Transcript Highlights:

• undergraduate rate is.
• We did what Carla was talking about, take a look at the rates, you know, on our existing rates.
• But under this, using those rates, those completion rates, the base is about 86 and a half.
• There's not different rates between completion rates between the campuses because the differences in
• We have different completion rates.

Committee: Joint Higher Education Funding Review Committee

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In 2022, the coinsurance rate was reduced down to 60% for budgetary reasons.
• They're more at the market rate of reimbursement, is that correct? Chair, yes.
• It is at a commercial reimbursement rate, so they pay more than a state-funded program.
• They're more at the market rate of reimbursement, is that correct? Chair, yes.
• They're more at the market rate of reimbursement, is that correct? Chair, yes.

Committee: House Commerce Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So that you know what the rate there is, if we do these raises, then that discount rate provision for
• Um the bill as rates at that time.
• rate that they continue to pay, but rate that they continue to pay, but people<00:16:28.160><c> that<
• </c><00:33:11.600><c> schedule</c><00:33:12.559><c> that</c> rates as a new toll rate schedule that rates
• </c> a better rate? a better rate?

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• continuation of the progress that we've already made in relation to lowering our state's income tax rate
• Our willingness to save, we've been able to dramatically increase our income tax rate since 2013.
• That same person today making $65,000, tax rate would be just above $2,000. Thank you.
• We shouldn't be competing with neighboring states for the lowest tax rate.
• That was a 45% decrease in the effective tax rate for someone making $65,000.

Committee: All REVENUE & TAX - SENATE

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Aggressive action when infection rates are low slows the spread of CWD.
• Aggressive action when infection rates are low slows the spread of CWD.
• had a 40% rate for...
• In fact, they were having increases with 40% rates, which technically, if you have a 40% rate, you ought
• So what's the current Wisconsin rate? So what's the current Wisconsin rate?

Committee: House Agriculture

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And personally, I've seen my rates increase doubled.
• My rates went from $6,500 three weeks ago to $11,000.
• The reason this issue came up was because we talked about rate making.
• That's not going to reduce rates for policyholders.
• They decreased their rates in their filings.

Committee: House Insurance

Summary: The House Committee on Insurance met on March 25 and took up House Bill 577 by Representative Glorioso, which would change Louisiana’s bad-faith insurance penalty language from a flat 50% to “up to 50%,” giving judges discretion to award a lower penalty in cases involving minor or technical delays. Glorioso argued the bill would correct an omission from the 2024 consolidation of the bad-faith statutes, reduce unnecessary litigation over nominal delays, and potentially help lower reinsurance and homeowners’ insurance costs. Committee members questioned whether the change would weaken consumer protections or reward insurer misconduct, especially in catastrophe claims after storms, and whether any real rate relief would follow. Opposition testimony came from the Louisiana Association of Justice and Real Reform Louisiana. They argued the current penalty provisions are important guardrails that help force timely payment and fair handling of claims, especially after hurricanes, and that the bill would reduce deterrence without producing meaningful premium reductions. They also said insurers already have substantial time and procedural protections under the law, and that penalties are rarely awarded but serve as leverage in settlement negotiations. Supporters and the Department of Insurance said Louisiana’s penalty structure is an outlier compared with other states and that the bill could make the market more competitive, though the department said it did not have court data on bad-faith judgments and could not quantify the bill’s effect on rates. After debate, Representative Glorioso closed by saying he was open to further language changes but asked the committee to advance the bill. The committee then voted 10 yeas and 6 nays to report House Bill 577 favorably. Afterward, the committee moved on to the next item, House Bill 955.

Transcript Highlights:

• And personally, I've seen my rates increase doubled.
• My rates went from $6,500 three weeks ago to $11,000.
• The reason this issue came up was because we talked about rate making.
• That's not going to reduce rates for policyholders.
• They decreased their rates in their filings.

Committee: House Insurance

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But the cap is really the average commercial rate.
• The average commercial rate is higher than it is. That is the Medicare rates.
• I think it varies depending upon what that average commercial rate.
• But in my mind, 1.9 4 of the Medicare rates to get reimbursement rate for Medicaid.
• You know, there's at the base rates, the purity rates that we pay on the inpatient eap tier.

