Transcript Highlights:

• I'm not sure that there would be a retroactive payment.
• </c><01:08:40.679><c> made</c><01:08:41.120><c> yeah</c> retroactive payments made yeah retroactive payments
• ><c> one</c><01:19:31.320><c> lump</c> fund the payment is made in one lump fund the payment is made
• </c> essentially the monetary weekly payment essentially the monetary weekly payment for<01:28:53.119
• </c> prosay individuals to get reimbursement prosay individuals to get reimbursement for<03:56:42.359

Committee: House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services

Transcript Highlights:

• for costs associated with reimbursement for costs associated with removing<00:34:12.399><c> vehicles
• ><c> the</c><00:34:20.800><c> owner</c> reimbursement either through the owner reimbursement either through
• That's the payments and reimbursement of the funds to the counties. And that's a lot of money.
• Well, it's money that the state received and, according to our agreement, should have reimbursed the
• </c><01:00:32.480><c> the</c> agreement should have reimbursed the agreement should have reimbursed the

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• The problem, though, is malpractice itself, not malpractice payments.
• incidents resulting in a payment per 1,000 physicians.
• So there's a lot of malpractice payments.
• Therefore, you save money on malpractice payments.
• You will reduce medical malpractice payments if you reduce medical malpractice.

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1212, health insurance reimbursement rates vaccines.
• SB 1240, probation successive incentive payments calculation, Judiciary and Elections.

Summary: The Senate convened with a prayer by Rabbi Mendel Soup of Lake Havasu and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Senator Carroll, then completed an electronic roll call and approved the journal for January 20, 2026. The chamber recognized several guest groups and visitors, including CRNA Capital Day participants, rural electric cooperative representatives, AEA Retired members, March of Dimes advocates, students and school officials, and other invited guests. Senators used points of personal privilege to highlight the work of these groups and to introduce visitors in the gallery. The body then read a long list of bills on second reading, covering a wide range of topics including child welfare, public school safety, health insurance, water policy, taxation, housing, elections, public safety, transportation, and abortion-related measures. The Senate also received first-reading introductions and committee referrals for additional bills on subjects such as motor vehicle booting fees, traumatic event counseling, election procedures, assisted living, short-term rentals, and various appropriations and policy changes. No substantive debate or votes on the bills were recorded in the transcript. After committee reports were noted and the Senate briefly recessed for bill assignments, the chamber returned to order and continued with first reading and reference of more bills and resolutions. At the end of the session, the Majority Whip moved to adjourn, and the Senate adjourned until Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1212, health insurance reimbursement rates vaccines.
• SB 1240, probation successive incentive payments calculation; Judiciary and Elections.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's helped us maintain employees, but if we do not receive reimbursement for that summer unemployment
• </c><00:22:44.640><c> for</c><00:22:44.840><c> that</c> we do not receive reimbursement for that we do
• not receive reimbursement for that sum<00:22:45.480><c> summer</c><00:22:45.799><c> unemployment</c>
• </c><01:16:05.400><c> that</c> nearly $20 million in reimbursement that nearly $20 million in reimbursement
• for any additional Union on payment for any additional hours<01:31:41.679><c> it</c><01:31:41.840><c

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• This requires a person to intentionally submit a claim or something similar for reimbursement through
• It would not require the payment there are some... to look at the A2 Amendment this is to look at the
• </c> not required to provide reimbursement not required to provide reimbursement before<00:26:45.919>
• that the crime I'm looking at in the amendment, that any intentional presentation of a claim for payment
• Etc of any any size at claim for payment Etc of any any size at all<00:37:28.400><c> would</c><00:37

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• So they are holding the project open until that is complete, and they are not issuing any final payments
• So they are holding the project open until that is complete and they are not issuing any final payments
• And we've had entities that have actually followed through with that and have sent payments.
• Chairman, wasn't this the money we have in the bank already, or is this reimbursement?
• Yep, Chairman Bosch, Senator Davidson, members of committee, yes, it's reimbursed essentially.

