Transcript Highlights:

• Currently the income caps renter credit.
• This year they proposed a fee This year they proposed a fee on<00:43:53.240> accessing<00
• If they were decrease fees on occasion.
• doing less, we would adjust the fees. doing less, we would adjust the fees.
• fee fee was<00:45:28.200> stepping<00:45:28.800> over<00:45:29.080> that<00:45:

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So in addition to the fifth, the TWDB also administers the Community Assistance Program, or CAP.
• Berry, so in some of your recommendations talk about drainage fees and such.
• ...fees and such.
• We're talking about the policy recommendations, so those drainage fees... ...drainage fees.
• Right now, counties can't raise drainage fees as a county in general has been a concern.

Summary: The House Committee on Natural Resources met to focus on flooding issues across Texas, with particular attention to South Texas and the recent catastrophic flooding in Central Texas. Chair Harris and Vice Chair Martinez emphasized that flooding is a statewide problem requiring continued legislative attention. The committee heard invited testimony from Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes and Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 General Manager Raul Sassine, who described the March flood event in Hidalgo County, including more than 20 inches of rain, six deaths, over $100 million in local damage, widespread road flooding, and repeated shutdowns of Interstate 2 and its frontage roads. They argued that existing drainage systems are under capacity, that TxDOT projects must account for downstream drainage impacts, and that local governments have already invested heavily in mitigation through bonds and partnerships. Fuentes and Sassine also described the county’s long-term flood mitigation and water-reuse efforts, including the Delta region water management project, which would capture stormwater, runoff, and treated effluent, reduce flooding, and create potable water supply. They said the drainage district manages about 780 miles of channels and 1,100 acres of detention facilities, has used prior Flood Infrastructure Fund and GLO grants, and has ongoing applications for additional state and federal assistance. Members discussed the need for TxDOT coordination, emergency access on frontage roads, local “skin in the game,” and the possibility of combining flood control with aquifer recharge and water supply projects. Texas Water Development Board Executive Administrator Brian McMath then presented an overview of the state’s flood planning and funding framework, including the post-Harvey legislative changes that created the Flood Infrastructure Fund, the Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund, and the regional/state flood planning process. He summarized the first state flood plan adopted in 2024, noting that about one in six Texans live or work in known flood hazard areas and that regional plans identified 4,609 flood risk reduction solutions with an estimated cost of $54.5 billion. He also reviewed TWDB programs for flood grants, community assistance, flood insurance compliance, stream gauges, TexMesonet, flood mapping, and the TexasFlood.org viewer. Members asked about drainage fees, technical assistance, gauge placement, the relationship between flood maps and FEMA FIRMs, and whether flood mitigation funds could support aquifer storage and recovery or recharge projects; TWDB staff said such projects can be eligible if they include flood mitigation components, but direct technical assistance cannot be paid from Flood Infrastructure Fund dollars. The committee concluded by expressing interest in further study of combining flood mitigation with aquifer recharge, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Importantly, companies that pay environmental fees today would continue to pay the same fees...
• Companies that pay environmental fees today would continue to pay the same fees they're paying today,
• Basically, what this amendment does is it keeps the cap in place on the $5,000 fee that is currently
• in place instead of removing that cap.
• So is there a cap on that fee, or does that go back to their program? Is there a cap on...

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I am confident that we, with time, will be able to eliminate prescription caps altogether.
• It's not about impact fees. It's not about municipal services.
• It actually does also include impact fees. It says all fees.
• , you know what, I don't want to pay my impact fee.
• Sub-operator shall pay to manage $40,000 and no dollars Fees.

Bills: SB1176, SB1186, SB1235, SB1286, SB1446, SB1458, SB1515, SB1616, SB1641, SB1668, SB1670, SB1678, SB1747, SB1787

Keywords: stormwater, water storage, replenishment credits, groundwater, aquifer, Arizona Revised Statutes, disclosure, state contracts, procurement records, donations, transparency, EMS, reciprocity, interstate compact, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, licensure, public safety, military personnel, veterinary telemedicine

Transcript Highlights:

• Our legal fees have also been reduced over the past few years.
• out of the registration fees through users of the Guardian.
• It includes project management fees and BI.
• to remove the revolving fund cap or raise it to $2 million.
• We're actually having to spend fees from the Department of Transportation Turnpike Authority.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• AB 2704 Addis, CHBHI fee schedule. Sorry, 2704, AB 2704 Addis.
• AB 2704, CHBHI fee schedule, do pass out on an A roll call. AB 1812, A.A.R.
• AB 2768, Arambula, deferment of fees, do pass on an A roll call.
• AB 1765, Alonese, vehicle fees, holding committee.
• fee.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You could just put a cap, um, on the amount that fiscal's authorized to approve if any.
• You could just put a cap, um, on the amount that fiscal's authorized to approve if any.
• You could just put a cap, um, on the amount that fiscal's authorized to approve if any.
• The $3 million cap would be removed, as would the next sentence about fiscal.
• The $3 million cap would be removed, as would the next sentence about fiscal.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:26:11.039> in we hit or exceed a $10 million cap in we hit or exceed a $10 million cap
• million cap, reducing the credit to 10%. million cap, reducing the credit to 10%.
• know we were pushing for fee year you know we were pushing for fee increases<01:26:45.040> and
• million dollar, you know, minimum cap. million dollar, you know, minimum cap.
• <03:27:32.800> where adoption of changing of that cap where adoption of changing of that cap

