Transcript Highlights:

• The bill relates to allowing payments to be made based on allowable costs for services provided by any
• Sandy Stiff continued: “This is relating to allowing payments to be made based on allowable costs for
• And prospective payment system hospitals, or PPS hospitals, are paid at the fee schedule.
• Senate Bill 5834, concerning payment of expenses from the earnings of retirement system trust funds.
• Senate Bill 5835, concerning the threshold for payment of a lump sum retirement allowance.

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee held public hearings on several bills before moving into executive session. Substitute Senate Bill 6037 would change how single-city fire protection districts are funded by ending the requirement that a city reduce its levy dollar-for-dollar and instead reducing the city’s statutory maximum rate; testimony was generally supportive from cities and firefighters, while public hospital districts opposed it over prorationing concerns and some witnesses sought amendments on governance and accountability. Senate Bill 6194 would allow cost-based Medicaid reimbursement for rural hospitals on federally recognized Indian reservations, with strong support from Toppenish/Astria representatives and the Yakama Nation, who said the bill is needed to address severe funding inequities and preserve services. Senate Bill 5963 would make Passport to Careers students automatically income-eligible for the Washington College Grant; it drew support from student advocates and foster-youth advocates, with staff noting modest estimated costs. Senate Bill 5909 would require public universities to review and report low-enrollment undergraduate programs and potentially discontinue them after repeated low enrollment; Eastern Washington University supported it as an accountability measure, while faculty and student representatives opposed it as unnecessary, costly, and potentially politicized. Senate Bill 5826 would require public postsecondary student health centers to provide access to medication abortion or referrals and related web information; testimony was sharply divided between supporters who framed it as needed student health access and opponents who raised moral, safety, and budget objections. In executive session, staff briefed a series of bills, including measures on opioid treatment accreditation fees, a pre-K donation account, JLARC report elimination, retirement trust fund expense authority, pension lump-sum thresholds, port employee retirement exemptions, lemon law arbitration fees, LEAP website disclosures, limits on corporate ownership of single-family homes, a permanent senior center property tax exemption, timber tax distributions for school districts, capital project administration rules, and a real estate excise tax exemption for affordable housing. The committee then took action on the listed bills. The committee voted to give due pass recommendations to the Rules Committee for Senate Bills 5872, 5879, 5834, 5835, 5905, 5832, 6177, 5496, 5970, 5994, 6047, and 5647. Amendments were adopted on SB 5834, SB 5905, SB 6047, and SB 5647 before those bills were advanced as substitutes. SB 5988 was noted as taking action later, but no vote on it was recorded in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• And if not, maybe next session we'll have to do a deficiency payment.
• Section 7, infant and toddler care provider support direct payment, $13.5 million.
• But it does allow anybody to appeal the denial, revocation, or reduction of services and payments.
• Section 37, basic care payment rates. That just extended what the House perceived to be a sunset.
• And Section 48 had to do with the payment withhold for long-term care.

Bills: SB2015

Committee: Senate Appropriations - Human Resources Division

Summary: The Senate Appropriations Human Resources Division met with all members present and took up several bills, focusing most of the discussion on SB 1577 and SB 1619, along with a detailed review of the HHS budget bill draft. On SB 1577, Senator Magrum explained that the bill was being revised to focus on wastewater rather than raw water, possibly shifting the Washburn project to the Department of Water Resources so it could access matching funds, and potentially converting the bill into a line of credit if federal money is restored later. Members discussed whether to keep an emergency clause or instead use a date-based approach, and agreed the bill would likely be handled through the full committee and possibly reconsidered later. On SB 1619, Senator Davison said amendments were still being worked on, including changes requested by the Bank of North Dakota, and the committee planned to hold it for possible amendment before full committee consideration. The bulk of the meeting was a section-by-section review of the HHS appropriations bill draft. Members discussed one-time funding items such as technology projects, child care programs, housing programs, behavioral health facility grants, infant and toddler care provider support, juvenile justice diversion, medical housing, and other public health and human services projects. Several adjustments were noted, including reductions or changes to IMD-related funding, incarcerated-person treatment funding, the child welfare technology project, and the provider rate increase. The committee also discussed the FTE block grant structure at length, with staff explaining that the apparent increase in positions reflected budgeting mechanics, zero-dollar “phantom” positions, and positions approved previously but not counted in the FTE total. Members raised concerns about transparency and whether the bill should list FTE numbers, but staff said the block grant was intended to give the department flexibility while quarterly reporting would provide oversight. Other topics included Medicaid expansion funding and provider reimbursement rules, the move toward certifying human service centers as certified community behavioral health clinics, a moratorium on new ICF beds, and studies or reports on Medicaid, obesity, disability services, truancy, and behavioral health facility grants. The committee also discussed removing or revising broad intent language in Section 31 so the department would report findings rather than implement changes without further legislative action. No final votes were taken in the transcript; instead, members agreed to make a few technical adjustments, continue reviewing the bill, and likely revisit it the next day before moving it to conference committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• or assisted living facility occurs, and the facility is not suspended, terminated, or subject to a payment
• AHCCCS, at the request of the new owner, AHCCCS is required to continue processing claims and issuing payments
• or assisted living facility occurs, and the facility is not suspended, terminated, or subject to a payment
• AHCCCS, at the request of the new owner, AHCCCS is required to continue processing claims and issuing payments
• So what this bill does during the change of ownership process is to address that payment gap.

