Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the oversight coordinator of the Hawaiʻi Correctional System Oversight Commission. Thank you.
• </c> Hawai correctional system oversight Hawai correctional system oversight commission<00:01:54.280>
• </c> Kristen Johnson I'm the oversight Kristen Johnson I'm the oversight coordinator<00:01:57.799><c>
• <00:21:28.120><c> yes</c><00:21:28.279><c> Sen</c> oversight yes Sen oversight yes Sen F<00:21:30.120
• Some of which are included in the governor's executive budget; those not included in the budget will

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The cost—it's in the budget from the 2025 Budget Act: $69.3 million.
• constraints due to H.R. 1 to balance their budgets.
• With respect to the department's budget, the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 totals $3.2 billion
• With respect to the department's budget, the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 totals $3.2 billion
• Presenting two of our infrastructure budget change proposals, as well as two budget bill items we have

Summary: The hearing focused first on behavioral health, especially serious mental illness and anosognosia, a condition described by witnesses as a neurological symptom that prevents people from recognizing they are ill. The chair framed the issue around families cycling through emergency rooms, jails, conservatorships, and short-term stabilization without lasting treatment, and warned that federal changes under H.R. 1 could reduce Medi-Cal funding and worsen access. Dawn Marie Anderson gave a personal account of her son’s long history of psychosis, homelessness, arrests, repeated jail and state hospital stays, and eventual stability when he received sustained medication and coordinated support. She argued that the system often treats the problem as criminal rather than medical and that voluntary programs and short-term services are not enough for people who lack insight into their illness. Other panelists, including representatives from the California Behavioral Health Association, Santa Barbara County Behavioral Health, and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, agreed that anosognosia is not denial or noncompliance and said the system needs long-term, coordinated care, including assertive community treatment, mobile crisis, supportive housing, medication support, and stronger handoffs between county and managed care systems. They said CalAIM and other reforms have improved some coordination, but significant gaps remain, especially for people with serious mental illness, for those in jail or locked settings, and for people with private insurance, which witnesses said often offers little meaningful coverage for early psychosis or intensive behavioral health services. Several witnesses urged the Legislature to protect Medi-Cal, shore up county safety-net services, and invest in training and family engagement. The committee then turned to the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, with a focus on the virtual services platforms BrightLife Kids and Soluna and the CYBHI fee schedule. DHCS reported strong growth in app registrations, coaching sessions, referrals, and positive user outcomes, saying the platforms provide free, culturally responsive, early-intervention support statewide and help connect users to higher levels of care when needed. On the fee schedule, DHCS said more than 500 LEAs, colleges, universities, and school-linked providers are participating, 181 LEAs have submitted claims, and $9.6 million has been reimbursed to date, with 41,556 students represented in claims. The chair and several members criticized the pace of implementation and the amount of money spent relative to reimbursement levels, saying the Legislature had requested data earlier and that the return on investment still appeared low. DHCS responded that many claims are still being submitted, that 70% of denials are correctable, that $400 million in capacity grants has been distributed locally, and that reimbursement is increasing rapidly as more districts come online. Public comment included a rural county behavioral health director who said private insurance denials leave counties with significant uncompensated work, especially for unlicensed staff providing case management and mobile crisis services.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number Two on Human Services Issues.
• In times of budget deficits, maximizing existing investments and policies becomes crucial.
• On this budget, we are capturing that and taking that into account.
• that budget request. move forward.
• items. past by previous legislative budget items.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That said, the Governor's budget builds off the 2024 Budget Act framework.
• , a fiscally balanced budget.
• And so I don't even know if I'm going to come to another budget hearing for oversight because I'm not
• balanced budget.
• budget.

Committee: House Budget

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> State Agency Oversight Policy Committee. State Agency Oversight Policy Committee.
• </c><00:29:13.520><c> of</c><00:29:13.640><c> budget</c> some fall under the oversight of budget some
• fall under the oversight of budget services, services, services, uh uh uh debt<00:29:16.159><c> management
• </c> Management and Budget.
• </c> and our oversight role. and our oversight role.

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• This has to be an oversight issue. That is our role. And we have given up oversight.
• And we have given up oversight and transparency.
• I could get to a yes with reasonable oversight.
• My budget that I bring home is so anemic.
• My budget that I bring home is so anemic that you cannot excuse it.

