Transcript Highlights:

• We do also earmark for private school funding so that they know what they have available to use for other

Summary: The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met to continue reviewing how Family Empowerment Scholarship students are funded through the FEFP and the role of scholarship funding organizations. Staff gave a statutory overview of parent, SFO, and Department of Education responsibilities, including application deadlines, eligibility verification, quarterly payment timing, cross-checks to prevent duplicate funding, and the 99% district FEFP limitation for certain awards. The committee then heard demonstrations from Step Up for Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation showing their parent portals, application workflows, reimbursement systems, school enrollment/invoice processes, and marketplace tools for tuition, tutoring, and approved goods and services. Step Up reported major growth since HB 1, saying its scholarship population expanded from about 260,000 to more than 440,000 students, with application processing averaging about 10 days. It also highlighted faster tuition, provider, and reimbursement payments, multilingual support in English and Spanish, and resources such as videos and a call center. Members asked about support for Creole speakers, optional Florida ID numbers, student identifiers, marketplace pricing, tutor qualifications, background screening, and how awards differ from funded status. Step Up said it does not currently support Creole, does not do background screenings for tutors, sets no marketplace prices itself, and uses a unique internal student ID separate from the state ID. AAA demonstrated its revised software for the 2025-26 school year, including an eligibility screener, household and student application steps, messaging with staff, reimbursement requests, and administrative review and payment batching. AAA said the new system is custom-built, more transparent about award value versus available balance, and designed to better handle quarterly funding for UA students. Members questioned AAA and Step Up about student ID numbers, public-school cross-checks, fraud controls, school fee schedules, whether schools must participate, and reimbursement timing. Both organizations said they report quarterly to DOE, receive public-school cross-checks, and recover funds when students return to public school; AAA said its average reimbursement turnaround is about 14 business days, while Step Up said its reimbursement approvals have improved significantly. The committee also requested follow-up information, including one-pagers, data on income levels and demographics, and additional details on forecasting and system costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• Webb County has four district courts, but for some reason, two of them have been earmarked in the past
• And then both earmarks are different. So one has.
• What the earmarked bailiffs are basically are personal chauffeurs.

Bills: HB4011, HB2680, HB4325, HB4327, HB4944, HB1761, HB4688, HB3453, HB40, HB1707, HB4749, HB2322, HB3647, HB4139, HB4081, HB2203, HB2100, HB4170, HB3104, HB4623, HB40

Keywords: partition, heirs' property, real estate, co-ownership, family property, non-heir cotenant, right of first refusal, pilot services, liability limitation, maritime commerce, Matagorda Bay, Lavaca Bay, transportation code, maritime industry, civil liability, barratry, penalties, legal actions, damages, wrongful death

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Speaker and generally, no, it's actually a severance tax bond earmark.
• Where would... ...severance tax bond earmark.

Bills: HB111, HB61, HB43, HB156, HB70, SB3, HB103, HB109, HB128, HB247, HJM2, HJM3, HM7, HM17, HM4, HM22, HM23, HM24, HM26, HM2, HM16, HM32, HM11, HM14, HM21, HM34, HM50

Keywords: water law, state engineer, civil penalty, compliance order, water rights, overdiversion, illegal diversion, groundwater storage and recovery, well license, permit violation, water enforcement, New Mexico water code, irrigation district, conservancy district, water diversion, unauthorized water sales, measuring device, district court appeal, water resources, water compliance

Transcript Highlights:

• It’s that we are currently missing federal funding that is earmarked for this service and these services
• It’s that we are currently missing federal funding that is earmarked for this service and these services
• that<05:08:27.160> is missing Federal funding that is missing Federal funding that is earmarked
• 28.440> this<05:08:28.680> service<05:08:29.200> and<05:08:29.360> these earmarked
• for this service and these earmarked for this service and these Services<05:08:30.760> um<05:

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Tobiason, some of the recoveries that we have are earmarked to address specific issues and specific

Keywords: 996, all

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• Essentially all of the un-earmarked funds that we provide to you are in that light gray bar.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The goal was to move from ad hoc earmarks toward more structured, more trackable, and more evaluatable

Transcript Highlights:

• You all earmarked funding for evaluation to occur for each of those initiatives.

