Transcript Highlights:

• We also have Andrea Ventura, legislative and policy director with Clean Water Action.
• As you heard, I'm Andrea Ventura with Clean Water Action.
• Not because I'm against clean air and clean energy initiatives, but because many landscapers like me
• Sophia Afroa, the Coalition for Clean Air.
• And again, my name is Kate Brandenburg on behalf of Sonoma Clean Power.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• "Where would claims data fit in here?" "Where would claims data fit in here?
• </c><00:19:41.280><c> data</c> you were talking about the claims data you were talking about the claims
• </c> going to get into the maybe claims data. going to get into the maybe claims data.
• ><c> submitted</c><00:31:21.760><c> with</c><00:31:21.880><c> the</c><00:31:21.960><c> claim.
• </c> that would be submitted with the claim. that would be submitted with the claim.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The subcommittee held its first meeting to discuss creating a Healthcare Transparency Dashboard focused largely on Kentucky Medicaid. Members introduced themselves and described their interest in using data transparency to improve policy, access to care, and program efficiency. The co-chairs said the dashboard should begin with a basic framework and expand over time, with a mission centered on collaboratively designing and maintaining a secure, data-driven dashboard housed with the Legislative Research Commission. Discussion focused on what should be measured and how data should be organized. Members agreed the dashboard should segment Medicaid populations rather than aggregate them, with separate attention to aged and disabled enrollees, expansion adults, and children. Suggested measures included emergency department utilization and follow-up, cancer screenings, child and adolescent well visits, adult well visits, postpartum care, newborn screenings and follow-ups, hospitalization and readmission rates, pharmacy, behavioral health, and claims data. Several members emphasized the need to include demographic and geographic information, while noting some items such as education may not be readily available in Medicaid data and that HIPAA and access issues will affect how detailed the public-facing dashboard can be. Members also discussed existing data sources and warned against duplicating work already being done by the cabinet, the Office of Data Analytics, CMS scorecards, and university Medicaid directed payment reporting. The group was encouraged to review the Medicaid and CHIP scorecard, which includes quality, administrative, and program characteristic measures, as a possible model. No formal votes were taken, but the subcommittee agreed to continue refining the mission statement, identify priority metrics, and consider benchmarking, outcomes, data-sharing, and technical platform issues before the next meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• and somebody has a $100,000 claim, they would be paying them out.
• </c><00:26:26.080><c> and</c> some people have $2,000 claims and some people have $2,000 claims and supposing
• </c> supposing somebody has $100,000 claim supposing somebody has $100,000 claim that<00:26:29.159><c
• </c><00:55:13.119><c> against</c> make claims against make claims against that<00:55:15.280><c> against
• We're tracking bankruptcy, making our claim.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, in an example, last year we had a service category called non-claims, right?
• And non-claims can be like value-based payments, right?
• They're payments that are tied to medical care that are not going to show up in a claim line.
• will hold the claims.
• We have the claims data for fee-for-service Medicare, Medicaid, but we don't have that.

Keywords: 962, all

Summary: The Complex Care Committee meeting focused first on a new Diabetes Caucus launched at the Capitol. Rep. Johnson described the caucus as a forum to educate people about type 1 and type 2 diabetes, genetic risk, early testing, pregnancy-related diabetes, and ways Medicaid policy might improve prevention and lower long-term costs. Members agreed the caucus could intersect with care management, and Carolyn Grandell of CHNCT offered to share information about current diabetes-related care management services at a future meeting. The committee then heard a detailed presentation from Alex Rigger of the Office of Health Strategy, who is moving to the Office of Policy and Management. He reviewed Connecticut health care benchmark data, including total health care expenditures, medical spending, and market-by-market trends. He said 2023 to 2024 per-capita spending grew more than 8.5% statewide and 14% in Medicaid, with long-term care accounting for about 46% of Medicaid spending and retail pharmacy also identified as a major cost driver. Members asked about enrollment changes, dual-eligible populations, Medicare Savings Program members, 340B drug pricing, and value-based payment models. Rigger explained that his office tracks alternate payment models and quality benchmarks, but does not separately capture 340B data. Discussion then shifted to Medicare Advantage, dual eligibles, and hospital discharge planning. Members said they want better data on how many Medicaid members are in Medicare Advantage plans and whether those plans shift costs back to Medicaid or affect access to care, especially for complex-care patients. Staff noted DSS does have some Medicare Advantage indicators and that CMS is developing encounter-data rules for states. Kathy Holt and others raised concerns about denials, nursing home stays, and the need to compare Medicaid spending for dual eligibles in Medicare Advantage versus traditional Medicare. The meeting ended with plans for follow-up data sharing, including Alex Rigger’s slides, the diabetes caucus materials, and a future discussion with DSS and other agencies; no formal votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• These are investments that allow communities all throughout the state to upgrade treatment plants, clean
• All Minnesotans should have access to clean, safe drinking water.
• </c><00:02:31.320><c> up</c> upgrade treatment plants, clean up upgrade treatment plants, clean up existing
• This is the clean, safe drinking water.
• up our water, how do we provide clean up our water, how do we provide clean<00:25:01.080><c> drinking

