Transcript Highlights:

• The Division also plans to develop an internal work plan that will help provide direction to program
• The New Mexico Economic Development Strategic Plan provides a great example of a plan with clear goals
• The New Mexico Economic Development Strategic Plan provides a great example of a plan with clear goals
• An intentional statewide economic development plan that includes regional development plans that are
• One of the key aspects to that is the agency-wide plan on their strategic plan as well.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee’s Initiative 900 subcommittee held a hybrid public hearing on two State Auditor performance audits. The first audit examined efforts to reduce non-emergency use of emergency systems through CARES programs. Auditors reported that Washington has 52 fire-agency-led CARES programs in 26 counties, but many communities without programs said they need one. Major barriers included unstable funding, difficulty hiring qualified staff, volunteer-based rural departments, and lack of statewide guidance. The audit also found that only about half of programs tracked both required performance measures, and it recommended that the legislature consider private insurance reimbursement options and convene a statewide work group to develop guidance, standards, and possible changes to the role of the Department of Health. Agency representatives and fire officials largely supported the findings and emphasized that short-term grants and one-year contracts make programs hard to sustain. Committee discussion focused heavily on financing, especially Medicaid reimbursement and accountable communities of health (ACHs). Auditors clarified that the 10% figure cited in the report referred to direct Medicaid reimbursement for treat-and-refer services, which some agencies do not pursue because the $115 rate is too low relative to the administrative effort. Several fire officials testified that their programs rely on grants and ACH support, but that funding is often year-to-year and uncertain. They also described the value of CARES programs in reducing emergency room use, jail detentions, and long ambulance wait times, while noting barriers to sharing patient records across systems. Members asked whether the new public safety sales tax authority could help, but fire district representatives said it is not a direct funding option for them. The second audit reviewed performance management in the Department of Commerce’s Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness. Auditors found that the division does not yet have a statewide economic development strategic plan and that performance management is inconsistent across its 16 programs. In a limited review, all six sampled programs had goals, but only half clearly identified performance measures and targets, and only three tracked outcomes and published results. The audit highlighted leading practices from other states, including strategic planning, regular progress reporting, aligning program goals with agency goals, and using performance-based contracts and grant monitoring. Recommendations urged Commerce to seek stakeholder input, assess internal and external conditions, set goals and measures, align programs with the strategy, and strengthen monitoring and evaluation. Commerce officials agreed with the audit and said the division is already working toward a strategic plan, with a new assistant director to be hired and a target of completing the work by mid-next year. Members pressed the department on how the plan would connect to workforce, higher education, housing, and other economic development systems, and asked Commerce to return to JLARC next year with progress updates. The meeting ended with instructions for submitting written public comments and notice of the next JLARC meeting schedule.

Transcript Highlights:

• But that's not always the case.
• But that's not always the case.
• That wasn't the case necessarily here, but that frequently is the case.
• KSFA staff completed 62 plan reviews and plan review updates to the facility assessment database.
• FMP vendors themselves provided updates for seven KSFA staff completed 62 plan reviews and plan review

Transcript Highlights:

• In any case, for this very reason, have a conversation.
• Pavelka could step up and just explain the comp plan process.
• If there's some case to me...
• Isn't the case. I mean, you have to read the case law, and here we are before the council. To Mr.
• We out the operating plan was written without much or involvement.

Transcript Highlights:

• risk-based health insurance plans.
• We're not gathered up by vision plans.
• The majority of Texans rely on a vision plan. ...and trying to get onto these plans.
• But if we don't address that, any insurance company can open a plan, go for three years, close that plan
• Kinds of cases actually originate in the ER.

