Transcript Highlights:

• We don't negotiate rates, but we do review rates in a different way. >> Yeah.
• We don't negotiate rates, but we do review rates in a different way. >> Yeah.
• We don't negotiate rates, but we do review rates in a different way. >> Yeah.
• review rates negotiate rates, but we do review rates in<01:09:13.040> a<01:09:13.199> different
• negotiate rates we are reviewing rates negotiate rates we are reviewing rates for for for >>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Define placement rate.
• Pass rates from Horizon exceed the pass rates for Oklahoma on average, and last year we exceeded the
• So, our long-term assumed rate of return is 7%.
• The actuary said at this rate, we can't tell you.
• We still have an impact on the state's credit rating.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And overall, the real estate taxes generated, even at the lower tax rate, the housing tax rate, will
• ,<00:32:49.200> will<00:32:49.440> be tax rate, the housing tax rate, will be tax rate
• Sherman, about taking a property that is taxed at the commercial rate down to a lower rate because it's
• So yes, the tax rate is previously.
• <01:33:43.679> through operating referendum tax rates through operating referendum tax rates

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• rate setting, the rate is set in no rate setting, the rate is set in statute<00:13:36.240> and
• energy service rate was uh 22.6 6 cents. energy service rate was uh 22.6 6 cents.
• other rate payers, we'd look pretty bad. other rate payers, we'd look pretty bad.
• There's no rates in here. All right. There's no rates in this<02:14:47.040> bill.
• generators and not by the rate payers. generators and not by the rate payers.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Wyoming's cost of living is going up at a higher rate.
• About 18 months later, that was then included in that rate-setting process.
• on what happened as far as the rate increase is concerned.
• This is the governor can give rate holidays.
• I would imagine the take-up rate would be quite low there if we said, "Gotcha...

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• At last check, we had a 15% error rate.
• At last check, we had a 15% error rate.
• And we are an embarrassing outlier with an error rate at 15%.
• Because previously we did not have this very high error rate.
• Do we know why our error rate spiked over the last four years?

Summary: The House convened with prayer, a moment of silence for former Senator Donnell C. Childers, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of Officer Antonio Richardson as law enforcement officer of the day. A quorum was announced, the journal was approved, and the Speaker said the chamber would take up 11 budget conference reports, with debate and final votes on each report. The first report considered was HB 7031E, the tax package, followed by HB 501E, the state budget appropriations bill. On HB 7031E, Chair Duggan explained that the conference report included a range of tax reductions and tax-related changes, including sales tax holidays, property tax and homestead-related provisions, reductions in certain taxes and fees, and new exemptions or administrative clarifications. He said the package also added items such as sales tax relief for certain university construction projects, a tennis admissions exemption, and changes to agricultural property tax treatment, and that the amendment reduced state and local tax revenues by $272.2 million. Members questioned the bill about the child care tax credit reduction from three years to one, the homestead exemption provision for certain diplomats and foreign service personnel, the absence of gas tax relief and combined reporting, and the inclusion of firearm accessories and tennis tickets in sales tax holidays. After structured debate, the House adopted the conference report and passed HB 7031E by a vote of 88-11. The House then began the conference report on HB 501E, the $114.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-2027, which was described as below the prior year’s spending level and leaving more than $14 billion in reserves. Subcommittee chairs outlined major allocations across education, higher education, IT, health care, transportation and economic development, justice, state administration, and agriculture/natural resources. Highlights included increased FEFP funding and veteran teacher raises, full funding for Bright Futures, major IT modernization projects, Medicaid and behavioral health funding, transportation and local infrastructure spending, correctional and law enforcement investments, fire station and emergency response funding, and large environmental and water-quality appropriations. Members asked detailed questions about school voucher fraud oversight, scholarship funding, teacher raises, preeminence funding, ADAP changes, SNAP data tools and error rates, Medicaid rate changes, prison wastewater monitoring, and other budget items, but the transcript ends during the budget questions before final action on HB 501E is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• we perhaps just put an across-the-board rate increase not tied to inflation?
• provider rates.
• provider rates.
• provider rates.
• provider rates.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , and how to get payment rates really fair.
• So my amendment takes care of that by channeling all these extra costs back into the rates to raise rates
• because the underlying law does bring the rates back to the fee-for-service rates, and that is a concern
• But if the rates don't get established in law in two more years, then the rates are at the fee-for-service
• rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• Lactation consultant services do not just increase breastfeeding rates.
• As mentioned before, the rates of breastfeeding...
• The ability to get a reasonable in-network contracted rate.
• that is no lower than 95% of the state-determined rate.
• Generally, we are always opposed. for service rates.

