Transcript Highlights:

• They cannot start pulling from that fund until the fund reaches $40 million.
• We have seen in the fund that already exists, there's a smaller fund for ACEQUIAs... ...in the fund that
• And so then this fund will be... ...opportunity to start growing that fund now.
• month fund.
• Chairman, because in northwest New Mexico, there was a utility-scale solar project that was getting funded

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 287, which would create a permanent Health and Human Services Committee. The sponsor argued the state spends about $14.4 billion annually on health and human services and needs a standing committee to better oversee programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, CYFD, hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers, and related issues. Members discussed staffing, start-up costs, and whether the committee would have subpoena power; staff said interim funding exists in the feed bill and additional funding would likely be needed later. The committee adopted an amendment striking the appropriation and changing the effective date, then voted due pass on the amended bill, with several members recorded in opposition. The committee then considered House Bill 371, as substituted, to create land grant and acequia infrastructure funds financed from remaining severance tax bond capacity. The sponsor and acequia/land grant advocates said the measure would provide a short-term funding source for infrastructure needs such as land acquisition, right-of-way access, ditch cleaning, and repairs, with distributions beginning only after the fund reaches a threshold and subject to limits through 2031. Members asked about bond capacity, the relationship to capital outlay, legislative approval of projects, and whether the bill would reduce reliance on repeated capital requests. The committee adopted the substitute and passed the bill, with one member in opposition. The committee also heard Senate Bill 143, which raises fee caps under the New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s inspection and grading programs, including egg grading, nursery stock, pesticide, feed, and related services. The department and industry supporters said the caps had been unchanged for decades and that the bill would help fund inspections and staffing without meaningfully affecting consumer prices. After questions about fee administration, consumer impact, and staffing levels, the committee voted do pass. Finally, the committee discussed House Bill 329, which would create an Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council attached to the Public Regulation Commission. The sponsor said the council would study affordability, reliability, grid modernization, and energy options, drawing on experts from state agencies and utilities. Members raised concerns about the bill’s vagueness, lack of term limits and detailed structure, possible duplication with existing agencies, missing representation for rural co-ops, tribes, and nuclear energy, and the funding source. The sponsor said the governor’s office had requested the bill and that funding would come from governor-controlled GROW money, but the committee ultimately rolled the bill for further work and did not adopt the amendment presented that day.

Transcript Highlights:

• oversight.
• funding for the state agencies for this project.
• We have been fortunate to receive funding from the state. state, and we're using that funding to update
• We spent, C2 funding so far has been just under 10 million, I think 9.8 million, so it's been funded
• We are currently funding that for these agencies.

Committee: House Science, Technology & Telecommunications Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• under the fund.
• Improvements have already been made by the utility, frequently funded by issuing debt backed by the system
• The bill is considered if I have a utility taking over a defunct or inept utility, and then you get an
• Senate Bill 863 resolves the oversight by authorizing the affected utilities to use the Edwards Aquifer
• So it's not for new utilities.

Bills: SB863 , SB1190 , SB1261 , SB1413 , SB1624 , SB1662 , SB1663 , SB1855 , SB1967 , SB2124 , SB2204 , SB1623

Committee: Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• So the utilities do have specifications.
• , it's like one utility, what's, you know, they're calling permitting one thing versus another utility
• , it's like one utility, what's, you know, they're calling permitting one thing versus another utility
• So our task was to look at, track federal funding, available federal funding, share it with colleagues
• The utility portion of it is lengthy and long, and it's really important that our utilities stay focused

