Transcript Highlights:

• Unfortunately, because of Firefighter Spinelli's dual status, there was some disagreement and confusion
• at the academy, which was under $300 a week, rather than his full 11F benefits based on his status as
• This bill affords him full 11F status pay and benefits until he is able to return to work in Chelmsford
• It does not address policy gaps that still exist for current DFS part-time employees.
• Support branch personnel at DFS, whether they are... ...employees.

Bills: S3051 , H5380 , H5384 , H5389 , H5420 , H5428 , H5427 , H5429 , H5435

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Service

Transcript Highlights:

• And rape is rape regardless of the marital status between the two parties.
• Being a federal employee does not exempt you from every state law.
• They get vetted like any county employee right now, because they're county employees.
• It just says that there will be no loss of a current employee.
• It just says that there will be no loss of a current employee.

Committee: House Public Safety

Summary: The committee heard several public safety measures. SB 704 by Senator Arreguín would require firearm barrels to be purchased through licensed dealers with a background check, as part of efforts to curb ghost guns. Supporters, including Brady Campaign and the California Police Chiefs Association, said barrels are a key unregulated component used in ghost guns; opponents argued the bill would burden lawful gun owners and would not meaningfully stop criminals. The bill was held for a later vote because the committee did not yet have a quorum when it was heard. SB 258 by Senator Wahab would remove the remaining spousal rape exception for victims unable to consent because of disability. Support came from prosecutors, sheriffs, and disability service organizations, while disability rights groups and public defender organizations opposed or sought amendments, warning the bill could worsen misunderstandings about consent for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. After extensive testimony, the committee voted 7-0 to pass SB 258 to Appropriations. Senator Umberg presented SB 27, which would make CARE Court more efficient and expand eligibility to some people with schizophrenia-like conditions and certain mood disorders with psychotic features, including some misdemeanor defendants found incompetent to stand trial. Supporters said it would improve treatment linkage and reduce jail cycling; opponents, including county behavioral health directors and many disability advocates, argued it could make CARE Court more coercive and expand a program they view as ineffective. The committee passed SB 27 on a 7-0 vote. The committee also heard SB 36, a price-gouging measure with a proposed search-warrant expansion, and SB 571, which increases penalties for impersonating emergency personnel and looting during disasters; SB 571 passed on a 4-0 vote, while SB 36 was held on call after mixed testimony and a vote. Later, SB 627 by Senator Wiener, which would restrict masking by law enforcement and federal agents with exceptions for safety and undercover work, drew strong support from immigrant-rights and civil liberties groups and strong opposition from police associations; the transcript ends during that hearing before any final action is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• And finally, the bill outlines penalties for an ACCESS or DES employee who is found to have willfully
• I think it's the NVRA, where you have the inactive status and the active status.
• and then you move forward to an active status.
• But I didn't see anything in the bill about the poll workers having to tell the voter about the status
• Because if the status shows up in the e-poll book and the volunteer poll worker is the person who is

Bills: HB2775 , HB2874 , HB2940 , HB4014 , HB4067 , HB4115 , HCM2010 , HCR2051

Committees: House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections , House House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee of Reference

Keywords: international organizations, government resources, public institutions, Arizona Board of Regents, foreign adversaries, campaign finance, contributions, termination statements, reporting, penalties, electoral processes, healthcare, public benefits, eligibility verification, fraud prevention, Medicaid, SNAP, transparency, accountability, state land

Transcript Highlights:

• or because of your citizenship status," right?
• ><c> status,</c><00:55:54.000><c> right?
• Like we your citizenship status, right?
• are placed on those employees.
• </c><01:12:44.640><c> of</c> governs the activities of employees of governs the activities of employees

Committee: Senate Higher Education

Transcript Highlights:

• That was my... employee to $150 owner and trainer ly employee to $150 owner and trainer ly and<00:08:
• </c> us to status quo it for one more year. us to status quo it for one more year.
• Um as status quo on our fee structure.
• Um, it was status quo around the fees.
• Uh that's new employees being put up. Uh that's new employees being<00:25:52.960><c> hired.

