Video & Transcript Research : 'rate deviations'
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WA
Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session
Select Committee on Pension Policy Jun 16th, 2026 at 10:00 am
Select Committee on Pension Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- I know that the LEOFF 2 contribution rates that were adopted in '24, they had adopted rates through '
- None of the rates on the prior slides reflect any minimum rate levels.
- And so we put in place the minimum rate legislation to keep our rates steady, to ensure that we're not
- You know, minimum rate legislation is designed to create stability in the rates.
- The rates being prepared under employer contribution rate slide. Don Schwab, go ahead. I knew that.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Human Committee Meeting - 2025-04-09
Human Services Finance and Policy
Transcript Highlights:
- These sections adjust substance use disorder treatment service rates based on the recent rate study and
- rate."
- We just want to make sure that the rate increases as opposed to taking 72% of the modeled rate.
- rates.
- rate.
Bills:
HF2434
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- . as part of your insurance rate.
- They file their rates.
- Note that on page 15 that the rate filing history shows one rate increase of 5% implemented since Hurricane
- It was about, if I recall, about a quarter of the rate, as opposed to half of the rate. rate but I also
- Those are rate, those are. rate payers that are paying that money through TWA for that coverage.
KY
Kentucky 2025 Regular Session
House Standing Committee on Natural Resources & Energy (2-27-25)
Transcript Highlights:
- Metro Council in Louisville for any rate Metro Council in Louisville for any rate increase<00:04
- <00:19:33.120>
or would conflict with Bond ratings or would conflict with Bond ratings or - our electricity rates go from 4.2 cents our electricity rates go from 4.2 cents per<00:36:13.920>
- <00:37:17.960>
was her electric rate was her electric rate was $613<00:37:20.839>um - payer so in addition to our the rate payer so in addition to our electrical<00:37:35.640>
rate - payer so in addition to our the rate payer so in addition to our electrical<00:37:35.640>
Keywords:
Meeting Start 00:00
Attendance Roll Call 00:04
HB 387 Discussion 01:06
HB 387 Roll Call Vote 28:30
HCR 22 Discussion 29:26
HCR 22 Roll Call Vote 31:09
HB 519 Discussion 35:36
HB 519 Roll Call Vote 38:37, 958, all
Summary:
The committee first took up House Bill 387, which would amend MSD governance and spending rules in Louisville. The sponsor said the bill was intended to add oversight and accountability in response to large MSD rate increases, though the original rate-approval provision had been removed because of concerns about contracts and bond ratings in Oldham and Bullitt counties. MSD Executive Director Tony Parrott testified that MSD is a public utility serving more than 800,000 people through wastewater, stormwater, and flood protection services, and argued that most rate pressure comes from federal and state mandates tied to a consent decree and other orders. He said MSD already provides annual notice and bond approvals through Metro Council, offers customer assistance programs, and needs flexibility for advertising, public notices, recruitment, and compliance. Members discussed stormwater funding, aging infrastructure, flood control, and the bill’s limits on advertising and other expenditures. The committee substitute was adopted and the bill passed on a roll call vote.
The committee then considered House Concurrent Resolution 22, as substituted, which expressed support for exploring nuclear energy and included language noting Kentucky’s ability to use nuclear waste, uranium tailings, and spent fuel in ways described by the sponsor as cleaner. Supporters said Kentucky faces an energy shortage and that nuclear, including small modular reactors, should be part of the state’s future energy mix. Some members said they would support the resolution but wanted a feasibility study or noted that it does not carry the force of law. The resolution passed.
Finally, the committee began House Bill 519, sponsored by Representative Fugate, which would prevent utility companies from passing demolition costs for retired coal-fired or fossil-fuel plants on to ratepayers. The sponsor cited sharply rising electricity bills in eastern Kentucky, the decline in coal employment, and the burden of demolition costs from the Big Sandy plant being placed on customers. He argued that utilities should absorb those costs rather than shifting them to ratepayers. The bill was introduced with a motion and second, and the committee was preparing to hear further questions and testimony when the transcript ended.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
March 18, 2025 - 09:00 AM
Transcript Highlights:
- The recommended metrics are a 21% access rate and an affordability rate of $10,149, a graduation rate
- of 21%, a graduation rate of 21%, a retention... $149, a graduation rate of 21%, a retention rate of
- How many institutions are below a 40% passage rate? A 40% passage rate in graduation rate, or?
