Transcript Highlights:

• He worked on hundreds of bills and was instrumental in legislation that has left a lasting impact on
• He worked on hundreds of bills and was instrumental in legislation that has left a lasting impact on
• Why were those economic impacts not taken into account as we adjusted the BSA?
• And this is a budget that doesn’t even anticipate what some of those impacts might be.
• What happens to the students impacted by this?

Transcript Highlights:

• And so because it is so impactful, because of some of the...
• Our farmers in the Valley have been impacted.
• This model unintentionally limits the impact of a well-intentioned program.
• So Brazil, just because Argentina had it, they had 80% inflation.
• So we can't handle an inflation rate of 7 percent. Imagine 80 percent.

Bills: HB43 , HB3364 , HB3469 , HB3479 , HB43

Committee: House Agriculture & Livestock

Keywords: agriculture, finance, young farmers, financial assistance, pest control, veterinarian, veterinary medicine, veterinary telemedicine, telehealth, telemedicine, veterinarian-client-patient relationship, VCPR, animal health, livestock, pets, remote care, electronic means, telephone consultation, controlled substances, prescription drugs

Summary: The second bill, House Bill 3469, was introduced to address pest control regulations concerning nuisance birds. Representative Campos explained how the bill proposes non-lethal methods to deter these birds, such as the use of laser lights and sounds, which avoids conflict with both state and federal regulations. The committee heard impassioned testimonies from members of the public who shared firsthand experiences regarding the adverse effects of these birds on property and public health. The meeting concluded with both bills being left pending, reflecting a desire for further deliberation among the committee members.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:44:04.640><c> of</c> today to discuss the positive impact of today to discuss the positive impact
• :44:27.839><c> programs,</c> would significantly impact our programs, would significantly impact our
• It's one of the hardest, most impactful jobs in education.
• Our reach is vast and it makes an impact.
• Students is vast and it makes an impact.

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• cost-and-market impact review.
• And it's important to be impacting every part of the market.
• And it's important to be impacting every part of the market.
• And so we absolutely want to impact premiums over time.
• So, just updating it for inflation would increase.

Summary: The hearing began with testimony from Let California Kids Hear and supporters urging action on pediatric hearing aid coverage. Advocates said California has repeatedly failed to enact a workable solution over the past eight years and argued that children need early access to sound to support development. The proposal discussed would limit the coverage mandate to the large-group market, which advocates said would cover roughly 70% to 80% of affected children and avoid the exchange-related cost issue that contributed to prior vetoes. Supporters, including parents, audiologists, and children’s health groups, backed the proposal, and the chair expressed sympathy and support while noting hope for a federal solution for exchange plans. The Department of Finance then gave opening remarks about the state’s structural deficit and the need to balance new investments against projected out-year shortfalls. HCAI followed with a broad overview of its programs, including CalRx insulin and naloxone initiatives, reproductive health grants, the Office of Health Care Affordability, hospital seismic compliance, workforce programs, and the diaper access initiative. Members asked about geographic targeting of workforce funds, the behavioral health workforce pipeline, and the status of the 21st Century Nursing Initiative, which HCAI said had reverted funds. The committee also discussed a proposed transfer of the Data Exchange Framework and Office of the Patient Advocate to HCAI, new reporting on long-term care staffing and health coverage waiting periods, and a Behavioral Health Services Act workforce proposal that would use BHSA funds to support training, stipends, and technical assistance while offsetting $100 million in General Fund spending; members and LAO questioned the offset and asked for more detail, and the item was held open. HCAI also presented the Rural Health Transformation Program, explaining that California received $233.6 million in federal funds for the first year and had to revise its proposal so that $35 million in provider payments would be tied to specific transformative activities rather than general financial relief. The program will fund rural care model redesign, workforce development, and technology/infrastructure improvements, with grants to be rolled out on a tight timeline and subject to CMS approval. Members asked about the size of California’s award, the use of funds for maternity care, labor and delivery access, dialysis, tribal set-asides, and the role of a technical assistance contractor. The department said the program will use supply-and-demand workforce modeling to target funding and that all funds must be obligated by October 30. Finally, the Department of Managed Health Care outlined its budget and two major bill-related proposals: SB 41 on PBM reform and SB 306 on prior authorization transparency. DMHC said SB 41 would require PBM licensure, ban spread pricing, require rebate pass-through, and regulate pharmacy network practices, while SB 306 would require reporting on prior authorization and create a list of services exempt from prior authorization. DMHC requested additional positions and funding to implement both measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• I always like to point to the people and the people that we impact across the state.
• </c> elderly waiver program um that impacted elderly waiver program um that impacted provids<00:20:26.840
• </c><00:20:44.240><c> um</c> forecast we're seeing inflation um forecast we're seeing inflation um adjustments
• </c><01:18:12.400><c> the</c><01:18:12.560><c> current</c> even impact the current even impact the current
• or recovery residences, and whether it will also impact RCOs at all.

