Transcript Highlights:

• Some of those scores are going to have to do with how they assessed the proposals we gave them and their
• :15.759><c> they</c> are going to have to do with how they are going to have to do with how they assessed
• 05:17.280><c> we</c><00:05:17.919><c> uh</c><00:05:18.080><c> gave</c><00:05:18.320><c> them</c> assessed
• the proposals we uh gave them assessed the proposals we uh gave them and<00:05:19.440><c> their</c><

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board met on November 12, 2025, approved the October 22 minutes, and heard an update from Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Steven Stack and Public Health Commissioner John Langfeld on Kentucky’s application for the federal rural health transformation grant. The presenters described the grant as a $50 billion, five-year program with annual CMS scoring and rescorings, no state appeal rights, and a December 31 deadline for CMS to announce awards. They said Kentucky submitted its application on November 3 and had gathered stakeholder comments earlier in the process. The testimony emphasized that the grant is intended to support new models of rural care rather than replace existing funding or pay for clinical services or lost hospital revenue. Officials said the state had to address at least three of five federal strategic goals, including prevention and chronic disease, sustainable access, workforce development, and care/technology innovation. They also reviewed restrictions such as no new building construction, no payment for monthly broadband costs, and a cap of 5% for electronic medical record-related spending. The presenters said CMS has been clear that funding should focus on innovation in care delivery, rural access, and related policy goals, and that the state’s award could vary year to year based on performance milestones. The meeting was interrupted by a building fire alarm and evacuation announcement before the presentation was completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Help assess the floor.
• medications and not aware of any, however, we do one of the things we do it at least a behavioral threat assessment
• We have a specific focus on behavioral threat assessment and management in terms of behavior.
• specifically when it comes to individuals that commit acts of mass violence and behavioral threat assessment

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They are registered with EPA, requiring human health and environmental assessments to demonstrate safety
• there's no basis for creating an entirely separate regulatory regime, including registration and fee assessments
• And its ongoing data gathering and assessment efforts are precisely what needs to happen to comprehensively
• assess risk, the impacts, or any impacts of public health.

Committee: House Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:45:34.400><c> That</c> whatever assessment they choose.
• That whatever assessment they choose.
• </c> that are already doing this assessment that are already doing this assessment on<03:15:16.319><c
• Is that a fair assessment? Is it... I'm just listening to you.
• Is that a fair assessment?

Committee: House Housing

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Floor amendments will be shown on the screen.
• Floor amendments will be shown<00:32:25.600><c> on</c><00:32:25.760><c> the</c><00:32:25.919><c> screen
• </c><00:32:26.399><c> legislate</c><00:32:26.880><c> and</c><00:32:27.120><c> in</c> shown on the screen
• I legislate and in shown on the screen.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I can't see you behind the screen there, so I apologize. But, good morning.
• I can't see you behind<01:55:09.040><c> the</c><01:55:09.199><c> screen</c><01:55:09.520><c> there,</
• </c> behind the screen there, so I apologize. behind the screen there, so I apologize.

Committee: Senate Executive Departments and Administration

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . >> I He likes it easier to see on the screen than on a piece of paper. >> Yeah, I can do math. >> Does
• > the</c> &gt;&gt; I He likes it easier to see on the &gt;&gt; I He likes it easier to see on the screen
• </c> screen than on a piece of paper. screen than on a piece of paper.

Committee: House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• system will do staff evaluation statewide, and the appropriation will also provide for a skills assessment
• This is to cover costs associated with the UAMS juvenile sex offender assessments.
• It's supported by fees from the sex offender community notification assessment.
• So we could collect fees from past tax or a hospital assessment... ...from past tax or a hospital assessment

