Transcript Highlights:

• These families are already eligible for child care assistance, suggesting that a universal child care
• child care care, already eligible for child care assistance were already, suggesting that a universal
• But I do know that we are ranked 50th in child welfare.
• And I'll go back to the 50th, our rank in child welfare.
• care, but infrastructure for child care.

Committees: Senate Senate Finance , Senate House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll start with Julie Wise, Susan Greenhall, Akina Free Child, Allison McCaffrey, and Sharon Damoff.
• enforcement agencies, confidential public health work, and confidential public assistance, fraud, or child
• for law enforcement, confidential public health work, and confidential public assistance, fraud, or child
• Would this proposal limit the ability of a custodial parent to access information about a minor child
• welfare, working with families, now in torts working with highly sensitive records concerning families

Bills: SB6084 , SB6137 , SCR8406 , SB5892 , SB5863

Committee: House State Government & Tribal Relations

Keywords: elections, double voting, voting twice, multiple voting, same-day election, primary election, general election, special election, cross-state voting, ballot fraud, election fraud, voter misconduct, RCW 29A.84.660, State v. Padilla, civil infraction, class C felony, Secretary of State, Washington elections, election law, voter eligibility

Transcript Highlights:

• is one of the things we have to do in law enforcement when you're dealing with someone, especially child
• We can't just go and take a young Native American child and throw them in a foster system if their parents
• My co-sponsor also talked about the benefits of the Indian Child Welfare Act and the federal policy..
• My co-sponsor also talked about the benefits of the Indian Child Welfare Act and the federal policies
• and the state's cooperation in making sure that if an Indian child is picked up, that we can help locate

Summary: The committee first heard House Memorial 54, which would ask the Public Regulation Commission to convene a working group on utility service problems in manufactured home communities. The sponsor described repeated water, electricity, and gas outages in mobile home parks and said current remedies are too slow and often require attorney general lawsuits. Supporters from PNM and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty said manufactured home communities are an important source of affordable housing and that clearer coordination and oversight are needed. The memorial passed on a due pass motion with no opposition. House Bill 166 then drew substantial debate. The bill would create a statewide permitting framework for battery-charged electric fences used by commercial businesses, while sponsors said municipalities would still retain zoning authority. Supporters argued the measure would reduce confusion, provide uniform standards, and help businesses deter crime without taxpayer cost. Several members raised concerns that the bill would override local zoning practices, favor a specific product type, and create conflicts with existing local codes and historic or mixed-use districts. Despite those objections, the committee advanced the bill on a 4-3 vote, with members noting it should be worked on further before floor consideration. House Bill 20 proposed allowing Native American applicants to request a Native American designation on state driver’s licenses and ID cards, using tribal documentation but not naming a specific tribe. Supporters, including tribal representatives, State Police, and the sponsor, said the designation could help with law enforcement, turquoise alerts, child welfare, health and education verification, and recognition of tribal political status. Opponents and some members expressed concern about racial profiling, stigma, and whether the designation could create unintended consequences or extra bureaucracy. The bill ultimately passed, with several members explaining their votes and asking for continued discussion with tribes. The committee also heard Senate Joint Resolution 1, which would remove constitutional language requiring school elections to be held separately from partisan elections, allowing school bond and mill levy questions to appear on the general election ballot. Sponsors and school board advocates said this could reduce special-election costs and increase turnout, while some members questioned ballot crowding and whether county clerks had been consulted. The resolution passed by due pass motion. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 295, a committee substitute creating an Office of Accessibility to centralize reporting and technical assistance on ADA compliance for state buildings and websites. Disability advocates and supporters said the office would improve coordination and accessibility, while opponents argued it lacked enforcement power and would not by itself change compliance. The discussion was ongoing when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• Liz Ociccarav at the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, also in support. Thank you.
• The average cost of diapers in California is as high as $100 per month per child, which many low-income
• Whitney Francis, with the Western Center on Law and Poverty, in support, with Grace and Child Poverty
• Lizzo Seguera, the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, also in support.
• Kelly Brooks on behalf of the County Welfare Directors Association, here in support.

