Transcript Highlights:

• Um, we also have a forest management study within that, and we also have small water projects, um, which
• study within that and forest management study within that and we<00:09:58.000><c> also</c><00:09:58.240
• Um Listed, it's now page 60, is a forest management, water research program study.
• And when you have one project<00:42:06.240><c> manager,</c><00:42:06.800><c> one</c><00:42:07.119><c>
• project</c><00:42:07.520><c> lead,</c><00:42:08.240><c> that</c> project manager, one project lead,

Bills: HB0078 , HB0087 , SF0070 , SF0068 , SF0017 , SF0043

Committee: House Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• .<00:05:16.960><c> So</c> managing.
• So managing.
• It is very and pavement management.
• ,</c><00:20:38.320><c> and</c> pickup, vegetation management, and pickup, vegetation management, and
• 25:06.480><c> which</c><00:25:06.720><c> sites</c> management has to consider which sites management

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• So as part of our budget that we were authorized, we purchased, maintain, manage, update, and ensure
• ,</c><00:08:32.240><c> update</c> purchased uh maintain, manage, update purchased uh maintain, manage
• And then cyber officer career management on the military side.
• Due to the successful interaction we had with the city and emergency management during the St.
• And then lastly, emergency management.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so in theory that amount of money is meant to manage that.
• And so in theory that amount of money is meant to manage that.
• And in of money is meant to manage that.
• And last decade and we've managed. Okay.
• So, I BTLA and and how that's managed.

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• We manage 30 historical sites across the state.
• So I thank y'all for managing that and for what you're doing.
• The system is responsible for administration and management of $138 million.
• Our records management analysts trained thousands—upwards of 8,000—records management keepers throughout
• Fortunately, my health is good, and I live simply so I can manage.

Bills: SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

Summary: The committee heard budget presentations from the Legislative Budget Board and agency officials on several agencies, starting with the Texas Historical Commission. LBB described a large biennial reduction driven mainly by the removal of one-time funding and discussed capital projects, rider changes, and exceptional items including Presidio La Bahia and the National Museum of the Pacific War. Senators asked about heritage trails, courthouse grants, unexpended balance authority, and the status of historical-site funding. Historical Commission leadership emphasized preservation, courthouse restoration, heritage tourism, coordination with the Alamo and other Texas Revolution sites, and requested additional IT, staffing, and vehicle funding. No votes were taken. The committee then reviewed the Pension Review Board and the Employees Retirement System. The Pension Review Board’s budget was largely unchanged aside from IT maintenance and salary adjustments, with an exceptional item for additional IT enhancements. Members discussed the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s funding dispute and the need for a workable restoration plan. ERS presented a much larger budget, including funding for the retirement system, the group benefits plan, and the legacy payment intended to reduce unfunded liability. Senators focused heavily on pension investment returns, benchmark comparisons, and rising health-care costs, especially pharmacy spending driven by GLP-1 drugs; ERS said the plan covers about 540,000 lives and that premiums would rise 8% while benefits remain unchanged. ERS also said it had no exceptional items, and committee members requested more detailed benchmark information. The committee also heard from the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. TESSORS reported an unfunded liability, an infinite amortization period, and requested additional state support, staffing, and IT funding, including a statutory change to allow a higher contribution level; the agency warned that without more funding it may have to cut benefits. CEPRIT’s presentation covered its bond-funded cancer research and prevention portfolio, revenue-sharing from funded projects, and a request to increase salary limits for its CEO and chief scientific officer. Senators questioned CEPRIT’s accomplishments and return on investment, while CEPRIT cited screening, prevention, and research outcomes, including tens of thousands of detected cancers and precursors and hundreds of thousands of first-time screenings. The meeting ended after these presentations and questions, with no recorded committee action or vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Item 7 is review and approval of an amendment to the contract between the State Office of Risk Management
• and Sedgwick Claims Management Services.
• I'm Rachel Dunaway on behalf of the Office of Risk Management.
• Rachel Dunaway, on behalf of the Office of Risk Management.
• areas of campus, including student records and retention, financial modules, and human resource management

