Transcript Highlights:

• Assessment district or a special improvement district, yes. All right.
• on those homeowners, special improvement or special assessment districts.
• Homeowners, special improvement or special assessment districts.
• Usually they have a special assessment district.
• Just give me an assessment over 30 years and you go build that part that.

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• us to different assessment levels.
• We also assess Minnesota's second KRD, expenditure framework, at AAA.
• /c> more context about our assessment of more context about our assessment of long-term<00:19:08.799>
• <00:21:13.960> and operating performance assessment and operating performance assessment and
• Our role is simply to assess what a government is doing and then provide a Credit View.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He said recipients named in legislation still have to go through the same pre-award risk assessment as
• <00:07:07.720> as<00:07:08.120> other same pre-award risk assessment as other same
• <00:26:40.640> work are doing that pre risk assessment work are doing that pre risk assessment
• So now the pre-award risk assessment: first, we check with Unemployment Insurance to ensure that the
• The final bullet refers, I guess, to the risk assessment.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• > report<00:35:28.560> um So the assessment practices report um So the assessment practices
• 2025 assessment year. 2025 assessment year.
• submitted September of the assessment submitted September of the assessment year.<00:37:32.240><
• in April following the assessment year. in April following the assessment year.
• <01:23:45.360> year previous year from uh assessment year previous year from uh assessment

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The individual safeguards that are assessed on each audit are scoped independently for each agency based
• seven state agencies that we audited this year, we found that nearly one-third of the safeguards assessed
• were fully implemented on all systems, and 61% of the safeguards assessed were fully implemented on
• To further simplify these engagements, we use a three-tier alignment scale for our assessments, which
• State Auditor's Office assessed agency practices against these controls.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee held a public hearing on the State Auditor’s Office cybersecurity performance audits for fiscal year 2025, covering both state agencies and local governments. SAO staff explained that the audits are conducted independently under Initiative 900 and are kept confidential at the entity level, with detailed findings shared directly with the audited organizations. They reported that state agency audits found nearly one-third of assessed safeguards fully implemented on all systems and 227 vulnerabilities across seven agencies, including three critical and 21 high-severity issues. For seven local government cybersecurity audits, nearly a quarter of safeguards were fully implemented on all systems, and auditors identified nearly 300 vulnerabilities, including nine critical and 47 high-severity issues. SAO also summarized its ransomware resiliency audits and critical infrastructure audits for local governments. In six ransomware audits, a little over 35% of assessed safeguards were not in place, while about 60% were at least partially in place. In 39 critical infrastructure audits, focused largely on water and sewer providers, auditors found over 260 vulnerabilities and said more than 10% were critical or high. Staff highlighted that these audits have led to improvements, including one vendor making security changes after SAO testing that were later echoed in a federal advisory. They also described related services such as cybersecurity checkups, policy guidance, and other cyber-related work by the office. Washington Technology Solutions’ state chief information security officer, Ralph Johnson, praised the audits and said they help protect essential public services. He cited a sharp national rise in ransomware incidents against governments and said Washington has used more than $11 million in federal and state cybersecurity grant funds for over 200 projects. In response to questions from Representative Scott, SAO and WOTEC discussed options for addressing urgent vulnerabilities, including compensating controls, grant funding, and low-cost mitigation steps. The committee also discussed how Washington’s program compares nationally, with Johnson saying Initiative 900 is unusually comprehensive and that local governments often seek audits voluntarily. No votes were taken, and the hearing adjourned after public testimony was offered but none was given.

