensing. Both bills were reported favorable. SB 379, a technical reorganization bill for the Department of Conservation and Energy, received two amendment sets: one changing investment language and another standardizing judicial-review procedures and online notice requirements; it was reported favorable after those amendments. The committee then adopted HCR 62, urging FEMA to review flood maps every five years instead of every ten and to better account for local flood-protection projects, with members discussing the burden of flood insurance and the need for FEMA to recognize levees, pump stations, and elevated homes. HCR 78 was also reported favorable, memorializing Congress to pass the American Seafood Competitiveness Act of 2026 in support of Louisiana’s seafood industry. HB 662, as substituted, was reported favorable after being rewritten to codify the department’s internal protocol for seized sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife, prioritizing release, rehabilitation, placement, and euthanasia as a last resort. Finally, the committee considered two more contentious items. HR 216, which urged repudiation of the Louisiana Climate Action Plan of 2022, drew extended debate over whether the plan had been adopted without legislative input and whether it could affect permits or future policy; after discussion, the sponsor voluntarily deferred the resolution to return with a revised approach focused on a legislative hearing or review. SCR 24, dealing with chronic wasting disease rules, was introduced with amendments that would raise the prevalence threshold, cap samples, allow zone removal after three years without new detections, and lift baiting/feed prohibitions above a higher prevalence level; the transcript cuts off before final action on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:20:43.000> year one-time in fiscal year one-time in fiscal year uh<00:20:44.640> in
• You note that... Psychological testing. You note that this was modified.
• Um, and there's no fiscal note that seems to be out there yet, but we do have numbers in the spreadsheet
• > note and there's no fiscal note and there's no fiscal note that<00:44:34.080> seems<00
• > be um the fiscal note information would be um the fiscal note information would be more<00:45

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I think it's important to note for the committee that, as we've said before, the payment distribution
• This is the second reallocation for fiscal year 26.
• The school continued in $8 million appropriation increase from peer from last fiscal year into this year
• The request notes the majority of these increased cases are for other states.
• The request notes funds would be used to make a subgrant to UALR to hire staff to work on the grant.

Summary: The committee considered and approved several temporary appropriation requests in Section B, including spending authority for the Court of Appeals to pay appointed counsel in criminal appeals, Commerce/Aeronautics airport and aviation grants, and Insurance Department items for workers’ compensation benefits and premium tax refunds. It also approved ARPA-related requests in Section C to return unused federal funds from DHS aging, mental health, substance abuse, and Older Americans Act grants. In Section D, the committee reviewed and approved Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requests, including Agriculture grants for wildfire preparedness and forestry capacity, a large Commerce broadband BEAD request, environmental recycling-related reallocations, and Oil and Gas Commission grants for facility repairs and sample preservation. Members questioned the broadband program’s audit process and performance safeguards; the State Broadband Director said the funds are federal, subject to audits, and payments are released only after engineering certification of completed work. The committee also approved DHS reallocations in Section E, including major transfers within Medical Services from hospital medical appropriations to private and public nursing home lines, as well as transfers for children and family services, developmental disabilities, and youth services. The committee then reviewed cash fund requests, miscellaneous federal grants, pay plan and performance fund transfers, methods of finance, and a large set of contracts. A Northwest Arkansas Community College official explained storm-damage repairs and insurance settlement issues, and DHS explained its hospital medical transfer was moving excess appropriation rather than cash. Members also questioned several UAPB tobacco prevention subgrants, especially arts-based outreach, and asked for more data on effectiveness; the committee later voted to expunge and re-refer the J-2 item for further review at a later ALC meeting. Additional discussion covered a DEQ grant to Free Geek of Arkansas for e-waste recycling, a UAPB tobacco program, and various contracts for universities, DHS services, corrections, and public safety. The meeting ended with reports filed for information and a brief member comment thanking others for concern after a tornado in Stone County; no one was injured.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our role is to be fiscally responsible for tax dollars.
• But the Economic Transition Program is actually new this fiscal year.
• I would note in particular the Otero facility is not owned outright by ICE or a private contractor.
• and then the report that was given by the fiscal impact report given by the Cibla County manager.
• I will make one note. I found it very interesting that there was... I will make one note.

Bills: SB100

Keywords: burglary, aggravated burglary, dwelling, criminal law, property rights, 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I also want to note that, in addition to the rules already stricken through on your agendas, we will
• I also want to note that, in addition to the rules already stricken through on your agendas, we will
• There is a small fiscal impact to this as well. I believe it's $46,000, about that, per year.
• Because we're paying the services at the same rate, we don't anticipate a fiscal impact.
• And so that fiscal impact did include those services.

