Bills: SB156, SB134, SB108, SB47, SB88, SB89, SB106, SB18, SB9, HB38, HB54

Keywords: habitual felony offender, resentencing, Alabama Department of Corrections, victim notification, criminal justice reform, life sentences, parole eligibility, pardon, parole, law enforcement, GPS monitoring, data sharing, mail theft, stolen mail, criminal penalties, personally identifying information, felony, misdemeanor, SB47, Alabama

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll defer to the LAO or my Senate colleagues to explain the amount that they're investing for indigent
• There are additional dollars for indigent care and public hospitals in the two-party plan.
• There is, there are additional dollars for indigent care and public hospitals in the two-party plan.
• Indigent care services are still needed in our counties, and are still needed in our counties, and what
• And most especially, the ones who will suffer from this the most are the indigent.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee heard AB 109, the Budget Act of 2026, and related discussion of the legislative budget agreement. Committee staff and the Department of Finance described a two-year balanced plan with about $253 billion in General Fund spending, roughly $5.5 billion in higher assumed revenues than the May Revision, and about $36.5 billion in combined reserves. They said the package preserves or expands funding for schools and community colleges, child care, IHSS, Medi-Cal-related county administration, housing and homelessness programs, public hospitals, courthouse construction, and some criminal justice and prison-closure savings, while delaying or modifying several prior health care reductions and some Medi-Cal changes. Much of the member discussion focused on Medi-Cal, H.R. 1, and the impact on low-income and immigrant Californians. Several Democrats argued the budget protects vulnerable residents by delaying some cuts, funding county eligibility work, indigent care, public hospitals, and food banks, and rejecting the Governor’s IHSS cuts and asset-limit proposal. Republicans criticized the budget for assuming future revenues, relying on new taxes, and not doing enough to address the structural deficit or improve accountability. Members also raised concerns and support around homelessness funding, Prop. 36, judgeships and courthouse funding, transit and GGRF allocations, local journalism, Caltrans fleet spending, and a proposed “fair share” revenue measure that was not yet before the committee. Public testimony was largely supportive of the budget’s health and human services provisions, especially the rejection of IHSS cuts and the asset-limit proposal, and the inclusion of funding for child care, sickle cell centers, domestic violence services, trauma recovery centers, distressed hospitals, county eligibility work, and transit programs. Some witnesses representing hospitals and health plans cautioned about the effects of moving certain Medi-Cal populations to fee-for-service and about proposed tax changes affecting health care providers. The chair said revenue trailer bills were still being finalized and would likely come back later in the week; the committee then moved to public comment, with the chair limiting speakers to about one minute each.

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.
• And so our final witness on this panel will be from the Texas Indigent Defense. Commission, Mr.
• I am Scott Ehlers, I'm the Executive Director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.
• So, thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell you a little bit about the Texas Indigent Defense
• Texas Indigent Defense Commission.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, there are a lot of people that are indigent.
• It's OK, did you just say that indigent people aren't covered under this bill?
• What I'm saying is, what if the person that's incompetent is indigent.
• Is so indigent people who come to you will be paid for by HHSC, ma'am. OK, and um.
• So I was just wondering because I worry about indigent people.

Transcript Highlights:

• There are a lot of people that are indigent. When they are indigent, who pays for the...
• Indigent people aren't covered under this bill? Is that what you said?
• Is what if the person that's incompetent is indigent? Yeah.
• So indigent people who come to you will be paid for by HHSC? Yes, ma'am.
• So I was just wondering, because I worry about indigent people.

Bills: SB670, SB1388, SB627, SB912, SB269, SB528, HB2711, HB4819, HB5248, HB4175

Keywords: SB 670, investigational sun protection products, sun protection, sunscreen, FDA approval, clinical trial, phase one trial, patient access, informed consent, physician prescription, Texas Health and Safety Code, Texas Medical Board, compassionate use, experimental treatment, medical freedom, patient autonomy, healthcare regulation, dietitian, dietitians, licensed dietitian

Transcript Highlights:

• does not clearly specify how these schedules should apply to attorneys representing children and indigent
• entitled to reasonable fees and expenses set by the court to be paid by the parents unless they are indigent
• I am the director of family protection representation at the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, and I'm
• I am the director of family protection representation at the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, and I'm
• I actually sat on the task force with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission committee that worked on

