Transcript Highlights:

• turns out to... ...be fraud, waste, and abuse.
• This does not mean that we're looking into fraud.
• We're getting to a credible allegation of fraud, not fraud itself.
• And that's where the fraud definition in rule is.
• For example, that fraud withholding statute. So those were enacted.

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Medicaid fraud.
• We also can't investigate or prosecute fraud in obtaining benefits, also known as welfare fraud, or fraud
• Some of them are fraud.
• , and frankly, our consumer fraud—all fraud—but the fraud that's actually the ongoing programs that we're
• I hope that we can work together to fight fraud, waste, fraud, and abuse.

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, members, HB 2680, Workers Compensation Notice Fraud Commission, outlines requirements for
• Madam Chair, member is HB 2680, Workers Compensation Notice Fraud Commission.
• strikes the requirement that an insurer notify the Industrial Commission to investigate any possible fraud
• Insurance fraud unit assessments increase passed Commerce Committee unanimously.
• convicted of any offense in Title 13 while wearing a mask with the intent to conceal the person's identity

Summary: The caucus reviewed a large Minority Caucus Calendar and moved quickly through many bills, with staff often noting whether items were unanimous, party-line, or pulled from consent. Early items included HB 2130 on ADOA personnel financial systems, HB 2749 on felony sentence-completion designation, HCR 258 on Medicaid claim audits, and several agency or board continuation bills. Members also discussed HB 2745 on legislative subpoenas, HB 4027 naming Loop 202 the Charlie Kirk Highway, HB 2601 on Interstate 11 studies, and a number of education, health, labor, and public safety measures. Several bills were pulled from consent or flagged for later discussion, including HCR 258, HB 4027, HB 2375, HB 2601, HB 2408, HB 2444, HB 2923, HB 2182, HCR 2048, HB 2750, HB 2765, HB 2838, HB 4043, HB 2290, HB 2940, and others. Testimony and caucus debate focused on a range of policy concerns. Members objected to bills involving school strikes, weapons detection systems, public records fees for legislators, union activity, school safety felony penalties, and restrictions on school clubs. Education bills drew extended discussion, including HB 2423 on automatic advanced math placement, HB 2478 creating a student outcomes commission, HB 2579 for free school meals, HB 2992 on child sexual abuse prevention, HB 4041 on spending authority for low-reading-performing districts, and HB 4043 requiring CPR/AED training. Health and professional regulation bills also prompted debate, including HB 2408 on nursing board investigations and expungement, HB 2444 on pharmacist testing authority, HB 2697 on expired opioid antagonists, and HB 4010 establishing a genetic counselors board. Members raised concerns about fiscal impacts, stakeholder opposition, and whether some measures were unfunded mandates or needed more amendment work. The caucus also discussed immigration, labor, and public safety measures, including HB 2416 for DPS local border support, HB 2811 on obstructing governmental operations during lawful arrests, HB 2862 on unlawful masking penalties, HB 4070 on nonprofit incorporation restrictions tied to offenses, and HB 4117 creating a crime for disturbing religious services. Water, energy, and land-use bills were reviewed as well, such as HB 2099, HB 2263, HB 2330, HB 2341, HB 2492, HB 2757, HB 2782, HB 2912, HB 2918, and HCR 2020. The meeting ended with announcements, including an Affordability Award for Brian Garcia and a March 12 breakfast update on the Colorado River, before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• medical assistance fraud.
• This bill addresses a known problem, business identity fraud.
• </c><02:34:44.160><c> fraud.
• </c><02:34:45.120><c> This</c><02:34:45.359><c> happens</c> business identity fraud.
• This happens business identity fraud.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c> are solid and not vulnerable to fraud, are solid and not vulnerable to fraud, where<00:04:32.120
• And framework as if they were identical.
• All of that is allegations of fraud.
• </c><01:30:01.720><c> and</c> if there are any instances of fraud and if there are any instances of fraud
• And so, it was waste, fraud, and abuse that was happening.

Bills: HF1767 , HF2068 , HF4725 , HF4637 , HF4638

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Last year Louisiana passed almost an identical law to address this issue there.
• </c><00:05:18.800><c> law</c> Louisiana passed almost an identical law Louisiana passed almost an identical
• utility<00:24:56.240><c> conversion</c><00:24:56.960><c> fraud.
• Is is this all utility conversion fraud. Is is this all new? new? new?
• </c><00:52:56.880><c> of</c> the agrieved party of the identity of the agrieved party of the identity

Committee: Joint Judiciary, Division B

Transcript Highlights:

• online safety workshops include what to look for in order to protect yourselves from potential scams, fraud
• , and identity theft.
• , we discovered that they had accumulated over $1,200 in overdraft fees due to nearly 200 cases of fraud
• , and identity theft.
• , we discovered that they had accumulated over $1,200 in overdraft fees due to nearly 200 cases of fraud

