Transcript Highlights:

• Multiple audits a year, um, and we have had a great, uh, record of unmodified audits with over 3 decades
• or CAP, and we also have federal annual award audit and our external auditing firm is Clifton Larson
• Other than external audit, we also have internal audit and we have the contract with Moss Adams as an
• Other than these mandatory audits, we also have subjected to discretionary audits which we don't face
• So planning manager.

Transcript Highlights:

• auditing.
• Security and Emergency Management.
• agency. management agency.
• We're managing two budgets, so we're not.
• But this year, we had three audit findings, and one of them was a major audit finding that we knew exactly

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• distributions look, some of the auditing distributions look, some of the auditing practices<00:11
• So we can require them to do annual audits as well.
• auditing on sports wagering side of it. auditing on sports wagering side of it.
• There are independently uh audited.
• And so, if we think about, um, what Um, and it's difficult to manage Um, and it's difficult to manage

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Second part of this is a critical need to curb abusive PBM audit practices.
• He was audited for a claim of insulin for a fragile diabetic patient.
• However, during the audit, the PBM found a simple clerical error.
• My name is Diana Arevalo, and I'm the managing director of advocacy for the ALS Association.
• It's like health insurance from the 70s before there was managed care.

Transcript Highlights:

• Jesse Martinson, audit manager in the Office of the Legislative Auditor General.
• Audit manager in the Office of the Legislative Auditor General.
• Just a quick background: this audit came off the heels of our 2024 audit, a performance audit of the
• The post-election audits in particular we focused on in our main audit report.
• Chair, we began auditing elections in earnest in 2022 in these more comprehensive audits.

Keywords: 985, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and auditing into a single framework. and auditing into a single framework.
• <00:10:47.360> and Commissioner at Minnesota Management and Commissioner at Minnesota Management
• agencies' implementations of OLA audit agencies' implementations of OLA audit recommendations<00
• , audit procedures, and audit requirements as traditional public school districts.
• , audit procedures, and audit requirements as traditional public school districts.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And CalOSBA currently manages nine— And CalOSBA currently manages nine active programs representing more
• The department has never had an audit, and we recommend that an audit be done.
• Number one, as we said, perform an audit of that.
• There's no reason for us to have an audit of an audit performed.
• Can you respond on the audit part that was mentioned?

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on State Administration heard presentations from Go-Biz and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on the Governor’s budget proposals. Go-Biz described California Jobs First, the state’s 10-year economic development strategy, and emphasized support for small businesses, workforce development, and targeted investment in sectors such as ag tech, life sciences, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing. Members raised concerns about federal policy changes, tariffs, tourism, housing, child care, and whether state incentives are truly additive; Go-Biz responded that it tracks federal actions closely, works with chambers and advocates, and uses programs like California Competes to target jobs that would not otherwise come to California. The committee then reviewed the proposal to restore the California Competes grant program with $60 million. Go-Biz said the grant would help businesses that cannot use the nonrefundable tax credit, and explained the program’s five-year contracts, milestone-based awards, and recapture provisions. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the grant could be effective but recommended stronger oversight and clearer eligibility criteria, while also noting the 30% cap in trailer bill language may be too restrictive given the smaller funding level. Public testimony supported the grant and suggested considering refundability or transferability for the tax credit to broaden access for smaller and startup businesses. Members also heard the CHIPS-related proposal for $25 million to support Natcast’s semiconductor design and collaboration facility in Sunnyvale. Go-Biz and public witnesses argued the state investment would help secure a major federal research facility, retain engineering talent, and leverage billions in broader investment, while the LAO recommended rejecting the item because of its dependence on uncertain federal funding and the state’s budget condition. The committee also considered a $17 million continuation of CA RISE, which supports employment social enterprises; Go-Biz and several grantees cited strong job placement and workforce outcomes, while the LAO recommended rejection absent a more rigorous evaluation, noting prior LA RISE evidence did not show long-term employment gains. Finally, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation presented budget requests for IT security and rent increases, and a trailer bill to raise fees across several programs. DFPI said decades-old fee schedules, inflation, and new regulatory responsibilities have created a structural deficit and warned the department could face insolvency without adjustments. The LAO recommended approving the fee increases only on a three-year limited-term basis and asked for more detailed revenue plans for programs not covered by the proposal, so the Legislature can assess actual collections and market impacts before making the changes permanent.