Bills: SB387, SB1650, SB1838, SB1839, SB1923, SB1940, SB2052

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, attorney general, criminal prosecution, public order, law enforcement, jurisdiction, attorney ad litem, parent-child relationship, compensation, legal representation, government entity, probate, court proceedings, record delivery, wills, legal documentation

Summary: The Senate Committee on Jurisprudence heard several family-law and probate bills. Senate Bill 2052 would codify a rebuttable presumption that a parent acts in the best interest of a child and require clear and convincing evidence to overcome that presumption in disputes involving non-parents; the author and several witnesses supported the bill as a clarification of existing case law, while one witness suggested refining the modification language. Public testimony was closed and the bill was left pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1923, which would allow child support to follow a child placed temporarily with kin or fictive kin under a parental child safety placement or authorization agreement; the bill’s author and a grandparent caregiver testified in support, while one witness suggested the Attorney General could handle the change administratively. That bill was also left pending. Senate Bill 1838 would standardize fee schedules and compensation rules for attorneys ad litem and related court-appointed counsel in DFPS child-protection cases. The author said the bill would clarify unclear current law, and witnesses from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and family-defense bar supported it, though one asked that expert-witness expenses be expressly included. Senate Bill 387 would raise the bond requirement for county judges handling guardianship proceedings to at least $500,000; the author described it as a refiling of a prior bill that passed unanimously but was vetoed, and a statutory probate judge testified in support. Senate Bill 1839 would require original or paper wills to be delivered to the transferee court when probate proceedings are transferred; the committee substitute broadened the delivery methods, and the district clerk witness supported the change. All three bills were left pending. The committee also took up Senate Bill 1536, which had previously been voted out with the wrong committee substitute; members reconsidered the vote, adopted the corrected substitute, and then voted 3-0 to report the bill favorably to the full Senate, with local and contested calendar certification. Finally, Senate Bill 1940 would create a transfer-on-death mechanism for manufactured homes classified as personal property, similar to existing tools for real property and vehicles; the author and an estate-planning attorney testified that it would streamline transfers and reduce probate costs. A non-substantive committee substitute was still being prepared, and the bill was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• North Dakota doesn't have an indigent fund to assist with those fees.
• North Dakota doesn't have an indigent fund to assist with those fees.
• Then we kind of drop down to the indigent defense, the court facility fee... ...drop down to the indigent
• Travis Fink, Executive Director, Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents.
• The commission is specifically focused on how it affects indigence.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• "Now, what does that mean when they get the indigent?
• I know what indigent means, but in this case, what does that mean?
• <00:44:21.119> but come up and say I I declare indigent but come up and say I I declare indigent
• status as indigent. status as indigent. >> Okay.<00:44:29.839> Okay.
• indigent indigent that<00:44:52.000> they<00:44:52.240> can<00:44:52.480> sign<

Keywords: 923, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to create a statewide system to implement the constitutional and statutory right to counsel for indigent
• to create a statewide system to implement the constitutional and statutory right to counsel for indigent
• clients in Massachusetts the statute assigns the Cpc to counsel for indigent clients in Massachusetts
• As a result, the overall structure of the indigent defense system in Massachusetts is shaped both by
• as discrimination matters, or may wish to have a greater voice and advocacy on issues affecting indigent

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions held a public hearing on Initiative Petition 2522 / H. 5909, which would amend state labor law to treat the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) as a public employer and allow its employees to seek collective bargaining rights. The chair explained the Article 48 initiative process, noted that no opponents or members of the public had signed up to testify, and said written testimony would be accepted through March 20. The hearing focused on whether CPCS staff should be brought within the public-sector bargaining framework and how that would interact with the agency’s statutory duties. Expert testimony began with an NCSL analyst, who gave a national overview of public employee bargaining rights and examples of public defender unions in other states and localities, including Colorado, New York City, Indianapolis, Cook County, Maryland, and Illinois. Department of Labor Relations officials then reviewed prior failed organizing efforts at CPCS and its predecessor, explaining that earlier petitions were dismissed because the agency was not considered a public employer under existing law. They said passage of the initiative would not automatically unionize employees, but would allow a union to petition for an election or written majority authorization, with normal unit-appropriateness and supervisory/confidential employee issues still to be resolved. CPCS Chief Counsel Anthony Benedetti testified that the agency supports providing information to the legislature but is not taking a position for or against unionization. He described CPCS’s statutory responsibilities, size, and current efforts to expand staffing after recent indigent-defense crises, and said any new bargaining framework would need to operate alongside the agency’s obligations to provide counsel. Proponents from SEIU Local 888 and allied labor groups argued that CPCS employees have long been denied the same collective bargaining rights as other public workers, and that a union would provide just-cause protections, a voice on staffing and working conditions, and better support for recruitment and retention. CPCS attorneys and staff testified in favor of the measure, citing heavy caseloads, rapid expansion, inadequate supervision and office support, and the need for representation in disciplinary and workplace disputes. Committee members asked about bargaining-unit composition, the role of the DLR, the effect of unionization on attorneys’ ethical duties, and the use and cost of paid signature gathering. The hearing ended with no votes taken and no opposition testimony presented.