Bills: HB 107, HB742, HB1639, HB1700, HB2071, HB2187, HB2402, HB2516, HB3211, HB4529, HB5342, HB694, HB923, HB4655

Keywords: sickle cell disease, registry, health data, confidentiality, healthcare access, human trafficking, first responders, health care, training, reporting, protection, cancer, female firefighters, health study, state health services, fire protection, telemedicine, teledentistry, telehealth, health records

Summary: The committee heard testimony on a series of health and human services bills and left each one pending after public testimony. HB 4655 would expand financial literacy instruction for youth aging out of foster care to include credit scores, predatory lending, scams, banking, budgeting, and related consumer topics; the sponsor and Buckner International described the need to protect foster youth from financial pitfalls. HB 923 would add three public members and one physician to the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel; supporters said it would improve informed consent and patient voice, while a witness raised concerns about a House amendment requiring a physician majority for decisions and senators questioned scope-of-practice limits. HHSC said the panel is an independent body and the bill expressly bars it from changing scope of practice.

Transcript Highlights:

• that plan.
• the existing 2022 plan?
• . ...aware that the 2026 plan is less compact than the 2022 plan.
• case in your district.
• I took over pro bono as an attorney in a case, a pretty complicated case in your district.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The bottom section there is the current capital plan.
• And the DCAM's total share of the capital plan, we... ...of the capital plan, we have about $700 million
• And this is new in the current capital plan.
• Because you identified very clearly with a plan.
• That's a centralized supervision and plan.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Commission on Correctional Consolidation and Collaboration met on October 17 with members attending in person and virtually. The commission approved the September 15 minutes and then heard a detailed presentation from DCAM Commissioner Adam Bakey on the correctional facilities portfolio, including the age and condition of DOC and sheriff facilities, deferred maintenance, ADA compliance, decarbonization mandates, and how capital funding is allocated. Bakey said the correctional portfolio includes 36 facilities, with average ages over 50 years, and described how older, rapidly built facilities from the tough-on-crime era now face significant maintenance and replacement needs. He also explained the distinction between catch-up deferred maintenance and ongoing keep-up needs, and noted that construction costs and code thresholds have made projects more expensive. Commissioners and sheriffs asked about ADA requirements, aging and overcrowded facilities, hazardous materials, parts availability for obsolete systems, plumbing and health risks, and whether a newer, more modern correctional facility should be considered. Bakey said many projects trigger broader code upgrades, that some dormant facilities remain in the portfolio, and that health-care and correctional construction are among the most expensive building types. He outlined current funding, including annual deferred maintenance allocations for DOC and formula-based five-year commitments for sheriffs, plus a new competitive capital program for larger sheriff projects. He also explained the Designer Selection Board and “house doctor” process used to procure architects and engineers. The commission then shifted to planning its next steps, focusing on public input. Members agreed the next meeting should likely be a public hearing or include public testimony, with possible input from people with lived experience and consideration of facility tours, especially of women’s facilities such as Framingham. Members emphasized the need to define the commission’s scope clearly so testimony stays focused on structural and consolidation issues rather than all correctional policy topics. The meeting ended with plans for the co-chairs to coordinate the public process and a motion to adjourn, which passed without opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• water plans, and that rolls up to the state water plan.
• Region C, Planning Region G, Planning Region H, Planning Region K, and/or L.
• So the surface water plan is not a real plan. The plan itself isn't a real plan.
• The plan itself isn't a real plan.
• I like the plan. I like reading all State water plan didn't make sense to me. I like the plan.

Summary: The committee held a hearing on high-capacity groundwater wells proposed in Anderson, Henderson, and Houston counties, with members framing the issue as one of local water supply, fairness, and the need to modernize groundwater law while protecting private property rights. Opening remarks focused on the scale of the proposed Redtown Ranch and Pine Bliss projects, the potential export of tens of thousands of acre-feet of groundwater annually, and concerns that the applications lacked sufficient technical detail and could harm nearby landowners, cities, agriculture, and manufacturing. Members also noted the broader context of the recent flooding tragedy in central Texas and the Legislature’s intent to address water-related loss of life in the upcoming special session. Witnesses from the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts and the Texas Water Development Board explained the current groundwater management framework. They described groundwater conservation districts as the state’s preferred management method, the role of groundwater management areas and desired future conditions, and how the Water Development Board uses those conditions to calculate modeled available groundwater. They emphasized that districts rely on local data, monitoring wells, and planning processes, but that information is often more limited in areas without a district, where the rule of capture applies. Members pressed witnesses on recharge rates, export permits, subsidence, the effect of pumping on nearby wells, the age and real-time availability of model data, and whether the proposed project would exceed modeled available groundwater in some counties. TCEQ explained its limited oversight role over groundwater conservation districts, including inquiries, compliance actions, and, in extreme cases, dissolution authority. Water Development Board staff also outlined funding programs, saying the New Water Supply for Texas Fund is limited to projects such as brackish desalination, reuse, ASR, and other new-supply projects, and does not fund fresh groundwater exports alone. They said the project at issue had not applied for board funding. A water lawyer then testified on the rule of capture, ownership in place, and district regulation, arguing that districts must use permitting and other tools to manage production within modeled available groundwater and that the Legislature could consider additional authority over groundwater exports under current law.