Committee: All ALC-PEER

Summary: The committee considered a series of appropriation, transfer, and review items, approving most requests in Sections B through J. These included temporary appropriations for state technology upgrades, personnel management, court reporters and interpreters, crime victim claims, juvenile sex offender assessments, radiation lab testing, higher education workforce grants, an ARPA grant for the UAFS LPN program, an IIJA grant for geological/critical minerals work, a restricted reserve transfer for 102 State Police vehicles, a transfer to the Arkansas Heroes Program, several cash fund requests for the Real Estate Commission HVAC and AV needs, and overtime appropriations for Emergency Management and Military. One budget classification transfer request from the Commissioner of State Lands for $250,000 to cover operating expenses tied to a new building was discussed at length but failed on the vote after questions about the lease and operating costs. A major portion of the meeting focused on a $25.7 million pay plan appropriation request for 15 agencies. Members questioned why the Department of Human Services had not requested additional pay-plan dollars for human development centers, where DHS acknowledged staffing shortages, high turnover, and heavy overtime but said the issue was not lack of pay-plan funding. DHS was asked to provide a written plan to address staffing problems. The Department of Corrections testified that the pay plan had improved retention and hiring, and committee members asked for follow-up data on vacancies and staffing outcomes. Members also clarified that the pay-plan request was appropriation only, not new funding, and approved it. The committee then reviewed fund reports, including the restricted reserve, Budget Stabilization Trust Fund, Tobacco Settlement, State Central Services, Education Adequacy, Medicaid Trust Fund, IIJA, and Revenue Services transfer reports. DHS and DFA were questioned closely about the Medicaid Trust Fund, with members noting a $90 million February draw and asking about projected year-end balances; DFA and DHS said February was a high-expense, low-revenue month and projected the fund would remain solvent through the fiscal year, ending between $150 million and $200 million, while a second $100 million set-aside is planned for FY27. The committee also discussed a state hospital damage report, where DHS explained that insurance proceeds would not fully cover the repair costs because of depreciation and the age of the buildings; members expressed concern that the state would recover far less than originally expected, and DHS said any additional insurance recovery would be limited and returned to restricted reserve.

Transcript Highlights:

• to legislative acts that provide for an increase in state tax revenues in the form of fees and assessments
• that is better than delegating out to somebody who has no accountability to the people that they're assessing
• Chairman, that when taxes and fees are assessed against corporations it means that the cost of the products
• So to the extent that you're assessing any kind of tax or fee against a corporation, the person that
• So to the extent that you're assessing any kind of tax or fee against a corporation, the person that

Bills: SB1142 , SCR1028

Committee: House Ways & Means

Keywords: scholarships, tax credit, education funding, nonprofit organizations, Arizona Revised Statutes, constitutional amendment, state revenue, tax policy, legislative approval, two-thirds vote, 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Department of Finance collects annual assessments and licensing fees from these regulated entities
• has separate savings and loans and mortgage transfer funds to receive deposits of the respective assessment
• In regulating, we've got three different revenue streams: bank assessments, mortgage licensing fees,
• We have bank assessments, we have mortgage licensing fees, and then we have the fees from the consumer
• will help us indirectly, so make sure we're not subsidizing the Division of Finance with our bank assessments

Committee: House Financial Institutions

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• UNDERWRITING IS A BETTER RISK ASSESSMENT.
• THIS YEAR, AERIAL IMAGERY IS THE ONLY WAY FOR SEVERAL WEEKS THAT CARRIERS COULD ASSESS PROPERTY LOSSES
• HELP WITH PRICING WAS NOTED AND REALLY, YOU CAN GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN DO THIS MICRO RISK ASSESSMENT
• MY QUESTION IS, AS AI MOVES INTO THAT SPACE OF HELPING WITH THIS RISK ASSESSMENT, HOW DO WE, MAYBE GUARDRAILS
• Boyles: IT APPEARS THAT AI HAS BEEN USED FOR RISK ASSESSMENT AND I WOULD CALL MICRO OR INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

Transcript Highlights:

• needs of the state's workforce, additional workforce data reporting, and regional labor demand assessments
• Data is used to produce a regional labor demand assessment and ensure that credentials are only designated
• In addition, requiring a biennial assessment of regional labor market data will help inform...
• A biennial assessment of regional labor market data will help inform regional workforce development and
• Their rigorous certification programs and on-the-job training equip them with the core competencies assessed

