Transcript Highlights:

• Third, maintain current law that the single rate is the SRR or ARMR, whichever is higher.
• It's designed to ensure that all children, especially those with disabilities, can access high-quality
• I am the executive director for early learning at SCOE, the Sacramento County Office of Education.
• We request the state adopt enrollment-based funding for early learning and care programs.
• Families are still struggling to access care, and we cannot afford any delays.

Summary: The committee took up issue number seven, Child Care Rate Reform Transition Plan, and heard a presentation from the LAO on an eight-part transition plan for the period before implementation of the alternative methodology-based child care rate system. The plan would provide interim rate increases to existing regional market rates and standard reimbursement rates beginning January 1 of the budget year, keep the higher of SRR or ARMR as the single rate, annualize cost-of-care supplements, update hold-harmless language, eliminate the private market cap, authorize one-time systems transition funding with JLBC approval, and require annual reporting on parent co-pays. Members asked about the timeline and public/legislative feedback process, and administration staff said they were working toward the July 1, 2025 deadline while continuing stakeholder engagement through the rate and quality advisory process. Public comment was overwhelmingly focused on child care and early learning funding. Providers, county offices, advocacy groups, and education organizations urged the Legislature to move quickly on the alternative rate methodology, provide interim relief through a cost-of-living adjustment, reimburse based on enrollment rather than attendance, and preserve health and retirement benefits and workforce stability. Many speakers also pressed for funding to expand the promised 200,000 child care slots, warning that waitlists remain long and providers are under financial strain. Several commenters supported maintaining or extending grants and technical assistance for transitional kindergarten, inclusive early education, and mixed-delivery early learning programs. A separate set of comments addressed the Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program, with Sacramento County education officials and others urging a statewide plan that would extend support to the 20 counties not currently receiving grants, especially rural areas. Other speakers raised concerns about facilities and staffing impacts from TK expansion, the need for consistent eligibility rules across subsidized programs, and the importance of statewide systems-level funding. The chair thanked the LAO, administration, and public commenters, said the item would remain open until after the May Revision, and adjourned the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• By allowing any licensed physician to sign the authorization statement, thereby increasing access to
• Children in these systems are at a higher risk of becoming victims of human trafficking due to a number
• These children can access the proper supports and services so that victimized children can begin the
• Let's learn from the past and ensure it doesn't happen going forward.
• To breastfeed, you have to learn how to do that.

Bills: HB136, HB451, SB425, SB466, SB905, SB1986, SB2311, SB2450, SB2805, SB2826, SB2919, SB3001, HB136

Keywords: Medicaid, lactation, healthcare, consultation, reimbursement, maternal health, infant care, commercial sexual exploitation, child sex trafficking, human trafficking, child welfare, foster care, DFPS, Department of Family and Protective Services, juvenile probation, risk assessment, needs assessment, trauma screening, child abuse prevention, exploitation screening

Transcript Highlights:

• Providers, so OETA is what they have access to.
• Files all types of learning material, and the kid could learn that stuff in the evening at home.
• Yes, that can be higher if it's a subsequent offense.
• Now, the board has access to it.
• Doctors can check their hours and access that information much easier.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We've learned new things as far as what...
• And we have struggled higher, largely because, I think, two reasons.
• They finance small businesses that don't have access to mainstream capital.
• It also gives an opportunity for staff to learn about the program and do.
• If we're doing it in-house, my staff can learn them.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• access to the resources and the services that government are here to provide.
• We've learned from that experience.
• Taxes are higher when we're having big draws from it, correct?
• When new states start up, they get to learn from the mistakes of states that went before, get to learn
• We take your comment and where we can learn.

