Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, it’s just directly plowing doctors and nurses into the system, which will help us in a lot of
• I mean, it’s just directly plowing doctors and nurses into the system, which will help us in a lot of
• I mean, it’s just directly plowing doctors and nurses into the system, which will help us in a lot of
• > the<00:10:31.959> system<00:10:32.760> which<00:10:32.880> will and nurses
• into the system which will and nurses into the system which will help<00:10:33.200> us<00:10:

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• or five pediatricians, that's nurse or five pediatricians, that's nurse practitioners<00:47:13.760
• I um realize that our nursing program here at the college is kind of a pipeline, you know, our nursing
• <01:05:37.800> apprenticeship developed an a nursing apprenticeship developed an a nursing
• I'm going to be quiet now, Chairman, so. nursing apprenticeship program, nursing apprenticeship program
• , but the uh our our director of nursing, but the uh our our director of nursing, uh<01:06:08.560

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• LINE NUMBER TO THE HOUSE MAINTAINS THE POSITION RELATING TO THE FLORIDA CENTER FOR NURSING.
• LINE NUMBER THREE THE HOUSE MAINTAINS THE POSITION RELATING TO THE LINKING INDUSTRY TO NURSING EDUCATION

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We assist people with care transitions from hospitals and nursing homes back into the community.
• And I'm thinking specifically of those who are most at risk of nursing home admission.
• And I'm thinking specifically of those who are most at risk of nursing home admission.
• Similarly, recognizing the important role that nursing facilities play in our health care continuum,
• new this year, we stood up a similar centralized dashboard for nursing facilities with key financial

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard budget testimony from Department of Mental Health Commissioner Brooke Doyle, who said DMH serves about 29,000 people and is facing rising demand, higher operating costs, and uncertainty about federal funding. She explained that the FY26 budget prioritizes fully funding the state-operated inpatient system, which is at 100% occupancy and often serves people transferred from Bridgewater State Hospital, while making reductions in other areas to balance the budget. Those reductions include a 50% cut to case managers, a pause on closing the Pocasset unit pending a working group on Cape access, and changes to youth and contracted services such as right-sizing IRTP and CIRT, reducing Youth PACT from seven teams to three, scaling back flex and jail diversion grants as ARPA funds wind down, and preserving the behavioral health helpline and community-based crisis services. Members from Western Massachusetts and the Cape raised concerns about access, staffing, and the impact of cuts, and Doyle said the department would continue operating IRTP services, improve the referral process, and work with stakeholders on the Pocasset review and other access issues. The committee also discussed school-based mental health, 988, loan forgiveness for workforce recruitment, and the role of co-response programs for law enforcement. Secretary Robin Lipson then testified for the Executive Office of Aging and Independence, describing a proposed FY26 budget increase of about 21% to support councils on aging, home care, elder abuse investigations, caregiver support, care transitions, and nutrition programs. She said the agency is managing rising demand, especially from the growing 80-plus population, and noted uncertainty around federal Older Americans Act funding after the federal disbursement agency was disbanded. To control costs, the office will manage intake and caseload growth in a fully state-funded home care program, but current clients will not lose services. Lipson also highlighted a new $1 million line item for local mini-grants to support age-friendly initiatives. In questions, members focused on elder scams, and Lipson said scams are increasing and the agency is working with banks, district attorneys, and public awareness campaigns. The Health Policy Commission’s Executive Director David Seltz presented the agency’s FY26 request and said the biggest challenge is health care affordability, with family premiums near $29,000 annually and many residents delaying care because of cost. He emphasized that recent legislation significantly expands HPC’s role through a new Office of Pharmaceutical Policy and Analysis, which will examine the drug supply chain and pricing, and a new Office of Health Resource Planning, which will support statewide planning around closures and access gaps. The new law also creates task forces on maternal health access and primary care, and adds transparency and oversight for private equity in health care. Members asked about pharmaceutical costs, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, 340B, and maternal health closures; Seltz said the data show rapid growth in GLP-1 spending and that the new offices will help the state better understand cost drivers and access problems. The Center for Health Information and Analysis then began its testimony, describing its role as the state’s data hub for health care spending, utilization, quality, and affordability analysis.

