Transcript Highlights:

• At the same time, the department is also in this evaluation and rewriting some of the rules and regulations
• Success in any business is based on good people and competent performance.
• :20.199><c> competent</c> based on good people and competent based on good people and competent performance
• :23.480><c> State</c><00:16:23.920><c> who</c><00:16:24.160><c> can</c><00:16:24.399><c> or</c> performance
• regulations State who can or performance regulations State who can or cannot<00:16:24.920><c> care</

Bills: HF1247 , HF628

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Keywords: child care, aides, supervision, child care centers, staffing regulations, childcare, day care, licensed child care center, early childhood education, child care licensing, director qualifications, staff ratios, group size, staff-to-child ratio, substitutes, volunteers, assistant teacher, teacher qualifications, infant care, toddler age

Transcript Highlights:

• If you have children, it will evaluate that separately than pregnant people, than the young adults.
• They perform a wide range of outreach activities per the contract.
• They<00:32:03.360><c> pro</c><00:32:04.080><c> uh</c><00:32:04.159><c> they</c><00:32:04.480><c> perform
• a wide range of They pro uh they perform a wide range of outreach<00:32:05.919><c> activities</c><00
• </c> six months um that we'll have to perform six months um that we'll have to perform that<01:35:27.040

Keywords: 1. Call to Order and Roll Call – 00:00:00 2. Approval of Minutes – 00:02:10 3. Discussion of State-Based Marketplaces and the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace – 00:02:31 4. Discussion of the Role of Kynectors and Navigators – 00:27:29 5. Discussion of Presumptive Eligibility – 01:11:57 6. Discussion of Medicaid Eligibility, Enrollment, and Redeterminations – 01:20:09 7. Update on Rural Health Transformation Program Application Process – 01:47:35 8. Public Comment – 01:59:57 9. Adjournment – 02:06:10, 958, all

Summary: The Medicaid Oversight Advisory Board met for its third meeting and approved the July 30 minutes. The chair outlined a full agenda covering the state-based marketplace versus the federally facilitated marketplace, connectors and navigators, presumptive eligibility, eligibility/enrollment/redetermination, and a rural health transformation update. Commissioner Lisa Lee and Assistant Director David Barry presented first on Kentucky’s state-based exchange, Connect, explaining that it is an integrated eligibility and enrollment system for Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, TANF, child care, and qualified health plans. They reviewed Kentucky’s move from a state-based exchange to healthcare.gov in 2017 and back to a state-based marketplace in 2021, and said the system helps route applicants to the correct program and allows families to move more easily between Medicaid and exchange coverage as circumstances change. The presenters said the exchange is funded by carrier assessments on qualified health plans rather than general fund dollars, with costs allocated across programs based on use. They said Kentucky’s exchange fees are lower than the federal platform’s and that the state-based system provides local assistance through DCBS offices, connectors, and licensed agents in every county. Members asked about startup and operating costs, fee-setting, and whether any general fund dollars are used; the department said it would follow up with the CFO on fee details and said it was not aware of general fund support for exchange operations. Members also raised concerns about Medicaid eligibility verification and improper enrollment, while the department emphasized that the state system uses different questions than healthcare.gov and is designed to identify the correct coverage based on monthly Medicaid income and annual tax-credit income. The board also discussed enrollment trends, including a COVID-era spike during the public health emergency when disenrollments were largely paused, and current qualified health plan enrollment of more than 97,000 people on Connect. Commissioner Lee explained presumptive eligibility as temporary Medicaid coverage, noting it applies to pregnant women and hospital-based cases, with hospitals able to grant it and certain providers able to grant it to pregnant women. She said full eligibility is still determined within 30 days and that presumptive eligibility ends when full Medicaid eligibility is determined or at the end of the following month. The meeting then shifted to connectors, with representatives from Community Action Kentucky and the Kentucky Primary Care Association describing their statewide outreach network, local offices, and role helping residents apply for Medicaid, renew coverage, report changes, and navigate benefits; they said connectors do not determine eligibility but assist with applications, recertifications, and outreach events across the Commonwealth.

