Transcript Highlights:

• Senators, under tab 13, we have CS for SB 678, deductions for certain losses of alcoholic beverages by
• Members, in 1972 the legislature passed a bill to allow the deduction of unsellable alcohol from distributors
• In 1972, the legislature passed a bill to allow the deduction of unsellable alcohol from distributors
• framework of DBPR's administrative rule and statute so that the department can continue to allow the deduction
• retroactively to January 1, 2025, to make clear that the department does not have the ability to collect deductions

Bills: S2500, S2502, S2504, S7028, S2506, S2508, S2510, S2512, S2514, S2516, S2518, S0482, S0678, S0984, S1016, S1074, S1706, S7030

Keywords: budget, appropriation, education funding, healthcare, environmental protection, infrastructure, local government, Appropriations Act, funding, education, rural development, economic assistance, collective bargaining, state employees, labor relations, impasse resolution, negotiations, retirement, elected officials, Deferred Retirement Option Program

Summary: The committee heard presentations on the Senate’s proposed 2026-2027 budget, SPB 2500, with chairs outlining major spending in K-12 education, higher education, health and human services, criminal and civil justice, transportation/tourism/economic development, and agriculture/environment/general government. Highlights included a $115 billion overall budget, pay raises for state employees and public safety workers, major K-12 funding increases and enrollment supplements, higher education workforce and nursing investments, expanded Medicaid/KidCare and behavioral health funding, corrections and law enforcement operational funding, transportation and housing investments, and significant environmental and water quality spending. Members asked about civic education funding, declining enrollment, professor retention, APD waiver waitlists, cultural grant allocations, and other line items. Public testimony also addressed HIV/AIDS drug assistance funding and prison air conditioning. SPB 2500 was adopted as a committee bill after amendment consideration and a roll call vote. The committee then took up implementing and related budget bills, including SPB 2502 (implementing the General Appropriations Act), SPB 2504 (state employee bargaining placeholder), SB 7028 (Florida Retirement System contribution rates and related retirement changes), SPB 2506 (fuel tax distributions), SPB 2508 (state agency law enforcement radio system surcharge), SPB 2510 (termination of an unused court trust fund), SPB 2512 (new judgeships), SPB 2514 (K-12 conforming changes), SPB 2516 (higher education conforming changes), and SPB 2518 (health conforming changes). Most were explained as technical or conforming measures tied to the budget, and all were reported favorably as committee bills, with SB 7028 amended to direct a portion of increased contributions to disability and line-of-duty death benefits in the FRS investment plan. The committee also heard and passed several member bills, including CS for SB 1074 on rounding rules for cash transactions in a world without pennies, CS for SB 678 restoring the alcohol loss deduction framework for distributors, and SB 964 on firefighter cancer benefits and prevention. SB 964 drew the most discussion, with questions about the one-year death-benefit window, the separate $25,000 cancer diagnosis payment, and whether the bill could create gaps in coverage for firefighters diagnosed or dying just outside the new time limits. Firefighter representatives testified in support, saying the bill would provide clearer protections for members and families. All of these measures were reported favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• My insurance company is going to look at that and go, "Go ahead and settle for your deductible." deductible
• bill, whatever your deductible is.
• But the incentive is to just sue a company because you’re at least going to get the deductible that that
• I’ve got a $50,000 deductible, and it’s going to cost them. to defend me; they’re not going to defend

Transcript Highlights:

• People are on high deductibles.
• People are on high deductibles.
• And if you're in a high deductible, you are self-insured. That's real.
• And if you're in a high deductible, you are self-insured. That's real.
• And if you're in a high deductible, you are self-insured. That's real.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Not only are our members' retirement deductions tied to employer reporting, but creditable service is
• It's important for members to see their deduction history and the creditable service deposited in their

