Transcript Highlights:

• , but then they will set up the software to either block or limit submitting invoices.
• He said some contracts state that if you try to submit an invoice outside the software, it will delay
• Nelson continued that when a subcontractor attempts to submit the invoice through the software, they
• As I testified previously, it software.
• software software to<00:24:46.600> do<00:24:46.840> everything,<00:24:47.440> including

Bills: HF1234, HF3528, HF3672, HF3679, HF3680, HF1944

Keywords: payment transparency, public contracts, contractor rights, government accountability, construction payments, barbering, licensing, examinations, barber schools, public safety, certifications, Barber Examiners Board, data transparency, Legislative Budget Office, state agencies, fiscal notes, public data, standard time, federal law, time zone

Transcript Highlights:

• program and the kind of financial software that we use within the department.
• 25 and will last for software maintenance or consulting through the first quarter of 24.
• licensing through fiscal 25 and software licensing through fiscal 25 and<01:38:30.960> will<01
• and will last for software maintenance and will last for software maintenance or<01:38:33.520>
• again for software licensing maintenance services<01:38:54.480> um<01:38:54.639> as<01

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• A lot of times, the software vendors have to do some kind of update to it, and then you want to do maintenance
• You know, based on the software update, checking to make sure, as you said, the equipment is in functioning
• So software updates, you'll probably have a vendor from, in large counties, you're going to have a vendor
• from the software company that's going to be.
• So it's either the software vendor that they have a contract with or a county employee that's doing this

Bills: SB801, SB1200, SB1410, SB1717, SB1862, SB1863, SB2216, SB2681, SB506, SB2626, SJR63, SB 3

Keywords: SB 801, birth certificate, birth record, certified copy, homeless, homelessness, unhoused, vital records, state registrar, local registrar, county clerk, fee waiver, identity documents, ID access, housing insecurity, shelter, transitional housing, Health and Safety Code, HHSC, Health and Human Services Commission

Transcript Highlights:

• midsize companies and manufacturing industries and high-growth industries such as pharmaceuticals and software
• midsize companies and manufacturing industries and high-growth industries such as pharmaceuticals and software
• midsize companies and manufacturing industries and high-growth industries such as pharmaceuticals and software
• midsize companies and manufacturing industries and high-growth industries such as pharmaceuticals and software
• midsize companies and manufacturing industries and high-growth industries such as pharmaceuticals and software

Keywords: 919, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• those factories. uh the basic software those factories. uh the basic software would<03:58:32.720
• And today software package to do it.
• > say<04:20:18.080> software<04:20:18.479> design software it's when I say software
• design software it's when I say software design is<04:20:18.880> trivial,<04:20:19.520> it
• And I think software package here.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up SB 209, which would require schools seeking building aid for construction or reconstruction projects to use an owner’s project manager. The chair explained an amendment that would remove the bill’s requirement that the manager be engaged before application and instead revert to current law, while updating the project threshold from the older $1 million figure to a more current amount and clarifying that the manager’s role is to protect the project owner’s interests. Members asked about the cost of hiring a project manager over several years before a project is funded, the 1.5% fee in rule, and whether the rules already define the manager’s duties. The chair said the amendment addressed those concerns by leaving the timing to current law and relying on existing administrative rules for qualifications and responsibilities. The committee then voted 18-0 to adopt the amendment and 18-0 to recommend SB 209 OTPA, placing it on the consent calendar. The committee then moved to SB 99, which concerns allowing students enrolled in career and technical education programs at receiving comprehensive high schools to take additional academic courses there. The chair said the bill was intended to make it easier for students to access CTE without being blocked by scheduling conflicts in their sending schools, and to clarify how agreements between sending and receiving districts would work. He described concerns about the bill’s cost formula, transportation, part-time versus full-time status, and whether the proposal could unintentionally create open-enrollment or athletic-transfer issues. He said the amendment would mirror existing treatment for homeschool and charter school students, use a familiar funding model, and limit participation to students already enrolled in one or more CTE classes at the receiving school. The chair also emphasized that comprehensive high schools already have a statutory definition and that the bill would help more students participate in CTE, which he said currently reaches only a relatively small share of students statewide. He noted that transportation would be covered only when a CTE bus is available, otherwise students would be responsible for arranging travel as under current practice. After brief discussion, the committee voted 18-0 to adopt the amendment and 18-0 to recommend SB 99 OTPA, also placing it on the consent calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• Next, we'd like to explore the use of pricing software, algorithmic pricing, surveillance pricing, dynamic
• Retail pricing appears increasingly driven by commercial pricing software.
• It appears that many in the market at all levels are using such software, and many are using exactly
• the same software.
• Various other studies across industries have analyzed the impact of pricing software and found that these

