Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:42:27.920><c> or</c> persons with a lower body mass index or persons with a lower body mass index
• And these are differentiated by body mass index levels.
• An individual with a lower body mass index may only need a medication.
• </c> differentiated by body mass index differentiated by body mass index levels.<00:45:50.240><c> You
• An individual with a lower body mass index may only need a medication.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board met on February 23, 2026, approved the January 12 minutes, and then focused primarily on Kentucky Medicaid’s coverage and potential expansion of GLP-1 drugs, especially for weight loss. Department for Medicaid Services Commissioner Lisa Lee explained that Medicaid currently does not cover drugs for weight loss, anorexia, or weight gain, but the department had filed a regulation to remove that blanket exclusion so GLP-1s could be covered when used for an underlying health condition. She said the administrative regulation review subcommittee found the regulation deficient, and the co-chairs wanted the board to discuss the policy and financing implications before any change. DMS also said it would be open to adding caveats to ensure coverage would not extend to cosmetic weight loss alone. The department provided several data points on current utilization and spending. In 2025, Kentucky Medicaid paid for appetite-stimulating drugs such as Megestrol, Dronabinol, and Marinol, but did not pay for weight-loss drugs. For GLP-1s, DMS said coverage began in 2025 and is limited to FDA-approved medical conditions, with prior authorization requiring a type 2 diabetes diagnosis code and A1C documentation. DMS reported $234.6 million in GLP-1 spending in 2025 before rebates, about 240,931 prescriptions, and said GLP-1s accounted for 7.3% of pharmacy spend in 2024 and 8.3% in 2025. It also said there were 24,844 expansion members and 13,638 non-expansion members using GLP-1s, with spending of about $156 million and $78.5 million respectively, and that 10 pediatric weight-loss prescriptions were covered under EPSDT. The department said outcome analyses, including whether GLP-1 use reduces insulin or other diabetes treatment, are underway and should be completed in a couple of months. Members asked about cost, rebates, and whether the state should wait for more outcomes data before expanding coverage. DMS said average reimbursement to pharmacies was $975 per prescription and the average dispensing fee was $109; it also said 2025 rebate invoices totaled $90.8 million, with $7.6 million collected so far. Several members expressed concern about the high cost and the need to evaluate whether the drugs improve health outcomes before expanding access, while others noted the potential benefits for obesity and diabetes treatment. Some members also discussed whether GLP-1s are effectively being used for weight loss in diabetic patients and whether broader data collection should be used to assess long-term value. After the Medicaid discussion, Eli Lilly executive Tracy Sims presented on obesity as a chronic disease and the economic burden it creates in Kentucky. She said Kentucky’s adult obesity rate is a little over 37%, that obesity is linked to about 200 diseases, and that untreated obesity costs the state billions in GDP and hundreds of millions in state budget impact. She highlighted recent federal access programs for GLP-1s, including a Medicaid-related program that she said could lower the state share of a Zepbound prescription to about $71 per month after federal matching. No votes were taken on the GLP-1 policy question during the meeting, and the main action was the receipt of testimony and discussion of the department’s proposed regulatory change.

Transcript Highlights:

