Transcript Highlights:

• We'd like to see funding in the final budget for programs like State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, MHP
• We like to see funding in the final budget for programs like State Light Tech, MHP, PRP, and others.
• This is one of the most effective homeless intervention programs that the state can fund.
• This is one of the most effective homeless intervention programs that the state can fund.
• Leaving these programs unfunded will undermine the significant progress the state has made.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• more than any other state in this regard to strengthen program integrity in the Medicaid program.
• more than any other state in this regard to strengthen program integrity in the Medicaid program.
• more than any other state in this regard to strengthen program integrity in the Medicaid program.
• more than any other state in this regard to strengthen program integrity in the Medicaid program.
• more than any other state in this regard to strengthen program integrity in the Medicaid program.

Bills: HF3378

Keywords: human services, Optum reports, data privacy, transparency, legislative oversight, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We know that this program works.
• The state regents recently completed a comprehensive review of low-producing degree programs, leading
• As a result of the review, 41 programs will be deleted, and 21 will be suspended in the state of Oklahoma
• know that there's necessarily a large number Of arts programs or music programs in those.
• , how many Students are in that program, and how the future of teaching is looking right now in the state

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, that's that program. We are a AAA. Uh, bonded program.
• program, we've received dollars under that program, um, almost 30 years since 1997.
• That includes 32 programs for um the COVID-related programs.
• We have also opened up 4 programs in partnership with state agencies.
• Two of those projects, um, 2 of those programs, those pots of funds require that 20% state match.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the state of Tennessee, and so in Oregon, their state law requires that 75% of program funds in key
• We're all over the state.
• initiatives—these pilot programs, the informal care pilot program.
• From the BEAD program to nearly every county minus one through that program.
• Of the BEAD program, that's a $675 million program.

Transcript Highlights:

• active programs.
• homelessness programs.
• And then for protecting federal funding, really the TBL is focused on protecting state and local programs
• across the state.
• state vision.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We did that as the only nursing program in the state, and so I'm particularly proud of that and our staff
• around the state.
• programs.
• We do have some issues in our nursing programs across the state that we need to address at the state
• Part of the state, maybe not a continual program, but once a year or something, because that's difficult

Transcript Highlights:

• throughout the state toddler programs throughout the state serving<00:55:34.800> over<00:55:35.280
• Our farmers market offers the largest SNAP doubling program in the state.
• Our farmers market offers the largest SNAP doubling program in the state.
• Our farmers market offers the largest SNAP doubling program in the state.
• Our farmers market offers the largest SNAP doubling program in the state.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: This joint informational briefing on Act 310 grants and aid focused on organizations describing how federal funding cuts, Medicaid/SNAP changes, and related policy shifts are affecting their services and budgets. Committee members explained there would be no Q&A, testimony would be limited to one minute, and in-person participants would be heard before Zoom callers. Members repeatedly asked testifiers to identify the amount of federal funding lost or at risk. Testimony came from a wide range of nonprofits and community providers, including Aloha Care, Hawaii Bicycling League, Hawaii Literacy, Hawaii Youth Symphony, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, the Tsunami Museum, The Kohala Center, West Hawaii Community Health Center, West Hawaii Region Hospital Foundation, Sounding Joy Music Therapy, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, Dynamic Community Solutions, Feeding Hawaii Together, Girl Scouts of Hawaii, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Hawaii Youth Services Network, Hawaiian Lending and Investments, Homana, Honolulu Theatre for the Youth, Kids Hurt Too Hawaii, and Kokua Kalihi Valley. Most described reduced or threatened federal support and requested state funding to maintain services such as health care access, food security, disaster preparedness, literacy and digital inclusion, youth mentoring, arts education, housing, and climate or agricultural resilience. Several speakers emphasized direct impacts on vulnerable populations, including kūpuna, low-income families, immigrants, homeless youth, and people with disabilities. Requests ranged from relatively small planning or program grants to multi-million-dollar stabilization asks, with some organizations citing specific losses such as reduced Medicaid or USDA funding, canceled EPA or FEMA support, or expiring federal grants. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• We currently have 50,000 youth enrolled in 4-H programs across the state in our clubs programs, so we
• > do state in our clubs programs so we do state in our clubs programs so we do Target<00:48:14.720
• And developing our ambassador program and our state ambassador program, giving those older 4-Hers more
• and our state our a ambassador program and our state ambassador<00:52:21.200> program<00:52:21.799
• <00:57:59.400> of program we've been the state of program we've been the state of Minnesota

