Transcript Highlights:

• With that, we'll lead off with our normal lead-off hitters from the Legislative Budget Board.
• Land Bolting, Legislative Budget Board. Frank Valdavino, Legislative Budget Board. Okay, thanks.
• My name is Frank Valdavino with the Legislative Budget Board.
• Land Bolting, Legislative Budget Board, again.
• The U.T. budget, two-thirds of the U.T. budget, is actually health care related, and two-thirds of the

Summary: The Senate Committee on Higher Education met to review interim charges on the Permanent University Fund (PUF), the Available University Fund (AUF), the Higher Education Fund (HEAF), and the Texas University Fund (TUF). Legislative Budget Board staff outlined how each fund works, including PUF’s constitutional role for UT and Texas A&M, HEAF’s capital support for institutions outside those systems, and TUF’s research funding for eligible universities. They also described TUF’s growing corpus and distribution changes, and noted which institutions are nearing eligibility. Committee members asked about distribution formulas, comparisons to other states, and how funds are allocated among system institutions.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've always been an agency that focuses on the mission first and the budget second.
• Out of the bat, you have to recognize that this is a tighter budget year.
• We actually did reduce the Missouri budget by about a billion dollars or so.
• Out of the bat, you have to recognize that this is a tighter budget year.
• We actually did reduce the Missouri budget by about a billion dollars or so.

Summary: The task force heard extensive testimony on recovery support, harm reduction, and community-based care. Dan Haniken of Into Action described his own recovery from addiction and incarceration and argued that treatment alone is not enough; he said recovery housing, peer support, employment, accountability, and stable housing are what help people stay sober and avoid relapse. Members asked about funding, housing shortages, transportation, treatment courts, and support for medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Haniken said Into Action relies on a braided mix of federal, state, county, city, foundation, and private funding, and that recovery housing needs longer-term support than many current funding streams provide. He also said Missouri should expand recovery housing, peer recovery support, and recovery community centers, and improve awareness and access to MAT in recovery settings and after incarceration. Matt Cushman, a community paramedic with Raytown Fire Protection District, urged Missouri to expand harm reduction, including syringe service programs and broader access to clean needles and drug-checking tools. He argued that stigma and abstinence-only approaches keep many people from seeking help, and said harm reduction reduces disease transmission, overdose deaths, hospitalizations, and other harms while creating pathways to recovery. He cited naloxone distribution as a successful example and said similar strategies should be decriminalized and expanded. Members asked about naloxone access, community paramedicine funding, and whether safe consumption sites should be considered; Cushman said syringe exchange should be a near-term priority, while safe consumption sites are a longer-term policy question. Representatives from Ozarks Medical Center/COMC and Four Rivers Community Health Center focused on the need to reimburse peer support specialists and community health workers, especially in rural and underserved areas. COMC’s Monet Lehman shared her trauma and recovery story and described her jail reentry work, helping incarcerated people with housing, benefits, IDs, employment, MAT, and community supports before release. Four Rivers said its care coordinators and CHWs provide wraparound services such as transportation, housing help, Medicaid enrollment, clothing, and same-day MAT access. Members and staff discussed confusion over reimbursement rules, noting that CCBHCs can bill for peer services through Medicaid while FQHCs generally cannot, and that CHWs are often funded through grants rather than reimbursement. No votes were taken; the meeting consisted of testimony and member questions, with several requests for follow-up information on funding, transportation, and reimbursement rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• These are often the groups operating with small budgets.
• Yeah, there was definitely from an amendment that Senator Chang-Díaz filed in a supplemental budget.
• Was filed in a supplemental budget. Great.
• And some of the innovation that currently exists and continues to be funded every year in the budget,
• So understaffed towns and cities and those facing budget issues... ...across the state.