Bills: HB2357 , HB2365 , HB2446

Committee: House Technology, Economic Development, & Veterans

Keywords: civil air patrol, military, Washington, emergency services, public safety, digital opportunities, accessibility, technology, economic growth, education, quantum technology, economic development, workforce development, innovation, technology industry

Transcript Highlights:

• here we are today, and under current Minnesota law, the Minnesota Human Rights Act includes gender identity
• and it's not because I don't care for people that are struggling or comfortable with their gender identity
• As for the fraud committee, the one thing I've learned—I've learned a lot—but one of the things I've
• But actually, gender identity has been protected in the Minnesota Human Rights Act since 1993.
• let's talk about the fact that one in four have been physically attacked because of their gender identity

Transcript Highlights:

• Gomez-Reyes, who has an identical bill moving parallel through in the Senate.
• This bill seems to weaken some of the verification of identity that currently the mail-in ballots have
• As well as identity verification on the return of a ballot.
• have in our election system by lying about our elections and by lying about the existence of voter fraud
• You are more likely to get hit by lightning twice than to find voter fraud in California.

Transcript Highlights:

• It helps prevent identity fraud and reduces administrative errors in patient and data management.
• It's about the Office of the Inspector General, and their efforts to detect and prevent fraud, waste,
• And the estimated overpayment and fraud some in some states is actually over 30% and so in the context
• And just as a kind of a level set in Texas when it comes to Medicaid fraud.
• So if fraud, waste, and abuse happens, they eat that, that cost.

Bills: SB500 , SB719 , SB912 , SB1232 , SB1467 , SB1777 , SB1864 , SB2023 , SB2119 , SB2458

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• For prosecuting attorney salaries, it's been changed so that it is identical to other bills with this
• Another provision that wasn't mentioned earlier is the provision on gift card fraud.
• It's fraud. It's flat-out fraud.
• These are identical. What's in 835 and the 1067 bill are identical?
• These are identical. What's in 835 and the 1067 bill are identical?

Transcript Highlights:

• 01:10:05.600><c> calling</c><01:10:06.520><c> and</c> the fraud from people calling and the fraud from
• I want to thank fraud in our state.
• ,</c> we're seeing this level of fraud, we're seeing this level of fraud, look<01:12:23.280><c> at</c
• </c> enforcement, stop fraud, and vote green. enforcement, stop fraud, and vote green.
• ,</c> convictions of voter registration fraud, convictions of voter registration fraud, multiple<01:35

Transcript Highlights:

• and a therapist says, 'I'm going to change you from this gender identity to this gender identity; I'm
• identity is something not in their body.
• When you ring-fence TQ identities and LGBT identities, the Venn diagram radically overlaps.
• or their homosexual identity...
• Questions about their gender identity or their homosexual identity, and who changed their mind, could

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> huge fraud problem in the first place. huge fraud problem in the first place.
• That's what I support is getting to the bottom of the fraud, holding those causing fraud and doing fraud
• </c><00:13:27.360><c> and</c> fraud, holding those causing fraud and fraud, holding those causing fraud
• </c> conducting its fraud investigations? conducting its fraud investigations?
• </c> that's and that's really stopping fraud. that's and that's really stopping fraud.

Summary: Republican legislative leaders in Minnesota held a budget-focused press availability after the November forecast, thanking Minnesota Management and Budget staff while arguing the updated numbers show a much worse deficit outlook than expected. They said the state faces a structural spending problem, cited projected gaps in the 2028-29 biennium and over the four-year outlook, and blamed recent deficits on higher spending, tax increases, mandates, and what they described as fraud in state programs. They also criticized Governor Walz for focusing on federal issues and for not doing enough to control spending or address fraud. Speaker Lisa Demuth, House Republican Leader Harry Niska, and Senate Finance lead Eric Pratt all said the forecast underscores the need for spending restraint, pro-growth policies, and stronger fraud prevention. They pointed to health care, long-term care, Medicaid-related programs, and local government mandates as major cost drivers, and said the legislature should examine those areas in the upcoming session. Demuth said the state should not ignore fraud and noted that the legislature had added staff to the Office of the Legislative Auditor and whistleblower protections, but had not passed an independent inspector general office. A substantial portion of the exchange centered on fraud investigations and comments by President Trump about Somali Minnesotans. The Republican leaders said they disagreed with condemning any community as a whole, but also said they shared frustration over fraud and corruption and wanted accountability for those responsible. They said the state’s fraud problem is not about any one community, but about failures in administration and oversight. The lawmakers said they would return to session on February 17 and continue working on budget and fraud-related issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><c> in</c> goals here. uh eliminating fraud in goals here. uh eliminating fraud in Minnesota.<00:00:
• </c><00:02:18.879><c> from</c> possible work to prevent fraud from possible work to prevent fraud from
• </c><01:20:57.120><c> And</c> fraud or we minimize risk in fraud.
• And fraud or we minimize risk in fraud.
• about fraud that the In fact, it's fraud about fraud that the Democrats Democrats Democrats are<01:24

Transcript Highlights:

• For Leader Boyd's benefit, they are identical.
• Proud Jewish woman, you carry your identity with strength.
• She goes, well, because I exposed one of the condo officers committing fraud.
• They are identical. Senator McLean moves CS for CS for House Bill 397.
• The bills are identical. You heard the lady? Is there objection?