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Investments are proposed in the oversubscribed clean energy fund, with an emphasis on tribal projects
• Management of these lands is specifically designed to produce more cold, clean water for summer spawning
• private investment to provide Washingtonians low-cost financing for solar, energy efficiency, and clean
• We will revolve these funds, so this investment will continue financing clean energy projects statewide
• funds a low-interest loan program that's used to provide critical infrastructure, whether that be clean

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee held its first meeting of the 2026 session to hear Governor Ferguson’s proposed supplemental capital budget from OFM. Budget staff said the proposal uses nearly all of the roughly $400 million in available bond capacity, leaving about $5.4 million unused, and includes additional funding from the Common School Construction account, the Climate Commitment Account, and federal funds. OFM described housing as the largest priority, with $237 million total, including $225 million for the Housing Trust Fund for affordable rental housing, homeownership, preservation, and manufactured home community acquisition; it also highlighted urgent state facility needs, climate and clean energy investments, natural resource projects, and education funding for school seismic safety, small district and tribal compact school modernization, lead pipe remediation, and higher education preservation projects. Committee members asked about the timing of housing production, and OFM said the proposed supplemental projects would not be completed within the biennium. Public testimony in the housing section strongly supported the governor’s housing investments, especially the Housing Trust Fund, manufactured housing preservation, and homeownership programs, while several speakers asked for larger appropriations for workforce housing, community land trusts, right-to-counsel, and specific local projects such as Thrive Center Tacoma, Alliance Place, Casa Mia, and Native and immigrant community facilities. One testifier criticized overall state tax policy, but the chair clarified that the capital budget is bonded and does not directly raise taxes. Testimony on K-12 education generally supported the proposed funding for small school modernization, seismic safety, and Healthy Kids, Healthy Schools lead remediation, with rural districts emphasizing the importance of planning and construction grants for aging facilities. Higher education witnesses supported preservation and deferred maintenance funding but asked for additional support for projects at Cascadia College, WSU Spokane, UW’s decarbonization work, and other campus infrastructure needs. Natural resources testimony backed Salmon Recovery Funding Board and community forest investments, while asking for more funding for ranked RCO projects. In the final section, local governments and utilities opposed a proposed $75 million transfer from the Public Works Assistance account to the operating budget, warning it would reduce infrastructure lending capacity; other speakers supported the Washington State Green Bank, public works financing, and several local economic development and utility projects. No votes or formal committee action were taken at the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, if it's okay, we'll start with the Clean California.
• One of those is clean drinking water.
• Good afternoon, Sophia Africa, Coalition for Clean Air.
• Chair members, I'm Tom Knox, with a valid Clean Air Now.
• Ryan Kennedy with Clean Energy.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:15:38.399><c> energy</c><00:15:38.800><c> by</c> 100% clean energy by 100% clean energy by 2040
• And just clean energy and low cost.
• And so it's clean energy standard.
• </c><00:44:20.560><c> energy</c> do the job of building a clean energy do the job of building a clean
• </c><00:44:41.920><c> energy</c> our efforts uh to reach a clean energy our efforts uh to reach a clean

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Mason was for what you claim it was. There's a receipt right there. See that? Not a big deal.
• We have claimed expenditures online... ...Commonwealth. We just have line items.
• We have claimed expenditures online, but we don't have the physical documents.
• You're making claims and the auditor's making claims.
• You're making claims and the auditor's making claims.