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• That said, the BCCA is mindful of the legislature's fiscal oversight of the DCCA's funding and seeks
• . officer of the Public Utilities officer of the Public Utilities Commission<00:02:39.120><c> so</c><
• </c><00:03:12.120><c> of</c> of the legislature's fiscal oversight of of the legislature's fiscal oversight
• submitted by regulated utilities related submitted by regulated utilities related to<00:30:25.200><c>
• . ...once we have the funding.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means and Commerce and Consumer Protection heard the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs present its biennium budget request for fiscal years 2025 to 2027. Director Nainoa Ando said the department’s requests were primarily special-fund ceiling increases to meet operational needs. Major items included an additional $12 million to complete the King Kamehameha V Post Office building roof project after hidden deterioration and water intrusion were discovered, plus funding related to fringe benefits and central services assessments. The department also outlined requests for a new medical compact implementation cost, an auditor position, an engineer position, and a captive insurance IT modernization project. A significant portion of the discussion focused on the Office of Consumer Protection’s landlord-tenant call line and public service access. Senators raised concerns that callers often reach voicemail, are told to leave a message, and sometimes are referred to look up the law themselves. DCCA said the Oʻahu line is staffed by one full-time employee backed by two to three investigators, with one investigator each on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, and that calls are tracked in a case management system. The department said it plans to add one more Oʻahu staff position through a transfer from another division and that a new call-center/web system with time tracking is expected to go live in the summer. Members also discussed a possible bill related to Pearson VUE nursing certification testing, with one senator describing the burden on neighbor-island nursing graduates who must travel to Honolulu for a one-hour test. The senator said she intended to introduce legislation after receiving no response to repeated outreach. DCCA did not take action on that proposal during the hearing. For the PUC-related requests, the department explained a one-time $1 million request for outside consulting tied to Maui wildfire-related filings, including wildfire safety mitigation and hazard mitigation plans, and a separate $900,000 request through the Consumer Advocacy Division to hire consultants for review and analysis. The committee also discussed a captive insurance IT modernization request, which DCCA said would replace manual and spreadsheet-based processes with a cloud-based system to better handle filings, payments, and workflow; no vote or final action was taken on the budget items during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Cash management for y'all's funds.
• You guys are taxpayer-funded, or mostly taxpayer-funded. Is that a fair assessment?
• You receive payments from taxpayer-funded schools, and then you receive funds through by-board for the
• The institution you work for can't say that they're apolitical and take taxpayer funding. funds, and
• We're not asking for any new funding, just the current funding.

Bills: HB10 , HB 12 , HB675 , HB10 , HB12

Committee: House Delivery of Government Efficiency

Keywords: regulatory reform, government efficiency, administrative law, rulemaking, agency deference, judicial review, de novo review, Texas Government Code, Administrative Procedure Act, state agencies, plain language, regulatory burden, regulatory reduction, cost-benefit analysis, fiscal note, public benefits and costs, contested case, rule challenge, Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office, advisory panel

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, so as many of you know, our main role is fiscal oversight.
• </c> so it's the audit of the federal funds so it's the audit of the federal funds at<00:02:42.560><c
• </c> will be coming back to the general fund will be coming back to the general fund because<00:08:57.440
• </c> we need to continue essential oversight we need to continue essential oversight and<00:09:21.560
• Deposits from undispersed restitution funds.

Bills: HF627 , HF474 , HF361 , HF1837

Committee: House State Government Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• and funding source provides grants mechanisms where there's federal pass-through funds and private funds
• That's what that is funding it. Let me just say funding it.
• That's what that is funding it. Let me just say funding it.
• like the Major Events Fund or any other incentive fund for grocers.
• like the Major Events Fund or any other incentive fund for grocers.

Bills: HR3 , HR80 , HB4 , HB172 , HB189 , HB623 , HB944 , HB1185 , HB1199 , HB1222 , SB105 , SB125 , SB461

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: housing assistance, state-owned property, cost-burdened, state employees, affordable housing, fiscal audit, higher education, public funds, underrepresented minorities, Board of Regents, Louisiana legislation, constitutional convention, Louisiana constitution, electoral process, government structure, delegate elections, airport authority, fire protection, supplemental pay, public safety

Transcript Highlights:

• National Water Infrastructure, NWI, is a private utility.
• We do provide our sewer utility in Ascension Parish.
• But there has to have remedies for utilities. We're not bad people.
• Or we are a regulated utility.
• We're a regulated utility, obligated to provide a service.

Bills: HB199 , HB222 , HB223 , HB224 , HB235 , HB246 , HB405 , HB535 , HB554 , HB907 , SCR3 , SB43 , SB52 , SB54 , SB113 , SB168 , SB219 , SB222 , SB270 , SB311 , SB359

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Keywords: nursing facilities, moratorium, healthcare, patient care, data collection, Medicaid, dental coverage, healthcare access, medical necessity, Louisiana Department of Health, Department of Children and Family Services, sunset law, statutory entities, regulatory authority, re-creation, termination dates, child welfare, foster care, children's rights, legal guardianship

Transcript Highlights:

• The identified fund source is federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funds, or IDEA funds
• A funds.
• A funds.
• Are either of you at all concerned that these funds get misinterpreted by locals and they get utilized
• Are either of you at all concerned that these funds get misinterpreted by locals and they get utilized

Transcript Highlights:

• And so, of course, once we would appropriate the funds, we would certainly want them to do it, right?
• However, if you have it where you pick it up, they utilize locations such as Walmart, Costco, whoever
• I just had a briefing with the controller, which was really eye-opening about how the state utilizes
• In practice, that means many of these facilities operate with little to no meaningful oversight.
• I think it's very fair that this is a group that has some additional oversight.

