Transcript Highlights:

• Assistance Program.
• <00:54:31.640> We<00:54:31.800> also<00:54:32.160> are Assistance Program.
• We also are Assistance Program.
• as farm farm down payment assistance as farm farm down payment assistance program<01:10:58.400><
• <01:18:46.880> programs<01:18:47.680> provided<01:18:48.240> that assistance programs

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I've been Deputy Commissioner assistant I've been Deputy Commissioner assistant commissioner<00:
• <00:14:23.079> in Residential Treatment um programs in Residential Treatment um programs in
• as compared to the PCA program.
• year as part of that program.
• Assistant Commissioner?

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the FETP program and about $2 million in the HPP program.
• the FETP program and about $2 million in the HPP program.
• She leads all the technical assistance for the grant program, the $200 million program that provides
• technical assistance for the grant program<01:19:44.880> uh<01:19:44.960> the<01:19:45.280
• uh the $200 million program that program uh the $200 million program that provides<01:19:47.840>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee met to adopt the minutes of the second meeting by voice vote, then heard an update focused on disaster preparedness, resiliency, response, and coordination among state agencies and partners. The chair emphasized avoiding duplication of resources and highlighted the importance of agriculture-related response issues, including animal evacuation, feed distribution, and the role of extension services during disasters. The Department for Public Health was invited to explain its role in emergency planning and response. Public Health described its Emergency Preparedness and Response Branch as the lead coordinating agency for Emergency Support Function 8, covering health and medical services under Kentucky’s emergency operations framework. Testimony outlined its broad responsibilities, including support for hospitals, morgues, local health departments, behavioral health, crisis counseling, suspicious package testing, disease outbreaks, and coordination with emergency management, EMS, transportation, and nonprofit and private partners. Officials also described the agency’s risk-assessment process, training and exercise programs, and deployed assets such as PPE caches, deployable communications, a federal medical station, a mobile treatment center, and alternate care support used in events like the eastern Kentucky floods and COVID-19. The agency also discussed funding through federal cooperative agreements for public health emergency preparedness and hospital preparedness, noting that these programs have evolved since 9/11 and have been shaped by major disasters and emerging threats. Officials said Kentucky’s funding has declined over time and that current awards are partially funded for the first time in the program’s history. They expressed support for efficiency if federal programs are consolidated, but cautioned that combining programs could risk further funding losses.

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, we are experiencing a critical shortage of medical assistants, and the dual training program
• Program...
• The Loan Repayment Assistance Program of Minnesota, also known as LRAP, is a non-profit founded in 1991
• So the College Bound programs and programs like it are needed.
• I am a program advocate, so I speak about programming all the time.

Transcript Highlights:

• The cover the cost of these programs.
• 52.000> management assistance for vegetation management assistance for vegetation management plans
• . program. program.
• <00:52:34.960> Assistant Division is undertaking. Assistant Division is undertaking.
• <01:07:40.720> chair, Assistant Commissioner, Mr. chair, Assistant Commissioner, Mr. chair

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Restoring Our Communities is a program that's directed at infill, and so that program purchases homes
• and closing cost assistance.
• assistance.
• , and closing cost assistance.
• We also provide rental assistance, short-term rental assistance, emergency rental assistance, homeless

