Transcript Highlights:

• affordable housing land inventory task affordable housing land inventory task force<00:12:23.600
• to assess the viability of force to assess the viability of affordable<00:12:25.760> housing<
• density and timing of development for projects identified by the Affordable Housing Land Inventory Task
• Force.
• Force.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Housing heard two resolutions. STR 48 SD 1 called for a comprehensive strategy to adopt updated building codes, with testimony listed from several groups but no one appeared to testify. The committee later deferred the measure, noting it was very similar to House Concurrent Resolution 67 House Draft 1. The committee then took up STR 6D1, which urges the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to develop a plan to produce enough housing to meet state demand. HHFDC testified that the resolution misstated the scope of low-income housing tax credit units and emphasized that the state’s housing need is much larger than previously cited, with a recent study showing about 33,000 units needed for households at or below 60% AMI statewide. HHFDC supported planning but said any plan must be realistic and account for private land constraints. A member raised concerns about rising leasehold costs and affordability for homeowners, and HHFDC responded that rental affordability can be maintained more readily than for-sale housing. The committee adopted HHFDC’s proposed amendments to STR 6D1, including deleting a clause about overbuilding, revising the shortage figures, and adding language referencing Senate Bill 26 and the affordable housing land inventory task force. The committee also amended the resolution to focus on density and timing of development for projects identified by that task force. The measure passed with amendments, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• THE BILL CREATES A TASK FORCE FOR EDUCATOR OR BREACH OF THE McGREGOR MANAGEMENT REGARDING EDUCATOR TRAINING
• THE TASK FORCE WOULD INCLUDE 14 APPOINTEES, THE TASK FORCE SHALL EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHER
• Davis: YOU SAY THE SENATOR, THIS TASK FORCE WOULD BE SET TO DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO BY 2028.
• FORCE?
• Simon: YOU ARE RECOGNIZED TO GO BACK AND FORTH. >> ACTUALLY, THE TASK FORCE DUTY WOULD BE TOO REPORT

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is a bill to create a task force to investigate, understand, and learn about the insurance crisis
• Uh, so this creates a task force to study that problem.
• Uh, so this creates a task force to study that problem. Madam Chair, I do have an A2 amendment.
• these create a task force to look at these create a task force to look at these issues.<01:02:49.760
• I do think we need to tweak who's part of the task force. Senator Dreheim, thank you.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Force, the commander of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Lieutenant Colonel of the
• <00:14:04.880> Force,<00:14:05.600> the<00:14:05.760> commander Vermont Drug
• Task Force, the commander Vermont Drug Task Force, the commander of<00:14:06.320> the<00:14:06.720
• <00:14:08.560> Force,<00:14:09.440> the<00:14:09.680> Lieutenant<00:14:10.000>
• > Colonel<00:14:10.240> of Task Force, the Lieutenant Colonel of Task Force, the Lieutenant

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, the department has done some significant work with its task force.
• Um, last year, in early spring, we convened a task force on civic learning and engagement, and there
• recommendations that the task force has. recommendations that the task force has.
• force on civic we convened a task force on civic learning<00:26:09.760> and<00:26:10.000>
• <01:10:46.560> force<01:10:47.400> recommendations engagement task force recommendations

