Transcript Highlights:

• So I think if there's one thing that Cap-and-Invest should protect, it's electricity rates.
• Are there other reasons that rates may increase?
• lower or driving electric rates down.
• So what does this mean for ratepayers in California and specifically POU rate payers?
• Rate increases are a real possibility.

Committee: Senate Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies

Summary: The committee heard an overview of CARB’s proposed amendments to California’s Cap-and-Invest program, implemented under AB 1207 and SB 840 after last year’s reauthorization through 2045. CARB said the draft rule changes are intended to support affordability, market certainty, and the state’s 2030 and 2045 climate targets, while also addressing offsets, utility allowance transfers, leakage protections for industry, and post-2030 allowance budgets. Members emphasized the importance of completing the rulemaking on schedule this spring so the changes can take effect by September 1, 2026. A major focus was how allowances are allocated among electric utilities, natural gas utilities, industry, and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. CARB explained that the proposal transfers natural gas utility allowances to electric utilities over time to support electrification and ratepayer protection, while maintaining free allowances for industry to reduce leakage risk and preserve in-state manufacturing and refining. Several members and panelists questioned whether the proposed utility changes could raise rates, whether the transition from gas to electric credits should happen faster, and whether the industrial allocation changes reduce climate credit and GGRF revenues more than necessary. CARB and panelists said they were open to additional data and comments, and noted that the proposal is still in public comment. The committee also discussed carbon capture, carbon removal, and refining. Members asked CARB to ensure that CCUS and CDR are clearly recognized as viable compliance pathways and to keep SB 905 rulemaking on track. On refining, members raised concerns about imported gasoline, leakage, and the need for better data on the carbon intensity of imported fuels; CARB said cap-and-invest applies to fuel suppliers at the rack, while life-cycle accounting issues are handled more through the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and related modeling. CARB said it is continuing technical work on those data tools. In the second panel, the LAO, IEMAC, EDF, and SCAPA representatives generally agreed that the program faces real tradeoffs between affordability, ambition, and leakage protection. The LAO and IEMAC stressed that the Legislature should scrutinize how CARB divides the allowance “pie,” since more free allocations to utilities or industry mean less revenue for GGRF. EDF argued the program could be somewhat more ambitious in the near term without harming affordability, while SCAPA said the proposal would reduce allowances for publicly owned utilities and could undermine early decarbonization investments and ratepayer benefits. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill requires the rate of towing to be the rate published in DPS's tow service agreement for the
• So in our bill, it defines which one of those rate structures you follow.
• In the metro market, it's a flat rate.
• Chair and Connor, so this would create a rate per day for that tow? Yes.
• What is the recidivism rate for this type of program? Do you know?

Bills: HB2127 , HB2257 , HB2305 , HB2573 , HB2772 , HB2941 , HB2957

Committee: House Transportation & Infrastructure

Keywords: special license plates, transportation, funding, nonprofits, charitable contributions, boating, watercraft licensing, law enforcement, safety fund, state funding, Arizona Revised Statutes, towing regulation, private towing carriers, vehicle impound, towing rates, preemption, DUI, ignition interlock, substance abuse treatment, driving privileges

Transcript Highlights:

• were designated for graduation rates.
• In these efforts, we're seeing really major gains in graduation rates.
• Of those, 20 have had the highest graduation rates in 10 years.
• Data-driven decision-making teams related to improving graduation rates.
• in PED supports related to graduation rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• In the south part of the state, we see much lower vacancy rates.
• But I would tell you I think a 5% vacancy rate, five and a half percent vacancy rate, is we're doing
• Our success rate is right at 62%.
• There are some prisons right now that are at 5% vacancy rate, 3% vacancy rate, not bad.
• It's not—there's always an anticipated vacancy rate. We get that.

