Transcript Highlights:

• </c> all that welcome in the public utilities all that welcome in the public utilities law<00:03:10.959
• Again, we're not at a utilities.
• </c> position to run a public utility. Okay. position to run a public utility. Okay.
• You had said that utilities... I guess my question is: can utilities bill for rate cases?
• </c> owned by local consumer-owned utilities. owned by local consumer-owned utilities.

Bills: HF3298

Committee: House Energy Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> managing New Hampshire's future. managing New Hampshire's future.
• </c> through to customers utility rates. through to customers utility rates.
• . >> Investor, your own utility investment. >> Per utility. >> It's per utility.
• the utility to proceed.
• the utility to proceed.

Committee: House Science, Technology and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• The Idaho Public Utilities Commission started in 1913.
• The Idaho Public Utilities Commission sets...
• They told me to go to the utilities. I talked to the utilities. They said go talk to Idaho Power.
• and this is a public utilities commission, not private.
• developing and delivering the utility.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c><00:03:53.040><c> road</c> to things like utilities, road to things like utilities, road alignment
• Riggs, city manager, is online. Okay.
• I am the general manager for Rochester Public Utilities.
• Rochester Public Utilities is the largest municipal utility in the... Mr.
• McCulla said Rochester Public Utilities is the largest municipal utility in the state of Minnesota, and

Committee: Senate Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• They're utilized for catastrophe models. They are utilized for mitigation, and so it's really...
• the ability of utilizing these.
• I'm Phil Vermeulen, representing Acclamation Insurance Management Services and Allied Managed Care.
• I'm Phil Vermeulen, representing Acclamation Insurance Management Services and Allied Managed Care.
• the United States, typically for risk management.

Committee: House Insurance

Summary: The Assembly Insurance Committee met as a subcommittee and heard several bills focused on insurance transparency, wildfire mitigation, access to coverage, and workforce issues. AB 75 would require insurers to give homeowners 30 days’ notice before collecting aerial images of their property and allow homeowners to review those images; supporters framed it as a privacy and consumer protection measure, while consumer advocates and insurers sought amendments to strengthen access and clarify coverage. The committee also heard AB 234, which would add the Assembly Speaker and Senate pro tem, or their designees, as nonvoting members of the California FAIR Plan governing committee; supporters said it would improve oversight, while opponents argued it was only a small transparency step and more reform was needed. Both bills were advanced, with AB 75 sent to Privacy and Consumer Protection and AB 234 sent to the Assembly Floor. Members also heard AB 428, which would allow water corporations to participate in joint powers authorities for pooled insurance purposes, with testimony from small water utilities describing steep premium increases and the need to reduce costs. The bill was supported by water industry and labor groups and passed to Local Government. The consent calendar included AB 69, AB 487, and AB 570, all sent to Appropriations. AB 943 would streamline producer pre-licensing education requirements by removing the 20-hour per-line mandate while keeping ethics training; industry sponsors said it would reduce barriers to entry, while consumer advocates warned it could lower professional standards. The committee approved AB 943 to Appropriations. AB 1209 would create a pathway for cannabis employers to secure workers’ compensation coverage and related services through a state-coordinated network, with supporters saying the industry faces unique banking and insurance constraints and that the bill would improve compliance and transparency. Opponents argued it could amount to a form of amnesty and questioned whether the industry was simply avoiding existing requirements. The committee advanced AB 1209 to Business and Professions. Finally, AB 1 would require the Department of Insurance to review and consider updates to the Safer from Wildfire regulations every five years starting in 2030; it drew broad support from the department, insurers, local governments, and fire-safety advocates, and was sent to Appropriations. Most measures passed on strong or unanimous votes, with AB 1209 receiving a 15-2 vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• All of these have tiny towns with tiny water utilities to serve the residents.
• The bill would force these tiny utilities to risk becoming large regional-type utilities to support massive
• our own water and sewer utility.
• But here's the reality: municipal utilities operate beyond their municipal boundary.
• So why does it specify storm water management system on line 76?

Transcript Highlights:

• I was a budget manager here in Leon County and over in Gadsden.
• Emergency management is a great example of that, where some of our cities have our own debris management
• Not every stormwater utility is charged as a utility fee on your utility bill.
• Some cities have As a utility fee on your utility bill, some cities have structured it to where it's
• And with that is law enforcement, fire, emergency management.

