Transcript Highlights:

• In the tax package, there's a credit for contractors, but does that really make a home affordable?
• So we did not mess with the package that you all sent over. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Agent.
• Well, I think they're all eligible for the package that's put together.
• Chair, yes, we added about $180 million into quantum in the whole entire package. So, Mr.
• Chair, Representative Lujan... ...entire package. So Mr.

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 152, which would create a low-income telecommunications assistance program and continue support for rural broadband operations and maintenance through the State Rural Universal Service Fund. Senator Padilla and Office of Broadband Access and Expansion Director Jeff Lopez said the bill responds to the loss of federal affordability support and would help low-income households pay for broadband, while also preserving funding for rural carriers and maintenance. Supporters included the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the New Mexico Exchange Carrier Group, tribal telecom representatives, and several rural providers, who said affordability is the main barrier to service and that the bill would help families, students, and rural communities. A few witnesses opposed parts of the bill, arguing that the ARS funding should be redirected entirely to broadband affordability and that legacy POTS-line support should sunset. Committee members asked about ETC requirements, satellite and wireless options, rural density, and the sunset provision; the sponsor said the sunset on ARS would be removed and that stakeholder discussions would continue in the interim. The committee voted due pass on the Senate Finance Committee substitute for SB 152. The committee then took up Senate Rules Committee substitute for Senate Bill 132, which would add software planning and replacement to the state’s equipment replacement fund. The sponsor and expert said state agencies now rely heavily on software for core services and that planning for software alongside hardware would improve efficiency, security, and long-term sustainability. There was no opposition, and the committee voted due pass on the substitute. The meeting then shifted to a lengthy discussion of Senate changes to House Bill 2, the budget bill. Senate Finance staff described roughly 300 changes, including additional funding for fire response, early childhood, housing, health care, quantum initiatives, public safety, courts, transportation, education, and several social service programs. Members questioned cuts or reallocations affecting state employee pay, public school capital outlay, the state fair redevelopment, CARA, personal care services, the Office of Child Advocate, and other items. The presenters repeatedly defended the Senate’s use of funds as a way to preserve reserves while prioritizing health care, housing, education, and other recurring needs, and said reserves would remain above the target level even with the changes discussed.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I need to know that if this package satisfies you, all the package, these three bills and four bills
• All the package, these three bills and four bills are in this package.
• And so that's why I'm asking those questions on packages.
• If this is the package now, does this keep you here?
• I just see the opportunity to put it all together in a package.

Committee: Senate Senate Finance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This was not the intent of the 2020 bill, so in your package you'll find a letter from the Board of Medical
• This was not the intent of the 2020 bill, so in your package you'll find a letter from the Board of Medical
• This was not the intent of the 2020 bill, so in your package you'll find a letter from the Board of Medical
• This was not the intent of the 2020 bill, so in your package you'll find a letter from the Board of Medical
• maternal and infant Health Care sustain maternal and infant Health Care in<00:14:55.600><c> Minnesota

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You are with us to protect us and sustain us.
• No. 169 by Gonzalez of Dallas relating to the regulation of the cultivation, processing, packaging, labeling
• No. 169 by Gonzalez of Dallas relating to the regulation of the cultivation, processing, packaging, labeling

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> we put the larger funding package we put the larger funding package together,<00:31:41.040><c> allow
• It also advances equity and sustainability goals.
• It also advances equity and sustainability<01:08:19.839><c> goals.
• Um the county and sustainability goals.
• ><c> that</c><02:03:02.080><c> have</c> different funding packages that have different funding packages

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Fees have changed through a series of fee package submissions that have occurred.
• We just went to fiscal with a couple of tweaks to the C Mountain ski package for next season.
• We just went to fiscal with a couple of tweaks to the C Mountain ski package for next season.
• We just went to fiscal with a couple of tweaks to the C Mountain ski package for next season.
• </c><03:32:43.239><c> uh</c> right it's actually in the package uh right it's actually in the package

