Transcript Highlights:

• The next slide, slide 9, discusses the adjustments we made and why we made those adjustments.
• We didn't adjust it that much; we brought it back a little bit and set a 180-day adjustment.
• Therefore, the last adjustment we made was a 55.4% adjustment on the officer letters. ...letters and
• Big adjustments, obviously.
• This one we did adjust, and so those adjustments would be responsive to the concerns that were raised

Bills: SB 438, SB 512, SB 647, SB 648, SB 1495, SB 2121, SB 2145, SB 2154, SB 2167, SB 2184, SB 2211, SB 2268, SB 2349, SB 2443, SB 2629, SB 2702, SB 2902

Keywords: SB 438, Texas, State Office of Administrative Hearings, SOAH, administrative law judge, ALJ, public information act, open records, confidentiality, privacy, home address, home telephone number, emergency contact information, social security number, family members, Government Code 552.117, Government Code 552.1175, Tax Code 25.025, public records, government transparency

Summary: The meeting of the committee commenced with the establishment of a quorum, where members discussed and voted on five significant bills related to energy efficiency, insurance regulation, and public utility governance. Notably, Senate Bill 2717 was presented, incorporating feedback to foster collaboration among various state agencies for improved energy efficiency performance. This was followed by a detailed discussion on Senate Bill 1642, which proposed changes to the Texas Department of Insurance's executive structure to optimize management and consumer focus. Each bill saw active participation from senators who moved to adopt committee substitutes for clarity and responsiveness to stakeholder concerns, indicating a proactive approach to legislative issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• It would be uh not be adjusting.
• <00:16:33.920> These non-conform adjustments. These non-conform adjustments.
• non-conforming adjustments impact the non-conforming adjustments impact the 2025<00:16:36.720>
• law requires a non-conformity adjustment law requires a non-conformity adjustment to<00:22:29.520
• law requires a non-conforming adjustment law requires a non-conforming adjustment to<00:27:39.039

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• . adjustment. adjustment.
• The regional cost adjustment adjusts all of those model components by 33% higher.
• - what this regional cost adjust- what this regional cost adjust- adjustment<01:27:50.520> figures
• adjustment figures. adjustment figures.
• . adjustment. adjustment.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• when we talk about entc that's adjusted when we talk about entc that's adjusted net<00:05:23.039
• <00:24:49.440> for adjusted for adjusted for inflation<00:24:51.279> uh<00:24:51.640>
• adjustments on the back end.
• adjustments on the back end.
• adjustments on the back end.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh we have an operating adjustment Uh we have an operating adjustment insurance<00:13:50.240>
• parties, uh the operating adjustments parties, uh the operating adjustments that<00:18:13.440>
• adjustments suggested by the governor. adjustments suggested by the governor.
• In office of operating adjustment.
• Moving down to operating adjustment.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The conference committee met late on Friday evening to discuss the Public Safety and Judiciary budget agreement, beginning with a brief exchange among members about concerns that the executive branch had been delaying the committee’s work by waiting to approve legislative decisions. Members emphasized that the legislature should retain its independence while still allowing normal collaboration with the governor’s office. The committee then moved through several outstanding policy items and adopted them without opposition, including the A38 amendment addressing data-sharing concerns involving disability-related information, a study of firefighting services by the state fire marshal, and an A46 amendment governing access to unredacted portable recording system data in collision investigations, with guardrails on disclosure and use. The committee next reviewed the spreadsheet and budget targets. Fiscal staff explained the judiciary side of the agreement, including funding for court operating costs, a one-time Justice Partner Access Program appropriation, forensic exam rate increases, guardian ad litem funding, public defense, human rights, the competency attainment board, the cannabis expungement board, and fee increases for civil filings and motions. On the public safety side, staff described the target as well as the discretionary items funded, including nonprofit security grants, BCA staffing changes, fire marshal initiatives, a 10-year arson statute of limitations, prosecutor training grants, legal representation for children, E911 funding for critical infrastructure, Philando Castile Training Fund support, corrections-related savings from the Stillwater phased closure and sentence-to-serve elimination, a mandatory minimums task force, a victims of crime account transfer, a decommissioning study, in-service use-of-force training, and extensions of several expiring appropriations. The committee also noted a correction to a spreadsheet label related to the Stillwater closure item. After the spreadsheet walkthrough, the committee took testimony from Chief Justice Natalie Hudson and State Court Administrator Jeff Shorban on behalf of the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Hudson thanked the committee for its work and said the agreement covers some unavoidable costs, including insurance, lease expenses, forensic examiner pay, and the new access system, but argued it does not adequately address the judiciary’s most urgent problem: staffing and judicial compensation. She said court employees are leaving for better-paying jobs, judicial salaries are frozen for two years, and applicant pools for judgeships have declined, especially in greater Minnesota. She also said the judicial branch was not meaningfully consulted on the budget target and urged lawmakers to recognize the courts as a constitutional obligation rather than a discretionary program.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're making those adjustments.
• We're making those adjustments.
• We're making those adjustments.
• We're making those adjustments.
• We're making those adjustments.

