Transcript Highlights:

• course in one of our many high schools will ensure that all of our high school students who are enrolled
• <00:51:32.079> And or concurrent enrollment programs.
• And or concurrent enrollment programs. And finally,<00:51:32.640> Mr.
• course in one of our dual enrollment course in one of our many<00:52:28.640> high<00:52:28.880
• in these programs will have enrolled in these programs will have experienced<00:52:35.119> and

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Now to put in context, the COVID learning declines.
• decline in birth rates.
• You just mentioned the enrollment has flatlined.
• Two, you see the enrollment growth over the years.
• You can see there's actually a fairly big decline. largely recovered from that enrollment but you know

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Because of its complexity, the sponsor deeming rule can cause confusion about eligibility during the enrollment
• caregiver experience better outcomes, including greater placement stability, higher likelihood of enrolling
• However, after experiencing housing instability and couch surfing, my mental health declined.
• Having a proper nutritious diet is what made my health decline both emotionally and mentally, making
• When Kane turned 18, he was still enrolled in high school and working hard toward graduation, but his

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee heard a long agenda of child welfare, food assistance, child care, and social services bills. Early actions included AB 308 on regional center safety training for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, AB 1049 to remove sponsor deeming from the California Food Assistance Program, AB 1201 to narrow a violent-felony bypass for family reunification services, AB 2379 to require know-your-rights training for family child care providers, AB 2429 to ease requirements in early childhood mental health consultation, AB 1755 to repeal CalWORKs’ 100-hour work penalty, AB 2478 to create a kinship family approval pathway, and AB 1969 and AB 1996 to expand coordinated cradle-to-career and child-poverty reduction efforts. The committee also began discussion of AB 1932, which would continue and strengthen community-based crisis response services. Testimony was largely in support across the hearing. Advocates, county representatives, child care providers, legal aid groups, food banks, disability organizations, and anti-poverty coalitions argued that the bills would reduce administrative barriers, improve access to benefits and services, and better protect children and families. Several authors and witnesses emphasized real-world harms from current rules, including fear of immigration enforcement, wrongful benefit denials, delayed kinship placements, and the burden of outdated eligibility requirements. On AB 1201, county welfare officials and child welfare advocates said the bill would preserve judicial discretion while allowing more parents a fair chance at reunification; on AB 2478, they said a kin-specific approval path would help place children with relatives more quickly; and on the child care bills, providers said current reimbursement and compliance systems are unsustainable. There was some committee concern about accountability and safety, especially on AB 1049 and AB 1201. One senator questioned whether removing sponsor deeming could weaken program integrity, and another raised concerns about whether narrowing the reunification bypass could expose children to unsafe environments or criminal activity. Authors and supporters responded that the bills still leave eligibility screening, judicial review, supervision, and service plans in place, and that the changes mainly remove automatic barriers or overly broad rules. Votes taken during the hearing were generally favorable: AB 308 passed 3-0 and was held on call; AB 1049 passed 2-1 and was held on call; AB 1201 passed and was held on call; AB 2379 passed 3-0 and was held on call; AB 2429 passed and was held on call; AB 1755 passed and was held on call; AB 2478 passed and was held on call; and AB 1969 and AB 1996 both passed and were held on call. The committee also noted that some bills were on the consent calendar and approved those items 3-0 while holding them open.

Transcript Highlights:

• enrollment, referred to the Committee on Education.
• enrollment, referred to the Committee on Education.
• At the age of 15, John graduated from Pelican High School and enrolled at LSU as one of the youngest
• House Bill 363, by Representative Jacob Landry, is an act in Title 17 relative to students enrolled in
• House Bill 363, by Representative Jacob Landry, is an act in Title 17 relative to students enrolled in

