Transcript Highlights:

• So what we plan to do in the interim is to work on a job description for a director and then slowly build
• And it's one of the reasons why they can't get people to come and work for them, because there is no
• space for them.
• Herb has been working for this committee and serving us amazingly for 20 years this year.
• And Rules is adjourned for till next year.

Summary: The committee met briefly and took up House Joint Memorial 3, which had previously been heard in subcommittee. Senator Stewart moved a due pass recommendation, and after brief discussion the motion carried without opposition. The discussion touched on implementation timing, with the date now set for January 1, and on interim funding for a director position and development of a job description. Members also raised concerns about office space for legislative staff and Ledge Council, noting space constraints but agreeing it should not prevent the work from moving forward. Before adjournment, members acknowledged Rebecca, the Zoom operator, on her birthday, and recognized Herb for 20 years of service to the committee, with several members offering thanks for his long service and patience. The committee then adjourned, with the chair noting that Rules was done for the year.

Transcript Highlights:

• Perhaps most interestingly, in the last several years, I actually worked for a law firm.
• Perhaps most interestingly, in the last several years, I actually worked for a law firm.
• Primary prevention will work. Work.
• And again, more than happy to work on subcommittees, more than happy to assist and get you whatever research
• For young people and maybe even for older adults.

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from Jessica Spencer on cannabis, criminal justice, and mental health. She argued that marijuana products have become far more potent over time, that high-potency THC and hemp-derived products are widely available in Florida, and that daily or near-daily use can contribute to addiction, psychosis, and other mental health problems, especially for adolescents. She also said cannabis is linked to violent crime and suicide in some cases, urged more prevention funding in schools, stronger regulation of Delta-8 and similar products, better law enforcement and regulatory oversight, expanded treatment and diversion options, and more expungement opportunities for simple possession. Senators questioned her about potency data, testing methods, and whether she was claiming causation in violent cases; she said she was and noted she had worked on the No on 3 campaign while still favoring decriminalization of simple possession rather than full legalization. The committee then took up several bills. CS/SB 150, “Trooper’s Law,” was amended and reported favorably; it makes extreme animal cruelty during a declared emergency a third-degree felony, inspired by the rescue of a dog during Hurricane Milton. SB 234, the Jason Rayner Act, was reported favorably after debate over its changes to self-defense language and mandatory life imprisonment for manslaughter committed against a law enforcement officer; supporters said it closes a loophole exposed in the Rayner case, while opponents raised concerns about unintended consequences and mandatory sentencing. CS/SB 138, “Trenton’s Law,” also passed after amendment; it increases penalties for repeat DUI/vehicular homicide offenders and adds language on intoxicating substances, with supporters citing the death of Trenton Stewart and opponents warning about cannabis impairment standards and first refusal penalties. SB 130, dealing with compensation for wrongful incarceration, was reported favorably. The bill removes Florida’s “clean hands” bar, extends the filing deadline from 90 days to two years, and allows exonerees with factual innocence findings to pursue compensation and civil remedies. Support came from innocence and civil liberties advocates. The committee also received a law enforcement presentation from Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Channing Taylor on impaired driving enforcement, DRE training, and crash data, emphasizing that drug impairment—especially cannabis—plays a major role in fatal crashes and that officers rely on observation and field testing because roadside chemical testing is limited.

Transcript Highlights:

• And when we work with the schools, we encourage them to build a plan of study that's going to work for
• So they work hard for what they do for us. They come to our campus twice a year.
• They worked hard for that.
• We know what works for him, what may trigger him.
• Any questions for Mr. Volmer?” “Thanks for all the work you did. We appreciate it.” “Thank you.

Committees: Joint Education , Joint Education Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• They will say, I would just say, for example, they will be working very closely with us.
• That was a new fund created last session for natural disasters, and I think there will be legislation
• There was a similar appropriation that you all did during the special session for FY26 and FY27.
• positions for the education ecosystem, and an additional $200,000 for the Space Commission Working Group
• Can we work with the committee staff on how they plan to roll that format out for you? Wonderful.

