Transcript Highlights:

• We appreciate the Office of the State Inspector General's review in the performance audit that was completed
• Because the audit primarily examined activity during the pandemic, when we experienced more than a million
• You did mention the audit, which I brought a copy up because I had a whole slew of questions for that
• that I'll defer that, and hopefully at our next meeting there are a bunch of recommendations in the audit
• But the audit was... ...where your progress is on those. But the audit was really informative too.

Summary: The Commission on Unemployment Compensation met, established a quorum, and elected Delegate Destiny LeVere Bolling as chair and Senator Mike Jones as vice chair. The commission also adopted its electronic meeting policy and heard introductions from new members, staff, and officials from the Secretary of Labor’s office and the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). Secretary Jessica Lumen outlined the administration’s workforce and labor priorities, including supporting workers, employers, and program transparency, while members raised concerns about business climate, job losses, labor participation, and the implementation of paid family and medical leave. Staff provided legislative updates on recent unemployment-related bills. These included increases to the weekly unemployment benefit amount enacted in 2025 and 2026, a bill on labor dispute disqualification that changed how lockouts are treated for benefit eligibility, and a budget item providing $75,000 for actuarial support to the commission. The commission also discussed the 2025 work group on annual adjustments to weekly benefit amounts; staff reported that the work group did not complete its charge, and members agreed to revisit whether to reconstitute it at a future meeting. Delegate Martinez expressed support for continuing the work, and the chair said the issue would be taken up at the next meeting. Deputy Commissioner Joanna Darkus gave a detailed presentation on Virginia’s unemployment insurance system, including current claims data, eligibility rules, employer tax structure, benefit levels, trust fund solvency, fraud prevention, and customer service operations. She reported that Virginia’s unemployment rate remains low, weekly claims are modest, the current weekly benefit range is $160 to $478, and the trust fund balance factor is projected at 50.9 percent, near the threshold for additional employer charges. Members asked about the taxable wage base, trust fund solvency, the effect of benefit increases, fraud controls, and the planned paid family and medical leave program. VEC said it is implementing that program through regulations, staffing, IT procurement, public listening sessions, and consultation with other states. A public commenter from the Virginia Poverty Law Center urged the commission to strengthen state investment in unemployment insurance and warned that federal support is uncertain. The commission then adjourned without taking further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• We appreciate the Office of the State Inspector General's review in the performance audit that was completed
• Because the audit primarily examined activity during the pandemic, when we experienced more than a million
• You did mention the audit, which I brought a copy up because I had a whole slew of questions for that
• that I'll defer that, and hopefully at our next meeting there are a bunch of recommendations in the audit
• But the audit was... ...where your progress is on those. But the audit was really informative too.

Keywords: Commission on Unemployment Compensation, 976, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And what happened in Attleboro is they were audited at some point, and six people were found to have
• It was an audit that happened; six members were audited and found to have to relinquish the time that
• During our 2024 financial audit, our auditor warned that the matter, if it were not resolved soon, might
• During our 2024 financial audit, our auditor warned that the matter, if it were not resolved soon, might
• After an audit of my employment, it showed that there were extraordinary and emergent circumstances which