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The joint committees on Education and Higher Education first heard HCR 75 and HR 67, which ask the Department of Education and the University of Hawaiʻi to assess criteria for building an educational pipeline and curriculum for advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity. The Department of Education said it would stand on its written testimony, and UH supported the measure, noting existing community college and four-year programs related to the topic. Members asked how DOE promotes cybersecurity opportunities and whether it provides funding; DOE said schools usually connect with partners and its office works with them, but it does not have separate funding for such efforts. UH also explained that some advanced manufacturing concepts may overlap with 3D printing, material sciences, and entrepreneurship, and described P20 as a forum for aligning K-12 and higher education pathways. The committees then recessed the joint hearing and moved to the Education Committee agenda. The committee next heard HCR 46 and HR 39, which would make DOE recreational facilities available to the public during non-peak hours and non-school days. DOE said it already uses facilities agreements with insurance, liability waivers, indemnification, and certificates of insurance to protect schools. The Attorney General opposed the resolutions, warning that unrestricted public use without safeguards could create substantial liability and cost risks for the state. The measure’s introducer said the goal was to help underserved communities that lack access to public recreation spaces, and DOE said it would be open to joint-use arrangements with larger organizations but remained concerned about vandalism and liability. The committee also heard HCR 86 and HR 80 on creating an Aloha Civics working group, with DOE offering comments and Common Cause Hawaiʻi strongly supporting the idea. DOE described a civic learning and engagement task force that met with stakeholders, including UH and the PACE Commission, and produced recommendations such as building partnership inventories, integrating civic learning across grade levels, and aligning the work with DOE’s HA framework and learner outcomes. Common Cause said civic education can be implemented effectively and affordably, citing existing school projects such as ranked-choice voting and classroom constitutions. Later, the committee took up HCR 87 and HR 81, urging an annual Climate Week in public schools. DOE again stood on written comments, while the Climate Change and Health Working Group, Climate Future Forum, a student from Kaimuki High School, and other supporters argued that a dedicated week would ensure consistent climate education, build resilience, and connect climate issues to health, food security, and disaster preparedness. Supporters said existing climate-related opportunities are uneven across schools and that a formal Climate Week would create a more equitable approach. The committee then heard HCR 95 and HR 91 on informing students about changes to gun safety and storage laws; DOE asked for clarification on the measure’s intended outcome, and one individual testified in support. Finally, the committee heard HCR 104 and HR 100 on strengthening farm-to-school initiatives. DOE said it is already working to improve menus, emphasize local products, and meet with distributors to increase local procurement, while the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience offered food science, nutrition, and extension support. Climate Future Forum, the Hawaii Youth Food Council, and other supporters said farm-to-school efforts are important for student health, local farmers, and food sovereignty, noting that local food procurement in schools remains far below the state’s 30% by 2030 goal. DOE explained it is trying to provide distributors and farmers with more predictable demand and is meeting with distributors to set up next year’s supply chain.

Transcript Highlights:

• the United States Congress and tasked the United States Congress and tasked with<00:11:35.800>
• Air Force. Air Force.
• Madam Speaker, the Civil Air Patrol is part of our total air forces and an auxiliary, as I mentioned
• Force and the Vermont Citizen Advisory Board.
• <00:38:35.920> Citizen Task Force and the Vermont Citizen Task Force and the Vermont Citizen

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House opened with a devotional in honor of Earth Day, then referred three Senate bills to money committees under House Rule 35A: S. 173 to Appropriations, and S. 232 and S. 327 to Ways and Means. The chamber also adopted JRS 50, a joint resolution setting weekend adjournment so the House and Senate would reconvene no later than April 28, 2026. Several members then made announcements recognizing guests and interns in the gallery, including a homeschooling eighth grader, UVM interns, a constituent shadowing a member, family members, and a Civil Air Patrol delegation. The House next took up S. 89, expanding survivor benefits, and passed it in concurrence with proposal of amendment. It then considered S. 157 on recovery residence certification. The Human Services Committee described the bill as making permanent a temporary framework for certified recovery residences, placing oversight with the Department of Health, requiring standards, data collection, and annual reporting, and preserving resident protections such as written agreements, notice, grievance procedures, and alternative housing arrangements. The committee also said the bill would modernize definitions and repeal the sunset on the current framework. Human Services voted 9-0-2 to recommend the strike-all amendment, and Ways and Means reported the bill favorable 11-0-0, noting no fiscal impact unless a future fee is proposed and enacted. The House adopted the amendment, ordered third reading, and moved the bill forward. The final major item was S. 239, creating a child abuse and neglect reporting working group. The Human Services Committee said Vermont’s mandated reporting system has not been substantially reviewed in over a decade and that the bill would convene experts to review the law and recommend updates. Committee testimony emphasized that Vermont has a very high reporting rate but relatively low rates of substantiation and referral to supportive services, and members said the working group should examine reporting before, during, and after a report, including alternatives when in a child’s best interests. The committee’s strike-all amendment added findings, narrowed and prioritized the working group membership to people with direct child-serving or mandated-reporting experience, set deadlines for an interim report by April 1, 2027 and final recommendations by October 1, 2027, and required the first meeting by August 15. The committee also heard from a wide range of child welfare, education, law enforcement, and advocacy witnesses.