Committee: Senate Senate Committee on the Census

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census held an early planning hearing on how Massachusetts can maximize participation in the 2030 census, with Chair Will Brownsberger and Vice Chair Rebecca Rausch emphasizing the need to start well in advance. The first panel, made up of leaders from the Massachusetts Voter Table, MassVOTE, MIRA, and MESA, stressed that grassroots community organizations are trusted messengers and should be funded early to do multilingual outreach, training, and direct assistance in hard-to-count communities. They described lessons from 2020, including the shift to internet response, reduced federal census infrastructure, the importance of coordinated statewide networks, and the need to begin messaging several years before Census Day because building trust and staffing outreach takes time. Panelists repeatedly warned that immigrant communities are facing heightened fear because of federal immigration enforcement and the possibility of a citizenship question or other federal changes, making census participation more difficult. They said 2020 funding arrived too late to fully staff and train outreach teams before the pandemic, and argued that future resources should be deployed earlier and more flexibly. In response to committee questions, they estimated Massachusetts should invest roughly $8 million to $10 million or more in state census outreach, with one proposed model of about $3 million to $5 million at the start, additional funding in the middle years, and a larger final push closer to 2030. They also suggested that funding should support communications infrastructure, translation, social media and ethnic media outreach, and possibly a permanent complete count structure or trust fund to preserve institutional knowledge. A second panel from Common Cause Massachusetts and the ACLU of Massachusetts echoed the call for stronger, earlier investment and stronger privacy protections. They urged the legislature to expand existing census line items, consider a trust fund or other dedicated funding stream, and coordinate census outreach with other state programs that already work through trusted community messengers. The ACLU testimony focused on racial inequities in census counts and warned that federal efforts to exclude non-citizens or add a citizenship question would deepen distrust and undercount immigrant communities. Committee members asked about the 2020 overcount/undercount results, funding levels, timing of grant distribution, and whether census outreach should be routed through the Secretary of the Commonwealth or other state mechanisms; no votes were taken, and the hearing moved on to a later panel on immigrant-community outreach.

Transcript Highlights:

• Nash and I didn't truly understand exactly what was happening at that time, we left it out of the budget
• ><00:09:00.920><c> year</c><00:09:01.040><c> during</c><00:09:01.320><c> the</c><00:09:01.400><c> budget
• </c> we'll do it next year during the budget we'll do it next year during the budget year.<00:09:02.160
• For the record, I'm Eric Anderson, government relations director at Minnesota Management and Budget.
• The funding proposed in the governor's budget recommendations also permit the use of that funding to

Bills: HF4074

Committee: House State Government Finance and Policy

Keywords: retirement, pension, public employees, MSRS, PERA, TRA, St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association, police and fire, correctional employees, probation officers, telecommunicators, dispatchers, 911 operators, public safety answering point, PSAP, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, paid on-call firefighters, fire relief association, state aid

Transcript Highlights:

• And, you know, over 10 years, that's probably just a rounding error in a budget."
• "And, you know, over 10 years, that's probably just a rounding error in a budget, hopefully, especially
• It'll be seniors on fixed budgets, everyday Missourians.
• We are going to put a $9 billion hole We are going to put a $9 billion hole in our budget.
• You don't hear me talking about tax policy or I don't sit on budget for a reason, but not this topic.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Commission to come by a little later in the meeting if anybody wanted to talk to them about their budget
• , because they had a pretty profound budget cut in their document management system.
• Tell us about your budget and what's happened. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
• <00:34:59.920><c> priority</c><00:35:01.040><c> uh</c> budget priority uh budget priority uh rejected
• So, uh this was budget request page 17.

Bills: SF0082

Committee: Senate Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions

Keywords: registered agents, corporate governance, entity ownership, business regulations, transparency, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , with the transportation budget, with anything else that we debate here, we'd be here all day.
• Speaker and gentlemen, as I've said before, this is in the budget.
• Speaker, general, so within the budget, are we going, is there an increase for MFA to hire more people
• Speaker and gentlemen, right now what this legislation is, and I'll say again, is already in the budget
• This appropriation that's already in the budget, the $10 million, is specifically to incentivize the

Bills: HB111 , HB108 , HB145 , HB164 , HB291 , HJR6 , HR1 , HB63 , HB64 , HB165 , HB184 , HB200 , HB4 , HB7 , HB20 , HB65 , HB66 , HB80 , HB88 , HB96 , HB166 , HB285 , HB295 , HB306 , SB29 , SB37 , HJM2 , HJM3 , HJM1 , HM7 , HM17 , HM4 , HM22 , HM23 , HM24 , HM26 , HM2 , HM16 , HM32 , HM13 , HM47 , HM20 , HM51 , HM1 , HM31 , HM35 , HM36 , HM46 , HM53 , HM54 , HM11 , HM14 , HM21 , HM34 , HM50

