Transcript Highlights:

• They’ve been put into our budget and reduced from our budget.
• I know members of this budget strongly value nonpartisan, accurate data to help inform budget deliberations
• I know members of this budget strongly value nonpartisan, accurate data to help inform budget deliberations
• Between the January proposed budget and the May Revision, California's total state funds budget increased
• Budgets prioritize what they care about.

Summary: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 heard the Governor’s May Revision proposals for the judicial branch, the Board of State and Community Corrections, the Department of Justice, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Legislative Analyst’s Office opened with a warning that the state budget remains structurally imbalanced and urged the Legislature to avoid new ongoing spending unless offset by reductions elsewhere. In the judicial branch discussion, the Judicial Council highlighted language access funding, appellate court security, a backfill for the state court facilities construction fund, and an extension of the lactation room mandate; Finance supported most items but suggested reporting language on interpreter costs and reducing the General Fund backfill. Members raised concerns about judicial vacancies, long-term salary freezes, remote hearings, and the lack of progress on court staffing in some counties. For the Board of State and Community Corrections, the administration proposed $10 million one-time each for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People grant program and a human trafficking vertical prosecution grant program. The LAO said both should be weighed against other priorities and suggested the Legislature consider whether the Tribal Nations Grant Fund could support MMIP work, while Finance said it preferred General Fund support and wanted more review before any fund swap. Members strongly supported MMIP funding and asked whether ongoing support would be considered. On the human trafficking grant, Finance said BSC was a good fit because of its grant administration experience and prior vertical prosecution work, while legislators asked why the program was not placed with the Office of Emergency Services as originally contemplated in prior legislation. The Department of Justice presented antitrust litigation funding, Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse staffing, completion of organized retail criminal enterprise cases, and trailer bill language for a continuous appropriation from the Victims of Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund. The LAO supported the antitrust account use but questioned the Unfair Competition Law Fund’s ability to cover the full request without General Fund repayment, and recommended against a continuous appropriation for the restitution fund in favor of a more limited mechanism with legislative oversight. Finance said the fund would remain solvent and defended the continuous appropriation as necessary to pay victims promptly. In the CDCR portion, the largest discussion centered on the Boston Consulting Group efficiency review and sharply reduced savings estimates; LAO said the department had not fully explained the proposed position eliminations or future $100 million savings target, while Finance said the work reflected deeper analysis and ongoing efforts to find savings. Members repeatedly pressed CDCR and Finance on the gap between earlier promised savings and the revised figures. CDCR also outlined population projections showing continued declines in prison and parole populations, while LAO again urged the state to close an additional prison to save ongoing costs. The department then walked through several May Revision items, including workers’ compensation funding, a Corcoran honor housing dorm, incarcerated firefighter pay implementation, an incarcerated menopause program, mental health receiver staffing, mental health resource teams and crisis intervention teams, medical classification staffing changes, and AI note-taking for the electronic health record. LAO generally recommended limiting-term funding and more reporting for many of these proposals, while Finance defended them as necessary ongoing investments or court-ordered obligations. Members questioned the cost of workers’ compensation, the need for more prison closures, the lack of funding for women’s facility violence prevention, and the timing and transparency of the BCG savings process. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> to make sure we have a balanced budget. to make sure we have a balanced budget.
• And will you have to come back after May in order to pass a revised budget following the budget that
• that</c> budget following the budget that budget following the budget that Congress<00:07:43.360><c>
• Have these budget federal decisions factored into your conversations about a state budget?
• We have not had a ton of budget?

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget proposal identifies a number of tasks that need to be completed in the budget year.
• Your comment that the timing doesn't match up between the state's budget timeline, the state budget process
• Assemblymember, I think that this is why in lean budget times, frankly, and in lush budget times, we
• Haney and all the members who signed on to the letter to the Budget Committee and to the Budget Chair
• Fund in the state budget.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So when we proposed the January 10 budget, the Governor's budget, we were counting on looking at CCTR
• The January budget proposed...
• Our children and family services programs in the revised budget have a total budget of $10.6 billion,
• Please to present a budget for a department that does not include budget solutions per se.
• The proposal is to move funding in the Governor's budget from CalHHS's budget to the California Department