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee reviewed the Department of Corrections budget, with the chair initially noting that the overall numbers looked close to fiscal year 2024 spending, except for federal funds. Department officials explained that prior ARPA expenditures and delayed revenue recognition had distorted the comparison, and that the corrected general fund spend was about $169.7 million. Members then focused on whether the budget’s staffing assumptions were realistic, especially the shift from overtime to full-time lines and the use of vacant positions to offset overtime costs. The department said it is leaning on vacancy savings, but would return for additional appropriations if unforeseen staffing problems arise. A major portion of the discussion centered on recruitment, retention, and staffing levels. Officials reported a 42% vacancy rate in enforcement ranks, down from 51% in January 2023, with 28 new officers headed to the next academy and 33 new hires already tracked. They said overtime is more expensive than regular staffing because of benefits and that it takes about 11 months for a new hire to break even. Members also asked about the split between incarcerated and supervised populations; the department said it oversees about 1,970 inmates in facilities and just over 4,000 people in the community, with 77 positions supervising the community population and the inmate population remaining the most expensive area. The committee also discussed how sentencing and statutory changes affect incarceration levels, including misdemeanor/felony thresholds and theft thresholds, with the department agreeing that such changes can significantly affect prison and jail populations. Members asked about education and recidivism, and the department said base education is the most important foundation, followed by vocational training, while noting that many incarcerated men lack a high school diploma. The department also described a $1.3 million reduction in contracted forensic evaluation services, explaining that these evaluations are court-ordered competency assessments and are not statutorily required to be provided by DOC. Finally, members reviewed victim services funding and staffing, including VOCA-supported positions, and the department explained that a new victim witness specialist would help support survivors at parole hearings and safety planning.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm glad to see that that is not in the final negotiated package.
• So that's the number one thing that I'm excited about with this budget package.
• with the spending that is included in this budget package, and I highlighted this before.
• What we have here today is a budget package that will spend $18.2 billion in 10 years.
• I'm pleased to support this balanced budget package for fiscal year 2027.

Bills: HB4154 , HB4155 , HB4156 , HB4157 , HB4158 , HB4159 , HB4160 , HB4161 , HB4162 , HB4163 , HB4164 , HB4165 , HB4166 , HB4167 , HB4168 , HB4169 , SB1847 , SB1848 , SB1849 , SB1850 , SB1851 , SB1852 , SB1853 , SB1854 , SB1855 , SB1856 , SB1857 , SB1858 , SB1859 , SB1860 , SB1861 , SB1862

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Keywords: general appropriations act, budget, biennial budget, state spending, appropriations, fiscal year 2026, fiscal year 2027, state treasury, agency funding, operating budget, capital budget, public finance, state agencies, legislative budget, house appropriations, rules committee, HB4155, amusements, amusement industry, entertainment

Transcript Highlights:

• All three of them have elements that I'd like to see in an ideal package.
• All three of them have complete package.
• c> has</c><00:41:23.680><c> to</c> ideal package.
• That ideal package has to ideal package.
• </c> education aid package. education aid package. &gt;&gt; Correct.<01:37:29.360><c> Yeah.

Committee: House Education Funding

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• AB 1685 is part of my DUI legislative package.
• This too is part of my DUI legislative package.
• I rise to present AB 1815, which is part of the housing innovation bill package aimed at bringing down
• AB 2348 sustains and strengthens CalAIM by authorizing Medi-Cal plans to continue covering community
• the farm... ...to figure out other ways to really sustain the farm and agriculture industry, but we

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In the meantime, this revenue package allows the state to prevent some of the most devastating reductions
• The revenue package also allows for continued investment...
• The revenue package also allows for continued investments in education, child care, affordable housing
• So as we move this budget along, I think it's the only way we're going to be able to sustain what we
• So I'm... ...sustain what we have and even continue to grow.

Committee: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The tax package that the governor vetoed, if you have questions about that, the final bill directed all
• They didn't do it because they just started packaging all the miniatures together, increasing it just
• and stably to sustain these interventions going forward.
• Wei's presentation because she talked about sustainable prevention.
• Wei talked about, and that's the sustained prevention approach, in order to break these cycles that are

Committee: House House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair and members, Matt Klovenstein, on behalf of the Center for Sustainable Good afternoon, Chair and
• thank you for your partnership as we, along with, you know, opposition concerns, turn this into a package
• You know, opposition concerns turn this into a package that is going to deliver real savings.
• When I say that we view this as a package, I do because when I sat on 254 and on 540, which is a regional
• In short, my district and, like many others, have faced sustained PSPS events, and they must be treated

