Transcript Highlights:

• Brennan Cassina, Department of Finance.
• Brennan Cassina, Department of Finance.
• Tamara Weber, Department of Finance.
• Funds for the Department of Public Health and the Department of Health Care Access and Information will
• So Sabrina Adams, Department of Finance... Sure, so Sabrina Adams, Department of Finance.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:06:22.639><c> of</c> immigrants, the Minnesota Department of immigrants, the Minnesota Department
• </c> allow the Department of Human Services allow the Department of Human Services to<01:52:10.880><c
• </c><01:59:12.480><c> of</c> which will allow the department of which will allow the department of children
• </c><03:24:46.560><c> insurance</c> provision because of insurance provision because of insurance consequences
• <03:33:10.080><c> our</c><03:33:10.319><c> insurance</c> of our insurance of our insurance claims<03:

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• um the Department of doj HHS Medicaid um the Department of Corrections<00:20:58.200><c> uh</c><00:20
• Is there already, like, the Department of Insurance or somebody would receive this as a task to make
• I hadn't talked with the Insurance Department.
• I hadn't talked with the Insurance Department.
• Okay, so this programmatic support—this is if you issue to the Department of Insurance or request to

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The working session focused on the New Hampshire Prescription Drug Affordability Board’s budget request and its recent work. Early discussion centered on a technical question about a statutory dedicated fund for donations: members asked why the budget did not show a line item for accepting donations, and DHHS CFO Nathan White explained that the statute already authorizes the fund, but because no revenue has been received yet, it does not appear in the budget. He said any future donations would go through the normal process under RSA 14:30-a, with fiscal committee and Governor and Council approval and a memo to the Department of Revenue Administration. The chair clarified that the account was not a prerequisite to soliciting donations, and White said the fund would supplement, not replace, General Fund support. Kirk Williamson, the board’s executive director, then presented the board’s mission and budget. He said the governor’s budget provides about $256,500 in the first year and slightly more in the second, all General Funds, and that the board had distributed a technical amendment to continue the executive director position. He described the board’s role as analyzing prescription drug costs, identifying savings opportunities, monitoring market trends, promoting transparency, and making recommendations to the legislature and public payers. He also emphasized that the board operates publicly, with live-streamed meetings and a stakeholder advisory council that includes unions, state agencies, Medicaid, corrections, higher education, and other stakeholders. A major topic was the board’s estimate of $6 million in potential savings, based on Medicare’s newly negotiated prices for 10 drugs. Williamson explained that the board used those federal negotiated prices as a benchmark to estimate what New Hampshire public payers might be missing by not having similar leverage, and said the board is trying to build evidence for future recommendations rather than directly setting prices. Members asked how those potential savings could become actual savings, and Williamson said the board is sharing findings through its advisory council and feedback loops, though it has not yet sent a formal recommendation letter to specific purchasers. He also discussed the difference between pharmacy-benefit spending, which relies heavily on PBM-negotiated rebates, and medical-benefit spending, which is administered differently and is being added to the board’s next report. Williamson highlighted other work, including a model on Humira and a pending legislative effort to improve biosimilar competition, plus a proposed state-backed pharmacy savings card that would be no cost to the state and could save users about $240 per prescription based on Connecticut’s experience. No votes were taken during the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• So it removes them from... ...insurance under the laws of the Commonwealth.
• of Insurance or the Division of Insurance, and would preserve a patient's right to utilize health plans
• and health savings accounts. ...of insurance and would preserve a patient's right to utilize health
• way to save significant amounts of money by essentially providing a component of self-insurance for
• This is a direct way to do it that responds to the ever-growing threat of the cost of health insurance

