Transcript Highlights:

• 18.320><c> from</c> Medical assistance fraud steals from Medical assistance fraud steals from hardworking
• As you know, medical assistance is Minnesota's name for Medicaid.
• </c><00:04:36.600><c> is</c> Uh as you know, uh medical assistance is Uh as you know, uh medical assistance
• </c> speed assist device. speed assist device.
• </c><01:10:02.160><c> Uh</c> speed assist device. Uh speed assist device.

Bills: HF2354, HF3621, HF3429, HF3483

Keywords: medical assistance, fraud prevention, subpoena authority, criminal penalties, consumer protection, fraud, payment withholding, withheld payments, program integrity, public funds, state agency, program participant, credible allegation of fraud, administrative reconsideration, contested case, chapter 14, data practices, confidential data, protected nonpublic data, anti-fraud

Bills: SB3

Keywords: disaster relief, emergency funding, flood management, Meteorological forecasting, local government assistance, training facilities

Transcript Highlights:

• Um I would support this author's amendment, and um it just adds some technical assistance as the chair
• and um you it just adds some amendment and um you it just adds some technical<00:02:50.000><c> assistance
• </c> technical assistance as the chair said. technical assistance as the chair said.
• We're happy to provide that assistance.
• </c> We're happy to provide that assistance. We're happy to provide that assistance.

Bills: HF2436

Keywords: child welfare, economic assistance, child care, grant program, video security cameras, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:05:16.240><c> Uh</c> assistance federal compliance items.
• Uh assistance federal compliance items.
• The first article is the economic assistance article.
• There are ways we can assisted living?
• We recognize the state level assistance.

Bills: HF2436

Keywords: child welfare, economic assistance, child care, grant program, video security cameras, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• They include things like a health care directive or assistance with cooking or cleaning.
• The main issue here is when we kick people off of medical assistance, they still get sick.
• The main issue here is when we kick people off of medical assistance, they still get sick.
• The main issue here is when we kick people off of medical assistance, they still get sick.
• The main issue here is when we kick people off of medical assistance, they still get sick.

Bills: HF3901, HF962, HF4428, HF4478, HF1775

Keywords: foster care, ombudsperson, investigative powers, children's rights, complaint process, HF4428, Medical Assistance, Medicaid, community engagement, work requirement, work mandate, employment requirement, community service, 80 hours, half-time student, income threshold, federal minimum wage, eligibility verification, benefit suspension, benefit termination

Bills: HB2115

Keywords: public assistance, Department of Human Services, federal funds, community services, energy conservation, poverty reduction

Summary: The committee considered House Bill 2115, which was described as a measure to move certain programs from one agency to another. Chairman Osborne presented the bill and moved adoption, then yielded for questions. No substantive questions or debate were recorded. A motion for a due pass recommendation was made and seconded, and the committee proceeded without further discussion. The chair then indicated the bill would be opened for signatures. With no additional business, the meeting adjourned. Before adjournment, the chair offered brief personal remarks thanking Mike and noting it was his first, last, and only opportunity to chair the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• At its heart, the bill creates a crumbling concrete assistance fund administered by the Community Economic
• Development Assistance Corporation, or CEDAC, under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
• Both recommended a Crumbling Foundation Assistance Fund, a replacement program, and public education.
• We have worked to assist homeowners since this issue started appearing in Massachusetts several years
• It would establish a fund to provide direct financial assistance to homeowners affected by the damage

Bills: S3091, H5477

Keywords: crumbling concrete, pyrite, pyrrhotite, homeowner assistance, financial relief, CEDAC, construction, insurance surcharge, foundation repair, Massachusetts