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and charter schools with certain criteria, namely that they have to have an A letter grade and enrollment
• Pursue careers in 10 health care fields by enrolling in programs across the region.
• And you will see that there was a decline in the amount of savings.
• And you will see that there was a decline in the amount of savings, and we're digging into why that is
• Of course, I think that needs to be enrolled.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Education Committee met as a committee of reference to complete required sunset reviews and hear a performance audit. Members and staff introduced themselves at the start of the session, and the chair outlined committee procedures, including limits on public testimony and the goal of adjournment by 5 p.m. The committee then heard the sunset review of the Credit Enhancement Eligibility Board. A governor’s office representative explained that the board was created in 2016 to help qualifying schools, mostly charter schools, lower borrowing costs through a credit enhancement fund. He said the board has approved 15 projects, has no dedicated staff or budget, and is now at its statutory leverage limit, so it is mainly monitoring existing obligations. Members voiced support, and the committee voted by voice vote to recommend continuation of the board for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The committee next reviewed the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). WICHE leadership described the interstate compact, its student exchange programs for undergraduate, graduate, and professional health care education, and related cost-savings and workforce benefits for Arizona. Testimony emphasized tuition savings for Arizona students, the return of many professional students to practice in Arizona, and the role of the compact in supporting higher education access and workforce needs. Commissioners from Arizona’s Board of Regents and Eastern Arizona College also spoke in support. The committee then voted by voice vote to recommend continuation of WICHE for 10 years, until July 1, 2036. The committee also received the Arizona Auditor General’s performance audit of the Arizona Department of Education school safety program. The audit found that while the program has grown substantially and now funds more than 1,000 school safety positions, ADE did not ensure many sampled schools complied with requirements such as operational plans, safety teams, annual training, activity logs, and expenditure documentation. The Auditor General said the department relied too heavily on written attestations and reduced monitoring as the program expanded, and recommended stronger oversight, written procedures, and better reimbursement controls. ADE’s school safety director responded that the department accepts the findings, has already begun improving monitoring, and is moving to require uploaded documentation and more risk-based reviews; he also said the department will seek additional staffing and will meet with the Auditor General and ASU to strengthen evaluation of the program. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 2142, which would establish a school safety center within ADE, assign it responsibility for administering the school safety program and providing technical assistance, and allow up to 10% of program appropriations for administration. Members discussed whether the bill should also require monitoring of emergency operations plan compliance, better address students with disabilities, and clarify coordination with other state agencies. The sponsor said he planned to offer a floor amendment to make monitoring expectations clearer. The bill was discussed but no final committee action was recorded in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• If we look at data across 150,000 patients, we see that significant numbers decline services because
• At the same time, data was shared about the continued decline in behavioral health emergency department
• Across Helios-supported clinics, over 60% of enrolled patients show symptom improvement within an average
• Once enrolled in our program, a care manager provided structured follow-up and a psychiatric consultant

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery held a public hearing on 14 bills focused on insurance, parity, opioids, behavioral health access, and mental health system reform. Chair Mindy Domb and Vice Chair Robyn Kennedy outlined hearing procedures and noted the committee would accept written testimony. The hearing featured testimony from legislators, providers, advocates, and behavioral health organizations, with most speakers urging favorable reports on the bills they addressed. A major topic was psychiatric collaborative care, including H. 222/S. 1390, which would raise reimbursement for collaborative care codes to at least Medicare levels and allow billing outside the MassHealth primary care subcapitation model. Supporters said the model improves access, outcomes, and cost savings by embedding behavioral health in primary care, and several witnesses described successful implementation in practices and schools. Committee members asked questions about how the model works, what specialties use it, barriers to adoption, and whether copays, deductibles, and subcapitation rules should be changed. Witnesses also supported related innovation legislation, including H. 2224, which would create a mental health innovation fund and support nontraditional trauma-healing approaches. Other bills discussed included H. 2212, which would require prescribers to discuss opioid and pain-medication risks, alternatives, and addiction/overdose concerns with patients or guardians; H. 2232 and H. 2233, which would address equitable payment and equitable access for behavioral health providers serving MassHealth patients; and S. 1406, which would add opioid maintenance treatment information to MassPAT and allow patient-authorized access to that information. Witnesses also strongly backed S. 1399, which would set targets to increase behavioral health spending within the overall health care cost benchmark, arguing that Massachusetts underinvests in behavioral health and that greater investment could reduce emergency, hospitalization, homelessness, and criminal justice costs. No votes were taken; the hearing concluded after testimony and committee questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• with the education chair, then Senator Lewis, still around the edges of the bill on issues like declining
• enrollment, special education, innovations to help, for example, with shared services, and on the intersection
• were greeted by well over a thousand protesters, many protesting the brutality of minimum aid and declining
• enrollment, the brokenness of Chapter 70, and the inequities baked into the 17-year-old municipal contribution

