Transcript Highlights:

• Members, this is the budget.
• In last year's budget.
• funding for public defender's budget and state attorney's budget.
• And then lastly, I just want to talk about the budget—not the budget, the vouchers.
• And who won with this budget?

Summary: The House convened with prayer, a moment of silence for former Senator Don Childers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of Officer Antonio Richardson as law enforcement officer of the day. The chamber announced it would take up 11 budget conference committee reports, with no third-reading bills or special-order calendar items. Members were reminded that conference reports were subject to debate but not amendment, and that the required review periods had been satisfied. The first major action was on HB 7031E, the tax package. Representative Duggan explained that the conference report included a mix of retained, modified, and new tax provisions, including sales tax holidays, property tax and homestead-related changes, reductions in certain gaming and carbon-related taxes, changes to child care and documentary stamp tax credits, a new refund process for public works construction tax paid by universities and colleges, and other tax administration changes. Debate focused on the bill’s consumer impact, the reduction of the child tax credit from three years to one, the inclusion of firearm accessories in a sales tax holiday, the absence of gas tax relief and combined reporting, and the homestead exemption provision for certain deployed diplomatic and foreign service personnel. Critics argued the package favored niche or corporate interests over broad affordability relief, while supporters said it provided targeted tax relief and reflected conference negotiations. The House adopted the conference report and passed HB 7031E by a vote of 88-11. The House then began presenting the conference report for HB 501E, the state budget, which totaled $114.5 billion for fiscal year 2026-27 and was described as below the prior year’s spending level while maintaining reserves. Subcommittee chairs outlined major budget areas: pre-K-12 funding included an increase in FEFP, salary increases for veteran teachers, stabilization funding, and support for declining enrollment; higher education included full Bright Futures funding, workforce programs, college operating support, university initiatives, and school guardian expansion; IT funding focused on Palm, ACCESS, APD’s I-Connect replacement, corrections systems, emergency management systems, and cybersecurity grants; health care funding covered Medicaid, nursing home rates, waiver provider increases, ADAP funding and restructuring, child welfare, and behavioral health; transportation and economic development included housing, cultural grants, jobs and rural infrastructure, Visit Florida, Space Florida, highway patrol equipment, and local transportation projects; justice funding included correctional construction, juvenile justice facilities, law enforcement grants, and clerk and due process reimbursements; state administration included fire stations, constrained counties, building maintenance, and Safe Florida Home; and agriculture/natural resources funding emphasized Everglades restoration, water quality, land acquisition, Florida Forever, state parks, and citrus research. Members then began questioning the budget details, including school voucher accountability, school funding formulas, public defender parity, prison technology, wastewater monitoring in prisons, ADAP policy, SNAP fraud controls and AI-assisted verification, Florida Forever funding, school lunch funding, and coral reef restoration. No final vote on HB 501E appears in the transcript excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill analysis will be available online once the bill is filed.
• Sometimes we have less than perfect information when we make a budget decision.
• , we will bring before the body the vetoes of the legislative budget.
• Last summer... ...the Governor vetoed 30 percent of the Legislature's operating budget, totaling $57
• Canady: ...veto message included a 100 percent reduction of the Legislative Services Support budget.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Over 66,000 pass-through analysis.
• They needed to balance their budget.
• They needed to balance their budget.
• They needed to balance their budget.
• They needed to balance their budget.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Demographic analysis is literally an independent way of coming up with the national population.
• Demographic analysis is literally an independent way of coming up with the national population.
• This analysis was done for census tracts nationwide.
• So demographic analysis, this— So demographic analysis provides state-level detail, or state and county-level
• Rural clerks are at the hands of local budgets.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on the Census met on December 8 at 9:32 a.m. to examine the dynamics that drive census undercounts and overcounts, with testimony first from Joseph Salvo and then from Susan Strait of the UMass Donahue Institute. Salvo explained the Census Bureau’s two main evaluation tools: demographic analysis, which uses vital records, migration estimates, and Medicare data to produce a national benchmark, and the post-enumeration survey (PES), which compares a separate sample-based count to the census. He said the 2020 census showed a small national net undercount, but larger age- and race-based disparities, including the highest undercount among children ages 0 to 4, higher undercounts for men, substantial undercounts for Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native populations, and overcounts among some older and college-age groups. He also described how self-response, non-response follow-up, administrative records, proxy responses, and imputation affected data quality, arguing that proxies and imputation were especially weak and that outreach remains critical for 2030. Committee members asked Salvo to clarify the methods and error bands, the role of international migration estimates, and how the PES differs from the census address list and LUCA. He explained that PES is based on a separate sample of blocks and can add units within sampled blocks, but it does not measure units missed entirely from the original address list; LUCA matters because it improves that list before enumeration. He also discussed age heaping, duplicate responses among older adults, and why group quarters and COVID-related disruptions complicated the 2020 count. Senator Driscoll briefly interrupted to describe Randolph’s successful appeal of its 2020 count after an undercount in disability care homes, and Salvo noted that the post-census group quarters review helped correct some missed facilities. Susan Strait then focused on Massachusetts-specific results. She said Massachusetts’ 2020 count was strong overall, with population growth above the national average and a PES-based finding that the state was overcounted by 2.24 percent, though she emphasized that this did not mean all areas were accurately counted. Using demographic analysis, she said Massachusetts had an estimated 4.15 percent undercount of children ages 0 to 4, with the largest county-level undercounts in Hampden, Suffolk, and Essex, and she linked higher child undercounts to lower educational attainment and female-headed households. Strait also reviewed operational metrics showing that Massachusetts had relatively strong internet self-response, but that non-response follow-up relied heavily on household interviews, administrative records, proxies, and imputation in different counties. She highlighted higher proxy use in college-heavy counties such as Hampshire and Suffolk, and said counties with more minority residents were more likely to have population-count-only cases and other indicators of harder-to-count populations. The hearing ended with discussion of how these findings could inform outreach and census planning for 2030.