Committee: Senate Appropriations

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So the budget itself is a budget proposal that we do have for this.
• in the budget year.
• This budget solution.
• And for budget year, there's no change from the Governor's budget.
• , and for budget year 2026-27... ...down 7.1% from the Governor's budget, and for budget year 2026-27

Summary: The committee first heard May Revision child care and human services items. The Department of Child Support Services described two technical adjustments, which the analyst supported. The Department of Social Services then walked through child care proposals, including a reduction in federal and Proposition 64 funding absorbed through a shift from General Child Care to the Alternative Payment program, a 2.01% child care COLA, disaster-related infrastructure grants, a new administrative support cost structure for Alternative Payment agencies, the removal of prospective pay funding after a federal rule change, a reappropriation for existing infrastructure grants, and estimates of unspent child care funds. The Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended asking for more justification for shifting reductions to CAP, supported the COLA reduction but wanted consistency across programs, recommended removing prospective pay funding, opposed the administrative cost shift, and suggested further review of disaster grant alignment. Members pressed the administration on why more slots would be cut for the same savings, why the COLA was reduced, and whether the administrative percentage would grow over time. The administration said the changes were intended to avoid disrupting currently enrolled families, reflect point-in-time relinquishments and unspent funds, and stabilize contractor operations. Public commenters, including providers, advocates, and county representatives, urged full COLA funding, rejection of child care slot reductions, preservation of prospective pay, and continued investment in child care infrastructure and access. The subcommittee then recessed before moving to health items. In Part B, the Department of State Hospitals presented its May Revision proposals, including a central utility plant replacement project at Metropolitan State Hospital, funding for a continuum electronic health record system, reduced county bed billing authority to reflect phase-in of additional LPS beds, limited contract exemption authority for online clinical subscription services, reversion of prior-year unspent operating funds, and a workforce development proposal to use Behavioral Health Services Act funds instead of General Fund for training programs. The department said the EHR would modernize records and improve continuity of care, and that the contract exemption would prevent delays in essential clinical information services. No votes were taken in the excerpt provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's a big part of their budget.
• Our budget, as you attended the BOE, was 3.2% above we heard from Career Tech.
• But we need to reconcile a 3.2% total budget increase from last year.
• We do think that we have solid oversight processes in place.
• but rather they use their estimate of needs as their budget.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But it's almost like a performance-based budgeting exercise about funding and results.
• And I think your budget and your whatever sector you're in shows your priorities.
• And if the UC system isn't budgeting this as a priority, then we need to change that.
• Oversight, as has been requested by the Office of the President.
• Addressing this oversight became my first priority when I assumed my role.

Summary: The joint hearing of the Select Committee on Native American Affairs and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee focused on the University of California’s compliance with NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA and the return of Native American human remains and cultural items. Senators and Assembly Members opened by emphasizing the sacredness of repatriation, the ongoing trauma caused by delayed returns, and the need for stronger systemwide accountability. The State Auditor presented the third audit of UC’s repatriation efforts, concluding that UC still lacks the urgency, oversight, and clear timelines needed to promptly return remains and belongings. The audit found thousands of remains and hundreds of thousands of cultural items still in UC custody, new undisclosed collections at several campuses, weak budgeting and underspending, and repatriation plans that often lacked concrete deadlines. The auditor recommended stronger UCOP oversight, performance metrics, proactive searches for undiscovered items, and possible legislative action to tie funding to measurable progress. UC officials responded that the system is committed to full compliance and has accelerated its work since adopting a new policy in 2022. UC Provost Catherine Newman said the system repatriated more than 2,800 ancestors and nearly 80,000 funerary belongings in the past year, and that UC now says 80.3% of Native American remains are either repatriated or available for repatriation. UC announced a new systemwide plan to complete repatriation of human remains by the end of 2028, to finish high-risk campus reviews by June 2026, to recall all loans by January 2026, and to require quarterly reporting to UCOP. UC also said it will spend an additional $8.8 million over three years, expand staffing, improve databases, support tribal consultation costs, and identify potential reburial sites on UC land. Berkeley and San Diego described increased staffing, consultations, and repatriation activity, while Santa Barbara said it had corrected earlier omissions, notified tribes about previously unreported ancestors, and was working toward completing repatriations and updated inventories. Committee members pressed UC on why progress has been so slow, why the audit’s timelines differed from UC’s public reporting, and whether the 2028 goal applies only to human remains rather than all cultural items. UC said the 2028 target is for human remains, while cultural items will take longer, and acknowledged that more work remains. Members also asked about the technical expertise needed for repatriation, the role of tribal experts, and whether repatriation should be embedded more permanently in UC governance or statute. Tribal leaders and representatives then testified that remains and belongings were taken without consent and must be returned with tribal consent and leadership. They criticized the repeated delays, stressed that tribes are the experts on their ancestors and cultural heritage, and urged UC to treat repatriation as a top priority and to return all associated items, not just human remains, so ancestors can truly rest.

