Transcript Highlights:

• Members, take your seats. ongoing financial costs along with ongoing financial costs along with expanding
• ><c> net,</c><04:07:45.600><c> enabling</c> as a financial safety net, enabling as a financial safety
• </c> provide sufficient compensation. provide sufficient compensation.
• The workers' compensation system provides two things.
• </c> Hampshire who has workers compensation Hampshire who has workers compensation insurance. insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• This will ease the initial upfront<00:05:20.639><c> financial</c><00:05:21.199><c> burden.
• </c><00:05:21.919><c> We</c><00:05:22.160><c> firmly</c> Upfront financial burden.
• </c><00:08:25.360><c> for</c> see if it makes sense financially for see if it makes sense financially
• that ratepayers are paying for executive compensation, millions of dollars, and Xcel and CenterPoint
• </c><01:08:59.679><c> that</c> committee to limit compensation that committee to limit compensation that

Bills: HF4348 , HF4186 , HF4202 , HF4455 , HF3884 , HF3883 , HF3882 , HF3881 , HF2688 , HF3295 , HF3862 , HF3362 , HF4242 , HF3798

Committee: House Elections Finance and Government Operations

Keywords: HF4186, Minnesota local government finance, housing and redevelopment authority, HRA, public investment authority, qualifying government, State Board of Investment, SBI, index mutual fund, multifamily housing development, long-term equity investment, investment-grade fixed income, federally insured securities, government-sponsored entities, municipal investing, local government investments, housing finance, public funds, investment policy, risk of loss

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> records to redact sensitive financial records to redact sensitive financial and<00:07:10.400><c>
• So it's not a stretch for DOC from a financial situation.
• </c><00:11:55.920><c> So,</c> uh and from a financial situation.
• So, uh and from a financial situation.
• They’re the last to get any compensation.”

Committee: House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• There's one appearance form: Scott Jenkins, American Financial Services Association.
• There's one appearance form: Scott Jenkins, American Financial Services Association, waves in support
• There's one appearance form, Scott Jenkins, American Financial Services Association, Waves in Support
• This limitation interferes with normal financial agreements between doctor and patient and can create
• This limitation interferes with normal financial agreements between doctor and patient and can create

Bills: S0092 , S0110 , S0192 , S0212 , S0260 , S0350 , S0394 , S0422 , S0434 , S0442 , S0484 , S0546 , S0556 , S0684 , S0696 , S0706 , S0748 , S0786 , S0820 , S0824 , S0838 , S0840 , S0848 , S0856 , S0962 , S1000 , S1014 , S1036 , S1050 , S1054 , S1080 , S1118 , S1134 , S1338 , S1480 , S1500 , S1506 , S1622 , S1724

Committee: Senate Rules

Summary: The Committee on Rules met with a quorum and considered a long agenda of bills, many of them retained from the prior week. The most debated measure was CS for SB 706, which would preempt naming of major commercial service airports to the state and designate Palm Beach International Airport as the Donald J. Trump International Airport, subject to FAA approval and a trademark agreement. Amendments were offered and rejected, including proposals to prevent private financial benefit from the naming. Several senators spoke in opposition, citing concerns about naming an airport after a sitting president, lack of local input, and the trademark/licensing arrangement; supporters argued there was no cost to the airport and that the bill simply set a state naming policy. The committee reported the bill favorably after a roll call vote. The committee also reported favorably CS for SB 546 on conservation land notice requirements, CS for CS for SB 1014 on municipal utility service to properties outside city limits, CS for SB 1500 on uncontested probate proceedings, SB 962 on excluding farms from certain zoning definitions, and CS for SB 820 on problem-solving court reporting requirements. The committee then approved several bills from Senator DiCeglie and Senator Arrington. SB 840, addressing land-use regulations for local governments affected by natural disasters, was supported by local-government and environmental advocates who said it would restore local control after SB 180’s hurricane-related restrictions; the sponsor said it was intended to correct unintended consequences of last year’s law. CS for SB 856, requiring online listing platforms to show estimated ad valorem taxes on residential listings, was amended to exclude social media platforms and broaden liability protections; the sponsor and a county property appraiser described it as a consumer-transparency measure. CS for SB 110, clarifying homestead exemption treatment for long-term leases that end at death, was also reported favorably. The committee took up a controversial strike-all amendment to SB 212, which focused on public swimming pools and added residency and related restrictions for certain sex offenders and offenders on community control or probation. The amendment drew strong opposition from advocates and affected families, who argued it would worsen homelessness, impose broad geographic restrictions, and lack evidence of improving child safety; supporters said it was a targeted public-safety measure. Despite the objections, the committee reported the bill favorably. The committee also approved SB 684 on electronic signatures for total-loss vehicle and vessel titles, SB 394 on reinsurance intermediary managers, SB 434 on property tax assessment treatment for wind-hardening improvements, CS for CS for SBs 658 and 608 on water-safety requirements for rental properties with pools or nearby water, SB 748 on adding voting-rights restoration information to sentencing score sheets, and CS for SB 824 requiring school districts to inventory unimproved real property. The meeting ended while the committee was beginning SB 848 on stormwater treatment, with an amendment being introduced as the transcript cut off.