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:03:45.959><c> language</c> you have an excess the budget language you have an excess the budget
• Reserve</c> budget generally the budget Reserve budget generally the budget Reserve trust<00:03:58.599
• </c> just really varies on what the budget just really varies on what the budget language<00:04:07.519
• :08.319><c> direct</c> language how the budget language direct language how the budget language direct
• our budget units.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education and Workforce Development received a presentation from Kentucky Department of Education officials on the final SEEK estimate for fiscal year 2025. Commissioner Robbie Fletcher, Matt Ross, and Chay Ritter explained that SEEK is developed through a consensus process with the Office of the State Budget Director using multiple models and district-level inputs, and that the estimate is a projection made well before actual data are available. They emphasized that the discussion was separate from the pending education-funding lawsuit and described SEEK as one part of a much larger K-12 budget picture. The presenters said the current SEEK estimate shows a statutory shortfall of about $14.7 million, or roughly 0.53% of the appropriation, with additional optional items that could bring the total to about $40.5 million if funds are available. They noted that prior years have sometimes produced excess funds, which are redirected according to budget language rather than automatically flowing back through SEEK. They also reviewed the main drivers of the estimate, including property assessments, average daily attendance, free lunch counts, exceptional child counts, home hospital, and limited English proficiency, and said property assessments have been especially volatile while exceptional child counts and ELL populations are difficult to predict. Members asked about why the estimate missed on some categories, especially special education and ELL, and whether district-level changes were being monitored closely enough. The presenters said KDE does monitor special education counts and will review larger districts and districts with unusual growth, and they acknowledged that exceptional child growth has been hard to forecast. Representative Bojanowski asked about the Cloverport virtual school, and staff said its growth was much larger than projected and accounted for a significant portion of the shortfall. Members also discussed the impact of property value growth, population shifts, illness, and legislative changes on SEEK projections. No vote or formal action was taken, and the meeting ended after questions and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• We did the operating budget on Saturday. We were here for about seven hours debating that budget.
• Also, on the bills like I guess... ...state budget.
• They're watching the budget and saying, are they doing anything to get the budget into control, which
• Both the House and the Senate passed their budget, or their respective operating budgets, on Friday and
• And here we are today, facing another budget shortfall, with another budget proposal that has increased

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: Senate and House Republican leaders held a media availability in Olympia as the 2026 session entered its final full week, focusing heavily on affordability, taxes, and the state operating budget. Senators Braun and Gildon, along with House Republicans Connors and Abbarno, criticized the House and Senate budget proposals as spending billions more than forecast revenue, relying on one-time money, the rainy day fund, and what they called unrealistic assumptions. They argued the budgets would worsen a future deficit and said Democrats were prioritizing special interests over fiscal restraint. A major topic was the proposed income tax on high earners, which Republicans said would likely expand over time and drive businesses and wealthy residents out of Washington. They also discussed other tax proposals they said would hurt affordability, including changes affecting data centers, nicotine products, prescription drug warehousing, retail bags, and bottles. House Republicans said they were working with some Democrats to oppose the income tax and urged the governor to veto it if it reaches his desk. They also said the budget process has excluded Republican input and relied on closed-door negotiations. Republicans also raised several policy issues they said were stalled or killed this session, including juvenile rehabilitation reform, child endangerment and fatality reporting, tort reform, and housing and energy policy. They criticized the House for not advancing measures they said would help with child safety, juvenile justice, housing supply, and energy diversity, and they opposed a data center tax/clawback bill they said could discourage investment and jobs, especially in rural communities. In response to questions, Braun said he planned to raise the income tax, the budget, juvenile rehabilitation, child endangerment, and tort reform in an upcoming meeting with the governor. No votes were taken during the availability.

Transcript Highlights:

• transportation budget come out and we will be hearing on the We've also had the transportation budget
• So the big part, Simone, with the operating budget, as opposed to the other two budgets, is...
• With the operating budget, as opposed to the other two budgets, as Senator McEwen pointed out, are kind
• The operating budget, it's just majority-party Democrat budget writers in the room.
• It's that kind of fiscal irresponsibility that is leading Democrat budget writers to make the budget

