Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, funding may not be used for new construction costs, but may potentially be used for facility
• So you see on the top of the second page, 15% of the state's annual allocation for provider payments.
• enhancements, administrative direct and indirect costs limited to 10%.
• And then replacement electronic records is limited to 5% of the state's annual allocation.
• So those are the allocations in the first year of the grant.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: Legislative Management met with a quorum, approved the July 11, 2025 minutes, and then considered recommendations from the Legislative Procedures and Arrangements Committee. Beth Dittes explained proposed special session rule changes, which largely mirror prior special session rules and are intended to speed floor action. The changes would allow faster second readings and transmission between chambers, replace regular standing committees with two joint committees for the special session—Joint Appropriations and Joint Policy—and limit bill introduction methods. The package also included delayed-effective-date changes for the next regular session, such as moving the agency and Supreme Court prefile deadline earlier and advancing several resolution deadlines. Liz Fordall then reviewed revisions to the legislative workplace harassment policy, including clarified definitions, longer intake and review deadlines, an option for informal resolution before a review panel, and clearer disclosure rules. The committee adopted the report and forwarded the rules and policy changes. The committee also approved tentative first-day special session agendas for both chambers, with a Speaker-requested revision to allow time to swear in new House members. Megan Gordon outlined the schedule: early Rules Committee meetings, morning floor sessions, a joint session for the governor’s State of the State, then meetings of the joint appropriations and policy committees, with optional later floor and committee time. Members discussed how the joint committees would handle bills and confirmed the process would mirror the prior special session. The agendas were adopted. Chairman Bekkedahl then reported for the Rural Health Transformation Committee, which had completed its work and recommended five bill drafts for the special session: a Presidential Physical Fitness Test requirement for schools, a nutrition component for physician continuing education, joining a physician assistant licensure compact, expanding pharmacist scope for lab testing and prescribing, and a two-year appropriations bill to cover the program through the next regular session. He explained the federal rural health transformation grant, the state’s application, funding restrictions, and the need to keep the bills aligned with CMS requirements to avoid funding reductions or clawbacks. DHS officials said the department would measure outcomes through required metrics, use templates for awards, and set up an Office of Health Transformation to track long-term impacts. The committee adopted the rural health report and forwarded the bills. Finally, members discussed special-session logistics. Legislative staff said employment committees would approve a limited number of staff, Legislative Management would serve as the delayed-bills committee, and a letter would be sent to legislators explaining the process and a suggested Friday noon drafting deadline for bills to be considered at the January 20 meeting. The committee also discussed how many bills might be introduced and how to assign the rural health bills to the House or Senate for origin. No formal vote was taken on those logistics, and the meeting adjourned with plans to reconvene on January 20.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh the budget funding allocated them.
• And we get 20% of the disaster cost for those, and that is unfunded right now.
• those, and that is unfunded cost for those, and that is unfunded right<00:39:51.520> now.
• allocated to the Kentucky or approved. allocated to the Kentucky or approved.
• about what the costs are actually going<00:58:47.040> to<00:58:47.160> be.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee received a budget and program update from Kentucky Emergency Management on the state’s urban search and rescue buildout. Eric Gibson and Doug Hargrave said the legislature’s funding was used to create FEMA-type urban search and rescue capacity, including Kentucky Task Force 1 and 2, the incident support team, and the helicopter aquatic rescue/hoist team. They emphasized that the effort is not just equipment purchases but also training, credentialing, warehouse and training-facility development, canine program expansion, and coordination with local search and rescue agencies across the Commonwealth. Gibson reported that the agency executed 99.4% of the $16.175 million appropriation by the end of the fiscal year and said the team met its readiness target ahead of schedule, with equipment already being deployed in recent flood response operations. He also said $500,000 per year was set aside for local search and rescue grants, with about $482,000 awarded to 29 teams in one year and $490,000 to 36 teams in the next, averaging about $20,000 per grant. Several members urged the committee to consider increasing support for local responders in future budgets, noting rising equipment costs and the importance of local teams as first on scene. Members asked about staffing, coverage, and benefits. Gibson explained that the task force is a mixed workforce of full-time fire personnel loaned from local departments, professional service staff such as doctors and engineers, and temporary deployment staff, with workers’ compensation coverage provided through KYEM and/or home agencies depending on the arrangement. He also said local search and rescue members are not currently included in line-of-duty death benefits. In response to questions about coverage and deployment, he described the two task force locations as designed to keep resources within roughly 100 miles of every Kentuckian. The discussion also turned to recent flood response and disaster recovery. Gibson said the state had mobilized up to 24 teams over the weekend, documented roughly 60 to 80 water rescues or assisted evacuations, and was seeing significant damage in counties such as Cumberland, Clinton, and Metcalfe, including agricultural losses. He said several counties were meeting FEMA public assistance thresholds and that the state was preparing a broader relief request that could include FEMA, SBA, and USDA assistance. He also updated members on efforts to claw back and reallocate unused “strained fiscal liquidity” funds by the statutory deadline, saying notices were sent and funds were redirected where possible to unmet local needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• for clarification, it was about the cost for clarification, it was about the cost of<00:13:54.399
• family's small business, I know a cost family's small business, I know a cost to<00:17:44.400>
• delivers that cost to me. delivers that cost to me.
• that is a direct cost passed down to me. that is a direct cost passed down to me.
• <00:53:58.000> those expertise in how to best allocate those expertise in how to best allocate

