Transcript Highlights:

• screen um was uh the managed care rate screen um was uh the managed care rate adjustments.<00:16
• Interim rate adjustments that we did last year to ensure that the rates were actuarially sound, and on
• This is a denial rate going forward.
• rate is also included.
• <01:08:17.359> rate.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Residential rates heat your house.
• That drives up rates.
• And then on to rate cases.
• <01:15:33.840> Rate<01:15:34.239> cases And then on to rate cases.
• Rate cases And then on to rate cases.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Right at the beginning, you talked about overall rates of completion.
• But only three states have a higher dropout rate than New Mexico? Mr.
• Chair and Representative Dow, yes, we rate 47th for graduation rate within a six-year window. Yeah.
• Increase graduation rates. Mr.
• And we're giving rate, if it were, I don't know exactly.

Bills: SB37, SB29

Keywords: high-quality literacy instruction, science of reading, structured literacy, reading instruction, literacy assessment, dyslexia screening, phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, biliteracy, English language learner, ELL, bilingual education, dual language program, reading intervention, reading difficulty, reading improvement plan, literacy coach

Transcript Highlights:

• We tax that at a very heavy heavy rate. We tax that at a very heavy heavy rate.
• And it's not the rates that are driving this one. Now we fixed that with rates.
• Now we we fixed that with rates. rates. rates. that<00:30:00.480> hasn't<00:30:00.799> been
• We got a perfect rating.
• We got a perfect rating. year. We got a perfect rating.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• effective tax rates but is by tax type. effective tax rates but is by tax type.
• <00:37:18.480> again effective tax rates between 2123. again effective tax rates between 2123
• a reduction in the effective tax rate a reduction in the effective tax rate and<00:37:49.839>
• the sales tax rate overall. the sales tax rate overall.
• Um so, Chair Gomez, interest rate.

Bills: HF331, HF916

Keywords: school supplies, sales tax exemption, use tax, sales and use tax, back-to-school, classroom supplies, education tax relief, tax holiday, retail exemption, Minnesota sales tax, school materials, binders, calculators, notebooks, pencils, backpacks, book bags, local tax revenue, taxable sales base, income tax

Transcript Highlights:

• The rates by the institutions.
• Their career and technology education credits get paid at the two-year rate versus that four-year rate
• At the two-year rate versus that four-year rate.
• This is the economic size rate.
• So I did look at retention rates.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Of our rates, which are twice the national average.
• You need to drive affordable rates. You need to pay all your victims, and you Affordable rates.
• Okay, so that's how the long run moving on to rate payers.
• has already come into rates outside of the general rate case.
• The longer it takes, the higher the interest rate goes up.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy held a hearing on the California Earthquake Authority’s SB 254 report and broader options for reforming California’s utility wildfire recovery system. The chair framed the discussion around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the scale of wildfire-related costs on utility bills, and the need to weigh trade-offs among survivors, ratepayers, utilities, insurers, and taxpayers. The first panel featured wildfire survivors William Abrams and Joy Chen, who described long delays in compensation, housing insecurity, and what they viewed as a system that protects utility shareholders more than victims. They urged greater transparency, clearer accountability for utility spending and safety performance, faster and fuller compensation for survivors, and reforms such as independent audits and better alignment of utility incentives with wildfire prevention and restitution. The second panel began with Tom Welsh of the California Earthquake Authority, who explained that the SB 254 report was intended as a broad inventory of policy pathways rather than recommendations. He described the report’s process, including stakeholder submissions, workstreams, and a convergence process, and outlined the current wildfire fund structure: utilities remain liable, the fund reimburses eligible claims after a covered wildfire, and the CPUC later determines prudency and possible reimbursement back to the fund. RAND’s Lloyd Dixon summarized compensation data, saying utilities paid about $38 billion between 2017 and 2024, with major shares going to injured parties, insurers, and public entities, while litigation costs and survivors’ own losses remain substantial. He noted that legal fees and delays reduce the amount survivors ultimately receive. Utility and public-interest witnesses offered differing views on the report’s pathways. PG&E’s Tyson Smith said the report shows inaction is the worst outcome and argued for community wildfire risk reduction, equitable allocation of catastrophe costs, and state-led resilience tools. LADWP’s Fernando Valero emphasized the vulnerability of municipal utilities and cities, and supported inverse condemnation reform, a state-sponsored liability insurance framework, damages and subrogation limits, and stronger insurance access. Consumer Attorneys of California’s John Fisk argued that IOU-caused fires are not natural disasters but the result of negligence and sometimes criminal conduct, and opposed reducing utility liability while supporting stronger oversight and audits. The Public Advocates Office’s Nathaniel Skinner focused on affordability, saying ratepayers already bear large and growing wildfire costs and warning against shifting more costs onto bills without measurable risk reduction and tighter accountability. Committee members then began questioning witnesses about what counts as measurable mitigation, how to define full and fair compensation, and how any fast-pay process should work.

