Transcript Highlights:

• It will produce right at drinking water level standards for that.
• It will produce right at drinking water<00:11:24.320><c> level</c><00:11:24.640><c> standards</c><00:
• </c><00:11:25.440><c> It's</c> water level standards for that. It's water level standards for that.
• I think the quality and the standards that I think our citizens would expect out of these public services
• I think the quality and the standards that our citizens would expect out of these public services like

Committee: House Madison County Legislation

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• maintenance of fire-hardening, hardened building materials, as long as they meet health and safety standards
• when adopting rules for factory-built housing and commercial structures, certain national consensus standards
• This is a good little bill modernizes existing street standards and frontage requirements to create more
• This bill would ensure that sheriffs be held to the same standards of accountability as line officers
• and provides for a process when they fail to meet those standards for them to be replaced.

Summary: The Senate Rules Committee met to place a large package of bills on the floor calendar, along with several individual measures. The package poll was advanced with bipartisan support, though Senator Braun noted some bills would face debate on the floor. Most motions were approved without objection, and the committee repeatedly advanced housing, education, health care, transportation, labor, public safety, and administrative measures. Among the bills discussed were proposals on housing supply and permitting efficiency, including measures affecting residential development in commercial and mixed-use zones, peer review fees for housing applications, and factory-built housing standards. Other bills addressed wildfire-resistant building materials, disabled placard renewal periods, preschool access for military families, insurance fraud penalties, higher education support for student parents, affordable health coverage, rural hospital reimbursement and critical access status, and collective bargaining in agriculture. Several members voiced support for bills they described as bipartisan or practical, while some opposition was raised to measures involving sheriffs’ accountability, immigration-related protections, and agricultural labor issues. A few bills drew more substantive debate. Senate Bill 5974, concerning sheriff accountability and replacement standards, advanced despite Senator Short’s objection that sheriffs are locally elected and should not be subject to state replacement procedures. Senate Bill 6045, which would create a framework for agricultural collective bargaining, was opposed by Senators King and Mazzol, but after a division vote it advanced 10-6. The committee also advanced measures recognizing Diwali, protecting privacy in government records, limiting immigration enforcement access in certain public spaces, and establishing a public-private P-20W partnership account. The meeting concluded after all listed measures were advanced and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• And finally, it requires AHCA to adopt rules for minimum standards for pediatric care...
• And finally, it requires AHCA to adopt rules for minimum standards for pediatric care in our emergency
• requirement for background screening of visitors in these homes, but allows for a more prudent parenting standard
• requirement for background screening of visitors in these homes, but allows for a more prudent parenting standard
• It tasks the Florida Department of Health with developing standardized educational materials on drowning

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services heard public comment on several health and human services funding concerns before moving through a series of bills. Testimony at the start focused on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, with a client warning that proposed changes to eligibility and drug access could disrupt care for thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS, and urging the Legislature to intervene. Another speaker asked for support for the iBudget waiver, saying provider costs have risen and requesting about a 7% increase for direct support professionals to help stabilize the developmental disabilities workforce. The committee then unanimously reported favorably several bills. SB 428 expanded Florida’s swim lesson voucher program from children ages 0-4 to ages 1-7, based on drowning-prevention recommendations. SB 68 required hospitals with emergency departments to adopt pediatric emergency care policies, training, equipment standards, and readiness assessments; an amendment aligned reporting dates with the House version. SB 1718 changed the definition of when an adult visitor in an out-of-home placement becomes a non-visitor, reducing repeated background checks, made the Step Into Success pilot permanent, adjusted foster youth stipends, and created a best-practices program within the Florida Institute for Child Welfare. The committee also approved SB 606, which adds drowning-prevention and safe-bathing education to postpartum materials provided to new parents and requires hospitals and birthing centers to document compliance; members highlighted bathtub drownings as a key concern. SB 96 expanded eligibility for the Veterans Dental Care Grant Program to veterans up to 400% of the federal poverty level, while an amendment removed the bill’s specific appropriation so funding can be handled in the budget process. SB 340 required nursing students to complete a two-hour human trafficking course before taking the NCLEX. SB 1480 created a grandfathering process for certain health care providers in federally designated areas of critical need if an area is de-designated, to avoid disrupting patient-provider relationships. All bills were reported favorably, and the committee adjourned at the end of the agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so I did move that to 2% here so that everything is standardized when we lend from the Bank of North
• And so I did move that to 2% here so that everything is standardized when we lend from the Bank of North
• They like the standardization, but I don't want to speak for them.
• Chairman and Senator Davidson, I appreciate the discussion regarding standardization, but why not standardize
• But why not standardize it to 1% like the hospitals have had versus having the nursing homes 2% and moving