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several public service and retirement-related bills. Senator Kelly Dooner and Rep. O’Rourke supported a Taunton home rule petition to extend Chief Walsh’s service during the city’s transition to a new public safety facility, citing the need to manage new equipment, cameras, and 911 systems smoothly. Senator Lovely testified in favor of bills expanding retirement savings access through the SMART Plan and the CORE Plan, arguing that automatic enrollment and broader eligibility would help state, municipal, and nonprofit workers save for retirement. No questions were raised on the Taunton petition, and the hearing later moved through the remaining testimony without any votes taken during the transcript. Mary Waldron of the Old Colony Planning Council and Jeffrey Walker of the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District urged support for legislation protecting regional planning agencies from being required to make retroactive payments to the State Retirement Board for past employer contributions. They warned that the costs would be unsustainable, could force layoffs or closures, and would jeopardize their ability to provide transportation, housing, economic development, and planning services. Bill Keith and Patrick Charles of PEREC testified on several retirement administration bills, including measures to ease statement-of-financial-interest filing rules, require payment for certain creditable service purchases, and clarify the definition of wages to include sick, vacation, and personal time; committee members asked questions about regional transit authorities joining retirement systems and about adding local retirement board representation to a proposed commission. Jonathan Osimo and Rob Fabino of the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System supported bills to penalize delinquent pension reporting by employers and to create a special commission to study retirement credit purchases, saying better reporting would improve retirement processing and that a broader review could improve fairness and sustainability. Eddie Boynton of the Braintree Education Association backed the SMART Plan bill, describing how automatic enrollment and low-fee fiduciary oversight could protect educators from high-cost supplemental retirement products. Matthew Nugent testified for a bill to divest public pension funds from firearms and ammunition. After the final witnesses, the chairs asked if anyone else wished to testify, heard none, and then adjourned the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• In actually integrating a business and occupation tax deduction and increasing a rate for persons conducting
• establish a B&O tax rate of 3.1% for credit card processing activities, and then allows a B&O tax deduction

Summary: The Senate opened with a moment of silence for Senator Chris Gildon and his family after the death of his wife, Autumn. It then took up several bills on final passage, beginning with Substitute House Bill 2020, which establishes a 3.1% B&O tax rate for payment card processing activities and allows a deduction for certain related fees. Supporters said it resolves a long-running dispute with the Department of Revenue; it passed 47-0. The chamber also passed House Bill 2039, delaying the child support pass-through expansion from 2026 to 2029, and House Bill 2040, delaying the elimination of recoveries from the Aged, Blind, and Disabled Assistance Program from October 2025 to October 2028. Supporters framed both as timing changes, while opponents argued they would postpone benefits for families and vulnerable people. Both bills passed 25-22. Substitute House Bill 2051, dealing with payment to acute care hospitals for difficult-to-discharge patients, passed 27-20 after several proposed amendments were withdrawn. Supporters said the bill helps hospitals care for patients who have nowhere else to go, while opponents argued the state should not delay payment support for these patients. The Senate also passed In Gross Substitute House Bill 2061, imposing a 10% concession fee on duty-free sales to fund tourism promotion and sustainable aviation fuel, over objections that it was a tax increase passed on to consumers. Finally, Substitute House Bill 2077, which taxes certain business activities related to zero-emission vehicle credits, passed 28-19 after an amendment to remove or narrow parts of the tax was rejected. Supporters said the measure would encourage spending of credits and support clean transportation goals, while opponents called it a targeted tax on Tesla and warned it could raise EV prices. The Senate then concurred in amended Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1293, a litter and plastic bag measure that increases litter penalties and keeps the planned bag-thickness increase from taking effect, and passed it 27-20. The Senate adjourned until April 27, 2025.

Transcript Highlights:

• And that's, those events are at one time our reinsurance deductible was $150 million.
• We're trying to alleviate some of the rate increases by going to a percent deductible.
• and it's kind of our deductible and it's kind of our deductible basically<00:18:36.320> is
• <00:20:04.720> Uh<00:20:05.200> so going to a percent deductible.
• Uh so going to a percent deductible.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:01:00 Approval of Minutes 00:02:31 Kentucky Farm Bureau 00:02:42 Kentucky Department of Agriculture 00:28:18 Kentucky Cattlemen's Association 01:48:13, 958, all

