Transcript Highlights:

• The budget package this year consists of three bills: the supplemental budget bill, the bond proposal
• And I want to do it with you, and I want it to be a bipartisan budget.
• All four of us did, and I think we have a very good budget here.
• All four of us did, and I think we have a very good budget here.
• We feel like the budget has a lot of ferry construction work in it.

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: Senate Transportation Committee leaders presented a bipartisan transportation budget package made up of three bills: a supplemental budget, a bond proposal, and a resources bill with technical updates. Chair Mark Olius and Ranking Member Curtis King said the plan is balanced over six years, uses conservative assumptions, and includes no new taxes, relying instead on bonding and existing revenue changes. They emphasized three priorities: preservation and maintenance of highways, bridges, ferries, and flood-damaged infrastructure; safety, including more funding for State Patrol staffing and tribal traffic safety; and job creation through infrastructure investment. The supplemental budget would add about $1.7 billion for preservation over six years, including roughly $1.3 billion for highways, plus $100 million for preservation-related safety improvements. It also includes funding for ferry preservation, flood recovery loans for local transportation infrastructure, Columbia River dredging, the Fairfax Bridge, and State Patrol staffing. Questions from members and reporters focused on how much roadwork the preservation money would cover, why the proposal does not include funding for three additional new ferries, and how federal FEMA aid and ongoing mediation over treaty obligations factored into the budget. The senators said the first three ferries are fully funded, that future vessel purchases will be revisited later, and that flood recovery funds were included now so local governments can repair roads without waiting for federal action. The resources bill would create a mobile driver’s license program for 2028 and dedicate a portion of future sales tax revenue to ferry operations. It also repeals the luxury aircraft tax and replaces it with higher aviation fuel taxes and annual registration fees, which the senators said better avoids unintended consequences for aircraft businesses while still requiring transportation users to contribute. The package also includes studies on hydrogen ferries and updating the in-state shipyard bid credit, and it proposes more efficient ferry maintenance and emergency response capacity at Eagle Harbor. No votes were taken in the transcript, and the senators said they would continue presenting the proposal to caucus members for support.

Transcript Highlights:

• So what would you say as we build this budget?
• item in your budget, Madam Chair.
• And that's going to be baked into the budget.
• State's annual budget.
• And if we had the budget for...

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee held its first hearing of the 89th regular session, adopted nearly identical committee rules from the previous legislature by a 15-0 vote, and began review of Senate Bill 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2026-27. Chair Huffman outlined the budget framework, emphasizing conservative spending, a $332.9 billion all-funds budget, and major priorities including property tax relief, public education, border security, health and human services, transportation, energy, and water infrastructure. She also introduced committee and leadership staff and described the hearing schedule and public testimony procedures. Comptroller Glenn Hager presented the biennial revenue estimate, saying the state has $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending, including a $23.8 billion ending balance, but warned that revenue growth is returning to more normal levels and that lawmakers should avoid using temporary spikes for ongoing commitments. Senators questioned him extensively about the Economic Stabilization Fund cap, sales tax trends, inflation, and whether the state should consider raising the cap or using severance-tax revenues differently. Hager said the Rainy Day Fund is expected to hit its cap, which would leave more severance-tax revenue in general revenue, and he stressed that infrastructure needs remain significant. The Legislative Budget Board then gave a detailed overview of SB 1 and the budget’s major components. LBB staff explained that the bill includes continued funding for the Foundation School Program, $850 million for the Texas State Technical College endowment, $1.3 billion for the Texas University Fund, $6.5 billion for border security, salary increases for correctional officers and state troopers, $3 billion for dementia research, higher community attendant wages, expanded community-based care, $5 billion for the Texas Energy Fund, and funding to clear volunteer fire department grant backlogs. They also outlined supplemental priorities such as water infrastructure, retirement legacy payments, rail grade separations, wildfire aircraft, and emergency facilities, and said the current controlling budget limit is the tax spending limit. A major portion of the hearing focused on property tax relief. LBB explained that prior-session relief grew from an expected $18 billion to $22.7 billion because of higher-than-anticipated property values and interactions among hold-harmless provisions, and that SB 1 continues and expands relief with $51 billion in total property tax relief, including $3 billion more for compression, $3 billion to raise the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, and a $500 million placeholder for business tax relief. Senators discussed the automatic nature of some of these costs, the effect of the non-homestead circuit breaker, the role of federal COVID funds, and the need to maintain school finance commitments if the state continues to compress school tax rates.

