Transcript Highlights:

• I don't have that number, but the modeling numbers you've spoken to are largely the numbers we've used
• Members of the committee, so the VA modeling that we follow for tracking the number of veterans in the
• And they every year each year they reinstitute the model and refine the number Last year the model projected
• The model I'm looking at, and it actually Reduces into the future as we move forward.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, 457 allows the department to look at various value-based payment models.
• thing in line 766, 769, and in removing that language we also allowed for an alternative payment models
• changed from 30 days allowed for an alternative payment uh allowed for an alternative payment uh models
• . models. models.

Keywords: Medicaid - Room 210; 2 February, 2026: 2:30 PM, 925, all

Summary: The committee first took up a placeholder bill related to the Medicaid “L tax” for long-term acute care hospitals. The sponsor explained that these hospitals pay into Medicaid but do not receive Medicaid reimbursement, and said members had reached a general consensus that a solution is needed. The bill was described as a dummy bill with no firm language yet, and the committee adopted a motion for title sufficient do pass; the bill was reported despite one opposing vote. Members then heard a detailed explanation of the committee’s Medicaid technical bill. The sponsor said it was much lighter than in prior years because of uncertainty around federal Medicaid conditions and the lack of a signed bill in recent years. Most changes were described as federal-language updates, cleanup, or department-requested revisions, including changes from “shall” to “may” to give the department more flexibility, shortened notification and care-period timelines, and removal of outdated provisions. Substantive items mentioned included allowing the department to review value-based payment models, adding pediatricians to a covered list, increasing ambulatory surgery center reimbursement from 80% to 85%, approving “treat in place” for ambulances, allowing supplemental payments to hospitals, and reestablishing the Medical Advisory Council. After brief questions, the committee adopted a motion for title sufficient do pass on the tech bill and reported it, again with one opposing vote. The chair then announced a follow-up hearing for the next day at 1:30 p.m. in Room 216 on the L tax, the hospital bed tax, a Medicaid 101 overview on hospital financing, and a briefing on nonopioid medications and a device intended to prevent or reduce epilepsy seizures.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just very quickly, at its core, cooperative housing is a model in which residents do not own their unit
• Um, it's modeled in democratic governance, long-term housing stability, and oftentimes we kind of pull
• Um it's modeled in proprietary lease.
• And so, it could be a model for other states to replicate.
• And so, it could be a model for other states to replicate.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The current fragmented 50-year-old opt-out model no longer reflects how transit is funded or used and
• These are structural and persistent. opt-out model no longer reflects opt-out model no longer reflects
• It would weaken accountability and eliminate the nimble, community-responsive service model that has
• <00:24:31.360> of<00:24:31.480> effective only threatens this model of effective only
• threatens this model of effective and<00:24:32.120> efficient<00:24:32.560> transit<00

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh initially, there's a model >> Yeah.
• <00:43:45.200> I I'm I appreciate the models. I I'm I appreciate the models.
• And I'm kind of partial to that model.
• And I'm kind of partial to that model.
• I just thought I'd throw it that model.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:26 Approval of Minutes 00:02:27 LIHEAP Presentation and Public Hearing 00:02:42 Conservation Opportunities in Kentucky 00:29:52, 958, all