Committee: Senate Education K-16

Summary: The Senate Education K-16 Committee heard Senate Bill 1961, which would expand reporting on post-secondary outcomes and workforce data, including employment, earnings, regional labor demand, and credentials of value. Senator Bettencourt said the bill is intended to close data gaps and improve alignment between education programs and workforce needs. Witnesses from Opportunity Austin, Texas 2036, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, and the Fort Worth workforce community testified in support, saying better data would help students, parents, schools, employers, and regional economic development efforts. After questions from members about regional workforce pipelines and semiconductor talent needs, public testimony closed and SB 1961 was left pending. The committee then took up several pending bills and reported them favorably, including SB 1325, SB 604, SB 1832, SB 747, SB 2185, and SB 2395, with committee substitutes adopted where needed. SB 1325 was amended to remove the DSHS commissioner’s authority to issue standing orders for respiratory distress medication in schools. SB 1832, relating to school transfer or private-school funding options for students victimized by a public school employee, and SB 747, relating to intimate visual material policies, were both advanced on recorded votes. SB 2185, on the bilingual education allotment, was initially moved to a local calendar but was later backed up and reported to the full Senate after a fiscal note was noted. SB 2395, on school district general obligation bonds, was also reported favorably and then moved to the local and uncontested calendar. The committee also heard SB 646, which would expand the Mental Health Professional Loan Repayment Program to additional professions, increase award amounts, and add stipends for rural and bilingual service. Senator West said the bill responds to mental health workforce shortages and inflation. The Texas Counseling Association supported the measure, and a Hogg Foundation representative said participation has grown sharply since prior changes. SB 646 was left pending. The committee also heard SB 2647, which would create a Texas state accrediting agency and interim oversight system for higher education accreditors; supporters from the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a massage school owner argued it would improve accountability and reduce accreditor overreach, while Senator Menendez raised concerns about effects on law and medical school accreditation and student opportunities. SB 2647 was left pending. Finally, the committee heard SB 2786, which would exempt first responders from the Texas Success Initiative entrance exam, and SB 2615, which would standardize remote-work policies across public higher education institutions. The Texas State Association of Firefighters supported SB 2786, saying it would remove an extra step for career advancement; the bill was left pending because the committee substitute had not yet been adopted. SB 2615 was presented as a way to ensure more consistent in-person staffing expectations while preserving exceptions for illness, disability, and some non-teaching roles; it too was left pending. The committee then recessed subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• At this juncture, our assessment, I mean, we would need to perhaps look at that, but I don't know that
• At this juncture, our assessment, I mean, we would need to perhaps look at that, but I don't know that
• </c> um and in essence uh make assessments um and in essence uh make assessments about<00:42:31.760><
• I can't say that we at this stage have fully planned how to go about assessing that, but I certainly
• I think that's a fair assessment. Thank you.

Committee: House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:56:59.440><c> of</c> completed a comparative assessment of completed a comparative assessment
• </c><00:57:31.119><c> I</c> the comparative deterrent assessment I the comparative deterrent assessment
• So this assessment deterrent alignments.
• 48.240><c> specifically</c> assessment of deterrence, specifically assessment of deterrence, specifically
• Anyhow, I'm just being honest and giving me your assessment.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council met on May 27, 2026, approved the January 7 minutes and the day’s agenda, and reported no conflicts of interest. The executive director gave staff updates, including introductions of new staff member Cara Castanza and DNR liaison Jason Co., both of whom were welcomed by the council. Members were also informed about three minor easement/conveyance matters in the packet, including a small Bowser easement impact with about $1,600 returned to the Outdoor Heritage Fund, a Minnesota Land Trust easement request involving a DNR trout stream easement, and an access easement revision in Itasca County. The council also noted several upcoming dedication events and a June field tour in southeast Minnesota beginning in Winona on June 16, with visits to Whitewater WMA, bluff prairie and stream sites, and a river segment if a boat is secured. A major agenda item was a legislative session recap on the Outdoor Heritage Fund portion of Senate File 2077, the omnibus Outdoor Heritage Fund, Legacy, and Lands bill. Staff reported that all council recommendations were incorporated into the bill, which passed both chambers on May 17 and was expected to be signed by the governor. The fiscal year 2027 Outdoor Heritage Fund recommendations covered 53 programs totaling about $188.9 million, with the February forecast increasing the appropriation slightly so the final total was about $191.16 million; eligible programs were proportionately increased. Staff also highlighted a few changes made during the legislative process, including adjustments to the Roso Lake rehabilitation phase three project, the conservation partners legacy grant language, and statutory provisions affecting the council. The recap also covered policy changes in the bill: a public member term limit of eight years, with a short vacancy exception and transition rules for current members; a revised executive director hiring process allowing the Legislative Coordinating Commission to provide support while preserving the council’s final hiring authority and permitting closed meetings for candidate discussions; and an extension of the Upper Mississippi River invasive carp deterrent design deadline to June 30, 2027. Members discussed the Roso Lake amendment at length, with Senator Lang and Representative Burkel explaining that the added delay and injunction-related language were intended to address local concerns and preserve the council’s process while litigation proceeds. The meeting ended without any additional formal action beyond receiving the updates and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• assessment of your property. property. property.
• So, towns can do assessments change.
• </c> problem with regards to um the assess problem with regards to um the assess assessment<06:39:54.878
• So assessment of land in in current use.
• So, they should be included in the assessment, but they're not.