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and heard several introductions and announcements before moving to a long special-order calendar. Early bills passed included a trust law measure allowing a nonjudicial process for trustee settlement and discharge, a military affairs bill expanding leave protections and retirement eligibility for certain Guard and Coast Guard-related public employees, a penny-rounding bill for cash transactions, a podiatric medicine bill restricting certain cellular/tissue-based products and adding notice and consent requirements, a veterans’ courts bill expanding access to those courts statewide, an RV assessment clarification bill, a military-installation jurisdiction bill giving juveniles on bases access to state juvenile justice resources, an alcohol-tax deduction bill restoring DBPR’s authority to allow deductions for unsellable alcohol, a bail bonds bill revising training, fees, remission timing, and electronic procedures, an eyewear insurance bill updating definitions for modern products, a nursing education fund bill expanding support to health science programs, a recovery residences bill streamlining regulation and background-check rules, a felony battery bill adding resisting an officer with violence as a qualifying prior offense, a child welfare bill extending visitor definitions, making the Step Into Success program permanent, and creating a best-practices repository, and a candidate qualification bill tightening party-affiliation requirements and, via the House version, adding a name-change disclosure provision. Most of these bills were substituted with House companions where applicable and passed on near-unanimous votes, with one recorded dissent on the bail bonds bill. Several measures drew brief debate or explanation. Senator Wright’s military affairs bill was amended to restore two Florida National Guard special project officer positions to retirement eligibility, and Senator Gates’ veterans’ courts bill was described as a way to better address PTSD, brain injury, and substance-abuse-related offenses through problem-solving courts. Senator Trunow’s bail bonds bill prompted questions about charitable bail bonds, with the sponsor saying the current statute would remain in place and that further discussion could occur later. Senator Massullo’s podiatric medicine bill was framed as a bipartisan patient-protection measure, and Senator Leak’s felony battery bill was presented as closing a loophole that allowed repeat violent offenders to avoid enhancement. The chamber also took up a candidate qualification bill that would create an enforceable party-affiliation requirement and, in the House version, restrict recent petition-based name changes for candidates. A major portion of the meeting was devoted to a farewell ceremony for Senator Lori Berman, with family, staff, former colleagues, and guests in attendance. Senators from both parties offered extended remarks praising her leadership, collegiality, policy work, and advocacy on issues including voting rights, women’s rights, Israel and antisemitism, school safety, breast cancer, Everglades restoration, and other constituent services. Berman’s own remarks reflected on her 16 years in the Legislature, her family, and her belief in dignity, respect, and practical problem-solving. The Senate then adopted a motion to spread her remarks upon the journal and recessed before returning to continue the calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:19:01.520><c> um</c> original or the last decade of fraud um original or the last decade of fraud
• They also foster an environment that ensures student identities such as sex and gender, gender identity
• gender</c><00:40:34.400><c> identity,</c><00:40:34.880><c> sexual</c> and gender, gender identity, sexual
• </c><01:31:21.920><c> In</c> were here to fight fraud. They lied. In were here to fight fraud.
• . identity. identity. which<05:32:30.638><c> of</c><05:32:30.798><c> course</c><05:32:30.958><c> was<

Transcript Highlights:

• It also presents significant risks of fraud, abuse, and exploitation.
• I... own identities and creative works.
• They trust me to protect their identities.
• I lost my career, my identity, and I got hooked on prescription painkillers.
• I'm a victim of mortgage fraud.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on the Judiciary

