Transcript Highlights:

• The PG&E's rate case, for example...
• We have a cycle of general rate cases.
• Rate increases, and then they fall off.
• to keep rates down.
• And then the costs go into rates.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• with several at 0% passage rates.
• In 2024, our passage rate was 80 percent. It's a 33 In 2024, our passage rate was 80%.
• rate is 70%.
• rate is 70%.
• And we're going to put the passage rate that your class, the passage rate is X.

Summary: The Health Professions and Programs Subcommittee heard and advanced several health care bills. HB 909, joining the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact, was presented with a strike-all amendment and reported favorably as amended by a 13-0 vote. HB 911, the related public records exemption protecting certain biological information, was also adopted and reported favorably as amended by a 14-0 vote. CS for HB 597, allowing schools to procure and administer glucagon for students with diabetes under trained personnel, passed unanimously 14-0 after a technical amendment. HB 519, aligning state law with federal language on controlled substances administered by paramedics, passed as amended 14-0. The committee then took up HB 919 on nursing education programs. Sponsor Rep. Overdorf argued the bill would create accountability for underperforming nursing schools by requiring remediation, tuition refunds in the lowest-performing programs, and public reporting of passage rates. Supporters said it would improve quality and protect students from debt without licensure success, while opponents from private nursing schools warned it could close programs and reduce nurse supply. After extensive debate, the bill was reported favorably 15-0. HB 1553, which would require health care providers to submit identified uterine fibroid data so the Department of Health can implement the research database previously authorized by law, passed unanimously 15-0. The final bill, HB 883, would allow psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners to practice autonomously; supporters said it would expand access to mental health care, especially in rural and underserved areas, while opponents raised concerns about quality and physician oversight. After lengthy testimony and debate, the bill was reported favorably 14-3.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, at any rate, I will be brief.
• reimbursement rate at 325% of Medicare. reimbursement rate at 325% of Medicare.
• Representative Hunt's rates are Maine. Representative Hunt's rates are Maine.
• With Washington's current rates.
• , um it would have to be in the rates, um it would have to be in the rates, right?

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The states portfolio is our highest rated portfolio of everything that we do in ratings: corporates,
• Buwick. have some of the lower ratings have some of the lower ratings Connecticut<01:24:43.040> is
• The rate of growth, if it's not deemed compatible to the rate of revenue growth, the rate of expenditure
• c><01:26:59.360> expenditure Revenue growth the rate of expenditure Revenue growth the rate of
• product will grow at about a 2% rate product will grow at about a 2% rate which<01:34:11.280>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Correct me if I'm wrong, but the rates you have here are your minimal rates that we see for like the
• One position is undergoing review to adjust the hiring rate.
• You have to look at our separation rate. We have a hard time getting below a 10% rate.
• I know last session, I believe we discussed vacancy rates.
• and benefits rich and rate poor.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bond rating agencies had commented on the assumed rate of return.
• The bond rating agencies had commented on the assumed rate of return.
• The bond rating agencies had commented on the assumed rate of return.
• It wasn't all assumed rate, but it was mostly assumed rate.
• It wasn't all assumed rate, but it was mostly assumed rate.

Keywords: Finance - Room 216, 20 January, 2026; 10:30 AM, 925, all

Summary: The committee heard an update from PERS Executive Director Higgins, who reported that the system has about $38 billion in assets, earned roughly 11.7% last fiscal year, and is about 57% funded. He thanked lawmakers for a newly passed $1 billion funding bill and emphasized that funding the existing system remains the top priority. Higgins also noted that the board’s actuarially recommended contribution is about 26% of payroll, while the system is currently receiving about 18.4%, and said PERS will return later in session with a few requested bills. Higgins addressed several policy topics under discussion this session, including return-to-work rules, first responders, and Tier 5. He said return-to-work changes are possible if the law is changed and funding implications are addressed. For first responders, he said any special treatment should be done within PERS rather than by creating a separate system, with the affected group and parameters clearly defined and fully funded. He also said the new Tier 5 hybrid plan is being implemented on track for March 1 and is projected to improve the system’s long-term financial position by reducing future liabilities and helping pay down the unfunded liability. Members then questioned Higgins about the system’s funding policy, the 30-year closed amortization period used in the ADC calculation, and whether that approach should be revisited in light of recent funding actions and changes in assumptions. Higgins said the board reviews the policy annually, that the closed amortization approach was chosen to better pay down the unfunded liability, and that the annual valuation and experience studies already incorporate recent funding changes, Tier 5, and the phased employer-rate increases. He acknowledged that a significant new infusion of funding could justify reviewing the amortization period, but cautioned against changing it too often because it could undermine progress toward paying down the unfunded liability.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our current mandated reporting system has a nearly 90% failure rate. Failure rate.
• What does it mean to have a nearly 90% failure rate?
• We can do better than a nearly 90% failure rate. Failure rate.
• instead of the default Tier 1 rate.
• The Tiered Rate Structure is a very extensive and complex part of our foster care rate system that's

