Transcript Highlights:

• So property taxes need to increase to make up the difference.
• It also includes a $4 million one-year increase in the renter credit, which increases the maximum credit
• This increases the amount of $50,000.
• Madam Speaker, this bill limits the increases in property taxes in FY27 to 3.58%.
• are of inflation when rent increases are outpacing wage increases.

Keywords: 926, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is a great example of bridging data silos to increase opportunities for students.
• This is a great example of bridging data silos to increase opportunities for students.
• So it serves as a wallet of sorts that allows you to say... ...employers and colleges alike.
• And then, should public funds be allowed to renovate privately owned property?
• We are in strong support of the increased funding for dual enrollment.

Summary: The committee heard an update on the administration’s Career Education Master Plan and the new California Education Interagency Council. Administration and agency staff described efforts to better connect K-12, higher education, workforce, and data systems, including the California Cradle to Career Data System, e-Transcript California, and a proposed career passport. They emphasized regional coordination with workforce boards and community colleges, and said the new council’s immediate tasks are to hold its first meeting by the end of June, enter into a data-sharing MOU, and complete a strategic plan by the end of November. Members asked about the council’s authority, reporting requirements, and how it would relate to the broader Master Plan for Higher Education; staff said the council will make recommendations but does not have implementation authority. The committee then took up the Governor’s proposed $100 million one-time expansion of dual enrollment grants and related changes to instructional minute requirements. Finance and the Department of Education said the proposal would support middle college, early college, and CCAP programs, add technical assistance, prioritize high-need LEAs, and reduce the minimum instructional day for certain dual enrollment students from 240 to 180 minutes to ease scheduling barriers. The Chancellor’s Office strongly supported the investment, citing access, acceleration, and equity benefits, while the LAO recommended rejecting the funding, arguing the state already provides ongoing support and that the proposal does not address major barriers. Members raised questions about adult learners, A-G alignment, reporting on outcomes and expenditures, rural access, transportation, staffing, and whether the funding would create lasting program capacity. The item was left open after discussion. The committee also considered trailer bill language to align the definition of long-term English learners across data systems. Finance and CDE said the change would simplify identification by defining LTELs as students who have not attained English proficiency within seven years and RTELs as students not proficient within six years, matching the dashboard and research-based timelines. CDE said the current mismatch between dashboard and assessment definitions creates confusion and delays, while some members and advocates worried the change could reduce earlier intervention or should be handled through policy committees rather than the budget process. The committee voted to reject the proposal and refer it to policy, though the administration said it still supports the budget language. Finally, the committee heard a proposal to extend the Supporting Inclusive Practices project by one year, through June 30, 2027. CDE said the project is promising but raised concerns about the contract structure and fiscal management, while Marysville Joint Unified School District testified that SIP had helped expand inclusive preschool and district-wide practices and reduce reliance on more restrictive placements. Members questioned why funds had not been fully encumbered and whether the remaining money should be redirected to areas with greater implementation need. The item was discussed but no final action was described in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:02:42.640> Uh allow me to make a few things clear.
• Uh allow me to make a few things clear.
• penalties<00:37:08.800> on multiple times, increasing penalties on multiple times, increasing
• increasing<00:37:17.520> a We're increasing a we're increasing a We're increasing a we're
• may be ghost guns as well, it will allow may be ghost guns as well, it will allow us<00:39:21.040

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee heard House File 3407, authored by Chair Pinto, which would restore Minnesota’s prior serial-number requirement for firearms after a recent Minnesota Supreme Court decision narrowed the existing law, while also creating a method to serialize firearms that do not already have serial numbers. Supporters said the bill is needed to close a loophole involving ghost guns and to aid investigations, background checks, and trafficking enforcement. Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, and former ATF official Mariana Mitchum testified in favor, citing increases in unserialized gun recoveries, the difficulty of tracing such weapons, and examples of crimes where serial numbers helped identify traffickers. Opponents argued the bill conflates different categories of firearms and could burden lawful gun owners. Mariah Day of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Anna Ley of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, and Brian Gosh of the NRA said privately made firearms are distinct from illegally altered guns, warned about vague definitions and possible First Amendment issues, and said the bill could criminalize lawful conduct or create confusion for owners who modify firearms. They urged a no vote. Representative Bliss offered a DE1 amendment to replace the bill’s serialization approach with increased penalties for people who use guns in crimes. Chair Pinto and others opposed it, saying it would remove the bill’s public-safety benefits and likely create a fiscal impact. The committee took a roll call and rejected the DE1 amendment, 8-9. Afterward, members discussed the bill further, including questions about the difference between unserialized guns and guns with removed serial numbers and comments both supporting and criticizing the proposal.