Bills: HF4598, HF4884, HF3732

Keywords: workers' compensation, Minnesota workers' compensation, Workers' Compensation Advisory Council, reinsurance association, Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Association, WCRA, occupational disease, presumption, first responders, firefighter cancer, PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, police officer, paramedic, emergency medical technician, correctional officer, security counselor, public safety dispatcher, temporary total disability, permanent partial disability

Transcript Highlights:

• So that doesn't account for cost increases that happen prior to the bidding.
• The cost increases exponentially because on this project.
• Secretary, on ports of entry, $7 million is allocated.
• You offer a cost for a...
• either accurate or below what we're seeing as those costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• data basis or as specifically allocated data basis or as specifically allocated in<00:19:14.799>
• <00:33:07.039> We're the cost goes to material. We're the cost goes to material.
• There was a question earlier about what would the cost be.
• There was a question earlier about what would the cost be.
• . our funding at a much more modest cost.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• absorb that cost.
• absorb that cost.
• absorb that cost.
• absorb that cost.
• So the grant funds look different when added to the total allocation, separate from the operating costs

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Since 2016, the General Assembly has allocated billions of dollars to TRS, far exceeding the statutory
• billions of and assembly has allocated billions of and two<00:04:30.639> TRS<00:04:31.639>
• can provide all they want, but the school districts will be responsible for covering the district cost
• accumulate an unlimited amount of sick days, while this legislation will not result in significant cost
• of living adjustment 1.5% annual cost of living adjustment are<00:14:39.279> Cola<00:14:39.800

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate State and Local Government Committee met and first took up Senate Bill 193, described as a simple measure to restore a wallet card for jailers to carry when outside the jail. The chair noted the fiscal impact was essentially zero, there were no questions, and the committee voted to pass the bill 9-0. The committee then heard Senate Bill 9, a proposal focused on the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS). The sponsor argued TRS remains underfunded despite large state contributions, cited rising unfunded liability and negative cash flow, and said the bill is intended to standardize and limit what sick leave, personal leave, and annual leave can count toward retirement calculations. The bill would generally cap TRS retirement credit at 10 sick days and 2 personal days per year, prevent annual leave from being rolled into sick leave, require more uniform reporting and oversight from participating districts and agencies, and shift costs to districts that offer benefits beyond TRS limits. The sponsor also said the bill would add 30 maternity leave days, allow voluntary supplemental contributions for Tier Four teachers, and include a floor amendment directing the state auditor to audit TRS and report on agency leave policies. During the presentation, the sponsor emphasized fairness, transparency, and accountability, and used a hypothetical high-salary administrator to illustrate how leave payouts can increase retirement benefits and create additional unfunded liability. Senator Mills thanked the sponsor and said members had been working to understand the issue, but no committee action on Senate Bill 9 was completed in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Of premiums as well as other types of cost sharing.
• So that reflects additional costs there.
• Then, about 27 percent of the costs reflect increased medical costs.
• They have different asset allocation targets.
• The next page is the cost per job—the cost, the general fund cost per job of the.

Transcript Highlights:

• Crisis tends to cost more per person.
• their cost plans are.
• Per-individual cost, like the average?
• make a change and reduce their cost plan for any reason.
• or equally cost-effective.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee took up two bills and then continued oversight discussions with APD and AHCA. CS/HB 27, the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, was presented as a way to let Florida social workers practice in other compact states and vice versa; AARP, the Florida Chamber, and NASW Florida supported it, and the bill passed favorably. HB 1127, a child welfare bill, would create a treatment foster care pilot for children with high behavioral needs, improve DCF data collection on commercially sexually exploited children, and expand recruitment for protective investigators and case managers; the bill also passed favorably after brief supportive testimony. The committee then questioned APD at length about the iBudget waiver waitlist, enrollment pace, spending projections, and provider capacity. APD said it had sent more than 1,100 interest letters in categories 3, 4, and 5, enrolled 1,124 people so far this year, and expects to spend about 96.4% of its waiver appropriation, leaving roughly $82 million unspent. Members pressed APD on why prior discussions suggested more reserve was needed, how long the SANS process takes, whether category 6 could be expanded, and whether the agency has enough waiver support coordinators and direct support providers. APD said it has about 1,061 waiver support coordinators statewide, adequate capacity for current enrollees, but would need further analysis if the legislature directed a much larger enrollment increase. Members also asked about outreach, annual maintenance of the waitlist, portability for military families, and whether communication efforts should be privatized. Finally, AHCA walked the committee through the 2023 Achieved Savings Rebate (ASR) report for Aetna and explained how the report is used for financial monitoring, rebate calculations, and transparency. AHCA said the ASR is separate from the medical loss ratio (MLR) calculation, though both are reviewed, and that Florida uses the ASR mechanism rather than an MLR remittance requirement to recover funds from plans. Members asked about related-party disclosures, CVS/Caremark relationships, expanded benefits, encounter data, network adequacy penalties, denials and appeals reporting, interest earned on capitation payments, and whether rate increases were reaching providers. AHCA and the outside auditors said they review the plans’ reported data, reconcile it to underlying records, and can assess liquidated damages for network adequacy violations; several members requested follow-up data on rebates, interest, provider capacity, and related-party reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Headley at the table, and I will go ahead and recognize you for your presentation on the resource allocation
• Presentation on the resource allocation part one, and then we'll roll right into part two.
• Our topic for today is resource allocation, and we'll dive right in.
• educational opportunity and the amount of state funds provided to school districts based upon the cost
• review each by That this is accomplished by completing an expenditure analysis and resource allocation

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That's a big cost.
• That's a big cost.
• That's a big cost.
• They charge us for the cost allocation, then we just do as they charge us. Okay, all right.
• c> just<01:44:21.560> do for the cost allocation then we just do for the cost allocation then

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee reviewed the Department of Corrections budget, with the chair initially noting that the overall numbers looked close to fiscal year 2024 spending, except for federal funds. Department officials explained that prior ARPA expenditures and delayed revenue recognition had distorted the comparison, and that the corrected general fund spend was about $169.7 million. Members then focused on whether the budget’s staffing assumptions were realistic, especially the shift from overtime to full-time lines and the use of vacant positions to offset overtime costs. The department said it is leaning on vacancy savings, but would return for additional appropriations if unforeseen staffing problems arise. A major portion of the discussion centered on recruitment, retention, and staffing levels. Officials reported a 42% vacancy rate in enforcement ranks, down from 51% in January 2023, with 28 new officers headed to the next academy and 33 new hires already tracked. They said overtime is more expensive than regular staffing because of benefits and that it takes about 11 months for a new hire to break even. Members also asked about the split between incarcerated and supervised populations; the department said it oversees about 1,970 inmates in facilities and just over 4,000 people in the community, with 77 positions supervising the community population and the inmate population remaining the most expensive area. The committee also discussed how sentencing and statutory changes affect incarceration levels, including misdemeanor/felony thresholds and theft thresholds, with the department agreeing that such changes can significantly affect prison and jail populations. Members asked about education and recidivism, and the department said base education is the most important foundation, followed by vocational training, while noting that many incarcerated men lack a high school diploma. The department also described a $1.3 million reduction in contracted forensic evaluation services, explaining that these evaluations are court-ordered competency assessments and are not statutorily required to be provided by DOC. Finally, members reviewed victim services funding and staffing, including VOCA-supported positions, and the department explained that a new victim witness specialist would help support survivors at parole hearings and safety planning.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill does not change any current allocation, service, benefit, or program that's in place.
• And you can say it's provided at no cost.
• Sponsor response continued: It’s not changing the allocation or the programs that we’re offering; it’
• or the programs that we're allocation or the programs that we're offering<00:29:08.320> it's<
• provided by such know lunch at no cost provided by such and<00:29:22.720> such<00:29:23.000><

Keywords: Consideration of HJR 15 02:26 Consideration of HB 30 16:18 Consideration of HB 71 20:05 Consideration of HB 182 23:51, 958, all

