Transcript Highlights:

• it says that the purpose was used by permits and licensing staff to obtain continuing education certificates
• your continuing education units, for our inspectors to keep their licenses and to keep their certifications
• Lawsoning Court has observed the court has pointed language to say they know how to accomplish something
• the Attorney General says you can't add to the statute if the legislature chose not to include the language
• The language in the statute is specific in that you can construct, but you cannot acquire.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee first heard a long-running audit finding involving Daytona Beach’s unexpended building permit funds, which have exceeded the statutory limit for several years and were reported at $10.8 million in the most recent audit. Mayor Derek Henry and city staff said the city has analyzed the fund, adopted a corrective action plan, waived more than $5.5 million in permit and inspection fees over several periods, and used some excess funds for a training facility rehabilitation and a proposed City Hall expansion. Committee members repeatedly questioned whether the city was simply trying to spend down the money, raised concerns about the legality and necessity of proposed expenditures, and asked about interest earnings, truck purchases, and the lack of detailed tracking for training-facility use. The city said an Attorney General opinion allows construction of a new building for building-code functions but not purchase of an existing building, and that if the city cannot comply through permissible construction it would have to return the funds. No vote was taken, but members expressed strong frustration and urged the city to resolve the issue quickly and lawfully. The committee then received the Auditor General’s presentation on the Town of Greenville, which found 31 findings and described pervasive control failures, possible fraud, waste, and abuse. The findings covered elections and quorum issues, conflicts of interest, late or missing financial disclosure forms, related-party transactions, poor meeting notices and minutes, council involvement in day-to-day operations, missing ethics training, budget and accounting deficiencies, weak bank reconciliations, improper utility billing and rates, grant compliance problems tied to a grocery store project, personnel and compensation issues involving the town manager, late vendor payments, weak procurement and P-card controls, vehicle-use and property-control problems, public records issues, and IT/fraud-policy weaknesses. The auditor said the review focused mainly on October 2022 through February 2024 but went back further for some grant-related matters. Greenville’s mayor and staff said the audit reflected actions of a previous administration and that the current council and staff have already adopted seven new policies to improve procurement, financial controls, inventory management, grant oversight, and ethics. They said the town has a new manager and clerk, that the former manager was terminated, and that the town referred matters to FDLE, which is investigating. Committee members asked about the manager’s salary increase, severance, P-card use, and whether the town should consider consolidation or dissolution. The mayor said the town is on a better path, that most of the prior leadership has been voted out, and that the town is working with auditors and an outside accounting firm to correct the problems.

Transcript Highlights:

• Court a hundred years ago, where the State of Missouri, the State Bank of Missouri issued gold certificates
• Okay, so this has not really been worked out in that kind of great detail with the actual language that's
• Initially, the version of the bill included language that would allow us to charge a fee, and have that
• It's now limited; the language limits the fee to the industry standard merchant fee.
• was money for the first hundred years in the United States, and until the 1950s, you had silver certificates

Bills: SB524, SB782, HB42, HB1056, HB2894, HB3033, HB3474, HB3594, HB4738, HB5246, HB42

Keywords: SB 524, Texas franchise tax, veteran-owned business, new veteran-owned business, business tax exemption, filing fee exemption, Tax Code Chapter 171, Business Organizations Code, Comptroller, small business, veterans, entrepreneurship, tax repeal, privilege tax, beginning date, franchise tax exemption, severance tax, oil, gas, restimulation wells

Transcript Highlights:

• utilized to protect the public's investment in transportation is the materials acceptance and certification
• This system manages FDOT's construction materials and products testing, acceptance, and certification
• And then we have three MAC materials acceptance certification projects that I mentioned earlier.
• bringing SunBiz into the 21st century in terms of data management systems, system software, coding languages
• And George is the last person that we have that can write in that language.