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• program or Cal tap.
• CalVet has a home loan program.
• So the strategy around that, of course, is to use our California Transit Assistance Program and get them
• Cohort 2 program.
• Programming statewide through grants, programs, and services.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We doubled down on program integrity.
• We doubled down on program integrity.
• With $1.2 billion for child care assistance program, House 2 will support approximately 65,000 child
• And certainly the PCA program, the adult health, foster programs, are, um, By double digits.
• And certainly the PCA program, the adult health foster programs, are—we're not immune to that.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The joint budget hearing opened the FY27 budget process with remarks from the Senate and House Ways and Means chairs, who described the fiscal outlook as challenging because of slow revenue growth, rising health care and other costs, and uncertainty from federal policy changes. Governor Healey and Secretary of Administration and Finance Matthew Gorzkowicz then presented House 2, a $62.8 billion budget that they said grows by about 1% and does not raise taxes or fees. They emphasized affordability, fiscal discipline, protection of core services, and continued investment in education, transportation, housing, child care, health care, and public safety. The administration also discussed a separate bill to delay and phase in certain federal tax-code changes from the so-called OB3 law, especially research and experimental expense provisions, to reduce immediate budget impacts and preserve competitiveness. A major portion of the hearing focused on education and municipal aid. The administration said House 2 provides about $7.6 billion for Chapter 70 aid, fully funds the final year of the Student Opportunity Act, increases special education circuit breaker funding, and raises rural school aid. Senators and representatives from both parties raised concerns that Chapter 70 and other aid formulas are not equitable for small, rural, and low-wealth communities and are not keeping pace with inflation, and several called for broader review of the formula and related funding streams. The governor and secretary said they are open to further discussion, pointed to additional support through rural aid, special education, transportation reimbursements, and minimum aid, and said total Student Opportunity Act investment would reach about $2.1 billion over the life of the law. Transportation, housing, and fair share spending were also central topics. The administration said fair share revenues are being used holistically, with education-heavy spending in the operating budget and transportation-heavy spending in the supplemental budget, and estimated the overall split to date at roughly 57% education and 43% transportation. They highlighted MBTA stabilization, regional transit authority support, microtransit, fare-free regional transit, and bridge and commuter rail investments, while noting the MBTA remains a major fiscal concern. On housing, the governor stressed production, permitting reform, ADUs, down-payment assistance, and support for public housing authorities, while lawmakers pressed for more funding for local housing authorities and for ways to address out-migration, energy costs, and affordability. The governor also said the administration will not withhold fire safety grants from communities over MBTA Communities Act noncompliance and will handle such issues case by case. No votes were taken at the hearing; it was an informational presentation and question-and-answer session.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're hearing about this assistance program that you all have made available through the appropriations
• Chair, would this single federal audit program... ...audit program, would that use the bigger firms?
• They are not ready to help us early on in our program to assist small local public bodies.
• which is their Medicaid program.
• How long has the program been in existence? Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, does not otherwise make any changes to the program. assistance in transition from assistance in transition
• Minnesota supplemental aid and general assistance programs.
• This would align with other state cash assistance programs like general assistance and MFIP, and it also
• align with other state cash assistance align with other state cash assistance programs<02:33:14.120
• like general assistance and programs like general assistance and MFIP MFIP MFIP and<02:33:16.680>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , sports programs, and educational programs that we wanted to send our daughters to.
• Most of these releases are done. ...programs and educational programs that we wanted to send our daughters
• The debt reduction program was created to assist these low-income families who have been paralyzed by
• the program.
• This causes some parents to miss their opportunity to participate in a program that could assist them

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The program is approved, but it needs to get on this list to be occupied and used. themselves.
• Um we encourage program in Kentucky.
• know, we're the overall assisting know, we're the overall assisting assisting<00:15:04.240> the
• <00:15:05.120> So,<00:15:05.920> I assisting the different counties.
• So, I assisting the different counties.

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll move on to page 16 for fiscal programs.
• So we'll turn to page 33 with the trustee programs.
• Item B is requesting to add $1 million for the biennium to support a. a training program, grant program
• These programs, especially the mental health programs, juvenile programs, all those things have big returns
• That includes. two attorneys, one legal assistant, one administrative assistant, and one investigator

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• is an epidemic in our assistance is an epidemic in our assistance programs<00:01:50.160> in
• programs are so generous. programs are so generous.
• with the Feeding Our Future program. with the Feeding Our Future program.
• wonderful program." wonderful program."
• <00:57:05.720> Program Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program Minnesota Child Care Assistance

