Transcript Highlights:

• And so, you know, what we're working on is to, one, develop a volume, a contact volume-based model where
• we can predict where contact volume really will be.
• And so, you know, what we're working on is to, one, develop a volume, a contact volume-based model where
• we can predict where contact volume really will be.
• And so, you know, what we're working on is to, one, develop a volume, a contact volume-based model where

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The joint oversight hearing focused on AB 988 implementation and suicide prevention in California Indian communities. Members and the chairs emphasized that 988 was intended to create a behavioral health crisis system with “someone to call, someone to come, and somewhere to go,” and then turned to the disproportionate suicide burden facing Native youth and the need for culturally responsive outreach and services. Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, the bill’s author, said the law has already saved lives but argued that key parts of the system—especially interoperability between 911 and 988, mobile crisis dispatch, and adequate funding—are not yet working as intended. The first panel of stakeholders and call center leaders largely said California’s 988 network is underfunded and not fully integrated. Speakers from the Steinberg Institute and 988 California said call, text, and chat demand has grown sharply, but staffing and funding have not kept pace, leaving text/chat answer rates far below the state’s goals and sending many contacts to out-of-state backup centers. They also said mobile crisis teams are not being dispatched through 988 statewide, and that the state’s current governance and funding structure is too fragmented. WellSpace Health and other providers described 988 as the “front door” to crisis care, urged more stable funding, and recommended broader use of the CCBHC model to support mobile crisis and behavioral health infrastructure. San Joaquin County offered a local success story, describing a countywide crisis continuum that links 988, mobile crisis, behavioral health access lines, and follow-up services through warm handoffs and coordinated outreach. County officials said the model has reduced reliance on emergency departments and involuntary holds, and they noted that local partnerships and repeated community meetings were key to implementation. Members asked about staffing, tribal outreach, and how to make the system more measurable and interoperable; panelists said staffing projections should be based on actual call volume and contact length, and that tribal-specific outreach has often depended on temporary grant funding. State officials from CalHHS and DHCS then described the five-year implementation plan, the roles of multiple agencies, and current performance data. They said California’s 988 system has handled more than 74,000 contacts in a recent month, with in-state answer rates of 87% for calls and lower rates for chats and texts, and that unanswered contacts are routed to backup centers. They highlighted training efforts, LGBTQ+ competency work after the end of the federal “Press 3” option, and efforts to improve reimbursement for mobile crisis services. No formal votes or committee actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• The business complies with the Texas Motor Carrier Laws, and for production cap purposes, the beer is
• When you change what the caps provide them and change...
• How they can use those caps, we feel like you've violated the agreement.
• , but to our knowledge, there's nobody even close to that cap.
• But that does go against the cap on the amount that they're able to sell. Yes, sir.

Bills: HB 1301, HB2278, HB2776, HB2820, HB3848, HB3920, HB4172, HB4215, HB4284, HB4285, HB4463, HB4517, HB4690, HB4765, HB4766, HB4767, HB4768, HB4769, HB4773, HB4830, HB5506

Keywords: alcohol, beverages, winery permit, restaurant, malt beverages, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, alcohol production, home brewing, family use, craft beverages, massage therapy, licensing, criminal offenses, sexually oriented businesses, public safety, bingo, charitable gaming, operating capital, regulation, funding

Transcript Highlights:

• If he understood the question correctly, it becomes a volume issue.
• He said it is a volume issue.
• If he understood the question correctly, it becomes a volume issue.
• If he understood the question correctly, it becomes a volume issue.
• a volume a volume issue<00:51:35.440> follow<00:51:36.400> follow<00:51:36.680>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're looking at—I read somewhere in the volumes of papers that I've been reading—that either this particular
• bill... ...in the volumes of papers that I've been reading, that either this particular bill or the
• House bill removed a $60 million cap as it relates to facilities support for charter schools.
• So we remove the $60 million cap and do it based on ADA.

