Transcript Highlights:

• this bill, this HCR, would restrict a teacher's ability as an employee to say, please deduct this membership
• access to a school district's internal communication systems to distribute labor organization, membership
• access to a school district's internal communication systems to distribute labor organization, membership
• Now, political materials. ...organization, membership recruiting, information, or political materials
• I certainly know of some members in the Republican lawmakers who understand the value of union membership

Transcript Highlights:

• Florida's digital transformation.
• Florida's digital transformation.
• Protect the state's digital assets.
• And I think this question will maybe go to the digital...
• Digital Service could lead and manage for them.

Summary: The subcommittee held its first meeting to examine Florida’s information technology governance, budgeting, cybersecurity, data management, and telecommunications operations. Chair Schneider and other members framed the panel as a new joint policy-and-budget forum focused on reducing jargon, improving accountability, and asking whether technology investments are feasible, aligned with state goals, cost-controlled, and secure. State Affairs Chairman Will Robinson and members emphasized that the committee should avoid buying “shiny new objects” without clear business cases and should focus on long-term value, cybersecurity, and operational efficiency. Florida Digital Service and Department of Management Services leaders provided an overview of the state IT enterprise. Secretary Pedro Allende described DMS as the state’s business, workforce, and technology service provider, while State CIO Warren Spanholz outlined Florida Digital Service’s four core areas: cybersecurity, project success, data interoperability, and enterprise architecture. Chief Data Officer Ed Ryan said the state data catalog is about 400,000 elements and roughly half of agencies are participating, and he described efforts to identify authoritative data sources and improve interoperability. Chief Information Security Officer Jeremy Rogers discussed the state cybersecurity operations center, enterprise risk management, incident response exercises, and a recurring $35 million cybersecurity resiliency budget. Chief Technology Officer Leo Schoonover described oversight of major IT projects over $10 million, updated project management standards, and a shift toward smaller phased implementations and more flexible methodologies to reduce delays and overruns. Other presenters covered telecommunications, data center operations, and cybersecurity workforce development. Director Denise Atkins said the Division of Telecommunications manages Suncom and MyFloridaNet, with nearly $336.9 million appropriated for fiscal year 2024-25, and is procuring the next network contract while emphasizing security controls and vendor flexibility. Tim Brown said the Northwest Regional Data Center operates on a chargeback basis, serves state and local customers, and returned surpluses to customers in recent years. Cyber Florida Director Ernie Ferraroso described training, workforce pipelines, K-12 outreach, a cyber range, and research programs aimed at building Florida’s cyber workforce and improving public-sector readiness. Members asked about budget setting, project delays, change orders, cybersecurity reporting, data catalog participation, interoperability, and expanding cybersecurity operations centers. Officials said chargeback rates are based on actual direct and indirect costs, project delays often stem from unclear scope and insufficient upfront planning, and cybersecurity success is measured by mean time to detect, respond, and recover. They also said the state is moving toward more modular project delivery, broader agency participation in shared cybersecurity services, and expanded CSOC locations within existing staff and budget where feasible.

Transcript Highlights:

• content and learn about and understand a digital footprint while simultaneously banning the digital
• Banning digital media also bans these tools and forces school districts back to square.
• And my mission is to promote digital well-being for young people.
• And my mission is to promote digital wellbeing for in with young people.
• Let's commit to supporting the digital.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:07:44.599><c> constituent</c> Postage and digital constituent Postage and digital constituent
• On line 20 on page 17, photographs and digital images: the House photographers take digital images of
• </c><00:12:59.199><c> constituent</c> postage in dig digital constituent postage in dig digital constituent
• </c><00:13:09.279><c> a</c><00:13:09.399><c> hard</c> digital digital I always have a hard digital digital
• > photographers take uh digital images of photographers take uh digital images of members<00:15:10.720

Committee: House Rules and Legislative Administration

Transcript Highlights:

• There are several trillion dollars in digital assets currently being held in the state of Kentucky.
• Nearly half a million individuals own a digital asset of some kind.
• Section two deals with an individual's right to hold digital assets and transact using those digital
• </c> are several trillion dollars in digital are several trillion dollars in digital assets<00:04:24.600
• assets and transact using hold digital assets and transact using those<00:05:05.880><c> digital</c><