Keywords: Commission on Unemployment Compensation, 976, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• VOGO IS A VIDEO-BASED LEARNING THAT CONNECTS WITH OUR 43,000 INMATES.
• THEY GENERATED 520,000 PROGRAM LEARNING HOURS SO VIRTUAL TRAINING IS VERY EFFECTIVE IN PRISONS.
• THINGS LIKE LIKE EARLY LEARNING AND KINDERGARTEN READINESS.
• THE LEARNING GAINS, THE PM ASSESSMENTS USED ACROSS ALL SCHOOLS.
• UNIFORMLY FAIR AND ACCESSIBLE.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I learned this with the National Park Service.
• We have to teach the story, learn from it, and go from there.
• I've learned this with the National Park Service.
• It's a higher per capita than any other tourists in the U.S.
• Public access to original source documents is extremely important for research.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The committee heard budget presentations from the Legislative Budget Board and agency officials on several agencies, starting with the Texas Historical Commission. LBB described a large biennial reduction driven mainly by the removal of one-time funding and discussed capital projects, rider changes, and exceptional items including Presidio La Bahia and the National Museum of the Pacific War. Senators asked about heritage trails, courthouse grants, unexpended balance authority, and the status of historical-site funding. Historical Commission leadership emphasized preservation, courthouse restoration, heritage tourism, coordination with the Alamo and other Texas Revolution sites, and requested additional IT, staffing, and vehicle funding. No votes were taken. The committee then reviewed the Pension Review Board and the Employees Retirement System. The Pension Review Board’s budget was largely unchanged aside from IT maintenance and salary adjustments, with an exceptional item for additional IT enhancements. Members discussed the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s funding dispute and the need for a workable restoration plan. ERS presented a much larger budget, including funding for the retirement system, the group benefits plan, and the legacy payment intended to reduce unfunded liability. Senators focused heavily on pension investment returns, benchmark comparisons, and rising health-care costs, especially pharmacy spending driven by GLP-1 drugs; ERS said the plan covers about 540,000 lives and that premiums would rise 8% while benefits remain unchanged. ERS also said it had no exceptional items, and committee members requested more detailed benchmark information. The committee also heard from the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. TESSORS reported an unfunded liability, an infinite amortization period, and requested additional state support, staffing, and IT funding, including a statutory change to allow a higher contribution level; the agency warned that without more funding it may have to cut benefits. CEPRIT’s presentation covered its bond-funded cancer research and prevention portfolio, revenue-sharing from funded projects, and a request to increase salary limits for its CEO and chief scientific officer. Senators questioned CEPRIT’s accomplishments and return on investment, while CEPRIT cited screening, prevention, and research outcomes, including tens of thousands of detected cancers and precursors and hundreds of thousands of first-time screenings. The meeting ended after these presentations and questions, with no recorded committee action or vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• I say if you want to learn government, Madam Chair, sit in these hearings and learn and listen to the
• higher, yes, sir.
• So moving to higher education, still on slide 6.
• So higher values will lead to higher property tax relief.
• You mentioned a few things: that higher values go into the higher tax rate and then hold harmless, but

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee convened for its first hearing of the 89th regular session, confirmed a quorum, adopted committee rules by a 15-0 vote, and began review of Senate Bill 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2026-27. Chair Huffman outlined the committee’s organization, introduced staff, and described the budget as conservative and focused on one-time investments. She highlighted major SB 1 priorities including property tax relief, full funding for public education formulas, teacher pay, school safety, border security, Medicaid growth, dementia research, energy and water infrastructure, transportation, wildfire suppression, and other capital and public safety needs. Comptroller Glenn Hager presented the biennial revenue estimate, saying the state has $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending in 2026-27, with a projected $23.8 billion ending balance from the current biennium. He cautioned that revenue growth is returning to more normal levels and that lawmakers should avoid committing short-term surpluses to ongoing expenses. He also explained that the Economic Stabilization Fund is projected to hit its constitutional cap, meaning an estimated $5.6 billion in severance tax and related revenue would remain in general revenue in the upcoming biennium rather than flow into the fund. Senators discussed whether to raise or rename the fund and the implications of keeping more severance-tax revenue in general revenue. The Legislative Budget Board then gave an overview of SB 1 and the budget’s major funding changes. LBB staff explained that the bill is essentially flat at $332.9 billion in all funds, but includes large method-of-finance shifts and major property tax relief. They detailed how prior property tax relief enacted in the 88th Legislature grew from an estimated $18 billion to $22.7 billion because of higher property values and hold-harmless provisions, and said SB 1 continues that relief with a total of $51 billion in ongoing and new property tax support. Members asked extensive questions about the automatic growth in school tax compression, the constitutional homestead exemption, COVID-era federal funding, Medicaid assumptions, and the sunset of the non-homestead circuit breaker. No additional votes or final budget actions were taken beyond adoption of the committee rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• From the shelter and also from other places, we can grow higher.
• We're a critical access hospital now.
• more about what we do at ECECD, but also access these resources.
• It really leads into the focus for the Sacred Beginnings Learning Tour.
• I could hire another nurse practitioner to increase access.