Transcript Highlights:

• Typically we intervene in base rate proceedings.
• So if they feel they have to have a rate increase, they'll file for that, go ahead and use the rate.
• So if they feel they have to have a rate increase, they'll file for that, go ahead and use the rate increase
• there could be an interim rate while that case is being resolved.
• Do we think that that is a just and reasonable rate to set?

Committee: Senate Nominations

Summary: The Senate Committee on Nominations met with a quorum and first took up pending nominations from an earlier agenda. Members severed Douglas McReecken, nominated to the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents, from the rest of the list and then voted to report the remaining nominees to the full Senate by a 7-0 vote. The committee then voted on the severed nomination itself and reported Douglas McReecken to the full Senate as well, by a 5-2 vote. The committee heard testimony from Brooke Pop, reappointed as chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and later from Commissioner Katarina Gonzalez, also of TCEQ. Questions focused on whether TCEQ rules comply with state law, ex parte restrictions, public transparency, concrete batch plant permitting, MUD approvals, water availability, illegal dams, enforcement, and the agency’s role in local environmental disputes. Both nominees said they follow the law as written, described internal legal review of rules, and emphasized transparency, public outreach, and enforcement; Gonzalez said she had already sent back two rules she believed did not comply with legislation. Members also discussed TCEQ’s authority limits and the need for clearer public communication about what the agency can and cannot regulate. The committee also considered Alethea Sullivan, nominated to the Texas Southern University Board of Regents. Questions centered on TSU’s status as an independent institution, the role of HBCUs amid DEI-related legal changes, and student outcomes. Sullivan said she would focus on ensuring taxpayer and student resources produce valuable credentials and noted concerns from her review of graduation and bar passage rates. The committee then heard from Benjamin Barkley, appointed chief executive and public counsel of the Office of Public Utility Counsel. Barkley said OPUC’s main need is additional funding to recruit and retain attorneys and expert witnesses, reduce turnover, and continue representing residential and small commercial consumers in utility rate cases; he said the office was involved in 73 contested cases and saved Texans $2.2 billion in FY 2024. No final action was taken on the later nominees, and the committee recessed with nominations left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• The first is our retention rate, or success rate.
• And so we look at the retention rate, the success rate, the completion rate.
• or success rate metric, and about 98.97% meeting the continuing education or employment rate metric
• at an 85% passage rate.
• placement rate of 91%, and a licensure pass rate of 98%.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education received an overview of Florida’s career and technical education (CTE) system from Chancellor Kevin O’Farrell, who described the state’s CTE pathways, program types, enrollment and completion growth, quality audit metrics, and the Master Credentials List used to identify credentials of value. He highlighted record postsecondary CTE enrollment and completions, strong statewide performance in talent attraction, and several funding tools supporting expansion, including Open Door, the Florida First Responder Scholarship, Workforce Development Capitalization grants, Perkins funding, CAPE performance incentives, and apprenticeship grants. Senators asked about eligibility for Open Door and first responder aid, top industry certifications, and the teacher apprenticeship initiative. A panel of college and technical school leaders then described how state and federal funding has supported local program growth and facility expansion. Santa Fe College, Palm Beach State College, North Florida Technical College, Lake Technical College, Florida Gateway College, and Manatee Technical College each cited increases in enrollment, high placement or licensure pass rates, and new or expanded programs in nursing, welding, CDL, automotive, manufacturing, public safety, and apprenticeship. Several speakers emphasized partnerships with hospitals, employers, school districts, and local governments, and noted that grants helped fund equipment, renovations, and new training hubs. Palm Beach State also raised a request to broaden line funding beyond nursing to other health science fields, and multiple presenters asked for more flexibility, multi-year support, and continued or increased funding to sustain growth. Members discussed broader challenges, including the difficulty of sustaining grant-funded growth after initial awards, the lag between enrollment growth and funding formulas, and alignment problems for dual enrollment and technical programs with high school schedules. Senators also noted the need to balance support for high-demand core programs like nursing and welding with the ability to respond quickly to emerging industries such as AI and space. The meeting ended with no formal action beyond adjournment after Senator Davis moved to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• That's a rate per 1000.
• And then our state's rate of repeat maltreatment also remains considerably higher than the national rate
• In last legislative session we had asked to increase that rate.
• So a daily rate of $20.91, Secretary: which is a monthly rate if it's a 31 day month of $648, we'll be
• So what we are rating and then are there national levels?