Committee: Senate Community Affairs

Summary: The Committee on Community Affairs convened with a quorum and took up SB 308, a bill related to the Florida Museum of Black History. The bill would establish a Florida Museum of Black History Board of Directors and direct it to work with a supporting nonprofit foundation, while also requiring the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to provide administrative assistance and staffing until planning, design, and engineering are complete. With no appearance forms or debate, the committee voted the bill favorably. The remainder of the meeting was an informational briefing from the Florida Association of Counties and the Florida League of Cities on local government budgeting practices. Presenters explained how counties and cities develop budgets, the legal framework governing property taxes and other revenues, the distinction between restricted and unrestricted funds, and the role of constitutional officers, public safety, debt, pensions, and capital planning. They emphasized that most local revenues are restricted by law, that general funds are the main discretionary source, and that local governments must balance annual budgets while meeting mandated service levels. The presenters also discussed how property taxes, fees, local option taxes, and state-shared revenues support local services, and they highlighted the fiscal pressures created by public safety, emergency management, infrastructure, and retirement costs. Members asked questions about the share of local revenue that is unrestricted and the implications for any proposal to eliminate property taxes. The presenters responded that only a portion of county and municipal revenue is flexible, with much of it dedicated to specific purposes by law.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've got a new project management organization structure that we've, We've got a new project management
• measure asset management.
• The utilities are being relocated for that one.
• Those utilities are owned by Morgan City.
• I think on the utility side, it’s a challenge.

Summary: The committee met for an information-only hearing with no votes or other action items. DOTD Secretary Glenn LaD and Deputy Secretary Beau Black gave an update on the department’s transformation efforts, focusing on faster project delivery, improved construction administration, and new technology. They said monthly contractor payment approvals have been reduced from roughly 35 days to 15 days or less, change orders from about 40-45 days to around five days, and that DOTD delivered 86% of its advertised projects in the last fiscal year. They also described new tools such as Headlight for field inspections, Smart PM for schedule tracking, Hall Hub for e-ticketing and work-zone mapping, and a pilot using advanced sensors on district vehicles to identify potholes, guardrail damage, and other asset issues. The department also outlined a district reorganization that replaces the area engineer model with dedicated district points of contact for construction, maintenance, and operations, with no increase in total staff. Members raised concerns about local maintenance issues, especially mowing, drainage, culverts, potholes, and communication with district offices. Several members asked for clearer coordination on jurisdictional questions, more frequent meetings with district administrators, and better public updates on long-running projects. LaD said DOTD would schedule follow-up meetings, use the coming customer service portal to track complaints, and improve public communication through project information officers, social media, and other outreach. Questions also covered contractor accountability, utility relocations, road transfer maps on the DOTD website, and whether maintenance work adjacent to capital projects should be handled by district crews or through new IDIQ contracts. The secretary also reviewed the Highway Priority Program process, saying DOTD will work between June and September to review projects not included in the prior program, explain why, and refine a five-year fiscally constrained plan before the fall road show. He said the department is using IDIQ authority to award bridge maintenance and other task-order work, and that this should help address a two-year bridge repair backlog. Members discussed whether current funding levels are enough to reduce the statewide backlog, and DOTD said the current program likely maintains rather than eliminates it absent new revenue. The hearing ended with a project-specific update that a barge struck the Black Bayou Pontoon Bridge that morning, causing significant damage; DOTD said divers and staff would inspect it and determine emergency repairs. After DOTD’s presentation, Archie Chesson of the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction gave a brief update on that office’s first year, describing its use of consultant pools, master service agreements, a public GIS map, and a data tool to prioritize rural road and bridge projects, with several early projects already completed or under construction.

Transcript Highlights:

• Utilities earn bigger profits.
• Utilities earn bigger profits and utility executives do earn bigger bonuses by spending more money.
• That they can't afford their utilities.
• The motion is do pass to Emergency Management with commitment to take amendments in Emergency Management
• California Coalition of Utility Employees.

