Transcript Highlights:

• Senate File 3936 ensures the state supports this program going forward.
• Senate File 3936 ensures the state supports this program going forward.
• <01:17:59.280> everything<01:17:59.600> you programs in the state and everything you programs
• much cheaper than what it's going to be to do a state program.
• a state program. a state program.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our approach to funding programs at MDH is responsible, measured, and honest about our needs.
• Our approach to funding programs at MDH is responsible, measured, and honest about our needs.
• Our approach to funding programs at MDH is responsible, measured, and honest about our needs.
• Our approach to funding programs at MDH is responsible, measured, and honest about our needs.
• <01:07:10.480> and Grant programs so this is both state and Grant programs so this is both

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The committee met for a Health and Finance Policy hearing, began with member and staff introductions, and noted that Representative Keeler was participating as a non-voting member. The chair outlined committee rules on decorum and then introduced the day’s first agency presentation from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), with Commissioner Cunningham appearing to present the department’s budget priorities. Commissioner Cunningham described MDH’s broad public health role and emphasized that public health is underfunded relative to health care, with significant reliance on federal dollars. The department’s main budget request was for infectious disease prevention and response to offset anticipated federal funding losses. MDH also outlined several fee increases tied to public water systems, wells, licensing and certification, assisted living and health care facilities, HMO regulation, food/pools/lodging inspections, radioactive materials, X-ray equipment, and asbestos abatement. The commissioner said these changes were needed because costs, workload, and regulatory complexity have increased, while many fees have not been updated in years. MDH also presented budget-neutral proposals, including continuing the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Committee, converting the Maternal and Child Health Advisory Task Force into a standing advisory committee, restoring some local and tribal public health cannabis and substance misuse prevention grants, creating direct American Indian Health Special Emphasis Grants, reauthorizing the State Trauma Advisory Council, and extending firefighter PFAS biomonitoring work. The department also requested an operations adjustment for rising employee, insurance, fuel, utility, and legal costs, and referenced additional Clean Water Legacy Fund proposals. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided. Representative Bierman then offered supportive comments, praising MDH’s work and backing the funding and fee proposals, especially the restoration of local public health prevention grants.

Transcript Highlights:

• in a state.
• There is only one program in the state of Washington that allows an entire family to enter into treatment
• There is only one program in the state of Washington that allows an entire family to enter into treatment
• all over the state.
• the programs.

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee held a work session on child welfare dependency, focusing on implementation of HB 1227 (Keeping Families Together) and SB 6109 (the fentanyl response bill), along with related data and system updates. DCYF first reviewed the dependency process, explaining intake, shelter care, fact-finding, disposition, and review hearings, and emphasized that removal standards are separate from service provision and that children may be in-home or out-of-home at different stages. DCYF said 1227 raised the removal threshold to imminent physical harm and strengthened kin placement, with nearly 60% of children now placed with relatives or suitable others. The department also said 6109 directs courts to give great weight to fentanyl’s lethality and added legal liaisons to support staff in court preparation. DCYF presented data showing that entries into out-of-home care declined after 1227 but rose again after 6109, returning close to pre-1227 levels. The agency also reported a sharp increase in reviewable critical incidents in 2022-2025, especially near-fatalities, which it linked to the opioid and fentanyl crisis, parental stress, and system complexity. DCYF said it has responded with statewide Safe Child Councils, staff consultations, hotspot monitoring, and additional training, and noted that some contracted services authorized under 6109 were not implemented because of fiscal constraints. Senators asked about where children are in the process, who participates in court, the timing of data releases, age breakdowns, and geographic hotspots. Advocates and lived-experience witnesses from LCYC and a family intervention clinic argued that 1227 has not prevented courts from removing children when necessary and said the law appropriately requires the state to show a causal link between home conditions and risk. They said 6109 appropriately highlights fentanyl’s danger, but stressed that the larger issue is lack of prevention and treatment resources, inconsistent county-by-county practice, and insufficient supports such as inpatient beds, family treatment, housing, transportation, and third-party safety plan participants. A parent ally described how early support, peer guidance, and kin placement helped her achieve recovery and stability after losing parental rights in an earlier case. The committee also heard an update on SB 6068 from the Administrative Office of the Courts and K Implementation and Evaluation. The report identified 15 dimensions of relational permanency and child well-being, found that some data already exist while other measures need development, and recommended a phased data collection plan, a restored data-sharing agreement between AOC and DCYF, and a standing cross-agency work group. AOC said its dependency data system lapsed when the prior agreement expired in June 2025 and needs to be rebuilt. The meeting also included a brief update on bridge housing for youth exiting inpatient treatment, with presenters saying two programs are now open, one in King County and one in Spokane, and a short introduction to juvenile rehabilitation capacity updates before the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:16:53.240> to make the Judiciary more responsive to make the Judiciary more responsive
• <00:17:48.080> are women's court today those programs are women's court today those programs
• state.
• at libraries across the state.
• <00:32:39.679> grateful programs across the state I'm grateful programs across the state I'm

