Transcript Highlights:

• I just offer that as a suggestion to think about, you know, that's why I was making it applicable to
• Backup power sources such as stationary or mobile generators are costly.
• approach that we need, and which will enable the successful allocation of both public capital and mobilize

Summary: The committee heard several energy and utilities bills, with testimony largely focused on wildfire mitigation, affordability, clean energy planning, and utility accountability. AB 706, by Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry, would create a fund to support projects that use forest biomass waste from wildfire mitigation and forest restoration; supporters said it would reduce open burning and emissions while providing reliable renewable power, and the bill later passed 13-0. AB 39, by Assembly Member Zbur, would require larger cities and counties to adopt electrification planning strategies for transportation and buildings; it drew broad support from clean energy, labor, environmental, and local government advocates and passed 9-0. AB 1167, by Assembly Member Berman, would restrict investor-owned utilities from charging ratepayers for lobbying, promotional advertising, and similar shareholder-benefit expenses; supporters framed it as an affordability and transparency measure, while utilities argued the bill was overly broad and already covered by existing rules. It passed 7-0, with some members not voting and the roll left open. The committee also considered AB 1417 on offshore wind community funding transparency, which was amended to remove new fees and instead require reporting on developer support for local and tribal community capacity-building; opposition was withdrawn and the bill passed 9-0. AB 367, by Assembly Member Bennett, would require water districts in high fire-risk areas of Ventura County to have backup power, full tanks during red flag warnings, and hardened facilities; water agencies opposed unless amended due to cost and liability concerns, but the bill passed 10-0. The consent calendar, including multiple additional measures, was approved 11-0. Other bills drew more divided testimony. AB 745 would allow securitization to finance utility undergrounding and prohibit a return on equity for undergrounding projects; supporters said it would lower ratepayer costs, while utilities warned it would effectively discourage undergrounding and could raise other rates. The bill passed 7-4 and was left on call. AB 1423 would apply reliability standards to publicly funded EV chargers installed before 2024; supporters said taxpayers should get functioning chargers, while charging-network representatives objected to retroactive requirements and possible conflicts with existing agreements. It passed 13-0. AB 388 would create a narrow exception to utility regulation to facilitate green hydrogen projects using private power lines; supporters said it would unlock low-cost renewable hydrogen and jobs, while utilities raised concerns about customer protections and grid planning. It passed 12-0. The committee also began hearing AB 825, which the author said would address the high cost of financing major transmission and generation buildout, but the transcript cuts off before the full presentation and action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• to refine the data points that we are looking at. so that it will have genuine and immediately applicable
• So we raise pasture poultry laying hens, we provide a large outdoor access year-round with mobile housing
• It's, you know. especially for those in rural areas and those with limited mobility, families juggling

Bills: SB500, SB719, SB912, SB1232, SB1467, SB1777, SB1864, SB2023, SB2119, SB2458

Keywords: SB 500, Texas adoption law, Family Code, DFPS, Department of Family and Protective Services, child-placing agency, prospective adoptive parents, adoption records, confidential information, nondisclosure agreement, child history report, health history, social history, educational history, genetic history, termination of parental rights, permanency plan, single source continuum contractor, privacy, redaction

Transcript Highlights:

• You'll also see that we have excluded mobile devices and voice assistant devices.
• House Bill 567 addresses an issue of practical application we are seeing with Kentucky's Open Records
• we are seeing with practical application we are seeing with Kentucky's<00:26:53.800> Open<00:
• This is a reasonable way for agencies to apply Kentucky's residency requirement in a practical application
• This is a reasonable way for agencies to apply Kentucky's residency requirement in a practical application

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Credit for Prior Learning Initiative, a community college systemwide initiative to award degree-applicable
• or certificate-applicable credit for prior student learning at each campus.
• The project applicant would pay for these monitoring costs.
• And the application of tribal... They are very, very close to me and personal.
• In the application of tribal ecological knowledge and habitat restoration, there is a consultation time

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:

• either been lost, destroyed, or fallen victim to flooding or other events, through no fault of the applicant
• To seek a license to practice psychology in Massachusetts, the licensing board requires applicants to
• It is also profoundly harmful for applicants who spend years, sometimes many, many years, trying to justify
• For the past three years, the Massachusetts Licensing Board has turned down my application for a license
• The board has turned down my application for a license because of a series of objections and requirements

