Video & Transcript Research : 'fairness in mitigation'

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WA

Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Environment & Energy Sep 29th, 2025

Transcript Highlights:
  • They identify mitigation to reduce impacts, and they involve the public and tribes in the process.
  • And if a development uses those mitigation measures in the PEIS to reduce or offset those significant
  • of the impacts and the mitigation plan, in which case they would be able to do a much faster process
  • One form of mitigation is called in-lieu fee, where the applicant can post in-lieu-fee monies to be used
  • for..." ...in-lieu-fee monies to be used for a mitigation project in the county at some point in the
Summary: The committee held a work session on state environmental policy act (SEPA) implementation and carryout bags. Ecology staff Diane Buterak described the Clean Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements (PEISs) completed for utility-scale solar, onshore wind, and green hydrogen, plus a new PEIS underway for sustainable aviation fuel. She explained that PEISs provide broad planning-level analysis to help developers and agencies avoid or mitigate impacts, but do not replace project-level review. Members asked about permitting timelines, greenhouse gas emissions from different hydrogen production methods, water use, agricultural land conversion, battery fire risk, and tribal consultation. Buterak said the PEISs identify potentially significant impacts and mitigation measures, including fire response planning, early tribal outreach, and agrovoltaics as an option for solar projects. EFSEC’s Amy Hofkimer then presented the transmission-facility programmatic EIS required by SB 5165 for 230 kV and higher transmission projects. She said the statewide review covers new lines and certain upgrades/modifications, analyzes impacts to water, cultural and tribal resources, habitat, and other areas, and uses general measures, design considerations, avoidance criteria, and sensitivity maps to guide siting and corridor planning. She said the final document would be issued in early October. Questions focused on reconductoring, tribal lands, scenic areas, and whether the review could affect existing lines crossing tribal lands. A Grant County planning director, Jim Anderson Cook, said Ecology’s PEIS would help with cumulative impacts for clustered solar projects, but noted tight local review timelines and the need for strong pre-application coordination, especially on cultural resource studies and decommissioning plans. Yakama Nation attorney Shona Leverett argued SEPA is only an assessment tool and said tribes face barriers from short comment periods, limited confidential tribal input, weak cumulative impact analysis, and challenges in the FSEC process; she urged better upfront developer diligence and more effective tribal coordination. Puget Sound Energy’s Sarah Leverett said the utility needs efficient and predictable permitting to meet clean energy mandates while maintaining reliable service and aging infrastructure. She described the scale of needed clean energy and transmission buildout, including a 10-year process for the Energize Eastside transmission rebuild, and said more consistent SEPA and PEIS processes could help. Members asked about future generation sources, reliability, and hydropower as a firming resource; she said PSE is pursuing an “all of the above” approach and would welcome more firm, dispatchable clean energy options. The committee then shifted to carryout bags. Staff Jacob Lipson and Tracy Taylor reviewed Washington’s bag law, its preemption of local ordinances, the current 8-cent charge, the scheduled increase to 12 cents, and the 2025 change delaying the 4-mil thickness requirement until 2028 while adding a temporary 4-cent penalty for thicker bags. Ecology’s Peter Lyon said the agency emphasizes education and complaint-based enforcement, has received 872 reports, and has not yet imposed any fines. Commerce’s Kirk Esmond summarized a WSU study finding fewer plastic bags distributed but more plastic by weight, and said Commerce and Ecology support keeping the 2.25-mil standard and not allowing thinner single-use bags again. Retail industry testimony from Brandon Housekeeper said grocers comply with the law but oppose the added 4-cent penalty and thicker-bag requirement, citing higher costs and confusion in the policy changes.
NH

New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session

House Resources, Recreation and Development (01/21/2026)