Committee: House Health

Transcript Highlights:

• Federal funding appears to be getting cut.
• So, we budget those funds along with Any other income that comes in that two-year period to fund the
• The first is our SKIP program that's entirely grant-funded through NOAA, and it's been entirely grant-funded
• If you would kind of just give us an oversight.
• We get all of our funds from license fees. So, we have no state or federal funding that we get.

Committee: House Administrative Rules

Transcript Highlights:

• The Act maintains funding for the loan repayment program at the same levels as last year.
• In West Texas, a lot of our schools are utilizing telemedicine.
• It had caused some issues regarding certain areas of where the ombudsman would have oversight.
• And there's already extensive oversight when it comes to access and making decisions.
• Higher education already has enough oversight.

Bills: HB2476 , HB2893 , HB4848 , HB5062 , SB37 , SB60 , HB2860 , HB4930 , SB646 , SB 37

Committee: House Higher Education

Keywords: living expenses, higher education, student support, homeless students, financial aid, grant program, baccalaureate degrees, junior colleges, workforce development, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, competency-based education, baccalaureate degree, cost of attendance, dual credit, computer science, course credit, foreign language requirement, curriculum review, governing board, faculty council

Transcript Highlights:

• And there are also models where we move to a more utility structure where there is a guaranteed rate
• We're continuing to focus on this transition and utilize... California at CARB.
• Lastly, number five: refinery transition planning and oversight.
• And then on top of that, California has additional oversight and accountability.
• We need significant allocation for the displaced oil and gas worker fund.

Committee: Senate Environmental Quality

Summary: The Senate Environmental Quality Committee held an informational hearing on the environmental impacts and planning considerations associated with refinery closures. In opening remarks, the chair framed refinery shutdowns as a complex part of California’s decarbonization transition and said the committee would focus on environmental and land-use issues, while Vice Chair Gunda argued closures reflect years of policy-driven disinvestment and warned that supply disruptions and higher prices could harm working families. State agency witnesses from the Energy Commission, CARB, and the Water Boards described the state as being in a “mid-transition,” with declining gasoline demand, growing zero-emission vehicle adoption, and increasing conversion of some refinery assets to renewable fuels, but also with abrupt capacity losses that can force greater reliance on imports and storage. They emphasized the need for proactive planning, transparency, and coordination across agencies, and noted that refinery closures can stress pipelines, terminals, and other linked infrastructure, with potential liabilities falling to the state if those assets are not financially supported. The Water Boards explained their cleanup authorities and tools for refinery decommissioning, including investigation, monitoring, remediation, and enforcement under the Water Code, and said site-specific cleanup plans depend on contamination, groundwater conditions, and future land use. They noted that decommissioning can reveal previously inaccessible areas and require additional sampling or wells, and that cleanup costs can range from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. Committee members pressed the witnesses on whether the state has enough information to plan for land transitions, whether current tools are adequate, and whether more standardized procedures or financial assurances are needed. The witnesses generally said existing tools are useful but that more transparency and better data sharing would help communities and policymakers understand liabilities and long-term redevelopment opportunities. Members also questioned the relationship between California policy, refinery closures, imports, and global emissions. CARB said its programs apply to transportation fuel suppliers whether fuel is refined in-state or imported, and that its climate and air-quality rules are designed to reduce emissions and avoid leakage. Some senators argued that California’s policies have accelerated closures and that demand has not fallen fast enough to offset lost refining capacity, while agency witnesses responded that closures are also driven by global market forces, aging infrastructure, crude quality, and changing fuel demand. The committee then heard from outside experts, including a Notre Dame professor who said closure costs are often underestimated and that stronger financial assurance requirements can shift company behavior, a Stanford/SLAC researcher who outlined five drivers of refinery closures, and an environmental attorney who discussed community impacts and lessons from the Phillips 66 Los Angeles refinery closure. No votes or formal actions were taken; the hearing was informational and focused on testimony and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• oversight.
• This would preserve legislative oversight and give DOJ the flexibility at seeking to pay funds to victims
• Law Fund.
• fund in 1.2BH-S-A-F funding, which is Behavioral Health Services Act, and 37. fund in 1.2 BHSAF funding
• First, the VOCA funding, $25 million General Fund.

