Transcript Highlights:

• <00:02:22.879> we ourselves to operate more efficiently we ourselves to operate more efficiently
• by the University's Office of Internal Audit.
• of internal audit and I'll office of internal audit and I'll address<00:51:35.000> the<00:51:
• uh make internal Dynamics more efficient uh make internal Dynamics more efficient and<01:37:11.000
• The PEAK initiative is designed to increase efficiency across our units, to increase efficiency across

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• everybody's looking for efficiencies. everybody's looking for efficiencies.
• That is a pretty large burden at a time when we're trying to find efficiencies within our process.
• What we learned, basically, or what came to light really in the audit finding, there was that for all
• And the FBI CJIS audit revealed that our practice was such that division directors, hiring managers,
• :35:01.520> our<00:35:02.000> practice CEUS audit revealed that our practice CEUS audit

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We are entering into an audit RFP for auditing.
• We are entering into an audit RFP for auditing.
• We are entering into an audit RFP for auditing.
• Oh, I guess audit want to do the audit.
• <01:07:47.359> auditing<01:07:47.760> auditing of insanity auditing auditing auditing

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Department of Health presented its supplemental budget requests and described several sources of uncertainty affecting federal funding, including policy changes, shutdown-related disruptions, and shifting appropriations proposals in Congress. Officials said some federal grants had been terminated and then restored, but the department still faces added administrative burden to access funds. They also said trust in public health institutions has declined, and outlined efforts to respond through community engagement, website cleanup, social media, and transparency dashboards. The department highlighted staffing and operations issues, noting a 29.7% vacancy rate and the success of its hiring pilot under Act 291, which has hired 38 candidates with an average 95-day hiring timeline. On the budget side, officials said the supplemental request includes increases in general, special, and revolving funds, and they walked through the first major general fund item for emergency medical services. After discussion, they said the EMS request was reduced from $8 million to $4.5 million to cover collective bargaining increases and keep contracts whole through August 2027. Behavioral health items included the payment crisis center in Ewa, which has connected more than 2,000 people to services, though roughly one-third remain unconnected or return frequently. Members questioned the quality of follow-up data and whether the program is reducing repeat use. The department also discussed state hospital decompression efforts, including use of the behavioral health crisis center, transfers to community hospitals, neighbor-island placements, and direct discharge to long-term care facilities; officials said the hospital is licensed for 292 beds and has seen census pressures rise again. A substantial portion of the hearing focused on Kalaupapa/Kalawao jurisdiction and preservation after patient care ends. Members pressed the department on the lack of a clear statewide plan, the roles of DOH, DNR, and DHHL, and what happens to land, buildings, and the cemetery after the last patient leaves. DOH said the current law is unclear on an end date, that the proposed bill would change the law, and that the landowners’ agreements with the National Park Service and each other will shape the transition. Officials said they would provide more information at a later hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Now, the audit would be against USDA would be doing that audit against the records of the state, and
• So, it's a percent of the audits at the New Mexico audits, the federal audit.
• What percent does New Mexico audit?
• And those federal fiscal year 25 cases are being audited and are sampled and audited through that two-stage
• Tab G has the LFC audit which has been released. It was a clean audit.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We also are requiring the DPU to do utility management audits, digging into the utilities and making
• sure that they're running as efficiently and not overcharging the ratepayers.
• In the past, these audits have returned tens of millions of dollars back to the ratepayers.
• Division 1. 26, efficient number having risen, when a vote be taken by a call of the yeas and nays.
• This bill sends the Inspector General to audit Mass Save, but the audit counts only the costs, not the

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The House opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and then took up several procedural matters, including adopting a resolution recognizing the work of Ukraine Forward and suspending Joint Rule 12 for a number of petitions. The chamber also scheduled several bills for later consideration, including measures on unemployment insurance for fluctuating work schedules, the Medical Society mission statement, a youth training wage, bridge and intersection namings, handicapped parking fines, public-way safety, excavation restoration, motor vehicle safety, and a Newton police age requirement. Two engrossed local bills were passed to be enacted: one authorizing retired police officers as special police in Plainville and another allowing Orange to increase its Board of Selectmen membership. The main policy debate centered on House No. 5151, An Act relative to energy affordability, clean power, and economic competitiveness. Supporters described it as a broad affordability and clean-energy package that would cut costs for ratepayers, reform Mass Save, speed clean-energy procurement and interconnection, return a portion of alternative compliance payments to customers, and address biomass and other energy issues. Opponents argued the bill relied too heavily on long-term programs and new administrative structures while offering little immediate relief, and raised concerns about costs being shifted to consumers, impacts on natural gas, and the pace of implementation. Several amendments were debated and rejected, including proposals to shift public benefit charges away from peak hours, pause public benefit charges for a year, require greater utility disclosure before rate increases, and add a forest-clearing penalty for solar development. One amendment to the energy bill was adopted: a consolidated amendment that included budget-billing consumer protections for gas customers, requiring notice and conservation recommendations when usage rises significantly. The House also adopted an amendment to a separate conservation-restriction bill for Hanson, changing a figure in the underlying law, and passed that bill to be engrossed as amended. The energy bill’s consolidated amendment passed by roll call, while several other amendments failed by roll call votes. The House observed multiple moments of silence honoring Jaden Booker, Thomas Skip Karam, former Freetown Police Chief Carlton Abbott, and former Representative and Senator William Q. “Biff” McLean, Jr.

