Transcript Highlights:

• The intention is purely just a study. The intention is purely just a study.
• Having this study those points.
• It's not just a study committee.
• It's not just a study committee.
• that this is just just a study that this is just just a study committee,<00:13:40.680> as

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um which salaries were kind of fixed.
• And the remainder of that salary increase is for retention, title changes, salary increases, moving folks
• And the remainder of that salary increase is for retention, title changes, salary increases, moving folks
• from what's in these salary increases. from what's in these salary increases.
• just talked about in regard to salary just talked about in regard to salary increases.<00:52:54.800

Keywords: Appropriations - Room 216, 28 January, 2026; 8:15 AM, 925, all

Summary: The committee heard a budget presentation from the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), including its consolidated tourism and agency request. MDA said it has had strong recent results, citing about $65 billion in capital investment since 2020, roughly 25,000 jobs, record tourism, clean audits, and oversubscribed incentive programs. For FY27, the agency requested $26.4 million in general funds, level special-fund operating support, restoration of eight pins reduced in the LBR process, and several general-fund increases for a career ladder, a new HR system, training, and operating costs. MDA also discussed a $1.25 million request for America 250 activities, including a Mississippi event and participation in the National Mall “Great America State Fair,” plus an energy accelerator program tied to the governor’s energy initiative and a broader three-tier energy preparedness strategy. MDA also explained its incentive refill requests, saying it was not seeking additional funding for the ACE grant program this year and had shifted that support toward the governor’s port/rail/road investment fund and energy-ready sites. The agency highlighted a renewed request to restart funding for the small municipal and limited population counties grant program, which it said had previously helped smaller communities with water, sewer, downtown, and other projects. On tourism, MDA presented a breakout showing what the budget would look like if tourism were separated into its own department; officials said the current tourism budget within MDA is about $5.7 million in general funds and $7.9 million total, and estimated about $1.3 million in additional cost would be needed to stand up a separate tourism agency. A significant portion of the discussion focused on criticism from Senator Wiggins that MDA has not delivered enough economic development for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He argued that constituents believe MDA does little for the coast and objected to the agency’s role in the GCRF and coastal projects, saying the coast has not seen meaningful results in years. MDA officials responded that complaints about uneven distribution are common across the state, that MDA works with local economic development partners rather than dictating project locations, and that it has helped support major coastal projects such as Relativity Space, Lockheed Martin expansions, PCC Gulf Chem, BWC Terminals, and AWS. The exchange also touched on the Port of Pascagoula and local leadership disputes, with both sides disagreeing over whether the port and the coast have been adequately supported. No votes or formal actions were taken in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• studies in Dallas ISD.
• . studies.
• studies courses.
• This would require that Mexican-American studies and African-American studies meet those social studies
• Asian studies is American studies; it is Texas history.

Bills: HB178, HB178, HB1551, HB1939, HB2040, HB2354, HB2674, HB3029, HB3460, HB3631, HB3662, HB5201, HB5381

Keywords: efficiency audit, political subdivision, tax rate, fiscal management, government accountability, Texas education, public schools, curriculum, social studies, high school graduation requirements, State Board of Education, Education Code, ethnic studies, world history, world geography, U.S. history, government, economics, personal financial literacy, free enterprise

Transcript Highlights:

• What's really fascinating about their study is that, like, they did two studies, recent studies.
• . study.
• This study, and a portion of this study, was really concentrating on whether or not the recommendations
• were also part of the study.
• the study study, which involved financial data, was important for us to bring them together.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:53:02.559> He<00:53:03.040> cold salary with a newborn at home.
• He cold salary with a newborn at home.
• The economic impact from the university, based on our recent economic impact study, shows that the U
• The economic impact from the university, based on our recent economic impact study, shows that the U
• This is a visionary project that will take us through the entire life cycle in studying education and

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Work meaning they began gathering business requirements, there were studies that were done, began looking
• Salaries and benefits—that is our current salary and benefits, plus we ask for 10 positions to be transferred
• Current salary and benefits, plus we ask for 10 positions to be transferred over, and then we are asking
• So we had a Gartner study to determine how to bring over the historical data from FLAIR, what the right
• There was a comprehensive study done. It was called the FLAIR Study.