Bills: HF2434

Keywords: healthcare, personal care assistance, worker retention, disability services, state funding, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We have engaged with representatives from public adjusters and have heard their concerns.
• We have engaged with representatives from public adjusters and have heard their concerns.
• Ron Wrights with the Pacific Coast Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.
• adjusters in 46 states, the CEO of the Greenspan Company, the oldest public adjusting company on the
• This team verifies contractor and adjuster licenses.

Summary: The committee first heard AB 597, a bill to strengthen consumer protections for disaster survivors who use public adjusters. The author and the Department of Insurance said the measure would cap public adjuster fees at 15% for claims tied to declared disasters, require clearer contracts, prohibit solicitation during emergency conditions, and allow consumers to rescind contracts that were solicited during prohibited periods. Insurance industry groups supported the bill, while public adjuster representatives opposed it as written but said they were willing to work on revisions. The committee approved the bill and re-referred it to Appropriations; the roll call was ultimately recorded as 16-0. The committee then held its fourth oversight hearing on the Department of Insurance’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, with Commissioner Ricardo Lara giving an extensive update on wildfire-related market reforms and consumer protections. He said the recent Southern California wildfires had not derailed the strategy and described actions including advance claim payments, a one-year moratorium on residential non-renewals in affected areas, a new fraud strike team, smoke-damage claim guidance, additional living expense protections, and a consumer claims tracker. He reported more than $12.1 billion in claims paid, over 37,000 claims filed, and more than 7,000 survivors assisted directly. He also discussed related bills and reforms, including AB 597, SB 495, SB 547, SB 429, SB 616, AB 888, and AB 2026. Members questioned the commissioner about the Fair Plan’s growing exposure, the $1 billion assessment, rate increases, non-renewals, underinsurance, and whether the reforms would actually stabilize the market. Lara said the assessment was already approved, that policyholders would not be hit with one large bill because insurers have two years to recover costs, and that the department was pushing insurers to use catastrophe modeling and reinsurance tools in exchange for commitments to write more policies in wildfire-distressed areas. He said the department expects to see market stabilization by 2026, though he emphasized the timeline depends on insurer participation, implementation of the new regulations, and future disaster activity. Members generally expressed support for the goals of the strategy while pressing for clearer expectations for consumers and faster action on mitigation and market reform.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:06:09.840> all estimates you then had to adjust all estimates you then had to adjust all
• Schedule 2 adjustments are about $117.9 million.
• There was actually a positive adjustment of $2.3 million, and then a lapse estimate has been adjusted
• lapse estimate has been adjusted from lapse estimate has been adjusted from the<00:10:14.079>
• offset by schedule two adjustments offset by schedule two adjustments positive<00:11:32.800>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The House Finance Committee met for final approval of HB 1 and HB 2, with legislative budget staff Michael Kain reviewing the final amendment documents and surplus statements. Kain explained that HB 1474H and HB 1484H incorporated the committee’s prior votes and the Governor’s recommended sections, and he walked through the budget math for the general fund, education trust fund, Highway Fund, and Fish and Game Fund. He said the committee’s proposal remained balanced overall, though the current-year general fund showed a projected deficit that HB 2 would address by allowing a possible rainy day fund transfer if needed. He also noted that the committee’s revenue estimates were below the Governor’s, requiring reductions and adjustments to appropriations and lapse assumptions. Members discussed the rainy day fund provisions, including a section in HB 2 that suspends existing restrictions so a transfer can be made if the deficit materializes. Kain said the committee’s approach differed from the Governor’s because the state was not below the overall revenue plan, and the fiscal committee would retain a role in determining any transfer. He also summarized that the Highway Fund would end with about a $13 million balance and Fish and Game with about $3 million, both without additional general fund support. The committee then adopted two amendments to HB 2 unanimously: Amendment 1473H, a technical cleanup to the Group 2 retirement seven-year rule, and Amendment 1482H, a technical correction to the recreational services language. Amendment 1484H, which incorporated those changes into HB 2, was adopted on a 14-1 vote after minority members objected to the bill’s broader cuts and policy changes, including reductions to state agencies, health and human services, and education-related provisions. The committee also adopted Amendment 1474H to HB 1A on a 14-1 vote after similar debate over budget reductions, vacancies, university funding, and school spending limits. Finally, the committee voted 14-1 to report HB 1A and HB 2 as amended as ought to pass, with the minority voting no and the committee planning a full House presentation the following week.

