Transcript Highlights:

• on that one serviceable bridge.
• Have we ever thought about using the Forest Service.
• The bulk of that funding came from the Forest Service.
• We need to take care of the threat.
• Please, if you could direct it that way.

Committee: House Water & Natural Resources Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• This proposal will protect funding for schools and essential public services.
• Those reserves help protect vital programs and services from even deeper reductions.
• The ACA amendment does not make any direct changes.
• Well, I understand, if that was directed to me, I understand where that's going.
• are fully taken care of, that our firefighters and emergency personnel and services are taken care of

Transcript Highlights:

• But I will tell you that I don't care who's supporting cutting services.
• Department of Health Care Services is required to investigate and write a report.
• The people who care for our children deserve the time and support to care for their own. Thank you.
• Getting care in the setting including in your home, is the most cost effective way to deliver care.
• But the long-term care system in our state is broken, and the promise of delivering long-term care in

Transcript Highlights:

• So, Professor, would you care to take the first stab at this? Yes. There I am. Okay.
• SAF will keep my career and my family moving forward in a positive direction. Thank you.
• We care for the environment. We want our kids and our future kids to breathe clean air.
• I also want to say our members do local streets and roads, so we care about that too.
• So do you want to provide some more specificity or some more direction to that?

Summary: The subcommittee heard testimony on the governor’s proposed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit, which would provide a $1 to $2 per gallon credit against the diesel excise tax for SAF sold for use in California from 2026 to 2036. The Department of Finance and CARB argued the credit would help decarbonize aviation, support refinery transitions, and keep fuel production and jobs in California. The Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended rejecting the proposal, saying it is a relatively expensive way to reduce greenhouse gases, could have uncertain or limited climate benefits, and would reduce diesel excise tax revenue that supports highways, local streets and roads, and other transportation programs. A major point of debate was whether the credit would simply shift limited feedstocks from renewable diesel to SAF rather than create new low-carbon fuel supply. Professor Aaron Smith and the LAO said that because feedstocks such as used cooking oil, tallow, and vegetable oils are limited and already used in other fuel markets, the policy could increase SAF at the expense of renewable diesel, with possible increases in fuel prices and little net emissions benefit. Administration and CARB staff disputed that outcome, saying additional waste-based feedstocks are available and that the policy would not meaningfully raise gasoline or diesel prices. Senators focused on feedstock availability, impacts on road funding, fairness to consumers, and whether the proposal was really aimed at preserving specific refineries such as Phillips 66. Public comment was sharply divided. Labor representatives, refinery workers, airlines, Boeing, airports, and some local residents supported the proposal, emphasizing jobs, refinery investment, and aviation’s need for a liquid-fuel decarbonization pathway. Environmental and transportation groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, World Resources Institute, Earthjustice, California Environmental Voters, counties, cities, and trucking and asphalt associations, opposed it, citing weak net climate benefits, possible fuel-price impacts, and losses to transportation funding. No vote was taken; the chair announced all items would be held open for a future hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you know off the top of your head what primary care ranks?
• Some requests are tied to CCAP debt service as well.
• services.
• Item 6 provides details on CCAP debt service requests.
• Item six provides details on CCAP debt service requests.

Bills: SB1 , SB 1

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• for low-income Texans and other public services.
• It's fair to say that it's a more direct benefit.
• But this is a direct hit that we'll have to figure out.
• Your budget is mandated services, right?
• Mainly directed, I guess, to Mr. Perez, counties see this as somewhat of a tax shift.

Bills: HB8 , HB9 , HJR1 , HB22 , HB8 , HB9 , HJR1 , HB22

Committee: House Ways & Means

Keywords: HB 8, school finance, compressed tax rate, maximum compressed tax rate, MCR, PYMCR, property tax, school district taxes, Education Code, Tax Code, state aid, school funding formula, local school taxes, Texas school finance, tax rate compression, public education funding, ad valorem tax, tangible personal property, income-producing property, business personal property

Transcript Highlights:

• The next bucket is $250 million for social services.
• You just need to take care of them and get them addressed.
• And Representative Murphy, one of the... ...and it's not just a direct distribution.
• And sure, and I don't disagree, you want to make sure every entity is taken care of.
• You want to make sure every entity is taken care of.