Transcript Highlights:

• Emergy technology will provide an auditable record for every ton of ammonia produced with renewable energy
• <00:03:54.240> an Emergy technology will provide an Emergy technology will provide an auditable
• record for every ton of auditable record for every ton of ammonia<00:03:57.960> produced<00:03
• <00:14:10.160> In<00:14:10.280> the I'll ask for time efficiency.
• In the I'll ask for time efficiency.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Further, the bill requires the Auditor General to annually audit...
• Further, the bill requires the Auditor General to annually audit an end-of-year FTE audit for the scholarship
• programs and requires the scholarship funding organizations to return funds as a result of the audit
• We would move the money to follow the student in a more efficient and expeditious way.
• We would move the money to follow the student in a more efficient and expeditious way.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee heard presentations on the Senate’s proposed 2025-2026 budget, SPB 25-200, totaling $117.4 billion. Chair Hooper and committee chairs highlighted major spending priorities including a 4% raise for state employees, continued health insurance contributions, investments in water quality, transportation, education infrastructure, and workforce development, along with reductions tied to long-vacant positions. Education funding was a major focus, with increases for K-12 public schools and scholarships, higher education workforce programs, nursing initiatives, tutoring, and university performance funding. Health and human services, criminal and civil justice, transportation/economic development, and agriculture/environment budgets were also outlined, including Medicaid, mental health, corrections staffing, affordable housing, beach restoration, citrus recovery, and water projects. Members then questioned several budget choices, especially K-12 funding. Senators Polsky and Smith raised concerns that the Senate’s AP and dual enrollment funding changes could disadvantage public schools, while Burgess argued the budget preserves the money in the FEFP and gives districts more flexibility rather than reducing support. Questions also addressed voucher availability, school stabilization funding, and the My Safe Florida Home program. The committee adopted 171 consent amendments and three late-file amendments, then approved SPB 2500 as a committee bill. It also favorably reported implementing and conforming bills for state employees, retirement, natural resources, judgeships, K-12 education, higher education, and health and human services, along with SB 7022 on Florida Retirement System contribution rates and elected-officer DROP options, CS/SB 1320 on the Resilient Florida Trust Fund, SB 7014 ending the Mediation and Arbitration Trust Fund, SB 7028 on cancer research, CS/CS/SB 170 on nursing home quality and oversight, CS/SB 168 on mental health diversion and behavioral health data, SB 114 creating an insurance and risk management research center at FSU, and SB 180 on emergency preparedness and post-storm recovery. Most bills were reported favorably with little or no opposition, though SB 180 drew discussion about local-government authority after storms and the need to balance recovery speed with local safety and planning concerns.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this bill allows us to modify this and to clean up the language to allow townships to do the audit
• So this bill allows us to modify this and to clean up the language to allow townships to do the audit
• What this bill does is clean up the language to allow townships to do the audit every five years, and
• We work them through our Audit and Reporting Group, which is a group of public and private auditors,
• most of the big private auditors that work on audits in Minnesota, local government officials, and we

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:28:54.320> sake the same time just for efficiency sake the same time just for efficiency
• DEED's penalties are pretty low, and the OLA audit actually recommended taking a look at it.
• we heard in the 2024 OLA audit, and we actually do have a problem across the economy.
• audit, and that the issue is growing across the economy.
• moving forward we could efficient moving forward we could efficient efficiently<01:00:05.359>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:15:00.600> It<00:15:00.760> also efficient for everyone involved.
• It also efficient for everyone involved. It also strengthens<00:15:01.520> oversight.
• if they choose from these efficiencies if they choose to. to. to.
• system that is functional and efficient. system that is functional and efficient.
• implementation of OLA audit implementation of OLA audit recommendations. recommendations. recommendations