Summary: The subcommittee heard updates on several major technology modernization efforts, beginning with the Department of Financial Services’ Florida PALM project, which is replacing the state’s decades-old FLAIR accounting system. DFS described PALM as a statewide effort affecting all three branches of government, with cash management already live and the remaining financial management, payroll, and data warehouse components still in development. Officials said the project began in 2014, was restructured after a 2022 legislative pause, and is now being recommended for a go-live delay from January 2026 to July 2026. Members asked about governance, staffing, contract structure, cost growth, and maintenance costs; DFS said the contract is deliverable-based, the current amendment would add a net $2.2 million, and post-go-live maintenance is expected to be about $13 million annually under the current contract through July 2027. The Agency for Health Care Administration then updated the committee on the FX Medicaid enterprise modernization program. AHCA explained that federal CMS directed states to move from monolithic Medicaid systems to a modular approach, leading Florida to procure separate vendors for integration services, data warehouse, unified operations, provider services, and claims processing, with pharmacy benefits still to be procured. Officials said the project has spent about $334 million to date, with most costs federally matched, and requested $189.95 million for the upcoming year. They also highlighted a 2024 special assessment that produced 81 recommendations, most tied to staffing shortages, and said the Legislature added 47 FTEs, with 17 currently filled or being filled. Members asked about governance changes, production status, data access, and future technology maintenance; AHCA said some components are operational, the data warehouse is nearing certification, and the agency is working to keep the system adaptable and nonproprietary. The Department of Children and Families presented its Access modernization project, which is replacing a mainframe-based eligibility system used for SNAP, TANF, Medicaid assistance, and related programs. DCF said the six-year, $205 million project is in its third year and has already delivered a new customer portal with mobile access, multi-factor authentication, and fraud protections, while also building a worker portal, document management, community partner tools, and workload management functions. The agency said it is requesting $36.625 million for the next fiscal year, the same as last year, and emphasized that the project has remained on schedule and on budget by breaking work into smaller modules and using strong vendor and staff support. Members praised the project’s progress and asked about cybersecurity testing and the long delay before modernization began; DCF said security requirements were built in from the outset and that the remaining work will focus on moving staff off the legacy mainframe and modernizing notices and back-end processes.

Transcript Highlights:

• While employers would not pay the salaries of employees on leave, the real financial hardship comes from
• Has there been any studies as to the cost between a publicly run program and a privately run program?
• I may have to study that more to make sure I can reiterate that to my constituents.
• Have any actuarial studies been done to determine if this fund will be solvent over time, or is that
• I need to look for that and study that.

Transcript Highlights:

• Section two of the bill lowers the employer contributions from 10.25% to 9% of salary.
• <00:14:22.640> Section<00:14:22.920> two from 6.83% to 6% of salary.
• Section two from 6.83% to 6% of salary.
• to 9% of salary. to 9% of salary.
• Our scorecard shows this ratio of... updated experience study which updated experience study which significantly

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Direct care workers, nurses, clinicians, and others in the sector often receive a salary that is significantly
• lower than those working at state-operated human services programs due to low salary benchmarks being
• nursing assistants, LPNs, and RNs receive between 1% and 16% more, and other positions have larger salary
• We published a two-part research study titled Towards a Culture of Access that I was happy to hear many
• what it takes to be able to make things accessible, it is impossible to be able to do that on the salaries

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities held a hearing focused on accessibility-related legislation, with the chairs emphasizing ASL and CART accessibility and asking testifiers to speak slowly and clearly. The committee heard testimony first on H.223/S.130, a bill to establish a livable wage for community-based human service workers by reducing the pay gap with state employees. Providers’ Council, Communities for People, the Key Program, and BAMSI all supported the bill, describing persistent wage disparities, high vacancy and turnover rates, and the impact on continuity of care for children, youth, and families. Witnesses said the bill would help recruitment and retention and stabilize services across the Commonwealth. The committee then heard extensive testimony on H.224/S.160, the ACE Act, which would create a dedicated funding source to improve accessibility in the creative economy. Arts organizations and advocates, including Community Access to the Arts, Abilities Dance Boston, Jacob’s Pillow, the Multicultural Arts Center, Northampton Community Music Center, Mass Creative, Open Door Arts, and Monkey House, described barriers such as inaccessible buildings, lack of ASL interpretation and captioning, inadequate lifts and backstage access, and the high cost of renovations. Testifiers said the bill would help smaller and historic institutions make physical and programmatic improvements and allow people with disabilities to participate as artists, workers, and audiences. The committee also heard testimony on H.4180, which would require DDS to consider neuropsychological evaluations when determining eligibility for intellectual disability services. Parents and advocates argued that IQ cutoffs alone can miss significant functional needs, especially for autistic adults and others with complex developmental profiles, and urged broader access to DDS supports. Additional testimony supported S.101 on closed captioning and telecommunications in public areas, and S.158 on requiring restaurants to have some chairs with arms to better accommodate physically disabled and older patrons. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chair adjourned after hearing from the scheduled witnesses and noting a few signups that were not present.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is especially true for hourly workers and certain salaried workers, according to the Fair Labor
• And from the same article, only 40% of workers studied reported that their employer offers a culture
• Unfortunately, non-exempt positions are, by their nature, salaried.
• But now, so this is covering salaried employees, non-exempt employees, because they're not always the
• But now, so this is covering salaried employees, non-exempt employees, because they're not always the

