Transcript Highlights:

• So all told, there's a lot more work to be done to provide support to ensure the public still has access
• local dimension to it and local services and partnership dimensions to it.
• has a local dimension to it and local services and partnership dimensions to it.
• We are working very hard to fill our budget gap to ensure we can continue to be the essential service
• And so we are having to be of help to our community on health access, for example, to assess preparedness

Summary: The hearing focused on the impact of the federal rescission of Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding on California public media, with Assemblymember Chris Ward and Senator Akilah Weber Pierson framing public media as essential civic infrastructure for education, local news, arts, emergency alerts, and underserved communities. Local officials from San Diego and La Mesa voiced support, emphasizing public media’s role in trusted information, children’s programming, and community arts access. Panelists from PBS SoCal, KCRW, Rebuild Local News, NPR, KPBS, Radio Bilingüe, and KVPR described significant budget losses, layoffs, reduced programming, and threats to rural and specialized services. They highlighted impacts on children’s educational content, local journalism, arts coverage, science and documentary production, and emergency alert systems. Several speakers noted that smaller stations in rural or low-broadband areas are especially vulnerable, while larger stations are also cutting staff and delaying projects. They also discussed possible responses such as shared services, cost reductions, philanthropy, and state support, while warning that one-time bridge funding is not a long-term fix. Committee members asked about operational changes, alternative revenue sources, the role of state programs, and whether public pressure could restore federal funding. Witnesses said the loss is already being felt, that restoration appears unlikely in the near term, and that any state support should be structured to protect editorial independence and provide stable, timely funding. The hearing concluded with a shift to labor and production testimony and then to station-specific testimony from KPBS, Radio Bilingüe, and KVPR, followed by public comment.

Transcript Highlights:

• kids to access college, to get a debt-free college experience.
• But anything we can do to continue to expand access to our education to really help our students out,
• credit or access to a co-signer.
• That was the number that we had access to at the time.
• We are requesting a $3.2 million increase to the California Library Services Act, from $1.8 million to

Summary: The subcommittee on Education Finance heard an overview of the governor’s budget proposals and higher education financial aid trends, with a major focus on the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS), Cal Grant spending, and the effects of recent federal student aid changes. The Department of Finance said the budget would fully fund Cal Grant at projected levels and reduce MCS coverage from 35% to 17.5% of unmet need in 2026-27, while the Legislative Analyst’s Office supported considering the reduction as a cost-saving measure given out-year deficits. UC and CSU representatives opposed the cut, saying MCS is important to affordability and debt-free degree goals; they estimated average awards would fall substantially and that campuses do not have funds to backfill the loss. The Student Aid Commission said the proposal would reduce aid but simplify administration, and members questioned how lower awards would affect students, borrowing, and work-study options. No vote was taken, and the issue was held open for possible future action. The committee then discussed federal changes to student loans and Pell Grant policy under H.R. 1, including caps on Parent PLUS loans, elimination of Grad PLUS loans, and new proration rules for federal direct loans based on enrollment intensity. The LAO said these changes would likely push some borrowers into the private market, especially graduate and professional students and some parents of students at private institutions. CSU said the changes would affect thousands of graduate and part-time students and could reduce access by about $97 million in loan availability for part-time borrowers, while UC said the new definitions of professional degrees were too restrictive and would reduce access for nursing, teaching, law, dentistry, and other programs. Community colleges said they use relatively little federal loan aid but are monitoring Workforce Pell. Members raised concerns about workforce impacts, social mobility, and whether the state should consider alternative loan programs or other ways to reduce student costs. This issue was also held open. In the segment financial aid update, the LAO reported Cal Grant spending is projected to rise to about $3.2 billion in 2026-27, driven by more recipients and higher awards tied to UC and CSU tuition increases, while CSAC said FAFSA and CADAA applications are up significantly year over year. CSU, community colleges, and UC described their aid packaging and rising aid totals, with CSU reporting over $5.5 billion in aid to 381,000 students, community colleges reporting over $4.3 billion to more than 920,000 students, and UC reporting $3.17 billion in grant aid to undergraduates. Members asked about Cal Grant reform, application trends, and long-term outcomes; UC and community colleges pointed to alumni and wage dashboards, and the LAO noted the state’s Cradle to Career data effort. The committee then took public comment, including testimony on library funding and other education-related priorities, and concluded by holding the issues open without formal action.