Resources, Recreation and Development

Transcript Highlights:
  • It was to ensure fairness, transparency, and confidence in the decisions that permanently affect private
  • > development going in in a town and development going in in a town and there's<00:17:33.120><c> a</c
  • So, in fairness, we have to recall that there were two sides to that story and neither one's good.
  • So, in fairness, we have to recall that there were two sides to that story and neither one's good.
  • </c> passed it in in the morning. passed it in in the morning.
Keywords: 1189, house, all
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • That's fair.
  • Creating fundamental fairness in public contracts, where almost every single instance, the contractor
  • So this statute is necessary in order to provide the fundamental fairness. that already exists in these
  • We are cautious about the things we attach to the grid because in mitigating one risk, we don't want
  • In fact, I was invited to provide testimony in the House State Affairs Committee in 2016, delivering
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection - 04/10/25

Commerce and Consumer Protection

Transcript Highlights:
  • So anything up to 500,000 could be insured in the fair plan.
  • </c><00:10:02.800><c> the</c><00:10:02.959><c> fair</c> 500,000 could be insured in the fair 500,000
  • could be insured in the fair plan.<00:10:04.080><c> Over</c><00:10:04.480><c> the</c><00:10:04.640><c
  • /c><00:10:43.760><c> to</c><00:10:44.519><c> 500,000</c> fair line fair plan down to 500,000 fair line
  • </c> in favor say I. I. I. Any oppose say no. in favor say I. I. I. Any oppose say no.
Keywords: 1187, senate, all
FL

Florida 2025 Regular Session

March 11, 2025 - 08:30 AM

Transcript Highlights:
  • For every $1 that this committee has invested in us in technology, we have turned that into $126 in new
  • In mitigation, our total recurring budget is $26.52 million, with a non-recurring budget of $83.8 million
  • In mitigation, our total recurring budget, $26.52 million for a non-recurring of, and I'm sorry, a non-recurring
  • They help us respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters year-round in the state.
  • in size and capability in the past year.
Summary: The committee met to review agency program funding as it prepared to build the budget, hearing brief presentations from six agencies and then taking member questions. Florida Division of Emergency Management highlighted its role in response, preparedness, recovery, and mitigation, describing a largely federal pass-through budget, major technology investments, and large disaster and preparedness grant activity. The Department of Commerce, Department of State, Florida Housing Finance Corporation, Department of Transportation, Department of Military Affairs, Florida State Guard, and Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles also summarized their budgets, staffing, and major programs, including workforce and economic development, elections and arts funding, housing assistance, transportation work programs, military readiness, state guard expansion, and highway safety and motorist services. Members focused questions on several issues: arts and library grant funding and whether award criteria had changed; Commerce’s rural infrastructure and job growth grants and why funds were not being disbursed faster; Florida Housing’s use of SAIL, Live Local, Hometown Heroes, and SHIP funds and how smaller agencies learn about and access funding; and DOT’s work program gap between agency and governor proposals. The most extensive questioning was directed to Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles about long DMV lines, vacancies, overtime, staffing shortages, and the ability to shift funds between divisions. The department said staffing and pay constraints, especially in South Florida, were driving service delays and vacancy rates, and that overtime was being used because troopers were leaving for better-paying jobs. The Florida State Guard was also questioned about its spending and procurement pace, including aircraft purchases and facilities. Its director said long procurement timelines explained the low initial spending and that obligations had risen sharply as contracts matured. Members also asked about the department’s public opposition to Amendment 3 and whether agency resources were used in that effort; the director said no contracts or purchases were made to influence the vote and said the colonel’s comments were made off the clock. The meeting ended with the chair asking agencies to respond promptly to unanswered questions, and the committee adjourned without any recorded votes or formal actions beyond receiving the presentations and questions.
MA

Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight Feb 3rd, 2026

Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight

Transcript Highlights:
  • and that's fair.
  • In fact, in many cases some of these firms go out of their way. You cited, Mr.
  • Proactive and seek to mitigate risk and avoid waste and abuse from happening in the first place.
  • In the best-case scenario, a risk of waste, and in the stage.
  • Particularly because, like in any business, in any building, there are people, there are experts in the
Keywords: 1212, all
Summary: The Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee held a hearing on the canceled MassDOT service plaza procurement, with Chair Montigny, Vice Chair Collins, and several senators participating in person or online. Montigny opened by stressing the committee’s investigative role, its refusal to take calls or meetings from interested parties, and its concern about procurement integrity, ex parte communications, and the large financial stakes involved. He said the committee had asked that the bid process be restarted and noted that Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt had agreed to appear later. The chair also raised broader concerns about procurement practices across state agencies and quasi-public entities, and said the committee has subpoena power if needed. Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro testified that his office would issue an investigatory letter on the service plaza procurement within weeks. He said the OIG had reviewed the procurement process and its execution, and that the canceled deal was not a model procurement. He emphasized that large procurements should be fair, open, transparent, and designed with clear evaluation criteria, conflict rules, board oversight, and contract-management plans from the outset. Shapiro also described prior OIG work on MassDOT leases and said his August letter to the agency focused on long-term lease management practices, not findings on the procurement itself. Committee members then focused on broader procurement reform, including how MassDOT’s process differs from Chapter 30B and Chapter 7 procurements, how to handle quasi-public entities, and whether selection committees should be treated as bodies subject to open meeting and public records rules. Collins asked about the weighting of subjective versus objective criteria in the service plaza bid, the handling of ex parte contacts, and how to improve oversight and contract management. Shapiro responded generally that agencies should define scoring and submission requirements up front, keep criteria objective where possible, ensure enforcement is planned before award, and build stronger training and oversight into large contracts. The hearing ended with Montigny saying the committee would continue the broader procurement discussion and would hear from the Transportation Secretary next; the meeting adjourned at 4:12.
CA

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee Jun 10th, 2026

Housing and Community Development

Transcript Highlights:
  • So we will go in file order.
  • in San Francisco.
  • in five permits done in eight years.
  • the building that we were in, and we just moved back in just a few weeks ago.
  • Just in 2023 alone, more than 20,000 ADUs were built in the state of California.
Keywords: 988, house, all
WA

Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Appropriations Feb 9th, 2026

Transcript Highlights:
  • Really focused in on that work-in-progress part.
  • Really focused in on that work-in-progress part.
  • Also, just unfortunately, nearly one in five people in the point-in-time count, homeless people, are
  • More importantly, there are other opportunities to mitigate the impacts of this particular chemical in
  • We're hearing in the news in respect to this whistleblower concern that people were turned away. ...in
Summary: The committee first received staff briefings on amendments for a series of bills, including measures on child care workforce standards, homelessness programs, community preservation authorities, domestic violence survivor relief, public defense funding, student behavioral health supports, water system ownership changes, nonprofit health carrier surplus assessments, 340B drug pricing reporting, Secretary of State filing fees, step housing, campaign security reimbursements, digital equity programs, a Boys and Men’s Commission, a waste-to-energy facility’s Climate Commitment Act obligations, 6PPD tire substitutes, and an early education scholarship. Staff described the policy changes and, where available, the expected fiscal effects of each proposed substitute or line amendment. The committee then went into caucus before returning for executive session. In executive session, the committee voted out House Bill 1073, then adopted a Couture line amendment to House Bill 1128 exempting private K-12 schools with licensed child care programs from the child care employer definition before reporting the bill out as Second Substitute House Bill 1128. House Bill 1316, 1408, 1591, 1592, 1634, 1906, 1960, 2073, 2145, 2248, 2266, 2301, 2333, and 2365 were also reported from committee, with several amendments adopted along the way. Notable actions included adopting an emergency clause for House Bill 1408, rejecting proposed amendments to House Bill 1591 that would have narrowed relief for survivors and removed retroactivity, adopting a narrower amendment to House Bill 1592’s public defense funding formula, and adopting a substitute to House Bill 2145 that limited 340B reporting to hospitals. The committee also debated and rejected several amendments to the step housing bill, House Bill 2266, including proposals for larger school/daycare buffers, more local oversight, and broader local government authority; the bill still advanced on a 16-13 vote. House Bill 2073, which requires nonprofit health carriers to contribute surplus funds to Cascade Care Savings, advanced over concerns about using one-time money for an ongoing program. House Bill 2248 advanced after an amendment redirected annual license fee deposits to the state treasury rather than the Secretary of State’s revolving fund. House Bill 2333 was narrowed to allow use of campaign funds for personal security reimbursements, and House Bill 2365 advanced with some amendments adopted and others rejected as the committee began discussing additional digital equity oversight provisions.
FL