Summary: The committee approved the minutes from its August 21 meeting and then received an update from Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation leadership on implementation of Senate Bill 299 and House Bill 566. Jamie Eids and staff described the agency’s new structure after charitable gaming was brought under the corporation, including new divisions, staffing, banking, payroll, insurance, procurement, and reporting systems. They also unveiled the corporation’s new logo and tagline, and said the transition had been designed to avoid interruption for charities, licensees, and racing operations. A major focus was the fee structure required by House Bill 566. Eids outlined current licensing fees across racing, sports wagering, and charitable gaming, compared Kentucky’s fees with other states, and recommended keeping the status quo for one more year because the agency has only recently brought all three components fully in-house. Members asked about whether charitable gaming had harmed veterans’ groups or other nonprofits, whether any revenue should be transferred back to the state, and whether the charitable gaming licenses cover one-off raffles as well as standing operations. Eids said she had not heard complaints, said the licenses include all such activity with some exemptions, and agreed to look at the question of future transfers. The committee then heard from Melissa Combs Wright on pari-mutuel wagering and Hannah Sims on sports wagering. They reported continued growth in historical horse racing, more than $11 billion in total pari-mutuel wagering in fiscal year 2025, over $10.5 billion in HHR wagers, and about $161 million in pari-mutuel tax revenue, with most of that supporting the general fund and horse-breeding development funds. They also said sports wagering has generated nearly $5 billion in wagers since launch, $73 million for the public pension fund, and more than $2 million for problem gambling services, while expanding to 13 retail locations and 92 additional sports events. Members raised concerns about players being cut off after winning, the lack of local government revenue sharing from gaming facilities, and the growth of computer-assisted wagering; the witnesses said they were reviewing CAWs and that Kentucky does not license poker rooms through the corporation.

Transcript Highlights:

• When we look at these bills, we have to ask ourselves: Is it good for the employee?
• When we look at these bills, we have to ask ourselves: Is it good for the employee?
• This bill epitomizes why Sacramento is broken, why the influential benefit as consumers and employees
• Assembly Member Haney: Employees will be affected by this bill, including both Lyft and Uber.
• Passing AB 1348 means... ...regardless of immigration status.

Summary: The Assembly convened, established a quorum after a roll call, offered a prayer, observed a moment of silence for John Burton, and then proceeded through a long floor session with numerous procedural motions, committee referrals, and bill actions. Members also suspended rules to allow certain speeches and committee notices, and later recessed for caucuses before resuming business. Several items were moved to the inactive file or held on the file, and one rule-suspension motion to allow chaptering-out amendments on SB 271 and SB 67 passed 54-12. The chamber then took up many Senate bills on third reading, with most measures passing on strong bipartisan votes. Topics included civil rights and enforcement (SB 477), reparations-related administration (SB 518), autism provider licensing parity (SB 402), protections for undocumented students (SB 307), juvenile records access (SB 413), cancer registry funding (SB 717), protections for unhoused service providers (SB 634), EV charging payments (SB 533), tribal gaming compacts (SB 864), locomotive emissions (SB 30), battery storage safety (SB 283), Jack London Square land use (SB 304), campus enrollment planning (SB 486), vehicle-related cleanup (SB 586), public official roster updates (SB 482), threats against sensitive locations (SB 19), pregnancy as a qualifying event for insurance (SB 257), port emissions planning (SB 298), rural telehealth for farmworkers (SB 338), habitat conservation funding (SB 427), public defender removal standards (SB 485), privacy protections for legally protected health care (SB 497), Medi-Cal access standards (SB 530), chosen-family paid leave (SB 590), charter school loan fund reserves (SB 631), wildfire property tax relief (SB 663), maternity care access in rural areas (SB 669), direct CSU admission (SB 640), indoor heat safety in housing (SB 655), health data exchange governance (SB 660), demographic reporting on appointees (SB 702), solar property tax exclusions (SB 710), tax conformity (SB 711), menstrual product contaminant disclosure (SB 754), counterfeit lighter safety (SB 793), and price gouging after disasters (SB 36). Vote totals were generally high, with a few measures drawing notable opposition, including SB 580, SB 660, SB 610, SB 485, SB 41, and AB 1340. The Assembly also concurred in Senate amendments to AB 671, a restaurant permitting bill, and then took up AB 1340, a major gig-worker labor bill. Supporters described it as a historic expansion of collective bargaining rights for rideshare drivers, while opponents argued it would raise consumer costs and mainly benefit unions and political interests. The transcript ends during debate on AB 1340, before the final vote is recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• You mentioned Medicaid, in that case the state is the payer, similar with public employee insurance,
• But other than that, I don't know the status of any other cases. Okay.
• When prescriptions run through 340B, employees with high-deductible plans often pay based on the full
• Instead, what you're seeing is that the 340B status is conferred on the facility.
• Instead, what you're seeing is, and the 340B status is conferred on the facility.