Summary: The committee heard several energy and water affordability bills, with extensive testimony on SB 254 by Senator Becker, SB 541 by Senator Becker, SB 453 by Senator Stern, SB 292 by Senator Caballero, and SB 473 by Senator Padilla. SB 254 was presented as a broad utility affordability package addressing short-term climate credits, a Power Fund, tighter scrutiny of rate increases and utility profits, wildfire spending, securitization of future utility costs, and streamlining. Supporters, including TURN and several environmental and public power groups, said it could lower bills and reduce long-term costs; opponents from investor-owned utilities, labor, business, and local government raised concerns about market impacts, insufficient analysis, and the breadth of the bill. The committee approved SB 254 on a 6-3 vote and placed it on call. SB 541 focused on load flexibility and using existing grid capacity more efficiently. Senator Becker described it as a transparency and planning measure to identify cost-effective load shifting and reduce peak demand, while supporters said it could improve resiliency and save money. Several CCAs and utilities opposed the bill in print or unless amended, arguing that some language implied a mandate and that the concept needed more cost-effectiveness analysis; the author said amendments would remove language dividing the state goal among retail suppliers and clarify that the bill is not a procurement mandate. The committee passed SB 541 as amended to Appropriations on a 9-1 vote and left it on call. SB 453 by Senator Stern would return unspent ratepayer-funded microgrid program dollars and was described as a way to keep the lights on and redirect unused funds. It drew support from local government and environmental groups, with PG&E expressing concern about how the bill would affect its ability to spend awarded funds. The committee passed SB 453 as amended to Appropriations on a 12-0 vote. SB 292 by Senator Caballero would require more granular outage and reliability reporting, including census-tract-level data, to better inform resilience planning after PSPS events; utilities opposed unless amended, citing duplicative reporting and regulatory overlap, but the bill passed 12-0 to Appropriations. SB 473 by Senator Padilla would require or expand water utility decoupling to promote conservation and affordability. Supporters, including water utilities, labor, business, and local government groups, argued decoupling stabilizes revenue, supports conservation, and can keep rates lower for low-use customers. The Public Advocates Office opposed, saying prior pilot data showed no conservation benefit and about $1 billion in added costs, and that the CPUC had already rejected similar requests. Committee members questioned the conservation and capital-investment effects of the different rate structures; the author and supporters argued decoupling helps utilities fund infrastructure while allowing lower fixed charges for low-use customers. The transcript ends during that discussion, before a final vote on SB 473 is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Pennsylvania just released a grid package, their grid package of incentives with great rate protections
• You could implement a competitive process through the Sustainable Energy Utility.
• You could implement a competitive process through the sustainable utility.
• You can implement it through the PSC. competitive process through the sustainable utility.
• They recently announced their grid package.

Committee: Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation

Summary: The committee heard several bills focused on energy, public safety, and environmental cleanup. House Bill 455 would create a historic preservation license plate to raise funds and awareness for Delaware preservation efforts, and House Bill 471 would tighten rules and penalties for off-highway vehicles on shared private roads, with golf carts excluded. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 439, the Truth in E-Bike Marketing Act, would require clearer disclosures when selling electric mopeds and electric motorcycles so consumers understand classification, power, and licensing/insurance requirements. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 407, related to the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act and brownfields, would shift funding for brownfield cleanup from the original realty transfer tax approach to a dedicated share of the hazardous substance cleanup fund and raise civil penalties for fraudulent acts. The committee also approved the June 18, 2026 minutes once quorum was reached. Most of the meeting centered on House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 233, as amended, a large-load/data center bill intended to protect ratepayers from costs tied to massive new electricity users. The sponsor and Public Advocate said PJM’s warnings about a coming reliability backstop auction made it urgent to establish a Delaware framework now, requiring large energy users to sign utility agreements, cover their share of transmission, distribution, and capacity costs, and comply with curtailment and other protections. Supporters from environmental groups and some labor and business voices said the bill was needed to prevent cost shifts to households and small businesses, while opponents argued it was being rushed, could deter investment, and might unintentionally affect other industries; several asked for more time and clearer definitions. No vote was taken in the portion provided. The committee also took up House Bill 470, which would authorize Delmarva Power, with PSC approval, to build and operate utility-owned battery storage and spread costs across the customer base. The sponsor and Delmarva said the bill would improve reliability quickly and help avoid outages, while the chair expressed concern that the state had not yet fully studied whether utility-owned or competitively procured storage is the best model, noting a recent SEU storage study and broader policy questions. Supporters said utility storage could be deployed faster and help with peak shaving, while others urged a competitive process; the transcript cuts off before any final action on HB 470.

