Transcript Highlights:

• <00:27:54.399> and Met um partially into rates and Met um partially into rates and partially
• directed payments and uh payment rates directed payments and uh payment rates is<00:37:12.839>
• under um the the enhanced payment rates under um the the enhanced payment rates and<00:37:32.359
• screening process that like a case screening process that like a case management<00:49:06.640>
• years in terms of their uninsurance rate years in terms of their uninsurance rate um<02:07:24.239

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The House Finance Division 3 work session continued its review of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Medicaid budget and related policy issues, with CFO Nathan White and Medicaid Director Henry Litman presenting updated materials. The discussion focused on a crosswalk between the adjusted FY 2025 Medicaid budget and the governor’s FY 2026 recommendation, plus handouts showing service additions, eligibility changes, dental rates, and other Medicaid changes since 2019. The department also said it would provide a clearer breakdown of the pharmacy cost-sharing item by general, federal, and other funds. Members asked detailed questions about the Medicaid enhancement tax, the 80% plan, and how funds are allocated between hospital payments, directed payments, and DSH uncompensated care. The department explained that the MET is being used more toward rates and directed payments to better align with federal matching rules, while DSH remains important for uncompensated care. They also noted that a pending Senate Bill 249 would keep the 80% structure and move to Senate Finance. On the trigger law, the department identified the governing provision as Chapter 342:12, Laws of 2018, and explained that if the federal match for Medicaid expansion falls below 90%, the state must notify legislative leaders and participants and the program would sunset after 180 days unless the legislature acts. The committee also reviewed current Medicaid expansion enrollment and program trends. Officials said enrollment was just under 59,000 as of March 3, with about 87,000 people enrolled over the past year and more than a quarter-million residents having used the program over its lifetime. They said enrollment has fallen from a post-pandemic high of nearly 97,000 and may eventually settle in the low 50,000s. Finally, the department discussed federal DSH funding risk, saying New Hampshire could face a significant reduction if Congress does not extend current protections, which is part of why the state has shifted more funding toward payment rates and directed payments.

Transcript Highlights:

• But in any case, if there is a particular medicine that is, ...shifting that's going on.
• But on some of these cases, if there is a medical emergency, they are expedited in the review.
• Next up is the approval of the proposed Arkansas State Employees and Public Employees 2027 rates.
• There are flood issues that you have to rate for and factor in.
• ...and the application of rates and total improvement values and so forth.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:27:14.000> of those steps can include in cases of those steps can include in cases of
• 00:47:54.800> payments<00:47:55.119> in 2.2% rate of improper payments in 2.2% rate of
• So for that 2.2 improper payment rate, right, the fraud rate would be less than that.
• , reason why cases why cases are declined, reason why cases are<01:08:17.839> prosecuted.
• that are closer to private pay rates. that are closer to private pay rates.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And a big part of that is our rate case.
• So I'll quickly go through a little bit about MDU, a rate case, and then bring that back to the data
• Diving deeper into the rate case, all of the information that we will talk about is going to be on the
• And, you know, we've stressed that the rate case that we're proposing is not related to data centers.
• The purchase of Badger Wind is not the driver in why we're filing, why we filed a rate case at the end

Summary: The committee met at the Coteau Freedom Mine in Mercer County, approved the June 2 minutes, and heard an overview of the mine from Coteau Properties president Andrew Hawbaker. He described the Freedom Mine as the largest lignite mine in the United States, supplying coal to Dakota Gasification, Antelope Valley Station, and Leland Olds Station. He emphasized the mine’s scale, safety record, reclamation work, workforce needs, community involvement, and economic impact, including payroll, taxes, royalties, scholarships, and local hiring. Members asked about how long land stays in production, how quickly it returns to agriculture after reclamation, labor shortages, and how mining affects groundwater and water wells. Hawbaker said most tracts are mined for about three to five years, reclamation is coordinated with landowners, and the company continues to struggle to find electricians, welders, mechanics, operators, and engineers. The committee then heard from Public Service Commission Chairman Randy Christman on coal mining reclamation and permitting. He reviewed North Dakota’s coal mining history, the state’s reclamation laws, federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act primacy, bonding, permit renewals and revisions, prohibited mining areas, inspection and enforcement, and contemporaneous reclamation requirements. Christman stressed that North Dakota’s program is professional and thorough, with frequent inspections, financial assurance, and a 10-year revegetation monitoring period before bond release. He also discussed federal coal ownership issues that can delay mine plans, the treatment of prime farmland, and how reclamation differs for wind and pipelines. In response to questions, he said one challenge is sometimes releasing land too soon before long-term compaction issues are fully understood, and he noted that data centers do not currently have a comparable reclamation model because they typically own the land. In the afternoon, the committee received an update from Lignite Energy Council president Jonathan Fortner on the lignite industry. He said North Dakota’s lignite sector supports five commercial power plants, four mines, about 12,000 direct and indirect jobs, and more than $5.5 billion in economic activity, while helping keep the state’s electricity rates among the lowest in the nation. Fortner reviewed coal severance and conversion tax revenues, the lignite research fund, federal regulatory rollbacks, carbon capture policy, and the industry’s legal costs fighting federal rules. He also highlighted a study on large-load development, saying new data centers and critical mineral processing facilities could create major local tax revenue and help justify new baseload generation. Members asked whether new gas pipelines would crowd out coal plant development and whether the economic study included jobs and broader local impacts; Fortner said the industry sees room for both and that the study did include construction, operations, jobs, and tax effects.