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate took up a long series of FY26 budget amendments during debate on the Ways and Means budget bill. Early on, an amendment on debt service and the Debt Affordability Committee was rejected. A major education amendment offered by Senator Lewis and supported by Senator Comerford was then adopted; it directs DESE to begin a public process, with $200,000 in funding, to review and recommend updates to the Chapter 70 municipal contribution formula and related school funding structures as the Student Opportunity Act nears full implementation. Senators argued that school districts across the Commonwealth are under severe fiscal strain, citing rising special education, transportation, health insurance, and Proposition 2 1/2 pressures, and that the current formulas are increasingly out of alignment with local needs. The chamber also considered and voted on many other amendments, with several adopted and several rejected. Adopted amendments included measures on public payroll transparency, regional EMS, a small business group purchasing cooperative pilot, simplifying Medicaid eligibility determinations, and early education background checks. Rejected amendments included proposals on first-time homebuyer savings accounts, population change studies, competitiveness studies, emergency contract reform, natural gas cost containment, a $200 per pupil aid increase, regional school reimbursement increases, a Foundation Budget Review Commission-related study, special education service studies, welfare benefit audits, short-term capital gains, and an MBTA sustainability plan. Senator Durant also spoke in support of Amendment 766, which would create a crumbling concrete assistance fund for homeowners affected by pyrrhotite, with tax-exempt aid, federal funding applications, audits, and a stakeholder working group. Near the end of debate, Senator D. DiDomenico praised the Shannon Grant program for gang violence prevention, and the Senate adopted a final corrective amendment containing technical fixes and local earmarks. The bill was then ordered to a third reading and, after a roll call on engrossment, passed to be engrossed by a vote of 38-2. The Senate also approved a motion to adjourn to the following Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. and recessed in memory of Yaron Lashinsky, Sarah Lynn Milgram, and Leslie A. Feeney.

Transcript Highlights:

• Regarding the FEPP, the Senate did maintain a new categorical for the scholarship and the declining enrollment

Summary: The House Pre-K through 12 Education Budget Conference met to consider Senate Offer Number One on the education budget, provisos, and back-of-bill items. Senator Burgess thanked the House for its prior offers and said the Senate was making its first offers, noting continued progress on many issues and specifically mentioning the FEPP scholarship and declining enrollment supplement as an unresolved area where both chambers agreed action is needed. The House responded by accepting a number of Senate offers. On the budget offer, the House accepted several listed rows, with the accepted rows and shaded rows closed and all other rows left to bump. The House also accepted specified rows in the proviso offer and back-of-bill offer, again closing those items and bumping the rest. The House stated that the Pre-K through 12 implementing bill sections, conforming bills, and Senate Bill 2514E would all bump in their entirety. In closing remarks, both sides praised the collaborative process and said they had worked through many issues, though some items remained outstanding. Representative Valdés moved to rise, and the conference adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Regarding the FEPP, the Senate did maintain a new categorical for the scholarship and the declining enrollment

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Regarding the FEPP, the Senate did maintain a new categorical for the scholarship and the declining enrollment

Summary: The House Pre-K through 12 Education Budget Conference met to consider Senate Offer Number One on the budget, proviso, and back-of-bill items. Senator Burgess said the Senate was making its first offers and noted continued progress on outstanding issues, including the FEPP, where the Senate maintained a new categorical for the scholarship and declining enrollment supplement. He emphasized that both chambers agreed something still needed to be done on that issue. Chair Smilke responded that the House accepted a number of the Senate’s proposed rows in the budget, proviso, and back-of-bill offers, with the accepted rows and shaded rows closed and all other rows bumping. The House also said the Pre-K through 12 implementing bill sections, conforming bills, and Senate Bill 2514E would bump in their entirety. The chair described the meeting as the first and last conference meeting of the week and thanked Senator Burgess and staff for their work. In closing remarks, Senator Burgess and Chair Smilke both praised the collaborative process and said there were still a few outstanding issues, but that was expected in a large budget. Representative Valdés then moved to rise, and the conference adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• student's school after written notice to the parent and a reasonable opportunity for the parent to decline
• deletes all requirements that base participation on the educational settings in which the student was enrolled
• . ...that based participation on educational settings in which the student was enrolled, prohibits schools
• from imposing participation fees on students that exceed those of their enrolled students, restricts
• If their school of enrollment does not offer a sport, they may participate in any other school in the