Committee: Joint Information Technology Committee

Summary: The committee received a series of informational reports from NDIT and DPI on major IT projects, cybersecurity, and the K-12 student information system transition. Justin Data reviewed the quarterly major project portfolio, noting 111 projects totaling about $542.8 million, generally under budget and slightly behind schedule overall. He highlighted three schedule-red projects: Bed Management System and Vital Records, both now complete and being closed out, and the Roadway Capital Planning Project, which is delayed due to vendor bug fixes after user testing. He also summarized new project startups, including the Attorney General’s Victim Notification System, HHS Medicaid correctional facilities data exchange, Highway Patrol’s motor carrier e-permit system, and additional RIMS work, and answered questions about project timing, funding, and whether work had begun on legislatively funded IT projects. Chris Gurgan, NDIT’s chief information security officer, reported on mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting under HB 1314. He said 77 incidents have been reported since August 2021, with 47 meeting the statutory definition of a cybersecurity incident; phishing remains the most common type, followed by email quarantine alerts, XDR detections, and malware. He emphasized that most incidents are resolved, but that timely reporting is critical for any chance of recovering funds in business email compromise or ransomware cases. He also described several notable incidents since the last report, including the PowerSchool breach, a SimpleHelp intrusion at a school district, a court intrusion, a WSUS vulnerability, a business email compromise at a K-12 district, and a recent ransomware report involving a non-state critical infrastructure entity. Members asked about smishing, MFA, conditional access, security awareness training, and recovery of lost funds; Gurgan said state systems use phishing-resistant MFA and conditional access, training is provided to state employees and offered to political subdivisions on an opt-in basis, and broader cybersecurity maturity assessments are underway. Craig Falkley gave brief reports on coordination with political subdivisions and higher education, including shared networking, cybersecurity, radio/911, PeopleSoft, and co-location services. He also explained distributed ledger technology as a tool for decentralized, secure data sharing, but said the state has limited use for it and would likely frame future reporting more broadly around emerging technologies. The committee then heard from Tony Ambrose of DPI on the statewide Infinite Campus implementation. He said district implementations are underway, but the project had to terminate its original data migration vendor for poor performance and replace it with Aurora Educational Technology, which had experience with a similar North Carolina migration. He also said DPI is moving special education data from Tynet into Infinite Campus, is still working through how to preserve e-transcripts and Choice Ready-type functionality after the PowerSchool transition, and is developing identity, authentication, and data-sharing arrangements for the summer cutover. Members raised concerns about procurement timing, summer school disruption, and whether some functions would be ready by July 1.

Transcript Highlights:

• Monthly payments reduce food insecurity and housing instability by providing more timely relief.
• It boosts the child and family tax credit to $600 per dependent while allowing advance payments.
• Finally, it would allow for advanced periodic child and family tax credit payments.
• I saw firsthand the importance of monthly cash payments.
• of the CFTC for families who prefer this payment model as opposed to one lump sum payment, and lastly

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Revenue

Summary: The Joint Committee on Revenue held a public hearing focused largely on tax-credit proposals tied to children, families, caregivers, child care, health care workforce development, and public health. A major portion of the hearing concerned bills to expand the state earned income tax credit and child and family tax credit, including H. 3073/S. 1957 and S. 1975. Testimony from advocacy groups, legal services, tax assistance organizations, and health providers supported increasing the EITC match from 40% to 50% of the federal credit, expanding eligibility to immigrant and mixed-status ITIN filers, larger families, younger and older workers, and SSI recipients, and raising the child and family tax credit to $600 per child with inflation adjustments and possible advance payments. Witnesses said these changes would reduce poverty, improve health and educational outcomes, and help families meet basic expenses; committee members asked questions about ITIN filers and expressed support for the policy goals. The committee also heard extensive testimony on S. 1938/H. 3159, An Act Supporting Family Caregivers. Speakers described the scale of unpaid caregiving in Massachusetts and supported a package that would create a refundable tax credit, respite vouchers, workplace and housing protections, unemployment insurance access for those who leave work to care for relatives, a permanent advisory council, and a provision allowing spouses to be paid caregivers under MassHealth. Several witnesses shared personal caregiving experiences, and committee members responded favorably, noting the emotional and financial strain on caregivers and the importance of supporting them as Medicaid and long-term care systems face pressure. Additional bills discussed included H. 3174 on a child and dependent care tax credit, which was presented as a way to offset the high cost of child care; H. 3197/S. 2019 to improve the financial security of family child care providers through a tax credit; H. 3218/S. 1960 to create tax credits for health care preceptors to address workforce shortages; S. 2064 to establish a living organ donor tax credit; S. 2034 to promote healthy alternatives to sugary drinks through a tiered tax; H. 3015 to create a tax-return checkoff for the YMCA Youth and Government Program; and several public testimony ideas including vaccination, literacy, and grade-improvement tax credits. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the hearing, which ended after all testimony was heard.