Bills: HB2145 , HB1828 , HB2155 , HB2437

Committee: House Health Care & Wellness

Keywords: 340B drug pricing, healthcare access, patient rights, discounted medications, manufacturer limitations, health professions, plasma donation, physician substitutes, medical regulation, nursing titles, healthcare, regulation, professional standards, licensure, accreditation, opioid treatment, health services, fee authority, public health

Transcript Highlights:

• We will get an update on Cal OSHA regarding vacancies, Employment Development Department on the status
• of EDD next, and the status of unemployment and the work increase load.
• Our latest figure was that employers are paying about $63 per employee per year.
• $63 per employee per year. Heads up to what?
• It was $42 million, or $42 per employee per year. So 63 includes that $21.

Transcript Highlights:

• Cap Brackman, on behalf of the California School Employees Association, we are proud co-sponsors of AB
• School employees, not just teachers, but paraeducators, psychologists, and nurses, are supportive adults
• Leo Griffin, with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, in support.
• I mean, in identifying so many different categories of school employees, I think we all can intuitively
• This is the kind of status quo we're defending when we say this bill goes too far.

Summary: The hearing opened with several procedural announcements and then took up AB 2148, which would prohibit artificial intelligence from replacing education workers. The author and supporters from the California Federation of Teachers and California School Employees Association argued the bill was a modest first step to protect human educators, students’ social-emotional development, and teacher agency in classroom technology decisions. Public support came from labor and education groups, while some school administrator and county office representatives said they were moving to neutral or awaiting the printed amendments. The committee discussed teacher shortages and the role of AI as a supplement rather than a replacement, then passed AB 2148 as amended to Higher Education on a 5-0 vote. The committee then heard AB 2202, which would create a Closing the Achievement Gap Commission to advise the State Board of Education. The author and sponsors said the commission would improve coordination between state and local education leaders and help the state better support local efforts to close achievement gaps. Support came from CSBA, CFT, charter schools, and many district leaders. Members raised questions about early childhood representation on the commission, and the author said he would discuss that with the sponsor. The bill passed as amended to Appropriations on a 5-0 vote. The consent calendar, including AB 1569, AB 2071, AB 2206, AB 2298, AB 2467, AB 2580, AB 2652, and AB 2726, was also approved. AB 2555 was then heard as a special order bill to reform English learner reclassification. The author said the current system is outdated, inconsistent, and too subjective, and proposed a more automatic, transparent process with stronger parent involvement and post-reclassification monitoring. Testimony in support emphasized personal experiences of delayed reclassification and the need to recognize biliteracy; there was no opposition. The bill passed as amended to Appropriations on a 6-0 vote. The committee also approved AB 1860, which would extend design-build authority to county offices of education while preserving prevailing wage, apprenticeship, and skilled workforce requirements; opposition from county superintendent and facilities groups was removed after amendments, and the bill passed 6-0 to Appropriations. Later, the committee passed AB 2514, which would create a State of Achievement Gap Dashboard to track state-level progress in closing achievement gaps, and AB 2149, which would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to publicly assess the state’s progress and recommend actions. Both bills were presented as part of a broader package to improve state accountability for student outcomes, and both passed as amended to Appropriations on 7-0 votes. Finally, AB 2490 was heard, proposing to allow longer-term substitute assignments with added training, mentorship, and parent notification to address teacher shortages and classroom instability. Supporters said it would reduce “subchurn” and help maintain continuity, especially in special education; opponents, including CTA, Public Advocates, and CTC staff, argued the bill was unnecessary given existing rulemaking and could create legal and training concerns. The transcript cuts off during committee discussion of AB 2490, so no final vote is shown for that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• We also remind management of their obligations to reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities
• In addition to supporting undocumented students and those from mixed-status families, the Chancellor's
• I think California has the most mixed status families across the state.
• So we continue to support them. mixed-status families across the state.
• We continue to see a rise in mixed-status family applications, but we also see that students who are

Transcript Highlights:

• So very quickly, before I give you the status of this conference report, I wanted to tell you a little
• Sure, no new taxes, but just three new cost mandates on every employee.
• But just three new cost mandates on every employer and every employee in Virginia in perpetuity.
• They attached a mandatory payroll assessment to fund it, and they put it on every employer and employee
• This legislation relates to protection of employees and standards for heat illness prevention.