• also, but I'll pass it student aid index also, but I'll pass it to<00:40:02.160><c> you.
• versus a negative 1500 student aid index.
• Um, so this 1500 student aid index.
• versus a negative 1500 student aid index versus a negative 1500 student aid index.<00:57:35.599><c>
• They award the same dollar in the index.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Higher Education Conference Committee reviewed differences among the Governor’s, House, and Senate proposals for state grant parameter changes and their effects on state grant spending, North Star Promise spending, and average student awards. Nonpartisan staff explained that the proposals use different combinations of parameter changes, with the Governor’s and Senate plans modeled to avoid or minimize rationing, while the House plan would require rationing to balance the program. Staff reported projected biennium balances of a positive $29.836 million for the Governor’s proposal, a negative $60.758 million for the House proposal without rationing, a positive $994,000 for the House proposal with rationing, and a positive $3.623 million for the Senate proposal; North Star Promise balances also varied, with the Senate showing a positive balance and the Governor and House with rationing showing negative balances. Staff also said the Senate proposal would extend availability of the state grant appropriation and suspend surplus procedures through fiscal year 2029, allowing the balance to carry forward. The committee then focused on the House-only tuition and fee cap provision, which would limit the tuition recognized for state grant purposes for four-year programs to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities level, with 1% annual increases in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. House members said the cap was intended to address rising tuition, especially at the University of Minnesota, and to produce savings in the state grant program. The governor’s office confirmed the provision was not included in the Governor’s bill. Representatives from the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Private College Council opposed the cap, arguing it would reduce awards for low-income students and shift costs to students rather than address underlying tuition pressures; they also said it could discourage enrollment at higher-cost institutions. Supporters from Minnesota State argued the cap would improve fairness because students at lower-tuition institutions are effectively capped lower, while students at more expensive institutions receive larger awards, and they said the legislature should intervene in a variable that has grown substantially over time. Committee members questioned how the cap would work and whether it was tied to the Twin Cities campus rate. Testifiers clarified that the state grant formula is tied to the University of Minnesota level, but because Minnesota State institutions are below that level, the cap effectively limits their students to their own lower tuition while allowing higher awards at the University of Minnesota and private colleges. No formal vote or final action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided; the chair indicated the committee would continue with item-by-item review of the remaining parameter changes and hear additional testimony from agencies and institutions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, as I walk through each one of these sections, they all index the registration fee to inflation
• </c> of um the charge to the gas tax index of um the charge to the gas tax index that<00:25:14.400><c
• that sir charge to $100 and indexing that sir charge to inflation. inflation. inflation.
• </c><00:31:41.120><c> Okay,</c> indexing. So, thank you very much. Okay, indexing.
• </c> cents per gallon which again is indexed cents per gallon which again is indexed to<00:32:58.960>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Just a caveat here that this index is literally hot off the presses. It's probably still warm.
• If anybody in the public notices any mistakes in the index, I would like you to let me know.
• The choices made were not mine, but just if the index itself is wrong.
• </c><00:02:23.680><c> So,</c> just if the index itself is wrong.
• So, just if the index itself is wrong.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• On top of that, Arkansas is very negatively impacted by a policy called the area wage index at the federal
• And that's the area wage index that we work on with the federal level all the time.
• And that's the area wage index that we work on with the federal level all the time.
• Many of the states that benefit greatly from an area wage index have a lot more population, which means
• of the 435 votes that we need in Congress to change the net neutrality provision of the area wage index

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The thing that I wanted to add is one of the great victories of the '23 session was that we indexed the
• Some things like the K-12 formula are indexed to inflation and remain indexed to inflation.
• Some things like the K12 formula<00:21:31.760><c> are</c><00:21:32.000><c> indexed</c><00:21:32.400><
• formula are indexed to inflation and remain<00:21:33.600><c> indexed</c><00:21:34.080><c> to</c><00:
• </c><00:21:35.039><c> That's</c><00:21:35.280><c> very</c> Remain indexed to inflation.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House Democratic leaders and House Republican leaders announced a compromise set of budget targets reached Friday night, describing it as a numbers-only deal that leaves policy issues aside. They said the targets are the first step in the budget process: House committee chairs will write bills to fit the targets, those bills will go to Ways and Means, and later leaders will negotiate global targets with the governor and Senate. Leaders emphasized that the agreement reflects compromise rather than either party’s ideal budget, and that they will continue talks with Governor Walz and the Senate over the next several weeks. The speakers highlighted what was not included in the deal, saying it does not target paid family and medical leave, earned sick and safe time, reproductive rights, or universal school meals. They said the House priorities that did make it in include housing, education, pensions, public safety, and transportation. On education, they said the compromise provides $40 million in new money in the first biennium for the READ Act and no cuts in either biennium, contrasting that with larger cuts in the governor’s and Senate proposals. They also said schools could still choose to fund unemployment insurance for school workers from existing resources, though it was not earmarked in the targets. Leaders said the agreement leaves room for committee chairs to make choices within the targets, including in health and human services, where they described the target as a reduction in projected growth rather than a cut to existing appropriations. They said the budget plan sets aside discretionary inflation adjustments in the first biennium while preserving inflation indexing for items like the K-12 formula. They also said the deal improves the state’s long-term balance, with a projected $1.6 billion balance in the first biennium and a $1.3 billion deficit in the second, and that the House’s numbers do not include the same revenue assumptions as the governor’s and Senate’s plans. In questions, leaders said conference committees will require majority support from both House and Senate conferees, and that the House will send equal numbers of Democratic and Republican conferees. They said the bonding bill size is still under discussion, but the adopted numbers would allow for roughly a $700 million general obligation bill. They also said large state spending for professional sports facilities is likely over, and explained that the press conference was held without Republican leaders for logistical reasons after the deal was reached late Friday.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> index has not changed since last year. index has not changed since last year.
• </c><00:40:35.920><c> to</c> So now our formula is indexed to So now our formula is indexed to inflation
• Uh, indexing, which is a terrible idea.
• ,</c> committed to removing the indexing, committed to removing the indexing, which<01:35:56.800><c>
• Imagine the indexer having compensatory.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Revising the at-risk index with a cost differential.
• For FY25, the at-risk index is anticipated to generate approximately 57,971 or $379.9 million, based
• HB 63 also proposes a revision of the at-risk index.
• . at-risk index.
• At this point, a 0.33 at-risk index gets you to about 22% above.

