Transcript Highlights:

• the uh legislative process in the budget the uh legislative process in the budget session<00:01:
• Um, yes, today is the opening day where we do markup of a budget. What's a budget?
• We mark up the budget. The governor gave us a budget a few weeks ago. It sits before us.
• We mark up the budget. The process. We mark up the budget.
• reoccurring part of the standard budget. reoccurring part of the standard budget.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's move to the governor's budget.
• I kind of put the whole budget here on this first slide because the tax provisions in this budget work
• I kind of put the whole budget here on this first slide because the tax provisions in this budget work
• page 150 of the tax expenditure budget page 150 of the tax expenditure budget Bank<01:09:43.799>
• :58.480> the just the general fund budget but the just the general fund budget but the once<01

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Frank Phillips says he has two main points for his opposition, and both are software-related.
• The first, and these are software-related.
• This is strictly about software. First is a capacity issue. It's a huge concern for me.
• And why they are paying money for their own system is they have customized software.
• Their own system, and why they're paying money for their own system, is they have customized software

Bills: SB1540, SB2225, SB2284, SB2382, SB2487, SB2514, SB2595, SB2876, SB2877, SB3031, SB2753

Keywords: election officials, confidentiality, personal information, government transparency, public safety, spirit beverages, alcoholic beverages, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, distribution, taxation, firearms, local regulation, archery equipment, weapons, voter registration, statewide list, county requirements, election integrity, computer services contracts, mental health

Summary: The committee first adopted a committee substitute for Senate Bill 30 and then voted to report the substituted bill favorably to the full Senate; the roll call showed six ayes and one nay, with later unanimous-consent corrections noted for additional aye votes. The committee also reported Senate Bill 801 favorably to the full Senate by an eight-to-one vote. Both bills were left with no further action in the meeting after the votes. The committee then heard Senate Bill 2595 by Senator Middleton and Senate Bill 2876 by Chairman Hughes, both aimed at addressing masked harassment and riot-related conduct. Supporters said the bills would deter intimidation, protect public order, and respond to recent protests and anti-Semitic incidents, while opponents from civil rights, disability, and advocacy groups argued the measures were overly broad, could chill peaceful protest, and would burden people who wear masks for religious, medical, or disability-related reasons. Public testimony was taken on both bills, and both were left pending after testimony closed. Senate Bill 2753, by Senator Hall, proposed consolidating early voting and election day into a single continuous in-person voting period with common procedures and equipment, while preserving countywide voting and mail voting. The Secretary of State’s office said the bill could improve ballot secrecy and simplify administration, though witnesses raised concerns about ballot privacy, logistics, and access for disabled voters; some county election officials were neutral or supportive of the concept, while others opposed it as confusing or potentially burdensome. The bill was left pending after extensive testimony. The committee also heard Senate Bill 2225 on allowing spirit-based ready-to-drink beverages to be sold in grocery and convenience stores, with supporters arguing the law should focus on alcohol content rather than the source of the alcohol and that the bill would modernize an outdated code. Later, Senate Bill 1540, which would add election officials and related workers to confidentiality protections, drew support from county election officials who described threats and harassment, though one witness suggested the bill’s language may need technical adjustment to better match its intent. Finally, Senate Bill 2382, concerning statewide voter registration systems and offline counties, drew opposition from county election administrators and vendors who warned about capacity, cybersecurity, and single-point-of-failure risks, while others suggested a phased approach or API-based integration; the transcript ends with testimony still open on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• So ongoing hardware and software maintenance will need to transition into our operating budget because
• So the agency budget includes software general software maintenance, which is $800,000 a year.
• So the agency budget includes software general software maintenance, which is $800,000 a year.
• this budget we had to make some budget this budget we had to make some budget Corrections<02:26:
• budget requests not in the budget budget requests not in the budget requests<02:57:51.760> but