Transcript Highlights:

• . audits. audits.
• prior year audit results. prior year audit results.
• emergency management plans in?" emergency management plans in?"
• if the audits are very late. if the audits are very late.
• How will capacity be managed? How will capacity be managed?

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We lost one regional project manager, and we've hired a new planning and design manager, a critical position
• Regional project manager, we've hired a new planning and design manager, a critical position at the PSFA
• resources handbook so that our managers have current policies and procedures that we can use to manage
• This is designed to hold our managers and reporting processes to a higher level.
• Reconciliations, audits, and maintaining.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's what everybody says when we get a bad audit.
• It's in the final audit result; the management responses are included after each chapter in it.
• Okay, when we're having these types of audits, we pay these people to have to do these audits.
• The rest for the other properties that we manage.
• Office of Risk Management.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The committee began with Article I budget items for the Secretary of State. LBB staff outlined recommendations that would reduce the agency’s appropriation by about $40.3 million, including changes to HAVA funding, removal of one-time business system replacement money, and a rider directing the agency to use Fund 5095 first. Secretary Jane Nelson and staff then defended several exceptional items, especially additional staffing for elections and business filings, a new website, digitization of records, cybersecurity tools, and renovation of the James Earl Rudder Building. Members focused heavily on election administration, cross-checking voter rolls, Harris County complaints, call-center response times, and whether online voter registration should be expanded. No votes were taken; the discussion was informational and budget-focused. The committee then heard the Office of the Governor and trustee programs. LBB presented a recommended $2.4 million decrease for the governor’s office proper and a much larger decrease in trustee programs driven by one-time funding and unexpended balances, while still preserving major border security funding and victim assistance funding. Governor’s staff emphasized Texas’ economic growth, the importance of border security, and efforts to seek federal reimbursement for the roughly $11 billion Texas has spent on border operations. Members discussed whether shifting National Guard deployment to federal control could reduce state costs, and they also reviewed the music incubator program, the Governor’s University Research Initiative, and the semiconductor innovation consortium. Staff highlighted a $5 million late-added request for grants to protect nonprofits from violence and terrorism. Again, the exchange was largely explanatory, with no formal action. Finally, the committee took up the Texas Facilities Commission and lease payments for revenue bonds. LBB recommended major reductions overall, including removal of border wall construction funding and capital complex bond funding, but added money for higher utility costs, renovation of the Rudder Building, and additional facilities staff. George Purcell also noted stable maintenance-and-renewal funding and new riders related to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission building, tenant communications, and space utilization. For lease payments, LBB recommended a smaller appropriation tied to revenue-bond costs allocated across agencies. The discussion was informational, with members asking about the Rudder Building renovation, border wall progress, and capital complex construction timelines; no votes were recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chromebook that needed to be managed Chromebook that needed to be managed within<00:15:27.680>
• I know there's legislation to provide audit authority to collect audits and review audits to the Department
• on in the House have relative to audits. on in the House have relative to audits.
• Uh currently DRRA audits. Um doing that. Uh currently DRRA collects<01:38:28.880> audits.
• <01:38:41.440> the audits and review audits to the audits and review audits to the Department

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And that increase is intended to cover both audit expenses.
• to assist with waitlist management on an ongoing basis.
• Audits are complicated and they're expensive and extensive.
• Very strict rules about what counts as an audit and what counts as kind of like a cursory review.
• But not an audit.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > you<00:58:49.680> know<00:58:49.839> five managing over um you know five managing
• We spent about the fiscal management.
• What we do is we use MCOs; we uh essentially outsource payment management to managed care organizations
• essentially outsource payment management essentially outsource payment management to<01:09:47.359
• 01:09:49.839> uh<01:09:50.319> it's to manage care organizations so uh it's to manage care