Bills: H5004

Keywords: public records, public records law, transparency, open government, government accountability, legislature, general court, governor's office, executive records, legislative records, constituent communications, policy drafts, deliberative process, freedom of information, FOIA, records access, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66, Chapter 4, veterans services records, initiative petition

Summary: The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions held a public hearing on Initiative Petition 25-14, H 5-004, “an act to improve access to public records.” Chairs Cindy Friedman and Alice Peisch outlined the Article 48 process and explained that the committee was hearing expert testimony, then proponents, then opponents, before any public testimony. The first expert, Will Clark of the National Conference of State Legislatures, gave a general overview of public records laws across the states, emphasizing that all states have some form of open-records law but that exemptions, timelines, fees, and coverage of legislatures vary widely. He discussed legislative exemptions, legislative privilege, and court cases showing that outcomes often turn on the exact language of state constitutions, statutes, and chamber rules. Rebecca Murray, General Counsel for the Secretary of the Commonwealth, testified about Massachusetts public records administration, saying requests and appeals have risen sharply since the 2017 law update, with state agency requests increasing from 22,572 in 2017 to 47,776 in 2025 and appeals reaching a record 4,051 cases in 2025. She said the initiative would extend the law to the General Court and the Governor’s office and add exemptions for those branches, while warning that the volume and complexity of requests could require more resources. The proponents, led by Jesse Littlewood of the Coalition for Healthy Democracy, Scotia Hila of Act on Mass, and Auditor Diana DiZoglio, argued that Massachusetts is an outlier for exempting the legislature and governor from public records law and that the proposal would create needed accountability without exposing personal constituent communications or internal deliberations. They said the measure would make records such as committee votes, final bill drafts, amendments, expenditures, attendance records, minutes, and public testimony available, while preserving exemptions for constituent services, draft legislation, internal staff communications, and policy development discussions. DiZoglio emphasized that the initiative is aimed at basic administrative and financial records, citing her own difficulty obtaining receipts, contracts, and procurement documents, and said the public should be able to see how taxpayer dollars are spent. Committee members questioned the witnesses extensively about the scope of exemptions, constituent privacy, legislative privilege, and whether the measure could reach communications with nonprofits or lobbying-type interactions; proponents responded that privacy and constituent-service exemptions were intended to remain in place, though some members pressed for clearer statutory language. The hearing also included a contentious exchange over whether the initiative could affect legislative communications and whether the Senate had already taken a position against the measure. Some members raised concerns about separation of powers, legislative privilege, and the possibility of exposing constituent communications or internal deliberations, while proponents argued that the initiative was narrowly tailored and that any legal disputes could be resolved in court. No votes or formal actions were taken at the hearing. The committee concluded the testimony portion after hearing from the proponents and their questions, with the matter left pending for further consideration.

Transcript Highlights:

• Under tab 9, we have SB 1366, claims against the government.
• It shortens the time frame for bringing claims from three years to 18 months.
• It shortens the time frame from bringing claims from three years to 18 months.
• We know how long these claims cases take, right? Years and years. You may or may not ever get paid.
• Nobody's upset that it's all for prospective claims after October 1st of this year.

Bills: S0330, S0474, S0694, S1120, S1216, S1366, S1442, S7018

Keywords: firefighter disability, law enforcement disability, correctional officer disability, correctional probation officer, presumptive disability, workers' compensation, line of duty presumption, heart disease presumption, hypertension presumption, tuberculosis presumption, public safety employees, first responders, physical examination, preemployment exam, medical specialist, Medicare reimbursement, employing agency, Florida Statutes 112.18, Florida Statutes 943.13, occupational disease