Summary: The Senate Education Pre-K through 12 Committee met with a quorum and considered several education-related bills. SB 1036 on school counselors was amended with a technical clarification and reported favorably. SB 1136 on dental screenings for K-12 students was converted by delete-all amendment to place the screening definition in the School Health Services Act and align notice and parent-exemption procedures; it also passed favorably, with support noted from PTA and other witnesses. SB 920 on mathematics education was reported favorably after discussion of applied algebra courses tied to career pathways, while preserving Algebra I standards, the end-of-course exam, graduation requirements, and university admission eligibility. SB 1216 on public school personnel compensation, which would give districts more flexibility on pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and advanced degrees, also passed favorably with broad support from educators and former school board members. The committee then approved SPB 7022, which reenacts and extends a public records exemption for classroom examination and assessment instruments through 2031 and expands coverage to district school boards and public schools. SB 464 on observance of Veterans Day in K-12 schools was reported favorably after extensive debate about whether schools should be closed or could instead hold Veterans Day programs; supporters emphasized statewide consistency and honoring veterans, while some members raised scheduling and instructional-day concerns. SB 538 on physical education and extracurricular participation was amended to establish standardized eligibility rules for public, private, virtual, and home education students, limit duplicate participation across schools, require annual participation in the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, and leave coach compensation to district discretion; it was then reported favorably. SB 178 on athletics and public K-12 schools was amended to add a $15,000 annual cap on coach personal spending per team and was reported favorably after discussion about good-faith support for student-athletes, recruiting concerns, and the need for guardrails. A temporary postponement was announced for SB 430 on the oath of school personnel. At the end of the meeting, Senator Osgood recorded a favorable vote on SB 1036, and the committee adjourned without further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• meets the program's eligibility requirements or they submitted the application outside of the Open enrollment
• period where when applicants attempt to apply before or after the designated open enrollment period
• application cycle, although they would have the opportunity to apply the following year during the open enrollment
• Are administrative code defines an annual open enrollment period from the first business day in January
• Adoption numbers declined leading to 2 years of reduced program utilization, however, recognizing the

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , enrollment, reimbursements in my scholarship.
• So we'll get to the school invoice and the enrollment request in a second.
• So I'm going to confirm Robert's enrollment.
• So I'm going to confirm this enrollment.
• if they were enrolled.

Summary: The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met to continue reviewing how Family Empowerment Scholarship students are funded through the FEFP and the role of scholarship funding organizations. Staff gave a statutory overview of parent, SFO, and Department of Education responsibilities, including application deadlines, eligibility verification, quarterly payment timing, cross-checks to prevent duplicate funding, and the 99% district FEFP limitation for certain awards. The committee then heard demonstrations from Step Up for Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation showing their parent portals, application workflows, reimbursement systems, school enrollment/invoice processes, and marketplace tools for tuition, tutoring, and approved goods and services. Step Up reported major growth since HB 1, saying its scholarship population expanded from about 260,000 to more than 440,000 students, with application processing averaging about 10 days. It also highlighted faster tuition, provider, and reimbursement payments, multilingual support in English and Spanish, and resources such as videos and a call center. Members asked about support for Creole speakers, optional Florida ID numbers, student identifiers, marketplace pricing, tutor qualifications, background screening, and how awards differ from funded status. Step Up said it does not currently support Creole, does not do background screenings for tutors, sets no marketplace prices itself, and uses a unique internal student ID separate from the state ID. AAA demonstrated its revised software for the 2025-26 school year, including an eligibility screener, household and student application steps, messaging with staff, reimbursement requests, and administrative review and payment batching. AAA said the new system is custom-built, more transparent about award value versus available balance, and designed to better handle quarterly funding for UA students. Members questioned AAA and Step Up about student ID numbers, public-school cross-checks, fraud controls, school fee schedules, whether schools must participate, and reimbursement timing. Both organizations said they report quarterly to DOE, receive public-school cross-checks, and recover funds when students return to public school; AAA said its average reimbursement turnaround is about 14 business days, while Step Up said its reimbursement approvals have improved significantly. The committee also requested follow-up information, including one-pagers, data on income levels and demographics, and additional details on forecasting and system costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it was two tribal members that were enrolled, a Native American that wasn't enrolled, and then just
• Native American that wasn't enrolled, Native American that wasn't enrolled, and<00:43:49.359> then
• These species are either in low abundance or have reducing or declining population numbers, or the habitat
• These species are either in low abundance or have reducing or declining population numbers, or the habitat
• These species are either in low abundance or have reducing or declining population numbers, or the habitat