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: House and Senate Republican leaders held a media availability focused on the final stretch of the legislative session, with repeated criticism of Democratic budget proposals and several policy bills. They said they were especially concerned about an environmental crimes bill they argued would impose excessive penalties for workplace mistakes, as well as bills they described as anti-law-enforcement, including measures related to police face coverings and sheriff qualifications. They also discussed a proposed income tax, calling it unconstitutional and urging that it be sent to referendum if it advances. A major topic was the operating, transportation, and capital budgets. Republicans said the operating budget relies on one-time fund sweeps, raids the rainy day fund and pension assets, and assumes future income-tax revenue while cutting Medicaid, child care, schools, and other services. They said the transportation budget has some positive emphasis on road preservation but criticized ferry funding and the proposed sweep of the Public Works Trust. On the capital budget, they were less specific and described it as generally bipartisan. The lawmakers also addressed reports of fraudulent or duplicate sign-ins on the income-tax bill, saying any abuse should be investigated but that many duplicate entries may have been accidental rather than malicious. They said the system should be improved with better verification, but maintained that more than 100,000 unique people had signed in opposition. Other issues discussed included opposition to using pension funds to balance the budget, criticism of a Sound Transit proposal for 75-year bonds, concerns about a bill requiring arbitration before lawsuits against the state or local governments, and objections to child care budget changes they said would hurt rural and property-poor communities without broader regulatory reform.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um in legislative budget assistant.
• :11:40.959><c> in</c><00:11:41.720><c> savings</c> budget assumes $2.5 million in savings budget assumes
• </c><00:18:09.520><c> this</c> policies that put in this budget this policies that put in this budget
• So I'll be supporting the budget. budget. budget. Thank<00:18:25.840><c> you.</c> Thank you.
• </c> within this budget. So, thank you, Mr. within this budget. So, thank you, Mr.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• How many of those are budgeted or not budgeted?” “Those 12 are budgeted.
• How many of those are budgeted or not budgeted? Those 12 are budgeted.
• The total budget is $34.3 million, and that's a flat budget from FY26 to FY27.
• And we budget positions—we're budgeting the positions we're allocated and the funding we have to budget
• budget?

Summary: The committee heard a series of Arkansas Department of Human Services budget presentations and questions, beginning with the Secretary’s Office and then the Division of Aging, Adult and Behavioral Health Services. Staff described the divisions’ appropriations, funding sources, and major programs, including senior centers, Meals on Wheels, mental health grants, substance abuse treatment, community alcohol safety, the Medicaid tobacco settlement program, and crisis stabilization units. Members raised concerns about flat or limited funding for senior services, the use and tracing of federal block grants, the lack of a funding source for the veterans’ mental health grant, and the mechanics of the community alcohol safety and treatment programs. The committee also discussed patient benefits funds at state facilities, transportation for senior center clients, and whether some special-language appropriations or fund balances should be revisited. Executive recommendations were adopted for the divisions considered. The committee then reviewed the Division of Children and Family Services and the Division of County Operations. Questions focused on foster care growth, adoption subsidies, professional fees tied to staff training and onboarding, vacancies, the Children’s Trust Fund, and TANF subgrants. Members asked about the reduction or elimination of TANF funding to child advocacy centers and other subgrantees, and DHS explained that prior reserves had been spent down and that the department was now trying to live within the annual TANF block grant and rebuild reserves. County operations questions also covered summer EBT, SNAP employment and training, the farmers’ market program, and the expected impact of a federal SNAP administrative match change, which DHS estimated would increase state costs by about $24 million annually, with roughly $18 million affecting the current year because the change begins October 1. Executive recommendations were again adopted. Finally, the committee heard from the Division of Developmental Disability Services and the Division of Medical Services. DDS testimony covered vacancies, staffing shortages, human development center construction and repairs, the reopening of the Boonville work training program, and funding for infant infirmary and child/family life programs. Medical Services testimony covered the Medicaid program, the current FMAP rate, the Our Kids B CHIP program, Medicaid payments to schools, nursing home distress funding, and large appropriation lines used to provide flexibility for claims and potential facility closures. Members asked for more detail on school Medicaid payments, reserve balances, and why some appropriations were much larger than actual spending. In each division, the committee moved and adopted Executive REC after questions concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the budget, I should say, required deposits into the Budget Stabilization Account would occur until
• By suspending the budget, adding the emergency ordinance to the budget, we did not do the deposit of
• On every expenditure in the budget.
• We should be prioritizing making sure, especially when we've built our budget on boom-or-bust budgeting
• And so I appreciate the work of my colleagues, the budget chair, and all the budget subcommittee chairs