Summary: The committee first took up a public hearing and presentation on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Shannon Hall of the Department for Community Based Services and Rick Baker of Community Action Kentucky explained that LIHEAP is a 100% federally funded block grant that helps low-income households pay heating and cooling bills, avoid utility disconnects, and support weatherization. They outlined the program’s components, eligibility limits, seasonal application periods, and recent participation figures, including tens of thousands of households served through the summer cooling, fall subsidy, winter crisis, and spring subsidy components. They also described weatherization priorities, the partnership with Kentucky Housing Corporation, and the role of Community Action agencies in administering the program statewide. Members asked about Assurance 16, the balance between need and available funding, summer cooling assistance, weatherization measurement, renter versus homeowner participation, and whether federal changes could affect LIHEAP. Hall and Baker said Assurance 16 supports energy-burden reduction through education, case management, and conservation strategies; that funding has generally been sufficient in recent years but crisis funds have sometimes been exhausted quickly in the past; and that summer assistance is primarily electric utility support. They also said weatherization uses return-on-investment testing and that Kentucky still has a large backlog of homes needing service. On federal funding, they said the recently passed federal bill did not directly cut LIHEAP, but future appropriations could still affect it, and any major reduction could leave a gap the state might need to consider filling. The committee approved the minutes and later approved the LIHEAP finding of fact; no members of the public signed up to testify. After concluding LIHEAP, the committee heard a presentation from Heather Jeff of The Nature Conservancy on conservation opportunities in Kentucky. She described the organization’s voluntary land-protection work and highlighted the Cumberland Forest project, a conservation easement on about 55,000 acres in Bell, Knox, and Leslie counties supported in part by a $3.875 million state appropriation. She also reported on mine-land reforestation, elk habitat work, and the rapid allocation of a $2 million appropriation for the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund. Jeff emphasized the economic value of conservation for tourism, hunting and fishing, agriculture, forestry, bourbon, and flood protection, and said the group is finalizing a Kentucky conservation needs assessment and related feasibility research.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, um, is your business model or models like this kind of contingent on clarity permitting rewards,
• <00:26:54.480> would Um, our kind of business model would Um, our kind of business model would
• <01:04:54.559> for So this is essentially a new model for So this is essentially a new model
• <01:27:02.239> for world is a rent to own model for world is a rent to own model for housing
• <01:48:50.719> they you up on your rent to own model they you up on your rent to own model

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The meeting began with roll call and approval of the prior meeting minutes, which passed unanimously. Members then introduced the day’s presentations, including one on the Canton network and another on tokenizing real-world assets, with a focus on how blockchain systems can support regulated financial institutions and asset tokenization. Julie, the director of policy and government affairs at Digital Asset, presented on the Canton network, describing it as a privacy-enabled public blockchain designed for regulated finance. She said tokenization should preserve the same legal and economic rights as the underlying asset, and argued that blockchain-based books and records can shorten settlement times, improve 24/7 trading, and reduce friction in capital markets. She identified three main barriers to institutional adoption of public blockchains: lack of privacy, limited throughput/scalability, and lack of control for compliance purposes such as freezing assets, pausing transactions, and meeting AML/sanctions obligations. She explained Canton’s structure as a public, permissionless network with application-level privacy controls, a global synchronizer, and super validators chosen by vote. She also highlighted current ecosystem participants and use cases, including Broadridge, Circle, and the DTCC’s planned tokenization of U.S. Treasuries on the network. Members and online participants asked about the relationship between tokenized assets and the Clarity Act, tokenized deposits, safeguards for faster settlement, and whether the platform could be used for municipal or property records. Julie said Digital Asset was not taking a position on rewards, but supported clearer statutory definitions because tokenized securities should carry the same rights as the underlying assets and investors need to know whether a token is a true tokenized security or a synthetic/reference token. She said the company is agnostic on whether the cash leg is stablecoins or tokenized deposits, though it expects both to develop. In response to concerns about rapid settlement, she pointed to institution-level permissions and SEC disclosure expectations as safeguards. She also said the technology could be used for other records, including potentially property-related records, if those assets can be tokenized.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has been an incredible run for River through our hub model, but we now have a Road to Redemption model
• c> which have a Road to Redemption model which have a Road to Redemption model which basically<01
• , and creates a model for public and private partnerships statewide.
• , and creates a model for public and private partnerships statewide.
• Aloha and appreciate your time model Aloha and appreciate your time model thank<01:39:02.280>