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The House took up an urgency motion to recall House File 3819 from committee and advance it to final passage. Supporters said the bill was needed to address fraud in the child care assistance program (CCAP), citing recent FBI raids on child care centers, prior audit findings, and long-standing concerns about weak oversight. They described the bill as restoring a penalty of perjury for attendance records, requiring electronic attendance tracking, mandating unannounced inspections, and requiring camera monitoring for higher-funded providers so the state can verify attendance and reduce improper payments. Opponents argued the bill was not ready, raised concerns about cost, implementation, and the inclusion of camera surveillance, and said the language could create problems related to retention and possible misuse of video. One member said the state had already taken bipartisan action on child care fraud in prior sessions and that the larger fraud estimates being cited were overstated compared with convictions. Another member emphasized that electronic attendance monitoring was the one part they supported, but said the bill lacked clarity and a Senate companion. Members also discussed the history of CCAP fraud investigations, including earlier OLA reports, criminal investigations within DHS, and allegations that fraud vulnerabilities had been known for years. Supporters argued the bill would help recover taxpayer dollars and improve affordability by reducing fraud, while critics warned that added camera requirements could increase costs for providers and potentially threaten child care center viability. The debate included questions and answers about video retention, with the bill author stating the intended retention period was 90 days, though a member noted that language was not clearly visible in the version before the House.

Transcript Highlights:

• and program funding.
• And I think this program... The appointed counsel program is summed up.
• With the program, we are a stopgap.
• We need a streamlined rental assistance program.
• We need a streamlined rental assistance program.

Summary: The committee held a work session in Mill Creek focused first on the eviction process. Judge Michael Scott of King County Superior Court described historic highs in unlawful detainer filings across Washington, especially in urban counties, and said King County has reduced its backlog and average time to resolution to about 60 days by adding two dedicated eviction judges and using more judges when needed. He also described how King County and other counties are implementing the right to counsel for indigent tenants, and noted that additional housing commissioners may help. Office of Civil Legal Aid representatives Philippe Knapp and Jane Paxe said the statewide appointed counsel program has represented more than 30,000 tenants, referred clients to social services, and helped many remain housed, but they warned of a funding shortfall that could eliminate about 17 attorneys and leave roughly 2,000 tenants without representation. A landlord-side panel argued that eviction timelines remain too long and fragmented, creating unpaid rent, safety issues, and uncertainty for both landlords and tenants; they urged more uniform procedures, streamlined rental assistance, and procedural changes to reduce refiling and delays. The second work session addressed theft and vandalism of critical infrastructure, especially copper and telecom cable theft. Committee staff reviewed existing criminal and regulatory laws covering malicious mischief, theft, scrap metal businesses, and metal property deception. Comcast, Mason Public Utility District, and the Recycled Materials Association testified that theft of aerial cable and copper has become a crisis affecting power, internet, 911 service, schools, hospitals, and line-worker safety. Utility representatives described outages, hazards, and rising costs, and asked for stronger audits of scrapyards, tougher penalties for theft affecting critical infrastructure, and tighter rules on payment and identification. Recyclers said they oppose the thefts and already operate under heavy regulation, but acknowledged enforcement gaps and the need for better coordination; committee members discussed possible bill concepts and asked for written recommendations. The final work session covered standards for law enforcement personnel. Criminal Justice Training Commission Executive Director Monica Alexander and Assistant Director Kimberly Bliss explained current certification and decertification rules, including background checks, training requirements, mandatory and discretionary grounds for decertification, and the hearing process. They said elected sheriffs are not currently required to undergo the same pre-election background check as other applicants, though they can still be decertified if already certified, and they reported a backlog of more than 1,000 cases with about 70 to 80 new cases coming in each month. Retired Judge Ann Levinson then outlined ways the legislature could strengthen and align standards for chiefs, sheriffs, and marshals, including requiring certification within a set time, setting a minimum age, requiring recent state background checks, and making loss of certification a vacancy in office. Committee members asked questions about accountability for elected sheriffs, background-check administration, and decertification outcomes.