Committee: House Appropriations

Summary: The committee met to consider Senate Bill 2012, the Department of Transportation budget, with Representative Brandenburg presenting a detailed House amendment package and Speaker Robin Weisz explaining the overall funding strategy. The discussion focused on restructuring transportation funding streams, including moving Prairie Dog money into a flexible transportation fund, adjusting gas tax distributions, increasing the legacy earnings transfer from 7% to 8%, and authorizing a $155 million bond for Highway 85. Members also discussed DOT operations, bridge funding, rest areas, electronic titling, and the use of funds for grants to counties, cities, and townships. A separate provision would let the DOT consider whether local ordinances or policies unreasonably restrict permitted agriculture or energy projects when scoring grant applications, which drew significant debate about local control and whether the language was punitive. Testimony from Brandenburg and Weisz emphasized that the plan was intended to provide more predictable funding, preserve the ability to match federal dollars, and direct money where needs are greatest through a grant process. Weisz said the package was designed to simplify multiple revenue buckets, ensure DOT can meet federal match requirements, and free up money for the general fund while still supporting transportation needs. Several members raised concerns about whether cities, counties, and townships would receive as much as under the prior Prairie Dog structure, whether the bridge allocation was correctly reflected in the bill, and whether the local-policy language would penalize subdivisions that oppose energy projects. Supporters argued the state needed to protect revenue tied to energy development and that local governments would still receive distributions plus additional grant opportunities. The committee adopted the House amendment to SB 2012 by a vote of 19-1-3, then rejected an amendment to remove the local-policy language on a 5-15-3 vote. The committee then passed SB 2012 as amended on a 20-0-3 vote, with Representative Brandenburg designated as the carrier. The chair announced that Senate Bill 2014 would not be taken up at that time and the committee recessed until called back.

Transcript Highlights:

• like universal school meals, free community college, expanding access to C3 early education child care
• go toward replenishing the T's reserves to try to give them more fiscal certainty without cutting services
• So to clarify, the T gets 92%, while the 277 other municipalities that do not have direct access to a
• train station, whether it's commuter or subway,... ...do not have direct access to a train station,
• certainly an equitable piece that allows our municipalities to have their roads and bridges taken care

Summary: The House opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and adopted two ceremonial resolutions: one commemorating the dedication of the Woburn Battle Road Memorial as part of the Massachusetts 250th celebration, and another recognizing May 1-7 as Elks National Youth Week. The chamber then took up House Bill 4005, a fiscal year 2025 supplemental appropriations bill using FY24 Fair Share surtax surplus funds, and ordered it to a third reading before later considering it for passage to be engrossed. During debate on the bill, the House heard a lengthy presentation in support of the proposal, which would direct about $828 million to transportation and $353 million to education. The transportation spending was described as primarily supporting the MBTA, including workforce and safety funding, reserve replenishment, station and infrastructure improvements, reduced fares, and reimbursement for tunnel closure costs, along with smaller amounts for regional transit authorities and unpaved roads. The education side included additional special education circuit breaker funding, vocational school capital, early education workforce supports, early literacy, universal school meals, higher education endowment matches, Green School Works, and ESOL waitlist reduction, with the Inspector General directed to review circuit breaker cost controls. Members then debated several amendments. One amendment related to a school athletics policy was modified by a further amendment calling for DESE analysis before implementation; both the further amendment and the underlying amendment as amended were adopted. A transportation amendment to shift $50 million from MBTA funding to Chapter 90 municipal roads was supported by members emphasizing rural road needs but was rejected on a roll call, 25-120. Another transportation amendment adding at least $300,000 for Route 93 mitigation costs in Medford was adopted, 133-20. The bill itself then passed to be engrossed on a roll call, 140-14. The House also observed moments of silence for former First Lady Kitty Dukakis and for victims of the Santo Domingo nightclub collapse, and later adopted an order to meet the next day at 11 a.m. before adjourning in memory of former Representative Philip W. Johnston.