Transcript Highlights:

• Employees all received a 6% increase in 2023 and a 4% increase in 2024.
• In addition, state law does not allow increases to be applied... ...evaluations.
• In addition, state law does not allow increases to be applied at the same percentage for all employees
• So our recommendation, we recommend that salary increases above the minimum amounts allowed by state
• You have an increase, you say it will increase 3.6 per year.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So a really, really nice jump in terms of increasing the So a really nice jump in terms of increasing
• So that amount did increase.
• Taxing district property value increases separated by increases on existing and new property.
• Taxing district property value increases separated by increases on existing and new property.
• If the increase in their valuation allows that.

Summary: The Tax Reform and Relief Advisory Committee met with a quorum, approved the March 17, 2026 minutes, and heard a lengthy update from Tax Commissioner Brian Croshys on property tax relief programs. He reviewed the Homestead Property Tax Credit, Disabled Veteran Credit, and Primary Residence Credit, noting increased relief after House Bill 1158 and House Bill 1176, but also discussing how some households “income adjust out” of eligibility over time. Members asked about indexing income thresholds, expanding eligibility by age alone, simplifying administration, county-level notices, and whether the county and state systems could be streamlined. Croshys said the programs are heavily used, largely administered at the county level, and that the department is still refining compliance and reporting; he also said there were no material findings or overarching concerns in the latest review. The committee agreed more detailed PRC information would likely come back in a September meeting, and the chair announced an afternoon recess for lunch before later reconvening. Shelly Myers then presented the statewide property tax increase report, the zero-growth report, and a statistical report on property values and tax levies by class. She explained how county auditors report levy and valuation data, how increases and decreases are counted, and identified counties and cities with the largest percentage changes in growth or decline. She also summarized recent trends: agricultural values remain relatively flat, while residential, commercial, and centrally assessed values have risen over the last five years; in 2025, residential property accounted for the largest share of statewide property tax levies, followed by commercial, agriculture, and centrally assessed property. Committee members asked about unusual zero-growth figures, the effect of annexation and land-use changes, and whether the 3% levy cap was forcing political subdivisions to use reserves or defer spending. Myers said many counties complied by using reserves, delaying capital projects, or limiting increases, and that some counties had not used their full cap. The committee then moved to the stripper oil extraction tax exemption. Commissioner Croshys reviewed the state’s oil tax structure and estimated the revenue impact of keeping stripper wells exempt from extraction tax while still paying production tax. He said the exemption saves operators hundreds of millions of dollars over a biennium, while the state still collects production tax on those wells. He also discussed projected impacts if the exemption were changed for future wells and noted that future outcomes depend on oil prices, production declines, and technology such as CO2 enhanced oil recovery. Nathan Anderson of the Department of Mineral Resources briefly explained the historical difference between the 35-barrel and 30-barrel thresholds for certain wells, citing differences in completion costs and lateral lengths. The committee then heard from EERC CEO Charles Gorecki, who presented an analysis of oil well life cycles and said most oil is produced before wells reach stripper status, but that refracturing or other reinvestment can significantly extend production and keep wells above the threshold for years.

Transcript Highlights:

• increase, right? Okay, that is correct. increase, right? Okay, that is correct.
• > an<01:25:46.320> increase<01:25:46.560> in think, increase without an increase
• We also put in an increase in the registration fees for vehicles, which hadn't been increased in
• only allows only allows $300,000<01:32:40.320> up<01:32:40.560> to<01:32:40.719>
• a 5% increase on the insurance industry. a 5% increase on the insurance industry.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Dedicated Funds met to review the House budget provision that would impose a 5% administrative charge on a broad list of dedicated funds, with some exemptions. Members discussed the House approach versus the Senate’s more general approach of leaving the governor discretion over which funds could be charged. The chair explained the committee was hearing from agencies about any legal, contractual, or practical reasons their funds should be exempt, and the agenda was expanded to include several departments and written submissions from others. The Department of Education testified first, identifying several funds it said should be exempt: a printing revolving fund that is funded by transfers rather than fees; teacher certification, which is self-funded by educator licensing fees and would require an immediate fee increase if charged; a vending stand set-aside tied to the federal Randolph-Sheppard program and subject to federal approval and vendor committee procedures; and a public school infrastructure/safety account, where most revenue is transferred from the education trust fund or general fund rather than generated by fees. Members questioned the department about the effect on school safety projects and whether the fee would simply reduce the number of projects completed each year. The Veterans Home asked for exemptions for three funds: a donation benefit account used for recreational activities and quality-of-life expenses for residents, a small memorial trust fund whose interest supports veteran activities, and a resident member account that holds veterans’ personal income such as Social Security and pensions. The department argued the charge would reduce donations, cut services, and effectively function like an income tax on vulnerable veterans. The Banking Department also requested exemption for its consumer credit administration license fund, saying it is used to keep exam fees low and is expressly intended by statute to reduce costs on regulated businesses; it said the 5% charge would undermine that framework and could eventually force higher fees. The Department of Justice began testimony on its dedicated funds, starting with the medical legal investigative fund, which pays for death investigations and related services under statute and without general fund support. No votes or final actions were taken in the portion of the meeting provided; the committee mainly heard testimony and asked questions about the practical and legal effects of applying the administrative charge.