Keywords: water law, state engineer, civil penalty, compliance order, water rights, overdiversion, illegal diversion, groundwater storage and recovery, well license, permit violation, water enforcement, New Mexico water code, irrigation district, conservancy district, water diversion, unauthorized water sales, measuring device, district court appeal, water resources, water compliance

Summary: The House spent much of the meeting on recognitions and tributes, including remarks supporting New Mexico’s dairy industry, honoring Gadsden Independent School District educators and students, recognizing Broadband Day at the Capitol, and celebrating the retirement of Representative Susan Herrera. Members from both parties praised Herrera’s long public-service career, especially her work on water, acequias, land grants, rural communities, modernization, early childhood, and predatory lending reform. Herrera thanked colleagues and said she was leaving to spend more time with family, grandchildren, and personal pursuits. The chamber also received a Senate message on House amendments to Senate Bill 3, with the Senate concurring in most items and asking the House to recede from two provisions. Committee reports were then adopted on a series of bills and resolutions, including House Bills 99, 206, 213, 250, 267, 270, 322, and 323; Senate Bills 17, 48, 55, 104, and 193; House Joint Resolution 5; and House Memorial 39. Most reports were adopted without objection, while some bills were advanced with committee substitutes or referrals to other committees. On third reading, the House passed several measures. House Bill 63, funding New Mexico Finance Authority water projects, passed 66-0; House Bill 64, appropriating about $13.25 million for PPRF-related funds, passed 67-0; House Bill 285, refining the disabled veteran property tax exemption, passed 67-0; House Bill 165, expanding C-PACE economic development uses, passed 67-0; House Bill 184, consolidating legacy fund investment accounts, passed 67-0; and House Bill 200, appropriating $10 million for the New Homes for New Mexico starter-home program, was debated at length and then passed. House Bill 291, the tax cleanup bill, drew a failed floor amendment that was tabled 41-24 before the bill passed 59-8. The debate on HB 200 focused on whether the program would help smaller builders and rural communities, while the HB 291 amendment debate centered on adding broader tax provisions and concerns about fiscal impact and policy scope.

Transcript Highlights:

• I can also address how we budget OSI's, or I guess how we budget PCF into OSI's operating budget.
• There's a total budget of $104.9 million for the PCF program at OSI.
• A majority of these funds are budgeted in the other cost category to cover PCF settlements.
• I will also note just that the budget, HB 2, does include bar language so that OSI can do budget increases
• So they also have that flexibility in their budget.

Bills: HB99 , HJR5 , HM39 , HB206 , HB213 , SB41 , SB153 , SB165 , SB261 , SB264

Committee: Senate House Judiciary

Keywords: medical malpractice, malpractice reform, patient's compensation fund, PCF, health care liability, tort reform, damage caps, punitive damages, hospital liability, physician liability, nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, outpatient facility, ambulatory surgical center, urgent care, free-standing emergency room, insurance surcharge, superintendent of insurance, New Mexico hospitals, medical review process

Summary: The committee first took up a lengthy informational presentation on the Patient Compensation Fund (PCF) and New Mexico medical malpractice insurance. Teresa Hassey, a plaintiffs’ attorney, described the PCF’s origin in the 1976 Medical Malpractice Act, its role as a state-backed excess coverage system, and her view that it was mismanaged when hospital participation expanded without individualized risk assessments. She argued that hospitals underpaid surcharges, that the fund was depleted by claims, and that the 2021 amendments and later legislative infusions were meant to shore up deficits and phase hospitals out. Superintendent of Insurance Alice Kane and LFC analyst Julia Rodriguez presented a different perspective, emphasizing recent general fund infusions, current surcharge collections, the use of actuarial reviews, and the PCF’s budget and settlement activity. Kane said the market is highly concentrated, New Mexico’s malpractice costs and defense expenses are high, and the fund still provides lower-cost coverage than the open market, while also noting ongoing issues with future medical claims, TPA transition, and investment management. Committee members questioned the presenters at length about why New Mexico malpractice premiums are so high, whether defense costs were being conflated with claim payouts, how the PCF works with primary coverage and excess coverage, and whether hospitals were properly assessed when they entered the fund. Several senators raised concerns about punitive damages, corporate practice of medicine, and whether the state’s legal environment is driving doctors away. Others challenged the data comparisons, noting differences between one-year figures and multi-year averages, and asked why New Mexico’s costs remain far above neighboring states. Kane and Hassey disagreed on the causes, with Kane pointing to high claims and defense costs over time and Hassey arguing that hospital participation and punitive-damage exposure distorted the market. The chair concluded the discussion by saying the committee had not exhausted the topic and that he still wanted a clear path to reducing doctors’ insurance costs. After a break, the committee moved on to Senate Bill 41. Senator Charlie introduced the bill, which would eliminate the statute of limitations for the most serious sexual crimes in New Mexico. He argued that trauma, coercion, fear, and delayed disclosure often prevent survivors from reporting promptly, and said the law should reflect that reality. The bill was presented as a response to survivor testimony heard in a prior hearing, and the sponsor framed it as part of a broader effort to modernize the justice system for sexual violence cases.