Summary: The Assembly Health Committee heard a long series of health-related bills, with most measures focused on access to care, administrative simplification, and behavioral health. Early items included AB 583, allowing nurse practitioners to sign death certificates; AB 492, requiring DHCS to notify local governments when new alcohol or drug recovery facilities are licensed; and AB 280, which would tighten provider directory accuracy requirements, add enforcement benchmarks, and allow use of a centralized database. Testimony on AB 280 highlighted the harms of “ghost networks,” while insurers and some provider groups opposed the bill as written, arguing it placed too much responsibility on plans and did not fully address provider-side data problems. AB 280 passed on a roll call vote, and several other bills were placed on consent and approved. The committee also advanced AB 636, expanding Medi-Cal coverage for medically necessary diapers for children up to age 21 and lowering the age threshold for access; AB 1041, streamlining physician credentialing with a uniform form and 90-day review deadline; and AB 787, requiring health plans to help enrollees find in-network providers quickly when directories fail. Supporters of these bills emphasized family financial strain, delays in care, and the burden of administrative red tape, while opponents of AB 1041 and AB 280 raised concerns about provider participation, accuracy, and liability. All three measures were approved and sent to Appropriations. The committee then took up AB 4 and AB 29. AB 4 would allow income-eligible Californians to buy Covered California coverage regardless of immigration status, and AB 29 would authorize Medi-Cal reimbursement for community health workers and doulas conducting ACE screenings. Both bills drew strong support from immigrant-rights, health access, and community-based organizations, and both passed on roll call votes, with AB 4 receiving some no votes. The committee also approved AB 416, which would allow emergency physicians to place 5150 holds in certain circumstances; supporters said it would reduce delays and overcrowding in emergency departments, while Disability Rights California and others warned it could increase unnecessary involuntary hospitalization and transfers to locked facilities. Despite those concerns, the bill passed and was sent onward for further consideration.

Transcript Highlights:

• A mother that lost her child in war is not happy that her child could go to war at so young. 18-year-olds
• And my child, I would hope, would have the opportunity to do that, but I raised my child to understand
• against the mother of the unborn child.
• She lost the non-viable child and the viable child.
• child.

Summary: The committee first heard HB 133, which would lower the minimum age to purchase a long gun from 21 to 18. The sponsor said the bill restores the rights of law-abiding 18-year-olds. Public testimony was sharply divided, with supporters from Gun Owners of America and Florida Carry arguing that adults 18 and older should have equal Second Amendment rights and that current law is inconsistent with other adult responsibilities, while opponents, including gun violence prevention advocates, students, parents, and Parkland-related speakers, said the bill would reverse a post-Parkland safety measure and increase risks of suicide, accidental shootings, and school violence. Several members debated the bill, with opponents emphasizing Parkland, the Florida State shooting, and public polling showing broad opposition; supporters stressed parental responsibility, mental health, and constitutional rights. HB 133 was then reported favorably on a roll call vote of 13 yeas, with several members voting no. The committee then took up CS/HB 289, which would revise Florida’s wrongful death law to allow parents to recover damages for the death of an unborn child. The sponsor said the bill is intended to let grieving parents seek civil remedies, and members questioned how it would apply in situations involving surrogacy, rape, ectopic pregnancy, medical care, and damages calculations. The sponsor said the bill would not allow suits against the mother, would not apply to lawful non-negligent medical care, and would be handled through ordinary wrongful death damage proof before a jury. Public testimony was again split: supporters from pro-life and faith groups said the bill recognizes unborn children and aligns Florida with many other states, while opponents from civil liberties, reproductive rights, and advocacy groups warned it could be used to target abortion providers, helpers, and even families or businesses in miscarriage-related cases, and could be weaponized by abusive partners. The transcript ends during testimony on HB 289, with no final vote shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• Juliet Sharon, Director of the Department of Health and Welfare. Good to see you all this morning.
• We have maternal and child health opportunities. Those are with you currently for review.
• So let's take an example of maternal and child health. Idaho has a plan that they put forward.
• you call one of us, one of the co-chairs, with questions, we'll probably have you call Health and Welfare