Transcript Highlights:

• You're not allowed to do so.
• counties um modifying the plan to allow counties um modifying the plan to allow ATV<00:21:27.000
• First, it increases the allowable weights of ATVs on public trails from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds, and secondly
• increase like we've seen cars increase increase like we've seen cars increase in<01:05:25.000>
• We just had bills on allowing the ditch, so how do we protect the resource if we're going to increase

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• This in turn increases viewpoints.
• <01:10:37.640> to um municipalities are not allowed to um municipalities are not allowed to
• the need to set a framework to allow the need to set a framework to allow cities<01:23:39.040>
• sales tax or increase property taxes. sales tax or increase property taxes.
• <01:31:32.239> The receive similar rate increases. The receive similar rate increases.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:20:32.800> year multiple repeated rent increases year multiple repeated rent increases
• :21:01.280> is is by increasing the supply this is is by increasing the supply this is perhaps
• an increased drain on our increases an increased drain on our finances<02:16:04.119> to<02:16
• It would also increase the maximum credit amount allowed per entity from $50,000 to $100,000, effective
• the maximum credit amount increase the maximum credit amount allowed<02:29:26.960> per<02:29:

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Public Counsel's exempt salary will increase from group 4 to group 5 with a $20,000 per year increase
• Thank you for allowing us to be here. I am Dr. Boyd Bush.
• To once again explain the reasons for the biennial increase, the total increase is just under a quarter
• The agency is requesting an exceptional item to provide a 10% salary increase.
• So we've seen an 8% increase in dentists and hygienists, as well as a 13% increase in dental assistants

Bills: SB1, SB 1

Keywords: appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I appreciate your thoughts, your testing, your allowing me to provide testimony.
• Universal screening would allow us to identify CMV early, Universal screening would allow us to identify
• It will increase the penalties for unlicensed practice.
• I want to thank you for allowing us to be heard on this bill.
• Diabetes has increased.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health heard testimony on a wide range of bills focused on children’s health, tobacco control, newborn screening, pediatric cancer, palliative care, and professional licensure. Early testimony highlighted Senate bills to expand newborn screening for pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency, lysosomal storage disorders, and congenital CMV, with families and clinicians describing severe diagnostic delays, missed treatment windows, and the benefits of early detection. Speakers also supported a bill to improve pediatric cancer research through a dedicated trust fund, and a bill to extend pediatric palliative care services to age 22, with parents and providers emphasizing continuity of care for seriously ill young people. Several witnesses gave personal accounts in support of the newborn screening measures. Families described children who endured years of misdiagnosis before receiving diagnoses such as Gaucher disease, Fabry disease, Pompe disease, Niemann-Pick disease, and CMV, often after irreversible damage had already occurred. Medical and advocacy witnesses said Massachusetts already collects some of the relevant screening data and argued that results should be reported to families, while others urged the committee to add conditions to the state panel because effective treatments already exist. The committee also heard support for a bill to establish a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder program and training for providers. On tobacco and youth health, testimony supported bills to ban internet tobacco sales, strengthen youth protections, and reduce lung cancer deaths through point-of-sale information and quit-line access. A student testified about easily purchasing flavored nicotine products online without meaningful age verification, and public health advocates backed measures to keep tobacco out of children’s environments. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to ensure parents have access to their children’s medical records through age 16, with exceptions for sensitive services already protected by law. The committee additionally took testimony on an optometry licensure bill, where ophthalmologists opposed language they said could broaden scope of practice and allow optometrists to use the title “optometric physician,” while optometry educators and students supported the bill as a modernization measure with no scope expansion. No votes were taken during the hearing; the chair repeatedly reminded speakers of time limits and noted that written testimony could be submitted for additional comments.

