Transcript Highlights:

• We have defense counsel incurring tens of thousands of legal fees fighting this.
• Consumers, your constituents are getting no benefit from this attorney's fee shifting provision.
• And lastly, I think it's important what we're requesting here in terms of the fees.
• network companies like Uber and Lyft from a low flat fee to a percentage-based fee.
• states have now implemented fees, and our 20-cent fee per ride assessment is much lower than other cities

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Financial Services Committee heard testimony on several insurance, transportation, and labor-related bills. Senator Edwards supported bills addressing app-based delivery workers, arguing that food-delivery drivers should be treated as employees with protections and mileage reimbursement, and that a small surcharge on app-based deliveries could raise revenue for the Commonwealth and localities. Kevin Brousseau of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO also backed the delivery-worker bill, saying it would preserve employee status, add data transparency, and create a process for challenging deactivations. MAPC supported a bill to change transportation network company fees from a flat per-ride charge to a percentage-based assessment, saying the current fee is outdated and that a higher fee could raise more transportation revenue and help address congestion and emissions. A large portion of the hearing focused on auto insurance and collision repair issues. Insurance industry witnesses supported a bill to limit attorney’s fees in PIP cases by giving insurers 30 days after a complaint is served to pay amounts due without fee exposure, arguing that PIP litigation has surged, is clogging courts, and is being driven by out-of-state firms. They also opposed auto body labor-rate bills, saying the market is already adjusting and that a statutory floor is unnecessary. In contrast, auto body shop representatives and the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Massachusetts urged favorable action on bills to raise and regularly update collision repair labor rates, saying current reimbursement levels are far below market, have not kept pace with inflation or vehicle technology, and are making it hard to retain workers and keep small shops open. One witness also supported a bill to limit insurance surcharge points for low-damage accidents or minor moving violations. Committee members asked questions about deactivation rights for delivery workers, the mechanics of the PIP litigation issue, and the gap between body-shop and mechanical labor rates. Testimony emphasized that current auto body reimbursement rates are around the mid-$40s per hour, while mechanical work can be reimbursed at much higher rates, and that advisory-board discussions have produced only limited progress. At the end of the hearing, the chairs asked if anyone else wished to testify, then moved to close the hearing; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:45:21.239> the she's giving it back and replacing the she's giving it back and replacing
• have the The Tipping fee is the fee<03:10:56.359> that<03:10:56.520> you<03:10:56.760>
• to consider as a way of um replacing to consider as a way of um replacing general<03:19:56.000><
• , then I'm going to have to pay a fee to go to the court, and then I'm going to have to pay a fee at
• to have to pay a fee at the court.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 2 provisions affecting the New Hampshire Retirement System, focusing on Group 2/Tier B retirement changes in pages 25 through 39 of the bill. NHRS Executive Director Jan Goodwin and deputy chief counsel Mark Kavanaugh explained that the 2025 bill is largely similar to prior versions and to HB 727, with the main difference being that the 2025 version does not include the earlier increase in the maximum benefit. They also said the fiscal note for HB 2 is based on earlier actuarial work and that an updated valuation was expected later in the week. A major topic was whether the bill accidentally removed an anti-spiking or special-duty compensation limit. NHRS said the omission appears to be a scrivener’s error caused by moving language between Group 1 and Group 2 definitions, and they planned to flag it in the fiscal note. Members also reviewed the bill’s intent to restore Tier B members to pre-2011 benefit rules, including changes to earnable compensation, average final compensation, and the comp-over-base rule. Some members questioned whether restoring those older rules was appropriate, arguing the 2011 changes were meant to curb pension spiking and that undoing them could be problematic. The committee also discussed the bill’s cost and funding assumptions. NHRS said the 2025 bill would reduce unfunded actuarial liability by about $98.2 million and would have a more favorable effect than the 2023 version, while employer contribution impacts would remain relatively small. Members noted the bill assumes annual appropriations of $27.5 million for 10 years, but House Bill 1 currently provides only $5 million in the first year, and NHRS had not yet analyzed the effect of that shortfall. No votes were taken in the portion provided; the discussion was informational and focused on clarifying the bill’s language, intent, and fiscal impact.

Transcript Highlights:

• And just to provide some context as to what that is on the fee for service side, a lot of payments are
• So on the fee for service side, you have an up or payment limit.
• And we also used CMS is clinical laboratory fees schedule as well as our own Florida Medicaid, a fee
• The average we fee schedule from 243 biomarkers to 632.
• So in terms of as you can see for a fee for service, there's there's limited paid claims.