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:28:06.640> And<00:28:06.880> so<00:28:07.039> what decline in volunteers
• And so what decline in volunteers.
• If you're over 19 and under 62, you can't enroll unless you're disabled or have some other disabling
• It has to be you you to be enrolled.
• And as we’ve seen the health care professionals decline here, it’s not just about money.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That leaves just to stay enrolled.
• in college enrollment.
• reversed a decade decadel long decline reversed a decade decadel long decline in<00:59:30.400>
• > college<00:59:30.640> enrollment.
• It is a powerful in college enrollment.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 2312 and first adopted the DE1 amendment, after which the amended bill was discussed. Nonpartisan fiscal staff walked through the spreadsheet and explained the bill’s higher education budget changes, including increases for state grants and tribal college assistance, unchanged funding for several existing programs, and reductions or eliminations for items such as state work study, summer academic enrichment, student loan counseling, concurrent enrollment, and the student parent support initiative. Staff also noted transfers to special revenue funds, the cancellation and reappropriation of ALS research funding, and a new licensing/registration revenue item. The committee was told the bill met the committee’s zero target overall, with a net general fund change of zero relative to the February forecast, while also adding some non-general fund expenditures for program licensing and registration. Members asked several questions about the transfers and specific line items, including whether any new special revenue accounts were being created, the foster care wraparound services line, and the treatment of the University of Minnesota and Centric Care partnership. Staff explained that the transfers generally did not create new accounts, that some items were not in the base, and that the U of M/Centric Care partnership was a one-time appropriation in the prior bill but was now being built into the base at a different amount. The University of Minnesota section also included new or continued funding for medical school development, health training restoration, emergency assistance grants, ALS research, and a weather resiliency program, while the Mayo Foundation section eliminated funding for Mayo Medical School and the Mayo family medicine residency program. The policy portion of the DE1 was then introduced. It included a maximum tuition and fee amount for state grants, direct appropriation of emergency assistance grants to Minnesota State, a juvenile justice appropriation for Metropolitan State University, and the ALS research reappropriation to the University of Minnesota. It also contained repealers for unfunded programs, including a delayed repealer for the student parent support initiative. In the higher education policy article, the bill would allow Minnesota State to offer applied doctoral degrees in cybersecurity, make technical changes to hunger-free campus and sexual misconduct procedures, extend pregnant and parenting student protections to private institutions, allow OHE to retain up to 10% of certain competitive grants for administration, consolidate reports, change the state grant formula so negative FAFSA contributions count as zero, and reduce the state grant lifetime credit cap from 180 to 120 credits. The Northstar Promise provisions would limit tuition and fees to resident rates and require MnState, and request the University of Minnesota, to ensure eligible students receive the benefit.

Transcript Highlights:

• solar, including reducing the value of net metering credits for large facilities, and requiring enrollment
• The current language requires all net-metered systems to enroll in the SMART program.
• The prices in SMART dropped, and the cost to enroll in that program was much higher than Class 1.
• I wanted to say that gas use in Massachusetts in buildings is actually declining rapidly.
• Given this decline, we need to radically right-size the gas system for financial viability.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on H. 4144, the Governor’s Energy Affordability, Independence, and Innovation Act, with the administration arguing the bill would lower bills in the short and long term while expanding clean energy supply and innovation. The Governor and Secretary said the bill would reduce or restructure charges on customer bills, reform Mass Save, expand securitization as a financing tool, speed interconnection, create energy-ready zones, strengthen consumer protections in competitive supply, and allow broader state procurement of energy resources. They said the package could save consumers billions over time and would help address high energy costs, especially during extreme heat and winter spikes. Committee members pressed the administration on several provisions, especially securitization, asking whether the bill requires an apples-to-apples comparison of total costs over time, including interest and lost tax revenue, versus paying through rates. Administration witnesses said DPU review and public comment would be required and said they would work to clarify the language if needed. Members also questioned the bill’s solar and procurement provisions, including reduced net metering compensation for some large facilities, the scope of all-resource procurements, and whether hydro, solar, and nuclear would be included; the administration said those resources were contemplated and that procurement would still be reviewed by DPU. Other questions focused on the short-term relief from bill changes, the treatment of low- and moderate-income discounts, and whether the bill’s heat pump and Mass Save reforms would help customers who cannot afford upfront costs. Several witnesses and committee members discussed Mass Save reforms, including securitization of program costs, on-bill financing, pre-approval of rebates, and shifting program administration away from gas utilities. Administration witnesses said the changes were intended to reduce volatility, lower administrative costs, and better align costs with long-term savings. Questions also touched on geothermal permitting, municipal participation in offshore wind procurement, and the proposed repeal of the ballot requirement for nuclear power, which the administration defended as preserving future options under heavy review. No votes were taken during the hearing portion described. Supportive testimony came from labor, environmental, business, planning, and development groups. The AFL-CIO, NECA, and the Environmental League of Massachusetts backed the bill, emphasizing lower bills, job creation, labor standards, just transition protections, and cleaner energy. NAIOP, the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and MAPC supported provisions on energy-ready zones, interconnection reform, microgrids, extreme-heat shutoff protections, and Mass Save improvements. A HEET representative praised the bill’s use of securitization, geothermal, and utility financing tools but urged guardrails and workforce protections. Overall, testimony was broadly favorable, with most witnesses calling for refinements rather than opposing the bill outright.

