Transcript Highlights:

• So, um, he was a real statesman, and under his watch, uh, we enjoyed many years of surplus budget surplus
• So, um, he was a real statesman, and under his watch, uh, we enjoyed many years of surplus budget surplus

Bills: SCR56, SCR79, SCR85, SCR120, SCR129, SCR181, SCR63, SCR112, SCR194, SCR195, SCR196, HB202, HB963, HB1050, HB1511, HB1546, HB1550, HB1553, HB1643, HB1656, HB1658, HB1664, HB1667, HB1682, HB1700, HB1721, HB1810, HB1823, HB1824, HB1878, HB1969, HB2005, HB2078, HB2152, HB2246, HB2270, HB2279, HB2289, HB2385, HB2417, HB2429, HB2503, HB2599, SB253, SB847, SB1142, SB1432, SB2043, SB2050, SB2074, SB2102, SB2135, SB2138, SB2140, SB2320, SB2340, SB2386, SB2396, SB2397, SB2398, SB2433, SB2446, SB2521, SB2544, SB2567, SB2578, SB2580, SB2595, SB2601, SB2645, SB2673, SB2706, SB2727, SB2802, SB2852, SB2892, SB2929, SB2972, SB3007, SB3069, SB3073, SB3076, SB3136, SB3138, SB3157, SB3204, SB3234, SB3247, SB3302, SB3324, SB3325, HB1815, HB2592, HCR32

Keywords: lifeguards, first responders, public safety, ocean safety, emergency response, community wellbeing, invasive species, octocoral, Pearl Harbor, environment, Navy responsibility, marine ecosystem, ecosystem preservation, shoreline maintenance, civil service, classification review, compensation systems, labor shortage, employee retention, department collaboration

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate-only language regarding insufficient appropriations for the state grant program and surplus appropriations
• Senate-only language regarding insufficient appropriations for the state grant program and surplus appropriations
• Making surplus unappropriations unavailable for the state grant programs is in the Senate-only provision
• provision Senate only provision<00:13:28.880> um<00:13:29.600> making<00:13:30.000> surplus
• <00:13:30.480> un provision um making surplus un provision um making surplus un appropriations

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• current statute details the circumstances in which a Commissioner's Court of Accounting may donate surplus
• House Bill 3355 amends the local government code in regards to the disposal of county surplus or salvage
• House Bill 3355 would provide counties with more flexibility in donating surplus property to charitable
• organizations and allow for a broader reach of donations of county surplus property.
• Agent success in getting our surplus property sold off.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But until it's a done deal, the money stays in the state surplus, the current surplus that we're in.
• This is talking about the current surplus that we had at the end of last fiscal year is what we'll be
• Okay, what is the surplus estimated to be? All right. The current year? Yes.
• Well, our balance in the surplus... Yes, well, where this $5.18 is going to be found?
• Well, our balance in the surplus that we're working out of is $619 million. Okay.

Summary: The House convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, established a quorum, granted several leaves, and received gubernatorial approval notices for multiple fiscal-session measures. The chamber then referred House Bill 1034 back to the Joint Budget Committee so pay raises could be stripped out and cybersecurity/bank-fee funding handled later. House Bill 1103, increasing the homestead property tax credit by $75, passed 94-0. Members then considered several budget amendments and appropriations. Amendments to House Bills 1007, 1022, 1036, and 1064 were adopted, and Senate Bill 76, a $2 million appropriation for county extension office capital improvements, passed 87-7. A batch of appropriation bills passed, but several individual bills failed, including House Bills 1023, 1035, 1053, and 1066. House Bills 1089 and 1090, supplemental appropriations for pregnancy crisis centers and waste tire cleanup, both passed. House Bill 1093, a corrections reappropriation bill that excluded use of funds in Franklin County, also passed 94-0. The most extensive debate centered on House Bill 1100 Amendment 1, which set out the RSA and one-time funding package. Supporters described major allocations for corrections, state police, LEARNS Freedom Accounts, Medicaid, vehicle purchases, and a proposed $300 million economic-development site-preparation and road package tied to a confidential project. Opponents criticized the secrecy, size, and policy approach of the incentive, while supporters argued it could bring jobs and broader economic benefits. The amendment passed 54-36-3. The House also passed Senate Bills 8, 16, 30, 63, 67, and 73, while Senate Bills 41 and 59 failed, and Senate Bill 10 passed after being briefly set aside for clarification. The chamber adjourned to 1 p.m. the next day, with committee meetings announced for budget and house management.

