Transcript Highlights:

• of paper, they enable students across Texas to be successful. be productive contributors to our powerful
• Note that the governor here in Texas, Governor Abbott, hosted His Highness the Aga Khan at a luncheon

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm asking now the governor, Mr.
• Henderson isn't the governor, so he's here to talk about the budget, not what the governor thinks.
• The governor has proposed a plan.
• that the governor vetoed and double eligibility and we sent some bills up to the governor that the governor
• That's what governors do.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The committee met to review the governor’s fiscal 2027 budget presentation, with the chair repeatedly asking members to keep questions brief and avoid speeches. The discussion focused first on the overall revenue and spending outlook, including concerns from members that the executive forecast was more optimistic than the JLBC baseline and that the budget appeared to front-load revenue and expenditure growth. The governor’s budget team said the forecast was close to JLBC’s, that the budget was structurally balanced, and that differences were roughly $100 million per year on ongoing revenue. Members asked for follow-up calculations in writing, including the total multi-year gap and the amount of revenue enhancements above base revenues. A major portion of the meeting centered on tax and fee proposals tied to data centers, water use, and sports betting. The governor’s team defended eliminating the existing data center tax incentive as the removal of a loophole rather than a new tax, arguing the incentive had already succeeded in attracting major investment. They also described a proposed Department of Water Resources fee-setting authority for data centers to support a new Colorado River Protection Fund, and said the proposal would apply to existing and future facilities without a grandfather clause. Members raised concerns about fairness, competitiveness, and whether the changes would require a supermajority vote. The team also discussed increased sports betting fees, saying the revenue forecast did not include dynamic behavioral effects. The committee then moved through major spending areas, including corrections, public safety, border security, cybersecurity, K-12 education, Medicaid, and developmental disabilities. The governor’s budget includes ongoing funding to prevent correctional officer pay cuts, money to comply with prison health care court orders, probation funding, body-worn cameras, law enforcement staffing, fentanyl task forces, and cyber readiness grants. Members questioned the lack of funding for a prison oversight committee and asked for corrections spending totals over the administration. On border security, the executive said it was seeking about $759.7 million in federal reimbursement for border-related costs and that the governor had met with federal officials, including Secretary Noem and Tom Homan, about the request. In education, the budget proposes renewing Prop. 123, adding K-12 base funding, and issuing $1.5 billion in school facilities bonds over three years; members debated whether the proposal was appropriate and whether Prop. 123 revenues could support the debt service. The meeting also covered AHCCCS cost growth and federal HR1 impacts, with the executive warning of major coverage losses and hospital funding reductions, and DDD funding, where the governor’s team said the budget fully funds services and includes about $120 million in supplemental needs. No votes were taken; the meeting was a presentation and question-and-answer session only.

Transcript Highlights:

• overview of what's happening from the Department of Finance perspective, the proposals from the Governor
• We'll hear very Proposals from the Governor in the January budget.
• of funding that the Legislature provides for enrollment growth could be higher or lower than the Governor
• And I know the governor has stated directly in meeting rooms that he...
• obligations for a future governor to have to then settle up.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Both the Senate and the governor funded $3.3 million, and we hope that we can get no less than that funded
• The Governor and the Senate completely restore the $2.7 million cut to the college operating budget,
• The Governor and the Senate completely restore the $2.7 million cut to the college operating budget,
• Without coverage, my patients wouldn't be able to learn to use or acquire power wheelchairs or acquire
• Given that the Washington and Oregon governors have issued executive orders for tribal consultation and

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee held a public hearing on proposed substitute House Bill 2289, the House operating budget. Budget staff Mary Monroe gave a detailed overview of the proposal’s near general fund outlook, reserve levels, major revenue assumptions, and major spending and savings items. She highlighted assumed revenue from capital gains and a proposed “millionaires tax,” a transfer from the budget stabilization account, administrative reductions across agencies, and several major policy shifts, including changes affecting Working Connections Child Care, K-12 education, higher education, long-term care, behavioral health, wildfire response, and state employee compensation. Members then asked questions, including about the higher education building account/operating fee swap and its interaction with the capital budget and Climate Commitment Act funds. The committee also announced amendment deadlines for the budget process. The bulk of the meeting was public testimony, with many speakers generally supporting or opposing specific parts of the budget. Supportive testimony praised funding for wildfire prevention, public health, reproductive health, civil legal aid, the Poison Center, some higher education institutions, and certain disability and child welfare services. Many speakers urged restoration or protection of funding for K-12 education, especially transition to kindergarten, local effort assistance, bus depreciation, and Running Start; others opposed cuts to child care, early learning, public defense, long-term care, adult day and home care services, occupational/physical/speech therapy for Medicaid patients, and community and technical colleges. Several local government, health, and nonprofit representatives also asked the committee to preserve public works, homelessness, energy assistance, environmental justice, and recovery/diversion programs, while some business and public safety groups sought continued funding for organized retail crime prevention and related initiatives. No votes were taken during the hearing. The committee recessed briefly and later resumed with virtual testimony, where additional witnesses repeated concerns about education cuts, long-term care, health care access, disability services, dispute resolution, early childhood programs, and the need for ongoing or increased funding in those areas.