Keywords: House Agenda:, 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• State assets in response, state assets have responded to 693 fires since January 1st.
• Estimated total state fire response expenses currently stand at $114 million.
• response across the state.
• The program has had great success coupled with predictable financial exposure to the state.
• This was done in response to the recent tragedies in Kerrville and elsewhere in the state.

Transcript Highlights:

• The amendment also dictates DHS is responsible for all contractual costs associated with out-of-state
• cost and programming and... ...policy for out-of-state cost and programming and commitment.
• mandates coverage, the state becomes responsible for the cost.
• , and the program no longer received state funding again, and the funding for the program has decreased
• State-by-state breakdown of how much money states are spending on the same program?

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 2307, as amended, which would require the Department of Health Services to contract with out-of-state secure mental health facilities when Arizona beds are unavailable for certain involuntary commitment cases involving defendants found dangerous and incompetent. The sponsor and supporters framed it as an emergency stopgap to prevent individuals who are deemed non-restorable from being released because Arizona lacks secure behavioral health beds, while opponents argued it would raise due process, disability rights, family access, and cost concerns, and questioned whether the state could even implement such interstate placements. After debate, the committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and advanced HB 2307 on a 6-5 due pass vote. The committee then heard House Bill 2083, which updates diabetes-related coverage language in health plans to include newer devices and supplies such as continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and smart insulin pens. Supporters said the bill modernizes outdated statutes and improves access and outcomes for people with diabetes, while an insurer representative offered soft opposition, warning that writing these items into statute could create a state mandate and potential cost exposure, especially if the language is read to include GLP-1 medications. The committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and moved HB 2083 forward on an 11-1 due pass vote. Next, House Bill 2673 was heard, addressing mental health screening and treatment for incarcerated people. The sponsor said the bill was being reworked into a study committee concept after stakeholder feedback, but the underlying proposal would require prompt evaluation of prisoners showing mental disorder symptoms and faster referral for treatment. A family member testified about her son’s severe deterioration in jail and death, while an attorney opposed the bill as overbroad and legally problematic. Despite the sponsor’s indication that the bill would become a study committee, the committee voted 12-0 to give HB 2673 a due pass recommendation. The committee also advanced House Bill 2923, which revises timelines, procedures, and notice requirements for judicial review of court-ordered mental health treatment; supporters said it clarifies outdated language and improves communication with families, while opponents argued it shifts burdens onto patients and could prolong confinement. HB 2923 also received a 12-0 due pass vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we really need state funding to continue to invest in CTE programs.
• And a lot of these contracts are probably programs like high-impact tutoring are going to out-of-state
• Region and in our state, and then developing programs around that and ensuring that our programs are
• state that district eliminated that program with a specific vendor that they were utilizing and That
• Students in our state, how many of our students may be being served in a virtual program?

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , $48 million to support our state mental health treatment facilities, $15 million to support programs
• Thank you. ...for Commerce to continue hurricane recovery and mitigation programs across the state, an
• Can you tell me how much federal COVID response money the state is still holding in reserve?
• and Restoration Insurance Program for responsible parties.
• and Restoration Insurance Program for responsible parties.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then moved to the conference report on House Bill 501E, the General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2026-27. Budget chairs presented the major spending areas, describing a $114.5 billion overall budget that they said was fiscally responsible and below the prior year’s spending. Highlights included pay increases and retirement adjustments for public safety employees, education funding for K-12, higher education, health and human services, criminal justice, transportation, environmental programs, and agriculture/regulatory agencies. Members then questioned chairs on several items. In education, senators discussed K-12 declining enrollment funding, teacher salary set-asides, private school scholarship spending, mental health funding, preeminence funding for universities, the Hamilton Center at UF, and charter school PICO funding. In health and human services, questions focused on the iBudget waiver waitlist, provider rates, ADAP/HIV funding and the return of Biktarvy to the formulary, KidCare, rural health funding, SNAP-related IT and error reduction efforts, and the IDD managed care program. In criminal justice, senators asked about correctional officer pay, prison staffing and infrastructure, air conditioning in prisons, juvenile justice facilities, law enforcement recruitment, and court system funding. Environmental and transportation questions covered Florida Forever, water quality, state parks, water projects, housing, elections funding, and emergency management. Several specific actions and explanations were given during debate: the budget includes $8.8 million for state attorney competitive area differentials but no funding for public defender CAD requests; assistant state attorneys will start at $70,000 and assistant public defenders at $65,000; the battery disposal issue was described as a temporary study/preemption approach; and the Senate said the budget does not fund Medicaid expansion, preeminence funding, or the SunBucks Summer EBT state share. Senators also noted that some proposals discussed in committee did not make it into the final budget. The transcript ends with debate statements from members praising the budget process and Chair Hooper, while also expressing concerns about public schools, health care access, affordability, and the lack of funding for certain priorities.