Transcript Highlights:

• of the research and economic analysis of the research and economic analysis division<00:02:40.720
• facility uh we do have in our budget facility uh we do have in our budget under<00:30:12.279>
• It's all budgeted out.
• It is budgeted for just under 100.
• that time, vetoing the budget?

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, we're looking at a cost-benefit analysis here of this expenditure.
• The Commissioner mentioned applied behavior analysis and the autism benefit.
• , not just their health and human services budget, but their overall budget, is lost due to this kind
• You mentioned the benefit design and doing the fiscal analysis.
• Well, it does, but we have to balance the state budget at the same time, right? No, exactly.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They basically track bills and provide bill analysis to folks like me.
• Thank you for all of your analysis. Trustee, I have a few questions.
• So I’m wondering how we can break down your analysis, given that you’ve indicated... ...that there’s
• Amounts that we had taken into account as being a when the state created and approved its budget for
• It includes a legal analysis that not just our office, but many disagree with.

Transcript Highlights:

• The work that the Chamber has done, our state is steering down a $5 billion budget deficit, and it's
• This five-year analysis compares Minnesota's review times and process to other states, and the findings
• This five-year analysis compares Minnesota's review times and process to other states, and the findings
• This five-year analysis compares Minnesota's review times and process to other states, and the findings
• This five-year analysis compares Minnesota's review times and process to other states, and the findings