Summary: The Senate first considered several amendments to a primary care/health care bill. Amendment 1, on artificial intelligence in health care and mental health services, was withdrawn by unanimous consent. Amendment 37, which would have required a rate band for outpatient primary care reimbursement, was debated and then defeated on a roll call, 5-33. Amendment 39, on direct primary care arrangements and deductible credits, was also defeated 5-33. The chamber then took up and passed the conference report for An Act Relative to Teachers Preparation and Student Literacy (H. 5511), with senators emphasizing the need for evidence-based literacy instruction, universal screening, dyslexia screening, teacher training, and implementation funding; the bill was enacted and sent to the Governor after a 39-0 roll call. The Senate then returned to Amendment 60 on the primary care bill, which would have created a “safety valve” allowing alternative payment systems to be proposed to the Health Policy Commission. After debate over whether the bill already allowed flexibility, the amendment was defeated 5-33. Amendment 50, requiring stronger health equity reporting, was adopted. Amendment 66, a technical fix setting commercial payment rates for community health centers at the MassHealth PPS rate, was adopted. Amendment 24, excluding pharmaceutical spending from the primary care spending baseline and target, was adopted. Amendment 45, a study on expanding the role of allied health professionals, was withdrawn. Amendment 48, a group purchasing cooperative pilot, and amendments 53, 61, and 63 were also withdrawn. The Senate adopted Amendment 64, which prohibits prior authorization from delaying FDA-approved medications for serious mental illness, and rejected Amendment 68 on reporting private equity investment in primary and specialty care, as well as Amendments 71 and 72 on scope of practice and ownership disclosure. Amendment 62, a technical change modernizing the definition of primary care and clarifying the care team, was adopted. Amendment 21, the Senate Ways and Means amendment, was then adopted, the bill was ordered to a third reading, and the Senate passed An Act relative to primary care for you (S. 3116) to be engrossed on a 35-4 roll call. The Senate then adjourned to a later date, with memorial references at adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are Florida's residual insurer, or insurer of last resort.
• So that's where a residual insurer or insurer of last resort steps in.
• We are a residual insurer or insurer of last resort steps in.
• Eligibility. a residual insurer or insurer of last resort steps in.
• is a higher concentration of total insured value.

Summary: The Insurance and Banking Subcommittee received a lengthy presentation from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation CEO Tim Serio, with Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworski also answering questions. Serio reviewed Citizens’ role as Florida’s insurer of last resort, its statutory funding structure, eligibility rules, depopulation program, reinsurance obligations, and the surcharge/emergency assessment mechanisms that can be used if Citizens runs a deficit. He emphasized that recent legislative reforms, combined with lower litigation and improved market conditions, have helped the private market recover and reduced Citizens’ policy count from a peak of about 1.41 million in 2023 to 936,182 at the end of 2024, with a projected drop to about 771,000 by the end of 2025. He also said the reforms reduced Citizens’ rate need and helped avoid an emergency assessment after the 2024 storms. Members asked about Citizens’ rate increases, why Citizens still seeks higher rates despite lower litigation, how the 20% eligibility threshold works, whether Citizens should be wind-only, and whether the state or federal government could help with deficits. Serio explained that Citizens is still charging below actuarially sound rates in most areas, that rate filings reflect reduced litigation and lower reinsurance exposure, and that assessments on all Florida property policyholders are the reason Citizens tries to build surplus and depopulate. He said the depopulation program is working better than in the past, with less than 2% of takeout policies returning to Citizens, and that the Office of Insurance Regulation has been vetting takeout companies more carefully. A substantial portion of the discussion focused on claims handling after Debby, Helene, and Milton, including flood-versus-wind disputes and Citizens’ use of the Division of Administrative Hearings for some claim disputes. Serio said Citizens had received 76,625 claims from the three storms and had paid nearly $823 million in indemnity and expenses as of January 7, 2025. He said many closed-without-payment claims were either below deductible, withdrawn, duplicate, or flood-only, and that Citizens had asked its internal audit function to independently review the claims data and denials. He also described Citizens’ storm outreach, catastrophe response centers, managed-repair program, and claim review process, and said the corporation remains focused on paying valid claims while minimizing the risk of assessments on the broader Florida market.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:41:12.400><c> of</c> recommended by the Department of recommended by the Department of Children
• > human</c> structure of the department of human structure of the department of human services.<01:52
• </c><02:12:14.800><c> of</c> programs from the Department of programs from the Department of Children
• <02:12:18.079><c> of</c> Department of Department of Education.<02:12:20.400><c> And</c><02:12:20.719
• </c><02:16:17.599><c> all</c><02:16:17.840><c> of</c> department of health along with all of department

