Transcript Highlights:

• A second offense within 24 months carries a $400 fine with a mandatory minimum impoundment of six months
• A second offense within 24 months carries a $400 fine with a mandatory minimum impoundment of six months
• We need things like early termination fees, longer contract lengths, and a rate design to ensure that
• We need things like early termination fees, longer contract lengths, and a rate design to ensure that
• It's not mandatory.

Summary: The committee heard several bills focused on energy, public safety, and environmental cleanup. House Bill 455 would create a historic preservation license plate to raise funds and awareness for Delaware preservation efforts, and House Bill 471 would tighten rules and penalties for off-highway vehicles on shared private roads, with golf carts excluded. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 439, the Truth in E-Bike Marketing Act, would require clearer disclosures when selling electric mopeds and electric motorcycles so consumers understand classification, power, and licensing/insurance requirements. House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 407, related to the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act and brownfields, would shift funding for brownfield cleanup from the original realty transfer tax approach to a dedicated share of the hazardous substance cleanup fund and raise civil penalties for fraudulent acts. The committee also approved the June 18, 2026 minutes once quorum was reached. Most of the meeting centered on House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill 233, as amended, a large-load/data center bill intended to protect ratepayers from costs tied to massive new electricity users. The sponsor and Public Advocate said PJM’s warnings about a coming reliability backstop auction made it urgent to establish a Delaware framework now, requiring large energy users to sign utility agreements, cover their share of transmission, distribution, and capacity costs, and comply with curtailment and other protections. Supporters from environmental groups and some labor and business voices said the bill was needed to prevent cost shifts to households and small businesses, while opponents argued it was being rushed, could deter investment, and might unintentionally affect other industries; several asked for more time and clearer definitions. No vote was taken in the portion provided. The committee also took up House Bill 470, which would authorize Delmarva Power, with PSC approval, to build and operate utility-owned battery storage and spread costs across the customer base. The sponsor and Delmarva said the bill would improve reliability quickly and help avoid outages, while the chair expressed concern that the state had not yet fully studied whether utility-owned or competitively procured storage is the best model, noting a recent SEU storage study and broader policy questions. Supporters said utility storage could be deployed faster and help with peak shaving, while others urged a competitive process; the transcript cuts off before any final action on HB 470.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:56:16.280> it's position I believe is not mandatory it's position I believe is not mandatory
• have the The Tipping fee is the fee<03:10:56.359> that<03:10:56.520> you<03:10:56.760>
• <03:21:50.720> would million ton figure a a $3.50 fee would million ton figure a a $3.50 fee
• , then I'm going to have to pay a fee to go to the court, and then I'm going to have to pay a fee at
• I'm going to have to pay a fee to go to the court, and then I'm going to have to pay a fee at the court

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 2 retirement provisions, focusing on Group Two/Tier B changes in pages 25-39. Jan Goodwin of the New Hampshire Retirement System and deputy chief counsel Mark Kavanaugh explained that the 2025 bill is largely similar to prior versions, but it restores certain pre-2011 benefit rules for Tier B members, including changes to average final compensation and earnable compensation, and it also addresses the annuity multiplier for years of service. Members discussed the tier structure, with Tier A referring to vested members, Tier B to those hired before 11/1/12 who were not vested, and Tier C to later hires. Several members expressed concern that the bill’s purpose was to restore Tier B benefits, not to change Tier A rules or create broader changes affecting newer hires. The retirement system flagged two likely drafting problems. First, it said a provision appears to omit a special-duty/earnable-compensation limitation in the Group Two section, which they believed was a scrivener’s error caused by moving language out of the Group One definition without adding it back for Group Two. Second, they noted the bill’s multiplier language overlaps with changes already enacted in HB 1647, which increased the multiplier for service beyond 15 years for Group Two and carried an estimated $26 million cost. The committee discussed that HB 1647 was originally broader in the House, but the Senate narrowed it to Tier B only. The actuary’s comparison of the 2023 and 2025 HB 2 versions showed the bills are close, but the 2025 version differs in funding and timing. Staff said the 2025 bill appropriates $2.5 million more per year for 10 years, and that, together with updated actuarial assumptions and a larger share of the affected tier having already retired or otherwise left service, results in a larger reduction in unfunded liability than the 2023 bill: about $98.2 million versus $68.5 million. Employer contribution impacts were described as small overall, though the 2025 bill was said to be somewhat more favorable than the 2023 version. Members also questioned why House Bill 1 only funds $5 million in the first year, and staff said that was tied to the governor’s revenue estimate and that the full funding does not begin immediately. No votes were taken in the portion provided; the committee mainly received testimony, asked clarifying questions, and noted that some issues would be addressed in the fiscal note worksheet.