Summary: The Joint Committee on Financial Services held a public hearing on two late-file matters, centered on S. 3091, a bill to create relief for homeowners affected by the crumbling concrete/pyrrhotite crisis. Senator Peter Durant presented the bill as a way to establish a crumbling concrete assistance fund, administered by CEDAC, to help replace failing foundations and reimburse homeowners who already paid out of pocket. He said the proposal follows recommendations from a state commission and would be funded by a $6 fee on homeowner/condo insurance policies and a $6-per-cubic-yard surcharge on concrete, with the goal of spreading costs broadly rather than placing them on homeowners alone. Several affected homeowners testified about severe financial and emotional harm, including expensive foundation replacements, lost equity, inability to sell or refinance, and long delays in getting help. Homeowners Karen Riani, Michelle Iglesi, Karen Bellotti, and Russell Dupierre described living with homes that became unsellable or unaffordable to repair, and urged the committee to move the bill forward. Committee members asked about inspection practices, whether pyrrhotite can be detected during home sales, whether the bill would ban pyrrhotite, and how much funding the program would need. Witnesses said the problem is broader than originally understood, affecting at least 52 municipalities, and that the only fix is full foundation replacement. They also said the bill includes training and education for inspectors, but does not ban pyrrhotite outright because the issue is now being addressed through quarry testing and material controls. Representatives of the concrete industry, including Craig Dauphinay, Karen Marshall, and Guy Glottis, said they support homeowner relief and the creation of a fund, but strongly opposed the concrete surcharge. They argued the industry has already taken significant steps, including supporting state testing and regulation of aggregate sources, and said the surcharge would unfairly assign blame, raise costs for residential, municipal, and infrastructure projects, and create cross-border competitiveness issues with neighboring states. They favored a Connecticut-style model funded primarily through insurance assessments, noting that Connecticut’s program has been successful and that Massachusetts could adopt a similar approach. No vote was taken at the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• If you have any issues filling out the form, please ask a staff member to assist.
• Additional resources for technical assistance.
• the Texas water fund, as well as funding for wastewater infrastructure projects and for technical assistance
• made, Chairman, in the committee substitute that allows the water fund to be used for technical assistance
• There are some great engineering firms in Texas that can assist in making these assessments.

Bills: SB7

Keywords: water infrastructure, financial assistance, Texas Water Development Board, water supply, environmental sustainability, 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• With the Rural Water Assistance Fund and Loan Assistance Fund, there is about $232 million.
• Projects that existing state and federal financial assistance programs will work to cover about 25% of
• It'll describe financial assistance aimed at preventing or mitigating boil water notices, water losses
• across the board. our programs and try to achieve a semblance of parity with respect to financial assistance

Bills: SB7

Keywords: water infrastructure, financial assistance, Texas Water Development Board, water supply, environmental sustainability, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Assess whether they meet criteria for assisted community treatment and coordinate assisted community
• Uh, under the current law they can assist in the assisted community treatment process, but they don't
• community</c> can assist in the assisted community can assist in the assisted community treatment<00:
• ,</c> of the petitioner that we are assisting, of the petitioner that we are assisting, whether<00:33
• </c><01:50:22.600><c> community</c> required if an assisted community required if an assisted community

Bills: SB709, SB2089, SB2090, SB2108, SB2211, SB2250, SB2325, SB2803, SB2866, SB3245

Keywords: mental health, crisis intervention, assisted community treatment, treatment orders, law enforcement training, public safety, court-ordered treatment, Medicaid, healthcare access, unlicensed professionals, supervised services, workforce development, mental health equity, child custody, evaluations, licensed counselors, family court, juvenile justice, waiver of jurisdiction, transfer to adult court