Bills: SB2225 , HB1619

Committee: Senate Appropriations

Keywords: housing, affordable housing, community development, infrastructure improvement, funding grants, long-term care, infrastructure loan, nursing facilities, financial assistance, North Dakota Century Code, 908, all

Summary: The Appropriations Committee met to clear several remaining bills and discussed scheduling around upcoming conference committees. The chair noted that full committee meetings would likely be held after floor session, while Thursday and Friday mornings were being reserved for conference committees. Members also discussed how conference committees would be scheduled and where they would appear on their dashboards. The committee first took up House Bill 1577, relating to wastewater facility grants. Amendments were adopted to create a loan/line-of-credit mechanism through the Bank of North Dakota and the Department of Environmental Quality to keep two canceled federal BRIC-funded projects moving: a lagoon project in Fezenden and a wastewater treatment project in Lincoln. Members emphasized the language was intended to apply only to those projects and to preserve the possibility of federal reimbursement later. The amendment passed 16-0, and the bill as amended received a 15-1 do pass recommendation. The committee then reconsidered House Bill 1009 and adopted an additional amendment transferring the remaining balance in the bioscience innovation grant fund to the general fund, rather than issuing another round of grants. That amendment passed 16-0, and the bill as amended also received a 16-0 do pass recommendation. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 1619, creating a long-term care facility loan fund and adjusting an existing medical facility loan program. After discussion, members amended the bill to reduce the long-term care fund cap to $10 million per project, set the interest rate at 2%, extend repayment to 30 years, and align the medical facility loan program to 2% with a 30-year term. The amendment passed 14-2, and the bill as amended received a 16-0 do pass recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c> that it is a lower standard, that it is a lower standard, but<00:26:34.320><c> it</c><00:26:34.559
• Uh, that's the standard that you use.
• Uh, that's the standard that you use.
• Uh, that's the standard that you use.
• Uh, that's the standard that you use.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I led with the language that the objective of the bill is to maintain the standards that we have here
• </c> states don't have our high standards states don't have our high standards there's<00:14:05.000><
• standards and that's important<00:14:22.040><c> to</c><00:14:22.199><c> us</c><00:14:22.600><c> it's
• We heard those concerns relative to Minnesota standards, and that's a whole other conversation, maybe
• </c><00:51:35.200><c> and</c> uh Minnesota standards and uh Minnesota standards and um<00:51:37.760><

Bills: HF8 , HF1416

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

Keywords: wetlands, environmental review, permitting efficiency, Pollution Control Agency, construction permits, environmental impact statements, local government, business regulation, environmental assessments, HF1416, relocation grants, economic development, business relocation, site selection, business incentives, grant extension, appropriation extension, DEED, Department of Employment and Economic Development, request for proposals

Transcript Highlights:

• As righteous as we may think we are, may we hold on to a healthy fear of the standard of holiness by
• Through generations of grit, integrity, and hard work, they've set the standard for what it means to
• Through generations of grit, integrity, and hard work, they've set the standard for what it means to
• ,</c><02:32:26.560><c> the</c> ambient air quality standards, the ambient air quality standards, the
• </c> energy efficiency performance standards energy efficiency performance standards and<03:21:16.720

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That would require better standards of training for staff for these commissions.
• AB 451 will establish standardized protocols for implementing gun violence restraining orders.
• This would essentially create that knowledge standard.
• We all want to keep our kids safer, but establishing the knowledge standard is critical.
• But establishing this knowledge standard is really critical for any types of regulation.

