Transcript Highlights:

• budgets, as those proposed budgets must be submitted to the ESDs for review and comment.
• Also, before hiring an applicant for a budget or accounting role, a school district must request that
• As I look at it, the additional budget and oversight duties that I spoke to in terms of the budget review
• Was one requested? I believe that was the case.
• Okay, so we have requested one? Yes. Okay.

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Colleagues, this budget was not easy, but I'm proud where we landed. A budget that truly...
• Colleagues, this budget was not easy, but I'm proud where we landed, a budget that truly puts people
• For our students and our schools, this budget is a budget...
• On top of this massive budget bill of over 1,000 pages, we now have a school aid budget of over 470 pages
• Nobody knows what's in this budget. We were just given this huge school aid budget over 470 pages.

Keywords: 983, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The first item on the agenda is a budget. Aye. Aye.
• We have two really major requests, both of which are special revenue requests for reappropriation.
• Requests, both of which are special revenue requests for reappropriation.
• And then, in the last few months, they have requested, I believe it was a six-page packet, requesting
• What if that request comes in after the two years?

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee met with a quorum, approved the minutes from the prior meeting, and heard budget presentations from the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the State Auditor. The Secretary of State’s office described its FY27 budget, emphasizing efficiency gains from technology, election security work, and business services. It said it is operating with fewer staff than a decade ago, but rising costs and outdated statutory fees are creating deficits in service of process and other operations. The office asked the committee to consider either increasing fees or allowing it to retain a larger share of business-service revenue, and it also proposed creating an Office of Entrepreneurship to help small businesses navigate state government, grants, permits, and related services. Committee members questioned the Secretary of State’s office about fee increases, the current 50-50 split of certain revenues with general revenue, and whether the proposed entrepreneurship office would duplicate existing services. The office said it would complement, not replace, Commerce, SBDC, or grant programs, and would report metrics and policy recommendations to the legislature. The Attorney General then requested a one-time $2 million special revenue appropriation to hire additional lawyers and support staff, citing increased litigation, federal and state legal work, and the need to defend new laws. He also discussed embedded DMV lawyers handling DUI revocation hearings and said the arrangement costs the office just over $200,000. The State Auditor reported that his office is largely self-funded through special revenue and said he wants to reduce reliance on general revenue over time. He highlighted savings from renegotiated leases and an open government contract, discussed the need for more auditors in the Chief Inspector’s Division, and described fraud recovery and P-card operations. A major topic was delinquent land sales: the auditor said the office sold about 17,000 parcels last year and believes online bidding and better marketing could generate substantially more revenue, with the surplus potentially shared among counties, the state, and other programs. Members also asked about securities fee changes, fairness hearings, fire department audits, IT/cybersecurity, and how surplus proceeds from delinquent land sales should be handled. The committee adjourned after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> reviewed 16 capital IT project request reviewed 16 capital IT project request with<00:05:05.360>
• initially by the state in 2224 budgeted initially by the state in 2224 budget.<00:10:58.480><c> The<
• That was budgeted in that biennium.
• </c> federal actions in the milcon budget federal actions in the milcon budget that's<00:17:39.280><c
• </c> HVAC replacement uh we um uh requesting HVAC replacement uh we um uh requesting um<00:21:09.120>

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:09 Approval of Minutes 00:01:10 Welcome New Members 00:01:26 Information Items 00:01:49 COT Special Report 00:02:38 Review of Executive Branch Agency Plans 00:07:41 A. Department of Military Affairs 00:08:07 B. Department of Veterans’ Affairs 00:20:34 C. Kentucky Infrastructure Authority 00:25:54 D. Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet 00:35:05 E. Transportation Cabinet 00:55:53, 958, all