Transcript Highlights:

• The motion prevails. the motion is just to allow us to move the motion is just to allow us to move forward
• In 2000, the state allowed this commission to increase its credit limit, essentially to $15 million.
• In 2000, the state allowed this commission to increase its credit limit, essentially to $15 million.
• a cost of living increase it would barely<01:48:00.560> cover<01:48:01.599> increasing
• <02:04:03.559> in single mom there's no no allowance in single mom there's no no allowance

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So if we increase the cost of pipeline and move water, that increases the cost of the end consumer at
• build more natural gas power plants, that would then increase the cost of natural gas, increasing the
• That would then increase the cost of natural gas, increasing the cost of the consumers for their electrical
• And so, and there's no limit to what it can increase there?
• It may increase the cost a little bit.

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 5695, which would create the Sayers Ranch Municipal Utility District in Bastrop County between Elgin and Bastrop. Representative Gurdis said Bastrop County commissioners unanimously supported the district. There was no public testimony, the bill was left pending, and later reported favorably to the full House on an 8-0 vote. The main debate centered on Senate Bill 291, which would require condemning entities to pay landowner attorney’s fees if they fail to provide 10 years of appraisal reports with an initial offer in an eminent domain case. Supporters, including Rita Beving and Charles Maley, argued the bill would add an enforcement mechanism and better protect landowners in a process they described as intimidating and lopsided. Opponents, including Tom Zabel and Lisa Kaufman, said current law already provides a remedy through abatement and attorney’s fees under Section 21.047 of the Property Code, and warned the bill could create inconsistency, delay public infrastructure projects, and increase costs. The bill was left pending. The committee also heard House Bill 5699, a simple MUD boundary change in Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 405 that would allow a tract to leave one district and join another. Representative Schofield said the landowner and district agreed to the change and to pay the tract’s share of debt. The committee substitute was adopted and the bill was reported favorably on an 8-0 vote. Later, the committee considered House Bill 5489, which would impose a four-year moratorium on impact fees. Representative Dyson framed it as an “active study” to test whether impact fees raise housing costs. College Station officials and other opponents argued impact fees help fund infrastructure for growth and that local governments should retain control; supporters said the fees are regressive and add to housing prices. The bill was left pending. The committee then heard Senate Bill 292, which would update the Landowner Bill of Rights to add information on surveys, require separate offers for property not sought in condemnation, and require the rights document to be delivered with the initial offer. Supporters said it would improve transparency and fill gaps in the current document, while opponents said it was unnecessary because the law already exists and warned against revisiting a 2021 compromise. The transcript ends during that discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• free and reduced lunch uh the increase free and reduced lunch uh the increase so<00:20:25.159>
• families erases stigma and allow families erases stigma and allow students<00:40:52.960> to
• <00:58:46.520> in in we can continue to see increases in in we can continue to see increases
• <01:09:09.120> to party days they can not be allowed to party days they can not be allowed
• a fantastic step forward to allowing a fantastic step forward to allowing students<02:04:29.119>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 707 on the College Savings Program. Members discussed a suggested amendment from the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities to include the Hawaii ABLE Savings Program. The chair said the Department of the Attorney General advised there was no title problem, so the bill could be broadened to cover both the College Savings Program and the ABLE program. The committee also noted technical, non-substantive changes and a defective date of July 1, 3000 for further discussion. HB 707 HD1 was then voted on and the recommendation to pass with amendments was adopted unanimously by the members present, with two members excused. The committee then heard House Bill 424, which would provide free breakfast and lunch beginning the next school year to students who currently qualify for free and reduced-price meals. The Department of Education supported the measure, and testimony in favor came from teachers, public health and food security advocates, and several organizations. Supporters described students being denied meals because of unpaid balances, said school meals should not depend on family debt, and argued that the bill would reduce stigma and help hungry students learn. Committee questions focused on meal pricing, the impact of raising prices on families who pay full price, and whether portion sizes could be increased; DOE said breakfast costs less than lunch, full-price students would bear any increase, and portion sizes must follow USDA rules. Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute and Hawaiʻi Children’s Action Network said many families above the free/reduced thresholds still cannot afford meals, citing estimates that the DOE collects about $20 million a year in meal payments and that federal reimbursement totals are much larger. The committee then heard House Bill 757, the universal free school breakfast and lunch bill. DOE and the Department of Health supported it, and testimony was overwhelmingly in favor from county officials, teachers, students, food banks, advocacy groups, and community organizations. Witnesses argued that universal meals would eliminate stigma, reduce paperwork and debt collection, and ensure students do not fall through the cracks because of income cutoffs, language barriers, or administrative hurdles. Several students from Castle High School described classmates asking for food and families struggling to keep meal accounts funded, while teachers said they regularly see negative meal balance notices and hungry students. Advocates also said the bill is the better equity vehicle because it avoids means testing and reaches students who are not currently receiving meals despite needing them. The hearing on HB 757 was still ongoing at the end of the transcript, and no final vote on that bill was shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• and some of their mental health needs have increased as well.
• students uh safety needs have increased students uh safety needs have increased and<00:07:46.440
• <00:08:52.480> us restrictions okay and doesn't allow us restrictions okay and doesn't allow
• Number two is increased behavioral problems.
• <00:32:21.679> behavioral number two is increased behavioral number two is increased behavioral