Committee: House Municipal and County Government

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Municipal and County Government Committee met in executive session on February 17, 2026, to act on a series of bills. Early in the meeting, members agreed that they could consult the online submission summaries rather than have changing submission counts read aloud. The committee then took up House Bill 1386, which would have allowed citizens in a municipality to vote to require a financial audit of a local school district. Members opposing the bill argued that school districts already have audit authority and reporting requirements under existing law, and that the proposal was unnecessary and potentially burdensome. The committee voted 17-0 to recommend the bill inexpedient to legislate, placing it on the consent calendar. The committee next considered House Bill 1181FN on public hearing notice requirements for zoning board of adjustment appeals. Members who opposed the bill said newspaper publication provides independent third-party verification and archival value, and that removing that requirement would weaken public notice. The committee voted 17-0 ITL and sent the bill to the consent calendar. It also voted 17-0 ITL on House Bill 1327, concerning the definition of commercially zoned land, largely because the sponsor was absent and members said they could not do due diligence without hearing from the sponsor. The committee then acted on House Bill 1473FN, concerning the use of agricultural fairground property, and House Bill 1147, concerning the use of capital reserve funds. In both cases, members cited the sponsor’s absence and the need for more information as reasons to recommend inexpedient to legislate; both votes were 17-0 and both bills were placed on the consent calendar. House Bill 1220, which would have allowed municipal governing bodies to review and approve school budgets, was also recommended ITL by a 17-0 vote after members raised concerns about local control, legal conflicts between separate entities, and technical drafting problems. The committee recommended ought to pass on House Bill 118, which raises the amount of money municipal treasurers may hold before depositing it in the bank, with supporters saying the higher threshold would reduce unnecessary trips to the bank and improve efficiency. It also recommended ought to pass on House Bill 1151, a housekeeping bill correcting statutory references related to conservation commission appropriations, and it approved House Bill 1309 as amended after adopting Amendment 2026-0411H to clarify town meeting warrant language. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 1385, prohibiting negative property tax rates in certain municipalities, and recommended ITL by a 17-0 vote after testimony indicated the practice at issue had already ended and that a blanket prohibition could create problems for municipalities with excess revenues. The committee also began work on House Bill 1369, relating to posting warrants for special town meetings, and discussed an amendment to preserve newspaper notice while also allowing website posting where available.

Transcript Highlights:

• Success-Ready Student Assessment, Senate position. Yes.
• I'd like to jump in there on the Success-Ready Student Assessment.
• It's not the Success Ready student assessment.
• Both, even though that network is not really tied to the assessment.
• The health data domain assessment, the $1,495,000, that is the one time.

Committee: House Conference Committee on Budget

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Success Ready Student Assessment, Senate position. Yes.
• I'd like to jump in there on the Success Ready Student Assessment.
• And if you're trying to move it back to the assessment, I think you would have to get rid of the word
• It's not the success-ready student assessment. So. Or could we just go with the House language?
• The health data domain assessment, the $1,495,000—that is the one-time.

Committee: House Conference Committee on Budget

Summary: The conference committee spent most of the meeting working through House Bill 2, the education budget, with repeated debate over how to close the remaining gap in the foundation formula. Members discussed fund swaps involving the blind pension fund, capital commission fund, lottery proceeds, state school money, and classroom trust funds, with several senators arguing the committee should fully fund the formula if possible and warning against leaving schools with a shortfall. The committee also reviewed child care subsidies, Parents as Teachers language, school safety and assessment-related items, Title I reallocation language, and a compromise on flexibility percentages for certain education lines. Several members raised concerns about language restricting virtual Parents as Teachers visits and about child care subsidy language tied to enrollment-based payment and prospective payment, while others defended the compromise as a way to balance provider concerns and budget limits. House Bill 3, covering higher education, was also reviewed. The committee largely accepted Senate positions on appropriations, with a compromise on the St. Louis Community College nursing program and a new proposal directing the Department of Higher Education to develop a new funding model by December 1, 2026. That language drew concern from some members, who said the timeline was too aggressive and asked for more flexibility, but supporters said prior work on performance funding justified the deadline. The committee then moved through House Bill 2004, transportation, agreeing to a mix of Senate positions and compromises on items such as safety operations, low-volume roads, port funding, and road improvements, including a larger-than-expected appropriation for Clarendon Road tied to a State Fair relocation plan. House Bill 5, general administration and IT, generated the most controversy over new language directing a plan for state IT modernization and cloud migration; several members objected that it was too prescriptive, resembled a resolution, and could favor a specific vendor, but the chair said the goal was accountability and oversight. The committee left some House Bill 5 items open for further negotiation, then later returned to finalize several dollar amounts and a shorter conference proposal on the IT language. The committee also worked through House Bills 7, 8, and 9, mostly adopting Senate positions with a few compromises. House Bill 7 covered economic development and tourism items, including Main Street, Missouri One Start, broadband, Juneteenth, and the Great American State Fair, with some items set aside for later or moved to other bills. House Bill 8 focused on public safety and veterans’ funding, including school safety apps, fentanyl testing, crime lab workload, DNA testing, veterans’ programs, and Highway Patrol fleet and fuel items; members debated whether to keep fleet and fuel funding separated or rolled together, and several items were set at compromise levels. House Bill 9, covering mental health and corrections, was handled more briefly, with most items following Senate positions and a few compromises, including probation and parole funding and a reduction on one appropriation. The committee then recessed and later resumed with House Bill 2010, beginning work on another budget bill with a mix of Senate, House, and compromise positions on early line items, but the transcript cuts off before that bill is completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Number two, assess project benefits based on the performance of existing equipment rather than a hypothetical
• SB 57, signed into law last year, directs the CPUC to assess the extent to which data center loads result
• That assessment is due January 1, 2027.
• That assessment is due January 1, 2027.
• risk mitigation. additional tracking and assessment of our wildfire risk mitigation.