Transcript Highlights:

• services we investigate and assess services we investigate and assess allegations<00:09:18.480><
• Workforce uh vacancies and assessment Workforce uh vacancies and assessment case<00:11:07.360>
• Our Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths assessment tool ensures that it is part of the assessment
• dip in inhome cases for the assessment dip in inhome cases for the assessment process<01:26:42.000
• diversion program and our JJ assessment diversion program and our JJ assessment from<01:39:20.639

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The Division 3 House Finance Committee opened a work session and announced scheduling updates, including a second Medicaid work session on March 5 at 9:00 a.m. and a reminder that recommendations or budget amendments must be moved to the full finance committee by the end of March. Members were told no motions, roll calls, or votes would be taken, and the chair also reviewed upcoming meeting dates and weather-related cancellation procedures. The day’s presentation was a budget work session on the Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), with officials Marie Nunan and Nathan White introducing the agency’s budget materials and mission. DCYF’s presentation focused on its core mandates and recent operational changes. Officials described child protective services, juvenile justice services, and the Sununu Youth Services Center, then highlighted workforce improvements, including reduced vacancy rates for assessment caseworkers, juvenile justice officers, and youth counselors. They attributed the staffing gains to legislative pay raises, mass recruitment posting changes, a more stable and trauma-informed model at SYC, and broader flexibility after prior budget cuts and hiring freezes. Members asked about full-time versus part-time staffing, and DCYF said most positions discussed were full-time, with some harder-to-fill part-time youth counselor roles at SYC. The committee also discussed DCYF’s emphasis on serving families earlier through its Community Navigator hotline referrals and community-based voluntary services, which are intended to connect families to supports before abuse or neglect escalates. Officials said the Community Navigator program had received 807 referrals since August 2023. On juvenile justice, DCYF described its assessment and diversion process and said it had reduced juvenile probation involvement by 30% from 2019 to 2023; members were directed to slide 17 for 2024 data, and officials said the trend continued toward fewer in-home juvenile justice cases. The agency also reported progress in kinship care, saying initial out-of-home placements with kin now occur 74% of the time and that kinship placements are associated with more reunification. Officials said kinship caregivers are being licensed and paid similarly to foster parents, and that the legislature’s kinship law has helped. Finally, DCYF outlined transition-age youth supports, including the HOPE program, Youth Villages LifeSet, and housing vouchers. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• 1 and Grade 10 ELA assessment, making them 30% of the final course grade rather than the graduation
• calendars, and requires districts to note state versus district assessments.
• ...flexibility in their assessment calendars, but requires districts to note state versus district assessments
• Students with disabilities whose IEP indicates that participation in a statewide assessment program is
• and turning the 10th grade ELA assessment into a portion of the class grade, 30% of the class grade,

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 296, as amended by strike-all, on middle and high school start times. Senator Bradley explained that the amendment would repeal the statewide mandate for later start times and return scheduling decisions to local school boards, while still requiring districts to inform the community about the health, safety, and academic effects of sleep deprivation and to consider later start times when setting transportation schedules. Testimony and debate were largely in support, with several school district and education group representatives waiving in support, and members citing transportation, staffing, family logistics, and cost concerns under the existing mandate. The strike-all was adopted, and SB 296 was reported favorably by roll call vote, with Senators Berman, Osgood, and Chair Calatayud voting yes and Senator Gaetz voting no; other members were absent or not recorded in the excerpt. The committee then heard Senate Bill 356, which would designate January 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Florida. Senator Berman said the date matches the UN’s Holocaust Remembrance Day and would require the governor to annually proclaim it, while allowing public observance and instruction about the Holocaust’s harms and its impact on the Jewish community and humanity. There was no substantive opposition in the excerpt, and the bill was reported favorably by roll call vote with yes votes from Senators Berman, Gaetz, and Chair Calatayud. Finally, the committee considered Senate Bill 166 on administrative efficiency in public schools. Senator Simon described a broad deregulation package affecting student assessments, grade promotion, teacher evaluations, contracts and certification, school board operations, instructional materials timelines, internal audits, facilities planning, cost-per-student-station limits, emergency make-up days, federal fund timing, and VPK oversight. Testimony was mixed: school district and education organization representatives generally supported the flexibility, while some groups opposed or urged changes to the grade 4 promotion and graduation-related provisions, arguing they could weaken academic standards. After debate focused especially on third-grade promotion and testing requirements, the bill was reported favorably by roll call vote. At the end of the meeting, members recorded their votes on SB 296 and SB 356, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Beginning on January 1, 2007, the first $150,000 of the assessed value is exempt.
• Beginning January 1, 2007, the first $50,000 of assessed value is exempt.
• , really do a deep dive and assess what is a need and what is a want.
• So again, this goes back to each jurisdiction assessing their balance sheet.
• So again, this goes back to each jurisdiction assessing their balance sheet.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• assessment assessment and<00:11:44.079> thank<00:11:44.240> you<00:11:44.399> very<
• assessment of utilities. assessment of utilities.
• special assessment. very special. special assessment. very special.
• assessment assessment >> strike<00:19:33.200> RSA >> strike RSA >> strike RSA
• >> assessment >> assessment >> assessment >> assessment >> assessment