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And that charge a land lease fee?
• .<00:47:45.120> That's fees.
• That's fees.
• <00:47:52.440> Um that fee schedule. Um that fee schedule.
• <00:58:52.080> Maybe attorney's fees. This is terrible. Maybe attorney's fees.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The only caps that we have right now on damages are on medical malpractice.
• There's no other industry other than the medical profession that has such a cap.
• As far as industries go, the only cap is medical malpractice and limiting liability.
• And so nobody handles things on a contingency fee basis that I'm aware of.
• “On a contingency fee basis that I'm aware of.

Bills: HB79, HB437, HB646, HB1089, HB1099, SB173, SB180, SB260, SB424, SB476

Keywords: carbon capture, damages, environmental liability, legal liability, site restoration, expert witness, expert testimony, witness fees, pecuniary interest, conflict of interest, civil procedure, evidence law, Louisiana evidence code, Louisiana civil litigation, expert report, discovery, pretrial disclosure, litigation transparency, settlement, damages award

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 476, which would add clearer warning language for garnishees responding to interrogatories and create a limited procedure for a new trial when a garnishee shows it never held property of, or owed money to, the judgment debtor. After brief questioning about how garnishment works, the bill was reported favorably without objection. The committee then took up Senate Bill 260 on youth athletics, which establishes required injury-mitigation training content for youth sports coaches, including emergency preparedness, concussions, heat injuries, overuse injuries, equipment, heart defects, and sudden cardiac effects. An amendment was adopted to remove language allowing the department to spend donated funds to purchase the courses, and the bill was reported as amended. House Bill 79, which removes the damage threshold for carbon capture release, was also reported favorably after sponsor testimony that carbon capture should be treated like other industries and not receive a special liability cap. Senate Bill 424, clarifying service by mail, delivery, or electronic means by defining “counsel of record” as someone who actually represents a party, was reported favorably as well. Senate Bill 180, a constitutional amendment allowing the surviving spouse of a deceased disabled veteran to make a one-time transfer of an expanded property tax exemption to another qualifying property, received a ballot-language amendment and a 6.8A report, then was reported as amended. The committee spent the most time on House Bill 1089, which creates “care accounts” for future medical damages in delictual actions. The sponsor and supporters said the bill would ensure future medical awards are actually used for medical care, function like a money market/HSA-style account, and potentially reduce costs; opponents raised concerns about the account being owned by the judgment debtor, possible reversion of unused funds to the wrong party, unclear mechanics for payment, and the impact on survivors of trafficking and sexual abuse who may need flexible, non-billing-code-based care. Several members suggested exclusions or clarifying amendments for med-mal, intentional torts, and sexual abuse victims, and the bill was reported favorably on a 6-1 vote after amendment. Finally, House Bill 437 was taken up, which bars expert witnesses from having a pecuniary interest in the outcome of the case. An amendment excluding criminal traffic and juvenile proceedings was adopted, and members discussed that the bill would prohibit contingent-style expert fee arrangements while still allowing cross-examination about an expert’s prior testimony and payment history. The discussion emphasized that the rule would apply to both plaintiffs and defendants.

Transcript Highlights:

• I have a question on removing the cap on the fee. It says you're removing the cap for fees.
• Basically, the cap was being removed so they could cover that extra cost.
• I mean, the cost will be appropriate to what the licensure fee is. That's what you're asking.

Bills: SB206, SB904, SB933, SB1436, SB1500, SB1553, SB1557, SB1567, SB1644, SB1645, SB1651, SB1794, SB1833, SB1849, SB1984

Keywords: SB206, emergency medical services, EMS, ambulance, 911 response, emergency response, essential services, federal funding, grant funding, public health, health care facility, municipality, county, ambulance service district, tribal entity, public entity, contract ambulance service, Oklahoma, 63 O.S. 2021 Section 1-2502, emergency clause

Transcript Highlights:

• so under this bill, the inflationary adjustments would be adjusted every two years. workers with a cap
• Under this program, parents pay a fee based on their income as well as the level of services provided
• At that income level, the TEFRA fees are set at 4.5% of adjusted gross income, and then they increase
• The fees cannot be in excess of the... services provided to the child, and if the family has more than
• one child, the fees cannot be in excess of the amount for the child with the highest expenditures.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you want, for the ad hoc COLA, to maintain the cap that you've done in more recent years?
• The cap is an issue, as you know.
• I know your groups would like to get rid of the cap because they want to help everyone.
• The cap is, I know, a private issue within your organizations.
• So let's have more conversations about the cap. Maybe next meeting.