Summary: The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget met on March 19, 2006, and first received a fiscal status statement and five-year baseline budget from the Office of Planning and Budget, with no changes reported. The committee then approved several BA-7 budget adjustments, including additional funding for the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism’s Cultural Development Program, a $24.4 million federal funds increase for the Louisiana Department of Health’s Rural Health Transformation Program grant, and a $1 million statutory dedication for reimbursement related to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. All of these items were recommended for approval by both OPB and the Legislative Fiscal Office. The committee also approved a Facility Planning and Control request for the Louisiana Military Department to add $9.1 million to the Jackson Barracks cyber warfare operations project to incorporate a SCIF, bringing total authority to $29.7 million. Members then approved several interpretations of legislative intent to correct or clarify prior appropriations, including parish and local-government recipients and purposes in St. Mary Parish, Catahoula Parish, Lafourche Parish, East Feliciana, and the Wind Foundation of Louisiana. In addition, the committee approved one-year extensions and added funding for Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism tourism advertising contracts, and approved a final extension of the Office of Risk Management’s contract with Sedgwick Claims Management Services. Later, the committee reviewed but did not require action on a change-order report and heard presentations on two university-related agreements. Louisiana Tech University described a plan to shift campus utility service from its aging cogeneration system to local utility providers, requiring new chillers and boilers but projected to save more than $1.6 million annually in operating costs, with estimated debt service of about $1.2 million. The committee also heard an extension request from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for consulting services supporting its Banner ERP system. The meeting concluded with adjournment after no further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• It just doesn't require any input from management.
• And I do see that with the younger managers. They don't take that into consideration.
• And I do see that with the younger managers. They don't take that into consideration.
• I'm a former shop manager at a frame shop who... My name is Joshua DeLillo.
• I'm Garden Remedy's manager of sustainability and regulatory affairs.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy

Summary: The Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy held its fourth hearing, with opening remarks from Senate Chair Adam Gómez and House Chair Dan Donahue emphasizing the committee’s broad agenda, including retail modernization, labor protections, advertising rules, sustainability, and financial resources. Testimony began with public health advocates supporting H.157/S.9 to ban cannabis billboard advertising, arguing that billboards normalize use for youth and are linked to cannabis-related harms such as psychosis, addiction, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. Witnesses cited research, family stories, and court decisions in Mississippi and Virginia upholding similar restrictions, while committee members questioned the scope of the state’s authority to regulate billboards on private property and the relevance of federal highway funding and federal cannabis law. The committee also heard testimony on H.175, a proposal to allow cannabis drive-through sales. A dispensary operator argued drive-throughs would improve access, especially for disabled customers and veterans, and said security and ID checks could be handled with cameras and staff screening. Committee members pressed him on how employees would assess impairment, whether drive-throughs could increase access for minors, and whether the industry should be treated like alcohol, with the witness responding that staff already refuse service to intoxicated customers and that education, not prohibition, is the better approach. Another bill, H.3982, would apply the bottle deposit law to carbonated hemp- or THC-infused beverages; the sponsor said the measure would standardize recycling requirements for products already sold in dispensaries and other markets, and members asked about container types and recycling compatibility. A major portion of the hearing focused on labor peace agreements, with UFCW representatives, cannabis workers, and Sen. Lydia Edwards supporting S.77/H.161. They said the bill would require cannabis businesses to remain neutral when workers seek to organize, arguing that unions improve safety, wages, benefits, and job stability in an industry they described as underregulated and prone to retaliation. Witnesses cited workplace hazards, wage theft, and the death of a worker at a Holyoke facility as examples of why stronger worker protections are needed. Committee members asked how the proposal differs from existing labor law, whether tying LPAs to licensing and renewal could create legal or administrative problems, and how other states handle similar requirements. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Storm water is an increasing problem for town managers, municipal managers, and the way it works right
• They are being charged a lot to manage storm water.
• Storm water is an increasing problem for town managers, municipal managers, and the way it works right
• They are being charged a lot to manage storm water.
• THEY ARE BEING CHARGED A LOT TO MANAGE STORM WATER.