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board meeting began with a roll call and approval of the October 7 meeting minutes. The chair then reordered the agenda to hear the item on Medicaid reimbursement rates and network adequacy first because of scheduling issues. Dr. Steve Robertson of the Kentucky Dental Association was sworn in and testified at length about Kentucky’s dental Medicaid program, arguing that reimbursement rates are unsustainably low, have been largely flat for decades, and are often below the cost of providing care. He said Kentucky ranks near the bottom nationally in oral health, dental Medicaid rates are often 60% or less of commercial rates, and the program’s share of the Medicaid budget has effectively remained around 2% despite growth in enrollment and services. Dr. Robertson said the low rates are contributing to provider losses, rural access gaps, longer wait times, dental deserts, and greater use of emergency rooms for preventable dental problems. He cited examples of office costs exceeding reimbursement for basic procedures, noted that many dentists are small private businesses, and said the state is struggling to recruit and retain dentists because of low payment levels and high student debt. He also pointed to disparities with neighboring states and said recent increases in some oral surgery and cleaning codes were not enough to address the broader problem. His recommendations included completing the rebasing study, increasing dental reimbursement in the upcoming budget, tying future reviews to inflation and cost data, aligning benchmarks, and prioritizing preventive and restorative care to improve workforce stability and access. Board members asked about the size of the needed increase, the effect of private insurance on dental practice finances, and what a new dentist might expect to earn. Dr. Robertson said the association is working on an appropriations request and that private insurance pressures are part of the problem as well, since many plans are HMOs or PPOs with limited provider control over rates. He also said the association can no longer conduct reimbursement surveys because of FTC restrictions, but would try to obtain current ADA data. In response to questions about the future of the program, he warned that without significant changes it could become unsustainable and cited Ohio and Missouri as examples where higher reimbursement improved provider participation and access. The board then heard from Mr. Bowman of Baldwin Consulting, who discussed outpatient behavioral health providers, including ABA therapy and mental health/substance use disorder services. He said these providers face similar issues of rising costs, flat reimbursement, and access problems. He reviewed Kentucky’s network adequacy standards, including travel-time standards, 30-day appointment limits, and newer federal requirements that will require services within 10 business days by 2029. He said wait times for outpatient behavioral health, especially children’s services and ABA, have grown substantially, sometimes to more than a year, and emphasized that the Medicaid department must enforce these standards.

Transcript Highlights:

• And is managed by the State Investment Council.
• point they should have submitted their audits.
• Point, they should have submitted their audits.
• Donnie King, who is with us today, is our Project Manager and Project Oversight Manager.
• Management and basically the structure to oversee and manage and own a system.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our audit report revealed: 1.
• No one but Faget financial audits.
• So, the leadership's response to the proposed audit from Auditor Ball was to do their own audit with
• I don't know that the audits<00:59:36.880> from<00:59:37.119> Texas audits from Texas audits
• management data and assumptions. management data and assumptions.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then established a quorum with 34 members present and approved the prior day’s journal. The chamber also received a House message that House Bill 96 had passed and requested concurrence. During second reading, Senate Bills 17, 34, 39, and 181 were reported and sent to the Rules Committee, and Senate Resolution 56 was introduced honoring Elder Nathan Craig and Sister Amy Craig for their mission service. The chamber then took up Senate Bill 27, which would allow local governing bodies, after consulting with a coroner and making a 30-day effort to locate next of kin, to choose cremation rather than burial for indigent decedents; it also preserved options for religious organizations to take possession of a body. A committee substitute was adopted, and the bill passed 35-0. Senate Bill 30, dealing with the Motor Vehicle Commission’s restricted fee account and allowing unused funds to carry forward for commission operations, also passed unanimously 35-0. Senate Bill 40, concerning public library district boards of trustees, was amended by committee substitute and passed 34-1 after debate. Supporters said it would return county library board appointments to local officials and speed appointments, while opponents argued it could politicize libraries and weaken their independence; several members explained their votes, including concerns from library advocates and a defense that the bill still allowed local boards to seek advice. Senate Bill 76, which limits school boards from increasing occupational license taxes above the base 0.5% until a county reaches a population of 500,000, was also amended by committee substitute and passed after its sponsor argued it responded to a disputed Fayette County tax increase and would restore transparency and public trust.