Summary: The committee first heard SB 804, the Hydrogen Pipeline Safety Act, from Senator Arreguín. He said the bill would designate the State Fire Marshal as the safety regulator for intrastate hydrogen pipelines and require hydrogen-specific standards, while not mandating any pipeline construction or bypassing environmental review. Supporters included labor groups, utility employees, and the City of Burbank, while Air Products opposed unless amended, citing concerns about the bill’s specificity, fee structure, and the need for a hydrogen-specific rulemaking process. The committee discussed safety, fees, and regulatory certainty, and later passed SB 804 on a 9-0 vote to Emergency Management with commitment to take amendments. The committee then took up SB 905 by Senator Becker, aimed at reducing electricity rates by changing utility incentives. The bill would tie part of executive compensation to keeping rates below inflation, require more performance metrics, and allow the CPUC to consider lower returns on equity for certain lower-risk investments and alternative financing options. Support came from consumer, environmental, agricultural, and large energy user groups, while Southern California Edison, CalChamber, PG&E, and utility labor groups raised concerns that the bill could reduce investment, create regulatory uncertainty, and raise borrowing costs. After extensive discussion about utility affordability, wildfire costs, and capital markets, the committee passed SB 905 on a 7-1 vote to Appropriations. SB 913, also by Senator Becker, would create a clearer pathway for distributed energy resources such as batteries and smart thermostats to participate in the resource adequacy market and compete with utility-scale resources. Supporters said the bill would better use existing grid capacity, lower costs, and build on the state’s Demand Side Grid Support Program; PG&E opposed unless amended, saying the use case was not yet proven and was already being addressed in other rulemakings. After the committee accepted amendments, one opposition group moved to neutral and another said it might do so after reviewing the changes. The bill passed 8-0 to Appropriations and was placed on call. Several other measures were heard and advanced, including SB 1196 on faster utility hookups for small energization projects such as ADUs and EV chargers, SB 931 reauthorizing the Diablo Canyon Essential Services Mitigation Fund through 2028, SB 1158 reducing the frequency of joint reliability assessments from quarterly to twice yearly, and SB 1245 directing further study of California’s gasoline market and potential use of non-CARBOB fuel during supply disruptions. SB 1196 and SB 931 both passed with broad support and no opposition after amendments, SB 1158 passed without testimony, and SB 1245 drew strong support from consumer and environmental advocates but opposition from fuel industry and business groups concerned about costs, confidentiality, and fuel standards.

Transcript Highlights:

• Utilities earn bigger profits.
• Utilities earn bigger profits and utility executives do earn bigger bonuses by spending more money.
• , returns, compensation, and grid utilization.
• The motion is due pass to Emergency Management with commitment to take amendments and emergency management
• California Coalition of Utility Employees.

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• California residents face the second-highest utility rates in the nation.
• At the same time, utility companies are making record profits.
• Lastly, for-profit utilities engage in lobbying to undermine the establishment of municipal utility districts
• Currently, there are no consequences to the utilities.
• Roseville electricity and creating a municipal utility.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy met without a quorum at first and began as a subcommittee, then later established quorum and heard several measures. The main policy bills discussed were SB 24, which would restrict investor-owned utilities from using ratepayer funds for political advertising, lobbying, and efforts against municipal utilities, and SB 283, the Clean Energy Safety Act of 2025, which would strengthen safety standards for battery energy storage facilities after the Moss Landing fire. The consent calendar also included SB 80, SB 491, SB 593, SB 804, and SCR 25, which were taken up without debate. SB 24 drew strong support from consumer and environmental advocates, who argued that ratepayer money should not be used for political or promotional activity and that current rules lack meaningful consequences. Opponents from the utilities and business community said the bill was too broad, could interfere with shareholder-funded advocacy and legal work, and might unintentionally affect public service communications and expert consulting. Several committee members shared support for the bill’s goal but raised concerns about its breadth, especially around legal fees and communications; the author said he was willing to work on amendments, including on consultant fees, and accepted committee amendments. SB 283 received broad support from firefighters, local governments, utilities, labor, and business groups. Supporters said the bill would improve fire safety, require fire authority consultation and inspections, and prevent battery storage from being sited in unsafe indoor combustible facilities. The author described the Moss Landing fire and said the bill would add standards based on NFPA guidance while preserving local governments’ ability to adopt stricter rules. No opposition testimony was presented. The committee voted SB 283 out 16-0, and SB 24 was also approved after a roll was held open and later closed, ultimately passing 11-1. The consent calendar passed 16-0, and the meeting adjourned after the final roll calls were completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• It states that the Emergency Management Director may appoint an Emergency Management Coordinator.
• is emergency management.
• Emergency management folks need to utilize these drones for rescue operations and a variety of other
• Was that their municipal utility alone, or was that multiple utilities?
• City Emergency Management.

Committee: House Disaster Preparedness & Flooding, Select

Transcript Highlights:

• Lastly, the bill defines a monopoly utility with a defined customer base as a utility that has exclusive
• that service area are required to receive utility service from that utility.
• I've been involved with utilities for 40 years, Mr. Smolden.
• I've managed many condo associations over the years.
• I am the president at City Property Management Company.