Transcript Highlights:

• The three ratings would include exemplary, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory.
• To help determine which agencies are suitable and give them a rating that universities could use.
• These evaluations assess agencies on student retention, graduation rates, achievement rates, and graduation
• loan debt, repayment rates, and graduation earnings.
• If a creditor receives an unsatisfactory rating, institutions must transition to a rated agency within

Bills: SB1998, SB646, SB2786, SB2076, SB2615, SB1961, SB1418, SB2647, SB1322, SB2788

Keywords: pediatrics, medical education, subsidiary, preceptorship, medical training, student programs, mental health, loan repayment, education funding, mental health professionals, healthcare access, Texas Success Initiative, exemption, public officers, employees, higher education, Capitol view, Austin, urban planning, construction

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill aims to add health insurance rate reviews and an affordability focus.
• be able to ask: Are the rates too high, or should that money be going into care?
• Unfortunately, as drafted, SB 1037 introduces a new and subjective rate review process.
• It's looking at proposed rates, whereas... The rate regulation is looking forward.
• Yeah, I mean, that would be a part of the rate review process.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So they're paid a raise. rate that the state has established through our rate-setting process. fee-for-service
• for reimbursement rates today based off what the treatment is and yeah we include a number of rate tables
• we post online, with what the current rate is as well as what it would cost to do like a 1% rating.
• So we've had a rate structure that's existed for the past 40 years. and we're moving to this new rate
• I think with rate modernization, moving to that new rate structure is it does include a rate increase

Keywords: budget, House Bill 1, public education, healthcare, border security, federal funding, spending limits

Summary: The meeting primarily focused on reviewing the proposed budget for the upcoming biennium, with substantial discussions around House Bill 1 and its implications for public education, healthcare, and border security. The Comptroller presented a revenue overview indicating a total of $194.6 billion available for general purpose spending, which reflects a slight decrease compared to previous years due to fluctuating economic conditions. Members raised questions regarding spending limits and the impact of federal funding on state programs, highlighting concerns about the sustainability of funding in light of potential changes at the federal level.

Transcript Highlights:

• We've been able to dramatically increase our income tax rate since 2013.
• But let's just say rough net taxable would be, or tax rate would have been $3,600.
• That same person today making $65,000, tax rate would be just above $2,000. Thank you.
• We shouldn't be competing with neighboring states for the lowest tax rate.
• That was a 45% decrease in the effective tax rate for someone making $65,000.

