Video & Transcript Research : 'Natural Resources Code'
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CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Appropriations Committee May 14th, 2025
Appropriations
Transcript Highlights:
- money I request especially request a and I vote on 1413 with me today is Michael Jarrett from the Nature
- California Peoplearken on all water users in California's drafted base management lens or a critical natural
- resource for our state.
- election day and received within seven days would be counted the bill Updates California's elections code
- So the code for ADUs can be confusing depending on the city. simple policy that recognizes that that
NM
New Mexico 2026 Regular Session
House - Taxation and Revenue Feb 4th, 2026 at 08:32 am
House Taxation & Revenue
Transcript Highlights:
- However, to land the next generation of high-paying jobs, we must modernize our tax code to match how
- agree with what the sponsor and Secretary Black have said that whether it's technology or R&D The nature
- We are allowing for these entities that have already used New Mexico's tax code with decision makers
- We've decided in our tax code to enact this lab small business tax credit, which gets to that, as well
- Chair and Secretary, is that economic impact analysis also takes into account the competitive nature
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- Uh you may hear these the tax code.
- Natural gas rose from 1% in 1990 to almost 21% in 2020.
- The map on the Minnesota's zip codes.
- resources to MPU. resources to MPU. uh<00:59:13.839>
solar <00:59:14.240>installations - <01:04:39.200>
limitations group or financial resource limitations group or financial resource
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health May 19th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- All of those things take resources.
- All of those things takes resources.
- The resources will also be provided to local communities, giving counties and partners the resources
- The resources will also be provided to local communities, giving counties and partners the resources
- Good evening, Tweedo with the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Local Government Committee Jul 16th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- Victoria Rome with NRDC, the Natural Resources Defense Council, in support.
- From that experience, I know the challenges of navigating zoning codes and code compliance on the ground
- From that experience, I know the challenges of navigating zoning codes and code compliance on the ground
- , the building code, the electrical code, and NFPA 855 are the standards that the projects are built
- This shift diverts resources and attention away from building homes, which we need.
Summary:
The committee first heard SB 753, which would modernize California’s shopping cart recovery rules by allowing cities and counties to return abandoned carts directly to retailers, recover documented retrieval costs, and avoid the current impound-and-wait process. The author and supporters, including San Jose officials and the League of California Cities, said the bill would help clear streets, sidewalks, and waterways and reduce local costs. Grocers and retailers opposed the measure unless amended, arguing it would turn cart retrieval into a new cost burden and could create incentives for cities to charge too much for stolen property. After extensive discussion about notice periods, cost caps, and local ordinances, the committee adopted amendments and passed the bill 6-0 as amended.
The committee then took up SB 445, which would speed up permitting and approvals needed for high-speed rail by requiring early engagement, setting rules for third-party coordination, and creating a dispute-resolution process. The author said the bill was narrowed from an earlier, broader transit proposal and was intended to reduce delays caused by utilities, local governments, and other entities. Supporters said permitting bottlenecks add major costs and delays to infrastructure projects, while opponents from utilities, cities, counties, telecoms, and special districts raised concerns about safety, reliability, affordability, and the need to review the pending amendments. The bill passed 8-1 to the Utilities and Energy Committee.
The committee also heard SB 9, a narrower housing bill focused on accessory dwelling units. The author explained that it would require local ADU ordinances to be submitted to HCD for review and would make state standards control if a local agency fails to submit a compliant ordinance or respond to HCD findings. Supporters from housing and YIMBY groups said the bill would improve enforcement of state ADU law and prevent local barriers from slowing housing production. There was no opposition, and the bill passed 6-0. The committee then began hearing SB 79, which would allow more housing near major transit stops; the author and supporters framed it as a response to the housing shortage and transit underuse, and the hearing continued with extensive support testimony as the transcript ended.
HI
Hawaii 2026 Regular Session
JHA Public Hearing - Wed Feb 4, 2026 @ 2:00 PM HST
Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs
Transcript Highlights:
- <00:17:48.240>
have critical staffing resources, we have critical staffing resources, we have - especially concerned because the nature especially concerned because the nature of<00:23:14.640>
- <00:38:00.160>
for that you folks have the resources for that you folks have the resources - Um and instead of um having resources.
- Um, other resources might be available.