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Service held a hearing on May 7, chaired by Senators Mike Brady and Dan Ryan, and heard testimony on a wide range of retirement and benefits bills for public employees and their families. Several bills focused on line-of-duty death or disability benefits for police and firefighters, including Senate Bill 1831 for Joanne Sanji, widow of Rutland Detective John Sanji, whose COVID-19 death was described by family, counsel, and the police chief as a line-of-duty death already recognized by local, state, and federal memorials. Similar support was offered for bills involving the surviving spouse of a State Police officer injured in the line of duty, a Springfield officer injured by a hammer attack during a mental health call, and a bill for a former police officer seeking an increased disability retirement due to PTSD after a traumatic incident. Testimony repeatedly emphasized that these cases had been recognized locally or had already moved through prior sessions, but legislative action was still needed to secure benefits. The committee also heard multiple firefighter-related retirement bills. Representatives and union advocates supported a bill for retired Attleboro Fire Captain Walter Gerton, arguing that an audit and recalculation improperly reduced his pension after retirement and that the correction was requested by the local retirement board. Another bill sought disability retirement for former Westfield firefighter Greg Heath, who testified that Parkinson’s disease has made daily life and family care increasingly difficult; supporters cited studies linking firefighting exposures to Parkinson’s and said the city, retirement board, and local officials backed the measure. The committee also heard testimony for retired Quincy Fire Deputy Chief Kevin Bithrow, who described a Parkinson’s diagnosis following years of exposure at major toxic fires, including the Home Depot and MWRA incidents, and for a related Quincy bill that would treat his retirement as line-of-duty for survivor protection. Additional bills included a proposal to provide flags to next of kin of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty, a bill to resolve employer contribution obligations for the Neshoba Associated Boards of Health in the state retirement system, and several individual retirement or service-credit measures. These included a bill for former State Police gang unit officer David Patterson, a school nurse seeking additional credible service credit for a temporary staffing emergency, and a former Suffolk County sheriff’s deputy seeking an increased disability retirement after a violent inmate assault left him with lasting injuries. Testimony generally came from the affected individuals, family members, municipal officials, retirement boards, and public safety unions, with most speakers urging favorable action and noting that many of the bills had already passed one chamber or had been filed in prior sessions. At the end of the hearing, the committee took no recorded votes on the bills and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We also work with a private sector contractor to conduct audits of providers and recover overpayments
• leverage the experience of the private sector to help us with reviewing billing data and conducting audits
• My understanding is that CMS is doing audits. themselves of the managed care organizations on a rotating
• I don't know where Minnesota falls in that rotation, but whatever their most recent audit of Minnesota
• We're leveraging the. private sector on data analytics and audits.

Transcript Highlights:

• Snyder first to hear HJR 1325, succession to the Office of Government Auditing and Government Efficiency
• proposes a constitutional amendment to create a commissioner of government efficiency with the power to audit
• In some instances, the auditors have accounting backgrounds, or some kind of experience in auditing,
• which is a constitutional officer appointed by us, and the function includes performing operational audits
• If they're doing auditing review, then I would want them to have an auditing background.

Summary: The Government Operations Subcommittee heard several measures focused on government structure, oversight, and public policy designations. The most debated bill was HJR 1325, which proposed a constitutional amendment to create a statewide Commissioner of Government Efficiency, abolish the lieutenant governor office and the Government Efficiency Task Force, and eliminate the constitutional requirement for an Auditor General appointment. Sponsors said the new commissioner would be a watchdog over waste, fraud, and abuse across state and local government, while opponents raised concerns about cost, single-subject issues, lack of implementation details, and whether existing oversight structures were sufficient. After extensive debate, the resolution was reported favorably by a recorded vote. The committee also approved HB 575, which redesignates the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in Florida statute, and HB 1445, which requires certain state officials and agency heads to have stronger ties to Florida and, for some positions, to live in the county where their agency headquarters is located. HB 1445 drew questions about practicality and whether a proximity standard would be better than a strict county requirement, but the sponsor said he would continue working on that issue. Both bills were reported favorably, with HB 1445 passing unanimously. In addition, the committee unanimously approved HB 259, designating August 21 as Fentanyl Awareness and Education Day, with supporters emphasizing the need for public education about fentanyl overdoses. The committee also passed CS/HB 29, the public records and meetings bill linked to the social work licensure compact, which creates confidentiality and meeting exemptions needed for the compact to operate. Public testimony on that measure was supportive, and it too was reported favorably without opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think my final question is: there seems to be an continuing education audit issue.
• But sometimes when we're doing the audits, we're maybe finding that people kind of missed out on some
• What I would say is when we talk about continuing education audits...
• What I would say is when we talk about continuing education audits, the spectrum of that noncompliance
• So technically those would result in a failure of the audit, but generally that's going to result in