Summary: The Senate Revenue and Tax Committee considered Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senator Jonathan Dismang, which would continue Arkansas’s phased income tax reductions, lowering the personal income tax rate to 3.7% and delaying the corporate income tax change until the following January. Dismang said the bill was part of a long-running effort begun in 2013 to reduce rates using conservative budgeting and surplus revenue, and he estimated the change would reduce the effective tax burden for a person making $65,000 by about 45%. Committee members supporting the bill emphasized that the measure would not cut state services and argued Arkansas should balance competitiveness with funding essential programs. Several speakers opposed the bill, including a clergy member/social worker, a parent advocating for disability services, representatives from Arkansas Appleseed and Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and a community advocate from the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese. They argued the state should preserve revenue for public schools, health care, housing, food assistance, early childhood education, and supported living services, citing underfunded schools, a waitlist for pre-K, hospital and child care pressures, and the needs of low-income and vulnerable residents. Some speakers said the tax cuts would disproportionately benefit higher-income taxpayers while providing little relief to working families. In closing, Dismang said Arkansas could be both compassionate and competitive and that no essential services would be cut because the state is operating with a surplus. After discussion, Senator Dismang moved do pass, Senator Petty seconded, and the committee approved SB 1 by voice vote. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, this rate on a specific facility.
• include the night supervision sleep rate include the night supervision sleep rate uh<00:16:30.639
• <00:18:26.000> Uh county share for rate exceptions. Uh county share for rate exceptions.
• So, residential services rate increase.
• <00:36:04.000> for So, this would modify payment rates for So, this would modify payment rates

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:31:35.039> In distribution rates over time. In distribution rates over time.
• adopting a 4.5% distribution rate adopting a 4.5% distribution rate calculated<00:37:31.359>
• You know, the distribution rate is a trade-off.
• It is distribution rate is a trade-off.
• A 4 and a half% rate purchasing power.

Bills: HF3900

Keywords: permanent school fund, school endowment fund, Minnesota constitutional amendment, school aid, public school funding, State Board of Investment, investment income, distributable amount, school districts, property taxes, income taxes, voter approval, ballot question, constitutional amendment 2026, education finance, fund perpetuity, purchasing power, trust lands, swamp lands, internal improvement land fund

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, 94% retention rate.
• Um 94% retention<00:05:46.000> rate.
• I I don't know how or retention rate.
• Uh a lower rate for next year at $200.
• So for a member like I the single rate.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:35 Attendance Roll Call: 00:00:55 Approval of Minutes: 00:02:56 Deferred Compensation Authority Update: 00:03:12 Retiree Health Update - TRS: 00:15:58 Retiree Health Update - KPPA: 00:56:13 Adjournment: 01:20:33, 958, all