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority officials, led by Executive Director Rob Dapice, briefed legislators on the agency’s structure and funding. They explained that the authority is created by state law but is not a state agency, its debt is not state debt, and it is governed by a board appointed by the governor and approved by the Executive Council. The discussion focused on the Affordable Housing Fund and the lead paint hazard remediation fund, including how state appropriations and federal resources are combined to finance affordable rental housing and lead abatement work. Dapice said the Affordable Housing Fund is used as gap financing for multifamily affordable housing projects, typically alongside federal tax credits and tax-exempt bonds, and that state dollars leverage roughly 2:1 to 10:1 in additional federal and private investment, averaging about 4:1. He said the fund has received historic appropriations in recent budgets, including $30 million over the last two biennial budgets and an annual $5 million set-aside from the real estate transfer tax. He also said the fund is usually structured as 0% interest, deferred loans rather than grants, with repayments returning to the fund if projects generate cash flow. Members asked about rents, oversight, staffing, revenues, and whether the programs had added positions. Dapice said affordability restrictions generally last 30 to 99 years, rents are tied to income limits and capped so tenants pay no more than 30% of income, and compliance staff inspect properties regularly to verify income eligibility and rent limits. He said the organization has about 130 to 135 employees, down from about 145, with no new positions added because of the appropriations. He estimated total revenues at roughly $300 million, with administrative budget around $22 million, much of it pass-through grant money. On lead paint remediation, he said the state first appropriated $6 million in 2019, plus $1 million in ARPA funds, and that the program has cleared more than 500 units. He said the federal grant program is not annual or predictable, with a recent award of about $7.75 million, and that the maximum federal grant per unit is $177,000, typically paired with up to $100,000 in state loan support. He also noted that the program can address homes before a child is poisoned if lead hazards are identified, but that cases involving an already exposed child are a higher priority. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• and pull back on budget.
• And that's a huge swing of $1 billion in the budget.
• Budgets don't have to be cut.
• Anything below that can stay budgeted in your operating budget.
• We apply that data and we put it into our economic modeling software.

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget change proposal reflected in the Governor's budget provided additional resources for the CWDB
• However, at the Governor's Budget, we were looking in the budget window and the projected fund balance
• So you're budgeting for extra time, so you don't have to come back to this budget. Correct.
• from the 2023 Budget Act.
• from the 2023 Budget Act.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The subcommittee held a May Revision budget hearing on state administration and related issues, hearing presentations from multiple departments and agencies. Early items included the Public Employment Relations Board on funding for implementation of AB 1 and a reduced request tied to AB 288, the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement on a technical College Corps adjustment, and the Secretary of State on building security upgrades, election security grant matching funds, and payroll system readiness costs. The Department of Consumer Affairs presented a Board of Pharmacy modernization request and a General Fund backfill for the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education; the LAO raised no concerns on the pharmacy item but recommended rejecting the private postsecondary backfill and questioned interest-free loan language. The Employment Development Department outlined several large workload and benefit adjustments, including EDD Next document management funding, UI loan interest, DI/PFL benefit increases, WIOA adjustments, school employee benefits, an EMT training reappropriation, and a technical reversion correction; the LAO flagged the size of the DI/PFL increase and the expansion of the document management scope, while members asked about program impacts and timelines. The California Workforce Development Board presented an April adjustment to reimbursement authority for an interagency agreement with Caltrans, which the LAO said raised no concerns. Public comment on that item and others included support for workforce and apprenticeship initiatives, including the Jails to Jobs proposal and renewal of the Apprenticeship Innovation Fund, though those were not part of the May Revision package. The Department of Industrial Relations then presented several proposals: reclassifying legal positions, continuing modernization of the workers’ compensation EAMS system, Cal/OSHA data modernization, creating a Cal/OSHA emerging technologies unit, reappropriating funds for the California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship program, and trailer bill changes requiring electronic payment of employer assessments and adjusting the statutory treatment of the workers’ compensation administrative director’s salary. The LAO generally found the IT and salary proposals reasonable but urged close monitoring of the new emerging technologies unit. Committee members, especially Assemblymember Ortega, pressed DIR on long vacancy rates, wage theft claim delays, low collection rates for Cal/OSHA fines, and whether new resources would improve outcomes; DIR said it was pursuing recruitment, classification reviews, and process modernization, while the LAO noted that staffing alone may not explain the delays. The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board also sought to make permanent a 2024 change to the 60-day reconsideration clock, saying it had reduced backlog and interim orders; the LAO had no concerns. Finally, the Department of Human Resources presented a statewide Employee Assistance Program contract consolidation that would lower costs compared with renewing separate contracts and requested one program manager position to oversee the contract and first responder services; the hearing continued with Finance’s response after the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's never budgeted, or it's rarely budgeted anyway, and then it's used to pay that out.
• So will we see budgets that have additions, whether you have these budget guidelines or not?
• That's my question on that budget item. Mr.
• , or over the budget on it and stuff on it.
• Typically not because budgets grow.