Transcript Highlights:

• The first bill is the E-12 forecast adjustment, and this is a regular annual forecast adjustment that's
• forecast adjustments forecast adjustments separately.<00:08:10.560> In<00:08:10.680> fact
• up and have every forecast adjustment up and have every forecast adjustment for<00:10:05.960>
• it's the forecast adjustments. it's the forecast adjustments.
• <01:05:26.080> the a 3-year look back would adjust the a 3-year look back would adjust the

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > permanent<00:23:41.679> school adjustment from the permanent school adjustment from the
• <00:45:54.000> So with the uh operating adjustment. So with the uh operating adjustment.
• Uh on line 823 is uh a adjustment.
• The OMBbuds person for adjustment.
• operating adjustment. operating adjustment.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• a bad BAR adjustment so that I understand when somebody's trying to give me a bad BAR adjustment, then
• And everyone's saying, like, well, what's a good BAR adjustment? What's a bad BAR adjustment?
• And everyone's saying, like, well, what's a good bar adjustment? What's a bat bar adjustment?
• You guys know. saying like, well, what's a good bar adjustment? What's a bat bar adjustment?
• If we can adjust that, and I don't know if it matters to... ...that if we can adjust that, and I don't

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The House does not concur. concur house adjustment AGS concur house adjustment AGS 22223<01:00:21.079
• <01:02:42.160> modified<01:02:42.640> to adjustment modified to adjustment modified to
• The House concurs. $465,900 in FY 27 house adjustments buff $465,900 in FY 27 house adjustments buff
• Page 256, EDN 600, sequence 1001: per-pupil adjustments.
• House adjustment follows.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and that, I mean, you know, inflationary adjustments aside, that's still a lot.
• The pensions weren't being adjusted because any move district judges salaries are not being adjusted
• And so this delinks those and gives to the ethics commission the responsibility of adjusting the base
• amount upon which these pensions will be adjusted.
• The ethics commission published a methodology by which we're going to make these adjustments.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then we have a tails adjustment for the Supreme Court.
• operating adjustment of $250,000. operating adjustment of $250,000.
• <00:04:01.400> um And then we have a tails adjustment um And then we have a tails adjustment
• tails adjustment that I just explained. tails adjustment that I just explained.
• <00:05:20.600> $1,600,000, adjustment one time of $1,600,000, adjustment one time of $1,600,000

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm not TDI, so I don't know how they do that adjustment.
• So, you know, there is the ability to have those rates adjusted if they're out.
• Chair calls John Ben Brown, American Adjusters Association, itself.
• What about adjusters, public adjusters, other people that deal with TWIA? Any other questions?
• What about adjusters, public adjusters, other people that deal with Tua. Any other questions?