Transcript Highlights:

• So it really depends on the pace of the cigarette tax decline.
• But the pace of the decline has been increasing.
• So before 2020, we saw less than a 3% decline year over year.
• And the last couple of years, that decline has jumped.
• you're not cutting them, and you're not funding students for the current year that supposedly have enrolled

Bills: SB152, SB145, SB190, HB247

Keywords: telecommunications, low-income assistance, lifeline, broadband, rural broadband, universal service fund, public regulation commission, PRC, 911 surcharge, telecommunications relay service, VoIP, mobile service, internet affordability, digital equity, digital inclusion, rural internet, broadband infrastructure, eligible telecommunications carrier, ETC, tribal consent

Transcript Highlights:

• We've had rapid enrollment growth and slide two in the presentation. We'll show you that.
• Our enrollment stands at.
• Our enrollment in academic programs at UT Tyler continues to grow.
• Since approval, classes of 40 students each- enrolled in June 2023 and 2024.
• The momentum is most evident in our student enrollment trends.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• provided for pre-enrollment.
• He enrolled on the waiver in October.
• So individuals who are in pre-enrollment have a pre-enrollment support coordinator, and that individual
• They are also enrolled in Medicaid.
• to enroll in the iBudget waiver.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee took up two bills and then continued oversight discussions with APD and AHCA. CS/HB 27, the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, was presented as a way to let Florida social workers practice in other compact states and vice versa; AARP, the Florida Chamber, and NASW Florida supported it, and the bill passed favorably. HB 1127, a child welfare bill, would create a treatment foster care pilot for children with high behavioral needs, improve DCF data collection on commercially sexually exploited children, and expand recruitment for protective investigators and case managers; the bill also passed favorably after brief supportive testimony. The committee then questioned APD at length about the iBudget waiver waitlist, enrollment pace, spending projections, and provider capacity. APD said it had sent more than 1,100 interest letters in categories 3, 4, and 5, enrolled 1,124 people so far this year, and expects to spend about 96.4% of its waiver appropriation, leaving roughly $82 million unspent. Members pressed APD on why prior discussions suggested more reserve was needed, how long the SANS process takes, whether category 6 could be expanded, and whether the agency has enough waiver support coordinators and direct support providers. APD said it has about 1,061 waiver support coordinators statewide, adequate capacity for current enrollees, but would need further analysis if the legislature directed a much larger enrollment increase. Members also asked about outreach, annual maintenance of the waitlist, portability for military families, and whether communication efforts should be privatized. Finally, AHCA walked the committee through the 2023 Achieved Savings Rebate (ASR) report for Aetna and explained how the report is used for financial monitoring, rebate calculations, and transparency. AHCA said the ASR is separate from the medical loss ratio (MLR) calculation, though both are reviewed, and that Florida uses the ASR mechanism rather than an MLR remittance requirement to recover funds from plans. Members asked about related-party disclosures, CVS/Caremark relationships, expanded benefits, encounter data, network adequacy penalties, denials and appeals reporting, interest earned on capitation payments, and whether rate increases were reaching providers. AHCA and the outside auditors said they review the plans’ reported data, reconcile it to underlying records, and can assess liquidated damages for network adequacy violations; several members requested follow-up data on rebates, interest, provider capacity, and related-party reporting.