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee met for an introductory session to begin the new legislative session. Members and staff went around the table introducing themselves and describing their agricultural backgrounds, including farming, livestock, crop production, county government, and related research or staff roles. Chair Paul Anderson emphasized agriculture’s importance to Minnesota’s budget and economy, welcomed new members and staff, and noted that the committee would have a full agenda. The committee then heard a presentation from the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, Extension, and the Forever Green initiative on the GREE program (Agricultural Research, Education, Extension, and Technology Transfer). Testimony described GREE as a state investment created in 2015 to support agricultural productivity and growth through research, education, extension, and technology transfer. Speakers highlighted its broad focus areas, including crop and livestock genetics, soil health, water quality, nutrient management, microbial science, agroecological innovation, and technology stewardship, as well as rapid-response funding for emerging issues such as waterhemp, PRRS, and avian influenza. University witnesses said the program has brought in faculty and extension educators, generated sponsored research awards, and leveraged state funding into additional grants and contracts. They cited a reported roughly 12-to-1 return on investment and said the state has invested about $39 million since 2015. They also noted additions such as a deep winter greenhouse program and a tribal representative on the advisory group. No committee votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And that huge hole, state grant program.
• <00:31:49.440> grant colleges from the state grant colleges from the state grant program.<
• state grant program, and I welcome it. state grant program, and I welcome it.
• And so, the state grant program backfilling it was our priority.
• We are facing, with zero targets, a $239 million hole in the state grant program.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• welfare program at DCF.
• services. programs.
• all states.
• all states.
• He stated that Florida is the only state in the nation at 95% or higher of census, and that the state

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee met to organize the new term, take roll, and hear introductory presentations from the six agencies under its jurisdiction: the Agency for Health Care Administration, Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Children and Families, Department of Elder Affairs, Department of Health, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The chair outlined the committee process, including assigning members to review agencies and make budget recommendations. Each agency head gave a high-level overview of their budget, staffing, major programs, and priorities, with recurring themes including Medicaid, long-term care, disability services, child welfare, mental health, aging services, public health, and veterans’ health care. Several agency leaders highlighted recent initiatives and funding priorities. AHCA emphasized Medicaid managed care, provider regulation, Hope Florida, hospital-at-home, and cancer-related efforts; APD discussed iBudget services, Hope Florida, a managed-care pilot, online applications, and forensic care costs; DCF focused on child protection, foster care, adult protective services, food/cash/medical assistance, mental health, and opioid treatment; Elder Affairs highlighted Alzheimer’s services, community-based senior care, guardianship, ombudsman services, and disaster outreach; DOH covered cancer innovation, maternal telehealth, cybersecurity, HIV/hepatitis/syphilis screening, and school nursing; and Veterans Affairs described benefits and health care access for veterans, long-term care, and federal reimbursement. Several speakers also raised concerns about rising costs, provider rates, disaster response, and access to services. The committee heard two public comments from disability advocates about Medicaid redeterminations affecting iBudget waiver recipients and provider payment delays. In response, AHCA and APD said they were coordinating on data sharing, early outreach, escalation processes, and efforts to reduce disenrollments and make recertification smoother. Members then asked questions about provider rates, opioid settlement spending, managed care quality measures, pediatric rare disease grants, group home transparency, senior outreach, ABA services moving into managed care, annual Medicaid recertification, veterans’ service utilization, waiting lists for elder services, and prevention spending. No formal votes were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, as to housing programs in the state.
• This is a state program, not a federal program, that pays for housing for individuals with disabilities
• This is a state program, not a federal program, that pays for housing for individuals with disabilities
• This is a state program, not a federal program, that pays for housing for individuals with disabilities
• programs that are states obligations for programs that are stipulated<00:55:10.319> in<00:55:

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The House began with a point of personal privilege honoring Master Sergeant Nicole M. Amimer of White Bear Lake, including a House resolution recognizing her military service and sacrifice and a moment of silence. Members then took up House File 4987, which would rename a highway in White Bear Lake as the Master Sergeant Nicole M. Amimer Memorial Highway. The motion to suspend rules and advance the bill prevailed, and the bill later passed 126-0 after supportive remarks from Representatives Olsen and Curran about honoring Amimer and her family. The chamber then considered Senate File 476, the human services policy bill. Representative Noor described it as a broad package covering direct care and treatment, Department of Health policy, aging and disability services, behavioral health, vulnerable adult maltreatment, continuity of care, and miscellaneous policy changes. Representative Schumacher said the bill reflected stakeholder work and added guardrails, especially around fraud and provider processes. Several amendments were offered and adopted, including a technical A13 amendment; an A8 amendment was withdrawn; and an A1 amendment on individualized home supports was also withdrawn. The bill passed 93-39. Finally, the House took up House File 4546, the forecast adjustment bill for the Department of Human Services and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Representative Noor said it was a routine biennial adjustment to align spending with the February forecast. Representative Johnson W offered an amendment on foster family information-sharing but withdrew it after concluding it was not germane. Debate focused heavily on the size of the forecast increases, especially in medical assistance and housing supports, with Representative Schultz arguing the bill reflected large cost growth and urging a no vote. Noor responded that the increases were driven by forecasted utilization, eligibility, rate changes, and program integrity changes. The bill passed as amended 93-39.