Summary: The caucus reviewed a long list of Senate bills and memorials across several policy areas, with most items presented as consent or third-read measures and little debate. Topics included special license plates for the Arizona Space Commission, local land-use and housing restrictions, liquor regulation updates, limits on municipal delays in permitting and exactions, election equipment security and timekeeping requirements, precinct committeeman vacancy procedures, assisted living and deed-fraud measures, a Freedom of Speech Monument committee, renaming Wesley Bolin Plaza, and a ban on gender transition procedures for minors. Members also discussed health and human services bills on behavioral health technician standards, Medicaid billing during ownership changes, breast cancer screening cost-sharing, naturopathic IV administration authority, safe-haven newborn surrender at hospitals, and access claim-processing timelines. The Judiciary portion covered probation limits for dangerous crimes against children, a civil cause of action related to prohibited gender reassignment surgery on minors, elimination of the statute of limitations for failure to register as a sex offender, probation incentive calculations, victim-rights expense recovery, unlawful flight penalties, vulnerable adult theft definitions, motor fuel theft, unlawful alerting, and evidence rules in sexual-assault-related hearings. In discussion, members asked for clarifications on several bills, including the definitions of “malicious” delay, internet access on election equipment, the scope of the breast screening bill, and the meaning of unlawful alerting. Supporters repeatedly described bills as common-sense, fraud-prevention, patient-access, or public-safety measures, while one member noted a no vote on extending the Vulnerable Adult System Study Committee. Additional measures in land, agriculture, water, public safety, and transportation included foreign-entity restrictions on land transactions, limits on transporting Mexican gray wolf puppies, water reuse and groundwater fee extensions, a larger water supply revolving fund loan cap, congressional memorials on EPA authority and the San Carlos irrigation project, expanded traumatic event counseling coverage, reimbursement of legal costs for certain disciplined law enforcement officers, data sharing with the federal government on unauthorized aliens, roadable aircraft registration, motor vehicle booting rules, military-property sign placement, a towing and impound study committee, photo enforcement penalties, and highway renaming memorials. No roll-call votes were described in the transcript, and the meeting ended after the transportation items and memorials were completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• It would reduce the payment rates by removing the funding.
• It would reduce the payment rates by removing the funding associated with the KW service enhancements
• Any reduction in provider reimbursement or restructuring of payment models, especially without clear
• So I guess when I'm listening to the testimony, are these homes also collecting rent and payment from
• the residents when they work as well, as long as getting the Medicaid, are they getting payment from

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:

• have a target rate of 6% on our debt ratio, which is calculated by using our current debt service payments
• I think this year, as a side note, our payment to the Budget Stabilization Fund this year will put us
• The first two payments...
• Leader Berman: The first two payments, I understand, $750 million each, would technically happen before
• general revenue, it doesn't say 10%, 20%; it says if there is a decline in general revenue, that payment