Transcript Highlights:

• to CERS health insurance system will help with recruitment and retention and maintain the solid financial
• </c><00:04:15.840><c> footing</c> maintain the solid uh Financial footing maintain the solid uh Financial
• These are things I live with, so I am a financial adviser.
• If a district allows more, the district will bear the associated financial responsibility.
• </c><00:35:56.720><c> responsibility</c> associated financial responsibility associated financial responsibility

Summary: The committee first approved the prior month’s minutes after a roll call established a quorum. It then heard testimony on a draft proposal from Senator Robbie Mills to increase CERS retiree health subsidies for members retiring on or after July 1, 2003. The bill would raise the non-hazardous subsidy from $14.63 to $40 per month per year of service and the hazardous-duty subsidy from $21.94 to $50, with employee contribution rates adjusted based on the health trust’s funded status. Supporters from sheriffs, firefighters, police chiefs, and the Kentucky League of Cities said the change would improve recruitment and retention, better align the subsidy with the cost of a single health plan, and preserve the system’s financial footing through shared employer-employee costs and funding triggers. Committee members asked about the fiscal impact, the effect of funding levels above 150%, and how the subsidy would work for rehired retirees or employees who later take private-sector jobs. Mills and other witnesses said preliminary actuarial work was still forthcoming, that the bill was intended to be revenue-neutral or close to it, and that the subsidy would continue to be paid monthly; they also noted existing 2008 rules for rehired retirees and said the benefit would still be available even if a retiree later had other insurance. One member suggested looking at stable accounts as an additional option for special-needs planning in a later bill. The committee then heard Senate Bill 58 from Senator Robin Webb, which would allow state employees to designate a Special Needs Trust as a beneficiary for retirement benefits. Webb said the measure would help employees provide for disabled dependents without jeopardizing SSI or Medicaid eligibility, and that the bill follows federal special-needs trust rules. He said the proposal could be revenue neutral, but actuarial analysis was still pending and KPPA had asked for electronic rather than paper transfer provisions. Members questioned whether the authority already exists, how the trust would work, and whether stable accounts should also be considered; Webb said he would follow up with additional information.

Transcript Highlights:

• None of our landowners are compensated for their loss of their future.
• A friend of mine just tried getting just compensation for one of the power lines coming through his place
• I'm just here to tell you that it is a fact of financial life if you want to pay for growth.
• Constitutionally, a landowner has to be fully compensated.
• You've got to reasonably compensate them for it and make sure they're fairly treated. Yes, sir.

Bills: HB5489 , HB5695 , HB5699 , SB291 , SB292

Committee: House Land & Resource Management

Keywords: impact fee, moratorium, local government, Texas legislation, infrastructure funding, municipal utility district, eminent domain, bonds, assessments, infrastructure, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Harris County, Municipal Utility District, territory exclusion, debt service taxes, property taxation, condemnation, property acquisition, real property, appraisal reports

Transcript Highlights:

• traditional financial crimes, wage theft, insurance fraud, and then state program fraud.
• </c><02:17:39.440><c> He</c><02:17:39.599><c> claims</c> financial, uh, researcher.
• He claims financial, uh, researcher.
• </c> compensate at fair market value. compensate at fair market value.
• ><03:08:54.120><c> we're</c><03:08:54.240><c> doing</c> compensating them uh while we're doing compensating

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• that compensation that half compensation<02:00:14.080><c> for</c><02:00:14.320><c> the</c><02:00:14.480
• ><c> trades</c><02:00:14.880><c> positions</c> compensation for the trades positions compensation for
• adjustments, key management compensation adjustments, key management software.<02:01:10.480><c> That
• external financial and administration audit<02:18:43.519><c> for</c><02:18:43.840><c> the</c><02:18:
• </c> um, for the employee compensation. um, for the employee compensation.