Transcript Highlights:

• Every case goes to the board, so the board hears every single case.
• Absent such a plan, the department generally determined whether to sell land on a case-by-case basis,
• Absent proactive planning for the disposition of state trust land, the department's case-by-case basis
• The planning would be important, having that five-year plan and doing those things.
• Those are geologic field operation plans. In my case, that's drilling.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Joint Natural Resources and House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committees of Reference heard the Arizona Auditor General’s sunset review of the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. The audit found the board generally met some licensing requirements, but it did not timely investigate and resolve 49 of 159 complaints in fiscal year 2024, and it did not fully comply with conflict-of-interest disclosure and filing requirements. The Auditor General also identified weaknesses in continuing-education verification and other sunset-factor areas, and the board agreed to implement all 21 recommendations. Board staff said complaint volume has risen sharply since the pandemic, that the board’s process is slower because every case goes through an investigative committee and then the full board, and that it has already corrected some conflict-of-interest issues and is adding tools to improve continuing-education audits. The committee then heard testimony from the board’s executive director and from the Arizona Veterinary Medical Association. The executive director emphasized the board’s public-protection mission, described the shortage of veterinarians and veterinary technicians, and said the board is working to improve efficiency through a new e-licensing system and staff training. Members asked about the shortage of large-animal veterinarians, complaint backlogs, and whether the board could do more to recruit rural practitioners; the board said it lacks direct recruiting authority but supports multiple licensure pathways and loan-assistance efforts. The veterinary association supported the board’s oversight and said it is also working on rural and large-animal workforce issues through partnerships and advocacy. The committee then voted to recommend continuing the board for eight years, until July 1, 2034. The committee next took up the Arizona State Land Department, beginning with the Auditor General’s presentation on the department’s sunset review and prior special audit. The audit found the department had not updated its required five-year disposition plan since 2011, had sold more than 48,000 acres without an active plan, had allowed agricultural rental rates to go unchanged since 2006 despite market increases, and had not consistently inspected mineral-related leases or properly managed reclamation bonds. The Auditor General said these issues created risks of lost revenue, reduced transparency, and public-safety hazards, and recommended 18 corrective actions in the main review plus 34 additional recommendations on other issues; the department agreed to most recommendations but declined to adopt a written policy for commissioner-initiated land sales. Commissioner Robin Sahid said the department is working through audit recommendations, has created a rules team, improved its customer portal, and is pursuing new policies on water use, transportation-basin leases, and disposition planning. Members questioned the department about agricultural leases, groundwater valuation, the Fondomonte leases and reimbursement for improvements, the canceled Coyotes land auction, backlog and processing times, and the use of consultants and administrative funds. The commissioner said the department had over 2,000 applications in queue when she arrived, that it has made progress reducing the backlog, and that it is conducting stakeholder outreach on water-efficiency standards and lease addenda. No final vote on the land department continuation was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• He's a long-range planning manager there.
• And in some cases have gone beyond. want to be responsive to that hue and cry and in some cases have
• I've been at planning a long time now since 1970... I've been planning a long time now since 1978.
• So when we're asked to talk about UGAs, in most cases, we're talking only about GMA planning jurisdiction
• You know, how do you manage the workload that is long-range planning, current planning, enforcement,