Summary: The joint Assembly and Senate business committees held a sunset review hearing on the California State Board of Pharmacy, with board leadership describing the board’s consumer-protection role and its priorities around access, enforcement, and updating pharmacy law. The board emphasized a proposed shift toward a standard-of-care model for pharmacists, arguing it would reduce rigid protocol requirements and improve access to services such as HIV PrEP/PEP, contraception, and naloxone. Board representatives also discussed pharmacy deserts, possible fee waivers for pharmacies in underserved areas, concerns about payer practices contributing to closures, continuing education audits, and a request to restore more flexibility in licensure decisions and probationary monitoring for applicants with certain criminal histories. A major focus of the hearing was the board’s ongoing compounding regulations, especially the treatment of sterile versus nonsterile compounding and substances such as glutathione and methylcobalamin. The board said the proposal was not a ban on those substances and described the rulemaking as grounded in federal law, USP standards, and public comment, noting the process had gone through multiple modified texts and hearings. Testimony from stakeholders was sharply divided: pharmacists, veterinarians, firefighters, naturopathic doctors, and patient advocates warned the rules were restricting access to compounded medications and harming patients and first responders, while the California Medical Association, psychiatric physicians, and PhRMA raised concerns that the board’s proposals could expand pharmacist authority beyond training, affect physician practice, or create safety risks. Other public comments addressed pharmacy technician ratios, remote processing, flavoring medications, hospital-specific regulation, budget and enforcement transparency, and whether the board should add members with community compounding or pharmacy technician expertise. Committee members also asked about the board’s oversight priorities and the rationale for its standard-of-care proposal. Board staff explained that consumer protection includes education, licensing, policy, and enforcement, with the highest-priority enforcement cases being those posing imminent public harm. After public testimony concluded, the chairs thanked participants and adjourned the sunset review hearing, announcing an immediate transition to the joint informational hearing on the Department of Cannabis Control.

Transcript Highlights:

• First, with precisely the kind of audits some members of Congress are trying to stop.
• services are delivered that's precisely the reason President Trump shut down USAID and demanded an audit
• But I don't think any court is going to find that the executive branch cannot pause in audit spending
• Well, auditing spending is what government should do.
• A pause in doing an audit is just good government frankly.

Keywords: fiscal responsibility, government waste, foreign aid, funding resolution, legislative oversight

Summary: The committee meeting addressed government spending and foreign aid, with a particular emphasis on perceived wasteful expenditures. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing a funding resolution for the committee, which received unanimous support from the members present. The chair noted a quorum at the beginning of the meeting, signaling that the committee was ready to conduct its business. Discussions highlighted ongoing debates concerning fiscal responsibility and the necessity of legislative oversight, notably regarding foreign aid allocations and their implications for domestic fiscal health.

Transcript Highlights:

• When asked about a performance audit, he said they have a financial audit that includes certain aspects
• audit which uh we have a financial audit which includes<00:38:01.359> certain<00:38:01.680>
• Moving on to page six, we have our audit division, and they do exactly that: they conduct audits of tax
• 01:04:59.319> returns that they conduct audits of tax returns that they conduct audits of tax
• for understand audits are stressful for understand audits are stressful for businesses<01:43:32.560