Committee: Senate Appropriations

Summary: The Appropriations Committee heard three measures focused on state finances. SB 1906 by Senator Brodeur would add a ninth element to the state debt reduction strategy report and create a program to transfer $250 million annually from the General Revenue Fund to accelerate retirement of outstanding state debt, while exempting the Department of Transportation and Florida Turnpike Enterprise. Members questioned the fiscal tradeoffs and flexibility, but the bill was supported in debate and reported favorably. The committee then considered SJR 1908 by Chair Hooper, which would amend the Constitution to raise the Budget Stabilization Fund cap from 10% to 25% of general revenue collections, require $750 million annual deposits until the cap is reached, and allow withdrawals for critical state needs by separate bill with a two-thirds vote, while keeping existing rules for emergencies and revenue shortfalls. Testimony and debate centered on whether Florida already has sufficient reserves, how “critical state need” would be defined, and whether the new requirement would reduce flexibility during recessions or federal funding cuts. Despite opposition from advocacy groups and several senators, the resolution was reported favorably. Finally, the committee took up HB 7031 as the vehicle for the tax package and adopted a delete-everything amendment to place it in the proper posture for conference. As amended, the bill was described as reducing the state sales tax by 0.75%, lowering the commercial rent tax from 2% to 1.25%, eliminating the business rent tax, and creating permanent sales tax exemptions while preserving sales tax holidays. The amended bill was reported favorably, and the committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The hospital is the highest recipient of Medi-Cal supplemental payments.
• So there are existing payments that are trying to...
• Is it the loan payments? What is it?
• Well, obviously, I'd like to know about the payment terms. I'd also like to know if they...
• Well, obviously, I'd like to know about the payment terms.

Summary: The committee heard AB 108, a budget bill junior that would amend the 2025 Budget Act to create a one-time $25 million General Fund grant program at HCAI for hospitals in immediate and significant financial distress, along with a technical change related to property tax deferments for eligible low-income seniors. Finance explained that eligible hospitals would need to show less than 10 days cash on hand, best efforts to exhaust other financing options, a payer mix of more than 50% government payers and uninsured patients, and nonprofit status, with expedited contracting and rulemaking exemptions so funds could be distributed quickly. Members repeatedly questioned whether $25 million was enough, how many hospitals would qualify, and whether the 10-day threshold was too narrow, while also raising broader concerns about hospital reimbursement rates, seismic compliance costs, federal policy changes, and the need for more up-to-date data and a longer-term solution. Several members and the LAO noted that the bill was intended as a short-term bridge to keep a very small number of hospitals open until July 1, while the larger distressed-hospital discussion would continue in the May Revision and next year’s budget. Some members argued the state should consider grants rather than loans more broadly, and others emphasized that hospitals serving Medi-Cal and uninsured patients, including safety-net facilities like MLK Community Hospital and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, face structural pressures. Public comment was uniformly supportive of the bill, with the California Hospital Association, district hospital representatives, counties, and CHLA all backing the proposal and urging additional funding for distressed hospitals in the coming budget. The committee approved AB 108 on a roll call vote of 18-0 and held the roll open briefly to secure remaining votes before formally reporting the bill out.

Transcript Highlights:

• The second change, which was referenced earlier, is the payment error rate, which is a reflection of
• But if that payment error rate is above 6% to less than 8%, now for those direct benefits the state's
• And so, internally we're doing a lot to make sure, as much as we can, that that payment error rate is
• actual support of the program, you may be saving a couple bucks here, but there are delays in the payment
• </c> but there are delays in the payment but there are delays in the payment error<00:21:10.800><c> rate

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• You can't make any payments.
• Well, after that 12 months, then you start making payments on it.
• during that one... payments at all.
• You can't make any payments.
• Well, after that 12 months, then you start making payments on it.

Committee: House Utilities

Summary: The Committee on Utilities first met in executive session and adopted a House Committee substitute for House Bills 2658, 2147, 2472, and 2546 by a roll call vote of 20 ayes and 1 no. The substitute expanded telephone solicitation language to include unsolicited real estate solicitations, adjusted reassigned-number compliance language, and refined spoofing-related definitions to focus on intent to cause harm or wrongfully obtain value. Members also discussed how the no-call list, existing business relationships, and political fundraising calls would be treated under the substitute. The committee then heard House Bills 1626 and 2122, both relating to nuclear energy and construction work in progress (CWIP/QIP) financing for nuclear projects. The sponsors argued the bills would remove an outdated barrier to nuclear construction in Missouri, especially for small modular reactors, by allowing utilities to recover construction costs during construction and thereby reduce interest and overall project cost. They emphasized ratepayer protections through clawback provisions, the role of the Public Service Commission, future energy demand, economic development, and keeping Missouri competitive with other states. Several members raised concerns about higher utility rates, the risk of cost overruns, the possibility of ratepayers paying for projects that are delayed or never completed, and whether the proposal was premature given that SMRs are not yet widely deployed in the United States. In response, the sponsors and supporters said the bill would include refund protections similar to Senate Bill 4 and that the PSC would oversee prudence and timing. Public witnesses in support included business, utility, and municipal representatives, as well as Missouri S&T’s chancellor, who stressed workforce development and the growing national and global move toward nuclear power. The hearing on House Bills 1626 and 2122 was then closed.