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee opened a hearing of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and reviewed a broad agenda including credit card fees, event ticketing, music therapy licensure, senior psychologist licensure, CPA pathways, school mental health licensure, and a bill regulating alternative healing therapies. The chairs explained hearing logistics, including three-minute testimony limits and submission of written testimony, and noted that more than 70 people had signed up to testify. Legislators and advocates were heard out of order throughout the day. A major portion of the hearing focused on credit card surcharge and interchange legislation. Restaurant owners, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, NFIB, and other small-business witnesses supported bills allowing merchants to add convenience fees and, in one proposal, preventing card companies from charging fees on tax and tip portions of transactions. They argued that swipe fees are a major and growing cost, especially for restaurants, and that Massachusetts is one of only two states that bars surcharges. Opponents from the Cooperative Credit Union Association, the Electronic Payment Coalition, and the Electronic Transactions Association warned that the proposals would create compliance burdens, fragment the payment system, raise legal preemption issues, and disrupt a system they described as efficient and secure. The committee also heard competing testimony on ticket transferability and ticket resale. Supporters, including the National Consumers League and Sports Fans Coalition, said bills on ticket transferability would protect consumers who cannot attend events and would increase competition and savings in the secondary market. Opponents, including United Musicians and Allied Workers and theater owners, argued that mandatory transferability would weaken artists’ and venues’ ability to prevent scalping and predatory resale, and that some ticket sellers should be exempt from the broader ticketing regulations. Separate testimony supported music therapy licensure, senior psychologist licensure, and new CPA education pathways, with witnesses saying these measures would expand access to care and strengthen the workforce while maintaining professional standards. The hearing also drew extensive opposition to S.261 on alternative healing therapies, with practitioners and clients arguing it would overregulate spiritual and holistic practices and was not an effective response to human trafficking concerns.

Transcript Highlights:

• Higher education is one of the most powerful factors for upward economic and social mobility, and California
• the Digest area, let's see, it says here, it encourages each board member, trustee, and agent as applicable
• ... website all of the following of each board member, trustee, and regent as applicable: their name,
• And once again, it says here it encourages each board member, trustee, and regent as applicable to consider
• And once again, it says here it encourages each board member, trustee, and regent as applicable to consider

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of your folks back there; many of them are on the roadside, but yeah, so I guess they'd have to be mobile
• So we should be seeing some encumbrances of the fund as DFA is going through these applications and giving
• And this is a three... ...is going through these applications and giving out awards.
• The agency has a full balance, and they're working on finding applicants for that.
• So I think that there's opportunities to look at the requirements for application, but that is a department

Summary: The Department of Public Safety presented its FY27 budget request, emphasizing three priorities: improving community engagement through a redesigned website and outreach, expanding statewide data and intelligence integration through intelligence-led policing, and improving emergency response and officer safety through fleet replacement, a driving track, and a requested helicopter. DPS said much of its increase is driven by rising health care premiums, and it is also seeking special appropriations for fleet replacement, the website rebuild, and an Honor Guard program created after the 2022 helicopter crash that killed four public servants. Members asked about vacancies, fleet costs, cybersecurity compliance, the real-time crime center, EV fleet participation, and the Metro DPS facility. DPS said its vacancy rate is about 9%, its fleet replacement needs are driven by mileage and condition, it is compliant with federal CJIS standards even though DoIT has raised concerns, the real-time crime center would be built as a regional model to complement Albuquerque’s center, and the Metro facility is moving toward a January groundbreaking. Committee members also discussed several DPS-related capital and IT requests, including the intelligence-led policing data lake, recurring maintenance for critical systems, and a $5.6 million reauthorization for state crime lab DNA backlog work and a $900,000 reauthorization for fingerprinting equipment. DPS explained that the website request is high because the current site must be rebuilt from scratch to support missing-person alerts, memorial updates, ADA compliance, and better communication with law enforcement and the public. Members also raised concerns about speed enforcement, construction-zone cameras, and whether EVs are practical for patrol use; DPS said it is not pursuing speed cameras and is only partially participating in the state EV initiative because patrol needs make full electrification difficult. The committee then received an LFC quarterly update on non-recurring appropriations from the 2025 General Appropriation Act. LFC reported that of the $1.4 billion appropriated in Section 5, $164 million had been expended and $333 million encumbered, leaving $897.4 million unspent, which is a slower pace than the prior year. Staff highlighted a number of reauthorization requests and slow-moving projects across agencies, including AOC cybersecurity funding, DFA housing and public safety grants, DoIT cybersecurity and higher education funds, EDD economic development and energy programs, OSI mitigation and malpractice funds, EMNRD energy and geothermal grants, Health Care Authority behavioral health-related appropriations, DPS crime lab and fingerprinting funds, PED career technical education and special education initiatives, and higher education loan repayment and technology funds. Members questioned why some large appropriations had little or no spending, discussed the need to monitor reauthorizations more closely, and asked for follow-up on several specific line items and project balances.