Transcript Highlights:

• The requester can submit the information to the Secretary of State to request an audit.
• SB 505 would. provide a means to audit elections based on targeted issues.
• Yeah, but those companies are audited every year.
• But a good example of this bill is being able to audit or to get an answer.
• Great that you've got risk-limiting audits. ...but risk-limiting audits typically look backwards, or

Bills: HB311, SB447, SB505, SB2217, SB2753, HB311

Keywords: voter registration, electronic, Texas election law, Signature verification, DPS, internet application, Texas Election Code, signature verification, online application, data security, electronic application, Department of Public Safety, information security, electronic voter registration, voting technology, voter access, state election laws, digital signature, election irregularities, audit

Transcript Highlights:

• I believe that audit found. I'm not going to go into that.
• Last week in Joint Audit in the Education Subcommittee, we had a report.
• Last week in joint audit in the Education Subcommittee, we had a report.
• Our forest management strategy differs.
• , intensive, single-age management, where we try to do uneven-age management, where we have trees of

Summary: The committee met to consider a series of appropriation, reserve transfer, and grant requests. Early items included temporary appropriations for the Department of Education’s Educational Freedom Account program ($32 million), the State Crime Lab ($476,000), and DFA Assessment Coordination ($90,000), along with a $1 ARPA return from the Department of Health. The committee approved these items after brief questions, including a discussion about contract cost increases at Assessment Coordination and a clarification that the $1 ARPA item was simply an unused-funds return. The most extensive discussion centered on the Department of Education’s EFA funding. Members questioned the growth in participation, the use of one-time funds and restricted reserves, and safeguards against fraud or improper purchases. Agency officials said about 44,000 students were being funded, that purchases are reviewed and flagged for unusual activity, and that homeschool students are not required to buy a curriculum so long as purchases are eligible and approved. The committee approved the EFA appropriation and related reserve transfer, and officials said the governor’s proposed budget would include the program in the RSA going forward. The committee also approved a DHS reallocation request and reviewed a building authority loan for a data center power supply replacement. In the federal grant section, members discussed a Department of Agriculture request for Central Arkansas Water to acquire land in the Maumelle watershed. Debate focused on the environmental benefits versus local property-tax and development concerns in Perry County, with testimony from the agency, Central Arkansas Water, and Potlatch about watershed protection, public access, and potential development impacts. After extended discussion, the committee adopted a motion to defer the item to the full Legislative Council and asked the department to remove the Perry County portion from the request, limiting the grant-funded purchase to Pulaski County property. The committee then reviewed remaining items, including a Veterans Affairs pay-plan appropriation, and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• the audit be conducted in person. ...not change the audit requirement or any reporting obligations,
• just the requirement that the audit be conducted in person.
• Senate Bill 1236, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, PBMs,” “Senate Bill 1236, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, PBMs
• So let's move to the audit piece. Generally, I'm with these guys.
• So let's move to the audit piece. Generally, I'm with these guys.

Bills: SB331, SB883, SB926, SB1137, SB1138, SB1144, SB1151, SB1236, SB1270, SB1522, SB1869, SB2207, SB2422

Keywords: healthcare, cost disclosure, transparency, administrative penalties, health facility compliance, COVID-19, off-label use, prescription drugs, patient access, medical standards, insurance, physician ranking, incentives, fiduciary duty, health plan issuers, SB 1137, group home, assisted living, residential care, board and care