- rate.
- rate.
Summary:
The Higher Education Budget Subcommittee heard and advanced House Bill 1145, which clarifies that public charter schools may participate in the CAP Grant Fund. The bill’s amendment expanded a separate “money-back guarantee” concept for state colleges, requiring participating institutions to offer six eligible programs and refund tuition if graduates do not find qualifying employment within six months under standardized job-search requirements. Members asked about refund rates, student notification, fiscal impact, and whether the proposal accounted for disability or out-of-state job searches. Public testimony on the amendment and bill was in support from Nathan Hoffman of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, and the committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute by a 16-1 vote, with Representative Aristide voting no over the charter school issue.
The committee then received presentations on the William L. Boyd IV Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Grant and the private nonprofit college sector. Department of Education staff explained that EASE, created in 1979, provides tuition assistance to eligible full-time undergraduates at participating private institutions, with a 2024-25 maximum award of $3,500 and an additional EASE Plus incentive of up to $850 for students in high-demand fields. The department reviewed the program’s funding history, disbursement process, and accountability metrics, including access, affordability, graduation, retention, and postgraduate employment/continuing education. Members asked about award proration, eligibility for other aid, religious-program restrictions, and why some institutions had low or unavailable graduation-rate data.
ICUF President Robert Boyd argued that EASE is a strong return on investment and described ICUF institutions as not-for-profit, four-year schools serving many Pell-eligible, adult, military, and minority students. He said the sector produces a significant share of Florida’s bachelor’s, graduate, nursing, and education degrees, and highlighted ICUF’s dashboard with additional transparency metrics, program earnings data, and net price calculators. Boyd and members discussed graduation and completion rates, NCLEX passage rates, affordability, institutional flexibility, and whether schools with lower graduation rates should be compared differently because of their student populations. The presentations ended with no further business, and the meeting adjourned.
TX
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - Legislative Health and Human Services Jun 27th, 2025
Legislative Health & Human Services Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- from the rate study.
- We also implemented a 5.32% COLA to provide our rates. And no rates were reduced.
- So, in the rate risk study, there were actually some recommendations to reduce rates.
- Fiscal year 24 rate study, fiscal year 25 implemented the rate increase. fiscal year 26.
- We have um different rate structures for what we call, um, like an incentive rate versus a standard rate
TX
Transcript Highlights:
- and rates.
- Another is to get a refresh when people use credit ratings. As part of your insurance rating, uh.
- The process for determining our rate filings is open to the public, and board meetings where rate filings
- TWIA's most recent rate adequacy analysis indicates that our rates for residential structures are 38%
- And I understand that y'all, I guess you haven't had a rate increase since 21 and like a 5% rate increase
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate - 02/26/25
Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate
Transcript Highlights:
- pull things out of rates and rate recovery, we can adjust the rate of return for utilities, but there
- pull things out of rates and rate recovery, we can adjust the rate of return for utilities, but there
- pull things out of rates and rate recovery, we can adjust the rate of return for utilities, but there
- pull things out of rates and rate recovery, we can adjust the rate of return for utilities, but there
- pull things out of rates and rate recovery, we can adjust the rate of return for utilities, but there
FL
Florida 2026 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Higher Education Feb 12th, 2025
Appropriations Committee on Higher Education
Transcript Highlights:
- You can also see the pass rates here and the comparison to the U.S. pass rate.
- You can also see the pass rates here and the comparison to the US pass rate.
- in Florida. rate in Florida.
- Our PM pass rate is 96%.
- And our NCLEX rates went up.
Summary:
The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education met to focus on nursing education funding, workforce supply, and Florida’s low NCLEX pass rates. The chair emphasized that Florida ranks last nationally in nursing exam pass rates and said the committee wants to use budget decisions and a forthcoming nursing bill to improve outcomes. The Florida Center for Nursing at USF presented preliminary workforce and education data showing RN supply is moving toward equilibrium with demand through 2037, while LPN shortages are projected to worsen, especially in some regions. The center also reported on enrollment, retention, faculty vacancies, and NCLEX trends, noting Florida still underperforms the national average but has shown some recent improvement, including higher RN pass rates in 2024 despite fewer test takers. The center highlighted that students who test sooner after graduation tend to pass at higher rates.
