Transcript Highlights:

• The ITRAC teacher apprenticeship program is a high-impact solution to the special education teacher workforce
• <00:37:33.800> has impact our state's teacher Workforce has impact our state's teacher Workforce
• <00:40:44.760> to chance to build up this Workforce to chance to build up this Workforce to
• <01:07:45.880> are the commissioner and the department are the commissioner and the department
• to do which is to pass actual solutions to do which is to pass actual solutions that<01:54:25.560

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:29:07.360> the<00:29:07.600> Department so um the department the Department so
• necessarily prohibit the department from finding a solution towards recruitment.
• <01:12:20.239> uh department from finding a solution uh department from finding a solution
• across the department.
• , not an open AI solution.

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:

• <00:29:45.200> on are coming up with these solutions on are coming up with these solutions
• tell the truth to the to the department tell the truth to the to the department and<01:31:59.280
• misrepresent facts to the department. misrepresent facts to the department.
• job, I'm a career counselor in workforce job, I'm a career counselor in workforce development<01
• generation of workforce and taxpayers. generation of workforce and taxpayers.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• funding was dispersed by the Department funding was dispersed by the Department of<00:04:28.720>
• So we continue to try to find solutions.
• grateful for the sustainable solution grateful for the sustainable solution for<00:26:15.320>
• We have to attract more people to join the EMS workforce.
• <00:52:57.640> challenges there's a lot of Workforce challenges there's a lot of Workforce

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Kayla Lam, Department of Finance.
• Department of Finance, do you have any comment? Kayla Lamb, Department of Finance: Nothing to add.
• It has been a challenge, and it is setting up this department to do exactly what this department has
• Does the Department of Finance? Thank you. Does the Department of Finance wish to comment?
• Department of Finance. Any comments? Brian Bender, Department of Finance.