Bills: HF56, HF780

Keywords: HF56, Minnesota bonding bill, capital investment, state bonds, bond proceeds fund, Hutchinson Area Transportation Services, Hutchinson, McLeod County, transportation facility, vehicle storage, equipment storage, fueling facility, temperate storage, local infrastructure, public works, general obligation bonds, education finance, school funding, state aid, appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• in popularity with little to no increase in popularity with little to no visible<00:52:35.760> increase
• How much it's increased?
• How much it's increased?
• How much it's increased?
• <03:45:53.319> dyr industry we'll also be um allowing dyr industry we'll also be um allowing

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You may not call that inflation, but it still reflects an increased cost because of the times. increased
• us to increase at about 20% each... allow us to increase at about 20% each year over five years.
• It has increased.
• Our call volume up has increased, and our state answer rate has also improved, but we... ...is increased
• The Alabama legislature supported a rate increase for our providers in 2022, and that rate increase has

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We need increased capacity for psychiatric care.
• Increasing funding for the Healthy Community Collaborative Grant Program will directly increase the intersections
• It's allowed us to expand our on-campus interventions.
• Our goal is to increase the lease rate.
• So that's a 16% year-over-year increase.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But I'm my point with the increase and we did increase it from 15 to 20,000.
• But I'm my point with the increase and we did increase it from 15 to 20,000.
• But I'm my point with the increase and we did increase it from 15 to 20,000.
• But my point with the increase, and we did increase it from 15 to 20,000.
• The increase, and we did increase it from 15 to 20,000.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• to ...that are in these communities, and so these pop-ups will allow to increase access and address
• Speaker, members, for allowing me to present AB 1780.
• Townhome developments are not allowed to be built on mobile objective standards.
• So this bill just allows that. It provides some certainty for all parties.
• The seed manufacturers have requested that we increase the fee.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The Assembly met on May 7, 2026, after an initial delay due to lack of quorum, then proceeded through a long House of Origin deadline session focused mainly on floor votes for dozens of bills. The day opened with prayer, a moment of silence for victims of a hate-motivated shooting at an Islamic Center in San Diego, and a warning to visitors about disrupting proceedings. Leadership repeatedly urged members to be on time and at their desks as the chamber worked through a large daily file. The bills considered covered a wide range of topics, including artificial intelligence, community college trustee compensation, transit camera enforcement and privacy, taxation and excess proceeds claims, HOA rules, hepatitis C treatment access, child care planning, greenhouse energy standards, consumer lending, housing and homelessness, pet spay/neuter access, local financing for workforce housing, student financial aid, DUI penalties, senior housing, foster youth, behavioral health licensing, transit stop data, disaster response for child welfare, elections notices, safe surrender for infants, college enrollment and leave policies, insurance regulation, fair funding, school safety, environmental labeling, cash rounding, park passes through libraries, grocery access, pregnancy protections in education, swatting, domestic violence protective orders, farmworker housing, juvenile justice, cervical cancer screening, Medi-Cal transitions, disability certification, and home protection products. Most authors described their bills as cleanup measures, consumer protections, access expansions, or targeted fixes to existing law. Testimony from authors and supporters emphasized access, safety, affordability, and administrative simplification, while a few bills drew policy concerns or opposition, especially AB 1751 on townhome development and labor standards. That bill prompted extended debate over wages, prevailing wage, and stakeholder engagement, but it ultimately passed. Other notable discussion included AB 1628 to extend California’s safe surrender window for infants, AB 1902 on juvenile detention extension hearings, and AB 1925 on permanent disability certification, each framed as addressing difficult real-world gaps in current systems. The chamber took many roll-call votes, with most measures passing overwhelmingly and several by unanimous or near-unanimous margins. A few bills were temporarily passed, retained on file, or moved to the inactive file, and AB 1534 required the call to be lifted and then passed on a 54-8 vote. Overall, the session was dominated by floor action on the daily file rather than committee reports or gubernatorial messages, and the Assembly advanced a large number of bills on a deadline day.