Transcript Highlights:

• This would be something that's in the budget and worked on with the Appropriations and Budget Committee
• </c> the Appropriations and Budget Committee. the Appropriations and Budget Committee.
• But we're taking those items and placing them in the budget because they're budget items.
• as they're budget questions.
• </c> budget. Is that the intention there? budget. Is that the intention there?

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> verbal description of what these budget verbal description of what these budget requests<00:04:39.199
• </c><00:04:44.240><c> request</c> you'll see what the TRS budget request you'll see what the TRS budget
• </c> basic budget requests for the pension. basic budget requests for the pension.
• </c> difference between the TRS budget difference between the TRS budget request<00:20:58.960><c> and
• </c><00:21:35.200><c> Um</c> maybe some other budget requests. Um maybe some other budget requests.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Personnel, Public Retirement, and Finance heard testimony from Bo Barnes, deputy executive secretary and general counsel for the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), on the TRS budget request for the upcoming biennium and how it compares with House Bill 500 as introduced. Barnes emphasized that the bill fully funds the system’s additional funding request to pay down TRS’s legacy unfunded pension liability, which he described as critical to the system’s long-term funding plan. He also explained that the pension and health insurance requests are broken into several line items, including legacy benefit items, state shared-responsibility payments for retiree health insurance, and reconciliation items that adjust for prior over- or underpayments. Barnes said the state portion of shared responsibility for retiree health insurance was funded below the request in House Bill 500, but he described the health insurance trust as a success story under the post-2010 shared-responsibility model. He said the trust is projected to be fully funded in about two years if medical inflation and federal subsidies remain stable, and he noted that any shortfall in the current budget would be reconciled later and could reduce investment income. In response to questions, he explained that the legacy benefit items are treated as part of the total actuarially determined employer contribution and that unpaid legacy benefits would have the same impact on the retirement trust as unpaid ADC amounts. Barnes also addressed questions about whether the $47.2 million SEEK-related teacher contribution reconciliation could be split between fiscal years, saying it could be done but would reduce investment income and potentially increase future contribution needs. He said the pension fund is currently about 61% funded and that TRS has received full funding for the pension for 10 straight years, with the state having provided full additional funding and more in recent budgets. He concluded by asking the committee to consider TRS’s original budget request, warning that underfunding now would be reflected in future actuarial calculations and could cost the Commonwealth more over time.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c><00:20:23.520><c> it's</c><00:20:23.760><c> the</c> budget, the a budget committee, it's the budget
• , the a budget committee, it's the operating<00:20:24.559><c> budget.
• a budget crisis.
• </c> the intent is school district budget. the intent is school district budget.
• </c> District budget caps and town budget caps.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I chair the Budget Committee, which runs the unified budget process.
• they do a deep look into each of those budget requests, and they monitor those budget requests throughout
• The final program budget at AOC is P620—the Special Courts Services budget.
• This budget funds a lot of activities, but this year the only request in this budget is in the behavioral
• We've had five good years of going from a $5 billion budget to roughly about a $10.5 billion budget,

Transcript Highlights:

• This is not about this year's budget.
• Our budget, and we liken it to how California families do their own budget.
• So I applaud our budget chair, our colleague, who is also a So I applaud our budget chair, our colleague
• This ACA is not about this year's budget. It's about a budget 10 years from now.
• This ACA is not about this year's budget. It's about a budget 10 years from now.

Summary: The Assembly convened after a quorum call, prayer, and Pledge of Allegiance, then handled a series of procedural motions to re-refer bills, suspend rules, and remove items from the consent calendar. The chamber also heard guest introductions recognizing family milestones, a youth leadership program from Assembly District 13, a delegation of Japanese business leaders, and a Michoacan delegation. Later, members adopted several resolutions and consent items, including California Craft Beer Week, the Freedom Flag as a 9/11 remembrance symbol, Probation Services Week, and California Wildfire Week, along with other consent-calendar measures. The main floor debate centered on SB 417, a $10 billion housing bond for the ballot, with supporters emphasizing the state’s housing shortage, homelessness crisis, and funding for multifamily housing, supportive housing, homeownership, farmworker housing, student housing, tribal housing, infrastructure, and preservation of existing affordable units. Opponents criticized the proposal as adding debt without enough reform and objected to the use of veterans in the measure’s messaging. The Assembly passed SB 417 on urgency and on the measure, 54-7, and sent it to the Senate. Members then adopted ACA 20, which would expand and modernize the state Rainy Day Fund by increasing its cap and changing deposit rules; it passed 54-8 and was transmitted to the Senate. The Assembly also approved SB 623, a transportation-related bill addressing rideshare safety and medical lien practices. Supporters said it would curb abusive billing, restrict attorney conflicts and kickbacks, require stronger background checks for TNC drivers, and allow women riders and drivers to request women-only matches. The measure passed unanimously, 67-0. Later, the House adopted ACA 21, which removes ACA 13 from the November ballot, by 62-0, and ACA 22, which amends a ballot measure affecting taxation and local fiscal resources, by 64-0. The session concluded with an adjournment in memory of Dr. Dorothy Viola Calvin, followed by announcements, recesses, and final adjournment until the next scheduled floor session.