Transcript Highlights:

• voice here, and to be able to deliver... ...a concrete recommendation to the Legislature and to our Governor
• And by the way, the Governor zeroed out all the dollars.
• That was not acceptable because we had to fight hard with the Governor and his team to bring those funds
• And so I think that's why the role of the state is so important: by trying to, in the power that HCD
• I think that's well within the power of the state to imagine in this committee, I would suggest also

Summary: The Assembly Select Committee on Housing Finance and Affordability held its first hearing of 2025 to examine California’s housing finance system, with opening remarks emphasizing the state’s severe housing shortage, high costs, and the need for practical recommendations to the Legislature and Governor. Co-chairs described the committee as an educational and problem-solving forum focused on financing housing production, first-time homeownership, mixed-income developments, and affordability across the income spectrum. Witnesses from state agencies and the development sector were invited to explain how housing is financed and where the system is breaking down. Panelists from the California Housing Partnership, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the Tax Credit Allocation Committee/State Treasurer’s Office, CalHFA, and Related outlined the “capital stack” used to finance affordable housing, stressing that projects typically rely on multiple public and private sources, including federal and state low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, state subsidies, local funds, and rental income. Speakers noted that affordable housing rents generally cannot support full project costs without public subsidy, and that recent federal changes—especially the expansion of the 4% and 9% tax credit programs and the reduction of the bond financing threshold for 4% credits—should allow California to finance substantially more units. CalHFA also described its homeownership programs, including My Home, Dream For All, and disaster-related mortgage assistance, as well as its multifamily lending and bond issuance programs. Several witnesses and committee members emphasized that the system remains too complex, too slow, and underfunded. They pointed to the need for more state funding, a housing bond, a permanent funding source, and better coordination among agencies, while also citing recent streamlining efforts such as AB 434’s SuperNOFA, AB 519’s one-stop-shop working group, and the planned California Housing and Homeless Agency reorganization. Members raised concerns about equity, access, missing-middle housing, gender and racial disparities, and whether current programs adequately serve extremely low-income households and those at risk of homelessness. No formal votes or actions were taken during the hearing; the discussion ended with committee members and witnesses agreeing that both funding and administrative reform are needed to increase production and improve affordability.

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's go online and hear from the **Governor** if he's available.
• **Governor Pino**, if you could please...
• Hi, **Governor Pino**. Yes. Can you hear us? We sure can. Okay. My name is **Lambert Pino**.
• I'm the appointed governor from the **Pueblo of Zia**.
• Thank you so much, **Governor Pino**. And then we also had **Adrian Martinez**. Adrian. Adrian.

Committee: House House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's go online and hear from the governor, if he's available.
• Governor Pino, if you could please raise your hand so we can hear your public comment.
• Hi, Governor, can you hear us? Can you hear us? We sure can. Okay. Um, my name is Lambert Pino.
• I'm the appointed governor from the Pueblo's here.
• Thank you so much, Governor Pino. And then we also had Adria Martinez. Adrian, can you hear us?

Committee: House House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Gerald Jed Carroll, Governor of America, speaking against. Just.
• Governor of America, speaking against. All right, wave in opposition.
• The governor has demanded that. We support the governor's stance on this again.
• The governor has even wanted the This bill could have been so much more.
• The governor expressed his concern about those issues, but those issues are not addressed in this bill