Summary: The Rural Health Transformation Committee met with a quorum and approved the April 22 minutes. The main presentation came from Kate Sapra of CMS, who outlined the federal Rural Health Transformation Program, a $50 billion, five-year cooperative agreement for all 50 states. She emphasized CMS oversight, annual rescoring based first on implementation progress and later on outcomes, strict deadlines for obligating and spending funds, and the possibility of clawbacks if funds are not used on time or for approved purposes. She also described CMS’s Idaho site visit and the broader federal-state collaboration, including reporting requirements and technical assistance. Director Juliet Sharon of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare then reviewed the state’s first round of planned sub-awards and solicitations. She explained the distinction between full RFPs, cooperative agreements, and smaller sub-grants, and said the first year will focus on building program structure, hiring support staff, data analysis, third-party administration, needs assessments, and initial service and infrastructure investments such as EMS, maternal and child health, behavioral health, chronic disease prevention, transportation, and technology. Committee members asked for more detail on KPIs, scoring metrics, and access to the actual RFP documents, and Sharon said those materials could be shared through SharePoint with confidentiality protections. Members also raised questions about reimbursement versus upfront funding, especially for tribes and other rural providers that may not have capital to start projects. CMS said upfront funding is allowable if consistent with state procurement rules and that RHTP funds cannot supplant existing funds or pay for projects already underway without a strong new-project rationale. Questions were also raised about multi-year construction or renovation projects, minor renovation definitions, and whether funds could be shifted between categories; CMS said budget revisions are possible but time-consuming, and year one changes would be difficult. The committee agreed to submit feedback on the first batch of opportunities by May 29 and scheduled the next meeting for July 15.

Transcript Highlights:

• issue, and then another constituent shared with me how during one of the hurricane disasters their child
• He made straight A's, and he was just the nicest child.
• welcome you if you would like to be at next Tuesday morning's meeting on the House side in Health and Welfare
• Next Tuesday morning, 9 o'clock, in Health and Welfare on the House side.