Transcript Highlights:

• rate for different rates Commission sets rate for different rates for<01:14:41.880> different
• commercial rate versus uh versus rates commercial rate versus uh versus residential<01:24:57.119>
• There are distribution rates that are set through periodic rate cases.
• c> periodic<01:37:55.360> rate<01:37:55.679> cases are set through periodic rate cases
• are set through periodic rate cases there<01:37:56.320> are<01:37:56.560> transmission

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And those cases were good.
• SCR 24 utilizes a 1.5% apparent prevalence rate.
• This certainly appears to be the case.
• This certainly appears to be the case.
• literally show you why that would be the case.

Summary: The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission met on April 17, 2026, with a quorum present, adopted the agenda and prior minutes, and then focused primarily on chronic wasting disease (CWD) management in light of a new positive deer detection in Washington Parish. Staff explained that the March 11 declaration of emergency expanded the CWD control area into portions of Washington and surrounding parishes, including parts of Morehouse, Union, Lincoln, and Jackson, and that the emergency rule remains in effect for 180 days unless rescinded earlier. The commission also discussed the task force’s report and recommendations, but the chair indicated those recommendations would be tabled pending legislative action on Senate Concurrent Resolution 24 (SCR 24)."} 0}

Transcript Highlights:

• This comparable rate.
• You're looking at 1000 comparable rates that the CFO in this case or ffl in olden days would have to
• The Fed funds rate was 4.5, the interest rate was 7.5%. The Fed funds rate was 4.5, 9%. Thanks.
• to lending when we tie the rates for the Iowa accounts to lending rates as opposed to savings rates,
• They were cases versus the non Uber cases. I love to have that data.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• pay essentially at a commercial market rate.
• How do I restrict that growth rate?
• Some are just like a straight up rate increase.
• Consumer spending is down, uh, rates or interest rates are not dropping.
• big rate increases.

Transcript Highlights:

• that we're paying on government debt those are the rates that are the base rate when you set mortgage
• rates and when you set other consumer credit rates.
• It's the pass-on rate to consumer credit rates that are a much more significant impact on family budgets
• , a car note rate?
• rates continue to rise.

Keywords: nomination, Deputy Secretary of Treasury, economic policy, inflation, tariffs, tribal nations, government relations

Summary: The meeting convened to consider the nomination of Mike Falkender for the position of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. During the session, multiple members voiced concerns regarding current economic policies under the Trump administration, particularly around inflation, tariffs, and the impact on small businesses. Discussions frequently centered on the administration's approach to tariffs and taxation, and how these factors contribute to the rising cost of living and potential job losses. Additionally, the importance of bolstering government-to-government relationships with tribal nations was emphasized, highlighting the need for specialized offices focused on tribal affairs within the Treasury Department.

Transcript Highlights:

• So circuit cases, county cases, criminal felony.
• cases filed in a given year.
• Filing fees for court cases.
• We have a success rate of about 5%. We have a success rate of about 45%.
• that we process, because processing these cases is much like processing other cases.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice heard an update from Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon on staffing, overtime, capital needs, and inmate population growth. Dixon said the prison population has risen by about 8,000 since January 2021 while staffing has not kept pace, forcing the agency to open 53 housing units without funded positions and rely heavily on overtime and National Guard support. He cited a $189 million deficit tied to salaries and overtime, noted that most staff have less than three years of experience, and argued the solution is to fully fund posts for operational housing units. He also reviewed the department’s fixed capital outlay projects, including repairs, new housing construction, and medical modular units intended to reduce outside hospital transports, and gave an update on the VINE victim notification system and its expansion. The committee then heard from Florida clerks of court representatives Jason Welty and Miami-Dade Clerk Juan Fernandez-Barquin, who described clerks’ court-related and county duties and said clerk budgets have not kept pace with the broader justice system. They requested reimbursements for injunctions for protection ($3.3 million), Baker Act/Marchman Act/sexually violent predator cases ($2.5 million), and juror management ($4.8 million), and said future funding for new judges should include the full courtroom system, not judges alone. Fernandez-Barquin also raised concerns about unfunded mandates, rising retirement and health costs, low court-side pay, and the need to revisit filing fees and trust fund allocations. Members asked about collections, payment plans, license suspensions, and whether some fees or trust fund distributions could be redirected; the governor’s budget had already picked up the $2.5 million request for Baker/Marchman/SVP cases. During public testimony, speakers urged broader criminal justice reforms and additional funding priorities. A prosecutor emphasized that adding judges requires funding for prosecutors, public defenders, and clerks as well. Other speakers called for parole or long-term sentencing reform to reduce prison populations and costs, criticized staffing and conditions in prisons, and raised concerns about inexperienced correctional officers, visitation delays, and lack of air conditioning in some facilities. The committee took no substantive votes on the items discussed and adjourned after hearing the presentations and public comments.

Transcript Highlights:

• Seventy-seven cases have been opened.
• In the last couple of years, even though we had this big rate increase since the pandemic, rate increases
• We would say this year we looked at the rates, and you can look at the rate filings.
• So they had a 2.6 experience rate, and I can't recall the surcharge rate, but we charge them for the
• And when you started talking about experience ratings, ratings, all the lights flashed all over in my

Transcript Highlights:

• In the case of the I-Bank loans, those are market-set rates.
• In the case of South Monterey County they were a couple years before Englewood, so the market rate was
• But if someone gets a rate of like 5%, the market at that time... the rates were that high, and so the
• It very well could be the same FEMA.gov the case and it is often the case that there are traditional
• One of my big frustrations not just in the case of charter schools but just in the case of traditional

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And so regarding the ISO rating, uh, city of Clo had a lower ISO rating, which many times will impact
• your homeowners insurance rates.
• It'll lower those rates for those that have the lower ISO rating.
• district, what are their ISO ratings district, what are their ISO ratings now?
• impact your homeowners insurance rates. impact your homeowners insurance rates.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:04:31.440> that now the low ma reimbursement rates that now the low ma reimbursement rates
• and behavioral health home rates to the DHS study calculation, as these rates do not have an equivalent
• equivalent as well as increases rates equivalent as well as increases rates for<00:08:36.120>
• > almost<00:08:56.000> all rate increases impact almost all rate increases impact almost
• health reimbursement rate.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House File 105 was presented by Representatives Beerman and Baker and then laid over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill. The bill would implement the remaining mental health and physician service recommendations from DHS’s rate study, including raising certain Medicaid reimbursement rates to at least 100% of Medicare where a Medicare equivalent exists, increasing community-based children’s and adult mental health rates and behavioral health home rates, and phasing in additional increases over three years. The authors said the proposal also addresses master’s-level clinician reimbursement and fee-for-service hospital inpatient mental health services, and they emphasized that the changes are intended to improve access, transparency, and provider stability. Both authors argued that low MA reimbursement rates are driving access problems across Minnesota, especially for children, families, and rural communities. They said providers are struggling to hire and retain staff, clinics are closing or shrinking, and patients are facing long waits, boarding in hospitals, or delayed care. Representative Baker said the issue is personal and described the bill as a phased, long-term approach because of state budget limits and the size of the cost, which he said is in the hundreds of millions but still awaiting a fiscal note. Public testimony was strongly supportive overall. A family physician said higher rates would improve access, keep clinics open, and help patients avoid emergency care, while a Children’s Minnesota mental health leader described more than 1,200 pediatric boarding episodes in 2024 and said outpatient investment is needed to reduce pressure on emergency and inpatient services. A rural provider said her organization had to close an in-home children’s mental health program because of insufficient reimbursement, harming access in underserved counties. A psychologist testifying for the Minnesota Psychological Association supported the bill’s general direction but objected to repealing the pay differential for doctoral-level psychologists, arguing that doctoral training is more extensive and that eliminating the differential could worsen workforce shortages. After testimony and member questions about the bill’s scope and cost, public testimony was closed and the bill was laid over.