Summary: The Arkansas Administrative Rules Subcommittee met to review a large slate of agency rules and related reports. The chair announced that several items were stricken from the agenda and that the maternal health providers and remote monitoring rules were pulled by the agency. The committee filed reports on emergency rules, ALC subcommittee rule reviews, and administrative directives, then moved through agency rules from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce/Insurance, Department of Corrections, and multiple divisions of the Department of Human Services. Most rules were explained as technical updates or implementations of 2025 legislation and were approved without objection. Examples included repeal of obsolete equine ID-chip rules, updates to agriculture financing and pesticide rules, removal of duplicative workers’ compensation plan language, a unified visitation rule for correctional facilities, DHS marketing rules for PASS programs, a comprehensive DCFS policy manual revision, Medicaid-related changes for fictive kin, ABLE accounts, presumptive eligibility for pregnant women, SNAP work requirements and alien eligibility, coverage for certain incarcerated youth, nurse aide training updates, and permanent rules for state employee insurance and procurement. The committee also approved requests to exclude the Insurance Department from rulemaking requirements for Act 772 on forced organ harvesting and for restorative reproductive medicine, with the department saying it would issue rules later when more guidance is available. The most extended discussion concerned DHS’s dental Medicaid rate rule under Act 1025. Members and witnesses debated whether the statute’s language covered only oral surgeons or also general dentists performing oral surgery procedures, and whether the rate increase should apply more broadly to the services rather than the provider title. DHS said it was following the black-letter language of the law and could not confirm a broader interpretation without further approvals and funding, while legislators and a Dental Association representative said the intent was to increase payment for the services, especially in rural areas. Members also discussed the possibility of fixing the language in a future session or through a new rule if approvals and CMS review allow. Despite the concerns, the committee approved the rule. The meeting ended with approval of rule review reports and monthly updates, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• LET'S START WITH THE LAST THING YOU SAID AND WE TALKED ABOUT NOT HAVING A FISCAL TO IT.
• I'M STUCK ON THE POINT OF HOW WE ARE NOT ADDING A FISCAL TO THIS AND WHEN ARE THESE FOLKS GOING TO BE
• SO NO COST FISCAL, NO IDEA OR THOUGHT ABOUT THE FISCAL FOR THIS IS TROUBLING. MR.
• ONE THING THIS HAS BROUGHT UP WITH THE FISCAL, I JUST HOPE THIS IS FULLY FUNDED.
• GROUP I WAS REALLY INTO TO THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO FISCAL YEAR SO HOPEFULLY I'VE OUTLINED THAT GREAT

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we want to be fiscally responsible? I heard that a lot last summer. I'm fiscally responsible.
• Therefore, there is no fiscal cost because there will not be any money spent by this bill.
• So all of this is about whether it needs a fiscal note, whether it should go to Ways and Means, and we've
• There is no fiscal cost because that $30 million cannot be spent.
• that in the near term, this bill does not have a fiscal impact.

Transcript Highlights:

• If you choose to waive your time, your position, if noted, but we're not going to be really taking positions
• So when we do take positions, we note it even if you waive your time outside.
• year and be awarded before the end of the fiscal year.
• year to be able to make those awards so that they are encumbered at the end of the fiscal year.
• Encumbered at the end of the fiscal year. Thank you. Senators, additional questions for the panel?

Summary: The Senate Health Policy Committee received updates from the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Health on implementation of 2024 health care laws. AHCA reviewed progress on workforce and reimbursement measures in Senate Bill 7016 and related bills, including FRAME and TEACH funding, graduate medical education reporting, behavioral health teaching hospitals, acute hospital care at home, advanced birth centers, non-emergent care access plans, and rural emergency hospitals. Agency officials said several programs are already operational or have begun payments, while others are still in rulemaking, federal approval, or report-preparation stages. Senators asked about timing, funding reversion concerns, and whether appropriated dollars would be spent on schedule, especially for behavioral health teaching hospitals and the new birth center category. The Department of Health then reported on practitioner licensure and public health programs. MQA described implementation of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, the Mobile Act licensure pathway, massage therapy enforcement changes, background screening expansion, liposuction safety requirements, pharmacist HIV post-exposure prophylaxis authority, and chiropractic dry needling. Public health staff updated the committee on FRAME and dental loan repayment, the Sinati screening grant program, the cancer research and innovation changes, the health care innovation council and loan program, the pediatric rare disease grant program, telehealth maternity care expansion, newborn screening for congenital CMV, the sickle cell registry and grants, and the swimming lesson voucher program. Members focused questions on how practitioners were being recruited to underserved areas, the pace of licensure approvals, and whether new programs were on track to use appropriated funds. The committee also heard a lengthy update from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use. The director reported more than 900,000 qualified patients, real-time seed-to-sale tracking now integrated across most dispensaries and labs, and ongoing compliance work on product testing, advertising, diversion, and patient safety. Senators questioned the decline in qualified physicians, how THC potency is labeled and verified, and what the agency can do about diversion to non-patients. The director said the office relies on complaints, inspections, lab audits, and coordination with law enforcement, and that patients can be suspended if violations are confirmed.

