Transcript Highlights:

• So this is adjusting that formula in the transportation bill that we talked about, but that creates the
• Chairman, members of the committee, you could change that and actually adjust the funding down then.
• Okay, and Section 20 is adjustment for the salary of the superintendent, which is probably what was included

Bills: HB1540

Keywords: education savings account, ESA, school choice, private school vouchers, nonpublic school, tuition assistance, education tax credit, homeschool exclusion, Bank of North Dakota, Department of Public Instruction, public funding for private education, voucher program, student scholarships, special education, parental choice, curriculum funding, tutoring, online learning, state per-pupil payment, income-based eligibility

Summary: The committee first took up amended bill 10-13, a school funding and education appropriations measure. Senator Schaible walked through the final version, which included changes to foundation aid, transportation grants, free and reduced-price meals funding, paraprofessional and teacher support programs, Native American education items, library and school facility projects, and several one-time grants. Members discussed removing the science center grant funding, and Senator Meyer objected to that removal, arguing that Grand Forks had raised matching private and local funds and that other cities had received similar state support. The committee also agreed to adjust regional education association funding to reflect six centers rather than seven, reducing that line to $600,000. The committee then adopted the amendment to 10-13 unanimously and passed the bill as further amended on a unanimous roll call, with Senator Shively designated as carrier. After a brief recess, the committee turned to bill 1540, but no formal action was taken. Bank of North Dakota and OMB representatives raised concerns that the draft included policy changes and procurement/IT exemptions that needed further discussion. Members agreed the bill would be delayed until Monday so the Bank, OMB, and NDIT could confer and work through the mechanics and policy issues before the committee moved it forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• to make those difficult decisions, but we wanted to share the potential impact of some of those adjustments
• Without any operating adjustment, service delivery will be impacted.
• ask that the committee reconsider many of its proposals, specifically on the funding of operating adjustments

Bills: HF2783

Keywords: state government finance, biennial budget, appropriations, Minnesota Management and Budget, Healthy Aging Subcabinet, Office of Healthy Aging, older adults, aging policy, long-term care, caregivers, public health, Medicaid fraud, medical assistance fraud, attorney general subpoena power, fraud enforcement, business filing fraud, Secretary of State, deceptive mailings, consumer protection, certified public accountant

Transcript Highlights:

• Over 65 years of age has an annual adjusted gross income of less than $12,000.
• And so, this would adjust those to current indices going forward so that it would be a reasonable expense
• So the CPI adjustment initially would be made for the CPI change from 2006 to 2024.

Bills: HB226, HB24, HB309, HB315, HB272, HB24, HB226, HB309, HB315, HB272

Keywords: HB226, homestead exemption, ad valorem tax, property tax, property tax relief, widow, widower, unremarried spouse, surviving spouse, senior exemption, elderly, disabled, permanently and totally disabled, blind taxpayer, deed ownership, principal residence, school tax, county tax, municipal tax, Alabama Department of Revenue

Transcript Highlights:

• This includes prohibiting the use of cost-effective measures like dollars per quality-adjusted life year
• . ...dollars per quality-adjusted life year, which is a measurement scale that evaluates the cost of
• a medical intervention in terms of the dollar amount spent to gain one quality-adjusted year of life.
• they have in front of them as their patients and families. measures like the dollars per quality adjusted
• I was unaware that people were being denied services because of their quality-adjusted life prospects

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several aging-related bills, with most speakers focusing on housing stability, home-based services, and care transitions. Representative Badger and a commissioner testified in support of H4039, which would create a universal breakfast and lunch program at senior centers funded through a new Senior Breakfast and Lunch Fund, arguing it would reduce food insecurity and social isolation among older adults. Representative Lipper-Garabedian and multiple providers then supported H780/S495, the hospital-to-home partnership program, describing how embedded aging-services liaisons help older patients transition safely from hospitals to home, reduce readmissions, and avoid nursing facility placement; witnesses from Mystic Valley Elder Services and Mass Aging Access cited pilot results, including hundreds of patients served and examples of substantial cost savings and successful discharge planning. The committee also took testimony on S478, which would require continuing care retirement communities to disclose entrance-fee refund policies more clearly at enrollment. Senator Lovely and LeadingAge Massachusetts said the bill would improve transparency for residents and families, while a consumer witness said her family experienced delays and confusion in getting a refund after her mother left a CCRC. Members noted the issue is also being examined by a special commission on CCRCs. A large portion of the hearing focused on S475, a statewide bridge subsidy program for older adults facing housing instability. Advocates from the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Western Massachusetts, Somerville, Northampton, East Hampton, Old Colony Elder Services, and Somerville’s Office of Housing Stability described rising senior homelessness, long waitlists for subsidized housing, and cases where short-term rental assistance kept older adults housed while they waited for permanent housing. Somerville witnesses said the pilot program helped nine households remain housed and that some participants have since moved into permanent housing. Members asked about wait times, program design, and how to prioritize applicants; witnesses emphasized flexibility, emergency risk, and the need for a statewide expansion. The hearing also included testimony on S465, an ALS bill that would expand home care access regardless of age and bar the use of quality-adjusted life-year metrics in coverage decisions, with the sponsor and ALS Association arguing the measure would reduce discriminatory treatment and better center patient care. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:18:09.080> And<00:18:09.200> when<00:18:09.280> you cost-of-living adjustment
• And when you cost-of-living adjustment.
• For public safety workers, this bill eliminates a one-year waiting period for cost-of-living adjustments
• For public safety workers, this bill eliminates a one-year waiting period for cost-of-living adjustments
• For public safety workers, this bill eliminates a one-year waiting period for cost-of-living adjustments