Transcript Highlights:

• And uh fee and what Medicaid would pay.
• New Hampshire is obviously a mandatory reporting state.
• Now, what mandatory reporting state.
• So what's coming back, the fee-for-service?
• I have a couple of >> is fee for service.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The committee chair opened by explaining that the committee has expanded from a traditional audit-follow-up role into an oversight role focused on whether audit recommendations are implemented and whether controls are in place to detect fraud. He said the committee was concerned about fraud uncovered in social service programs in other states and wanted to understand New Hampshire’s safeguards, especially around major contracts and program performance. Charles Buchanan, director of the New Hampshire Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and investigator Tim Brackett described the unit’s structure and mission. Buchanan said the unit, housed in the Attorney General’s Criminal Justice Bureau, investigates and prosecutes fraud by health care providers serving Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of residents in health care facilities. He outlined common Medicaid fraud schemes such as billing for services not rendered, upcoding, using unqualified staff, drug substitution, kickbacks, supplemental charges, and inflated customary charges. He also described resident abuse/neglect and drug diversion in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living settings. Brackett said his role is financial investigator/auditor and noted the unit is grant-funded and must include a prosecutor, investigator, and auditor. The witnesses then explained how cases reach the unit and how they are handled. Most referrals come from the state Department of Health and Human Services’ program integrity unit and from managed care organizations’ special investigations units, which look for fraud, waste, and abuse and refer credible allegations. Other sources include qui tam whistleblower actions, the national Medicaid Fraud Control Units association, citizen complaints, provider referrals, adult protective services law-enforcement referrals, local law enforcement, and federal agencies. Once a referral is received, the unit can accept or deny it; accepted matters may be investigated criminally or civilly, while nonviable matters can be referred back to HHS or other agencies for administrative action, including repayment demands and reimbursement offsets. No votes or formal committee actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• We also have concerns about the language relative to attorneys' fees.
• We also have concerns about the language relative to attorneys' fees.
• We also have concerns about the language relative to attorneys' fees.
• <02:26:27.120> I that should be a mandatory feature.
• I that should be a mandatory feature.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The alternative is raising fees on our local ranchers, so I really urge this body to try to get.
• Do you see any potential fee increases for ranchers?
• New fee increases were adopted at this last board meeting that we had. They're small increases.
• We've been flat budgeted for the past 7 years or so because we didn't have a fee increase.
• You graciously passed a fee increase for us in SB 5 last year, which goes into effect in April.

Transcript Highlights:

• By removing<02:15:47.360> mandatory<02:15:47.920> notice, removing mandatory notice, removing
• argument that lack of mandatory argument that lack of mandatory notification<02:25:44.960> may
• reporting requirement. kind of mandatory reporting requirement.
• We have a state mandatory that we have to do it, like these many hours.
• We have a state mandatory that we have to do it, like these many hours.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're charged a $99 cancellation fee if you cancel your appointment.
• Definitely cancellation fees. And it's just, again, it's outside of the system.
• They're charged $99 cancellation fee if you cancel your appointment.
• There's additional fees, right?
• Definitely cancellation fees. And it's just, again, it's outside of the system.