Transcript Highlights:

• not clearly specify how these These schedules should apply to attorneys representing children and indigent
• entitled to reasonable fees and expenses set by the court to be paid by the parents unless they are indigent
• I am the director of family protection representation at the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and I'm
• counties don't have a fee schedule for child protection cases or they have submitted their criminal indigent
• I actually sat on the task force with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. committee that worked on

Bills: SB387, SB1650, SB1838, SB1839, SB1923, SB1940, SB2052

Keywords: judicial bond, guardianship, probate law, county judge, statutory county court, attorney general, criminal prosecution, public order, law enforcement, jurisdiction, attorney ad litem, parent-child relationship, compensation, legal representation, government entity, probate, court proceedings, record delivery, wills, legal documentation

Transcript Highlights:

• They help indigent individuals in these civil matters. So these are not new uses for that fund.
• Indigent folks that may be targeted by federal actions. Okay, thank you.
• Legal defense services for indigent individuals.
• It supports indigent individuals filling out paperwork, giving advice on tenancy issues, and a whole
• So this targets specifically more rural areas and also areas where there are more indigent immigrants

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, I can easily see that an indigent person might have trouble getting it even if they knew when and
• So, I can easily see that an indigent person might have trouble getting it even if they knew when and
• Um, how do you define or how would you think indigent would be defined because it's not in the bill?
• Um, how do you define or how would you think indigent would be defined because it's not in the bill?
• would be defined because it's indigent would be defined because it's not<00:35:53.359> in<00:

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 219, which would revise the renewable portfolio standard. Representative Bose explained that the bill would modify class one definitions, eliminate class two, reduce the utility obligation for class one thermal renewable energy certificates from 2.2% to 1.7%, and adjust alternative compliance payments for classes one, three, and four. He said the changes were intended to save ratepayers an estimated $5.7 million annually, would not materially harm the renewable portfolio standard, and would have little effect on class two because that market is already saturated. Members questioned the impact on consumers, the state budget, and the renewable energy fund; Bose said the fund had already been redirected in the state budget, and another member noted an amended fiscal note showing a $1.2 million reduction in general fund revenue. The committee also discussed the bill’s history, including that it had been added to HB 2 and later removed by the Senate, and Bose said the Senate’s eventual action was hard to predict. The committee then heard House Bill 164 on local records retention from Secretary of State David Scanlan. He said the long-standing local records manager position had never been funded, but that the need for it had grown as towns increasingly digitize records and must ensure accessibility, including ADA compliance. He described the bill as a way to provide state support and expertise to municipalities, especially smaller towns with limited resources, and said the fiscal note for hiring the position remained accurate, though broader website and storage costs could rise over time. Members asked about retrieving lost records, the cost of a public website, and whether records should remain local or be stored at the state level; Scanlan said the state would serve as a resource rather than take control of local records. Finally, the committee began work on House Bill 365, also with Secretary Scanlan, concerning proof of U.S. citizenship for indigent voters. He said the bill would help voters who may lack required documents under the new voter registration law by allowing the state to verify qualifications through federal, private, or other state databases and by providing vouchers to cover the cost of obtaining documents such as birth certificates. He compared the proposal to earlier voter ID accommodations and said the goal was to help qualified voters meet the new requirements without weakening them. Members raised questions about defining “indigent,” how out-of-state birth records would be handled, and the practicality of the verification process; Scanlan said the term would likely need further discussion and that the state would try to assist voters before election day whenever possible.