Transcript Highlights:

• So House Bill 2795 could allow siting decisions to move forward without a clear evaluation of whether
• And so that would be, for example, evaluating for the fish involved, for wildlife, plant life, noise
• And that is our current practice now: when there's a request for us to evaluate reformulation, we do
• That way we're not evaluating fuel formulations that just aren't available here to begin with.
• And that is our current practice now is when there's a request for us to evaluate reform formulation,

Committee: House House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee took up several energy, transportation, and land-use bills. HB 2428, dealing with county and ADEQ authority to issue voluntary permits certifying emission reduction credits for mobile and non-road sources, received neutral testimony from ADEQ and support from Maricopa County; the committee adopted the Griffin amendment and passed the bill 10-0 with a due pass recommendation. HB 2145, which expands who may request certain gasoline fuel reformulation actions and is contingent on EPA approval, also passed on a 5-4 vote after brief staff explanation and no amendment. The committee then considered HB 2331, a strike-everything amendment requiring electric utilities to ensure 85% of generating capacity serving retail load comes from “reliable resources” by 2030. Supporters, including the sponsor and Arizona Free Enterprise Club, argued it would protect affordability and grid reliability by favoring dispatchable power; opponents, including the Sierra Club and Rural Arizona Action, said it would effectively favor fossil fuels, raise costs, and limit cleaner resources. The committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill 6-4. HB 2795, which would bar counties from using zoning to block small modular reactors once federal permitting conditions are met, drew strong support from the sponsor and industry advocates who framed it as pro-property-rights and pro-nuclear, and opposition from county, city, and environmental groups who raised preemption, local control, safety, waste, and siting concerns; it passed 6-4. The committee also passed HB 2340, which allows the Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee to evaluate proposed generating facilities along with transmission lines, on a 5-4 vote. HB 2400, an emergency measure to suspend the motor vehicle fuel tax in Areas A and C during part of the year and replace the lost revenue through state highway funding, drew opposition from cities and counties over transportation funding impacts but support from the sponsor and some members focused on gas affordability; the Griffin amendment was adopted and the bill passed 6-4. Finally, HB 2401 was introduced as a requirement for ADEQ to conduct a biennial review of available fuel formulations and their air-quality impacts in Areas A and C, but the transcript ends before testimony or action on that bill is completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're going to evaluate them as a whole at the end of each phase.
• </c> Pavement Evaluation Manual. Pavement Evaluation Manual.
• So,<00:25:40.680><c> when</c><00:25:40.840><c> the</c><00:25:40.960><c> evaluators</c><00:25:41.680><
• c> go</c><00:25:41.920><c> out,</c><00:25:42.520><c> they</c> So, when the evaluators go out, they So
• ><c> the</c> Evaluation is calculated using the Evaluation is calculated using the following<00:26:11.040

Keywords: 00:05 Call to Order and Roll Call 01:55 Bridge Improvement Program 18:56 County Priority Projects Program 38:10 Transportation Alternative Program 51:47 Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The committee met for the first interim meeting of the 2025 Budget Review Committee on Transportation and heard from Bobby Jo Lewis, commissioner of Rural and Municipal Aid at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. She reviewed the new County City Bridge Improvement Program, created in the 2024 regular session, reporting that phases one and two are complete, 45 bridges have been funded so far, and about $18.45 million has been authorized. She said roughly $6.549 million remains for phase three in the current fiscal year, with about $26.445 million in bridge applications still pending. For fiscal year 2026, the program will again have $25 million and will use four application phases. She also described a training resource, Local Bridges 101, and said a new executive advisor, Greg Meredith, has been brought in to help with the bridge program. Members asked how rollover applications would be handled, whether they would be re-evaluated with new applications, how the program would account for bridge longevity and load posting, and how isolated communities would be prioritized. Lewis said applicants not funded in FY25 would be contacted and could choose to roll their applications into FY26, and all applications would be evaluated together at the end of each phase. She said preservation projects are assessed for how much they extend a bridge’s life, and isolated community access bridges or closed bridges with no detour access receive priority. She also said the department aims for equitable distribution across regions and plans to produce a map showing where funds have been awarded. Lewis then turned to the County Priority Projects Program and the Local Assistance Road Program established in House Bill 546 and related resolutions. She said the application cycle opened June 1 and closes October 1, with 106 memoranda of agreement being prepared for awards in House Joint Resolution 46. She described updated application and reporting forms, a scoring matrix, and a County City Pavement Evaluation Manual used to rate projects based on preservation of assets, average daily traffic, recent improvements, safety, cost, and district priority. She said projects must be rehabilitation projects designed to restore the original condition of the road, cannot exceed $500,000, and must use local match percentages tied to the economic development grant program formula. She also reported on funding status for prior road projects, including completed, partially completed, pending, and underrun amounts that may be reauthorized. Committee members asked about photo documentation, online access to project materials, how to measure whether projects truly restore roads to original condition, and what happens when project costs exceed estimates. Lewis said the department is still working on how best to store and share the large volume of photos, and that projects are certified through district offices and local sign-off after completion. She said overages are the responsibility of the applicant because the state does not have additional money beyond the awarded amount. No formal votes were taken during the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• on your background and experience, what factors do you think are the most important when you're evaluating
• Yeah, I think for me, you know, evaluating somebody that can look at the issues and take a non-biased
• approach, someone who's willing to evaluate issues and is willing to be honest about those issues.
• I feel very blessed that evaluation and statutory compliance and, you know, impartial judgment from the
• We seem like we have a lot of one-offs on the evaluation process, and we try to do these things for sale