Transcript Highlights:

• No, so our fees are remaining the same.
• paying you you're not changing fees paying you you're not changing fees you're<00:17:02.759>
• manual systems anymore we're replacing manual systems anymore we're replacing<03:44:36.760> existing
• <03:44:44.439> and expensive than the one it replaced and expensive than the one it replaced
• salary benefits um supervisory fees salary benefits um supervisory fees assessed<05:29:05.718>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first heard the Banking Department’s fiscal year 2026-2027 budget presentation from Commissioner Amelia Galeri. She described the department as a self-funded consumer protection regulator overseeing two main areas: the Banking Trust Division, which supervises state-chartered banks, credit unions, and trust companies, and the Consumer Credit Division, which oversees more than 7,000 licensees including mortgage and money transmitter businesses. She said the department’s budget is about 86% salaries and benefits, with 53 positions all filled, and explained that the agency funds itself through fees, fines, and end-of-year assessments on regulated entities. Galeri said the department is facing workload growth from several directions: continued growth in the trust industry, increased fintech supervision, and a new requirement to regularly examine auto dealers that take finance applications, which adds about 300 exams over two fiscal years. She said the department was directed to flat-fund its budget based on 2025 levels but was allowed to increase travel and training. To stay within that limit, she said the department reduced office space, went paperless, converted administrative and licensing positions into examiner positions, and expects to defund an embedded DOJ database administrator position once a new SharePoint system is fully implemented. Members asked about how the department’s revenue and assessments work, including whether fees were increasing and how much existing banks would pay. Galeri said fees are not being raised, most banks pay little or no fines, and assessments are based largely on asset size, with trust companies paying the bulk. She also explained that fines are set by statute, generally capped at $2,500 per violation for consumer credit entities, and said she would not recommend increasing that cap. The committee then voted to accept the Banking Department’s budget proposal as presented in HQ1, with a motion and second and no discussion. The transcript then moved to the Department of Energy budget. Commissioner Jared Chakin and Chief of Operations Lenny Radio discussed federal program funding, including LIHEAP fuel assistance and weatherization. They said the apparent drop in fuel assistance funding from FY 2024 actuals to the budgeted amount is due to the loss of ARPA and CARES Act supplemental funds, while weatherization remains a federally constrained program with a waiting list and limited flexibility. Members also asked about a proposed transfer from the renewable energy fund; staff said the transfer would still allow the department to carry out its statutory duties for the year, though the committee deferred deeper discussion until House Bill 2.

Transcript Highlights:

• Monty endured a lifetime of medical challenges requiring pain management, a hip replacement, a knee replacement
• There was no fee allowed involved in that.
• There was no fee allowed involved in that.
• There was no fee allowed involved in that.
• <00:43:21.880> allowed um there there was no fee allowed um there there was no fee allowed

Bills: HF2543, HF2566, HF2627

Keywords: garnishment, wage garnishment, earnings levy, bank levy, execution, judgment debtor, judgment creditor, exemption notice, exempt property, bank account freeze, financial institution levy, employer disclosure, garnishee, writ of execution, debt collection, consumer debt, collections, bankruptcy exemptions, public benefits, means-tested benefits

Transcript Highlights:

• I think this year we need to think about whether we raise the per parcel fee.
• I think that would be added in the replacement cost.
• That gets included in replacement costs when you look at, like, the insurance tabulation.
• That gets included in replacement costs when you look at like the insurance tabulation.
• My understanding is that there is no application fee associated with the letter of intent.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• replacements are able to vote. replacements are able to vote.
• I know we've request for replacement.
• <00:39:00.880> and and the awarding of attorneys fees. and and the awarding of attorneys fees
• and then also the project manager charging a fee and then the public adjuster charging a fee, and all
• project manager charging a fee also the project manager charging a fee and<01:29:01.600> then

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• uh other funding to replace this funding if<00:35:47.680> possible.
• <00:56:30.160> I Am I paying rent, IT fees, anything?
• ,<00:56:45.280> uh, I'm paying rent, um, IT fees, uh, I'm paying rent, um, IT fees, uh, anything
• if I'm paying any other fees. I see. if I'm paying any other fees. I see.
• <00:57:52.160> section to make that change uh replace section to make that change uh replace

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We then collect a fee, and that fee is currently set and is placed into the insurance regulatory fund
• That fee is one of those things that has been set.
• We then collect a fee, and that fee is currently set and is placed into the insurance regulatory fund
• So think knee replacement, hip replacement, hysterectomy, cancer-related procedure, other general surgery
• And a knee replacement.