Transcript Highlights:

• it also poses risks and responsibilities for our state.
• To ensure elections are conducted efficiently, as the state takes more responsibility for election costs
• I'll now turn the presentation over to the Secretary of State, who will provide a response.
• state government, and I'm sure Secretary of State.
• The SNAP benefit program at the state level, they've got performance metrics, and one of the key performance

Transcript Highlights:

• programs and those state programs that contracted out on a state contract with a company to provide
• To my knowledge, really the only state that has a state program where there's a sort of a state-required
• programs and those state programs that contracted out on a state contract with a company to provide
• ...it was a pretty stark difference between those government state-run programs and those state programs
• To my knowledge, really the only state that has a state program where there's a sort of a state-required

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In partnership with the Psychiatric Technician Program Directors across the state, we have worked to
• The bucket for innovative programs was removed, and prevention activities are now the responsibility
• This makes sense, given that the state would prioritize this population due to its responsibility for
• The program is key for comprehensive Behavioral health response.
• dollars that it otherwise would have spent on designated state health programs.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We connected to the state-to-state system.
• When we look at workforce training, it must support programs at the state colleges and technical colleges
• When we look at workforce training must support programs at the state colleges and technical colleges
• So this is a very, very valuable intangible asset of the state of Florida, and we take our responsibility
• And since its inception 30 years ago, the Quick Response Training Grant Program has allowed over 200,000

Summary: The committee met to receive a base budget overview for agencies under its jurisdiction, which include the Division of Emergency Management, Department of Commerce, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Military Affairs, and Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Staff explained the budget format and noted that the Legislature appropriated more than $20.2 billion to these agencies in the current fiscal year, a 66.7% increase over 10 years. The Department of Transportation then presented on the Moving Florida Forward initiative, describing it as a $7 billion effort to advance 20 major congestion-relief projects statewide. Secretary Jared Perdue said the department is ahead of schedule, with 14 of 20 projects expected to be underway by the end of the calendar year. He highlighted major projects including I-4 in Polk and Osceola counties, I-75 improvements, Southwest 10th Street in Broward County, Fruitville Road, Capital Circle in Tallahassee, and I-275, and discussed innovations such as aggregate supply grants, modified phase design-build, workforce hiring events, and voluntary acceleration. Senators asked about business impacts from construction, tourism-related transit funding, aggregate sourcing, and labor shortages; the secretary said FDOT works with local businesses and that additional revenue sources for transit would require legislative action. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reviewed motorist services, revenue collection, licensing, vehicle titling, specialty plates, insurance compliance, driver safety, and commercial driver licensing. Officials said the department collected about $2.9 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2023-24 and described modernization efforts, including electronic verification systems, Real ID compliance, mobile licensing units, and a planned digital driver license. Members asked about the driver license backlog in Miami-Dade and Broward, and the department said service delays were driven by growth and staffing constraints but should improve with $7.5 million in recent funding and the eventual transition of services to county tax collectors. Questions also addressed temporary paper licenses and birth certificate fraud prevention. The Department of Commerce presented on the Job Growth Grant Fund and Visit Florida. Commerce said the grant fund, created in 2017, has awarded $257 million to 70 projects in 37 counties since 2019, with demand exceeding supply about four to one. Officials emphasized that the program supports targeted industries and workforce and infrastructure projects, and they highlighted examples in CDL training, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and health care. Senators raised concerns about small businesses affected by transportation construction, and Commerce said it has an Office of Small Business Innovation and other tools, though the grant fund is limited by statute to targeted industries. Visit Florida then described its public-private tourism marketing role, saying the state’s $80 million appropriation is matched by private investment and that the latest EDR review found a $3.30 return in tax revenue for every state dollar spent. Visit Florida reported record visitation and tourism spending, along with hurricane recovery marketing and rural promotion efforts.