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the Department of Administration for years and years and wrote advisory opinions, testified on this
• the Department of Administration for years and years and wrote advisory opinions, testified on this
• the Department of Administration for years and years and wrote advisory opinions, testified on this
• , and the Department of Administration did an opinion on that issue, and they found that this area of
• , and the Department of Administration did an opinion on that issue, and they found that this area of

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• HB 738 by Gervin Hawkins, relating to the creation by the Texas Department of Homeland Security of the
• certain children and the managing conservatorship of the Department of Family Protection. services and
• The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs referred to the Committee on Intergovernmental
• The Committee on Insurance, HB 814 by Bernal relating to the expansion of eligibility for Medicaid to
• Department of the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission to take appropriate

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I would like to welcome the graduate students from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy
• This aligns with the Federal Department of Labor guidance.
• of Commerce and Insurance.
• This is a common practice of chambers of commerce. They offer a pooled resource of insurance.
• This is a common practice of chambers of commerce. They offer a pooled resource of insurance.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• in the insurance commissioner's regulatory and fraud accounts at the close of a fiscal year the option
• of insurers, licensees, organizations, and others, and provisions on victim restitution.
• suspicious activity, and grants related authority to the Department of Financial Institutions.
• With this bill, we are setting up a Washington Travel Insurance Act, and with this new line of insurance
• With this bill we are setting up a Washington Travel Insurance Act and with this new line of insurance

Summary: The Consumer Protection and Business Committee met on February 25, 2026, received a staff briefing on eight bills, and discussed several proposed amendments before taking action on four measures after caucus. The briefing covered bills on insurance disclosure and wildfire risk modeling (SB 5928), travel insurance regulation (SB 6248), wildfire preparedness grants and insurance eligibility (SB 6079), insurance fraud enforcement (SB 6031), assignment of post-loss insurance benefits (SB 6178), mortgage modification safe harbors (SB 5831), real estate marketing restrictions (SB 6091), and virtual currency kiosk consumer protections (SB 5280). Members also asked about the “Beckett’s Law” title amendment and whether amendments to the virtual currency kiosk bill conflicted; staff said the amendments generally could be reconciled, though some policy differences remained. After recess, the committee deferred action on SB 5928, SB 6079, SB 6031, SB 6178, and SB 5280, and then voted to report Substitute Senate Bill 6248, the Washington Travel Insurance Act, out of committee with a do pass recommendation. Members spoke in support of the bill as a consumer protection measure and a benefit to the travel insurance industry. The committee then reported Senate Bill 5831, the Uniform Mortgage Modification Act, out with a do pass recommendation after members said it would preserve mortgage priority in certain modifications and noted the bill’s title-company-supported change. The committee next considered Substitute Senate Bill 6091, which would prohibit real estate brokers from marketing residential property to exclusive groups of buyers or brokers except for health and safety reasons. Representative Corey withdrew the amendment naming the act “Beckett’s Law,” and the committee approved the bill on a 13-1 vote with one excused member. The chair and ranking member closed by thanking committee staff for their work, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• of Health and not by the Department of Labor.
• of Labor and together by the Department of Labor and Department<01:31:18.000><c> of</c><01:31:18.080
• , and not the Department of Labor.
• , and not the Department of Labor.
• , and not the Department of Labor.

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It was the following year that our Department of Environmental Quality came to my door and asked if they
• It was the following year that our Department of Environmental Quality came to my door and asked if they
• I assumed our Department of Environmental Quality was just very sensitive to the need for clean water
• I assumed our Department of Environmental Quality was just very sensitive to the need for clean water
• And I want to be clear here: most all of us have this in us, which should upset you. insurance right

Committee: House Capital Investment

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Department of Ignosio in support. Okay.
• </c><00:04:15.439><c> of</c> Association in support department of Association in support department of
• Department of Education Okay.
• And we have Department of Law Okay.
• Uh department is in support of this DLE.