Summary: The committee first approved the previous meeting minutes and then heard a detailed annual report from Dr. Thomas Arnold, chair of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, on maternal mortality trends and policy issues. He explained the committee’s review process, confidentiality protections, and national and North Dakota data showing that most maternal deaths are preventable and that mental health conditions, substance use, cardiovascular issues, infection, hemorrhage, and embolism are the leading causes. Members asked about suicide, domestic violence, midwife training, home births, and whether pregnancy testing at death scenes should be expanded; Dr. Arnold said better coroner education, more investigation of unexplained deaths, and possible post-mortem pregnancy testing could improve case identification, especially in rural areas. He also noted that deaths often occur well after 42 days postpartum and that mental health-related deaths remain a major concern. The committee then heard from State Fire Marshal Dr. Matthew Clark on cigarette reduced-ignition-propensity standards and related fire prevention issues. He recommended updating the state’s cigarette propensity law to current national standards and also raised a separate recommendation to require fast-breakaway oxygen tubing for home oxygen users, citing fatal fires linked to smoking around oxygen. Members asked about implementation, cost, insurance coverage, and whether the standards apply in tribal communities; Dr. Clark said he would provide follow-up information and was willing to help with any legislation, but no agency bill had yet been planned. Next, Christine Greff of the Department of Health and Human Services reported on the North Dakota Stroke System of Care. She described the statewide network of stroke-ready hospitals, registry-based quality improvement, and performance data showing continued improvement in stroke recognition, imaging, thrombolytic treatment, transfers, and EMS pre-notification. She highlighted new quality measures for inter-facility transfers and intracerebral hemorrhage care, and said the system remains strong but depends on continued legislative and hospital support. Committee members asked about participation by the VA hospital and were encouraged to consider outreach to include it more fully in the stroke system. Finally, the committee began a presentation on prior authorization and non-opioid pain treatment from Taha Khan of Vertex Pharmaceuticals. He argued that prior authorization can delay access to non-opioid acute pain medications, especially in the 24- to 72-hour post-discharge window when pain is most severe, and said delays can push patients toward opioids. He emphasized that prior authorization has a role in utilization management but should not create barriers in acute pain care, and he noted that current use of the company’s non-opioid product remains very low. The discussion was still underway when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:14:15.360> Uh semantics of a fee or a tax. Uh semantics of a fee or a tax.
• Laramie is about to tell you about how they suspended fees and then reduced their storm water fee.
• <01:19:09.520> and fee.
• Cheyenne is reducing its fee and fee.
• a normal fee? a normal fee? >> Mr.<01:27:37.600> Mayor, >> Mr.

Bills: SF0099, SF0116, SJ0006

Keywords: easement, electricity delivery, public utility, prescriptive easement, landowner rights, surface water, drainage utilities, municipality, elections, environmental management, shared parenting, family law, joint custody, child well-being, parental rights, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's their money that does that with licenses and fees that they pay and we owe them a debt of gratitude
• <00:30:14.480> with<00:30:14.520> licenses<00:30:15.120> and<00:30:15.280> fees
• licenses and fees that they pay<00:30:16.640> and<00:30:16.800> we<00:30:16.960> owe
• Zokai will replace Representative Zokai will replace Representative<00:31:59.040> Phillips<00
• <00:32:01.960> Majority Majority Leader Duran will replace Representative Valdez on House

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, led the Pledge of Allegiance with visiting children from Creativity Challenge Community, and approved the journal as corrected. The day was marked by several recognitions and announcements, including Sportsman Day, Lineman Day, and a CEA Lobby Day, with members offering brief tributes to professional linemen, Colorado sportsmen and conservationists, and education retirees and children visiting the Capitol. Members also announced committee schedules for the day and the next day. Committees set to meet included Appropriations, Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources, Business Affairs and Labor, Finance, Energy and Environment, and Education, with specific bills listed for each committee. One committee, State Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs, announced it would not meet that day. The only formal action beyond the journal approval was a motion by the Majority Leader to lay over the balance of the calendar until Friday, April 24, 2026, which was adopted without objection. The House then moved to recess until later that day.