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House File 4074, the second engrossment of the retirement bill, was presented as a broad pension package with changes affecting multiple public retirement systems. Rep. Lilly described provisions including bringing St. Paul teachers closer to parity with TRA, reducing the COLA waiting period for police and fire retirees from two years to one, lowering the retirement age for certain probation, corrections, and 911 telecommunicator workers from 60 to 55, addressing a State Board of Investments fix, and creating or continuing work on Secure Choice and other retirement-related issues. Members also noted help for volunteer firefighters, EMS-related workers, and a local fix for Maple Plain’s volunteer fire system. The bill was repeatedly described as bipartisan and the product of successful working groups and negotiations with the Senate. Several members spoke in support, emphasizing the importance of public pensions, the impact of inflation on retirees, and the value of the bill’s targeted improvements for workers who are often not covered by Social Security. Rep. Johnson, Rep. Hill, Rep. Vega, Rep. Robbins, Rep. Cha, and others praised the work of the pension commission, staff, and the co-chairs. They highlighted the St. Paul teachers changes, the police and fire COLA adjustment, and the bill’s efforts to honor promises made to public employees. Some members also pointed to the importance of work groups as a way to develop better long-term solutions. The main point of debate centered on the duty disability amendment, which would have addressed disability issues for first responders. Supporters said the issue is serious and needs a work group solution rather than piecemeal changes, while Rep. Johnson and others warned that the proposal could create problems by treating psychological injuries differently from physical injuries. Rep. Roach said the body should not have passed the prior law and urged a fix for disabled law enforcement and first responders. After discussion, Rep. Lilly withdrew the A3 amendment. Earlier technical amendments A9 and A10 were adopted by voice vote, with members noting they were non-substantive and intended to keep House and Senate language identical and avoid a conference committee. The bill then moved to third reading as amended, with members urging a green vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, for example, the state doesn't do cost-of-living adjustments for departments every year.
• things like rent, fuel costs, utilities, things like that that increase over time, we don't make adjustments
• propose BCPs and come in and try and true some of that stuff up, but it's not like an automatic adjustment
• be necessary—would you recommend that legislation be enacted for automatic cost-of-living... ...adjustment
• The last time the Bay Delta Plan was adopted, or significantly adjusted, was in the mid-90s to accommodate