Summary:
The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs heard House Bill 2095, which would provide supplemental appropriations for the Judiciary for the 2025-2027 biennium. Judiciary Administrative Director Brandon Kimura testified in strong support and outlined a request for about $6.4 million in supplemental operating funds, plus four permanent full-time position conversions. He grouped the request into security, services to court users, and staffing needs, including $3.25 million for supplemental armed private security at judiciary facilities statewide, nearly $200,000 for cybersecurity staffing and support, restoration of funding for substance use treatment purchase-of-service contracts, restoration of funding for the Office of Public Guardian on Kauaʻi, salary commission funding, a Kona court operations position, and two Court-Appointed Special Advocates positions converted from temporary to permanent. He also described five capital improvement requests totaling $55.4 million, led by $30 million for construction of a new South Kohala courthouse, $1.2 million each for air conditioning upgrades in Hilo and Kauaʻi, $15 million for elevator upgrades at Kahumanu Hale, and $8 million in lump-sum bond funds for emerging projects.
Several organizations testified in support, including Parents and Children Together and the True Cost Coalition. Supporters emphasized the importance of the purchase-of-service funding for domestic violence and substance use treatment services and said the restoration would return funding to pre-COVID levels and help providers maintain capacity. Kimura explained that the Judiciary often shifts funds among contracts during the year to avoid service interruptions, but that the reduced funding has caused delays and operational problems for providers and probationers.
Members asked detailed questions about the capital projects and operating requests. Representative Shimizu asked for more information on the lump-sum bond funds and the elevator project, and Kimura explained that the Kahumanu Hale request covers four remaining elevator shafts after earlier funding addressed the first five elevators. Representative Cochran asked about the absence of Maui County projects, and Kimura said the Judiciary is still planning for its older Maui facilities with DAGS. Chair Tarnas questioned the need for armed private guards and discussed whether court security should be prioritized within the Department of Law Enforcement; Kimura said the Judiciary needs additional personnel now and has not asked DLE to deprioritize other missions, though the chair suggested further coordination between the agencies. No vote or final action on the bill was taken in the portion of the hearing provided.
NH
New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Executive Departments and Administration (02/11/2026)
Executive Departments and Administration
Transcript Highlights:
- bring yourself up to code in the future. bring yourself up to code in the future.
- codes.
- codes.
- Review Board looks at the fire code as well as the rest of the building codes.
- the statute is actually a criminal code. the statute is actually a criminal code.
HI
Hawaii 2026 Regular Session
EEP-LAB Joint Public Hearing - Thu Mar 19, 2026 @ 9:30 AM HST
Energy & Environmental Protection
Transcript Highlights:
- ,<00:15:18.280>
especially can take a lot of resources, especially can take a lot of resources - ,<00:15:22.560>
many Um it uses time and resources, many Um it uses time and resources, many - . code. code.
- I'm from the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Hawaiian Invasive Species Council.
- Enforcement of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Bills:
SB3326
Keywords:
renewable energy, energy storage, cost reduction, public utilities commission, Hawaii energy policies, 910, house, all
Summary:
The joint committees on Energy and Environmental Protection and Labor heard SB 3326, a bill concerning a study of separating transmission from generation in Hawaii’s electric system. Testimony was largely opposed. Life of the Land argued that true separation on an isolated island grid has not been shown to work anywhere and said the bill would waste taxpayer money. Hawaiian Electric and the Public Utilities Commission also opposed the measure, saying Hawaii already uses competitive bidding for new generation, that the bill would add cost, complexity, and reliability risks, and that a new study would duplicate prior work. In response to questions, the PUC explained its existing competitive bidding framework and said it had not seen an island system fully restructure in this way. The chair then amended the bill’s intent to require the PUC to open a proceeding for an independent, comprehensive analysis of the state’s energy pathways, including cost reduction, financial risk, state energy goals, and reliability, rather than narrowly focusing on separation. Both committees voted to pass SB 3326 SD2 with amendments, with the Energy committee adopting the recommendation unanimously and the Labor committee adopting it with one reservation and two no votes.