Bills: SB193 , SB132 , SB35 , SB145 , HB2 , SB193 , SB132 , SB35 , SB145

Committees: Senate Senate Finance , Senate House Appropriations & Finance

Keywords: SB193, acequia, community ditch, irrigation works construction fund, water infrastructure, ditch infrastructure, irrigation, New Mexico water law, agricultural water, farmers, Rio Grande, acequia association, forest land protection revolving fund, state fund transfer, irrigation projects, SB132, DOIT, Department of Information Technology, software replacement, equipment replacement

Transcript Highlights:

• And I would just add, with all the last session work that we did on behavioral health and really working
• Yes, I work for Presbyterian, so that's not been a problem.
• And just for future reference, and for people listening, when you do a presentation for us, we need page
• For future reference, and for people listening, when you do a presentation for us, we need page numbers
• During the interim, we as a committee would work on the job description for a director.

Committee: House House Health & Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:13:59.160><c> can</c> Hansen uh for the all the work can Hansen uh for the all the work can research
• </c><00:44:46.280><c> the</c><00:44:46.440><c> work</c> hornstein a ton of credit for the work hornstein
• So thank you for your work, and let's keep going. Let's feel that urgency.
• So thank you for your work, and let's keep going. Let's feel that urgency.
• So thank you for your work, and let's keep going. Let's feel that urgency.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> urge</c> system that works for everyone, I I urge system that works for everyone, I I urge you<00
• Thank you for your work on effective.
• Thanks again for working together to improve life for your constituents and for all Minnesotans. encouraged
• :41:59.680><c> improve</c><00:42:00.079><c> life</c><00:42:00.400><c> for</c> for working together to
• improve life for for working together to improve life for your<00:42:00.960><c> constituents</c><00:

Transcript Highlights:

• hard for a I come from, people work hard for a living.<00:31:35.840><c> They</c><00:31:36.000><c> work
• ><c> and</c> work over the years for Team Scaliz and work over the years for Team Scaliz and for<02:08
• That didn't really work for him either.
• That didn't really work for him either.
• Now, that didn't work for various reasons.

Transcript Highlights:

• Last session, 93% of you voted to repeal this unjust, dangerous statute, and I thank you so much for
• And first of all, I'd like to tell all of you kind of a thank you and a kudos for the work that you all
• Thank you for your work. Representative Casello: Thank you, Mr.
• To manufacturers, to car dealers, to doctors to do better, without lawyers like me who, yes, I work for
• I don't work for free. I don't think anybody in this room here works for free.

Summary: The Judiciary Committee met to consider HB 6003, a bill to repeal Florida’s “free kill” law that limits certain survivors’ ability to recover non-economic damages in medical negligence wrongful death cases. The sponsor, Rep. Trabulsy, said the bill would restore access to the courts for a small class of families and noted the measure passed both chambers last year before being vetoed by the governor. She and supporters framed the bill as a fairness and constitutional issue, while opponents argued repeal would increase malpractice exposure, insurance costs, and pressure on physician access, especially in high-risk specialties and rural areas. Public testimony was sharply divided. Supporters included family members who described deaths they said were caused by medical negligence and who argued the current law denies accountability and equal treatment based on marital status or whether a decedent had minor children. Opponents included the Florida Hospital Association, Florida Medical Association, Florida Chamber, U.S. Chamber, Florida Insurance Council, and other health care and business groups, who warned that repeal could worsen already high malpractice premiums, contribute to physician shortages, and destabilize access to care. Several speakers on both sides discussed possible caps on non-economic damages as a compromise, though the bill itself was presented as a clean repealer with no amendments. During debate, several members spoke in support, emphasizing equal access to the courts and rejecting the idea that the law should treat some families differently from others. Opponents of the bill argued that the current system helps preserve market stability and that liability concerns, not the free kill law, are driving provider departures. After closing remarks from the sponsor, the committee voted 15 yeas and 1 nay to report HB 6003 favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Garcia, thank you for your offer earlier today, and we have an offer for you this evening relating
• , and to conforming language for House Bill 5403, E.
• a response for a later meeting.
• And the agencies funded for the good of the people of Florida. All right.
• Seeing none, members, please watch for our next meeting notice.