Transcript Highlights:

• Board application and updates requirements and provisions of the board. 802302 amends to establish payment
• amounts for covered treatments, exams, and services to be paid at the Medicaid reimbursement rate on
• in order to receive<00:13:36.880><c> enhanced</c><00:13:37.440><c> quarterly</c><00:13:37.920><c> payments
• </c><00:13:38.800><c> for</c> receive enhanced quarterly payments for receive enhanced quarterly payments
• </c> meet to receive the supplemental payment meet to receive the supplemental payment are<00:13:49.519

Summary: The Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee met to reorganize its leadership for the new term, renewing Representative Derek Lewis as House co-chair and Senator Steven West as Senate co-chair. The committee then approved the minutes and moved through a series of agency regulations, generally adopting staff-suggested amendments without objection. Among the regulations reviewed were an Attorney General rule changing how a commission reviews and distributes funds and how grant reporting is handled; Personnel Board changes abolishing and renaming certain job classifications and adjusting probationary periods; an Education and Labor Cabinet rule removing references to local board of education members; several Public Protection Cabinet rules covering Board of Claims and Crime Victims’ Compensation procedures; an Alcoholic Beverage Control rule on direct-to-consumer shipping forms; and a Medicaid Services emergency regulation establishing the Kentucky Trauma Hospital Rate Improvement Program for rural hospitals serving many Medicaid patients. The committee also heard that the Board of Claims and Crime Victims’ Compensation regulations included both staff and, in one case, an agency amendment, which were approved. The most extended discussion came on the Department for Community Based Services’ regulation increasing per diem rates for private child-placing therapeutic foster care levels 2 and 3. Committee members questioned the estimated $10 million biennial cost, the source of the funding, and why the cabinet had not yet filed regulations implementing Senate Bill 151 on kinship care. DCBS staff said the rate increase was discretionary and intended to address placement crises for children with high needs, while acknowledging they could not personally explain the budget decisions. A kinship caregiver testified in support of the rate increase but urged the cabinet to also implement SB 151 and expand support for kinship families. The committee expressed frustration over the lack of SB 151 implementation but stated the rate increase itself was appropriate and allowed the regulation to proceed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Lastly, if an agency implements federally mandated programs that can be reimbursed with federal funds
• At $15.85 per square foot, the state could save an estimated $28.8 million in rent payments by relocating
• discussion and possible action on a proposed rapid response evaluation of DHS's verification and reimbursement

Committee: Senate Oversight Committee for the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT)

Transcript Highlights:

• ability to contract for a comprehensive IT database that will compile and administer all licensing payments
• As of December 2025, there's been 70,500 grants obligated, and 41,000 reimbursements have been processed
• As of December 2025, there's been 70,500 grants obligated, and 41,000 reimbursements have been processed

Summary: The committee convened with a quorum, welcomed new member Senator Ralph Massullo, and first took up confirmation of five appointees to water management district and basin board positions. Senator McLean moved favorable confirmation of Ted Everett, Jerome Pate, Michael Romano, Paul Bissfam, John Hall, and Virginia Johns, and the motion passed by roll call. The main agenda item was the Governor’s Florida First budget presentation for the environmental agencies. Kim Kramer and DEP Secretary Alexis Lambert outlined proposed environmental funding of about $5.8 billion, including more than $1.4 billion for water resources, $810 million for Everglades restoration, $408 million for water quality, $202 million for Resilient Florida, $75 million for beach renourishment, $150 million for Florida Forever, $70 million for state park infrastructure, and $221 million for hazardous waste cleanup. They also highlighted proposed funding for FWC operations, manatee care, python removal, oyster reef restoration, forestry and wildfire equipment, and citrus research and disease response. Members asked about Florida Forever funding, state park wastewater and septic needs, a cut to the Florida Wildlife Research Institute, and how beach renourishment is handled after storms. The committee then heard the general government budget presentation. Agencies highlighted included DBPR, Gaming Control, the Lottery, DMS, PERC, DFS, OIR, and Revenue. DBPR discussed funding for license processing, an animal abuse hotline, vehicle replacement, and IT recruitment; Gaming Control requested new law enforcement squads and a licensing/enforcement IT system; the Lottery emphasized marketing, retail engagement, IT, and retention funding; DMS proposed building, fleet, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and local government grant investments; PERC described workload growth after SB 256 and requested staffing, operations, and pay increases; OIR sought more staff for consumer protection and market oversight plus building renovations; DFS highlighted My Safe Florida Home funding, fire marshal and first responder support, financial investigations, and gold and silver legal tender implementation; and Revenue requested operational, IT, and fiscally constrained county funding. Members questioned DBPR about unfunded HOA fraud and condo transparency items, DMS about cybersecurity grants, and DFS about My Safe Florida Home funding levels, abandoned grants, and reduced program uptake. No further action was taken, and the committee adjourned without additional votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• The A3 amendment would maintain that 10% payment in fiscal year 2026.
• </c> line one, modifies the aid payment line one, modifies the aid payment schedule,<00:59:54.960><c>
• payment payment schedule.<01:00:07.680><c> Page</c><01:00:08.000><c> 86,</c><01:00:08.720><c> line</
• </c><01:00:23.839><c> schedule</c> of the aid and the aid payment schedule of the aid and the aid payment
• Uh, and as this bill reimbursement.