Transcript Highlights:

• You guys operate the energy efficiency programs in both states? Could you comment on that? Mr.
• So are you saying that the energy efficiency programs in those states where they invest significantly
• in those states efficiency programs in those states where<02:42:31.439> they<02:42:32.720>
• programs in those states,<02:42:56.960> there's<02:42:57.200> basically,<02:42:57.920>
• and state emergency response services.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Now we'll take a look at some of our food security programs in our state.
• Hopefully, we'll see soon what we're getting as a state for that type of program.
• For program support divisions, we have done a lot of upgrades to our network across the state.
• Program divisions. That is the largest in New Mexico state government.
• The Federal Rural Program does not replace the State Rural Program. I hope that helps.

Transcript Highlights:

• SP 2178, Industrial Hemp Program, establishes an industrial hemp program in the Department of Agriculture
• um hemp pilot program. So we collected um hemp pilot program.
• . program. program.
• So how many more gaps responsibilities and cost for the spring. >> So for the USDA is uh um the state
• the language from the state judiciary. the language from the state judiciary.

Bills: SB2178

Keywords: industrial hemp, Hawaii, agriculture, sustainability, Native Hawaiian practices, regulation, cultural stewardship, economic development, 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on SP 2178, which would create an industrial hemp program in the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, establish an advisory board, support research through the University of Hawaii, and promote hemp-based materials and partnerships with Native Hawaiian practitioners and cooperatives. Testimony was generally supportive from industry, Native Hawaiian advocates, the Hawaii Farm Bureau, and the department, with supporters emphasizing economic opportunity, community-based development, and potential uses such as hempcrete and fiber products. The Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity also said it supported the intent, but its representative explained that the bill would require additional staffing and resources for education, monitoring, testing, and enforcement. Members raised concerns about overlapping regulation with USDA hemp licensing and the cost of new positions; the department estimated three additional positions at about $80,000 each and noted current federal licensing does not charge fees. The committee recommended passage with amendments, including removing state licensing requirements to avoid duplication with USDA authority, making technical changes, and blanking the appropriation amount for later consideration, and the recommendation was adopted unanimously. The committee also heard and later took action on several other measures. SB 2702, relating to Hawaiian Homes and an irrigation system inventory, drew support but was postponed for decision-making until February 5 so additional amendments could be prepared. SB 2785, relating to economic development, received mixed testimony but was recommended and adopted for passage without amendments. SB 2790, relating to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Mākai irrigation system, received strong support and was also passed unamended. SB 2314, relating to the Hawaiian language and the legal effect of Hawaiian versions of laws, drew support from the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission and others, while the Attorney General’s office raised concerns about the wording; the committee adopted amendments incorporating language from the judiciary, clarifying that English and Hawaiian are official languages and that priority goes to the version consistent with legislative intent when there is a material difference, and then passed the bill with amendments. All final votes reported were in favor, with no recorded opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• More than 15,000 miles that we're responsible for as a state.
• The State Water Board Safer Program, which was enacted in 2019, has delivered to 900,000 Californians
• Now overall, the state board is responsible for allocating $1.1 billion in Prop 4 funds.
• the state board programs, again, board processes, public transparency and reporting, many reports that
• The second is also at state parks, it's their deferred maintenance program, which you hear me every year

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So whenever a storm comes into the state, using that as an example, we oversee the response to that through
• the state emergency response plan, whether it is with our federal partners and our local urban search
• Those are all certification programs and require certification within the state.
• And so I can see where the state is responsible for having to fund and help the fire, you know, the volunteer
• , state security, state alert data.