Transcript Highlights:

• uh therapy rates. uh therapy rates.
• The reality is that in many cases, we cannot no longer afford the benefits and rates that we have had
• The reality is that in many cases, we cannot no longer afford the benefits and rates that we have had
• the provider rates. the provider rates.
• And I don't say only 628 cases cases.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:28:04.760> to rate to rate to 278<00:28:07.279> uh 278 uh 278 uh which<00:28:09.159
• gone up so much for so that in the case gone up so much for so that in the case of<00:57:11.280>
• As the tax rates have been cut, the revenues increased.
• As the tax rates have been cut, the revenues increased.
• As the tax rates have been cut, the revenues increased.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first met in a revenue estimate work session to approve an LSR codifying the committee’s revenue estimates. Members reviewed the process for turning the LSR into a House Resolution and discussed how the adopted estimates would be used to amend House Bill 1. After a brief question-and-answer about current revenue splits and the governor’s proposed video lottery and tax-split changes, the committee voted 19-0 to approve the revenue estimates. The committee then moved into executive session on HB 669, which would require all revenue from the statewide education property tax to be deposited into the education trust fund and set an equalized statewide tax rate. Supporters argued the bill would better direct education funding, while opponents said it was unnecessary or duplicative. The committee voted 12-7 to retain the bill (ITL), and a minority report was noted. Next, the committee considered HB 290, which would raise cigarette and electronic cigarette taxes and create a study committee on tobacco and nicotine taxes. Testimony focused on revenue needs, inflation, public health, and concerns that a higher tax could reduce sales or drive purchases across state lines. The committee voted 11-8 to ITL the bill, with a minority report. The committee also ITL’d HB 402, dealing with whether Education Freedom Account payments are taxable income, after debate over unintended consequences and whether the bill’s language was misleading; that vote was 11-8 with a minority report. Finally, the committee opened HB 483, and Representative Tierney moved ITL, arguing the bill’s requirement that the scholarship organization be incorporated in New Hampshire would likely violate the Commerce Clause; the transcript cuts off before the vote on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• a lot of investigative cases, we do a lot of board<00:11:33.920> cases.
• cases along.
• Sometimes we get some cases cases along.
• accountability ratings, and post-secondary readiness rates.
• , and post-secondary readiness ratings, and post-secondary readiness rates. rates. rates.

Keywords: Meeting start 00:00:09 Roll call 00:00:24 Election of Co-Chairs 00:01:11 Office of Education Accountability Annual Report 00:04:41 Office of Education Accountability District Data Profiles, School Year 2024 00:23:50 Update from the Education Professional Standards Board 00:58:19 Adjournment 01:08:00, 958, all

Summary: The subcommittee opened its first meeting with roll call and procedural business, including elections of co-chairs. The House elected Representative Truett as House co-chair, and the Senate elected Senator Denine as Senate co-chair. After the organizational votes, the committee heard the Office of Educational Accountability’s annual report, beginning with Brian Jones and Deborah Nelson describing OEA’s investigations and research divisions and recent staffing turnover. On the investigations side, OEA said it handled complaints only when submitted in writing and generally opened cases only when it had enough facts to evaluate. Jones reported complaint volume declined from 805 in 2023 to 738 in 2024, with 325 in the first half of the current year. He outlined the kinds of matters OEA investigates, including school-based council issues, open meetings, board eligibility, nepotism, conflicts of interest, certification, activity funds, and surplus property, while noting that routine personnel matters, bullying, child interviews, and cases tied to litigation are generally handled locally or referred elsewhere. He also said OEA refers special education, assessment/testing, discrimination, and serious misconduct matters to the appropriate agencies, and that he did not see a need for statutory changes to improve OEA’s work, though he said cases should move more quickly. The research division presentation focused on OEA’s district data profiles and annual research agenda. Nelson explained that OEA reviews KDE-reported data and underlying datasets to verify accuracy, analyze trends, and produce reports for the General Assembly. She highlighted 2024 publications on district governance models and student achievement, and said this year’s agenda includes district data profiles, student discipline analysis, and a review of early childhood regional training centers. She also noted OEA received an NCSL notable document award for its 2023 staffing shortages report, its 10th such award. Sabrina Smith then walked through the district data profiles, which compile demographic, staffing, finance, and performance data for all 171 districts, plus statewide and comparative data. She noted changes in the report format, the continued availability of an online interactive version, and several trends: adjusted average daily attendance declined statewide from 2015 to 2024; the counselor-to-student ratio has improved but has not yet reached the statutory goal of one counselor per 250 students; the share of teachers moving from rank three to rank two has declined; special education identification has risen from 13% to 16%; and starting teacher salaries vary widely by district, with Kentucky’s average starting salary around $40,000 ranking near the bottom compared with surrounding states and the nation. Members asked about the history of the research division and whether the paper copies of the district profiles would continue, and staff said the printed versions would continue unless legislators asked otherwise.