Transcript Highlights:

• mortuary program. mortuary program.
• um do they need to adapt their program um do they need to adapt their program at<00:20:39.720>
• > a somehow they're just an assistant to a somehow they're just an assistant to a doctor<00:58
• how the medication repository program how the medication repository program deals<01:21:24.840><
• Earlier because of our program.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:51.040> to training and technical assistance to training and technical assistance to
• and provided instructions and assistance and provided instructions and assistance to<00:04:19.359
• <00:15:52.480> at for the uh domiciliary program at for the uh domiciliary program at Hastings
• ><00:41:38.160> commissioner record, Wayne was assistant commissioner record, Wayne was assistant
• 42:26.480> Wayneki will have Assistant Commissioner Wayneki will have Assistant Commissioner Wayneki

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We do also have a program assistant position that is vacant, but it's 100% federal funds under the ORID
• <00:03:32.640> assistant we do also have a program assistant we do also have a program assistant
• There are programs that provide sort of maybe some temporary housing assistance for victims in certain
• There are programs that provide sort of maybe some temporary housing assistance for victims in certain
• There are programs that provide sort of maybe some temporary housing assistance for victims in certain

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee held a work session on the Department of Business and Economic Affairs’ budget, with testimony from division leadership on staffing, funding sources, and program changes. Early discussion focused on vacant positions in the agency, including a senior planner tied to FEMA requirements, a federally funded program assistant, a program specialist to be reclassified during a planning reorganization, and two Housing Champions positions that were authorized but not funded in the current biennium and are requested for 2026-27. The witnesses also explained that temporary welcome center positions are filled as funds allow, and that the agency’s requested general fund increase is driven largely by the Division of Travel and Tourism Development and its formula-based funding. Members then reviewed rest areas, welcome centers, outdoor recreation, economic development, procurement, and workforce opportunity lines. The department said there are 12 rest areas, with 5.8 million foot counts in FY 24, and that welcome centers are generally open year-round, though Sutton is currently closed and staffing relies on a mix of full-time and temporary employees. The outdoor recreation position is federally funded through USDA and supports business outreach, trade shows, and industry promotion. In economic development, the agency said increased dues reflect participation in the Northern Borders Regional Commission, and that a marketing line item is intended to support recruitment and promotion of growth industries such as advanced manufacturing and life sciences. The Apex Accelerator Program was described as a state-federal partnership requiring a state match and providing government contracting assistance to businesses, while the Office of Workforce Opportunity was explained as a federally funded WIOA-related effort administered through multiple agencies and subrecipients. A major point of discussion was the proposed reduction to the Small Business Development Center, which members said had generated significant public concern. The department described SBDC as a highly effective technical assistance program for new and small businesses, but said the cut was one of the few places it felt it had room to reduce funding. Members asked about federal support and matching requirements for various programs, and the department said less than half of its overall budget is generally funded by the state and that some programs require state match. The committee also discussed travel and tourism marketing and the Joint Promotional Program, with the department saying those funds support broader advertising campaigns and grants to chambers and trade associations for events such as Bike Week, Restaurant Week, and the Seafood Festival. No votes were taken during the work session.

Transcript Highlights:

• Then there's a wide variety. of other federal programs including supplemental nutrition assistance, money
• I'm the Assistant Program budget manager for the department's federal funds accountability and cost tracking
• The second program I want to highlight is CalFresh, which provides critical food assistance to over 5
• that could potentially be impacted, but under the Medi-Cal program. program.
• , it is actually an earned program.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• SHE IS THE ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT.
• I DON'T WANT TO SAY PUBLIC ASSISTANCE. INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE FOCUS ON SURVIVORS HOMES.
• THOSE ARE ELIGIBLE FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.
• GRANT PROGRAM.
• MORE THAN 1,000 DISPLACED HOUSEHOLDS HAVE BEEN SHELTERED TO THIS PROGRAM.

Keywords: 999, senate, all