Summary: The committee held a work session on local government issues, beginning with an update from the State Building Code Council on four legislatively mandated code amendments now in CR-102 rulemaking: temporary emergency shelters, reduced minimum dwelling unit size, multiplex housing up to three stories and six units, and single-exit apartment buildings up to six stories. Council staff also described a separate embodied-carbon appendix proposal that remains under public review, with testimony both supporting and opposing it. Members asked about the rationale for some of the code limits, including the restriction on connecting multiplex buildings. The committee then heard a panel on annexations from MRSC, Pierce County, and the Association of Washington Cities. Witnesses reviewed annexation methods, including petition, election, and interlocal agreement approaches, and said larger annexations are increasingly using interlocal agreements because they can address infrastructure, revenue sharing, and public process concerns. They described barriers such as inconsistent local standards, the cost of infrastructure, referendum risk, census requirements, and the difficulty of persuading residents and local officials to support annexation. Members asked about the five-year restriction on residential zoning changes in one annexation method and whether a hearing examiner could reduce political pressure on local decision-makers. A second panel discussed subdivision reform. The Master Builders Association urged raising the short-plat threshold within urban growth areas to 30 lots as a simpler first step, citing permitting delays and added housing costs. The City of Spokane described implementation problems with recent housing laws, including uncertainty about how to review plats under HB 1110, lot-splitting administration, and added notice requirements for unit lot subdivisions. AWC said there was broad agreement that subdivision decisions should be more administrative, but public hearings remained a point of disagreement. The committee also heard from FutureWise, the Washington State Association of Counties, and Lewis County on county development regulation and enforcement, with witnesses emphasizing underfunded code enforcement, inconsistent standards between counties and cities, and the need for better coordination, incentives, and possibly stronger enforcement tools. No votes were taken; the chair said the committee would continue working on possible solutions in future sessions.

Transcript Highlights:

• All of those resources are part of the planning process.
• So we have a cycle of general rate cases. We review... So we have a cycle of general rate cases.
• But, years, 10 years, and what plans are you guys thinking about for the case where the Supreme Court
• to, any plan that the customer chooses.
• That is a standalone broadband plan that you can apply your subsidy to any plan that the customer chooses

Summary: The hearing was an informational budget session on energy agency proposals, with no votes taken. Early discussion focused on Proposition 4 climate bond implementation, including funding for demand-side grid support, offshore wind development, and transmission financing. The Department of Finance said the budget includes allocations for demand-side grid support and offshore wind, but not yet for the $325 million transmission financing piece pending a required study. The Legislative Analyst’s Office urged the Legislature to consider whether to wait on offshore wind funding, whether to keep shifting funds into demand-side grid support, and how to direct future transmission financing. Members also raised concerns about local technical assistance for offshore wind, Salton Sea priorities, and the need for more information before final decisions. The California Energy Commission and CPUC then reviewed the broader energy package. The CEC highlighted the demand-side grid support program’s growth, distributed energy backup assets, long-duration storage, hydrogen grants, and the SIRP clean energy reliability program. CPUC testimony emphasized affordability, wildfire mitigation costs, rooftop solar cost shifts, and efforts to reduce rates while maintaining reliability and clean energy goals. Members questioned CPUC staffing, delays in proceedings, coordination with the CEC and CAISO, and the impact of rate increases on customers. The agencies also discussed the AB 3264 transmission financing study, with CPUC saying work on the study had already begun and was on track for the July 1 deadline. Several trailer bill and implementation items were also discussed. The committee reviewed a proposal to extend the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program surcharge, with members split over whether it should be handled in budget trailer bill language or policy legislation; the administration said the surcharge supports a critical program serving about three-quarters of a million Californians. The committee also heard a CPUC data-sharing proposal to allow nondisclosure agreements for transmission and reliability data, which members generally supported as a technical fix. DWR explained a proposal to clarify language for the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve so it can potentially sell three gas-fired units it owns, and the CEC presented a federal transmission grant proposal tied to grid-enhancing technologies and ratepayer cost recovery. Finally, the committee discussed California Lifeline and possible broadband pilot reforms in light of uncertainty around federal Universal Service Fund support, with CPUC saying it is exploring a statewide standalone broadband option for eligible customers.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, and I would say in most cases, actually in the vast majority of cases, we never get to that because
• And had to end up in a court case.
• I don't know that specific case, um, so I would have to look into the details of that specific case,
• I don't know if he might be familiar with that case, but I'm not familiar with that case. OK.
• So, You, you file the plan, but I mean, what's the objective of the plan?