Transcript Highlights:

• This program is both a federal program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and also our state-funded
• It increases the state costs for program administration.
• the federal ledger onto state-funded programs and campus operating budgets.
• program, which all states do, and draw down federal Medicaid matching funds.
• Programs that are a creation of the state budget and not required elsewhere in state law, federal law

Summary: The committee held a work session focused first on juvenile rehabilitation system capacity. DCYF officials said the juvenile rehabilitation population is older, includes more adult-sentenced youth, and has longer lengths of stay, especially for “post-25” youth who must remain in secure facilities and cannot go to community beds. They described overcrowding at Green Hill School, placement limits at Echo Glen and Harbor Heights, staffing turnover, mental health acuity, and the need for more medium-security and specialized mental health beds. DCYF said it is pursuing a Parkland facility proposal, a staffing model decision package, and a broader feasibility study and master plan update. No votes were taken; members were asked to follow up with questions later. The committee then heard on behavioral health system capacity from the Behavioral Health Administration and the Health Care Authority. DSHS described growth in forensic and civil bed need, expansion at Olympic Heritage, Maple Lane, and Brockman, and construction of a new 350-bed forensic hospital at Western State expected to open in 2028. HCA reported progress on long-term civil commitment beds, intensive behavioral health treatment facilities, PACT teams, and intensive residential treatment teams, saying the community-based system is being expanded to support step-down care and reduce hospital reliance. Members asked about whether capacity is right-sized, the difference between facility types, and federal match eligibility for services. A federal funding update followed, covering the effects of H.R. 1 and H.R. 5371 on SNAP, Medicaid, marketplace coverage, long-term services and supports, K-12, higher education, and hemp regulation. OFM and agency staff said H.R. 1 adds work requirements, changes non-citizen eligibility, increases state administrative and benefit costs, reduces Medicaid and marketplace subsidies for some groups, tightens redeterminations, and may significantly affect provider payments and state-directed payments. H.R. 5371 extended federal funding through January 30, 2026 and included some agency appropriations and other provisions, including changes affecting hemp producers. Members asked about SNAP error rates and special enrollment periods. Finally, budget coordinator Mary Monroe gave a 2026 supplemental budget preview. She reviewed the state’s near general fund outlook, noting revenue declines since the enacted budget, the effect of reversions, and a preliminary maintenance-level outlook showing a projected increase in NGFO spending over the four-year period. She said the supplemental will reflect updated caseload and cost forecasts and mandatory impacts from H.R. 1, but not policy proposals. No actions or votes were taken during the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• districts here in the state.
• the state.
• In 2023, I worked with the state leadership.
• used to promote this program.
• Obviously, that could be winnowed down some because we allow other states to use our state accrediting