Transcript Highlights:

• So the intent was to make sure that the wages that are set are higher than market rates.
• For 60% of those workers, the rate of $36 applies, and for 100% of those workers, the rate of $24 per
• The rate suggested in AB 141 would be absolutely devastating to tribal California.
• Please look at them and say, okay, what is your rate? What do you agree with?
• We have agreed, but prevailing wage is the lower rate. That is the agreed-upon rate.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Committee held an informational hearing on the final three-party budget agreement and related trailer bills, with the Department of Finance outlining the major budget bill and omnibus measures. Finance described a package built around balancing the state budget amid economic uncertainty, preserving core health and safety-net programs, and making significant ongoing reductions in some state programs. The budget bill included major items such as shifting $1 billion from the General Fund to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for Cal Fire, funding universal transitional kindergarten, deferring some UC and CSU funding, supporting foster care and homelessness programs, providing Proposition 36 implementation funding, and achieving Medi-Cal savings through changes to benefits and eligibility. The committee also heard that votes on the budget bills were expected later in the week and the following Monday. Finance then walked through the trailer bills, including health, human services, early learning, education, resources, energy, transportation, labor, housing, tax, public safety, courts, general government, cannabis, and energy-related measures. Notable provisions included a Medi-Cal enrollment freeze for certain adults, new premiums and benefit changes for some immigrants, child care COLA changes, education funding for literacy, teacher support, universal meals, and community college student support, as well as resource and climate measures affecting Cal Fire staffing and energy permitting. The housing trailer bill drew the most discussion, with provisions on CEQA streamlining, a vehicle miles traveled mitigation banking program, a renters’ credit trigger, and a six-year moratorium on new residential building standards. Members also discussed a film tax credit expansion, cannabis enforcement funding, a tribal police pilot program, and changes to tax policy, including military retirement income exclusions and wildfire settlement payment exclusions. Committee members largely praised the staff and the budget process, but several raised concerns and asked detailed questions, especially about the housing trailer bill’s new wage standards, tribal consultation provisions, and possible effects on prevailing wage protections. Finance explained that the housing language was intended to set wage floors for market-rate projects receiving CEQA streamlining, with different county-based tiers and a notwithstanding clause preserving existing prevailing wage laws. Members also questioned the size and timing of funding for the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, Clean Cars for All, Proposition 36, and the film tax credit expansion. Other members highlighted support for public safety, veterans’ tax relief, child care providers, housing production, and higher education, while some expressed concern that the budget’s policy changes were being negotiated too quickly or without enough stakeholder input.

Transcript Highlights:

• And if they cannot get a quorum, then what happens is the tax rate... ...the tax rate just remains at
• , then basically the same tax rate, I mean the same exact rate, would be adopted for the following year
• If you wish to increase the tax rate above the no new revenue rate, when there is a lack of agreement
• So if that rate is maintained and doesn't change, if and to the extent that that rate, based on the values
• The overall rate is 36.3%.

Bills: HB240

Committee: House S/C on County & Regional Government

Keywords: tax exemption, farm products, ad valorem taxation, tax code, producer ownership