Summary: The Capital Planning Advisory Board met with a quorum, approved the May 21 minutes, and welcomed a new executive branch member, Secretary Keith Jackson of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. The board also received two informational items: agency responses to prior questions and amendments made to capital plans after the last meeting. It then heard the Commonwealth Office of Technology’s report on executive branch IT capital project scoring, which reviewed 16 IT requests totaling about $330.5 million. COOT said projects were ranked through an independent panel using standardized criteria focused on feasibility, statewide alignment, readiness, impact, and risk; the CIO recommended moving an enterprise application and artificial intelligence inventory system from rank 11 to rank 4 because of its enterprise-wide impact and connection to Senate Bill 4. The Department of Military Affairs presented its capital plan, describing 43 million in projects for the current period and 13 projects totaling $65 million for 2026–2028, with most funding coming from federal sources and restricted agency funds and no general fund request in the latter period. Its projects included maintenance pool adjustments, a statewide Army master plan, the Somerset readiness center, Shelbyville and Ashland armories, a future home for the Kentucky Army National Guard band, and other facility upgrades. Members asked about the Somerset project’s cost growth and federal delay; the department said the project remains in conceptual design, is awaiting federal MILCON action, and would require a state match of about $9.8 million against $29.6 million federal funding if it is approved. Members also asked about staffing levels, and the department said state employee and Title 32 numbers have been relatively steady, while technician positions have declined. The Department of Veterans Affairs outlined seven projects for 2026–2028, led by a Radcliff Veterans Center HVAC replacement that needs an estimated additional $16 million to finish phase two after phase one was already funded. Other requests included a maintenance pool increase, renovations and exterior upgrades at Eastern and Western Kentucky veterans facilities, a cooling tower replacement at Thompson Hood, and parking lot and lighting improvements. The department said some projects were already in the six-year plan and that the Radcliff phase two could be bid in June 2026 if funded. Members confirmed that a columbarium wall project at Grayson is federally funded. The Kentucky Infrastructure Authority presented its six-year capital plan, citing more than $3 billion in loan commitments since 1988 and over $5 billion in supported infrastructure projects. KIA requested $298.439 million in the first biennium, including $27.742 million in state match for federal clean water and drinking water revolving funds, $25 million for its state Infrastructure Revolving Fund, $185.697 million in federal capitalization grants, and $30 million in leverage bond authorization for each year of the two federally assisted loan programs. Members asked about drinking-water quality, and KIA said that function is handled by the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Water, not KIA. KIA also said its loan rates currently range from 0.5% to 2.25%, averaging just under 1%, and that its revolving loan programs have had no defaults. The Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet began its presentation at the end of the transcript, with staff identifying themselves, but no project details or board action from that presentation were included in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair, and I'm going to request<00:18:45.080><c> request</c><00:18:45.400><c> a</c><00:18:45.520><c>
• </c><00:18:46.200><c> I'm</c><00:18:46.440><c> just</c> request request a roll call.
• I'm just request request a roll call.
• And so, I would request a green vote and renew the roll call. All right, roll call being requested.
• </c> And I request the roll call as well. And I request the roll call as well.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and trying to keep those budgets balanced.
• First, I would like to request a roll call. Requested. Do I see 15 hands? There are 15 hands.
• Obviously, it's a huge budget.
• I'd like to request a roll call, please. Roll call having been requested.
• The budget was less than half of what our current budget is, and it was a five to six billion dollar

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, on the medical side, they've submitted budget requests to this committee, and they've made
• and how has their budget, now that they no longer exist, folded into this request, or how does that
• Our organization has, with the support of the state Legislature and a previous budget allocation request
• We have a budget allocation request that's in the packet that we distributed, and I want to introduce
• We have a budget allocation request that's in the packet that we distributed, and I want to introduce

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee heard presentations from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS), the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) program, and the Coleman mental health receivership. The hearing focused on correctional health care, reentry, aging incarcerated populations, and the state’s progress toward compliance in the Plata and Coleman receiverships. Members also discussed the OIG’s intake complaint workload and medical inspection findings, as well as broader questions about staffing, vacancies, and the cost of court oversight. The OIG requested $275,000 General Fund for two permanent positions in its intake processing unit, citing a sharp rise in complaints from 3,200 in 2022 to 7,860 in 2025. OIG officials said complaints are categorized by issue and prison, prioritized by urgency, and generally responded to within 30 days, but they do not track complaint “validity” rates. The medical inspection unit reported that in cycle seven, case review performance was generally adequate while policy compliance was often inadequate; the lowest-scoring areas included emergency services, medication management, and health care environment. Members asked for more detailed reporting on complaint types, priority levels, and systemic issues. CCHCS described rising health care costs driven by an aging prison population, staffing vacancies, and contract medical expenses. Officials said more than 80% of the budget is personal services, and they are using hiring events, social media outreach, and expanded classifications to reduce vacancies. CalAIM officials reported early implementation success in pre-release and reentry services, including 89% Medi-Cal activation at release, 87% assigned managed care plans, 88% reentry care plans, and 59% warm handoffs, with about 169,000 claims submitted and $14.7 million reimbursed. The LAO noted that the Plata medical receivership has increased per-person costs and that the state should continue oversight while seeking ways to reduce vacancies and expand federal reimbursement opportunities. For the Coleman mental health receivership, the receiver’s office requested $33.9 million from the Mental Health Special Deposit Fund, including $8.2 million for receiver office staffing and $25.3 million to make court-ordered bonus payments permanent. The LAO supported continued oversight but recommended additional steps to address vacancies, including greater out-of-state recruitment, expanded telemental health, and possible consolidation of mental health services. The LAO also recommended reducing the telemental health staffing request and monitoring its effects. Members questioned the long-term cost of receiverships, the pace of compliance, and whether more detailed benchmarks and staffing data should be provided. No formal votes were taken during the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a request. Item 23 is the City of Kenner.
• “A more transparent and accountable budgeting process.
• as well as requiring that once we pass a budget, that is, in fact, the budget.
• What we found in last year’s budget crisis was that historically the budget was a giant suggestion and
• that mayors, after a budget, could move money around the budget, which led ultimately to the giant fiscal