Summary: The Justice Budget Committee heard detailed presentations from the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Corrections on staffing, services, and budget needs. DJJ Secretary Hall emphasized that the agency’s main public safety strategy is education, along with prevention and recidivism reduction. He described major staffing improvements after pay increases for probation, detention, residential care, and prevention workers, and outlined DJJ’s mental health, aftercare, and education continuum, including the Florida Scholars Academy and Florida Youth College. He said the new statewide education model is showing early gains in progress monitoring, high school graduation, and postsecondary enrollment, while also noting ongoing operational issues such as IT connectivity, rural staffing gaps, and the need for geographic pay adjustments for teachers. He also discussed detention center replacement plans in Hillsborough, Broward, and Palm Beach, and said DJJ would transition the Broward JAC to a security contractor after the sheriff’s office pulls sworn officers from the site. Members asked about campus performance differences, teacher pay, detention education quality, and concerns about the rollout and leadership of the Scholars Academy. Hall said some campuses face rural access and infrastructure problems, but the blended learning model provides continuity when internet or staffing issues arise. He defended the superintendent’s qualifications and said early problems with inappropriate online content were addressed. Representative Porras raised concerns about educational quality and the superintendent’s past disciplinary history, while Representative Barrera urged more mentorship and fatherhood-focused programming in juvenile facilities. DOC Secretary Dixon said the prison system is under pressure from rising inmate populations, staffing shortages, and overtime costs. He argued that the system needs funded posts for every functioning housing unit, noting that the department has added housing units without enough staff and now relies heavily on overtime, mobile officer deployments, and shift conversions to keep facilities operating safely. He highlighted that many officers are new, that outside-hospital transports have risen sharply, and that mental health units require additional staffing. DOC’s mental health chief described a large and growing treatment system with outpatient, inpatient, intensive outpatient, and court-ordered services, saying about a quarter of the prison population has a diagnosed mental illness. Community corrections staff described treatment programs, employment specialists, mobile probation and reentry units, and a new mental health first aid training initiative. Reentry staff reported expanded substance abuse, education, CTE, chaplaincy, and digital learning programs, including Edovo and a forthcoming Work Bay platform. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um I've about improper payment rates.
• 00:47:54.800><c> payments</c><00:47:55.119><c> in</c> 2.2% rate of improper payments in 2.2% rate of
• So for that 2.2 improper payment rate, right, the fraud rate would be less than that.
• </c> portion of that is that we have rates portion of that is that we have rates that<01:43:39.280><c
• </c> that are closer to private pay rates. that are closer to private pay rates.

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:17:12.079><c> the</c><00:17:12.240><c> Senate</c> Medicaid rates by 3%. the Senate Medicaid rates
• So when we look at our suicide rates by county, we do see um higher rates in our more rural parts of
• by county, we do see um suicide rates by county, we do see um higher<01:31:07.120><c> rates</c><01:31
• </c><01:57:45.599><c> per</c> we don't see a shift in the rates per we don't see a shift in the rates
• And this is 99.8% accuracy rating.

Summary: The committee met with DHS Chief Financial Officer Nathan White to receive an update on the department’s budget lapse and vacancy rates. White explained the difference between the “back-of-the-budget” reduction and lapse assumptions, saying DHS is facing a current biennium reduction of about $23 million and estimating roughly a $60 million general fund lapse in state fiscal year 2025, compared with about $13.5 million the prior year. He said DHS’s lapse is driven largely by program utilization, labor market conditions, contract spending, and statutory carry-forwards in areas such as Medicaid and developmental disabilities, which tend to produce a smaller lapse in the first year of the biennium and a larger one in the second year. He also noted that the House and Senate budgets differ on some operating items, including Medicaid rates, with the Senate having struck a House proposal to reduce rates by 3%. Members questioned White about whether DHS ever spends down lapse money on last-minute purchases. He said the department does not engage in that practice, though it does retain some flexibility in its facilities budget for emergencies. He also described the process for transferring funds within and between class lines, including the need for fiscal committee approval above statutory thresholds, and gave examples such as moving funds to cover overtime in the SYSC budget and to ensure Medicaid payments for nursing facilities. White said such transfers are public and transparent and are reviewed by the governor and Executive Council. The committee then discussed DHS staffing. White said the department has a little over 3,200 authorized positions, with a vacancy rate around 14.5%, and that a hiring freeze had been imposed a few months earlier while exempting direct care positions. He said DHS is planning for about a $30 million general fund reduction to personnel, equivalent to just under 400 positions, and is managing postings centrally to stay within budget by July 1. In response to questions about the loss of about $80 million in federal funds, White and Associate Commissioner Patricia Tilly said DHS avoided layoffs by shifting staff into vacant positions, but that the cuts affected community contracts, public health workers, laboratory work, and some IT/data projects. Tilly said roughly 20 positions were affected, most were reassigned, a few staff left voluntarily, and the department has less flexibility going forward if more federal funding ends.