Summary: The subcommittee heard a series of county and regional government bills, with most measures left pending after testimony. HB 2097 would let counties that opt in give sheriff’s deputies an alternative appeal route for certain discipline cases through an independent hearing examiner instead of the Civil Service Commission. The author and a CLEET witness said it would be faster, cheaper, and fairer; questions focused on why the bill was needed and whether sheriffs could already use such a process. No opposition testified, and the bill was left pending. HB 4642 drew extensive testimony after the author said it was prompted by a death involving an out-of-state jail contract. The bill would require counties contracting with out-of-state jail facilities to include Texas-like jail standards and oversight provisions. The author, a former detainee held in Louisiana, his wife, and a Texas Jail Project advocate described poor conditions, lack of accountability, and multiple deaths of Texans housed out of state. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards director said five counties are currently housing 1,251 Texas inmates out of state, mostly because of staffing shortages, and said the bill would give the commission more authority and oversight. The bill was left pending. The committee also heard HB 4350, which would allow peace officers to request redaction of personal information from online real property records. Supporters said officers face retaliation risks and should have protections similar to judges and other officials; a title industry witness cautioned that redaction should not compromise the integrity of land records. The bill was left pending. HB 3687 would require county fire marshals in counties over 100,000 to meet specified training and certification standards, and HB 4105 and HB 4205 would give Harris County preferences in construction contracting and require pay parity for comparable law enforcement ranks within the county, respectively; all drew support from county officials and were left pending. HB 5403 would repeal a special rule requiring Dallas and Tarrant county sheriffs to get commissioners court approval for commissary disbursements, and it was also left pending. Later, HB 4462 would let elected county officials in large counties choose outside counsel in civil cases involving them, rather than relying solely on the county attorney. Supporters argued this would reduce conflicts of interest and protect officials’ reputations; questions centered on who qualifies and whether it could conflict with county interests. Finally, HB 240 would restore a five-member quorum requirement for Harris County tax levies, effectively requiring all commissioners to be present before a new tax rate can be adopted; supporters framed it as a taxpayer protection, while the Conference of Urban Counties opposed it as giving one member a de facto veto and potentially disrupting the budget process. Both bills were left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• However, she found that her rates had increased by $280 a year.
• There was an amendment to ban the use of credit scores in insurance rating.
• Would this, generally speaking, overall, lower rates for consumers, raise rates for consumers, or would
• with less predictive rating variables.
• You're probably familiar with CMS star ratings.

Bills: HB712 , HB722 , HB946 , HB1687 , HB1809 , HB1899 , HB2528 , HB2583 , HB2741 , HB2750 , HB3021 , HB3150 , HB3265 , HB3658 , HB3812 , HB3960 , HB4392 , HB4432

Committee: House Insurance

Keywords: prostate cancer, health benefit plans, insurance coverage, cost sharing, preventive health care, auto insurance, total loss evaluation, disclosure, insurance materials, vehicle appraisal, HB 946, Texas Insurance Code, automobile insurance claims, oral release, written release, settlement agreement, claim release, property damage, bodily injury, psychological injury

Transcript Highlights:

• and the national. rate.
• So then you. said the morbidity rates have been calculated for all years for the maternal morbidity rate
• The rate for, the base rate for an attendant is 1060. It's $10.60 an hour.
• Well, it is based on an hourly rate.
• rate.

Committee: House Public Health

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• at a market rate.
• Today, that interest rate is 12%.
• However, prejudgment interest rates above market rate can result in windfalls for plaintiffs and can
• at a market rate today that interest rate is 12%.
• However, prejudgment interest rates above market rate can result in windfalls for plaintiffs and can

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on the Judiciary

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on bills in the Civil Actions 2 and Court Administration areas, with testimony spanning judicial security, judicial compensation, civil process fees, bar advocate compensation, interstate discovery, defamation protections for sexual assault survivors, and related criminal procedure changes. Chairs Edwards and Day opened with housekeeping rules on testimony limits and written submissions, then called witnesses on each bill in turn. On H. 1766, judicial officers and the Massachusetts Bar Association strongly supported a judicial security bill that would protect judges’ personal information, citing threats, online harassment, swatting, and violence against judges and their families. On H. 1819, judges and the Massachusetts Judges Conference asked for higher compensation, saying Massachusetts judges rank low nationally after cost-of-living adjustment and that pay affects recruitment and retention. The committee also heard support for H. 1582/S. 1183 to raise civil process service fees, with sheriffs saying the fees have been unchanged since 2003 and are needed to cover rising costs, safety equipment, and operations funded by those fees. The committee heard from prosecutors on H. 1604 and H. 1846, which would give district courts concurrent jurisdiction over certain school-threat and leaving-the-scene offenses, allowing prosecutors to handle less serious or panic-driven cases more efficiently while preserving mandatory penalties. CPCS and bar advocates supported H. 1876 on bar advocate compensation, describing a continuing shortage and crisis in indigent defense despite recent pay increases and staffing investments. The Boston Bar Association supported H. 1857, a Massachusetts version of the Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, saying it would simplify out-of-state discovery and reduce cost and delay. A large portion of the hearing focused on H. 1974/S. 1143, which would protect survivors of sexual assault and harassment from retaliatory defamation suits unless the plaintiff proves actual malice, and would allow fee shifting and damages against abusive suits. Survivors, advocates, and attorneys described threats, legal costs, and chilling effects that silence reporting, while supporters said the bill would protect truthful speech and improve access to counsel. The committee also heard insurance-industry testimony on S. 1101, which would change personal injury protection payment rules to require insurers to tender disputed amounts within 30 days to avoid attorney’s fees; insurers said the bill would curb a growing volume of provider lawsuits and reduce abuse of the no-fault system. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chair closed after all scheduled testimony was complete.