Summary: The House Standing Committee on Banking and Insurance met with a quorum and first introduced a guest before taking up House Bill 701, sponsored by Representative Adam Bowling. The committee adopted a committee substitute by voice vote. Bowling explained that the substitute removed the bill’s mining-related language and added clarification that the bill does not require anyone to accept digital assets as payment. The bill was described as a measure to modernize Kentucky’s approach to digital assets and blockchain technology, protect the right to hold and transact in digital assets, and clarify that certain crypto activities are not securities; it also preserves authority for the Attorney General to pursue fraud under existing consumer protection laws. Members asked questions about why Kentucky should act before federal regulators fully resolve whether digital assets are securities or commodities, whether the bill affected local zoning authority, and how the measure addresses consumer protection and money laundering concerns. Bowling and a Coinbase representative said the bill is intended to provide clarity, align Kentucky with emerging federal developments, and avoid stifling innovation. They noted that Coinbase remains subject to federal AML/KYC rules and that recent federal litigation over staking and securities issues had been dismissed. Several members said they supported the bill as a way to put Kentucky in a leading position, while others expressed uncertainty about the security-versus-commodity question. The committee then voted on House Bill 701 as amended by the substitute. The bill passed on a roll call vote, with most members voting yes. Representative Camuel passed, saying she wanted more time to understand the issue, and Representative Grossberg voted yes with reservations. Representative Hancock and others said the bill’s regulatory clarity and consumer protection aspects were important, and Representative Lockett said the measure would help Kentucky be ready once federal regulators decide how crypto should be classified.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, again, if this passes, membership will have more influence on their unions.
• Um, again, if this passes, membership will have more influence on their unions.
• He asked how those workers benefit from union membership.
• Union dues gives you membership and a say in how the union is run.
• It is direct-ed by that membership.

Committee: House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services

Transcript Highlights:

• Our membership is made up of all types of staffing firms, but includes many small- to medium-sized women-owned
• advancements in artificial intelligence have led to the creation of synthetic performers, human-like digital
• Human-like digital figures that convincingly appear, speak, move, and perform like real people.
• being said, I do think that we are in a little bit of a different era now. ...with AI and the use of digital

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills, beginning with SB 16, which would require county behavioral health directors to create clear pathways for clinicians to be authorized to initiate 5150 involuntary holds. The author and supporters argued the bill would reduce reliance on law enforcement and create more consistent crisis response standards statewide, while county behavioral health directors opposed it as an unfunded mandate that could increase law enforcement involvement and create implementation burdens. Members raised questions about county costs and funding, but the author emphasized the bill’s role in building a more clinical response system. SB 561 would require public guardians to acknowledge conservatorship referrals, make determinations within a reasonable time, and provide status updates on request. Supporters said the bill would reduce delays that leave vulnerable adults in limbo, while the opposition from public guardian representatives was removed after amendments. SB 381 drew extensive public testimony in support; it would allow California-born adoptees, and descendants of deceased adoptees, access to original birth certificates, with a nonbinding contact preference form for birth parents. Supporters framed the bill as a matter of dignity, identity, and health, and there was no formal opposition on the record. The committee also discussed SB 880, which would give tenants and prospective owner-occupants notice and a first opportunity to make an offer when institutional investors sell certain homes. Supporters said it would expand homeownership opportunities and preserve neighborhood stability, while opponents warned about conflicts with federal law, bundled-sale restrictions, and impacts on build-to-rent and affordable housing projects. Members and the author discussed possible amendments to address those concerns. SB 1238 would impose a duty of care and additional transparency requirements on HOA managers and boards; supporters said it would protect homeowners from mismanagement, while the main opposition argued the duty should remain contractual and could increase litigation. Finally, SB 423 would require disclosure of emergency-service records related to private detention facilities, and SB 28 would make changes to the CARE Court process, including a statewide ombudsperson and expanded oversight; both drew support and opposition, with concerns focused on transparency, privacy, implementation, and the balance between treatment and coercion. SB 574, discussed at the end, would require disclosure and human oversight for AI use in courts and legal practice and create a complaint process for ADR providers, with the State Bar noting requested amendments related to complaint handling and confidentiality.