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• to our veterans, the Revenue Estimating Conference did score this bill and it has minimal fiscal impact
• Over just the last four years, it represents about $4 billion in recurring annual impact to the gross
• Over the last four years, it represents about $4 billion in recurring annual impact to the gross regional
• So one of the biggest concerns is capping it at 2024 levels doesn't really allow for inflation, market
• government would have a negative impact of $4.1 million.

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on March 13, 2025, for its first meeting of the session, with member and staff introductions followed by consideration of several tax-related bills. The committee first heard HJR 163 and its implementing bill HB 165, which would extend the homestead property tax exemption for quadriplegics to surviving spouses, similar to the treatment for surviving spouses of certain disabled veterans. Sponsor Rep. Tant and constituent J.R. Harding described the financial and caregiving burdens faced by spouses of quadriplegics. The committee heard supportive testimony from the Florida Association of Property Appraisers and members voted both measures favorably without opposition. The committee then considered HB 785 on heated tobacco products. Rep. Tramont said the bill would create a new tax/regulatory category for the product, and an amendment clarifying the definition was adopted. The James Madison Institute offered a resource on the issue, the Florida Retail Federation waived in support, and Ranking Member Eskamani said she had concerns about the excise tax treatment and would vote no. The bill passed 16-1. Next, HB 321, a property tax exemption clarification for homes for the aged, was presented by Rep. Smith as a technical “glitch bill” to align state law with IRS tax code and ease development of low-income senior housing. It drew supportive testimony and passed unanimously. The final bill, HB 503 by Rep. Botana, would cap local government revenue from local business taxes and require refunds if collections exceed the cap, with carve-outs for fiscally constrained areas. Local government and economic development groups, including the Florida League of Cities, the City of Winter Haven, the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, and the Florida Association of Counties, opposed the bill, arguing it would limit funding for public safety, inspections, economic development, and other services and create administrative refund problems. Several members supported the bill as a tax-cutting measure, while others warned of impacts on local services and revenue flexibility. The committee reported HB 503 favorably on a 14-5 vote, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's now indexed to inflation going forward under current law, so it increased 3.3 cents on January 1st
• going forward under indexed to inflation going forward under current<00:05:21.440><c> law</c><00:05:
• So, kind of working into the gap, a big piece of this is inflation.
• So, kind of working into the gap, a big piece of this is inflation.
• So if that number was prior to our big inflation hit, how much would that ticket be?

Bills: HF1167 , HF1242

Committee: House Transportation Finance and Policy

Keywords: Northern Lights Express, NLX, Minneapolis-Duluth rail, passenger rail, intercity passenger rail, high-speed rail, Duluth, Minneapolis, MnDOT, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Council, transportation funding, rail appropriation, general fund, trunk highway fund, rail project cancellation, infrastructure spending, commercial driver training, CDL, financial assistance

Transcript Highlights:

• And if you would consider what inflation has done in those preceding 13 years, if it takes us another
• If we just take the $100,000 and adjust it for inflation over 13 years, we're only at about $139,000.
• I just focused more on the increased authority and the impact that that would have on an operation.
• And I know inflation was mentioned.
• So if those two other million this goes to the GR, what will, what programs will that impact?