Transcript Highlights:

• But what it allowed us to do, well, first of all, the budget has given us a 3-year run, a special on
• We make a difference here, that it's noticeable and, and then it gets done, uh, budgeted full-time.
• I'll talk to you at your leisure and when you want to about our budget request.
• No, we're asking for a flat budget. And the poor guy was literally hanging onto the table.
• Learn everything from budgeting to IAAA to a lot of different things quickly.

Committee: House Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• you speak a little bit as to the role that something like mental health interventionists, from a budget
• you speak a little bit as to the role that something like mental health interventionists, from a budget
• you speak a little bit as to the role that something like mental health interventionists, from a budget
• you speak a little bit as to the role that something like mental health interventionists, from a budget
• </c><01:06:41.839><c> for</c> for the money to go into the budget for for the money to go into the budget

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Education met on January 30 and heard testimony on several bills, beginning with an announcement asking testifiers and members to keep remarks brief because of weather. The vice chair also explained that HB 440, relating to immigration issues in schools and state hospitals, was removed from the agenda because the proposal would not create meaningful legal protections and immigration policy is governed by federal law. The committee then moved through a series of education-related measures, with testimony largely from the Department of Education, the School Facilities Authority, the Attorney General’s office, unions, advocacy groups, and individual testifiers. On HB 330, concerning school impact fees, the School Facilities Authority supported the bill as aligning policy with implementation, while the Tax Foundation of Hawaii said the fee accounts have accumulated large balances, including more than $20 million in impact fee funds and nearly $9 million from predecessor fair-share contributions, and urged that collected money be used rather than left idle. DOE said it would follow up on the balance and why it was not being used. On HB 1188, dealing with workforce housing, DOE and the Charter School Commission offered comments or support, the Attorney General suggested clarifying the phrase “within commuting distance” by using a mileage standard and adding repayment language, and HSTA, HGEA, and others supported the bill, with HSTA saying teachers need housing to be able to live and work in Hawaii. On HB 624 and HB 625, both related to school psychologists, DOE said it would participate in a work group on the pathway bill and supported the incentive program bill; school psychologists and related groups supported the measures, while one testifier said DOE should not lead the work group alone because school psychologists may work in many education settings beyond DOE schools. The committee also heard HB 1314 on youth mental health in schools. DOE described its student support process, universal screening tools, and behavioral health services, saying schools already identify and respond to concerns and that staff are trained to report issues, while the Attorney General warned the bill could expose schools to liability and recommended a broad liability waiver. Testimony was mixed, with several supporters and one opponent. On HB 616, concerning school safety and harassment protections for educational workers, the Attorney General sought clarifying amendments on harassment definitions, temporary restraining order costs, and paid leave, while HSTA, HGEA, and individual teachers strongly supported the bill, describing harassment incidents and arguing for a standardized statewide response. DOE said it already has reporting pathways, visitor codes of conduct, trespass notices, and an ethics hotline, but acknowledged implementation varies by school and that staff can escalate concerns if needed. The committee also began hearing HB 88 on a three-year pilot program for athletic travel, but the transcript cuts off before that bill’s testimony is completed or any votes are taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> when we're facing a $6 billion budget when we're facing a $6 billion budget deficit,<01:04:39.440
• budgets first and not the budget of the state government.
• </c><02:05:17.679><c> of</c><02:05:17.840><c> the</c> budgets first and not the budget of the budgets
• <02:09:45.840><c> of</c><02:09:46.079><c> about</c> budgets of about budgets of about $900<02:09:48.159
• </c> voices of the higher education budget voices of the higher education budget and<03:56:17.920><c>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Major cuts are the only way to meet the requirements of the Republican House budget resolution.
• </c> budget resolution. budget resolution.
• We passed a responsible budget resolution, and now we're moving forward with a strong reconciliation
• </c> We passed a responsible budget We passed a responsible budget resolution<00:52:57.839><c> and</c
• For millions of managing their budgets.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Turn to we have worked with our budget actuary.
• Turn to we have worked with our budget actuary.
• Turn to we have worked with our budget actuary.
• Um implementation into the next budget.
• Importantly, so Alzheimer's budget.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• puzzle is, if... ...of this puzzle is if, I'm sorry, how much is, is there an allocation for this, a budget
• So we're working through the budget process this year to request additional funding to continue the program
• That's a separate budget ask. That's not part of this bill. Okay. What is that?
• Right now, staffing is based on budgets. This framework allows it to be based on need.