Transcript Highlights:

• These just move money around from one budget activity to the DHS budget after the various changes that
• Section 15 is from the governor's budget bill.
• Section 3 is from the Governor's Budget Bill.
• Section 2 is also a governor's budget proposal.
• budget bill includes responsible reforms to address the projected budget shortfall and investments to

Bills: HF2434

Keywords: healthcare, personal care assistance, worker retention, disability services, state funding

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget change proposal also requests $500,000 annually.
• We do have a budget proposal for forecasting dollars.
• I'm joined here by Brian Fuller, who's our budget guru.
• Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 is adjourned.
• Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 is adjourned.

Summary: The subcommittee met to discuss budget issues related to vacant positions across several natural resources and environmental departments, with no votes taken and all items held open for a future hearing. The Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Department of Finance explained the administration’s proposal to eliminate about 6,000 vacant positions statewide, including roughly 293 positions in the departments before the committee, as a way to capture salary savings and reduce flexible funding tied up in vacancies. The LAO recommended retaining special-funded positions, while noting that eliminating General Fund positions would reduce savings. Finance argued that vacancy levels have remained steady statewide, that departments need flexibility to manage operations and hard-to-fill jobs, and that some vacant positions can be reclassified to higher-priority work. Members raised concerns that many of the proposed eliminations would affect core public-safety, permitting, and environmental-protection functions. The Department of Fish and Wildlife said the cuts would affect permitting, environmental protection, and law enforcement, while State Parks said its proposed ranger reductions were chosen from historically vacant, hard-to-fill positions and would still leave many vacancies to fill through the academy. The Coastal Commission said its positions supported sea-level rise planning under SB 272. The Department of Pesticide Regulation and DTSC said the reductions would affect multiple program areas, though Finance said the special funds involved were not in structural deficit and the cuts could help avoid future fee increases. The State Water Resources Control Board said its proposed reductions were spread across programs, with public-health functions protected as much as possible. The committee then heard an overview from the State Water Resources Control Board on its responsibilities for water quality, water rights, drinking water, and funding for water infrastructure. Chair Joaquin Esquivel described ongoing work on the Bay-Delta Plan update, the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes voluntary agreements, and the need to actively administer water rights. Members also discussed the board’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett decision, which narrowed federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The board requested $2.6 million and 12 permanent positions to address resulting permitting and enforcement gaps; the LAO said the request met its high bar for new proposals and was supported by the board’s data and reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• There were no in DCYF's base budget.
• </c> recommendations in the governor's budget recommendations in the governor's budget for<00:05:02.960
• 12.160><c> a</c><00:05:12.320><c> couple</c> budget appropriations, there's a couple budget appropriations
• :31.039><c> includes</c> budget uh language also includes budget uh language also includes administrative
• This is in the revised budget.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Katrina Austin is the budget analyst for Article 2. Patrick Philpott, budget analyst for Article 3.
• So what would you say as we build this budget?
• item in your budget, Madam Chair.
• And that's going to be baked into the budget.
• That's what we are assuming out of this budget.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee convened for its first hearing of the 89th regular session, confirmed a quorum, adopted committee rules by a 15-0 vote, and began review of Senate Bill 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2026-27. Chair Huffman outlined the committee’s organization, introduced staff, and described the budget as conservative and focused on one-time investments. She highlighted major SB 1 priorities including property tax relief, full funding for public education formulas, teacher pay, school safety, border security, Medicaid growth, dementia research, energy and water infrastructure, transportation, wildfire suppression, and other capital and public safety needs. Comptroller Glenn Hager presented the biennial revenue estimate, saying the state has $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending in 2026-27, with a projected $23.8 billion ending balance from the current biennium. He cautioned that revenue growth is returning to more normal levels and that lawmakers should avoid committing short-term surpluses to ongoing expenses. He also explained that the Economic Stabilization Fund is projected to hit its constitutional cap, meaning an estimated $5.6 billion in severance tax and related revenue would remain in general revenue in the upcoming biennium rather than flow into the fund. Senators discussed whether to raise or rename the fund and the implications of keeping more severance-tax revenue in general revenue. The Legislative Budget Board then gave an overview of SB 1 and the budget’s major funding changes. LBB staff explained that the bill is essentially flat at $332.9 billion in all funds, but includes large method-of-finance shifts and major property tax relief. They detailed how prior property tax relief enacted in the 88th Legislature grew from an estimated $18 billion to $22.7 billion because of higher property values and hold-harmless provisions, and said SB 1 continues that relief with a total of $51 billion in ongoing and new property tax support. Members asked extensive questions about the automatic growth in school tax compression, the constitutional homestead exemption, COVID-era federal funding, Medicaid assumptions, and the sunset of the non-homestead circuit breaker. No additional votes or final budget actions were taken beyond adoption of the committee rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm going to just give a brief snapshot of the budget to So, digging into our budget as a whole, just