Transcript Highlights:

• Case Task Force and in connection Case Task Force and in connection therewith<01:03:43.200> implementing
• appoint additional members to the task appoint additional members to the task force,<01:03:52.680
• > continuing<01:03:53.120> the<01:03:53.240> task<01:03:53.480> force<01:
• 03:53.960> for<01:03:54.080> 13 force, continuing the task force for 13 force, continuing
• the task force for 13 years,<01:03:54.640> and<01:03:54.720> changing<01:03:55.040>

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, approved the journal, and received several committee reports and appointment recommendations. Committees reported favorably on a number of bills and appointments, including local government, health and human services, transportation and energy, business/labor/technology, and judiciary items. The chamber also announced a change on the Senate Finance Committee, with Senator Adrian Benavidez appointed to replace Senator Julie Gonzales for the remainder of the session. A major floor item was House Bill 1136, creating the Pathways to Public Service Program in the Department of Personnel and Administration to identify coursework that could qualify students for entry-level state government jobs. Supporters said it would help attract young people to public service and fill state vacancies using existing resources; opponents argued it promoted government employment over private-sector careers and could expand government unnecessarily. After debate, the Senate adopted the bill on second reading, and the Committee of the Whole report later reflected that HB 1136 passed second reading and was ordered revised and placed on the calendar for third reading and final passage. The Senate also adopted House Joint Resolution 1023 recognizing Latino/Latina Advocacy Day after reading it at length and hearing remarks in support of civic engagement and Latino participation in policymaking. In addition, the chamber concurred with House amendments to Senate Bill 74, which clarifies penalties and procedures related to excessive claims in public construction performance bond disputes; the bill then passed again on re-passage. Several other bills, including Senate Bill 63 and remaining calendar items, were laid over to later dates, and the Senate also considered and began processing consent-calendar gubernatorial appointments.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, but that's not codified in the task in front of you. This task is on private providers.
• But there's the task in front of us.
• Okay, but that's not codified in the task in front of you. This task is on private provider.
• Yeah, the special education task force, you mean? Yes. Yeah.
• force initial report.

Keywords: 962, all

Summary: The meeting began with approval of the May minutes and then moved into administrative updates on several 2025 legislative workstreams. Staff reported progress on two marketing efforts tied to the youth mental health crisis: one focused on increasing awareness and use of urgent crisis centers, and another broader crisis-continuum campaign led by United Way. Both projects are refining materials based on working-group feedback and aim to have materials ready before the start of the school year. Updates were also given on the UCC private insurance review and the crisis continuum review, both of which are gathering data and reconvening working groups over the summer. The main discussion centered on a Civic Solutions Group update on Medicaid school billing. The contractor explained that the project is examining why Connecticut schools are not billing for behavioral health and related services, with the goal of maximizing federal reimbursement. Members clarified that the study is about schools billing for services, not private providers billing in schools. Questions focused on whether Medicaid has caps or authorization issues when students receive services both in school and in the community, and whether recent federal or state changes affect billing. The contractor said the work is still in data collection and analysis, and that some issues, such as reauthorization procedures, were outside his scope. Participants also raised concerns about perceived barriers, fee-for-service limitations, and the need to distinguish school-based billing from provider billing. A second major presentation came from Disability Rights Connecticut on a separate legislative study concerning behavioral health issues affecting students receiving special education. The subgroup is examining the feasibility and impact of requiring evidence-based interventions, especially for challenging behaviors that can lead to restraint and seclusion, and is also looking at monitoring and random audits of restraint and seclusion practices. The team described its project plan, including literature reviews, interviews, focus groups, surveys, and data requests from the State Department of Education and other stakeholders. Members emphasized that the work is aimed primarily at private providers under the statute, but may have broader relevance. Questions from the group focused on whether the study would include public schools, how evidence-based practices apply to students with intellectual disabilities and autism, and whether caregivers or parents would be interviewed; the presenters said caregiver input is not currently part of the charge. The meeting ended with reminders about the July 15 meeting, which will include a Solnit briefing, and a note that August TCB meetings will not be held, though a workshop on the Connecticut Children’s Behavioral Health Provider Survey is being planned for late July or early August.

Transcript Highlights:

• Task force that was put together last session as a result of House Bill 1826.
• The task force was called the Organized Retail Theft Task Force and was housed within the Comptroller's
• Um, I had the privilege of working with the Comptroller's task force with multiple prosecutors, law enforcement
• The November 2024 organized retail theft Task Force Task Force report.
• We have a moral duty to be a force for change and to ensure no child suffers in silence.

Transcript Highlights:

• He was also a part of Governor Mead's outdoor recreation task force, and I think a part of the state.
• He was also a part of Governor Mead's outdoor recreation task force, and I think a part of the state.
• force that was undertaken.
• He was also a part of Governor Mead's outdoor recreation task force, and I think a part of the state.
• He was also a part of Governor Mead's outdoor recreation task force, and I think a part of the state.