Committee: Senate Senate Government Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee first considered SB 1825, which would shift the precinct committeeman vacancy application and nomination process from county party chairs to legislative district chairs where established, and require applicants to submit to the authorized chair within five days. Supporters said the change would streamline appointments, reduce bottlenecks in large counties, and strengthen grassroots, bottom-up party organization. County supervisors’ association staff said they had no objection to the district-chair process but raised concern that the five-day deadline for boards to act was too short. The committee adopted a do pass recommendation on SB 1825, with members noting the five-day issue should be worked out later. The committee then heard SB 1566, as amended, which targets malicious delays by municipalities, counties, the state, or state agencies in licensing and permit decisions, with a civil penalty and Attorney General enforcement. The amendment narrowed the bill to statutory licensing timeframes for single-family residential construction and clarified definitions and certificate-of-occupancy authority. The sponsor and home builders argued the bill would deter intentional delays that add to housing costs, while questions focused on how malice would be proven and whether the language was too broad. The committee adopted the amendment and gave SB 1566 a do pass as amended recommendation. Next, SB 1571, as amended, would bar monopoly utilities from passing marketing, sponsorship, community relations, and similar costs through to ratepayers, require annual reporting and attestation, and define the covered utilities. Supporters said ratepayers should not fund utility advertising or sponsorships, especially amid rising rates, while opponents from municipal and public-power utilities warned the language could sweep too broadly and interfere with legitimate customer communications, especially for smaller not-for-profit systems. The committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and gave the bill a do pass as amended recommendation. The committee also advanced SB 1501, expanding Administrative Rules Oversight Committee review to include whether agency actions exceed statutory authority, and SB 1805, requiring county recorders to verify the notary status on quitclaim deeds before recording them; both received do pass recommendations despite some concerns about scope and administrative burden.

Transcript Highlights:

• ; utilization is, on average, like 60 percent.
• So our utility audits, risk and compliance division provides an additional independent check on utilities
• So our utility audits risk and compliance division provides an additional independent check on utilities
• And these audits really span all complex areas of utility management, leveraging not just financial attestations
• spending by the utilities.

Transcript Highlights:

• Park or program manager authority.
• manager essentially rule to make our ability to make law as they see fit.
• Will Arbores, our communications manager, is here too.
• Chairman, but it had not been utilized.
• So we are actually doing the construction management of that project.

Committee: House Resources and Conservation

Transcript Highlights:

• So how will these funds be utilized?
• wildlife management activities carried out by staff and our statewide resource management, community
• Performance management, and employee development.
• the recreation access management.
• management, or is this all lumped together?

Committee: House Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• So with those two bullet items, as reference to beginning to utilize third-party project management,
• But the, So it's a judgment call when to utilize those, but that's some of the ways we utilized recently
• So basically, the systems manage it and the individual campuses manage those projects internally.
• So that's what our project managers do a lot of the time, is that, you know, our project managers are
• So that's what our project managers do a lot of the time, is that, you know, our project managers are

Committee: House Ways & Means

Transcript Highlights:

• in the Medicaid managed care program.
• In the cost and utilization of the Medicaid behavioral health.
• Table 4 shows that telehealth cost and utilization is down.
• Behavioral Health Managed Care Program.
• They get references and resources that they can utilize.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have a management company, Great North Management Company, and that company serves as the manager
• They have a management company, Great North Management Company, and that company serves as the manager
• They have a management company, Great North Management Company, and that company serves as the manager
• utility tariff.
• um Department the Public Management um Department the Public Utilities<05:19:35.760><c> Commission</

Committee: House Science, Technology and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:20.479><c> in</c> invest large investor-owned utilities in invest large investor-owned utilities
• </c><00:09:44.480><c> at</c> research and communications manager at research and communications manager
• utility watchdog a national utility watchdog organization,<00:09:50.560><c> but</c><00:09:50.800><c>
• </c> provision of the utility service. provision of the utility service.
• over the utilities?

Summary: The committee heard House File 76, as amended by the adopted A1 amendment, and the chair moved the bill to be re-referred to the general register. The bill would limit the amount investor-owned utilities can charge ratepayers for executive compensation, capping recoverable pay for the top 10 executives at the governor’s salary. Representative Greenman argued the measure would protect customers from paying for lavish executive pay and said it would not affect what executives are paid, only what can be recovered from ratepayers. She cited recent Public Utilities Commission action and ongoing rate cases as evidence the issue is real and recurring. Supportive testimony came from a Minneapolis resident describing financial hardship and rising utility bills, a local worker who said customers have no choice of utility provider and should not fund monopoly executive pay, and advocates from the Energy and Policy Institute and Utility Reform Now, who said ratepayers should not subsidize excessive compensation and that the bill is a targeted reform. Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy opposed the bill’s premise by defending the current regulatory process. Their representatives said the PUC already reviews executive compensation in rate cases, generally allows only limited recovery, and has used that process for decades. Xcel also emphasized its affordability programs and said executives help secure savings and investments for customers. Members discussed whether the legislature should set a bright-line rule or leave the issue to the PUC. Representative Greenman said the bill is needed because the PUC process can take years and the legislature should establish a clear standard for all investor-owned utilities. Some members supported the bill as a response to an affordability crisis and the lack of consumer choice, while others said the legislature should focus on broader energy-cost issues and existing regulatory tools. The committee did not take a final vote on the bill in the portion of the meeting provided, but the amendment was adopted and the bill was moved for re-referral to the general register.