Summary: The Budget Section met to approve prior minutes and receive a series of budget, revenue, and program updates from OMB, the Tax Department, DOT, DMR, and DPI. OMB reported that general fund revenues through May were about $76 million below the legislative forecast, driven mainly by individual income tax and sales tax shortfalls, though the biennium is still projected to end with a positive balance. OMB also reviewed oil price and production assumptions, the budget stabilization fund transfer above its cap, Legacy Fund performance, federal grant applications, fiscal irregularities, tobacco settlement proceeds, budget guidelines for agencies, vacancy savings, and the DAPL settlement, noting that most of the settlement funds had been deposited but a small amount of accrued interest would require a future deficiency request. The committee then considered Emergency Commission requests. It approved requests for Public Service Commission abandoned mine lands federal authority, an Attorney General FTE and related funding for criminal investigator work tied to the Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship, and a DPI transfer for bridge software costs. After discussion, the committee also approved DPI’s request for a $500,000 transfer for the food vendor program, despite questions about the program’s savings and cash-flow structure. Later, the Tax Commissioner presented the primary residence credit program, reporting that current biennium costs are expected to exceed the appropriation by about $22 million and explaining how the credit interacts with homestead and disabled veteran credits and the 3% property tax levy cap. The Legacy and Budget Stabilization Fund Advisory Board reported strong returns for both funds, and DOT sought and received approval for two flexible fund highway projects on ND 49 and ND 31. DOT also updated members on Highway 85 construction and said remaining flex fund dollars were essentially fully allocated. DMR reported on the abandoned well plugging and site reclamation fund, noting North Dakota’s relatively small orphan well inventory, current and projected fund balances, rising remediation costs, and a possible need to adjust the fund cap in future sessions. Finally, DPI outlined the new integrated formula gap funding program, explaining that it compensates school districts that cannot reach the assumed 60-mill local contribution because of the 3% levy cap; the first year’s gap funding totaled about $1.8 million, with future costs expected to grow.

Transcript Highlights:

• That accounts for my budget team, which is three to four people. Any idea about how under-...
• That accounts includes budget, my budget team, which is three to four people.
• If you reprioritize some other budget items, maybe you can get the pay where you won't have that turnover
• It was a Workday issue, so, and it was a release, you know, a software upgrade.
• Since this was a software issue, which may have impacted other institutions, did you look into whether

Summary: The committee opened with prayer, approved the January 8 minutes, and then reviewed education audit reports. The first report concerned Northwest Arkansas Community College, which had two findings: repeat internal control deficiencies that caused material misstatements in the financial statements, and a tuition revenue loss tied to a Workday system issue that failed to charge some students after drop-add changes. College officials said the problems were misclassification and process issues rather than missing funds, described corrective steps including checklists, monthly closing procedures, and approval controls, and attributed some issues to staffing turnover and the Workday implementation. Members asked about accountability, staffing, and whether students should have been billed; the report was filed as reviewed. The next report was Cedarville School District, where auditors found improper personal credit card charges of $794 by a former elementary teacher. The employee reimbursed the district, and the matter was referred to law enforcement, the prosecuting attorney, the attorney general, and the Professional Licensure Standards Board. Members asked whether any licensing action would follow, but staff said they were only aware that no further action had been taken by the board. The final finding was for West Memphis School District, which had a repeat capital assets issue involving failure to capitalize $851,000 in construction expenditures for a baseball-softball complex, along with other asset-recording and inspection discrepancies. The superintendent said the district had recently begun using Arkansas Legislative Audit for the first time after previously using a private CPA firm, and described new controls such as multi-level purchase approval, tagging, separation of duties, and inventory cleanup. Members questioned why the district had not been audited publicly before and how private audits are handled; staff explained that private audits are still reviewed and findings come before the committee. The report was filed as reviewed. The meeting ended with notice that 28 school districts had no findings and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• That was our first budget that we put together, and we were not able to stay within that budget.
• This fiscal year we budgeted about $2 million net revenue in this budget we're in right now.
• had to do to try to balance our budget. had to do to try to balance our budget.
• All this eats into their budget.
• All this eats into their budget.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:07 Roll Call 00:00:13 Approval of Minutes from August Meeting 00:01:55 Discussion of County Jails 00:03:31 Discussion of Centralized Collection of Net Profits and Occupational License Taxes 01:02:12 Adjournment 01:54:56, 958, all