Summary: The committee met with four members present and approved the May 7, 2026 minutes. It then considered a series of transportation, motor vehicle, aviation, port, and memorial designation bills. Several measures were reported favorably, including HB 1086 on electronic titling and digital title transfers, HB 745 extending special tandem load permits, HB 1175 updating the definition of aerospace, HB 1108 creating a Homeschool Proud license plate, HB 722 changing reinstatement procedures so certain suspended licenses are restored once fees are paid, HB 1024 creating a Louisiana Democratic Party license plate, HB 1173 giving drivers on reinstatement payment plans a three-month grace period before late fees apply, and HB 98 imposing a $25 annual royalty fee on a retired legislators’ plate to help restore the Pentagon Barracks. HB 487, dealing with red-light overtaking and an added fine, and HB 1032, a technical cleanup bill aligning DWI/drug-impairment language, were also reported favorably. HB 1050, a CDL cleanup bill that adjusts age and testing provisions and removes outdated vision-waiver language, and HB 1192, creating a Louisiana Dental Hygienist Association plate, were approved as well. HB 989, which would have raised public license tag agent convenience fees, was supported by private tag agents but drew questions about fee parity and business impacts; it was reported favorably. A separate bill on driving school pricing and refunds was deferred and turned into a study resolution after the sponsor said more stakeholder discussion was needed. The committee also advanced several memorial and infrastructure measures. HB 401 designated the Lance Corporal Justin McLeese Memorial Bridge, with members speaking about his military service and sacrifice. HB 1081 moved the Louisiana Ports and Waterways Investment Commission under the Office of Multimodal Commerce for administrative support while leaving port boards independent. HCR 63 created a task force to study whether certain active-duty military personnel could operate federally owned vehicles on state highways without a civilian license. HCR 69 urged priority improvements to the Interstate 12 corridor, especially the bottleneck and interchange areas near I-55, citing safety and evacuation concerns. SCR 58 asked DOTD to review public-private partnership practices, using the Belle Chasse Toll Bridge as a case study and focusing on lessons learned for future projects. HB 1001 designated a portion of U.S. 190 as the Jesse Jackson Memorial Highway. HB 1218 named Highway 1090 the Lewis Pett Miramon Memorial Highway, with family members and supporters describing Miramon’s wartime service and role in building Slidell. HB 1172 designated a highway segment in memory of a 14-year-old hit-and-run victim, Kulin Carrier. One major policy bill, SB 514, was amended and reported favorably. It updates Louisiana’s aeronautics statutes, transfers responsibility for aeronautics activities and facilities from the DOTD secretary to the Office of Multimodal Commerce commissioner, and modernizes the law to align with federal aviation rules and new technologies, including advanced aviation and electric vertical takeoff and landing programs. Members asked about the lengthy amendments, fuel tax language, airport development reporting, and the Transportation Trust Fund, and the sponsor and DOTD explained that the changes were largely technical and intended to keep Louisiana eligible for federal aviation funding and compliant with current standards. The committee also heard extensive testimony on HB 1244, which would add a brain-injury designation to driver’s licenses and require law-enforcement training. The sponsor and advocates described how the designation could help de-escalate encounters and improve safety for people with brain injuries; the bill was reported favorably, with members noting it could also cover broader brain-injury conditions if medically certified. After that testimony, the committee adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• prosecutor or an aggrieved person can bring, and they also can go for well... ...And they also can go for welfare
• the Department of Education to another department—the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Welfare
• I think when we think about the chain of who makes decisions around the education of a child, When we
• think about the chain of who makes decisions around the education of a child, we start with the parent

Committee: House State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• County attorneys have the authority to do this when they're investigating welfare fraud, so fraud for
• County attorneys have the authority to do this when they're investigating welfare fraud, so fraud for
• County attorneys have the authority to do this when they're investigating welfare fraud, so fraud for
• County attorneys have the authority to do this when they're investigating welfare fraud, so fraud for
• That's like giving a child a bite in an apple and then running away and giving five gallons of ice cream

Transcript Highlights:

• Licensing exists to safeguard public health, safety, and welfare through objective standards of education
• Child welfare is already heavily regulated and supervised, and the additional exemption would not negatively
• impact child safety or well-being.
• Child welfare is already heavily regulated and supervised, and the additional exemption would not negatively
• impact child safety or well-being.

Committee: House Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations

Transcript Highlights:

• This budget does that by providing $3.5 million annually for modernization of the comprehensive child
• welfare information system, $29.5 million to ensure higher reimbursement rates for medical professionals
• :49:25.680><c> of</c><00:49:25.839><c> the</c><00:49:26.040><c> comprehensive</c><00:49:26.839><c> child
• </c> modernization of the comprehensive child modernization of the comprehensive child welfare<00:49:
• information system $29.5 million welfare information system $29.5 million to<00:49:32.200><c> ensure

Transcript Highlights:

• particularly LGBTQ+ young people, have been endorsed and promoted by the nation's top experts in mental welfare
• and development, in child welfare and development.
• particularly LGBTQ+ young people, have been endorsed and promoted by the nation's top experts in mental welfare
• and development, in child welfare and development.
• And they are the bravest people I've ever met, how they keep going after losing a child.