Summary: The committee first took up several bills and voted them out favorably without amendment: SB 2857, relating to prescription drug purchasing proof for certain health benefit plan issuers and employers; SB 1307, relating to the biennial health coverage reference guide; and SB 527, relating to health benefit coverage for general anesthesia for certain pediatric dental services. Each of those motions passed on a 7-0 roll call. The main discussion centered on SB 1643, which would require prior approval from the Texas Department of Insurance for property and casualty rate changes above 10% from a previously filed rate. The chair framed it as a response to rate volatility and rising homeowners and auto premiums, while several members questioned whether it would slow a market that is already stabilizing and could encourage insurers to file repeated increases just under the threshold. Witnesses from consumer groups supported tighter oversight and argued for a lower threshold, while insurance industry representatives opposed the bill, saying Texas’s file-and-use system and competitive market work better and that the proposal could increase costs or create uncertainty. After testimony, SB 1643 was left pending. The committee then heard SB 1642, which would replace the single Texas Department of Insurance commissioner with a three-commissioner structure and an executive director. Supporters said it could improve accountability and transparency, while opponents argued the current single-commissioner model is more efficient and avoids confusion and added cost. Witnesses also raised concerns about open meetings issues, administrative expense, and the lack of a clear model from other states. SB 1642 was also left pending. Finally, the committee heard SB 2530, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association omnibus bill. The bill would make a number of changes to TWIA’s governance and finances, including exempting TWIA from certain taxes, moving its headquarters to a coastal county, changing board composition and voting rules, and lowering the probable maximum loss standard from 1-in-100 to 1-in-50. Supporters said the bill would strengthen TWIA’s reserve funding and improve local relevance, while opponents warned it could increase assessments, reduce reinsurance protection, and create operational risks by relocating the headquarters to the coast. The bill was left pending, and the committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Enacted appropriations, carry forward and maintenance level adjustments, policy level adjustments, which
• Other revenue adjustments, diligent enforcement settlement, that was included in the House proposal,
• Other revenue adjustments, diligent enforcement settlement, that was included in the House proposal,
• And then for the biennial, it assumes legislation that changes the index used for the COLA adjustment
• And then for public health, there is an adjustment to utilize fund balance and then also to adjust the

Summary: The conference committee met on Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5167, the state operating budget, and received a detailed staff briefing on the proposed conference report. Staff explained how to read the comparison documents, the four-year balanced-budget outlook, and the main resource assumptions, including use of the March 2025 revenue forecast, exclusion of the statutory 4.5% growth assumption, revenue legislation totaling about $8.7 billion, numerous fund transfers, and reversion assumptions. They also noted the proposal does not include a temporary salary reduction or furloughs. The briefing highlighted major policy areas and their net five-year impacts, including increases for state and higher education employee compensation, K-12 education, long-term care and developmental disabilities, corrections, information technology, and other policy items. It also described net reductions in behavioral health, children/youth/families, higher education, natural resources, other human services, and health care/public health, with many of the changes tied to delayed programs, rate adjustments, fund shifts, and savings options from Governor Ferguson. The committee then heard member comments, with supporters emphasizing K-12 funding and fiscal responsibility, and Senator Gildon opposing the process and the closed-door nature of the budget development. A motion was made and seconded to recommend adoption of the conference report and pass the bill. The roll call showed one member voting do not recommend, one member excused, and the remaining members recommending adoption. By vote of the committee, the conference report was adopted, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, so because it didn't impact federal adjusted gross income.
• But those are below-the-line adjustments on the federal return.
• $1,000, the $2,000 that you're referencing, that is a below-the-line adjustment.
• Chair, those four provisions were—they are below-the-line adjustments, correct?
• That is a below-the-line adjustment. It does not flow through for Arizona.

Bills: SB1042, SB1043, SB1044, SB1135, SB1136, SB1142, SB1180, SB1221, SB1252, SB1254, SCR1003

Keywords: public funds, virtual currency, bitcoin, investment, Arizona Strategic Digital Asset Reserve Act, state treasurer, retirement system, state payments, cryptocurrency, Arizona law, payment methods, government transactions, property tax, tax exemption, Arizona Revised Statutes, digital currency, workers' compensation, death benefits, burial costs, spousal compensation