Summary: The Public Pension Oversight Board received updates from the Kentucky Public Employees Deferred Compensation Authority and the Teachers Retirement System. Chris Biddle reported that deferred compensation assets had grown to about $4.787 billion with roughly 88,000 participants, crediting auto-enrollment, targeted marketing around pay raises, and retiree-focused services. He said the board’s self-directed brokerage account, authorized by last year’s legislation, is being designed around a $40,000 account-balance threshold with up to 25% transferable into the brokerage window, tentatively for July 1 of the coming year. He also described the free financial planning program, which has been used by about 3,300 to 3,500 participants with an 87% return rate, and noted that the plan is currently in a fee holiday; members asked about the fee structure and whether the CFP service is provided through Nationwide, which Biddle confirmed. Board members praised the deferred compensation program’s growth and asked for the legislation referenced by Biddle. He said the plan’s annual fees are capped, with a $1 monthly fee plus other charges up to a $225 cap, for a maximum of $237 per year absent a managed account. He also said the program is seeking unified payroll access to expand participation, especially among teachers, and that prior lineup changes saved about $6 million annually in participant fees. Bo Barnes of TRS then addressed retired teachers’ health insurance, first clarifying a prior question about declining federal contributions to the retirement annuity trust. He explained that federally funded school positions generated contributions that rose from $72 million in 2019 to $109 million in 2022, then fell to $85 million this year, with a projection of $80 million over the next three years; if those dollars do not come from federal sources, they would have to be replaced through the SEEK formula. Barnes then reviewed TRS health coverage, explaining that the statutory contract guarantees access to group coverage but not fixed premium levels, and that TRS administers two retiree plans: KEHP for retirees under 65 or otherwise not Medicare-eligible, and MEHP for retirees 65 and older or Medicare-eligible. Barnes said TRS completed RFPs for the 2026 plan year, retaining Express Scripts for prescription drugs and switching the Medicare Advantage medical provider from UnitedHealthcare to Humana, while keeping plan design, provider access, out-of-pocket costs, and benefits materially unchanged. He noted a modest hearing-aid improvement of $500 per ear beginning in 2026. He also reported that the TRS Board approved the maximum state contribution for KEHP at $1,044.96, up from $930.76, an 18% increase that he said would require about $15 million to $16 million more annually, while the MEHP premium would drop from $210 to $200 per month because of the new contract. Using the 2024 valuation, he said the KEHP increase would slightly reduce the health trust funded ratio from 80.4% to 80.1% and raise unfunded liability from $4.036 billion to $4.051 billion. Barnes closed by reviewing the 2010 shared-responsibility reforms that shifted retiree health costs away from a pay-as-you-go model, including phased employee and district contributions and Commonwealth stabilization funding. No votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have also been able to have students earn 110 pilot ratings, FAA pilot ratings, in our short time.
• We have also been able to have students earn 110 pilot ratings, FAA pilot ratings, in our short time.
• We have also been able to have students earn 110 pilot ratings, FAA pilot ratings, in our short time.
• Uh, the retention rate for us has been about 90% so far, and a persistence rate about 92%.
• so far and a persistent rate about 92. so far and a persistent rate about 92.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The task force meeting began with approval of the July 14 minutes and then heard a presentation from the Kentucky Aviation Association. Association leaders described general aviation airports as important to rural access, commerce, emergency response, tourism, agriculture, and workforce development, and cited statewide economic impacts they said exceed $1.6 billion and support more than 9,400 jobs. They thanked the legislature for prior airport funding and said it had helped airports with basic operations and repairs. The association asked lawmakers for four things: continued appropriations for general aviation airports; relief or a more workable process for required financial audits, which they said can cost $10,000 to $20,000 or more and sometimes exceed a small airport’s annual budget; a regularized statewide appropriations process for airport infrastructure needs, which they said total about $100 million and are currently addressed unevenly; and funding for the Aerospace Education Reinvestment Opportunity Act to support scholarships and aviation workforce training. Members of the task force asked follow-up questions about the audit burden, the difference between financial and safety audits, and the difficulty of finding audit firms. The presenters said they would bring specific ideas back on audit reform. Eastern Kentucky University then presented on its aviation program. EKU leaders thanked the committee for prior support, including a $25 million appropriation for a new flight school building at Central Kentucky Regional Airport, and said the project is expected to break ground in 2026. They reported strong enrollment growth, with 502 aviation majors, most of them Kentuckians, and said the program has expanded flight hours and job placement. EKU also outlined plans to add an air traffic control program in response to Senate Bill 87 and the national shortage of controllers, saying it could train students to FAA standards if the university receives the needed investment in simulators, equipment, space, and faculty. They also discussed the need to replace an aging fleet of training aircraft, saying the current planes are decades old and costly to maintain, and that newer aircraft would improve training quality and reduce student costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:14:12.120> at state level I employment rate at state level I employment rate at 3%<00:
• rental and how and the inflation rate rental and how and the inflation rate for<00:31:34.320>
• 30-year mortgage rates, and the spread between the mortgage rate and the bond rate has been abnormally
• and the spread between the rates and the spread between the mortgage<00:57:20.880> rate<00:57
• :21.720> has<00:57:21.839> been mortgage rate and the bond rate has been mortgage rate