Transcript Highlights:

• it on to the end of the loan or stretch it out over the loan, lower the interest rate, change the payments
• 00:10:52.720><c> rate,</c><00:10:53.200><c> change</c><00:10:53.519><c> the</c><00:10:53.760><c> payments
• ,</c> the interest rate, change the payments, the interest rate, change the payments, things<00:10:55.120
• So, we're changing your monthly payment, we're changing your interest rate, something like that.
• ,</c> we're changing your monthly payment, we're changing your monthly payment, we're<00:13:22.240><c

Bills: SF0114 , SF0102 , SF0117

Committee: House Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions

Transcript Highlights:

• They're different payment mechanisms and depending upon the need or the quality of the provider, part
• What is the process to identify and ensure the payments are being sent Pro-law?
• Can you explain to me what is the process to identify and ensure white payments are not being made this
• I would also echo that if providers are having are experiencing and have been sent of payment issues,
• Another problem that I mentioned earlier about physicians not being paid and receiving payment for the

Transcript Highlights:

• Bill 1497. 7 pertains to skimmers, which are devices manufactured for the sole purpose of stealing payment
• Senate Bill 1497 resolves this by exempting skimmers. built solely by criminals to steal payment cards
• Devices which are nefarious in nature and only designed to steal people's payment card information.
• financial fraud such as check fraud fraud, unauthorized electronic funds transfers, and fraudulent payment
• service the Center provides to our bankers, including my own staff who are tasked with mitigating payment

Bills: SB1281 , SB1300 , SB1379 , SB1451 , SB1497 , SB1498 , SB1499

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Transcript Highlights:

• She said she made cash payments. I tried to get proof from her that the payments were made.
• Respondent filed an answer recommending payment in that amount.
• So DHS is approving the payment of unpaid bills that they don't have appropriation for.
• Was a warrant issued for payment to them? Was a warrant issued for payment to them?
• And I have the ledger here that shows that they made payments, each payment. No further questions.

Committee: All ALC-CLAIMS REVIEW/LITIGATION REPORTS OVERSIGHT

Transcript Highlights:

• Therefore, our fiscal year 27 equipment leasing costs will only show half of a year's payment, which
• ,</c> will only show half of a year's payment, will only show half of a year's payment, which<00:04:58.560
• We were asked to expedite their last payment in April, if I remember correctly. I got you.
• Who asked you to expedite that last payment?
• They received the payment earlier that week. They made the payroll on the 24th.

Transcript Highlights:

• and payment on enrollment.
• and payment on enrollment.
• and payment on enrollment prior to the end of the 2026 fiscal year?
• It is the plan of the governor's office to move to a prospective payment model and payment on enrollment
• Prospective payment to be determined. Yes, I think that's our intention.