Summary: The Assembly Health Committee held an informational hearing on Kaiser Permanente’s behavioral health care system, focusing on Department of Managed Health Care enforcement actions, Kaiser’s corrective action work plan, and testimony from patients, advocates, and union representatives. DMHC officials reviewed a long history of complaints, surveys, fines, and settlements involving Kaiser’s access to behavioral health services, including deficiencies found in 2012 and 2016, a 2022 non-routine survey, and a 2023 settlement that imposed a $50 million penalty and required $150 million in community investments over five years. DMHC said it continues to monitor Kaiser through quarterly meetings, complaint review, follow-up surveys, and a reimbursement process for members who could not obtain timely in-network care. Committee members pressed DMHC on what “timely access” and continuity of care mean in practice, how virtual care and group therapy fit into the standards, and what triggers a non-routine survey. DMHC said initial behavioral health appointments generally should not take more than two weeks, urgent care should be within days, and follow-up care within 10 days, with out-of-network care required when plans cannot meet standards. Officials also said Kaiser’s initial corrective action work plan lacked detail, but the revised plan was accepted and will be tracked through quarterly reporting and possible additional enforcement if Kaiser fails to comply. The second panel featured testimony from a Kaiser enrollee, a behavioral health policy expert, a Kaiser therapist, and the NUHW president. The enrollee described serious delays and inadequate treatment for his daughter after a suicide attempt, while the therapist and union leader said Kaiser’s behavioral health system is understaffed, relies too heavily on short appointments, group therapy, and webinars, and treats behavioral health as less important than medical-surgical care. They argued Kaiser’s one-appointment-at-a-time scheduling rule and limited treatment time violate parity requirements and harm continuity of care. Several members criticized Kaiser for not appearing at the hearing and said the testimony underscored the need for stronger oversight, clearer metrics, and faster remedies for patients.

Transcript Highlights:

• Is that language, if you look at the red line, says including any fees or expenses charged by advisors
• 04.440> um line, um says um line, um says um including<00:10:05.840> any<00:10:06.040> fees
• ><00:10:06.720> or<00:10:06.880> expenses<00:10:07.440> charged including any fees
• or expenses charged including any fees or expenses charged by<00:10:08.040> advisors,<00:10:08.560
• <00:49:10.920> situations discretionary and mandatory situations discretionary and mandatory

Bills: HF4074

Keywords: retirement, pension, public employees, MSRS, PERA, TRA, St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund Association, police and fire, correctional employees, probation officers, telecommunicators, dispatchers, 911 operators, public safety answering point, PSAP, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, paid on-call firefighters, fire relief association, state aid

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, it is a late fee or civil...
• We heard on Tuesday about the mandatory.
• <00:04:09.120> or the CFB from waving any fees or the CFB from waving any fees or penalties
• I did grab a report of late fees and civil penalties applied in fiscal year 25.
• <00:10:44.000> and did grab a report of of late fees and did grab a report of of late fees

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They don't have to pay the extra fee, the pet fee. Is that already in statute someplace? It is.
• > pet<00:05:06.080> fee.
• :06:28.480> requirement<02:06:29.119> for mandatory um a mandatory requirement for mandatory
• any attorney's fees in collections. any attorney's fees in collections.
• <03:18:31.200> Of attorneys fees. And I'm an attorney. Of attorneys fees.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• meant to be self-substantaining in that meant to be self-substantaining in that the<00:23:34.240> fees
• 23:34.880> pay<00:23:35.120> for<00:23:36.559> uh<00:23:36.720> the the fees
• would pay for uh the the fees would pay for uh the requirements<00:23:37.840> that<00:23:38.320
• one of that chapter 7235, they actually use the same standard total and disabled and that's the mandatory
• But we could do 25% up to 100% of the property tax fee, based on what the town votes.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• structure or the fee schedule.
• licensing structure and the the fee licensing structure and the the fee schedule<00:31:21.600>
• <00:31:39.840> um update the fee structure or the fee um update the fee structure or the fee
• Commissioner Peterson mentioned the new federal order to do mandatory milk testing in all states.
• <01:17:54.560> milk new federal order to do mandatory milk new federal order to do mandatory