Summary: The Senate convened, approved the prior journal, and handled several motions to discharge and substitute identical Assembly or Senate bills, along with a number of amendments. The chamber also welcomed student visitors from the League of Women Voters’ Students of Albany program and a group of Staten Island titleholders, and later adopted previously approved resolutions honoring Dorothy E. Reid for her role in Brown v. Board of Education and recognizing Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. on Delta Day, with multiple senators speaking in support of both recognitions. The bulk of the floor session was devoted to third-reading votes on a large number of bills, most of which passed with broad support. Measures addressed public health, workers’ compensation, education, environmental conservation, insurance, labor, criminal procedure, domestic relations, tax, municipal authority, and correction law. Several bills were explained by sponsors as advancing stormwater management authority, labor-law transparency, public health protections, and stronger penalties for trafficking-related offenses; one bill on immunization in summer camps drew a defense from Senator Skoufis as a child-protection measure, while another on correction law passed with some Republican opposition. The chamber also took up a controversial public health/electronic health records bill by Senator Fernandez. Senator Martin questioned the bill at length about redacting certain categories of information, emergency access, provider obligations, and the impact on doctors’ ability to see complete medical histories. Fernandez said the bill was intended to protect patients from discrimination and to limit access to a small list of sensitive services, while also noting emergency exceptions and support from more than 200 health care providers. The debate remained focused on balancing privacy protections with concerns about continuity of care and record integrity.

Transcript Highlights:

• We think when we do this, then we have more opportunity to manage the growth of our budget so that we
• The transfer was born under prior management.
• Kay Barnhill with Office of Personnel Management.
• Kay Barnhill with Office of Personnel Management.
• Kay Barnhill, with the Office of Personnel Management.

Committee: All JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

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

Transcript Highlights:

• The sooner the pain is addressed and managed, the sooner our warriors can breathe again.
• The pain is addressed and managed, the sooner our warriors can breathe again.
• It doesn't deal with commercial insurance or with managed care plans.
• We're concerned that implementing work requirements... ...ongoing management.
• The SNAP program, as it stands right now, is extraordinarily improperly managed.

Bills: S0036 , S0864 , S0268 , S0844 , S0514 , S1404 , S0914 , S1758

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The committee first considered SB 268, a public records exemption for emergency physicians. Senator Rodriguez’s strike-all amendment narrowed and clarified the exemption, and testimony from an emergency physician described threats, harassment, and safety concerns tied to mandatory reporting and patient encounters. The committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. Members then heard SB 514, creating the Dula Support for Healthy Births Pilot Program in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties for pregnant and postpartum women affected by substance use disorder. Senator Osgood explained the pilot would provide non-medical doula support and data collection, and an amendment changed the funding source to specific appropriations in the General Appropriations Act. Supporters said doula care can improve maternal and infant outcomes and complement medical providers. The committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The committee also approved SB 36 on use of professional nursing titles after extensive debate over whether nurses with doctoral degrees should be allowed to use “doctor” in clinical settings, with concerns raised about patient confusion and the need for clearer identification. The bill was amended to align with the House version and then reported favorably as a committee substitute. The committee next approved SB 864, a public records exemption for uterine fibroid research data, after a technical amendment setting a July 1, 2026 effective date; Senator Sharif said the exemption is needed so the Department of Health can collect sensitive data for the related research bill. SB 844, requiring continuing education on sickle cell disease care management for certain licensed physicians and nurses, was also reported favorably after emotional testimony from patients and advocates describing delayed care and bias. Later, the committee approved SB 1404 on memory care, after a strike-all amendment creating a new memory care specialty license for assisted living facilities that advertise or provide specialized memory care services, while allowing optional supportive services without the new license. Supporters from the senior living industry backed the clarification. The committee then passed SB 914, which clarifies that licensed occupational therapists may perform dry needling, after an amendment adjusting supervision and continuing education language. Finally, the committee took up SB 1758, a broad Medicaid and SNAP reform bill that would strengthen fraud enforcement, impose Medicaid work requirements for certain able-bodied adults, expand behavioral health services, modernize drug purchasing and prior authorization, and require SNAP fraud-reduction measures. Several amendments were adopted, and members questioned the work requirement, implementation costs, EBT card photo identification, and due process concerns; debate continued as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now, we've done that internally effectively, I would say, but you'd also manage.
• Thank you, Madam Chair, and some of these manager. If you guys want to just...
• During the laws that were passed that year, it was presented to us to manage.
• , we also manage 49 client funds for 24 different clients.
• On page 19, We have our total assets under management.