Bills: HB2

Keywords: disaster preparedness, emergency management, flooding, mass fatality, mass casualty, fatality tracking, body recovery, autopsy, justice of the peace, medical examiner, county judge, sheriff, mayor, emergency coordinator, emergency manager license, volunteer management system, volunteer registration, criminal history check, background check, Texas Division of Emergency Management

Summary: The Senate Education K-16 Committee met to consider HB 2, the major school finance bill, with the chair explaining that the committee substitute would provide about $8 billion in new public education funding. The bill was described as including permanent teacher compensation increases, expanded teacher incentive allotment funding, support for early literacy and numeracy, teacher certification and residency pathways, special education funding, career and technical education, school safety dollars, and facilities support for charter schools. The committee adopted the committee substitute without objection after roll was called and a quorum was present. Members questioned the bill’s structure, especially the balance between across-the-board teacher pay and the teacher incentive allotment, the treatment of uncertified teachers, and differences in requirements between traditional public schools and charter schools. Senator Menendez and Senator West raised concerns about equity, charter-school parity, facilities funding, inflation, and whether the bill should include more support for fine arts and extracurricular programs. The chair responded that the bill was designed to direct most new money to traditional public schools while also preserving flexibility and that charter-school and public-school alignment would need further work. Invited witnesses Dr. Imelda De La Rosa and Val Acri testified in support of the bill, emphasizing that the Teacher Incentive Allotment helps recruit and retain teachers in rural districts and supports mentorship and certification pathways. Public witnesses also supported the bill but urged more funding for fine arts, local flexibility, and full restoration of House-proposed funding levels. Dr. Josh Jones supported year-long teacher residencies, Dr. Philip Morgan asked for more local control and restoration of fine arts funding, Rich Saina supported the bill but warned about hold-harmless reductions, and Dr. Greg Poole supported the bill while asking for flexibility for high-performing districts that already pay high salaries. After the invited testimony and some public testimony, the committee recessed subject to the call of the chair so members could attend the Senate floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• So you've identified the largest issue out there, and if I could—it's just the volume level that I have
• . ...out there, and if I could, it's just the volume level, right?
• Decisions on cap and trade could happen in the near term as well.
• considering—there's some active pending legislation in both houses, I believe—related to reauthorization of cap

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on transportation agency budget proposals and did not take any votes. The first major discussion focused on the Motor Vehicle Account shortfall and a proposed one-time $166 million transfer from the Air Pollution Control Fund and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to offset California Air Resources Board mobile source costs. Department of Finance and the LAO described the account’s long-running structural deficit, driven largely by employee compensation growth and REAL ID-related workload, while members criticized the use of Proposition 4, GGRF, and other one-time or redirected funds as backfills and urged a longer-term solution that addresses both revenues and expenditures. The committee then heard Caltrans’ request for $25 million in General Fund support to create a Clean California Community Cleanup and Employment Pathway Grant Program. Caltrans said the program would build on the prior Clean California effort by funding local litter and graffiti cleanup, community engagement, and workforce pathways for vulnerable populations. The LAO recommended rejecting the proposal, arguing that local litter abatement is not a core state responsibility and that one-time funding is unlikely to solve persistent local cleanup needs. Several members echoed those concerns, while public commenters split between support for the cleanup/employment model and calls to instead restore funding to the Active Transportation Program and transit operations. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency requested that California administratively recognize Tahoe’s federally designated population figure for state formula-based transportation funding, which would raise the population count used in formulas from 40,000 to 145,000. The agency said the change would not request new money but would better align state formulas with federal law and support a shared regional funding framework; members appeared generally supportive, though they noted the need to phase in the change to reduce impacts on other regions. The final presentation was on High-Speed Rail. The LAO reviewed the authority’s project update report, noting that it did not fully meet statutory requirements and that key details are still pending in a supplemental report expected later in the summer. The LAO said the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment still shows an estimated roughly $7 billion funding gap, with no specific plan to close it, and highlighted risks from federal review, inflation, and uncertain GGRF revenues. High-Speed Rail Authority staff said they are conducting a bottom-up review of scope, schedule, ridership, and costs, expect to provide updated information by late summer, and are exploring public-private partnerships and other financing strategies. Members stressed that no further funding commitments should be made until the updated analysis is available.

Transcript Highlights:

• So my question to you is, in the states of Arizona, Colorado, and Texas, is there a cap on the amount
• Arizona does Not have a cap on these damages. So they're unlimited. Colorado is complex.
• Justice remarkably does have a cap at $250,000. And one of the items that the Madam Chair, Mr.
• Our medical malpractice rates are due to, you know, no caps or this or that, when the insurance companies
• To add cap members, projected health insurance increases from 5 to 54% have been received for FY27.

