Transcript Highlights:

• I can't pay that bill.'
• And you mentioned that we're paying interest. What rate of interest are we paying?
• interest, so I'd like to know what we're paying.
• We didn't pay them 35%. They're getting 10%.
• We didn't pay them 35%. They're getting 10.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, Attorney General, budget recommendations, funding swaps, salary increases, Landowner's Compensation Program, public testimony, law enforcement

Summary: The meeting focused on the budget recommendations for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), where key issues included the proposed decrease of $163.9 million for the 2024-25 biennium and various methodology swaps for funding. Attorney General Paxton discussed ongoing litigation expenditures and emphasized the need for continued investments in agency staffing to address rising demands within law enforcement. Notably, he requested a 6% salary increase for 2026 and 2027 to retain talented personnel amidst competitive job markets. Public testimony highlighted community awareness challenges regarding the Landowner's Compensation Program, indicating a need for enhanced outreach efforts.

Transcript Highlights:

• , when they pay, who they pay to, how their benefits are received, etc.
• who<00:13:32.640> they<00:13:32.800> pay who pays, when they pay, who they pay who
• pays, when they pay, who they pay to,<00:13:33.960> how<00:13:34.120> their<00:13:34.280
• still paying off to this day. still paying off to this day.
• that use it pay for the system. that use it pay for the system.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00 Roll Call: 00:36 HB 732 Discussion: 02:00 HB 732 Vote: 20:55 SB 343 Discussion: 23:39 SB 343 Vote: 28:54 SB 129 Discussion: 30:30 SB 129 Vote: 32:27, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We do pay maternity separately.
• So in terms of commercial and Medicare, they pay, they tend to pay less or similar and they have less
• Does it pay more? Well, we're going to change that.
• So it's like, okay, you pay your premium out, and then you also pay co-insurance, co-payments, et cetera
• But what you think about that, that is paying, that is robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Keywords: 907, all

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing focused first on Oregon Medicaid coordinated care organization (CCO) finances and rate setting. Oregon Health Authority staff explained how 2025 CCO financial results will inform 2027 capitation rates, including reserve requirements, subcapitation arrangements, and major cost drivers such as behavioral health, pharmacy, rural hospital costs, and dental directed payments. They said the Legislature’s added 2025 funding materially improved CCO margins and that, without it, the program would have been negative overall. Members asked about retained earnings, subcapitation, behavioral health utilization, ABA therapy, and whether outcomes are being evaluated; OHA said rate setting is actuarial and that CCOs, OHA, and other partners all play roles in monitoring efficacy and access. OHA also reviewed House Bill 4039 changes intended to increase transparency and give CCOs earlier access to rate information and reconciliation exhibits. CCO representatives then testified that the system is under significant financial pressure and that behavioral health state-directed payments, benefit changes, and federal uncertainty from H.R. 1 are reducing flexibility. CareOregon said it has lost more than $500 million over the last couple of years and is now making provider terminations and other network changes to align spending with available funding, while emphasizing that CCOs must make hard decisions about which services and providers can be sustained. Eastern Oregon CCO said rural and frontier factors, cost-based hospitals, air ambulance needs, and statewide efficiency adjustments are not fully reflected in rates, and that dental funding is especially strained. Trillium similarly warned that state-directed payments and benefit expansion pressures are constraining the global budget model and that H.R. 1 could worsen acuity and volatility. Members pressed the witnesses on who is responsible for evaluating treatment effectiveness, especially for ABA and psychotherapy, and on how utilization limits and reimbursement changes are being used to control costs. The committee then shifted to an overview of the Affordable Care Act and Oregon’s commercial insurance market. Department of Consumer and Business Services staff explained actuarial value, metal tiers, premium tax credits, medical loss ratio rules, and the main drivers of premium rates: cost trend, utilization trend, and administrative costs. They said mandates have likely added only a limited amount to premiums over the past decade, though the exact effect is difficult to isolate, and they gave examples of how high-cost, low-volume services versus broad, high-utilization services can affect rates differently. Staff also noted that Providence Health Plan and PacificSource Health Plans are withdrawing from the individual market, though consumers should still have at least three insurer options in every county and may have four in many counties. The division said it is in the middle of reviewing proposed 2027 rates and will continue its public rate review process, including hearings and written comment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are people paying... Are people buying more, or are they paying more for the goods they have?
• For example, if the insurance pays 80%, you pay 20%.
• While the insurance company is paying, it does not deduct what the patient is paying, although temporarily
• You have to pay the tax. The patient cannot pay more than $20.
• co-pay to go to the emergency room?