Summary: The committee heard first from Kentucky Farm Bureau leaders, who outlined the organization’s current priorities and recent work on farmland transition. Eddie Melton said Farm Bureau is working through 983 county and advisory committee resolutions and highlighted support for the updated selling farmer tax credit, now law through House Bill 775, as well as Senate Bill 28’s agriculture economic development provisions. He said Farm Bureau’s likely priorities include maintaining the 50% share of the tobacco settlement fund for agriculture, protecting funding for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, preserving sales tax exemptions on farm inputs, keeping property taxes controlled, and exploring additional tools to keep farmland in active farmers’ hands, including possible loan or inheritance-tax changes. He also raised concerns about eminent domain transparency, nuisance deer permits, and access to agricultural inputs and crop protection products. Alita Bots described the farmland transition initiative in more detail, saying the revised state tax credit is generating strong interest and that a new federal tax provision now allows eligible land sales to actively engaged farmers to spread capital gains taxes over time. She said the initiative has reached 22 counties and more than 1,300 people this year through outreach and meetings, and that Farm Bureau is pairing policy work with resources to help farm families plan transitions and prepare wills and other estate documents. Drew Graham added that the effort is also meant to bridge the rural-urban divide and support rural communities, and Farm Bureau invited members to its annual meeting in early December. Members asked about rising insurance costs and deer damage. Farm Bureau representatives said severe convective storms, inflation, and higher repair and material costs have driven insurance rate increases, citing five major storm events since 2021 and a recent Owensboro hailstorm that caused about $350 million in losses; they said the company is moving toward percentage deductibles to help moderate increases. On deer, they said crop-loss totals are hard to quantify but acknowledged the problem and discussed possible coordination with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Hunters for the Hungry. Commissioner Jonathan Shell then began the Department of Agriculture presentation, reporting gains from the department’s school agriculture outreach program, including a 23% increase in county participation between March and September and improved teacher-reported student learning, before continuing into the department’s legislative priorities.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:03:27.680> are premiums, co-pays, and deductibles are premiums, co-pays, and deductibles
• 04:11.839> and or increases in premiums co-pays and or increases in premiums co-pays and deductibles
• or the fact that Republicans deductibles or the fact that Republicans are<01:04:15.280> dramatically
• Next point: it dramatically raises premiums, co-pays, and deductibles for tens of millions of Americans
• for tens of millions of deductibles for tens of millions of Americans.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Friday, September 19, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• all of the other corrections employees are, for example, federal employees, they're on the federal payroll
• going to, like, bust in there and be like, "I think that food service worker is not on the federal payroll
• all of the other corrections employees are, for example, federal employees, they're on the federal payroll
• The federal payroll. What if they hire a third-party contractor for food services exclusively?
• To, like, bust in there and be like, "I think that food service worker is not on the federal payroll.

Keywords: House streaming session for Saturday, April 11, 2026, 957, house, all

Summary: The House met in session, opened with a prayer, confirmed a quorum, and then moved through a long series of concurrence items and committee reports. Early on, the House rejected Senate amendments to House Bills 14 and 573 and sent messages asking the Senate to recede or appoint conference committees. It also entered conference on House Bill 907 (third degree assault) and on several other measures where the chambers disagreed, including Senate Bill 233 (cemeteries) and Senate Bill 626 (sex designation on birth certificates and IDs). House Bill 501, dealing with sexual offenses by a person in a position of authority, was concurred in and passed unanimously. The House then took up a large concurrence calendar and passed a number of bills with Senate amendments, including House Bill 613 on living shoreline waivers, House Bill 315 on income-based housing subsidies, House Bill 548 on development rights and the Maryland Housing Certainty Act, House Bill 571 on nonprofit housing corporation tax exemptions, House Bill 895 on predatory pricing and protected class data, House Bill 1430 on charter school facilities funding, House Bill 1076 on over-the-counter contraception access and reporting, House Bill 624 on hospital staffing committees and plans, House Bill 811 on aging-in-place and multi-generational third places, House Bill 939 on birth certificate filing time periods, House Bill 1151 on a Medicaid hospice reimbursement study, House Bill 1367 on the Commission on Reimagining Healthcare in Maryland, House Bill 828 on State Board of Education membership, House Bill 130 on deed fraud, House Bill 281 on child care provider background checks, House Bill 963 on appointment of personal representatives, House Bill 1326 on child abuse and neglect records, and House Bill 525 on phone-free schools. Several of these were briefly explained on the floor, including changes to shoreline waiver timing, housing and tax provisions, contraceptive access concerns, hospital staffing protections, and the school phone policy’s exemptions. The chamber also received committee reports that advanced additional bills for third reading, including House Bill 1020 and Senate Bill 654 on the State Police Retirement System mandatory retirement age, Senate Bill 877 on Baltimore City stop sign monitoring systems, Senate Bill 940 on water quality testing, House Bill 44 on plain-language ballot questions, Senate Bill 215 on the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund, Senate Bill 627 designating Korean American Day, and Senate Bill 634 on county discrimination complaints. No final votes were taken on those reported bills in the portion provided; the report simply adopted favorable reports and ordered the bills printed for third reading.