Committee: House Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• on state-owned land that the departments manage.
• And this is a mix of things, such as shaded fuel breaks, fuel reduction, vegetation management, brush
• These are locally owned and managed. Programs.
• On our side, we're teaching locals who've never touched federal funding before how to manage all the
• requirements in 2 CFR and what the FEMA grant management requirements are.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> activity in wildlife management activity in wildlife management expanding<00:03:59.200><c> public
• </c> talked to every person that's managed talked to every person that's managed that<00:26:41.120><c
• ,</c> year range, those are your managers, year range, those are your managers, branch<00:38:43.520><
• managers, division chiefs, uh branch managers, division chiefs, uh workh<00:38:47.839><c> horses.
• <00:41:26.160><c> flexibility,</c> management flexibility, management flexibility, but<00:41:28.000><

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:19:24.000><c> 420</c><00:19:24.799><c> R2</c> risk management 420 R2 risk management 420 R2 uh
• Okay, that's we'll let the department respond to that. management program shall file with a management
• </c> not prohibit the poolled risk management not prohibit the poolled risk management program<00:40:
• </c> says relative to pool risk management says relative to pool risk management programs.<01:09:09.199
• Representative Herbert would like to hear from you. managing themselves. managing themselves.

Summary: The subcommittee continued work on Senate Bill 297 and a new amendment dealing with pooled risk management programs and whether they should be regulated under the insurance department. Lisa Duket, executive director of SchoolCare, testified at length that the draft language could allow co-mingling of public entity risk funds, could trigger producer-licensing requirements for staff who are not actually brokers, and may not fit public entity risk pools because they are not insurance companies. She also raised concerns about the March 1 reporting deadline, the proposed uniform accounting language, aggregate excess insurance, examination costs being charged to the program, and confidentiality provisions that she argued may conflict with right-to-know principles for public entities. She urged the committee to slow down and consider a study committee or more time for review, saying the regulated entities were not adequately involved in drafting the proposal. Chairman Hunt and the department responded that the bill is intended to create a licensure-based regulatory model, similar to other licensed industries, and that the pooled risk management program would be exempt from producer licensing while anyone else selling or negotiating such coverage would need a producer license. The department said failure to comply would be handled through an administrative licensing process, with denial or nonrenewal of a license and appeal through the department process. On the reporting deadline, the department said March 1 is a standard filing date used for financial analysis and that the filing can be the most recent annual report, regardless of fiscal year end. They also explained that the confidentiality language was taken from existing RSA 5B, that aggregate excess insurance was included as a solvency measure, and that the draft was intended to preserve familiar language while adapting it for pooled risk programs. The discussion did not include a final vote or formal action on the bill in the portion provided. The committee appeared to be compiling follow-up questions for the insurance department and considering whether additional revisions or a slower process would be needed before moving the bill forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• They don't have the service managers or the technical support.
• So BED 142 is the sports tourism manager position.
• </c><02:08:04.760><c> program</c> regards to the sports management program regards to the sports management
• The restore funds for a permanent plan program manager old position?
• These aren't 50/50. program manager old program manager old position<02:25:27.760><c> you</c><02:25:27.840

Transcript Highlights:

• , we conducted. who is among her many, many talents, also a project manager.
• I will tell you that, managing everything.
• I managed the virtual resource.
• I will tell you that, managing everything. But it was fun. Pretty busy. I will tell you that.
• Managing everything. But it was fun.

Summary: The Massachusetts Permanent Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities held its quarterly virtual meeting and approved the September minutes. Chair Denise Garlick opened with updates on the commission’s first “Meeting the Moment” community forum in Needham, reporting strong attendance, a large resource fair, and mostly positive survey feedback. Commissioners said the event was valuable for connecting advocates, providers, and people with disabilities, while also noting lessons learned about accessibility, timing, and the need for more networking time and advance materials. The chair said the commission is planning future forums in other regions, including possible sites in Lowell, Northampton, and the South Shore. A major item was the new advisory council. Oz Osmondahar and Eman described the outreach and screening process, which drew roughly 60 nominations and emphasized lived experience, sector expertise, geographic diversity, and connections to broader networks. The council will serve as strategic advisors and thought partners, meet twice a year, and hold its first in-person orientation on January 30 at the State House Members Lounge. Commissioners were encouraged to stay engaged with the council and use it to strengthen commission and subcommittee work. Subcommittee reports covered employment, workforce supports, and long-term services and supports/health equity. The Disability Employment Subcommittee reported collaboration with SEED, a presentation at the Employment Matters Conference, a discussion with a disability employee resource group, and upcoming work with CED and veterans advocates. The Workforce Supports Subcommittee heard from the MassHealth Policy Commission’s Behavioral Health Workforce Center about workforce data gaps and an upcoming needs assessment, and plans to host ADDP on 2025 workforce metrics. The long-term services and supports committee discussed the Housing Navigator program, barriers to accessible housing, and concerns about how federal cuts could affect disability services and health equity. The commission also heard from DDS Deputy General Counsel Erin Brown and Associate Commissioner Chris Klaskin on a new law expanding access to records from former state institutions, including new notification and privacy procedures and a forthcoming regulatory process with public input. Commissioners welcomed the law as a step toward transparency and dignity. Amen gave an executive director update on the annual report, recent collaboration with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Office of the Veteran Advocate, a national state-employer practice group, and the IDD/Autism Alliance working group. The meeting also included a moment of reflection for disability activist Alice Wong, a commissioner announcement about Work Without Limits’ virtual career fair, and adjournment after a motion and second were approved unanimously.