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority officials, led by Executive Director Rob Dapice, briefed legislators on the agency’s structure and funding. They explained that the authority is created by state law but is not a state agency, its debt is not state debt, and it is governed by a board appointed by the governor and approved by the Executive Council. The discussion focused on the Affordable Housing Fund and the lead paint hazard remediation fund, including how state appropriations and federal resources are combined to finance affordable rental housing and lead abatement work. Dapice said the Affordable Housing Fund is used as gap financing for multifamily affordable housing projects, typically alongside federal tax credits and tax-exempt bonds, and that state dollars leverage roughly 2:1 to 10:1 in additional federal and private investment, averaging about 4:1. He said the fund has received historic appropriations in recent budgets, including $30 million over the last two biennial budgets and an annual $5 million set-aside from the real estate transfer tax. He also said the fund is usually structured as 0% interest, deferred loans rather than grants, with repayments returning to the fund if projects generate cash flow. Members asked about rents, oversight, staffing, revenues, and whether the programs had added positions. Dapice said affordability restrictions generally last 30 to 99 years, rents are tied to income limits and capped so tenants pay no more than 30% of income, and compliance staff inspect properties regularly to verify income eligibility and rent limits. He said the organization has about 130 to 135 employees, down from about 145, with no new positions added because of the appropriations. He estimated total revenues at roughly $300 million, with administrative budget around $22 million, much of it pass-through grant money. On lead paint remediation, he said the state first appropriated $6 million in 2019, plus $1 million in ARPA funds, and that the program has cleared more than 500 units. He said the federal grant program is not annual or predictable, with a recent award of about $7.75 million, and that the maximum federal grant per unit is $177,000, typically paired with up to $100,000 in state loan support. He also noted that the program can address homes before a child is poisoned if lead hazards are identified, but that cases involving an already exposed child are a higher priority. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• found themselves in, we have different special districts, and they would have language requiring an audit
• So this bill allows us to modify this and to clean up the language to allow townships to do the audit
• The audits can cost up to $20,000 to $25,000 for small townships annually, and so this is an expense
• entities from a particular engagement without changing the amount of finances overall that are under audit
• The big private auditors that work on audits in Minnesota, local government officials, and we have Bjorn

Transcript Highlights:

• There need to be an auditing system.
• Where's the audit of the true facts of the real and truth in return on investment?
• Well, I made a call a couple days ago to the state auditor's office, and I asked for this audit, and
• nobody knows of such an audit that we're getting the return on investment for, ...and nobody knows of
• such an audit that we're getting the return on investment for any of these tax credits.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Summary: The House Agriculture Committee first met in executive session on House Bill 2998. Members discussed a committee substitute that narrowed the bill to a study of the Upper Mississippi River Basin and the Rural Development Office, and extended the deadline to December 1, 2029. After questions about the cost and whether the proposed river-related project would work, the committee adopted the substitute and then voted the House Committee Substitute for HB 2998 do pass by a roll call of 21 ayes and 0 noes. The committee then held a public hearing on Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 913, which would extend a number of agricultural tax credits for five years and add a short-line railroad tax credit. Senator Curtis Gregory explained the bill as a continuation of existing programs such as the MAZBIDTA program, rolling stock credits, meat processing incentives, biodiesel and ethanol-related credits, and the new short-line railroad provision. He and supporters said the bill would provide certainty for agricultural investment, rural development, and railroad infrastructure, and several witnesses from farm, railroad, banking, business, and commodity groups testified in favor. Committee members asked detailed questions about how unused credits carry forward, how the rolling stock credit reimburses local political subdivisions, and whether the short-line railroad credit could benefit lessees or be transferred. Supporters said the rolling stock provision makes local governments whole rather than creating a double payment, and that the short-line credit is intended to help rehabilitate aging rail lines and spur economic development. Opponents argued that Missouri’s tax credit system is too large, lacks sufficient auditing, and imposes significant costs on the state budget; one witness said the bill could add tens of millions in fiscal impact and should not be funded. No vote was taken on SB 913 in the portion of the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is in response to a PEER audit.
• The Office of Technology presented during the January 2026 interim at the meeting of the Post-Audit Subcommittee
• of Revenue, expands that language by providing that nothing in the code can be construed to require audit-related
• guidelines, procedures, and algorithms, related training manuals and materials, and various other audit-related
• testimony that this bill is designed to prevent individuals from gaming the system and avoiding tax audits