Transcript Highlights:

• THEN THE MAJOR CHANGE IN MORTGAGE RATES PROCEED THAT.
• THE INTEREST RATES WERE INCREDIBLY LOW.
• MORTGAGE RATES STARTED TO RISE. THAT ROSE THE SALES DOWN A BIT.
• THE NATION HAS GONE UP AT A SLIGHTLY HIGHER RATE. SLIGHTLY FASTER RATE.
• I WAS ENCOURAGED BY THE 11 PERCENT OF YOUR CASES THAT ARE NOW BEING THE LACK OF JURISDICTION CASES BECAUSE

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• but uh 10.1% increase in the police rate but uh 10.1% increase in the police rate from<00:02:39.440
• , take the case to Circuit Court for judicial review, stay the case before the board, then the Circuit
• <00:39:48.040> Circuit case take the case to Circuit case take the case to Circuit Court<00:39
• <00:43:32.200> you<00:43:32.319> could many case types of cases that you could many
• case types of cases that you could start<00:43:32.920> looking<00:43:33.240> at<00:43:

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint hearing covered Senate Bills 470, 828, 730, and 1383. SB 470 would create a deferred retirement option program for police officers. The Employees Retirement System warned it could worsen the system’s $14.1 billion unfunded liability by stopping employer and employee contributions during the DROP period, and the Attorney General raised possible tax-qualified status, Internal Revenue Code, and age-discrimination concerns. Police and other supporters testified in favor, but the committees ultimately recommended deferring the bill indefinitely. SB 828 would expand workers’ compensation medical benefits for firefighters to cover an additional respiratory condition. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Hawaii Firefighters Association supported the measure, citing occupational exposure and health risks. The committees recommended passage with amendments, and the motion was adopted by both committees. SB 730, which concerns allowance on service retirements, drew support from the Department of Human Resources Development and the Department of Law Enforcement, but also comments from the Attorney General and ERS. DHRD said the bill could help recruitment and retention but requested more time to work on language with ERS, Budget and Finance, and the AG’s office. The committees postponed decision-making until Friday, February 7, at 3:15 p.m. in Conference Room 225. SB 1383, relating to fire protection, received broad support from the Governor’s office, Department of Defense, DLNR, Hawaiian Electric, and others. The committees agreed to pass it with amendments, including language suggested by the Hawaii Insurance Council on wildfire-related insurance issues and a committee report link to the Lina fire forward-looking report, phase three. The amended recommendation was adopted by both committees. Later in the meeting, the committees also heard SB 1360 and SB 1361 on ERS administrative and reporting matters, SB 340 on HLRB enforcement authority, and SB 997 on energy; SB 1360 and SB 1361 were presented as housekeeping measures, SB 340 drew disagreement between the Attorney General and HLRB over enforcement authority, and SB 997 was amended to incorporate prevailing-wage renewable energy rate language from SB 743 and then passed with amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is a state-specific rate of payment operations.
• It's even less expensive in most cases than processing cash and checks.
• They don't go through the third-party setting rates.
• So the Illinois court case is effectively dead, or finished, completed.
• No fear of, you know, no cost incurred by exchange rates.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Commission on the future of payments and sales transactions by credit card heard extensive testimony from credit union, banking, retail, restaurant, and payments-industry representatives about proposals to limit interchange fees, especially on the tax and tip portions of transactions. Several witnesses opposed state-level restrictions, arguing they would create a patchwork of rules, burden state-chartered institutions, raise compliance complexity, and ultimately reduce resources for fraud prevention, cybersecurity, rewards, and access to credit. Others, including retail and merchant advocates, said swipe fees are a significant and growing cost for small businesses and that states should consider reforms such as limiting fees on taxes and tips, allowing surcharging, improving transparency in merchant contracts, and studying collection costs more closely. Witnesses also discussed recent legal and regulatory developments, including Illinois’s interchange-fee law, OCC and NCUA interim rules, and the ongoing Visa/Mastercard antitrust settlement. Industry representatives said the Illinois law has been delayed and is likely preempted for most transactions, while merchant advocates argued the state efforts and court rulings show that networks and banks do not set fees competitively. The proposed antitrust settlement was described by some as a meaningful but limited merchant victory, with temporary fee reductions and expanded surcharge/steering rights, while others said it still falls short of structural reform. The commission members pressed witnesses on the practical effects of fees, the cost of cash, whether merchants can pass costs through, and whether small businesses are actually seeing benefits from the current system. Members repeatedly emphasized the need for a fair middle ground that protects both small businesses and the payment system. No substantive votes or policy actions were taken beyond accepting testimony, and the meeting ended with adjournment after all scheduled witnesses had spoken.