Bills: HB0015, HB0017, HB0019

Keywords: right to repair, digital electronics, consumer protection, embedded software, manufacturers, repair providers, tools and documentation, anti-theft measures, blockchain, financial technology, digital innovation, economic development, select committee, trespass, hunting, land use, public access, wildlife, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh so this is a task force looks like.
• Uh so this is a task force that<01:48:39.360> would<01:48:39.480> be<01:48:39.600> tasked
• If anybody's talked to me for a little bit, they've heard how much I loathe task forces in general.
• If anybody's talked to me for a little bit, they've heard how much I loathe task forces in general.
• <01:52:11.320> force<01:52:11.880> is this is assigning it to a task force is this

Bills: HF3542, HF3819

Keywords: data privacy, investigative data, welfare system, public funds, transparency, child care, licensing, inspections, compliance, program integrity, 1183, house

Summary: The committee took up House File 3542, authored by Representative Hudson, and first adopted the February 25 minutes. Hudson explained that the bill, as amended in a DE1, would require agencies to disclose to the public, legislators, or the press the existence of certain investigations only after the subject has been notified and the agency has decided to reduce, suspend, or withhold payments. He said the amendment was intended to avoid tipping off subjects before notification while still increasing transparency about investigations involving public funds. A separate A3 amendment was withdrawn after the DE1 was adopted. Several members questioned the bill’s scope and timing, asking what “existence of an investigation” meant and whether the proposal would disclose information before findings were complete. Hudson clarified that the bill was aimed at identifying who is being investigated, not revealing investigative details. The committee then heard extensive public testimony from child care providers and advocates, who opposed the bill and argued it would expose providers to harassment, threats, and stigma before any findings were made. Testifiers described recent threats, ICE-related disruptions, audits, overpayment findings, and the burden of CCAP compliance, saying the bill would punish providers for paperwork errors and worsen safety concerns, especially for Somali and other providers of color. A board member of the Minnesota Child Care Association also opposed the bill, saying providers had been chilled from speaking publicly because of death threats and harassment, and warning that disclosure of investigations could intensify that climate. In response, Hudson said the bill was not about targeting child care providers generally and was limited to confirmed ongoing investigations after notice to the subject. The committee then heard from Inspector General Keys, who explained that CCAP investigations are administrative, not criminal, and are based on evidence of repeated errors or financial misconduct rather than intentional fraud. He said the office looks for patterns beyond simple mistakes and that the bill’s notice requirement would not impede investigations. The discussion ended amid a brief procedural dispute over comments directed at Hudson, after which the chair returned to the bill and the Inspector General’s testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair and members of the task force. I don't have a whole lot to say.
• Chair, members of the task force.
• So, in late 2024 and early 2025, this task force was presented with materials concerning the adequacy
• force meeting.
• Task force meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is Riverton State Office Task Force Sunset.
• As a member of the task force, we met this fall.
• <01:04:12.799> Force this is Riverton State Office Task Force this is Riverton State Office
• Uh it is uh the task force has Sunset.
• Uh we the task force, we met this fall.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I also served as the Mass Municipal Association's designee on the PFAS Interagency Task Force.
• Just a brief comment: having served on the task force, I continue to remember when you testified, or
• rather spoke to the task force, about the immense amount of money that Easton invested.
• There's been an interagency task force. It's time to act. The issue has been studied.
• There's been an interagency task force. This committee has released a bill.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health held a lengthy hearing to take testimony on a wide range of bills related to environmental health, PFAS, medical device chemicals, food access, lead poisoning, air quality, oral health, and school food additives. Chair Driscoll and Chair Decker emphasized that the hearing was for testimony only, no decisions would be made that day, and that written testimony could still be submitted. They also noted the high volume of speakers and asked witnesses to keep remarks brief. A major portion of the hearing focused on PFAS-related legislation, including bills to restrict PFAS in products and food packaging and to create a PFAS remediation trust fund. Municipal officials and advocates described the high costs of PFAS cleanup, especially for drinking water systems, citing Easton’s multimillion-dollar treatment investments and rate increases. Testimony from legislators and advocates argued that Massachusetts should act despite federal uncertainty, and that the state should stop PFAS at the source rather than leaving municipalities and residents to pay for remediation. The committee also heard strong support for a bill banning DEHP in medical devices, with physicians, nurses, and a bill sponsor saying the chemical can leach from IV bags and tubing and that safer alternatives already exist. The committee also heard testimony on bills to establish statewide food truck permitting, with food truck owners and a senator describing the current system as costly, duplicative, and inconsistent across municipalities. Another set of witnesses supported the “Bean New Deal,” which would expand plant-based food options in public institutions, senior nutrition programs, and WIC, citing health, equity, and cost savings. On lead poisoning, housing advocates and a representative backed bills to expand lead-safe housing requirements to all rental units, arguing the current law contributes to discrimination against families with children and leaves too much pre-1978 housing uncertified. The committee also heard support for an outdoor air pollution bill that would create an advisory committee, identify pollution hotspots, expand monitoring, and set reduction targets, with testimony from environmental justice groups, pediatricians, and legislators describing disproportionate asthma and other health harms in overburdened communities. Later testimony addressed oral health bills to create dental therapists and allow dental hygienists to administer nitrous oxide, with supporters saying the measures would expand access, reduce costs, and help underserved patients. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to prohibit harmful food dyes in competitive school foods, with parents describing behavioral and health concerns tied to synthetic dyes. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• We created a task force to sit down with 30 people who know this topic really well: parents, providers
• We created a we're creating<00:08:00.639> a<00:08:00.879> task<00:08:01.120> force
• force to sit down with creating a task force to sit down with 30<00:08:03.280> people<00:08:03.520
• And so this task force is this point.
• And so this task force is going<00:09:25.839> to<00:09:25.920> work<00:09:26.000> at