Transcript Highlights:

• And these red colors indicate dryness for this index.
• The crop moisture index is fairly recent, and no one is drier than normal.
• The drought severity index is the long-term drought severity index, and most of the state is normal or
• The crop moisture index, okay? This is for fairly recent. No one's drier than normal.
• The drought severity index, okay? This is the long term drought severity index.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and first elected Rep. Reeves as chair and Rep. Dent as vice chair for the coming year, with the vote appearing unanimous. After a brief discussion about who would chair the rest of the meeting, the committee proceeded to its regular agenda focused on the 2026 drought situation in Washington. The Washington state climatologist, Karen Mbacca, and Department of Ecology drought staff presented data showing a statewide drought declaration issued April 8 due to very low snowpack, warm winter temperatures, and resulting water supply concerns. They described the state’s statutory drought criteria, current reservoir and streamflow conditions, Yakima Basin water supply forecasts, likely summer temperature and precipitation outlooks, and the possibility of an El Niño developing later in the year. Ecology said the declaration makes $3 million in drought response grants available and allows expedited water transfer processing, and staff said they are already hearing concerns about impacts to agriculture, fish, and drinking water systems. Committee members discussed the need for longer-term drought preparedness, possible legislative tools, and whether additional funding or reservoir/storage strategies should be considered. Rep. Dent and others asked about available grant money and future mitigation planning, while Ecology said it is open to working with the legislature and stakeholders on resilience measures. The committee then heard a contrasting presentation from Dr. Cliff Mass of the University of Washington, who argued there is no current drought emergency because reservoirs are full, precipitation and soil moisture are near or above normal in many areas, and agriculture is performing well; he said the state’s drought declaration is not justified by current conditions. Members questioned him about reservoir capacity, drought definitions, and forecasts, and the meeting ended with several members thanking departing legislators and noting the importance of continued water planning.

Transcript Highlights:

• They could sell it, but if we adopt this index, the Oahu index, it'd be four and a half percent compounded
• They could sell it, but if we adopt this index, the Oahu index, it'd be four and a half percent compounded
• <02:05:14.000><c> right</c><02:05:14.239><c> now,</c> index right now, index right now, the<02:05:16.239
• ,</c> So, it could be consumer price index, So, it could be consumer price index, but<02:08:00.960><c
• </c> but we're looking at the Honolulu index but we're looking at the Honolulu index because<02:08:03.679

Bills: HB2611, HB2102, HB1710, HB1868, HB1920, HB1812, HB1733, HB1715, HB1723, HB1724, HB1727, HB1711

Keywords: HB2611, Hawaii antitrust, rental housing, rent price-fixing, algorithmic pricing, algorithmic rent-setting, property management software, pricing algorithms, rent coordination, price-fixing, collusion, cartel, multifamily housing, landlord software, occupancy levels, lease terms, Attorney General, public education program, consumer protection, housing affordability