Committee: House Corrections and Public Institutions

Transcript Highlights:

• They feel the impacts of historic inflation, much of it tied to the growth in spending.
• The impacts of that will be seen in the future.
• It's like when you all get a fiscal impact statement.
• because we could line up 20 or so impact areas.
• And right now we've got six impact areas.

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• Her story illustrates the profound impact individualized attention can have if parents agree.
• We need that at least to maintain inflation and staff salaries.
• This is an issue though that frequently gets discussed in the context of how it impacts kids.
• This is an issue though that frequently gets discussed in the context of how it impacts kids.
• Access to child care does have real-world economic and workforce impacts.

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from its July 30, 2025 meeting. Members then heard a presentation from Roger McCann of the Department for Community Based Services on Kentucky’s 2026-2027 Community Services Block Grant state plan. He explained that the federally funded grant, now about $12 million annually, is distributed through 23 local community action agencies that use flexible funds for locally identified needs such as housing, nutrition, transportation, Head Start, and domestic violence services. McCann said the plan is submitted every two years and that the agencies served about 264,000 Kentuckians and 130,000 families in 2024. Senator Meredith asked whether there was a central place to review local projects, and McCann said regular reports exist and could be shared with members. The committee then approved the CSBG state plan by roll call vote. After that, members received an update on Kentucky’s state-designated domestic violence shelter programs from Angela Yanelli of ZeroV, Mary Foley of Maryman House Domestic Crisis Center, and Elizabeth Martin of the Center for Women and Families. The presenters described ZeroV’s role as the statewide domestic violence coalition, its 15 member programs across all area development districts, and its contract with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to provide emergency shelter, supportive services, housing assistance, and batterers intervention programming. They emphasized that services are available 24/7 and are trauma-informed, with a strong focus on children and family support. The domestic violence providers reported high demand and rising costs. ZeroV said its network served more than 14,000 adults and children in fiscal year 2025, including nearly 900 children in shelter and more than 500 in outreach, while Maryman House reported operating at 90-92% capacity, with 53 households waiting for emergency shelter and 63 more waiting for intake. Maryman House also described an 8-unit transitional housing complex and plans for a 48-unit apartment complex if tax credit funding is approved. The Center for Women and Families highlighted school-readiness support for children, tutoring, counseling, and family services, including back-to-school supplies and rights information for homeless students. No additional votes or formal actions were taken during the domestic violence presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• If we can address that market, it makes a big impact versus direct air, which we think is an important
• The credit was then raised in 2018, and then again in 2022 with the Inflation Reduction Act.
• And they can have an enormous impact on net GHG emissions calculations.
• We know these barriers limit participation overall, but may especially impact underserved groups.
• Household hazardous waste programs are often among the first services impacted.