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• task force, and that's security services task force, and that's a<00:09:05.880> one-time<00:09
• This section identifies a number of duties of the task force, which are found on page R19, and looking
• And this provision services task force.
• force, which are duties of the task force, which are found<00:26:22.000> on<00:26:22.840>
• <00:26:36.640> Chair, task force. Uh that, Mr. Chair, task force. Uh that, Mr.

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The Safety and Security Conference Committee met on May 13, 2026, with a quorum present and no immediate vote taken. Chairs explained the committee was working ahead of a possible target so it could act quickly later if needed, then proceeded with member introductions and a reminder about committee decorum. Staff noted a microphone delay and said the meeting would include a side-by-side walk-through of the House and Senate policy language and a review of the fiscal spreadsheet. Fiscal staff summarized major differences in court, public safety, and legislative security funding. The House and Senate proposals differed on safety and security funding for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Courts, as well as on courthouse grants, capital security enhancements, and a new legislative/protective services unit. Staff also reviewed Senate-only and House-only items, including a Senate proposal to require removal of insignia from public safety vehicles sold to the public, and House provisions for a security services task force and member security costs. Total general fund impacts were reviewed, with the House total corrected to include an open appropriation that had been omitted from the spreadsheet totals. Nonpartisan staff then walked through the policy differences. The Senate language focused on a Protective Services Unit and security for principal state officials, while the House language focused on a Legislative Services Unit and security for legislators. Both bills included provisions on Capitol Complex Security, reporting requirements, and reimbursement arrangements with local law enforcement, but differed on details such as whether elected officials must provide contact information to DPS and how requests for personal protective services are handled. The House-only amendment A8 was presented for discussion; it would revise emergency contact provisions, replace the House’s personal protective services request language with a more detailed threat assessment and mitigation framework, direct implementation of the new unit, and make related reimbursement and technical changes. Judge Richard Kyle, president of the Minnesota District Judges Association, testified in support of stronger judicial and court safety measures. He described rising threats against judges, citing survey results showing high rates of judges limiting personal information, receiving inappropriate communications, changing personal behavior, and experiencing threats to themselves and family members. He said the association supports legislative authorization and funding for home security and personal data protections for judicial officers, and emphasized that safety concerns for judges and court staff have become more serious in recent years.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is no small task.
• A little over a year ago, **Fort Drum** was selected to host the Army's second multi-domain task force
• Answer my question on force posture.
• I'm asking you about the force posture. We need our forces postured all over the world.
• As a young man, I joined the Air Force and was stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro

Transcript Highlights:

• We even had task force uh individuals.
• Force as a legislative task force of the General Assembly.
• <01:29:39.960> Force and Outcomes Task Force and Outcomes Task Force as<01:29:41.480> a
• > ensures<01:31:17.360> the This task force simply ensures the This task force simply ensures
• help<01:33:37.040> us think this task force to really help us think this task force to really