Transcript Highlights:

• I've spent more than 30 years in finance working for multinational banks and a financial guarantee company
• I see this role as an opportunity to leverage the financial experience and networks that I've built over
• One is working closely with financial development corporations, which work directly with participating
• Part of that is financially driven by them: the more work they do, the more they are compensated.
• The speaker then shifted to a question about financially distressed hospitals, asking whether there is

Committee: Senate Rules

Summary: The Senate Rules Committee met to consider several governor’s appointments and procedural items. The committee approved, largely on unanimous or near-unanimous votes, the appointments of Gina Castro Rodriguez to the Board of State and Community Corrections, Richard Stein to the California Arts Council, and Nicholas Hardiman to the California Housing Finance Agency Board of Directors. It also approved references to bills, committee appointments, subcommittee ratifications, joint committee appointments, and floor acknowledgments. A motion to grant rule waivers for Senators Perez and Padilla to introduce additional measures under SR 22.5 drew opposition from Senator Grove and ultimately passed on a 3-2 vote in the final tally. The committee then heard testimony on the appointment of Andy Nakahata as executive director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank). Nakahata described his background in finance and infrastructure lending and said he would focus on expanding access to IBank programs statewide, especially in underserved and rural areas. Members questioned him about outreach equity, county-by-county loan activity, creditworthiness standards, the California Transmission Accelerator, and financing for public hospitals and other infrastructure projects. He said IBank works through financial development corporations, municipal advisors, and other partners, monitors geographic reach, and can work with applicants to adjust loan size or identify additional funding sources when projects are not fully creditworthy. Public witnesses spoke in support of Nakahata, including representatives from Siebert William Shank and O’Melveny/other public finance firms, who praised his expertise and leadership. No opposition testimony was offered. The committee voted 5-0 to move Nakahata’s appointment to the full Senate for confirmation. After completing a final roll call on the earlier agenda items, the committee adjourned its public session and announced it would move into executive session.

Transcript Highlights:

• Financial Services: HB 2293. Public Policy: HB 2294. Occupational ... 2295 minimum wage.
• HB 2297, financial education. HB 2299, price tag on fair ... HB 2300, mobile home landlord ...
• HB 2297, financial education. HB 2299, price tag on fair ... HB 2300, mobile home landlord ...
• workplaces; HB 2671, law enforcement; HB 2677, place of work; HB 2678, TPT; HB 2680, workers' compensation

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill removes provisions and prohibitions on Authority members receiving compensation.
• The bill change would allow them to do so and to receive compensation.
• Jason: The bill sponsor added financial management and small business operations, which is a step in
• This will help transition firefighters to less expensive health plans, give employees financial and administrative
• Ranking Member Campbell: To your amendment, if there is no financial hit to the schools, who is paying

Transcript Highlights:

• Compensation—which we have the largest teacher pay raise effort in this session and Texas history—is
• And if a parent feels as though it's the wrong determination and they don't have the financial resources
• In instances, does the bill address instances where parents don't have the financial resources to contest
• There are financial ways. We've never stopped anybody.
• order in the classroom and feeling safe. has risen to the top of the priority list, maybe above compensation

Bills: HB 1022 , HB2856 , HB3114 , HJR5 , HB6 , HB 120 , HB210 , HB1458 , HB 1188 , HB3126 , HB6 , HB120 , HB210

Committees: Senate Education , Senate Education K-16

Transcript Highlights:

• The agency's financial recordkeeping and other internal processes with procurement need attention.
• There are some challenges with the EHR, the prescriptions, you know, financially we don't have a lot
• As far as benefits, I can tell you could apply, and I believe that they all have robust compensation.
• Robust compensation and healthcare packages. So, we have not dug into that.
• No one pulled the trigger to go down this when we learned on the financial side that we're losing $10

Committee: House Appropriations and Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• Statute directs beneficiaries to share financial data with JLARC staff upon request in 29 of the 30..
• Habitat for Humanity representatives told us that financial reporting practices don't align with the
• And second, it should modify the preference to more effectively provide financial relief to eligible
• So you have some very highly compensated people.
• You also have some people who aren't highly compensated. It's spread.