Transcript Highlights:

• This includes highway and rail networks that move back... ...access to the transportation system.
• We're certainly a dynamic industry, as you just learned from FDOT, and very proud of the relationship
• So when we densify in our cargo yards, we're building higher.
• So when we densify in our cargo yards, we're building higher.
• So when we learned that that piece of property was being sold...

Summary: The Transportation Committee heard SB 356 by Senator Wright, which would create an opt-in framework allowing counties and municipalities to designate certain roads for utility-terrain vehicles (UTVs) under local conditions, including driver licensing, insurance, and speed-limit restrictions below 55 mph. Senator Wright said the bill would give law enforcement clearer authority and mirror the local-option approach used for golf carts. Supporters included a retired Volusia County sheriff and county commissioner, who argued UTVs are safer than golf carts and are already being used on roads, while opponents from the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association and Honda warned that UTVs are designed for off-road use, lack federal safety standards, and pose crash and tire-blowout risks on public roads. Several senators raised safety concerns, especially about speed and crash severity, but the committee ultimately voted to report SB 356 favorably. The committee then held a lengthy discussion on seaport infrastructure and funding, beginning with a moment of silence for JaxPort COO and former FDOT employee James Bennett. FDOT presented data showing Florida’s 16 deepwater seaports generate major cargo volume, jobs, and economic impact, and described state funding programs such as FSTED, SPI, and the construction aggregate grant program. Port representatives from Port Everglades, PortMiami, Port Tampa Bay, and the Port of Palm Beach described record cargo and cruise activity, major capital projects, and the need for continued state and federal support for dredging, bulkheads, cranes, rail, and terminal expansion. Senators asked about ROI, trade shifts, intermodal connections, fuel and LNG availability, leverage and reserves, and operational risks such as flooding, sea level rise, and channel depth; port officials emphasized resiliency, private partnerships, and long-term master planning. The committee also confirmed appointees to the Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority and the Tampa Port Authority in one vote, with no objection. Finally, FDOT presented the statewide mapping programs work group report required by SB 1662, explaining that coordinated statewide use of LiDAR and aerial imagery could reduce duplication, improve emergency management and planning, and support insurance and storm-damage assessment. FDOT recommended a formal statewide coordination program, shared procurement and cost-sharing agreements, dedicated staffing, and statutory updates to Chapter 334 to support interagency agreements and recurring funding.

Transcript Highlights:

• All right, Mister Nader, welcome back to the Higher Why shouldn't we try? Thank you.
• Minnesota State, Minnesota is higher and faculty came up with the same idea.
• Welcome to the Higher Education Committee.
• Welcome to the House Higher Education Committee.
• What's the higher Ed budget for Mr.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 4362, which would allow Minnesota public colleges and universities to prohibit visitors from carrying firearms on campus, similar to existing policies that already apply to students and employees. The bill’s author argued it was a modest step to help campuses protect staff and students from gun violence, citing the long history of school shootings and saying the decision should be left to each institution. Supporters, including representatives of the Inter Faculty Organization and Minnesota State College Faculty, said the current law leaves a loophole because campuses can restrict students and employees but not visitors, and they pointed to data and incidents suggesting many campus shootings involve non-affiliated individuals. Opponents, including the NRA Minnesota state director and the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, argued the bill would create ineffective gun-free zones, disarm lawful permit holders, and expand firearm restrictions across large and sometimes unclear areas of public property. They also raised concerns about notice, due process, and the claim that criminals would ignore the restrictions. In member discussion, supporters emphasized campus safety, institutional discretion, and the responsibility to protect students, while opponents stressed Second Amendment rights and existing campus carry trends in other states. After discussion, the chair announced a roll call vote on the motion to refer House File 4362 to the Public Safety Committee. The motion failed on a 7-7 tie, and the bill was not referred onward.