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• sometimes—we looked at for some of these—it comes down to what the restrictions are of the different fees
• The agency should undergo a rulemaking to determine if these projects should be added to mandatory category
• Water efficiency measures should be mandatory, not optional, and aquifer testing must be required in
• consideration of siting with regard to water resources is good, although we think that there should be mandatory

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1209, operating identification fees homeless exemption.
• SB 1231, firearms mandatory destruction of criminal offenses.
• Introduction, first reading, and reference of bills: SB 1205, motor vehicle booting fees regulation;

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Senate opened with a prayer and pledge, then recorded attendance, approved the journal, and recognized several guest groups in the gallery, including CRNAs for Capital Day, rural electric cooperative representatives, AEA Retired members, March of Dimes participants, students, and other visitors. The invocation focused on faith, courage, and the need for just laws, and several senators used personal privilege to introduce guests and highlight causes such as public education, maternal and infant health, and the Equal Rights Amendment. The body then moved through a lengthy calendar of second-reading bills, covering a wide range of topics including child welfare and DCS procedures, public school safety, health care and insurance, groundwater and water supply, tax and appropriations measures, housing and HOA issues, elections and campaign protections, criminal justice, firearms, abortion-related measures, and transportation projects. The transcript primarily reflects bill titles being read rather than debate on substance, and no floor votes on those measures are shown in the excerpt. The Senate also received a large set of first-reading bills and committee referrals, including measures on motor vehicle booting fees, EMS reciprocity, election procedures, physician assistant licensure, mental health hearings, assisted living, Alzheimer’s planning, safe haven providers, short-term rentals, fire district formation, correctional officer contributions, and several appropriations items. After the readings and routine announcements, the Senate adopted a motion to adjourn and recessed until Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Professional Dispensing Fee.
• Just felt like maybe a kind of steep fee slash fine. Yes, that's still in.
• Expedited Document Processing and Fees. Expedited Document Processing and Fees.
• So, the expedited fees, let me see. Let me look it up. Should have been ready for this.
• House Bill 671, Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Mandatory Appropriation.

Keywords: House streaming session for Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 957, house, all

Summary: The House convened with a quorum and then moved through messages from the Senate, introducing several Senate bills and referring them to committees. It then took up multiple third-reading calendars and considered a large number of bills across public health, criminal law, education, estates and trusts, social services, and state government. Most bills passed with broad margins, including measures on fiduciary attorney-client privilege, food labeling and prohibited ingredients, human trafficking awareness training, pharmacy prescriber-pharmacist agreements, provisional social work licensure, structural racism training funding sources, youth delinquency prevention funding, menstrual hygiene product labeling, school resource officer sexual activity prohibitions, nurse licensure enforcement, physician delegation changes, child support income definitions, AI-related child sexual abuse material, trauma-informed care resources, restrictive housing for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities, open movie captioning, autism and dementia police training, gift card fraud, scholarship eligibility, retention proceeds, graduate scholarship eligibility, intercepted communications penalties, benefits for children in custody, juvenile supervision petitions, institutional debt reporting, contraception access reporting, surgical smoke evacuation systems, tax foreclosure notice requirements, special police officer study, child advocacy center standards, victim notification at charging, human trafficking reporting, drug dispensing cost surveys, school board nominating commission changes, the Henrietta Lacks Commission, ID card photograph requirements, and several others. A few bills drew substantive floor discussion. House Bill 963 on appointment of personal representatives was supported as a way to help families and heirs access assets, including in cross-border situations. House Bill 877 on institutional debt reporting prompted debate over whether the bill was useful and whether it would burden colleges; supporters said it would create needed aggregate data and a data dictionary to better understand debt incurred directly from institutions. House Bill 1076 on over-the-counter contraception access and reporting was clarified as a reporting measure that harmonizes prior reporting requirements and does not use taxpayer funds to purchase contraception, though grants had supported vending machine installation. House Bill 288 on extending a state of emergency for schools was explained as applying to natural disasters, civil disasters, public health emergencies, or specific security threats, with one member expressing concern about state involvement and learning loss from prolonged closures. House Bill 746 on the Medicaid/health insurance collaborative care model was briefly delayed by a computer issue, then passed after a short pause. Several members announced vote changes after the roll calls, including corrections on House Bills 65, 771, 769, 900, 1058, 1076, 1490, 1540, and 1554. Final actions on the floor were overwhelmingly favorable to the bills considered, with only a handful of measures drawing notable negative votes, including House Bills 410, 963, 1042, 1058, 1076, 1152, 1540, and 1554. The House also passed a number of local and policy bills with strong bipartisan support, and no amendments or motions to postpone were recorded in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• college campuses, a prohibition on college proposition bets, full taxation of provisional bets, the mandatory
• of provisional bets the mandatory of provisional bets the mandatory establishment<00:03:51.519><
• I can assure you that the cap to the gaming fees and the very small tax cuts that passed in 2023 were
• You know, I was looking at the fees, and the fees, and, um, we have in the bill a scale of fees if you
• Your license is a $16,500 application fee, a $250,000 license fee, and then to renew every year, $83,000