Florida 2026 Regular Session

Senate in Session Apr 28th, 2025

Florida Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • The Senate will be in order.
  • In a bipartisan manner in the wake of the horrific Parkland school shooting.
  • We may not hold the majority, but we have something just as powerful: a vision rooted in fairness, justice
  • Third part of it is there's some seat mitigation fees in here for schools.
  • up in prison.
Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several recognitions, including remarks from Senator Berman outlining Democratic priorities such as education, health care, environmental protection, and opposition to rollbacks on child labor, book access, and gun safety. The chamber also recognized military guests and an intern before moving to the special order calendar. Several bills were temporarily postponed, including measures on human trafficking, waste management, Bright Futures, Medicaid oversight at one point in the flow, and mammogram coverage, though the Medicaid oversight bill was later taken up and passed. The Senate passed a series of bills, often after substituting House companions and adopting technical amendments. Among the major measures approved were the dangerous dogs bill (the Pam Rock Act), which tightened penalties and procedures after fatal attacks; a local government land regulation bill that streamlined comp plan review and defined impact-fee circumstances, though members raised concerns about quasi-judicial hearing limits and local costs; a vessel-related bill combining boating safety and voter-freedom provisions; a blood clot screening and treatment bill creating the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act; fleeing and eluding penalties; concealed carry and firearm possession rules for certain officers and service members; timeshare management reforms; and public education on background screening requirements. The chamber also approved bills on disability history and awareness instruction, manufacturing and a related fee bill, utility service restrictions, educational opportunities for military children, health facilities authorities, and veteran and spouse nursing home beds. The disability instruction bill drew extended debate about the use of the term “disability,” inclusion, and whether the measure was consistent with broader DEI debates; it passed unanimously after emotional testimony from the sponsor and families. The manufacturing and utility bills focused on statewide economic policy and preemption of local restrictions, while the military children bill was presented as a student-driven proposal. Most measures passed with strong bipartisan support, with recorded votes ranging from unanimous to 33-3 on the firearm bill and 26-8 on the land regulation bill.
MO

Missouri 2026 Regular Session

Conservation and Natural Resources Feb 23rd, 2026 at 01:00 pm

Conservation and Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:
  • Where's that money best at, in your pocket or in government's pocket?
  • Where's that money best at in your pocket or in government's pocket?
  • And through, if you're in neighborhoods in my district, being in a confluence area, you are in what we
  • this. ...apply their own assessment to their own homeowners for erosion mitigation projects in all these
  • It's expensive to build them, and it takes a fair amount of regulatory lift to get them approved in some
Keywords: 959, house, all
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate - 02/26/25

Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate

Transcript Highlights:
  • The commission has an important role in mitigating increases in rates, and through rate cases we can
  • The commission has an important role in mitigating increases in rates, and through rate cases we can
  • The commission has an important role in mitigating increases in rates, and through rate cases we can
  • The commission has an important role in mitigating increases in rates, and through rate cases we can
  • The commission has an important role in mitigating increases in rates, and through rate cases we can
Keywords: 1187, senate, all
AZ