Transcript Highlights:

• We do have some specific space earmarked for it, but a good problem to have is that we need more, and

Summary: The committee began with a work session on juvenile rehabilitation institution capacity, services, and staffing. DCYF Assistant Secretary Jennifer Redmond described overcrowding at Green Hill School and Echo Glen, driven by longer adult-style sentences extending past age 25, limited community placements, and small facility sizes. She said Green Hill remains above safe operating capacity, but staffing, injuries, large-scale aggression, and use-of-force incidents have improved over the past year. She also discussed Harbor Heights, a new 46-bed flex facility that had opened with 22 youth and would expand once a medical trailer arrives, as well as community transition services, vocational programming, behavior management reforms, and a request for more resources for mental health-focused facilities and staffing. Members asked about success metrics, developmental disability screening and supports, college access at Echo Glen, Mission Creek planning, and gender-responsive programming; Redmond said JR uses assessments, family involvement, and specialized living units, and that some requested funding had already been secured for returning a girls’ program at Echo Glen. The committee then heard from Team Child and the Youth Action Coalition. Greta Schultz said youth perspectives should guide system reforms and identified key concerns: overuse of sentence extensions, underuse of community transition services, continued criminal referrals from Green Hill to Lewis County, limited family contact, inadequate mental health access, and unequal education opportunities, especially for young women at Echo Glen. Justella Gonzalez, a former system-involved youth, said her time in county and state facilities was harmful, with staff mistreatment, poor education, limited therapy access, and humiliating restraint practices; she also said girls at Echo Glen lacked the same college opportunities as boys at Green Hill. Committee members asked for follow-up on county versus state experiences and on telehealth mental health services. The next presentation covered county-level services for youth involved or at risk of involvement with the justice system, led by juvenile court administrators Christine Simon-Smeyer and Judge Rachel Anderson. They outlined the juvenile court continuum from prevention and truancy work through diversion, detention alternatives, community supervision, and disposition alternatives, emphasizing evidence-based, trauma-informed, and restorative practices. Clark County was used as an example of a court that partners closely with schools and community providers, uses risk assessments and wraparound behavioral health probation, and offers detention alternatives without electronic home monitoring. They said most courts do not use detention for status offenses, but instead use court involvement to connect youth to services. They also described funding, noting that courts rely on a mix of state block grant and local dollars, and that recent cuts to early intervention funding reduced programming and staff hours. Members asked about detention for truancy, developmental disability identification, restorative justice practices, and the juvenile block grant. Finally, DCYF Assistant Secretary Nicole Rose and Katie Warren of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECAP discussed child care and early learning impacts from recent policy and budget changes. Rose said Fair Start for Kids investments had increased child care access, provider participation, and kindergarten readiness, with more than 60,000 children in Working Connections care and rising ECAP enrollment and provider capacity. She said recent reductions will raise most family copays in 2026, delay eligibility expansions, eliminate some expanded eligibility categories, reduce ECAP slots by about 3,000, delay entitlement timelines, and cut provider supports such as rate increases for centers, complex-needs grants, trauma-informed and dual-language incentives, and infant/early childhood mental health consultation. Warren emphasized ECAP’s role in family stability, workforce participation, and reducing poverty, and noted its two-generation approach to supporting both children and parents.

Transcript Highlights:

• authority that you grant certain agencies to be able to bring in additional revenue from either earmarked

Transcript Highlights:

• A one-year earmark for this transportation district that we're sitting in, District Two, but that sunset

Transcript Highlights:

• another piece, because many of these training grants are actually, some of them are specifically earmarked

Summary: The Assembly Select Committee on Biotechnology and Medical Technology met on August 19, 2025 to examine the effects of federal grant cuts, tariff uncertainty, and related policy changes on California’s biotech, medtech, and academic research ecosystem. The chair and panelists emphasized California’s outsized role in the industry, describing major clusters in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and explaining how research, startup formation, manufacturing, and clinical trials are interconnected across the state. Speakers from Biocom California, California Life Sciences, Farma, UC, Stanford, CSU Biotech, and UCLA all argued that NIH and NSF funding are foundational to discovery, workforce training, and commercialization, and that disruptions are already chilling venture capital, startup formation, and hiring. Witnesses described several concrete impacts: suspended or terminated grants, reduced doctoral admissions, fewer training opportunities, canceled retreats and internships, and anxiety among graduate students and early-career researchers. UC reported hundreds of millions of dollars in suspended or terminated NIH and NSF funding, while Stanford said more than a thousand training and career-development grants nationwide have been frozen or ended, affecting multiple trainees per grant. CSU Biotech said 133 federal grants had been terminated, scaled back, or canceled, totaling about $140 million, including nearly $30 million from NIH and NSF. Industry representatives also warned that proposed antitrust limits on mergers and acquisitions could undermine the standard biotech exit path and further deter investment. Committee members asked about the duration of the disruption, the possibility of state action to offset federal losses, and whether California could better support workforce development, manufacturing, and R&D tax credits. Panelists urged the Legislature to preserve and expand state support for STEM education, internships, apprenticeship pathways, manufacturing incentives, and the R&D tax credit, and to consider infrastructure and housing as part of competitiveness. They also noted that tariffs are already raising costs for medtech components and building materials, and that China is increasingly competing for R&D, talent, and licensing deals. No formal votes or bill actions were taken at the hearing; the meeting was informational and focused on testimony and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• I just have a very quick one: you mentioned $5 million that was earmarked for the CalRx manufacturing