Summary: The subcommittee first heard a panel on state cloud modernization efforts after canceling an LBR on the Department of Corrections’ OBIS project because the presentation materials were not submitted on time. Florida Digital Service, the Northwest Regional Data Center, and several agencies described how the state is assessing and migrating applications to cloud environments under the cloud-first policy. Northwest explained its 2023 cloud readiness assessment of 890 applications from 24 agencies, the criteria used to rate readiness and risk, and its recommendation to tackle lower-risk applications first. Agency updates covered the Department of Corrections’ modernization of 98 legacy applications tied to OBIS and cloud-native infrastructure, the Department of Elder Affairs’ Microsoft Power Platform modernization, the Department of Health’s health management and child protection systems, and FDOT’s large cloud program for transportation systems. Members repeatedly asked about costs, data ownership, disaster recovery, single sign-on, security tools, and whether cloud migration actually saves money; presenters generally said the focus is more on modernization, resilience, and efficiency than immediate savings, and that cost analyses are often application-specific rather than enterprise-wide. The discussion also covered governance and architecture questions. Florida Digital Service said agencies remain responsible for their own databases and cloud tenants, while FLDS provides advice and an enterprise architecture framework; it does not have statutory oversight over most projects, except for OBIS project oversight due to its size. Northwest said it is acting as a cloud broker for some agencies and is consolidating Azure and AWS payer tenants to seek better pricing, but agencies still make system-by-system decisions based on business needs, risk, latency, and total cost of ownership. Members raised concerns about fragmented data structures, the lack of a complete statewide application inventory, and the need for better interoperability and enterprise standards. Several agencies said disaster recovery is built into their cloud plans, and FDOT and Corrections described ongoing efforts to keep systems current through core platforms, training, and ongoing support. In the second half of the meeting, the Department of State presented two new technology requests. Secretary Byrd described the SunBiz corporate registry system as a 34-year-old platform supporting more than 3.5 million business entities and generating over $575 million in annual general revenue. He said the department had already virtualized the legacy hardware after earlier modernization efforts failed and is now seeking $800,000 recurring for password protection and $5 million nonrecurring to continue procurement for a replacement system. The department also presented the Florida Voter Registration System modernization request, noting that the current system is outdated and requires manual workarounds for some statutory changes. The department requested $2.4948 million nonrecurring and $44,000 recurring to procure a modernized FVRS solution, and staff said the feasibility study recommended a hybrid approach. Members asked about the study’s findings and about creating a database for voter eligibility information for returning citizens; the department said that would require data sharing with all 67 clerks of court and other entities such as DOC.

Transcript Highlights:

• law last week when it proposed a policy that directly conflicts with long-standing appropriations language
• Again, we're seeing it's not the four-year university always, it's the two-year, it's the certificate
• Is working with our community colleges and our local colleges to have those certificate-based so that
• Okay, now in a An email that was sent out across the government through OPM, it classified, it used language
• Sometimes people are looking to upscale or get another certificate so they can stay in their communities

Keywords: PRO Act, labor laws, worker rights, unionization, right-to-work, public testimony, political polarization

Summary: The meeting centered around an in-depth discussion of the PRO Act, with representatives expressing passionate opinions both for and against the legislation. Representative Chavez de Rimmer emphasized the importance of worker freedom, arguing that the PRO Act would infringe upon individual rights by coercing unionization. This perspective was strongly received by members from right-to-work states, who articulated their concerns about the potential erosion of workers' choices and protections. Speaker after speaker conveyed conflicting views on labor laws, indicating a deeply polarized environment surrounding labor issues at the moment.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think the language that we typically see when it comes to electioneering is for or against a named
• And maybe that language might ease some concerns in this bill. Vice Chair Bernal.
• To support parents, this bill creates an easy, accessible, plain-language resource. language, searchable
• Subsequently, we filed a complaint with the State Board of Educators' Certification for her, and that
• Moving forward with this language will give us another backstop to ensure that the changes to special

Bills: SB204, SB570, SB735, SB784, SB1207, SB1396, SB1447, SB2392, SB2540, SB747, SB875

Keywords: parental rights, education, school trustees, training, handbook, truancy, attendance policy, chronic absenteeism, school attendance, student absence notifications, parent notification, home visit, attendance officer, truancy court, school district, open-enrollment charter school, student support services, school counselor, principal, administrator

Transcript Highlights:

• In addition to the existing language on negligent maintenance, and it specifies that it's based on the
• I'm happy to work on language with you after we pass it out today.
• We believe the language should be expressly, should expressly state that the course should be offered
• , so we just kept the same language.
• We just left the same language as is.

Transcript Highlights:

• of veterinary medicine, a certificate of inspection, to move those animals out of state.
• You know, they've had the shortened certificate of veterinary inspection.
• And then have to get sign-off with a certificate from a vet. Yes, sir.
• You have extra certifications.
• You have extra certifications.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• uh gender neutral language to the bill. uh gender neutral language to the bill.
• c> the<00:21:59.679> house The languages passed by the house The languages passed by the house
• Any aggressive language, any escalate."
• And there are two states language.
• For us, have pretty similar language.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:31.840> and national board teacher certification and national board teacher certification
• They're certificates in most cases.
• degrees,<00:34:21.040> two certifications, it is degrees, two certifications, it is degrees
• <01:35:04.000> of funding mechanism within the language of funding mechanism within the language
• from Senate File, I believe 69, the property tax relief language.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He asked how long it took to get that certification.
• Amanda said the state police would have to do the inspection certification.
• have your license certification have your license certification inspection.<02:04:00.960> So<
• go through to get that certification? go through to get that certification?
• I had to go to a class at certification.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• environments um has uh the certificate environments um has uh the certificate or<00:15:43.920>
• I'd love to see that in the language.
• You know, this language does not delineate penalties.
• Um, I think that that in the language.
• Um you know this language does question.