Transcript Highlights:

• Grants are financial assistance paid or services furnished by an agency via a third party to an eligible
• Christensen, would you care to respond? Ms. Christensen: Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair.
• </c> agencies Miss Christenson would you care agencies Miss Christenson would you care to<00:58:17.559
• </c> whether it Mak sense to provide services whether it Mak sense to provide services through<01:03:
• </c><01:03:35.640><c> Education</c> Department of Human Services Education Department of Human Services

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Duty, honor, and service have marked your life.
• Congratulations and thank you for your service to... our nation.
• , and in your service to the country through your service there, including in my great state. in Oklahoma
• Chairman, first of all Thank you for your service to our country.
• Thank you most importantly for your service to our nation.

Committee: Senate Intelligence (Select) Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• services, and park and infrastructure improvements.
• Health care.
• I can't even focus on health care issues.
• , people that we care about.
• If so, the products or services are publicly identified as being okay or safe.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Thompson's legacy of service as a champion of education and as a tireless advocate for the scholarship
• Members and guests, please join me in a moment of silence for a public service legend, a pillar of the
• But insurance is only one of the policy questions Floridians care about.
• Many of you have filed bills this session tackling housing and health care, public education, and public
• The Honorable Daniel Perez, Speaker: I am directed to inform the House of Representatives that the Senate

Summary: The Florida House convened for the opening day of the 2025 regular session with prayer, moments of silence honoring Senator Geraldine Thompson and Congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart, the presentation of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem. The chamber recognized Miami-Dade County Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz as law enforcement officer of the day, approved the journal, and welcomed state officials, Supreme Court justices, former House speakers, former legislative leaders, former members, and Speaker Perez’s family. Speaker Daniel Perez delivered opening remarks focused on making the House a more engaged and dynamic chamber, emphasizing substantive reforms, strong committee work, and accountability in government. He highlighted property insurance as a major issue, noting concerns about undisclosed reports and directing the insurance and banking subcommittee to hold hearings with subpoena power and outside experts. He also called for attention to housing, health care, public education, public safety, and budget savings, urging members to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse and to find recurring spending cuts. The House received Governor Ron DeSantis’s request to address a joint session on March 4 at 11 a.m. and adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 1294, which authorized the House and Senate to meet in joint session for that purpose. Upon adoption of the resolution, HCR 1289 was laid on the table. The House then adjourned to allow for committee and subcommittee meetings and to reconvene for the joint session later that morning.

Transcript Highlights:

• Home care nursing is a continuous medically necessary service that keeps medically complex people with
• SF 4502 would prohibit quantity limits on home care nursing services and clarify these services are defined
• When services are delayed or denied, children miss therapies and parents leave jobs to manage care.
• It also requires plans to consistently call these services home care nursing services so families can
• The Medicaid waivers are designed to cover extended services such as private home nursing care. often

Committee: Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection

Transcript Highlights:

• So the question is, why do we care?
• And again, building off that work, it looks at cannabis retail and health care outcomes.
• So we wanted to further explore the health care space and consequences of maladaptive use.
• So can you stipulate what are these health care outcomes you're referring to?
• So that is a great segue to the specifics of the health care outcomes.