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and a rate case expert.
• start to use that rate.
• Rates may not be excessive.
• If the rate is in effect.
• to a much lower turnover rate.

Transcript Highlights:

• Maintaining reasonable rates for local exchange service is essential.
• Cities support reliable electric service and affordable electric rates.
• Does it create any new rate recovery tools, or does it simply use existing ones?
• will go a long way toward helping us maintain our current credit rating.
• Those things can be considered in rate cases, but this is very targeted.

Bills: HB842, HB1907, HB2844, HB2892, HB3439, HB4211, HB4536, HB5111, HB5138, HB5182, HB5247, HB5269, HB5323, HB5435, HJR201, SB871, HB3896, SJR40

Keywords: power lines, Gulf Coast, weather-related outages, Public Utility Commission, infrastructure, government contracts, Chinese companies, information technology, cybersecurity, state regulations, food safety, mobile vendors, licensing, permitting exemptions, health inspections, nonprofit organizations, personal information, government disclosure, privacy, criminal penalties

Transcript Highlights:

• Finally, my last chart compares contribution rates, specifically the median employee contribution rate
• New Mexico PERA has many different contribution rates for smaller classes of workers. contribution rates
• And I don't know what New Mexico's bond rating is. I suspect it's not the highest in bond rating.
• One different contribution rates.
• rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• Can you, uh, speak to this issue in the bill of eliminating. 473 Not rated, the, the not rated designation
• Well, I mean, they're gonna get a rating, right? They're not going to get a not rated designation.
• Tim, explain to me, isn't a rating a rating of a school?
• These ratings are not punitive.
• These ratings are not punitive.

Bills: HB8

Keywords: HB 8, Texas public school accountability, school accountability, public school transparency, STAAR, state assessments, instructionally supportive assessment program, Student Success Tool, Texas Education Agency, TEA, accountability ratings, A-F ratings, through-year assessment, benchmark testing, norm-referenced assessment, college career military readiness, CCMR, local accountability plan, school district performance, campus turnaround

Summary: The House Committee on Public Education met to hear House Bill 8, which would replace STAAR with a new assessment and accountability system beginning in the 2027-28 school year. The chair described the bill as reducing testing time, limiting benchmark tests, adding beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year assessments, requiring faster score turnaround, involving Texas teachers in test development, and tightening accountability timelines and transparency rules. Members also discussed provisions on A-F ratings, cut scores, CCMR, local accountability plans, and TEA reporting requirements. Committee members and invited witnesses split sharply on the bill’s approach. Supporters, including the chair, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, and Ed Trust’s Nicholas Munyon Penny, argued the bill would reduce high-stakes pressure, provide quicker and more actionable data, limit over-testing, and better align assessments to Texas standards while preserving criterion-referenced accountability. They said the new system would help teachers and parents intervene sooner and would improve transparency, including parent access to student responses and automatic rescoring in some writing cases. Opponents, including Rep. Hinojosa and student witness Ella Moran, argued the bill still increases testing and replaces one high-stakes test with multiple TEA-created tests. Moran testified that STAAR creates anxiety, disrupts instruction, and does not reflect real learning, while Hinojosa said the House had previously passed a better bill based on a nationally norm-referenced model and criticized the new proposal as a concession to the Senate. Questions also focused on AI scoring of writing, rescoring rates, and whether the bill’s new accountability rules would be reliable and fair. The committee did not take a final vote during the portion provided, but the chair said a vote on HB 8 would be called after public testimony later in the day.

Transcript Highlights:

• uh rates are higher? uh rates are higher?
• rating? rating?
• It is a rate of power over is a rate.
• name name plate rating? name name plate rating?
• > and rate stability, rate reduction, and rate stability, rate reduction, and enabling<05:26:27.680

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And when do we expect to then see the rate increases?
• Each of these rate increases will be different.
• They haven't had a rate increase in 40 years.
• the rates for LVNs as registered nurses.
• No rate has been established. We can't bill.