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint Ways and Means and Finance informational briefing on grants and aids was held February 14 and was organized as a high-volume public testimony session with strict procedures: no Q&A, one representative per applicant, one minute per testimony, in-person testimony first, and then Zoom participants. The chairs also announced a recess at 11:00 a.m. for floor sessions and a reconvening at 1:00 p.m. Testimony was heard first from neighbor island applicants, then Oʻahu applicants, with members repeatedly directing speakers to line up and keep remarks brief. Neighbor island testimony focused on a wide range of capital and operating requests. Health and community projects included Hawaii Island Community Health Center’s workforce housing in Kau, Wuli Hawaiian Homestead Association’s learning center and predevelopment work, Rescue Tube Foundation’s beach rescue tube expansion, Puna Community Medical Center’s planned hospital/ER campus, Maui Humane Society’s free veterinary care after the wildfires, Hawaiʻi Care Choices’ palliative care readiness, and the Lyman Museum’s HVAC replacement. Other requests included the Maui Advanced Manufacturing Alliance’s Pāʻia Mill redevelopment, Laua 2020’s preschool and learning lab, Mālama Aina’s USDA-compliant meat processing facility, the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association’s water safety programs, Kaha P Organization’s agriculture education support, Ohana Arts’ youth performance project, Friends of the Children’s Justice Center’s emergency closet, EOA Pacific’s Marshall Islands teacher training, and the Central Pacific Youth Athletic Club’s new facility. Oʻahu testimony included the YWCA Oʻahu/Pythink Center’s renovation of Juliet M. Atherton Hall and its community kitchen, West Oʻahu Community Health Center’s wildfire protection and security needs, the Early School’s playground improvements, Surfing the Nations’ food distribution center expansion, and Sounding Joy Music Therapy’s weekly services for people with disabilities. Speakers generally emphasized community benefit, workforce development, health access, food security, disaster recovery, and support for children, seniors, and underserved populations. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• for a workforce but also to be able to have some power so that we are not all just victims of the model
• And um frankly uh victims of the model.
• <00:53:59.760> that<00:53:59.920> I So that's a model that I think works really well
• And it's a very innovative model where they're getting hands-on experience right with the staff at the
• <00:58:06.480> getting innovative model where they're getting innovative model where they're

Bills: HF4598, HF4884, HF3732

Keywords: workers' compensation, Minnesota workers' compensation, Workers' Compensation Advisory Council, reinsurance association, Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Association, WCRA, occupational disease, presumption, first responders, firefighter cancer, PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, police officer, paramedic, emergency medical technician, correctional officer, security counselor, public safety dispatcher, temporary total disability, permanent partial disability

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:08:12.879> which opposed to a commissioner model which opposed to a commissioner model
• he reports up to the commissioner model he reports up to the commissioner<00:43:10.599> under
• commissioner under Board model that same commissioner under Board model that same individual<00:
• So I'm hoping that we can ... and I and others who are interested looking into that model and figure
• and figure out looking into that model and figure out uh<00:47:05.720> what<00:47:05.880>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• to make this social certain social model to make this work<00:14:13.959> and<00:14:14.199>
• They're living under that single-household model, that they're representing or resembling what would
• I think the recovery community in general wants to follow the good model.
• is the ones to follow the good model is the ones that<00:29:39.279> you<00:29:39.399> know
• in there that's get a a well-run model in there that's um<00:29:54.799> works<00:29:55.080>

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So the council still believes the voluntary model is the best model to follow for this process.
• California, through the California Massage Therapy Council, stands out as a model that does.
• Now is not the time to experiment with unproven models.
• CAMTC is not only a support system; it represents a stronger model for all of our cities.
• With its help, we can protect our community. a stronger model for all of our cities.