Bills: HB136, HB451, SB425, SB466, SB905, SB1986, SB2311, SB2450, SB2805, SB2826, SB2919, SB3001

Keywords: Medicaid, lactation, healthcare, consultation, reimbursement, maternal health, infant care, commercial sexual exploitation, child sex trafficking, human trafficking, child welfare, foster care, DFPS, Department of Family and Protective Services, juvenile probation, risk assessment, needs assessment, trauma screening, child abuse prevention, exploitation screening

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and announced it would vote on pending bills at 10:30, with public testimony limited to two minutes. It first took up Senate Bill 905, a TDLR cleanup bill on licensing regulation of speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Senator Zafferini said the committee substitute would streamline advisory board consultation, remove obsolete provisional licenses, and allow any licensed physician to authorize hearing instruments for minors; the substitute was adopted and the bill left pending. The committee then heard House Bill 451, which would require universal screening for commercial sexual exploitation risk for children in DFPS conservatorship and youth under TJJD jurisdiction. The author and witnesses from Children at Risk, the Fort Bend Anti-Trafficking Collective, and Texas CASA supported the bill as a prevention tool with existing infrastructure and training; the committee adopted the substitute and left the bill pending. The committee next considered Senate Bill 466, which would clarify that families may request a fetal death certificate at any gestational age, while keeping existing filing requirements for physicians. A constituent father testified about losing his 11-week-old daughter and being told he could not obtain a certificate, which he said prevented funeral arrangements; the substitute was adopted and the bill left pending. Senate Bill 2311 followed, requiring residential treatment centers to have a written agreement with the school that will educate resident children before becoming operational. The author cited a local dispute where an RTC and school district lacked communication, and witnesses from Texas CASA and Disability Rights Texas supported clearer educational planning while suggesting the Education Code may need conforming changes; the bill was left pending. The committee then heard Senate Bill 2826, known as Alyssa’s Law, which would create a statewide education program on medical child abuse for medical students, health care professionals, and CPS caseworkers. The author and Sheriff Bill Weyburn described Alyssa’s case as involving repeated unnecessary surgeries and argued the bill would improve awareness and early identification, while several witnesses and members raised concerns about false accusations, impacts on medically fragile children, and the need for scientific, peer-reviewed training and safeguards. After extensive discussion, the chair left the bill pending. The committee also heard House Bill 136, which would add certified lactation consultants as Medicaid providers to expand breastfeeding support; witnesses from lactation and nutrition fields said the bill would improve access, maternal and infant health, and long-term savings, and the bill was left pending. Finally, the committee took up Senate Bill 2805, a surprise-billing/arbitration measure that would clarify provider identifiers and shift arbitration costs to the losing party. The author said the substitute was a legislative counsel draft with no substantive difference, and witnesses from the Texas Medical Association, Texas Society of Anesthesiologists, and U.S. Anesthesia Partners supported the bill as a modest improvement that would reduce administrative confusion and make arbitration fairer without weakening patient protections. Members discussed how arbitration costs affect settlement behavior and how to define the “winner” in close cases. The bill was heard but not voted out during this segment.

Transcript Highlights:

• rate was closer to 66 or 67%.
• goes on to the tax rate goes on to the tax rate simply<04:28:43.760> no<04:28:43.960>
• local education portion of the tax rate local education portion of the tax rate so<04:29:58.960>
• valuations also because swept tax rates valuations also because swept tax rates are<04:39:30.240
• <04:39:40.798> is<04:39:41.040> not rate is not rate is not uniformed<04:39:43.240>