The Energy and Environmental Protection Committee then took up SB 2497 SD2, which would require electric utilities other than cooperatives to provide transparent, publicly accessible customer bill impact analyses and annual reports to the PUC. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the PUC offered comments, with the PUC supporting the intent. Life of the Land said the proposed disclosure requirements would be too complex for most ratepayers to use meaningfully, while Hawaiian Electric said the bill could raise costs and slow projects, though it acknowledged some of the language changes and said much of the information is already available through existing planning and regulatory processes. Hawaii Clean Power Alliance and one individual testified in support. No vote was taken on SB 2497 SD2 during the excerpt.
The committee also heard SB 3183 SD2, which would bar higher-income taxpayers from claiming the renewable energy technologies income tax credit for certain residential solar systems and would change refundability rules. The Department of Taxation, the Hawaii State Energy Office, and the Tax Foundation offered comments, while the Hawaii Solar Energy Association and numerous companies and individuals opposed the bill. Opponents raised concerns about impacts on financing models and the solar market. Members asked the Department of Taxation for data on how credits are claimed by homeowners versus third-party owners and on the refundability of the credit; the department said it did not have the information immediately available but would follow up. The chair indicated decision-making would likely be deferred to allow further review, and no vote was taken in the excerpt.
AZ
Arizona 2026 Regular Session
05/11/2026 - Senate Director Nominations
Transcript Highlights:
- And then we go source whatever those resources are. Okay.
- That's really important given that they do have fewer resources.
- So when they run out of resources, they ask their... ...the town runs out of resources, they ask the
- county; the county runs out of resources, they ask the state.
- An unconstitutional order is, by its very nature, an unlawful order.
Summary:
The Senate Committee on Director Nominations held a confirmation hearing for John Connolly, the current Adjutant General and Director of the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA). Connolly described his background in the Army, National Guard, and military law, and outlined DEMA’s dual mission of supporting the Arizona National Guard and emergency management. He emphasized readiness, modernization of aging aircraft and facilities, growth in capabilities such as drones and electronic warfare, partnerships to restore helicopter training at Silver Bell, and stewardship of resources. He also discussed DEMA’s border-related missions, including Task Force Safe at Nogales, counter-drug operations, and use of artificial intelligence to monitor drone activity and build a common operating picture for law enforcement.
Committee members questioned Connolly about his interview and vetting process, his role in emergency management, disaster response in Gila County, support for rural counties and tribes, and services for Guard members and families through the Integrated Resilience Operations Center. Several members pressed him on military discipline, lawful orders, classified information, and the distinction between war and hostilities. Senator Rogers focused on chain of command, combat readiness, and whether Connolly’s JAG background prepared him to lead a combat-oriented force; Connolly responded that his role is to provide ready forces, follow civilian authority, and ensure troops have training, equipment, and family support. He also said he had experience advising commanders and teaching lawful versus unlawful orders.
A major point of contention came when members questioned Connolly about the 2021 COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the Guard and whether he had treated it as unlawful or unconstitutional. Connolly said it was a lawful order at the time and that exemption processes existed under the regulations. The hearing also turned to immigration enforcement, emergency powers, and whether the Guard should support ICE; Connolly said the Guard is a support function and would respond to a direct request through the governor, but he could not identify a specific scenario in the abstract. No vote or final action was taken during the hearing, and the committee appeared to continue its review after testimony and questioning.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
February 19, 2025 - 09:30 AM
Transcript Highlights:
- special codes for NCLEX test takers.
- Those are all considered special codes.
- One of the most valuable resources I feel is the faculty.
- You have to have the resources and you have to be able to push those resources to the middle of the table
- Some of the educational resources at the schools that my colleagues have spoken about do provide resources
Summary:
The subcommittee met to examine Florida’s nursing education pipeline and the state’s persistently low NCLEX passage rates. Chair Tuck opened by noting the projected nurse shortage and Florida’s ranking near the bottom nationally for first-time NCLEX pass rates. The Department of Health explained the Board of Nursing’s approval process for nursing programs, including application requirements, probation standards, and termination for programs that repeatedly fail passage-rate benchmarks. The Florida Center for Nursing then presented statewide data showing Florida has more test takers than most states, but still trails the national average; the gap has narrowed in recent years, though Florida remains below average. Members focused heavily on why the state continues to underperform, with discussion of faculty shortages, clinical placement constraints, accreditation, student preparedness, and the large share of newer private for-profit programs among those placed on probation.