Transcript Highlights:

• What kind of volume are we doing? What are we projecting for future volume?
• What kind of volume are we doing? What are we projecting for future volume?
• What kind of volume are we doing? What are we projecting for future volume?
• <00:39:57.640> of increase in the number of the volume of increase in the number of the volume
• what are we projecting for future volume what are we projecting for future volume what's<00:40:56.920

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: House Finance Division III convened a work session on the DHHS budget, with the chair noting there would be no votes and that the committee would spend the day hearing from the commissioner’s office. Nathan White, DHHS Chief Financial Officer, opened with the Division of Finance/Office of Business Operations, explaining that the unit supports the department through daily financial management, AP/AR, audit work, expense projections, transfers, and procurement functions such as contracts, amendments, RFPs/RFAs, and grants management. He also described the division’s revenue and reporting work, including federal draws, CMS-64 reporting, and the public assistance cost allocation plan, and said the department had centralized rate-setting work and a small team handling Medicaid rate analysis and nursing facility rebase work. Members asked about vacancies, turnover, and budget changes. White said the division had 18 positions unfunded in the governor’s budget, reducing personal services from about $10.8 million to $9.9 million, and estimated the division’s vacancy rate at about 11 percent, below the department average. He said turnover was relatively low, with one retirement at the manager level and higher turnover mainly at lower AP-level positions. He also explained that some budget lines reflected reallocations rather than new spending, including fringe benefits centralized elsewhere and an EBT card contract moved into this unit because the staff member overseeing it works in Finance. When asked about a rent/lease increase, he said it was due to higher copier leasing costs under a statewide DAS contract. White highlighted several management and technology improvements. He said a business intelligence tool procured in 2022, using Salesforce and Excel-based data, helped DHHS better track federal revenue and maintenance-of-effort spending, reducing FY24 General Fund lapse by about 70 percent and federal/other revenue lapse by 88 percent compared with FY23; he warned that the tool is not funded in the current budget. He also described Lean Six Sigma efforts in the contracts team, training for vendors and nonprofits on procurement and indirect cost rules, and a Finance Academy to standardize policies and procedures. On the contracts side, he said the department uses Smartsheet for project management and DocuSign for electronic signatures, which cut contract execution time dramatically, but noted DocuSign is also not funded in the governor’s budget. The session ended as the committee prepared to move on to the Employee Assistance Program presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• The same volume of goods was being sold.
• That's not a cap, actually; it's a 3.5% limit.
• That was when our claims volumes were off the charts, when we were paying tens of billions of dollars
• Yeah, I remember the volume was so high that senators were volunteering their staff to help handle the

Bills: SB317, SB1250, SB1520, SB1950, SB2298, SB2532, SB2539, SB2747, SB2925, SB2993

Keywords: monuments, memorials, public property, historical significance, civil penalties, local governance, project financing zone, municipal tax revenue, convention centers, multipurpose arenas, infrastructure development, hike and bike trails, outdoor recreation, environmental stewardship, Bicentennial Trail, Texas history, cultural heritage, unemployment benefits, eligibility, Texas Workforce Commission

Transcript Highlights:

• But currently, we believe that there are no alternatives available in sufficient volumes at reasonable
• of the sample uh of the entire volume of the sample uh and<00:29:44.919> that<00:29:45.039>
• Um, it's capped at a million dollars, so it'll be good to sort of see how it works.
• Um, it's capped at a million dollars, so it'll be good to sort of see how it works.
• Now, when they pay these claims, we are looking at a cap.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• satisfaction with their health plans and health care through what we call the Medicaid Health Plan Caps
• That's the Caps survey information and and summary in 2023, 74% of adults rated their health plan an
• We also measure in really satisfaction through a long-term care specific caps survey that the plans are
• These are the results of the Caps survey from 2023, which reported 82% of unreleased surveyed or their
• Also use a caps survey, too, identify the satisfaction with dental plans.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think more in volume. Do...
• You do have higher-volume counties, absolutely mostly a factor of population...
• So without the volume, we’re going to really have to think outside the box.
• we can’t fix volume, right?
• We talked about volume and theme.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They don't have the in-house resources to be able to handle the volume of that kind of work.
• They don't have the in-house resources to be able to handle the volume of that kind of work.
• And the difference in the volume, With congregate care and the difference in the volume, one being an
• The cap for victim compensation has remained The cap for victim compensation has remained throughout
• for victim compensation from that $25,000 cap?