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, state agencies are required to report surplus land, but only if it's ready for sale.
• This will expand the requirement by requiring the Department of General Services to include all surplus
• California is facing a significant budget deficit, and surplus state land presents assets that could
• By ensuring that all surplus and underutilized land is reported, AB 1428 gives the Legislature a full
• By ensuring that all surplus and underutilized land is reported, AB 1428 gives the Legislature a full

Summary: The Governmental Organization Committee heard a series of bills focused largely on alcohol licensing, nonprofit funding, tribal grants, public transparency, and tobacco policy. AB 342 (Haney) would allow local governments to create hospitality zones with extended last-call hours on certain days; supporters argued it would boost tourism, nightlife, and major-event readiness, while opponents warned of alcohol-related harms and public safety risks. AB 684 (Patel) would subject the UC Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools to open-meeting requirements, with supporters saying admissions-related changes should be more transparent and allow schools time to adjust. AB 1008 (Addis) would authorize up to 10 new on-sale general licenses in San Luis Obispo County to meet tourism demand, and AB 1039 (Hart) would require state agencies to offer advance payments on new nonprofit grants and contracts, which supporters said would help cash-strapped nonprofits deliver services. AB 221 (Ramos) would revise the Tribal Nation Grant Fund to provide more predictable annual distributions to eligible non-gaming and limited-gaming tribes, and it drew broad support from tribal representatives and others. AB 795 (Jeff Gonzalez) would create a California commission for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, with supporters describing it as a privately funded, nonpartisan planning body. AB 828/AB 28 (Mark Gonzalez, as referenced in the transcript) would expand neighborhood-restricted liquor licenses in Los Angeles County to reduce costs and support restaurant recovery, and AB 1246 (Hoover) would increase craft distillers’ direct sales limits and address barrel-storage rules; both were supported as small-business measures. AB 1428 (Ta) would require reporting of all surplus and underutilized state land, and AB 957 (Ortega) would prohibit tobacco sales in pharmacies, with strong public health support. Several bills were voted out on motions to Appropriations, some with amendments, while others were held or left on call until quorum was established; the committee also adopted a consent calendar and left rolls open for absent members on multiple measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• It includes the constitutionally required deposit of $144.3 million of the fiscal year 2025 surplus into
• It includes the constitutionally required deposit of $144.3 million of the fiscal year 2025 surplus into
• It has the deposit of surplus dollars into the rainy day fund as required by the Constitution.
• It has the deposit of surplus dollars into the rainy day fund as required by the Constitution.

Summary: Senate Finance met on May 21, 2026, with nine members present. The committee first recognized Mother Pearl Porter during a personal privilege presentation by Senator Boudreaux. It then took up the major budget measures for fiscal year 2026-27, beginning with HB 1, the general appropriation bill. The committee heard that the state budget was about $46.6 billion and that recent Revenue Estimating Conference revisions required reductions in recurring spending. Amendments removed new funding for GATOR and increased MFP amounts, while also directing Revenue Stabilization Fund dollars toward infrastructure, economic development, and local government needs. The committee adopted amendment set 4238 and reported HB 1 as amended, with authority for technical changes. The committee next considered HB 312, the supplemental appropriations bill for the current fiscal year. Members were told the amendments balanced the budget to the May REC forecast through a net reduction in state general fund spending, including savings in Medicaid and other agencies, while covering updated costs such as medical vendor administration, DCFS operations, DOC offender medical expenses, and disaster-related costs. Amendment set 4239 was adopted, and HB 312 was reported favorably as amended. HB 2, the capital outlay/infrastructure bill, was then amended with set 4230 and reported as amended. HB 3, the omnibus bond act authorizing bond usage for HB 2, had no amendments and was reported favorably. The committee also advanced HB 313, the funds bill, which includes the constitutionally required deposit of $144.3 million of FY 2025 surplus into the Budget Stabilization Fund and various transfers and fund adjustments. Amendments expanded or created several funds and mechanisms, including infrastructure and economic development-related funds, and HB 313 was reported favorably as amended. HB 314, the revenue sharing bill distributing the constitutionally mandated $90 million to local governments, was reported favorably without amendment. HB 383, the ancillary appropriations bill for fee-supported agencies, received amendment 3138 and was reported favorably as amended. HB 983, funding the judiciary, was amended to remove judicial pay adjustments and instead fund a possible transfer of the integrated criminal justice information system to the Supreme Court if SB 141 becomes law; it was reported favorably as amended. HB 1126, the legislative branch appropriations bill, was amended and reported favorably as amended. Finally, HCR 3, the hospital stabilization resolution used to support Medicaid hospital reimbursements, was amended to give LDH more flexibility on the timing of directed payments and preprint submissions, then reported as amended. The committee adjourned after a motion to do so.