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, yeah, I guess my concern is that the amount of fines budgeted don't come close, I guess, to the budget
• and the idea of the net analysis and the idea of the net benefits<02:01:56.320> analysis<02:01
• Capital budget. Okay. All right.
• on uh so cap capital budget yeah capital budget<02:47:35.600> okay<02:47:36.600> all<02
• if we made it connected to the budget if we made it connected to the budget that<03:15:20.520>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from the Department of Environmental Services on proposed changes in House Bill 2 and related technical changes in House Bill 1 tied to the governor’s permitting realignment initiative. The proposal would move environmental review staff from Fish and Game and DNCR to DES to create a more centralized “one-stop shop” for applicants needing DES permits, especially for wildlife and natural heritage reviews. DES said the goal is to speed permitting, support a 60-day review clock, and improve coordination among agencies while keeping the substantive review work in place. Members asked about staffing impacts, the scope of the transferred duties, and whether the change would create redundancy or weaken the other agencies. DES said most of the affected staff work primarily on these reviews, though Fish and Game staff also handle other state and federal reviews, which is why the proposal was adjusted to keep one of the four Fish and Game positions there and move three to DES, along with two positions from DNCR. DES also described a new supervisory position in HB 2 to manage the transferred staff within its land resources bureau. Officials said the reviews would still be done by specialists, but under DES supervision, and that the agencies would continue to coordinate recommendations on species impacts and mitigation. The committee also discussed fee increases intended to offset costs, including a 50% increase in wetlands fees and a 100% increase in alteration-of-terrain fees, with the department saying the changes would cover the new positions. Members raised concerns about impacts on private homeowners, possible incentives to work without permits, and whether fines should be used more as a revenue source or for mitigation. DES said wetlands permits are roughly split between homeowner-related and commercial projects, that permit-by-notification already creates a two-tier structure for smaller projects, and that enforcement relies partly on public complaints and online permitting systems. The department also said most fines currently go to the general fund and vary widely year to year, with about $75,000 budgeted, and that the proposal would also create permit-by-notification authority for alteration-of-terrain projects between 100,000 and 150,000 square feet, mirroring language in Senate Bill 110. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a practical step forward, and hopefully it will deliver more housing, but as the analysis points
• This option also allows residents with tight budgets and poor credit to more carefully manage energy
• I appreciate the analysis by the committee and staff identifying the concerns on the by-right issue.
• Again, thank you and the committee for the work and the analysis.
• Again, thank you and the committee for the work and the analysis.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• about 14% of our operating budget about 14% of our operating budget followed<00:07:26.960> by
• accounting services and budget accounting services and budget functions<00:07:31.960> uh<
• How do we make a budget?
• How do we make a budget?
• So let me talk about our 2026-2027 budget request for the 2026-2027 budget cycle.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:40:53.520> of<00:40:53.760> the collection and analysis of the collection and analysis
• costbenefit analysis on the program. costbenefit analysis on the program.
• <00:46:58.400> Now, increase of the budgeted revenue.
• Now, increase of the budgeted revenue.
• <01:05:28.480> and as we move forward in the budget and as we move forward in the budget and

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate convened with an invocation and pledge, established a quorum, excused absent members, and approved the journal. During second reading, several bills and a joint resolution were reported to the Rules Committee, including measures on trauma center provider coverage, cremation, public library trustees, local occupational license fees and taxes, and a food-is-medicine resolution. The House also communicated passage of House Bills 176, 178, and 280 and requested concurrence. Committee reports advanced Senate Bill 39, Senate Bill 181 with a committee substitute, Senate Bill 17 with a committee substitute and title amendment, and Senate Bill 34. The chamber then took up and passed Senate Bill 13, which would allow military installations to have ex officio representation on nearby planning and zoning bodies to improve communication about land use near bases. It passed 37-0. Senate Bill 46, concerning school transportation, was amended by committee substitute to require background checks and drug testing for drivers of school vans and to extend van use to 10-passenger vehicles; it passed 37-0 after a brief clarification about the amendment’s display in the system. Senate Bill 22, expanding the dual credit scholarship program to support a teacher apprenticeship pathway, was amended to require a 2.75 GPA and then passed 36-1 after questions about employment status and liability; the sponsor explained it would help address teacher shortages and reduce student debt. The Senate also passed Senate Bill 90, which extends the behavioral health conditional dismissal pilot program from 2027 to 2031 to continue offering treatment-based alternatives to incarceration for eligible low-level offenders; it passed 37-0. Senate Bill 51, a proposed constitutional change to freeze property tax assessment increases for homeowners age 65 and older on their primary residence, also passed 37-0. Senate Bill 30 was passed over but retained its place in the orders of the day. The rules committee later posted Senate Bills 27, 40, and 76 for the next day, and the Committee on Committees referred Senate Bill 109 to Licensing and Occupations, Senate Bill 68 to State and Local Government, and Senate Resolutions 45 and 46 to the Senate floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• The LTAs analysis indicated that a rate decrease of as much as 5% was warranted.
• If you look at the analysis Analysis year over year and over all these years, even TLTA's analysis shows
• So we had... a range of zero, which by the way, was only TLTA's analysis.
• TLTA's analysis was from 0 to minus 4.7 percent.
• UTMB operates the plan with just three administrators on staff and a very modest budget. budget, applying