Transcript Highlights:

• Our membership is made up of all types of staffing firms, but includes many small- to medium-sized women-owned
• advancements in artificial intelligence have led to the creation of synthetic performers—human-like digital
• advancements in artificial intelligence have led to the creation of synthetic performers—human-like digital
• being said, I do think that we are in a little bit of a different era now. ...with AI and the use of digital

Committee: House Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• This funding directly supports Medi-Cal and helps fund the Medi-Cal program, and the digital software
• This funding directly supports Medi-Cal and helps fund the Medi-Cal program and the digital software
• The EHR will digitize and centrally store patient health information so that care can be administered
• The commission is an independent state agency led by 27 commissioners whose membership reflects the public

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health held a May Revision hearing covering several health-related budget proposals and broader concerns about the state’s budget structure. The Chair opened by praising some May Revision changes, such as added health IT funding, county administration support tied to Medi-Cal changes, a delay in Medi-Cal cuts for some lawfully present immigrants, and additional support for Covered California subsidies, while criticizing proposed increases in Medi-Cal premiums, changes to senior eligibility, the lack of a Medi-Cal dental solution, and other reductions affecting counties, mobile crisis units, workforce incentives, and physician shortages. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said the state’s budget condition remains weak despite progress on the structural deficit, and the Department of Finance said the May Revision uses a mix of reductions, reforms, revenue proposals, and fund shifts to cut out-year deficits. The committee first heard Department of State Hospitals proposals, including adjustments to county bed billing authority, contract exemption language for online clinical/pharmacy subscriptions, reversion of unspent funds, a revised Metro Central Utility Plant replacement project, electronic health record implementation, and workforce development funded partly through Behavioral Health Services Act resources. DSH also described savings and realignments in incompetent-to-stand-trial and conditional release programs, including extending the independent placement panel program and shifting funds to support additional bed capacity and a mental health rehab center. Members asked about the use of BHSA funds for workforce programs, and the department said the proposal would replace General Fund support with BHSA reimbursements. The Emergency Medical Services Authority proposed funding for statewide behavioral health crisis response guidance and for enterprise system development, and the Department of Managed Health Care proposed modernization of its complaint system and claims-settlement data system to improve oversight and comply with AB 3275. The largest discussion centered on the administration’s BHSA spending plan under Proposition 1, including state-directed prevention, workforce, and other uses, plus General Fund offsets for existing programs. The LAO questioned whether some proposed offsets fit Proposition 1’s non-supplant and eligible-use requirements, while the administration argued the uses were consistent with the measure and that the state-directed share can be adjusted annually. The Commission for Behavioral Health’s proposals drew the most public and member concern. The administration proposed cutting the commission’s Innovation Partnership Fund from $20 million to $10 million and reducing the Community Advocacy Program by $6.7 million, while redirecting BHSA dollars to other state purposes and direct services. Commissioners, advocates, and several members argued the cuts would weaken community voice, reduce support for underserved populations, and disrupt grants already in process; they also objected to using BHSA funds to backfill General Fund commitments. Public commenters, including youth, disability, behavioral health, LGBTQ, tribal, veteran, immigrant, and community-based organization representatives, overwhelmingly opposed the cuts and urged preservation of prevention, advocacy, mobile crisis, and innovation funding. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, in table one before you, pursuant to department rules, at least four FTE membership surveys are to
• Each survey is a determination of the FTE membership, or public school enrollment, for a period of one
• As outlined in the table before you for the 2024-25 school year, four FTE membership surveys, or surveys
• As school districts submitted their final FTE membership surveys for periods 2 and 3, office staff were
• Wanted to see if there's any questions from the membership for President Gates at this time related to