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations on several GovOps-related budget proposals, beginning with ongoing funding for the California Education Learning Lab. The Learning Lab described its intersegmental grants to UC, CSU, and community college faculty, including AI-related work and a math alignment project, and said the Governor’s proposal would move the program’s home agency to GovOps and restore $4 million annually. The Department of Finance supported the proposal as a way to improve coordination, while the LAO recommended rejecting it, arguing the projects are hard to scale, similar professional development already exists in the segments, and the state should consider saving General Fund dollars. Senators split on the value of the program, with some emphasizing innovation and intersegmental collaboration and others questioning its measurable long-term impact; the item was held open. The committee then reviewed the Office of Civil Rights proposal to implement AB 715 and SB 48 with $3.5 million in 2026-27 and $2.8 million ongoing. GovOps said the office had been set up administratively, positions were being recruited, and it would provide training, technical assistance, and complaint review related to anti-Semitism and other discrimination in TK-12 schools. The LAO had no concerns, but senators raised substantial questions about the office’s placement in GovOps, the lack of guidance while the laws are being implemented, the use of gubernatorial appointees, and whether the staffing structure matches the likely workload across different discrimination categories. GovOps said it would develop guidance, coordinate with CDE, and shift resources as needed once staff are hired, but several members said they were not prepared to support the item as presented; it was also held open. After public comment supporting the California Education Interagency Council, the subcommittee approved vote-only items 11 through 17 and 6 through 10. It then heard from the Office of Data and Innovation on a request for five positions and $1.25 million in reimbursement authority to expand digital service delivery work. ODI described projects such as reducing unauthorized EBT theft and forecasting community water system outages, and said it uses guardrails and contracts to protect sensitive data when working with vendor AI services. The LAO had no concerns, and members generally praised ODI’s small, high-impact role; the item was held open. Finally, the Department of Technology presented on the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative, reporting that 423 miles are complete, more than 70% of the network has been permitted, and about 5,300 miles are expected to be completed by December 2026, with some work potentially slipping into 2027. CDT said Skyline Technology Solutions had been selected to operate the network and that the third-party administrator, Golden State Net, would continue to support development and later help oversee operations and sales. The LAO noted the project’s progress but raised concerns about the novel three-party structure, accountability, and long-term financial sustainability. Senators questioned the legal basis for the operator arrangement, the revenue outlook, reporting to the Legislature, and whether the network will be self-sustaining; CDT said it expects revenues to cover operations over time and will continue annual and quarterly reporting. The item was left open.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, workforce, workforce, workforce, pre-COVID, post-COVID.
• Um, workforce, workforce, workforce, pre-COVID, post-COVID.
• Um, workforce, workforce, workforce, pre-COVID, post-COVID.
• Um, workforce, workforce, workforce, pre-COVID, post-COVID.
• Um, workforce, workforce, workforce, precoid,<01:20:25.760> postcoid.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We think that the solution in this bill is not the correct solution because it only takes part of the
• They're not reflective of my employer, the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• There are better solutions than presented in this bill.
• AB 2386 offers a structured solution.
• States cannot fix the bottleneck, but they can create solutions around it.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It requires a skilled and trained workforce for applicable trades.
• JOC is the solution to both.
• We believe procurement efficiency and workforce protections can coexist.
• Our proposed solution is very narrowly tailored. It would allow a... ...specifically.
• Our proposed solution is very narrowly tailored.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In the Department of Public Health, it requires the Department of Public Health to adopt emergency regulations
• Jacob Kern, Department of Finance.
• Jacob Kern, Department of Finance.
• Yeah, Aminelbin, Department of Finance.
• Bring that workforce up.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Committee held an informational hearing on the final three-party budget agreement and related trailer bills, with the Department of Finance outlining the major budget bill and omnibus measures. Finance described a package built around balancing the state budget amid economic uncertainty, preserving core health and safety-net programs, and making significant ongoing reductions in some state programs. The budget bill included major items such as shifting $1 billion from the General Fund to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for Cal Fire, funding universal transitional kindergarten, deferring some UC and CSU funding, supporting foster care and homelessness programs, providing Proposition 36 implementation funding, and achieving Medi-Cal savings through changes to benefits and eligibility. The committee also heard that votes on the budget bills were expected later in the week and the following Monday. Finance then walked through the trailer bills, including health, human services, early learning, education, resources, energy, transportation, labor, housing, tax, public safety, courts, general government, cannabis, and energy-related measures. Notable provisions included a Medi-Cal enrollment freeze for certain adults, new premiums and benefit changes for some immigrants, child care COLA changes, education funding for literacy, teacher support, universal meals, and community college student support, as well as resource and climate measures affecting Cal Fire staffing and energy permitting. The housing trailer bill drew the most discussion, with provisions on CEQA streamlining, a vehicle miles traveled mitigation banking program, a renters’ credit trigger, and a six-year moratorium on new residential building standards. Members also discussed a film tax credit expansion, cannabis enforcement funding, a tribal police pilot program, and changes to tax policy, including military retirement income exclusions and wildfire settlement payment exclusions. Committee members largely praised the staff and the budget process, but several raised concerns and asked detailed questions, especially about the housing trailer bill’s new wage standards, tribal consultation provisions, and possible effects on prevailing wage protections. Finance explained that the housing language was intended to set wage floors for market-rate projects receiving CEQA streamlining, with different county-based tiers and a notwithstanding clause preserving existing prevailing wage laws. Members also questioned the size and timing of funding for the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, Clean Cars for All, Proposition 36, and the film tax credit expansion. Other members highlighted support for public safety, veterans’ tax relief, child care providers, housing production, and higher education, while some expressed concern that the budget’s policy changes were being negotiated too quickly or without enough stakeholder input.

Transcript Highlights:

• But that quantum computing can make solid solutions for all those.
• The few things we have to really focus on are sustainable centers and workforce.
• Crucially, our workforce development is embedded in everything we do.
• And so investing heavily and sustained in workforce educators is important to building that workforce
• We're the co-lead in Elevate Quantum on workforce training for the entire region.