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I'm going to go now into the 2026 summer grid readiness assessment.
• So there are three sets of reliability assessments there for you.
• Also, as part of our operational role on an annual basis, we Do a summer assessment.
• So, long story short, we've been performing this assessment.
• So long story short, we've been performing this assessment.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy heard SB 1259, which would require refineries to provide advance closure and remediation planning information, and SB 1425, which would authorize the High-Speed Rail Authority to create a permit process for encroachments in its right of way. The committee also held an informational hearing on California electricity reliability and the future of the Strategic Reliability Reserve. The chair opened by noting the hearing room change, testimony limits, and that the committee would proceed without a quorum at first, then later established quorum for votes. On SB 1259, Senator Blake Spear argued the bill would give communities and state agencies needed information to plan for refinery closures, cleanup, and land reuse, comparing the requirement to estate planning. Supporters, including Benicia City Councilmember Carrie Birdseye and UC Santa Barbara professor Ranjit Schmook, said the bill would help communities facing refinery closures avoid being left without information and better prepare for redevelopment and remediation. Opponents, including the Western States Petroleum Association, the State Building and Construction Trades Council, and business groups, argued the bill could send negative market signals, create conflicts with federal reporting, and potentially accelerate refinery closures. The committee passed SB 1259 on a 7-3 vote, later reopening the roll and recording additional votes before moving it out as amended to Appropriations. On SB 1425, Senator Cortese and sponsor Robert Pearsall said the bill would help the High-Speed Rail Authority manage utility, broadband, drainage, and vegetation encroachments along the project corridor and reduce delays. Labor and construction groups supported the measure as a way to add certainty and speed project delivery. Utilities and local agencies, including LADWP, Southern California Gas, Southern California Edison, PG&E, and others, opposed unless amended, saying the bill needed clearer language on emergencies, existing agreements, and potential impacts on their own rights of way and service obligations. After discussion about emergency language and utility coordination, the committee passed SB 1425 as amended to Appropriations on a 10-3 vote. In the oversight hearing, CEC, CPUC, CAISO, and DWR officials reported that California’s summer reliability outlook is better than in prior years, with substantial new procurement, storage, and demand-response resources added since 2020. They said the state is projected to meet its summer reliability standard and has not needed a flex alert for three straight years, but cautioned that extreme heat, fire, hydro conditions, and federal policy uncertainty still pose risks. Officials emphasized that the current Strategic Reliability Reserve remains important as a backstop, while longer-term planning must address rising demand from electrification and data centers and the eventual retirement of emergency resources.

Transcript Highlights:

• So our mighty team of two is training pediatric providers to conduct an oral health assessment according
• to the AAP periodic schedule and assessment tool and then apply that fluoride varnish to children.
• And I can say that this organization is around like an 89% rate of oral health assessment and fluoride
• When a member says, “I'm new to HUSKY, I've completed this assessment, I am pregnant,” we get that data
• How to do an oral health assessment, how to have a conversation with a patient about oral health.