Summary: Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 6 heard the Governor’s May Revision proposals for the judicial branch, the Board of State and Community Corrections, the Department of Justice, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Legislative Analyst’s Office opened with a warning that the state budget remains structurally imbalanced and urged the Legislature to avoid new ongoing spending unless offset by reductions elsewhere. In the judicial branch discussion, the Judicial Council highlighted language access funding, appellate court security, a backfill for the state court facilities construction fund, and an extension of the lactation room mandate; Finance supported most items but suggested reporting language on interpreter costs and reducing the General Fund backfill. Members raised concerns about judicial vacancies, long-term salary freezes, remote hearings, and the lack of progress on court staffing in some counties. For the Board of State and Community Corrections, the administration proposed $10 million one-time each for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People grant program and a human trafficking vertical prosecution grant program. The LAO said both should be weighed against other priorities and suggested the Legislature consider whether the Tribal Nations Grant Fund could support MMIP work, while Finance said it preferred General Fund support and wanted more review before any fund swap. Members strongly supported MMIP funding and asked whether ongoing support would be considered. On the human trafficking grant, Finance said BSC was a good fit because of its grant administration experience and prior vertical prosecution work, while legislators asked why the program was not placed with the Office of Emergency Services as originally contemplated in prior legislation. The Department of Justice presented antitrust litigation funding, Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse staffing, completion of organized retail criminal enterprise cases, and trailer bill language for a continuous appropriation from the Victims of Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund. The LAO supported the antitrust account use but questioned the Unfair Competition Law Fund’s ability to cover the full request without General Fund repayment, and recommended against a continuous appropriation for the restitution fund in favor of a more limited mechanism with legislative oversight. Finance said the fund would remain solvent and defended the continuous appropriation as necessary to pay victims promptly. In the CDCR portion, the largest discussion centered on the Boston Consulting Group efficiency review and sharply reduced savings estimates; LAO said the department had not fully explained the proposed position eliminations or future $100 million savings target, while Finance said the work reflected deeper analysis and ongoing efforts to find savings. Members repeatedly pressed CDCR and Finance on the gap between earlier promised savings and the revised figures. CDCR also outlined population projections showing continued declines in prison and parole populations, while LAO again urged the state to close an additional prison to save ongoing costs. The department then walked through several May Revision items, including workers’ compensation funding, a Corcoran honor housing dorm, incarcerated firefighter pay implementation, an incarcerated menopause program, mental health receiver staffing, mental health resource teams and crisis intervention teams, medical classification staffing changes, and AI note-taking for the electronic health record. LAO generally recommended limiting-term funding and more reporting for many of these proposals, while Finance defended them as necessary ongoing investments or court-ordered obligations. Members questioned the cost of workers’ compensation, the need for more prison closures, the lack of funding for women’s facility violence prevention, and the timing and transparency of the BCG savings process. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• It would reduce the payment rates by removing the funding.
• match or any, there are all zeros in the general fund.
• match or any, there are all zeros in the general fund.
• Senator Wintrow, in 2022, when these funds were allocated, both the service enhancement funds for the
• An audit would clear up who the bad apples are and whether they're not utilizing the funds in the way

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:

• What it does is close a dangerous oversight gap.
• A portion of those funds may be used to fund loans that benefit people and projects within the state
• For example, do the funds benefit shareholders or the people of California?
• These are taxpayer funds at the end of the day.
• We have a lot of funds that come through here.

Committee: House Banking and Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• That's the big oversight piece of the AI.
• That's the big oversight piece of the AI.
• it sets a strong foundation oversight it sets a strong foundation for<00:03:43.280><c> AI</c><00:03:
• </c><00:04:11.319><c> uh</c> it established as an AI oversight uh it established as an AI oversight uh
• </c><00:26:00.799><c> AI</c> and talk about how they could utilize AI and talk about how they could utilize

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 4, as amended by a committee substitute, which would create a state artificial intelligence governance framework for Kentucky government agencies and address AI-generated misinformation in campaigns and elections. The bill’s sponsors said it is intended to regulate only state government use of AI, not the private sector, and would require oversight by the Office of Technology, agency reporting, and annual reporting to the General Assembly. They also said the elections provisions were narrowed to focus on AI-generated audio and video, remove image disclosures, eliminate prior restraint and monetary damages, and rely on disclosure requirements modeled on laws they said had survived constitutional review in Texas. Testimony on SB 4 was mixed. Supporters emphasized transparency, human accountability, and the need to prepare state government for rapidly changing AI tools, citing possible uses such as fraud detection, inmate classification, and transportation planning. An opponent from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression argued the bill would burden core political speech, create First Amendment problems, and invite litigation and abuse, especially in the election context. Members asked about litigation, constitutional concerns, costs, and whether the bill should be expanded later to cover ordinary citizens harmed by AI-generated content. Several members expressed support but noted reservations about the election sections or the need for future amendments. After discussion, the committee voted on SB 4 and reported it favorably. The roll call showed the measure passing with favorable expression, with some members explaining votes as supportive but cautious, and one member initially passing before later recording a yes vote. The chair then moved to Senate Bill 130, and Senator Scott Maiden and Kentucky Retail Federation representative Shannon Stiglets began presenting it as a response to gift card scams and theft of redemption information, describing recent large-scale supermarket fraud cases in Kentucky and saying the problem is tied to broader organized retail crime.