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If I could, the nut of your testimony is that this may be considered in need of an audit as a perspective
• as<00:13:06.920> a<00:13:07.360> perspective<00:13:08.639> U in need of an audit
• impact and um get some of that auditing impact and um get some of that auditing information<01:44
• We also support an impact assessment audit since this is being proposed as a new mandate.
• <02:57:17.960> and because it does require an audit and because it does require an audit and

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up SB 1494 on hearing aids. Testimony was generally supportive of expanding hearing-aid coverage, with the Insurance Division raising concern about possible federal defrayment issues, SHPDA supporting the goal of hearing augmentation, DCAB strongly supporting the bill as an important access issue, and health plans and insurers asking for amendments. Kaiser Permanente and the Hawaii Association of Health Plans requested changes to add a medical-necessity standard and clarify annual notice language, while HMSA suggested the proposal should be studied by the auditor. The chair noted concerns about federal preemption and the lack of an audit, and deferred the bill in favor of a related resolution calling for a study. The committee then heard SB 1448, an emergency appropriation for the Hawaii State Hospital. DAGS and the Department of Health supported the measure, with the hospital administrator saying the funding would improve the environment of care, support cleaning, and allow a third-party review of the building. Committee members questioned the size of the request and the status of litigation against the design-builder. Administration witnesses said they were pursuing a comprehensive study involving destructive testing, had made a demand on the design-builder to fund the study, and were using different processes than before. They also said the roof work would be handled through a separate CIP request. No final action was taken in the portion provided. The committee next heard SB 1432, relating to the future responsibilities of the Department of Health and land issues at Kalaupapa after the last patient dies. DOH supported the bill in part but said its long-term role would be limited mainly to environmental cleanup, with operations expected to continue under the National Park Service and land-use decisions left to DHHL and beneficiary consultation. DHHL asked that the measure reflect that any land-use or zoning changes on homeland lands require commission approval and beneficiary consultation. Testifiers from Kalaupapa and Maui County, including Degra Vanderbilt-Papa and Council Member Keani Rollins-Fernandez, supported deferring the bill, saying there had been no meaningful community discussion about provisions affecting Kalaupapa’s future management and possible transfer of responsibilities to Maui County. The committee also read into the record written testimony from Gloria Marks emphasizing that Kalaupapa stakeholders must be included in future discussions. Finally, the committee heard SB 955 on fitness-to-proceed examinations. The Judiciary and the Public Defender’s Office both supported raising pay and standardizing expectations for private examiners, but opposed reducing felony fitness evaluations from three examiners to one and opposed expanding use of expedited reports. They argued that a single examiner would reduce reliability, create a more adversarial process, and likely increase costs and contested hearings, while expedited reports do not contain enough information for a proper fitness determination. The Department of Health also supported the bill’s intent but asked to preserve a three-examiner framework and said the goal was to reduce the number of people sent to the State Hospital, where admissions have reportedly risen about 20% year over year since Act 26. The bill remained under discussion in the excerpt, with no final vote shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Aragine law enforcement reports do pass with author's amendments to add definitions and specify the audit
• voting SB 414 Ashby charter school accountability do pass with author amendments regarding annual audit
• benefit managers do pass with author's amendments to remove insurance code provisions add financial audits
• Republicans not voting SP SP 53 wiener AI model developers do pass as amended to strike the third-party audit

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 85, sponsored by Management Audit, Post-Election Audit Procedures, an act relating to elections
• 54.800> post oversight when it comes to post do post oversight when it comes to post do post audit
• <00:49:55.680> election audit election audit election uh<00:49:57.440> ballot<00:49:57.760
• The reading clerk will read the bill. >> House Bill 86, sponsored by Management Audit, Removal of County
• House Bill 84, sponsored by Management Audit: Falsifying Election Documents, an act relating to election

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Like, we have an audit committee.
• Audit information is available, but we're not requiring audit information.
• audits? Like, we have a audit committee. audits? Like, we have a audit committee.
• audits and those audits institution has audits and those audits are<02:36:18.319> different<02
• audit but we're not requiring audit information.<02:36:50.640> This<02:36:50.880> should