Transcript Highlights:

• The fraud committee will be fraud and agency oversight.
• </c> about what that is that like oversight about what that is that like oversight hearings<00:14:31.720
• </c> um will be fraud and agency oversight um will be fraud and agency oversight there<00:14:49.199><
• </c><00:26:43.039><c> in</c> worried about not passing a budget in worried about not passing a budget
• Minnesotans should expect that a budget would be passed.

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: House Republican leaders, led by Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth and Majority Leader Harry Niska, outlined their priorities for the upcoming Minnesota House session and said they intend to use an organizational majority to advance their agenda. They said their focus will be on stopping fraud, making government more accountable, reducing taxes and fees, and addressing affordability, energy costs, public safety, education, and permitting reform. Specific proposals mentioned included repealing the tax on Social Security benefits, rolling back automatic gas tax increases, repealing the nuclear moratorium, and changing state programs they said should be limited to people in the country legally. A central theme was the creation of a new House committee on fraud and agency oversight, which Republicans said will have subpoena power and be chaired by Rep. Kristin Robbins. They said the committee will investigate known fraud, review agency internal controls, and press agencies for information on staffing, office space, and cost savings. Rep. Jim Nash also described a proposed “fraud note” scoring system to rate agencies on whether they have implemented Office of the Auditor’s recommendations, with the goal of informing appropriations decisions. On education and public safety, Niska said Republicans want fewer mandates and higher standards in schools, citing low reading and math proficiency, and leaders said they want stronger accountability for repeat and juvenile offenders. They also said they expect committee chairs to be Republican, may reduce Democratic committee seats if Democrats do not show up, and are not planning a power-sharing agreement unless the chamber returns to a true tie. They discussed the pending court case involving Rep. Brad Tabke, a possible recall process for absent legislators, remote voting rules, and a special election timeline, while insisting they expect Democrats to appear on the first day of session and that they will proceed with organizing the House and electing a speaker on January 14.

Transcript Highlights:

• Bill 5931, making administrative changes to the Workforce Education Investment Accountability and Oversight
• I'm a little under the weather, but if there's money in the budget for a cough drop, let me know.
• Since fall 2023, WASAC has staffed the WEA Oversight Board, which convenes a unique mix of business,
• The dashboard was never... ...the WEA Oversight Board. Say that a few times fast.
• So can you help me understand, I guess, what sort of oversight WASAC currently has of the WEA board?

Bills: SB5963

Committee: House Postsecondary Education & Workforce

Keywords: SB 5963, passport to careers, Washington College Grant, financial aid, higher education, student aid, need-based aid, college affordability, postsecondary education, workforce development, apprenticeship, foster youth, homeless students, unaccompanied youth, low-income students, public assistance, state financial aid account, scholarships, Washington student grants, grant eligibility

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the Department of Revenue has its oversight capabilities and responsibilities.
• So the budget is submitted to the Department of Revenue.
• The Department of Revenue does its analysis as to that budget.
• Budget is... Budget is a big piece in order to fund the resources that we have.
• We pretty much all do, but it's also on the oversight side.

Committee: Senate Finance and Tax

Summary: The Committee on Finance and Tax met with a quorum present and heard a presentation from the Property Appraisers Association of Florida on ad valorem valuation, exemptions, and the property tax process. Lauren Levy reviewed the legal and historical framework of Florida property taxation, including Save Our Homes, the 10% cap on non-homestead assessments, portability, tangible personal property exemptions, TRIM notices, and the distinction between taxable value and millage rates. He emphasized that property appraisers are independent constitutional officers who assess just value, administer exemptions, and are overseen by the Department of Revenue, with values and exemptions generally determined as of January 1 and subject to challenge through the Value Adjustment Board or circuit court. Mike Twitty described the mass appraisal process in Pinellas County, explaining how property appraisers value large numbers of parcels using the same core approaches as fee appraisals but with statistical testing, field reviews, aerial imagery, and technology. He discussed the importance of budget, staffing, and the January 1 valuation date, and noted that recent hurricanes caused significant damage, increased petitions, and required new procedures to help property owners with value reductions and FEMA-related issues. Paul Polk focused on Department of Revenue oversight, explaining sales ratio studies, uniformity measures such as COD and PRD, time adjustments, sales qualification reviews, and in-depth studies that can lead to corrective action if assessment standards are not met. He also noted that the Department reviews property appraiser budgets to preserve independence from county pressure. Senators asked about the supersized homestead concept, DOR review and rejection standards, value trends, and the impact of storms and new construction on taxable value. Twitty and Polk said value growth has been driven by a mix of new construction, market appreciation, cap resets, and storm-related adjustments, while noting that some counties saw market value decline even as taxable value rose. They also said some property tax relief proposals would be easier to implement than others depending on how local tax bills are structured, especially where law enforcement millage is separately identified. No votes were taken on legislation, and the committee adjourned after the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:45:04.359><c> certainty</c> I I talked already our budget certainty I I talked already our budget
• Will it just be one oversight person?
• Will it just be one oversight person?
• Will it just be one oversight person?
• Will it just be one oversight person?