Committee: Senate Labor and Technology

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Labor and Technology Committee heard testimony on several bills, mostly related to workers’ compensation, labor relations, retirement, and employment exemptions. HB 423 would clarify selection of certified rehabilitation providers and require automatic approval of vocational rehabilitation services when likely needed for suitable gainful employment; the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations supported the bill but requested timeline amendments, including advancing the plan within 90 days of the initial evaluation and filing it with the employer, employee, and director within two days. HB 480 would let an attending physician request a functional capacity exam without employer permission and deem licensed occupational and physical therapists qualified to perform such exams; it drew support from the department, the Hawaii Insurance Council, and the Hawaii Medical Association. HB 162 would expand the pool of interest arbitrators for collective bargaining disputes by allowing the HLRB to request a list from FMCS as well as the ABA, and testimony from labor groups supported that change. HB 164 concerned indebtedness to the state and wage deductions; HGA supported it with comments, while the Department of Accounting and General Services raised concerns about the percentage structure but said it could implement the requested changes. The committee also heard HB 1152, which would permanently exempt three specialized Department of Taxation positions from civil service; the department supported the measure and said the positions are not currently civil service positions. HB 214 would allow certain retirees to work in school resource officer or investigator roles without losing retirement benefits, subject to conditions; ERS expressed concerns about shortening the required separation period from 12 months to 6 months and about uniform administration and cost implications, while the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Education supported the bill, and the Department of Law Enforcement asked to include its investigators as well. HB 874 would amend the Uniform Custodial Trust Act for child performers, requiring trust accounts for minors meeting certain earnings thresholds and making misuse of funds a fiduciary breach; SAG-AFTRA Hawaii, HGEA, the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and the Hawaii Nurses Association supported it, and members discussed that enforcement would likely need further research, possibly through labor or the film office. HB 159 would cap the civil service exemption for personal service contracts with qualified community rehabilitation programs at $850,000 in the aggregate per private person or entity; United Public Workers, HGEA, and the Hawaii State AFL-CIO supported it. No final votes were taken because the committee lacked quorum. After recessing and reconvening, the chair announced that decision-making on the agenda would be deferred to Wednesday, March 12 at 3:01 p.m. in Room 224.

Transcript Highlights:

• The gubernatorial appointments of John Weber to the State Insurance Fund Board and Robert Cuyo to the
• Idaho Health Insurance Exchange Board will be referred to the 10th order of business and held for one
• And, you know, after we passed this bill, now we’re seeing cuts of $300 million to our Department of
• of Public Department of Public. ...this bill.
• Now we're seeing, you know, cuts of $300 million to our public Department of Transportation, which is

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to convene a work group, including educators
• It directs Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to convene a work group, Department of Elementary
• No new bureaucracy: This bill uses existing structures through the Department of Elementary and Secondary
• So is the intent of your bill to kind of establish a different makeup of the advisory board?
• included in 2303 as well, about having a member of the insurance industry on the DESE board.

Committee: House Financial Institutions

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• c> being</c> foundation of indigenous ways of being foundation of indigenous ways of being and<00:15:
• > Party of Hawaii, um the Association of Party of Hawaii, um the Association of Hawaiian<00:15:27.920
• My name is Kellyanne Kobayashi for the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
• </c><00:28:16.559><c> of</c><00:28:16.720><c> Land</c><00:28:16.880><c> and</c> Kobayashi for the Department
• of Land and Kobayashi for the Department of Land and Natural<00:28:17.480><c> Resources.