Summary: The Senate Committee on Labor met with a quorum, adopted the June 4 minutes, and then took up Senate Bill 948, the Workplace Employees Boundaries Act (WEB Act), after adopting an S-1 substitute by a 4-1 vote. Senator Geis presented the bill as a Michigan “right to disconnect” measure that would generally bar employers from requiring employees to access or respond to work communications outside usual work hours, allow employees to set availability hours, prohibit retaliation, direct LEO to write rules, and provide complaint and enforcement procedures with exceptions for emergencies and existing collective bargaining agreements. In questioning, Senator Albert raised concerns about how the bill would apply in small businesses and practical situations like staffing calls, school notifications, and emergency-like circumstances; Geis said the bill was meant to protect non-work time while preserving emergency carve-outs and informational messages. NFIB’s Amanda Fisher opposed the bill, arguing it was too broad, difficult to define across industries and schedules, potentially duplicative of existing wage-and-hour law, and likely to create confusion and reduce flexibility, especially for small employers. The committee then shifted to testimony on health care workforce and labor disputes. Nurses from Teamsters Local 332 described a 291-day strike at Henry Ford/Genesis over safe staffing, return-to-work terms, and alleged union-busting, saying the hospital’s staffing levels and use of replacement workers threatened patient safety and could displace experienced specialty nurses. Michigan Nurses Association president Aaron McCormick and Marquette RN union president Christina Hanson said Michigan’s problem is not a shortage of licensed nurses but of nurses willing to stay in overworked, hostile workplaces; they cited retaliation, slow grievance/arbitration processes, hospital consolidation, rural OB closures, and unsafe staffing ratios as drivers of burnout and departures. They urged stronger protections and faster dispute resolution, especially given the limited effectiveness of the NLRB and delays in labor processes. Additional testimony came from UAW Local 4911’s Kim Wheeler, who said UMH Sparrow was outsourcing two low-paid support groups—patient transport/housekeeping and food and nutrition—despite their importance to hospital operations and despite a recently ratified contract, and asked for transparency and limits on corporate outsourcing. Don Hill of SEIU Health Care Michigan described chronic understaffing in nursing homes, mandatory overtime, burnout, retaliation fears, and the need for enforceable patient-to-staff ratios and stronger wage support; he also noted that home care workers are negotiating first contracts after restored bargaining rights. The committee took no vote on SB 948 beyond adopting the substitute, heard extensive testimony, and adjourned without further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• standards and rules that the teachers must abide by, and then for some programs, it’s additional contract salary
• if they’re longer than a 10-month salary that we support.
• But also, the study that we had done from the University of Cincinnati they put what we do in into a
• I believe that we reimbursed the school, which covers their two summer months of salary for the ag teacher
• We are looking to have a 6% salary-based adjustment for our staff as we would like to retain our dynamic

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We also made the New Mexico State University Arrowhead Center economic study electronic version available
• I'll talk a little bit about that, but it would take all afternoon to cover that study.
• I initiated an economic study and contribution analysis program with the New Mexico State University
• We need to be predictable in that we're going to be able to keep those salaries over time.
• And so we're really trying to sell a lifestyle, but the salary is making a huge difference. Right?

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't have a loan forgiveness program that I can use if I come to work for you, and my salaries are
• I pay some of the highest salaries for these professionals, and I still cannot recruit them.
• been forward-thinking in trying to attract health care providers, including increases in faculty salaries
• For the interim committee to put out for study so that we can get the data that we are unable to get
• They have been studied time and again over the last three decades, including that FTC study that was

Transcript Highlights:

• I should say the relative rates of growth of administrative salaries compared to teacher salaries?
• I ran on this four years ago: more money in the classroom, higher teacher salaries.
• Four years ago, more money in the classroom, higher teacher salaries.
• The Brennan Center did their own study.
• But when we see district school teacher salaries increase, we're going to see teacher salaries increase