Bills: HB345, HB721, HB2580, SB815, HB3057, HB4603, HB3233, SB495, HB3863, HB3914, HB4570, HB5099, HB5173, SB458

Keywords: insurance, appraisal process, disputed losses, residential property, policyholder rights, insurer obligations, natural disasters, appraisal expenses, umpire selection, policyholder, insurer, umpire, claims management, health care, cost disclosure, benefit plan, administrators, traumatic brain injury, health benefit plans, insurance coverage

Transcript Highlights:

• approved budget.
• budget.
• So the cap would be the amount that we are budgeted.
• What is in that budget?
• So this just removes that since it’s its own standalone budget account within the executive budget and

Bills: SB507

Keywords: SB507, Nevada, governmental administration, Office of Nevada Boards Commissions and Councils Standards, Department of Business and Industry, professional licensing boards, occupational licensing, regulatory fees, state account, nonreverting fund, Commission on Postsecondary Education, taxicab, taxi technology fee, Nevada Transportation Authority, Taxicab Authority, transportation network company, TNC, rideshare, Uber, Lyft

Transcript Highlights:

• We will be introducing a budget ask to expand CFAP to this population.
• I’m a Senior Policy Fellow at the California Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan research and analysis
• I’m a senior policy fellow at the California Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan research and analysis
• I’m going to use my time to provide a brief overview about the budget package, the federal budget package
• On the budget side, we have Dr.

Summary: The joint informational hearing focused on CalFresh enrollment, food insecurity in California, the recent federal shutdown’s disruption of SNAP benefits, and the long-term effects of H.R. 1 on eligibility, benefits, and state and county costs. Opening remarks emphasized that millions of Californians rely on CalFresh, that the shutdown briefly delayed benefits for the first time in the program’s history, and that state and local governments, including Alameda County, stepped in with emergency food aid and funding. Members also framed the issue as both a hunger and affordability problem, with several noting that California’s agricultural abundance contrasts sharply with persistent food insecurity. The first panel presented research and advocacy perspectives on food hardship. PPIC’s Tess Thorman described food insecurity rates, disparities affecting households with children and Black and Latino households, and the role of nutrition programs in reducing poverty. Nourish California’s Betzabel Estudio argued that hunger is a policy choice and highlighted campaigns to expand state-funded food assistance for immigrants, support reentry populations, and continue the CalFresh fruit-and-vegetable incentive program. The California Association of Food Banks’ Josh Wright said food banks are seeing sustained high demand, lower federal food supplies, and cannot replace CalFresh, while urging more state support for food purchasing, school meals, and SunBucks. The second panel reviewed CalFresh operations and participation. The California Department of Social Services reported that CalFresh participation has risen over the past decade, with the state closing much of the participation gap through outreach, simplified applications, and demonstration projects such as the Elderly Simplified Application Project and a minimum nutrition benefit pilot. Alameda County Social Services described local caseloads, application trends, and emergency food distributions during the shutdown, while also warning that H.R. 1’s work requirements, immigrant eligibility restrictions, and possible cost-sharing could reduce enrollment. A student CalFresh ambassador testified about the burdensome application and recertification process and urged more funding for campus basic-needs centers and outreach to reduce stigma and administrative friction. In the final panel, county, food bank, and policy witnesses described the shutdown response and the expected impact of H.R. 1. Alameda County Community Food Bank and the County Welfare Directors Association said counties, food banks, and community partners mobilized emergency funds, pop-up pantries, and food purchasing to bridge the shutdown gap, but warned that hundreds of thousands of Californians could lose benefits under the new federal rules. The California Budget and Policy Center began outlining the scale of federal cuts, noting that H.R. 1 will significantly reduce SNAP funding and shift costs to states. No votes or formal committee actions were taken; the hearing was informational and concluded with discussion of possible state responses, including backfilling benefits, preserving outreach funding, and improving administrative systems to protect enrollment.