• Our budget is about $10.6 billion.
• And so that means there will likely be significant budget impacts to the state budget as the days go
• With a 2 to 3% budget, it is almost all other organizations could not operate on an administrative budget
• So that would be reduced cost to the budget.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It's the operating budget. It's change. It's the operating budget.
• This is my 15th budget. I Thank you. This is my 15th budget.
• of the budget.
• of the budget.
• of the budget.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Committee of Conference on HB 1 and HB 2 was called to order, and Legislative Budget Assistant Michael Kaine reviewed the working documents before the committee. He explained the compare report, the detailed change sheet, the HB 1 index, the HB 2 side-by-side, the surplus statement, and a revenue handout, noting that the committee would vote up or down on all detail-change items and that unresolved items on hold would be removed from the final bills. He also identified staff available to answer technical questions and noted that the committee would track the dollar impact of decisions as it proceeded. Members then turned to the revenue outlook, with discussion focused on the gap between the House and Senate budget positions. House members said their budget guidance was based on revenue estimates that were significantly below the governor’s proposal, and they discussed whether additional revenue could close part of the gap. Department of Revenue Administration Commissioner Lindsey Stepp presented updated revenue estimates based on May data, explaining the methodology and the ranges for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027. She said business taxes were the largest source of uncertainty, with estimates reflecting current economic conditions, recent revenue performance, and a range of possible growth rates. Committee members questioned the assumptions behind the business-tax ranges, including why the low and high scenarios were set at 2% and 8% growth. Stepp said the range was based on historical performance and current economic factors such as inflation, tariffs, and business behavior, and she noted that June is a major estimate-payment month for business taxes. Members also discussed recent revenue trends, including the effect of tariffs and the possibility of federal tax policy changes affecting repatriated profits. The commissioner and House members also discussed other revenue sources, including rooms and meals and real estate transfer taxes, with the House side arguing that lower mortgage rates and home prices could increase real estate transfer revenue. No votes were taken in the portion provided, but the committee discussed possible upward adjustments to House revenue assumptions, including increases of roughly $70 million in total based on the updated outlook and additional insurance-related revenue.

Transcript Highlights:

• , we were in budget negotiations.
• We have a budget stabilization fund, as you know and have discussed.
• We're looking at federal budget cuts.
• Years will be coming out of our budget. So I have some real questions.
• This is a $115 billion budget.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee heard three measures focused on state finances. SB 1906 by Senator Brodeur would add a ninth element to the state debt reduction strategy report and create a program to transfer $250 million annually from the General Revenue Fund to accelerate retirement of outstanding state debt, while exempting the Department of Transportation and Florida Turnpike Enterprise. Members questioned the fiscal tradeoffs and flexibility, but the bill was supported in debate and reported favorably. The committee then considered SJR 1908 by Chair Hooper, which would amend the Constitution to raise the Budget Stabilization Fund cap from 10% to 25% of general revenue collections, require $750 million annual deposits until the cap is reached, and allow withdrawals for critical state needs by separate bill with a two-thirds vote, while keeping existing rules for emergencies and revenue shortfalls. Testimony and debate centered on whether Florida already has sufficient reserves, how “critical state need” would be defined, and whether the new requirement would reduce flexibility during recessions or federal funding cuts. Despite opposition from advocacy groups and several senators, the resolution was reported favorably. Finally, the committee took up HB 7031 as the vehicle for the tax package and adopted a delete-everything amendment to place it in the proper posture for conference. As amended, the bill was described as reducing the state sales tax by 0.75%, lowering the commercial rent tax from 2% to 1.25%, eliminating the business rent tax, and creating permanent sales tax exemptions while preserving sales tax holidays. The amended bill was reported favorably, and the committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• That is a significant part of your budget, obviously. Right.
• You know, I know you've got the judiciary budget coming up.
• All right, members, next we will have the judiciary budget.
• Presenting the budget will be our analyst, Becky Robinson.
• Chairman, before I ever got involved with the budget, And before I ever got involved with the budget,