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Accountability and Oversight heard ACA 20, the Safe for California Futures Act, a constitutional amendment to strengthen the state’s Budget Stabilization Account (rainy day fund). The authors, Assembly Members Gabriel and Valencia, said the measure would raise the reserve cap from 10% to 20% of General Fund revenues, change how reserve deposits are treated under the Gann limit so deposits would not count against the spending cap until withdrawn, and update eligible debt repayments to include items such as budget loans, Proposition 98 settle-up obligations, and unemployment insurance debt. They emphasized that the proposal was intended to protect schools and core public services and to help California better withstand revenue volatility and future downturns. Committee discussion focused heavily on the technical effects of the measure, especially its interaction with Proposition 98 and the Gann limit. LAO and Department of Finance staff explained that Prop. 98 funding would not be changed directly, that the reserve deposits would be treated as exclusions from the appropriations limit, and that withdrawals would count when spent. Members asked about current reserve levels, mandatory deposits, and whether the measure would create more room for discretionary spending; supporters argued it would simply allow the state to save more in good years, while one member expressed concern that it could function as a slush fund and expand spending opportunities. Several members cited recent budget volatility, record revenues, and the need for stronger reserves, while others stressed that the measure should be understood as a future-oriented savings reform rather than a response to this year’s budget choices. Public testimony was uniformly supportive. California Forward, Elevate California, and the California Chamber of Commerce all backed the proposal, with the Chamber noting support for the policy and highlighting the importance of addressing unemployment insurance debt for small businesses. The chair concluded by thanking the authors, staff, and witnesses, and said ACA 20 was expected to move to the Assembly floor the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• I serve as the lead budget writer in the Senate.
• budget.
• This, again, is a supplemental budget. We wrote a biennial budget last year.
• So you will see some reductions in this budget.
• Yesterday, after the release of the budgets, the WEA issued a statement and said that the budget is less

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: Senate budget writers, led by Sen. June Robinson, rolled out the Senate operating budget and described it as a difficult supplemental budget shaped by flat revenue growth, rising maintenance costs, and uncertainty from federal actions, including H.R. 1 and tariffs. They said the proposal aims to preserve core services such as K-12 education, health care, food assistance, long-term care, housing stability, and child care while mitigating federal cuts, and they emphasized that it does not include broad-based tax increases like sales, property, or B&O tax hikes. A major focus of the discussion was how to pay for the Working Families Tax Credit and how to reduce the budget gap. Robinson said the Senate proposal uses about $750 million from the rainy day fund because additional cuts would be too severe, and she noted the statute allows that use in a slow-growth economy. Senators also discussed the Climate Commitment Act as a possible funding source for the tax credit, but said they would negotiate with the House on that issue. On child care, they said the Senate avoided the governor’s approach of capping Working Connections Child Care enrollment and creating a waitlist, instead relying more on attendance-based payment changes to reduce costs while trying to avoid destabilizing the provider network. The senators also responded to criticism from educators and Republicans. They acknowledged concerns from the Washington Education Association that schools and special education remain underfunded, but argued the state has made major progress and that Washington’s tax structure limits school funding growth because of the 1% property tax cap. They said a future “millionaires tax” could help stabilize revenue and support education and other services. In response to Republican claims of a “spending addiction,” Robinson said critics should identify specific cuts they would support, and noted Republicans had offered little support for prior budget-cutting measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• budget.
• Real vision is in this budget.
• Members, what you have in front of you is the previous budget request and the current budget request.
• Members, what you have in front of you is the previous budget request and the current budget request.
• So we requested historical budget information, like I said, including the five-year budget history, a