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several bills, beginning with SB 694 on compensation for the descendants of the Groveland Four. Senator Bracey Davis described the wrongful accusations, convictions, deaths, and long-term harm to the families, and an amendment added a $4 million appropriation and updated the recipient for Ernest Thomas’s family. Multiple family members, advocates, clergy, and supporters testified in favor, emphasizing the decades-long delay in justice and the need for accountability and repair. Senators from both parties spoke in support, and the committee reported the bill favorably after a roll call vote. The committee then approved SB 330 on disability provisions for firefighters, law enforcement, and correctional officers; SB 474 on military affairs leave and related benefits; and SB 96 on the Veterans Dental Care Grant Program. SB 96 drew the most discussion, with Senator Sharief explaining that the bill raises eligibility to 400% of the federal poverty level and moves $500,000 in recurring funding to the General Appropriations Act. Senator Wright and Senator Harrell raised concerns about whether expanding eligibility could worsen the existing waitlist, while supporters argued the change would help more veterans access needed dental care. The bill was ultimately reported favorably. The committee also passed SB 7018 on child welfare, making the Step Into Success pilot program permanent and statewide, adjusting visitor/background-check rules for foster homes, and creating a best-practices program through the Florida Institute for Child Welfare. SB 480 on information technology was reported favorably after amendments creating a central IT governance structure under the Governor’s office, adding vendor performance metrics and a preferred vendor list, and restoring criminal justice information security provisions. SB 1066 on the Ocklawaha River and Rodman Dam also advanced after extensive testimony from supporters and historians about partial restoration, recreation, and economic benefits; the sponsor said he would continue working through permitting questions before floor consideration. Later, the committee approved SB 1216 on educator compensation, which gives districts more flexibility on cost-of-living adjustments, advanced degrees, and performance pay caps, and SB 1120 on water management district oversight and reporting. The committee also reported favorably SB 1366 on sovereign immunity and claims against government, which would raise damages caps, index them to CPI, shorten claim deadlines, and cap attorney fees at 25%. That bill drew testimony from hospitals, cities, counties, school districts, and others, with some supporting the Senate’s compromise approach and others raising concerns about impacts on self-insured law enforcement agencies and attorney incentives. The meeting concluded with the favorable report on the bill after debate continued over those issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• Clearly the biggest item or the, you know, large numbers represented their claims, benefits paid and
• And then there's a claims lag of six... ...and report back to you, or is it at end of year?
• And then there's a claims lag of six to 12 months after that?
• So these are submitted, I believe they're submitted with a three-month claims lag on them.
• And the annual one is the same thing, I believe, as a three-month claims lag.

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:

• And even if there's an aggregate cap, if the total of claims exceed the aggregate cap, then you have
• And even if there's an aggregate cap, if the total of claims exceed the aggregate cap, then you have
• And even if there's an aggregate cap, if the total of claims exceed the aggregate cap, then you have
• And even if there's an aggregate cap, if the total of claims exceed the aggregate cap, then you have
• He had no defensive wounds, right, and this guy would claim that was self-defense.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs heard several bills on building codes, taxation, police reports, National Guard benefits, and discriminatory reporting. SB 48 would have required the State Building Code Council to assess financial impacts of code adoption on homes and include utility costs; testimony was mixed, but the bill drew concerns about housing costs and code timing. SB 120 would have changed the State Building Code Council’s responsibilities and code adoption process; the International Code Council and Sierra Club opposed it, while BIA Hawaii and others supported it, arguing current code cycles raise costs and counties need more flexibility. The committee later noted that county building departments had not submitted testimony on SB 48 or SB 120. SB 138 would create a nonrefundable income tax credit for hurricane-resistant safe rooms. The Department of Taxation and the Tax Foundation raised concerns about blank provisions and revenue uncertainty, while Hawaii Emergency Management stood on written comments. The committee recommended passage with amendments, including a clarifying tax language change and an effective date of July 1, 2077. SB 112 would allow immediate family members of deceased persons to receive police closing reports after a set period; the Attorney General and prosecuting attorney supported access in principle but requested explicit redaction authority for minors and confidential personal information. The committee adopted amendments reflecting those concerns and passed the bill. SB 88 would authorize allowances for TRICARE, dental, and vision coverage for Hawaii National Guard personnel ordered to active duty for more than 30 days. It received support from National Guard and Department of Defense representatives and was passed as is. SB 16 would create civil remedies for discriminatory reporting to law enforcement based on protected characteristics and require public guidance from the Department of Law Enforcement and Civil Rights Commission; it received support from the department and several advocates, with one opposition testimony. The committee passed SB 16 with an amended effective date and technical changes. In final action, the committee deferred SB 48 and SB 120, and adopted the chair’s recommendations on the remaining measures before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• As a result of the settlement, money was appropriated to cover claims made by other Minnesotans who,
• It was sent directly to the court administrator, which was appointed to administer the claims.
• So the accounting system shows claims.
• claims on behalf<00:10:38.320><c> of</c><00:10:38.480><c> the</c><00:10:38.640><c> state.
• And if those claims come in over the residual claims, come in over 40 million, where does that additional