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• >> So<01:01:45.599> folks<01:01:45.920> audit? >> So folks audit?
• Did you read this audit? Yes.
• Did you read this audit? >> Okay. Did you read this audit? >> Yes. >> Yes.
• This is going to continue because, you know, audit after audit, the same kinds of responses we get from
• <02:09:30.639> kinds<02:09:30.960> of audit after audit, the same kinds of audit after

Bills: SB2024, SB896, SB2613, SB494, SB2391, SB2125, SB2614, SB2615, SB3262, SB3325, SB3118

Keywords: charter schools, public-private partnership, school facilities, education funding, community need, education, capital improvement, reporting, transparency, technical expertise, public school land transfer, Department of Education, DOE, land conveyance, fee simple title, tax map key, TMK, Act 307, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, Act 139

Transcript Highlights:

• Normally, a statement to withhold funds comes following an audit. No audit has been done.
• Normally, a statement to withhold funds comes following an audit. No audit has been done.
• We need bona fide audits.
• We need bona fide audits.
• We need bona fide audits.

Keywords: 1187, 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:

• The Children's Scholarship Fund has refused a full audit.
• The Children's Scholarship Fund has refused a full audit.
• The Children's Scholarship Fund has refused a full audit.
• The Children's Scholarship Fund has refused a full audit.
• The Children's Scholarship Fund has refused a full audit.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I wasn't aware that there was an audit that found this. >> Well, it's not our audit.
• I wasn't aware that there was an audit that found this. >> Well, it's not our audit.
• I wasn't aware that there was an audit that found this. >> Well, it's not our audit.
• I wasn't aware that there was an audit that found this. >> Well, it's not our audit.
• <01:59:09.119> of question, we continue to do an audit of question, we continue to do an audit

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee first adopted amendment 2026-2021S to correct a drafting issue in the budget language so that the $2.5 million appropriation for Medicaid per diem rate stabilization at county nursing homes can be spent during the biennium rather than lapsing at the end of the fiscal year. Senator Lang explained that the funds are matched with federal dollars for a total of $5 million and are intended to prevent rate reductions that could shift costs to county property taxpayers. The amendment was adopted unanimously by both chambers, and the committee proceeded on the bill as amended by the Senate. The main discussion then focused on HB 155 and a proposed amendment to the business enterprise tax. The House proposal would lower the BET rate in stages when combined business tax revenues exceed certain thresholds, while the Senate opposed an immediate rate reduction and argued that tax changes should be handled in a budget year. Senators emphasized that raising the filing threshold to $375,000 had already removed about 3,500 small businesses from filing requirements, and they preferred further relief through threshold changes rather than rate cuts. House members argued that the trigger-based reduction was a reasonable, tested mechanism and would provide future tax relief without taking effect unless revenues rose enough. Members debated whether the trigger could be distorted by one-time revenue spikes, such as the recent tax amnesty receipts and prior federal repatriation-related revenue, and Representative Sweeney said he was willing to adjust the effective date or carve out amnesty revenue. The committee did not reach agreement on the BET reduction, and the chair called a break and then continued the meeting later with a new proposal to delay the trigger’s effective date to January 1, 2028. Senator Lang rejected that version but offered a counterproposal to raise the filing threshold to $400,000, and the parties ultimately agreed to continue discussions and reconvene later. The meeting also took up HB 1102, concerning the research and development tax credit and state park fees. The House position was to support the R&D tax credit but remove the park-fee provisions, citing testimony from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources that it did not need the increase and concerns about discouraging tourism, especially at border parks. Supporters of the park-fee language argued that the department had not raised rates in years, could set its own rates, and should be able to charge nonresidents more while keeping New Hampshire residents’ fees lower. The discussion remained unresolved, with members debating the likely effect on tourism and fairness to residents versus the need for additional revenue.