Transcript Highlights:

• So, this puts that same standard that you have in joint custody for sole custody.
• And they have standards that local programs and our entity have to go by.
• Also, Alabama CASA adopted standards for local programs.
• That's again according to the National CASA Association standards.
• I'd like to see a standard definition in this bill.

Bills: HB227, HB454, SB323, HB266, SB52, SB53, SB296, HB37, HB429, HB93, HB249, HB328, HB111, HB132, HB26, SB261, HB227, HB454, SB323, HB266, SB52, SB53, SB296, HB37, HB429, HB93, HB249, HB328, HB111, HB132, HB26, SB261

Keywords: firefighter benefits, occupational disease, line of duty, disability pension, death benefits, retirement benefits, hypertension, heart disease, respiratory disease, cancer presumption, HIV, hepatitis, municipal firefighters, state firefighters, fire districts, workers' compensation, public safety employees, post-retirement benefits, benefit eligibility cutoff, occupational illness

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, there are federal tax expenditures related to mortgage interest deduction, various tax expenditures
• Um, there are federal tax expenditures related to mortgage interest deduction, various tax expenditures

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We heard the design team in front of this committee talking about the list of items that they deducted
• The deduct for removing 24 beds, as I recall, was $8.8 million. We're looking at two projects...

Bills: SB2399

Keywords: mental health, psychiatric treatment, reimbursement, medical assistance, legislative report, 908, all

Summary: The Senate Appropriations HR Division met to work through amendments and budget items in House Bill 2012/HB 1004, focusing first on long-term care, disability services, and behavioral health. Members discussed competing approaches to a four-plex for medically complex individuals, a value-based care payment withhold for nursing facilities, accreditation requirements for providers, a study of developmental disability services, and funding for Family Voices and Ann Carlson-related services. Several amendments were accepted or set aside after discussion, including a study amendment for disability services and a Family Voices grant amendment that was adjusted to remove “one-time” language so it could continue as an ongoing grant. The committee also agreed to keep or defer some items for conference committee, including the youth crisis stabilization pilot and other long-term care proposals. A major discussion centered on the state hospital project. Members debated whether the $330 million project should remain in the DHS budget or be moved to the OMB budget for construction management. After discussion of costs, alternates, and the role of a steering committee and BND loan language, the committee agreed to remove the state hospital funding and related loan language from the DHS budget while leaving the steering committee language in place. The committee also considered a proposed Altru grant for additional beds and settled on a smaller planning-focused approach, with a $1 million grant and a line of credit concept to be refined later. The committee then turned to behavioral health items, including QRTP funding, nursing home behavioral health training, and a youth crisis stabilization pilot. Members generally supported keeping the QRTP funding level, but were divided on the nursing home behavioral health training and the crisis stabilization pilot, with some preferring to leave those issues for conference committee. The division also reviewed the HHS block grant and underfunding structure, with Donna Ackland explaining salary, vacancy, and flexibility calculations; the committee discussed adjusting the underfund and revenue assumptions but did not finalize every number before moving on. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 1577 on wastewater treatment grants. Senator Davison moved to hoghouse the bill into a study-focused version using the proposed amendment language, and the motion passed. The committee then moved HB 1577 as amended with a do pass recommendation; the roll call passed with Senators Cleary, Davison, Dever, and Mathern voting yes, and Senator Magrum not recorded as voting. The meeting adjourned with plans to return later in the day to continue budget work.

Transcript Highlights:

• Association over the years and the payroll over the years and the payroll over the years and the payroll deduction
• and all that they have deduction and all that they have deduction and all that they have endured and
• Aaliyah must follow stipulates that Aaliyah must follow stipulates that Aaliyah must follow federal standards
• for records management federal standards for records management federal standards for records management

Bills: HB 10, HB 12, HB 147, HB 1522, HB 422, HB 675, HB 204, HB 748, HB 912

Keywords: regulatory reform, government efficiency, administrative law, rulemaking, agency deference, judicial review, de novo review, Texas Government Code, Administrative Procedure Act, state agencies, plain language, regulatory burden, regulatory reduction, cost-benefit analysis, fiscal note, public benefits and costs, contested case, rule challenge, Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, advisory panel

Transcript Highlights:

• Cole: to DPS's own backup documents, the deduction removes costs that cannot lawfully be assessed.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There are no deductions. I'll say that. We've had three additions from the to be...