Summary: The House State Government Committee met with a quorum and first took up HJR 15, as amended by a committee substitute, which would return the granite Ten Commandments monument to permanent display on the new State Capitol grounds. Representative Baker described the monument’s history, its removal during construction in the 1980s, the 2000 effort to restore it, and recent Supreme Court changes that he said make the historical-tradition analysis more relevant than the former Lemon test. Members asked about the monument’s location, possible amendments to allow other faiths to place similar monuments, and church-state concerns. Several members explained their votes by saying they supported the historical display but wanted further discussion about religious representation. The resolution passed the committee 16-1 with two pass votes and was reported favorably to the House floor. The committee then considered House Bill 30, sponsored by Representative Blanton, which addresses pension spiking in the Kentucky Public Pension Authority. Blanton said the bill codifies a court ruling clarifying that across-the-board pay raises are not pension spiking and noted support from fire, police, and state employees. Representative Tipton reminded members that pension bills should be reviewed by the Public Pension Oversight Board first and said this bill had been reviewed there without issue. The committee approved HB 30 unanimously, 20-0, with favorable expression. House Bill 71, sponsored by Representative Duval, was next. KPPA Executive Director Ryan Barrow said the bill was requested by KPPA, vetted by the Public Pension Oversight Board, and would restructure KPPA by creating an Office of Financial Management and moving the current CFO into an executive director-level role overseeing that office, without affecting system funding requirements. Representative Johnson supported the measure as an administrative codification of current practice. The committee passed HB 71 unanimously, 20-0, with favorable expression. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 182 from Representative Frasier Gordon, which would prohibit state government from using the word “free” to describe taxpayer-funded services. Gordon said the bill is intended to increase transparency and ensure taxpayers are credited for funding public services, while not changing any programs or benefits. Members questioned how the bill would be enforced, what alternative wording should be used, and whether the restriction could affect communication with low-income or low-literacy residents; Gordon said terms like “provided at no cost” or “paid for by taxpayers” would be acceptable and that the bill contains no penalty. The committee passed HB 182 17-3 with favorable expression and sent it to the House floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood.
• But this declaration” “It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood.
• We have repeatedly asked them time and time again to allocate a greater percentage of the funding that
• in K-12 government-run schools, we are seeing, despite historic funding that this legislature is allocating
• is reduced... ...with the spending requirement, the district's classroom site fund allocation is reduced

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we split the cost?
• Is there a cost to now having this plan implemented? >> Thank you for the question.
• is there a cost to that?
• I would like to in on average in AED costs around $1500. And it depends on what you get.
• There's a cost.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We regained access to the 18 million dollars that had been allocated to us, as well as a billion for
• against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after they attempted to reduce reimbursements for costs
• I'm also going to add that there was another layer where these funds were already allocated.
• In some of these funding cases, we had those types of allocations that nevertheless the agency said,
• And they said they had cut the indirect cost rate from 55% to 15%.

Transcript Highlights:

• Otherwise they're going to over-allocate and pay out more money than has been appropriated.
• Is it used to allocate that out.
• So I just want to make sure everyone knows: we didn't under-allocate $8 million.
• We didn't over-allocate $8 million.
• And so the IT pool is allocated to WOTEC for a number of different projects.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee subcommittee heard a State Auditor’s Office performance audit on the accuracy and reliability of OSPI’s school apportionment system. Auditors said the system, which calculates and distributes K-12 funding using multiple feeder systems and a core apportionment engine, is outdated, unstable, inefficient, and at high risk of failure. They reported weak controls over data input, documentation, oversight, and staffing, and said OSPI relies heavily on manual workarounds, a few knowledgeable staff, and vendor support. In limited testing of three districts, the auditors found the system calculated funding correctly for the 2023-24 school year, but they identified nine small input discrepancies tied to differences between budget materials and state law, which they said could compound into larger dollar amounts. The auditors recommended replacing or modernizing the system and noted that delays in doing so prolong risk. OSPI largely agreed that the current platform needs replacement and said it has been working toward a new system for years. Agency officials clarified that the Legislature requested a feasibility study in 2022, that the study found the system at risk of catastrophic failure, and that funding for a replacement is now in the state IT pool subject to OCIO/OFM gate reviews. OSPI disputed the audit’s characterization of the rounding and budget-law discrepancies, saying the issue was an agency rule and implementation choice, not an error that caused under- or over-allocation. Officials also said the current system is too old to easily absorb future formula changes, but that the planned replacement should be flexible enough to handle a new funding model if the Legislature adopts one. Committee members asked about the amount and timing of the $16 million project funding, whether smaller districts face greater risk, how many times data is entered, and whether the funding formula should be simplified. Auditors and OSPI both emphasized that formula simplification is a policy question for the Legislature, not the audit. Public testimony came from one online witness, who urged full implementation of the audit recommendations and modernization of the system. The subcommittee took no formal vote and adjourned after the presentations and testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• So again, the cost is pretty nominal, right?
• So again, the cost is pretty nominal, right?
• So again, the cost is pretty nominal, right?
• And then cost is pretty nominal, right?
• Any other costs litigation as well?