Committee: House Privacy and Consumer Protection

Transcript Highlights:

• Mom and dad are not optional for the child but mandatory.
• Without one or the other, the child misses out.
• I ask you to put the child before the adult. The child is innocent of how he or she was created.
• Years of study has proven the child to be better off with both their natural parents.
• By keeping the child with the parents, that question is already answered.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• That goes along with laws passed in the 2023 legislature, such as the Child Welfare Disproportionality
• That goes along with laws passed in the 2023 legislature, such as the Child Welfare Disproportionality
• That goes along with laws passed in the 2023 legislature, such as the Child Welfare Disproportionality
• That goes along with laws passed in the 2023 legislature, such as the Child Welfare Disproportionality
• That goes along with laws passed in the 2023 legislature, such as the Child Welfare Disproportionality

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• Finally, the department has the ability to address the root causes of behavioral health conditions, child
• welfare and justice systems.
• welfare and justice systems.
• </c> representatives from an animal welfare representatives from an animal welfare organization<00:43
• We are a 140-year-old not-for-profit animal welfare organization.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill allows certifications simply because a child has been charged with a Class A or Class B felony
• By the time the charge changes, the child is already in the adult system, prosecuted alongside adults
• By the time the charge changes, the child is already in the adult system, prosecuted alongside adults
• status alone shall not be sufficient to prove a person has committed the offense of endangering the welfare
• of a child in the first degree.

Committee: House Crime and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• So the two large systems still on the mainframe are the child welfare system...
• So the two large systems still on the mainframe are the child welfare system and the child support system

Committee: Senate Appropriations - Human Resources Division

Summary: The Senate Appropriations HR Division met with all members present to review the medical services portion of the HHS budget. Sarah Aker, Executive Director of Medical Services, walked the committee through several budget items, including HCBS cost-to-continue adjustments, the DD bed assessment, expansion of value-based purchasing, targeted rate increases for home health and QSP services, and the cross-disability waiver. Members generally supported the targeted increases for home health and QSP, and Aker explained that the cross-disability waiver funding would support startup work, service design, and infrastructure ahead of a planned July 1, 2028 implementation. The committee spent significant time on rate-setting and provider payment issues. Members discussed ambulance rate rebasing, with several senators expressing concern that the proposed increase was too high relative to peer states; the committee ultimately moved toward reducing that item to $1 million rather than zero so it could be revisited in conference committee. They also discussed a House-added critical access hospital networking grant and similarly leaned toward reducing it to $1 million. Aker explained the department’s value-based purchasing plans, including use of a vendor selected through RFP, and clarified how the department’s existing Medicaid managed care and hospital value-based programs work. A major portion of the meeting focused on long-term care and basic care payments, including a House-added extension of the $5 per day basic care add-on and a proposed shift in nursing facility incentive grants toward a withhold-based model. Senator Mathern indicated he would bring an amendment to delay or modify the withhold change, and Aker said the department would prefer language that directly addresses whether a withhold may be implemented. Members also discussed 1915(i) services, FMAP changes, the Medicaid legacy system modernization carryover, and a House-added legislative intent section on medical assistance. The committee adjourned for the morning with plans to return later to continue Human Services budget work and revisit unresolved items in conference committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• The purpose of these programs is to promote child and maternal health, help parents build strong parent-child
• attachments, support early learning, and prevent child abuse and neglect.
• The purpose of these programs is to promote child and maternal health, help parents build strong parent-child
• Dependency work requirements, so if you have a dependent child, before it was you weren't subject to
• Were there SNAP requirements under the Clinton administration when he revised the welfare program.

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Cost of living, accessible housing, child care, and tax competitiveness.
• Making sure child care is available for every worker in our economy so that they can continue to be in
• care centers that are on that child care centers that are on that knife's<00:52:19.760><c> edge,</c>
• be a huge uh welfare uh uh gain.<01:22:10.320><c> And</c><01:22:10.480><c> that's</c><01:22:10.800><
• care and early cannot afford uh child care and early learning.<01:27:25.280><c> Um</c><01:27:25.600>

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• I would like to safety, and welfare.
• What does that mean, welfare?
• What does that mean, welfare?
• </c><01:01:53.119><c> welfare.
• welfare. For me, it What does that mean? welfare.

Committee: House Housing