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Finance held its first informational briefing for 2025, beginning with member introductions and then hearing an economic outlook presentation from Dr. Eugene Tian of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Dr. Tian said Hawaii’s economy was in relatively good shape in several areas, especially construction, which he described as at a historical high, with construction employment above 40,000 monthly and building permit values and contracting tax base both up sharply. He also noted real estate sales had rebounded in 2024, the labor market had stabilized with unemployment around 2.9%, and initial unemployment claims were below 2019 levels. At the same time, he highlighted challenges including inflation running above the national rate, a shrinking labor force, lower employment compared with 2023, and continued weakness in visitor spending and arrivals. He said future growth would likely come from health care, professional services, construction, tourism recovery, and diversified sectors such as renewable energy, aquaculture, creative industries, and technology. Dr. Tian also discussed Hawaii’s economic structure and recovery, saying the state remains more concentrated in a few industries than the U.S. overall, with government and hospitality making up larger shares of the economy. He said non-tourism sectors had recovered, but tourism-related jobs and output were still below pre-pandemic levels, with Maui and the visitor industry still affected by the wildfire and COVID-19 impacts. He projected tourism and non-agricultural wage and salary jobs would not fully recover until 2027, and said population trends remain a concern because of aging, the likelihood of deaths outpacing births in coming years, and reliance on in-migration. After his presentation, the chair said questions would be taken later and the committee took a short break. After the break, Dr. Carano of the Hawaii Executive Director’s office presented a second outlook, saying Hawaii’s economy in 2025 looked better than 2024 overall, though he emphasized substantial uncertainty tied to the incoming federal administration. He said possible changes to tariffs, tax policy, immigration, and federal spending could raise inflation and keep interest rates higher than previously expected, which would affect housing, consumer debt, the dollar, and Hawaii’s visitor industry. He noted that U.S. visitors account for roughly three-quarters of visitor spending in the state, making federal policy especially important. He also said deregulation could be a long-term positive but would not likely have much effect in 2025 or 2026. As an additional risk, he pointed to bird flu and its effect on livestock, poultry, and egg prices. No votes or formal actions were taken during the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• I didn't hear you mentioned about the daily rate, but I hope we're looking at the daily rate for ABC
• The daily rate, but we, I hope we're looking at the daily rate for ABC programs and the fact that they
• These are measures related to assessment scores, graduation rates, college-going rates, Assembly took
• These are measures related to assessment scores, graduation rates, college-going rates, These are measures
• related to assessment scores, graduation rates, college-going rates, and median income.

Summary: The meeting began with approval of the prior minutes and then shifted to an update from Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva and Deputy Commissioner Stacey Smith on early childhood education, especially the state-funded Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program. They said Arkansas had received a federal Preschool Development Grant and described ABC as a large state program with about 23,800 funded slots and roughly $114 million in annual appropriations. Department officials said they are reviewing slot allocations because about 1,000 seats are funded but unfilled, while more than 2,000 families are on waiting lists, and they plan to reduce or reallocate slots from providers that have not filled them over several years. They also said they are examining whether income thresholds, curriculum expectations, daily rates, and summer programming should be updated, and members raised concerns about access, local control, transportation, and whether the program should better align with K-12 choice and school readiness goals. The committee agreed to form an early childhood subcommittee and asked the Bureau of Legislative Research to help gather historical data and other information for future discussion. The committee then received a legal presentation from BLR attorney Taylor Lloyd on the constitutional and statutory framework for education adequacy in Arkansas. She reviewed the Dupree and Lake View cases, explaining that the state must maintain a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools, and that adequacy and equity are distinct but related concepts. She emphasized that the General Assembly is responsible for defining adequacy, studying whether the system meets that standard, and reacting to the evidence, while the courts ultimately decide constitutional compliance. Lloyd also explained the current adequacy definition, the role of the matrix as a funding tool rather than a spending mandate, and the distinction between unrestricted foundation funding and restricted categorical funding. BLR’s Elizabeth Bynum followed with a historical overview of how Arkansas responded to the court cases and developed the current adequacy process. She traced major legislative actions from the 1980s through the Lake View litigation, including the creation of funding formulas, categorical aid, isolated funding, declining enrollment funding, and the 2003-2004 adequacy study that led to the Continuing Adequacy Evaluation Act and the matrix used to set foundation funding. She also described later changes to the adequacy statute, the financial reporting requirements for districts, and the ongoing use of surveys, stakeholder testimony, and consultant studies in the biennial adequacy process. Members asked questions about whether private or homeschool programs could use public funds for expenses like utilities, whether stakeholders should include those groups, the difference between average daily membership and attendance, and whether school board members are surveyed; staff said those issues would need further research or were outside the scope of the presenters’ role.