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint committees heard House Bill 344 HD1, which would require new buildings to include electric vehicle charger-ready parking stalls. Testimony was overwhelmingly in support from the State Energy Office, Department of Accounting and General Services, the Disabilities and Communication Access Board, and others. Members asked about cost and infrastructure impacts; the State Energy Office said the added cost would likely be modest if planned from the start, but that electrical capacity remains a key challenge for expanding EV charging. The chairs proposed two amendments: extending the bill to cover on-grade parking lots and adding language for Level 1 or Level 3 charging when appropriate. After discussion, both committees voted to pass HB 344 HD1 with amendments. In the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs committee, the chair voted aye, one member voted with reservation, and excused members were noted; the Government Operations committee also passed the measure, with one aye vote and one vote with reservations. The committees also heard House Bill 10001 HD1 SD1, relating to the Maui wildfire settlement trust fund. The Governor’s Office, Attorney General’s Office, Maui County, and the Tax Foundation testified in support. Members questioned Hawaii Electric Industries’ ability to fund its share of the settlement and whether the state should pay first or in tranches. The chair proposed amendments requiring all defendant parties to submit payment plans and proof of ability to pay, and requiring non-state defendants to fund their shares into escrow before the state releases its share. The committee adopted the amendments and passed the bill unanimously by the members present. Later, the committee deferred action on House Bill 229 HD1 until March 20 for clarification on amendments, then passed House Bill 860 HD1 with amendments addressing liability for limited resurfacing of disputed roads, and passed House Bill 1161 HD2 with amendments concerning highway fund use, formula calculations, and EV-related county fees.

Transcript Highlights:

• So if there’s a cost savings for a project, I know within that bundle you have some of the project that
• Who determines if you have a cost savings on one, to where that cost saving can be allocated toward…
• If you have a cost savings on one, to where that cost saving can be allocated toward a project, I guess
• But LED is the administering… If you have a cost savings on one, to where that cost saving can be allocated
• did review the timeline as far as how you got to this point to where you presented… …you with the cost

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on May 26 and first took up Senate Bill 406, which authorizes the city of Slidell to seek voter approval for a local hotel and motel occupancy tax. The bill was described as a local measure giving the city council authority to place the tax on the ballot, with members noting that similar taxing authority exists in many other municipalities. Representative Wiley moved favorable passage, there was no objection, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee then received an update from the Division of Administration’s Office of Facility Planning and Control on capital outlay savings identified through cash-flow review and project “scrubbing.” Officials said they found about $50 million in savings from updated cash flows, over-appropriations, projects bid under budget, and reduced appropriations in bundled projects. They explained that bundling projects, including some LED-related projects, allows agencies to shift savings within a bundle and manage overruns or underruns more flexibly. Members praised the savings work but asked whether the process could be moved earlier so the House could benefit sooner, and whether similar reviews could be expanded to other administering agencies and non-state projects. One member raised concerns about whether some projects, including schools and certain NGO-related items, should qualify for capital outlay funding at all, and urged a review of the statutory definition and project approval criteria. Staff said they would look at the definition, review recommendations from prior discussions, and consider ways to tighten the process. The committee then adjourned without further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• THE BEAD PROGRAM IS THE LARGEST PROGRAM WE ARE OVERSEEING WITH A TOTAL ALLOCATION OF $1.1 BILLION AND
• TOWARDS REIMBURSED PROVIDERS FOR THOSE RELOCATION COSTS FROM LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES OR GOVERNMENTS.
• WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ON AN AVERAGE LEVEL STATE OF FLORIDA IS SITTING AT THE TOP 10 IN LOWEST COST
• WHEN COMPARED THOSE DOLLARS ARE SITTING AT 70%, 75% TOTAL SAVINGS IN RESPECT TO THE TOTAL ALLOCATIONS
• THAT'S WHAT WE WILL BE PROCESSING TO REIMBURSE THEM FOR THEIR COSTS BUT THE ONLY COSTS THAT WE WOULD

Transcript Highlights:

• In closing, I fully support SB 894 relating to education, as this bill will help allocate funds to expand
• , we've been talking about this approach for a long time, um, and we see that this is estimated to cost
• that this is estimated to cost um just that this is estimated to cost um just 55<00:20:34.320> million
• /c><00:21:03.720> estimation<00:21:04.280> well<00:21:04.440> it's additional cost
• estimation well it's additional cost estimation well it's okay<00:21:05.559> do<00:21:05.640>

Keywords: 910, house, all