Summary: The committee held an interim work session focused first on carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS), then on hazardous waste and extended producer responsibility (EPR). On the CCUS topic, industry and nonprofit presenters described point-source capture, direct air capture, mineralization, and geologic sequestration, emphasizing Washington’s basalt formations and state trust lands as strong candidates for storage. They argued that CCUS can help hard-to-abate industrial sectors, support jobs and investment, and provide a pathway for compliance, while also noting the need for clearer permitting, subsurface rights, pipeline authority, and storage infrastructure. Ecology and Commerce staff explained current state policy touchpoints, including Cap-and-Invest offsets and exemptions for permanently stored CO2, the public comment process underway to define “thousand-year” permanence, and how CCUS might fit within the Clean Energy Transformation Act without counting emitting generation as non-emitting. Some presenters supported more state action and primacy over federal permitting, while others warned about costs, energy use, uncertain capture performance, and the need to ensure real net greenhouse gas reductions and long-term liability protections. Members asked about public meetings, whether mineralized carbon would qualify as exempt under the Climate Commitment Act, the timeline for Ecology guidance, aquifer and water-quality concerns, energy intensity of capture systems, and liability if storage later proves problematic. Responses said Ecology’s guidance process is already underway, public meetings will be virtual, mineralized carbon would likely qualify if it meets the permanence standard, and EPA rules require storage in deep saline formations below drinking water aquifers. Industry speakers said capture energy use varies by source and concentration, and one presenter noted that some states use trust funds funded by injectors to address long-term liability. The second half of the session shifted to hazardous waste and EPR. Ecology staff reviewed existing product stewardship programs for electronics, paint, batteries, and mercury lights, and described moderate risk waste and household hazardous waste management in Washington. They highlighted that E-Cycle and PaintCare are producer-funded, that the battery stewardship program will begin in 2027, and that the mercury lamp program is in transition after its prior stewardship organization exited, prompting enforcement notices and a pending replacement plan. Ecology recommended best practices for future EPR programs, including clear producer and product definitions, full producer funding, convenience standards, annual reporting, and strong agency enforcement and plan approval authority. Local government speakers from King County and Douglas County described rising collection costs, equity and access barriers, rural travel distances, and the need for stable funding and flexible local implementation. King County said it collected over 3 million pounds of hazardous products in 2025 and supports EPR as a way to shift costs from ratepayers to producers, while Douglas County emphasized that rural residents will participate when services are accessible and that future systems should account for geography and local infrastructure.

Transcript Highlights:

• :32.359><c> impacts</c><00:58:32.799><c> that</c> counter realistic fiscal impacts that counter realistic
• We're talking about high-level economic sectors that will impact that stool leg.
• </c><01:13:37.679><c> the</c> gain their inpo input will impact the gain their inpo input will impact
• </c><01:15:01.880><c> um</c> be expected to mitigate this impact um be expected to mitigate this impact
• </c><03:07:34.359><c> the</c> population again it would impact the population again it would impact the

Committee: Senate Executive Departments and Administration

Transcript Highlights:

• Also impacted would be the Department of Revenue, which has seasonal hiring particularly during tax season
• ><c> be</c><00:10:30.160><c> Department</c><00:10:30.519><c> of</c><00:10:30.680><c> Revenue</c> impacted
• would be Department of Revenue impacted would be Department of Revenue uh<00:10:31.680><c> which</c>
• </c> me to talk about the positive impact me to talk about the positive impact that<00:25:02.399><c>
• ><00:25:12.320><c> of</c> Thank you for having me here and allowing me to talk about the positive impact

Bills: HF1 , HF1754 , HF1809 , HF1478

Committee: House State Government Finance and Policy

Keywords: Office of Inspector General, inspector general, legislative audit, fraud prevention, waste and abuse, public funds, grant oversight, state grants, grant management, whistleblower protection, retaliation, subpoena power, data practices, government transparency, accountability, law enforcement referrals, sanctions, debarment, payment withholding, public assistance fraud

Transcript Highlights:

• So, you know, when we start talking about the impact, we talk about elections and how important they
• But this will allow them, because of inflation and the higher cost, to utilize more money to clean up
• No impact to the State General Fund. No, sir. Okay.
• Okay, so on the $8 million, when you say inflation, that's 25 percent.
• only impact the local assessor's budget if they choose to opt in.