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:

• nursing homes that experienced a rate nursing homes that experienced a rate cut<00:37:36.960>
• to section one of the bill, our rate to section one of the bill, our rate setting<00:37:59.280><
• jeopardized by our current rate system. jeopardized by our current rate system.
• the rate you think is the minimum. the rate you think is the minimum.
• rating. Just like that. rating. Just like that.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of the nursing facility payment rates. of the nursing facility payment rates.
• new rate methodology is approved.
• new rate methodology is approved.
• new rate methodology is approved.
• new rate methodology is approved.

Bills: HF3379

Keywords: housing stabilization, disability services, predatory funding, provider requirements, housing accessibility, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Contracts so those rates may vary but for IPSP and the rate is around it's between eight hundred and
• You can draw them, it's at the same match rate as the Medicaid match rate.
• So there's about a 23% exemption rate, 22%. 23% exemption rate, their coverage rate is about 77%.
• so going to a prevailing market rate.
• The rates that we are currently paying to our vendor are rates that we negotiated in 2019 and as we all

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The payment error rate is not a measure of fraud.
• So we do now know that our 2025 payment error rate is... ...today, that rate has been final.
• Or what are they doing to limit that error rate?
• Or what are they doing to limit that error rate?
• And so when we look at the error rate, a lot of people perceive error rate as fraud and whatnot.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the March 18 minutes, and then received a series of updates on major health-related projects and programs. CHI St. Alexius representatives reported progress on behavioral health buildouts in Bismarck, Williston, and Grand Forks, including demolition and construction milestones, staffing plans, and timelines. The Bismarck project remains on track for completion in June 2027 with about $346,500 spent to date. Williston reported construction underway, a $750,000 unbudgeted air handler replacement, active recruitment for psychiatrists and other staff, and a projected substantial completion in early 2027. Grand Forks reported about 30% completion, weather-tight status expected in August, and continued staffing ramp-up as the facility expands from its current 24-bed operation. The Department of Health and Human Services then reviewed a set of technical line-item transfers, emphasizing that they were administrative corrections with no net change in funding. The department also walked through the Salaries and Wages Block Grant and FTE counts, noting overall staffing remained within appropriated limits and that behavioral health staffing had increased. Members asked about vacancies, consultant use, and the mix of in-state versus out-of-state expertise for the Rural Health Transformation Program. HHS said it had posted 12 funding opportunities, received 422 applications, obligated $8.4 million so far, hired 26 people, and was preparing additional grant rounds and a CMS budget submission. The department said the program is structured around workforce, prevention/healthy living, care closer to home, and technology/data, with ongoing stakeholder engagement and community forums. The committee also heard on the certified community behavioral health clinic implementation plan, SNAP payment error rates, and the state laboratory project. HHS said CCBHC certification is being implemented in four regions—Williston, Minot/North Central, Fargo/Southeast, and Dickinson/Badlands—with care coordination expanding and baseline data still being collected. On SNAP, the department reported a 2025 payment error rate of 9.89%, acknowledged cost impacts under HR1, and said it is using training, system changes, and pre-authorization quality checks to reduce errors toward a 6% target over the next 6 to 12 months. Finally, Public Health reported the state laboratory reached substantial completion on June 12, with total costs at $69.95 million of the $70 million budget, though a service elevator issue will require a new lift to be added using contingency funds.

Transcript Highlights:

• There's a portion of this on a rate There's a portion of this on a rate freeze. freeze. freeze.
• We wanted to clarify that that rate We wanted to clarify that that rate freeze<00:15:22.560>
• the rates for that. the rates for that.
• twofold helping with this energy rate twofold helping with this energy rate issue<00:31:25.240><
• My good friend here 2-year rate freeze.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:25 HB 667 Discussion 01:21 HB 667 Roll Call Vote 03:56 HB 677 Discussion 05:01 HB 677 Roll Call Vote 11:51 HB 535 Discussion 13:33 HB 535 Roll Call Vote 34:46 HJR 77 Discussion 38:33 HJR 77 Roll Call Vote 44:23, 958, all