Bills: HB1

Keywords: feed bill, legislative appropriations, legislative branch, New Mexico Legislature, general fund, legislative council service, legislative finance committee, legislative education study committee, house chief clerk, senate chief clerk, per diem, mileage, session expenses, interim committees, district staff, capitol complex, capital outlay data system, legislative processing system, redistricting, census redistricting

Transcript Highlights:

• It's not the right solution.
• There is not a one-size-fits-all solution to this.
• look at overall a strategic Workforce look at overall a strategic Workforce for<01:04:20.359>
• With the Department of Human Services and Department of Health having some cuts as well, I just want
• assistant living and fire departments assistant living and fire departments are<01:45:35.199>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Workforce, career workforce is a passion of mine.
• The aging workforce in manufacturing is a critical... ...thing in your role in thinking through workforce
• Fleet Force also collaborates with the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of
• Department of Labor has approved Fleet Force to operate as Florida's only registered... ...Department
• If you look at the Department of Education's annual report that they do on teaching workforce shortage

Summary: The Careers and Workforce Subcommittee met for its first meeting of the year, took roll, and heard member introductions centered on the importance of workforce pathways beyond the traditional four-year college route. Members repeatedly emphasized manufacturing, trades, rural workforce needs, apprenticeships, and helping students and adults find multiple paths to good jobs. The chair outlined the subcommittee’s focus on policies that build a skilled workforce and announced the day’s theme would be manufacturing, with presentations from the Florida Department of Commerce, the Florida Semiconductor Institute, and Fleet Force CDL training. Secretary Alex Kelly presented Florida’s manufacturing report, saying manufacturing is a major economic driver and that Florida has become the 10th largest state in manufacturing employment. He highlighted strong job multipliers, rapid growth in manufacturing GDP and establishments, the importance of logistics and ports, and the state’s small-business-heavy manufacturing base. He also stressed the aging manufacturing workforce, the need for modern skills such as robotics, cybersecurity, and data analytics, and the role of public-private partnerships, apprenticeships, and workforce education investments in supporting reshoring and industry growth. Dr. David Arnold described Florida’s semiconductor sector and the Florida Semiconductor Institute’s mission to grow research, workforce, and ecosystem development. He said semiconductors are strategically important, Florida ranks fifth nationally in semiconductor workforce, and the main bottleneck is mid-level technician talent rather than engineers or entry-level workers. He pointed to NeoCity, Valencia College, and other regional partnerships as models, and said the state needs more proactive planning, better instructor capacity, and stronger pathways from K-12 through postsecondary. Evan Agiloff of Fleet Force discussed Florida’s CDL shortage, saying trucking is essential to the supply chain, Florida has about 18,000 open CDL positions, and Fleet Force’s college-based model can quickly move students into middle-class jobs. Members asked about apprenticeships, CTE pathways, semiconductor training, infrastructure needs, and how to expand and better fund workforce programs; no votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1329 departs from that standard. It requires assessors to pull... Buyers are willing to pay.
• SB 1329 departs from that standard.
• That have very significant losses and are looking for some solutions moving forward.
• The other thing I'd say is... ...into our workforce for the regularly tipped employees.
• solutions.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• All right, then we'll go to the Department of Finance. Jesse Romine, Department of Finance.
• Our workforce.
• Department of Finance, any? Noel Fakadji, Department of Finance, nothing to add at this time.
• The legal implementation of the four-day RTO is kind of a department-by-department issue and so we don't
• PBS doesn't pay for department spaces, so that's kind of a question for each individual department, unfortunately

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So if there was any department... ...and we had every department at the table.
• Economic and Workforce Development Department.
• Known workforce and workforce who supported these communities and live county and region-wide.
• City Employment and Workforce Development Department, SoCal Grantmakers, our third-party administrator
• I'm Carolyn Hull, the general manager of the Economic and Workforce Development Department for the City