Bills: HF2354, HF1672, HF2389, HF2870, HF2743, HF1918, HF2551, HF1671

Keywords: medical assistance, fraud prevention, subpoena authority, criminal penalties, consumer protection, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, cannabis, cannabinoids, hemp, marijuana registry, patient registry, visiting patient, Tribal cannabis, Tribal medical cannabis program, Tribal sovereignty, Office of Cannabis Management, designated caregiver, home cultivation, adult-use cannabis

Transcript Highlights:

• So we can't amend that language. state. So we can't amend that language.
• language as it exists.
• So the the exact language<01:12:33.760> in<01:12:34.880> um language in um language in
• the language that I just pointed out? the language that I just pointed out?
• The language extends that identical language to those other provisions.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee opened with Senate Bill 22-FN, which would expand child care licensing background checks so the Department of Health and Human Services can receive fuller criminal history information, including pending charges and other non-conviction records, similar to the system already used for school staff. Grant Bossi, for Senator Pearl, and DHHS officials Melissa Clement and Christine Sheay testified in support, saying the bill closes a gap that can allow people with disqualifying charges to work with children. They explained that the FBI record is a snapshot in time, that juvenile records are not included, and that the bill would apply to child care programs including residential group homes. Questions focused on what “confidential criminal history” means and how often checks are repeated; DHHS said checks are done every five years or sooner if new charge information is received. The hearing on SB 22 was then closed. The committee then took up Senate Bill 23-FN, which would expand the child endangerment statute and remove the word “purposely” from part of the language. Senator Pat Long said the bill is intended to strengthen protection for children and allow more serious conduct to be charged appropriately. Testimony from law enforcement, including Executive Counselor Dave Wheeler, Sergeant Ryan Rooney of Nashua Police, and Nicholas Georgulis of Manchester Police, supported the bill as a way to distinguish routine misdemeanor cases from the most egregious abuse and neglect cases, such as children living in squalor or being exposed to severe danger. Wheeler and some members raised concerns that the language could be vague or overbroad and cited a prior Manchester firearm-in-a-car arrest as an example of possible unintended consequences; supporters responded that the bill still requires knowingly violating a duty of care and that the serious bodily injury or death standard limits its reach. Rooney also described a fentanyl overdose case involving an 11-year-old and said the current misdemeanor charge did not fully reflect the seriousness of the conduct. The committee recessed SB 23 briefly to open and close SB 161, then returned to SB 23, which remained under hearing with no final vote taken in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll certifications are complied with.
• So, uh, that language may not be, um, necessary in the language of the bill.
• So uh that language for that process.
• /c> may not be um necessary in the language may not be um necessary in the language of<00:16:23.440><
• Aloha. ...with the AG's office on their language, and I'd only draw attention to the fact that that language

Bills: SB3326, SB2911

Keywords: renewable energy, energy storage, cost reduction, public utilities commission, Hawaii energy policies, intoxicating liquor, direct shipment, breweries, distilleries, Hawaii, 912, senate, all