Transcript Highlights:

• Under, under current law, indigent persons in family court are appointed from a list of approved attorneys
• Uh, SB 2501 addresses this by allowing indigent parents to, uh, in child welfare cases filed by DFPS
• control of their children, and this legislature has previously enacted a statute that mandates that indigent
• So indigent parents often get assigned an attorney that doesn't understand.
• Like I said, if they raise money, this would allow indigent parents to be able to have that same latitude

Transcript Highlights:

• While we agree with the overarching intent of the bill to ensure consistent and high-quality indigent
• While we agree with the overarching intent of the bill to ensure consistent and high-quality indigent
• The fundamental issue here is that the state is not providing state funding for indigent defense.
• The challenge is that our indigent defense system became a county-based system.
• Yeah, first of all, I'd like to say that I am in support of indigent defense.

Summary: The committee heard several public safety and criminal justice bills. AB 837 by Assemblymember Davies would add ketamine transportation to existing drug trafficking law; supporters, including district attorneys and peace officer groups, said it would address a growing and dangerous drug trend, while opponents argued increased penalties do not reduce drug supply and can worsen health harms. The bill was approved on a due-pass-as-amended vote and sent to Appropriations. AB 352 by Assemblymember Pacheco would make threats against judges and court commissioners an aggravating factor in sentencing; judicial and law enforcement groups supported it as a response to rising threats, while ACLU and criminal justice advocates said existing law already covers threats and the bill is unnecessary. It also passed to Appropriations. The committee then took up AB 938 by Assemblymember Bonta, which expands vacatur and affirmative-defense relief for survivors of human trafficking, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence, including for some violent offenses. Survivors and advocates testified that the bill would allow people coerced into crimes to tell their full stories and seek relief, while district attorneys and sheriffs warned it could sweep too broadly and affect public safety. The chair and several members strongly supported the measure, and it passed as amended to Appropriations. AB 475 by Assemblymember Wilson would make prison work assignments voluntary and is tied to a broader effort to remove involuntary servitude language from the state constitution; supporters framed it as a rehabilitation and dignity issue, while one member objected to the premise and cited the defeat of a related ballot measure. The bill was voted out to Appropriations but left on call pending additional votes. Assemblymember Lowenthal presented AB 704, which would allow people convicted of low-level offenses before age 26 to petition to seal and destroy records after a waiting period. Supporters said the bill addresses the limits of expungement in the digital age and recognizes young adult brain development; prosecutors and police groups raised Brady/disclosure concerns and objected to treating 18- to 25-year-olds like children. The committee debated those issues at length before sending the bill to Appropriations. Lowenthal also presented AB 812, which would expand resentencing opportunities for incarcerated firefighters who serve on conservation fire crews; supporters emphasized rehabilitation, wildfire response, and reduced recidivism, and the hearing continued with support testimony and the start of opposition testimony as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've invested in indigent care and women's health and just regular people's ability to see doctors.
• It invests $125 million in county indigent care for uninsured Californians and $250 million to shore
• It invests $125 million in county indigent care for uninsured Californians and $250 million to shore
• And in particular, I want to thank the Assembly for your leadership on the indigent care piece.
• We appreciate your leadership in providing funding to establish county indigent care programs and for

Summary: The Assembly Budget Committee met to consider the 2026 Budget Act, which leaders said was the negotiated compromise with the Senate and was expected to move to the floor that evening. Opening remarks emphasized that the plan balances the budget over two years, reduces the structural deficit, and builds reserves, while also protecting core services in the face of federal cuts. Jason Sisney outlined the legislative budget framework and the likely floor bills, including AB 109, SB 110, SB 122, and SB 125. Department of Finance representative Eric Khali said the administration appreciated the two-year balanced approach and supported the modification in SB 122, while noting the package uses additional revenues and new spending to soften or reject some proposed cuts. Most of the discussion focused on major spending areas. Members and subcommittee chairs highlighted protections and additions for health care and human services, including rejecting the proposed Medi-Cal asset limit change, delaying premium increases, restoring clinic and dental funding, supporting distressed hospitals and county indigent care, and expanding county eligibility staffing to handle H.R. 1-related workload. Education members described record or expanded support for TK-12 schools, child care, special education, community colleges, teacher recruitment, and higher education, including a change to extend Cal Grant eligibility to age 30 for some community college students. Housing and homelessness funding was increased for HAP, multifamily housing, and the low-income housing tax credit, while public safety members pointed to investments in victims’ services, restorative justice, and prison closure savings. Several members also raised concerns or priorities tied to the budget deal. Some praised the package as a moral document that protects vulnerable Californians, immigrant communities, LGBTQ residents, seniors, and people with disabilities. Others noted unresolved issues, including the MCO tax’s impact on districts, the need for more support for local journalism, arts, biotech R&D incentives, transit and GGRF-related concerns, and the need for continued work on Prop. 98 and long-term fiscal resilience. The vice chair cautioned that despite the current progress, the state remains vulnerable to revenue volatility and warned that the budget should build more resilience against a possible downturn. No formal vote was taken in the portion provided, but the committee was preparing the budget package for floor action and final negotiations.