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Moving on to regulatory oversight 2123.
• Moving on to regulatory oversight 2123.
• Moving on to regulatory oversight 2123.
• Moving on to regulatory oversight 2123.
• Moving on to regulatory oversight 2123.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The meeting covered a long series of bills, mostly in health, education, commerce, federalism, and government. In health, members discussed radiology technology updates (HB 2050), a tribal Medicaid waiver/drawdown measure with no state cost (HB 2177), an emergency medicine study committee (HB 2183), fetal death certificate and remains-transfer requirements (HB 2184), a physician assistant licensure compact (HB 2190), dementia care telemonitoring funding (HB 2202), SNAP error-rate reduction and fraud/eligibility oversight bills (HB 2206, HB 2442, HB 2797), child welfare protections like credit freezes and recorded interviews (HB 2321, HB 2322), and podiatric licensure compacts (HB 2438). Several of these were described as consent-calendar items, while HB 2206 and the SNAP-related measures drew discussion about fraud reduction, administrative burden, and work requirements. In commerce and finance, the committee heard bills on mobile food vendors and local permits (HB 2118), earned wage access services with fee caps and disclosure rules (HB 2309), CPA licensure changes (HB 2476), cash acceptance for retail purchases under $100 (HB 2555), drone delivery and unmanned aircraft guardrails (HB 2875), timeshare salesperson licensing (HB 2877), and a prohibition on state-mandated social credit scoring in lending decisions (HB 2903). The tax and retirement-related items included 529 plan conformity and Roth IRA transfer rules (HB 2477), annual tax conformity to the Internal Revenue Code (HB 2785), ASRS technical and disability-related changes (HB 2089, HB 2090, HB 2092), and a bill on employee health insurance definitions (HB 2089). The Arizona Commerce Authority bill (HB 2754) would add legislative members to the board and shift more control over trade offices and Arizona Competes Fund spending to the legislature. The education section focused heavily on school governance and finance. Bills included patriotic youth group presentations in schools (HB 2312), school board term limits (HB 2318), mandatory training for governing board members (HB 2379), independent municipal advisors for bond elections (HB 2320), restrictions on districts buying operating charter/private school sites to game enrollment formulas (HB 2376), conflict-of-interest limits for school facilities board architects and engineers (HB 2378), public meeting and travel transparency rules for districts (HB 2380), limits on long-term school property leases and reporting requirements (HB 2384), tighter bidding rules for school construction job orders using Building Renewal Grant funds (HB 2482), and a voluntary computer science proficiency seal (HB 2764). Sponsors repeatedly framed these as transparency, accountability, and anti-abuse measures, while some opposition centered on local flexibility, housing use, and existing training providers. In federalism and government, the committee heard bills to give counties more time to mail sample ballots (HB 2006), require courts to identify veterans at first appearance for possible veterans court referral (HB 2226), study veterans’ awareness of benefits (HB 2406), broaden military leave protections (HB 2663), require SAVE verification for voter registration and certain state services (HB 2806), require U.S.-sourced voting machine components by 2029 (HB 2901), affirm the Electoral College (HB 2902), and establish due process protections for justice of the peace courts against outside administrative action (HB 2976). Government committee items included a later deadline for library trustees’ annual reports (HB 2129), a two-year limit on certain adult protective services reports to the Attorney General (HB 2228), and an exemption for public and semi-public cold plunges from ADEQ spa rules (HB 2439). Several bills were reported as consent-calendar items, and a number of sponsors noted committee votes, fiscal neutrality, or favorable testimony in support of the measures.