Committee members asked about how probation works, what happens when programs improve, and whether the board requires corrective plans. They also questioned the relationship between program type and outcomes, the effect of Operation Nightingale, and how many students fail and retest. The Florida Center for Nursing said first-attempt pass rates are the standard measure and that students who fail are expected to remediate and retest, though costs vary. The center also said Florida’s data shows accredited programs outperform approved or probationary ones, and that the state’s nursing workforce challenges are tied to broader issues such as faculty vacancies, clinical site competition, and student demographics, including many students balancing work, family, and language barriers.
A panel of nursing school leaders from public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit institutions then described strategies used to improve outcomes. These included transparent recruitment, early orientation, tutoring, success coaching, stronger faculty development, curriculum mapping to NCLEX standards, higher course benchmarks, mandatory remediation, simulation labs, and commercial NCLEX prep tools such as ATI, Kaplan, and HESI. Several panelists said their programs had improved after probation or had very high passage rates, and they emphasized that student success depends on academic preparation, clinical experience, and support services. Members also asked about tuition, program length, translation into other languages, and faculty recruitment; panelists said costs vary widely, faculty hiring is difficult because hospitals pay more, and some schools are considering medical Spanish and immersion options rather than full curriculum translation.
TX
Texas 89th Regular
Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Mar 10th, 2025
Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Transcript Highlights:
- mandatory and voluntary reporting is subject to open records disclosure as outlined in Government Code
- I do have a resource witness from Parks and Wildlife. Any questions?
- resource management.
- I believe you are here as resources. Witnesses is that correct or to invite invited to explain?
- One is the optimization of a shared resource to prevent any future water disputes from arising.
Keywords:
water rights, treaty compliance, Rio Grande, agriculture, drought, international water, Texas water supply, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, TPWD, harvest reports, wildlife harvest data, public information act, open records, confidentiality, hunter privacy, angler data, game animals, game birds, fur-bearing animals, nongame animals
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Floor Session Jun 3rd, 2025
California House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Code.
- This bill builds on our wildfire prevention package that we've put together in the Natural Resources
- It's another one of our wildfire prevention bills that we've put together in the Natural Resources Committee
- It's another one of our wildfire prevention bills that we've put together in the Natural Resources Committee
- to support the long-term viability of communities, natural resources, and our economy.
Summary:
The Assembly met after a quorum call and first dealt with a procedural dispute over four amendments to AB 1240. The Speaker ruled the amendments out of order as not germane, and the Assembly sustained that ruling on a 49-16 vote. Members then added co-authors to several consent-calendar resolutions, including measures on the National Conference of State Legislators, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, ALS Awareness Month, and Men’s Mental Health Month, before adopting the consent calendar. The chamber also heard guest introductions, including a welcome for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, and took up a motion to bring AB 41 up out of file, which failed 19-48.
The bulk of the meeting was floor action on a long series of bills and resolutions, many of which passed with broad bipartisan support. Measures approved included ACR 40 supporting immigrant students and FAFSA privacy; AB 917 on permanent status for certain school employees; AB 985 on anesthesia access; AB 7 and AB 42 on higher education and student services; AB 245 providing property tax relief for wildfire victims; AB 255 allowing funding for drug-free recovery housing; AB 279 updating K-12 library standards; AB 289 creating a pilot for automated speed enforcement in highway construction zones; AB 291 on an educator apprentice program; AB 327 addressing swatting; AB 340 on confidential union communications; AB 341 creating an oral health technical assistance center for people with disabilities; AB 356 on San Diego health care infrastructure; AB 410 on bot disclosure; AB 476 on copper theft enforcement; AB 477 on educator pay targets; AB 485 on stolen wages and business licensing; AB 487, the insurance committee’s technical omnibus bill; AB 573 on tobacco retail license fees; AB 598 on school mapping technology; AB 635 on mobile home law enforcement referrals; AB 651 on remote participation for incarcerated parents in dependency hearings; AB 654 on homelessness hotline assistance in Los Angeles County; AB 662 creating a South County higher education task force; AB 667 on language access in professional licensing; AB 669 limiting early denial of addiction treatment; AB 670 on naturally occurring affordable housing; AB 695 on online continuation of community college for deported students; AB 723 on disclosure for digitally altered real estate images; AB 727 placing Trevor Project information on student IDs; and AB 736, a $10 billion affordable housing bond for the June 2026 ballot, which passed on a 61-11 urgency vote after extensive debate.