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Summary: The State Bond Commission met on May 21 with a quorum present and approved the April 16 minutes. The commission then reviewed and approved a large slate of local government and public authority financing requests, including election propositions for the November ballot, water and sewer infrastructure projects, fire protection and recreation district bonds, school board financing, and several refunding transactions. Most items were found to meet technical requirements and were approved on motions by Speaker DeVillier and seconded by Senator Talbot. Among the more notable items were the East Baton Rouge City-Parish refunding bonds for the Greater Baton Rouge Airport District, the City of Kenner’s retroactive approval request tied to a convention center agreement with GMB Basketball LLC, a Louisiana Housing Corporation financing increase for the Federal City Building 10 affordable housing project, and preliminary approval for the Northwest Louisiana Finance Authority’s Petro Tower redevelopment in Shreveport. The commission also approved financing for Southern University’s Scott’s Bluff student housing project and the Crescent City Schools/Harriet Tubman Charter School project. The Crescent City Schools item prompted questions about how MFP funds are used; staff explained that lease payments would support the bonds and that MFP funds are generally split between educational expenses and facilities-related costs. The commission received six monthly cost-of-issuance reports, which required no action, and a status update on the state debt schedule. It also approved Resolution No. 2 authorizing up to $425 million in general obligation refunding bonds to refund the Series 2016 bonds and tender other outstanding bonds for savings, with pricing tentatively set for June 16 and closing for June 30. During other business, New Orleans City Council President J.P. Morel thanked the commission for its role in helping address the city’s fiscal crisis and for approving a charter amendment election item aimed at strengthening budget oversight. The meeting adjourned after no further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 56 to allow the following.
• At the request of the author, I request unanimous consent to withdraw AB 898 Bryan from engrossing and
• At the request of the authors, please remove the following bills from the consent.
• , small businesses with this budget, with a higher payroll tax.
• budget, that is a budget about feeding hungry children and uplifting our most vulnerable communities

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Yes, we have a large focus on our rural communities, and actually with our budget request this year,
• </c> communities and actually with our budget communities and actually with our budget request<00:53:
• :01.680><c> requests</c><00:54:02.000><c> that</c><00:54:02.240><c> we're</c> additional budget requests
• If you look at the very bottom in the 2024-2026 budget request, uh, CP plan request, $700 million in
• If you look at the very bottom in the 2024-2026 budget request, uh, CP plan request, $700 million in

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:11 Approval of Minutes 00:02:00 Information Items 00:02:25 CPE Special Report 00:03:26 Review of Executive Branch Agency Plans 00:31:48 A. Attorney General 00:32:10 B. Court of Justice 00:36:41 C. Cabinet for Economic Development 00:50:44 D. Kentucky Public Pensions Authority 00:56:06 E. Board Discussion of Planning Issues 01:05:12, 958, all