Committee: Senate Natural Resources

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, those rank lists are developed through the advisory committee evaluation and scoring process.
• But there are extra points in the evaluation criteria for match, as well as for community engagement.
• We do some of our evaluations online now.
• We do some that are written evaluations.
• When you're evaluating the grants, how are we making sure that the grants are being...

Bills: HB2470 , HB2353 , HB2420 , HB2338

Committee: House Capital Budget

Keywords: HB2470, school construction assistance, capital budget, school facilities, on-base schools, military base schools, military installations, public school construction, school plant projects, state funding assistance, superintendent of public instruction, OSPI, school capital funding, instructional space, school district construction, alternative learning experience, ALE, free and reduced-price meals, special housing burden, district growth

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> to quote from a rabbi rabbis perform to quote from a rabbi rabbis perform circumcision<03:39:17.000
• </c> health insurance for performing health insurance for performing religious<04:14:07.760><c> circumcision
• </c><04:32:44.720><c> a</c> bill every physician who performs a bill every physician who performs a surgery
• </c> we don't abandon the practice we perform we don't abandon the practice we perform the<04:59:30.600
• These hospitals have a financial incentive to perform circumcisions.

Committee: House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It allows us to do evaluations, and it changes us from a voluntary state to a mandatory state.
• So, this will allow us to do evaluations and take our hat off and tell the public that we're...
• We're working to do evaluations for the bank, but it just allows us in that field.
• </c><00:38:44.520><c> So,</c><00:38:45.080><c> we</c> independent evaluation.
• So, we independent evaluation.

Committee: Senate Banking & Insurance

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00 Call to Order and Roll Call 00:07 Discussion SB 97 01:21 Vote SB 97 13:27 Discussion HB 3 15:12 Vote HB 3 17:15 Discussion HB 184 17:54 Vote HB 184 18:42 Discussion HB 355 19:34 Vote HB 355 39:50, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and the admissibility of a child custody evaluation.
• It also would mandate the reduction of sensitive information and bar courts from admitting evaluations
• as evidence in court proceedings unless evaluators met the training requirements.
• My family. was subject to a child custody evaluation done by a domestic relations office.
• The second issue that this legislation fixes is that when we went through this evaluation, the person

Committee: Senate Jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:

• Cost of living is also added to the list of factors that the Office of Administrative Law must evaluate
• AB 2366 directly addresses these challenges by improving how regulations are evaluated before adoption
• These perspectives are important, especially as we evaluate how this proposal would impact affordability
• Rather, it creates a plan to help lawmakers evaluate how a state bank operating under a wholesale model
• Rather, it creates a plan to help lawmakers evaluate how a state bank operating under a wholesale model

Committee: House Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• remaining concerns with the grantee and somehow just clean up the language so we just stay in the evaluation
• I think that's the basis of evaluating. I think that's the basis of your<00:08:16.000><c> bill.
• /c><00:08:29.000><c> stay</c><00:08:29.200><c> in</c><00:08:29.320><c> the</c><00:08:29.400><c> evaluation
• </c><00:08:30.160><c> of</c><00:08:30.240><c> the</c> so we just stay in the evaluation of the so we
• just stay in the evaluation of the grant grant grant and<00:08:31.560><c> not</c><00:08:31.840><c> get

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, it's but it creates the solid waste evaluation committee, the siting evaluation committee, and
• committee provision that site evaluation committee provision that we<02:01:40.639><c> worked</c> we
• </c> creates the uh solid waste evaluation creates the uh solid waste evaluation committee,<02:02:25.599
• ><c> the</c><02:02:25.760><c> sighting</c><02:02:26.239><c> evaluation</c> committee, the sighting evaluation
• committee, the sighting evaluation committee<02:02:27.760><c> and</c><02:02:28.000><c> it</c><02:02:

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee worked through several HB 2 budget amendments, focusing first on energy-related transfers and then on judicial funding. For the energy item, members discussed moving remaining money from the renewable energy fund into the general fund for the biennium, with later-year amounts going to the general fund rather than ratepayers. They noted the proposal was based on prior House Bill 111 language, that the exact amount was still being worked out with the Department of Energy, and that some language about “incentive payments” was being removed or clarified. Amendment 1211H was moved and adopted on a 5-4 vote. The committee then considered amendment 1040 on the governor’s scholarship fund, which would eliminate the program and sweep uncommitted funds. Members supporting the program argued it helps New Hampshire students afford in-state college and should be reworked rather than repealed; opponents said the remaining balance was limited and the program should be ended. Amendment 1040 was defeated 4-5. The committee then turned to a judicial council request tied to a Franklin Pierce criminal justice clinic that had previously used ARPA funds. Supporters said the clinic cleared 323 cases in nine months, provided training for future attorneys, and could reduce more expensive assigned-counsel costs by helping the public defender system handle cases more efficiently. The amendment would add $100,000 to the judicial council line for that purpose. There was some confusion over the line item and whether the request should be attributed to the judicial branch or judicial council, which was corrected during discussion. Members also discussed a larger issue: the judicial council’s budget request appeared lower than intended because of a possible clerical error in how prior-year funding was calculated, especially after the last budget combined HB 1 and HB 2 funding. The committee compared the public defender line and assigned counsel line, noting that if public defender funding is cut, more cases would shift to assigned counsel, which is more expensive. No final vote on the judicial council amendment is shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• A lot of folks, when they are waiting trial, the attorneys will ask for an evaluation to see if they're
• And now when you talk about backlog, that's a backlog waiting for an evaluation.
• Waiting for an evaluation, yes, sir.
• So we do those forensic evaluations. There had been a backlog of forensic evaluations.
• So they provide a service... ...evaluation and provide some services.

Summary: The House Health Services Subcommittee met to approve the October 7, 2024 minutes and then shifted to behavioral health as the main topic. Representatives Woodridge and Vaught described the work of the behavioral health working group, saying Arkansas needs a more proactive system that improves access, reduces red tape, and focuses on a few achievable policy changes for the 2027 session rather than many bills. Members discussed barriers such as low reimbursement, workforce shortages, licensing and credentialing hurdles, rural access problems, and the need to better use community providers, compacts, and step-down services. Director Paula Stone of DHS’s Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health gave a detailed overview of the behavioral health system. She said Medicaid pays for more than 75% of behavioral health services in Arkansas and explained that when people are jailed or admitted to the state hospital, Medicaid generally stops, leaving state general revenue to cover care. She described current efforts including family-centered treatment for children, community reintegration group homes, a new adolescent substance use disorder residential unit, expanded community mental health center contracts, a secured restoration unit to reduce state hospital backlogs, and an IMD waiver to allow Medicaid payment for certain residential services. She also said DHS is working on crisis services, forensic evaluations, and provider rebidding in areas previously served by ERISA. Members asked about reimbursement for jail services, the lack of a statewide behavioral health dashboard, civil commitment options, crisis stabilization units, and whether Arkansas should expand step-down or long-term facilities for people who cannot safely return to the community. Stone said the state hospital backlog remains significant, average stays are still about 14 months, and crisis stabilization units have had mixed success, with Fort Smith and Jonesboro performing better than Fayetteville and Little Rock. The meeting ended with a commitment to continue the work, with more substantive discussion planned for August.

Transcript Highlights:

• sustained over the last couple of years, we actually hired an outside consultant to come in and evaluate
• The request is to do a mobile irrigation lab evaluation of their irrigation systems out there, and their
• We're continuously evaluating these structures in our five-year outlook.
• We're continuously evaluating these structures and our five-year lookout.
• We evaluate them from October until April.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government heard budget presentations from the Northwest Florida, Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida water management districts for FY 2026-2027. Each district described its preliminary budget, major funding sources, staffing levels, and priorities within the four core missions of water supply, water quality, natural systems, and flood protection. Common themes included reduced budgets from the prior year due to completion of major projects, continued reliance on state appropriations and ad valorem revenue, rising construction and maintenance costs, and the need to maintain aging infrastructure while advancing alternative water supply, springs restoration, flood control, and land management projects. Committee members repeatedly asked how much of each district’s budget and personnel were devoted to the core missions, how maintenance and operating projections were developed, and how projects were selected. The districts generally said most spending was tied to core responsibilities, with administrative overhead relatively small, and explained that budgets are built through a mix of staff analysis, governing board direction, strategic basin planning, and cooperative funding with local, state, and federal partners. Several districts highlighted specific projects, including Water First North Florida, Black Creek, Taylor Creek Reservoir improvements, Crane Creek, Everglades restoration, and various springs and watershed projects. The districts also noted challenges from hurricanes, inflation, cybersecurity, and aging water control structures. South Florida Water Management District’s presentation focused on Everglades restoration and the large-scale infrastructure needed to move, store, and clean water in South Florida. The director said the district’s $1.05 billion preliminary budget is largely for flood control, water supply, ecosystem restoration, and maintenance of extensive canals, levees, pumps, and reservoirs, and emphasized that recent restoration investments are producing measurable water quality and salinity improvements. No votes were taken on the district budgets, and the committee adjourned after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• sustained over the last couple of years, we actually hired an outside consultant to come in and evaluate
• all of our timber holdings, look at the amount of damage that we had, and then evaluate what the markets
• conditions throughout the district so that we can identify where the problem areas are and also evaluate
• We’re continuously evaluating these structures in our five-year outlook.
• We evaluate them from October until April.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government heard budget presentations from all five water management districts for FY 2026-2027: Northwest Florida, Suwannee River, St. Johns River, Southwest Florida, and South Florida. Each district described its preliminary budget, major funding sources, staffing levels, and how most of its spending is tied to the four core missions of water supply, water quality, natural systems, and flood protection. Several directors noted budget reductions from the prior year largely because major projects were completed or because grant/appropriation funding is not yet fully reflected in preliminary budgets. Committee members repeatedly asked how districts project operations and maintenance costs, how projects are selected, and what share of staff and spending is devoted to core missions versus administration or regulatory work. Northwest Florida Water Management District said its preliminary budget is $93.4 million, down about 15%, with 97% of spending tied to core responsibilities and a request for additional regulatory services funding. Suwannee River Water Management District presented a $70.4 million budget, emphasized its rural/agricultural character and spring protection work, and highlighted the Water First North Florida reclaimed-water recharge project; members also discussed its need for an additional FTE to handle consumptive use permit reviews tied to a new lower Santa Fe rule. St. Johns River Water Management District presented a $181 million budget, highlighted major water supply, water quality, flood protection, and land management projects such as Taylor Creek Reservoir, Water First North Florida, Black Creek, Crane Creek, and Lake Jessup restoration, and said about 93% of its budget supports core missions. Southwest Florida Water Management District presented a $227.6 million budget, with major spending on alternative water supply, water control structure repairs, watershed projects, and land management; officials said 93.4% of the budget supports core missions and discussed rising construction costs for aging infrastructure. South Florida Water Management District presented the largest budget at $1.05 billion, focused on Everglades restoration, flood control, water supply, and ecosystem recovery; the director described major reservoirs and treatment projects, the EAA Reservoir, and ongoing efforts to improve water quality and restore flows to the Everglades and Florida Bay. The committee took no formal votes on the district budgets and adjourned after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• One, the moratorium supposedly was so we could evaluate the effect on charitable gaming, then it was
• One, the moratorium supposedly was so we could evaluate the effect on charitable gaming, then it was
• One, the moratorium supposedly was so we could evaluate the effect on charitable gaming, then it was
• One, the moratorium supposedly was so we could evaluate the effect on charitable gaming, then it was
• So I'm a hard no. supposedly was so we could evaluate the supposedly was so we could evaluate the effect

Committee: Senate Ways and Means

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• On the next line, 2.11, it has the word evaluate.
• On the next line, 2.11, it has the word evaluate.
• On the next line, 2.11, it has the word evaluate.
• <01:03:08.400><c> how</c> evaluate how evaluate how whereas<01:03:09.680><c> the</c><01:03:09.800><c>
• :18.600><c> taxes</c> So, evaluate how housing-related taxes So, evaluate how housing-related taxes and

Committee: Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So as soon as it's signed, it can get pushed over to the third party, who can then do that evaluation
• </c><00:06:36.080><c> so</c><00:06:36.240><c> we're</c> can then do that evaluation so we're can then
• do that evaluation so we're ready<00:06:36.560><c> to</c><00:06:36.639><c> issue</c><00:06:36.960><c
• ><c> evaluation</c><00:07:22.160><c> of</c><00:07:22.400><c> the</c> party administrator's evaluation
• of the party administrator's evaluation of the company<00:07:22.960><c> and</c><00:07:23.199><c> the

Bills: SJ0001

Committee: Senate Minerals, Business & Economic Development

Keywords: mineral leasing, federal lands, Wyoming, energy policy, local control, federalism, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Each of our grant programs has an advisory and evaluation committee attached to it, so that applicant
• They looked at all the materials from the evaluation committees, what criteria were used, what scores
• We asked communities to come tell us a little bit about what their project was, and then we evaluated
• So instead of having them spend all of that time, we had them do a smaller investment and evaluate.
• So we did provide a recommended monitoring and evaluation...