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held its sixth public hearing on the Governor’s H-2 budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, focused on public safety and judiciary agencies, at the Foxborough Community Center. After opening remarks and local welcomes, the committee heard first from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, led by Secretary Gina Kwan, who outlined a $1.72 billion budget, up $69.8 million from FY26. She said the proposal emphasizes core operations, readiness, and partnerships with municipalities, and highlighted work on firearms-law implementation, State Police reform, DOC reentry efforts, hate-crimes prevention, emergency response, and planning for major events including the World Cup. Members also raised concerns about DNA backlog reporting, State Police academy boxing and training standards, ICE communication, disaster relief funding, crime lab staffing, EMS placement, and diversity in public safety leadership. Several exchanges focused on specific operational issues. Secretary Kwan and her team said the State Police are tracking the influx of forensic work from local sheriffs, that the boxing program remains suspended pending an IACP review and likely will not return in its prior form, and that EOPS has no direct communication with ICE but supports law-enforcement coordination where appropriate. On disaster preparedness, officials said the new disaster relief fund is being developed with MEMA and A&F, currently capitalized at $14 million with another $14 million expected, though members urged a more permanent funding source. On the crime lab, staff said the roughly $4.5 million increase is intended to cover core operations and a structural funding gap rather than expand services. The secretary also said EOPS is not ready to absorb OEMS from DPH at this time, though she would keep an open mind. The committee then heard from district attorneys, led by Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden, who said the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association is seeking a 10% increase in operating budgets, including about $16.7 million for staffing salaries, to recruit and retain prosecutors, advocates, and support staff. He said the request reflects rising workload and the need to keep the criminal justice system functioning efficiently and fairly. The hearing was recessed briefly after the district attorneys’ opening remarks, with additional testimony expected to continue afterward.

Transcript Highlights:

• This slide highlights the volume of This slide highlights the volume of applications processed and the
• Their ability to meet this demand with professionalism and care speaks volumes about their commitment
• As a result, we did see an increase in call volume in 2025 over what we had seen in 2024.
• As a result, we did see an increase in call volume in 2025 over what we had seen in 2024.
• As a result, we did see an increase in call volume in 2025 over what we had seen in 2024.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The committee first heard the Arizona Auditor General’s sunset review of the Arizona Barbering and Cosmetology Board. The audit found some strengths, including timely licensing and complaint resolution in the sample reviewed and rules that matched statutory curriculum requirements, but it also identified a major finding that the board had imposed inconsistent discipline for similar violations and lacked documentation for deviations from its disciplinary guidelines. Other issues included missing reciprocity education requirements, weak application quality control, incomplete school and establishment oversight, and compliance concerns involving open meeting law, public records, and conflicts of interest. The report made 25 recommendations total, including two tied to the disciplinary finding and three suggested statutory changes on esthetics scope of practice, cease-and-desist authority, and eyelash technician training. The board’s executive director said the board agreed with the findings, had already implemented several recommendations, updated disciplinary policies and conflict-of-interest procedures, and was working on legislation and rule changes. After questions about enforcement consistency, licensing verification, cash handling, complaint volume, and conflict disclosures, the committee voted 7-0 to recommend the board be continued for six years, until July 1, 2032. The committee then took up the Arizona Department of Gaming, the Arizona Racing Commission, and the Arizona Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Commission together. The Auditor General reported that the department correctly distributed more than $158 million in tribal contributions in fiscal year 2024 and issued event wagering licenses to reviewed applicants, but found several problems: the department did not consistently obtain and review independent audit reports for event wagering and fantasy sports operators, did not fully comply with conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements, and lacked comprehensive complaint-handling processes. The review also found delays in distributing Compact Trust Fund payments to some tribes, gaps in IT security and horse-racing license checks, and incomplete fee-setting and public-records practices. The report made 36 recommendations to the department, six to the Racing Commission, and 13 to the Boxing and MMA Commission, and all three entities said they agreed and would implement them. In response, the Department of Gaming director said the agency was already making changes, including a historical look-back on operator audits, updated guidance to operators, a new constituent services unit and complaint-tracking process, and improved conflict-of-interest training and forms. She also explained the Compact Trust Fund dispute, saying the department administers the fund but the beneficiary tribes must agree on the revenue baseline formula, which has been complicated by COVID-era closures; no Category Three distributions had yet been made. Committee members asked about possible revenue losses, penalties, and the status of 2024-2025 audits, as well as prediction markets and whether they are legal under Arizona’s event wagering framework. The director said the department had issued cease-and-desist letters to unlicensed prediction-market operators, would review licensed operators for suitability if needed, and would continue to enforce Arizona law. The transcript ends while questioning on prediction markets is still underway, before any vote on the gaming-related reviews is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• products like feeding tubes and volume products like feeding tubes and accessories<00:13:49.920>
• However, that methodology has explicit claims volume and provider participation requirements that are
• and provider provider claims volume and provider provider participation<00:15:31.440> requirements
• Um, but the Federal Communications Commission has put out new guidelines about the caps for a lot of
• Um, but the Federal Communications Commission has put out new guidelines about the caps for a lot of