Transcript Highlights:

• Durkey Irwin, who is a Veterans Care IPS Employment Services employee for the U.S.
• It's been night and day since becoming a public sector employee.
• It's been night and day since becoming a public sector employee. I'm very happy to add that.
• I wanted to commend your group for including addiction as a status point for disability.
• I just wanted to commend your group for including addiction as a status point for disability.

Summary: The Disability Employment Subcommittee of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities met and began with roll call, but did not have a quorum, so approval of prior minutes and an inspirational quote were tabled. A planned presentation from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee was canceled shortly before the meeting, and the agenda shifted to an informal discussion with two Treasury employees, Steve Kroder and Bill Collievis, about veterans with disabilities in the workplace. Kroder and Collievis described barriers veterans face, including stigma, employer misunderstanding, the need for frequent medical appointments, invisible disabilities such as PTSD and other service-connected conditions, and challenges for Guard and Reserve members balancing service with civilian work. They also discussed supportive practices in public employment, the need for better outreach to employers, the role of local veterans service officers, Military OneSource, TAP, and the importance of helping veterans navigate benefits and transition services. Commission members responded by emphasizing education, employer outreach, and possible resource-sharing through the commission’s website and toolkit. The committee then heard a presentation from Commonwealth Corporation on its Young Adults with Disabilities employment grant program. Staff explained the program’s funding, eligibility, training and placement model, and data from the prior cycle, including participant demographics, completion rates, credential attainment, employment outcomes, and wages. Members discussed benefits counseling, underemployment definitions, stigma around addiction as a disability category, and the need to connect grantees and participants with work incentives and benefits information. Commonwealth Corporation said grantees now receive training on benefits impacts and that the agency is open to further partnership. The meeting ended with a brief update on a planned commission event focused on youth and young adults with disabilities, inclusive workplaces, PCAs, and job coaches. Organizers said they were still securing a venue and were considering a hybrid or virtual format, with participation from youth organizations, the PCA Council, and the Arc of Massachusetts. The subcommittee then voted to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• It was created to verify immigration status for public benefit programs, not to definitively determine
• Systems like SAVE were designed to confirm immigration status for benefits programs, not to definitively
• It's clear that the state is already doing an effective job of verifying citizenship status and having
• Chair and members, House Bill 2663 grants officers and employees... Mr.
• Chair and members, House Bill 2663 grants officers and employees of the state or any county, city, town

Bills: HB2416 , HB2663 , HB2759 , HB2806

Committee: Senate Military Affairs and Border Security

Keywords: border security, drug trafficking, human smuggling, law enforcement funding, Arizona, public safety, immigration, military leave, national guard, employment rights, paid leave, disaster response, veterans services, education programs, funding, appropriation, Yavapai county, lawful presence, public programs, verification

Transcript Highlights:

• insult that shocks the conscience and an order which will condemn America's nurses into second-class status
• <c> secondass</c> condemn America's nurses into secondass condemn America's nurses into secondass status
• federal</c><00:07:15.440><c> graduate</c><00:07:15.919><c> student</c><00:07:16.240><c> loan</c> status
• </c><05:32:15.520><c> I</c> employee to grant them that approval.
• I employee to grant them that approval.

Transcript Highlights:

• Frequent changes in duty status create gaps in coverage, which directly impact medical readiness and
• deployable status.
• Frequent changes in duty status create gaps in coverage, which directly impact medical readiness and
• deployable status.
• Employees in the service industry.