Arizona 2026 Regular Session

02/12/2026 - House Natural Resources, Energy & Water

House Natural Resources, Energy & Water Committee of Reference

Transcript Highlights:
  • That hadn't been done in 17 years, and it had resulted in at least $3 million in lost rental revenues
  • Madam Chair, Representative Heap, in my work—I may live in Tucson, but my work is entirely in the rural
  • In the end, the state land commissioner's hands are tied in a way because she must do what is in the
  • And recently in Chandler, in my home city, that has 180 acres of data centers in our price corridor,
  • right now in its current state in areas.
Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 2150, which continues the State Land Department until July 1, 2030. Members questioned the commissioner extensively about agency procedures, backlog, appraisals, auction practices, privilege claims in the Fontamonte audit, and the Coyotes land transaction. The committee also discussed the Griffin amendment, which required quarterly updates, a public hearing on the department’s strategic plan, changes to conceptual land use plans and five-year disposition plans, and legislative findings. After debate over oversight and accountability, the amendment was adopted and HB 2150 was returned with a do pass recommendation by a 6-4 vote. The committee then considered House Bill 2975, which would suspend the State Land Department’s solar scoring map and require new mining and housing resource maps, with the amendment changing the mapping deadline and requiring the maps to be posted online. Supporters said the bill would improve fairness and maximize trust revenue for schools by avoiding favoritism toward solar; opponents argued the solar map is only a guidance tool and that removing it could reduce transparency and revenue. The department said it was neutral but asked for additional staff or consultant support if the bill passed. The committee adopted the amendment and passed HB 2975 as amended on a 6-4 vote. House Bill 2781 followed, addressing solar plant decommissioning, restoration, financial assurance, insurance, and a remediation fund. The amendment narrowed the bill to decommissioning standards and limited its reach to projects receiving permits after the effective date. Testimony focused on the need to ensure solar sites are restored and that taxpayers are not left with cleanup costs; several speakers cited abandoned or aging energy infrastructure as a cautionary example. The committee adopted the amendment and passed HB 2781 as amended by a 6-4 vote. Finally, the committee began House Bill 2267, which would classify certain utility-scale wind or solar projects within four miles of residential property as a public nuisance, with exceptions and grandfathering for existing projects. The sponsor argued the bill responds to concerns about large renewable projects near homes and property value impacts, while the amendment narrowed the scope to utility-scale wind and solar and excluded rooftop solar and existing projects. The transcript cuts off before any final action on HB 2267.
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • Um, it's a lot, and we also want to make sure that we're doing it in a way that's fair and considerate
  • to see that in in complete<00:46:52.400><c> form</c><00:46:53.119><c> in</c><00:46:53.359><c> in</c>
  • Could a complete form in in theory.
  • Um, there's a real difference in hiring in 23, 24, and 25 than in 2020.
  • > difference in in hiring in 23, 24, and difference in in hiring in 23, 24, and 25<00:52:40.640><c> than
Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the minutes from the September 17 meeting, and heard a presentation from Kentucky Department of Education staff on SEEK school funding and KDE on-behalf payments. KDE explained recent SEEK changes, including the guaranteed base per-pupil amount, attendance-based calculations, second-month and January growth, the 2022 change funding kindergarten at 100% instead of 50%, and the existing add-ons for at-risk students, exceptional children, limited English learners, home/hospital instruction, and transportation. Staff also reviewed tier one funding, noting the 2024 increase from 15% to 17.5% and explaining that eligibility depends on local tax effort and property wealth. They also described Senate Bill 6 from the 2025 session as a reporting proposal to include on-behalf costs in education spending totals. KDE staff then outlined on-behalf payments made for districts, including roughly $458 million for Teachers Retirement System contributions, $942 million for health insurance, about $12 million for technology costs, and additional SFCC debt service outside KDE’s appropriation, for a total of about $1.5 billion. Members asked how a future Senate Bill 6 would affect local contributions and whether folding on-behalf payments into SEEK would shift costs among districts. KDE and Senator Gibbons clarified that the bill was intended only as a reporting mechanism and would not change local contribution or district payments; it would simply present a broader total of state education investment. The discussion also noted that Kentucky’s reported SEEK amount alone does not capture all state education spending. Members raised questions about home and hospital instruction data, saying local concerns suggest growth in some communities even if statewide numbers appear stable. KDE said the statewide figure has been relatively consistent but offered to provide district-level trend data. Co-Chair Petrie also asked about the accuracy of SEEK projections and on-behalf calculations, referencing prior concerns from the Office of Education Accountability. KDE responded that it works with the state budget director’s office in a consensus forecasting process and has been reviewing demographic and property-assessment data, including exceptional child counts, to improve forecast accuracy.
CA
Transcript Highlights:
  • No witnesses in support? Any persons in the hearing room in support? Seeing none.
  • Committee in 2023, vetoed in 2022.
  • in the past are not sufficient, and it's actually put us in some of the risks that we're in in this
  • It's a fair assumption to say that this comes from bad actors and the production of, in the case of RVs
  • It's a fair assumption to say that this comes from bad actors and the production of, in the case of RVs