Summary: The Capital Planning Advisory Board opened its fourth meeting, confirmed a quorum, approved the prior meeting’s minutes by unanimous voice vote, and then heard information items and agency presentations. The main substantive presentation came from the Council on Postsecondary Education, which outlined its capital planning recommendations for the 2026–28 biennium. CPE staff described the role of Kentucky’s research and education network (Kron), including connectivity to cloud services, Internet2, identity services, and new local AI/inferencing capacity, and argued that the network is now essential to higher education, health care, and extension services. They said the network’s recent upgrades were driven by privacy, security, redundancy, and the need to support modern research and AI workloads at lower cost than commercial providers. CPE also presented its broader higher-education capital request: $700 million for asset preservation and $1.73 billion for new construction, for a total recommendation of about $2.4 billion. Staff said they do not plan to recommend IT projects or equipment in this cycle, despite reviewing 48 IT submissions totaling nearly $1.4 billion and equipment requests totaling $322.6 million. For asset preservation, they said the recommended allocation method would remain based on each institution’s share of Category 1 and 2 square footage, and they noted that the state’s prior facility assessment is now 12 years old, with deferred maintenance still estimated in the $7–9 billion range. For new construction, they said the requests are heavily focused on STEM and health-related facilities that are difficult to retrofit into older buildings. Board members asked about how asset-preservation amounts were determined, including why Northern Kentucky University’s request was much larger than its prior allocation. CPE staff responded that campus size, building age, and institutional prioritization affect the requests, and that schools are asked to submit more projects than are likely to be funded. The board then moved on to an Attorney General capital plan overview, where senior counsel Will Schroeder began describing the office’s technology needs and the office’s prior reliance on a 2020 appropriation to replace legacy systems and improve security.

Transcript Highlights:

• And you can see through the, uh, the request that we're requesting additional funds to expand the program
• Under requests not included. Uh, requests not included in recommendations.
• Is there not, was there not a request from TD for, um, It might be baked into the larger budget, but
• Land bolding legislative budget board.
• Was that a request of theirs as well?

Transcript Highlights:

• Can you tell me in the budget what the request is for that program? Thank you. Mr.
• We are going to be hearing the budgets. We will adopt a budget recommendation today.
• been budgeted.
• It's a big budget, a $125 million budget.
• million tech request in the C2 budget.

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget total is 114.5. fiscal year. The budget totals $114.5 billion.
• in the final budget.
• in the budget.
• funding in the budget.
• Leader Berman, no, but the department does have the authority through a budget amendment to request those

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And there is a separate but corresponding budget proposal in Governor Ferguson's budget that provides
• Beginning in May 2025, a service request list, Service request list.
• DHS is also required to submit a budget request for these expenditures.
• I do have some preliminary estimates, however, based on what was submitted with the agency request budget
• Instead, families must wait for special budget requests and one-time decisions before services can expand

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on January 20, 2026, hearing several bills related to retirement systems, school employee health coverage, port district pensions, environmental fee accounts, developmental disability services, legislative budget transparency, and a new Apple Health employer assessment. Early in the meeting, the committee heard SB 5834, which would make permanent a temporary expansion allowing certain retirement trust fund earnings to pay broader administrative expenses, and SB 5835, which would raise the lump-sum retirement allowance threshold for Plan 2 members from $50 to $250. Both bills were presented by Department of Retirement Systems staff and supported by the department, with questions focused on the scope of the administrative-expense language in SB 5834 and the technical nature of SB 5835. The committee then entered executive session and moved three bills without recommendation to the Rules Committee: Substitute SB 5249, allowing kit homes as emergency housing; Substitute SB 5053, allowing certain counties to include school district boundaries when forming a public facilities district; and Substitute SB 5203, directing state agencies to develop a wildlife habitat connectivity strategy and creating related accounts. After returning to public hearing, members heard SB 5883 on SEBB eligibility for school employees in their second school year of employment. Supporters, including labor representatives and individual school workers, said the bill would reduce coverage gaps and improve recruitment and retention, while school district officials and administrators argued it would create an unfunded mandate, increase costs, and add administrative burden. No action was taken on the bill. The committee also heard SB 5905, which would exclude certain port district employees from PERS if they are covered by the federal Railroad Retirement Plan or a collectively bargained defined benefit pension plan. Port representatives, labor stakeholders, and the Department of Retirement Systems described it as a narrow technical fix to avoid duplicate pension coverage and retroactive liabilities, and the bill drew support. SB 6151 would create dedicated accounts for Ecology fee revenue tied to laboratory accreditation and landfill methane work; Ecology and county representatives supported the measure as a way to reinvest fees in the programs that generate them. SB 6163 would require the Individual and Family Services waiver for developmental disability services to be budgeted at maintenance level; advocates said it would stabilize services and prevent waitlists, and no opposition was heard. The final two bills were SB 6177, which would require LEAP’s budget website to display additional budget detail such as carry-forward data, program and subprogram expenditures, and balance sheets for all public accounts, and SB 6173, which would create an Apple Health employer assessment on larger private employers with workers enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage. SB 6177 was framed as a transparency measure, while SB 6173 drew extensive testimony both in support and opposition: supporters said it would help offset expected Medicaid losses after federal work requirements take effect and stabilize the health safety net, while opponents argued it would be an unfunded tax, create administrative and legal complications, and could discourage hiring or reduce hours. The committee heard no final votes on the public hearing bills, and staff reminded members that signature sheets would be held for 24 hours under Senate rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• More policy in the budget.
• I respectfully ask for legislative support of the $50 million budget request for the California Arts
• I respectfully ask for legislative support of the $50 million budget request for the California Art Council
• Cal Home in the proposed budget.
• I'm here on behalf of John Burton Advocates for Youth to request the committee's support for budget requests