Bills: HF4364, HF4821, HF4543, HF3945

Keywords: Central and Eastern European Affairs, ethnic council, advisory council, Minnesota state government, immigrant communities, refugees, humanitarian parolees, Ukraine, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Czech Republic, Baltic states, Slovakia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Russia

Summary: The committee first approved the April 7, 2026 minutes and then held an informal hearing on House File 4364, which would establish a Central and Eastern European Ethnic Council in Minnesota. Representative Jordan and testifiers Mykola Mager and Julia Miller described the large Central and Eastern European community in Minnesota, its contributions to the state, and the need for a formal advisory body to help address barriers to government services, support refugees, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and cultural understanding. Members expressed general support and noted the bill’s importance, but no formal action was taken on the bill during the hearing. The committee then took up House File 4543, a bill to create a centralized payroll reporting portal for prevailing wage projects. Representative Frazier said the bill would reduce administrative burden on project owners, improve transparency and accountability, and help prevent wage theft, misclassification, tax fraud, and insurance fraud. Testifiers from county, city, and contractor groups largely supported the idea of streamlining reporting, but contractor representatives raised concerns about employee data privacy, public access to sensitive payroll information, duplication of existing systems, interoperability with contractor software, and the need for stakeholder engagement. Members echoed both support and caution, and the bill was laid over as amended rather than advanced. Finally, the committee considered House File 4821, described by Chair Klevorn as addressing the “penny problem” and a related change to high-deductible insurance plans. The bill would authorize state agencies to round cash transactions because of the penny shortage and would change MMB’s obligation to offer certain high-deductible health plans from “must” to “may,” producing modest administrative savings. Members questioned the drafting of the rounding language and asked about cash transactions at state agencies and the handling of cannabis tax payments. The chair noted the bill had missed the deadline and would be caught by the chief clerk’s office; the discussion ended with the bill being laid over as amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then, final question: how often does Florida Commerce review or audit completed rebuilds for compliance
• So how often would you all maybe audit completed rebuilds? Can you repeat that question?
• So how often would you all maybe audit completed rebuilds for compliance with construction and safety
• and asked us, as states, to have a greater role in emergency management and make the process more efficient
• It ensures that mitigation funding reaches Floridians directly and efficiently and that homes across

Summary: The Committee on Community Affairs met with a quorum and heard two bills, a confirmation, and two agency presentations. SB 48 by Senator Gates would require local governments to allow voluntary accessory dwelling units, preserve homestead exemption for the owner-occupied portion, limit parking restrictions, require 30-day minimum leases, extend density bonuses for military-family housing, and allow reusable tenant screening reports. The bill drew strong support from the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals and several others, and it was reported favorably on a unanimous roll call. SB 34 by Senator Sharief would expand the Historic Cemetery Program, particularly to help historic African-American cemeteries preserve and maintain themselves by allowing sale of excess vacant land only if proceeds are used for long-term upkeep; it also passed unanimously and was reported favorably. The committee also recommended confirmation of Fox Henderson to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors by unanimous vote. In addition, the Department of Commerce presented on the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program and Rebuild Florida, describing more than $4.3 billion in HUD disaster recovery funds since 2017, housing repair and replacement efforts that have completed more than 5,200 homes, and infrastructure and mitigation projects across the state. Members asked about average project costs, contractor oversight, corrective actions for deficient work, and clawbacks from a prior vendor; Commerce said it had ended the earlier vendor relationship, imposed about $3.6 million in financial consequences, and now uses stronger oversight and competitive procurement for contractors. The Division of Emergency Management then presented on Elevate Florida, a federal mitigation program that allows homeowners to apply directly for elevation, reconstruction, acquisition, or wind-mitigation projects, with a 75/25 federal-homeowner cost share and no state funds used. Director Kevin Guthrie said the program is intended to reduce repetitive flood losses, keep homeowners in their communities, and serve as a national model; he reported more than 12,000 applications, about 1,500 prioritized for review, 500 on a wait list, and 305 submitted to FEMA for final approval. Members asked about assistance for seniors who cannot meet the 25% match, the wait-list process, contractor selection, and the mix of project types, and Guthrie said contractors were selected through competitive procurement and that most projects are elevations, though some may become reconstructions or acquisitions depending on inspection results. The committee adjourned after the presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• firm to conduct the audits.
• entities so that we can be more efficient with taxpayer dollars.
• firm to conduct the audits.
• firm to conduct the audits.
• entities so that we can be more efficient with taxpayer dollars.