Summary: The Senate Education K-16 Committee heard Senate Bill 1961, which would expand reporting on post-secondary outcomes and workforce data, including employment, earnings, regional labor demand, and credentials of value. Senator Bettencourt said the bill is intended to close data gaps and improve alignment between education programs and workforce needs. Witnesses from Opportunity Austin, Texas 2036, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, and the Fort Worth workforce community testified in support, saying better data would help students, parents, schools, employers, and regional economic development efforts. After questions from members about regional workforce pipelines and semiconductor talent needs, public testimony closed and SB 1961 was left pending. The committee then took up several pending bills and reported them favorably, including SB 1325, SB 604, SB 1832, SB 747, SB 2185, and SB 2395, with committee substitutes adopted where needed. SB 1325 was amended to remove the DSHS commissioner’s authority to issue standing orders for respiratory distress medication in schools. SB 1832, relating to school transfer or private-school funding options for students victimized by a public school employee, and SB 747, relating to intimate visual material policies, were both advanced on recorded votes. SB 2185, on the bilingual education allotment, was initially moved to a local calendar but was later backed up and reported to the full Senate after a fiscal note was noted. SB 2395, on school district general obligation bonds, was also reported favorably and then moved to the local and uncontested calendar. The committee also heard SB 646, which would expand the Mental Health Professional Loan Repayment Program to additional professions, increase award amounts, and add stipends for rural and bilingual service. Senator West said the bill responds to mental health workforce shortages and inflation. The Texas Counseling Association supported the measure, and a Hogg Foundation representative said participation has grown sharply since prior changes. SB 646 was left pending. The committee also heard SB 2647, which would create a Texas state accrediting agency and interim oversight system for higher education accreditors; supporters from the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a massage school owner argued it would improve accountability and reduce accreditor overreach, while Senator Menendez raised concerns about effects on law and medical school accreditation and student opportunities. SB 2647 was left pending. Finally, the committee heard SB 2786, which would exempt first responders from the Texas Success Initiative entrance exam, and SB 2615, which would standardize remote-work policies across public higher education institutions. The Texas State Association of Firefighters supported SB 2786, saying it would remove an extra step for career advancement; the bill was left pending because the committee substitute had not yet been adopted. SB 2615 was presented as a way to ensure more consistent in-person staffing expectations while preserving exceptions for illness, disability, and some non-teaching roles; it too was left pending. The committee then recessed subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• known as a Medicaid State directed payment<00:27:17.360> program<00:27:18.320> and<00:
• Remember that ATRIP is a value-based program, and performance by all of our hospitals across the state
• Remember that ATRIP is a value-based program, and performance by all of our hospitals across the state
• Remember that ATRIP is a value-based program, and performance by all of our hospitals across the state
• Remember that ATRIP is a value-based program, and performance by all of our hospitals across the state

Keywords: 00:00 Call to Order/Roll Call 00:16 Consideration of Referred Administrative Regulations 25:49 Discussion of Hospital Rate Improvement Plan 58:50 Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The committee began by reviewing a large slate of administrative regulations and explaining that it does not approve regulations but can find them deficient and send them back for further work. Members then asked questions on several items, including EMS reciprocity, dental hygienist licensure, and interpreter licensure. The EMS board explained that reciprocity would extend to applicants from any state, not just contiguous states, because the underlying statute had been amended. On the dental regulation, staff said the changes mainly clarified licensure requirements, reinstatement fees, and that dental hygienists administering local anesthetic must do so under direct dentist supervision. The most extended discussion involved the Board of Interpreters for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The board chair said the main concern was that the EIPA is an educational specialty assessment, not a nationally recognized certification, yet the regulation would allow it to support full licensure. Members discussed whether that could let educational interpreters work outside their intended scope and whether a separate educational license or statutory change would be more appropriate. The board said it did not think the regulation could be fixed further at this point and suggested a statute could create a narrower educational interpreter license. After discussion, the committee voted to defer both related interpreter regulations, 201 KAR 39:030 and the companion regulation, for further work. The committee then took up two community mental health regulations, 907 KAR 1:044 and 907 KAR 5:005, which had been found deficient in Administrative Regulations. Department for Medicaid Services staff said the rules would expand and rename the mental health associate role as a behavioral health associate, making the role available in many more facilities, but would also require additional coursework or progress toward licensure. Some members and providers raised access-to-care concerns, especially for rural areas and unlicensed staff already working in the field. Staff said the proposal had been revised through work with CMHCs and licensing boards, but the committee ultimately voted to defer both regulations as well. After finishing the regulation review, the committee heard a presentation from the Kentucky Hospital Association on the ATRIP hospital rate improvement program. Hospital representatives said ATRIP is a Medicaid state-directed payment program funded through a provider tax and federal matching dollars, allowing hospitals to receive payments tied to quality measures. They reported improvements including lower Medicaid readmissions, high sepsis screening rates, reduced infections and opioid prescribing, expanded postpartum depression and suicide screening, and training for more than 1,000 people. They said the program has helped hospitals invest in staffing and quality improvement and warned that without it, many hospitals would face severe financial strain.

Transcript Highlights:

• In the state to the state parks, and we have no minimum pools.
• Programs so that those startup business programs, the JEDI program does an amazing job helping support
• So there is funding for it, but it's a matter of if the program is going to get additional state funding
• program, and labor relations program.
• Aligned case management is the situation where every workforce program in the state is using different

Transcript Highlights:

• Why aren't we modeling things that other states are doing, and we can do it in this program besides the
• The California State Preschool Program, or CSPP, uses a multi-step process, including the family language
• So just to provide a little context: what we use in the California State Preschool Program, it's not
• So there's slightly different purposes for what the state preschool program uses compared to what's proposed
• Are you asking if we have asked our state preschool programs about using a screener? Right.