Transcript Highlights:

• UC Health also wants to say thank you for delaying the Prop 56 dental rate cuts.
• UC Health also wants to say thank you for delaying the Prop 56 dental rate cuts.
• So we reiterate the substantial return on investment and retention rates.
• So we reiterate the substantial return on investment and retention rates.
• We also appreciate the committee's rejection of the proposed rate cuts.

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Human Services held its final hearing on the budget, with the chair framing the Senate’s plan as a counterproposal that rejected major cuts and preserved revenues. Public comment was overwhelmingly supportive of the subcommittee’s actions, especially on Medi-Cal, IHSS, PACE, behavioral health, child care, CalFresh outreach, immigrant legal services, and long-term care. Testimony from disability, aging, county, health plan, provider, labor, and advocacy groups urged the committee to keep rejecting asset tests, immigrant coverage reductions, IHSS cost shifts, PACE rate cuts, and behavioral health reductions, while supporting mobile crisis, 988, Title IV-E workforce funding, and the “Be Home Soon California” proposal to expand home- and community-based care. Several speakers also pressed for additional or related funding and policy changes, including county alternatives for people losing Medi-Cal under federal HR1-related changes, more support for public hospitals and indigent care, CalFresh and Cal Food investments, child care slots and COLAs, dental rate cut delays, and expanded immigration legal and food assistance. Others thanked the committee for restoring or preserving funding for behavioral health innovation and advocacy grants, public health IT and disease investigation, diaper banks, hearing aids for children, and distressed hospital loans. The committee also heard concerns about fee-for-service shifts, outpatient dialysis coverage, and other implementation details, with some groups asking for trailer bill language or guardrails. After public comment, the subcommittee took three votes on large blocks of budget items. The first block of consent items passed 3-0, the second block passed 2-1, and the final block passed 2-0, with the chair announcing that the items were approved and out of committee. The hearing then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Amid rising costs of statutorily required duties, this increases the statutory reimbursement rate for
• This increases the statutory reimbursement rate for $195 for petitions and ads approved civil and engine
• OF COMPENSATION REIMBURSEMENT RATES AND THERE IS AN ADJUSTMENT OF COMPENSATION FOR HOSPITAL EMERGENCY
• WAS AT THE MEDICAID ALLOWABLE RATE.
• NEGOTIATE RATES ABOVE 110% OF MEDICARE ALLOWABLE RATE IF THEY ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE HEALTHCARE

Transcript Highlights:

• So you'll recall the bond levy equalization rate was something that was determined to... incur a debt
• the bond levy equalization rate was something that was determined to administer that fund.
• Well, that fund's been eliminated, but we retained the definition of the bond levy equalization rate,
• with that rate, rated those districts based on need, based on that original definition in the original
• So there's a priority rating there.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• So it makes market-rate or luxury higher-end housing, for instance, very difficult to do.
• This is the opposite of market-rate housing, where the pressure is to force the rents up.
• For example, impact on utility rates?
• They're not being put on residential customers and increasing their utility rates.
• And then for a small modular reactor-specific... ...data centers driving up their rates.

Bills: HB2388 , HB2804 , HB2926

Committees: House Rural Economic Development , House House Rural Economic Development Committee of Reference

Keywords: HB2388, Arizona Commerce Authority, ACA, small modular reactor, SMR, nuclear energy, advanced nuclear, data center, data centers, economic development, study, appropriation, general fund, jobs, wages, tax revenue, broadband, infrastructure, secondary businesses, tertiary businesses

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill seems to say we're going to triple the rates for telling storage up to triple the rates were
• But we don't see a need for increasing rates based upon this are arbitrary 3 times.
• That goes into the rate base by here to sell on fear of rates going up.
• It could be 4 days before you really get your car back 3 times the rate in Leon County.
• You're recognized. >> Where you just dissipating me rate on it. I knew it.

Transcript Highlights:

• Here's what he said: 9% simple interest rate. What's the APR for that? That's a 45%, he explained.
• What does a 4% fee rate mean? He asked. That's also, it turns out, a 45% APR.
• is an APR or the annual percentage rate.
• It buys down the interest rate.
• The borrower sees, you know, a 2% interest rate, 3% interest rate, they think, "Wow, that's amazing!