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We work constantly to enhance the efficiency, administration, and security of elections statewide.
• know if it was an internal audit or their own audit or in an audit—highlighted irregularities in the
• 27.920> an<00:48:28.599> audit internal there own audit or in an audit internal there own
• audit or in an audit um<00:48:29.920> highlighted<00:48:30.440> irregularities<00:48:31.240
• internal auditor Andor the annual audit internal auditor Andor the annual audit will<00:53:50.359

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's submitted quarterly and annually, only the annual one is audited.
• that we get that is audited by a separate entity than the auditors that do the ASR audits.
• Audit shareholder with Thomas L.
• Ferguson was directly involved with the audit of this particular plan.
• really audit procedures to go in and test that accumulation of the data.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee took up two bills and then continued oversight discussions with APD and AHCA. CS/HB 27, the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, was presented as a way to let Florida social workers practice in other compact states and vice versa; AARP, the Florida Chamber, and NASW Florida supported it, and the bill passed favorably. HB 1127, a child welfare bill, would create a treatment foster care pilot for children with high behavioral needs, improve DCF data collection on commercially sexually exploited children, and expand recruitment for protective investigators and case managers; the bill also passed favorably after brief supportive testimony. The committee then questioned APD at length about the iBudget waiver waitlist, enrollment pace, spending projections, and provider capacity. APD said it had sent more than 1,100 interest letters in categories 3, 4, and 5, enrolled 1,124 people so far this year, and expects to spend about 96.4% of its waiver appropriation, leaving roughly $82 million unspent. Members pressed APD on why prior discussions suggested more reserve was needed, how long the SANS process takes, whether category 6 could be expanded, and whether the agency has enough waiver support coordinators and direct support providers. APD said it has about 1,061 waiver support coordinators statewide, adequate capacity for current enrollees, but would need further analysis if the legislature directed a much larger enrollment increase. Members also asked about outreach, annual maintenance of the waitlist, portability for military families, and whether communication efforts should be privatized. Finally, AHCA walked the committee through the 2023 Achieved Savings Rebate (ASR) report for Aetna and explained how the report is used for financial monitoring, rebate calculations, and transparency. AHCA said the ASR is separate from the medical loss ratio (MLR) calculation, though both are reviewed, and that Florida uses the ASR mechanism rather than an MLR remittance requirement to recover funds from plans. Members asked about related-party disclosures, CVS/Caremark relationships, expanded benefits, encounter data, network adequacy penalties, denials and appeals reporting, interest earned on capitation payments, and whether rate increases were reaching providers. AHCA and the outside auditors said they review the plans’ reported data, reconcile it to underlying records, and can assess liquidated damages for network adequacy violations; several members requested follow-up data on rebates, interest, provider capacity, and related-party reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,<03:22:45.520> and financials, you can get the audit, and financials, you can get the audit
• This should audit of the EFA program.
• She said a financial audit is not a performance audit, and conflating the two obscures the real gaps
• a<03:44:47.120> performance financial audit is not a performance financial audit is not
• c><03:44:49.680> two<03:44:50.399> obscures audit, and conflating the two obscures audit

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We welcome any and all audits.
• We make it a practice to look at audits from other agencies that the legislative audit commission looks
• c> the um uh legislative audit commission the um uh legislative audit commission looks<00:13:36.320><
• audit come out I think any any time now. audit come out I think any any time now.
• said before uh we we welcome audits. said before uh we we welcome audits.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• , incentivize performance, efficiency, incentivize performance, efficiency, cost<00:17:12.319>
• <00:34:02.960> for just to make things more efficient for just to make things more efficient
• the customer administrative efficiency the customer administrative efficiency um<00:36:03.119>
• , because of the audit, because of the audit, right?
• PUC at that time ordered an audit. Yes. PUC at that time ordered an audit. Yes.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational briefing on the Public Utilities Commission’s performance-based regulation (PBR) framework and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ whistleblower complaint process. Chair Jared Kohole opened the meeting, noted it was informational only with no public testimony, and explained that members would hear presentations and then have an opportunity for questions. The committee heard first from Ulupono Initiative, which provided background on why utilities are regulated, how Hawaii’s cost-of-service model and rate cases work, and why PBR was adopted to shift utility incentives away from a capital-investment bias and toward performance, efficiency, cost control, and policy goals such as renewable energy and reliability. Ulupono described Hawaii’s PBR structure as a five-year multi-year rate plan with annual revenue adjustments, a customer dividend, a Z factor for extraordinary exogenous events, and an exceptional project recovery mechanism for large projects. It also outlined performance incentive mechanisms tied to renewable portfolio standard progress, interconnection speed, reliability, and shared savings. The presentation said the current docket is evaluating a possible hybrid approach that would combine forward-looking forecasting with historical results, and Ulupono advocated for stronger incentives, arguing the current rewards are too small relative to utility revenues and should be more meaningful to better align utility behavior with legislative intent. The PUC then presented its own overview, emphasizing that the PBR docket is open and active and that the briefing was limited to the record to avoid ex parte concerns. The commission described the development of PBR in Hawaii through multiple phases beginning in 2018: an initial collaborative phase to set goals, a formal contested-case phase that produced the initial framework, later phases adding scorecards, reported metrics, and additional performance incentive mechanisms, and subsequent refinements including sunset of some mechanisms and adjustments after the August 2023 Maui wildfires. The PUC said the framework is intended to be customer-centric, administratively efficient, and protective of utility financial integrity, and that current work includes evaluating how to balance forward-looking and historical test-year approaches within the rebasing process. No votes or formal actions were taken at the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• and auditing into a single framework. and auditing into a single framework.
• agencies' implementations of OLA audit agencies' implementations of OLA audit recommendations<00
• I just want to be efficient efficient efficient Yes,<00:46:26.680> I<00:46:26.760> have
• , audit procedures, and audit requirements as traditional public school districts.
• , audit procedures, and audit requirements as traditional public school districts.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I look forward to hearing from today's expert panel on how to improve the Superfund program's efficiency
• Finally, making the delisting process more efficient can help achieve the last chapter more quickly and
• efficiently.
• So I think a fresh set of eyes to look and audit these projects and hopefully could clear the way that
• I think a new set of eyes would help audit that process. region 5 that they have the people they need