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the August 26 minutes, and then took up a discussion of county jail funding. KACO representatives and county officials said jail operations are an ongoing strain for counties because they must pay for inmate care, facilities, and mandated standards, while many counties also rely on jail revenue to offset costs. They described Kentucky’s jail system, including 77 jails, 43 closed counties without jails, and the mix of county, state, federal, and controlled-intake inmates. KACO emphasized that counties remain financially responsible for inmates even when they must contract with other jails, often at costs above the state’s per diem rate, and said it is developing a broader proposal to present later. The testimony focused on rising expenses and shrinking revenue. KACO said counties spent about $374 million on jail operations in FY24, up 24% from FY19, and about $41 million on jail medical costs, up 40%. General fund support for jails was said to total $147 million in FY24, more than double pre-COVID levels. Speakers also noted that state inmate populations in county jails have fallen from about 11,500 in 2019 to 7,212 in 2025, while federal inmates have increased because they are more lucrative for counties. The state jail per diem of $35.34 was described as insufficient to cover actual costs, especially medical care. County judges from Webster, Knox, and Hardin counties gave examples of local budget pressure. Webster County said it now houses 114 state prisoners, 47 county prisoners, and 24 out-of-county prisoners, and that it transferred $512,000 from its general fund to the jail last year, about $77 per taxpayer. Knox County said its jail budget has grown from an initial $2.8 million projection to $5.7 million, with $3 million coming from occupational tax revenue. Hardin County said its jail has an approximate $11 million expense budget against $5 million in revenue, creating a $6 million deficit, driven by higher payroll, medical, and insurance costs and a 29% drop in state prisoner revenue. The judge said the county has responded with property tax increases and an expanded occupational tax district, but still uses reserves to cover other county services. A Grant County magistrate then began speaking from the perspective of magistrates and commissioners, describing her background working at a local jail before serving in county government. The discussion remained centered on the fiscal burden of jails and the need for counties and the legislature to work together on a long-term solution.

Transcript Highlights:

• Is this budget inclusive?
• And I'll just say it: my budget request.
• The licensing software is to go with that.
• software.
• We know where you are at with your budget.

Transcript Highlights:

• We think this is good for the budget. Thank you.
• With the state budget exceeding $13 billion, New Mexico has the capacity to fund these modest incentives
• tax base, and increasing complexity for employers who already fund a large share of New Mexico's budget
• New Mexico has experienced several consecutive years of multi-billion-dollar budget surpluses.
• So, I mean, that's why we got the software.

Bills: SB151, HB8, SB177

Keywords: corporate income tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, tax credit, tax deduction, controlled foreign corporation, CFC, bonus depreciation, interest expense, apportionment, unitary group, high-wage jobs tax credit, local journalism, news media, newspaper printer, physician incentive, health care workforce, affordable housing, multifamily housing, construction materials

Transcript Highlights:

• As you know, if we're looking at our budget and the federal budget, two of the largest areas that we
• So with the 12 million. a $15 budget split nine ways.
• And in this current budget, in our FY 25 budget, the Commissioner's Court increased staffing levels for
• As I said earlier, 2 3rds of my budget goes to public.
• My tech budget. The technology budget in 2021 was a little over $5 million for the county.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're going through the budget process ourselves.
• We're going through the budget process ourselves.
• that's something that within our budget that's something that within our budget we<00:53:36.800>
• Happy budget and was unable to get here.
• Based on uh proposed budget cuts yes.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, as we're here, we talk about budgets.
• You know, as we're here, we talk about budgets.
• Lunar Lab designed software used by hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama and around the world,
• Lunar Lab designed software Alabama.
• Lunar Lab designed software hundreds<00:15:34.800> used<00:15:35.040> by<00:15:35.199><

Bills: HB69, HB114, HB161

Keywords: firearms, possession, Class 1 municipalities, criminal penalties, federal law, stolen firearms, prohibited persons, HB114, Alabama Sunset Law, sunset bill, Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama, dental board, dental licensing, dentist regulation, professional licensing, occupational licensing, healthcare regulation, licensure board, state agency continuation, agency sunset review

Transcript Highlights:

• have solar, I have EV, all this stuff, but battery storage isn’t something that would fit into my budget
• providers that work closely with the utilities. ...relationships between utilities, software providers
• I think that's—oh, there was something on software, strictly software.
• Many virtual power plants are facilitated by that kind of software company.
• To my understanding, there's no budget for this council.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, our AI team, we did some work for the DoD, and we wrote the AI software that literally put a data
• I mean, when you make a reservation to repair a pickup truck, that's software.
• I will be very interested to see moving forward if there are additional budget requests.
• Tech operations are more software-centric.
• Tesla pushes a new software upgrade, and you kind of get a new car, right?