Transcript Highlights:

• Pay was really a big issue for me.
• Pay was really a big issue for me.
• about the pay. about the pay.
• A member then asked about non-hazardous duty pay and whether the issue was pay or pension.
• We are not asking for any pay. correct. We are not asking for any pay.

Bills: HB339

Keywords: Civil Air Patrol, CAP, emergency leave, job protection, employment discrimination, leave of absence, volunteer service, emergency response, Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, state employee leave, military leave, public employees, local government employers, reinstatement rights, seniority protection, unpaid leave, Meeting Start 00:00:03 Roll Call 00:00:14 Discussion of Local Law Enforcement Issues 00:03:08 Discussion of Civil Air Patrol Employment Protections 00:50:46 Adjournment 01:06:07, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Imagine you're a pet or pay provision?
• <00:04:00.480> Or doing work for paying customers. Or doing work for paying customers.
• <00:10:16.320> for I'm signing an agreement to pay for I'm signing an agreement to pay for
• In other types of stay-or-pay contracts, employers have demanded that departing employees pay them the
• Guardsmen to pay back their training. Guardsmen to pay back their training.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• between employer and employees to pay between employer and employees to pay for<00:04:37.240>
• <00:37:41.839> pay<00:37:42.079> the this bill the state would pay pay the this bill
• <00:38:39.599> for<00:38:39.800> the would pay would would still pay for the would
• They can give all they want as long as they're paying for them, but we'll pay for 12, and that makes
• They can give all they want as long as they're paying for them, but we'll pay for 12, and that makes

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:02 Attendance Roll Call: 00:49 Approval of Minutes: 01:55 CERS Retiree Health Subsidy Proposal: 02:14 SB 58: 24:05 TRS Sick/Annual Leave Proposal: 32:53 Adjournment: 48:00, 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the prior month’s minutes after a roll call established a quorum. It then heard testimony on a draft proposal from Senator Robbie Mills to increase CERS retiree health subsidies for members retiring on or after July 1, 2003. The bill would raise the non-hazardous subsidy from $14.63 to $40 per month per year of service and the hazardous-duty subsidy from $21.94 to $50, with employee contribution rates adjusted based on the health trust’s funded status. Supporters from sheriffs, firefighters, police chiefs, and the Kentucky League of Cities said the change would improve recruitment and retention, better align the subsidy with the cost of a single health plan, and preserve the system’s financial footing through shared employer-employee costs and funding triggers. Committee members asked about the fiscal impact, the effect of funding levels above 150%, and how the subsidy would work for rehired retirees or employees who later take private-sector jobs. Mills and other witnesses said preliminary actuarial work was still forthcoming, that the bill was intended to be revenue-neutral or close to it, and that the subsidy would continue to be paid monthly; they also noted existing 2008 rules for rehired retirees and said the benefit would still be available even if a retiree later had other insurance. One member suggested looking at stable accounts as an additional option for special-needs planning in a later bill. The committee then heard Senate Bill 58 from Senator Robin Webb, which would allow state employees to designate a Special Needs Trust as a beneficiary for retirement benefits. Webb said the measure would help employees provide for disabled dependents without jeopardizing SSI or Medicaid eligibility, and that the bill follows federal special-needs trust rules. He said the proposal could be revenue neutral, but actuarial analysis was still pending and KPPA had asked for electronic rather than paper transfer provisions. Members questioned whether the authority already exists, how the trust would work, and whether stable accounts should also be considered; Webb said he would follow up with additional information.

Transcript Highlights:

• platforms like Meta and Alphabet pay platforms like Meta and Alphabet pay little<00:04:04.480>
• The difference is paid households pay.
• paying the tax. paying the tax. Representative<00:34:55.040> Joy. Representative Joy.
• Let's just look at people who are pay.
• higher taxes, you can opt in and pay higher taxes, you can opt in and pay more<00:42:50.640>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• one of not paying rent?
• This is about who pays for when Mr.
• Who pays that expense? The owner pays that expense. This is about property rights.
• I pay my bills.
• Everybody is paying more than they can afford to pay rent in Texas, and this is just going to be a bigger

Bills: HB15, HB171, HB204

Keywords: flood risk, campground, safety regulations, civil penalty, guest safety, Harris County, flood control, governance, expansion, public health, local governance, environmental management

Transcript Highlights:

• If I want to pay it up front, if I owe $3,600, pay it early, I guess.
• If they pay earlier, they don't pay early.
• If they pay earlier, they don't pay early.
• would pay $1,140.
• If they don't pay before the early pay discount, they're going to pay $1,200.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 2401, which would require physicians to complete continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health as part of the state’s rural health transformation effort. HHS supported the bill, saying it would help physicians better address chronic disease and preserve federal grant points tied to the state’s application. A member of the public also testified in favor, arguing that better nutrition education could improve diabetes outcomes and reduce costs. The committee then adopted an amendment to add the Board of Occupational Therapy Practice to the background-check statute so the occupational therapy compact could proceed, and it passed the bill as amended on a roll call vote. The committee next heard House Bill 1621, which would require the Presidential Fitness Physical Fitness Test in elementary, middle, and high school physical education courses. HHS said the bill was part of the rural health transformation application and could help preserve federal funding, but members raised many questions about the test’s criteria, adaptive options for students with disabilities, equipment needs, and whether the bill should apply to non-public schools. Senator Clemens offered an amendment to limit the requirement to public schools, but it failed. Senator Hogan then offered an amendment to clarify exemptions and allow DPI to align implementation with federal guidance; that amendment passed. A further amendment adding language allowing DPI to establish criteria for and exceptions to the test also passed. The committee then approved the bill as amended on a roll call vote. The committee also considered House Bill 1622, which joins North Dakota to the physician assistant licensure compact. HHS said the compact would improve access to care, especially in rural areas, support military families, and help preserve rural health transformation funding. Members noted the compact had been discussed in a prior session and that many earlier concerns had been resolved. After brief discussion about the compact process and its consistency with other interstate compacts, the committee voted to do pass the bill. Finally, the committee began Senate Bill 2402, which expands pharmacists’ prescriptive authority and therapeutic substitution powers. HHS and the Board of Pharmacy supported the bill as a way to improve access to care and maintain rural health transformation funding. Senator Roers introduced a detailed amendment negotiated with the Board of Medicine and Board of Pharmacy to narrow and clarify the bill, including notification requirements, limits on certain drug categories, and patient-protection language for therapeutic substitution. The Board of Pharmacy then testified in support of the broader bill and explained the CLIA-waived testing provisions and the repeal of the older, narrower pharmacist-testing language. The hearing and amendment discussion were still underway when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• very low premiums or maybe not paying very low premiums or maybe not even<00:03:12.360> paying
• meaning state tax dollarss have to pay meaning state tax dollarss have to pay double<00:04:33.639
• <00:14:14.000> I regardless of their ability to pay I regardless of their ability to pay I
• particular exemptions from paying particular exemptions from paying premiums<00:18:41.159> now
• is paying into the provider<00:48:17.200> tax<00:48:17.559> which<00:48:17.760> pays

Bills: HF10, HF27

Keywords: undocumented immigrants, state funding, MinnesotaCare, scholarship ineligibility, state assistance, permit to carry, concealed carry, handgun permit, firearm permit, pistol training, sheriff, application process, electronic filing, mail application, fax submission, certified mail, certified delivery, gun rights, Second Amendment, firearms regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• So they go, she said, I'll pay 150 this month and I'll pay 150 next month.
• So they go, she said, I'll pay 150 this month and I'll pay 150 next month.
• <00:55:13.599> 150 I'll pay 150 this month and I'll pay 150 I'll pay 150 this month and I'll
• You have to pay the insurance. You have to pay the taxes.
• You have to pay the insurance. You have to pay the taxes.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Funding for the pay raise that the initial teachers, our beginning teachers received, we're paying that
• But let me end my comments with this remark: something's wrong when we're paying the salaries we're paying
• the teachers and we can pay $6 to $8, $9 million for a football coach, or we can pay $1.17 million to
• The merit pay, the state paid for.
• Why are we paying health benefits?

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is why we say that EWA companies like Daily Pay sell for frequency of pay disconnects by facilitating
• Once a user has made a transfer, we pay them their remainder pay or the amount of their full paycheck
• For the vast majority of daily pay users, we actually send this remainder pay the day before payday.
• You got an advance for $200 but you want your full pay on Friday and you'd rather pay us back at the
• following pay period.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:10:38.800> for having to choose between paying for having to choose between paying for
• They’d rather have just more money in their pocket so that they could pay their bills themselves.
• <00:26:11.919> the to the utilities so that they pay the to the utilities so that they pay
• Government comes in and pays those people directly when they cannot pay their higher utility bills, and
• Government comes in and pays those people directly when they cannot pay their higher utility bills, and

