Transcript Highlights:

• and regional level.
• Chair, and of course to the panel.
• There continues to be a level of disparity.
• So I will give you that, but income levels haven't risen on that level, right?
• to incentivize via our ZIP program entry-level homes that are coming in at about the... 250 level, but

Bills: SB48, SB64, SB100

Keywords: State Fairgrounds District, fairgrounds bonds, public financing, bond authorization, gross receipts tax, gaming tax, tax-backed bonds, infrastructure funding, Albuquerque fairgrounds, State Fair Tid, economic development, municipal bonds, revenue pledge, capital projects, New Mexico finance, special education, office of special education, deputy secretary, public education department, IEP

Transcript Highlights:

• And of course, Life, limb, eyesight. We get infrastructure.
• And of course, logistics.
• And the men and women that work in our EOCs, both at the county level and at the state level, sacrifice
• And the men and women that work in our EOCs, both at the county level and at the state level, sacrifice
• That is a contract that is set at the local county level.

Summary: The committee received a program review from the Florida Division of Emergency Management on the 2024 hurricane season and FEMA reimbursement process. Deputy Director Keith Pruitt described the impacts of Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton, including major storm surge, flooding, tornadoes, debris removal, power restoration, flood-control deployments, sheltering, and logistics missions. He emphasized that Florida’s approach is “federally funded, state managed, locally executed,” and said the division has already obligated large amounts of public assistance funding and mitigation dollars while continuing to work on remaining missions and reimbursements. A major focus of the discussion was how local governments can better document and vet debris-removal and other disaster costs so they are eligible for FEMA reimbursement. Chair DiCeglie and other senators raised concerns about local planning, commercial debris collection, and whether counties and municipalities that spend money up front will be reimbursed. Pruitt explained that eligibility depends on documentation, scope of work, insurance, and FEMA rules, and that the state’s FROC process is intended to help counties identify eligible work before costs are incurred. He also said commercial debris may be eligible in some cases but is not guaranteed, and that counties should coordinate early with FDEM and FEMA. Senators also asked about possible FEMA reforms, the age of outstanding reimbursement claims, and a proposed state fund to advance money to fiscally constrained counties while they wait for FEMA payments. Pruitt said Florida’s system is a national best practice, but that more county-level training and clearer coordination would help reduce de-obligations and audit problems. He said the reimbursement-advance idea is still being developed, and that the state continues to look at ways to streamline mitigation through programs like Elevate Florida. The committee took no formal action beyond hearing the presentation, and the meeting adjourned after closing comments from senators praising FDEM’s work.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><00:01:44.880> is ultimate accountability, of course, is ultimate accountability, of course,
• There were lots of level set. Right?
• just want to make sure that we're level just want to make sure that we're level setting<01:10:35.080
• I'm<01:11:51.240> a<01:11:51.280> good Of course, I'm Of course, I'm a good Of course
• , I'm Of course, I'm a good representative.<01:11:52.200> Of<01:11:52.360> course,<01:11

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Like, how do we push at the federal level to speed that flow?
• Like how do we push at the federal level to speed that flow?
• DHCS provides that level of care assessment, just for some context.
• DHCS provides that level of care assessment just for some context.
• The budget change, of course, we need more definition on that.