Summary: The committee heard a series of budget proposals focused on education finance, with repeated questions about whether the state’s investments are coordinated, targeted to the highest-need students, and likely to produce measurable results. On the first item, the administration proposed $1 million for a study of California’s curriculum framework, standards, and instructional materials process, plus $250,000 for supplemental ELA/ELD guidance. CDE and Finance said the study would examine how other states organize standards, frameworks, and adoptions, while the chair and members questioned why California has gone so long without updating some standards, what the study would actually accomplish, and whether the proposal was too vague to justify the cost. The issue was held open. The committee then took up a proposed $25 million statewide literacy network within the system of support. CCEE and CDE said the network would coordinate multiple existing literacy leads, create a clearinghouse of evidence-based resources, and improve coherence across the state’s many literacy initiatives. Members pressed on how a one-time, five-year allocation could support a long-term system, how the work would reach distressed and rural districts, and whether the proposal would translate into classroom change rather than just another layer of coordination. The issue was also held open. Next, the committee reviewed a $500 million proposal to expand literacy coaches and reading specialists and to create a math coaches program. CDE described the existing literacy coach cohorts as producing positive reports from participating LEAs, while the LAO recommended modifications, especially for the math coach portion, including limiting eligibility to elementary schools, setting minimum grant amounts, directing funds to eligible school sites, and making eligibility automatic rather than application-based. Members focused on whether coaches were actually being placed at the schools with the greatest need and whether the state has a coherent long-term strategy for literacy and math investments. The committee also heard a $40 million proposal for training and implementation of K-2 reading difficulty screeners, which the LAO said was reasonable but could be reduced because $25 million had already been provided for training; CDE said the new funds were needed for full implementation, procurement, and sustainability. Finally, the committee heard a $10 million proposal for a developmentally appropriate TK multilingual learner screener, with CDE explaining why the preschool language-identification process is different from K-12 EL assessment and the chair asking staff to explore whether a single, more consistent approach could be developed. The meeting concluded with a presentation on universal school meals and kitchen infrastructure, including a $31.5 million backfill, an $84.1 million increase for projected meal growth, a COLA adjustment, and $150 million for kitchen upgrades and training to support freshly prepared meals.

Transcript Highlights:

• of California; it varies from state to state.
• I think there are other state programs that are growing based on that.
• At the release of the 2021 Budget Act, the state projected that full fiscal implementation of the program
• Expanded learning funding from the state ramped up this program very quickly, and in many cases, exponentially
• As we are going around to communities across the state, most parents still do not know about the program

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Does that equate to the 155 hospitals in the state? What is the total of funds in this program?
• Does this apply to private schools that accept state dollars through the voucher program?
• Does the state Medicaid program pay any facility fees on telemedicine?
• providers who offer 1,800 health care programs in the state.
• providers who offer 1,800 health care programs in the state.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so we just we state grant program.
• state grant program and savings to the state grant program and so<00:42:43.680> with<00:42:43.920
• to the state grant program. to the state grant program.
• resources for the state grant program. resources for the state grant program.
• state grant program with approaching a state grant program with both<01:37:31.040> parameter<01

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Higher Education Finance and Policy Conference Committee met publicly to compare House and Senate positions on the higher education budget, with the chairs emphasizing transparency and alternating gavel control. Nonpartisan fiscal staff walked through a spreadsheet of differences across the Office of Higher Education and Minnesota State, including major items such as state grants, childcare grants, work study, tribal college grants, emergency assistance grants, hunger-free campus grants, student parent support, direct admissions, paramedic scholarships, and several medical residency and fellowship programs. The House and Senate also differed on administrative funding, campus sexual assault reporting, and a House FY25 cancellation that would be carried forward. Members discussed several of the larger policy and funding choices. The Senate explained its increase for Minitex as support for operating costs and statewide access to information. The House explained its cuts to student parent support and other items as necessary to work within a zero target and to prioritize direct aid to students, while the Senate said it focused on direct appropriations and access-related programs. On hunger-free campus grants and emergency assistance grants, the Senate said it was changing the distribution method and direct appropriations rather than reducing the overall money, while the House noted differences in whether nonprofit institutions remained included. The committee also reviewed Senate-only additions and reductions in Minnesota State, including free course materials, Lake Superior College remediation, and changes to the Kids on Campus appropriation. A representative from Lake Superior College testified that the PAS remediation funding would help address contamination issues at an emergency training site near Lake Superior and that the money was shifted from the Kids on Campus initiative. No final conference agreement or vote was taken in the portion of the meeting provided; the committee continued discussing differences and testimony.