Summary: The committees heard SB 3001 on artificial intelligence in a joint Commerce and Consumer Protection/Labor and Technology hearing. Testimony included support from the Department of Education and Google, comments from the Office of Consumer Protection and the Attorney General’s office, and late opposition from Agentic LLC. The Attorney General raised constitutional and vagueness concerns and suggested clarifying amendments, while Google said the bill’s risk-based approach and proposed amendments could help establish industry-wide safety standards for minors. The committees recessed and then voted to pass SB 3001 with amendments, adopting DCCA/OCP recommendations on data minimization for minors and UDAP clarity, the Attorney General’s proposed clarifications and deletions, and Google’s nonconflicting amendments; the effective date was deferred to July 1, 2050. The vote passed unanimously among members present, with some members excused. The Commerce and Consumer Protection committee then took up several previously heard measures in decision-making. SB 2045 on combat sports passed with amendments reflecting DCCA and boxing commission recommendations, including clarifying the on-site medical professional requirement, reporting duties, promoter payment, removal of the combat sports registry and ambulance requirement, and other technical changes; the effective date was deferred to July 1, 2050. SP 2347 on the residential landlord-tenant code passed with amendments striking landlord requirements so OCP could work on a multilingual tenant-rights notice, and SP 2495 on consumer protection passed with amendments requiring OCP to publish an annual report on potential code violations. SB 2777 on insurance was deferred to February 17, 2026 for further decision-making. At a later CPN decision-making agenda, SB 2471 and SB 2829, both relating to the powers of artificial persons, passed with amendments clarifying the preamble, removing language about foreign artificial persons, and making other consistency and non-substantive changes; both effective dates were moved to January 1, 2027. SP 2033 on renewable energy also passed with amendments clarifying the definition of grid-ready homes, cost-sharing provisions, applicability to interconnecting customers, and safety/certification compliance, with the effective date deferred to July 1, 2050. In each case, the committee voted to adopt the recommendations without objections from members present. The committees also heard SB 3000 on insurance, which would authorize the Attorney General to bring civil actions to recover costs and losses tied to climate-attributable harm and future climate risk, including costs incurred by state insurance-related entities. The Insurance Division and Attorney General’s office offered comments seeking clarification and warning about redundancy, implementation issues, possible representation of private insurers, and concurrent litigation concerns. Supporters, including the Center for Climate Integrity, a resident testifier, Sierra Club, and Green America, argued the bill would help shift insurance costs to fossil fuel companies responsible for climate harms and address rising premiums and nonrenewals in Hawaii. Opponents, including the American Petroleum Institute, argued the bill singled out one industry, raised constitutional concerns, and should be deferred because related climate litigation is already pending. The transcript ends with the committee continuing testimony and discussion on SB 3000 and then moving into SB 3326 on energy, where the consumer advocate and Hawaiian Electric opposed the bill’s proposed separation of generation from transmission and distribution, while the PUC stood on written testimony, Retail Merchants of Hawaii supported it, and Life of the Land raised concerns about assumptions and the need for more substance.

Transcript Highlights:

• separate language or language is on separate language or language is on every<00:49:51.040> street
• executive action it is now the language executive action it is now the language recognized<00:50
• come here that uh that speak a language come here that uh that speak a language other<00:55:49.599
• into a country is learning the language into a country is learning the language and<01:04:55.000
• American Sign Language.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Transportation Committee met in executive session on several House bills. HB 212, allowing a 180-day operation waiver when a vehicle fails an emissions test, was retained at the sponsor’s request for possible modifications. HB 249, which would have let bicyclists treat stop signs as yields and stop lights as stop signs, was recommended inexpedient to legislate (ITL) by a 9-7 vote, with a minority report expected. The committee then retained HB 298, creating an exception for removing VIN tags from pre-1981 vehicles when needed for repair or restoration, by a 15-1 vote. HB 411-FN, making handheld device use while driving a secondary offense, was recommended ITL by consent after members argued the current primary-offense law is more effective for enforcement and safety. On HB 414, which would have barred DMV license suspensions based on debts owed to private towing or storage companies, the committee rejected ITL and instead retained the bill 16-0 after members split over whether the current law unfairly ties driving privileges to private debt collection. HB 441, addressing visible diesel emissions and “rolling coal,” was recommended ITL 16-0 because members said the conduct is already illegal under existing state and federal law. The committee then took up HB 461, concerning Department of Safety and DMV training and testing materials, where members debated whether driver testing should be limited to English and whether multilingual materials are a safety necessity or discriminatory; the transcript cuts off before a final vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• the<00:01:19.920> ability<00:01:20.240> for language to enhance the ability for language
• And this language just mirrors the language that is in effect for certified nurse midwives.
• , produce not only a birth certificate, produce not only a birth certificate, but<01:25:52.159>
• So, it's not a birth certificate bucks. So, it's not a birth certificate for<01:26:57.120> them.
• :32:12.080> now,<02:32:12.560> and the language that's in statute now, and the language

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• want to transfer a patient to a rehab facility or other post-acute care setting, while the patient language
• Care for All has a direct consumer helpline that takes over 25,000 calls a year in five different languages
• So per the language of the bill, it should not have required a prior authorization at all.
• The consumers need the services kind of listed in clear lay language in their benefit handbook, so they
• We're also happy to send in some language that may help to delineate some of the improvements and how