Transcript Highlights:

• Many of these programs that existed weren't actually even being utilized.
• We do not have the funds to support engineers and all this kind of stuff.
• When with a regional council, it allows me to utilize those resources to gain additional funding sources
• They're not funded by the state.
• The trust fund went insolvent because nobody was... ...then guess what happened?

Committee: Senate Commerce and Tourism

Summary: The Commerce and Tourism Committee heard and favorably reported several bills. SB 1672 removed duplicative state provisions related to labor pools; CS/SB 940 prohibited third-party sale of restaurant reservations without the restaurant’s consent; and CS/SB 1820 made changes to motor vehicle manufacturer and dealer franchise law, including disclosure of performance measures, anti-retaliation protections, and limits on franchise termination or nonrenewal. The committee also approved CS/SB 324, creating a revolving loan program to help small businesses affected by prolonged public works construction, and SB 936, which creates a recurring three-year study of the effects of AI, robotics, and automation on Florida’s workforce and economy. SB 1322, the Florida Rural Jobs Act, was amended and reported favorably to encourage private investment in rural small businesses through a state tax credit program. The committee also reported favorably on CS/SB 910, which regulates for-profit veterans’ benefit assistance services, and CS/SB 656, which extends protections from extraordinary collection actions to all bill-of-care payment actions by hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. The committee spent substantial time on CS/SB 1264, a broad Department of Commerce agency bill. The strike-all amendment added or revised provisions on Secure Florida, the RISE venture capital tax credit program, data center tax exemptions, business development classifications, military land transfers, and other economic development matters, while also repealing regional planning councils from statute. That repeal drew extensive opposition from local officials and regional council representatives, who argued the councils are important for emergency management, grant writing, planning, and support for small and rural communities. Supporters of the amendment said the councils could continue locally without state statutory involvement. After debate, the amendment was adopted and the bill was reported favorably, though Senators Davis and Smith voted no. The committee also considered CS/SB 1238, which would tighten reemployment assistance rules by disqualifying claimants who fail to meet job-search requirements or refuse work, and by adding verification and reporting requirements. Supporters framed it as adding guardrails and preventing fraud, while opponents argued Florida’s unemployment system is already difficult to access and that the bill would add unnecessary barriers and costs. Despite opposition from labor and advocacy groups, the bill was reported favorably, with Senators Smith and Arrington voting no. Finally, the committee unanimously recommended confirmation of Alexis Yarborough and John Gilbert to the Board of Supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Transcript Highlights:

• What it does is close a dangerous oversight gap.
• A portion of those funds may be used to fund loans that benefit people and projects within the state
• Core bank funding includes capital and deposits.
• These are taxpayer funds at the end of the day.
• We have a lot of funds that come through here.

Summary: The Assembly Banking and Finance Committee met and first approved the consent calendar, which included AB 2028, AB 2425, and committee bill AB 2795, all sent to the Committee on Appropriations. The committee also noted that AB 2558 and AB 2746 had been pulled from the agenda. The chair reviewed hearing procedures, including acceptance of written testimony and rules against disruptive conduct. The committee then heard AB 2116, which would require registration and basic conduct standards for certain small-business financing providers, including merchant cash advance companies, and prohibit confessions of judgment and power-of-attorney provisions before default. Supporters argued the bill would close an oversight gap and improve transparency for small businesses; a small business owner testified that a purported 13% loan turned out to have a 235% APR. Opponents said the bill mixed consumer and commercial regulation and could restrict access to capital, though they supported banning confessions of judgment. The bill passed on a roll call vote and was sent to Appropriations. AB 2243, by Assembly Member Haney, proposed creating a state bank commission to study whether California should establish a state bank or other public financing tools. Supporters said a public banking model could reduce borrowing costs, keep more public money in-state, and better finance housing, infrastructure, and other public priorities; opponents from banking groups raised concerns about taxpayer exposure, deposit guarantees, and the use of public funds and existing lending structures. The bill passed and was sent to Appropriations. The committee also heard AB 2350, which would set guardrails on rent-now-pay-later products for rental housing; supporters said these products can lead to high fees, debt, and eviction risk, while industry groups opposed the bill unless amended. AB 2350 passed as amended and was sent to Appropriations. At the end of the meeting, the committee completed roll calls for absent members and adjourned.