Summary: The Agriculture and Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee met to hear member-led presentations on agency budget requests after prior meetings with the agencies. Representative Barnaby summarized the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ fiscal year 2025-26 request, highlighting major funding for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, Florida Forest Service wildfire and land management needs, citrus disease and research efforts, a new Conner Complex facility and lab, agricultural water and BMP projects, agricultural law enforcement staffing and equipment, maintenance and vehicle needs, and federal grant-related spending. No vote was taken on the department’s request during the meeting. Representative Bartleman presented the Department of Environmental Protection request and said the subcommittee supported it fully. The request emphasized Everglades restoration, water quality grants, springs, harmful algal bloom and red tide response, alternate water supplies, resilience and flood prevention, beach and coral reef restoration, land acquisition and state parks, and cleanup of petroleum, dry cleaning, and hazardous waste sites. Representative Alvarez asked DEP to provide a list of the most contaminated lakes, along with estimated costs, so the committee could prioritize cleanup efforts. Representative Black summarized the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission request, which included additional law enforcement funding in high-demand areas, oyster and reef restoration, habitat restoration, heavy equipment for land management and prescribed burning, a water survival training center, and red snapper data research. Representative Salzman then presented the Department of Citrus request, describing a lean agency budget focused on operations, PALM readiness, marketing and consumer awareness, greening-resistant plant material, and building repairs; the workgroup recommended fully funding the request. The meeting ended with members thanking the chair and staff for the more member-driven budget process, and the subcommittee adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, the good news is that the budget we have, including for the biennium we're setting the budget for
• </c> that I think we could balance the budget that I think we could balance the budget problem<00:04:
• We kept a strong budget reserve. We kept a balanced budget.
• We kept a strong budget reserve. We kept a balanced budget.
• We kept a strong budget reserve. We kept a balanced budget.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:06:15.400><c> H</c> of legislation including the budget H of legislation including the budget
• I think we briefly mentioned that this morning, and then the governor’s budget, the agency budgets are
• </c><00:11:37.839><c> but</c> government with the agency budgets but government with the agency budgets
• the governor's budget the agency budgets<00:11:43.120><c> are</c><00:11:43.279><c> currently</c><00:11
• </c> the agency budget the agency budget requests<00:13:05.600><c> those</c><00:13:05.959><c> also</c

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The meeting was an introductory House Finance Division Two session focused on committee procedures, staffing, and the upcoming budget process. Mickey Landrian, the division analyst, introduced himself and explained that the subcommittee operates more informally than the full committee, does not hold executive sessions or public hearings itself, and makes recommendations back to House Finance. Members were told that public hearings on legislation occur in the full committee, while Division Two will hold work sessions and vote on recommendations such as ought to pass, retain, or ITL. The chair also welcomed new members and a new clerk, and noted that meetings will be recorded and streamed, with microphones required for audio capture. A substantial portion of the meeting covered the division’s workload and schedule. Landrian outlined the agencies assigned to Division Two, including Safety, Fish and Game, Transportation, Education, the Lottery Commission, Police Standards and Training, the University System, and the Community College System. He explained the different fund types the division will handle, especially Education Trust Fund, Highway Fund, and Fish and Game Fund, and reviewed reference materials distributed to members, including agency budget requests, prior recommendation tracking sheets, and surplus statements. He emphasized that the agency budget requests and related handouts are available online and useful for members to review before budget work begins. Members discussed the compressed timeline for the session, with a target date of March 26 for completing Division Two recommendations. Landrian said only a few bills had been referred to Finance so far, none yet to Division Two, but that more bills and amendments were expected, including many amendments to House Bill 2. He noted that the committee would need to move efficiently and frontload meetings. Representative Papich added that Fish and Game may require closer scrutiny than in prior years because of its push for direct general fund appropriations, and members also discussed the importance of getting preliminary budget documents before the governor’s budget is finalized. No votes were taken and no formal actions were reported beyond the procedural overview and distribution of materials.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this was an oversight in our budgeting, where we did not include the, um, in our budgeting, where
• Armstrong's budget.
• Yep, so when we budget, we use the projected FMAPs to budget, so that was originally budgeted at 50%.
• So where is the budget for the 1915(i) under? Mr. Chair, 1915(i) is budgeted in medical services.
• in the budget-based budget, but it's still a lofty increase from what we spend.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Senate Appropriations HR Division met with all members present to review the medical services portion of the HHS budget. Sarah Aker, Executive Director of Medical Services, walked the committee through several budget items, including HCBS cost-to-continue adjustments, the DD bed assessment, expansion of value-based purchasing, targeted rate increases for home health and QSP services, and the cross-disability waiver. Members generally supported the targeted increases for home health and QSP, and Aker explained that the cross-disability waiver funding would support startup work, service design, and infrastructure ahead of a planned July 1, 2028 implementation. The committee spent significant time on rate-setting and provider payment issues. Members discussed ambulance rate rebasing, with several senators expressing concern that the proposed increase was too high relative to peer states; the committee ultimately moved toward reducing that item to $1 million rather than zero so it could be revisited in conference committee. They also discussed a House-added critical access hospital networking grant and similarly leaned toward reducing it to $1 million. Aker explained the department’s value-based purchasing plans, including use of a vendor selected through RFP, and clarified how the department’s existing Medicaid managed care and hospital value-based programs work. A major portion of the meeting focused on long-term care and basic care payments, including a House-added extension of the $5 per day basic care add-on and a proposed shift in nursing facility incentive grants toward a withhold-based model. Senator Mathern indicated he would bring an amendment to delay or modify the withhold change, and Aker said the department would prefer language that directly addresses whether a withhold may be implemented. Members also discussed 1915(i) services, FMAP changes, the Medicaid legacy system modernization carryover, and a House-added legislative intent section on medical assistance. The committee adjourned for the morning with plans to return later to continue Human Services budget work and revisit unresolved items in conference committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the budget, I should say, required deposits into the Budget Stabilization Account would occur until
• By suspending the budget, adding the emergency ordinance to the budget, we did not do the deposit of
• On every expenditure in the budget.
• We should be prioritizing making sure, especially when we've built our budget on boom-or-bust budgeting
• Sure, especially when we've built our budget on boom-or-bust budgeting.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Natural Resources Budget.
• budget, which is a need to balance the state budget during a time of fiscal constraint while providing
• This budget represents a total budget of $1.6 billion across all DNR funds.
• So that is the overview of the agency's budget. And each of the divisions' budgets.
• The Governor's budget in the revised budget also proposes to eliminate the General Fund portion of DNR's