Summary: The committee heard a long agenda of natural resources and related bills, with several measures taken up as the committee reached quorum and many others moving on consent or with due-pass recommendations. Early items included AB 80 on carpet recycling, AB 452 creating a local process for state surf reserves, and AB 823 restricting microplastics in personal care and cleaning products. AB 80 drew broad support from recycling, labor, and environmental groups and was described as a follow-up to earlier carpet recycling reforms. AB 452 was backed by surf, tourism, environmental, and local government interests as a voluntary, community-driven way to recognize and protect surf breaks. AB 823 generated the most extensive debate, with supporters citing public health and environmental harms from microplastics and opponents warning the bill’s language could sweep in products such as sunscreens, cosmetics, and fragrance-encapsulation materials; the committee discussed possible ambiguity and EU comparisons before voting the bill out on a due-pass-as-amended basis to Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. The committee also advanced AB 1046, which would create a narrow exemption from SB 1383 organic-waste requirements for certain crop preparers and tree nut processors that do not send organic waste to landfills. Agricultural witnesses said the bill would clarify that their operations already reuse byproducts and should not face duplicative reporting, and the measure passed with support from agricultural and rural county representatives. AB 252, the “Stop Laying Off Firefighters Act,” proposed year-round Cal Fire staffing; the author and Cal Fire supporters argued that wildfire conditions are now year-round and that maintaining trained crews would improve response and prevention, and the bill was sent to Appropriations. AB 571, a targeted CEQA exemption for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Anaheim, drew strong bipartisan and veterans’ support and also passed out. Later, the committee approved AB 1455, which would authorize emergency rulemaking and streamline future updates for ember-resistant building regulations after recent wildfire emergencies, and AB 687, which would let public agencies use forest-practice rules and timber-harvest plans for certain publicly funded fuel-reduction projects; AB 687 drew some opposition over scope and enforceability concerns but was still advanced. The committee also moved AB 652, allowing alternate members on the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District board to prevent quorum problems, and AB 317, a first-time homebuyer housing bill that would exempt certain small, lower-cost homes from CEQA and defer some property taxes; AB 317 prompted discussion about guardrails to avoid unintended use on larger subdivisions. Finally, AB 900, requiring the Natural Resources Agency to develop a stewardship plan for 30-by-30 lands, was heard with broad support from land trusts and conservation groups and advanced on a due-pass recommendation, and AB 738, a wildfire-rebuild bill easing solar requirements for certain disaster survivors, was introduced and discussed with questions about its narrow scope and the number of homes affected.
CA
Transcript Highlights:
  • So in real time, I might get in trouble for this, but in real time, we'll be able to provide reports
  • I do appreciate and agree with the chair's priority for in-community mitigation because I think we can
  • April, we're really focused on what additional mitigations can we drive in the state within communities
  • In terms of complications that that might present in this budget and in future years?
  • So could you fill me in in terms of impacts, please?
Keywords: 988, house, all
CA
Transcript Highlights:
  • And what we saw in the data, as shown in the month or two after the fire, we saw a precipitous drop in
  • We lived down in LaVorna Drive in Marquez-Nolls.
  • For these reasons, policies in this area should align with existing GSE and private investor loss mitigation
  • I'll share some of the details in the step-by-step support system provided by loss mitigation specialists
  • We lost our home in Jane's Village in Altadena.
Summary: The Assembly Banking and Finance Committee held an outcomes review of AB 238, the wildfire mortgage forbearance law, focused on how the law has worked for survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires. Chair Valencia and Assemblymember Harabedian said the hearing was intended to hear directly from survivors, assess whether the law is being implemented as intended, and identify fixes. Several survivors described losing homes, facing long rebuild timelines, and struggling with insurers, housing costs, and mortgage servicers. Many said they encountered confusion, inconsistent information, requests for financial documentation, lump-sum repayment demands, credit reporting problems, or loan modifications that they viewed as undermining the law’s purpose. Some urged clearer consumer education, a consumer bill of rights, and an extension of forbearance relief; one witness specifically advocated for AB 1847 to extend forbearance to 36 months. DFPI Chief Deputy Commissioner Suzanne Martindale said the department had received about 300 wildfire-related consumer complaints, mostly about mortgage forbearance, and that more than 91% had been resolved in the consumer’s favor. She said the department works with both state-licensed and federally regulated institutions, but its authority is limited when national banks are involved, so it often uses outreach and direct contact with lenders and federal partners to resolve complaints. She also described recurring complaint themes such as difficulty obtaining forbearance, customer-service breakdowns, withholding of insurance funds, and non-interest-bearing impound accounts. Committee members pressed DFPI on which institutions were noncompliant, what enforcement tools were available, and how much data the state could collect and make public. Representatives of the California Bankers Association and California Mortgage Bankers Association said lenders had provided early disaster relief and were working to comply with AB 238, but emphasized that mortgage servicing is constrained by federal law, investor requirements, and secondary-market guidelines. They argued that forbearance is temporary relief, not forgiveness, and warned that extending it without a clear repayment path can create future payment shock or larger debt burdens. They also said many servicers use disaster protocols tied to federal declarations and that clearer communication is needed. In response to committee concerns, the mortgage bankers said they would continue working with the Legislature and federal agencies, but could not promise changes beyond investor and agency rules. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the hearing.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