Summary: The committee opened with procedural guidance for a very large hearing, explaining testimony limits, written testimony procedures, and rules for maintaining order. Members then heard testimony on a wide range of bills, including proposals to define antisemitism using the IHRA definition, regulate facial recognition technology, restrict weaponized robotics and drone use, expand protections for journalists’ confidential sources, address access to decedents’ email accounts, and create or adjust rules around municipal enforcement and animal cruelty fines. Several sponsors and advocates asked for favorable reports, and committee members asked clarifying questions on implementation, costs, and how the bills would interact with existing law. On facial recognition, sponsors and advocates described the technology as a threat to privacy, due process, and civil liberties, and urged adoption of the Special Commission’s recommendations, including warrant requirements, notice to defendants, and limits on untargeted surveillance. Support came from legislators, the ACLU, CDT, EFF, and a UMass professor, while committee members asked about current state law and municipal bans. On robotics, Senator Moore and industry witnesses from MassRobotics, Boston Dynamics, and AUVSI supported a bill prohibiting weaponized robots and requiring warrants for certain law enforcement uses, describing it as a public-safety and trust-building measure. On the shield law bill, newspaper publishers, journalists, NEFAC, and the Reporters Committee argued Massachusetts needs statutory protection for confidential sources, citing costly subpoenas and chilling effects on reporting. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to expand the right of publicity to cover image and voice, with SAG-AFTRA members supporting protections against AI-driven exploitation and some discussion about viral content and consent. Another bill would allow limited access to a decedent’s email accounts, with one witness describing a family’s inability to use a deceased relative’s email to notify friends. The committee then took testimony on psilocybin-related bills: supporters described medical and personal benefits and argued for narrow decriminalization or study, while an opponent warned of public-health risks, impaired driving, and youth exposure; the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society supported limited, safety-based decriminalization. Finally, the committee heard strong support for a “safe reporting” bill for sex workers and trafficking survivors, with advocates saying immunity would encourage victims and witnesses to report crimes without fear of arrest, and members raised questions about how the immunity would work in practice.

Transcript Highlights:

• consumer protection bill responding to a growing and well-documented problem in Delaware home improvement fraud
• Failure to participate meaningfully in this process constitutes a willful violation of the Consumer Fraud
• From a historical perspective, The main purpose of the Dahls Act of 1887 was to for identity was recognized
• From a historical perspective, the main purpose of the Dahls Act of 1887 was to for identity was recognized

Bills: HB89 , HB328 , HB344 , HB365 , HB283 , HB89 , HB328 , HB344 , HB365 , HB283

Committee: Senate Elections & Government Affairs

Summary: The Senate Elections and Government Affairs Committee met in hybrid format, approved the June 10 draft minutes, and then heard a long agenda of bills. HB 89 (home improvement fraud dispute resolution) was presented as a consumer protection measure developed with DOJ to address contractor fraud, especially against vulnerable homeowners; members voiced support and asked to be added as sponsors. HB 283 updated realty transfer tax exemptions to use gender-neutral “spouses” language and add a direct grandparent-to-grandchild transfer exemption; it drew supportive public comment. HS1 for HB 390 would let DelDOT choose electronic-only bidding for projects, remove newspaper bid-opening notices, and clarify bidding records, with no opposition raised. HB 328/H.A. 2 modernizes the Register of Regulations statute, keeps newspaper distribution requirements, and delays some effective dates to 2027; it was described as a technical update. HB 365 would create the Delaware Indigenous Affairs Commission, prompting supportive testimony from Indigenous community members and some discussion about representation and internal tribal اختلافs, but no formal opposition. HB 423 would automatically enroll new state employees in the 457B deferred compensation plan unless they opt out, with exclusions for collective bargaining units and implementation tied to payroll readiness; it was presented as a retirement-savings measure. SS1 for SB 342 would modernize the Delaware Motion Picture and Television Development Commission to support a broader film/media incentive package, with support from the Delaware Arts Alliance and a request to help attract productions to Delaware. The committee also heard SB 331, a cleanup bill on garagekeeper liens for manufactured housing and related assets. The sponsor and an attorney explained it as clarifying who can recover funds and attorney’s fees in lien sales, but the Chief Magistrate and the manufactured housing association said the issue should be addressed more carefully and possibly in another section of code; they were open to further work. HB 436 would update the Smyrna charter, including school impact fees, election challenge procedures, vacancy rules, domicile standards, Board of Elections terms, and meeting schedules. HS1 for HB 376 made technical and organizational changes to the Millville charter, including a tiebreaker for municipal elections and a property tax cap, with the town solicitor saying there was little substantive change. HB 460 would require New Castle County municipalities to submit permit data monthly rather than on a much slower schedule, limited to closed permits with certificates of occupancy, to improve property assessment data; it was presented as part of broader reassessment/data-quality efforts. Public comment was heard on several items, especially HB 365 and SS1 for SB 342. Indigenous speakers supported the commission as a way to preserve heritage, improve representation, and create a formal seat at the table. The Delaware Arts Alliance supported the film commission modernization bill as part of a broader creative-economy plan. No recorded votes were taken on the individual bills in the transcript, and the meeting ended with a unanimous motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• concern is that if we move forward with any requirements around E-Verify, that we will encourage identity
• fraud because...
• Identity fraud, because if now more industries are required on a program that doesn't work, because the