Bills: HB24

Keywords: groundwater, conservation, water permits, sustainability, resource management

Transcript Highlights:

• It, uh, number 2 requires EMS providers to submit claims directly to insurance plans and accept plan
• And it's, it's very clear in federal law, you have to go back on a case by case basis.
• They have a med sup plan, they may be 85 and have had that same medsup plan for 20 years.
• , supplemental plan that someone under 65 is offered is Plan A.
• Uh, all the other plans are, they're lettered plans, I think A through M or N.

Transcript Highlights:

• that plan.
• the existing 2020... ...scores of 2026 plan districts to those of the existing 2022 plan.
• case in your district.
• I took over pro bono as an attorney in a case, pretty complicated case in your district.
• That is his theory of the case.

Summary: The Senate convened in special session with an opening prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then moved to the special order calendar to consider congressional redistricting legislation, beginning with Senate Bill 8D and then substituting the identical House Bill 1D. The bill would establish Florida’s congressional districts. Senator Gaetz, presenting the measure, said the Governor had proposed the map to address population growth and to draw race-neutral districts, and argued that mid-decade redistricting is legally permissible and has occurred before in Florida and other states. He repeatedly said the Legislature could accept, reject, or amend the proposal, but that the Governor had the prerogative to propose it. The floor debate focused heavily on the legality and timing of the map, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Louisiana redistricting decision was announced during the session. Several senators, including Rouson, Sharief, Smith, Polsky, Arrington, Bracy Davis, Bernard, Nathan, and Berman, questioned whether the map complied with the Florida Constitution’s Fair Districts Amendment, the Voting Rights Act, and equal protection principles. They raised concerns about the short notice, lack of statewide public hearings, the use of partisan data, the absence of sworn testimony from the Governor’s representatives, the claimed severability of the Fair Districts Amendment, and the impact on minority communities and communities of interest. Gaetz generally declined to offer legal opinions, saying those issues would ultimately be for the courts, but he relayed the Governor’s position that race-based provisions in the Fair Districts Amendment are unconstitutional and that the proposed map is race-neutral and compact. Members also debated whether the map’s population data and compactness scores justified the district lines, with critics arguing that the plan cracked and split communities in places such as Central Florida, Tampa Bay, and South Florida. Gaetz said the Governor’s office relied on 2020 census data plus updated population estimates from the Office of Economic and Demographic Research and the American Community Survey, and that the mapmaker said he drew the map himself without outside consultants. After questions concluded, the Senate adopted a motion to substitute HB 1D for SB 8D, read the bill a third time, and proceeded to debate the House bill. The transcript ends during debate, with no final vote on passage shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• out-of-home placement plan, do case notes, or their required SSIS time entry, SSIS won't respond.
• Some of the language within the case plans, within the entry areas within SSIS, are written in a very
• case plan and provide that to the family<01:51:22.599> because<01:51:22.760> you<01:51
• <01:53:06.800> plans<01:53:07.719> within language within the case plans within language
• within the case plans within the<01:53:08.800> entry<01:53:09.360> areas<01:53:09.840>

Bills: HF25, HF4

Keywords: pregnancy support, women's health, maternity homes, nonprofit organizations, grant funding, abortion, family services, tax relief fund, budget surplus, surplus revenue, tax rebate, tax refund, one-time refund, income tax, property tax, constitutional amendment, Minnesota Constitution, general fund, budget reserve, taxpayer relief