Summary: The committee met to hear the Governor’s proposed budget for the Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development silo and to consider one bill. The Governor’s Office outlined a $117.4 billion state budget, including $18.3 billion for the TED area, with major allocations for the Department of Transportation, Commerce, Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, State, Military Affairs, Emergency Management, and the Florida State Guard. Agency heads then presented their priorities, including housing and disaster recovery funds at Commerce; pay, vehicles, aviation, and data systems at Highway Safety; facility modernization, recruitment, retention, and maintenance at Military Affairs; election audit, conservation lab, and historic preservation funding at State; transportation, aviation, seaport, and safety investments at DOT; and emergency response, flood mitigation, grant systems, and alerting at Emergency Management. Members asked questions about Visit Florida’s private match, FHP’s role in immigration enforcement and body cameras, National Guard deployment tempo and staffing, State Guard staffing and facilities, arts grant rules, rail funding, and the number of detainees at the Everglades detention site. Several notable positions were expressed during questioning. Visit Florida said it met and exceeded its private match requirement and described the match as important to ensuring value from public dollars. The Highway Patrol said its aviation assets have been used more heavily in immigration enforcement and that in-vehicle camera systems were a higher priority than body cameras at present. The National Guard and State Guard both emphasized heavy operational demands, readiness needs, and the importance of additional funding for facilities, personnel, and equipment. The Department of State said its audit funding would help counties move to automated post-election audits and that its arts grant rule changes were intended to create more consistent scoring rather than reduce access. The committee then took up CS/SB 48 on accessory dwelling units. The bill requires local governments to allow property owners to voluntarily create ADUs, preserves homestead treatment for the primary residence portion, limits parking restrictions, and extends density bonus incentives to housing for military families receiving basic housing allowance. An amendment was adopted removing reusable tenant screening reports and clarifying that compliant ADUs are allowed by right without a separate hearing or permit. Testimony from the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association supported the bill, especially the long-term rental requirement, as a tool to help workforce housing. The committee reported the bill favorably by a roll call vote, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• He cared for the commission and its employees, and, and it was apparent.
• Our first draft advisory opinion deals with whether members of the state Employee charitable Campaign
• The state Employee charitable Campaign allows state employees to donate personal funds to charities that
• Again, an honorarium is permissible if the public servant's official status is not a deciding factor
• I'm Latanya Lowery, and I serve as the chief compliance officer for UTA, and we had an employee that

Transcript Highlights:

• that targets Washington residents solely on the basis of race, religion, immigration, or citizenship status
• you, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5906 prohibits early learning providers and school district employees
• Second, these organizations may not allow an officer or an employee of an agency conducting immigration
• It very simply provides that employees at schools, daycares, hospitals, both public and private, nursing
• Is there an issue of people whose immigration status is not clear being in those places?

Summary: The Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee heard testimony on several bills. On SB 5906, the SAFE Act, staff and Sen. Hansen described protections limiting immigration enforcement access to non-public areas in schools, early learning settings, higher education, health care facilities, adult family homes, and ballot-processing areas, and restricting collection of immigration-status information. Supporters said the bill would clarify and strengthen existing Keep Washington Working policies, while some witnesses requested amendments to better define health care facilities, clarify adult family home and election-related provisions, and keep Section 6 on ballot security. Some members questioned the factual basis for reported ICE activity near schools and daycares and the distinction between judicial and administrative warrants. The committee also heard SB 5886 on personality rights and forged digital likenesses. Staff explained that the bill would add digitally created or modified likenesses to the Personality Rights Act, raise civil penalties, and allow recovery of actual and non-economic damages in forged-digital-likeness cases. The sponsor and supporters said the bill is intended to address AI deepfakes and identity misuse while preserving satire and fair use; student and advocacy witnesses supported the measure as a way to protect students and victims of digital impersonation. The committee then heard SB 5169, which expands child hearsay and closed-circuit testimony rules to older children and additional offenses. Prosecutors and forensic interviewers supported the bill as necessary in trafficking and child abuse cases, while defense advocates opposed it as an overbroad expansion that could raise confrontation-clause issues and create legal challenges. Additional hearings included SB 5865, which would move garnishment form updates from statute to the Washington Pattern Forms Committee; judges supported it as a way to fix a wage-withholding calculation error and allow future updates without legislation. SB 5912 would reinstate the Indigent Defense Task Force to study statewide public defense delivery and recommend sustainable reforms; counties, the Office of Public Defense, and defense groups supported it. SB 6009 would make permanent the current process for direct review of administrative decisions by the Court of Appeals and retain land-use transfer provisions; a Court of Appeals judge supported the bill. SB 6087 would extend limited liability for donations of children’s items to religious organizations and add strollers and car seats, with support from Zero Waste Washington. The committee did not take final votes on these bills during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chairman: $29 million for the employees and $29 million for the employees and the state. Mr.
• That would be good for employers and employees.
• And on the employee side, it's never been done.
• It would result in a smaller increase for the employer and employee.
• So increasing it up to 11% for each employee, I worry that that's going to be the factor that new employees