Bills: SB143, SB144, SB145, SB152, SB153, SB154, SB162, SB226, SB146, SB143, SB144, SB145, SB152, SB153, SB154, SB162, SB226, SB146

Keywords: SB143, solid waste, garbage collection, trash fees, refuse collection, municipal fees, county fees, fee exemption, veterans benefits, veteran household, disabled veteran, VA benefits, Social Security exemption, low-income households, poverty level, county commission, municipal governing body, Alabama solid waste law, certificate of exception, public health

Transcript Highlights:

• despite those reforms that you all adopted, is not, uh, currently, does not currently meet that standard
• On how a system of individual retirement accounts funded by payroll deductions could improve our pension

Transcript Highlights:

• Bridge that intelligence, for example, using the fusion standards across, you know. of the southern border
• support that they need, also to be able to take leave if they need to, for their salaries not to be deducted

Bills: HB 1065, HB2929, HB2956, HB3009, HB3420, HB3626, HB3649, HB4956, HB4993, HB5293, HB5308, HB5528, HCR118, SB36, HB4023, SB 36

Keywords: employee classification, private security, misclassification, workforce regulations, Texas Workforce Commission, autism, peace officers, training program, law enforcement, intervention, communication, developmental disability, family violence, central database, criminal offense, registration, public safety, violent offenses, criminal database, Department of Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• Medical cannabis is already eligible for a gross receipts tax deduction on the basis that it is a functional
• bill ensure that the Medical cannabis prescriptions follow the same rigorous safety and efficacy standards

Transcript Highlights:

• the cost, I know there's a budget cost thing there, but as a veteran myself, having had that tax deduction
• They do come back to the state through the sales tax of what we buy when we get that tax deduction. tax
• deduction, I didn't put it in tax deduction, I didn't put it in savings.<01:00:02.160> I<01:00
• know, what we buy when we get<01:00:14.400> that<01:00:14.640> tax<01:00:14.960> deduction

Bills: HB0026, HB0042, HB0067, HB0069

Keywords: tribal governments, vehicle registration, exemption, license plates, Wind River Indian Reservation, vehicle, accident, duty to stop, felony, personal injury, death, veterans property tax exemption, ad valorem tax, property tax relief, military tax exemption, Wyoming National Guard, active duty, reserve members, surviving spouse, surviving parent

Transcript Highlights:

• Adequacy standards.
• The Adequacy Planning Guide is the minimum standard.
• Under the adequacy standards, members, that is correct.
• For this particular district, when we've set standards and lived by those standards with other projects
• They're usually applicable for standards-based funding.

Transcript Highlights:

• Wright County holds probation a very high standard.
• We have the lowest turnover standard.
• and that cause bodies to relook standard and that cause bodies to relook at<01:42:29.440> policy<
• They said MINNCOR offset its manufacturing costs with cost of confinement deductions in the form of a
• They said MINNCOR offset its manufacturing costs with cost of confinement deductions in the form of a

Bills: HF3753, HF4299, HF4700, HF4282, HF4139, HF3530, HF4031

Keywords: school safety, threat assessment, pilot project, education, real-time monitoring, public safety, HF4299, school safety specialists, Minnesota School Safety Center, appropriation, general fund, fiscal year 2026, school security, school violence prevention, student safety, Department of Public Safety, school resource support, education funding, peace officer, training reimbursement

Transcript Highlights:

• c><00:03:24.560> so<00:03:24.879> you<00:03:25.080> could and environmental standards
• so you could and environmental standards so you could be<00:03:25.400> a<00:03:25.480> little
• c><00:03:54.560> zoning<00:03:54.920> Co<00:03:55.159> and<00:03:55.640> standards
• with it within zoning Co and standards with it within zoning Co and standards thank<00:03:56.760
• Because under 2 H38 we cannot contravene any public health or safety standards, so we would not allow