Committee: House Banking and Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> at an adequate rate. at an adequate rate.
• </c> actually reimburse them at a fair rate actually reimburse them at a fair rate for<02:47:26.000><
• </c> provider rate. provider rate.
• So, we have to get those rates up.
• The rate was for Wyoming: 3%.

Transcript Highlights:

• , we had set our IT rates on May 1, 2024.
• The rate that Microsoft charges is $30 per month.
• are allocated and you have rate cases and you have rate design, the rates are designed in such a way
• I'm sure that's having some type of impact on our rates as a rate payer." "Mr.
• Plus, you're gradually raising rates, so you don't get rate shock under other mechanisms, which is you

Committee: Joint Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Committee

Summary: The committee held its first meeting on artificial intelligence and data centers, establishing its purpose as a study and policy-development body rather than one aimed at producing many bills. Majority Leader Hogue urged members to move quickly, focus on federal and other states’ AI laws, consider possible federal preemption, child protections, and the siting and economic impacts of data centers. Committee leadership echoed that the goal is practical, balanced governance that protects North Dakota while allowing innovation to continue. Legislative Council staff provided a background memo and NCSL presented a detailed overview of AI concepts and the current state legislative landscape. The presentations distinguished narrow AI, generative AI, agentic AI, and theoretical AGI/ASI, and summarized major state policy themes: comprehensive AI laws in states such as Utah, Colorado, Texas, California, and Illinois; targeted laws on deepfakes, chatbots, health, education, notifications, and digital likeness; and growing use of appropriations and agency inventories. Members asked about Colorado’s repeal and reenactment, Texas’s sandbox and training provisions, oversight structures, and whether AI regulation is bipartisan; presenters said most issues cut across party lines, with broad agreement on child safety and deepfakes but more division on broader regulatory approaches. The federal update focused on executive orders, preemption, and congressional activity. NCSL described a White House framework favoring a single federal standard, a DOJ litigation task force, Commerce Department review of state laws, and possible funding conditions tied to state AI policy, though no formal state-law challenge had yet occurred. The presentation also covered a recent executive order creating a voluntary federal vetting process for advanced frontier models after safety concerns, and congressional proposals including a failed 10-year state moratorium, Senator Blackburn’s child-safety bills, the Kids Online Safety Act, a House-passed children’s digital safety package, a Senate data center moratorium proposal, and a House ratepayer/data-center bill. The committee took no formal action beyond receiving testimony and asking questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Under Trump's First Step Act, the racism rate for the home confinement program was less than 1%.
• Under Trump's First Step Act, the racism rate for the home confinement program was less than 1%.
• Teachers have one of the highest turnover rates...
• The average proficiency rate is in the 30s for math, reading, and science—you name it.
• It's not fair, and I hope that... ...different rates that are charged to people.

Transcript Highlights:

• We do have one rate of tuition.
• Rate, for example.
• I have a single rate for that.
• The rate is 87.24, is the most recent rate.
• The rate is 154.36.

Summary: The committee met on the Minot State campus for a presentation from President Shirley and several university leaders on enrollment, academics, workforce initiatives, and partnerships. Shirley reviewed the university’s financial audits, noting mostly clean results with only minor technical findings in recent years, and highlighted Minot State’s major programs, specialized accreditations, and ties to Minot Air Force Base and NCAA Division II athletics. Members asked about education workforce shortages, athletic tuition waivers, dual credit incentives, and the university’s in-state tuition policy for all students. Shirley also discussed the university’s recruitment efforts, including the Hometown Pride and Academic Excellence scholarships, campus visit growth, and the Emerging Scholars dual-credit reimbursement program. A major focus was workforce development and new academic offerings supported by legislative Workforce Education Innovation Funds. Shirley described the new Innovation Engineering program, which was developed with industry input to train broadly skilled engineers for western North Dakota, and said it had already drawn more applicants than expected. Dr. Crystal St. Peter presented a new master’s program in counseling that integrates mental health and addiction counseling to address statewide provider shortages, with a hybrid format to reach rural students. Members asked about licensure requirements, internship hours, and job placement for graduates. Shirley also outlined a new nursing simulation center and health sciences space in downtown Minot, made possible by state support and the purchase of the former Trinity Health Center West building. The committee also heard about Minot State’s efforts to build pipelines into education and special education, including the Aspire program for rural high school students and an online paraprofessional-to-special-education degree pathway. Shirley said these programs, along with new articulation agreements and a large Bush Foundation grant, are intended to address teacher shortages and keep students in North Dakota. No formal committee votes or actions were taken during the presentation; the session consisted of informational updates and member questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• three-fold rates of suicide compared to their non-LGB peers.
• Year after year, we are hit with rate increases.
• And what needs to be done is rates need to be reduced, period.
• Let's just put that climate credit into rates, and it would reduce our rates.
• So these are all things... ...let's just put that climate credit into rates and it would reduce our rates