Summary: The committee heard a budget oversight hearing on the Department of Health Care Services, focusing first on the overall Medi-Cal budget and a March General Fund loan to cover a current-year shortfall. DHCS said the 2025-26 budget proposal totals $193.4 billion, with Medi-Cal projected at $188.1 billion total funds and $42.1 billion General Fund, driven by higher enrollment, pharmacy costs, managed care growth, and costs tied to eligibility expansions and the COVID-era redetermination unwinding. The department said the $3.44 billion loan was needed to manage cash flow and ensure timely payments to providers and plans, while the LAO noted Medi-Cal’s cash-basis budgeting creates volatility and that more detailed estimates would come with the May Revision. Members discussed federal Medicaid threats, the need for transparency on cost drivers, and the impact of pharmacy spending, long-term care, and immigration-related coverage expansions. The second major topic was family health programs, including California Children’s Services, the continuous coverage unwinding, and opioid settlement fund spending. DHCS described CCS funding methodology changes, ongoing county stakeholder work, and a delayed rollout of CCS monitoring and oversight until July 1, 2025, while county representatives and advocates argued the program is underfunded and asked for more technical assistance and a delay in implementation. On the unwinding, the department explained that federal redetermination flexibilities helped maintain coverage after the pandemic, but the Governor’s budget proposes ending them at the end of June 2025; advocates urged making the flexibilities permanent to avoid coverage losses. For opioid settlement funds, DHCS and Finance said the budget increases funding for naloxone distribution while reducing other harm-reduction spending based on updated settlement revenues, prompting criticism from members and public commenters who argued the change would weaken effective harm-reduction programs. The hearing also included an update on Proposition 35 implementation. DHCS said the voter-approved measure continuously appropriates MCO tax revenues beginning in 2025, with up to $4.6 billion annually available for specified Medi-Cal and provider investments in 2025 and 2026, but implementation depends on consultation with the required stakeholder advisory committee. The department and LAO noted uncertainty about future federal rules affecting the MCO tax after 2026. Public testimony largely supported maintaining Medi-Cal expansions, protecting immigrant coverage, preserving harm-reduction funding, and increasing support for community health workers, pediatric dental care, and CCS county administration. No votes were taken during the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the reserve level.
• Now, in all of these plans, they have trigger levels based upon groundwater levels on quantity.
• Of course, that's weather dependent.
• Of course, that's weather dependent.
• versus Audubon water levels?

Summary: The Water Topics Overview Committee met with a quorum and received updates from the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Commission, followed by presentations from Deloitte on two legislative studies required by House Bill 1020. Director Reese Haas reviewed major project and budget updates, including the Northwest Area Water Supply and Southwest Pipeline projects, Resources Trust Fund balances, carryover spending, project prioritization, bid conditions, regional water system coverage, and department process improvements. Members also discussed how the commission prioritizes projects, maintenance expectations, and the impact of limited municipal water supply funding. No formal committee action was taken during the DWR update; the commission’s municipal funding decisions were described as pending its April 8 meeting. Deloitte then presented the cost-share policy study, which found that under current policy and forecasted revenues, North Dakota faces an estimated $1.3 billion shortfall over 14 years, with a near-term gap of about $1.8 billion through 2031. The firm outlined seven recommended options, including tighter definitions and a 25% cost share for eligible replacement projects, caps and financing strategies for the Mouse River and Red River Valley projects, aligning cost share with commission priority guidance, delaying lower-priority projects, using available lines of credit, and adjusting reimbursement timing for revolving loan funds. Committee members questioned inflation assumptions, affordability, user fees, and the use of legacy fund earnings for bonding, but no decisions were made. In the governance and finance study, Deloitte said final recommendations are still being refined, with a final report due May 29. The study examined the Southwest Pipeline, NAWS, and Red River Valley systems using governance and finance criteria such as decision authority, transparency, affordability, risk, and access to funding. For Southwest, Deloitte outlined options ranging from improved state-authority coordination to transferring ownership to the Southwest Water Authority; for NAWS, options focused on strengthening the authority’s role and potentially transitioning operations and maintenance; and for Red River, options ranged from enhanced facilitation to formal state oversight or state ownership. Members asked follow-up questions about ownership transfer, capital repayment streams, and why NAWS was not considered for transfer, and Deloitte said NAWS’s limited organizational maturity made that option less viable in the near term.

Transcript Highlights:

• than the local level.
• Some exceptions around Capital Outlay and other things like That, of course.
• I was surprised coming here to see the level of chronic.
• And I'm pleased to see your own courses because it relates to my first question.
• Of course, now we. Have free meals at schools. We have, we now have.

Transcript Highlights:

• What is the peer-reviewed scientific basis for setting the levels?
• That's 100% of the 2005 emissions levels.
• And that would be at that local level in Albuquerque, is that right?
• To an acceptable level, I think that's remarkable.
• What the level of statewide greenhouse gas emissions is.

Transcript Highlights:

• And you can see that the folks who answer the calls are either bachelor's or master's level, people with
• Of course. Thank you, committee. Hopefully, there... There we go.
• Enrique Cardiel serves, of course, as the director here for Bernalillo County.
• In addition to that, there are different benefits at the tribal level.
• We have struggled with our PMS clinics closing, and that was done on a government level or private level

Transcript Highlights:

• And of course, one is that, of the area of the figure that we have created.
• And of course, one is the highest that is achievable.
• Municipalities, of course, we have towns, cities, and villages.
• That would be the data that's available to us now at that level that we would need—the block level, census
• But of course, that decision will be binding precedent for other courts.