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• People claiming to be for a bill while they're trying to slow roll and gut it.
• That's what they claim is unconstitutional.
• People claiming to be for a bill while they're trying to slow roll and gut it.
• </c><00:19:54.640><c> you're</c> fooling anybody when you claim you're fooling anybody when you claim
• That's what they claim is bill. That's what they claim is unconstitutional.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• As a reminder, the bill would create a civil claim for damages for any person who's injured during civil
• It reduces the statute of limitations to bring a claim after the cause of action accrues to two years
• A federal 1983 action is a statute that allows individuals to bring a claim against a state official
• It reduces the statute of limitations to bring a claim after the cause of action accrues to two years
• So a federal 1983 action is a statute that allows individuals to bring a claim against a state official

Summary: The Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee met on February 4th and took executive action on five bills. Staff summarized House Bill 2255 on litigation finance, House Bill 2354 on Waukiawa and small common interest communities, House Bill 2595 on extending the time to bring post-conviction collateral attacks, House Bill 2320 on restricting certain 3D-printed and CNC-manufactured firearms and related code, and House Bill 2597 on civil remedies for constitutional violations during immigration enforcement. Members discussed each bill’s purpose and, in several cases, the committee heard support for transparency, reduced regulation for smaller communities, expanded access to justice, public safety concerns about untraceable firearms, and the need for remedies when constitutional rights are violated. The committee adopted an amendment to the proposed substitute for House Bill 2320, removing rebuttable presumption language related to intent to unlawfully distribute digital firearm manufacturing code or manufacture a firearm. Members also discussed the substitute versions of House Bills 2354 and 2597, which narrowed or clarified the original bills in various ways, including changes to audit thresholds, immunity language, attorney fee provisions, and the statute of limitations. No amendments were offered to House Bills 2255, 2354, or 2595. All four bills that reached final action were reported out of committee with a due pass recommendation: House Bill 2255 passed 12-1, House Bill 2354 passed 13-0, House Bill 2595 passed 8-5, House Bill 2320 passed 8-5 after the amendment was adopted, and House Bill 2597 passed 8-5. The chair then adjourned the meeting and thanked staff for their work.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:55.519><c> Energy</c> million for the Minnesota Clean Energy million for the Minnesota Clean
• Again, trying to lower people's energy bills and achieve our clean energy goals. And Mr.
• So, we want clean renewable energy.
• So, we want clean renewable energy.
• </c> it helped disperse the growth of clean it helped disperse the growth of clean energy<00:38:10.480

Bills: HF2438

Keywords: transportation finance, transportation policy, MnDOT, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, Metropolitan Council, highway funding, trunk highway fund, county state-aid highway fund, municipal state-aid street fund, state aid roads, local roads, bridge funding, road construction, transit funding, passenger rail, freight rail, aviation, airport development, safe routes to school

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> meeting our 100% clean energy goals. meeting our 100% clean energy goals.
• </c> biomass, energy storage, and other clean biomass, energy storage, and other clean energy<00:25:28.960
• The air that gets is pure and more clean, we benefit from.
• Ecosystems, wildlife, local communities depend on clean water. This can be important.
• Chair. communities depend on clean water. Uh, communities depend on clean water.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• When damages are under $5,000, he can take a case to small claims court and represent himself without
• The system works... ...really well for small, very small claims.
• It raises the current small claims, which is essentially People's Court.
• So if I was a small claims operator, contractor, and the fee, or the amount that I was trying to collect
• that situation where you had $16,000, say, we pass this and make it law, you would file a $15,000 claim