Summary: The committee first considered House Bill 667, described by the sponsor as a cleanup measure to a 2024 solid waste law. Testimony said the bill would clarify issues involving indirect access to protected information, contractors and consultants, Open Records Act interactions, and remedies when protected material is obtained. The committee voted 13-0 to pass the bill favorably and recommended it for passage on the House floor. The committee then took up House Bill 677, which would establish Kentucky’s legal and regulatory framework for carbon dioxide geological sequestration and help the state seek EPA primacy over Class VI injection wells. Supporters said the bill was the product of 18 months of work among industry, landowner, environmental, and cabinet stakeholders, and argued it would promote economic development, protect landowners, and support carbon-capture investment and related infrastructure, especially in Western Kentucky. An amendment was adopted by voice vote, and the bill then passed favorably with committee amendment attached. Finally, the committee discussed House Bill 535 as amended by a committee substitute. The bill would authorize securitization for certain investor-owned utilities with out-of-state assets, including Kentucky Power, to refinance assets such as the Mitchell plant and certain regulatory assets, with a two-year rate freeze and PSC review for net savings. Sponsors and supporters framed it as an affordability and jobs measure that could finance new natural gas generation at Big Sandy, create several hundred construction jobs, and support long-term economic development in Eastern Kentucky. Members raised concerns about utility fees, PSC discretion, and transparency; sponsors said the proposal would not be approved without overall savings and that applications would also be reviewed by the legislature, the Attorney General, and EPIC. The committee adopted the committee substitute and then passed House Bill 535 favorably, with several members explaining their votes and some noting continued reservations for floor consideration.

Transcript Highlights:

• Be billed at residential rates only.
• <00:25:31.399> um with if you're changing the rate um with if you're changing the rate um
• You're now at, uh, what, $20,000 that would be shifted from a commercial rate to a residential rate.
• rates?
• rates?

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• tax rate.
• The flat SIT rate was changed to variable rates over three brackets.
• PIT brackets were reduced from 19 to 7 rates, and the rates were modified.
• Pit brackets were reduced from 19 to 7 rates and the rates were modified.
• She rates, a lot to be credited against the state gross receipts tax rate.

Summary: The committee’s final day focused first on a historical overview of New Mexico tax packages by Pam Stokes of Legislative Council Services. She described how tax packages have alternated over the decades between tax relief, revenue raising, and tax reform, with examples ranging from the creation of the gross receipts tax in 1966 to major packages in 1981, 1986, 1991, 1994, 2005, 2019, 2022, 2024, and the vetoed 2025 package. Members discussed how tax policy often tracks revenue conditions, how packages can combine increases and decreases, and how local government gross receipts taxes and hold-harmless distributions have affected communities differently. Several members reflected on past packages, especially the 2004 food tax repeal and the 2013 film tax and manufacturing changes, and noted that tax policy can have major economic and political effects even when it is not “sexy” legislation. The committee then heard a proposal to expand the health care practitioner gross receipts tax deduction to include co-insurance, and to extend the sunset date. Sponsor Senator Figueroa said the bill was intended to help recruit and retain medical providers and build on prior deductions for co-pays and deductibles. Testimony explained that co-insurance is the patient’s share after the deductible, that providers currently absorb the gross receipts tax on those payments, and that the proposal would cost about $30 million to the state plus about $20 million to municipalities and counties, with the exact fiscal impact likely to be updated. Members raised concerns about the effect on local governments, whether insurers could be required to reimburse providers, whether the bill would actually attract doctors, and whether better evaluation measures and sunsets should be added. The sponsor said the bill was part of a broader set of efforts to address provider shortages and that the discussion would continue. Representative McQueen then presented a bill to update the Land Conservation Incentives Act. He and conservation partners said the program has protected more than 500,000 acres but has not kept pace with rising land values, especially for irrigated agricultural land in the Middle Rio Grande. The proposal would increase the percentage of conservation value eligible for the credit, raise the per-transaction cap from $250,000 to $2 million, and make the credit refundable rather than only transferable. Testimony emphasized that the program is voluntary, keeps land in private ownership and production, and helps land-rich, cash-poor landowners preserve farmland and water rights. Members asked about average credit amounts, how easements work, whether landowners could effectively buy land and then use the credit, and whether there should be inflation indexing or a statewide cap. The discussion also touched on water rights, fencing, and the role of conservation easements in protecting agricultural land and compact water deliveries. Finally, Senator Sharer previewed his 2% tax proposal with a historical presentation on New Mexico tax law, using props to illustrate the evolution from early territorial tax codes to the modern tax system. He argued that the state’s current tax structure is overly complex and that recent federal changes have disrupted the personal income tax base. The committee did not take any votes on the day’s presentations; the meeting was primarily informational, with members offering feedback and raising policy concerns for future sessions.