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• UC with a roughly 3 percent increase in general fund support when including anticipated tuition and fee
• Fee revenue, UC's 2024-25 core funding is expected to increase by about 3.5 percent.
• When accounting for the anticipated increases in tuition and fee revenue, UC's total core funding is
• Campuses have very limited options outside of cuts to campus operations and student fee increases when
• We have now over $438 million in mandatory legislative earmarks as part of our budget.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Coverage remains mandatory.
• already banned P mandate mandatory PLA. already banned P mandate mandatory PLA.
• restaurants will move to the mandatory restaurants will move to the mandatory tip<02:42:22.560><
• can adopt under federal law a mandatory can adopt under federal law a mandatory tip<03:03:06.640
• a mandatory tip pool. a mandatory tip pool.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee opened its labor hearing on SB 655 and outlined the day’s schedule, including a later working session on SB 416 and an executive session planned for 2:30 p.m. Senator Dan Innis introduced SB 655, describing it as a technical bill affecting employee leasing companies/professional employer organizations (PEOs), workers’ compensation coverage, and a Senate-added minimum wage exemption for minor league baseball players covered by a collective bargaining agreement. He said the PEO change would let either the PEO or the client business hold workers’ comp coverage, while still requiring coverage, and argued it would align New Hampshire with most other states and reduce barriers for small businesses and multi-state employers. He also said the baseball provision would clarify wage treatment for minor league players and support the Manchester team. Justin Warell of Insperity testified in support of the PEO portion, explaining that PEOs provide HR, payroll, benefits administration, and workers’ compensation administration through a co-employment model. He said the bill would preserve mandatory coverage while allowing flexibility for the client or PEO to maintain the policy, which could help clients who already have preferred coverage or who face cost or administrative issues in multiple states. He noted that most clients would still remain under the PEO’s policy and said Insperity would submit written comments. Committee members asked about how the arrangement would work, whether the client or PEO would pay, and whether the bill would affect liability insurance packaging; Warell said the employer still bears the cost and that the bill mainly gives larger clients an option. One member asked him to remain available for possible follow-up after hearing from the labor department. Stephen Gonzalez of Major League Baseball testified in support of the minor league baseball exemption. He said MLB and the MLB Players Association negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that already provides players with salary, housing, meals, per diems, health and retirement benefits, disability continuation, tuition assistance, and signing bonuses. He argued that treating players as hourly workers creates impractical time-tracking problems because players do work-related activities on their own time, and said the bill would recognize them as salaried workers and avoid litigation over what counts as hours worked. Committee members questioned why the exemption was needed if players are already salaried and whether MLB could simply amend its CBA; Gonzalez said the bill would help prevent wage-and-hour lawsuits and noted that similar exemptions have been enacted in other states. No vote was taken during the hearing, and the chair indicated the bill would be considered for executive action later that afternoon.