Transcript Highlights:

• Freedom schools are protected in this budget. All federal tax conformity is in this budget.
• We’re not talking about Florida’s budget or the federal government’s budget right now.
• We're not talking about Florida's budget or the federal government's budget right now.
• This budget is absolutely not perfect. This is a budget. This budget is absolutely not perfect.
• am I voting for this budget?

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> budget since 2022. budget since 2022.
• </c> budget for judiciary. budget for judiciary.
• </c> budget $1.5 million short? budget $1.5 million short?
• Speaker. write a budget. There's a lot of stuff write a budget.
• We've submitted 92 budget requests. We've submitted 92 budget requests.

Keywords: Several minutes after the convene vote and before the introduction failed to properly steam. This version was pulled from a local back up., 958, all

Summary: The House convened with 97 members present, declared a quorum, approved excusing absent members, and suspended the rules to allow co-sponsorships and vote modifications. The journal for February 25, 2026 was approved. The clerk also reported that the Senate had passed Senate Bills 98 and 122 and requested concurrence. The House then received second-reading reports on a range of bills, including measures on prison educational programs, respiratory care, dietitians, wildlife depredation, temporary structures, military families, civil rights, local boards of education, light pollution, controlled-substance prescribing licenses, youth health services, class sizes for exceptional children, the athletic trainer compact, limited commercial driver’s licenses, and Senate Bill 145 relating to the Department of Agriculture and Alcohol Beverage Control. Committee reports moved several bills forward, including the main budget bills House Bill 500 and House Bill 504, along with measures on workforce investment, data centers, domestic violence, guardians ad litem, domestic relations, health delivery and “food is medicine” initiatives, state personnel, open records, and fish and wildlife resources. House Bill 500 and House Bill 504 were taken from the Rules Committee and placed on the orders of the day. House Bill 500, the executive branch budget bill, was then taken up for third reading and explanation. Members presented extensive floor explanations of House Bill 500 and House Committee Substitute 1, describing it as a “good first draft” of the executive budget. Supporters said the proposal emphasizes restrained spending growth, base reductions with exemptions for key areas, employee salary increments, and deposits to the Budget Reserve Trust Fund for future one-time investments. They highlighted funding for K-12 education, postsecondary aid and workforce training, Medicaid and behavioral health, public health infrastructure, pensions, veterans, public safety, economic development, tourism, and state technology and facility maintenance. The budget substitute was adopted by voice vote, and the discussion continued with detailed descriptions of the bill’s provisions; no final passage vote was shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:03:39.720><c> this</c> $142,000 to Clay County's budget this $142,000 to Clay County's budget
• </c><00:03:45.959><c> is</c> that Klay County's budget is that Klay County's budget is hurting<00:03:
• </c> however the governor's current budget however the governor's current budget proposal<00:14:52.240
• uh are you optimistic that a budget can uh are you optimistic that a budget can pass<00:28:58.360><c>
• </c> continue to work and uh to get a budget continue to work and uh to get a budget done<00:29:23.039

Keywords: 1187, senate, all