Transcript Highlights:

• at duplicating services and things like that when we don't have money to spend.
• It's about access to health care, prescription drug prices, and being able to play the only game in town
• So it's hard to give you the exact parameters of what the critical access plan is going to do because
• And it's going to have a program designed to ensure that we keep critical access pharmacies alive and
• To ensure that we keep critical access pharmacies alive and well in the rural areas and to help pay for

Committee: House Health and Mental Health

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:10:07.760><c> to</c> packaging and delivery services to packaging and delivery services to improve
• ><c> partners</c><04:10:21.480><c> to</c> the US Forest Service, and partners to the US Forest Service
• to basic broadband services.
• still lacking access to basic broadband<04:31:39.920><c> services.
• </c> Service to use temporary emergency Service to use temporary emergency contracting<05:24:58.680><

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, March 16, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , there may need needing these services, there may need to<00:19:46.240><c> be</c><00:19:46.680><c> adjustments
• During this process, the defendant has access to a lawyer, as well as experts in discovery.
• 00:26:30.720><c> well</c><00:26:30.880><c> as</c><00:26:31.000><c> experts</c> access to a lawyer, as
• well as experts access to a lawyer, as well as experts in<00:26:31.520><c> discovery.
• This is access to treatment.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I am proud to be a part of a family who continues in the tradition of service.
• They have access to $500 million, half a billion dollars. ...saying that the comptroller has to cover
• Our goal is to ensure equitable access to quality education for all.
• HB 4310 by the Suit, relating to the special right to access under the public.
• HB 4366 by Kane, relating to the distribution of and access to state agency publications. ...for the

Bills: HJR4 , HJR6 , HB195 , HB 13 , HB143 , HB135

Keywords: occupation tax, securities, financial regulation, tax exemption, legislative amendment, capital gains tax, realized gains, unrealized gains, investment income, asset sale, capital assets, wealth tax, estate tax, trust tax, tax limitation, constitutional amendment, Texas Constitution, Article VIII, property tax, sales tax

Transcript Highlights:

• to a service area to student population that otherwise has of personnel performing or as we defined
• we provide access to low-income service area, but how do we provide access to low-income children to
• The goal is to provide access to low-income students that are in that service area to have another option
• access to higher performing options for low income children.
• students with the porous to now come to the school because you do want to provide access to someone

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• is to access we hope to accomplish is to access assess<00:02:00.719><c> the</c><00:02:01.200><c> structural
• So they have access to a multitude of state plan services, uh, EPSDT benefit if that's applicable, uh
• access to those things, as equipment and access to those things, preventative<00:41:31.440><c> services
• I waited for years to get on the waiver." It's because you didn't access waiver services.
• <c> to</c> requires you to use waiver services to requires you to use waiver services to stay<00:53:01.359