Bills: SB330, SB2069, SB2095, SB1721, SB1433, SB1316, SB1280, SB1455, SB1456, SB1457, SB1459, SB1461, SB1463, SB1465, SB1466, HJR1088, SB1684, SB378, SB1447, SB1920, SB1443, HR1047, SB1877, SB1884, SB1365, SB2174, SB1525, SB1810, SB1771, SB1805, SB1916, SB1530, SB1847, SB1990, SB2060, SB1992, SB1579, SB1778, SB2132, SB1623, SB2067, SB1589, SB1441, SB1224, SB372, SB1232, SB1264, SB1450, SB2011, SB2030, SB1980, SB1936, SB1477, SB1593, SB1725, SB1670, SB1480, SB1726, SB1633, SB1735, SB1632, SB1277, SB1217, SB1826, SB1824, SB1813, SB1326, SB1937, SB1641

Keywords: elk population, wildlife management, Oklahoma State University, veterinary medicine, ecosystem health, habitat assessment, waterfowl hunting, crane hunting, hunting guide, hunting outfitter, wildlife conservation, commercial hunting, outfitter license, guide license, hunting services, licensed guide, licensed outfitter, game and fish, hunting for compensation, waterfowl guide

Transcript Highlights:

• , which the state's renewal of that fee is currently before the federal administration.
• It removes the cap on the amount of fees charged to an individual seeking asylum, while introducing new
• fees or substantially increasing pre-existing fees, and it does not grant any fee waivers and requires
• all appropriate fees be paid.
• It eliminates Medicaid enrollment fees or premiums for expansion population adults.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Accountability and Oversight held its fifth hearing of the year to examine the newly enacted federal H.R. 1 and its effects on California. Members and the chair described the law as a major threat to state health, food, education, and climate programs, and emphasized that California would not be able to fully backfill the federal cuts. Several members also highlighted the bill’s tax provisions, including temporary deductions for tips, overtime, seniors, and auto loan interest, while warning that the largest benefits flow to higher-income taxpayers and that major cuts to Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and clean-energy incentives are delayed or phased in over time. The Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Department of Finance presented detailed overviews of the bill’s likely impacts and implementation timelines. They identified the main affected areas as health care coverage and financing, food assistance, higher education, personal income taxes, and clean-energy/electric-vehicle credits. They explained that H.R. 1 limits provider taxes used to finance Medi-Cal, adds work and redetermination requirements, restricts CalFresh eligibility and increases state costs, changes student loan and Pell Grant rules, extends and modifies federal tax provisions, and phases out many clean-energy credits. Finance also noted major rescissions of Inflation Reduction Act funds, new border and immigration enforcement spending, and the possibility of PAYGO sequestration if Congress does not act to offset the deficit increase. During member questions, the committee focused on likely enrollment losses, administrative burdens, and fiscal exposure for the state and counties. Witnesses said many details still depend on federal guidance, but they estimated significant impacts on Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and graduate/professional student borrowing, and noted that California’s high CalFresh error rate could increase state costs. UC testified that the elimination of Graduate PLUS loans would affect thousands of professional students, especially in health, law, and other high-cost programs. Members asked for follow-up data on county, health, and tax impacts, and staff agreed to provide additional tables and estimates as implementation guidance becomes clearer. Public commenters from counties, early childhood advocates, health coalitions, disability rights groups, immigrant-rights organizations, and other stakeholders urged the Legislature to mitigate the law’s effects. They warned of higher county costs, reduced access to health care and food assistance, increased administrative burdens, and harm to children, immigrants, people with disabilities, and low-income families. Several urged new state revenue solutions and stronger protections for Medi-Cal, CalFresh, child care, and home- and community-based services. No votes were taken; the hearing was informational and ended with a commitment to continue monitoring federal guidance and to work on state responses in the budget process.