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education

Summary: The Senate Appropriations Committee on Pre-K-12 Education met for its first meeting of the 2025 session to hear the Auditor General’s operational audit on 2024-25 school funding accountability challenges, focused largely on the Family Empowerment Scholarship and its interaction with the FEFP. Deputy Auditor General Matthew Tracy described rapid growth in scholarship enrollment, timing mismatches between scholarship payments and public-school funding calculations, delayed membership survey processing, weak cross-check and recoupment procedures, inconsistent handling of parent survey responses, and limited documentation for withholding and returning funds. The audit said these issues contributed to funding inequities, duplicate-payment risks, and an unexpected draw on state education funds, and it recommended separating scholarship funding from the FEFP, aligning application windows with budget timing, strengthening controls and staffing, and creating clearer, documented recoupment and balance-limit processes. Committee members questioned whether current law gives the department and scholarship funding organizations enough authority and whether the system is effectively a pay-and-chase model. Several senators expressed concern about the lack of timely reconciliation, the size of the funds involved, and the absence of clear records showing how money was recovered or withheld. Adam Emerson, executive director of the Office of School Choice, said the department is working more closely with school districts and scholarship funding organizations, including pausing payments when districts identify students still enrolled in public schools, and said the office wants to improve the process. President Gates then previewed legislation he said would address the audit’s findings by funding Family Empowerment Scholarships as a separate FEFP categorical, expanding the Education Stabilization Fund, setting clearer application and acceptance deadlines, moving to monthly payments with eligibility verification before each payment, assigning student IDs for scholarship assistance, lowering SFO management fees, requiring annual audits, and requiring prompt return of audit-related funds. Public comment included a private-school attorney describing losses from unpaid scholarship amounts. Members generally supported the need for reform, with several senators saying the program should be preserved but better structured and more accountable. The committee adjourned after the discussion, with no vote taken on the legislation.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have two governor appointees, two members elected by the active membership, and one retired member
• I will come back later in the presentation to talk about the impact of the active membership on funding
• So we have seen a decline over the last 20 years of active... ...membership of about 20%.
• A large part of what we do at the system day in and day out is serve our membership and...
• So, again, a big part of what we do day in and day out is serve our membership.

Committee: House Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement held an informational hearing on the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS) to review its long-term financial condition, funding status, investment performance, experience study results, and possible legislation. MOSERS staff explained that the plan is a statutorily created defined benefit system covering state employees, several colleges and quasi-governmental entities, with an 11-member board and outside actuarial and investment consultants. They reported the June 30, 2025 valuation showed a funded ratio of 55.4%, assets of about $9.6 billion, liabilities of about $17.4 billion, and a FY27 actuarial employer rate of 27.44%, which the board raised to a 32% minimum contribution rate under a policy adopted in 2023. MOSERS attributed the funding decline over time to several factors: reductions in the assumed investment return from 8.5% to 6.95%, mortality assumption updates, a move from open to closed amortization, and especially weak payroll growth and a shrinking active workforce. Staff said the minimum contribution policy is intended to accelerate UAL paydown and could bring the plan to 80% funded by 2037 rather than 2041, assuming all assumptions are met. The committee also discussed the recent experience study, which kept the investment return assumption at 6.95% and made only modest assumption changes, and a proposed 2026 bill package (SB 1557 and SB 1054) that would automatically refund small balances under $1,000 to terminated non-vested members and add auto-escalation to the deferred compensation plan. A substantial portion of the hearing focused on investment strategy and why MOSERS has lagged some peers. The investment consultant said historical underperformance was driven mainly by asset allocation choices that emphasized a more risk-balanced, diversified portfolio with less public equity exposure than peers during a period when equities performed very strongly. He said the board adopted a more equity-oriented allocation in 2024 and is phasing it in over eight quarters, with recent short-term results improving and the portfolio outperforming its policy benchmark. Members also asked about the effect of inactive members, the rationale for the higher employer contribution, and whether the current board should be held responsible for past decisions; MOSERS officials emphasized that the current board is trying to correct course and that pension funding changes take time. The hearing also touched on ongoing litigation against a former private equity manager, Catalyst Capital, with MOSERS saying it has spent about $20 million in legal fees so far and that the case remains on appeal. The committee took no formal vote and adjourned after the informational presentation and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• MEMBERSHIP IS INTER-CURRICULAR AS STUDENTS MUST BE ENROLLED IN AN AGRICULTURE EDUCATION COURSE TO TAKE
• PART IN MEMBERSHIP.
• STUDENTS ARE IN MEMBERSHIP DEGREES AND AWARDS BASED ON THEIR SKILLS AS WELL AS THE DOLLARS THEY EARN
• FOR NEARLY 10 CONSECUTIVE YEARS WE'VE BROKEN OUR PREVIOUS ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP RECORDS.
• THIS PAST SCHOOL YEAR WE WERE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE A MEMBERSHIP HIGH OF MORE THAN 60,000 FFA MEMBERS.