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee held a hearing on several health care access and insurance-related bills, with most testimony focused on H.1136 to improve the prior authorization process. The Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, Health Care for All, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, physicians, and hospital representatives all supported the bill, arguing that prior authorization delays care, increases administrative burden, contributes to clinician burnout, and can worsen patient outcomes. Witnesses described examples involving delayed cancer treatment, diabetes care, COPD medication, shingles pain treatment, and hospital discharge delays. They said the bill would preserve prior authorization but add guardrails such as longer validity periods, continuity-of-care protections, faster responses for urgent care, clearer lists of services requiring authorization, and more transparency and standardization. The committee also heard testimony on H.1142/S.783 regarding equitable reimbursement for certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), with Senator Lovely and CRNA advocates supporting parity with physician anesthesiologists. They said CRNAs provide the same services at the same standard of care, but private insurers sometimes reimburse them at lower rates than physicians, which they argued is inconsistent with federal and state policy and harms access. Senator Keenan testified in support of a bill addressing claim denials and appeals, saying insurers should provide clearer explanations, time to resubmit claims, and timely appeal responses. Dr. Lorraine Schratz supported H.1126 to align state patient disclosure requirements with federal No Surprises Act rules, and Dr. Michael Trimbley supported H.1120 to recognize direct primary care as not being insurance and to encourage primary care participation. The committee also heard testimony on H.1140/S.801 to remove barriers to patient care by updating insurance statutes to reflect nurse practitioners’ full practice authority, and on H.1168/S.A.18 to eliminate the PCP referral requirement for specialty gynecological care. Witnesses on those bills described delays and denials affecting autism diagnosis, nutrition coverage, and endometriosis care, and said the proposals would reduce unnecessary barriers and improve timely access. After testimony and a few member questions, the chair closed the hearing; no votes were taken during the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• at some of the highlights of WSU's financial reporting demands or WSU's entities, if we use that language
• As part of this presentation, I wanted to share some language that was included in the 2025–27 biennial
• For the very first time, there was language included to say that appropriations from WIA could now supplant
• You can see Section 951, but the language... This was pretty deep in the budget.
• But the language that, of course, is not highlighted or underlined is the pre-existing statute.

Summary: The Joint Higher Education Committee met for a work session on higher education accounting practices and financial transparency. OFM Deputy Director Sarah Rupp explained how state accounting rules and higher education reporting differ, including what data is captured in AFRS today and what will move into Workday, with universities generally reporting summary-level fund data, mandatory codes, and most balance sheet and income statement activity, but not transaction-level detail or vendor payment information. Representatives from the University of Washington and Washington State University described the complexity of their own accounting systems, the many entities and business lines they must track for audits and compliance, and the need to reconcile university-level accrual accounting with state reporting requirements. The committee also heard from the Education Research and Data Center on the public four-year finance dashboard created under Senate Bill 5512; ERDC said the dashboard is based on publicly available data, is best used to examine institutions individually rather than compare them directly, and will be updated with additional metrics in 2025 and 2026. The committee then received a presentation from the Washington Student Achievement Council on the Workforce Education Investment Account (WIA). Joel Anderson reviewed WIA’s creation under House Bill 2158, its revenue sources, and its intended uses for higher education, financial aid, and workforce development. He said recent legislation significantly increased WIA revenues and that, in the 2025–27 budget, the account is being used in new ways, including to replace general fund support for University of Washington operations and to fund a larger share of the Washington College Grant and some faculty compensation costs. Anderson said roughly 98% of current WIA appropriations go to higher education, but the share used to supplant other higher education funding has grown, and he estimated about 60% to 70% of current spending still aligns with the account’s original intent. He also described a new effort to track WIA appropriations across biennia in more detail and noted the WIA Oversight Board’s role in recommending uses of the account and monitoring outcomes. No votes were taken; the committee ended by moving into executive session for staffing issues and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• programs, you probably want to make sure that they're actually resulting in some level of either uh language
• We have some really high quality programs across the state when it comes to dual language.
• Do we provide the infrastructure and support for people to actually offer high quality dual language
• Or if we find that, and, and research already shows that dual language, for instance, is sort of the
• Um, which is where I did the, uh, you know, the pilot funding for, you know, the certificates, um, so

Transcript Highlights:

• The language in the bill is CARE St. Peter, and so the intention is CARE St. Peter.
• Requirements and certification for recovery residences and a work group.
• And that concludes all of the language articles in the DE. And also, I want to thank Ms.
• Additional DHS oversight could be added to this language.
• Will this new language then address only the enhanced rate?

Bills: HF2434

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

Transcript Highlights:

• the death certificate. the death certificate. >> Yes,<00:30:51.520> sir.
• Uh, it was very vague language before that.
• <01:49:45.119> What or or what have you that language?
• What or or what have you that language?
• ask because I do see where that language ask because I do see where that language is<01:51:41.920

Keywords: 1136, house, all