Keywords: presidential nominations, EPA, environmental policy, Fish and Wildlife, committee meeting

Summary: The committee meeting focused on the presidential nominations of Brigadier General Brian Nesvick as Director of Fish and Wildlife and Jess Kramer and Sean Donahue as assistant administrators at the EPA. Each nominee presented their qualifications and experiences in their respective fields, with an emphasis on their commitment to uphold the laws passed by Congress. The discussion highlighted the nominees' dedication to addressing environmental issues and their proactive stances on regulatory matters. After deliberation, votes were held to report the nominations favorably, despite some members voicing concerns regarding their qualifications and potential conflicts with environmental interests.

Transcript Highlights:

• One is obviously data is important for audits, and availability of data is important for audits.
• Um, as of data is important for audits.
• So, we're looking called post audits.
• ,<00:03:45.120> program it's a financial audit, program it's a financial audit, program evaluation
• individual privacy, and efficient individual privacy, and efficient government<00:58:25.599>

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee approved the October 15, 2025 minutes and then held a broader discussion on current challenges with data retention and government transparency. Judy Randall of the Office of the Legislative Auditor said historical data is essential for post-audits, which often look back three to five years, and that retention decisions must balance audit needs with the burden of separating public and nonpublic data. She described the records-retention panel process as informal and largely based on individual judgment, noting she had objected to a proposed 60-day email retention period and generally uses a three-year guideline, though she said that standard is not grounded in a formal rule. Members discussed whether auditing standards should set retention periods, with Randall saying auditing is a good starting point but other offices, including the attorney general, also have needs, and that some agency discretion is unavoidable because of the gray area between official records and non-records. Representative Elkins raised the related principle of data minimization, arguing that government should not keep data longer than needed and citing a University of Minnesota legacy data warehouse breach as an example of the risks of retaining unnecessary sensitive information. Randall agreed that data no longer needed is a liability and said her office purges workpapers after five years. Representative Scott pressed whether three years is enough for fraud investigations and financial records; Randall responded that a reasonableness standard is needed and that longer retention can produce diminishing returns, though she said she would follow up on whether financial records should be treated differently. Tanya Tacker of the Rum River Special Education Cooperative testified in support of updating Minnesota’s data-retention laws for schools. She said districts want to protect student information and maintain transparency, but the current general retention schedule dates to 1985 and 2000 and does not reflect digital records, modern systems, or the volume of special education data. She urged modernizing the schedule, clarifying what must be kept in paper versus digitized form, aligning state rules with IDEA and other federal requirements, and providing practical guidance and tools. Members praised the specificity of her recommendations. Dr. BB Newman testified that retention failures in St. Anthony Village have made it difficult to obtain routine municipal and police data, with records delayed, missing, or inconsistently produced and no clear explanation of what systems were searched or whether records were destroyed. Newman argued these gaps undermine statutory access rights and force residents into costly litigation, and recommended stronger retention auditing, documentation of destruction, mandatory disclosure of systems searched, and consequences for noncompliance. In response to questions, Senate counsel said there is generally no direct penalty, but affected parties may seek mandamus, Data Practices Act claims, or informal mediation/opinions from the Data Practices Office. The discussion closed with calls for clearer standards and possible legislative updates to improve compliance and transparency.