Summary: The Military and Veterans Affairs Committee heard presentations on several bills, beginning without a quorum and later taking up the measures once a quorum was established. AB 2531 by Assemblymember Irwin would expand California’s uncompensated care grant program so veterans whose federal health coverage does not include abortion services can access abortion care, and would require CalVet to link to abortion.ca.gov. Supporters, including Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, Equality California, and Reproductive Freedom for All California, said the bill responds to federal restrictions on VA abortion care; opposition from the California Family Council argued it used taxpayer dollars to promote abortion and raised concerns about incomplete information and fraud. Committee members also questioned the bill’s use of “self-identify” for veteran status and the funding structure, with the author indicating openness to looking at proof-of-veteran options. AB 2054 by Assemblymember Gibson would update California’s paid family leave rules so relatives of military service members can qualify when those members are activated for state emergencies, disaster response, or other domestic duties, not just overseas deployment. The Department of Defense sponsored the bill, and Navy Region Southwest testified in support, saying it would improve stability for military families and reflect modern service demands. Members praised the bill and noted recent National Guard deployments for fires as an example of the gap it addresses. AB 2219, the Faster Service for Veterans Act, by Chair Schiavo, would require county veterans service officer vacancies to be filled within 12 months, set accreditation timelines, expand training and public awareness, create a statewide work queue, improve data collection, and require periodic reporting and a unified satisfaction survey. The California Association of County Veterans Service Officers supported the bill, saying it would improve timeliness, accountability, and resource planning. After discussion, the committee voted to pass all of the bills and move them to the next committees: the consent calendar bills AB 1702, AB 1765, AB 2203, and AB 2467 were approved 8-0; AB 2054 passed 8-0 and was re-referred to Insurance; AB 2219 passed 8-0 and was re-referred to Appropriations; and AB 2531 passed 6-2 and was re-referred to Appropriations.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 1648, budget process, bring forward sections relating to and provide for transfer of funds
• The coast provides a lot of money to the budget. Yeah. Thank you, Senator Carter.
• Senate Bill 2189, budget...
• Senate Bill 2189, budget bring forward codes related sections related to and provide for transfers.

Keywords: MS Senate Floor - 2 April, 2026; 10:00 AM, 925, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, we don't know if we're going to have a budget target, so we might be back or we might not.
• we're going to Well, we don't know if we're going to have<00:13:16.720><c> a</c><00:13:17.280><c> budget
• 18.280><c> so</c><00:13:18.480><c> we</c><00:13:18.600><c> might</c><00:13:18.839><c> be</c> have a budget
• target, so we might be have a budget target, so we might be back<00:13:19.400><c> or</c><00:13:19.560

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And my bride was going with me and meeting me there, but I got held up here as we were negotiating budget
• And my bride was going with me and meeting me there, but I got held up here as we were negotiating budget
• House stand adjourned at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. as we were negotiating budget. as we were negotiating budget

Keywords: MS House Floor - 24 March, 2026; 10:00 AM, 925, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we ask you to approve this project this year and get it through the budget.
• So I bring this to you to give you some awareness of our needs, and then when we do go to the budget,
• And so with that, I want you to know that all the fighting that he has done in the budget, he's had to
• But just to bring all this to the state of Arizona, our budget isn't in the best as compared to years