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The hearing focused on HB 563, which would revise the education funding formula for pupils receiving special education services by replacing the current single special education amount with three differentiated categories. Representative Rick Ladd, the prime sponsor, said the bill largely tracks a House-passed version from the prior session with minor figure adjustments, and explained that the proposal uses projected FY26 amounts for three categories based on time in general education versus more intensive placements. He also noted that the bill does not address catastrophic aid directly, but that special education aid, CAT aid, and proration all remain issues for later work sessions. Ladd and supporters argued that weighted categories better reflect actual costs and are more sustainable than treating all IEPs the same. Representative Margaret Drye said the approach was one of the best ideas from the education funding subcommittee and urged the committee to support differentiated aid. Representative Ames asked how the category amounts were derived, and Ladd said Category A follows the FY26 base, Category B is a higher weight, and Category C is a still higher weight for more intensive services, though he acknowledged the exact multipliers were developed earlier and could be revisited. He also said the committee would continue discussing whether the weights are appropriate and how they interact with CAT aid. Testimony from Bonnie Dunham strongly opposed the bill. She argued that funding based on placement rather than actual service need would create incentives to move students into more restrictive settings, could stigmatize children with labels such as "Category C," and would undermine the least restrictive environment requirements under federal special education law. She described her son’s experience in inclusive settings as beneficial and said the bill would have penalized the district for serving him there. In response to questions, she said schools and parents should base funding on the child’s actual needs and costs, not on placement, and urged the committee to recommend the bill inexpedient to legislate.

Transcript Highlights:

• We announced yesterday our graduation rates at 92.2%.
• Our nursing program, I appreciate your comment on the NCLEX pass rates.
• Our nursing program, I appreciate your comment on the NCLEX pass rates.
• Also, as Taylor just said, our graduation rate is around 97.4%.
• Faster, with a higher pass rate.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education received a presentation from the Governor’s Office and the Commissioner of Education on the proposed higher education budget. The presentation highlighted a $117.4 billion overall state budget, with education at $32.5 billion and higher education receiving a modest overall increase. Key items included no tuition or fee increases for Florida residents, major financial aid funding such as Bright Futures, Benacquisto, EASE, Open Door, and first responder scholarships, as well as workforce investments including apprenticeship programs, career and technical education, nursing pipeline funding, and performance-based funding for colleges and universities. Committee members asked questions about the proposed expansion of the Guardian program at state colleges and the $100 million university recruitment and retention fund. Officials said the Guardian funding would give colleges flexibility to use trained personnel for campus safety, sometimes alongside or in place of campus police or private security. The Chancellor explained that the recruitment and retention money would be distributed to universities with no specific directives beyond using it for faculty recruitment and retention, emphasizing Florida’s favorable demographics and the opportunity to attract faculty from states facing enrollment declines. The committee then heard testimony from multiple appointees and reappointees to boards of trustees at state colleges and universities, including Eastern Florida State College, Lake-Sumter State College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, and St. Johns River State College. Each described their backgrounds and stressed themes of affordability, workforce alignment, nursing and technical programs, dual enrollment, and local community needs. Several cited strong nursing licensure pass rates and college outcomes. After hearing all appointees, the committee voted unanimously to confirm the full block of nominees, and the confirmations were reported favorably before the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1 by Senator Dismang et al, to reduce the income tax rates for individuals, trusts, states
• Senator Dismang continued: "This lowers the top rate from 3.9% to 3.7%.
• And what is that rate now, if there is a minimum or a maximum? What's the maximum?"
• Senator, I seem to recall in 2013 when we started cutting the income tax rate, that the income tax rate
• has, their effective tax rate has decreased by 45% since 2013.

Summary: The Arkansas Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a brief morning hour that included an announcement about volunteers for the Hunger Caucus “Serving Up Solutions” fundraiser. The chamber then moved to its business agenda, where the main item was Senate Bill 1 by Senator Dismang, which would reduce income tax rates for individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations. Senator Dismang explained the bill as a continuation of tax reductions begun in 2013, lowering the top individual rate from 3.9% to 3.7% effective January 1, 2026, and reducing the corporate rate to 4.1% starting next year. The bill drew debate over state priorities and fiscal tradeoffs. Senator Flowers questioned local sales tax limits and whether future needs such as Medicaid, education, and educational freedom accounts could be funded if taxes were cut further. Senators Tucker and Leding spoke against the bill, arguing the state should prioritize investments in early childhood education, hospitals, maternal health, and public schools rather than returning revenue to taxpayers. Senator McKee spoke in favor, saying money should be returned to the people who produced it. Senator Dismang closed by emphasizing that the tax cut was supported by surplus revenue and that a family making $65,000 had already seen a significant reduction in effective tax burden since 2013. The Senate passed Senate Bill 1 by a vote of 29 yeas to 6 nays and transmitted it to the House. Afterward, members announced that the Revenue and Taxation Committee would meet after House adjournment if the House sent over its tax bill, and the Senate adjourned subject to clearing the desk and reading House Bill 1001 across the desk, until 9 a.m. the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• a Dminus on their pre-term birth rates a Dminus on their pre-term birth rates at<00:06:56.000>
• and a 9% lower and infant mortality rate and a 9% lower rate<00:08:32.159> of<00:08:32.399>
• We're also addressing this terrible mortality rate.
• We're also addressing this terrible mortality rate.
• We're also addressing this terrible mortality rate.