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Summary: The committee met and took up several criminal justice, public safety, and boating measures. It first heard SB 168, the Tristan Murphy Act, which would create mental health diversion options for eligible misdemeanor and felony defendants, expand mental health and substance abuse grant uses, require evaluations and treatment recommendations in certain cases, add Hillsborough County to a forensic diversion pilot list, and create a behavioral health data repository. After adopting a technical amendment, the bill received strong support from NAMI Florida, family advocates, sheriffs, and the Murphy family, and was reported favorably on a unanimous vote. The committee also approved SB 86, expanding peer support programs for certain law enforcement support personnel, and SB 472, allowing inmates who complete approved education in correctional facilities to receive credit toward professional licensure requirements. Both bills were amended and then reported favorably without opposition. SB 276, which increases penalties for unlawfully sheltering or aiding an unmarried minor and creates a defense for actions taken to protect a minor from danger, drew questions about runaway youth, LGBTQ youth, and the scope of the defense; the sponsor said he was open to further amendment, and the bill passed favorably. Members then approved SB 402, updating the unlawful use of uniforms, medals, or insignia statute to reference the armed forces by definition rather than by branch. SB 490, as amended, would let law enforcement, correctional, and correctional probation officers carry concealed off duty and exempt law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and active military service members from the three-day waiting period for rifle and shotgun purchases; it passed 8-1 after debate over the waiting period and equal treatment concerns. Finally, the committee passed SB 628, Lucy’s Law, to strengthen boating safety and penalties, after adopting an amendment that removed proposed changes to warrantless blood draws and boating education requirements; the bill was supported by the family of Lucy Fernandez and passed unanimously. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• In response to the devastating fires in Los Angeles on January 13th, the governor expanded the special
• This was led to the state of emergency declared by the governor on January 25.
• Its own jurisdiction, the powers it has already.
• Chair, and I want to also thank the Speaker, the Governor, and the Pro Tem for acting so quickly.
• I appreciate the governor bringing us, as a legislature, in on this.

Committee: Assembly Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• His outreach resulted<00:22:22.000><c> in</c><00:22:22.159><c> the</c><00:22:22.320><c> governor</c><
• in the governor proclaiming May 2026<00:22:24.320><c> as</c><00:22:24.720><c> progressive</c><00:22:
• His outreach to the governor has resulted in her proclaiming the month of May as ALS Awareness Month,
• The selection committee has picked three finalists, and I want to congratulate Christa Powers.
• The selection committee has picked three finalists, and I want to congratulate Christa Powers.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I happen to be a former judge, and in 2013, Governor Perry appointed me.
• I was dragged up here by Governor, then Governor Perry to work on the tort reform bill in 2003, and we
• So the committee has no power to give.
• This bill hands landlords unchecked power to evict us with little or no notice.
• The same kinds of investors that Governor Abbott wants to rein in.

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:

• It is the authority, power, and duty of the Fish and Game Commission to administer and carry out that
• So the commission, as a reminder, is appointed by the governor, one from each of the seven administrative
• also receive other federal grants and have contracts with private entities such as Avista and Idaho Power
• Powerful words, but can reservation alone sustain the people that live within these lands?
• Roads introduce ignition sources like vehicles, power lines, and campers, and cause erosion and sedimentation

Summary: The House Resources and Conservation Committee heard an update from Idaho Fish and Game Director Jim Fredericks on agency performance measures and current issues. He reported strong access numbers, website traffic, and personnel retention, but noted a slightly elevated violation rate and ongoing work on a website overhaul. Fredericks also described the new nonresident deer and elk tag draw, which he said was successful and drew more than 40,000 applications, and he reviewed wolf management, including reduced harvest due to a federal injunction on trapping in grizzly bear areas. He also outlined a planned elk depredation response in the Big Willow drainage, involving removal of about 100 resident elk through a mix of translocation and lethal control, with meat donated to food banks. Committee members asked about translocation sites, survival, public communication, access agreements, depredation funding, and endowment land access. The committee then heard an American Falls FFA Ag Issues presentation on the 2001 federal roadless rule and its 2025 rescission. Students presented arguments for and against the change in a mock court format, focusing on forest health, wildfire risk, tribal consultation, timber and mineral access, recreation, and ecosystem protection. Committee members praised the students’ preparation and presentation. In legislative business, the committee held RS 33185 at the sponsor’s request, introduced RS 33168 related to Clean Water Act standards and the Sackett wetlands case, and introduced RS 33194 to recognize county expertise in federal consultation. The committee also advanced House Bill 587, which would provide spending authority for the Idaho Department of Agriculture to carry out grazing improvement work tied to prior legislation, after testimony from the sponsor and a Western Landowners Alliance representative in support. Finally, the committee heard House Concurrent Resolution 26 supporting wildlife crossings where locally supported, with testimony from the Idaho Wildlife Federation and Idaho Sportsmen, Access and Opportunity in favor. The motion to send HCR 26 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation passed despite several dissenting votes, and the meeting adjourned after the bill was assigned for floor carry.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is the authority, power, and duty of the Fish and Game Commission to administer and carry out that
• So the commission, as a reminder, is appointed by the governor, one from each of the seven administrative
• also receive other federal grants and have contracts with private entities such as Avista and Idaho Power
• Powerful words, but can reservation alone sustain the people that live within these lands?
• Roads introduce ignition sources like vehicles, power lines, and campers, and cause erosion and sedimentation