Summary: The committee heard SB 709 SD2, which would require the Department of Health to respond to reports involving persons with severe mental illness, assess eligibility for assisted community treatment, and coordinate treatment when appropriate. Testimony from the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health supported the measure, with DOH saying it generally supported the bill but had comments on one section it viewed as unnecessary. The Department of Law Enforcement later explained that the bill would shift certification and standards for crisis intervention officer training from DOH to DLE, while still involving DOH in the training process. Opposition came from the Hawaii Disability Rights Center and an individual testifier, both of whom argued the bill expands state authority over people with mental illness and could worsen forced treatment practices. The Disability Rights Center also raised procedural concerns, saying the bill was effectively moved from a prior administration measure that had not been heard this session, and questioned whether the bill’s changes to assisted community treatment, blood tests, urinalysis, and living arrangements went beyond current law. The individual testifier argued the bill would further entrench harmful psychiatric drugging and urged the committee to defer it. Committee members questioned the administration about the bill’s process, the role of the Attorney General in treatment-over-objection proceedings, and the practical effects of moving CIT certification to DLE. The Attorney General’s office said the bill was intended to fill a gap by allowing it to assist with treatment proceedings, while public defenders would continue to represent respondents and due process protections would remain in place. DLE and DOH said the change would better align certification with law enforcement training needs, improve speed in crisis response, and still keep DOH involved; members also discussed whether WAM counted as a hearing and whether the bill should more explicitly preserve DOH’s role. No vote or final action was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• can do to at least assist. Um, my can do to at least assist.
• </c><00:38:02.720><c> all</c> assist our counties and to uh assist all assist our counties and to uh
• </c> child support nor public assistance. child support nor public assistance.
• . assistance. assistance.
• </c> eligible for government assistance eligible for government assistance programs. programs. programs

Bills: HF45, HF1148, HF3624, HF3586, HF777

Keywords: HF45, Lake Benton, capital investment, bonding bill, state bonds, bond proceeds fund, Public Facilities Authority, public infrastructure, sanitary sewer, water main, storm sewer, utility replacement, U.S. Highway 75, road reconstruction, municipal infrastructure, local government grant, Minnesota bonding, capital appropriation, food insecurity, prepared meals

Bills: HB2115

Keywords: public assistance, Department of Human Services, federal funds, community services, energy conservation, poverty reduction, 914, all

Bills: HB2115, HB2115

Keywords: public assistance, Department of Human Services, federal funds, community services, energy conservation, poverty reduction, 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If you require assistance in registering or testifying, please contact the committee staff.
• technology resources coordinator as our tabulation supervisor and our voting systems analyst as our assistant
• I heard about an assistant supervisor, but I hadn't heard the word manager.
• And so he would be able to participate in the hearing obviously through an assistant attorney general
• Well, when you put instructions like this for a senior, you're forcing them to have somebody assist them

Bills: HB304

Keywords: franchise tax credit, food desert, grocery store, healthy corner store, nutrition assistance, economic development, public health

Transcript Highlights:

• the consumer more front and center in the process whereby referral agencies for long-term care and assisted
• And we need a long-term care and assisted living facility that is viable.
• This bill simply clarifies what is in statute for long-term, or excuse me, for assisted living centers
• animals can really easily use their service animals, and this would be to require people who are selling dogs

Bills: HB4336, HB1818, HB3194, HB3538, HB3682, HB3762, HB3793, HB3930, HB3931, HB3934, HB4124, HB4200, HB4410, HB4457, HB4473, HB3884, HB1912

Keywords: interventional pain management, pain management clinic, chronic pain, acute pain, spinal injections, epidural steroid injection, peripheral nerve block, nerve ablation, spinal cord stimulator, intrathecal infusion pump, endoscopic diskectomy, fluoroscopy, physician supervision, allopathic physician, osteopathic physician, CRNA, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse anesthetist, freestanding pain management facility, medical licensure

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, I'm willing to work with most everybody that's, you know, has a dog in the fight, so to speak

Bills: HB4336, HB1818, HB3194, HB3538, HB3682, HB3762, HB3793, HB3930, HB3931, HB3934, HB4124, HB4200, HB4410, HB4457, HB4473, HB3884, HB1912

Keywords: interventional pain management, pain management clinic, chronic pain, acute pain, spinal injections, epidural steroid injection, peripheral nerve block, nerve ablation, spinal cord stimulator, intrathecal infusion pump, endoscopic diskectomy, fluoroscopy, physician supervision, allopathic physician, osteopathic physician, CRNA, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse anesthetist, freestanding pain management facility, medical licensure

Transcript Highlights:

• At its heart, the bill creates a crumbling concrete assistance fund administered by the Community Economic
• Both recommended a Crumbling Foundation Assistance Fund, a replacement program, and public education.
• We have worked to assist homeowners since this issue started appearing in Massachusetts several years
• Because there is currently no assistance program, homeowners are reluctant to test their homes.
• It was established a fund to provide direct financial assistance to homeowners affected by the damage

Bills: S3091, H5477

Keywords: crumbling concrete, pyrite, pyrrhotite, homeowner assistance, financial relief, CEDAC, construction, insurance surcharge, foundation repair, Massachusetts, 1212, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Initially, we did receive some dollars from a local foundation that assisted, but only in year one.