Summary: The joint Senate and Assembly labor committees held a hearing on the Los Angeles wildfires and their impact on workers, employers, and recovery efforts. Chairs and members emphasized that rebuilding should prioritize worker safety, equity, local hiring, and strong labor standards rather than simply moving quickly or relying on the lowest bidder. They also stressed the need to learn from past disasters and to create a more coordinated state response for future emergencies. Worker advocates described how domestic workers, day laborers, firefighters, and other frontline workers were affected by the fires. Testimony focused on workers being trapped in evacuation zones, lacking timely information in Spanish, losing jobs and income, and facing exposure to toxic debris without adequate PPE. Speakers called for expanded outreach and education, stronger Cal/OSHA enforcement, broader occupational safety coverage for domestic workers and day laborers, recall and transfer rights, childcare and transportation support, and a centralized disaster relief system that can quickly deliver cash aid and equipment regardless of immigration status. Firefighter Derek Irwin said California firefighters face serious carcinogenic exposure and urged continued funding for the firefighter cancer prevention and research program, along with a long-term state health monitoring and research effort similar to the World Trade Center Health Program. Building trades and labor representatives argued that cleanup and rebuilding should be done through community workforce agreements, prevailing wage, apprenticeship requirements, and local hire provisions, and said the state already has trained workers available. They also said federal debris-removal work through the Army Corps has limited the state’s ability to impose some standards, but that state and local funding or subsidies should trigger labor requirements. Employer and business representatives described major losses to property, inventory, revenue, and jobs, especially in Altadena and nearby areas. The Altadena Chamber said it is coordinating recovery resources, while a construction business owner said small local firms are being shut out of disaster contracts and proposed a more accessible procurement process for local and minority businesses. LAEDC presented preliminary estimates of billions in property damage and business disruption, tens of thousands of potential job losses, and a recovery timeline of five to ten years, warning that low-income communities will be disproportionately affected and that workforce retraining and upskilling will be needed alongside the broader economic recovery.

Transcript Highlights:

• Jason Wolf, with the Department of Workforce Services, said the workers' compensation program is housed
• <00:09:29.120> of<00:09:29.160> Workforce with the Department of Workforce with the
• Department of Workforce Services<00:09:30.200> that<00:09:30.400> houses<00:09:31.440>
• There has been some conversation with the Department of Workforce Services over the last several years
• of Department of Health. of Department of Health.

Keywords: 916, all

Summary: The committee opened by explaining it would work through a long list of interim topics one at a time and asked members to complete a selection form at the end. The first topic, long-term care, drew testimony from AARP Wyoming and the Wyoming Long-Term Care Association. AARP emphasized Wyoming’s aging population, the state’s roughly $200 million annual Medicaid spending on long-term care, and the need to examine whether more support for home-based care could reduce nursing home use and costs. The association agreed with supporting people at home as long as possible, but asked that any study also consider increased support for nursing homes and assisted living when home care is no longer feasible. Committee discussion also touched on adult day care and PACE-like services, with Mr. Laycock noting prior Department of Health discussion and limited adult day availability due to reimbursement concerns. The committee then heard proposals for neonatal intensive care unit family leave, expanded midwifery scope, and a modification to workers’ compensation law. The NICU leave idea, presented by the Wyoming Women’s Foundation, would explore leave options for families with premature infants in intensive care, potentially paid or unpaid, while considering business size and the burden on families who may need out-of-state care. The midwifery topic was framed as a way to address rural maternity and women’s health gaps by allowing midwives to practice to the full extent of their training. On workers’ compensation, the Wyoming Association of Municipalities sought to classify dispatch personnel as first responders so they could receive mental health coverage under workers’ compensation; the Department of Workforce Services explained that current law covers dispatchers under workers’ compensation generally, but the first responder mental health provision added in 2018 applies to law enforcement and firefighters and does not currently include dispatchers. Other topics included problematic gaming and program funding, breast cancer diagnostic and supplemental exams, prescription drug coverage for advanced metastatic cancer, SNAP education, behavioral health workforce clinical training site shortages, CPR in schools, and broader midwifery oversight. The behavioral health workforce proposal, brought by a WICHE commissioner, focused on increasing psychology internship slots in Wyoming, noting that the state currently has only three and that expanding placements could improve recruitment and retention. The CPR in schools topic drew strong support from the American Heart Association, which argued that CPR training in high school could improve bystander response in a rural state with long EMS response times; committee members asked about cost and curriculum fit, and the witnesses said hands-only CPR could be taught by school staff rather than requiring expensive certification. The midwifery discussion later broadened into concerns about oversight and standards after a representative described a constituent’s pregnancy loss and said complaints involving midwifery practice and staffing delays in investigations warranted a deeper review. No votes were taken during the portion provided, and most topics were simply introduced, discussed, and left open for further testimony or later committee selection.