Debate on AB 736 was the most extensive of the day, with supporters arguing the bond would help address California’s housing crisis and give voters a chance to weigh in, while opponents criticized the state’s bond debt and past spending results. The Assembly then recessed for caucus meetings and later returned to continue the daily file, where additional measures were taken up, including AB 798 adding diapers and wipes to the emergency food bank reserve program, which passed 56-0, and AB 821 on career technical education, which was presented as bipartisan-supported as the transcript continued.
MN
Transcript Highlights:
- <00:02:28.959>
resources region to have the natural resources region to have the natural resources - By appropriately taxing billionaires, we can invest in meaningful cleanup and protect our natural resources
- Our natural resources can't afford the strain of billions of gallons of water to keep data centers running
- corporate interests our natural corporate interests our natural resources<00:53:18.280>
can't - <01:10:01.000>
of about the exceptional nature of about the exceptional nature of Minnesota
CA
California 2025-2026 Regular Session
Assembly Natural Resources Committee Apr 21st, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- Welcome to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee hearing.
- According to the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency, converting
- Also noting opposition from Natural Resources Defense Council.
- Good afternoon, Victoria Rome with NRDC, Natural Resources Defense Council, in support. Thank you.
- This concludes the Natural Resources Committee hearing. Thank you. Thank you.
Summary:
The committee hearing centered first on AB 1243, the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025, which would direct CalEPA to identify major fossil fuel companies, study California’s climate damages, and assess fees on the largest polluters to fund resilience, recovery, and related projects. The author and supporters argued the bill would make polluters help pay for climate harms, protect taxpayers, create jobs in construction and clean energy, and dedicate at least 40% of funds to disadvantaged communities. Support testimony came from environmental justice groups, labor, youth advocates, health organizations, and many individual witnesses, while opponents from the building trades, chambers of commerce, petroleum, and business groups warned it would raise fuel and consumer costs, threaten refinery jobs, and create legal and economic uncertainty. Committee members debated the bill’s impact on affordability, jobs, refinery closures, and whether cap-and-trade already addresses climate funding needs. The committee ultimately voted to give AB 1243 a due pass recommendation to the Judiciary Committee, with the roll left open.
After AB 1243, the committee moved to another bill on wildfire mitigation and related resilience work. The author said the measure addresses a long-running wildfire problem and accepted committee amendments, describing the bill as a response to increasingly severe wildfire seasons and the need to help communities stay safe and rebuild after disasters. The transcript cuts off as that presentation begins, so no final action on the second bill is shown in the excerpt.
NY
New York 2025-2026 Regular Session
New York State Senate Session - 05/19/2026
New York Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- about the process, but also seeing what we do in our offices, and how the chambers operate, and the nature
- THE PROCESS BUT ALSO SEEING WHAT WE DO YOU ARE IN OF OFFICES, AND HOW THE CHAMBERS OPERATE, AND THE NATURE
- our public schools and most certainly, policies that ensure that every single child, no matter zip code
- OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND MOST CERTAINLY, POLICIES THAT ENSURE THAT EVERY SINGLE CHILD NO MATTER ZIP CODE
- Yesterday in the Codes Committee, we had Sarah's Law come up that addressed ab initio.
Summary:
The Senate convened, approved the prior journal, and handled several motions to discharge and substitute identical Assembly or Senate bills, along with a number of amendments. The chamber also welcomed student visitors from the League of Women Voters’ Students of Albany program and a group of Staten Island titleholders, and later adopted previously approved resolutions honoring Dorothy E. Reid for her role in Brown v. Board of Education and recognizing Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on Delta Day, with multiple senators speaking in support of both recognitions.
The bulk of the floor session was devoted to third-reading votes on a large number of bills, most of which passed with broad support. Measures addressed public health, workers’ compensation, education, environmental conservation, insurance, labor, criminal procedure, domestic relations, tax, municipal authority, and correction law. Several bills were explained by sponsors as advancing stormwater management authority, labor-law transparency, public health protections, and stronger penalties for trafficking-related offenses; one bill on immunization in summer camps drew a defense from Senator Skoufis as a child-protection measure, while another on correction law passed with some Republican opposition.