Committee: House Consumer Protection & Business

Summary: The committee held a work session on earthquake insurance and later on Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) cannabis and I-502 research. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner explained that earthquake coverage is usually excluded from standard property policies, is expensive, and often carries very high deductibles. Staff also described admitted versus surplus line insurers, and introduced parametric insurance and captive insurance as specialized risk-transfer tools mainly used by commercial and sophisticated buyers. OIC data showed about 226,000 admitted earthquake policies in 2023, with most personal policies concentrated in the Puget Sound and Vancouver areas and commercial endorsements more broadly distributed. A second panel, including insurance and banking representatives, focused on potential catastrophic earthquake exposure for commercial buildings and collateralized loans. They argued that many commercial properties may lack earthquake coverage, leaving banks and the broader economy exposed if owners default or surrender damaged properties after a major quake. They discussed the Nisqually earthquake, the Cascadia subduction zone, building age, soil and slope conditions, retrofit standards, pollution remediation, and the need for property resilience assessments and inventories of vulnerable buildings. Members asked about consumer impacts, affordability, education, and whether legislation like prior work on unreinforced masonry buildings could help reduce risk; the Washington Bankers Association said earthquake insurance is costly and that affordability is a major concern. Committee members also discussed inventories and risk assessment efforts, including state geologist work on school buildings and whether similar approaches could be extended to nearby private structures. The presenters said banks likely have good inventories of their collateral but may not know which properties are most vulnerable to earthquake damage. The discussion ended with a request for follow-up information on consumer education and disaster planning resources. WSIPP then presented its long-running evaluation of Initiative 502 and cannabis legalization. Staff explained WSIPP’s nonpartisan role and its legislatively directed 20-year study, with final benefit-cost work due in 2032. The presentation summarized prior findings that cannabis misdemeanor convictions dropped sharply after legalization, though racial disproportionalities persisted at lower absolute levels. WSIPP also reported that shorter drive times to cannabis retailers were associated with higher reported adult cannabis use, more fatal traffic crashes involving local drivers, higher THC-positive rates among blood-tested crash drivers, and higher cannabis use disorder diagnoses and co-occurring substance use disorder diagnoses among Medicaid enrollees. For high school students, nearby retail access was associated with more reported use, more unexcused absences, and a lower likelihood of graduating on time. In the newest 2025 Medicaid study, WSIPP said retailer openings were associated with higher cannabis use disorder diagnoses, hospitalizations, inpatient treatment, and co-occurring mental health diagnoses, while emphasizing that the analyses show associations rather than direct causation and that results are specific to Medicaid enrollees.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have no way of shopping online or I don't care to shop online.
• We've got providers and 50 states that we service.
• So currently health care facility.
• But I think, you know, it sounds like you're working going in the right direction.
• Instead, the bill speaks to all licensed health care practitioners, not up. Thomas.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're now the much less ominous-sounding Sunflower Services. Oh.
• All of the services we provide to clients are free.
• So that's where I think that this is a critically important change in direction.
• So that's where I think that this is a critically important change in direction.
• I was a hearing officer for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Bills: SB1285 , SB1289 , SB1326 , SB1328 , SB1329 , SB1330 , SB1392 , SB1402 , SB1425 , SCR1013 , SCR1014

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Elections

Keywords: sentencing, correctional facilities, multiple sentences, death penalty, aggravating circumstances, juvenile offenses, class 2 felony, foreign donations, election administration, certification, Arizona Revised Statutes, transparency, public disclosure, parents' rights, family law, shared parenting, best interest of the child, state interference, family court, custody

Transcript Highlights:

• We offer this service annually.
• delays, and we don't have to worry care delays, and we don't have to worry about<00:55:44.720><c> care
• </c><01:06:08.480><c> is</c> lots of reasons why medical care is lots of reasons why medical care is
• </c><01:25:28.080><c> And</c> cause our health care to go up. And cause our health care to go up.
• </c> consequently, if when our health care consequently, if when our health care goes<01:25:30.400><c

Transcript Highlights:

• So we want to be careful about that.
• This direct sharing had a direct result.
• We host an expanding suite of services that utilize the MAD to support things like Health and Human Services
• Thank you for your long service to the Commonwealth.
• Thank you again for your long service to the Commonwealth.