Keywords: 962, all

Summary: The MAPOC Women and Children’s Health Subcommittee heard a presentation from Kate Parker Riley, executive director of the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership, on the Husky Dental Program and efforts to improve oral health during pregnancy. She reviewed the structure of Connecticut’s Medicaid dental benefit, the ASO model, provider network, utilization trends, and member barriers to care. She noted that children’s dental measures remain above the national median, but adult utilization is lower and the dental provider network has been shrinking, with longer wait times in rural areas. A major focus was the state’s goal to raise the rate of oral evaluation during pregnancy from about 17.5% to 25% by 2030. Riley described planned outreach to OB/GYN practices using a draft “snapshot” report showing each practice’s pregnancy oral-health rate compared with the state average, along with education materials based on ACOG and AAP guidance. Committee members and guests discussed barriers such as lack of provider training, workflow burden, access to dentists who will see pregnant patients, and the need for stronger referral bridges. Suggestions included adding simple oral-health screening questions in OB settings, using human support to make appointments, and exploring co-located dental hygienists or other embedded models. Riley also highlighted partnerships with DSS, DCF, Head Start, WIC, Read to Grow, YMCA programs, refugee resettlement agencies, and school-based and hospital partners, as well as data-sharing and navigation efforts. She said pregnant members newly identified through HUSKY will now receive outreach and navigation support. DSS dental director Carolyn MacArthur introduced herself and said she supports the initiative, noting the literature linking untreated maternal dental disease to poor child oral-health outcomes. No votes were taken; the meeting ended with thanks and a preview of upcoming July presentations on integrated behavioral health and home visitation programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• framework to identify and pre-assessment framework to identify and debar<00:08:02.000> potential<
• The speaker says the bill requires a set of smaller, basic checks through pre-risk assessment.
• The speaker says the bill requires a set of smaller, basic checks through pre-risk assessment.
• They say the bill gives information to the folks going through the pre-risk assessment that they do not
• that we have funded um and is assessment that we have funded um and is now<00:34:16.159> up<00

Transcript Highlights:

• Program assessment, which we'll talk a little bit about, Program assessment, which we'll talk a little
• We also monitor or observe and assess; we administer a program assessment.
• A program assessment in the state of Florida is called CLASS.
• The long name is the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, and it's an observation-based program assessment
• This is a child assessment.

Summary: The Education Administration Subcommittee held an introductory meeting focused largely on member introductions and “homework” reports about education issues in each district. Members raised a wide range of concerns and priorities, including early childhood care and VPK access, school choice and school closures, teacher recruitment and retention, conflict resolution and school safety, early literacy and preparedness, technology and AI/STEM instruction, attendance and mental health, ESE services, dual enrollment and career/technical education, caregiving youth, and real-time student enrollment/funding tracking. Several members also emphasized local challenges such as housing-driven teacher turnover, disaster-related attendance problems, and funding inequities across counties. The committee then heard a detailed presentation on Florida’s early learning system from Chancellor Carrie Miller of the Department of Education’s Division of Early Learning. She outlined the structure and funding of School Readiness, VPK, and the Gold Seal Quality Care program, the role of early learning coalitions and DCF, and the state’s quality and accountability measures. She highlighted the importance of kindergarten readiness, teacher quality, and the new School Readiness Plus program, which helps families transition off subsidy more gradually. Additional panelists from the Children’s Forum, the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, and a Tallahassee child care provider discussed workforce shortages, low wages, provider turnover, the TEACH scholarship program, Help Me Grow, local coalition operations, and the need for more providers and more consistent regulation. During questions, members asked about wait lists, special needs services, teacher retention, provider onboarding, and DCF regulation. The panel said Miami-Dade’s wait list was about 4,000 children and described priority categories for service; they also said children with disabilities are screened and referred for support, though not given a separate priority category. Panelists reported that TEACH has helped reduce turnover through education support and service commitments, but said wages and career pathways remain major issues. Members also pressed for clearer, more consistent licensing standards and more support for new providers entering the field. No formal votes or committee actions were taken in the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• are phonetic, and so making sure that students that are in language immersion programs are being assessed
• immersion programs are being assessed immersion programs are being assessed accurately<00:03:25.720
• Peterson said that the district rolled out a robust assessment plan as part of its MTSS framework.
• That doubles to a month of lost literacy block time due to assessments.
• <01:47:34.320> and information about assessments and information about assessments and reading