Summary: The Assembly met after a quorum call and first dealt with a procedural dispute over four amendments to AB 1240. The Speaker ruled the amendments out of order as not germane, and the Assembly sustained that ruling on a 49-16 vote. Members then added co-authors to several consent-calendar resolutions, including measures on the National Conference of State Legislators, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, ALS Awareness Month, and Men’s Mental Health Month, before adopting the consent calendar. The chamber also heard guest introductions, including a welcome for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, and took up a motion to bring AB 41 up out of file, which failed 19-48. The bulk of the meeting was floor action on a long series of bills and resolutions, many of which passed with broad bipartisan support. Measures approved included ACR 40 supporting immigrant students and FAFSA privacy; AB 917 on permanent status for certain school employees; AB 985 on anesthesia access; AB 7 and AB 42 on higher education and student services; AB 245 providing property tax relief for wildfire victims; AB 255 allowing funding for drug-free recovery housing; AB 279 updating K-12 library standards; AB 289 creating a pilot for automated speed enforcement in highway construction zones; AB 291 on an educator apprentice program; AB 327 addressing swatting; AB 340 on confidential union communications; AB 341 creating an oral health technical assistance center for people with disabilities; AB 356 on San Diego health care infrastructure; AB 410 on bot disclosure; AB 476 on copper theft enforcement; AB 477 on educator pay targets; AB 485 on stolen wages and business licensing; AB 487, the insurance committee’s technical omnibus bill; AB 573 on tobacco retail license fees; AB 598 on school mapping technology; AB 635 on mobile home law enforcement referrals; AB 651 on remote participation for incarcerated parents in dependency hearings; AB 654 on homelessness hotline assistance in Los Angeles County; AB 662 creating a South County higher education task force; AB 667 on language access in professional licensing; AB 669 limiting early denial of addiction treatment; AB 670 on naturally occurring affordable housing; AB 695 on online continuation of community college for deported students; AB 723 on disclosure for digitally altered real estate images; AB 727 placing Trevor Project information on student IDs; and AB 736, a $10 billion affordable housing bond for the June 2026 ballot, which passed on a 61-11 urgency vote after extensive debate. Debate on AB 736 was the most extensive of the day, with supporters arguing the bond would help address California’s housing crisis and give voters a chance to weigh in, while opponents criticized the state’s bond debt and past spending results. The Assembly then recessed for caucus meetings and later returned to continue the daily file, where additional measures were taken up, including AB 798 adding diapers and wipes to the emergency food bank reserve program, which passed 56-0, and AB 821 on career technical education, which was presented as bipartisan-supported as the transcript continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:07:42.520><c> and</c> trends of low unemployment rates and trends of low unemployment rates and
• decreasing experience rating benefit decreasing experience rating benefit payments<00:07:45.560><c> and
• are higher the taxable payroll tax rates are higher the taxable wage<00:08:09.560><c> rate</c><00:08
• In the last 10 years, her reimbursement rates have remained flat.
• In the last 10 years, her reimbursement rates have remained flat.

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Despite California having one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the country, Black women remain
• Overall, pregnancy-related mortality, severe maternal morbidity, and preterm birth rates have declined
• So that's a third of the rate of Black birthing folks.
• And then white birthing folks are experiencing a rate of about 15 per 100,000 births.
• The United States continues to have one of the highest maternal mortality rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've seen the lowest crime rates that we have experienced in decades.
• They would have an effective tax rate at most of 2.65%. So it's a...
• So there cannot be a sort of direct offset of that rate.
• Is there an ability for health plans to readjust that rate?
• So the rate is set to generate the $2.3 billion.

Committee: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review