Transcript Highlights:

• Remember, this is using long-term weighted average daily membership.
• So, the FY27 long-term weighted average daily membership—these are the weighted students within that
• So, that gives you what your long-term weighted average daily membership per pupil spending is in membership
• see that at 118% threshold, the estimated excess spending per long-term weighted average daily membership
• threshold, uh, is they are at Uh, is they are at $1 per student long-term weighted average daily membership

Transcript Highlights:

• FOR THE DIGITAL GRANT CAPACITY PROGRAM THIS IS SIMILAR TO DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY WERE A PROVIDES FUNDING
• WE ARE SETTING ASIDE $110 MILLION IN THAT PROGRAM AS WELL AS 30 MILLION FOR DIGITAL LITERACY AND DIGITAL
• DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY $11.5 MILLION.
• DIGITAL CAPACITY GRANT PROGRAM.
• FOR DIGITAL TRAINING AND DIGITAL LITERACY AND NAVIGATORS FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED OF FUNDING THAT PROCESS

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> that or is it anything digital? that or is it anything digital?
• So physical to digital. So I'm I space. So physical to digital.
• platforms to do the transfer, the digital currency, we'll call it digital assets.
• platforms to do the transfer, the digital currency, we'll call it digital assets.
• </c> what I would call it or digital asset. what I would call it or digital asset.

Committee: Senate Elections

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> safety deposit box for digital assets. safety deposit box for digital assets.
• And my a digital uh lockbox.
• the digital keys to be able to um keep the digital keys to be able to um keep those<00:17:27.839><c>
• Um, my I had digital safety deposit box.
• When they transfer it into, we'll say, our credit union's digital safety deposit box, it is a digital

Transcript Highlights:

• As drafted, the bill's definitions of digital replica and digital likeness are broad enough to capture
• replica of me, that that is obvious that I am me and not the digital replica.
• Obvious that I am me and not the digital replica.
• Senator Becker saying that there's a digital replica about it.
• These synthetics are human-like digital figures that...

Committee: Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection

Summary: The committee convened for its first hearing, took roll, and heard several privacy- and AI-related bills. SB 1106 by Senator Cabaldon would shorten the Delete Act data broker deletion deadline from 45 days to 30 days; it drew support from a technology and democracy group, no opposition testimony, and was moved out on a due pass to Appropriations vote. SB 923 by Senator Becker would expand the CCPA deletion right to cover all personal information held by a business and require online-only businesses to offer a web form or similar method for privacy requests; supporters included the California Privacy Protection Agency and privacy advocates, while business groups raised concerns about scope, compliance, and the email/web-form requirement. The bill passed 6-0 to Appropriations, with some members noting they were laying off or wanted further amendments. The committee also heard SB 1142, the Digital Dignity Act, which would regulate digital replicas and deepfakes on large online platforms, including takedown and revocation procedures and penalties. Supporters said it would protect Californians from fraud, harassment, and nonconsensual synthetic likeness use; opponents, including the Motion Picture Association, CCIA, TechNet, and others, raised First Amendment, due process, Section 230, and overbreadth concerns, especially around deceased persons and the 48-hour takedown process. Members said they supported the bill but wanted further work before Judiciary, and it passed 6-0 as amended to Judiciary. The committee also adopted its rules without objection. Later, SB 867 by Senator Padilla would impose a four-year moratorium on the sale and manufacture of AI chatbot-powered toys for children, citing research showing unsafe, sexually explicit, or privacy-invasive behavior; child advocacy and consumer groups supported it, while retailers and civil justice groups sought narrower definitions and liability protections. It passed 7-0 to Appropriations. SB 1247 would give child influencers, once adults, a right to request deletion or modification of images and likenesses used in monetized social media content; it drew no support testimony but was opposed by a civil justice group over the creation of a new private right of action, and it passed 7-0 to Judiciary. SB 930, the consent-calendar item, was approved 7-0. The committee then heard SB 1114, which would restrict sharing of state-collected data related to LGBTQ Californians absent an enforceable order, with supporters arguing it would protect sensitive data from misuse by federal agencies and preserve trust in state programs. It passed 6-0 to Appropriations. SB 1159 would let local governments treat AI bots and agents differently from people for Brown Act, public records, and related civic participation laws, in response to AI-generated comment floods; supporters from environmental, local government, and nonprofit groups said it was needed to preserve human participation, while opponents argued the bill should focus on fraud rather than AI and warned about overreach. The bill passed 9-0 to Appropriations. Finally, SB 1050 would require disclosures when synthetic performers are used in advertisements; labor and consumer advocates supported it as a truth-in-advertising measure, while media and industry groups objected that it was overbroad and should be narrowed to misleading ads and aligned with existing law. Members signaled support for the bill’s goal but also raised concerns about scope and consistency with current false-advertising rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> million in revenues by taxing digital million in revenues by taxing digital advertisements<00:04
• </c><00:09:54.240><c> digital</c> administrative concerns. digital administrative concerns. digital advertising
• </c> primarily digital advertising services. primarily digital advertising services.
• Since its digital advertising tax.
• </c> Like in Maryland, enacting a digital Like in Maryland, enacting a digital advertising<00:13:16.639