Summary: The Assembly met on May 23, 2025, established a quorum after a roll call, and proceeded through a long House of Origin floor session with prayers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and routine parliamentary actions. Early in the day, a motion by Assembly Member Gallagher to suspend the rules and take up AB 12 immediately failed on a 18-39 vote. The chamber then moved through the daily file, with many measures passing by wide margins, often with bipartisan support and little or no opposition. Among the notable bills discussed were measures on law enforcement oversight and records access (AB 847), CalFresh data-sharing exemptions (AB 593), campus-area housing for students and staff (AB 893), insurance and wildfire hardening updates (AB 1), missing middle housing code changes (AB 6), tribal peace officer status in a pilot program (AB 31), utility bill analysis before new mandates (AB 61), fairgrounds funding (AB 258), Diwali as a state holiday (AB 268), labor and worker organizing rights (AB 288), algorithmic price-fixing and antitrust enforcement (AB 325), elections and jail voter information (AB 331), protections for judges and court personnel (AB 343 and AB 352), school construction procurement (AB 361), school-zone speed limits (AB 382), transit worker protections (AB 394), blue carbon coastal mitigation (AB 399), K-9 standards for law enforcement (AB 400), livestock carcass composting (AB 411), translation of housing materials (AB 413), immigrant educational rights notices (AB 419), gun violence restraining order implementation (AB 451), special education and child care measures (AB 560 and AB 563), cannabis tax relief (AB 564), and disability access protections for businesses (AB 649). Several bills addressed housing, energy, public health, and public safety, and many authors emphasized affordability, transparency, and administrative efficiency. The session also included several ceremonial or recognition items, including ACR 73 declaring Italian American Heritage Month, which was adopted by voice vote after 65 coauthors were added. Most measures were approved overwhelmingly, though a few drew some dissent, including AB 421? no—AB 399 passed 42-30, AB 450 passed 49-6, AB 461 passed 49-8, and AB 621 passed 58-0. The transcript ends partway through AB 772, which was introduced as an educational equity bill addressing cyberbullying after school hours, but the remainder of that item is not included in the provided text.

Transcript Highlights:

• Excluding veterans who are not excluded by any other standard is the opposite of that goal.
• Same thing for failure to meet, like, the physical fitness standards.
• Same thing for failure to meet, like, the physical fitness standards.
• Same thing for failure to meet, like, the physical fitness standards.
• Same thing for failure to meet, like, the physical fitness standards.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Were they a qualified bidder through your standards?
• HB 2781 builds on a standard that is already recognized as a responsible policy in Arizona.
• .standards, and their construction and installation already follow regulations.
• and other fiduciary standards. ...because they would be held to compliance standards and they would
• be held to other fiduciary standards.

Bills: HB2150 , HB2262 , HB2267 , HB2268 , HB2351 , HB2425 , HB2426 , HB2427 , HB2755 , HB2781 , HB2913 , HB2943 , HB2956 , HB2975 , HB2985 , HB4009

Committee: House Natural Resources, Energy & Water

Keywords: state land department, mineral lease, renewals, indexed royalties, land use planning, auditor general, five-year plans, geospatial data, Arizona Geological Survey, resource analysis, geographic information systems, wildlife protection, public nuisance, renewable energy, wind farm, solar farm, residential property, public health, local regulations, state land

Transcript Highlights:

• One is for the safe storage of reactive mine waste, and the other is for a site-specific standard for
• for sulfites these two specific standard for sulfites these two important<00:02:44.200><c> Provisions
• worked on for a long time a site been worked on for a long time a site specific<00:02:56.400><c> standard
• to be able to work with a company and find a standard that works.
• that works um and a suide standard that works um and that's<00:03:16.319><c> the</c><00:03:16.560><c