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, 17 states allow unrestricted access.
• At that moment, access to documentation is critical.
• And third, the data access provisions are overly broad.
• Jennifer Robles with Health Access California in support.
• It does not permit access to protected health information.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills, beginning with SB 16, which would require county behavioral health directors to create clear pathways for clinicians to be authorized to initiate 5150 involuntary holds. The author and supporters argued the bill would reduce reliance on law enforcement and create more consistent crisis response standards statewide, while county behavioral health directors opposed it as an unfunded mandate that could increase law enforcement involvement and create implementation burdens. Members raised questions about county costs and funding, but the author emphasized the bill’s role in building a more clinical response system. SB 561 would require public guardians to acknowledge conservatorship referrals, make determinations within a reasonable time, and provide status updates on request. Supporters said the bill would reduce delays that leave vulnerable adults in limbo, while the opposition from public guardian representatives was removed after amendments. SB 381 drew extensive public testimony in support; it would allow California-born adoptees, and descendants of deceased adoptees, access to original birth certificates, with a nonbinding contact preference form for birth parents. Supporters framed the bill as a matter of dignity, identity, and health, and there was no formal opposition on the record. The committee also discussed SB 880, which would give tenants and prospective owner-occupants notice and a first opportunity to make an offer when institutional investors sell certain homes. Supporters said it would expand homeownership opportunities and preserve neighborhood stability, while opponents warned about conflicts with federal law, bundled-sale restrictions, and impacts on build-to-rent and affordable housing projects. Members and the author discussed possible amendments to address those concerns. SB 1238 would impose a duty of care and additional transparency requirements on HOA managers and boards; supporters said it would protect homeowners from mismanagement, while the main opposition argued the duty should remain contractual and could increase litigation. Finally, SB 423 would require disclosure of emergency-service records related to private detention facilities, and SB 28 would make changes to the CARE Court process, including a statewide ombudsperson and expanded oversight; both drew support and opposition, with concerns focused on transparency, privacy, implementation, and the balance between treatment and coercion. SB 574, discussed at the end, would require disclosure and human oversight for AI use in courts and legal practice and create a complaint process for ADR providers, with the State Bar noting requested amendments related to complaint handling and confidentiality.

Transcript Highlights:

• to expand access across facilities.
• In my remarks, Tablets and hybrid learning to expand access across facilities.
• And that free access is causing a lot of... ...to phones and tablets, and that free access is causing
• and learning management system.
• courts and accessing our systems.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held its sixth public hearing on the Governor’s H-2 budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, focused on public safety and judiciary agencies, at the Foxborough Community Center. After opening remarks and local welcomes, the committee heard first from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, led by Secretary Gina Kwan, who outlined a $1.72 billion budget, up $69.8 million from FY26. She said the proposal emphasizes core operations, readiness, and partnerships with municipalities, and highlighted work on firearms-law implementation, State Police reform, DOC reentry efforts, hate-crimes prevention, emergency response, and planning for major events including the World Cup. Members also raised concerns about DNA backlog reporting, State Police academy boxing and training standards, ICE communication, disaster relief funding, crime lab staffing, EMS placement, and diversity in public safety leadership. Several exchanges focused on specific operational issues. Secretary Kwan and her team said the State Police are tracking the influx of forensic work from local sheriffs, that the boxing program remains suspended pending an IACP review and likely will not return in its prior form, and that EOPS has no direct communication with ICE but supports law-enforcement coordination where appropriate. On disaster preparedness, officials said the new disaster relief fund is being developed with MEMA and A&F, currently capitalized at $14 million with another $14 million expected, though members urged a more permanent funding source. On the crime lab, staff said the roughly $4.5 million increase is intended to cover core operations and a structural funding gap rather than expand services. The secretary also said EOPS is not ready to absorb OEMS from DPH at this time, though she would keep an open mind. The committee then heard from district attorneys, led by Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden, who said the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association is seeking a 10% increase in operating budgets, including about $16.7 million for staffing salaries, to recruit and retain prosecutors, advocates, and support staff. He said the request reflects rising workload and the need to keep the criminal justice system functioning efficiently and fairly. The hearing was recessed briefly after the district attorneys’ opening remarks, with additional testimony expected to continue afterward.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:59:19.480> um practice and just a tool of learning um practice and just a tool of learning
• <00:59:36.559> has explain how the technology learning has explain how the technology learning
• learning learning uh<01:00:02.160> an<01:00:02.400> example<01:00:03.160> is<01
• It's an essential tool of learning.
• <01:05:22.119> tools updated devices digital learning tools updated devices digital learning