A panel of nursing education leaders from public universities, state colleges, technical colleges, and private institutions described how prior state pipeline and line-item funding helped expand enrollment, simulation labs, faculty hiring, student support services, and partnerships with hospitals. UNF, Galen College, College of Central Florida, Keiser University, and Lorenzo Walker Technical College each reported strategies such as expanded simulation, mental health and social work support, test-prep and remediation, and efforts to grow faculty pipelines. Several speakers said faculty recruitment and retention remain major barriers because of salary competition with hospitals, faculty debt, and aging faculty. Technical college representatives also stressed the need to strengthen LPN pathways, English-language support, and LPN-to-RN bridge programs.
Members asked for ideas to improve NCLEX outcomes and discussed possible policy options, including student loan forgiveness, critical shortage supplements for faculty, incentives for students to test soon after graduation, and possible changes to timing or regulation around NCLEX eligibility. Several witnesses supported more flexible or recurring funding, while noting that one-time line funding has been useful for simulation, scholarships, and faculty support but is harder to sustain. The committee adjourned after the discussion, with the chair saying the ideas would be considered in future funding and policy decisions.
MN
Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session
Committee on Jobs and Economic Development - 02/12/25
Jobs and Economic Development
Transcript Highlights:
- The base tax rate is the same rate for all taxpaying employers, and then the taxable wages is a figure
- How are experience rates set?
- rates all went up.
- <00:08:10.599>
and experience rate and a base tax rate and experience rate and a base tax - below a certain level um and the rates below a certain level um and the rates for<00:09:08.440><
KY
Kentucky 2026 Regular Session
Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board (1-12-26)
Transcript Highlights:
- Uh the only rate study rate studies.
- to Medicare rates.
- primary care OBGYN and outpatient rates. primary care OBGYN and outpatient rates.
- those rates? those rates?
- reimbursement rate? reimbursement rate? >> Yeah. Thank<00:38:56.960>
you.
Summary:
The Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board met on January 12, 2026, to approve the December 10, 2025 minutes and continue finalizing its findings and recommendations. Members reviewed findings on administrative inefficiencies, Medicaid and workforce participation under HR 1, Medicaid budget growth, rural health transformation fund development, and provider tax/state-directed payment changes. The board approved a motion to change “pilot” to “partnership” in the workforce-related recommendation, and also adopted a technical amendment clarifying overlapping HCBS services by removing reference to adult daycare waiver services and revising the language to focus on reducing duplication, simplifying provider contracting, and standardizing processes across programs. A separate technical correction was noted to change “DMS” to “DPH” in the rural health transformation finding, to be handled in the final edits.
Several findings drew discussion but no final substantive vote during the meeting. On the rural health transformation fund, Dr. Berg said Kentucky had done well in federal funding and noted limits on what could be shared publicly, while Commissioner Lee said a public website had been created and recommended the department reference be changed to the Department for Public Health. Finding five prompted extended discussion about provider taxes, state-directed payment reductions under HR 1, and whether the board should address the relationship between actuarial studies, MCO payments, and actual provider reimbursement more directly. Senator Meredith and others argued for a broader, more transparent baseline review of rates across provider groups, while Commissioner Lee said CMS will require certain fee schedule comparisons to Medicare beginning July 1, 2026, and that quarterly expenditure reports already go to LRC.
The board did not finish resolving finding five during the meeting and agreed to return to it after staff prepared more explicit language. Members also discussed the possibility of an all-payers claims database as a better way to understand what is being paid across payers and services. No final vote on the full findings package was taken in the portion of the meeting provided, but the board did adopt the noted amendments and continued working through the remaining language.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
March 11, 2025 - 10:15 AM
Transcript Highlights:
- This resulted in rates varying across coalitions with little to no standardization and rates by care
- rate survey data is used.