Committee: House House Rural Economic Development Committee of Reference

Summary: The Rural Economic Development Committee heard presentations focused on district needs and infrastructure priorities in LD7, including a video and testimony on the East Wilford Road Extension in Show Low and Gold Canyon/Lost Dutchman Days. Show Low officials, Navajo County leaders, and the city manager described the road extension as a shovel-ready project that would improve traffic flow, provide a new bridge over Shoal Creek/Show Low Creek designed for a 100-year flood, and create a critical alternate emergency route for evacuations and access to Summit Healthcare. They emphasized past flooding and wildfire evacuation concerns, the project’s regional importance, and the city’s local financial commitment, including $7.56 million already pledged. The committee then heard Senate Bill 1272, which appropriates $5 million from the state general fund in fiscal year 2027 for the state match for the Douglas Port of Entry, contingent on a $678 million federal GSA award. Senator Gallen, Douglas Mayor Jose Grijalva, and city staff said the project would support trade with Mexico, create jobs, improve border security, and help modernize port operations; they also noted a September 2026 deadline and that the city has already secured $20 million of the needed $50 million match, with additional funding still being sought. Testimony highlighted the port’s economic impact, the city’s small tax base, and the potential for federal and private investment leverage. After questions from members about safety, timelines, private participation, and local contributions, the committee voted to return SB 1272 with a due pass recommendation. The motion passed 6-0, with one member absent; Representative Bolt explained his yes vote by citing the bill’s importance to commerce, economic development, and border security.

Transcript Highlights:

• 608, 609 funds, but I can assure you that before long, there's going to be a cost to the operating budget
• I'm asking for a no on the concurrence. ...before long, there's going to be a cost to the operating budget
• ensuring those allocations prevent leakage while still respecting the Climate Commitment Act's allowance budgets
• Still respecting the Climate Commitment Act's allowance budgets and our state's emissions limits.

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is booked in both budgets, the House and Senate budget.
• the Department of Revenue now estimates a loss of $8.4 billion to $13 billion over the four-year budget
• The revenue from this bill was assumed in the budget as passed the House floor, although at a slightly

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee held its last scheduled public hearing of the year on March 9, 2026, taking testimony on House Bill 2487, Substitute House Bill 2689, and Engrossed House Bill 2681. For HB 2487, staff and the Department of Revenue explained that the bill would narrow a B&O tax exemption for insurance-related businesses after a 2024 Supreme Court decision, make several related changes including annuity and assigned risk plan exemptions, adjust the advanced computing surcharge threshold for certain affiliated groups, and allow a penalties-and-interest waiver with a repayment plan. DOR supported the bill as clarifying the original intent and preventing double taxation, while insurers and health plan groups opposed it, arguing it would create higher costs, retroactive tax liability, and uncertainty; consumer and policy groups testified in support, saying it closes a loophole and restores the intended tax structure. Committee members questioned the retroactivity, the number of affected businesses, and the fiscal estimates, and the chair reminded members that amendment requests were due by noon for the next day’s executive session. For Substitute HB 2689, staff described changes to the Working Connections Child Care program that would keep income eligibility at 60% of state median income, reduce future rate-setting from the 85th to the 75th percentile, block enhanced rates for certain cross-region providers, cancel the planned move to enrollment-based prospective payments, revise attendance-based reimbursement to a full month for absences of 10 days or fewer and half-month for longer absences, and require a 65% market survey response rate for validity. The fiscal note projected substantial savings, offset by implementation and staffing costs. SEIU 925 and Head Start representatives supported the simpler House approach to attendance billing but raised concerns about the new survey threshold and the risk of increased audits and provider burden; they also noted an amendment under discussion to address the 2026 survey issue. Committee questions focused on how a full month is defined under the attendance rules. For HB 2681, staff said the bill would raise annual issuance and renewal fees for cannabis producer, processor, and retail licenses by $400, generating about $866,000 per year for the dedicated cannabis account with minimal administrative cost. No one signed up to testify, and the chair closed the hearing without a vote on any of the bills. The chair also thanked committee staff for their work and reiterated that amendments for the heard bills were due by noon that day.