Summary: The Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting met for an informational presentation from outside counsel Andy Bartos on the legal standards governing congressional redistricting. He reviewed federal Equal Protection principles, Florida’s non-diminishment provision, and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, explaining how race can be considered in redistricting but generally cannot be the predominant factor. He also discussed the Florida Constitution’s tiered standards, including the prohibition on intentional political favoritism, compactness, and the requirement to use existing political and geographical boundaries where feasible. Bartos focused on two recent or pending cases: the Florida Supreme Court’s Black Voters Matter decision, which upheld the legislature’s 2022 congressional map and held that the non-diminishment clause does not justify making race predominant absent specific identifiable discrimination, and Louisiana v. Callais, pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, which may further clarify whether race may be used predominantly to comply with the Voting Rights Act or whether Section 2 remains constitutional as applied. He also explained how courts assess compactness and intent, and how data such as the 2020 census, voter registration, turnout, and election results are used for voting-rights analysis. Members asked about what triggers redistricting, whether the legislature must redraw maps now, what data is available in the mapping tool, how intent is measured, and whether public input opportunities will be provided. Bartos said redistricting timing is largely a legislative judgment unless a court requires changes, that the committee can consider whether BVM or the eventual Callais decision warrants revisions, and that the Callais ruling will bind Louisiana directly but serve as precedent for other courts. No votes or legislative actions were taken, and the meeting adjourned after the presentation and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• So if we, yes, of course, the hope is...
• To this critical point, I have to add this level of detail.
• Of course, what we want is to get that liquidity we need in the market.
• Of course. Chair, I recognize Representative Noble. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
• This level of support would be helpful in achieving that.

Bills: HB511, HB972, HB 1035, HB2481, HB2723, HB2742, HB2894, HB2962, HB3077, HB3093, HB3307, HB3684, HJR67, HJR72

Keywords: ad valorem taxation, caregiver exemption, Medicaid, long-term services, tax relief, assisted living, housing support, property tax exemption, caregiver support, residence homestead, tax exemption, unpaid caregiver, state tax code, property tax, caregiver, waiting list, intellectual disability, developmental disability, ad valorem tax, family support

Transcript Highlights:

• First, of course, we changed the address because VCA has beautiful new offices.
• The agency, of course, has, you know, procurement act. agency, of course, has, you know, Procurement
• First, of course, we changed the address because VCA has beautiful new offices.
• First, of course, we changed the address because VCA has beautiful new offices.
• . ...as that same kind of experience level.

Keywords: Virginia Commission for the Arts Board Meeting, 976, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we're proposing to bring APS to the same level as our CPS caseworker.
• That almost complete level of protection. And is that testable?
• We are closely monitoring the situation at the federal level.
• The same level of appropriated funding from 2425 into 2627 just to since.
• I mean, you provide all that level of services.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So everything is done at their level.
• And so it's really up to the level of the recipient to determine what level of energy auditor they want
• So, is the level of auditor determined?
• The level of services I can get in the home if I have a level 1 auditor provide the audit in my home,
• user level with.

Transcript Highlights:

• So even at the small county level, you have to make all these decisions and the trends.
• And it's so sheriff at one level now superintendents and tax collectors or another level.
• And the 3 that supervisor Lenghty mentioned are at a 3rd level.
• Senator Garcia, one more question course. Thank you, chair.
• But the level attacks that we get, it's not just us.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Of course, that's enough miles, I am told, to circle the earth more than 35 times.
• Of course, course, course, that's<00:03:36.807> [clears throat]<00:03:37.200> enough<00
• Under current funding levels, the cabinet is limited to addressing only critical needs.
• > the Under current funding levels, the Under current funding levels, the cabinet<00:20:28.080
• that you know the Japanese of course that you know the Japanese of course have<00:53:15.359>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Transportation Committee met to review the Transportation Cabinet’s budget request and the recommended highway plan; no votes were taken. Secretary Jim Gray opened with praise for KYTC snow and ice crews, describing their response to recent winter storms and noting the scale of the effort, including about 2,300 workers, 1,438 pieces of equipment, and more than 948,000 miles driven in the first week. He then outlined the cabinet’s overall highway plan, saying it includes more than 1,300 projects and about $9.5 billion in anticipated state and federal funding over six years, with roughly 40% directed to existing pavements, bridges, and guardrails. He highlighted major priority projects such as the Mountain Parkway four-laning, the Brent Spence Companion Bridge, and the I-69 Ohio River crossing. Budget director Sean McCarron explained that the cabinet adjusted its request after the Consensus Forecast Group lowered road fund revenue estimates, and said the cabinet only included additional requests it viewed as essential. He described requests to support driver licensing regional offices, including funding to maintain temporary and contract staff used to reduce wait times, expand offices from 35 to 41 locations, and support improved customer service; he warned that without the current-year increase, wait times would rise again. He also discussed maintenance funding, saying the proposed increases would help cover rising costs for salt, snow and ice drivers, and mowing, while allowing continued litter pickup, vegetation management, pothole repair, and more in-house snow and ice work. Deputy Secretary Mike Hancock addressed specific capital questions, especially the Brent Spence Bridge and Cairo Bridge. For Brent Spence, he said the requested $125 million in general funds is needed because construction costs have risen sharply, citing a 61% increase in highway construction costs from 2020 to 2025, and said Kentucky and Ohio are both contributing to keep the project moving. He added that if the legislature does not provide the $125 million, KYTC would have to shift $100 million in federal highway funds and $25 million in state match from other projects. Hancock also reviewed several project reauthorizations for maintenance facilities and aviation projects, and noted a $5 million federally funded truck parking project aimed at addressing statewide truck parking shortages, especially along interstates and in areas such as Louisville, northern Kentucky, Frankfort, Somerset, and western Kentucky.

Transcript Highlights:

• state level because they are talking about a suspension of funds at the state level instead of a district
• attorney being involved at the local level.
• Of course, I believe you.
• Of course.
• And, of course, I believe you.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum present, heard an invocation, adopted the prior day’s journal, received House messages, and adopted several resolutions and recognitions, including Senate Resolution 496 honoring Leadership Garland and resolutions 503 and 504. The chamber also recognized guests, including a North Dakota senator and the Doctor of the Day, and received gubernatorial nominations for the Texas Economic Development Corporation Board and the Nueces River Authority Board. The Senate then took up and passed a series of bills, often by suspending the regular order and the constitutional three-day rule. Measures approved included SB 614 on Texas Forensic Science Commission referrals to the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs; SB 250 on municipal annexation across railroad rights-of-way; SB 1660 on toxicological evidence retention and destruction procedures; SB 2586 requiring property owners associations to file governing documents with the Texas Real Estate Commission; SB 1588 increasing penalties for certain failures to report child sexual abuse; HB 912 on compensation for distributed renewable generation outside ERCOT; SB 1957 setting eligibility standards for civilian oversight boards; HB 2525 clarifying a charitable property tax exemption; SB 1525 limiting repeated prior authorization for neurodegenerative disease drugs; SB 865 requiring CPR/AED training and cardiac emergency response planning in schools; SB 1212 elevating human trafficking penalties; SB 2690 on solicitations for Secretary of State documents; SB 1802 on landlord repair duties for ramps, elevators, and handrails; SB 905 on licensing rules for speech-language pathologists and audiologists; SB 2929 allowing removal of disruptive spectators at school athletic events; SB 2675 creating a narrow McAllen-specific parkland conveyance exception; SB 872 increasing punishment for burglary of a vehicle involving firearm theft; and SB 1113 clarifying sales rules for certain converter-license holders. Several bills drew extended debate. SB 2487, dealing with crisis and mental health services for homelessness, was amended to make the county model permissive rather than mandatory and to remove state funding/assistance requirements before passing 28-3. SB 2138, barring higher education funds from contracting with firms that boycott fossil fuels through ESG policies, also passed after questions about fiscal effects and First Amendment concerns. SB 2615, restricting remote work at public institutions of higher education, advanced 22-9. The Senate also began consideration of SB 3016, which would expand enforcement tools against local governments that fail to comply with state law, but the transcript cuts off before action on that bill is completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Of course, establishing this as a full program and not just a pilot, there's a change to the definition
• <00:31:36.320> four is in the form of bonly uh courses four is in the form of bonly uh courses
• so that's always a A plus of course so that's always a A plus of course there<00:59:11.240> wouldn't
• But if employers cannot get the workers they need, then of course we're stifling that.
• <01:17:14.120> we're workers they need then of course we're workers they need then of course