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications held an oversight hearing on managing the transportation fuels transition, with a focus on gasoline prices, supply reliability, refinery closures, and the implementation of recent transparency and market oversight laws. Chair Allen opened by citing SB 1322 and special session measures that expanded reporting to the California Energy Commission (CEC), authorized possible refining margin caps, and required minimum inventory and resupply planning. He framed the hearing around rising fuel costs, refinery shutdowns, global supply disruptions, and the need to ensure affordable and reliable fuel during the transition to cleaner transportation. CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda described California’s growing dependence on imports as in-state refining declines, noting that gasoline production has fallen and imports now supply a large share of the market. He said the state has substantial marine import capacity and that the proposed Gateway Pipeline could improve connectivity to the Gulf Coast, but emphasized that distribution and storage remain key constraints. Gunda also said the CEC’s new “days of supply” metric suggests inventories remain within historical ranges, and he attributed recent price increases largely to global crude oil shocks, refinery outages, and the war in Iran. He said taxes and environmental costs have remained relatively stable, while crude costs and industry margins have risen. CDTFA Chief Deputy Director Gentian Droboniku focused on retail pricing, saying widening retail margins and growing price dispersion indicate that retail business models and pricing strategies are increasingly driving pump prices. He highlighted the growth of hypermarts and unbranded stations, the widening gap between branded and unbranded prices, and future work on ownership concentration and algorithmic pricing. Ty Milder of the Department of Petroleum Market Oversight said the Iran conflict is the largest global oil supply disruption in history and that California’s recent price increases largely track national and crude price movements, unlike earlier localized spikes that lacked input-cost justification. He said branded stations, especially major brands, have charged substantially more than nearby competitors, and that the “mystery gasoline surcharge” that appeared after the Torrance refinery fire is still under investigation. Milder also pointed to high diesel spreads, limited market liquidity, and the need for more transparency in spot pricing. Matthew Boutill of CARB said the state’s long-term goals remain deep greenhouse gas reductions and carbon neutrality by 2045, with transportation fuel transition strategies aimed at cleaner fuels, zero-emission vehicles, and support for workers and communities. In questioning, Senators Caballero and Richardson pressed agency witnesses for clearer, more concrete explanations of what the transition will look like in practice, how many refineries California will still need, and what the impacts of increased imports will be on ports, trucking, storage, and local communities. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• somewhere custom solutions, the the narrowed feel the 3 that we think are the top contenders are software
• what information was articulated and that completely that ownership falls on a DP and we have a software
• And what will I connect our current software? What dollar amount would be allocated?
• And Florida Palm is on people saw, which is the Oracle software. Right?
• The cloud or write is it's it's not technically a software as a service, right?

Transcript Highlights:

• The Franchise Tax Board as well as tax software industry are tracking those changes about what's going
• So we have rules that are in place that we ask the tax software to meet to allow those tax returns to
• One of the things that we try to focus on with the tax professional community, like the tax software
• So the federal government, in partnership with the states, as well as the tax software, they actually
• We work with our partners, so with the IRS, the tax software community, to let them know what they can

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Associations opposed to SB 122, the tax on digital software and software as a service, and the limitation
• voice BSA's opposition to the software as a service tax that was included in the larger legislative
• We remain opposed to SB 122, specifically to the software as a service tax.
• Implementing a tax on digital software will significantly increase the cost of California businesses
• Regrettably, CSDA and ACHD must convey their opposition to the digital prewritten software sales tax