Transcript Highlights:

• Next up is the approval of the proposed Arkansas State Employees and Public Employees' 2027 rates.
• Moving on to the captive insurance programs rates for the '26-'27 year, we are proposing no change to
• So our K-12, you'll see our proposed rate is 18 cents for '26-'27, which is an 11% decrease from the
• So I want to maybe you can just articulate a little bit relative to the rates, because I think that a
• There are flood issues that you have to rate for and factor in.

Summary: The State Insurance Programs Oversight Subcommittee met on June 17 and reviewed a series of Employee Benefits Division and Office of Property Risk items. Grant Wallace presented March and April formulary changes, explaining that the updates favored lower-cost generics, re-tiered some drugs, left several new-to-market drugs uncovered pending more evidence, and added quantity limits in some cases. The committee approved those formulary recommendations. The subcommittee also approved a cell and gene therapy policy that would exclude automatic coverage of those therapies and route them through prior authorization and review, with members noting the process should not delay urgent cases and that appeals remain available. Members then discussed a UAMS professional consultant services contract amendment for pharmacy benefit consulting. The discussion focused on confusion over the dollar amount and scope, with Wallace clarifying that the committee was being asked to approve up to $2.596 million, including optional services related to coupon and rebate management that could be used later without returning for another approval. Several members raised concerns about matching the written contract to the approval amount and about the relationship to the current pharmacy benefit manager, but the committee ultimately approved the item with the understanding that any use of the optional services would return to the committee. The committee also reviewed, without objection, a Blue Cross/Blue Advantage third-party administrator contract, a CompSack employee assistance program contract, and approved proposed 2027 employee and public school health plan rates of 9.8% and 4.9% increases, respectively. Wallace also said the UnitedHealthcare rebid was in final negotiation and would return in August. On the property risk side, the committee reviewed permanent rules for the property insurance program, a contingency-fee subrogation contract with Denenberg-Tuffly, and extensions for Sedgwick Claims Management, Actuarial Advantage, and Stevens Capital Management. Members asked about claim-adjustment delays after a major winter storm, and Wallace said performance guarantees and communication requirements had been added, with claims still expected to vary by case. The committee also approved 2026-27 captive insurance program rates, which included no change to minimum deductibles, lower rates for K-12 and higher education, a higher rate for state agencies, and an overall 10% reduction. Wallace said the reductions reflected improved actuarial foundations, better claims management, and the program’s first-year performance. The meeting adjourned after approving the rate item.

Transcript Highlights:

• to the national rate.
• In December, Minnesota's unemployment rate was 4.1%, up 1.1 percentage points from a rate of 3.0% a year
• Although the unemployment rate has risen, Minnesota's rate remains below the national rate, and the state's
• [Clears throat] We also have our AAA bond ratings that demonstrate rating agencies' continued confidence
• . rate. rate.

Bills: HF3425

Keywords: supportive housing, grants, housing assistance, funding, Minnesota Statutes, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you so much for this opportunity. have low rates for our uh our low have low rates for our uh our
• up insurance rates up insurance rates so<00:38:19.400> not<00:38:19.680> doing<00:
• in the individual Market the 2017 rate in the individual Market the 2017 rate increases<00:47:31.920
• commissioner noted that the rate commissioner noted that the rate increases<00:48:11.319> were
• <01:19:19.920> are that Medicare reimbursement rates are that Medicare reimbursement rates

Bills: HF837

Keywords: health insurance, premium security plan, federal funding, state innovation waiver, Minnesota, 1183, house