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 1630, which would direct AHCCCS to seek federal approval for a home- and community-based services program for adults determined to be seriously mentally ill, with quarterly implementation updates, a stakeholder work group, and a cap on enrollment. The sponsor and advocates from Arizona Mad Moms argued the bill would create a Medicaid-funded long-term care option for the most disabled SMI patients, reduce costly hospital and state-only care, and improve continuity of care. A committee amendment narrowed eligibility to individuals needing a long-term SMI level of care, changed reporting to semiannual, reduced the initial cap to 250 members with possible growth tied to savings, and required AHCCCS to keep pursuing approval if CMS denies it. The amendment was adopted, and SB 1630 as amended passed 10-0. The committee then considered Senate Bill 1131, which originally required every school district and charter school to adopt a cardiac emergency response plan and appropriated $1 million for implementation. A Warner amendment replaced the mandate with a reporting requirement on AED counts, CPR/AED-trained staff, and whether a plan exists, while shifting the appropriation toward AED grants and limiting school spending to purchasing and maintaining AEDs. The American Heart Association supported the amendment as a way to gather baseline data and target resources, while some members questioned the funding split and the rural-school priority. The amendment was adopted, and SB 1131 as amended passed 9-1. Next, the committee took up Senate Bill 1582, dealing with the school safety interoperability fund. The amendment changed the appropriation from ADE to ADOA and allocated funds to specific county sheriff’s offices to continue existing interoperable communication systems linking schools and first responders; supporters said the systems had been used in drills and some real incidents, and were important for school safety. One member raised concerns about the auditor general’s report and whether the program should continue, but sheriffs and school officials described it as a useful communication tool. The amendment was adopted, and SB 1582 as amended passed 6-4. Finally, the committee began hearing Senate Bill 1504, which would change retirement rules for Tier 2 and Tier 3 public safety personnel and reduce the waiting period for cost-of-living adjustments. The sponsor, police and fire representatives, and pension consultants argued the bill would improve recruitment and retention and align benefits more closely with what employees were promised, while cities, counties, and taxpayer groups warned it would add substantial unfunded liabilities and undermine the 2016 pension reforms. The committee spent extensive time on actuarial costs, funding status, and the effect of the amendment exempting the bill from statutory pre-funding requirements; the transcript ends during that discussion before a final vote on SB 1504 is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's $6,000 per employee killed. Is that what a life is worth in California?
• many employees or if you can, you know, kind of hone in on that.
• We are here to protect employees.
• And so that averaged out to $6,000 per employee killed.
• is, and we can't give them the status until the case is actually closed.

Summary: The hearing focused on a state audit of Cal/OSHA titled “The Division of Occupational Safety and Health: Process Deficiencies and Staffing Shortages Limit Its Ability to Protect Workers.” Committee leaders and the audit team described serious workplace tragedies, argued that California’s worker protections are not being adequately enforced, and said the audit was prompted by concerns that Cal/OSHA was too often relying on letters instead of inspections, delaying investigations, and closing cases without enough documentation. Members repeatedly emphasized that the issue was not just staffing, but also outdated policies, weak oversight, and inconsistent enforcement. State Auditor Grant Parks said the audit found a 32% vacancy rate in 2023-24, heavy reliance on hard-copy files, outdated or unclear policies, and inconsistent decision-making in complaints, accidents, citations, and fine reductions. He said Cal/OSHA conducted on-site inspections in only about 20% of complaints, used letter investigations more than 80% of the time, often lacked evidence that hazards were corrected, and sometimes failed to inspect serious injury cases on time. The audit also found weak documentation for fine calculations and settlement reductions, with some penalties reduced substantially without clear explanations. Parks said the agency had accepted the findings and would provide progress updates later in the year. Committee members pressed the auditor on vacancy rates, the use of letter investigations, the low rate of criminal referrals, and whether fines were being reduced too often. Cal/OSHA and DIR officials responded that the vacancy rate had fallen to 12% partly because 66 vacant positions were eliminated in a statewide budget reduction and partly because of hiring; they said 126 people had been hired in the first half of the year. They also said they had hired a policy writer, were updating several policies, were planning periodic internal audits, and were developing a new data management system expected to go live in late 2026 or early 2027. On fines, officials said Title 8 sets base penalties and allows adjustments based on factors like employer size, history, and good faith, with appeals and informal conferences also affecting final amounts. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• , pregnancy status, and sexual orientation.
• Where is the chance transgender employees are supposed to go?
• I have been transgender from a hormonal status for more than 30 years.
• I have been transgender from a hormonal status for more than 30 years.
• You've had this law, the status quo, in effect since 2018; there haven't been that many issues.

Committee: Senate Judiciary