Summary: The joint sunset oversight hearing reviewed five regulatory entities: the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Board of Psychology, the Physician Assistant Board, the Podiatric Medical Board, and the California Massage Therapy Council. Across the hearing, each entity described recent accomplishments, licensing and enforcement workload, workforce shortages, and efforts to modernize processes. Common themes included streamlining licensure, expanding access to care, addressing telehealth or emerging technology, and balancing consumer protection with workforce needs. For the Board of Behavioral Sciences, members discussed workforce shortages in mental health, supervision barriers, telehealth confidentiality, AI in therapy, interstate compacts, school-based services, and military spouse licensure. The board said it has expanded outreach, improved licensing processes, and created temporary practice authority tracking, while also expressing concern about counseling compacts and emphasizing California-specific law, ethics, and cultural competency. Public commenters supported the board’s work and the possible move to a national MFT exam, while also urging more resources. The Board of Psychology highlighted fee adjustments, streamlined licensure pathways, enforcement process improvements, new CPD requirements, and proposed changes including a psychotherapist-client privilege exception for investigations. Committee members and public witnesses focused heavily on that privilege proposal, with some members opposing it as too broad and privacy-invasive, while the board argued it is needed to obtain records in bias and sexual misconduct cases. The board also discussed workforce shortages, processing improvements, and the use of inactive status for psychological associates. The Physician Assistant Board reported growth in the PA workforce and education programs, SB 697 implementation, and financial pressure from rising enforcement costs. The main policy debate centered on physician-to-PA ratios and practice agreements, with board representatives and many public commenters arguing that current restrictions limit access to care, especially in rural areas, while the California Medical Association defended the need for explicit ratios and agreements. The board also discussed AI, fee increases, and tracking temporary practice authority. The Podiatric Medical Board described licensing and renewal reforms, residency expansion, enforcement support, and budget constraints, while public testimony raised concerns about a proposed fee increase and about reimbursement parity and practice recognition for podiatrists. Finally, the California Massage Therapy Council defended the certification model over licensure, citing lower costs, local government collaboration, anti-trafficking work, and its role in vetting applications and disciplining bad actors; no formal votes or final actions were taken during this portion of the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• However, owing to the midwifery model generally and the birth center model specifically, Roots is proud
• However, owing to the midwifery model generally and the birth center model specifically, Roots is proud
• However, owing to the midwifery model generally and the birth center model specifically, Roots is proud
• However, owing to the midwifery model generally and the birth center model specifically, Roots is proud
• However, owing to the midwifery model generally and the birth center model specifically, Roots is proud

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It really did create this whole new business model.
• To sustain their business model.
• Localized access points and their business model.
• So it's really becoming kind of the new model for the hospital system.
• To also work in other parts where it's more profitable would help offset, you know, the business model

Bills: SB227, SB269, SB407, SB463, SB527, SB547, SB1283, SB1380, SB1383, SB1511, SB1640, SB1784, SB2069

Keywords: school funding, education reform, state budget, property taxes, equity in education, healthcare policy, vaccines, exemptions, religious beliefs, public health, workplace violence, healthcare facilities, definition expansion, safety regulations, health and safety code, health insurance, anesthesia, pediatric dental services, coverage, medical necessity

Transcript Highlights:

• They also of longer-range plans, including potentially modeling the program I described in my earlier
• Lastly, I'll just say that we see this multi-university approach as a model to serve regional education
• And so I think that it's a model that, as we talk about what's happening in other places statewide.
• And so I think the opportunity certainly exists, and again I think it's Model that may be replicable
• Unfortunately, they are not available online because their business model does not allow for that.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so you're having to go out and try to model that and then put those models together within an agency
• And then last question: so are you in the process of creating an enterprise model, information model,
• and data model, or are you just focusing on data?
• But our security model is one thing over here.
• But our security model is one thing over here.

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:

• In our kind of original Medicaid model called fee for service where the state would just pay us. a doctor
• The legislature directed this agency to move away from fee-for-service and into the managed care model
• I've already talked a little bit about those service delivery models. models, some in managed care, some
• They have to transition their service model, and then we're credentialing them.
• So they are, have been piloting a new model.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We do have an existing curriculum that's delivered in a train-the-trainer model that emphasizes staff
• Dementia care coordination is an evidence-based, proactive caregiver support model offered through the
• Studies show that these caregiver support models may reduce rehospitalization.
• Studies show that these caregiver support models may reduce rehospitalizations, emergency department
• So the first step, as you heard, was the procurement of an actuarial study to model various public and