Transcript Highlights:

• And Madam Chair, Belinda, do you have money in your budget to do this?
• HB2 the budget onto the Senate.
• That was not recurring in the budget.
• As we approach the budget and work on the budget every year, and I would say that this is the conundrum
• The Water Trust Board, NMFA, NMFA Oversight, we all get our job completed by December.

Bills: HM26 , HB243 , HB109

Committee: House House Agriculture, Acequias And Water Resources

Keywords: insects, ecosystem, education, public awareness, wildlife conservation, state agency involvement, New Mexico, equine welfare, animal rescue, shelter funding, trust fund, veterinary care, water project fund, water project finance act, New Mexico Finance Authority, water infrastructure, water grants, water loans, regional water planning, water rights adjudication

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> governor's supplemental budget. governor's supplemental budget.
• </c><00:24:51.840><c> neutral</c> budget, Minsure has one budget neutral budget, Minsure has one budget
• </c> our budget responding to federal action. our budget responding to federal action.
• </c> tax that's budget neutral. tax that's budget neutral.
• </c> Um and this one is budget neutral. Um and this one is budget neutral.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What we may need to do at a budget level.
• The cost is, what we have in the budget from the 2025 Budget Act, is $69.3 million.
• constraints due to H.R. 1 to balance their budgets.
• With respect to the department's budget, the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026-27 totals $3.2 billion
• I will be presenting our infrastructure budget change proposals, as well as two budget bill items we

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But to earmark our current budget really results in a reduction of our overall agency budget by about
• I'm curious, do we have... it's to help oversee the budget for PED, to help oversee budgets at local
• We do have a school budget bureau, who is responsible for reviewing budgets, but I will point out, as
• It's not just managing and reading a budget; you have to build a budget.
• , because building budgets and managing budgets are really a year-round process.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, we have a massive budget, not um, so uh the fiscal part of the budget bill for the elections is actually
• </c> with our standard budget rules? Mr. with our standard budget rules? Mr.
• </c> government budget omnibus bill. government budget omnibus bill.
• There is a $2.7 million budget.
• Effective grant oversight.

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We should provide that kind of oversight.
• We should provide that kind of oversight.
• Has your home budget tripled in those 16 years? Has your constituents' budget tripled in 16 years?
• Budget Sub 3 will be meeting in Room 1:30 p.m.
• Budget Sub 3 will be meeting in Room 1200 at 1:30.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a floor introduction welcoming Berkeley Mayor Adina Ishi. The body then moved through a series of third-reading bills, with most measures presented as responses to current policy concerns and several placed on call before roll votes were completed. Early measures included SB 1312 on abandoned cemeteries, SB 1112 increasing penalties for towing industry notice violations, SB 877 requiring insurers to disclose claim materials and revisions, SB 1046 directing Cal/OSHA to develop protections for workers exposed to transboundary pollution in the Tijuana River Valley, and SB 1091 creating a community anti-displacement and preservation housing program. These bills generally drew support and passed, with SB 1091 ultimately passing 34-2 after a call vote. The floor also considered SB 951 on AI-related layoffs and worker notice, SB 1030 repealing the “man in the house” rule in CalWORKs, SB 1218 tying vehicle registration renewal to payment of illegal dumping fines, SB 1013 tightening privacy and oversight rules for automated license plate readers, SB 1116 making technical changes to the Starter Home Revitalization Act, SB 1201 protecting veterans from food-assistance cuts, and SB 1164 strengthening state voting-rights protections. Debate on SB 1013 featured sharp disagreement over whether the bill’s 30-day retention limit and audit requirements were necessary guardrails or would hinder law enforcement investigations. SB 1164 also drew opposition over concerns about litigation and expanded Attorney General oversight, but supporters argued California should codify voting-rights protections amid federal uncertainty. Most of these measures passed, with SB 1013 and SB 1164 receiving notable no votes. A major portion of the session focused on AB 1768, an urgency measure authorizing Los Angeles and Contra Costa counties to place local sales-tax measures before voters to help offset federal funding cuts to health care and safety-net services. Supporters framed it as a local-control measure needed to backfill losses from federal disinvestment and protect Medi-Cal, CalFresh, hospitals, clinics, and county services; opponents argued it would worsen affordability, expand regressive taxation, and bypass normal committee review. After extensive debate, the urgency measure received the required votes and passed. The Senate also adopted SCR 171 designating May 20 as California Nonprofits Day by unanimous roll call. The session ended with committee announcements, including budget subcommittee meetings, and a notice that the Senate would recess and reconvene later in the week.