Transcript Highlights:

• In that case, there was a that case.
• lines of cases is um a case involving lines of cases is um a case involving Duke<00:36:31.839>
• versus Kanamoku case, which was a case versus Kanamoku case, which was a case um<00:36:36.240>
• scenario,<00:59:15.119> an that case, but worst case scenario, an that case, but worst case
• event planning. event planning. planning<01:21:19.600> the<01:21:19.840> event<01:

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee held an informational briefing on federal and state authority over National Guard deployment in response to civil protest or unrest, prompted by recent federal actions and the California litigation in Newsom v. Trump. The chair explained the purpose was to help lawmakers and the public understand the legal background, the status of the California case, and possible Hawaii policy responses. David Day of the Attorney General’s office outlined several recent federal immigration-related executive actions and enforcement directives, then described Hawaii’s participation in multiple lawsuits challenging federal funding conditions, data-sharing demands, and the birthright citizenship order. A major portion of the briefing focused on Newsom v. Trump. Day summarized the June 2025 Los Angeles protests and the president’s memorandum federalizing National Guard units under 10 U.S.C. 12406, which California challenged as ultra vires, procedurally improper, and violative of the Posse Comitatus Act, the Tenth Amendment, and the APA. He said the district court initially granted relief, but the Ninth Circuit stayed the TRO and held, in a published decision, that review under section 12406 is highly deferential and that the president lawfully exercised authority under paragraph 3. He also noted California-law issues about orders being issued through the governor, and said Hawaii had supported California through amicus briefs and would continue to do so; the bench trial was scheduled for August 11-13. Members then asked how Hawaii law differs from California’s and whether the Ninth Circuit ruling would control here. Day said the standard-of-review aspects would likely apply, but the California-specific procedural language about orders issued in the governor’s name does not appear in Hawaii law. The committee also heard from Colonel Lloyd C. Phelps of the Hawaii Department of Defense, who explained that National Guard activations generally occur under Title 10 federal orders, state orders, or other statuses, and said the June 2025 federalization mechanism was a Title 10 call-up. He began addressing the president’s authority, the Posse Comitatus Act, and Hawaii’s own preparedness, but the discussion was cut short and members indicated they would return to the topic later. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't know that the cost per case does justice to today's figures, but this states $452 per case for
• As far as the number of cases in Mexico in July, the current status shows there are 3,820 cases as of
• The new cases are reported anywhere from three to 350 cases per week, and they are seeing those cases
• This is the case here.
• You know, maybe we need to focus just on a plan A, but I think both a plan A and a plan B are important

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• BUT THIS CASE YOU IDENTIFIED A PROBLEM, WHERE FIXING IT.
• SO WE'VE BEEN ASKED FOR INSTANCE, WHO SETS, WHO WRITES THE CARE PLAN.
• HIS CASE WAS NEVER DEEMED A CRISIS CASE AND IN THE LONG-TERM CARE PLAN, AND I WANT TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT
• CRITICIZING WHATEVER PLAN THAT MIGHT'VE BEEN WHERE HE WAS ENROLLED.
• BUT THE AGENCY HAS PUT IN PLACE SEVERAL STRATEGIES TRYING TO CONNECT THE PLANS AND THEN DENTAL PLANS

Transcript Highlights:

• And that's why it makes it difficult to plan a business or plan a development or plan a project.
• And that's why it makes it difficult to plan a business or plan a development or plan a project.
• Makes it difficult to plan a business or plan a development or plan a project.
• or planning.
• by case.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• water plan.
• We've developed plans.
• or cases.
• projects in mind, and the content of these plans has been a recurring issue in contested case hearings
• , from the RGV plan, from the Nueces River's plan that is planned, and the other desalination plans along

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Correct a case.
• regional water plans and that rolls up to the state water plan.
• planning groups.
• Next step, management plan. Districts adopt management plans.
• If I were the governor, I sure wouldn't so the surface water plan is not a real plan the plan itself

Keywords: 1184, house, all