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• courses.
• courses.
• One is involving the financial literacy course. The course itself is excellent.
• I'm not sure if my school does that or it's a state-level recommendation.
• I know they want to get the course in because the course is now a requirement for graduation, and maybe

Summary: The conference committee met to discuss the Senate’s second budget offer and its first offer on SB 7030. The chair said the budget proviso and back-of-bill offers were continuing to close out remaining issues, and explained the Senate’s approach to the new academic accelerated option supplement in the FEFP as restoring about 80% of prior weighted FTE funding for acceleration options other than dual enrollment, citing existing statutory requirements and the different cost structure of dual enrollment. Senator Gates then presented the Senate’s modified SB 7030 offer, saying the bill was intended to address problems tracking roughly 23,000 students moving among public schools, private schools, and homeschooling, and to better ensure funding follows students correctly. He said the offer would preserve key parts of SB 7030 while making changes such as extending the fall application window, delaying some spring-term documentation, modifying background screening requirements, and allowing the commissioner to extend deadlines in extenuating circumstances. The offer also kept the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program as a separate FEFP categorical, expanded the Education Stabilization Fund, created fall and spring application windows, required enrollment cross-checks and student IDs, changed scholarship payments to monthly with front-loaded options, and required scholarship funding organizations to return funds tied to Auditor General FTE audit findings. A public commenter, a longtime teacher from Daytona Beach, urged that the financial literacy course be taught at a later grade level, such as 11th or 12th grade, and suggested a system of diverse guest speakers in classrooms to encourage more students from underrepresented groups to consider business ownership. No questions were raised from the committee after the Senate offer, and no vote was taken. The vice chair said the House would take the offer back for review, and the chair announced there would likely be one more meeting with a one-hour notice before the meeting adjourned by motion without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're not, as of right now, of course, it's only been a week.
• Of course. Backwards just slightly. Yes.
• Every session we come here, and the senator, of course, is correct.
• We've received information that, of course, the population is growing.
• I think what you're seeing now is more of a leveling of the system.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee heard a presentation from the Legislative Budget Board on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Article 5 budget. LBB recommended $3.7 billion in all funds for 2026-27, a 5.2 percent decrease from the base, while FTEs would rise by 856.7. Major items included funding for driver license services, DPS facilities, troopers and recruit schools, crime labs, vehicle and aircraft operations, border security, and rider changes. The committee also reviewed DPS exceptional items not included in the recommendation, including additional staffing, technology, and facility requests. Members focused heavily on driver license operations, criticizing long wait times, call abandonment, and repeated staffing increases without clear process improvements. LBB said the agency’s call-answer rate was about 9 percent in fiscal 2024, with average hold times around 34 minutes, later reduced to roughly 22-25 minutes. Senators questioned whether more FTEs alone would solve the problem and urged a broader efficiency study and better use of technology. DPS officials said they were pursuing process changes, including appointment-system upgrades, online pre-population of forms, and remote issuance options, while noting that Real ID requirements and population growth continue to drive demand. DPS leadership then outlined the agency’s priorities: completion of the Williamson County training academy, recruitment and retention of troopers, capital needs for vehicles and aircraft, and expanded responsibilities at the Capitol complex and the Alamo. Officials said the new trooper funding would help address staffing shortages, public safety, and border operations, and that overtime and deployment patterns had been adjusted to reduce burnout and improve flexibility. They also discussed Operation Lone Star, saying DPS spending is largely overtime, travel, and fuel, and that the agency continues to coordinate with federal partners while awaiting clarity on possible federal reimbursement for border security costs. Senators also raised concerns about oilfield theft, cartel activity, high-speed pursuits, bilingual pay, and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, and DPS said it would follow up on some of those issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• At the elementary level, the percentage of students on grade level rose from about 10% at the start of
• ...that bad distraction that they have in everyday courses.
• That D-level, which is the highest, we have kiddos, many kiddos that go beyond that D-level, that need
• Once again, that AIM training and Letters training is time-consuming; they are college-level courses.
• You are at the ground level, for lack of a better word.