Keywords: 958, all

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

Transcript Highlights:

• And our four-year graduation rate is over 50%. This rate climbs to 65% when you look out six years.
• We've made more progress in graduation rates.
• While the national standard is to track six-year graduation rates...
• In FY21, the six-year graduation rate yielded 23%.
• Four to spring 2025, which suppresses the 85% historical rate.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the high points, but what I'm going to talk about today is about the TRS funded ratio, the employer rate
• What she's also saying is the board used to have, several years ago, the annual rate of return of 8%.
• We've made some of the hard adjustments and the actuarial assumptions, with lowering the rate, assuming
• to kind of get in front of y'all and talk about the program because we're asking for a very large rate
• 2017, we've been funded at the $800 per member per... been funded at the $800 per member per month rate

Keywords: 923, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Any neighborhood would be able to receive a standard rate.
• Commissioner's Court, by law sets the rate.
• y'all to set your own rate?
• This court is setting the rate for everybody.
• And I know Are you asked about what sets the rate?

Bills: HB336, HB554, HB849, HB 1033, HB1338, HB 1246

Keywords: law enforcement, sheriff, constable, contracts, county governance, HB 554, fireworks, Juneteenth, Juneteenth holiday, retail fireworks permit, Texas Occupations Code, Local Government Code, county commissioners court, drought conditions, Texas A&M Forest Service, fire safety, holiday sales, seasonal fireworks sales, Fourth of July, Independence Day

Transcript Highlights:

• This is the rates for the prior fiscal years have been set, so uh the next time rates will be changed
• <01:43:23.599> a<01:43:23.760> net<01:43:24.159> of rates a net of rates a net of
• of return or the actual the assumed rate of return or the actual rate<03:31:07.680> of<03:31:
• available on as what the attrition rate available on as what the attrition rate of<04:20:34.239>
• I looked the rates up.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 622, but after the sponsor said further research raised concerns, he asked that the bill be tabled. The committee then moved in executive session and voted unanimously to find the bill inexpedient to legislate, sending it to consent. The committee also retained House Bill 349, the ophthalmologic laser bill, after members said more time was needed for the professions involved to work out training standards and provide additional information; that motion also passed unanimously. The committee then discussed House Bill 244, a municipal building/fire code recodification measure. Members said the bill needed more review and careful scrutiny because of its length and possible unintended effects, and they voted unanimously to retain it as well. House Bill 534 was then heard; the sponsor said the bill did not do what was intended because of a misunderstanding about current processing, and the committee voted inexpedient to legislate and placed it on consent. The committee next considered House Bill 233, with an amendment to remove a requirement affecting the New Hampshire Vaccine Association. Supporters argued the bill would reduce an unnecessary burden and improve transparency, while opponents said the committee should not single out one private 501(c)(3) organization. The amendment was adopted 8-5, and the bill as amended then passed 7-6; a minority report was requested. Finally, the committee opened House Bill 536, a proposed 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment for certain state retirees. The sponsor and supporters argued retirees had not received adequate COLAs and that the bill would help offset inflation, while the retirement system testified that the proposal would add significant costs, including an estimated $1.5 million for the state, $6.6 million for political subdivisions, and about $100.7 million in present-value unfunded liability, with the impact reflected in future employer contribution rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:04:21.759> In<00:04:22.000> effect, rates." Close quote. In effect, rates."
• four to 5% administrative cost rate four to 5% administrative cost rate before<00:04:39.040>
• They capitated rate to a health plan.
• We don't know what the rates are.
• We don't know what the rates are.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the revenue that we claim from that tax, we then put back into rates, right?
• So if I tax a dollar, I take that dollar, I put that into the rates to increase the rates.
• And what happens when I take that dollar and I increase it in the rates, To increase the rates.
• So there will be, I am anticipating a rate freeze across the board.
• So there will be, you know, There will be, I am anticipating a rate freeze across the board.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The subcommittee opened with roll call and approved the November 2025 minutes. Commissioner Charlie Carr then introduced Leslie Darcy, chief of LTSS at MassHealth, who provided an update on the PCA working group and on federal and state budget pressures affecting MassHealth and long-term services and supports. Darcy said the PCA working group had completed its work and submitted recommendations, including reinstating the 66-hour overtime cap, strengthening program integrity, and ending paid paperwork time for EVV users; she said those changes were implemented on 11/26 and were expected to save $7.4 million. She also described additional consensus recommendations to lower the overtime cap from 66 to 60 hours, create a seven-hour weekly meal-prep support limit, and continue exploring benchmarks, though the group could not reach consensus on a benchmark standard. Darcy warned that a federal bill enacted about six months earlier would significantly affect MassHealth, with an estimated $3.5 billion loss to the Commonwealth by 2028. She outlined upcoming changes including revised immigrant eligibility rules in October 2026, work requirements for certain non-disabled adults beginning in January 2027, six-month redeterminations for some adults, and shorter retroactive coverage periods. In response to questions, she said people with disabilities and Medicare beneficiaries would be exempt from the work and six-month redetermination requirements. She also explained that reduced federal ACA subsidies were being offset in Massachusetts by state spending, including $250 million in additional state support to keep premiums lower for middle-income families. Members raised concerns about community hospitals, the health safety net, and the impact of federal funding changes on provider rates and uncompensated care. Darcy said restrictions on provider taxes would limit MassHealth’s ability to use those revenues to support rates, and she noted a current $300 million shortfall in the health safety net. She said FY27 would likely include a rate freeze, targeted reductions, one-time budget measures, and further work groups to examine programs such as adult foster care, which she said had grown 40% in two years. Carr emphasized that the situation was serious but potentially fluid, and the meeting ended with no further business; the subcommittee agreed to adjourn before the next meeting and noted an upcoming February presentation from the Department of Public Health.