Transcript Highlights:

• That will be retroactive because we are running a surplus.
• It is going to help eat into some of that surplus, and so it will be effective on January 1, 2026.
• So all of this is completely out of the surplus that was unbudgeted amounts, so we can continue to add
• enough to have $100 left, but I know I've got a cavity and bald tires on my car, I do not have a surplus

Summary: The Arkansas Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a brief morning hour that included an announcement about volunteers for the Hunger Caucus “Serving Up Solutions” fundraiser. The chamber then moved to its business agenda, where the main item was Senate Bill 1 by Senator Dismang, which would reduce income tax rates for individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations. Senator Dismang explained the bill as a continuation of tax reductions begun in 2013, lowering the top individual rate from 3.9% to 3.7% effective January 1, 2026, and reducing the corporate rate to 4.1% starting next year. The bill drew debate over state priorities and fiscal tradeoffs. Senator Flowers questioned local sales tax limits and whether future needs such as Medicaid, education, and educational freedom accounts could be funded if taxes were cut further. Senators Tucker and Leding spoke against the bill, arguing the state should prioritize investments in early childhood education, hospitals, maternal health, and public schools rather than returning revenue to taxpayers. Senator McKee spoke in favor, saying money should be returned to the people who produced it. Senator Dismang closed by emphasizing that the tax cut was supported by surplus revenue and that a family making $65,000 had already seen a significant reduction in effective tax burden since 2013. The Senate passed Senate Bill 1 by a vote of 29 yeas to 6 nays and transmitted it to the House. Afterward, members announced that the Revenue and Taxation Committee would meet after House adjournment if the House sent over its tax bill, and the Senate adjourned subject to clearing the desk and reading House Bill 1001 across the desk, until 9 a.m. the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• That will be retroactive because we are running a surplus.
• It is going to help eat into some of that surplus, and so it will be effective on January 1, 2026.
• So all of this is completely out of the surplus that was unbudgeted amounts, so we can continue to add
• enough to have $100 left, but I know I've got a cavity and bald tires on my car, I do not have a surplus

Summary: The Senate convened, took leave requests, heard prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then moved into the morning business agenda. Senator Irvin announced a Hunger Caucus fundraiser, Serving Up Solutions, and invited members to sign up to wait tables. The chamber then took up Senate Bill 1, which would reduce income tax rates for individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations, continuing a series of tax cuts begun in 2013. Senator Dismang presented the bill, explaining that it would lower the top individual rate from 3.9% to 3.7% effective January 1, 2026, and reduce the corporate rate to 4.1% starting next year. In questions, senators discussed local sales tax limits, the impact of the cut on funding for Medicaid, education, and educational freedom accounts, and whether federal fiscal uncertainty should affect the state’s decision. Supporters argued Arkansas’s conservative budgeting and reserve set-asides made the cut sustainable and that returning money to taxpayers was the best use of surplus funds. Senators Tucker and Leding spoke against the bill, saying the state should prioritize early childhood education, health care, maternal health, and public schools over tax cuts, and that the reduction would mainly provide small benefits to most taxpayers while reducing resources for other needs. Senator McKee spoke in favor, arguing the money should be returned to the people who earned it. The Senate then passed Senate Bill 1 by a vote of 29 yeas to 6 nays and transmitted it to the House. After the vote, members were told the Revenue and Taxation Committee would meet after House adjournment if the House version of the tax bill was transmitted. The Senate then announced it would adjourn subject to clearing the desk and reading a House bill across, with the body set to reconvene the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• Even under 2020 conditions and '22 conditions, we still have surplus.
• But I will note, as always, while we are all cautiously optimistic, We still have surplus, but I will
• So we have 6,600 megawatts in surplus for 2026.
• The next slide then kind of goes into, while we have surplus and an extraordinary condition where you
• The four columns are: how much surplus or deficit do you have under a planning standard?