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And if you don't know what current use is, it allows for a reduced assessment on open space land that
• But when I enter land into a current use assessment, it's a deal that's done between me as a taxpayer
• But when I enter land into a current use assessment, it's a deal that's done between me as a taxpayer
• There's an expectation we're going to assess your tree farm, your forest land, based on that growth,
• <00:58:55.559> your to Mr stock we're going to assess your to Mr stock we're going to assess

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• PROPERTY THAT MOVES BETWEEN DIFFERENT ASSESSMENT PRACTICES.
• CHAIRMAN AND SENATORS THIS AMENDMENT REQUIRES THE PROPERTY ASSESSED UNDER THIS NEW ASSESSMENT OPTION
• TO BE ASSESSED AT A JUST VALUE.
• MILLAGE IS LOCAL GOVERNMENT THE SPENDING SIDE, WE JUST DID THE ASSESSMENTS.
• AND SO WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THE ASSESSMENT ASIDE.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In the special assessment space, the bill adds public and private preschools to the list of educational
• institutions that municipalities may exempt from special assessments.
• I would imagine each of your members have a different perspective on this, but my assessment would be
• The special assessment on preschools came out of a great bill, House Bill 47, sponsored by myself.
• The special assessment on preschools came out of a great bill, House Bill 47, sponsored by myself.

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee met on April 16, 2025, with one agenda item: PCB WMC-2502, the committee’s tax package. Chair Duggan presented the bill as a broad tax measure covering sales tax, tourist development taxes, ad valorem/VAB procedures, affordable housing property tax changes, tangible personal property, special assessments, fuel taxes, communication services taxes, corporate income tax updates, pari-mutuel/card room taxes, local incentives, and a redistribution of horse industry trust fund money. He also noted emergency rulemaking authority for the Department of Revenue and estimated a recurring state impact of $34.6 million in FY 2025-26. Members questioned several provisions, including the aviation fuel tax repeal, the delay of the natural gas fuel tax, the extension of the local communication services tax freeze, the charitable trust corporate income tax clarification, the reduction in card room taxes, and the affordable housing changes tied to the Live Local Act. Public testimony included support from airlines, UPS, child care management, and others, while the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association opposed the lifeguard/TDT change, the Florida Association of Counties and Florida League of Cities opposed the missing-middle exemption changes, and local government representatives raised concerns about revenue impacts and the loss of local opt-out authority. The committee also adopted Amendment 1 by Representative Rizzo, which limits certain special assessments on RV parks when based on square footage. During debate, members split on some provisions but generally supported the package, with comments focused on aviation competitiveness, preschool assessment relief, lifeguard funding, affordable housing, and the horse industry funding shift. Representative Duggan closed by emphasizing that the bill was only the beginning of the process and would continue through conference and floor consideration. The committee then voted 16-1 to report PCB WMC-2502 favorably, with Representative Alvarez voting no.

Transcript Highlights:

• It also introduces an organizational assessment to help identify instability or hardship with a district
• It also adds reporting regarding the amount of time conducting assessments and tracking the impact of
• I guess the reading assessment is under 105 as well, so the reading assessment in third grade too.
• But because there's no assessment behind the outcome, they can still be evaluated here.
• , teacher-developed assessments, or assessments aligned with the standards identified in the area the

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They provide assessments on the project. We work with them on a routine basis.
• Those assessments were done.
• We had a governance structure prior to the special assessment.
• We have what's called a Marzee assessment that takes place on an annual basis.
• We've been working very closely with SAP to do readiness checks and assessment checks.

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:

• But it also includes the assessment budget for education. Just real quickly.
• We have to have the right assessments, those those require dollars.
• And sometimes it's more than one assessment to have to be.
• It is not a short assessment to do.
• And they require assessment.

Keywords: 999, senate, all