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So they're higher on defense spending for that one year to get them to $1 trillion higher than the House
• Are we seeing better access to care, uh, more timely access to care where we had really um bad access
• The top is your temperature, and of course the darker the red, the higher the temperatures.
• We never learn our lesson.
• We always say lessons learned, but we don't learn our lesson, and we continue to watch people's houses

Transcript Highlights:

• Christine Smith, Health Access California, in support. Thank you.
• Grass grows higher than this table.
• To expand access even before COVID, we embraced an innovative, synchronous online learning model, with
• In today's higher-ed environment, we need SB 790 to remain competitive and to survive.
• Sabrina Means, on behalf of the Institute for College Access and Success.

Summary: The Assembly Business and Professions Committee heard a lengthy agenda of Senate bills, with most measures ultimately advancing on party-line or broad bipartisan votes after substantial testimony and several amendments. Early in the hearing, SB 418 by Sen. Menjivar was presented as a health access bill to codify ACA nondiscrimination protections in state law and require coverage for up to a 12-month supply of medically approved hormone therapy; supporters framed it as protecting continuity of care amid federal threats, while there was no opposition testimony. The committee later also took up SB 456, which would exempt muralists from contractor licensing requirements for commissioned fine art murals; supporters said recent enforcement had chilled mural projects and harmed artists and communities, and the bill passed unanimously to Appropriations. SB 641, part of the wildfire response package, and SB 774, a sunset review bill for the Department of Real Estate and Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, also advanced with support and no opposition. SB 775 and SB 776, sunset extensions for the behavioral sciences, psychology, and optometry boards, passed after witnesses described technical changes and the need to keep the boards operating. SB 777, dealing with abandoned cemeteries, drew testimony from local governments, industry, and counties; after amendments removed a local takeover mandate and shifted the bill toward a stakeholder working group and study process, opposition softened or was withdrawn and the bill moved forward to Local Government. SB 790, on interstate reciprocity for online higher education, generated the most debate, with supporters arguing California students and institutions need stronger consumer protections and access to the national reciprocity framework, while opponents said the bill’s terms conflicted with the existing compact; it passed as amended to Appropriations after committee members emphasized continued work on student protections. The consent calendar, including SB 389 and SB 861, was also approved, and the committee adjourned after additional vote changes were recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, 17 states allow unrestricted access.
• At that moment, access to documentation is critical.
• Third, the data access provisions are overly broad.
• Jennifer Robles with Health Access California in support.
• And then, is there a higher cost to the taxpayers?

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I will tell you I'm still learning things every single day about PBMs.
• And I will tell you I'm still learning things every single day about PBMs.
• Or a provider, which we've learned is the same person that's negotiating the drug price.
• Consumers will face a higher premium and cost sharing.
• This cost shift will result in higher premiums and increased out-of-pocket expenses for our enrollees

Bills: AB93, AB204, AB414, AB504, AB598

Keywords: public employees, police officers, benefits, appropriation, law enforcement, medical debt, collection agency, healthcare, consumer protection, financial assistance, occupational safety, air quality, greenhouse gases, employee monitoring, safety program, hemp, hemp products, cannabidiol, CBD, cannabis

Transcript Highlights:

• Third, maintain current law that the single rate is the SRR or RMR, whatever is higher.
• It's designed to ensure that all children, especially those with disabilities Can access high-quality
• I am the Executive Director for Early Learning at SCOE, the Sacramento County Office of Education.
• We request that the state adopt our enrollment-based funding for early learning and care programs.
• Families are still struggling to access care, and we cannot afford any delays.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Linder remains committed to student success and expanding access to higher education with the hope of
• And I think it's a lesson for all of us to learn, Mr.
• For persons with a learning disability, it may not be that you're ASD, but you may have another learning
• Persons with a learning disability, it may not be that you're ASD, but you may have another learning
• And what I have learned over time, Mr.

Keywords: 996, all