Transcript Highlights:

• During his time in the Capitol, Mark represented the Texas Nurses Association for nearly 30 years and
• worked to alleviate the long-standing nurse shortages. shortage in Texas and improve practice conditions
• for registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses.
• His fierce advocacy helped establish a legal framework for the nursing profession, which the legislature
• increase accountability for taxpayer dollars and enhance the quality of care for the state's 80,000 nursing

Bills: SB1637, SB1, HB300, SB2601, SB37, HB2011, HB3595, HB3071, SB12, HB3372, SB457, HB2067, SB2337, SB447, SB1506, SB1566, SB763, HB3556, SB13, SB2018, SB331, SB379, HB145, SB441, SB2878, HB2885, HB2017, HB5246, SB8, SB2308, SB1540, HB 119, SB1405, SB3059, SB15, SB568

Keywords: SB 1637, deadly conduct, Texas Penal Code, Section 22.05, firearm, gun, pointing a gun, recklessness presumption, peace officer, law enforcement, police, officer-involved shooting, use of force, justification, self-defense, defense of others, Chapter 9, criminal prosecution, Penal Code amendment, appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• I represent the Texas Nurses Association. We are for the bill.
• I am also here on behalf of the Nursing Legislative Agenda Coalition.
• It's a group of over 20 specialty nursing organizations that all support this bill.
• , and it helps make sure that we're getting as many people through the clinical education side of nursing
• , and it helps make sure that we're getting as many people through the clinical education side of nursing

Summary: The Committee on Education K-16 heard several bills focused largely on special education transparency, school safety, and student support services. Senate Bill 1908, by Senator Zaffirini, would direct the Higher Education Coordinating Board to study the feasibility of a statewide system for coordinating clinical training placements, including regional portals for healthcare clinical slots, with a report due by December 1, 2026. A representative of the Texas Nurses Association and the Nursing Legislative Agenda Coalition testified in support. The bill was left pending subject to the call of the chair. The committee then took up Senate Bill 111, by Senator Hall, which in its committee substitute was narrowed to a reporting bill requiring school districts to disclose legal proceedings involving special education due process complaints when legal fees exceed $10,000, rather than capping spending. Several parents and advocates testified that districts spend large sums on litigation against families of children with disabilities and that greater transparency is needed; some senators raised concerns about unintended consequences, including possible pressure to settle cases. The committee adopted the substitute and left the bill pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1551 on automated external defibrillators in public schools, Senate Bill 865 on CPR instruction requirements for certain volunteers, Senate Bill 1032 on the Governor’s University Research Initiative, and Senate Bill 571 on school employee misconduct reporting and access to the Do Not Hire Registry; each was reported favorably after committee substitute adoption and roll-call votes. Additional bills discussed included Senate Bill 1884, which would formalize and expand dedicated staff support for the State Board of Education and give the board chair hiring authority over that staff; members questioned whether it duplicated TEA functions, while a witness argued the workload increase justified the change, and the bill was left pending. Senate Bill 625 would replace the current half-credit economics requirement with a half-credit in personal financial literacy; educators and advocates strongly supported making the course required, and the bill was left pending. Senate Bill 582 would make TEA settlement agreements in special investigations publicly available when sanctions are imposed, and Senate Bill 2600 would bar transportation fees for students living within two miles of campus unless districts do not receive state transportation funding; both were left pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 2751, which would require TEA inspections of non-public special education programs to consider medical standards of care and crisis-prevention training; testimony from a program operator described severe student behaviors and the need for more flexibility, and the bill was left pending after the substitute was adopted.

Transcript Highlights:

• And others, House Bill 649 entitled an act relating to autonomous practice by a certified registered nurse
• title. >> House Bill 649 entitled an act relating to autonomous practice by a certified registered nurse
• Read what happens if the child is sick; what happens if the grandparent is in a nursing home?
• And elderly living in assisted living, nursing homes, and hospitals.
• Patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or assisted living facilities.

Bills: HB 9, HB 22, HB 908, HB 1392

Keywords: property tax, ad valorem tax, tangible personal property, income-producing property, business personal property, tax exemption, local government finance, appraisal district, chief appraiser, rendition statement, property tax relief, small business, commercial property, leased property, related business entity, unified business enterprise, tax situs, Texas Tax Code, local taxing unit, constitutional amendment

Transcript Highlights:

• For APD, these services are respite, personal supports, skilled nursing, skilled respite, and private
• duty nursing. and home health care services.
• For APD, these services are respite, personal supports, skilled nursing, skilled respite, and private
• duty nursing.
• , skilled respite, and private duty nursing.