Transcript Highlights:

• before us today, is more compact than the enacted plan, the current plan, and it complies with all applicable
• ample opportunity, and no one has presented data or a compelling case that this map violates any applicable
• see if they came to the same conclusion that House counsel had, that the map was legal under all applicable
• This state should be mobilizing every resource to rebuild. ...old. Not redraw.
• Anyone who would agree with the DOJ letter must not understand the applicable law because the DOJ letter

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The chair recognizes the gentleman from Mobile, Pro Tem Pringle.
• The chair recognizes the gentleman from Mobile, Pro Tem Pringle. Mr.
• The chair further recognizes the gentleman from Mobile, Pro Tem Pringle, for a motion. Mr.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• WE WILL CLARIFY DEFINITIONS OF A MICRO MOBILITY DEVICES.
• WILL ALLOW PEOPLE DISPLAYING A VALID DISABLED PARKING STICKER EQUIPPED WITH PERMANENTLY INSTALLED MOBILITY
• BUT FOR RIGHT NOW I WANT TO HELP MY CONSTITUENT AND OTHER FOLKS AROUND THE STATE WITH WHEELCHAIR MOBILITY

Transcript Highlights:

• And despite the fact that they are called mobile homes, once they've been in one place for a couple of
• years, they're not particularly mobile.
• And despite the fact that they are called<00:23:41.679> mobile<00:23:42.120> homes,<00:
• <00:23:47.919> And<00:23:48.080> so they're not particularly mobile.
• And so they're not particularly mobile.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, we may have a certain population that is more mobile and they live in an urban area, and
• For example, we may have a certain population that is more mobile and they live in an urban area, and
• For example, we may have a certain population that is more mobile and they live in an urban area, and
• For example, we may have a certain population that is more mobile and they live in an urban area, and
• <00:29:58.360> and population that is more Bo mobile and population that is more Bo mobile

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services held its first meeting and received an overview from the Department for Medicaid Services on Medicaid’s behavioral health and substance use disorder services. Commissioner Lisa Lee and CFO Steve Beal said Kentucky Medicaid serves about 1.4 million members, including over half of Kentucky children, with 485,000 expansion members, more than 69,000 enrolled providers, and total fiscal year 2024 expenditures of $18.5 billion. They said Kentucky covers a broad range of behavioral health services, and behavioral health provider enrollment has grown from a little over 4,500 in 2019 to nearly 8,000 in 2024. They also described how Medicaid spending and utilization are tracked through claims and encounter data, with most members served through managed care organizations. Members focused on sharp increases in certain behavioral health billing codes, especially peer-to-peer services, and asked about reimbursement, utilization review, and whether the growth reflected increased need or expanded coverage. DMS said the rise was partly tied to combining facility and nonfacility behavioral health fee schedules in 2023, choosing the higher reimbursement rate to avoid cuts, and that the department has seen an uptick in peer-to-peer services. In response to concerns about overutilization, DMS said it mailed a letter to behavioral health providers, is considering limits and prior authorizations for some services, and plans to create a standardized monthly behavioral health report to monitor trends consistently and identify when controls may be needed. Lawmakers also asked whether the provider network is sufficient and whether access is adequate, especially for children. DMS said provider enrollment has expanded because behavioral health services were added to Medicaid in 2014 and because demand increased after COVID, but acknowledged studies showing children have less access than adults and said that would be an area of focus. The department said managed care organizations are required to ensure access to needed services and that current trends indicate access is available, though one member disagreed and said workforce shortages remain a major concern. Another member asked about non-emergency medical transportation spending, and DMS explained that it is handled through a capitated arrangement administered by the Transportation Cabinet rather than directly by the managed care organizations.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh we have<00:19:45.919> mobile<00:19:46.240> home<00:19:46.480> park<00:19:46.799
• > in<00:19:47.120> Shakabe<00:19:48.080> um<00:19:48.880> that We have a mobile
• It's on the west side of town, and it's a large mobile home park with a ton of incredible people that
• <00:20:12.640> And of this uh of this mobile home park.
• And of this uh of this mobile home park.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1457 amends Section 28-8604, A.R.S., relating to the Advanced Air Mobility Fund.
• So why are we spending money on air mobility stuff that law enforcement isn't asking for?
• see in this bill is that it allows money that is already existing, if needed, to be spent on air mobility
• House Bill 2118, amending sections 36-1761 and 36-9485.01, A.R.S., relating to mobile food vendors.
• Mobile food vendors. You've heard the final read of House Bill 2118.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I know that we shoot it and then we take it in, or the mobile slaughterhouse is there, he inspects it
• I know that we shoot it and then we take it in, or the mobile slaughterhouse is there, he inspects it
• I know that we shoot it and then we take it in, or the mobile slaughterhouse is there, he inspects it
• we shoot it and then we take it in or we shoot it and then we take it in or the<00:23:58.760> mobile
• house is the mobile slaughter house is there<00:24:01.679> he<00:24:01.880> inspects<00