Bills: S0534, S7020

Keywords: food insecurity, hunger, college students, nutrition assistance, pilot program, open government, sunset review, aquaculture, public records, exemption

Summary: The committee met, called the roll, and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. It first considered the appointment of Melanie Ressler to the Florida Citrus Commission. No appearance forms were requested, and the committee voted unanimously to recommend her confirmation favorably. The committee then took up SPB 7020, which reenacts a public records exemption for certain aquaculture production records held by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Senator Trunow explained that the exemption protects shellfish and submerged land lease records, supports compliance with federal partners and statutory requirements, and helps protect marketplace competition. A representative from the Department appeared in support, and the bill was moved as a committee bill and reported favorably. Next, the committee heard SB 534, Senator Bernard’s hunger-free campus pilot program bill. He described a pilot within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to identify campuses with high numbers of Pell-eligible students, develop a survey with the Hunger Task Force, designate staff to help students enroll in SNAP, expand campus food access, and require reporting on outcomes and future funding. The bill had one appearance form in support and was reported favorably without debate. The committee also received a presentation from the St. Pete Youth Farm, led by Carla Bristol and youth ambassadors. They described the farm as a youth-led community project on city-owned land that addresses food insecurity while providing leadership, financial literacy, career readiness, mental wellness programming, composting, aquaponics, and community events. Senators praised the program, asked about possible expansion into a culinary kitchen and partnerships with schools, and the presenters said they hope to expand youth opportunities, food preparation training, and related programming. The meeting concluded with adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• If you require assistance and register. or testifying, please contact the committee staff.
• disabilities who have the faculties to make choices for themselves, but may need additional supportive assistance
• agreement is involved in a criminal or civil proceeding, they are not allowed to have supportive assistance
• and ethical implications of authorizing a supporter under a supportive decision-making agreement to assist

Bills: SB66

Keywords: disability, supported decision-making, legal assistance, confidentiality, access to justice, autonomy, civil rights, advocacy, 1184, house, all

Bills: SB2014

Keywords: industrial commission, economic development, housing finance, oil and gas, rail infrastructure, financial assistance, emergency funding, 908, all

Summary: The Government Operations Division met to continue work on the remaining bill and related amendments. Joe Morse asked the committee to include a $219,000 general fund replacement for rent that would no longer be collected from Career and Technical Education after the 15th floor of the tower becomes legislative space under the Legislative Council’s jurisdiction. Members discussed that state law currently requires rent only from executive branch office space, not legislative or judicial space, and there was no objection to adding the request to the amendment package. The committee then revisited a set of amendments it had previously discussed, including whether to include funding for Prairie Public. Senator Dwyer argued against any Prairie Public funding, citing its reserves, endowment, and charitable gaming revenue, and said the state should prioritize other needs. Senator Irby supported a one-time infrastructure contribution as the state shares in related infrastructure costs. Senator Sickler said Prairie Public still provides unique local programming, but that a one-time infrastructure item would be a reasonable compromise rather than ongoing operating support. A motion was made and seconded to provide Prairie Public $850,000 from the Strategic Investment and Improvement Fund for infrastructure needs. The roll call vote failed 3-2, with Senators Sickler and Irby voting aye, Senators Dwyer and Burkhard voting no, and Chairman Wanzek voting yes. After that vote, the committee indicated the amendment package was otherwise complete, though leadership had asked that final action on the bill be held for a little longer. The meeting adjourned with the understanding that more amendments could still be brought forward before the next meeting.