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee opened by adopting its mission and priorities for reviewing Kentucky’s 1915(c) home- and community-based services waiver wait lists, including evaluating current capacity and bottlenecks, comparing other states’ practices, and considering a tiered priority system based on urgency of need. The chair also announced that, although public comment was not on the agenda, the committee would allow 30 minutes for comments and asked speakers to keep remarks brief. He noted that public comment would not continue in the smaller subcommittees after this meeting, but could still be made at the larger MOAB meetings or by email. Department for Medicaid Services officials Leslie Hoffman and Carmen Hancock then gave a detailed overview of Kentucky’s waiver programs: the acquired brain injury waiver, ABI long-term care waiver, home and community-based waiver, Model 2, Michelle P. waiver, Supports for Community Living waiver, and the newly approved child waiver. They explained each program’s eligibility and level-of-care requirements, described funded, filled, allocated, reserved, and available slots, and said the state had already added new slots from House Bill 500. They emphasized that available slots can coexist with a wait list because of reserved slots for money-follows-the-person transitions, emergency slots, annual slot churn, and waiver-year reconciliation. They also reported that the unduplicated wait list total was 18,948, and gave current wait-time figures by waiver, noting that the numbers change constantly. Members asked about how level-of-care determinations are made, whether all people on the wait list have been assessed, and whether undocumented individuals appear in the counts. The department said full level-of-care assessments are done only when a person is moving off the wait list into a reserved slot, and that only Medicaid-eligible individuals can reach the wait list. Senators and representatives also pressed on the meaning of “churn,” why slots cannot be reissued immediately when someone leaves, and whether people who receive even a small amount of service keep their slot for the rest of the waiver year under CMS rules. Officials said that once a participant receives service during the waiver year, the slot generally cannot be reassigned until the next waiver year, even if the person later disengages. The department also presented county distribution, annual member growth, average total cost per member, and total annual waiver expenditures, saying fiscal year 2025 closed at about $1.8 billion in waiver services. In response to questions, officials said they would provide additional churn data for other waivers, including Michelle P., and would look into the average wait-time calculations requested by members. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• sure our children have access to safe medications.
• Young people do not have to wait to become leaders through service learning. They could lead now.
• students have access to office hours and educators have access to health insurance.
• students have access to office hours and access for educators to health insurance.
• was to preserve access for all students.

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Many avoid the traditional therapies that are available to them due to stigma and barriers to access.
• Many avoid the traditional therapies that are available to them due to stigma and barriers to access.
• Many avoid the traditional therapies that are available to them due to stigma and barriers to access.
• Many avoid the traditional therapies that are available to them due to stigma and barriers to access.
• to their military service.

Committee: House Veterans and Military Affairs Division

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• 10:58.839><c> to</c> provide medical and dental services to provide medical and dental services to the
• to</c> with efforts to roll back access to with efforts to roll back access to contraception<02:16:44.679
• grant access to Elon Musk, Mr.
• </c><05:05:54.480><c> to</c> his minions will soon have access to his minions will soon have access to
• It would require anyone accessing this system to have a reliable track record of professional service

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ><00:05:58.520><c> consent</c> able to give services without consent able to give services without consent
• reach a higher threshold to access the services that they are entitled to, and this bill actually, in
• Medicaid-enrolled children's parents will have to reach a higher threshold to access the services that
• </c><01:04:19.440><c> to</c> functioning societies need access to functioning societies need access to
• </c><02:10:58.599><c> to</c> not want to restrict students access to not want to restrict students access

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It limits access to capital. It limits access to capital. It makes a higher loan denial for us.
• I work every day helping families in my community access the programs and services they need to keep
• We had access to culture and recreation. We had safety and justice.
• When these services are vulnerable, we harm Washington's ability to access the health care they need.
• Fund to stabilize critical services.

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• that provide qualifying services to Texas families.
• It strengthens public-private partnerships, broadens access to early intervention services, and seeks
• , mostly through our Family Hope Centers, which are community hubs for families to access services that
• I spoke earlier on the HB 2313 in our request to access, uh, uh, or to gain access to the financial benefits
• Um, you would be presumed, uh, to have, uh, uh, to, for it to have been caused by your, by your service

Bills: HB249

Committee: House Ways & Means

Keywords: real property, ad valorem tax, tax appraisal, property value limitation, real estate taxation, property ownership

Transcript Highlights:

• get, to convince them that the only way that they're going to be able to maintain these essential services
• get to convince them that the only way that they're going to be able to maintain these essential services
• access to the ballot box.
• California must continue to uphold fair and equal access to the ballot box.
• to the ballot, are able to elect candidates of their choice, and have access to critical election language