The chamber also took up a controversial public health/electronic health records bill by Senator Fernandez. Senator Martin questioned the bill at length about redacting certain categories of information, emergency access, provider obligations, and the impact on doctors’ ability to see complete medical histories. Fernandez said the bill was intended to protect patients from discrimination and to limit access to a small list of sensitive services, while also noting emergency exceptions and support from more than 200 health care providers. The debate remained focused on balancing privacy protections with concerns about continuity of care and record integrity.
US
US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session
US House Floor Proceedings (Friday, January 9, 2026)
US Federal House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- do, especially in the oil and natural do, especially in the oil and natural gas<00:29:08.320>
- The federal code hasn't been changed since 1994, and it wasn't even very strong then.
- compliant and are meeting energy code standards.
- <01:03:55.920>
really manufactured housing codes really manufactured housing codes really - <03:12:23.439>
gave kindness that he so naturally gave kindness that he so naturally gave
MO
Missouri 2026 Regular Session
Elementary and Secondary Education Jan 15th, 2026
Elementary and Secondary Education
Transcript Highlights:
- or their family resources.
- there are deserts all across Missouri, and especially in our rural and those areas that have less resources
- But they're not going to send state resources in to do the test.
- So does this... ...to establish a code of ethics and create bylaws.
- So even if in the Code of Ethics, that's more going to be talking about the Code of Ethics within the
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- Resources.
- Resources.
- Refer to the Committee on Energy Resources.
- Refer to the Committee on Natural Resources.
- Resources.
TX
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
November 6, 2025 - 09:00 AM
Transcript Highlights:
- Often maybe we have the request from the health plan, depending upon the nature, so certainly following
- It is difficult to put an exact time frame on it, because it depends upon the nature of the information
- We have color-coded the boxes so that items highlighted in red fall under my division, the Division of
- 658 AND WE ENCOUNTERED THE DATA AND WAS TREED FROM PROCEDURAL CODES BILLED BY HOME HEALTH
- 905 THINKING OF THIS 906 FROM A CODING PERSPECTIVE IS AT THE SAME REIMBURSEMENT FOR 907 THE I'M
Summary:
The Health Facilities Subcommittee met to receive implementation updates from the Agency for Health Care Administration on three bills passed in prior sessions. First, Deputy Secretary Brian Meyer reported on the transfer of the Children’s Medical Services managed care plan from the Department of Health to AHCA under HB 1085. He said the move was administrative only, with no change to enrollment, providers, services, or clinical eligibility functions, and that it was intended to create efficiencies by aligning procurement and shifting staff resources between agencies. Members then questioned AHCA about reports of reductions in private duty nursing and therapy services for medically fragile children, including concerns about appeals, provider credentialing, and whether families were losing services or being transitioned appropriately. AHCA said it was reviewing denials, monitoring the plan, and using contractual remedies while focusing on maintaining access for members.
The committee also reviewed implementation of a bill creating permanent Medicaid eligibility for individuals with permanent disabilities. AHCA staff explained that the agency had submitted a federal 1115 waiver request after public comment and stakeholder meetings, but CMS had indicated it did not anticipate approving the requested authority. Members pressed AHCA on why the waiver was submitted later than the bill’s directive date and on whether the delay was avoidable. AHCA said the waiver was complex and required review, drafting, and public input, and noted that DCF already has a specialized unit to help with redeterminations while the agencies work on operational changes. The committee discussed the practical impact on families who struggle with annual eligibility renewals and the need for clearer communication and faster follow-up from the agency.
Finally, AHCA presented on the home health aide program for medically fragile children and related Medicaid eligibility changes. The agency described the 2023 law that created a family caregiver provider type and the 2025 changes that increased the hourly rate, expanded hours, reduced training requirements, and removed caregiver earnings from Medicaid eligibility calculations, subject to federal approval. AHCA said it had completed state public comment, submitted the waiver amendment to CMS, and was awaiting federal action. Members raised concerns that some families may have enrolled or begun work before the eligibility fix was in place and may have lost benefits, especially in Broward County. AHCA said it would work with affected families and plans, review outreach through DCF and the health plans, and continue rulemaking, system updates, and provider training. The meeting ended with the chair noting that the committee had received the updates and adjourned without objection.