Transcript Highlights:

• Of about 525 megawatts during market and test events last year.
• Just because we received the question and it was focused on an EEA event.
• There was no EEA event last year. Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
• Last summer, we didn't have any extreme events to respond to.
• They prevent us from getting to the emergency event.

Summary: The committee first heard Issue 1 on trailer bill language to redirect funding for emergency demand-response programs. The Department of Finance proposed using about $26.9 million in General Fund originally set aside for the Distributed Energy Backup Assets program to bolster the Demand-Side Grid Support Program for summer 2026, and using about $70 million in CalCHAP interest to support ratepayer-funded demand response in summers 2027 and 2028. The CEC and CPUC said they are working on a transition from DSGS to ELRP or a successor program, while the LAO noted the General Fund money would otherwise revert to savings. Members pressed the administration on whether demand response remains important, whether DSGS has been successful, and whether the state should keep funding it through the CEC rather than shifting to a ratepayer-funded CPUC program. The CEC and CPUC said the programs are not directly comparable, emphasized different cost structures and enrollment metrics, and said a CPUC rulemaking is underway with a proposed decision expected in Q3 2026. No vote was taken in the transcript. The committee then took up Issue 2, a budget proposal tied to SB 254 and the new transmission accelerator. GoBiz and the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank described a five-year, roughly $26 million request to staff and administer the accelerator and manage Proposition 4 and AB 1207 funds for transmission financing. Members asked about state liability, ownership of financed lines, FERC revenue requirements, and whether the program would help underserved regions and offshore wind development. Staff explained that the accelerator would only consider projects already identified through CAISO’s competitive transmission planning process, and that state financing would be a small portion of large projects intended to lower overall costs to ratepayers. The LAO said it had no specific concerns but urged the Legislature to ensure the final language matches its intent. The committee also heard Issue 3 on petroleum market oversight. The CEC and its Division of Petroleum Market Oversight requested additional positions and funding to implement ABX2-1 and continue work on supply stabilization, refinery monitoring, and transportation fuels analysis. Members questioned why the work was funded through the Energy Resources Programs Account, whether existing staff from the paused price-gouging work could be reassigned, and whether the program had produced evidence of price gouging or improved supply conditions. CEC and Finance said the new positions are needed because the workload has expanded, while some existing staff remain on related analysis and reporting duties. The discussion ended without a vote in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Of about 525 megawatts during market and test events last year.
• So as we mentioned, there were no events last year where any program actually There were no events last
• There was no EEA event last year. Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
• Last summer, we didn't have any extreme events to respond to.
• They prevent us from getting to the emergency event.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And we will be working closely together in the event that some of these changes come. Bye, Chair.
• That's almost 180,000 harm events each year in hospitals alone.
• It's now possible to identify harm events in near real time using automated adverse event monitoring.
• These systems continuously scan every patient's EHR and continue... ...adverse event monitoring.
• These hospitals are uncovering about 10 times more harm events.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Health

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health held an introductory informational hearing for the new session, with Chairs Marjorie Decker and Senator Michael Driscoll outlining the committee’s scope and emphasizing the impact of the federal landscape on Massachusetts public health. They noted the hearing would focus on testimony from agencies and advocates, with short testimony limits due to the hybrid format. No votes were taken; the meeting was for briefing and discussion of priorities. Commissioner Robbie Goldstein of the Department of Public Health described the department’s budget and federal funding, warning that recent CDC grant terminations could cut nearly $100 million and affect lab testing, surveillance, vaccines, and community engagement. He highlighted DPH priorities including racial equity, maternal health, substance use and child welfare coordination, emergency preparedness, data transparency, and public hospital quality. MassHealth Assistant Secretary Michael Levine discussed MassHealth’s role covering about 2 million residents and its priorities in health equity, behavioral health, primary care, member independence, and customer service, while noting the agency relies heavily on federal Medicaid dollars and would face major strain from federal cuts. Several advocacy and provider groups focused on reproductive health and maternal health. Planned Parenthood warned of threats to Title X, 340B savings, and other federal funding, and supported a bill to eliminate parental consent and judicial bypass for abortion care for young people. Reproductive Equity Now urged stronger shield-law protections and changes to Massachusetts’ later-abortion framework. Dr. Indyamaka Anugaka called for full implementation of the maternal health law, better reimbursement for doulas and midwives, stronger data collection, and support for full-spectrum pregnancy care coverage. The Health Policy Commission said new maternal health and primary care task forces would begin work soon. Mental health and health system access were also major themes. The Mass Medical Society urged action on vaccine hesitancy, removal of non-medical school vaccine exemptions, and primary care reform. The Massachusetts Association for Mental Health and the Children’s Mental Health Campaign opposed proposed cuts to DMH and substance use services, called for more school-based supports, and raised concerns about inpatient capacity, including a unit serving LGBTQ youth. The Massachusetts Nurses Association and 1199 SEIU warned that staffing shortages, low wages, workplace violence, hospital closures, and possible Medicaid cuts threaten patient care and the health care workforce. The Betsy Lehman Center also urged investment in automated patient-safety monitoring to reduce harm and costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• The recurring funding we have available to operate the subsidy program is right around currently $234
• We anticipate the cost for the subsidy program next fiscal year to be just over $241 million, which is
• They will be rolled off of the subsidy program whenever their renewal date comes up.
• We did talk about my colleague talk about the child care subsidy.
• I want to be clear about the $5 COVID-era subsidy.