Committee: House Budget

Summary: The committee heard extended discussion of the chair’s House budget substitute, especially House Bill 2 for elementary and secondary education and House Bill 3 for higher education. The chair said the operating budget leaves roughly $300 million in reserve, explained several cuts and restorations, and described proposed changes to child care, including cutting enhancement payments and keeping attendance-based rather than enrollment-based subsidy payments. Representative Fogle objected to the child care cuts and the proposed language limiting the department’s move to prospective payment and enrollment-based reimbursement; State Budget Director Dan Hogg testified that the governor’s office still intended to move to payment on enrollment in May if the budget language did not block it, while prospective payment remained under review because of federal funding concerns. The chair also explained a restriction on Parents as Teachers services for children already in public pre-K, and members debated whether that would reduce duplication or improperly limit services. The chair further proposed a new competitive Title I innovation grant program funded by a reallocation of some Title I dollars, with questions raised about what services would be reduced to offset it. The bulk of the meeting focused on a major higher education funding overhaul in House Bill 3. The chair and vice chair proposed replacing the current base-plus model with an FTE-based formula that would distribute the same overall state funding according to student credit hours, with community colleges funded on a 12-hour FTE, four-year undergraduate students on a 15-hour FTE, and graduate enrollment discussed as a separate issue. They said the goal was to make funding follow students rather than institutions and to reduce long-standing disparities between schools. Several members supported the idea as overdue and more transparent, while others warned it was being done too quickly and could harm institutions with high-cost programs, research missions, or smaller enrollments. Concerns were raised about possible closures, accreditation problems, and unintended effects on workforce programs such as nursing, engineering, and technical training. The chair and vice chair said there was no intent to force consolidation, but acknowledged that some institutions would gain and others would lose under the new model. Members also questioned how the formula would treat research and doctoral funding, especially at the University of Missouri, and whether graduate programs were properly counted. The chair said some special-purpose lines were retained, but a large portion of MU’s research and doctoral funding was folded into the broader pool and redistributed through the FTE model. Several members asked for clarification on whether graduate hours were counted at nine credits, and the chair said he was not certain and would seek follow-up from staff or the department. Community college representatives were discussed as having unanimously opposed the recommendation, and the chair noted that the institutions were briefed only shortly before the hearing. No votes were taken during the exchange, and the committee appeared to be gathering testimony and concerns ahead of markup and future action on the budget bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:44.560><c> on</c> crisis to step in and make payments on crisis to step in and make payments
• And these payments are meant to repay.
• And we're going to make those payments for them and get them back on their feet.
• </c><00:05:29.840><c> for</c> we're going to make those payments for we're going to make those payments
• </c> received our last uh $500,000 payment. received our last uh $500,000 payment. um<00:08:36.959><c

Committee: Senate Veterans, Military Affairs, & Public Protection

Transcript Highlights:

• So, previous to my time at the board, we were receiving a lot of mail-in payments.
• We receive far less mail and those cash receipt payments.
• , for the department and both commissions to Your CFO of operators' fee payments, for the department
• However, the department has not timely made payments to However, the department has not timely made payments
• Agreement can be resolved and payments can be distributed to these Category Three tribes.

Committee: Senate Senate Regulatory Affairs & Government Efficiency Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee first heard the Arizona Auditor General’s 2025 sunset review of the Arizona Barbering and Cosmetology Board. The audit found the board generally processed licenses and complaints timely and had adopted required school curriculum rules, but it also identified inconsistent disciplinary actions, gaps in required infection-prevention and law education for some reciprocity and instructor applicants, weak application review controls, and noncompliance issues involving open meeting law, public records, and conflicts of interest. Auditors also recommended statutory changes on esthetics scope of practice, cease-and-desist authority, and eyelash technician training standards. The board’s executive director said the agency agreed with the findings, had already implemented some changes including updated disciplinary parameters, conflict-of-interest training, lawful presence verification, and revised cash-handling procedures, and was working through the remaining recommendations. After questions, the committee voted 7-0 to recommend the board implement the audit recommendations and be continued for six years, until July 1, 2032. The committee then took up the combined sunset review and performance audit of the Arizona Department of Gaming, the Arizona Racing Commission, and the Arizona Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission. The Auditor General reported that while the department distributed tribal gaming funds and issued some licenses appropriately, it failed to consistently obtain and review required independent audit reports for event wagering and fantasy sports operators, did not fully comply with conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements, lacked comprehensive complaint-handling processes, and had delayed some compact trust fund distributions. Additional issues included IT security documentation, horse-racing suitability checks, fee-setting reviews, rulemaking, and public records procedures; the Boxing and MMA Commission also had licensing and fee-setting deficiencies. The department and commissions agreed to implement the recommendations, and the department director said the agency was already making changes, including updated guidance to operators, a new complaint-tracking process, conflict-of-interest training, and work on trust fund distributions and rule changes. Committee members pressed both the auditor and the department on why fantasy sports audit reviews had not been completed, whether underpayments would be recovered, and why no distributions had yet been made to certain Category 3 tribes under the 2021 compact trust fund. The director said the department was now doing a look-back review, would seek any owed fees, penalties, and interest, and was helping tribes resolve the baseline-revenue formula needed for distributions. Members also asked about conflict-of-interest practices, problem gambling, and whether prediction markets fall under gaming regulation. The discussion continued into the department’s broader presentation, with the director describing the agency’s regulatory role and ongoing modernization efforts.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this month, I received payment for the work I did in July.
• payment to be issued by January 1, 2026.
• payment to be issued by January 1, 2026. and a one-time stabilization payment to be issued by January
• You talked briefly about the alternative payment methodology.
• Payment then to that provider.