Bills: HB27 , HB143 , HB205 , HB308 , HB311 , HB417 , HB430 , HB562 , HB812 , HB1129

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: inmates, department of public safety, per diem, local correctional facilities, jail funding, insurance premiums, Municipal Fire and Police, dedicated fund, assessments, Louisiana legislation, hazardous waste, cleanup fund, environmental protection, state treasury, Consumer Price Index, law enforcement, firefighters, health insurance, survivors benefits, Lafayette

Transcript Highlights:

• the Commonwealth over the past several years while blunting the impact of the Trump administration's
• They also rescinded vital funds from the Inflation Reduction Act.
• This is a deep-seated crisis that has seen utility bills rising far faster than inflation, forcing too
• many of our neighbors, Bills rising far faster than inflation, forcing too many of our neighbors to
• He leaves behind a lasting impact on Fall River, Durfee High School, and the generations of students,

Transcript Highlights:

• the room today, and I agree that the goal to help voters better understand the potential financial impacts
• I'm here to talk about the new The petition includes AB 1188 due to the impacts on the petition review
• We're also concerned about tying this threshold to inflation.
• Those bills have been in effect for just four months now, and we need to allow time to see the impact
• So, for the purpose of this committee's consideration of this bill, I'm focused on the impact on county

Committee: House Elections

Transcript Highlights:

• So I'll just start by summarizing the economic impacts of the 2024-25 TAP year.
• We're also seeing the impact on the ground in real time. ESEs have been part of the...
• We're also seeing the impact on the ground in real time.
• It's not real impact.
• And so that will be a way to turn significant transportation impacts...

Transcript Highlights:

• Overall inflation has risen by 17.8%.
• Imagine being told your paycheck won’t increase for six years, no matter how high inflation climbs.
• Unfortunately, the 2025 dental rate cuts are already impacting access to care.
• Unfortunately, the 2025 dental rate cuts are already impacting access to care.
• Our lives will be greatly impacted, and you will not save money in the long run. Thanks.

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee continued its public hearing on House Bill 2289, the fiscal biennial supplemental operating budget appropriations bill. The chair and vice chair explained the hearing process, limited testimony to one minute per person, and then heard extensive public comment from a wide range of advocates, local officials, service providers, and residents. No committee vote was taken during the hearing. Much of the testimony focused on opposition to proposed budget shifts involving Climate Commitment Act revenue, especially the proposed diversion of $569 million to other uses, including the Working Families Tax Credit. Environmental, public health, and local government witnesses argued those funds should remain dedicated to climate pollution reduction, wildfire resilience, clean transportation, natural climate solutions, and affordability programs. Several speakers also urged full funding for wildfire response and forest health, including the HB 1168 commitment, and opposed transfers from the Public Works Assistance Account. Other major topics included Medicaid and long-term care rates, with nursing home and assisted living providers warning that freezing or delaying rate rebasing would worsen staffing shortages and threaten access to care. Public health and health care advocates opposed cuts to foundational public health services, Apple Health expansion, and pharmacy benefit changes, while oral health advocates asked to preserve Medicaid dental funding and support Dentist Link. Testimony also supported or opposed funding for K-12 programs such as special education, the Ninth Grade Success Initiative, and homeless student stability; early learning and child care subsidies; disability services; public defense; housing and homelessness prevention; food assistance; higher education; and immigrant legal services. The committee concluded the hearing and adjourned after public testimony ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, it might, I guess, impact efficiency overall.
• </c> might I guess it it would impact might I guess it it would impact efficiency efficiency efficiency
• </c><00:46:07.160><c> of</c> 2040 now to avoid the worst impacts of 2040 now to avoid the worst impacts
• </c><01:19:15.520><c> put</c> years we have seen High inflation put years we have seen High inflation
• </c> share just a short story of the impact share just a short story of the impact energy<01:23:14.159

Committee: House Energy Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• immediate responsibility, but doing the work that very few states do over the horizon, including inflation
• the work that very few states do over the horizon,<00:03:04.000><c> including</c><00:03:04.480><c> inflation
• /c><00:03:05.599><c> And</c><00:03:05.920><c> I</c><00:03:06.159><c> have</c> horizon, including inflation
• And I have horizon, including inflation.
• And I think in some of these areas there are savings that can be found without having any negative impact