Summary: The committee first took up HB 2611, which would prohibit algorithmic price-setting in Hawaii’s rental market, require public education by the Attorney General, and establish fines and penalties. The Department of the Attorney General opposed the bill, saying its language was too unclear and could expose landlords and agents to criminal and civil liability for ordinary rent-setting practices based on public information or assistance from property professionals. Members asked about antitrust standards, tacit agreement, and whether using county-published affordable-rent schedules would be unlawful; the AG said that would not be unlawful if based on public information and without collusion. Testimony was mixed, with the chair noting support from the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, Hawaii Realtors with comments, 50501 Hawaii and General Strike Hawaii, Haloha Project, 13 individuals, and one opponent. The committee then heard HB 2102, which clarifies that residential projects involving ground disturbance in high-risk areas remain subject to state historic preservation review and removes an exemption for lands presumed nominally sensitive. The Office of Planning and Sustainable Development and the Department of Planning and Permitting supported the measure, saying it would improve clarity and ensure review focuses on projects most likely to affect historic properties or iwi kupuna, while also urging language refinements to better define sensitive sandy-soil areas and balance preservation with housing timelines. NAP Hawaii opposed the bill, arguing it would undo progress made last session and that the current process already includes protections for inadvertent discoveries and efficiency for lower-risk areas. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs strongly supported HB 2102, explaining it was responding to beneficiary complaints about late-added language in last year’s law and saying the nominally sensitive-area language should be removed because it was adopted without sufficient stakeholder input and could be harmful to iwi kupuna protections. Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and several individuals also supported the bill. Committee discussion focused on how “nominally sensitive” areas are determined, whether project proponents could self-certify areas as exempt, and how high-density residential projects should be treated; SHPD said it uses survey and monitoring data to map sensitivity, that highly sensitive areas like Kīauea are not nominally sensitive, and that some high-density projects should remain exempt if they do not involve new ground disturbance. The hearing included no final vote in the portion provided, but the chair noted 48 individuals in support and continued questioning on the bill’s definitions and implementation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Income index, family income index units.
• The Family Income Index is a mechanism that you all passed a few years ago to better identify poverty
• The Family Income Index is a statutory program that you all created, I believe, in 2021.
• On line 160, that's a specific new pilot that has nothing to do with the Family Income Index.
• So that's actually why LESC doesn't have a recommendation for the Family Income Index. index support,

Transcript Highlights:

• And I like this chart because that red line is the construction cost index at the national level. this
• The blue line you see there is what normally we translate to inflation which is a consumer price index
• This last year, as we saw that construction cost index, it has ticked down for two quarters, the first
• So if you doubled it and even I'll go a step further and say index it you know, so it's got a little
• Index it to something, CPI, so it grows a little bit based on what's happening out there in the world

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Mahan go through the index chart? Um, Mr.
• You should have a bill index in your packets.
• You should have a bill index in your packets.
• A bill index in your packets.
• So, if if index, it's Senate file 5042.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:37:39.199><c> the</c> specify in statute um what index the specify in statute um what index the
• </c><03:46:41.359><c> or</c> have a narrow therapeutic index or have a narrow therapeutic index or what's
• Uh, and that's to do with narrow therapeutic index medication.
• He narrow therapeutic index medication.
• So narrow therapeutic index medication.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And that results in an index.
• And then, based on their index, certificates and degrees, based on their index, But due to their mission
• And that results in an index.
• And then, based on their index, Certificates and degrees, based on their index with those multipliers
• So there is an adjustment made to their point totals in that index based on that.

Summary: The committee first considered revisions to the JBC rules, which staff said were all prompted by acts passed in the 2025 legislative session. The rules were adopted without objection. Members then received a balanced budget presentation from DFA Secretary Jim Hudson on the governor’s FY27 proposal, which he said was built around three priorities: limiting state government growth, continuing investments in education, and advancing income tax cuts. He highlighted major additions for education funding, EFA growth, pay plan costs, higher education productivity funding, drug task forces, corrections medical costs, the governor’s 1033 initiative, SNAP error-rate reduction, and Medicaid sustainability, while also explaining a new A/B funding category structure intended to prioritize recurring costs and preserve room for tax cuts. Members questioned Hudson about the cost of income tax reductions, the constitutional balanced-budget requirement, education funding, the Educational Adequacy Fund, Medicaid trust fund balances, and the impact of federal changes on Medicaid and SNAP. Hudson said each tenth of a percent income tax cut would cost about $58 million, the budget remained balanced, public education would still receive historic increases, and the Medicaid trust fund would be monitored closely with additional set-asides proposed. He also said the FY27 SNAP administrative cost increase would be about $18 million. The committee then heard from the Division of Higher Education, which reported institutions were 2.61% more productive overall and that the budget recommendation followed the statutory productivity formula. Questions focused on why some institutions were receiving decreases or large increases, how the formula works, and how the new return-on-investment metric and committee composition would affect future funding. The committee approved several higher education-related actions, including personnel changes for nine institutions and special language for North Arkansas College’s move into the University of Arkansas system. Staff then walked members through the higher education appropriation summary, explaining large percentage increases at several institutions were tied to federal funds or corrected carry-forward issues, including the U of A School of Mathematical, Sciences and the Arts, South Arkansas College, SAU Tech, ASU Mountain Home, and ASU Newport. Members also discussed UAPB’s 1890 extension program and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s land-grant matching funds; officials said UAPB’s recommendation was being aligned with actual spending and that the Division of Agriculture’s Smith-Lever and Hatch matches were included within its overall appropriation. The committee ultimately adopted the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s recommendations for all institutions and then moved on to the Department of Corrections section, with the chair outlining how the committee would proceed through those appropriations by section.