Summary: The committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 883, which would protect physicians’ ability to prescribe off-label medications and treatments, framed by the author as a “Right to Treat” measure tied to COVID-19 care. Supporters, including physicians and patient-choice advocates, said the bill would safeguard the doctor-patient relationship and prevent interference by boards, pharmacies, or hospitals. Several witnesses described using hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, budesonide, antibiotics, steroids, and monoclonal antibodies during the pandemic, and said they faced complaints, board scrutiny, or pharmacy refusals for those prescriptions. The bill was left pending after public testimony closed. The committee then took up Senate Bill 331, which would extend hospital price-transparency requirements to additional health care facilities such as freestanding ERs, urgent care and retail clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, outpatient clinics, and birthing centers. Proponents argued that broader disclosure of prices for shoppable services would help consumers compare costs and reduce surprise billing, while opponents from ambulatory surgery centers said the bill would impose costly compliance burdens on small providers and that insurers or the state already have much of the needed data. The bill was also left pending. Senate Bill 2422 would expunge Texas Medical Board records and impose reparations for disciplinary actions tied to COVID-era treatment decisions, including references to ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, budesonide, and masks. The author and supporters argued that doctors were unfairly targeted for trying to save patients and should be made whole; the Texas Medical Board representative said most pandemic complaints were dismissed, that actions generally involved broader issues such as privileges, documentation, or informed consent, and that no physician was disciplined solely for prescribing off-label COVID medications. The bill was left pending. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 2207, which would loosen Texas Medical Board rules on physicians advertising themselves as board certified, especially by reducing barriers tied to maintenance of certification requirements. Supporters said the current rule is overly restrictive, inconsistent, and costly, and that it drives physicians out of practice; they also said Texas is one of only a few states with such a rule. Witnesses described hospitals using the rule against physicians and said the change would improve transparency and competition. The bill remained pending after testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is in response to a PEIA audit.
• testimony that this bill is designed to prevent individuals from gaming the system and avoiding tax audits
• This bill is designed to prevent individuals from gaming the system and avoiding tax audits.
• Second, it adds telematics into the management services that the director of the Fleet Management Division
• services that the director of the division of the fleet management division is required to provide or

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Summary: The Committee on Government Organization met with a quorum present, approved the minutes, and then considered a series of House bills, most of them related to licensing, local government administration, and agency operations. House Bill 5063 would let county commissions appoint a county commissioner as a voting member of a convention and visitors bureau board, including for multi-county CVBs; it was reported to the full Senate. House Bill 5087 would join the interstate cosmetology licensure compact, allowing licensed cosmetologists to obtain multi-state practice privileges in compact states, and it was also reported. The committee then took up a strike-and-insert amendment for House Bill 4793, which combined provisions affecting barbering/cosmetology apprenticeships and lowered certain age and education requirements; after adopting a Jefferson amendment clarifying the salon training language, the bill was reported as amended. Members next approved a strike-and-insert for House Bill 5638, which clarifies the State Chief Information Security Officer’s duties, changes cyber risk review procedures, and updates references to the Office of Technology head as the chief information officer; it was reported as amended. House Bill 4483, dealing with the Board of Funeral Examiners, was amended to change the effective date for licensee-in-charge requirements and make technical corrections, then reported as amended. House Bill 5653, requested by the Department of Revenue, would expand confidentiality protections to cover audit manuals, guidelines, procedures, algorithms, and related materials to prevent taxpayers from gaming audit selection, and it was reported. House Bill 4452 repeals acreage limits on church property ownership, and House Bill 4801 expands permissible uses of hotel occupancy tax funds to include demolition of unsafe structures and planning or improvement of public property; both were reported. The committee also advanced House Bill 5622, which creates an expedited process for municipalities to conform local election terms and procedures to the state requirement that municipal elections be held with statewide primaries or general elections, and recognizes the Secretary of State as keeper of municipal charter rolls. House Bill 4546 would allow business entities to file reports biennially instead of annually, with higher biennial fees and updated enforcement provisions; its strike-and-insert amendment was adopted and the bill was reported as amended. House Bill 5613 would define and regulate telematics for state fleet vehicles, require reporting on unsafe driving and corrective actions, and include cost-benefit information in annual reports; it was reported. House Bill 5323 would let the Division of Natural Resources adjust license and stamp fees for inflation by removing a prior CPI-based restriction, and House Bill 4819 would revise criminal-record standards for certain non-Chapter 30 occupational licenses, shifting to a direct-relationship standard while preserving existing exclusions for violent sexual offenses; both were reported. The committee then adjourned after closing remarks from the chair and vice chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• It requires annual compliance audits.
• It requires annual compliance audits.
• searches on behalf of immigration agencies that were somehow missed by existing audits.
• SB 1013 addresses this by requiring audits by the California Department of Justice.
• . ...rather than the Transportation Asset Management Plan, also known as TAMP.

Keywords: 988, house, all