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• of an art supply and whether the kinds of things students use in schools, such as chewing on a pen cap
• <00:22:46.679> chewing<00:22:47.000> on<00:22:47.080> the<00:22:47.240> cap
• <00:22:47.480> or<00:22:47.600> is might be like chewing on the cap or is might be
• like chewing on the cap or is there<00:22:48.440> has<00:22:48.559> the<00:22:48.720>
• <00:50:26.799> of<00:50:26.920> the of the entire volume of the of the entire volume

Bills: HF737, HF247, HF325, HF1330

Keywords: lead, cadmium, consumer products, safety regulation, retail restrictions, motor sports, nonoxygenated gasoline, fuel regulations, storage requirements, racing events, HF325, flavored nitrous oxide, nitrous oxide, whippets, laughing gas, retail sales, consumer protection, misdemeanor, commerce, Minnesota Statutes chapter 325F

Transcript Highlights:

• It'll be in our book, yes, Volume 3. We have it in Volume 2 and Volume 3. Sorry, I...
• So we don't have it in our binders; we'll have it in Volume 2. Okay, perfect.
• And that'll be business unit 361 starting in Volume 2.
• Cybersecurity, and yet on page 116 of volume two, it actually says that there are only 76 executive agencies
• The federal civil rights law has no caps whatsoever on it.

Transcript Highlights:

• based on governmental accounting standards as well as the generally accepted accounting principles or CAP
• sources and as you can see, the most of it out of our total 1.04 billion, 51% is generated from the volume
• cap or the private activity bonds that we get for our mortgage revenue bond programs, and for that we
• And what we have done. here is trying to extend the volume cap so that we can reach out to more people
• when you enter into a rental lease, you know exactly the costs associated with that lease, and it'll cap

Transcript Highlights:

• It that just caps are liability.
• They and this is important part of how the cap and received this exemption from the IRS. of how the cap
• So the majority of the Pfizer save our cap. As you can see on the right hand side.
• Critical role in the cap has climbed pay resources.
• But the cat fund cap has stayed at that 17 Billion.

Transcript Highlights:

• That is an overnight 50% increase to our call volume.
• Their volume is different. Contra Costa, I imagine, is smaller than WellSpace.
• And they can't increase call volume if they don't have the operators to do so.
• And so, you know, what we're working on is to, one, develop a volume, a contact volume-based model where
• we can predict where contact volume really will be.

Summary: The joint Assembly Health and Select Committee on Native American Affairs held an oversight hearing on AB 988, California’s 988 crisis line and mobile crisis response system, followed by a discussion of suicide prevention and intervention in California Indian communities. Members and witnesses repeatedly emphasized that AB 988 was intended to create a true alternative to 911 for behavioral health crises, with “someone to call, someone to come, and somewhere to go,” and that Native communities continue to face disproportionately high suicide rates and barriers to culturally responsive care. The first panel of call center and stakeholder witnesses largely argued that implementation is falling short of the law’s intent. They said 988 call centers are underfunded, text/chat answer rates remain far below call answer rates, staffing is strained, and the system still lacks meaningful statewide interoperability between 988 and 911. Several witnesses said mobile crisis teams are not being dispatched through 988 as envisioned, and that funding formulas and governance are too opaque. San Joaquin County was presented as a local success story, with integrated 988, access lines, and mobile crisis handoffs that have reduced reliance on emergency departments and involuntary holds. Witnesses also discussed the need for better tribal outreach, the role of CCBHCs, and the importance of culturally competent services. State officials from CalHHS and DHCS described the five-year 988 implementation plan, the current governance structure across multiple agencies, and efforts to support training, public awareness, and referral tools. They reported growth in 988 contacts, ongoing training with the Trevor Project, a statewide resource directory, and a tribal awareness campaign. DHCS also outlined proposed trailer bill language that would create a formal designation process for 988 centers, set statewide standards, and require existing centers to obtain designation by 2029. Officials said current funding includes SAMHSA grants, block grant dollars, and an expected $67.3 million from the 988 fund in the next budget year, with a large share earmarked for Medi-Cal mobile crisis services. No formal vote or committee action was taken in the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Hudella, who put on his detective cap and was able to track down the people that were actually had it
• Hudella, who put on his detective cap and was able to track down the people that were actually had it
• Hudella, who put on his detective cap and was able to track down the people that were actually had it
• Back in 2024, they were estimated at $9 billion in volume. Now they're at $60 billion.
• volume. Now they're at 60 billion. volume. Now they're at 60 billion.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all