Transcript Highlights:

• we provide to our Medicaid recipients does cover a comprehensive package of mental health, behavioral
• So with that $126 million, we were able to have sustainable funding for key services.
• So with that $126 million, we were able to have sustainable funding for key services.
• So this was not something that was not known because it was not sustainable funding.
• Of those dollars to date, there is a... ...non-sustainable funds.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee held a panel discussion on Florida’s mental health and substance abuse system, with representatives from DCF, AHCA, two managing entities, and two providers describing how the state’s behavioral health network is funded and operated. Members focused on the implementation of prior legislative investments, especially the $50 million in recurring funding from Representative Maney’s bill and the earlier $126 million community behavioral health appropriation. Witnesses said the newer funds were used mainly for crisis beds, discharge planning, outpatient services, regional collaboratives, and a USF Marchman Act report, while the larger behavioral health appropriation supported CAT, FACT, FIT, forensic teams, residential and outpatient services, and crisis care, with most dollars going directly to services and only a small share to administration. A major theme was access to crisis care and the role of mobile response teams, 988, and central receiving facilities in diverting people from Baker Act admissions and reducing readmissions. DCF and providers said mobile response teams have expanded, are being used to de-escalate crises and connect people to care, and have shown strong diversion results and reductions in Baker Acts in some regions. Members also asked about waitlists, children in crisis, and how to handle people without housing or support; providers said discharge planning is individualized but often constrained by homelessness, transportation, and a lack of safe placements, and several witnesses identified housing as one of the biggest barriers to recovery and stability. The committee also examined provider sustainability, reimbursement, and funding gaps. Witnesses described delays caused by contract timing, cost allocation rules, and Medicaid reimbursement rates that do not always keep pace with labor and operating costs, especially for smaller providers and rural networks. DCF and AHCA said managing entities can provide advances, retroactive rate adjustments, and technical assistance, and that Medicaid managed care plans have network standards and complaint/dispute processes. Members raised concerns about a reported $7 million loss in federal non-sustainable funds, provider closures, and whether there is a formal ombudsman process for disputes; DCF said the federal reductions were known and tied to one-time funds, and that the department generally handles provider issues informally while working with managing entities to preserve continuity of care.

Transcript Highlights:

• And there are towns where a center-based program couldn't possibly be sustained.
• You know, we have some be sustained.
• , as part of our New Hampshire package that's not going to be DHS's bailiwick.
• Do you have anything sustainability.
• as part of our New Hampshire package as part of our New Hampshire economic<01:11:42.159><c> the</c><

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee met with DHS Chief Financial Officer Nathan White to receive an update on the department’s budget lapse and vacancy rates. White explained the difference between the “back-of-the-budget” reduction and lapse assumptions, saying DHS is facing a current biennium reduction of about $23 million and estimating roughly a $60 million general fund lapse in state fiscal year 2025, compared with about $13.5 million the prior year. He said DHS’s lapse is driven largely by program utilization, labor market conditions, contract spending, and statutory carry-forwards in areas such as Medicaid and developmental disabilities, which tend to produce a smaller lapse in the first year of the biennium and a larger one in the second year. He also noted that the House and Senate budgets differ on some operating items, including Medicaid rates, with the Senate having struck a House proposal to reduce rates by 3%. Members questioned White about whether DHS ever spends down lapse money on last-minute purchases. He said the department does not engage in that practice, though it does retain some flexibility in its facilities budget for emergencies. He also described the process for transferring funds within and between class lines, including the need for fiscal committee approval above statutory thresholds, and gave examples such as moving funds to cover overtime in the SYSC budget and to ensure Medicaid payments for nursing facilities. White said such transfers are public and transparent and are reviewed by the governor and Executive Council. The committee then discussed DHS staffing. White said the department has a little over 3,200 authorized positions, with a vacancy rate around 14.5%, and that a hiring freeze had been imposed a few months earlier while exempting direct care positions. He said DHS is planning for about a $30 million general fund reduction to personnel, equivalent to just under 400 positions, and is managing postings centrally to stay within budget by July 1. In response to questions about the loss of about $80 million in federal funds, White and Associate Commissioner Patricia Tilly said DHS avoided layoffs by shifting staff into vacant positions, but that the cuts affected community contracts, public health workers, laboratory work, and some IT/data projects. Tilly said roughly 20 positions were affected, most were reassigned, a few staff left voluntarily, and the department has less flexibility going forward if more federal funding ends.