- The division had to update the rate table in EFS Mod, conduct testing to make sure the rates were correct
- Because they live in Miami-Dade for the rate that is being provided, and their rates are different based
- Because whatever the county-level rate is is what’s going to be the provider rate within that county.
Summary:
The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met with a quorum and focused on School Readiness, specifically the new provider reimbursement rates and the School Readiness Plus program. The chair gave an overview of how School Readiness is funded and administered, noting that the Legislature now sets county-based reimbursement rates using market and cost data, and that School Readiness Plus was created to help families who would otherwise fall off the subsidy “cliff” at 85% of state median income by extending assistance up to 100% of state median income. Panelists from the Children’s Forum, the Association of Early Learning Coalitions, and the Division of Early Learning described the programs as major workforce and family-support tools that help parents stay employed and help providers recruit and retain qualified staff.
Testimony emphasized that higher reimbursement rates increase parental choice, help providers cover rising child care costs, and support better staffing and lower turnover. The panel also said School Readiness Plus is easing the pressure on families to turn down raises or promotions for fear of losing child care assistance, though uptake is still early because the program only began in late 2024 and is only available to current School Readiness families at redetermination. The Division of Early Learning reported about 275 children enrolled in School Readiness Plus as of March 10, with expenditures of about $161,420 through January 2025, and said participation is increasing.
Members asked about the federal-state funding split, wait lists, reverted funds, coalition accountability, county-based rate differences, and whether the entrance eligibility threshold should be raised or shifted to state median income. The panel said roughly 70% of School Readiness funding is federal, about 4% has typically reverted in recent years, and the wait list is around 12,000 children, with reasons including income ineligibility, lack of available seats, and funding limits. They argued that raising the entrance threshold would expand access but would require additional funding, and they also discussed the need to reduce workforce barriers such as in-person testing and training requirements. The meeting ended with no formal action beyond the presentation and member discussion, and the subcommittee adjourned.
NM
New Mexico 2025 Regular Session
IC - New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Aug 11th, 2025
New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- Floating interest rate bonds, sometimes called variable rate demand obligations, have an interest rate
- We get ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s; we are triple-A rated, the highest rating by S&P for
- rates went like this.
- And when rates go down from where they borrow their money to where the rates are, if rates have gone
- Can you tell me why the State rate is lower than the NMFA rate?
KY
Kentucky 2026 Regular Session
Senate Standing Committee on Natural Resources & Energy. (3-4-26)
Natural Resources & Energy
Transcript Highlights:
- rates to each consumer within that area. rates to each consumer within that area.
- expenses that is included in the rates expenses that is included in the rates and<00:04:51.520><
- the rate payers in the service area. the rate payers in the service area.
- the lowest rates in the nation. the lowest rates in the nation.
- afford the rates as they currently are. afford the rates as they currently are.
Keywords:
Meeting Start 00:00:00
Attendance Roll Call 00:00:38
SB 213 Discussion 00:01:23
SB 213 Roll Call Vote 00:20:45
SB 8 Discussion 00:26:23
SB 8 Roll Call Vote 00:58:16, 958, all
Summary:
The committee met with a quorum, approved the prior minutes, and first heard Senate Bill 213 from Senator Phillip Wheeler. He described the bill as a response to rising electric bills, especially in Eastern Kentucky, and said it would give the Public Service Commission more tools to push utilities toward least-cost planning, require stronger integrated resource plans, and address utility service territories, utility sales, and generation contracts. He argued that monopoly service territories are privileges granted by the Commonwealth, not irrevocable rights, and said the bill would help prevent ratepayers from bearing the cost of poor utility decisions or sale premiums. He also said the bill would allow large new loads, such as data centers, to choose alternative power sources in certain areas to encourage economic development.
Members asked questions about how the bill would work, especially the section stating that service territory rights belong to the Commonwealth and the provision dealing with utility sale premiums. Senator Wheeler explained that if a utility is sold at a premium, that premium should not simply be passed on to customers, and he said the bill aims to reduce costs for ratepayers and create more competition. Several members spoke in support of the bill’s goals while noting the complexity of utility regulation. Senator West said some companies had not been responsive to concerns about rates, Senator Williams said he would pass but wanted utilities to have enough generation to serve Kentucky users, and Chair Smith said the bill was a smart approach within the legislature’s limited authority. The committee then voted to report Senate Bill 213 favorably with the expression that the same shall pass.