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy heard SB 1259, which would require refineries to provide advance closure and remediation planning information, and SB 1425, which would authorize the High-Speed Rail Authority to create a permit process for encroachments in its right of way. The committee also held an informational hearing on California electricity reliability and the future of the Strategic Reliability Reserve. The chair opened by noting the hearing room change, testimony limits, and that the committee would proceed without a quorum at first, then later established quorum for votes. On SB 1259, Senator Blake Spear argued the bill would give communities and state agencies needed information to plan for refinery closures, cleanup, and land reuse, comparing the requirement to estate planning. Supporters, including Benicia City Councilmember Carrie Birdseye and UC Santa Barbara professor Ranjit Schmook, said the bill would help communities facing refinery closures avoid being left without information and better prepare for redevelopment and remediation. Opponents, including the Western States Petroleum Association, the State Building and Construction Trades Council, and business groups, argued the bill could send negative market signals, create conflicts with federal reporting, and potentially accelerate refinery closures. The committee passed SB 1259 on a 7-3 vote, later reopening the roll and recording additional votes before moving it out as amended to Appropriations. On SB 1425, Senator Cortese and sponsor Robert Pearsall said the bill would help the High-Speed Rail Authority manage utility, broadband, drainage, and vegetation encroachments along the project corridor and reduce delays. Labor and construction groups supported the measure as a way to add certainty and speed project delivery. Utilities and local agencies, including LADWP, Southern California Gas, Southern California Edison, PG&E, and others, opposed unless amended, saying the bill needed clearer language on emergencies, existing agreements, and potential impacts on their own rights of way and service obligations. After discussion about emergency language and utility coordination, the committee passed SB 1425 as amended to Appropriations on a 10-3 vote. In the oversight hearing, CEC, CPUC, CAISO, and DWR officials reported that California’s summer reliability outlook is better than in prior years, with substantial new procurement, storage, and demand-response resources added since 2020. They said the state is projected to meet its summer reliability standard and has not needed a flex alert for three straight years, but cautioned that extreme heat, fire, hydro conditions, and federal policy uncertainty still pose risks. Officials emphasized that the current Strategic Reliability Reserve remains important as a backstop, while longer-term planning must address rising demand from electrification and data centers and the eventual retirement of emergency resources.

Transcript Highlights:

• I just want to get the right number on the surplus here. Okay, it is unreserved balance.
• So we have a healthy surplus, a very healthy surplus heading into next year, and we have a very, very
• Gavorkian and where we had no surplus.
• Gavorkian and where we had no surplus.
• Thank God we have a $6 billion surplus going forward.

Keywords: 1146, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As we all know, we had an $18 billion budget surplus, and after single-party control of state government
• $18 situation as we all will know we had $18 billion<00:02:44.200> budget<00:02:44.480> surplus
• In that historic session, the DFL trifecta spent every penny of that surplus.
• <00:14:28.320> of<00:14:28.480> 17 a state government budget surplus of 17 a state
• and between 2019 and 2024 Surplus and between 2019 and 2024 Minnesota's<00:14:42.680> state<00

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• remember in the current biennium that we're ending on June 30th, there's a projected $3.7 billion cash surplus
• biennium, it'll be very interesting to see how the forecast changes here, but we have a projected surplus
• million of it in inflation to keep level programming across the state, and we'd still have $616 million surplus
• biennium, it'll be very interesting to see how the forecast changes here, but we have a projected surplus
• biennium, it'll be very interesting to see how the forecast changes here, but we have a projected surplus

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• flooding Select, HB number 67 by Bella Montgomery relating to the allocation and deposit of certain surplus
• The use of certain surplus state revenue for the Committee on Ways and Means.
• to reducing school district maintenance and operations Avalarium taxes through the use of certain surplus
• to reducing school district maintenance and operations Avalarium taxes through the use of certain surplus