Committee: House Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Members of the committee, my name is Lori Wolfe, and I'm the Administrator for the Division of Financial
• We have kind of a couple of groups in Division of Financial Management.
• And then from our finance team, we have our state financial officer, Justin Collins.
• And then from our finance team, we have our state financial officer, Justin Collins.
• I'd like to go back to the Change in Employee Compensation page of your budget presentation.

Summary: The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee opened the session with roll call, confirmed a quorum, and introduced new members, staff, and pages. Co-chairs and staff then reviewed JFAC’s role as the legislature’s main budget committee, the committee’s daily schedule, and the resources available through legislative staff, the impact team, and the newly released 2026 Legislative Budget Book and related budget tools. The committee received a detailed briefing from the Division of Financial Management on the JFAC calendar and then from Governor’s Budget Director Lori Wolf on the governor’s FY 2026 and FY 2027 budget recommendations. Wolf said the budget is balanced but tight, relying on a mix of ongoing reductions and one-time actions rather than reserve fund transfers. Major budget actions included a 3% ongoing reduction across most state agencies, reversions of certain one-time balances to the general fund, no recommended pay increase for state employees or teachers, and higher employee health insurance costs. The budget also proposed reductions or policy changes in Medicaid, virtual school funding, Idaho Digital Learning Academy, and some transportation and water-related funds, while preserving funding for public safety, education, water, and transportation priorities. Members questioned the assumptions behind the budget, especially the projected ending balances, the use of one-time transfers, the impact of rising health insurance costs on employees, the effect of Medicaid cuts on services and cost shifts, and the rationale for reductions to online education and IDLA. Several members also asked about the proposed federal tax conformity changes, including the timing of implementation and the treatment of Idaho’s existing R&E tax credit. Wolf said the conformity estimate was based on Tax Commission analysis and that the administration was not recommending use of the budget stabilization fund. No votes or formal actions were taken; the committee concluded by noting that the Economic Outlook Committee would meet later in the week and that JFAC would continue budget hearings the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• The current process is completely unsustainable for anyone who's not financially compensated to participate
• The current process is completely unsustainable for anyone who's not financially compensated to participate
• The current process is completely unsustainable for anyone who's not financially compensated to participate
• The current process is completely unsustainable for anyone who's not financially compensated to participate
• The current process is completely unsustainable for anyone who's not financially compensated to participate

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Summary: The committee heard testimony on SB 114, which would create a presidential preference primary for the 2028 election. The Office of Elections said the bill would cost about $4.1 million. Supporters, including the Hawaii Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters, favored moving the process to a state-run primary, while several opponents, including the Hawaiian Islands Republican Women and multiple individual testifiers, argued it would be too expensive, would shift control away from the parties, and would replace volunteer-run caucuses with a mail-in system. Committee members questioned the chief election officer about election timing, certification, and how a primary might be scheduled with other elections. Testimony was recorded as 11 in support, 41 opposed, and 3 comments, and no vote was taken in the excerpt. The committee then took up SB 725, which would require judges to make findings about a defendant’s ability to afford bail. Judiciary and Attorney General witnesses asked that the bill be deferred or amended, saying the Judicial Council is already reviewing pretrial bail reform and that the bill’s language could create practical problems for police, sheriffs, and courts. Supporters, including the Correctional System Oversight Commission, the public defender, the Community Alliance on Prisons, the ACLU of Hawaii, and disability rights advocates, said cash bail disproportionately harms low-income defendants, increases pretrial detention costs, and should require clearer findings and records. Opponents included the Hawaii County prosecuting attorney. Members questioned how bail is initially set, what records exist, and whether the bill would change current practice; Judiciary witnesses said initial bail decisions are often made by police or judges and later reviewed on the record, while supporters argued the bill would strengthen front-end due process. The ACLU said it supported the bill with amendments, including clearer standards for ability to pay and written findings. The committee also began hearing SB 733, a proposed constitutional amendment to establish a continuous legislative session. Early testimony was strongly supportive, with advocates arguing that the current 60-day session limits public participation, makes it hard for working people to testify, and prevents lawmakers from collaborating effectively. Supporters said a year-round model could improve transparency, reduce duplicate bills, and better accommodate neighbor island legislators. The excerpt ends during the opening testimony on SB 733, before any committee action or vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:55:42.800><c> drug</c> data that compensation from drug data that compensation from drug manufacturers
• </c> providing access will not be compensated providing access will not be compensated directly<00:58
• That will surely result in the continued shifting of the financial burden to property taxpayers.
• </c> financial burden to property taxpayers. financial burden to property taxpayers.
• The auditors, both the financial and the process auditors, are the unsung group.