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• layoffs, termination of services to our communities, and force many regional planning agencies to shut
• disclosed the full cost of using their services and offered no... ...access to my school building but
• disclosed the full cost of using their services, and offered no. access to my school building but never
• , has access to a secure, affordable, and reliable path to retirement.
• , has access to a secure, affordable, and reliable path to retirement.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Service

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several public service and retirement-related bills. Senator Kelly Dooner and Rep. O’Rourke supported a Taunton home rule petition to extend Chief Walsh’s service during the city’s transition to a new public safety facility, citing the need to manage new equipment, cameras, and 911 systems smoothly. Senator Lovely testified in favor of bills expanding retirement savings access through the SMART Plan and the CORE Plan, arguing that automatic enrollment and broader eligibility would help state, municipal, and nonprofit workers save for retirement. No questions were raised on the Taunton petition, and the hearing later moved through the remaining testimony without any votes taken during the transcript. Mary Waldron of the Old Colony Planning Council and Jeffrey Walker of the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District urged support for legislation protecting regional planning agencies from being required to make retroactive payments to the State Retirement Board for past employer contributions. They warned that the costs would be unsustainable, could force layoffs or closures, and would jeopardize their ability to provide transportation, housing, economic development, and planning services. Bill Keith and Patrick Charles of PEREC testified on several retirement administration bills, including measures to ease statement-of-financial-interest filing rules, require payment for certain creditable service purchases, and clarify the definition of wages to include sick, vacation, and personal time; committee members asked questions about regional transit authorities joining retirement systems and about adding local retirement board representation to a proposed commission. Jonathan Osimo and Rob Fabino of the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System supported bills to penalize delinquent pension reporting by employers and to create a special commission to study retirement credit purchases, saying better reporting would improve retirement processing and that a broader review could improve fairness and sustainability. Eddie Boynton of the Braintree Education Association backed the SMART Plan bill, describing how automatic enrollment and low-fee fiduciary oversight could protect educators from high-cost supplemental retirement products. Matthew Nugent testified for a bill to divest public pension funds from firearms and ammunition. After the final witnesses, the chairs asked if anyone else wished to testify, heard none, and then adjourned the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• relies on access to appropriate supports and services, but foundationally on access to affordable and
• The whole point of a justice of the Peace Court is to provide access to a court or reasonable access
• to handle service of process eviction cases.
• , expand access to legal aid and mental health services, support job training and placement programs,
• way to expect service.

Bills: HB15 , HB171 , HB204

Committee: House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Keywords: flood risk, campground, safety regulations, civil penalty, guest safety, Harris County, flood control, governance, expansion, public health, local governance, environmental management

Transcript Highlights:

• Forest Service to make a determination.
• and access to address specific harms as they emerge.
• them, which we've tripled in the last two years, that we're not able to have access to.
• them, which we've tripled in the last two years, that we're not able to have access to.
• And our years that we're not able to have access to and are asking to get access to that this year.