Transcript Highlights:

• They may have to hold the millage rate steady.
• Chapman, a city manager, why are you recommending this rate versus going to rollback rate?
• You can always move the millage rate down.
• You can't always move the millage rate up once you get to that point of the game.
• So we cannot adjust our rates on the local level.

Committee: Senate Community Affairs

Summary: The Committee on Community Affairs convened with a quorum and took up SB 308, a bill related to the Florida Museum of Black History. The bill would establish a Florida Museum of Black History Board of Directors and direct it to work with a supporting nonprofit foundation, while also requiring the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners to provide administrative assistance and staffing until planning, design, and engineering are complete. With no appearance forms or debate, the committee voted the bill favorably. The remainder of the meeting was an informational briefing from the Florida Association of Counties and the Florida League of Cities on local government budgeting practices. Presenters explained how counties and cities develop budgets, the legal framework governing property taxes and other revenues, the distinction between restricted and unrestricted funds, and the role of constitutional officers, public safety, debt, pensions, and capital planning. They emphasized that most local revenues are restricted by law, that general funds are the main discretionary source, and that local governments must balance annual budgets while meeting mandated service levels. The presenters also discussed how property taxes, fees, local option taxes, and state-shared revenues support local services, and they highlighted the fiscal pressures created by public safety, emergency management, infrastructure, and retirement costs. Members asked questions about the share of local revenue that is unrestricted and the implications for any proposal to eliminate property taxes. The presenters responded that only a portion of county and municipal revenue is flexible, with much of it dedicated to specific purposes by law.

Transcript Highlights:

• And is it earning interest at the rate of inflation of these projects?
• What allows or affords smaller entities to utilize that credit rate for better rates?
• but that underlying credit rating also is a to the rating agencies and to the board.
• Their credit rating will come on as part of the PUA.
• The rate setting doesn't change at all.

Bills: HB 1089 , HB 1163 , HB 1177 , HB 1238 , HB1318 , HB1400 , HB1407 , HB1532 , HJR7 , HJR7

Committee: House Natural Resources

Keywords: coastal protection, environmental management, Gulf Coast, storm risk management, funding, Texas General Land Office, healthcare, insurance reform, patient access, insurance regulation, affordable care, health insurance, consumer rights, coverage transparency, claims process, insurance regulations, aggregate production, environmental impact, financial responsibility, reclamation

Transcript Highlights:

• in your district be able to lower and keep stable a lot of their water rate bills, then I have a bill
• And despite this diligence, high water users have regularly challenged these rates in court.
• Prop. 218 was a taxpayer rebellion in this state that said enough with the overcharging of rate payers
• But this bill, AB 2180, allows government officials to cook the books and overcharge rate payers.
• decrease. ...of those homes who are the high water users who would actually see their rates decrease

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT TAX RATES THAT ARE IN PLAY FOR THE TOP FOUR AND FIVE SOURCES.
• AS A RESULT OF THESE HIGH BALANCES AND HIGH INTEREST RATES WE HAVE SEEN MORE OF THIS SOURCE.
• NOW, THE TREASURY RETURN RATE HAS INCREASED IN THE LAST BULLET YEARS. THE RATES WERE HIGH.
• RATES WENT HIGH IN THE BALANCES WENT HIGH, ABLE TO SEE EARNINGS ON INVESTMENTS.
• THERE ARE TAX RATES, BUSINESS CLIMATE, WE HAVE A GROWING POPULATION.

Keywords: 999, senate, all