Committee: Senate Senate Committee on the Census

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census held a hearing on September 22, 2025 focused on preparations for the 2030 census, with an emphasis on Massachusetts’ role in building a complete address list and improving local participation in census-related address review programs. Chair Brownsberger and witnesses from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, the UMass Donahue Institute, Watertown, and MassGIS described the importance of accurate address data for congressional apportionment, federal funding, and state and local planning. They also discussed the first major upcoming step, the Block Boundary Suggestion Project, and the later Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) process, both of which rely on municipalities reviewing and correcting census geography and address files. John Rosenberry of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office said outreach to cities and towns is beginning now, with a likely December start for the block boundary process based on the 2020 cycle. He stressed that local officials, clerks, building inspectors, housing authorities, and GIS staff should be engaged early, especially to capture new development and conversions created under the state’s housing policies. Susan Strait of UMass Donahue explained that LUCA allows local governments to compare their address lists with the Census Bureau’s master address file, and that Massachusetts had very high participation in 2020; she cited examples where local review added hidden or newly built housing units and noted that Boston later corrected a group-quarters undercount of about 6,000 students through a post-census review program. In response to questions, she clarified that those corrections affected annual estimates and funding formulas, but not the 2020 apportionment count. Watertown City Manager George Proakis described how local address review is complicated by accessory dwelling units, single-family to two-family conversions, and large multifamily projects, and urged continued state support for local governments doing this work. Dan Marrier of MassGIS then outlined the Massachusetts Master Address Database, explaining that it combines multiple sources, including E911, assessor, voter, and municipal data, to create a standardized residential address repository used for census preparation and other state functions. He said the database has helped improve census accuracy, including by updating more than one million Census Bureau address-point locations before 2020, and noted that local municipalities remain the final authority on addresses even as MassGIS standardizes and reconciles variants across the Commonwealth.

Transcript Highlights:

• And if the legislature does want to move in that direction, this kind of bill would create a uniform
• And if the legislature does want to move in that direction, this kind of bill would create a uniform
• c><01:00:38.920><c> youth</c> services such as child care youth services such as child care youth programs
• </c><01:26:18.600><c> that</c> uh get in can get the extra care that uh get in can get the extra care
• </c> um put forth that you could have direct um put forth that you could have direct to<01:35:08.920>

Transcript Highlights:

• serviced serviced um<00:40:54.400><c> and</c><00:40:55.079><c> um</c><00:40:56.079><c> uh</c><00:40:
• The charter school also provides service logs for services that are contracted with the district and
• Services Services um<03:44:11.319><c> and</c> um and um and investigation<03:44:13.520><c> um</c><03
• the school districts need that direction the school districts need that<04:06:40.040><c> direction</
• service service orders<06:26:46.120><c> thank</c> orders thank orders thank you<06:26:48.000><c> any

Summary: The committee first took up HB 662, which would require discussion of abortion procedures and the viewing of certain videos in public school health education. Members argued the bill went too far by naming specific videos and involving the Attorney General in enforcement, and they said curriculum decisions should be left to educators. The committee voted ITL on HB 662 by a unanimous 18-0. The committee then considered HCR 6, a resolution calling for the removal of the superintendent of District 67. Members said the resolution targeted an individual and that the underlying dispute was already in court, so the matter should be left to the legal process. The motion to ITL passed 18-0. Next, HR 9, urging the Department of Education to emphasize STEM education, received broad support as a nonpartisan statement of priorities, and it also passed 18-0. HB 440, concerning educator licensing and shortages in Career and Technical Education, was amended to clarify that the bill applies to initial licensure only. After discussion about whether the amendment was necessary, the committee adopted Amendment 0188 unanimously and then voted OTPA on the bill as amended, 18-0. HB 222, which repealed the requirement for an MOU between charter schools and districts on services for students with disabilities, drew testimony that districts already provide substantial oversight through IEP processes and that the MOU requirement was burdensome and largely unenforced; the committee voted OTP 18-0. The committee then took up HB 719, which would repeal the right of first refusal for charter schools to purchase or lease unused district facilities. Supporters said the existing law had not generated complaints and could impede charter expansion, while opponents said the issue had not proven to be a problem and local control should be preserved. The committee voted ITL 17-1, with one member opposed and no minority report. The chair then postponed HB 184, a study committee bill on school start times, because it was scheduled for the next day, and the committee moved into a work session on bullying-related bills, discussing HB 108, HB 384, and HB 673 without taking final action in the portion provided.