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The Assembly Budget Committee met to consider the 2026 Budget Act, which leaders described as the compromise budget expected to move to the floor later that evening. Opening remarks emphasized that the plan balances the budget over two years, reduces the structural deficit, and builds reserves, while also protecting core programs from federal cuts. Jason Sisney outlined the legislative budget plan, saying it uses higher-than-expected revenues and reserve balances to reject some proposed reductions and fund temporary restorations and new spending in areas such as education, child care, health care, housing, homelessness, and public safety. Department of Finance representatives said the administration appreciated the two-year balanced framework and the effort to address out-year deficits, while noting the plan includes additional spending and revenue changes. Sisney also previewed floor bills including AB 109, SB 110, SB 122, and SB 125, with SB 122 described as a modification to the tax credit proposal and SB 125 as the managed care organization tax proposal. Subcommittee chairs then described the major policy choices in their areas. Health chair Addis said the budget responds to federal health care rollbacks by protecting Medi-Cal, clinics, hospitals, dental care, and other safety-net services, while also supporting reproductive care, gender-affirming care, and county health systems. Education chair Alvarez highlighted increased school funding, expanded learning, special education, teacher support, community colleges, and a change to Cal Grant eligibility for older community college students. Other chairs emphasized child care expansions, homelessness and housing funding, prison closure and criminal justice savings, wildfire mitigation, county support for Medi-Cal and CalFresh administration, and accountability measures tied to homelessness and corrections spending. Several members also raised concerns or priorities, including the impact of the MCO tax on providers, the need for more support for local journalism, transit and climate funding, biotech and R&D incentives, and continued work on Prop 98 and long-term revenue solutions. No formal votes were taken in the portion provided, but members broadly expressed support for the budget framework and the need to continue negotiations with the administration before final passage. The committee discussion repeatedly framed the budget as a response to federal policy changes and a choice to protect vulnerable Californians while maintaining fiscal responsibility. The vice chair, citing LAO warnings about future volatility and limited reserves, pressed Finance on whether the budget represented a record-sized state budget and whether revenues were also at record levels, underscoring concerns about the state’s preparedness for a downturn.

Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, software and applications are used by administrators, paraprofessionals, and parents to
• technology, and there's little accountability regarding the efficacy of the software.
• Currently, software is being developed and adopted quickly, and the only way for teachers and parents
• We're not here to just get in the way of the adoption of HR software, for instance.
• You know, we're not wanting to look at sort of software for accounting and that kind of thing.

Summary: The Assembly Education Committee heard AB 84, a charter school accountability measure focused on non-classroom-based charter schools and fraud prevention. The author and supporters said the bill was intended to respond to the A3 charter fraud case and related scandals by strengthening audits, transparency, authorizer oversight, and funding determination rules, while ensuring public education dollars are used for public education. Supporters included FCMAT, CSEA, CTA, and CSBA, who argued the bill would improve oversight and protect taxpayers. Opponents, including the California Charter Schools Association, Green Dot, many charter parents, educators, and charter operators, said the bill was too broad, would impose major new costs and bureaucracy on all charter schools, and could reduce options for families, especially those using flexible, homeschool, or special-needs charter programs. After extensive testimony and committee discussion, the bill passed on a 5-1 vote and was sent to Appropriations, with the item left open for additional votes. The committee then approved a consent calendar of 11 education bills, including AB 542, AB 563, AB 731, AB 753, AB 784, AB 964, AB 988, AB 1034, AB 1233, AB 1255, and AB 1381, all moving to Appropriations. The consent calendar passed unanimously. Later, the committee heard AB 1454, a literacy and reading instruction bill authored by Assembly Members Rubio and Revis. The bill would require the state to create professional development resources for evidence-based literacy instruction, update English language arts and English language development instructional materials, and revise administrator preparation standards to include literacy training. The authors and a broad coalition of supporters, including CTA, EdVoice, Families in Schools, Decoding Dyslexia, school administrators, and parent advocates, described the measure as a compromise aimed at improving reading outcomes and addressing California’s literacy crisis. There was no opposition testimony at the hearing, and members voiced strong support for the bill and its collaborative approach.