Transcript Highlights:

• whatever... ...of people who don't have the education, the skills, or whatever, to move forward to a sustainable
• I'm hoping, is going to change the trajectory of the folks in our state to more folks who have a sustainable
• cases don't have... ...now moving to adults who, in some cases, don't have the ability to be able to sustain
• That package has gone into DOL.
• Also, funding flexibility, and there are some other things that the waiver package did that was submitted

Committee: All ALC-HOSPITAL, MEDICAID, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This renovation represents a holistic approach to sustainability.
• We are able to sustain operations; however, if we have to maintain a debt service, we are likely not
• This project isn't just about infrastructure; it's about investing in a sustainable future for the next
• The proposed project is part of a larger package of projects. MnDOT and St.
• of funding Rural Development will provide until they receive our comments, and they get a funding package

Bills: HF2418 , HF1666 , HF232 , HF344 , HF402 , HF431 , HF468 , HF547 , HF583 , HF1476 , HF1711 , HF2787 , HF2788 , HF3207

Committee: House Capital Investment

Keywords: capital investment, political subdivisions, state assistance, funding, project grants, child care, Slayton, state bonds, economic development, extended time revenue, school funding, state aid, career and technical education, CTE, STEM, secondary credit, after-school programs, summer school, learning year program, extended day

Transcript Highlights:

• First, we're going to hear the governor's fraud package that is kind of sprinkled throughout a lot of
• We are going to give the first hour for the governor's fraud package, and then we hope to move at 9:15
• ,</c><00:01:31.040><c> and</c> to the governor's fraud package, and to the governor's fraud package,
• </c><00:04:46.640><c> modern</c> expertise needed to sustain modern expertise needed to sustain modern
• anti-fraud package along with two<00:10:56.280><c> enterprise</c><00:10:56.800><c> proposals.

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So altogether, when we get everything in the package It's $2,600.
• So, we tried to kind of package them and bring those resources to them in the regions across the route
• So, we tried to kind of package them and bring those resources to them in the regions across the route
• We have some ideas again for the sustainable plan design.
• That second bullet point: if we could, I think a cola is a sustainable plan design if you can plan for

Committee: House A&B Education Subcommittee

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of this committee, the Joint Legislative-Executive Committee on Budget Transparency and Fiscal Sustainability
• in the state budget. ...long-term sustainability in the state budget.
• Then I'm going to talk a little bit about what fiscal sustainability means to us.
• when we sort of ask the question: Is a state on a fiscally sustainable path?
• So secondly, I'm going to move on to talking about fiscal sustainability.

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative-Executive Committee on Budget Transparency and Fiscal Sustainability

Summary: The committee held its first meeting, with co-chairs and members introducing themselves and staff outlining the committee’s statutory charge under the 2026 supplemental operating budget. Staff explained that the committee is tasked with studying budget transparency and fiscal sustainability in two phases: first, revenue growth, spending assumptions, statutory cost drivers, and carryforward/maintenance levels; and later, staffing, overhead, performance management, and public reporting tools. The committee also discussed its goals, with members emphasizing a shared factual understanding of Washington’s fiscal situation, the causes of projected structural deficits, and possible paths to a more sustainable operating budget. Staff then gave a detailed operating budget basics presentation. They reviewed the size and composition of the operating budget, explaining that most spending is concentrated in grants and client services, salaries and benefits, and goods and services, with K-12 education, DSHS, the Health Care Authority, DCYF, corrections, and higher education making up most NGFO spending. They also walked through the distinction between constitutional, federal, statutory, and discretionary spending; the role of caseload and per-capita forecasts; how maintenance level and policy level budgets are built; and how the four-year outlook works, including revenue forecasts, reversions, budget stabilization account reserves, and the official outlook adoption process. Members asked several questions about what is or is not included in the outlook, especially future collective bargaining agreements, health care inflation, court-ordered liabilities, and whether the budget could better separate mandatory from discretionary spending over time. Staff said some of those questions would require follow-up and noted the existence of an outlook accuracy report. The committee then heard from Josh Goodman of the Pew Charitable Trusts, who introduced Pew’s state fiscal work and its role as the nonprofit partner supporting the committee. He said Pew would help analyze long-term fiscal sustainability, reserve policies, recession preparedness, and practices from other states, and would draw on its 50-state data and subject-matter experts. No votes were taken and no formal actions were reported at this meeting.