Summary: The Appropriations Committee first reviewed the Department of Justice FY 2027 budget, which was presented at $117.8 million, with most funding coming from statutory dedications and the largest program areas being criminal law/Medicaid fraud and civil law. The Attorney General described major work in Troop NOLA, Medicaid fraud, opioid and PBM litigation, and especially child exploitation and online predator investigations. She said ICAC tips are rising sharply, local law enforcement partnerships have expanded, and her office needs more analysts, more permanent positions, and more expenditure authority for the legal support fund and related programs. Members asked about case backlogs, staffing, settlement funds, and whether more resources could be directed toward outreach, mental health, and technology; the Attorney General said she wants to expand cyber capacity, training, and prevention efforts, and that some settlement recoveries are being used to support existing programs and fraud enforcement. Committee members also focused heavily on child safety, truancy, and mental health. Several representatives described local concerns about online exploitation, trafficking, self-harm, and the need for school-based training and community outreach. The Attorney General said she wants a broader prevention strategy involving parents, schools, and behavioral health resources, and she discussed using outreach models such as anti-vaping campaigns and town halls. On opioid settlement oversight, members raised concerns about the size of the funds and the need for stronger state oversight; the Attorney General agreed more structure and compliance monitoring would be useful and said drug courts and treatment programs are effective investments. The committee then moved to the judicial branch budget presentation. The judiciary requested $229.6 million in FY 2027, plus $5.6 million in one-time funding, with most of the budget coming from state general fund. The presentation highlighted increases for judge salaries, staff pay adjustments, health insurance, operating costs, and 17 unfunded positions, along with one-time requests for security and technology upgrades. Chief Justice John Weimer and other justices said the budget would help core court functions and statewide programs such as CASA, drug courts, and FINS, and they emphasized the need for better staffing and technology in the courts. A major discussion centered on truancy and the FINS program. Justice Griffin said statewide collaboration with education officials had reduced truancy and that FINS officers are trained to identify children who may be runaways or trafficking victims. The justices and members supported expanding FINS so every judicial district has coverage, and they said the program helps keep children out of deeper system involvement. Members also asked about security funding, technology improvements, and the 17 unfunded positions, which were described as mostly clerical, IT, and support roles in appellate and district courts. No votes were taken in the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:29.919><c> there</c> when you think about this budget there when you think about this budget
• That said, we've presented a budget here and the governor has presented a budget that assumes the work
• </c> see those as we go through the budget see those as we go through the budget just<00:19:12.400><c
• </c> 450 and so uh she's asked in her budget 450 and so uh she's asked in her budget to<00:21:36.279>
• 00:54:02.400><c> briefing</c><00:54:02.760><c> book</c> budget but the budget briefing book budget but

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Finance Division III work session focused on the Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health Services budget. Department staff said Public Health has a relatively small budget compared with other DHHS divisions, is supported mostly by federal and other non-General funds, and contains nearly 100 accounting units and more than 50 federal grants. They emphasized that the governor’s budget did not include significant cuts, but that federal funding uncertainty and the winding down of pandemic-era resources were major factors affecting the division. The division also explained that some apparent budget growth reflects reorganizations, including moving the Bureau of Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery and some programs from other DHHS divisions into Public Health. The presentation described Public Health’s mission as serving the entire state through food and water safety, disease surveillance, emergency response, maternal and child health, chronic disease prevention, WIC, community health center support, and public health data collection. Members asked about bird flu, and staff explained that human-health response would involve Public Health’s lab, infectious disease, and emergency preparedness units, while animal-health issues are handled with the Department of Agriculture; they also noted ongoing milk testing requested by FDA and USDA. The division said its organizational structure includes bureaus for Family Health and Nutrition, Infectious Disease Control, Public Health Protection, Emergency Preparedness, Prevention and Wellness, Statistics and Informatics, and Public Health Laboratories, with about a 15% vacancy rate. Committee members questioned whether the division’s budget and staffing had really grown since pre-COVID, and staff responded that full-time authorized staffing is about the same as in 2018, with the increase largely due to federal pandemic funding that has since receded and to program transfers between divisions. They said Public Health’s General Fund share is about $24 million out of roughly $1.1 billion in DHHS General Fund spending, or about 2.2% of the department total. Members also asked about the 3,000-position cap and unfunded positions; staff explained that the cap remains in chapter law through June 30, 2025, that 394 positions were unfunded in the governor’s budget, and that the division expects flexibility to move money from personnel lines and fill unfunded positions to manage changing needs. No votes or formal actions were taken in this portion of the work session.