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House File 3030 was taken up for discussion and amended with the A1 author’s amendment before moving forward. The bill was presented as an Iron Range package with three parts: a 26-week unemployment insurance extension for workers laid off by Cleveland-Cliffs, and two mining-related provisions dealing with safe storage of reactive mine waste and a site-specific sulfite standard. The authors said the bill was intended both to help laid-off workers immediately and to support the long-term future of mining jobs in the region. Testimony was overwhelmingly supportive of the unemployment extension and the broader goal of preserving Iron Range jobs and communities. Representatives of affected workers, union leaders, a county commissioner, a tribal elder, and RAMS all described the layoffs as potentially long-term and warned of broader economic harm to families, local businesses, schools, and the region if mining jobs continue to decline. Several testifiers emphasized that mining is central to the Iron Range economy and argued that the bill would give workers time and hope while also helping keep people in the region. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency testified that it generally supported the bill’s intent but raised concerns about the environmental rulemaking language in Article 2, Section 2. MPCA said the provision would amount to a new major rulemaking, would require significant time and resources, and should be reviewed by the Environment, Natural Resources, Finance and Policy Committee. During member questions, one legislator said there was strong support for the UI extension in Article 1 but expressed concern about the environmental issues in Article 2 and asked why those provisions were not being reviewed by the environment committee. The meeting ended with public testimony closed and member questions beginning; no final vote was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Relieving IOU liabilities will decrease safety standards, not increase them.
• But one of our recommendations is to establish a standard that allows... ...establish a standard that
• Standards do get better. SDG&E did it.
• So it's what defines having met the highest safety standards. Yes. It's like...
• It's what defines having met the highest safety standards. Yes.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy held a hearing on the California Earthquake Authority’s SB 254 report and broader options for reforming California’s utility wildfire recovery system. The chair framed the discussion around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the scale of wildfire-related costs on utility bills, and the need to weigh trade-offs among survivors, ratepayers, utilities, insurers, and taxpayers. The first panel featured wildfire survivors William Abrams and Joy Chen, who described long delays in compensation, housing insecurity, and what they viewed as a system that protects utility shareholders more than victims. They urged greater transparency, clearer accountability for utility spending and safety performance, faster and fuller compensation for survivors, and reforms such as independent audits and better alignment of utility incentives with wildfire prevention and restitution. The second panel began with Tom Welsh of the California Earthquake Authority, who explained that the SB 254 report was intended as a broad inventory of policy pathways rather than recommendations. He described the report’s process, including stakeholder submissions, workstreams, and a convergence process, and outlined the current wildfire fund structure: utilities remain liable, the fund reimburses eligible claims after a covered wildfire, and the CPUC later determines prudency and possible reimbursement back to the fund. RAND’s Lloyd Dixon summarized compensation data, saying utilities paid about $38 billion between 2017 and 2024, with major shares going to injured parties, insurers, and public entities, while litigation costs and survivors’ own losses remain substantial. He noted that legal fees and delays reduce the amount survivors ultimately receive. Utility and public-interest witnesses offered differing views on the report’s pathways. PG&E’s Tyson Smith said the report shows inaction is the worst outcome and argued for community wildfire risk reduction, equitable allocation of catastrophe costs, and state-led resilience tools. LADWP’s Fernando Valero emphasized the vulnerability of municipal utilities and cities, and supported inverse condemnation reform, a state-sponsored liability insurance framework, damages and subrogation limits, and stronger insurance access. Consumer Attorneys of California’s John Fisk argued that IOU-caused fires are not natural disasters but the result of negligence and sometimes criminal conduct, and opposed reducing utility liability while supporting stronger oversight and audits. The Public Advocates Office’s Nathaniel Skinner focused on affordability, saying ratepayers already bear large and growing wildfire costs and warning against shifting more costs onto bills without measurable risk reduction and tighter accountability. Committee members then began questioning witnesses about what counts as measurable mitigation, how to define full and fair compensation, and how any fast-pay process should work.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> the standards of Public Law 92-544. the standards of Public Law 92-544.
• So, I believe it's up to your<00:54:39.120><c> standard.</c> your standard. your standard.
• It divides the two standards into two clauses.
• </c><00:56:31.400><c> This</c> the two standards into two clauses.
• This the two standards into two clauses.

Bills: HF4371 , HF4317 , HF2817 , HF3496 , HF4151 , HF3826 , HF4425 , HF3990

Committee: House Public Safety Finance and Policy

Keywords: HF4371, Minnesota background checks, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA, Office of the Legislative Auditor, Legislative Auditor, criminal history records, national criminal history record information, public safety, statutory amendment, section 299C.76, requesting agency, state audit, oversight, background screening, criminal records, county agencies, MNsure, Department of Revenue, Department of Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• Number two is why are the different than the standards? Why is the manufacturer time different?
• standard rate, but a customer pay job on that same level would pay roughly 23 to 24 hours.
• Then we will go into standard testimony of two minutes each.
• Then we will go into standard testimony of two minutes each.
• Okay, we'll go into standard testimony. We're going to go in two minutes.

Committee: House Emerging Issues

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But through this standardized suite of flexible service connections, customers know that they can get
• load connection processes led by the utilities, as well as the development and ensuring that the standards
• the utilities and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation on the need for technical standards
• We're not totally dependent on them; we can move on our own, but national standards can also help out
• And if I can add into the mix when you answer, is there a risk for these becoming standard assets?

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:42:12.360><c> So,</c> also held to that equal to standard.
• So, also held to that equal to standard.
• You have these various standards that are laid out. Do they prevent all illnesses?
• You have these various standards that are laid out. Do they prevent all illnesses?
• And I tried to reach back to figure out what standards they used to put these dates on them.