Transcript Highlights:

• Article 26.051 of the Code of Criminal Procedure addresses the provision of legal defense for indigent
• requires the Texas Board of Criminal Justice to provide legal representation for an inmate who is indigent
• Section 841.05 requires the Office of the State Counsel for Offenders to represent indigent individuals
• The TBCBCJ's board, uh, role in providing legal representation to indigent inmates.
• clarify real quick we are for this because we believe that that the representation, uh, no matter indigent

Bills: HB153

Transcript Highlights:

• indigent barrels burials. indigent barrels burials.
• <02:34:03.600> burials And they can pay for indigent burials And they can pay for indigent
• And they can pay for that indigent And they can pay for that indigent burial,<02:34:18.320> but
• for whom they are paying indigent for whom they are paying indigent burials<02:34:48.480> fees
• fees indigent burial services burials fees indigent burial services for<02:34:51.000> that<02:

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• providing representation to Indigent providing representation to Indigent criminal<01:36:56.199>
• approximately 85% of all Indigent approximately 85% of all Indigent criminal<01:37:00.320> representation
• No, Representative Weyler, how do you determine that someone is indigent?
• Okay, is that because there's more crime or there's more indigence or maybe some of both?
• And then if folks are indigent, the fee may be waived in other cases.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony from Insurance Commissioner DJ Bettencourt on the New Hampshire Insurance Department budget. He said the department is self-funded through assessments on insurers based on New Hampshire premium volume, with about $8 billion in premiums written in the state and a department budget of roughly $15.5 million. He explained that the department has 88 authorized positions, eight vacancies, and that three full-time positions were unfunded after the governor’s requested 4% reduction exercise. He also said the department is trying to balance staffing needs with not overburdening carriers during a hard insurance market. A major topic was the department’s $2.6 million rebate to industry from the prior fiscal year, which Bettencourt described as a credit against the next assessment rather than a direct cash payment. Members questioned why that credit was not reflected as a reduction in the upcoming budget, and Bettencourt and staff explained that the budget assumes full staffing and full spending, with any year-end surplus returned to insurers. The commissioner said the department had added staff in recent years for succession planning and to preserve institutional expertise, and that the rebate reflects careful budgeting rather than excess spending. Members also asked about staffing changes by division, including positions unfunded in fraud, property and casualty examinations, life and health examinations, and tax. Bettencourt said fraud investigations remain strong and that the department can use outside contractors for examinations, with those costs billed to the company being examined. He also described the department’s examination process, including periodic financial exams and targeted market conduct reviews triggered by consumer complaints or trends. Additional questions covered OIT transfers, the department’s oversight of fully insured health coverage, the insurance premium tax and fines going to the general fund, and the department’s limited role in auto repair reimbursement disputes, where he said complaints have recently declined.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is an item that, that came to the attention, uh, uh, of the two of us via the Texas Indigent Defense
• This is where you've got a group of attorneys that are, that are managed for indigent defense.
• And one of the gaps that Texas Indigent Defense Commission, um, was, uh, highlighted for us was, was
• conflicts and that, that, that if parents have information that would allow them to qualify for indigent
• I am the executive director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.

Transcript Highlights:

• Moving on to item 8, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.
• Turning to page 7, the effect of this decision has pot Positively impacted the provision of indigent
• Total appropriations for OLS functions equaled $45,000. $34.9 million in general revenue for indigent

Keywords: 1184, house, all