Summary: The subcommittee heard several May Revision proposals related to the state’s housing and homelessness reorganization. On the first item, administration and Finance staff described technical adjustments to move administrative positions and resources between the California Housing and Homelessness Agency, HCD, and Cal ICH, plus authority for a chief deputy director at the new Housing Development Finance Committee. The LAO recommended approval but asked for clarification on funding for the chief deputy position. Several senators questioned whether the staffing shifts would reduce Cal ICH’s capacity and whether adding communications support and a new executive position was appropriate absent new housing funding; the item was held open. The second item proposed a new $100 million CalHFA Disaster Rebuilding Fund, with $56 million General Fund and $44 million in existing National Mortgage Settlement funds, to help disaster-impacted homeowners access construction financing through tools such as a loan loss guarantee and interest rate buy-downs. CalHFA said the fund would help close the gap between insurance proceeds and rebuilding costs and would work through approved lenders. The LAO raised concerns about the lack of alternatives analysis, the broad delegation in the trailer bill, and the General Fund cost. Senators pressed for more detail on the estimated number of homeowners served, lender and homeowner eligibility, equity safeguards, and the role of the Legislature in program design; the item was held open. The third item was trailer bill language for HAP Round 7, including accountability metrics, pro-housing designation requirements for certain large cities and counties, local match requirements, and a mechanism to recapture unspent funds. HCD said the proposal would streamline reporting by using one consistent set of system performance measures and would phase in the new requirements. The LAO questioned the timing, the burden of pro-housing designation, the size and source of the local match, and whether the proposal conflicted with the Legislature’s prior goal of getting funds out quickly. Several senators criticized the added requirements and the lack of new funding, while others said the proposal could improve accountability and reduce administrative burden by reusing existing plans. The item was also held open. The fourth item began a proposal to reduce local development impact fees on state-funded affordable housing projects, framed as a condition on competitive multifamily funding rather than a statewide mandate. The presentation started but the transcript cuts off before questions or action on that item.

Transcript Highlights:

• Welcome to Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4.
• So this budget, I believe, is the beginning of this effort.
• budget proposes a balanced budget.
• Greenwood Residential Center for the California Conservation Corps: the budget requests a re-appropriation
• Julie Ann Rolfe, Department of Finance, yes, it is for this budget for this upcoming budget year and

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They just moved to the budget.
• </c> It's a language change in the budget. It's a language change in the budget.
• That's all in the budget.
• It's been a great budget.
• </c><00:11:28.640><c> Um</c> budget." So, that's kind of a first. Um budget."

Bills: SB342, SB342, SB159

Keywords: land bank, land bank authority, local land bank authority, Alabama Land Bank Authority, tax delinquent property, tax sale, tax lien, redemption period, quiet title, blight remediation, vacant property, foreclosure, ad valorem tax, property tax exemption, intergovernmental agreement, county government, municipal government, redevelopment, brownfields, floodplain management

Transcript Highlights:

• The recommended budget for fiscal year 27...
• Personnel services is budgeted at about 85% of the total fiscal year 27 budget, which equates to about
• million, or 27.5% of their budget.
• It's a request from the agencies, and an agency can request a special entrance rate at any time.
• For salaries, they are budgeted at $39 million, and for related benefits they are budgeted at $24.2 million

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And once it passes, does it have an amount of money requested in your budget?
• So, hoping that we can see some more funding in that department, and that's from a joint budget request
• We ask that you fund the 211 California budget request for a $20 million one-time General Fund allocation
• We ask that you fund the 211 California budget request for a $20 million one-time General Fund allocation
• We ask that you fund the 211 California budget request of $20 million one-time to ensure 211 services

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Within the larger budget picture, our office and the administration find that the budget is roughly balanced
• budget surplus.
• I want to thank you for allowing us to speak today about our request through the budget process to administratively
• Okay, so you do a lot of budgeting—lots of budgeting.
• We're a proud supporter of the funding that is in the budget and would request that funding be maintained

Keywords: 988, house, all