Summary: The Idaho Judiciary and Rules and Administration Committee approved the minutes from March 19, 2026, and recognized page Obregon for his service, including remarks about his college plans and interest in law and public service. The chair presented him with a committee gift and signed card. The committee then heard House Bill 614, which Rep. Brandon Mitchell said would modernize Idaho’s mental health and developmental disability laws, update definitions to include neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, and create clearer pathways for treatment and civil commitment in cases where defendants are found incompetent and not restorable. Nez Perce County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Travis Hartshorn testified in support, explaining that the bill addresses gaps in current law that can leave such individuals without a commitment option, especially in rural counties, and that the added sexual-offense language was intended to cover cases where harmful conduct is not strictly physical. After questions about guardianship boards and the scope of the problem, the committee voted to send HB 614 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee also considered Senate Bill 1330 as amended, sponsored by Sen. Cody Galloway and Rep. John Schurz, which would raise Idaho’s small claims court limit from $5,000 to $15,000. Supporters said the increase would better reflect inflation and help small businesses and individuals resolve modest disputes without hiring attorneys. After a brief discussion, including a question about whether claimants could waive amounts above the new limit, the committee voted unanimously to send SB 1330 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The chair then thanked members for their work and indicated the committee’s session work was concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• The other thing I would like to do, and I realize this is a claims against the state bill, but I'd like
• to incorporate the statutory amendments to the claim statute that are in SB 2311 that would prohibit
• , if they exceed the time-limit limitations of section 40-68 from being claimed.
• And finally, I'd like to delete the USEPA claim, with committee language asking the Attorney General
• It seems to us that the claim should be against the lessee who put in this gigantic cesspool, and I'm

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Judiciary Committee heard and acted on several nominations and bills. It first recommended advise and consent for Governor’s Message 573, confirming Luann Blake to the Statewide Elections Accessibility Needs Advisory Committee after she described her experience as a blind voter and her goals of improving outreach and accessibility for voters with print disabilities. The committee then took up the judiciary supplemental budget bill, HB 2095, with testimony from the courts and several supportive organizations. The courts requested funding for security, cybersecurity, substance use treatment contracts, public guardian services, staffing, and capital projects; members questioned the lump-sum CIP request, the substance use contract funding, and the Kamanu Hale elevator project. The committee later voted to pass HB 2095 with amendments, including changes to cybersecurity funding, security-related report language, and other committee-report notes. The committee also heard HB 1520, which changes the five-year statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions of campaign finance violations to begin upon discovery by the Campaign Spending Commission. The commission supported the bill, saying it would prevent delayed reporting from avoiding prosecution, while one senator raised concerns about due diligence, tolling, and the difference between administrative and criminal enforcement. The bill drew broad support from advocacy groups and was advanced with an amendment clarifying “criminal prosecution.” HB 1548, which reduces the maximum sentence for misdemeanors and other offenses punishable by up to one year to 364 days, received strong support from the Public Defender, immigrant-rights groups, OHA, and others, who said the change would reduce immigration consequences for noncitizens. The committee later amended and passed the bill, limiting it to non-violent offenses. HB 2050, increasing partial public financing limits and available public funds, was supported by the Campaign Spending Commission and good-government groups, while OHA asked for parity with lieutenant governor races. The committee passed it with amendments increasing the public-fund match and funding levels, and requested additional appropriations in the committee report. HB 2494, which would set factors for warrantless arrests for petty misdemeanors and violations and require documentation of the justification, drew strong support from the Public Defender and civil-liberties advocates but opposition from the Attorney General’s office, prosecutors, police, and some business groups, who warned it would restrict officer discretion and trigger litigation. The committee nevertheless passed it with amendments. In a final decision-making agenda, the committee also passed HB 2250 with amendments, adding blank appropriations and committee-report language related to claims against the state, including claims involving exonerees and a disputed USEPA-related claim.

Transcript Highlights:

• At any particular point in time, the state of Texas may have outstanding claims and judgments against
• The comptroller is authorized to pay claims from existing appropriations, but the following types of
• an appropriation, and claims older than 8 years.
• All of these claims are made to the comptroller's office and presented.
• the comptroller then begins paying these claims in September of the new fiscal year.

Bills: HB104

Keywords: property tax, ad valorem tax, tax rate election, voter-approval tax rate, no-new-revenue tax rate, de minimis rate, local government, special district, tax increase, tax notice, public hearing, tax code, Health and Safety Code, Texas property taxes, taxing unit, election threshold, two-thirds vote, majority vote, budget approval