Summary: The California State Assembly Select Committee on Child Care Costs held its first hearing to examine the state of child care access, affordability, and provider compensation. Chair Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and other members described child care as essential infrastructure for working families and the economy, noting that costs are unaffordable for many households and that providers are underpaid. Early testimony came from a San Francisco parent, Quinn Chung, who described the difficulty of finding safe care and the financial and career sacrifices caused by lack of child care, and from Tuolumne County provider Anita Viscini, who detailed her monthly costs, low margins, and the need to work weekends and teach CPR classes to make ends meet. Assemblymembers also emphasized the crisis in rural communities and the need for a long-term strategy. The first policy panel featured Jennifer Troia of the California Department of Social Services, Laura Pryor of the California Budget and Policy Center, and Alexa Frankenberg of Child Care Providers United. Troia said the state has nearly doubled child care funding in five years, expanded subsidy slots, and reached a new tentative three-year agreement with providers that includes cost-of-living adjustments, stabilization payments, and continued work on an alternative rate methodology and single rate structure. Pryor argued that despite funding gains, child care remains too expensive, only a fraction of eligible children receive subsidies, and provider wages remain far below comparable jobs, worsening racial and gender inequities. Frankenberg said the tentative agreement is progress but not enough, calling for a true cost-of-care system, fair wages, paid time off, better support for emergency and nontraditional care, and stronger integration of family child care into the mixed-delivery system. Members asked about why the crisis persists, how the alternative methodology will work, how family fees and sliding-scale help are being used, and why middle-income families still struggle. The panel said the problem reflects long-term underinvestment, a broken market, and a system that still leaves many families without access. The committee also heard an economic panel from Ashley Hoffman of the California Chamber of Commerce and Sarah Bone of the Public Policy Institute of California. Hoffman described employer child care benefits and public-private partnership models in other states, including shared-cost programs and local chamber efforts. Bone said child care costs reduce family financial security and labor force participation, especially for mothers of young children, and estimated that if mothers of young children worked at the same rate as mothers of older children, more than 80,000 additional women could be in the workforce each year. In the final panel, parent and provider advocates, including Jennifer Greppie and Black Californians United for Early Care and Education co-founder Keisha Doyle, argued for fully funding child care, ending waiting lists, protecting culturally affirming care, and addressing racial inequities and private equity’s role in the sector.

Transcript Highlights:

• Revise provisions related to weekend premium payments and ACE awards consistent with current practices
• Revise provisions related to weekend premium payments and ACE awards consistent with current practices
• Increasing from 60 to payment processes.
• </c><00:41:18.319><c> for</c> enhanced quarterly payments for enhanced quarterly payments for inpatient
• </c> meet to receive the supplemental payment meet to receive the supplemental payment are<00:41:31.040

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the minutes, and then took up several administrative regulations. The first was an Office of the Attorney General regulation creating an online submission process for an annual certification report to replace prior quarterly notarized certification forms; there were no amendments or questions. The main discussion centered on Personnel Cabinet regulations 101 KAR 2:034, 2:102, 3:015, and 3:045, which include staff-suggested technical amendments and address state employee compensation and leave. The compensation provisions clarify salary and rehiring/demotion rules, increase critical position premiums from one to three, and update weekend premium and ACE award practices. The leave provisions would provide up to six weeks of paid leave per 10-year interval for birth, adoption, foster placement, or a serious health condition, and allow one paid adverse-weather day per year with supervisor approval. Staff explained that annual and sick leave already accrue and roll over, and that the new six-week benefit was intended as an additional enhancement tied to the 10-year and 20-year sick-leave milestones.

Transcript Highlights:

• And that will go toward funding reinsurance payments for plan year 26, which is actually fiscal year
• The reinsurance payments are estimated to be $375.9 million.
• Those reinsurance payments for waiver.
• estimated to be reinsurance payments estimated to be 375.9<00:08:10.440><c> million.
• ><c> amounts</c><00:08:48.959><c> for</c> payments um also include amounts for payments um also include

Transcript Highlights:

• :05.199><c> assistance</c> the Minnesota down payment assistance the Minnesota down payment assistance
• I often struggle with the payments that support agriculture.
• </c> I often struggle with the payments I often struggle with the payments uh<00:21:20.400><c> that</
• /c><00:24:04.240><c> for</c><00:24:04.480><c> new</c> the down payment assistance for new the down payment
• </c><00:26:45.520><c> and</c> um you know the farm down payments and um you know the farm down payments