Transcript Highlights:

• When we go to pay a $126 annual fee.
• The hybrid annual fees generated 3 million on 20,756 vehicles that were charged those fees.
• Um, a lot of those use the that fee.
• It just is. fee because so I go to see my family in fee because so I go to see my family in Alley<00:
• ,<00:48:00.880> nine had 48 bridges, 39 replacements, nine had 48 bridges, 39 replacements

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation met with a quorum, approved the June 3, 2026 minutes, and then heard a presentation from Mike Proctor of Evolve Kentucky on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Proctor described Evolve Kentucky as a nonprofit formed in 2016 to promote EV adoption and charger deployment, said the group has helped place more than 135 chargers at 65 locations, and reported that Kentucky EV registrations have grown rapidly but still represent about 1% of the state’s roughly 3 million vehicles. He also outlined the group’s view that EV drivers and charger operators already contribute to state revenue through annual vehicle fees, charger taxes, utility taxes, and related business taxes, and cited figures showing rising revenue collections as EV adoption increases. A major theme of the presentation was that EV owners are paying their “fair share” rather than being overcharged. Proctor said the current $126 annual EV fee is roughly comparable to the fuel tax a typical gasoline vehicle would pay, and noted that public charging can add additional tax burdens for drivers who cannot charge at home, such as those living in apartments or condos. He also argued that EVs provide broader benefits, including lower noise and air pollution, grid-stabilizing nighttime charging, tourism spending at destination chargers, and reduced road wear for passenger EVs compared with much heavier vehicles. Members questioned Proctor about whether EV owners are paying more than their fair share, how the fee compares with gasoline taxes, and whether apartment and condo residents are disproportionately affected because they rely on public chargers. Proctor responded that the fee was intended to bring EV owners into parity with gas vehicles, not to overcharge them, and said some public chargers are free while others are used by drivers who cannot charge at home. No additional votes or formal actions were taken beyond the minutes approval.

Transcript Highlights:

• Ain't there a $1,000 fee in the bill? Ain't there a $1,000 fee in the bill?
• That's a license fee of $1,47 yourself. That's a license fee of $1,47 and<00:17:56.400> change.
• > fees.
• license fees. license fees.
• It's replace line 57. It's replace line 57. >> Got<00:34:27.040> it.

Bills: SB7, SB22, SB39, SB40, SB45, SB46, SB86, SB95, SB107, SB7, SB22, SB39, SB40, SB45, SB46, SB86, SB95, SB107

Keywords: voting rights, absentee ballot, protected classes, Alabama Voting Rights Act, felony conviction, election integrity, preclearance, Alabama Jobs Act, incentives, job creation, economic development, recapture provisions, capital investment, employment, board governance, occupational licensing, Sunset Law, public accountability, training requirements, SB40

Transcript Highlights:

• There are other fees beyond the out of state fee that were also defined in statute.
• There's a desire for a new fee.
• Here's a listing of the fees that are thought to exist and statute there are over 40 fees, fines and
• So that's an overview of on tuition and fees.
• . 4 out of state students in terms of tuition and fee collections.

Transcript Highlights:

• If they want to reduce their load at any point in time by more than 20%, they must pay a reduction fee
• , the reduction fees, the reduction fees.
• Guarantees, the collateral payments, the termination fees, the reduction fees, all of those things, the
• And as we, you know, build out our generation portfolio over time as we replace aging infrastructure,
• But is this an answer to the potential of replacing those taxes on individuals?

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• these groups, I was a little surprised to see how backward they were about the transparency of the fees
• Those fees have always been negotiable. We've always been informed.
• Any increase in rates that are going to happen to the consumer for their fee, which is not a... it’s
• a nominal fee, but it still makes a difference on a person’s bill.
• And so when that new commander has to come in to replace somebody that's been relieved for cause, it