Summary: The Executive Committee approved the April minutes by roll call vote, with members present voting aye and the minutes adopted. The committee then received an Attorney General update on several pension-related cases. Counsel discussed the newly filed Dawson class action, which seeks to invalidate Gross Second Substitute House Bill 2034 on federal and state constitutional grounds; she said the pleadings were unclear, the committee’s involvement was uncertain, and the case would need monitoring. She also reported that the Dolan case appears concluded after the Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s ruling on constructive payment of attorney fees, and that the Fowler case remains pending after an oral ruling for plaintiffs on retroactive interest and possible disgorgement of state gains, with a written ruling still awaited. The actuarial update said June would include the preliminary 2025 valuation results and contribution-rate discussion, along with commentary on the demographic experience study, and staff noted actuarial resources were limited for additional items until later in the summer or fall. The committee then discussed the interim work plan and correspondence, including letters supporting a Plan 1 COLA recommendation, retiree organization comments, and a request from Senator Robinson to study whether certain animal control technicians should be included in PERS. Members emphasized the need to keep working on an ad hoc COLA for Plan 1 retirees while also exploring a longer-term COLA mechanism, including possible budget proviso language to require COLA consideration each budget cycle. Staff also explained changes to correspondence handling: materials will no longer be posted publicly on the website, but will still be available through public records requests and distributed securely to members by email or form submission. The committee agreed to add a June briefing on the PERS animal control technician issue and an introductory discussion of Plan 3, and to bring back COLA proposals in July for further executive committee review. The agenda was approved as amended, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• No income cap, no nonprofit requirement.
• No income cap, no non-profit requirement.
• LiTech tops out at 60, and the state's bond cap caps at 80.
• No LIHTC, no bond cap allocation, no state appropriation.
• It could be a way to kind of get that is through something like a CAP program.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• No income cap, no nonprofit requirement.
• LiTech tops out at 60, and the state's bond cap caps at 80.
• No LIHTC, no bond cap allocation, no state appropriation.
• One, would a housing bond create the CAP program, and are you familiar with it?
• It could be a way to kind of get that is through something like a CAP program.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several housing-related proposals and policy ideas. One speaker urged changes to the welfare property tax exemption for affordable housing, arguing that annual income recertifications are outdated and burdensome, and proposing a one-time qualification at move-in, streamlined monitoring through TCAC or HCD, and continued exemption protection for projects that remain in compliance. The witness said rising insurance costs and administrative burdens are hurting cash flow and threatening the viability of affordable housing operations. A major portion of the meeting focused on social housing and the SB 555 study. HCD described its ongoing study process, including public engagement with residents, practitioners, and experts, and noted that California already has many building blocks for social housing, such as public land tools, long-term affordability mechanisms, community land trusts, and tenant protections. Community land trust and housing policy witnesses argued that social housing will require legislative action, expanded public subsidy, tax abatements, public land, and simplified financing, and they emphasized the need to reframe the concept for the “missing middle” and middle-class households to build broader political support. Committee members discussed stigma around “social housing,” the need for a rebrand, and the possibility of a pilot program, especially on excess public land. The committee also heard a proposal for a certified professional plan-check system modeled on Vancouver, Canada. The presenter said California’s permitting delays, inconsistent reviews, and staffing shortages add cost and uncertainty even for streamlined projects, and proposed allowing state-certified private professionals to perform plan checks and inspections under state oversight while local governments retain zoning and enforcement authority. Members discussed local control concerns, infrastructure costs, and the need to reduce delays and uncertainty in the entitlement process. Finally, the committee heard testimony supporting changes to HCD loan disbursement so funds can be used during construction rather than only after completion. Witnesses said this would reduce interest costs, improve feasibility, and could produce additional affordable homes with existing funding. The discussion also referenced AB 1053 as the vehicle for implementing that approach.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, Israel, what do these fees typically fund?
• However, an exaction does not include development fees, fees for municipal or county services, or regular
• permit application fees.
• However, an exaction does not include development fees, fees for municipal or county services, or regular
• permit application fees.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The caucus reviewed a long list of Senate bills covering elections, transportation, health care, land use, water, criminal justice, and local government. Several election-related measures were described, including SB 1037 on voting equipment custody and internet/port restrictions, SB 1568 on election system software timekeeping, and SB 1687 moving the primary date to May starting in 2028. Members also discussed bills on photo enforcement fines, roadable aircraft registration, motor vehicle booting, assisted living occupancy limits, and municipal permit and exaction rules. A number of measures were noted as third-read consent items, while others were flagged for further discussion or amendments. Health and public safety bills drew substantial discussion. The committee heard bills on insurance coverage for breast cancer screening, safe-haven hospital surrender of newborns, dialysis documentation, behavioral health licensing compliance, naturopathic IV drug administration, traumatic event counseling for public safety employees, sex offender registration limitations, and probation rules for dangerous crimes against children. Members raised concerns or requested removal from consent on several items, including SB 1095 and SB 1094 related to gender-affirming care for minors, SB 1346 on AHCCCS claims processing, and SB 1178 on naturopathic drug administration. There was also debate over SB 1520 on immigration data sharing and SB 1635 on warning someone about an imminent arrest, with objections citing civil liberties and First Amendment concerns. The committee also considered multiple property, water, and development bills. These included measures on effluent water use for landscaping, groundwater fee diversion in Pinal County, increasing the Water Supply Development Revolving Fund loan cap, creating a foreign entity review commission for real property transfers, and restricting transport of Mexican gray wolf pups into Arizona. Members discussed SB 1419 on solar roof inspections and financing disclosures, and SB 1787 on municipal exactions and appeals, with an amendment proposed to limit it to commercial property. Several members explained their votes or asked to pull bills from consent, and some items were noted as having split votes or anticipated floor amendments. The caucus ended with Rhonda’s election-related bills and a note that the group would move immediately into a closed caucus afterward.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,<00:18:43.920> nine we waive their child care fees, nine we waive their child care fees,
• <00:43:08.440> from<00:43:09.400> um administrative fee from um administrative fee
• So, obviously, you know, a 2% administrative fee doesn't get you particularly far at that amount.
• So, obviously, you know, a 2% administrative fee doesn't get you particularly far at that amount.
• Uh, to the point I just want to clarify, the third-party administrator fee is only for ECAP.