Summary: The subcommittee heard updates on several state technology modernization efforts, beginning with the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Enterprise Business Solution (DEMS). FDEM said DEMS is about 50% complete, with some grants and finance functions already live, and is intended to replace manual disaster and grants processing with a cloud-based system. Officials described faster reimbursement timelines after recent storms, major return-on-investment claims, and a planned final phase focused on design, testing, communications, data governance, and additional functionality. Members asked about the total cost, the role of Florida Digital Service, deliverables-based contracting, and how much of the system is live; FDEM said the project is expected to cost about $16 million to $16.8 million and finish by June 2027, with some follow-up information to be provided. The Department of Legal Affairs presented its Office of Attorney General Modernization Program, a follow-up to an earlier effort that failed after spending about $26 million. Acting Attorney General John Gard said the department has now moved to an off-the-shelf case management product, LawBase, and is in development and testing, with the Office of Statewide Prosecution already live and full implementation expected by the end of the fiscal year. The request includes funding for staff augmentation, cloud storage, the LawBase license, redundancy through a backup site in Orlando, and OnBase support. Members questioned the prior failure, the use of Florida Digital Service standards, data location and cloud migration, and the redundancy plan; Gard said lessons learned included better scoping and that the current effort is on track. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles then updated the committee on Motorist Modernization, including the Orion system and the MyDMV portal. Officials said Phase 1 and Phase 2 have modernized driver license and motor vehicle services, with Phase 2 statewide rollout scheduled to begin in April 2025 and Phase 3 proposed at $16.5 million for dealer services, data warehouse improvements, and call center modernization. Members asked about payment options, organ donor questions, staffing, cybersecurity, cloud strategy, and the digital driver license program. The agency said the portal already allows some sanctions to be cleared online, an ACH option is being developed, the digital driver license vendor has changed with a fall go-live anticipated, and the department is using security testing and a managed security service provider. Officials also said the system is currently on an on-prem private cloud, with future workloads expected to move to public cloud where appropriate. Finally, Florida Commerce presented on the Reemployment Assistance modernization system, Reconnect, and the FLWINS workforce system. Commerce said Reconnect is hosted in the Azure Government Cloud, has reduced claim filing time, improved fraud detection, and increased appeals capacity, and now needs $4.9 million in recurring funding to cover ongoing operations, cloud hosting, licenses, and staff augmentation. Members asked about adjudication issues, wait times, fraud prevention, and whether the system stores caller identifiers; Commerce said the average wait to speak to a representative is about 18 minutes and claims are generally processed in four to six weeks. The committee then began hearing about FLWINS, which is intended to create a “no wrong door” workforce portal under the REACH Act, but the transcript cuts off before that presentation concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is with the utmost compassion and the experience of a nurse—not even a doctor, a nurse—somebody at

Bills: HB25

Keywords: ivermectin, pharmacist authority, prescription-free, healthcare regulation, patient access, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In the university system, you'll notice a number of rows that transfer funding for nurse education funding
• Senate budget centralizes these funds to the University of South Florida to administer the Center for Nursing

Summary: The Higher Education Budget Subcommittee met with a quorum present for what was described as its final committee meeting of the session. Chair Busatta opened the meeting by outlining the upcoming budget conference process, explaining that the House and Senate had both passed their budget bills and that conference negotiations would begin soon, with the Senate serving as the hosting chamber this year. She reviewed how the conference process works, including side-by-side budget documents, chamber offers, subcommittee negotiations, escalation to the chairs and then to the Speaker and President, and the required 72-hour cooling-off period before final budget passage. The main discussion focused on the differences between the House and Senate higher education budgets for fiscal year 2025-2026. The chair noted a total $62.5 million difference, with the Senate budget higher overall. Key differences included House reductions for vacant FTE positions, differing approaches to recurring versus nonrecurring funding in financial aid and workforce programs, the Senate’s larger funding level for workforce development capitalization incentive grants, and differing allocations for colleges and universities. In the university budget, the Senate centralized nurse education funding at the University of South Florida’s Center for Nursing and funded several specific initiatives, while the House proposed additional funding for performance-based metrics, faculty recruitment and retention, and tuition waivers. The chair also highlighted a major proviso difference involving the EASE grant, where the House proposed minimum benchmark metrics for institutional eligibility. No testimony was taken and no votes were held on the budget differences. After the overview and brief explanation of the budget and proviso side-by-side documents, the committee concluded its agenda and adjourned on a motion by Representative Blanco, without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• These grants would support these organizations in training nursing home workers regarding the provisions
• of the law related to the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board and the rules and laws that apply.
• <01:23:16.000> home organizations in training nursing home organizations in training nursing
• <01:23:19.960> home Law related to the nursing home Law related to the nursing home Workforce
• home Workforce Standards the nursing home Workforce Standards Board<01:23:42.639> they<01:23:

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• , traveling nurses.
• <01:10:59.760> And<01:11:00.000> because um nurses, traveling nurses.
• And because um nurses, traveling nurses.
• <01:11:29.360> nursing a nurse was committed to a nurse nursing a nurse was committed to a
• nurse nursing home,<01:11:30.000> for<01:11:30.080> example, home, for example, home,