Committee: House Resources and Conservation

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These are changes to the licensing and registration piece that the Governor brought forward and show
• So, hello, my name is Ace Gough, and I would be one of the most powerful foster voices that you will
• I am one of the most powerful cards in the deck.
• Just as important, they grow up seeing the transformative power of education firsthand.
• You have all heard powerful stories today about FIG, and during this past legislative session, you jumped

Bills: HF2312

Committee: House Higher Education Finance and Policy

Keywords: higher education, college finance, student aid, financial aid, state grants, North Star Promise, scholarships, tuition relief, Minnesota State, University of Minnesota, Office of Higher Education, work-study, child care grants, Indian scholarships, tribal colleges, Hunger-Free Campus, student parents, pregnant students, parenting students, sexual misconduct

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a powerful economic engine for our communities.
• Uh, we passed this out of committee in both chambers, uh, before being signed by the governor in the
• There are many powerful ways that we experience this on the island.
• It plays a central role in highlighting the legacy of Juneteenth through powerful exhibitions, education
• The trail segments completed have all been done without exercising the power of condemnation, and this

Bills: HCR6

Committee: House Culture, Recreation & Tourism

Keywords: Meals on Wheels, senior services, nutrition, community support, volunteerism

Transcript Highlights:

• This report will be submitted to the governor and the legislature every three years beginning June 30
• I think we need to continue to power.
• We need to continue to power FDOT to do the great work that they're doing.
• I think we need to continue to power. new right now.
• I think we need to continue to power FDOT to do the great work that they're doing.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee met and first received an update from FDOT on the Sun Trail shared-use nonmotorized trail program. FDOT said the program, created in 2015 and expanded by 2023 legislation, now includes connections to the Florida Wildlife Corridor and received a one-time $200 million appropriation plus increased annual funding. The department reported programming about $180 million of that funding, completing 42 construction projects totaling nearly 95 miles in 21 counties, and installing trail counters and QR-code surveys to measure usage and economic impact. Members expressed support for the program and asked no substantive questions. The committee then heard a presentation on FDOT’s locally administered state transportation funding programs, including SCOP, SCOPM, SCRAP, SIGP, and TRIP. FDOT explained these programs support local roadway resurfacing, bridge repair, drainage, paving unpaved roads, and safety or capacity improvements, with varying state match levels depending on the program and eligibility. FDOT said its adopted five-year work program includes more than $1.4 billion for local transportation improvement projects. A member asked whether toll revenues from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties fund these programs; FDOT said it would research the funding source and follow up. The committee’s main discussion was a panel on advanced air mobility (AAM), including FDOT and industry representatives from Supernal, Joby, Atlantic Aviation, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, and Eve Air Mobility. FDOT described its AAM planning work, advisory committee, local government guidebook, and upcoming training, while panelists emphasized Florida’s leadership, the likely use of existing airport and heliport infrastructure first, and the expectation that private investment will fund much of the early vertiport buildout. Members raised concerns about community acceptance, privacy, zoning, airspace congestion, security, and lessons from scooters and drones. Panelists repeatedly stressed a “crawl, walk, run” rollout, local government coordination, multimodal connectivity, and public outreach. No votes were taken, and the committee adjourned after the panel.

Transcript Highlights:

• That same belief in the power of collaboration that David Cook forged in local government continues to
• last few months, I've seen firsthand that David believes true leadership is not about concentrating power
• last few months, I've seen firsthand that David believes true leadership is not about concentrating power
• Republicans have fought hard to win the last election, and we still control both the governor and the
• demonstrated an unyielding defense of people in our state who are otherwise defenseless against the power

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We neither have the power to grant nor deny those rights.
• </c><01:07:54.079><c> We</c> power to grant nor deny those rights.
• We power to grant nor deny those rights.
• </c> important um initiative of the governor important um initiative of the governor on<09:06:45.840>
• So, I would appreciate your governor.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm asking now the governor, Mr.
• Not what the governor thinks. Yes. So.
• The governor has proposed a plan.
• that the governor vetoed and...
• Double eligibility, and we sent some bills up to the governor that the governor vetoed.