Transcript Highlights:

• As a note, the chart reflects supplemental funding from SB30 and SB30A.
• And please note that these requests reflect updates as of January 24th.
• Recommendations for HEAF maintain $393.8 million in general revenue per fiscal year.
• In fiscal year 2024. Moving to issue 4 on page 2. The 88th.
• Section 3, Selective Fiscal and Policy Issues in Federal Funds and Tobacco Funds.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then I'm just going to direct you to the fiscal note.
• So the fiscal note says that it's $125,000, half an FTE. Those are the state fiscal impacts.
• What's missing in the fiscal note is the cost to the locals.
• What's missing in the fiscal note What's missing in the fiscal note is<01:48:17.199> the<01:48
• Chair. highlights it and there is no fiscal highlights it and there is no fiscal note<02:46:15.600>

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• note for next fiscal year.
• note for next fiscal year.
• note for next fiscal year.
• <02:40:00.399> Thank fiscal note for next fiscal year.
• Thank fiscal note for next fiscal year. Thank you,<02:40:00.800> Mr.<02:40:01.040> Chair.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And, Madam Chair, I'm happy to answer any questions. through finance so its fiscal and policy through
• note took a little bit to come in.
• The fiscal note took a little bit to come in.
• I noted that as well. I don't want to clog up the correction bill. Duly noted.
• Especially noting your sense of humor.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The fiscal note was going to be $3.6 million this year.
• The fiscal note was going to be $3.6 million this year, and that was only because it was a six-month
• But the fiscal note talks about the increase.
• But this fiscal note is probably much larger than what would be reality, because you don't always have
• So this might not even cost as much as the fiscal note. That's correct.

Summary: The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee met on May 6, 2026, approved the April 28 minutes, and heard several bills before moving into confirmation hearings. HB 205, by Rep. Bacala, would allow local governing authorities to supplement election commissioners’ pay by up to $100 per day; supporters from clerks of court and the Secretary of State’s office said the increase is needed to recruit and retain qualified commissioners amid longer days, training demands, and election security changes. The committee also reported HB 210, a cleanup bill clarifying retroactive application of a prior ethics law, and HB 228, which recreates the Department of State Civil Service and related entities through 2033. It likewise reported SR 86, which bars eyeglasses with audio/video recording capability in the Senate chamber without the Senate President’s permission, and HB 1177, which protects the identities of lottery hunt winners until after the drawing. HB 1045, limited to Pointe Coupee Parish, raises an audit threshold for certain water districts from $500,000 to $600,000 to reduce audit costs, and HB 813 would move Orleans Parish sheriff terms so the sheriff takes office in January instead of waiting until May; all were reported favorably. Senator Miller also announced that SB 491 would not be taken up that day. The committee then questioned nominees to the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East. The first group, including Peter Vicari and Ronald Schumann, was asked extensively about recent personnel actions, an internal investigation, and the authority’s handling of a report that members said would likely be released after a board vote. Senators focused on the firing of the chief of police/operations personnel, allegations of payroll fraud, and whether the authority had improperly combined the chief of police role with compliance duties in a way that may conflict with statute and Civil Service guidance. Committee members also raised concerns about the chief’s contract, whether it had board approval, and whether the authority’s bylaws and salary practices complied with law. The nominees and counsel said some matters were still under review and that a separate compliance position was being considered. The committee later heard from additional nominees, including David Martin, Gregory Marsiglia, and Elton Jude Myers, who described backgrounds in engineering, law, procurement, and governmental contracts. Senators again pressed them on the need to separate compliance/auditing duties from the chief of police role, and the nominees generally agreed that those functions should be distinct and that the authority should have qualified auditing expertise. The meeting ended with no public comment and adjournment after the confirmation discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• Secondly, the fiscal note and the cost.
• <00:14:10.560> note<00:14:10.880> and<00:14:11.199> the bill.
• Secondly, the fiscal note and the bill.
• Secondly, the fiscal note and the cost.<00:14:12.639> Thirdly,<00:14:13.279> that<00:14
• notes.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The program is fiscally constrained and it's based on a forecast of potential... potential revenues that
• Okay, so what was the, do you know what the fiscal note was on this bill?
• And as a note, 238 counties benefited across Texas from that program.
• What Mark Williams noted was a world-class transportation system. Texans deserve that.
• Total revenue for fiscal year 2024 was $96 million of this amount.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The 5% legislative salary increase for both fiscal 24 and 25 is very much appreciated that's adequate
• I do want to note that. I've heard wonderful things about your partnership.
• Separate from these funds there's $100 million in coronavirus fiscal recovery funds deposited into an
• Page 3, the first item is an update on workers' compensation. benefits paid by fiscal year.
• Economic Index was projected at 4.6% for fiscal year 24.

Keywords: 1184, house, all