Summary: The conference committee on the House Justice Budget Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice met to continue budget negotiations. Members discussed offers related to the budget, projects, proviso, implementing language, and conforming language for House Bill 5403E, with both sides noting progress and expressing hope for timely responses so more items could be closed out. They also referenced ongoing efforts to finalize agency funding and member projects. No public testimony or public comment was offered. Members were reminded that the committee is now on a one-hour notice schedule for the next meeting. With no further business, Senator David Smith moved to rise and adjourn, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Garcia, thank you for your offer earlier today, and we have an offer for you this evening relating
• , and to conforming language for House Bill 5403E.
• a response for a later meeting.
• And the agencies funded for the good of the people of Florida. All right.
• Seeing none, members, please watch for our next meeting notice.

Summary: The conference committee on the House Justice Budget Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice met to discuss budget-related negotiations, including projects, proviso items, implementing language, and back-of-the-bill provisions tied to House Bill 5403E. Members exchanged offers and noted that progress had been made on closing out projects, with both sides expressing optimism that additional items could be resolved with more time. Senate and House members thanked each other and staff for their work and indicated they would continue reviewing offers and preparing responses for a later meeting. No public testimony or public comment was offered. The committee reminded members that future meetings would be on one-hour notice. With no further business, Senator David Smith moved to rise and adjourn, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Garcia, thank you for your offer earlier today, and we have an offer for you this evening relating
• , and to conforming language for House Bill 5403, E.
• a response for a later meeting.
• And the agencies funded for the good of the people of Florida. All right.
• Seeing none, members, please watch for our next meeting notice.

Transcript Highlights:

• law to make it work for farm workers.
• I work for Lentwens and I support SB 921.
• working for all the family.
• I work for the dairy at Bar 20, and we need more money for our families.
• For too long, working people have relied on Medi-Cal for care. Why?

Summary: The committee heard SB 921, which would create a tax credit to help agricultural employers offset overtime wage costs for farmworkers. Senator Grove and supporters, including farmworkers, the California Farm Bureau, Western Growers, and other agricultural groups, argued that California’s ag overtime law has reduced take-home pay by limiting hours and that the credit would help employers continue offering overtime while putting more money back into workers’ paychecks. Opponents, including the California Federation of Labor Unions and CRLA Foundation, argued the bill would subsidize employers for complying with the law, shift costs to taxpayers, and set a precedent for industry-specific carve-outs. The bill was held in subcommittee and taken up later when more members arrived. The committee then considered SB 1083, a follow-up to last year’s school employee misconduct database law. Senator Perez said the bill would add due process protections for classified school employees by requiring an administrative law judge review before placement in the statewide egregious misconduct database, require notice when an employee leaves during an investigation, and extend vetting to some contractors and non-permanent workers. Supporters, including the California School Employees Association and California Federation of Teachers, said the bill balances student safety with fairness for employees who could be wrongly accused. Opponents, including school business officials, joint powers authorities, administrators, and school employers, warned the bill could delay investigations, create conflicting timelines, and weaken child-safety protections. The committee approved SB 1083 on a 3-0 vote and sent it to Appropriations. SB 1089, authored by Senator Richardson, would require CalPERS health plans to cover GLP-1 medications for chronic weight management and direct CalRx to help make the drugs more affordable. The senator described the bill as a response to personal experience with coverage denials and high out-of-pocket costs, and said broader access could improve health outcomes and reduce long-term costs. The American Diabetes Association and other medical groups supported the measure, citing diabetes prevention and treatment benefits, while a pharmaceutical industry representative said there were still concerns but noted ongoing discussions. The committee passed SB 1089 4-0 to Appropriations. The committee also approved the consent calendar. The committee next heard SB 954, which would revise last year’s CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing by narrowing the definition and adding environmental, tribal, labor, and community protections, including prevailing wage, skilled-and-trained workforce requirements, and review for projects near disadvantaged communities. Support came from labor unions, environmental groups, and community organizations, which said the bill would restore oversight and prevent harmful projects from bypassing CEQA. Business groups and chambers of commerce opposed, arguing the bill would make the exemption too restrictive, discourage investment, and worsen California’s manufacturing job losses. The bill passed 3-1 to Appropriations. Finally, the committee began hearing SB 1299, which would codify training and certification standards for fire sprinkler fitters after a court decision invalidated prior regulations on procedural grounds; the author and supporters said the bill is needed to protect public safety and ensure qualified installation of fire suppression systems.