Transcript Highlights:

• This budget provides critical staffing and software to enhance our legal capacities to support the more
• and help the OIG conduct these investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse with software that would
• and help the OIG conduct these investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse with software that would
• For $550,000 annually for three FTEs and software dedicated to fraud detection in detail.
• and help the OIG conduct these investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse with software that would

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The solution we've chosen is a software as a service solution, which is built in a federally certified
• <00:09:32.880> as<00:09:33.040> a solution we've chosen is a software as a solution
• we've chosen is a software as a service<00:09:33.600> solution<00:09:34.320> which<00:
• As far as the maintenance and upgrades, that's another benefit of using software as a service.
• that's another benefit of using software that's another benefit of using software as<00:24:33.120

Keywords: 1:00 Roll Call 2:38 Overview of Citizen Identity Security and Threat Reduction 9:36 Identity Solution and Casts 13:51 System Application and Discovery Issues 21:31 Staffing and Timelines 29:14 Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Personnel, Public Retirement, and Finance received a presentation from Jim Barnhard, CIO of the Commonwealth Office of Technology, and David Carter, deputy CIO/CISO, on the state’s citizen identity management project. They said the project is intended to streamline citizen logins across agencies, reduce duplicated identity-management costs, improve security by centralizing authentication, and provide a flexible system that can scale with demand. The presenters described major implementation challenges, including integrating with diverse and legacy applications, and said the chosen software-as-a-service vendor was selected because it can connect to many systems and maintain the service in a federally certified cloud environment. The presenters emphasized that the project scope is limited to login, authentication, identity management, and identity proofing, while leaving authorization decisions to the individual applications and agencies. They said the work is being done in phases, beginning with discovery sessions with agencies, then selecting representative applications for onboarding rather than attempting a “big bang” rollout. They also said the vendor agreement includes professional services and knowledge transfer to reduce long-term dependence on outside support, and that the state has already begun outreach to agencies, including initial work with the Finance Cabinet and the Department of Revenue. Members asked about staffing, current spending, future costs, and whether existing systems or contracts could be reduced. The presenters said the project is being supported with existing staff, with no expectation of a large increase in positions, and that the vendor will carry most of the operational load. They said they did not have statewide spending figures with them but could try to gather them, and explained that the negotiated pricing is intended to be all-inclusive, with fixed costs for the first five years and capped increases in years six and seven. They said centralizing identity services should eventually allow the Commonwealth to stand down some duplicated agency-level licensing and reduce overall operational costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• They will pull those software.
• >> Uh, Chairman Cole, I am not a software >> Uh, Chairman Cole, I am not a software
• There's a software route that we can go down that we can do this via software, and they're all basically
• Chair, Representative Johnson, again, I'm not a software engineer and I'm not a software developer, so
• :12.000> not I'm not a software developer, so I'm not I'm not a software developer, so I'm not

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and provide guidance to tax software and provide guidance to tax software providers<01:02:54.480
• uh was known as and uh the software uh was known as Happy<01:49:45.440> World.
• these zappers and who made the software. these zappers and who made the software. uh<01:49:56.880
• provider that does all of our software provider that does all of our returns<01:53:50.800> which<
• It could be mistakes, you know, the software didn't work correctly, or so that's one number, but it's

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• are funding $270,000 for both FY 26 and 27 for the student internship programs, certification, and software
• are funding $270,000 for both FY 26 and 27 for the student internship programs, certification, and software
• internship programs student internship programs certification<00:01:44.400> and<00:01:44.720> software
• /c><00:01:45.680> And<00:01:46.000> this<00:01:46.240> is certification and software
• And this is certification and software.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So whether they went through a new software company or they went with this system, I'm just questioning
• One of the things we get compared to a lot is panic button software.
• In this audit, we were compared to panic button software.
• Panic button software notifies you that a crisis is happening.
• And then we have aggregation software that pulls in video feeds, sensor alerts, radio locations, and