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Aging and Independence/Elder Affairs Committee heard testimony on several bills, with the main focus on H.769/S.468, an act to improve care and prepare for the new era of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Legislators and advocates described the bill’s provisions, including expanded dementia training for first responders, a dementia services coordinator/director in state government, improved hospital discharge and caregiver access protections, dementia care coordination benefits for certain MassHealth members, public awareness and data collection requirements, and expanded support for geriatric workforce recruitment. Representative Danielle Gregoire and Senator Gomez framed the measure as a zero-cost, bipartisan continuation of the 2018 Alzheimer’s and Dementia Act, while the Alzheimer’s Association, Boston Public Health Commission, police representatives, clinicians, and family caregivers all testified in support, emphasizing public health needs, early diagnosis, caregiver involvement, and safer emergency and hospital care. The committee also heard testimony on H.796/S.476, which would establish an Office of Older Adult Advocate and a special commission on a statewide long-term services and supports benefit program. Representative Steve Ultrino supported an independent older adult advocate to help navigate fragmented state services and improve constituent services, while committee members asked about funding and the office’s relationship to existing secretariats. On the long-term care commission bill, NAFA Massachusetts and LeadingAge Massachusetts supported creating a stakeholder commission to review actuarial findings and explore public-private financing options for long-term care, stressing that neither public nor private coverage alone is sufficient and that middle-income families need more planning tools and options. The committee also took testimony on H.786/S.466, a bill to protect vulnerable elders by expanding the Executive Office of Elder Affairs’ authority to investigate abuse or neglect in non-traditional custodial settings such as prisons, jails, shelters, group homes, and certain treatment facilities. Prisoners Legal Services said the bill would close a jurisdictional gap that leaves some older adults without an investigative agency once they age out of DPPC coverage. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the meeting ended with a motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• Alonzo is a good role model for us in this committee.
• So again, an ideal role model. I first want to recognize the efforts of his parents.
• Navajo Preparatory School and Santa Fe Indian School as role models and leading this work.
• What are the models?'
• So they are really the models for... the types of programs that could potentially exist at other higher

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And lastly, to my beloved father that modeled what Cuban leadership looked like during the pandemic,
• modeled what couian leadership<00:10:39.839> looked<00:10:40.079> like<00:10:40.320>
• They modeled that after an MCO capitated program.
• <00:15:45.600> They<00:15:45.920> modeled million over four years.
• They modeled million over four years.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Most typically what we've seen in history has been around 30% to 40%, but our model suggests that the
• Where do we benchmark, essentially, our modeling to say how Where do we benchmark, essentially, our modeling
• And so going forward, essentially what this means is that when I talk about our model outputs, when I
• So in the top part of the figure, we're showing you that exact model estimate, and we have estimated
• Our system also is a pay-as-you-go rather than a forward-funding model, which Assemblymember Valencia

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Accountability and Oversight held a hearing on proposals to reform California’s Budget Stabilization Account, or rainy day fund, ahead of the May Revision. Members and witnesses reviewed how Proposition 2 (2014) changed reserve rules, including mandatory deposits, a 10% cap on the fund, and limits tied to the Governor’s declaration of a budget emergency. LAO staff explained that California’s revenues are highly volatile, that current reserve rules are complicated by interactions with Proposition 98 and the Gann limit, and that under current law reserves would cover only about one-third of funding shortfalls in a benchmark scenario over 50 years. The LAO presented its report recommending a larger reserve target, including raising the cap to 50% by 2055 and pairing that with either broader, more flexible deposit rules or a simpler approach that deposits all excess capital gains. The Department of Finance described the Governor’s proposal to raise the cap from 10% to 20% and exempt BSA deposits from the state appropriations limit, while Assembly Member Valencia presented ACA 1, which would make similar changes and was described as an evolving proposal. Testimony generally supported saving more during boom years, but differed on how much to hardwire into the Constitution versus leave flexible, and on whether to broaden the deposit formulas beyond capital gains. Public witnesses and committee members raised additional issues, including whether reserve reforms should also address debt repayment, the treatment of unemployment insurance fund debt, and whether the Gann limit should be adjusted to better allow reserve growth. Supporters argued that stronger reserves would protect Californians from cuts during downturns and help the state weather volatility and federal funding threats. Some advocates warned that reforms should not come at the expense of current public needs, while taxpayer representatives cautioned against turning the BSA into a pass-through account that weakens constitutional spending limits. The hearing ended without a vote, with the committee chair noting the complexity of the issue and adjourning after public comment.