Transcript Highlights:

• It says any state retirement system may invest digital assets.
• It says any state retirement system may invest digital assets.
• Invest in digital assets? Is that what the intent of it is?
• , but 'invest digital assets'...
• the stablecoin invest into that digital asset.

Bills: SB1302 , SB1389 , SB1401 , SB1776 , SB1809 , SB1858 , SB1985 , SB2053 , SB2148

Committee: Senate Revenue and Taxation

Summary: The Revenue and Taxation Committee met and considered several bills. Senate Bill 1776, by Senator Pugh, would create a $10,000 refundable tax credit for teachers with seven consecutive years of service, as part of a teacher retention strategy; after questions about the seven-year threshold, it passed 8-3. Senate Bill 1858, by Senator Frix, would create a new TIF district financing option allowing developers, rather than cities or counties, to borrow against projected TIF revenues; the committee adopted an amendment changing a filing provision from “may” to “shall,” and the bill passed 7-4. Senate Bill 1985, by Senator Guthrie, would let state retirement systems consider limited investments in regulated digital assets, capped at 5% and narrowed to large-market-cap assets; the committee added an amendment inserting “in” to clarify the language, and the bill passed 9-2. The committee then rejected Senate Bill 1302, by Senator Kirt, which would repeal the “path to zero” trigger tied to future income tax cuts; it failed 2-9 after debate over fiscal stability and tax relief. Senate Bill 1809, by Senator Hamilton, would raise the homestead exemption from $1,000 to $5,000; members debated its impact on local governments and school funding, but it passed 9-2. Senate Bill 1401, by Senator Rader, was amended to adjust the insurance premium tax rate from 1.96% to 2.16% and eliminate the home office premium tax credit; the bill was laid over after concerns about its fiscal impact. Finally, Senate Bill 2053, also by Senator Rader, would allow cities and counties to impose up to a 10% excise tax on medical marijuana dispensaries by local vote, with OTC handling collections and enforcement; supporters framed it as local control and a way to offset public safety costs, while opponents argued it unfairly targeted dispensaries and consumers. The bill passed 7-3. The committee then adjourned and announced it would meet again the following Monday after floor activity.

Transcript Highlights:

• Every day that goes by, you see a decrease of membership, or potential decrease in membership, based
• the only member on the committee who has done that, but many years ago we were working on... ...membership
• Yeah, and the membership was noted earlier. That's not what we've heard from the cities.
• would just like to say, look out in the audience: every one of those people comes equipped with a membership
• card. come January. comes equipped with a membership card.

Committee: Joint Select Committee on Pension Policy