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, we have the value-based reimbursement system in place.
• Any time there is a change in the cost for the nursing homes, they will get reimbursed through the VBR
• Additionally, we’ve also increased the reimbursement rate for nursing homes by 100 percent.
• I think many individuals are confused about how the reimbursement process for nursing homes is done.
• That's how the reimbursement system was set up.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, payment for services.
• </c> payment for services. payment for services.
• So, reimbursement should be in the rule.
• I think uh the reimbursement for.
• </c> reimbursing for. reimbursing for.

Summary: The meeting began with quorum and seating issues, including the temporary appointment of Representative Shaw to fill in for a House member, followed by approval of the previous minutes and the consent calendar. Two items were then postponed to next month: Mechanical Licensing Board item 25-241 and Board of Veterinarian item 25-223. The committee then took up Department of Energy rulemaking on distributed energy resources interconnection procedures, including items 25-220 and related sections on fees, additional controls, and equipment. The Department explained revised language to address concerns that the original draft improperly suggested agency or PUC approval of utility fees; under the amended language, utilities would set fees designed to recover costs, with complaints handled through existing complaint procedures. Committee members and the Department discussed the statutory basis for that approach, including cost responsibility versus fee-setting authority. Public testimony was mixed. A small solar developer argued the rules still exceed statutory authority, impose unfair costs on customer generators, and allow utilities to shift transmission-related study costs onto interconnecting customers. Clean energy advocates supported the Department’s revised language but asked for clearer limits on charging customers for later-added controls, arguing costs should be tied directly to the customer’s interconnection and not to later utility-driven changes. Eversource supported the revised fee language, said most prior concerns were resolved, and recommended conditional approval, while also suggesting a minor wording change in the “Additional Equipment” section to clarify that only operational performance is covered.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's about state-directed payments and the phase-out under OB3.
• It's about state-directed payments and the phase-out under OB3.
• payments are expressly Supplemental payments are expressly prohibited<00:12:37.920><c> by</c><00:12:
• </c><00:14:14.000><c> Okay,</c> the input payments. Okay, the input payments.
• </c><00:14:32.000><c> and</c> It's about state directed payments and It's about state directed payments

Summary: The Committee to Study Long-Term Managed Care approved the prior meeting minutes as amended after correcting the first paragraph. The chair then outlined the committee’s plan to produce a preliminary report by October 1, with additional meetings to follow, since some questions remain about the federal One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) and its effects on Medicaid financing and managed care. The main discussion focused on New Hampshire nursing home funding and how ProShare and MQUIP work. Members reviewed Medicaid rates, supplemental payments, intergovernmental transfers, and the role of federal matching funds. The chair and Mr. Litman concluded that OB3’s phase-down of payments above the Medicare rate likely would not directly eliminate ProShare or MQUIP in New Hampshire, but uncertainty remains about intergovernmental transfers and about how these payments would function if the state moved nursing facilities into managed care. Mr. Litman said managed care would likely require waivers for supplemental payments, and Texas was cited as an example of a state operating under such waivers. The committee also discussed dual eligibles, DNIP, PACE, and the possibility of carving out HCBS from nursing facility services. DHS said its managed care contract would allow the state to use MCOs for DNIP, with the goal of better coordination between Medicaid and Medicare, while PACE would likely require more study and might be more feasible in populated counties. Members also reviewed OB3’s new presumptive eligibility provisions and a state waiver request modeled on Washington’s approach, plus a separate grant for transitioning people from facilities back to the community. The rural health transformation fund was discussed as a possible source for workforce, telehealth, mobile integrated health, and other support investments, but not for direct construction or major building renovation. County representatives emphasized that any county role in PACE or DNIP would require significant vetting, infrastructure, capital investment, and a realistic timeline. The meeting ended with the chair saying the draft report would outline issues and possible alternatives, but not recommendations yet, and the committee adjourned without taking further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• request to receive the actuarial equivalent of their monthly pension paid in a lump-sum one-time payment
• Substitute Senate Bill 5834 allows DRS to make ongoing payments of certain administrative expenses from
• just heard from, for all of the administrative things—logistics, booking the rooms, doing travel reimbursements