Transcript Highlights:

• I appreciate the Department of Transportation for having me.
• It's all building the workforce. But anyway, thank you, Mr. Chair.
• and will continue to be part of the solution and will save lives.
• At the federal level, the regulatory body is the Department of Transportation.
• We're working with the New Mexico Environmental Department and the Economic Development Department.

Transcript Highlights:

• the Department of Human Services starts. the Department of Human Services starts.
• at the department of human services.
• <00:20:22.640> Standards Workforce Standards Workforce Standards Board.<00:20:25.840> If
• <00:38:18.720> of<00:38:18.960> Human Department of Human Department of Human Services.
• We have worked towards these solutions We have worked towards these solutions for<00:54:19.359><

Bills: HF2434

Keywords: healthcare, personal care assistance, worker retention, disability services, state funding, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• AB 753 proposes a temporary solution to the urgent staffing crisis within our child care field.
• What we want to tell you is that the early care and learning workforce is experiencing a huge workforce
• AB 753 is one part of the solution to this teacher shortage crisis. Thank you.
• And in fact, now the visits are being canceled because the department is understaffed.
• County's Department of Children and Family Services.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Human Services heard a long agenda of bills focused largely on child welfare, foster care, child care, CalWORKs, mandated reporting, and public benefits. Early items included AB 890, which would ease county transfer rules for nonminor dependents in extended foster care; AB 461, which would replace punitive truancy-related penalties with supportive services for families; and AB 753, which would create an interim associate teacher pathway to help address the child care workforce shortage. Testimony on these bills emphasized barriers faced by foster youth, low-income families, and child care providers, and members expressed support for the general policy direction. The committee also heard AB 926 on foster care visitation, AB 563 on early childhood planning and reporting, AB 601 on standardized mandated reporter training, AB 1074 on CalWORKs reunification aid, AB 822 extending the Commission on the State of Hate, AB 970 creating a Los Angeles County mandated reporter pilot, AB 1161 protecting public benefits during disasters, AB 1172 allowing trained staff to administer emergency seizure medication in community care settings, and AB 363 expanding CalWORKs student supports and work-study. Witnesses generally supported these measures as ways to reduce trauma, improve reunification, modernize reporting and training, and expand access to services. County welfare and child welfare groups, advocacy organizations, and providers largely testified in support, while some bills drew concerns from county representatives about implementation or needed amendments. Several bills were voted out of committee, often unanimously and sometimes as amended, including AB 926, AB 563, AB 601, AB 1074, AB 822, AB 970, AB 1161, and AB 1172; AB 1172 was reported on call. The committee also took up consent items and later voted on subcommittee-held bills AB 461, AB 753, and AB 890, leaving them on call. At the end of the hearing, the committee heard AB 1211, which would protect CalFresh benefits from federal cuts and require a feasibility study on increasing benefits and eligibility; testimony stressed rising food insecurity and the economic importance of food assistance, but the transcript ends before a final vote on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• A crisis of workforce shortages.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs also does it.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs also does it. It took a village.
• The solution is safe and sensible.
• Building up that workforce, or are you hoping to attract people back?

Bills: SB2, SJR36, SB2, SB2, SR29, SB2

Keywords: Maverick County, recognition, economic development, Texas Senate, community celebration, 1185, senate, all