Summary: The committee hearing covered a long agenda of energy, utility, and data-center bills, with members hearing extensive testimony on affordability, ratepayer protections, wildfire liability, and grid planning. Several measures were presented by Assembly Member Irwin and others, including AB 2182 on industrial energy efficiency incentives, AB 2396 on allowing community choice aggregators to develop transmission projects, AB 2589 on returning federal tax savings to ratepayers, AB 2508 on shifting public purpose program costs off utility bills, AB 1577 on data center reporting, and AB 2383 on large energy-use facility rate design. The chair noted the hearing began without a quorum and later proceeded once quorum was established for the data-center and AB 2383 votes. AB 2182 and AB 2589 were discussed but not acted on during the portion shown, while AB 2396 drew substantial debate over wildfire liability, financing, and whether CCAs should be allowed to own transmission lines. AB 2508 generated the most divided policy discussion, with supporters arguing that public purpose programs and energy efficiency costs should not be borne by ratepayers and should instead be funded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund or other public sources. Opponents warned that moving those programs to GGRF would threaten funding stability, undermine cost-effective efficiency programs, and jeopardize important safety-net and wildfire-related spending; wildfire survivor advocates asked for amendments to ensure victims are paid first before any reallocation. Committee members raised concerns about whether GGRF is an appropriate and stable funding source, and several said they could not support the bill as drafted. AB 1577, requiring data centers to report energy, water, and noise information, passed on a 10-1 vote after supporters said the bill would help local and state planners manage rapid load growth, while opponents argued it was burdensome, duplicative, and could expose proprietary or security-sensitive information. AB 2383, which would direct the CPUC to create a new rate structure for large energy-use facilities and require long-term contracts to prevent cost shifts and stranded assets, also drew strong support and opposition. The Little Hoover Commission and NRDC backed the bill as a way to protect ratepayers from data-center-related costs, while CCAs, the Chamber of Commerce, manufacturers, and petroleum interests objected to the bill’s scope and to CPUC oversight, especially as it could affect CCAs and other large users beyond data centers. After discussion about preserving local authority and avoiding stranded costs, the committee approved AB 2383 on a 13-0 vote and left the roll open for absent members. The hearing then moved to AB 1774, a wildfire accountability bill by Assembly Member Berman, which was introduced with testimony from fire survivors and consumer advocates emphasizing the need to verify that utility wildfire mitigation spending is actually performed before ratepayers are charged.

Transcript Highlights:

• This provides flexibility in the partnership access line assessment to cover administrative costs.
• This was a covered lives assessment for managed care organizations and health carriers that was passed
• House Bill 2254, providing flexibility in the partnership access line assessment.
• Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2325, establishing a tourism self-supported assessment.
• Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2325, establishing a tourism self-supported assessment.

Bills: HB2675 , HB2249 , HB2120 , HB1069 , HB1983 , HB2431 , SB6006 , SB6297 , SB6351 , SB6353 , HB2521 , HB2091 , HB2104 , SB6355 , HB2254 , HB2385 , SB5808 , HB1796 , HB1376 , SB6260 , HB2353

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: accounts, finance, business regulation, transparency, audits, HB 2249, Washington Technology Solutions, WaTech, civil service, classified service, exempt employees, state employment, state personnel, network security, cybersecurity, information technology, IT contracting, data center, systems integration, network engineering

Transcript Highlights:

• All kids will be assessed, and obviously we want to come up with the proper placement.
• Uh, but it's not, you know, with maybe hundreds of kids that are assessed throughout the year.
• Uh, but it's not, you know, with maybe hundreds of kids that are assessed throughout the year.
• They have to be clinically assessed by a professional, and that determination made before they would
• There is a mental health assessment, and then a representative from both cabinets would get together

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Keywords: 958, all