Summary: The subcommittee heard budget presentations and questions from several health and human services agencies, with members repeatedly emphasizing that agency numbers had been posted since October and that questioning should stay focused and brief. The Office of Juvenile Affairs said its $5.45 million request would support 162 employees receiving a pay adjustment, and members asked about juvenile care conditions and staffing. The Department of Human Services discussed major changes to child care subsidy funding, including a reduced subsidy request, a $11.5 million child care teacher recruitment/retention request, and planned eligibility and reimbursement changes; it also reviewed SNAP administrative cost shifts under federal law, the state’s SNAP error rate, and the risk of large future state costs if the error rate is not reduced. DHS also addressed TANF reserves, the DDS waiver wait list, the Greer Center buildout, the Advantage waiver supplemental, and meal service options for waiver members. OCCY described a largely personnel-driven budget, requests for more oversight staff, and workload pressures in juvenile competency evaluations. The Office of Disability Concerns reported a flat budget and said it relies mainly on mediation and informal resolution rather than enforcement. OSU Medical Authority said its Tulsa expansion, VA skybridge, and c-section suites remain on schedule, that psychiatric residency funding is being phased in over several years, and that it is working to reduce contract labor and evaluate service lines. J.D. McCarty Center reported its new ABA outpatient clinic is on time and on budget and is nearing full capacity. OMMA said its lab is following required standards, its FTE count is below budgeted levels because hiring depends on lab accreditation and other unknowns, and dispensary numbers continue to decline as the market matures. Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services said it needs about $1.4 million to avoid a maintenance-of-effort penalty and discussed aging campus capital needs and staffing vacancies. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority then outlined a very large budget requirement driven by utilization growth and the shift to value-based care, saying FY26 is currently stable but FY27 would likely require additional appropriations if the request is not fully funded.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you have to leave for that event? What? Sorry. Sorry. I need to do a little lemon in 13.
• HR 1 and the GOP's failure to extend enhanced premium subsidies will only worsen these conditions for
• Well, if you're an individual, you can get subsidies, if that's what you're talking about.
• Oh, um, um, um, I was just on the subsidy side... ...on the subsidy side.
• Unfortunately, we are losing the subsidies here in California.

Committee: Senate Health

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And every one is, I would characterize it as, a significant emotional event for my staff that has to
• open to them and could readily speak to a representative at CalVet, or even at one of many outreach events
• open to them and could readily speak to a representative at CalVET or even 10 one of many outreach events
• Partnership with organizations such as Work for Warriors and EDD, but mental health and wellness events
• While the VA does provide services through HUD-VASH and prolonged rental subsidies with shallow subsidy