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 3045 amend provisions for employees in classified or unclassified service, respectively, to clarify salary
• 3045 amend provisions for employees in classified or unclassified service, respectively, to clarify salary
• Studies have consistently even greater.
• Studies have consistently shown<00:07:56.400> that<00:07:56.639> paid<00:07:57.039>
• And what's more, studies child death.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the minutes, and then took up several administrative regulations. The first was an Office of the Attorney General regulation creating an online submission process for an annual certification report to replace prior quarterly notarized certification forms; there were no amendments or questions. The main discussion centered on Personnel Cabinet regulations 101 KAR 2:034, 2:102, 3:015, and 3:045, which include staff-suggested technical amendments and address state employee compensation and leave. The compensation provisions clarify salary and rehiring/demotion rules, increase critical position premiums from one to three, and update weekend premium and ACE award practices. The leave provisions would provide up to six weeks of paid leave per 10-year interval for birth, adoption, foster placement, or a serious health condition, and allow one paid adverse-weather day per year with supervisor approval. Staff explained that annual and sick leave already accrue and roll over, and that the new six-week benefit was intended as an additional enhancement tied to the 10-year and 20-year sick-leave milestones.

Transcript Highlights:

• do asset-liability studies with our external investment consultant.
• And in that process, when we... ...do asset-liability studies with our external investment consultant
• Sometimes state employee salaries don't compete with industry, and so perhaps that's a way to make up
• So they actually did their own actuarial study, market check, what they call on our plan to see how we
• So those are the 43 FTE and then the salaries that go along with our division of purchasing and all of

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I will say that after, for example, puts out every several years an economic impact study, where we
• go sort of net, ...several years in an economic impact study, where we go sort of national study, but
• Funding, salaries, teaching artists, and overhead, and a $30,000 grant from the N.A. that supports a
• So it's all long-studied and tested. We're proven. So it's all long-studied and tested.
• But this project and parts of my salary were funded by two grants that we were awarded: one three-year

Summary: The joint informational hearing focused on how recent federal actions are affecting arts, culture, humanities, libraries, museums, and the creative economy in California. Chair Ben Allen and Vice Chair Chris Ward opened by describing the hearing as a response to proposed and ongoing federal cuts to the NEA, NEH, IMLS, and public broadcasting, as well as grant terminations and leadership changes at cultural institutions. Several members emphasized the economic and civic importance of the arts, while one Republican member argued for greater ideological diversity in the arts and noted the loss of music programs in small schools. Testimony from Aaron Harky of Americans for the Arts and Jolie Fisher of SAG-AFTRA described the impact of federal policy on grants, jobs, and production. Harky said executive orders and the FY 2026 budget proposal threaten arts agencies and arts education, and that rescinded grants are causing hiring freezes, shutdowns, and losses for small organizations, especially in rural and underserved communities. Fisher focused on runaway film and television production, outdated tax rules, and the need for federal incentives, intellectual property protections, and action on AI and digital replicas. Members also discussed bipartisan support, the role of business and tourism partners, and the need to include more diverse voices in arts advocacy. The second panel featured Rick Noguchi of California Humanities, Greg Lucas of the State Library, and Danielle Purcell of the California Arts Council. Noguchi said NEH funding was cut immediately, putting California Humanities’ grantmaking and documentary programs at risk and prompting consideration of litigation and possible state support. Lucas reported that IMLS funding for California libraries was briefly canceled but partly restored, though a budget gap remains. Purcell said the California Arts Council is still awaiting federal award language for state partnership funds, but NEA grant terminations and the proposed elimination of federal cultural agencies create major uncertainty; she also said the council is assessing the damage and tracking impacts on grantees. Members asked about measuring outcomes, AI’s threat to creative work, documentary funding losses, and possible state and national strategies to protect cultural institutions and jobs.

Transcript Highlights:

• The second trailer bill item is the Division of Workers' Compensation Administrative Director's salary
• We reviewed the two salary adjustments, find no issues with those two.
• Okay, so if I heard you correctly, you said that the salary is actually dictated by prior statute.
• And so there are dual tracks that can be pursued in terms of funding additional salaries for judicial
• You've been diligent in your study, in your questions, in your concern. Yes, I am.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <05:42:44.680> that Economist actually did a study that Economist actually did a study that
• That just their base salary average salary, $116,000.
• Cutting congressional salaries would solve the deficit?
• Um, Department of Education salaries. Let's just get rid of the Department of Education salaries.
• <05:54:25.520> let's Department of Education salaries let's Department of Education salaries

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There are some national studies that show that they don't always give the quality care that others would
• Operations, I say, if executive staff's salary and benefits do not exceed...
• Exceed 30% of the average staff salary and benefits.
• So if operational expenses are including executive salaries, I have an issue with that as well.