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• reactors, like at Dow, could potentially receive up to $850 million more than the amount currently earmarked

Bills: HB132, HB 11, HB14, HB132, HB1584, HB1606, HB5061, HB 1041, HB2286

Keywords: nuclear energy, Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office, energy policy, regulation repeal, state energy strategy, licensing, reciprocity, regulation, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, interstate agreements, advanced reactors, energy security, grant programs, HB 132, Texas Government Code Chapter 418, Public Information Act, confidential records, homeland security, foreign adversary, terrorism

Summary: The committee first took up pending business and quickly reported several measures favorably, including HB 12, SB 1361, SB 1705, SB 1749, SB 1897, SB 2344, SB 2566, HB 3809, and HB 4215, with most sent to the Local and Uncontested Calendar. HB 12’s substitute clarified a limited midterm review of regulatory agencies tied to Sunset Commission recommendations. SB 2696’s substitute changed med spa regulation from a license to a certificate, with training instead of an exam, plus background checks, continuing education, and two-year renewals. HB 3809 dealt with battery energy storage decommissioning and recycling, and HB 4215 was reported without a substitute. SB 1978, concerning interconnection of electric facilities in ERCOT and federal jurisdiction concerns, was reported out on a 5-3 vote after debate, but then the chair later announced the bill was withdrawn and left pending subject to the call of the chair. HB 1899 was also reported favorably, with one nay. A major portion of the meeting focused on HB 14, the advanced nuclear energy bill. Senator Schwertner described it as creating a Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office, a nuclear permitting coordinator, a development fund, a completion grant program, and a workforce development program. Testimony was sharply divided. Supporters, including representatives from Fermi America, Dow/X-energy, CPS Energy, Paragon Energy Solutions, Bridge to Nuclear, Aalo Atomics, and the Texas Association of Business, argued that Texas should lead in advanced nuclear, citing future baseload demand, data centers, industrial power needs, supply-chain development, and long-term energy diversification. Opponents, including Public Citizen, Texas Nuclear Watchdogs, Sierra Club, and individual citizens, argued the bill would subsidize unproven, expensive technology, create grants rather than loans, and expose taxpayers to major risk while doing little to meet near-term energy needs. Several members questioned whether the state should fund projects that may not produce grid power for years, and whether the bill’s grant structure and new office were justified. The committee also heard HB 5061, which Senator Schwertner said would prohibit unethical surveillance and misuse of confidential information by state contractors, create a confidential reporting system through the State Auditor’s Office, authorize Texas Rangers investigations, protect whistleblowers, and impose penalties including contract termination, fines, and contracting bans. No public testimony was offered, and the bill was left pending. HB 132, sponsored by Senator Hughes, would extend confidentiality protections for sensitive information to hostile acts by foreign adversaries; it was also left pending after no testimony. HB 1584 was then laid out, with Senator Schwertner explaining it would require utilities to maintain and update priority restoration lists for critical facilities after Hurricane Beryl exposed communication failures, but the transcript cuts off before any action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• I thought the legislature, you know, earmarked... ...marks the same for people funding.

Bills: HB1540, HB3837, HB5571, SB370, SB2425

Keywords: government review, Texas Sunset Act, regulatory oversight, agencies, sunset provisions, autonomous vehicles, regulation, safety, criminal offense, Autonomous Vehicle Commission, registration, regulations, Level 4 automation, Level 5 automation, self-driving technology, traffic laws, permit system, collision reporting, safety standards, Automated Vehicle Commission

Transcript Highlights:

• These funds are specifically earmarked for the implementation of the Spectrum Alert program during the