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Military and Veteran Affairs held an informational hearing focused on the effects of federal budget cuts and policy changes on veterans, military readiness, and California’s veteran support systems. The chair and members emphasized that federal reductions to the VA, Medicaid/Medi-Cal, SNAP, and the federal workforce are disproportionately harming veterans by threatening health care, employment, housing, crisis lines, and suicide prevention services. The chair also highlighted California’s progress on veteran homelessness and the importance of preserving state programs that leverage federal dollars. Major General Matthew Beavers of the California Military Department described the department’s structure, its response to the Los Angeles fire emergency, and concerns that federal cuts could reduce readiness through less training, older equipment, and fewer resources. He also discussed state programs such as Work for Warriors, STARBASE, youth and community schools, and the counterdrug task force, saying they are valuable but vulnerable if funding is redirected away from readiness. Members asked about the impact of federal changes on the Guard and how the Legislature could help, and Beavers said the state should advocate for recapitalized equipment and continued support for key programs. A second panel focused on veterans’ benefits and claims support. CalVet, Los Angeles County, and Swords to Plowshares testified that county veteran service officers, legal aid, and community-based partnerships are essential to helping veterans access VA benefits, especially after the PACT Act expanded eligibility and increased claims volume. Witnesses said these services bring substantial federal dollars back to California, but county offices and legal providers are underfunded and overburdened. Members discussed data sharing, staffing shortages, and the need for more resources to reach veterans who are not connected to VA care. In the final panel on mental health and suicide prevention, CalVet and nonprofit providers described state-funded programs such as the Veterans Support Self-Reliance program and the California Veterans Health Initiative, which place services in permanent supportive housing and provide no-cost counseling statewide. Witnesses said these programs are showing measurable improvements in health, medication adherence, and emergency room use, but they depend on sustained funding and are vulnerable to step-down grants and federal instability. Committee members expressed support for the programs and raised questions about access, staffing, and the role of non-veteran family members in Vet Center services.

Transcript Highlights:

• We reduced the cross subsidies of making sure we were getting money to them, getting to the city, to
• We reduced the cross subsidies of making sure we were getting money to them, getting to the city, to
• We reduced the cross subsidies of making sure we were getting money to them, getting to the city, to
• We reduced the cross subsidies of making sure we were getting money to them, getting to the city, to
• We reduced the cross subsidies of making sure we were getting money to them, getting to the city, to

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• the federal policy, including in the one big, beautiful bill, are actually going to increase the subsidy
• the federal policy, including in the one big, beautiful bill, are actually going to increase the subsidy
• So their subsidies tended to emphasize diesel.
• adopt fuel policies to have to work, knowing that we need to prevent this sort of causal chain of events
• adopt fuel policies to have to work, knowing that we need to prevent this sort of causal chain of events

Summary: The hearing was a select committee discussion on the transportation costs and impacts of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), with opening remarks from the co-chairs and members emphasizing affordability, climate goals, and the need to explain the program’s benefits to the public. The first panel from CARB and the California Energy Commission described how LCFS works as a market-based, declining carbon-intensity program that rewards lower-carbon fuels, supports zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, and is intended to reduce greenhouse gases and local air pollution. They argued the program has driven billions in private investment, increased alternative fuel use, and that LCFS credit prices are not the main driver of retail gasoline prices, which they said are dominated by crude oil, refining, and distribution costs. Members questioned the panel on the gap between the regulatory target and actual carbon-intensity performance, the role of credit banking, which fuels are generating the most credits, how the 2025 amendments affected the program, and whether LCFS credits are truly additional. CARB explained that banking helps cost-effectiveness and investment certainty, that ethanol, renewable diesel, and biodiesel currently provide the largest volumes while electricity is expected to grow, and that the updated targets were informed by the state’s 2045 carbon-neutrality goals and the 2030 scoping plan. The Energy Commission said its data show environmental programs add some cost to gasoline but do not drive price volatility, which is mainly tied to crude oil and refinery margins. The second panel, featuring academic and research experts, focused on program design, out-of-state credit generation, and broader economic effects. Speakers said LCFS is successful because it ties incentives to emissions benefit, uses life-cycle analysis, and allows flexible compliance that lowers costs compared with more direct regulation. They also said the program’s benefits generally outweigh costs, that it can reduce air pollution disparities and support equity, but that some issues—especially indirect land use change, additionality, and older program assumptions—need more research and may warrant future rulemaking. One researcher noted that while LCFS likely raises gasoline prices somewhat, the effect is uncertain by design and usually smaller than normal market fluctuations, and another warned that limiting credit generation too narrowly could create legal and efficiency problems.

Transcript Highlights:

• bill very well addresses these issues by providing for negotiation of agreements, and in the rare event
• Second, POFs provide transportation resilience in major events.
• Island, at the bottom of the short leg, to Port Orchard, which is at the end of the long leg, for an event
• achieved record ridership, all-time highs in farebox revenue, and the system’s lowest annual per-subsidy
• Operations can be funded through farebox recovery and employer subsidy.