Transcript Highlights:

• A 2024 analysis found utility load growth forecasts jumped from 38 gigawatts in 2023 to 128 gigawatts
• It would be an adjusted number based on what the actual budget is, the county, and give them budgeting
• as a percentage of the overall budget as a percentage of the overall budget >> so<01:20:05.360
• > them<01:20:14.480> budgeting<01:20:14.880> authority county and give them budgeting
• For those of you that may not be familiar with our budget, it's a 400-line-item budget.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Human Services.
• This is made possible due to Efforts from legislative action that happened in the last budget cycle,
• In operational budgets to state agencies and departments in 2024-25.
• Regarding the federal budget next year, we have not seen any official budget proposals for our programs
• what impact the federal budget for 2026 will have on our programs.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• >> The Justice Budget Subcommittee will come to order. Is Rosa please call the Roll?
• We're using it for document retrieval are using it for data, quality analysis, productivity tools and
• And then lastly, we've got clear data and data cleansing and data quality analysis.
• And then we implemented that with approved through the Budget Commission through the Legislative Budget
• But in order to do that, that's part of their legislative budget request.

Transcript Highlights:

• budget window of 2024-25, 2025-26, and the budget year.
• So within the three-year budget window, the Governor's budget projects that the minimum guarantee will
• And then third, the Governor's budget doesn't commit all of the new funding in the budget to ongoing
• in the 2025 Budget Act.
• Have you done an analysis of that?

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance held its first hearing of the year on Proposition 98, focusing on the Governor’s budget estimates for the three-year budget window, the Public School System Stabilization Account (PSSA), and repayment of education deferrals. The Department of Finance said the minimum guarantee would rise by about $21.7 billion over the 2025 Budget Act, with increases in each year, full repayment of the existing settle-up obligation in 2024-25, a new $5.6 billion settle-up obligation proposed for 2025-26, and a higher guarantee in 2026-27. Finance also noted revised downward estimates for transitional kindergarten attendance and Los Angeles County property tax reimbursements, and said community colleges would be funded above the split because of enrollment growth. The Legislative Analyst’s Office emphasized fiscal risk and volatility, warning that recent revenue gains are tied heavily to the stock market and tech sector and could reverse quickly. The LAO argued the Governor’s proposed $5.6 billion delay shifts risk into future years and recommended instead fully funding the current estimate, making a larger reserve deposit, considering advance payments or pension-related uses, and finding additional non-Prop 98 solutions to reduce the state’s structural deficit. On the reserve and deferral items, Finance described revised PSSA deposits and withdrawals that would leave about $4.1 billion in the reserve by 2026-27, and both Finance and the LAO supported paying off the remaining LCFF and SCFF deferrals as good fiscal practice. Committee members questioned the size of the settle-up amount, the degree of revenue volatility, the use of the reserve, and the ongoing K-12/community college split. Finance said the proposal is meant to avoid overappropriation if revenues fall, while the LAO said a buffer of roughly $3.5 billion would address typical forecasting risk. Public commenters, including school boards, county offices of education, teachers, and advocacy groups, largely opposed the $5.6 billion withholding or settle-up delay, calling it a manipulation of Prop. 98 and urging full funding and more stable revenue solutions. Several speakers also urged dedicated funding for students experiencing homelessness. The hearing ended with no vote, and the chair announced that broader program discussions would occur in later hearings.

Transcript Highlights:

• This morning you will hear from Hunden Partners, who have completed an extensive economic analysis of
• Um so that that data this analysis.
• <00:47:20.240> We analysis was done about a year ago.
• We analysis was done about a year ago.
• team off the management and an analysis team off the capital<00:59:08.559> complex.

Bills: HF4912, HF4664

Keywords: electronic pull-tabs, pull-tabs, tipboards, gambling tax, Minnesota Racing Commission, Thoroughbred, horse racing, Minnesota-bred horses, breeders, owners, racing purses, industry subsidy, gambling revenue dedication, problem gambling, compulsive gambling treatment, general fund appropriation, state affiliate National Council on Problem Gambling, racing incentives, equine industry, public officers