The committee then took up Senate Bill 8 from Senator Brandon Smith, which would modernize the Public Service Commission. He said the bill and committee substitute were intended to help the PSC handle increasingly complex utility regulation, infrastructure investment, and rate cases by expanding the commission from three to five members, with three gubernatorial appointees and two appointed by the Auditor of Public Accounts. He also said the bill would adjust the threshold for PSC review of electric transmission construction from one mile to five miles, to reduce delays while preserving oversight of major projects, and would update appointment terms and other language in the substitute. Smith said the changes were meant to improve staffing and expertise at the PSC and speed transmission buildout. The discussion was still underway when the transcript ended, and no final vote on Senate Bill 8 appears in the provided excerpt.
NH
New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
Senate Energy and Natural Resources (01/27/2026)
Energy and Natural Resources
Transcript Highlights:
- of rate of return. of rate of return.
- That was more based on just traditional rate making, those rate increases.
- That was more based on just traditional rate making, those rate increases.
- That was more based on just traditional rate making, those rate increases.
- That was more based on just traditional rate making, those rate increases.
FL
Florida 2025 Regular Session
February 19, 2025 - 09:30 AM
Transcript Highlights:
- you our NCLEX RN pass rates, where in 2020 the gap was the greatest between Florida and U.S. pass rates
- Our BSN rates per region—here, again, in that south region, you can see that BSN rates per region: here
- . ...and collects pass rates.
- I mean, pass rate, 96% pass rate, if I'm not mistaken.
- I mean, pass rate, 96% pass rate, if I'm not mistaken, I'd love to start there because how do you get
Summary:
The subcommittee met to examine Florida’s nursing education pipeline and the state’s persistently low NCLEX passage rates. Chair Tuck opened by noting the projected nurse shortage and Florida’s ranking near the bottom nationally for first-time NCLEX pass rates. The Department of Health explained the Board of Nursing’s approval process for nursing programs, including application requirements, probation standards, and termination for programs that repeatedly fail passage-rate benchmarks. The Florida Center for Nursing then presented statewide data showing Florida has more test takers than most states, but still trails the national average; the gap has narrowed in recent years, though Florida remains below average. Members focused heavily on why the state continues to underperform, with discussion of faculty shortages, clinical placement constraints, accreditation, student preparedness, and the large share of newer private for-profit programs among those placed on probation.
Committee members asked about how probation works, what happens when programs improve, and whether the board requires corrective plans. They also questioned the relationship between program type and outcomes, the effect of Operation Nightingale, and how many students fail and retest. The Florida Center for Nursing said first-attempt pass rates are the standard measure and that students who fail are expected to remediate and retest, though costs vary. The center also said Florida’s data shows accredited programs outperform approved or probationary ones, and that the state’s nursing workforce challenges are tied to broader issues such as faculty vacancies, clinical site competition, and student demographics, including many students balancing work, family, and language barriers.
A panel of nursing school leaders from public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit institutions then described strategies used to improve outcomes. These included transparent recruitment, early orientation, tutoring, success coaching, stronger faculty development, curriculum mapping to NCLEX standards, higher course benchmarks, mandatory remediation, simulation labs, and commercial NCLEX prep tools such as ATI, Kaplan, and HESI. Several panelists said their programs had improved after probation or had very high passage rates, and they emphasized that student success depends on academic preparation, clinical experience, and support services. Members also asked about tuition, program length, translation into other languages, and faculty recruitment; panelists said costs vary widely, faculty hiring is difficult because hospitals pay more, and some schools are considering medical Spanish and immersion options rather than full curriculum translation.
MA
Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session
Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions Jun 21st, 2026 at 01:00 pm
Transcript Highlights:
- are lower than our 5% rate.
- If you pay the surtax and the base rate, that would be your top marginal rate.
- If you pay the surtax and the base rate, that would be your top marginal rate.
- dividends at a higher rate.