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, it could be a nurse practitioner or a PA or potentially even a nurse that's going to represent a
• So, it could be a nurse practitioner or a PA or potentially even a nurse that's going to represent a
• So, it could be a nurse practitioner or a PA or potentially even a nurse that's going to represent a
• Nurses and other practical exam in 2021.
• So nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, osteopaths, PTs, MDs, NDs, there's no Part Four equivalent.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• She works as a nurse. She's a real estate agent.
• I was a nurse for four years.
• I was a nurse. Four here as a educator. I was a nurse.
• I was working with the sport um nurse.
• , depends on visa holders, nurses, depends on visa holders, nurses, technicians<02:43:23.200>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, we have a doctor of the day, a nurse of the day, and I just want to remind you all that these
• James Hunt, an anesthesiologist, with us, and as always, our nurse of the day, Ms. Lee Fasio.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I went to state school and I stand before you today as a registered nurse, Daisy award-winning, and I
• In the nursing profession, there is a box, but it does not say crime. It says felony.
• Madam Chairwoman, Senator Epstein, I can speak to nursing specifically.

Bills: SB1013, SB1023

Keywords: merit-based hiring, public employees, non-discrimination, employment practices, Arizona Revised Statutes, optometrists, eye exams, eyeglass prescriptions, healthcare, vision care, 1182, all

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 1023, which would require optometrists to conduct eye exams according to the standard of care in the community at a recommended one-year interval, while allowing eyeglass prescriptions to be extended up to two years or shortened based on risk factors. The sponsor described it as a compromise between a longer prescription period and existing practice, and the Arizona Optometric Association supported the bill as codifying best practice and clarifying the standard. The committee moved the bill and gave SB 1023 a do pass recommendation on a 7-0 vote. The committee then took up Senate Bill 1013, a merit-based public hiring bill that would prohibit state and local public employers from using policies or practices that base hiring on race, ethnicity, sex, or national origin, while preserving compliance with anti-discrimination laws. An amendment was offered to clarify that the bill would not limit voluntary veterans’ preference employment policies, and the committee adopted that amendment. Supporters argued the bill would ensure public jobs are awarded based on qualifications and protect taxpayers; opponents argued it could undermine diversity efforts and that the veterans language was unnecessary or awkwardly drafted. After testimony from supporters and debate over the amendment and the bill’s effect on diversity, veterans’ preferences, and prior criminal history in hiring, the committee voted on SB 1013 as amended. The bill received a due pass as amended recommendation on a 4-3 vote, and the committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so, when you have nursing homes who are right on the edge, a lot of them went throughout our communities
• Do we want to put Minnesota nursing facilities first?
• Do we want to put Minnesota nursing facilities first?

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• She was a registered nurse by training and a policymaker by purpose.
• With the latest news today, we are welcoming the first registered nurse elected to Congress and the first
• fitting way to honor her. ...legacy so that every young girl who rides down the highway knows that a nurse

Bills: HCR114, HB137, HB283, HB1398, HB1960, HB2153, HB2431, HB2638, HB2699, HB2999, HB3208, HB3389, HB3413, HB3510, HB3642, HB3859, HB3974, HB3986, HB4142, HB4173, HB4174, HB4542, HB4605, HB4663, HB4731, HB5064, HB5216, HB5218, HB5332, HB5453, HB5577, HB137, HB283

Keywords: memorial, pedestrian bridge, Houston, Sergio Ivan Rodriguez, city council, oversize vehicles, transportation permits, Hidalgo County, port authority, highway routes, healthcare, insurance, mental health, treatment access, state funding, transportation, axle weight, aggregates, regulations, Texas law

Transcript Highlights:

• Workplace violence is a recurring concern for healthcare workers, including nurses, who often cite it
• Six out of ten registered nurses have considered leaving their jobs or the profession due to workplace
• Houston-area nurses are experiencing increased workplace violence, contributing to staff burnout and

Bills: HB334, HB583, HB605, HB1327, HB1646, HB2115, HB2379

Keywords: family leave, leave pool, county employee, sick leave, vacation leave, family care, pandemic, guardianship, fencing, reservoirs, local government, regulation, land use, conservation capacity, property regulation, fence regulation, reservoir safety, county authority, fencing regulations, counties

Transcript Highlights:

• They also provide our new nursing hires with a market disparity stipend.
• I know nurses do have to have insurance to an extent or some kind of coverage.
• My wife has been a SANE nurse in the past, and I should apologize. I apologize to Dr.
• Pendergrass; my wife graduated from here as well, and I have two other daughters who are nurses that
• I graduated from here, but we like nursing.