Summary: The Capital Budget Committee heard presentations from the Department of Commerce, the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), and a consultant on the School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) study. Commerce officials described their agency’s role in housing, energy, local government, broadband, and other capital programs, and reported on a $5 million pilot under Senate Bill 5200 that used trusted community messengers and technical assistance to help historically excluded organizations prepare for capital funding. They said 18 organizations received direct support and 79 smaller projects were also funded, but emphasized that statutory match rules, reimbursement-based payments, site-control requirements, insurance and audit costs, and extensive contracting rules remain major barriers. Commerce outlined efforts to expand outreach, digital modernization, internal contracting improvements, tribal MOUs, and innovation centers, and members asked about small business support, housing program placement, and outreach to Eastern Washington and communities of color. RCO described its grant programs for recreation, conservation, education, and salmon/orca recovery, and reviewed equity work done before and after a 2021-23 proviso. The agency had already created a small-communities carve-out in youth athletic facilities, piloted stipends for advisory committee members, and reduced match requirements where allowed. Under the proviso, RCO completed an equity review and a planning program that funded 54 projects across 34 counties, with many applicants being new or long-absent grantees. Staff said the review led to changes in scoring criteria, clearer application guidance, more objective data measures, expanded technical assistance, and targeted community engagement. Members asked about application burden, project sizes, outreach, and how the agency is broadening participation and representation on advisory committees. The final presentation summarized a planning study on SCAP, which examined rising construction costs, fragmented grant programs, local funding barriers, and uneven district capacity. The report recommended nine major changes, including stronger planning support, a new minor-modernization category, a mechanism to use unused funds more quickly, an education-specification prototype, a SCAP enhancement program for low-capacity districts, acceptance of non-SCAP funds, phased modernization, streamlined D-form and reimbursement processes, and revisions to the SCAP formula to better account for grade-band differences, enrollment projections, and regional cost factors. Additional recommendations included ongoing monitoring and evaluation, facilities-impact reviews, matching SCAP increases to construction-cost inflation, earlier locking of funding estimates, flexible program spaces, and updated statewide building-condition assessments. No votes were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• So it gives us a little bit of time to sort of evaluate and vet them.
• We're currently evaluating them. And one follow-up, Mr.
• In developing data that we might use to evaluate bills if they come to us. Thank you.
• In developing data that we might use to evaluate bills if they come to us.
• Thank you. data that we might use to evaluate bills if they come to us.

Committee: Senate Finance and Tax

Summary: The Senate Committee on Finance and Tax met to hear a staff presentation on Florida property taxes. Staff Director Azar Khan gave an overview of the property tax system, including constitutional limits, January 1 assessment rules, homestead and non-homestead residential property, commercial and agricultural classifications, tangible personal property, and centrally assessed property. The presentation highlighted major exemptions and assessment caps, such as the homestead exemptions, Save Our Homes, the 10% cap for non-homestead property, and favorable treatment for agricultural/classified use land. It also reviewed long-term growth in just value and taxable value statewide, along with declining millage rates over time as taxable values have risen. Members then discussed the possibility of eliminating property taxes and the fiscal consequences of doing so. Senator Jones asked about the impact on local governments and referenced estimates that replacing property tax revenue could require roughly $43 billion; staff responded that current levied amounts are in the ballpark of more than $30 billion for non-school levies and more than $20 billion for school levies, but that the exact impact would depend on county and district budgets and collections. Senators Bernard, Passidomo, Gates, and others emphasized the need for more data on alternative revenue sources, such as sales tax increases or other combinations, and for input from counties and cities before considering broad tax changes. Chair Avila explained the presentation was intended to give members a foundation before property tax proposals are heard in committee, noting that several bills had already been filed involving homestead and tangible personal property. No bills were voted on, and no formal action was taken beyond the informational presentation. The committee then adjourned.