- The birth rate is cyclical.
Summary:
The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions held a public hearing on two proposed ballot initiatives: one to reduce the state personal income tax rate from 5% to 4% over three years, and another to revise the state’s tax collection cap/62F process so it would be based on prior-year collections plus wage growth and include surtax revenue. The committee chair and House co-chair outlined the hearing process, and the first witness was Doug Howgate of the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, who testified as the committee’s subject-matter expert on both measures. He said the income tax proposal would lower taxes broadly but would reduce state revenue by about $5.4 billion when fully implemented, with an estimated $800 million hit in FY27, and he discussed possible effects on competitiveness, taxpayer savings, and public finances. On the 62F proposal, he said the revised cap would make refunds more likely, could have produced several large refunds in recent years, and would reduce stabilization fund deposits and constrain recovery after recessions.
Committee members questioned Howgate about competitiveness, outmigration, prior tax ballot measures, spending growth, MassHealth, and the interaction between the income tax and surtax. He emphasized that taxes are only one part of the state’s overall competitiveness and that housing, public services, and other factors also matter. He also noted that the surtax is constitutionally restricted but can still support ongoing spending choices. After his testimony, the committee moved to the proponents’ panel.
Proponents of both initiatives, including representatives from Taxpayers for an Affordable Massachusetts, the National Federation of Independent Business, Pioneer Institute, and the Mass Opportunity Alliance, argued that the measures would improve affordability, help retain residents and businesses, and support job growth. They cited polling support, outmigration, small-business reinvestment, and comparisons to lower-tax states such as North Carolina. Their economist, Rebecca Paxton, said her model showed smaller revenue losses than critics claim and projected that the revised revenue cap would not create additional annual revenue losses while producing more regular taxpayer refunds. Committee members pressed the panel on competitiveness, prior ballot initiative implementation, and whether the measures would actually address broader affordability pressures; the hearing ended with the committee continuing to take questions from the proponents.
KY
Kentucky 2026 Regular Session
Senate Standing Committee on Families and Children.(3-17-26)
Families & Children
Transcript Highlights:
- in one of the lowest rates in error rate in one of the lowest rates in the<00:20:35.960>
nation,< - <00:29:31.480>
Um error rate. Um error rate. - They'll be based on either your 2025 error rate or 2026 error rate.
- <00:53:16.200>
So, 2025 error rate or 2026 error rate. - So, 2025 error rate or 2026 error rate.
KY
Kentucky 2026 Regular Session
House Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. (1-29-26)
Natural Resources & Energy
Transcript Highlights:
- This keeps rates more stable and done.
- How do we protect those rate payers?
- How do we protect those rate payers?
- But as those assumptions change from one rate case to the other, then the rates change with that.
- rate increase for at least three years. rate increase for at least three years.
Keywords:
Meeting Start 00:00
Attendance Roll Call 00:02
HB 398 Discussion 01:01
HB 398 Roll Call Vote 16:09
Chair Comments 18:05, 958, all
Summary:
The committee heard House Bill 398, sponsored by Rep. Wade Williams, with testimony from David Samford of East Kentucky Power Cooperative. The bill would amend KRS 278.264, the Senate Bill 4 statute, to clarify that it governs retirement of fossil fuel plants and not the recovery of associated decommissioning costs. Supporters said the measure would restore the Public Service Commission’s discretion to spread decommissioning costs over the life of a plant, consistent with traditional ratemaking, and avoid large rate spikes when plants are retired.
Testimony focused on ratemaking principles such as cost causation and matching, with the witnesses arguing that customers should pay costs as they are incurred rather than face a large “sticker shock” charge at the end of a plant’s life. Members asked about possible double charges, environmental surcharges, fuel adjustment clauses, and what happens if a planned retirement is delayed or canceled. The witnesses said the bill is intended to prevent double exposure and that rates would be revisited in future base rate cases as assumptions change.
During roll call, most members voted yes, while Rep. Fugate passed and explained concern about high electric bills and prior lump-sum charges in his area, and Rep. Watkins voted no, saying he needed more information on long-term affordability. The committee reported the bill out favorably, with the chair stating it should pass on the floor.