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House File 771, as amended, was laid over for possible inclusion. The bill would create a state supplemental grant program to build on LIHEAP, with the goal of expanding energy assistance beyond the winter season to cover summer cooling needs and reduce utility shutoffs. Representative Craft said the proposal would use existing LIHEAP systems, help more eligible households, and support related services like weatherization. The committee adopted the author’s amendment, DE2, without objection. Supporters testified that energy costs remain unaffordable for many Minnesotans, especially in rural areas and among low-income households, seniors, and people using delivered fuels. Annie Levenson-Faulk of the Citizens Utility Board said only about a quarter of eligible households receive assistance, summer shutoffs are common, and cooling needs have grown significantly. Trisha Leite of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association, Amanda Macky of Minnesota Valley Action Council, and Ken Schum of the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association all supported the bill, saying year-round assistance would help households, reduce disconnects, stabilize demand for aid, and ease pressure on utility rates. Michael Schmitz of the Department of Commerce said Minnesota has received about $112 million in LIHEAP funds so far this year and is awaiting additional federal money; he also noted recent funding has been lower than in prior years and inflation has reduced its value. Members discussed the scale of utility shutoffs, the increase in cooling demand, and whether the bill addresses root causes or serves as a temporary fix. Representative Weiner argued that the state should focus on keeping more money in taxpayers’ pockets and reducing the need for subsidies, while Representative Craft responded that the underlying issue is low incomes and widening wealth inequality, and that policies like the child tax credit are better ways to address poverty. The chair also asked how LIHEAP dollars flow, and Commerce said most benefits are paid directly to utilities on behalf of households rather than as direct cash payments to recipients.

Transcript Highlights:

• They must pay the loan, all the money that they were provided.
• Those operators must pay the costs.
• Medicaid enrollees do not currently pay premiums.
• And over time, what I'm hearing you say is that a private pay, someone who's paying privately for their
• It ups my insurance so that I can pay... ...get a surtax.

Bills: SB241, SB145, HB2

Keywords: child care, child care assistance, child care subsidy, early childhood education, early childhood care, daycare, preschool, pre-K, Head Start, Early Head Start, Children's Code, early childhood education and care department, ECECD, child care facilities, licensed child care, registered child care, copayments, waitlist, subsidy, federal poverty level

Transcript Highlights:

• Families have been able to close bank accounts, pay bills, pay mortuaries, pay everything they need to
• pay, and do what they needed to do.
• As a food truck business owner, we already have to pay Arizona state taxes, then pay each incorporated
• They will collect what you didn’t pay. You said they can’t go after you if you don’t pay.
• You get money now, you pay a fee, you pay it back later. That's a loan.

Bills: HB2118, HB2181, HB2308, HB2309, HB2402, HB2476, HB2682, HB2698, HB2875, HB2877, HB2903, HB2910

Keywords: mobile food vendors, licensure, food safety, statewide regulations, health standards, zoning, temporary vendors, HB2181, death certificate, death certificates, vital records, funeral establishment, funeral home, human remains, medical certification of death, death registration, state registrar, local registrar, county medical examiner, alternate medical examiner

Summary: The House Commerce Committee heard and advanced several bills. HB 2181, as amended, would extend the deadline for funeral establishments to submit death certificates from 7 days to a maximum of 14 days and clarify that a provider’s medical certification period excludes weekends and holidays. The sponsor and a mortuary owner testified that the current timeline is often difficult to meet because of weekends, holidays, doctor availability, county delays, and family circumstances. Several members said the bill did not fully address the underlying compliance problems, but the committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill 6-4-1. HB 2682 would create a DES rental assistance program offering up to two months or $5,000 in aid, with a $5 million general fund appropriation for administration. The sponsor and a tenant advocate described the bill as a short-term bridge to prevent eviction and homelessness, while an industry representative said rental assistance is an effective early intervention tool. Some members raised concerns about limiting eligibility to households with children and about program administration, but the bill passed 7-4. HB 2698 would create a rental assistance study committee to evaluate program effectiveness and repeal in 2028; it passed on a 7-4 vote. HB 2476 would revise CPA certification and reciprocity requirements, creating multiple pathways to licensure and updating related rules and fees. Supporters said it would help address a CPA shortage and align Arizona with other states; after clarification from the sponsor and the State Board of Accountancy, the committee passed it unanimously, 11-0. The committee then heard HB 2308, which would bar dental insurers and certain holding companies from owning dental practices; the Arizona Dental Association supported it as a safeguard against vertical integration, while Delta Dental opposed it as overbroad and burdensome. The bill passed 8-0-3. Finally, the committee began hearing HB 2118 on mobile food vendors and local permitting, with the sponsor and food truck operators arguing for streamlined county/state licensing and reduced local duplication, while a vendor representative warned the proposal could affect existing local ordinances and private-property vendors.