Committee: House Energy & Environmental Protection

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection heard a series of Senate resolutions focused largely on climate, sustainability, public health, and energy policy. Measures discussed included integrating Native Hawaiian and indigenous knowledge into climate policy (STR 93), creating a temporary working group to investigate the dangers of POS (STR 103), studying the feasibility of a green bonds program (STR 110), declaring a public health emergency related to climate change (STR 111), affirming the importance of marine ecosystems to decarbonization goals (STR 115), encouraging adoption of recommendations from the UN global plastics treaty and Rapanui summit declaration (STR 132), convening a geothermal energy working group (STR 136), affirming support for the Aloha Plus Challenge (STR 183), and encouraging insurers to pursue subrogation claims against polluters to reduce costs for residents (STR 198). Testimony was overwhelmingly supportive on most measures, with support coming from agencies such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii State Energy Office, DLNR, PUC, Board of Water Supply, Hawaii Public Health Institute, Hawaii Green Growth, and numerous advocacy groups and individuals. STR 111 drew both support and opposition, with supporters arguing climate change is a public health emergency and opponents disputing the underlying science and urgency. STR 136 also drew mixed testimony, including support from state agencies and one opposition submission from the Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaii. Several witnesses emphasized indigenous knowledge, climate justice, public health impacts, and the need for coordinated state action. Supporters of STR 93 said Native Hawaiian and indigenous knowledge has sustained communities for generations and should be woven into Hawaii’s future climate decision-making. Supporters of STR 111 described climate change as a threat multiplier affecting heat illness, mental health, displacement, wildfire impacts, and food insecurity, while opponents argued the resolution overstated the issue. Testimony on STR 183 highlighted the Aloha Plus Challenge as a statewide sustainability framework with regional influence across the Pacific, including Guam, and stressed its role in tracking progress toward 2030 goals. On STR 198, supporters argued that polluters should help pay for climate-related costs borne by residents and insurers. After testimony concluded, the committee moved into decision-making and adopted the chair’s recommendation to pass STR 93, SD1 unamended by roll call vote, with the chair, vice chair, Rep. Kahaloa, and Rep. Kush voting aye and Rep. Quinnland excused. The transcript then begins the committee’s action on STR 103, SD1, with the chair again recommending passage as is, but the remainder of the vote is cut off in the provided record.

Transcript Highlights:

• MANY OF YOU KNOW, BUT SOME MIGHT NOT KNOW I AM A SURVIVOR OF NOW NINE EARS, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
• OF PLANNING, FUNDING, BUDGETING AND BUSINESS PRACTICES OF FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT TO SUPPORT
• IT HAS A TON OF GOOD DIRECTION AND A LOT OF GOOD TRANSPARENCY THAT WE NEED AND I AM HOPEFUL EVERYONE
• FLORIDA'S COASTLINE IS THE BACKBONE OF OUR ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY BUT IS UNDER SERIOUS
• THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS WILL OVERSEE THE STUDY ENSURING ACCURACY IN ALIGNMENT WITH

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• /c> uh the our department of health uh is uh the our department of health uh is very<00:19:21.600><c>
• </c><00:19:43.679><c> of</c> that came to us from our department of that came to us from our department
• ><c> the</c> the department of health, the the department of health, the commissioner<00:23:31.440><c
• Department of Health, the legal counsel at the Department of Health, the president of the nurse practitioners
• at the department of health, director at the department of health, the<00:32:25.440><c> legal</c><00

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of the United States.
• The consolidation of municipal fire departments with fire districts is also addressed, with the appropriate
• and dispute process for the insured to go through with the insurer.
• It would then also authorize the Department of Insurance to promulgate rules. So that is RS 33452.
• This RS relates to 20 sections under the Department of Finance related to corporate credit unions.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Department of Finance. Good morning. Jennifer Ramirez, Department of Finance.
• The Department of Finance. Good morning. Jennifer Ramirez, Department of Finance.
• Department of Finance. Department of Finance, nothing further to add. Okay.
• And the Department of Finance? Jennifer Amir, Department of Finance.
• And the Department of Finance? Jennifer Amir is Department of Finance.

Keywords: 987, senate, all