Summary: The Senate Committee on Nominations held its final nomination hearing of the session and considered three nominees: J.B. Goodwin for the Texas Real Estate Commission, Courtney Yaltman for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and Thomas Gleason as PUC chairman. Goodwin described his long career in real estate and charitable work, and senators questioned him extensively about the Real Estate Commission’s self-directed, semi-independent status, housing affordability, institutional homebuyers, property insurance costs, disclosure issues, and the Burnett v. National Association of Realtors case. Yaltman and Gleason were questioned about PUC oversight of ERCOT, post-Winter Storm Uri reforms, utility resilience and vegetation management after Hurricane Beryl, water and telecommunications oversight, staffing and transparency, and rising infrastructure and utility costs. Much of the discussion focused on housing and utility affordability, with several senators urging the nominees to keep consumer protection and public trust at the forefront. Goodwin said housing affordability and large-scale investment purchases were not within the Real Estate Commission’s direct purview, though he supported further study. Yaltman and Gleason said the PUC had increased oversight of ERCOT, improved communication and accountability with utilities, and was working on resiliency plans, rate-setting issues, and infrastructure planning while trying to avoid overburdening ratepayers. The committee first voted to favorably report nominees left pending from the May 5 agenda by a 6-0 roll call vote. After public testimony was opened and closed, the committee then voted on the nominees heard that day and favorably recommended all three to the full Senate for confirmation by a 7-0 vote. The committee then recessed subject to the call of the chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• weeks ago addressed Nassau County's use of extraordinary circumstance they use to raise their impact fees
• Or did it replace it? Chair: You are recognized. Rep.
• Botana: It replaces it and opens a public hearing.
• It ties application fees to actual review costs, not a percentage value, and requires clear objective
• The county has to spend $5 million between development application review fees and legal fees just to

Transcript Highlights:

• number 1253 from the 89th Legislature regular session that authorizes subdivisions to reduce impact fees
• justices of the peace and responding to mass fatality events, requiring licensure and authorizing fees
• This bill requires occupational licenses and registrations, imposes fees, grants criminal offenses, and
• HB number 152 by Money relates to a study of alternative methods of taxation to replace revenue loss
• cannabis products, and local regulation of cannabis establishments, authorizing the imposition of fees

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU DEMOLISH ONE TO BUILD A REPLACEMENT.
• I HAVE BEEN BEATING THE DRUM OF RAISING FILING FEES IN CIVIL CASES.
• THEY ARE ALSO SHARED WITH THE CLERK OF COURTS AND RETAIN SOME FILING FEE AND THEN SOME GO INTO OTHER
• I DO AS A POLICY MATTER TO THE LEGISLATURE ON WHETHER THERE IS THE NEED TO INCREASE THOSE FEES.
• IF YOU KNOW WHEN IS THE LAST TIME FILING FEES WERE LOOKED AT OR REACHED?

Transcript Highlights:

• replacing the existing forms-driven system.
• First, we have the Cal-Access Replacement Project.
• And that is an annual fee incurred by all... ...looked at revisiting that fee.
• Yeah, so in addition to the campaign committee annual fee, there's also a lobbying registration fee per
• lobbyist. ...committee annual fee.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 heard updates from the Secretary of State, EDD, the State Controller’s Office, CalHR, and DGS on a range of budget proposals and federal policy impacts. Secretary of State Shirley Weber opened with remarks about California’s election system, emphasizing its safety, transparency, high voter registration and vote-by-mail participation, and the office’s response to bomb threats and other election threats. Her staff then presented funding requests for the Cal-Access Replacement System (CARS) and Help America Vote Act/VoteCal activities, describing them as needed to modernize campaign finance and lobbying disclosure systems and maintain election security and voter services. A major portion of the hearing focused on federal election policy, especially the potential effects of a presidential executive order and the SAVE Act. Secretary of State staff said California would face significant, potentially unquantifiable costs if forced to comply, including new burdens on county recorders, county election offices, and the Secretary of State’s office, and warned of voter disenfranchisement, especially for students, seniors, disabled voters, military and overseas voters, rural residents, and people with limited transportation. Members and public commenters strongly opposed the federal proposals and argued California’s current system is functioning well. The committee also heard that federal HAVA funds were not expected to be at risk because the state draws them down into an interest-bearing account. EDD reported on paid family leave, explaining that recent delays were tied to a system transition and increased claim volume, and said it was simplifying applications and adding staff and automation. Public testimony supported expanding paid family leave to chosen family. EDD also said it is prepared for possible unemployment spikes, citing a recession plan, a command center, and recent hiring. The State Controller’s Office requested funding to continue the Fiscal migration project, which would move the state’s accounting book of record to the new system by July 1, 2026; Finance and LAO had no objections, and the committee expressed support for the project’s progress. CalHR presented a proposal for a statewide recruitment, outreach, and education paid media campaign under AB 1511, saying its current advertising budget is too small to reach diverse communities effectively. The final item addressed Governor Newsom’s executive order requiring a return to office on a four-day schedule. CalHR and DGS said they were working department-by-department to assess space, parking, transit, and other logistics, but had not completed a statewide cost analysis. Members and many public commenters criticized the order, arguing it was rushed, costly, harmful to telework benefits, and potentially disruptive to workers, especially those with disabilities, caregiving responsibilities, or long commutes. No votes were taken during the hearing.