Committee: Joint Select Committee on Pension Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• It delays the program to reimburse registered tow truck operators for the costs of towing indigent persons
• luxury vehicle tax, in the case of a vehicle lease, to be paid incrementally along with the lease payments
• hopefully reduce some of the expense, some of the costs of the bridge, goes forward, goes toward those payments

Summary: The Transportation Committee met on February 25 for executive action on three bills. House Bill 2306, a supplemental transportation appropriations bill for the 2025-27 biennium, was amended and advanced. The committee adopted a technical corrections amendment, a Fey amendment shifting King County Metro electrification funding from the South Annex Base project to the Central Campus Electrification Project, and rejected an Entenman amendment that would have moved $11 million for the 220 Corridor completion project from the 2027-29 biennium into the current biennium. Members discussed ferry vessel planning, maintenance and preservation, State Patrol staffing, and Climate Commitment Act investments before approving the bill 28-0 with one excused. House Bill 2711, dealing with transportation resources and tax changes, was also amended and passed. The committee adopted a technical amendment, rejected an Orcutt amendment that would have restored trade-in deductions for the luxury vehicle and recreational vessel taxes, adopted a Paul amendment temporarily exempting motorhomes from the luxury vehicle tax in late 2026, and adopted a Fey amendment directing interest earned on two transportation accounts to remain in those accounts. The bill’s substitute would repeal the luxury aircraft tax, change treatment of the luxury vehicle and vessel taxes, delay tow truck reimbursement provisions, and create a Preserve Washington Account. The committee approved the bill 27-1, with Representative Orcutt voting no without recommendation. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5203, which would direct WSDOT and Fish and Wildlife to develop an integrated wildlife habitat connectivity strategy and create wildlife corridor and crossings accounts, was amended and passed. The committee adopted Hall’s amendment requiring consultation with landowners, agricultural producers, and community members before construction of wildlife crossings. Supporters said the bill would improve road safety and conservation and help position the state for federal and private funding, while opponents argued it could create expectations for new crossings without identified resources. The bill advanced 16-12, with several members voting no or no without recommendation. The chair then outlined upcoming committee meetings, possible floor deadlines for the budget bills, and noted there would be no caucuses that day.

Transcript Highlights:

• allocation is granted, you can go spend those specific funds on that specific project, and we will reimburse
• other three... ...affected operators here that will receive the loan from MTC is unable to make payments
• avoid schedule impacts, has a 12-year repayment term where the first two years are interest-only payments

Summary: The Assembly Budget Committee held an informational hearing on two early-action budget bills. AB 107 would make mostly technical corrections to prior budget acts, including extending deadlines, fixing fiscal language, moving $20 million for California travel and tourism promotion from Visit California to GoBiz, and making changes related to Proposition 4 climate bond funding. A key provision would exempt development of program guidelines and selection criteria for certain 2025 climate bond appropriations from the Administrative Procedure Act, which supporters said would speed implementation of wildfire prevention and other projects. Members raised concerns about oversight, competitive bidding, and whether vendors and safeguards were sufficient, while public commenters from water, climate, and conservation groups strongly supported the APA exemption and urged similar treatment for future allocations. AB 117 would authorize up to $590 million in short-term loans for four Bay Area transit agencies: BART, Muni, Caltrain, and AC Transit. Finance explained that the loan would be administered through MTC using Bay Area TIRCP funds that have been awarded but not yet allocated, making the structure cost-neutral to the state. The loan would run 12 years, with the first two years interest-only, and repayment would be secured through state transit assistance funds if needed. Several members questioned whether the proposal amounted to a bailout, whether it was fair to prioritize the Bay Area, and whether the structure adequately protected other projects, especially BART to Silicon Valley Phase 2; Finance and committee staff said safeguards and monitoring provisions were included and that no state funds were at risk. Public testimony was largely supportive of both bills. Transit agencies and local officials said the loan would provide bridge financing as ridership remains below pre-pandemic levels, while allowing service improvements and major events to continue. San Jose representatives and some members asked for possible cleanup language to better protect large regional capital projects. The chair said the committee anticipated hearing the bills on the floor later in the week, and the hearing was adjourned after public comment.

Transcript Highlights:

• allocation is granted, you can go spend those specific funds on that specific project, and we will reimburse
• other three... ...affected operators here that will receive the loan from MTC is unable to make payments
• avoid schedule impacts, has a 12-year repayment term where the first two years are interest-only payments

Committee: House Budget