Committee: Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and make it easier for providers and patients to recognize because ...standard and make it easier for
• Senate Bill 274 aligns Delaware's Demos with national standards in an effort to create a uniform form
• To that standard because it's not in law.
• And this is standards and processes, and that is thrilling.
• , right, but we want to maintain that standard.

Bills: SB274 , SB301 , SB249

Committee: House Health & Human Development

Keywords: healthcare, life-sustaining treatment, patient preferences, POLST, advance directive, medical orders, hospital discharge, pregnancy, patient care, discharge planning, healthcare policy, substance use, harm reduction, syringe services, needle exchange, overdose prevention, naloxone, opioid antagonist, drug paraphernalia, syringe

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several measures related to health care, public health, and patient protections. House Concurrent Resolution 148, urging a statewide educational strategy on menopause, was presented as a workplace awareness measure and received supportive comments from members before being released. Senate Bill 274, updating Delaware’s MOST program to POLST and clarifying capacity determinations and documentation for end-of-life orders, also drew supportive testimony from medical and nursing groups and was released. House Bill 458, limiting local backflow preventer requirements for certain low-hazard buildings, was presented as a cost-relief measure for homeowners and small businesses; DHSS expressed concerns but said it was willing to work on amendments and a sunset provision, and the bill was released. Senate Joint Resolution 18, designating August 31, 2026 as International Overdose Awareness Day and ordering flags at half-staff, was released after brief supportive remarks. The committee then considered Senate Bill 339, a technical correction to the advance health care directive form clarifying that an agent’s authority for voluntary mental health admission cannot exceed 72 hours, consistent with existing law. Members asked detailed questions about how the 72-hour limit works and whether it applies to voluntary directives; the sponsor and a Disability Rights Delaware witness explained that the bill only aligns the form with current statute and does not expand authority. The bill was released. House Bill 301, requiring hospitals to create discharge plans for pregnant patients discharged while showing signs of labor, prompted extensive discussion. The sponsor and supporters said it would improve safety, transportation planning, and aftercare, while some members noted Delaware hospitals already do much of this work and questioned whether codifying it was necessary; supporters emphasized maternal mortality disparities and the need for guardrails. The bill was released. Senate Bill 196, creating ownership disclosure requirements for long-term care facilities and resident notice rules after ownership transfers, was presented as a transparency measure for seniors and families and was released after supportive testimony from the Delaware Nurses Association and elder-care advocates. Senate Bill 320, expanding pharmacists’ independent prescriptive authority for certain non-controlled medications and allowing opioid use disorder medications under standing order, with added malpractice reporting requirements in Senate Amendment 2, was supported by pharmacists and nurse practitioners as an access-to-care measure and was released. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 161, establishing a unified licensing and oversight framework for adult behavioral health providers under DSAM, was presented as a patient-protection measure; providers supported the goal but cautioned that regulations must be workable, and the substitute was released. Senate Joint Resolution 19, directing DHSS to study strategies to reduce health care costs, was released with a note reflecting concerns about broadening the analysis to include additional cost drivers and alternatives. Finally, Senate Bill 249 with Senate Amendment 2, modernizing harm-reduction programs and paraphernalia laws, generated the most extended debate: supporters framed it as life-saving public health policy, while opponents raised concerns about needle litter, community impacts, and whether the approach facilitates addiction. Despite the objections, the bill was released.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c><00:03:16.560><c> some</c><00:03:16.840><c> have</c> standard I Voted sticker, some have standard
• They just want the standard stock, own.
• Um, most school districts use the at-large standard.
• Um, most school districts use the at-large standard.
• It aligns Rochester with the standard election framework used statewide.

Committee: Senate Elections

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But in this case we don't actually have a federal standard to cite to.
• But in this case we don't actually have a federal standard to cite to.
• There may be actors out there. we cite to that standard because it's we cite to that standard because
• standard with the FinCEN<00:20:13.800><c> rules?
• We have a federal standard to cite to.