Summary: The committee began with staff and page introductions, then took up a series of previously heard bills, mostly related to cryptocurrency and tax administration. SB 1042, SB 1043, SB 1044, and SCR 1003 dealt with allowing public entities to invest in virtual currency, accept cryptocurrency payments, and exempt virtual currency from property tax. Supporters framed the measures as modernization, while opponents argued crypto is risky, fraudulent, and a poor use of public funds. All four measures were recommended do pass on narrow 4-3 votes, with Democrats generally opposed. The committee also heard SB 1221, which would require the Department of Revenue to notify legislative tax chairs before adopting a new interpretation or application of tax law that could adversely affect taxpayers. The sponsor said the bill was meant to front-load disputes and avoid surprise tax changes; it passed 4-3. SB 1142, which would have Arizona opt into a new federal scholarship tax credit program and require ADOR to administer it, drew extensive testimony. Supporters said it would expand scholarship opportunities for students in public, charter, private, and home education settings and keep donations in Arizona. Opponents argued it would divert money from public schools, lack accountability, and primarily benefit wealthier families. The bill passed 4-3 after lengthy debate. The committee then questioned Department of Revenue officials about a press release on Arizona tax forms and federal conformity after H.R. 1. Members focused on why the department told taxpayers not to wait to file, how the state conforms to federal changes, and whether amended returns would be needed if the Legislature changes the forms later. DOR said the forms were issued assuming conformity, that most taxpayers would not be affected by pending changes, and that amended returns could be required for some retroactive provisions; members criticized the guidance as confusing and potentially costly. Finally, the committee heard SB 1254, which would require both grantor and grantee signatures on conveyance documents before recording, to reduce deed fraud and clarify acceptance of property transfers. County assessors supported the bill, saying it would close a loophole and improve records; it passed 6-0 with one member not voting. The committee then began SB 1252, the Uniform Assignment for Benefit of Creditors Act, with testimony from the Arizona Uniform Laws Commission explaining that it would create a more uniform framework for asset assignments and creditor claims, but the transcript cuts off before any vote on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:10:59.279> You'll are the operating adjustments.
• You'll are the operating adjustments.
• So the operating adjustments there are much higher than in the general fund.
• The first line, 47, is the operating adjustment that comes from the remediation fund.
• The operating adjustments are on fund.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The conference committee on the Environment budget for Senate File 2077 met to introduce members and staff, then walked through the Senate and House budget spreadsheets side by side. Nonpartisan staff explained that the Senate budget was built around a smaller general fund increase and more use of environmental and dedicated funds, while the House met its target through several reductions, including cuts to DNR, PCA, and Board of Water and Soil Resources appropriations. The committee reviewed major agency items for the Pollution Control Agency, DNR, the Metropolitan Council, the Minnesota Zoo, and other accounts, including operating adjustments, permit-related funding, and transfers between funds. Several major differences were highlighted. For the PCA, the Senate included operating adjustments, permitting efficiency funding, composting grants, outreach funding, and a closed landfill investment fund approach that repeals an expiring statutory appropriation, while the House instead extends that appropriation for four more years. For the DNR, the Senate included operating adjustments, groundwater and AIS fee increases, aquatic invasive species funding, trail grants, outdoor schools for all, abandoned watercraft enforcement, and a sustainable foraging task force; the House had fewer of these fee and policy items and used reductions to meet its target. The committee also noted Senate-only policy provisions on outreach to diverse communities, field citations and mercury certification for skin-lightening products, disabled veteran license fee changes, and a moratorium on foraging rulemaking until July 1, 2027. Agency testimony followed. The MPCA commissioner praised both chambers for recognizing core agency work and urged adoption of operating adjustments, the closed landfill fund access, and the air appropriation increase. The DNR assistant commissioner supported operating adjustments, groundwater and AIS fee increases, and the veteran license proposal, but raised concerns about the Senate’s foraging task force language, saying it overweights consumptive users and could limit the agency’s ability to manage foraging without clear data. He also noted support for the land transfer funding and said the agency would continue working with the committee on unresolved issues. No votes were taken in this portion of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Medicare adjusted base rate is what the reference-based pricing price is.
• So if there's an adjustment for the wages...
• If there's an adjustment for the wages in a certain geographic area, can that adjustment only be up,
• But, um, just to put a fine point on the question, could the board adjust down from the Medicare adjusted
• Medicare adjusted base rate or only up?

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, you know, inflationary adjustments aside, that's still a lot, and I think that if we let it we
• Flip a coin, throw something at the wall, but something that's not going to get adjusted up and up and
• adjust the district court judge's salary would be be a vote of the legislature to increase their own
• Commission publish a methodology by which we're going to make these adjustments.
• Inequitable in terms of pension adjustments really means... keeping like, like, treating like groups

Keywords: Texas Ethics Commission, HB18, SB12, political contributions, civil penalties, Attorney General, criminal election offenses, legislation

Summary: In the latest meeting of the Texas Ethics Commission, significant discussions centered around newly passed legislation, specifically HB18 and SB12. HB18 introduces a civil penalty for members who accept political contributions while absent from the state, addressing potential obstructions to legislative actions. Senators and commissioners engaged in an in-depth dialogue about the implications of this bill, with many expressing concerns regarding enforcement and compliance. In contrast, SB12 expands the jurisdiction of the Attorney General to prosecute criminal election offenses, further tightening the oversight of election activities. The meeting concluded with acknowledgement of the efforts put forth by previous commission chairs, highlighting their contributions to the commission's success.