Transcript Highlights:

• law to make it work for farm workers.
• I work for Lentwens and I support SB 921.
• working for all the family.
• I work for the dairy. And we need more money for our families.
• I think that's what we all strive for in our work.

Committee: Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement

Transcript Highlights:

• together and I think created a model for how can work in communities.
• and helping provide cost match for a lot of our home hardening work across the state.
• For its prior work in September 2020, AB 3075. was a statute directing the board to work on zone zero
• Christine for bringing a really effective group of panelists that gave both for panel session one and
• similar programs that weren't the state funding but we're looking to undertake the work for them for

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you, Senator Kac, and thank you all for your testimony and for the work that you do.
• Timberman, for your report. I appreciate the work you do.
• </c> work that farmers do uh thank you for work that farmers do uh thank you for your<00:52:50.839><c
• for your work uh amazing so thank you for your work uh and<00:53:40.440><c> then</c><00:53:40.599><c
• ><c> and</c><01:31:13.679><c> this</c> worked on uh for quite a while and this worked on uh for quite

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Transcript Highlights:

• Miss Martin, I'll thank you for your work.
• And you're still doing the work for the state.
• Why would you come and work for someplace where you could go and work somewhere else for 10 to 15, and
• So, thank you for being here, Ms. Callison, for all the work you've done on this.
• working group for those members.

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• But there's things that we can adapt to and work together to figure out how to input our budget in for
• for next biennium.
• Chairman, just a question for Donna: How does it work when we're gone and the budgets are all done, and
• Chairman, we can work on those numbers over lunch and bring them back this afternoon if that's okay for
• So I think there'll be support for it. I'll work on the amendment. Yeah, let's do that. Yep.

Bills: SB2015

Committee: Senate Appropriations - Human Resources Division

Summary: The committee met to review revised long sheets and section-by-section language for a human services/health budget bill, with much of the discussion focused on how to present block grant funding and full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for behavioral health clinics and CCBHCs. Members debated whether to keep FTE counts in the budget at all, ultimately leaning toward removing or zeroing out the FTE references while keeping the dollar authority, and reducing the salaries-and-wages block grant by about $4.75 million. They also discussed public health federal authority, agreeing to remove about $60 million in unused federal spending authority tied to COVID-era funds, and clarified that if federal money later becomes available it could be requested through the Emergency Commission. A major topic was the provider inflation increase. The House version had 2% and 2%, while members debated alternatives and appeared to settle, at least for further work, on 2% in the first year and 1.5% in the second year, with staff asked to recalculate the fiscal impact. The committee also reviewed FMAP changes, noting a revised 2027 FMAP estimate and its effect on general fund and other funds, and discussed whether to adjust public health and other line items accordingly. Several members emphasized that many of these numbers are still tentative and will be refined before final action. The committee also touched on several policy items and capital-related provisions, including behavioral health services, Medicaid expansion, the moratorium on new ICF beds, and a proposed amendment for a medical homes/fourplex-related item that would show a $400,000 legislative investment with repayment from a developer. There was extended discussion of the All True hospital/facility proposal, with some members favoring leaving it in with a smaller initial commitment and others preferring to remove it and revisit later in conference committee. The meeting ended with staff asked to continue updating the bill language and members instructed to review remaining sections before the next meeting; no final votes were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those eight district engineers, employees, and the personnel that work for them make up about almost
• How does it work? How workable is it for folks that need those opportunities?
• the most part, the rural transit agencies that we work with get a lot accomplished for the dollars that
• And we don't have statistics for how that will work, but I think based on the success of the one that
• And then the really hard work, which is implementing and training, that's for that system will begin.

Transcript Highlights:

• for work his family dressed and he left for work his family would<00:22:33.799><c> never</c><00:22:34.000
• over for an unmarked car that claims to be working with Border Patrol.
• over for an unmarked car that claims to be working with Border Patrol.
• Your work is just phenomenal. Thank you for being here today. Mr.
• Your work is just phenomenal. Thank you for being here today. Mr.