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on a series of housing measures focused on streamlining approvals, reshaping financing programs, and expanding affordability requirements. SB 27 would exempt state-financed housing developments from County Council approval; SB 38 would bar county legislative bodies from changing housing proposals in ways that increase project costs; SB 25 would let counties reduce housing capacity in one area only if they offset it elsewhere with no net loss; and SB 379 would require perpetual affordability covenants for HHFDC projects and prohibit affordable housing in special flood hazard areas. SB 378 would create an HHFDC working group to identify mixed-use Maui properties for possible acquisition, SB 414 would authorize condemnation proceedings for a new Lānaʻi access road tied to disaster recovery, and SB 13 would eliminate the state income tax mortgage interest deduction for second homes. Testimony was mixed across the bills, with state agencies and housing advocates generally supporting faster permitting and more production, while county planners, NAIOP, Catholic Charities, and others raised concerns about local control, marketability, financing feasibility, and long-term affordability enforcement. A major portion of the hearing centered on the rental housing revolving fund. SB 70 would limit eligible applicants to government agencies or organizations that reinvest all surplus into additional housing; HHFDC said most developers would not object in principle but questioned how the surplus requirement would be enforced, while NAIOP and Catholic Charities opposed it as too restrictive and difficult to monitor. SB 71 would amend the fund’s preference criteria and eligibility rules, and SB 163 would require HHFDC to prioritize projects with the shortest repayment terms and highest unit production per dollar per year. HHFDC and some advocates supported the goal of faster recycling of funds, but NAIOP and Catholic Charities warned that shorter loan terms and narrowed preferences could burden developers and disincentivize projects, especially for lower-income tenants. The chair indicated SB 163 would be deferred and its concerns folded into amendments to SB 71. In decision-making, the committee voted to pass SB 27, SB 38, SB 70, and SB 71 with amendments, and SB 25 unamended. The chair said SB 27 would be amended to include projects with a state financing commitment and a report note that such projects still undergo 21-38 review; SB 38 would receive technical changes and language preventing county bodies from imposing cost-increasing conditions; SB 70 would add language addressing enforcement of the surplus requirement and a preamble citing the need to recycle taxpayer-financed housing value; and SB 71 would be amended to incorporate concerns raised in SB 163, including a broader preamble and revised priority criteria. SB 163 was deferred, while the other measures on the agenda were heard but no final action was described in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• people either drop coverage or may enroll in a plan with a less expensive premium but with a higher deductible
• less expensive premium but with a with a less expensive premium but with a higher<00:08:15.560> deductible
• or<00:08:16.680> higher<00:08:16.960> cost<00:08:17.199> sharing higher deductible
• or higher cost sharing higher deductible or higher cost sharing making<00:08:18.199> it<00:08
• The premiums are one part of the cost, but out-of-pocket costs for deductibles and, you know, the full

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard a reinsurance overview from Deputy Commissioner Julia Dryer of the Minnesota Department of Commerce on the Minnesota Premium Security Plan. She explained that reinsurance helps stabilize premiums in the individual market by reimbursing insurers for high-cost claims, and said Minnesota’s program has lowered premiums, preserved carrier participation, and helped maintain consumer choice. She warned that without continued funding, the program would be depleted and individual-market premiums could rise by about 25%, with potential losses in coverage and access to care. She also described the program’s structure under a federal 1332 waiver, the role of MCHA in administering the program, and the state’s receipt of more than $650 million in federal pass-through funds to date. Dryer said the current program is funded through the end of 2025, though the federal waiver authority runs through 2027. The governor’s proposal would create a new assessment on insurers, estimated at roughly 2% to 3%, to fund the state share of the program and avoid another full waiver submission. She noted that the proposal assumes MinnesotaCare funding would be held harmless and that the program would be reduced if federal basic health plan funding were negatively affected. She also said projected costs changed because individual-market enrollment has grown and enhanced federal subsidies were removed from the estimate. Members raised concerns about the proposal’s impact on premiums and the history of the fund. Senator Rasmusson argued the new assessment amounts to a large tax increase on health insurance and questioned who would be assessed and whether the surcharge would be capped. Dryer responded that the assessment would be based on annual claims experience and market conditions, with final amounts determined at the end of each year, not monthly. Senator Duckworth and Senator Frentz supported reinsurance as a way to keep premiums lower, while also questioning how the program should be financed. Senator Green asked about the mechanics of the assessment and the role of the department in setting it, and Senator H questioned why the fiscal note assumed 12% annual growth for program costs when general premium growth was lower. No vote or formal action was taken in the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• If any part of the remaining property benefits from the project, those benefits may only be deducted

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the idea that we're efficient if we pick one way to do everything and then train everybody to one standard
• Having navigated the Pentagon's accounting and invoicing standards, regulatory requirements, and terms
• We should be thinking about where the divergence from commercial standards helps the taxpayer and the
• I think our system is exquisitely designed To solve all problems that can be solved deductively, top-down

Transcript Highlights:

• currently have implemented various queue systems, this pilot program will establish a measurable standard
• set by the Florida Customer Service Standards Act.
• currently have implemented various queue systems, this pilot program will establish a measurable standard
• set by the Florida Customer Service Standards Act.
• Service Standards Act. That is the bill. Are there amendments? None on the desk, Mr. President.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognized several guests, including a state champion Crossroads Academy girls basketball team and a Florida State University student intern. The chamber then turned to executive appointment confirmations reported by the Committee on Ethics and Elections and other reference committees under Rule 12.7, with Chair Don Gates explaining that the committee had reviewed the qualifications and suitability of the nominees and held public hearings where required. Members debated several confirmations at length. The report containing 186 appointments was adopted 31-0 after Senator Polsky explained her no votes on three nominees, citing concerns about past comments and ideological views. The Senate then confirmed Jeffrey Aaron to the Public Employee Relations Commission by a 26-10 vote after sharp debate over his role as counsel to the Hope Florida Foundation and allegations tied to the diversion of Medicaid settlement funds; supporters argued he was a competent lawyer and no formal action had been taken against him. Chavon Harris was confirmed as Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration by a 32-5 vote, with supporters praising her work on Medicaid funding and opponents criticizing her prior leadership at DCF and the Hope Florida-related issues. Taylor Hatch was confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Children and Families by a 33-4 vote, despite concerns raised about SNAP/EBT compliance, child welfare practices, audits, and DCF’s handling of Hope Florida; supporters emphasized her commitment to reform and the difficulty of the agency’s mission. After a brief recess, the Senate held a lengthy recognition of outgoing President Kathleen Passidomo. Senators from both parties offered personal tributes focused on her leadership, toughness, humor, mentorship, and support for colleagues, especially women in the chamber. Several speakers also referenced her handling of difficult bills, her post-presidency service as Rules Chair, and her resilience after personal loss. No further legislative action was taken during the recognition segment.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill standardizes and creates uniform definitions and contains very important consumer protections
• There is an NFPA, or National Fire Protection Association, standard that requires it to be dedicated
• And dealing with, you know, finding the place with these— is there a standard on that, or is it... ..
• .you know, finding the place with these— is there a standard on that, or do you just kind of do the best
• To my knowledge, there's no standard on that.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Financial Services held a public hearing with about 43 witnesses and a 1:00 p.m. hard stop, and the chair repeatedly asked speakers to keep testimony to three minutes. Much of the hearing focused on S. 747/H. 1336, which would extend paid family and medical leave and unemployment insurance to graduate student workers. Supporters included legislators, union leaders, graduate workers from MIT, Harvard, BU, WPI, UMass Lowell, and others, and legal advocates. They argued graduate workers perform full-time teaching and research work, pay taxes, and should not be excluded from basic safety-net benefits; several witnesses described personal hardships involving childbirth, serious illness, mental health crises, funding cuts, or fear of losing income. Testifiers also said the change would be revenue-neutral or revenue-generating and would not create major administrative burdens for universities, which already provide similar benefits to other employees. The committee also heard testimony on insurance-related bills. Christopher Stock of the Massachusetts Insurance Federation supported H. 1113 on public adjusters and H. 1345/S. 753 on flood-zone notifications for homebuyers, but opposed H. 4112, which would add a $2 surcharge on home insurance policies to fund fire cistern programs. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council strongly supported H. 1345, saying flood disclosure is needed because Massachusetts lacks statewide flood-notification requirements and flooding risks are increasing. Karen Alvarado supported H. 4352 on travel insurance, and John Fielding supported H. 1186 on pet insurance; both said the bills would create uniform regulatory frameworks and consumer protections. Rep. LeBoeuf testified for H. 4061 on workers’ compensation premium fraud, describing the bill as a transparency measure to combat fraud in construction by creating a public certificate-of-insurance database and QR-code verification system. Joe Bright of the carpenters’ union also supported H. 4061, citing fraud, misclassification, and the harm to injured workers. The hearing also included testimony on H. 4112, a bill to create a statewide fire suppression water resource fund and cistern program. Rep. Hogan and a Stowe fire chief described drought, brush fires, and the need for dedicated cisterns in communities without municipal water systems, saying the tanks provide reliable water for firefighting and are relatively low-tech once installed. Committee members asked questions about tank capacity, siting, maintenance, and funding. No votes or formal actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• He joined the Border Patrol in 1997 and, for nearly three decades, set a high standard for his fellow
• The 199A cap small business LLC S-corp deduction from their qualified business expense, a 20% deduction
• The 199 cap small business LLC escorp<08:52:42.638> deduction<08:52:43.200> from<08:52:
• 43.520> their<08:52:43.680> qualified escorp deduction from their qualified escorp deduction
• business expense, a 20% deduction business expense, a 20% deduction expires<08:52:47.520> at<

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our gold standard is a closed file within 60 days. "60 days?"
• But is it normal after one, is it an industry standard that after one fire you get canceled?
• So the next core is the Division of Labor Standards Administration, found on page 32.
• This is the Division of Labor Standards on-site safety and health consultation program.
• On page 50 is the Division of Labor Standards Mine and Cave Safety Program.

Keywords: 959, house, all