Transcript Highlights:

• budget is strained and could not afford to do so.
• Was it just a budget issue?
• , and now the governor's supplemental budget proposes deeper cuts.
• So for us, 87% of our budget goes to salaries and benefits.
• So for us, 87% of our budget goes to salaries and benefits.

Bills: SB6251, SB6259, SB6325, SB5978, SB6209, SB6217, SB6227, SB6235

Keywords: medical school, medical education, letter grades, grading system, pass/fail, tiered grading, student assessment, curriculum, University of Washington, Washington State University, School of Medicine, physician training, academic standards, coursework evaluation, RCW 28B, SB 6259, Washington, state financial aid, higher education, public college

Transcript Highlights:

• that back-of-the-budget cut.
• But we don't list the changes from the governor's budget to the House's budget within this document.
• </c> the cut was in the back of the budget. the cut was in the back of the budget.
• cut to make this budget work.
• </c> any of these back of the budget cuts. any of these back of the budget cuts.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> that we created the legislated budget that we created the legislated budget office<00:02:46.720>
• </c><00:03:47.280><c> office</c> chair of the legislative budget office chair of the legislative budget
• </c> might be similar to the uh uh budget might be similar to the uh uh budget rules<00:37:51.160><c>
• </c><00:51:37.680><c> from</c> ession uh budget from ession uh budget from 2023<00:51:40.240><c> now<
• Integrity of the legislative budget Integrity of the legislative budget office<00:53:46.839><c> and</

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The State Administration Budget Subcommittee will come to order.
• Sean Perez is our budget analyst. Michelle Mullins is our budget specialist.
• I wish they'd have called it truth in budgeting, because it really is truth in budgeting.
• It'll be on time and on budget.
• That budget is submitted through DMS.

Summary: The State Administration Budget Subcommittee met for an introductory overview of the agencies under its jurisdiction and their current-year budgets. Chair Vicki Lopez welcomed members and staff, and each member briefly introduced themselves and identified areas of interest, with recurring themes including fiscal restraint, insurance regulation, revenue administration, condominium issues, and government efficiency. The chair then outlined the subcommittee’s overall budget, about $3.1 billion, and noted major recent policy areas affecting the budget such as condominium legislation and emergency communications funding. Agency heads then presented high-level summaries of their missions and budgets. The Department of Revenue described property tax oversight, tax administration, and child support enforcement; the Department of Management Services reviewed state purchasing, telecommunications, fleet, state insurance, retirement, and digital services; DBPR highlighted licensing, enforcement, condominiums, and building code work; DFS covered insurance consumer services, risk management, unclaimed property, fire marshal functions, and criminal investigations; the Gaming Control Commission discussed pari-mutuel and tribal gaming oversight and enforcement; OIR explained insurer solvency and rate review; the Lottery emphasized education funding and record sales; OFR described regulation of banking, securities, lending, and money services; DOAH outlined administrative and workers’ compensation adjudication; PSC covered utility rate regulation and consumer complaints; PERC described labor relations and career service appeals; and FCHR summarized discrimination complaint investigations and outreach. Several members asked questions about utility returns, insurance regulation staffing, DMS’s state employee health plan deficit and prescription drug formulary management, agency recommendations for reducing regulatory burden, and state facilities usage. Responses generally emphasized that utility rates and insurer filings are determined through evidentiary and actuarial processes, that OIR has reduced vacancies but still seeks specialized staff and a Tampa office expansion, and that DMS acknowledged rising health plan costs and said the issue likely requires broader budget-level discussion. The chair also pressed multiple presenters to stay focused on agency operations and budgets rather than broader policy issues. No votes or formal actions were taken in the meeting.