Summary: The committee heard and voted on a long agenda of criminal justice, public safety, and civil justice bills. Among the measures reported favorably were SB 984, which adds aggravating factors for capital sentencing when a murder occurs during religious, school, or public government gatherings; SB 1140, creating a Hillsborough County pilot program to address substance abuse among offenders on probation; SB 1180, expanding child pornography laws to cover lewd altered or filtered images and solicitation; SB 10, providing compensation to Sidney Holmes for a wrongful conviction; SB 500, creating a Spectrum Alert system and training for missing children with autism; SB 1054, increasing penalties for tampering with electronic monitoring devices; SB 1072, establishing an expedited DNA testing grant program; and SB 240, the Haven Act, which aligns domestic and dating violence protections and creates a feasibility study for a discreet emergency contact system for victims. Several bills were amended before passage, including funding for the Spectrum Alert program and technical changes to the DNA, juvenile justice, and other proposals. Members also advanced SB 494, creating a statewide FDLE animal abuse database and increasing sentencing consequences for aggravated animal cruelty, with strong support from animal welfare groups and county officials. SB 1422 was reported favorably to strengthen penalties for unmanned aircraft over critical infrastructure and for weaponized drones, though members raised concerns about the bill’s “reasonable force” language. SB 1268 updated FDLE statutes and increased reimbursement for retired police dogs. SB 1252 was amended into a feasibility study for a statewide pawn data database, and SB 1386 increased penalties for assaults and batteries on utility workers, drawing support from utility and industry groups. The committee also approved SB 1084 on sexual cyber harassment, which criminalizes dissemination of intimate images and digitally forged intimate images, and SB 1654, which revises sexual offender and predator registration rules, including online reporting for certain in-state travel residences. SB 1650 expanded the vexatious litigant law, and SB 1652 created a public records exemption for stricken non-criminal court filings. Finally, SB 1284, expanding Florida’s Wrongful Death Act to allow civil claims for the death of an unborn child, drew extensive testimony both for and against; supporters called it a life-affirming measure, while opponents warned it could increase litigation, affect abortion-related care, and discourage physicians from practicing in Florida. The bill was heard with multiple public comments, but the transcript excerpt does not show a final vote on SB 1284.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I, I, you've heard a lot of warnings about this, but AI should be earmarked as number one issue for

Keywords: Chinese Communist Party, retirement security, investment risks, SEC enforcement, Bipartisan action

Summary: The meeting primarily addressed concerns regarding the impact of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on American investments and the financial security of retirees. The chair discussed legislation aimed at ensuring the protection of American investors against the risks posed by Chinese companies. There was a consensus among the members regarding the necessity to enforce existing policies that require compliance from foreign companies wishing to trade on American exchanges. The discussion included testimony from various stakeholders highlighting the urgent need to limit exposure to the CCP in retirement portfolios. Additionally, there were calls for increased accountability of regulatory bodies such as the SEC to better shield American investors from potential loss.

Transcript Highlights:

• This session, the proposed House budget has earmarked 34.7 million for the fiscal year for this relief

Transcript Highlights:

• really want to look at our data carefully in different parts of the state and what individuals were earmarked

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee took up two bills and then continued oversight discussions with APD and AHCA. CS/HB 27, the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, was presented as a way to let Florida social workers practice in other compact states and vice versa; AARP, the Florida Chamber, and NASW Florida supported it, and the bill passed favorably. HB 1127, a child welfare bill, would create a treatment foster care pilot for children with high behavioral needs, improve DCF data collection on commercially sexually exploited children, and expand recruitment for protective investigators and case managers; the bill also passed favorably after brief supportive testimony. The committee then questioned APD at length about the iBudget waiver waitlist, enrollment pace, spending projections, and provider capacity. APD said it had sent more than 1,100 interest letters in categories 3, 4, and 5, enrolled 1,124 people so far this year, and expects to spend about 96.4% of its waiver appropriation, leaving roughly $82 million unspent. Members pressed APD on why prior discussions suggested more reserve was needed, how long the SANS process takes, whether category 6 could be expanded, and whether the agency has enough waiver support coordinators and direct support providers. APD said it has about 1,061 waiver support coordinators statewide, adequate capacity for current enrollees, but would need further analysis if the legislature directed a much larger enrollment increase. Members also asked about outreach, annual maintenance of the waitlist, portability for military families, and whether communication efforts should be privatized. Finally, AHCA walked the committee through the 2023 Achieved Savings Rebate (ASR) report for Aetna and explained how the report is used for financial monitoring, rebate calculations, and transparency. AHCA said the ASR is separate from the medical loss ratio (MLR) calculation, though both are reviewed, and that Florida uses the ASR mechanism rather than an MLR remittance requirement to recover funds from plans. Members asked about related-party disclosures, CVS/Caremark relationships, expanded benefits, encounter data, network adequacy penalties, denials and appeals reporting, interest earned on capitation payments, and whether rate increases were reaching providers. AHCA and the outside auditors said they review the plans’ reported data, reconcile it to underlying records, and can assess liquidated damages for network adequacy violations; several members requested follow-up data on rebates, interest, provider capacity, and related-party reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we will, my agency will receive $280 million earmarked specifically for those farmers that were negatively