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The subcommittee heard an extensive discussion on the Governor’s proposal to eliminate vacant positions across several environmental and natural resources departments, including Fish and Wildlife, Parks, the Coastal Commission/BCDC, DPR, DTSC, CalRecycle, and the State Water Resources Control Board. The Legislative Analyst’s Office explained that the JLBC had already not concurred with 650 of roughly 1,000 positions under review, citing concerns that many of the vacancies support core functions such as law enforcement, permitting, public safety, sea-level rise planning, and implementation of recently enacted laws. The Department of Finance defended the vacancy reduction exercise as a way to capture savings from a statewide pool of about 40,000 vacancies, arguing that departments need flexibility to manage operations and that some vacancies are used to cover operating costs or hard-to-fill roles. Several department representatives testified that the cuts would reduce capacity and could slow permitting or enforcement, though they said they would try to reclassify positions and prioritize the highest-need work. No vote was taken and all items were held open for a future hearing. Members focused heavily on the practical effects of the cuts. Senators questioned whether vacant positions should be treated as a budget savings tool, whether special-fund positions should be eliminated when they do not affect the General Fund, and whether long-vacant positions should simply be removed if they have not been filled for years. Fish and Wildlife and Parks described impacts to permitting, wildlife conflict response, and law enforcement; Parks said its academy can train only about 50 rangers a year, leaving many vacancies even after the proposed reductions. The Coastal Commission said the affected positions support SB 272 sea-level rise planning with local governments. DPR said the proposed cuts would affect multiple branches involved in pesticide registration, enforcement, and safety review, while DTSC said it was still hiring from a large 2022 reform package and had reduced its vacancy rate from about 30 percent to 15 percent before the drill. The State Water Board said its proposed reductions would be spread across programs and could lead to slower permitting and backlogs, though it would protect drinking water functions as much as possible. The committee then moved to a State Water Resources Control Board overview and a new budget proposal tied to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision. Chair Esquivel described the board’s responsibilities for water quality, water rights, drinking water, and financial assistance, and said the board is updating the Bay-Delta Plan while also pursuing voluntary agreements and broader water-rights administration. He said federal workforce reductions and the Sackett ruling have increased pressure on state programs. The board requested $2.6 million and 12 permanent positions from the Waste Discharge Permit Fund to address permitting and enforcement gaps created by the narrowing of federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The LAO said the request met its high bar for new proposals because it was supported by the board’s data and would help maintain water-quality protections, though it noted that state processes are less efficient than the federal framework they are now partially replacing.

Transcript Highlights:

• One is the annual operations maintenance account, which is adjusted annually based off of inflation and
• The others are adjusted based for effectively annually. >> Yeah.
• annually based off of inflation adjusted annually based off of inflation and<00:42:28.560> all
• The others<00:42:47.200> are<00:42:47.359> adjusted<00:42:47.920> based<00:42:48.720
• > for others are adjusted based for others are adjusted based for effectively<00:42:49.440>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• districts on equal standing when it comes to insurance costs um in exchange for that ability to make adjustments
• districts on equal standing when it comes to insurance costs um in exchange for that ability to make adjustments
• districts on equal standing when it comes to insurance costs um in exchange for that ability to make adjustments
• districts on equal standing when it comes to insurance costs um in exchange for that ability to make adjustments
• districts on equal standing when it comes to insurance costs um in exchange for that ability to make adjustments

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• of 3.002 million in the first adjustment of 3.002 million in the first bienium<00:04:41.360> and<
• This is operating adjustments for the Office of Cannabis Management of $842,000 in the first biennium
• This is operating<00:10:22.640> adjustments<00:10:23.360> for<00:10:23.920> um<00
• :10:24.000> the<00:10:24.240> office operating adjustments for um the office operating
• adjustments for um the office of of of 842,000<00:10:26.880> in<00:10:27.600> uh<00:10:

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• off, the governor's budget reflects current state law, which requires an annual cost-of-living adjustment
• California preschool programs will also be receiving a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2025-26
• The Proposition 98 General Fund preschool programs will be receiving a COLA adjustment of $19 million
• adjusts funding in the state budget to align with changes in rates.
• Although we are happy to see the inclusion of a cost-of-living adjustment in the governor's proposed

Summary: The joint hearing focused on California’s child care, preschool, and transitional kindergarten oversight, with chairs emphasizing the state’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care and the need to break down silos between programs. CDSS and CDE reported progress toward the plan’s goals, including universal access to TK for all four-year-olds next school year, expanded access for low-income three-year-olds, and more children with disabilities being served in state preschool. They also noted ongoing work on quality rating/review reform, funding structure changes, and the need to address rates, workforce shortages, and federal uncertainty around Head Start. Testimony from advocacy groups and providers largely supported expanding access while simplifying the system. Children Now, Every Child California, and the California Budget and Policy Center argued that California still has uneven access, especially for infants, toddlers, and three-year-olds, and urged investments in mixed delivery, inclusion, full-day options, and a cost-of-care rate methodology. Every Child California recommended consolidating part-day and full-day contracts, streamlining eligibility priorities, making the two-year-old option permanent, and funding staffing incentives. Parent testimony highlighted how child care gaps and county-to-county transfer delays can disrupt work, safety, and children’s stability, and providers described low reimbursement rates, the need for health and retirement benefits, and support for delinking subsidy rates from private pay. The second panel addressed universal transitional kindergarten. The Learning Policy Institute reported rapid TK expansion, with most districts now offering TK, but said access still depends on facilities, staffing, and whether programs are available at all school sites. The Department of Finance said the governor’s budget would fully implement TK by adding funding for all eligible four-year-olds and lowering the adult-to-child ratio from 12:1 to 10:1. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the administration’s enrollment and cost assumptions were optimistic and estimated lower TK enrollment growth and lower costs for the ratio change. CDE supported the expansion and urged continued funding for UPK coordinators, teacher development, and mixed-delivery planning grants. Members questioned facilities shortages, staffing competition, and how to ensure TK expansion does not displace CSPP or Head Start classrooms. No formal votes or actions were taken in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• ... ...to make adjustments that businesses often need to make, especially in economic uncertain times
• So current law requires that these trainings be done annually and that they be adjusted to respond to
• Let's adjust the training. So this process is already happening.
• It's already getting adjusted every year.
• It's already getting adjusted every year.