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations from the Department of Financial Services and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, then returned to its ongoing budget workshop with the Department of Management Services. DFS’s Division of Risk Management described its role as the state self-insurance fund, covering about 200,000 employees and 27,000 vehicles, paying roughly $150 million in claims last year, and managing a pilot ETS treatment program for veterans and first responders that had 49 patients and 804 treatments as of the latest report. The Division of State Fire Marshal outlined its fire prevention, training, emergency response, and grant programs, including hurricane deployments, the Florida State Fire College, and several capital and grant requests for roof, courtyard, memorial, and equipment needs. The Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation explained how it handles insolvent insurers under Chapter 631, currently administering 14 estates with $1.2 billion in assets and $3.7 billion in liabilities, and said no new receiverships had been opened since February 2023. Members asked about grant backlogs, fire truck procurement delays, memorial repairs, and whether affiliate transfers were occurring in insurer liquidations. Secretary Griffin then updated the committee on DBPR’s implementation of House Bill 1021 on community associations. He said the department had used the new authority to expand education, complaint handling, and ombudsman services, including 10 free standardized courses, a new condo website, and a four-hour board certification course that had already drawn more than 12,000 attendees. He reported that outreach to condominium communities had increased by more than 60%, that complaint filings were up 39% while jurisdictional dismissals dropped to 11%, and that about 81% to 82% of the 65 new positions had been filled. Members pressed him on whether the department had enough authority and funding, how condominium counts are determined, how self-reported structural integrity reserve study data is verified, and whether more public-facing complaint tracking and better reporting from local governments or developers would improve the system. The committee then resumed questioning Secretary Allende of DMS about outstanding budget and operations issues. Members focused on the delayed People First contract extension required by statute, with the secretary saying the delay involved technical and contractual complexity in moving a legacy hard-coded system to the cloud. They also revisited the state data team and data catalog project, asking why a statutory 2022 deadline had not been met, how the four-person team and broader data staff were organized, how many applicants were considered for key positions, and what each role was doing. The secretary said the catalog work was being simplified into six metadata fields and supported by a broader community of practice, but no firm completion date was given during the exchange.

Transcript Highlights:

• program.
• Indeed, there is not a single children's crisis residential program in the state, even outside of the
• The state must still review and approve the program design.
• With me today to testify and answer technical questions about the bill is Steve Barrow, state program
• access to the state child support debt reduction program.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You need partnerships with the local community and with the state, whether between the state responsibility
• One of the key facts programs that we did as block captains is we developed a group rebuild program.
• So anything like HMGP programs—hazard mitigation grant programs—where we can look at how we can prepare
• So, you know, whether we create some sort of state, Whether we create some sort of state reinsurance
• Response is critical, and I have nothing but absolute, beyond admiration for local and state fire.

Summary: The hearing focused on lessons from the 2017 Tubbs Fire and how Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, and local partners have changed wildfire prevention, recovery, and rebuilding practices since then. Assemblymembers emphasized that the region has become a model for the state, with a shift from suppression to prevention, and panelists described improvements in defensible space, home hardening, vegetation management, alerting, and community coordination. The discussion also highlighted the continuing importance of sharing Sonoma County’s experience with other wildfire-impacted communities across California and beyond. Fire officials and local leaders described specific prevention measures now in place, including Santa Rosa’s vegetation management ordinance, ignition-free/Zone Zero requirements in rebuilding, restrictions on certain mulches, removal of dead and dying trees near roads and defensible space zones, and expanded prescribed burning authority. They also stressed the importance of community organization through block captains, Firewise/COPE-style networks, and the Mark West Area Community Fund. Speakers said these networks helped residents navigate recovery, avoid fraud and bad contractors, coordinate with local agencies, and support neighbors, but they argued that such efforts need more formal structure and stable funding. Water and permitting officials discussed how the fires changed their work. Santa Rosa Water described new regional coordination, generator and backup power upgrades, emergency training, and lessons learned about wildfire-related contamination in water systems, including the need to restore pressure, flush, and test quickly after a fire. Permit Sonoma said rebuilding was balanced by streamlining permits while still requiring safer, more resilient construction, and noted that reduced fees and one-stop permitting helped speed recovery. United Policyholders described helping residents maximize insurance proceeds, organize information, and avoid scams, while warning that insurance availability and affordability remain major barriers and that insurers are increasingly rewarding risk-reduction measures. Across the panels, the main policy requests were for faster and more flexible grant processes, more stable long-term funding for prevention and community programs, stronger support for home hardening and defensible space, better training and tools for local governments and legislative staff, and continued attention to insurance and utility-related resilience. No formal votes or actions were taken in the transcript excerpt; the hearing was informational and ended with a transition toward public comment and further discussion of remaining statewide wildfire policy needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• uh the need is there and uh it's program uh the need is there and uh it's a<00:27:18.039> state
• <00:27:19.480> working<00:27:19.919> well A state program that is working well, and
• for the performance of state-funded programs and provides guidance and direction to program leadership
• The cross-institutional program management team, PMT, is responsible for the oversight, management, and
• facilitation of all the program operations and also the administrative responsibilities.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all