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 345, which would establish ʻōpae ʻula as the state shrimp. The Department of Land and Natural Resources and Kua Ulu Aumo testified in strong support, saying the designation could help protect endemic shrimp in anchialine pools and increase public education and awareness. In response to questions, DLNR said it would use existing education programs, press releases, and partnerships for statewide outreach and was not seeking a separate appropriation for that purpose. Members then took up SCR 132 and SR 111, which encourage adoption of recommendations from the UN Global Plastics Treaty and the Rapa Nui Summit Declaration on climate justice and sustainable development. Greenpeace Hawaii supported the measures, arguing that plastic production is tied to fossil fuel interests and that microplastics pose serious health and environmental risks. The committee later adopted the measures with amendments, including a change from “waste hierarchy” to “zero waste hierarchy” and technical edits. The final measures, SCR 157 and SR 127, urged the state to adopt and implement the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea agreement on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. DLNR testified that it had only just reviewed the resolution but stood on its written testimony. The committee passed SCR 157 and SR 127 as is. The meeting also included a separate hearing on SCR 89 and SR 72, which would create a University of Hawaiʻi Community College pathway for meat processing. The Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Farm Bureau, and Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council supported the idea, citing workforce needs and local protein supply, while several members raised concerns about whether a formal educational pathway or degree requirement might unnecessarily limit entry into the field; discussion focused on whether the proposal should be more vocational and whether there is enough data on workforce demand. No final vote on those measures was shown in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• Expanding interstate licensure mobility is essential to addressing workforce shortages and strengthening
• It's less than 100 per year that we receive applications to do that.
• medical board issuing expedited licenses no longer permissive to make that a requirement should the applicants

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 2030. 50% of the funds are supposed to be equally distributed among all states with an approved application
• It limits retroactive coverage of Medicaid eligible expenses to one month prior to the month of application
• Maria Morales here on behalf of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, We work to build economic mobility

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have the anonymous threat reporting, mobile crisis grants, and school-linked mental health.
• c> reporting, We have the anonymous threat reporting, We have the anonymous threat reporting, mobile
• <00:04:34.760> crisis<00:04:35.240> grants, mobile crisis grants, mobile crisis grants,
• Mobile crisis teams or grants, we were able to deliver on that.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House Republican leaders in Minnesota gave a post-session recap focused on what they described as major accomplishments in a tied legislature. They highlighted passage of the Office of Inspector General bill to combat fraud, along with tax and fee relief measures including $125 million in property tax relief and $250 million in car tab reductions. They also pointed to funding for hospitals and uncompensated care, county IT modernization, school safety and mental health programs, public official safety at the Capitol and judicial branch, and a $1.2 billion bonding bill for infrastructure. Leaders repeatedly contrasted this session with the prior Democratic trifecta, arguing Republicans blocked new tax increases and helped make government more accountable and affordable. They said the OIG bill had been a top priority, had previously been blocked in the House, and was now signed into law. On health care, they said the final package included support for hospitals and denied that discussions about 340B involved pharmaceutical companies, saying offers on that issue were rejected by House Democrats. In response to questions, leaders said the tie forced public negotiation and that Minnesotans were the real winners because lawmakers worked together. They also defended the lack of final floor votes on gun-related proposals, saying those measures had been voted on multiple times in committee and on the floor but did not have the votes to pass. On transparency, they said the process was as open as possible and that bonding projects had been heard in committee and reviewed by the bonding team before inclusion.