Summary: The committee heard several labor-related bills, with AB 1424, AB 1340, AB 288, and AB 746 all advancing on due-pass motions to Appropriations after testimony and roll calls. AB 1424 would require climate resiliency and extreme-heat protections in CDCR facilities; supporters described dangerous heat conditions for incarcerated workers and staff, while no opposition testified. AB 1340 would allow rideshare drivers to unionize and collectively bargain; drivers, labor groups, and researchers testified that app-based work is low-paid and unstable, while TechNet, Uber, Lyft, and other business groups argued the bill conflicts with Proposition 22 and could raise costs. AB 288 would let PERB step in when federal labor remedies are unavailable; supporters said it is needed because of NLRB dysfunction, while the Chamber of Commerce raised preemption and enforcement concerns. AB 746 would create an inmate cooperative program and a green reentry reserve; supporters framed it as a recidivism-reduction and reentry strategy, and there was no opposition testimony. The committee also heard AB 858, which would extend hotel and hospitality worker recall rights after declared emergencies and extend existing COVID-era protections. Hospitality workers and unions supported the bill as a way to protect jobs after pandemics, wildfires, and other disasters, while hotel, chamber, retail, restaurant, trucking, travel, and attractions groups opposed it, saying the current recall rules were meant to sunset and that the bill would create broad liabilities and hiring complications. The bill was moved to Appropriations but remained on call after the roll. AB 291, creating a credentialed educator apprenticeship program to address teacher shortages and improve diversity, drew support from education groups and stakeholders who said apprenticeships could lower preparation costs and provide better support; it was also moved to Appropriations and placed on call. Later, the committee took up AB 1104, a solar-energy bill intended to clarify that private solar customers are not “awarding bodies” and to ease certain business-to-business solar transactions while preserving prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for contractors. Supporters said the current interpretation has chilled commercial solar adoption and harmed jobs, while opponents from electrical workers, PG&E, and others warned about expanded “over-the-fence” power sales and the need for clearer limits. Members questioned the lack of a definition of “small,” and the bill was held without a second. The committee also heard AB 338, which seeks $50 million for Los Angeles and Ventura wildfire workforce recovery; the author and county officials described major job loss and business destruction and said the funds would support displaced workers and rebuilding, with the testimony continuing beyond the excerpt provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• We need to adjust it to July 1st.
• <00:22:20.000> If<00:22:20.159> LBA need to adjust it to July 1st.
• If LBA need to adjust it to July 1st.
• Number three is a hold for dollars. appreciate the u adjustment made here appreciate the u adjustment
• If we were to adjust that 2006 money forward to today, adjusting for inflation, it would be $162 million

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That's uh probably another date that has to be adjusted.
• I think it's been referenced by other testifiers that it's currently adjusted annually by CPI.
• as written, you would be amending the section and then repealing it immediately, so you'd want to adjust
• testifiers that it's currently adjusted testifiers that it's currently adjusted for<02:07:22.800
• Uh finally, um because uh adjust that.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• increased expense and inflation, since many of these fees have not been adjusted since back in 2005
• There are many letters of support for this proposal, in particular the construction code adjustments
• increased expense and inflation, since many of these fees have not been adjusted since back in 2005
• There are many letters of support for this proposal, in particular the construction code adjustments
• increased expense and inflation, since many of these fees have not been adjusted since back in 2005

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• is that in legal and some of these other professional ones, you really have maybe more capacity to adjust
• is that in legal and some of these other professional ones, you really have maybe more capacity to adjust
• is that in legal and some of these other professional ones, you really have maybe more capacity to adjust
• is that in legal and some of these other professional ones, you really have maybe more capacity to adjust
• is that in legal and some of these other professional ones, you really have maybe more capacity to adjust

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:08:27.720> to<00:08:28.360> State reallocated and adjusted to State reallocated
• and adjusted to State projects<00:08:29.680> County<00:08:30.159> projects<00:08:30.800
• to those policy and through adjustments to those policy and and<00:09:00.000> we'll<00:09:00.240
• It essentially says that the project that they had estimated to cost $2.3 million had to be adjusted,
• <01:26:04.199> for those last 50 years adjusted for those last 50 years adjusted for inflation