Transcript Highlights:

• members, HB 1236 has gone over to y'all's side, from our side, concerning PBMs, pharmacy benefit managers
• assumptions that were included in a number of bills this session that deal with pharmacy benefit managers
• Page 4, lines 25 through 27, Part D, a pharmacy benefit manager in the state bears all costs associated
• Phil Christopherelli, with the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, we are the nation's trade
• He has helped me for a long time in managing the system.

Bills: SB25 , SB250 , HB22 , HB27 , HB33 , HB47 , HB233 , HB290 , HB308 , HB324 , HB382 , HB533 , HB559 , HB575 , HB980 , HB1157 , HB1207 , HB1236 , HCR45

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: HB22, Act 279, Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund, retirement system, pension, cost-of-living adjustment, COLA, retirees, beneficiaries, survivors, funded ratio, actuarial valuation, Consumer Price Index, CPI-U, employer contributions, funding deposit account, unfunded accrued liability, public retirement, Louisiana retirement law, court clerks

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Uh it talks about withdrawal management Uh it talks about withdrawal management services<00:08:44.039
• Withdrawal management is a medical form of detox licensed in Minnesota.
• Withdrawal management programs often operate as an emergency service.
• Withdrawal management programs often operate as an emergency service.
• I have worked in healthcare revenue cycle management for over 20 years.

Summary: The committee took up House File 729, an omnibus policy bill, and walked through a series of amendments before moving the bill forward. Early amendments addressed adult maltreatment accountability, senior nutrition flexibility, MA provider enrollment and fraud prevention, Direct Care and Treatment data and staffing provisions, disability and aging policy changes, technical corrections from DHS, behavioral health language, and MDH policy updates. Most amendments were adopted without public opposition, and several members and testifiers described them as clarifications or technical fixes to existing policy. Testimony focused on the practical effects of the bill’s provisions. Direct Care and Treatment representatives said the changes would help with data sharing, governance, staffing, patient care, and longer return stays for certain patients. Several witnesses from the substance use disorder and health care provider community supported changes to discharge summary deadlines and claims recoupment rules, arguing that business-day timelines and limits on late clawbacks would reduce administrative burden and financial uncertainty. A disability advocate also urged passage of the bill, saying services for people with disabilities were at risk if it did not advance. After public testimony and member discussion, the committee adopted the DE2 amendment as amended and then approved the bill as amended. Chair Noor renewed the motion to re-refer House File 729 to the Committee on Ways and Means, and that motion passed.

Transcript Highlights:

• provides $500,000 for the JTC to convene a work group looking at a long-range vessel and asset management
• Transportation demand management grants in the 2027 to 2029 biennium.
• I'm the government affairs manager for the city of Kent, Washington, and I'm here to testify, asking
• I managed a group of dealerships in Texas and New Mexico previously.
• I managed a group of dealerships in Texas and New Mexico previously.

Bills: HB2306 , HB2711

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: transportation budget, capital budget, operating budget, appropriations, Washington State Department of Transportation, WSDOT, Washington State Patrol, Department of Licensing, ferry funding, state ferries, highway maintenance, road preservation, bridge replacement, tolling, express toll lanes, traffic safety, speed cameras, ignition interlock, transit grants, public transit

Transcript Highlights:

• 222, and move next to Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6247 concerning school district financial management
• the ESD must provide includes meeting regularly with the school district superintendent, business manager
• ESD employee knows or reasonably suspects that a school board director, superintendent, financial manager
• These pressures can converge quickly, even in well-managed districts.
• They're business managers, so many of our fiscal staff are already working with smaller school districts

Committee: House Education