Transcript Highlights:

• Rent, utilities, phone, we've got contracted with EMS for IT, HR, payroll, budget.
• We would like to have licensing software and officials' trainings.
• I budgeted about $70, and so We're in March. I'm just trying to figure out in my head.
• understand why we would go ahead and do the supplemental now and not just wait for your next year's budget
• But that would just give us the ability to go ahead and get some licensing software and hire him.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Next, no proprietary software mandates, just best practices.
• It does not develop and will not develop or dictate bespoke software packages.
• All such purchases appear in a quarterly report to the Legislative Budget Board and the state auditor
• Cities, counties, and school districts remain free to select the solution that fits their budget and
• Members, these changes are really very important, but they keep the heart of HB 150: one commander, one budget

Summary: The Senate Business and Commerce Committee met with a quorum and considered several House bills. House Bill 111 was taken up as a committee substitute; members briefly discussed what entities the bill would apply to, and the committee substitute was adopted and reported favorably to the full Senate by a 6-5 vote. House Bill 150, relating to the Texas Cyber Command, received extensive explanation of a revised committee substitute that made the command a standalone state agency, allowed flexible state partnerships, preserved vendor neutrality, added emergency purchasing guardrails and reporting, protected existing confidentiality laws, limited monitoring to contracted entities, and clarified coordination with law enforcement rather than direct prosecution. The substitute was adopted and HB 150 was reported favorably 11-0. The committee also reported House Bill 2517 favorably without debate, 10 ayes and 1 present not voting. House Bill 2963 was considered with a committee substitute that added a definition of “power sports vehicle” and exempted those items from the right-to-repair bill; the substitute was adopted and the bill was reported favorably, with a recommendation for the local and uncontested calendar. House Bill 3520 was reported favorably by a 7-4 vote, and House Bill 5435 was reported favorably 11-0 and also recommended for the local and uncontested calendar. After completing the votes, the committee recessed subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• engineering shop at Skillsoft, and when the software engineers and people who had dealt in software
• engineering shop at Skillsoft, and when the software engineers and people who had dealt in software
• engineering shop at Skillsoft, and when the software engineers and people who had dealt in software
• <05:04:57.760> startups bread and butter of software startups bread and butter of software
• software.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Implement agile software development. I'm not a software person.
• I actually pulled up UTMB's budget and their budget for 2024 was $2.5 million.
• Speaker: I actually pulled up UTMB's budget and their budget for 2024 was $2.5 billion.
• We operate on a tight budget.
• We operate on a tight budget.

Bills: SB1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The committee heard a Legislative Budget Board presentation and then testimony from the Department of Public Safety on the Article 5 public safety budget. LBB said DPS’s 2026-27 recommendation totals $3.7 billion, down from the prior base, while FTEs rise by 856.7. Major items included increased funding for driver license services and customer support, new trooper funding and recruit schools, crime lab operations, border security, and reductions tied to one-time facility, vehicle, and aircraft spending. The committee also discussed new riders, including one to lapse unused trooper funds and require reporting after recruit schools. Members focused heavily on driver license operations, questioning why prior staffing increases and a prior efficiency study had not solved long wait times, high call abandonment, and appointment delays. DPS and LBB said the agency receives about 22,000 calls per day, answers only about 9 percent, and is seeking more staff plus technology upgrades such as automation, kiosks, and better online processing. Senators also raised concerns about rural access, REAL ID document requirements, and whether the department should rethink its processes rather than simply add employees. DPS leadership then described needs for the Williamson County training academy, additional troopers, Capitol and Alamo security, border operations, aircraft and vehicle replacement, and regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio. Members asked about Operation Lone Star costs, overtime, pursuit safety, border crime, oilfield theft, and sexual assault kit and toxicology backlogs. DPS said border deployments remain focused on criminal threats, that overtime is partly driven by deployments and staffing shortages, and that the sexual assault kit backlog is down to 118 cases with a goal of zero by April. The committee later recessed and began the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission budget presentation, where LBB outlined a $115.1 million recommendation and noted ongoing costs for the AIMS technology project.