Summary: The joint House-Senate appropriations committee met to review the governor’s fiscal 2027 budget presentation from Ben Henderson, director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting. Early discussion focused on the state economy and revenue outlook, with Henderson describing strong GDP growth and low unemployment but also fragility for working families. Members questioned the executive’s revenue assumptions, which were said to be about $100 million per year higher than the JLBC baseline, and the committee chair asked for a written comparison of the revenue differences. Henderson also said the governor’s budget is structurally balanced and includes both ongoing spending and proposed revenue changes. A major portion of the hearing centered on data centers, AI investment, and water policy. Henderson argued Arizona’s data center tax incentive should be eliminated because it had already succeeded in attracting investment, while lawmakers questioned whether repealing the incentive and imposing a new water-related fee would discourage future growth. The executive said the water proposal would create a Colorado River Protection Fund and give the Department of Water Resources fee-setting authority, with the aim of encouraging more modern air-cooled facilities. Members also raised concerns about whether the data center changes would require a supermajority vote and whether the fee was effectively a new tax. The committee then reviewed major “critical spending” items, including correctional officer pay, prison health care compliance, probation funding, body-worn cameras, law enforcement staffing, fentanyl enforcement, cyber readiness, and border-related costs. Henderson said the budget includes $24.4 million ongoing for correctional officer pay and $118.3 million one-time for prison health care staffing, plus other public safety and homeland security items. He also defended the governor’s assumption of $759.7 million in federal reimbursement for border expenses, saying the governor had met with federal officials and that the state would seek the full amount. Members expressed skepticism about relying on that reimbursement and asked what would be cut if it does not materialize. Education and health and human services were also discussed. The governor’s budget includes K-12 funding, Prop. 123-related school facility bonding, and a proposal to shift some school facilities funding to bond financing, which several members criticized as inappropriate for short-term maintenance needs. The committee also reviewed AHCCCS/Medicaid costs, Division of Developmental Disabilities funding, and the expected impacts of federal HR1 changes on eligibility, provider funding, and rural hospitals. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chair repeatedly limited debate and directed members to keep questions brief while the presentation continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a powerful tool. Can you just comment on that? Thank you, Mr.
• And I guess, I feel like PD has done things that are powerful tools that we don't take seriously.
• But really, the best people to speak to the power of the Educator Fellows Program are those in our LEAs
• I have Ed Fellows that are working through Western Governors.
• People don't realize Western Governors is not a public Western Governors University.

Summary: The committee first heard a presentation on strategic resource management in public education. LESC staff and PED officials argued that New Mexico has increased school funding, but local budgeting and planning remain fragmented and overly compliance-driven. They described long-term pressures including declining enrollment, rising special education costs, falling cash balances, changes in federal funding, and leadership turnover, and said schools need more intentional multi-year planning tied to student outcomes. They also outlined the many disconnected planning requirements schools must complete, compared New Mexico’s current approach with Ohio’s three-year budget forecasting model, and recommended continuing multi-year appropriations, adding $2.5 million for state grants in the unified application, and directing LESC, LFC, and PED to develop a long-term financial planning proposal. PED said it is working to reduce administrative burden through school accreditation, a unified application for federal and state funds, and internal alignment of guidance and coaching, with pilot schools reporting time savings and better alignment. Members raised concerns about four-day school weeks, the burden on small districts, the need for outcomes and return on investment, and whether the state should move toward a two-year or three-year planning cycle; staff clarified that the proposal was to streamline or eliminate redundant requirements, not add another layer. The committee then received an update on the Educator Fellows program. PED described it as a Grow Your Own pipeline that employs candidates as supplemental educational assistants while they work toward licensure, providing salary, benefits, paid leave, mentoring, and coursework support. Officials said the program helps address teacher shortages, improves student-to-teacher ratios, increases workforce diversity, and supports the Martinez-Yazzie action plan. They reported 370 current fellows across 86 LEAs and about 180 schools, with many fellows being people of color, first-generation college students, or second-career educators; roughly 85 are expected to become certified this year. A local HR director from Belen testified that the program has been especially valuable in small communities, where fellows are already rooted in the community and several have moved into teaching roles. Members asked about high school recruitment, tuition, retirement and benefits, the relationship to the Higher Education Department’s Grow Your Own scholarship, and the role of university partners. PED said fellows choose among accredited higher education partners, the program is separate from the scholarship but complementary, and the state is also building an apprenticeship model and seeking to expand the program to more LEAs, though some districts are on a waiting list because of funding and local match requirements.