Bills: HB2604 , HB2436 , SB6354 , SB6352

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: vehicle ownership, insurance, title transfer, consumer protection, motor vehicle, oil tanker, tank vessel, restricted waters, Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, Rosario Strait, Admiralty Inlet, Discovery Island, New Dungeness, tug escort, pilotage, marine safety, spill prevention, oil transport, petroleum shipment

Transcript Highlights:

• The Great Start affordability subsidies and scholarships will be designed on a sliding scale in terms
• These subsidies would be scaled by income.
• </c> more of their children these subsidies more of their children these subsidies would<00:54:10.040
• </c> affordability subsidy affordability subsidy or<01:04:56.520><c> scholarship</c><01:04:57.520><c>
• </c> structured to be a monthly subsidy structured to be a monthly subsidy payment<01:05:21.920><c> that

Bills: HF1367 , HF2732 , HF1897 , HF1424 , HF1383 , HF2728 , HF2863 , HF1685 , HF2929

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Keywords: child maltreatment, child abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, human trafficking, child protection, local welfare agency, county social services, Minnesota Department of Human Services, judicial review, district court appeal, venue, out-of-state abuse, cross-border investigation, Minnesota child welfare, family assessment, maltreatment determination

Transcript Highlights:

• The amount that had been their service, and the industry got the $30 a month subsidy for ACP.
• And the reality is, while industry may complain about using the controls with the subsidy and pairing
• That and they're mandating their participation in Lifeline, which then allowed the subsidy to connect
• That is why building Barriers are addressed through things like the CPUC subsidy.
• And industry, please sign up for the Lifeline broadband subsidy and ease off those misleading pricing

Summary: The Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee held an informational hearing on the state of broadband affordability in California. Chair Tasha Berner said the committee was examining how broadband prices, access, and affordability are affecting households, especially after the end of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program and amid concerns about federal resistance to state broadband regulation. She noted the committee’s continued interest in policy options for 2026 and referenced prior legislation, including AB 353, that would have required affordable home internet as a condition of doing business in California. Industry witnesses from U.S. Telecom and CTIA argued that broadband and wireless prices have generally fallen in real terms even as inflation and other household costs have risen, citing competition, infrastructure investment, and faster speeds as the main drivers. They said California’s higher costs are tied to permitting delays, taxes, copper theft, and legacy obligations such as COLR requirements, and they urged the Legislature to preserve market incentives, reduce fees and regulatory burdens, and support infrastructure deployment. They also discussed fixed wireless access, federal BEAD funding, and Universal Service Fund reform, arguing that more entities benefiting from networks, including tech platforms, should contribute to support programs. Consumer and public-interest witnesses presented a different view, saying California still has a serious affordability and adoption problem, especially for low-income households. Sunny McPhee of the California Emerging Technology Fund said broadband adoption has improved dramatically over time, but about 500,000 households remain offline or underconnected and many low-income households still pay above the FCC affordability benchmark. Ernesto Falcon of the CPUC Public Advocates Office said California’s market is losing its competitive edge, with prices higher than in other states and meaningful price pressure coming mainly from fiber competition at the gigabit tier. He said roughly 4.8 million Californians are limited to one gigabit option and estimated that more competition could save consumers more than $1 billion annually. Both witnesses emphasized the need for stronger transparency, targeted subsidies, and a permanent affordability solution, including extending and refining the CPUC broadband Lifeline pilot and advancing SB 716. Public commenters, including representatives from cable providers, nonprofits, and digital equity organizations, largely supported SB 716 and a permanent broadband affordability program. Several urged the committee to remove a cap on the Lifeline program, expand the CPUC pilot, and invest in digital navigators, outreach, and enrollment assistance. The hearing ended without a vote or formal action, after the chair thanked the witnesses and public commenters for their testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've run a number of mass hiring events. I think we've run six in the last two years.
• We've hired 150 people altogether from those mass hiring events.
• automatic scrambling and masking of confidential taxpayer information, and also faster restoration in the event
• And if the credit's not a material factor, that's the difference between a subsidy and an incentive.
• And if the credit's not a material factor, that's the difference between a subsidy and an incentive.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Lunas, just because he gave such a great presentation Friday night at the Hispano Chamber of Commerce event
• You want to make it as easy as possible for employers to sign up for this wage subsidy.
• I will say the subsidies for wages for early childhood have been really instrumental.
• We can still work on the partnership side, but where we're actually funding curriculum or putting events
• But in some of our small rural communities, when major events happen, they can't make calls and they

Committee: House Economic & Rural Development & Policy Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• But this federal subsidies game that's propping something up that's problematic and not really working
• But this federal subsidies game that's propping something up that's problematic and not really working
• But this federal subsidies game that's propping something up that's problematic and not really working
• But this federal subsidies game that's propping something up that's problematic and not really working
• We're seeing this federal subsidies now they're thinning in and out and I hear that.