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And it's really decided to create opportunities for individuals to gain 100% of their tuition and fees
• Again, it also provides 100% of tuition and fees, and it can also provide an additional scholarship of
• It also provides 100% of tuition and fees, and it can also provide an additional scholarship of $1,000
• I wanted to highlight a few of the areas: the CAP grant that's going on currently.
• So that was the CAP grant, excuse me, yes, the line grant. This funding is enabled.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education received an overview of Florida’s career and technical education (CTE) system from Chancellor Kevin O’Farrell, who described the state’s CTE pathways, program types, enrollment and completion growth, quality audit metrics, and the Master Credentials List used to identify credentials of value. He highlighted record postsecondary CTE enrollment and completions, strong statewide performance in talent attraction, and several funding tools supporting expansion, including Open Door, the Florida First Responder Scholarship, Workforce Development Capitalization grants, Perkins funding, CAPE performance incentives, and apprenticeship grants. Senators asked about eligibility for Open Door and first responder aid, top industry certifications, and the teacher apprenticeship initiative. A panel of college and technical school leaders then described how state and federal funding has supported local program growth and facility expansion. Santa Fe College, Palm Beach State College, North Florida Technical College, Lake Technical College, Florida Gateway College, and Manatee Technical College each cited increases in enrollment, high placement or licensure pass rates, and new or expanded programs in nursing, welding, CDL, automotive, manufacturing, public safety, and apprenticeship. Several speakers emphasized partnerships with hospitals, employers, school districts, and local governments, and noted that grants helped fund equipment, renovations, and new training hubs. Palm Beach State also raised a request to broaden line funding beyond nursing to other health science fields, and multiple presenters asked for more flexibility, multi-year support, and continued or increased funding to sustain growth. Members discussed broader challenges, including the difficulty of sustaining grant-funded growth after initial awards, the lag between enrollment growth and funding formulas, and alignment problems for dual enrollment and technical programs with high school schedules. Senators also noted the need to balance support for high-demand core programs like nursing and welding with the ability to respond quickly to emerging industries such as AI and space. The meeting ended with no formal action beyond adjournment after Senator Davis moved to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• their fee comes out of my budget every their fee comes out of my budget every year<02:44:12.720> and
• No cap. We also were looking for a cap.
• There is no cap on the extensions that a municipality can issue. No cap.
• We also were looking for a cap.
• No development once it reaches the cap.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Appreciate the rejection of the asset limit, the increased premium, the caps on CalPACE, and really would
• rejection of reinstating the Medi-Cal asset limit test, the committee's rejection of the PACE rate cap
• On Item 162, in relation to the collection of family fees, we continue to ask for a one-year extension
• to July 1, 2027, in order to establish a payment system to collect fees from 409 families in our child
• On item 162 in relation to the collection of family fees, we continue to ask for a one-year extension

Keywords: 987, senate, all