Transcript Highlights:

• following, and then there's two sections, and it's state revenue and money generated from taxes, fees, royalties
• can tell you, any of y'all people that are from the oil and gas part of the state, no, a regular royalty

Summary: The committee took up public comment on a package of similar local-option bills related to carbon capture and sequestration, including House Bills 5, 6, 497, 498, 501, and 504. The bills would let parishes, or in some cases specific parishes such as Rapides and Livingston, decide by local vote whether Class VI wells, CO2 sequestration, and related pipeline infrastructure could be permitted. The chair grouped the bills together for testimony, adopted a three-minute public comment rule, and noted that the bills were not yet under consideration for a vote during the public-comment portion. Supporters, including Speaker Pro Tem Mike Johnson, parish officials, local activists, and residents, argued that communities affected by carbon capture projects should have a direct voice through local option elections. They said the bills were about self-determination, local control, and allowing residents to decide whether the risks are worth the benefits. Several speakers said their parishes had passed resolutions opposing carbon capture or asking for local choice, while others emphasized concerns about eminent domain, aquifer protection, lack of public understanding, and the need for more information about project impacts and financial benefits. Some supporters also said a local vote would force industry to engage more directly with communities and could improve transparency. Opponents, including representatives of the Department of Conservation and Energy, the Louisiana Chemistry Association, the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, warned that the bills would create uncertainty, undermine Louisiana’s primacy over Class VI permitting, and invite litigation under federal preemption and the Supremacy Clause. They said the state already has a strict permitting process with public input and technical review, and that allowing parish-by-parish approval could delay or block billions of dollars in investment, jobs, and export-related projects. The department testified that if the state adopted a local-option referendum system, EPA could determine Louisiana was not implementing the program consistently and could move to remove primacy. No committee vote was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it's state revenue and money generated from taxes, fees, royalties, bonuses, leases, operating agreements
• can tell you, any of y'all people that are from the oil and gas part of the state know a regular royalty

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It would create a comprehensive framework for distributing federal coal royalties and revenues here in
• It would create a comprehensive framework for distributing federal coal royalties and revenues here in

Bills: SB57, SB155, HB39, HB77, HB104, SB57, SB155, HB39, HB77, HB104

Keywords: property, acknowledgment, conveyance, business entities, limited liability companies, state employees, payroll deduction, salary deduction, comptroller, membership association, membership dues, voluntary contributions, insurance premiums, financial instruments, deferred compensation, state payroll, employee benefits, association dues, withholding, Alabama Code 36-1-4.3

Transcript Highlights:

• When we raise the royalty Rate on state lands. What did they say? Sky's going to fall.
• ourselves, you know, what's the cost, how much does this add up to, and how does it measure against the royalty-based

Transcript Highlights:

• The index maximum stipend for teacher residents will be adjusted.
• The index minimum stipend for teacher residents will be adjusted to a minimum level one teacher salary
• The index minimum stipend for a teacher resident will be set at 65% for residents without a bachelor's
• One is indexing the stipends that residents receive to minimum Level 1 teacher salaries.
• So that to us is probably the best part about this bill, aside from indexing the pay.

Bills: HB30, HB120, HJR1, SB210, SB306

Keywords: teacher residency, Teacher Residency Act, public schools, teacher preparation, educator pipeline, teacher recruitment, teacher retention, student teachers, apprenticeship, co-teaching, mentor teachers, residency stipend, teacher salary, level one teacher, charter schools, school districts, New Mexico education, teacher workforce, principal stipend, cohort model