Transcript Highlights:

• HB number sixty-seven by Bella Montgomery relates to the allocation and deposit of certain surplus state
• to reducing school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes through the use of certain surplus
• relating to school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes through the use of certain surplus
• to reducing school district maintenance and operations ad valorem taxes through the use of certain surplus

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So there is time in that time surplus.
• We have advocated reserves and surplus.
• We have done a return of surplus.
• Uh because we had unrestricted surplus.
• <05:54:44.480> specifically from earnings and surplus specifically from earnings and surplus

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 47, sponsored by Senator Regina Birdsell at the request of the Insurance Department. The bill would clarify that a birth mother’s health insurance is the primary policy for a newborn’s care unless the mother has no coverage or no employer-sponsored coverage. Birdsell and Insurance Commissioner DJ Benton Court said the measure simply codifies the department’s long-standing interpretation of existing law. Representative Miles asked whether the coverage would extend to a grandchild if a young woman on her parents’ plan had a baby, and Birdsell said it would. The hearing on SB 47 was then closed. The committee next heard Senate Bill 121, introduced by Grant Bosi for Senator Kevin Avard. The bill requires insurers to notify the Insurance Department when they stop writing an entire line of business or, in some cases, when they change Medicare Advantage offerings. Benton Court said the bill was prompted by disruption in the Medicare Advantage market, where consumers and the department were confused by carriers exiting, changing plans, or narrowing offerings. He said the department does not regulate Medicare Advantage itself, but does license the carriers, and the notice requirement would help the department advise consumers; he also said noncompliance could affect a carrier’s license and could lead to fines. Members discussed the notice period, and the department and AHIP indicated support for changing it from 120 days to 90 days to align with federal timing. The hearing was closed with plans to work on an amendment in subcommittee. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 247, introduced by Representative Brian Cole, which would prohibit network exclusion for pharmacies that refuse to dispense prescriptions when PBM reimbursement is below acquisition cost. Cole said the bill is meant to stop pharmacies from being forced to sell at a loss. Members questioned whether pharmacies voluntarily enter PBM contracts, whether the bill would raise consumer prices, and whether it would mainly affect independent pharmacies. Cole and others said the issue has changed over time because PBMs now control a much larger share of the market, and that the bill would let pharmacies refuse loss-making fills and direct patients to mail order instead. The discussion also noted that the bill excludes Medicare and Medicaid and that the current proposal does not create a middle-ground option for patients to pay a premium at the counter.

Transcript Highlights:

• And my question to them is, what do you do with all the surplus you got? Well, it was spent.
• But I'd also like to ask them how much the last five years they've received in a surplus over that same
• In the general surplus money, there's over five—there's right at $5 billion.
• And it continues to be—it is going to continue—that surplus is going to continue.
• So if you take that times five, that's $1.7 billion in surplus money that's been collected over these

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We had the opportunity in the tax committee to give the surplus back. It's not our money.
• committee<00:19:18.880> to<00:19:19.120> give<00:19:19.280> the<00:19:19.440> surplus
• It didn't make the cut. surplus and they raised taxes between 10 surplus and they raised taxes between
• c><00:38:22.320> an<00:38:22.480> $18<00:38:22.800> billion<00:38:23.640> surplus
• , burned through an $18 billion surplus, burned through an $18 billion surplus, raised<00:38:24.960

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, local government code mandates that counties manage surplus or salvage property, including
• current statute details the circumstances in which a commissioner's court of a county may donate surplus
• HB 3335 amends the local government code in regards to the disposal of a county surplus or salvage property
• and allow for a broader reach of donations of county surplus property, thereby helping maximize the
• We joke that we are a victim of our purchasing agents success in getting our surplus property sold off

Transcript Highlights:

• a few billion, some years it may be more, depending on the economy in that given year. year, the surplus
• We had a $40 billion surplus. a $24 billion surplus, we have to be careful how we spend it so it's spent
• Because when you have a surplus, it's like if you get a bonus in your I hope some of you get a bonus

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• be a few billion, some years it may be more, depending on the economy in that given year and the surplus
• We had a $40 billion surplus, a $24 billion surplus.
• It's not something we have to do every year because when you have a surplus, it's like if you get a bonus