Bills: HB1511 , HB1535 , HB1642 , HB1753 , HB1810 , HB2282 , HB2614

Committee: Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection

Keywords: consumer protection, unsolicited mail, unsolicited email, junk mail, spam email, deceptive marketing, misleading solicitation, high-pressure sales, vehicle warranty, auto warranty, service contract, home warranty, license renewal, registration renewal, government impersonation, affiliation disclosure, direct mail, email marketing, consumer fraud, refund

Summary: The committee heard several consumer-protection and insurance measures. HB 1511 HD2 would prohibit unsolicited mail or email using high-pressure tactics or falsely implying affiliation with another entity; it drew support from the Office of Consumer Protection, the DCCA Insurance Division, and the Service Contract Industry Council, with some written support and at least one opposition. HB 1535 HD2, concerning automated external defibrillators and a tax-related provision for devices installed in certain public accommodations, received comments from DOTAX and the Tax Foundation, with additional support from the Department of Health and other groups. HB 1642 HD1 would ban ownership or operation of digital financial asset transaction kiosks that accept U.S. currency; it was strongly supported by OCP, the Attorney General, and AARP, while kiosk operators and industry representatives opposed the ban and urged a regulatory approach instead, including licensing, transaction limits, refunds, and other safeguards. Members questioned whether federal action could preempt the bill and whether a licensure regime could be funded through a surcharge, but no action was taken during the discussion. The committee also took up HB 1753 on social media account deletion and permanent erasure of personal information, with OCP standing on its initial comments and TechNet and Will Caron in support. HB 1810 HD2 would impose prompt payment and financial reporting requirements on professional solicitors selling donated tangible property on behalf of charities; Goodwill Hawaii testified in strong support, emphasizing donor trust and transparency, and several nonprofit and business groups submitted supportive testimony. HB 2282 HD1, which would require explanations for premium increases and clarify insurance licensing and cancellation/non-renewal procedures, was supported by the Insurance Division and OCP; a vice chair asked for complaint data related to condo associations, and a member noted that the same agencies had previously opposed similar Senate bills. Finally, HB 2614 HD1 would require cosmetics merchants to accept returns of new or unopened goods within specified time frames and improve signage requirements; OCP said the bill addressed longstanding complaints about high-pressure sales tactics and no-return policies, citing over 180 complaints and survey results showing most complainants did not understand the policy and felt misled.

Transcript Highlights:

• We refer to that as having five nines of availability, and that's a standard.
• So the standards that we're adhering to are defined by the National Emergency Number Association and
• I referenced earlier the National Emergency Number Association standards for building next generation
• So I think by... ...standards. That's the Emergency Number Association.
• that... ...the country for standards and practices that everybody, you know, there's workshops where

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor, and Transportation heard updates from the Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Department of Justice. Cal OES Acting Director Tina Curry described the department’s proposed budget, disaster response and recovery work, Los Angeles wildfire recovery, FEMA reimbursement delays, hazard mitigation grant applications, planning for major events like the FIFA World Cup and LA28 Olympics, and the state’s next generation 911 priorities. Senators raised concerns about Operation Stonegarden, small-disaster recovery delays, FEMA reimbursement timing, VOCA funding, and the need for more detailed reporting on federal grants and recovery costs. The committee then focused on Next Generation 911. Cal OES staff said the current regional deployment encountered call-routing and transfer failures, leading the department to pause further rollout and propose a new phased plan centered on a statewide provider, followed by an open procurement for a long-term vendor. They said the plan is intended to improve reliability, simplify architecture, and support Los Angeles-area PSAPs ahead of the Olympics, with a target of full statewide transition by summer 2030. The Legislative Analyst’s Office urged the Legislature to pause major changes until it receives more information, including a clearer explanation of the problems, alternatives considered, costs, cybersecurity and privacy issues, and oversight needs. Members expressed mixed views, with some supporting a joint oversight hearing and requesting quarterly fiscal reports and monthly progress updates. The Department of Justice then presented its overall workload, emphasizing public safety enforcement, fentanyl and human trafficking prosecutions, housing enforcement, civil rights work, and extensive federal litigation against the Trump administration. DOJ said the additional federal accountability work has significantly increased staffing and overtime demands, though it has hired 44 additional employees. The committee also heard DOJ’s firearms workload proposal, including funding for SB 704 implementation, continued firearms IT modernization, and a proposed shift of Bureau of Firearms costs to the General Fund. The LAO recommended using special funds and loans instead of ongoing General Fund support where possible, and asked DOJ to develop a framework by January 2027 for determining which firearms and ammunition workload should be supported by fee revenue. The Department of Finance largely agreed with the need for SB 704 funding but disagreed with the LAO’s proposed loan approach for the firearms account.