Transcript Highlights:

• To continue our commitment to Floyd County, we also hosted a caravan mobile clinic visit in the area,
• But we also are able to send our mobile vehicle.
• <00:17:25.679> send<00:17:25.919> our<00:17:26.079> our<00:17:26.480> mobile
• <00:17:27.360> We able to send our our mobile vehicle.
• We able to send our our mobile vehicle.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:20 Kentucky Humane Society 00:01:20, 958, all

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from Alyssa Gray, president and CEO of the Kentucky Humane Society, on the organization’s statewide animal welfare work and its request for a $5 million matching contribution from the General Assembly for a new Kentucky Animal and Community Campus in Louisville. Gray said KHS, an independent nonprofit founded in 1884, serves cats, dogs, and horses, reaches 96 counties, provides shelter relief, spay-neuter services, low-cost veterinary care, and disaster response, and has supported communities during recent tornadoes and floods. She described the new campus as a hub for disaster housing, shelter transfers, veterinary training, and expanded services to reduce overpopulation and relieve pressure on county shelters and local governments. Members asked about the campus’s location, staffing, veterinary student involvement, and the scope of KHS’s services. Gray said the new site would be next to KHS’s current spay-neuter clinic on Preston Highway, that the facility would include shelter medicine, high-volume spay-neuter, and a low-cost clinic, and that it could host veterinary students and interns for hands-on training. She also explained that KHS works with county officials and shelters to move animals during crises or cruelty cases, can connect counties with partner organizations when KHS is full, and provides mobile clinic services and occasional grant support for rural shelters. Committee members praised the presentation and discussed how KHS could fit into disaster recovery planning. One member suggested the organization could be folded into long-term recovery efforts because of its role in post-disaster animal care. The presenter said KHS wants to be a formal disaster response resource and already works with the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association and other partners. No vote on the funding request was taken during the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the committee noted it still lacked a quorum, so approval of the minutes was postponed to the next meeting, tentatively scheduled for October 15. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• income discrimination, which ultimately makes it more difficult for our communities to find upward mobility
• income discrimination, which ultimately makes it more difficult for our communities to find upward mobility
• to<00:06:59.000> find<00:06:59.240> up<00:06:59.639> W<00:07:00.240> mobility
• our communities to find up W mobility our communities to find up W mobility and<00:07:01.080>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: Senate POCI caucus members held a press event outlining their priorities for the session and framing them as a response to federal actions and rhetoric they described as harmful to Black, Brown, Indigenous, immigrant, and other marginalized communities. Senator Zaynab Mohamed said the caucus would not be silent and emphasized goals including culturally responsive and accessible health care, protection from discrimination, fully funded education from cradle to college, an equitable bonding bill, and safe, dignified housing. Senator Erin Maye Quade said the caucus would fight efforts to “resegregate” society and highlighted support for strengthening the READ Act and advancing the Minnesota Building Families Act to cover infertility care through insurance. Senator Clare Oumou Verbeten pointed to recent DFL accomplishments such as the CROWN Act, restoring the vote, and the African-American Family Preservation Act, and urged colleagues to consider how legislation and budgets affect communities of color. She also said she would champion Minnesota Connecting Families, a proposal to make communication free for incarcerated people, along with a ban on legacy admissions and legislation preventing housing discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders. Senator Mary Kunesh reviewed education investments made over the past two years, including increased school funding, free lunches, library funding, pre-K expansion, the READ Act, and the Teachers of Color and Indigenous Act, and said her top priority is advancing an Equal Rights Amendment and protecting tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. Senator Susan Pha said the caucus remains necessary because people of color and immigrants still face discrimination, including her own family, and said the group would continue fighting for equality and opportunity. In response to questions, caucus members said they hoped for bipartisan support on some proposals but were prepared to use their majority if needed. They said they were not intimidated by the new federal administration or Republican control in Washington, argued that Minnesota should protect residents from federal harm, and criticized GOP efforts they characterized as attacks on DEI and racial equity. No votes or formal committee actions were taken in the meeting.