Transcript Highlights:

• apply the mill levy in place based on their residence to that value, and it creates a very large deduction
• a very large deduction. a very large deduction.
• back, the department is required to run a cap rate study and create a return on investment as a deduction
• 34.240> a and create an return on investment as a and create an return on investment as a deduction
• for the oil and gas or the gas deduction for the oil and gas or the gas taxpayers.<01:04:38.440>

Keywords: 916, all

Summary: The Joint Revenue committee met with a quorum and heard a series of interim topic proposals focused on tax policy. Representative Brown raised two ideas: reinstating an exemption reporting requirement for corporations and entities receiving tax exemptions, with loss of the exemption for the current and prior year if they fail to report, and revising property tax treatment for wind turbines and related infrastructure by shifting the taxed footprint from agricultural to industrial classification. Senator Case and others then discussed energy taxation more broadly, including a possible generation tax for electricity, how to handle large data-center electricity loads, and whether sales tax revenue from very large electrical loads should be shared statewide rather than concentrated locally. The committee referenced prior bills and studies, including House Bill 300 and Senate File 76, and discussed using a mechanism that would keep local electricity bills net neutral while redirecting revenue distribution. The committee also took up problematic gaming and program funding. Senator Case described personal experiences with gambling addiction and the lack of available resources, while the presenter said the topic had been requested in multiple committees and that the biggest concern from House Bill 171 was protecting county and municipal funding. Members discussed whether the issue belonged in Revenue, Health, Labor, or Transportation, and several suggested it should stay with the standing committee handling gaming. Ideas raised included using gaming-related revenue for prevention and treatment, fully funding the 988 lifeline, and creating a broader trust fund for addiction-related services and law enforcement. The committee appeared to agree to continue the topic for educational purposes and to examine taxation of HHR and other gambling activity. Senator Case then proposed a severance tax on wind energy, arguing that wind development creates permanent landscape impacts and that the state should be compensated similarly to coal, oil, and gas extraction. Curt Meier, the state treasurer, supported reviewing lease agreements and said Wyoming should get more from wind resources, noting the state’s unique wind potential and the loss of viewshed. Finally, the committee heard a proposal to reform property tax relief by extending it to motor vehicle registration. Former Revenue director Dan Noble argued that vehicle taxes should be treated like other property taxes, using fair market value, depreciation, the residential assessment ratio, and local mill levies, which he said could provide broad relief but would be expensive, with an estimated fiscal impact of about $120 million. Representative Chestek followed with a related reform proposal based on Pennsylvania’s base-year assessment model, arguing that Wyoming’s current statewide relief measures treat symptoms rather than the underlying problem of rapidly rising local valuations.

Transcript Highlights:

• > unlawful not paying earned tips making unlawful not paying earned tips making unlawful deductions
• from paychecks not making a deductions from paychecks not making a final<00:20:48.159> check<
• the workers's employment and by the workers's employment and by unlawfully<00:21:39.200> deducting
• > rent<00:21:40.520> for<00:21:40.840> sub<00:21:41.279> for unlawfully deducting
• rent for sub for unlawfully deducting rent for sub for substandard<00:21:42.240> Onsite<00:21

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• includes a comparison of expense reimbursement requests with the underlying documentation, such as payroll
• includes a comparison of expense reimbursement requests with the underlying documentation, such as payroll
• and that she has managed a $6 million statewide grant, where progress reports, onsite visits, and payroll
• 47.920> reports,<01:03:48.400> onsite<01:03:48.920> visits,<01:03:49.320> payroll
• Progress reports, onsite visits, payroll Progress reports, onsite visits, payroll runs<01:03:50.320

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• one revenue raised, you can see in the purple line, we've last session narrowed the capital gains deduction
• Basically, we've capped the capital gains deduction on passive income like an investment.
• If you have a capital gain on that, that will still be subject to a pretty hefty capital gains deduction
• I understand the question: that it would remain a tax expenditure if it's an exemption or deduction from

Transcript Highlights:

• and itemized deductions — those are all very progressive changes.
• and the standard deduction, mostly hitting the upper couple of deciles.
• Is there any, so, but this is a tax deduction for income from commercial loans for banks, not for small
• > is<01:35:53.760> a<01:35:54.639> a<01:35:54.880> tax<01:35:55.199> deduction
• <01:35:55.679> for is a this is a a tax deduction for is a this is a a tax deduction for income

Bills: HF331, HF916

Keywords: school supplies, sales tax exemption, use tax, sales and use tax, back-to-school, classroom supplies, education tax relief, tax holiday, retail exemption, Minnesota sales tax, school materials, binders, calculators, notebooks, pencils, backpacks, book bags, local tax revenue, taxable sales base, income tax

Transcript Highlights:

• And since then, employers have seen their federal UI payroll taxes increase by 250%.
• According to the California Business Roundtable, California employers now face a payroll tax burden nearly
• Meanwhile, employers won't see the payroll tax relief until the UI debt is completely paid off.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Most will be with the counties to allow for... ...payroll system, otherwise on a CSPS, and it's scheduled
• The absence of both the California Arts Council request and the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund
• budget request for the California Arts Council and the $40 million for the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 on State Administration held a May Revise hearing focused on state administration proposals, with the chair noting no actions would be taken and all items would remain open. The committee heard presentations on a range of budget proposals, including technical adjustments for the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement and the California Workforce Development Board, security and election-related funding for the Secretary of State, modernization and loan-backfill requests for the Department of Consumer Affairs, and multiple Employment Development Department updates covering EDD Next, UI and DI/PFL benefit estimates, workforce funding, and an EMT training reappropriation. Several items drew discussion from the LAO and committee members. The LAO generally supported technical or modernization items such as PERB’s implementation requests, GoServe’s College Corps adjustment, the Secretary of State’s security and HAVA grant items, and the Board of Pharmacy modernization proposal, but raised concerns about the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education’s proposed $10 million General Fund backfill and interest-free loan language. For EDD, the LAO flagged the size of the DI/PFL benefit adjustment and the unusual structure of the document management system proposal within EDD Next, while EDD said the changes reflected higher participation and benefit levels after SB 951 and ongoing modernization needs. The Department of Industrial Relations drew the most extensive questioning. It proposed funding for legal unit reclassifications, EAMS and Cal/OSHA data modernization, a new Cal/OSHA emerging technologies unit, a COYA reappropriation, and trailer bill changes requiring electronic payment of employer assessments and adjusting the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board timeline. Members pressed DIR on high vacancy rates, long wage theft and workers’ compensation backlogs, low collection rates for fines, and the need for clearer workload and outcome measures. DIR said the requests were intended to improve efficiency, support audits and corrective action plans, and better address emerging workplace risks, while the LAO said the workload drivers behind delays remain unclear. The hearing also included support for CalHR’s employee assistance program consolidation and CDT’s proposal to expand “Poppy,” a statewide generative AI assistant for state employees.

Transcript Highlights:

• How does that transition occur from being on the DES and state payrolls, state retirement system, state
• How does that transition occur from being on the DES and state payrolls, state retirement system, state
• How does that transition occur from being on the DES and state payrolls, state retirement system, state

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee held a work session on House Bill 592, which concerns regional conservation and energy resources planning for habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors, and a commission to study transferring ownership of the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program to another authority. Jason Stock of the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association said his group was fine with the bill as printed, especially after Senate language clarified that habitat stronghold designations are for information gathering and not regulatory purposes. Ted Diers of the Department of Environmental Services strongly supported the bill’s Winnipesaukee River Basin provisions, saying the state’s role in operating the wastewater system is outdated and that the communities are now capable of taking more control; he also supported creating a higher-level engineering/director position to oversee aging infrastructure and help manage a possible transition. Committee members asked about the facility’s location, capacity, costs, staffing, the possibility of private operation, the commission’s membership, and whether the six-month study timeline was realistic. Diers said there would be no state savings beyond administrative time, that the communities already pay the costs, and that a report in six months should provide useful next steps even if it would not resolve everything. The chair closed the work session on HB 592 and announced a brief recess before later action, while a member indicated interest in proposing an amendment to change the commission’s membership.

Transcript Highlights:

• Sometimes school districts can't meet payroll unless they have money in reserves before the property
• Some of them, because they have the amount of the reserves, were able to make the payroll.
• at first, DESE said that they wouldn't... ...have the amount of the reserves were able to make the payroll

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This amendment simply clarifies that child and spouse support obligations shall be deducted from an inmate's
• This amendment simply clarifies that child and spouse support obligations shall be deducted from an inmate's
• including federal certification authority, protections for participating incarcerated individuals, wage deductions

Keywords: Scheduler, 973, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• CARRIERS ON THE OIR ON THE IDEA THAT USAGE HAS SPIKED IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS BECAUSE OF THESE ZERO DEDUCTIBLE
• OR LOW DEDUCTIBLE PLANS NOW THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING OFF THESE PLANS AND WERE POSSIBLY GOING BACK UP
• TO HIGHER DEDUCTIBLE PLANS BUT THE USAGE GOING LOWER ARE THEY GOING TO BE ABLE TO RULE THESE RATES BACK

Transcript Highlights:

• So several, a couple of sessions ago, we removed Impact Aid as a deduct from Grand Forks.
• And then when you're talking about the deduct that applies to a tuition payment between districts, and
• so when that payment is made from District 140 to District 1, the state is no longer deducting 75% or
• And the purpose of deducting the Medicaid payment is not to... Of the situation.
• And the purpose of deducting the Medicaid payment is not to double dip, so to speak, for state dollars

Keywords: 908, all