Transcript Highlights:

• How are they benefiting financially? Is there something I’m missing here?
• You’re missing the fact that, How are they benefiting financially?
• They do have an annual financial audit.
• They do have an annual financial audit.
• But they do have to do an annual financial audit. Yeah, they do an annual financial audit.

Bills: HB414 , HB457 , HB475 , HB611 , HB616 , HB740 , HB897 , HB925 , HB926 , HB931 , HB949 , HB962 , HB1076

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Keywords: healthcare, criminal convictions, employment, background checks, prohibited offenses, consent, recording, artificial intelligence, patient rights, pregnancy help centers, healthcare services, licensure, Department of Health, medical services, counseling, regulatory compliance, public health, healthcare data, privacy, pregnancy services

Transcript Highlights:

• David, do you guys invest deferred compensation for state employees also or not? Yes. You do? Okay.
• Climate change is a critical financial risk to our economy and state pension fund.
• Second, by standard measures of financial prudence, fossil fuel assets are a bad investment.
• Other pensions found that better returns more than compensate for the higher fees.
• Omar Hansen Barr here as a financial expert to address the first two misconceptions.

Summary: The committee began with a work session from the State Investment Board, where staff described the board’s structure, $230 billion in assets under management, and its mandate to maximize returns at a prudent level of risk for pension and other state funds. They reviewed long-term performance, noting strong historical returns and explaining that the board generally invests public equities passively through low-cost index funds. Members also discussed sustainability practices, including ESG integration, proxy voting, climate and DEI blueprints, and the board’s view that divestment or asset-class restrictions can reduce returns and increase costs. Senators asked about deferred compensation, legislative influence over investment policy, and digital assets; staff said the board is slow-moving and that any major change would be studied carefully. The public hearing then focused on SB 5439, which would prohibit new thermal coal investments beginning in 2026 and require full divestment by 2030, with limited exceptions. Supporters argued coal is a poor long-term investment and a major climate and health risk, and several said the bill still gives the board flexibility to retain holdings in companies transitioning to clean energy. The committee also heard testimony on SB 6109, which would bar investments in private detention facilities and require divestment by 2030; supporters said state money should not profit from immigrant detention, while staff confirmed the board currently holds a small investment in Geo Group. SB 6304 would require responsible investment principles for the State Investment Board, including consideration of human rights, environmental degradation, corruption, and related risks, along with proxy voting guidelines and annual reporting. Testimony in favor emphasized ethical investing, climate risk, and avoiding complicity in human rights abuses, while board staff had earlier said they view such decisions through an investment-risk lens rather than a values-based lens. The committee also heard Substitute SB 5945, which would exclude most offenses committed before age 18 from counting as strikes under the state’s persistent offender law and would allow retroactive resentencing for affected people, with exceptions for first- and second-degree murder and serious sex offenses. Staff said the substitute would likely affect fewer cases than the original bill, with estimates ranging from about 10 to 24 resentencings. Public defense, prosecutors, and sheriffs’ representatives raised concerns about workload, victim impacts, and retroactive application, while supporters and pro bono providers said they were prepared to help with resentencing and reentry support. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• It feels more like it's a policy than it is a real financial issue.
• The financial issues seem to be incidental rather than truly part of the amendment.
• </c><01:05:44.280><c> The</c><01:05:44.600><c> the</c><01:05:44.680><c> financial</c> financial issue
• The the financial financial issue.
• Boyd, is there a financial impact to this amendment? Ms. Boyd. Uh Mr.

Committee: Senate Finance