Committee: Senate House Appropriations & Finance

Summary: The committee heard budget presentations from the Secretary of State, the State Land Office, the Attorney General, and the State Auditor. The Secretary of State said its requested general fund budget of $15.88 million was intended to maintain baseline operations, replace lost federal cyber and election support, and address a 12% vacancy rate. Officials warned that the House recommendation still left major gaps for election security, tabulator replacement, campaign finance system upgrades, overseas and military ballot services, ballot tracking, and a new tax lien filing system. Senators pressed about the election fund, county burdens, and the risk of underfunding election administration; the office said the House had provided $15 million for the election fund for the primary and another $15 million for the general election, but not enough for operations or all capital needs. The State Land Office said it was satisfied with the House budget action and had no additional request. Staff described the office’s record revenues, low vacancy rate, clean audits, and proposed new positions tied to forestry, economic development, petroleum, geothermal, and royalty compliance work. Senators asked about long-term revenue trends, forest thinning and biomass opportunities, and bookkeeping around the land maintenance fund; the office said the new positions were intended to generate revenue and support land management, including fire mitigation. The Attorney General’s office presented a budget built around a 0% general fund increase, greater use of the Consumer Settlement Fund, and $4.5 million in special/extraordinary litigation funding. The AG emphasized active litigation and investigations involving consumer fraud, Medicaid fraud, federal funding cuts, Meta and other technology platforms, AI and child safety, gaming compacts, tobacco, and possible litigation over abandoned uranium mine cleanup. Senators asked about scam enforcement, the structure of settlement funds, and whether the office could take on uranium-related litigation; the AG said the office could prepare a litigation budget but warned such efforts would require sustained funding. The State Auditor said the House budget added only modest increases while the office faced about a 40% vacancy rate, difficulty recruiting auditors, and a shrinking pool of public accounting firms, creating risks for constitutional audit responsibilities.

Transcript Highlights:

• vision of state digital services accessible in a single place.
• First, that's picking a liaison partner to work with us, deciding which key services to focus on, learning
• House Bill 2572 deals with voting access and outreach to tribal nations.
• That is a particular challenge for them when trying to get access to their ballot and then return their
• program for Washington to have the one portal where you can get services.

Summary: The committee held public hearings on several bills. HB 2356 would let a homicide victim’s next of kin seek a court injunction to block examination of law enforcement records in homicide cases; staff explained current Public Records Act rules, the sponsor said the bill was intended to protect families and children after especially graphic cases, and open-government testimony opposed the measure as an unnecessary secrecy expansion. HB 2460 and HJR 4212 would change vacancy-filling rules for partisan offices so an appointee must be from the same party only if the former officeholder had declared a party preference; the sponsor said this would address vacancies involving no-party-preference officials and avoid delays or litigation. HB 2631 would create a pilot to extend the governor’s customer-experience initiative to the Secretary of State, Fish and Wildlife, and the Insurance Commissioner, with deadlines for liaisons, metrics, reports, and service-improvement plans; the sponsor and supporters emphasized better service and accessibility, while agency representatives raised concerns about cost, autonomy, and whether participation should be optional. HB 2574 would streamline procedures when a candidate dies before or after ballots are printed, allowing removal from ballots or noncounting of votes based on a death certificate; the sponsor said it would avoid unnecessary recounts and costs. HB 2572 would require county-tribal election meetings and create an electronic ballot return portal for certain voters, including tribal voters on reservations, military and overseas voters, and voters with disabilities; county auditors and election officials supported the tribal outreach and access goals but stressed the need for security testing and careful implementation of the portal. In executive session, the committee considered five bills and adopted amendments on two of them. For HB 2333, which addresses protections against political violence for elected officials, candidates, election officials, and criminal justice participants, the committee adopted amendment Omley 307 to allow P.O. boxes or ACP addresses in campaign-related filings and contributions, then advanced the substitute bill on a 4-3 vote. HB 2462, concerning authority to counter unpiloted aircraft systems, was advanced 5-2. HB 2419, which expands the address confidentiality program to certain administrative law judges and Office of Administrative Hearings employees, was amended to include the chief administrative law judge and then advanced 5-2. HB 2176, exempting collaborative drug therapy agreement information from the Public Records Act, advanced 4-3 after debate over privacy versus transparency. HB 2491, exempting personal information submitted to Washington Technology Solutions for digital experience platform services, also advanced 5-2. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• This year, we've seen major developers in consumer-facing AIs offer access to new tools to encourage
• At the same time, personal information is increasingly easy to access.
• program that has existed for nearly 30 years to those who provide services to our most vulnerable communities
• the actual bill language so that you can have access to it.
• So I try to be as nonpartisan as I can in different... ...that you can have access to it.

Committee: Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection

Keywords: 987, senate, all