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I had the opportunity to serve on the nuclear task force, and this is a task force that produced some
• <00:39:47.119> u on the nuclear task force and this is u on the nuclear task force and this
• is u a<00:39:48.320> task<00:39:48.560> force<00:39:48.800> that<00:39:49.040><
• <00:39:58.400> I task force are voting yes for this.
• I task force are voting yes for this.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00 Attendance Roll Call 03:09 SB 57 Discussion 04:03 SB 57 Roll Call Vote 38:37 SB 172 Discussion 41:27 SB 172 Roll Call Vote 50:23, 958, all

Summary: The committee first handled routine business, including a prayer, the pledge, recognition of an Energy and Environment Cabinet leadership academy group, a roll call establishing quorum, and approval of the previous meeting’s minutes. The main item was Senator Danny Carroll’s presentation of legislation to create a nuclear-ready site readiness pilot program in Kentucky. He said the bill is intended to help build a nuclear ecosystem in the Commonwealth by supporting early site permits, construction permits, or combined licenses, with the state contributing up to $25 million per project and a total of $75 million for up to three projects. He emphasized safeguards such as refundable funding if conditions are not met, legislative rather than authority-only selection of projects, and oversight by the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority (NIDTA). He also described related provisions on cost recovery through the Public Service Commission, tax incentive eligibility for nuclear ecosystem projects, training and consultant support for the authority, and eligibility for fusion projects. Carroll and Rodney Andrews said the proposal is meant to attract utilities, developers, and large industrial users such as data centers, and to spread projects geographically, with particular attention to Eastern Kentucky and other rural areas. They said selection criteria would include site suitability, prior site use, regional economic need and impact, geographic diversity, additional investment, federal funding status, and whether a community has applied to be designated nuclear-ready. They stressed that communities would not be forced to host reactors and could choose which parts of the nuclear ecosystem to participate in. Carroll also said the bill could help Kentucky compete with states like Texas and Tennessee, and Andrews said industry contacts viewed the proposal as a signal that Kentucky is open to investment. Members generally expressed support for the bill and its goals, while asking about taxpayer exposure, site size, permitting, grid needs, national security, and reactor technology. Carroll said the state’s direct commitment would be capped at $75 million, with any additional cost recovery depending on PSC approval and project specifics. He said small modular reactor sites would be much smaller than traditional plants, and described a model in which a utility partners with a developer and a data center, with power contracts helping offset costs over decades. On security and technology, Carroll and Andrews said newer reactors would still be subject to the same standards as larger units, and Andrews explained that next-generation designs may use different fuels and materials such as TRISO and high-assay low-enriched uranium. No vote on the bill was taken in the portion provided, and the chair noted time limits and that additional members still had questions, including one witness expected to speak against the measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• force in my department.
• We expect that the task force complete its work in just a handful of months and bring recommendations
• So we just went ahead and created a task force. Give us recommendations.
• It's not been an easy task.
• It's not been an easy task.

Summary: The Assembly Insurance Committee held its fifth oversight hearing on the California Department of Insurance’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy (SIS), with Commissioner Ricardo Lara providing an update on implementation. Lara said the department has finalized major reforms, including new catastrophe modeling tools, faster rate review procedures, use of forward-looking data tied to mitigation, and modernization of the FAIR Plan. He argued the strategy is intended to improve insurance availability in wildfire-prone areas, increase transparency, and stabilize the market, while also criticizing consumer intervenor groups and saying the department will tighten rules on intervener compensation and relevance. Members questioned Lara about when the SIS would begin producing visible market changes, how long rate filings would take to approve, and what the FAIR Plan modernization would mean for consumers’ costs. Lara said catastrophe model approvals should be completed by the end of the month, insurers are expected to begin submitting SIS filings in the coming weeks, and rate reviews have already been reduced from 281 days to 71 days. He also discussed a new market conduct investigation into State Farm’s handling of wildfire claims, ongoing complaints about smoke-damage claims, and a newly created smoke claims and remediation task force to develop standards. Lara said the department has helped more than 12,000 wildfire survivors, with over 38,000 claims filed and more than $17 billion paid, and that it is also working with other western states on underinsurance issues. Public commenters from the insurance industry, homebuilding, and insurance brokerage sectors largely supported the SIS and the department’s efforts, saying the reforms are needed to restore availability and stability. They emphasized the importance of timely rate approvals, FAIR Plan solvency, and greater transparency, and several noted that member companies are preparing to use the new filing process. The hearing ended without a vote or formal action, though members and the commissioner discussed ongoing legislative needs, including AB 226 and possible future FAIR Plan transparency measures.