Transcript Highlights:

• And when you look at how we, our replication rates, they're not perfect, but our recidivist rates stand
• Rates, they're not perfect, but our recidivist rates stand up still, I think, 11 to 12% annually.
• So what we've published for you is our paroling rate.
• But our paroling rates as a whole average about 68% of all the combined hearings.
• So the 68% that you're seeing is the rate. Those are the... The 68% that you're seeing is the rate.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Commission on Criminal Justice Reform 3.0 heard a presentation from the Massachusetts Parole Board focused on consolidation, cooperation, and evidence-based supervision across the correctional system. Parole Board Chair Angela Gomez-June described the board’s mission, its coordination with the Department of Correction, houses of correction, courts, probation, law enforcement, victim services, and UMass partners, and outlined 2024 activity including 2,810 institutional release hearings, 18,238 victim notifications, 53 pardon petitions, 70 commutation petitions, 41 early termination applications, and supervision of 2,993 parolees. She emphasized the board’s shift toward individualized, data-driven decision-making, including revised GPS use, graduated sanctions, and more service-oriented community supervision. Members and sheriffs pressed for clearer breakdowns of the board’s data, including the difference between releases, hearings, and active supervision; average length of supervision; the share of lifers in the caseload; and how many people are placed in housing, employment, and treatment. The board said its active supervised population fluctuates around 1,600 to 1,800, with more than 400 lifers, and that about 30 to 36 percent of its population is housed through programs such as MASH, community justice resource centers, and sheriff-run residential programs like Rocky Hill and HOPE. Members also discussed parole refusals, noting that some individuals decline parole to avoid supervision or to serve time inside instead, and asked for a more detailed breakdown of those cases. The board and commission also discussed collaboration with DOC and UMass on risk assessment, reentry planning, and community pathways, including a tablet video explaining the parole process and pharmacist support for medication-related drug test issues. The board reported that after the SJC’s Matus decision, 210 individuals were identified as affected, 144 were immediately eligible for hearings, 100 hearings had been completed, and 10 more were scheduled; it also said clemency and commutation work had been slowed by staffing and Matus-related demands. The meeting ended with a request for follow-up data on outcomes, supervision lengths, housing and employment placements, and other consolidated statistics, and the commission announced its next public hearing for March 9 at 10 a.m. before adjourning.