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on Senate File 285, a bill to shift MnDOT highway project cost participation away from local governments and onto MnDOT. The bill’s author and several city representatives said current cost-share policies force cities to spend local aid, property taxes, or debt on state highway projects they do not control, leaving less money for local streets and maintenance. Testifiers from Richfield, Elk River, Faribault, Minneapolis, and the Minnesota Association of Small Cities all supported the bill, describing the policy as one-size-fits-all, financially burdensome, and especially harmful to smaller cities and cities with major state highways running through them. Witnesses gave examples of large and sometimes changing local cost-share obligations, including Richfield’s spending of most of its MSA funds on projects it does not own and a small-city project where the estimated local share rose from about $2.3 million to over $3 million. Several testifiers said cities often have little practical ability to refuse MnDOT projects because the projects are valuable and MnDOT can move on if a city declines. One witness also raised concerns about money being paid upfront and held in an account during construction, causing cities to lose interest earnings while funds sit unused. Members asked whether cities truly have a say in these projects and whether there are limits on how much the local share can increase. Testifiers said MnDOT does engage cities, but the cost participation policy largely dictates the outcome, and they described the municipal consent statute as too narrow in practice. Senators expressed concern about fairness and the burden on local budgets, while one member noted the bill may not fully address the broader consent issue. No vote or final action was taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:34:48.960> the all the money out and adjust the all the money out and adjust the equation
• thing to do to adjust this one as well. thing to do to adjust this one as well.
• > our<03:24:05.600> state Even adjusting for inflation, our state Even adjusting for inflation
• Even with this adjustment, cigarettes.
• So it's just an inflation adjuster.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• make those county specific adjustments. make those county specific adjustments.
• These are federal funds adjustment adjustments, two of them.
• These are federal funds adjustment These are federal funds adjustment adjustments,<01:53:58.520>
• No, the 402 adjustment. 402 adjustment.
• Because this is a BNF adjustment.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Senate adjustment here reflects their revenue estimates.
• The Senate adjustment here towns.
• four were 305,000 the adjusted four were 305,000 the adjusted authorized<00:56:12.960> in
• <00:56:46.319> yet spent the adjusted authorized yet spent the adjusted authorized yet though
• the leadership of Senator Lang adjusted the leadership of Senator Lang adjusted those<03:18:25.200

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Committee of Conference on HB 1 and HB 2 met to review revenue estimates and begin working through the HB 1 detail change sheet. New Hampshire Lottery Director Charlie McIntyre reported stronger-than-expected lottery performance, raising the current-year return estimate to $27 million and the next biennium estimate to $200 million, with the increase attributed to improved scratch ticket sales and sports betting not hurting revenue as much as expected. Members questioned the assumptions behind the higher estimates, including the impact of $50 scratch tickets and whether the figures accounted for future conversion from historical horse racing (HHR) machines to video lottery terminals (VLTs). McIntyre and committee members discussed machine counts, per-day revenue assumptions, and the likelihood that VLT conversion would increase revenues over time, though the timing and pace of conversion remained an open question. The committee also discussed several gaming-related policy items in HB 2, including changes to kino hours and local option games of chance, and noted that the Senate and House differed on how gaming revenues would be allocated between charities, education, and general funds. Members emphasized that revenue projections should remain conservative because operators, not the state, would control the pace of machine conversion. Representative Sweeney noted that operators could earn more per machine under the VLT model, and McIntyre said the new facilities and expansions were largely concentrated near the Massachusetts border. The committee then moved to the HB 1 detail change sheet. It agreed to Senate position on the Department of Safety’s road toll bureau and international registration program changes, which were described as a zero-cost realignment of positions, and held the Department of Corrections section for later discussion. On the judicial side, members approved a technical footnote fix, but held a new contract counsel item for involuntary mental health admissions and deferred discussion of the public defender program increase. The committee also noted no change for the PE development authority, moved safety rest area funding from HB 2 into HB 1 with no additional cost, and flagged the tourism development fund and other judicial items as issues that may depend on overall available revenue.

Transcript Highlights:

• Perhaps it needs no adjustment broken.
• It doesn't have to go through an<04:46:54.718> adjuster.
• We call them, we try to adjuster.
• <04:53:12.240> or later that will get to the adjuster or later that will get to the adjuster
• There's no way we'd with the adjuster.

Keywords: 1189, house, all