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Joint Legislative Audit Committee heard a presentation from Senator Kevin Payne on Arizona’s school safety interoperability communication systems, which he said were inspired by the Parkland and Uvalde shootings and designed to bypass overwhelmed 911 systems through panic-button alerts, live camera access, and direct communication with law enforcement. Committee members broadly praised the concept as a school safety tool, while also noting it should complement, not replace, school resource officers. Senator Payne said the audit had not fully captured the systems’ value and emphasized what he saw in Yavapai County as a successful example. Auditor General Lindsay Perry then summarized the second special audit in the JLAC school safety series, explaining that it reviewed whether fund expenditures were authorized, whether purchased systems met statutory requirements, and whether procurement followed applicable standards. She noted that 12 of 14 law enforcement agencies had provided follow-up information, while Pinal and La Paz counties had not, and that the committee had requested additional details on participating and non-participating schools. Members pressed Perry about Pinal County’s refusal to respond and about delays in payment to Mutualink, and several members defended the committee’s oversight role. The committee then heard from the vendors. Mutualink’s CEO said the system is intended to connect schools, dispatch, law enforcement, fire, and EMS through live video, floor plans, and group communications, and argued that implementation problems often stem from training, infrastructure, and coordination rather than the technology itself. Motorola Solutions described its work in Maricopa, Yuma, and Tucson, including panic alarms, radio and dispatch integration, and school participation challenges; it said Tucson canceled its contract after schools declined to join. Navigate 360 described its Cochise County project as a success story, saying 60 of 69 schools were implemented, with ongoing training and support, but acknowledged it did not yet meet all statutory criteria and that two charter schools had opted out. Members repeatedly raised concerns about procurement, inconsistent implementation, rural infrastructure, training, and whether the systems met all statutory requirements, and vendors said they would follow up on those issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• There's a number of software resources that coordinate the discharge of EV batteries and that coordinate
• virtual power plants all across the country are based on close relationships between utilities, software
• providers that work closely with the utilities. ...relationships between utilities, software providers
• I think that's—oh, there was something on software, strictly software.
• Many virtual power plants are facilitated by that kind of software company.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That required a, a software change.
• And so working with our, our vendor, we were able to deploy that software change in December of last
• When I was working with our vendor on that software change, one of the things we looked at, I said, OK
• And so when I was working with the vendor to identify the software change, we put a limit on the number
• And then I then took the, you know, we were able to deploy the software change and how many tickets were

Transcript Highlights:

• we we do the we pay the bill software we we do the we pay the bill but<00:14:39.360> they<00:
• Is this $2.9 million just for software, or does it also include staffing from the consultant?
• Number 24 is traffic management software maintenance on Kauai Island.
• <02:59:56.680> software<02:59:57.080> software<02:59:57.920> associated software
• software software associated software software software associated with<02:59:59.720> yeah sure

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We expect—I think we can speculate—that they will be offering some sort of software access to each city
• We can speculate that they will be offering some sort of software access to each city or town, which
• We know which towns, we know which software providers are providing their assessing software.
• When you, in the LUCA process, it's not like you're handcuffed to the LUCA software.
• They also have software that they can give you. And we just end up using our own type.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census held a hearing on September 22, 2025 focused on preparations for the 2030 census, with an emphasis on Massachusetts’ role in building a complete address list and improving local participation in census-related address review programs. Chair Brownsberger and witnesses from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, the UMass Donahue Institute, Watertown, and MassGIS described the importance of accurate address data for congressional apportionment, federal funding, and state and local planning. They also discussed the first major upcoming step, the Block Boundary Suggestion Project, and the later Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) process, both of which rely on municipalities reviewing and correcting census geography and address files. John Rosenberry of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office said outreach to cities and towns is beginning now, with a likely December start for the block boundary process based on the 2020 cycle. He stressed that local officials, clerks, building inspectors, housing authorities, and GIS staff should be engaged early, especially to capture new development and conversions created under the state’s housing policies. Susan Strait of UMass Donahue explained that LUCA allows local governments to compare their address lists with the Census Bureau’s master address file, and that Massachusetts had very high participation in 2020; she cited examples where local review added hidden or newly built housing units and noted that Boston later corrected a group-quarters undercount of about 6,000 students through a post-census review program. In response to questions, she clarified that those corrections affected annual estimates and funding formulas, but not the 2020 apportionment count. Watertown City Manager George Proakis described how local address review is complicated by accessory dwelling units, single-family to two-family conversions, and large multifamily projects, and urged continued state support for local governments doing this work. Dan Marrier of MassGIS then outlined the Massachusetts Master Address Database, explaining that it combines multiple sources, including E911, assessor, voter, and municipal data, to create a standardized residential address repository used for census preparation and other state functions. He said the database has helped improve census accuracy, including by updating more than one million Census Bureau address-point locations before 2020, and noted that local municipalities remain the final authority on addresses even as MassGIS standardizes and reconciles variants across the Commonwealth.