S/C on Telecommunications & Broadband Mar 31st, 2025

S/C on Telecommunications & Broadband

Transcript Highlights:
  • Fair enough.
  • But I think it would be fair to say that there are other. models that you highlighted in your testimony
  • We all need to be fair players in this.
  • In some areas, AT&T has had to limit broadband expansion because we could not reach fair agreements with
  • Nobody wants side-by-side poles in their yards, in these towns, in the small communities.
Bills: HB3445, HB3448
NH

New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session

Senate Session (05/14/2026)

New Hampshire Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • I rise to speak in opposition to HB 1300 and to offer some fair warning to my colleagues on this bill
  • and to speak in opposition to HB1300 and to offer<08:59:54.478><c> some</c><08:59:54.718><c> fair</c
  • Are there other programs you're aware of from your long career in housing that help landlords mitigate
  • "There are programs in regions of the state that do help those landlords mitigate, particularly in the
  • SE</c><10:50:56.560><c> coast</c> mitigate particularly in the SE coast mitigate particularly in the
Keywords: 1191, senate, all
NV
Transcript Highlights:
  • Can it go in the box, or do you have to go in?
  • Question Three passed in 2022, but failed in 2024.
  • We'll go to those in support here in Carson City.
  • for Medicaid in FY26 and $240,000 in FY27.
  • We’ll go to those in neutral in Carson City, in Las Vegas, and on the phone lines, please.”
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Committee on Taxes - 03/20/25

Taxes

Transcript Highlights:
  • This bill is fundamentally sound and fundamentally fair in that it asks the richest 5% of Minnesotans
  • This bill is fundamentally sound and fundamentally fair in that it asks the richest 5% of Minnesotans
  • We need to explore ways to mitigate the impending deficit we face in 2028 and beyond and not just accept
  • We need to explore ways to mitigate the impending deficit we face in 2028 and beyond and not just accept
  • We need to explore ways to mitigate the impending deficit we face in 2028 and beyond and not just accept
Keywords: 1187, senate, all