Committee: Joint Appropriations

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:09:42.520><c> and</c><01:09:42.640><c> that's</c><01:09:42.880><c> very</c> adverse life events
• and that's very adverse life events and that's very common<01:09:43.359><c> in</c><01:09:43.520><c>
• I track all 50 states and Canadian provinces' adoption subsidy or adoption assistance programs.
• </c> program manager of the Adoption Subsidy program manager of the Adoption Subsidy Resource<01:41:52.400
• I track all 50 states and Canadian provinces' adoption subsidy or adoption assistance programs.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The first section directs the Department of Human Services to pay licensed child care program subsidy
• The first section directs the Department of Human Services to pay licensed child care program subsidy
• I think it also addresses what the professionals would call the child care subsidy cliff, but what we
• to afford a pay raise at work; otherwise, it forces you to not be able to afford your child care subsidy
• I think it also addresses what the professionals would call the child care subsidy cliff, but what we

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• premium insurance tax to help our ability to fund Apple Health appropriately, working toward our subsidy
• programs, which is the Cascade Subsidies.
• now, or the cutting off of the subsidies for the...
• With that premise in mind, we request you direct these funds to be used for exchange plan premium subsidies
• I'd like to see that the funds are being directed to health care subsidies and other critical health

Bills: HB2367 , HB1974 , HB2650 , HB2626

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: coal-fired plant, preferential treatment, energy policy, electric generation, regulatory reform, land bank, land banking authority, affordable housing, housing crisis, housing supply, public corporation, public housing authority, nonprofit housing, tax-foreclosed property, blight remediation, redevelopment, anti-displacement, equity, redlining, racial segregation

Transcript Highlights:

• And by the top, I mean personal contributions and decreasing or lack of government subsidies to help
• Again, and over on the left, you can see the monthly premiums after subsidy.
• Now, as income levels increase, so do their monthly premiums, and then the level of government subsidy
• So do their monthly premiums, and then the level of government subsidy decreases.
• And as you can see, on the left-hand side, the monthly premiums after the subsidy start off at zero for

Summary: The committee received a briefing from AHCA Deputy Secretary Brian Meyer and Florida Healthy Kids CMO Ashley Carr on implementation of HB 121, which was enacted in 2023 to expand Florida’s KidCare/CHIP eligibility from 200% to 300% of the federal poverty level and replace the sharp premium “benefits cliff” with a tiered premium glide path. Sponsor Rep. Bartleman described the bill as a bipartisan effort to help working families keep children insured while moving toward economic self-sufficiency. The presenters explained that the program remains a joint federal-state structure, with Medicaid unchanged and the bill affecting only the CHIP-related portions of KidCare. AHCA said implementation has been delayed by federal CMS actions. The agency reported that CMS first rejected a state plan amendment approach, then required revisions to the premium tiers under a new maintenance-of-effort interpretation, and later issued a new interpretation of continuous 12-month eligibility that would prevent disenrollment for nonpayment of premiums. AHCA said it submitted an 1115 waiver, but negotiations over special terms and conditions reached an impasse, and the state has filed litigation challenging CMS’s interpretation. Members asked about the cost of litigation, the effect on future bills, the review process for CMS documents, disenrollment and reenrollment rules, and whether any additional legislative action is needed; AHCA said no further state action is needed at this time and that the key issue is the pending federal litigation. Several members and the sponsor emphasized the need for immediate implementation and asked about possible interim relief. AHCA said current coverage remains in place under the preexisting program, that there is a 30-day grace period for premium payment, and that reenrollment does not require a penalty or back payment, though coverage is not active during lapsed periods. The committee also heard public comment from Nicholas Hessing of the Children’s Services Council of Broward County and the Florida Alliance of Children’s Councils and Trusts, who supported HB 121 and said the expansion could make about 17,600 additional children eligible in Broward County alone. The meeting ended with Rep. Bartleman thanking staff and expressing hope that the new federal administration would allow the program to move forward, and the chair adjourned the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• It also makes an important change to some subsidies that are provided to mining companies, given that
• It also makes an important change to some subsidies that are provided to mining companies, given that
• change, if any, was recommended. makes an important change to some makes an important change to some subsidies
• that are provided to mining subsidies that are provided to mining companies<00:06:31.080><c> given</
• I would just say on the Senate-only National Guard and construction, the sports and events tax revenue

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But that's just the subsidies.
• But for the subsidies from the state, 367,000 statewide.
• If you're not moved by people who receive subsidies, okay.
• So most child care settings have both private pay and subsidy.
• I'm a former subsidy parent.

Keywords: 988, house, all