Transcript Highlights:

• If we could get people in other states to help pay for electricity, pay those taxes, that's a positive
• taxes they pay. taxes they pay.
• <01:36:11.840> That's pays tax on that production. That's pays tax on that production.
• for three years then it starts to pay for three years then it starts to pay the<02:42:07.840>
• We'd have to have some to pay it."

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So rather than pay a have to file.
• would have proposed, they don't pay would have proposed, they don't pay anything<00:16:38.320>
• only 1,500 bucks for the time you pay only 1,500 bucks for the time you pay for<00:16:47.199>
• filing fee and and what you pay amount filing fee and and what you pay in<00:16:50.560> the<00
• have been paying into group two. have been paying into group two.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee first adopted amendment 2026-2021S to correct a drafting issue in the budget language so that the $2.5 million appropriation for Medicaid per diem rate stabilization at county nursing homes can be spent during the biennium rather than lapsing at the end of the fiscal year. Senator Lang explained that the funds are matched with federal dollars for a total of $5 million and are intended to prevent rate reductions that could shift costs to county property taxpayers. The amendment was adopted unanimously by both chambers, and the committee proceeded on the bill as amended by the Senate. The main discussion then focused on HB 155 and a proposed amendment to the business enterprise tax. The House proposal would lower the BET rate in stages when combined business tax revenues exceed certain thresholds, while the Senate opposed an immediate rate reduction and argued that tax changes should be handled in a budget year. Senators emphasized that raising the filing threshold to $375,000 had already removed about 3,500 small businesses from filing requirements, and they preferred further relief through threshold changes rather than rate cuts. House members argued that the trigger-based reduction was a reasonable, tested mechanism and would provide future tax relief without taking effect unless revenues rose enough. Members debated whether the trigger could be distorted by one-time revenue spikes, such as the recent tax amnesty receipts and prior federal repatriation-related revenue, and Representative Sweeney said he was willing to adjust the effective date or carve out amnesty revenue. The committee did not reach agreement on the BET reduction, and the chair called a break and then continued the meeting later with a new proposal to delay the trigger’s effective date to January 1, 2028. Senator Lang rejected that version but offered a counterproposal to raise the filing threshold to $400,000, and the parties ultimately agreed to continue discussions and reconvene later. The meeting also took up HB 1102, concerning the research and development tax credit and state park fees. The House position was to support the R&D tax credit but remove the park-fee provisions, citing testimony from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources that it did not need the increase and concerns about discouraging tourism, especially at border parks. Supporters of the park-fee language argued that the department had not raised rates in years, could set its own rates, and should be able to charge nonresidents more while keeping New Hampshire residents’ fees lower. The discussion remained unresolved, with members debating the likely effect on tourism and fairness to residents versus the need for additional revenue.

Transcript Highlights:

• When we go to pay a $126 annual fee.
• Um, is it to say we're paying our fair share or we feel like as EV owners we're paying more than our
• Don't have to do that no more, but sales tax we pay, property tax we pay.
• Don't have to do that no more, but sales tax we pay, property tax we pay.
• Uh, and you property tax we pay.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation met with a quorum, approved the June 3, 2026 minutes, and then heard a presentation from Mike Proctor of Evolve Kentucky on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Proctor described Evolve Kentucky as a nonprofit formed in 2016 to promote EV adoption and charger deployment, said the group has helped place more than 135 chargers at 65 locations, and reported that Kentucky EV registrations have grown rapidly but still represent about 1% of the state’s roughly 3 million vehicles. He also outlined the group’s view that EV drivers and charger operators already contribute to state revenue through annual vehicle fees, charger taxes, utility taxes, and related business taxes, and cited figures showing rising revenue collections as EV adoption increases. A major theme of the presentation was that EV owners are paying their “fair share” rather than being overcharged. Proctor said the current $126 annual EV fee is roughly comparable to the fuel tax a typical gasoline vehicle would pay, and noted that public charging can add additional tax burdens for drivers who cannot charge at home, such as those living in apartments or condos. He also argued that EVs provide broader benefits, including lower noise and air pollution, grid-stabilizing nighttime charging, tourism spending at destination chargers, and reduced road wear for passenger EVs compared with much heavier vehicles. Members questioned Proctor about whether EV owners are paying more than their fair share, how the fee compares with gasoline taxes, and whether apartment and condo residents are disproportionately affected because they rely on public chargers. Proctor responded that the fee was intended to bring EV owners into parity with gas vehicles, not to overcharge them, and said some public chargers are free while others are used by drivers who cannot charge at home. No additional votes or formal actions were taken beyond the minutes approval.